# I Just Finished One of the Best NYT Crosswords I’ve Ever Seen! **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Tags:** board-card-word-game\ **Created:** [October 19, 2025, 8:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-finished-one-of-the-best-nyt-crosswords-i-ve-ever-seen/1024092 "2025-10-19T08:13:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2025, 8:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-finished-one-of-the-best-nyt-crosswords-i-ve-ever-seen/1024092/1 "2025-10-19T08:13:58Z")
About a year ago, I started doing the NYT crossword online whenever I had a few hours to kill. To ensure that I don’t outpace the available supply of puzzles, I work backwards through the calendar. I just finished the puzzle for Thursday, January 17, 2019. It was a doozy (as Thursday puzzles so often are). For anyone who’d like to try it, here’s a link to the preceding day. Just copy and paste the link, and change the date from the 16th to the 17th (I had to do that so it wouldn’t show up already solved) > **[Play The New York Times Crossword](https://www.nytimes.com/crosswords/game/daily/2019/01/16)** > > Keep your mind sharp by making The Crossword part of your daily routine. Have fun, and please comment if you enjoy it as much as I did! ---
**Author:** ![K364](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k364/32/5_2.png) [@K364](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/K364)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2025, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-finished-one-of-the-best-nyt-crosswords-i-ve-ever-seen/1024092/2 "2025-10-19T16:21:44Z")
That was quite amazing! How do they construct these? ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2025, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-finished-one-of-the-best-nyt-crosswords-i-ve-ever-seen/1024092/3 "2025-10-19T17:36:07Z")
I just finished it, on your recommendation. For context, I do every single Sunday NYT, but often don’t make time to tackle the others. It gave me a very nice _a-ha_ moment when I discovered its twist. I wouldn’t call it the best puzzle I’ve ever worked on, but it certainly was a fun solve. Aside from the fact that I erred on two adjacent squares in the SE corner, it was a fairly easy go. Thanks for the tip! It took me an embarrassing amount of time parsing KUEHT as THE UK. I even Googled Theuk, thinking perhaps it was some tiny UK island I’d never heard of. mmm ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2025, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-finished-one-of-the-best-nyt-crosswords-i-ve-ever-seen/1024092/4 "2025-10-19T18:14:41Z")
Fun fact: the constructor is cartoonist Garry Trudeau’s son. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2025, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-finished-one-of-the-best-nyt-crosswords-i-ve-ever-seen/1024092/5 "2025-10-19T21:23:56Z")
That _is_ a fun fact! ETA: @Mean_Mr.Mustard you’re right about it not being the “best” overall, but I called it that because yeah, it was the most fun I can remember having doing one of these. And that’s why I do them. To keep myself entertained. ---
**Author:** ![I.Dunno](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9f8e36/32.png) [@I.Dunno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I.Dunno)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2025, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-finished-one-of-the-best-nyt-crosswords-i-ve-ever-seen/1024092/6 "2025-10-20T05:30:11Z")
Thanks for posting this! I’ve completed it late Sunday evening/Monday morning and even signed up for a trial subscription to see what all the fuss was about. I don’t know how to “spoiler” the text but I’ll say 11, 12 and 13 down got me on the right track. I enjoyed it, very clever puzzle. > **** > . > **** > ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2025, 7:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-finished-one-of-the-best-nyt-crosswords-i-ve-ever-seen/1024092/7 "2025-10-20T07:35:02Z")
Those are same clues that put me on the right track! ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2025, 9:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-finished-one-of-the-best-nyt-crosswords-i-ve-ever-seen/1024092/8 "2025-10-20T09:41:25Z")
That was indeed clever - thanks. Usually, the Thursday puzzle has some novel twist. Friday and Saturday are hardest. Sunday is bigger, but the clues/words are medium-level (between hard and easy), like a typical Wednesday. @Mean_Mr.Mustard, you must have been doing a different puzzle – your spoliered word wasn’t in the OP’s. Wait! I see what happened. At least for me, the OP links to an also-clever Wednesday puzzle, issued the day before the intended one. I’ll try the Thursday one now (though I have a sense of the trick, having glimpsed MMM’s spolier – my mistake). And….now I read the whole OP. I’m clever at crossword puzzles, but not at simple reading! ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2025, 9:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-finished-one-of-the-best-nyt-crosswords-i-ve-ever-seen/1024092/9 "2025-10-20T09:55:00Z")
The four palindromes in the middle are a nice touch. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2025, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-finished-one-of-the-best-nyt-crosswords-i-ve-ever-seen/1024092/10 "2025-10-20T12:25:40Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > Usually, the Thursday puzzle has some novel twist. I was not aware of this, I’ll have to start looking at the Thursday offerings. I was aware that the puzzles get more challenging as you move toward the Saturday puzzle, which I occasionally tackle. There is something about the Sunday grid that makes it special, at least to me. I like when the puzzles have a theme, and I like that moment of discovery when you recognize each Sunday puzzle’s twist. mmm ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2025, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-finished-one-of-the-best-nyt-crosswords-i-ve-ever-seen/1024092/11 "2025-10-20T12:29:18Z")
