# NYT crosswords after Wednesday **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Tags:** board-card-word-game\ **Created:** [September 16, 2022, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-crosswords-after-wednesday/971677 "2022-09-16T14:51:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**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:** [September 16, 2022, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-crosswords-after-wednesday/971677/41 "2022-09-16T22:01:30Z")
I do only the Sunday NYT - and have been for years - because it’s the only one I have access to. I’m a paper-and-pen guy. A big part of my fun is to go, after completion, to Rex Parker’s site (not sure if I’m allowed to link it here, just do the Google). He deconstructs every NYT crossword, and others, every day. His snarkiness and grouchitude are a joy to read (others may certainly differ). mmm ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2022, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-crosswords-after-wednesday/971677/42 "2022-09-16T22:19:52Z")
I print out all the puzzles from the Oregonian online paper: NYT, Birnholz, Daily, etc. And the jumble just for fun. There are five puzzles on MT, and four on WTFS. Sunday has three. Sometimes Friday and Saturday are too difficult, but I can usually get most of it. The wife and I have a friendly competition, which she loses around 99.9% of the time. I don’t mind the trick puzzles on Thursday. ---
**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:** [September 16, 2022, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-crosswords-after-wednesday/971677/43 "2022-09-16T22:39:12Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > A big part of my fun is to go, after completion, to Rex Parker’s site (not sure if I’m allowed to link it here, just do the Google). He deconstructs every NYT crossword, and others, every day. His snarkiness and grouchitude are a joy to read (others may certainly differ). I don’t see why not: It’s: > **[Rex Parker Does the NYT Crossword Puzzle](https://rexwordpuzzle.blogspot.com/)** > > A Crossword Blog He is – love and hate for me. The minutae he bitches about can get on my nerves, but it’s fun enough to read, especially for the comment section where there’s a bit more sanity and some fun regulars. I do have to take regular breaks from reading his blog, though. ---
**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:** [September 18, 2022, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-crosswords-after-wednesday/971677/44 "2022-09-18T01:01:50Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > I read someplace that the actor Paul Sovino said that about the Saturday puzzles. One reason I don’t do them It seems to me that the Saturday puzzles have gotten a little easier over the years. When I go back to the Saturday puzzles from years ago in the app archive, they seem harder. I can now finish a Saturday puzzle without help about once every 6 or 8 weeks, and I can’t finish any of the old ones. I thought today’s was not too awful. ---
**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:** [January 2, 2023, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-crosswords-after-wednesday/971677/45 "2023-01-02T00:41:42Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > I’ve seen YouTube videos where they do it in like 3-3.5 minutes, and it actually seems doable watching it, but doing it myself, the four-minute Monday seems on the edge of possibility. I finally got a 3:59 Monday today. Yay!! And there was enough slack in my solving that 3:30 is not outside the realm of possibility. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2023, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-crosswords-after-wednesday/971677/46 "2023-01-02T17:07:19Z")
Nicely done! ---
**Author:** ![steronz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steronz/32/11765_2.png) [@steronz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steronz)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2023, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-crosswords-after-wednesday/971677/47 "