Yeah. For example, rebuses (two or more letters in a single square), when they happen, are almost always on a Thursday. People complain if they appear on any other day. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2025, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-finished-one-of-the-best-nyt-crosswords-i-ve-ever-seen/1024092/12 "2025-10-20T13:23:11Z")
Yes, I didn’t think this was any more or less difficult (or ingenious) than any other Thursday puzzle, which generally have some sort of trick or gimmick. What I found amusing was that I had more trouble filling in the left side than the right! ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2025, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-finished-one-of-the-best-nyt-crosswords-i-ve-ever-seen/1024092/13 "2025-10-20T13:28:23Z")
The OP linked to the wrong one. It should be the Jan 17 Thursday puzzle. The link is to the Jan 16 Wednesday puzzle. The correct puzzle definitely has a gimmick. > [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > I was not aware of this, I’ll have to start looking at the Thursday offerings. Yes, more often than not, they have some sort of gimmick in the theme answers. It can be a rebus (explained before), numbers or symbols instead of letters somewhere in the answer, answers snaking around instead of going straight up or down on the grid, answers going through the walls of a grid, homophones, hidden words within an answer word, etc. Sky’s the limit. ---
**Author:** ![I.Dunno](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9f8e36/32.png) [@I.Dunno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I.Dunno)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2025, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-finished-one-of-the-best-nyt-crosswords-i-ve-ever-seen/1024092/14 "2025-10-20T15:30:12Z")
Thanks for posting this! I’ve completed it late Sunday evening/Monday morning and even signed up for a trial subscription to see what all the fuss was about. I don’t know how to “spoiler” the text but I’ll say 11, 12 and 13 down got me on the right track. I enjoyed it, very clever puzzle. > **** > . > **** > ---
**Author:** ![I.Dunno](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9f8e36/32.png) [@I.Dunno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I.Dunno)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2025, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-finished-one-of-the-best-nyt-crosswords-i-ve-ever-seen/1024092/15 "2025-10-20T15:32:28Z")
Thanks for posting this! I’ve completed it late Sunday evening/Monday morning and even signed up for a trial subscription to see what all the fuss was about. I don’t know how to “spoiler” the text but I’ll say 11, 12 and 13 down got me on the right track. I enjoyed it, very clever puzzle. > **** > . > **** > > Yes! I had all four done and didn’t suspect a thing. I usually find myself working all over the place in puzzles but this one found me completing it left to right so for half the puzzle I couldn’t figure out what the big deal was.Until things just didn’t fit…😄 ---
**Author:** ![I.Dunno](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9f8e36/32.png) [@I.Dunno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I.Dunno)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2025, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-finished-one-of-the-best-nyt-crosswords-i-ve-ever-seen/1024092/16 "2025-10-20T15:38:30Z")
Apologies for my posting and replying skills in this thread. Not sure what I did to cause all the duplications. And can someone explain to me how to blur a spoiler?? I can’t figure it out. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2025, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-finished-one-of-the-best-nyt-crosswords-i-ve-ever-seen/1024092/17 "2025-10-20T15:50:53Z")
Actually, that Wednesday puzzle from nearly seven years ago has a kind of gimmick, too — quite clever, I think — for several (six?) of the clues. To blur a spoiler, at least on my phone and settings, click the three-horizontal-lines symbol, then the plus sign, and then SCROLL DOWN to the last formatting option for selected text. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2025, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-finished-one-of-the-best-nyt-crosswords-i-ve-ever-seen/1024092/18 "2025-10-20T20:40:19Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > The OP linked to the wrong one. It should be the Jan 17 Thursday puzzle. The link is to the Jan 16 Wednesday puzzle. Yes, I mentioned that linking directly to the Thursday puzzle ran the risk of loading the completed puzzle, which would deprive y’all of the enjoyment of doing it yourselves. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2025, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-finished-one-of-the-best-nyt-crosswords-i-ve-ever-seen/1024092/19 "2025-10-20T21:17:34Z")
When I click the link, I just get a thing asking me to sign in. Is this available to non-subscribers? ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2025, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-finished-one-of-the-best-nyt-crosswords-i-ve-ever-seen/1024092/20 "2025-10-21T00:42:53Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > Yes, I mentioned that linking directly to the Thursday puzzle ran the risk of loading the completed puzzle Someone would have to be logged in as you to see your finished puzzle. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-finished-one-of-the-best-nyt-crosswords-i-ve-ever-seen/1024092.md?page=2)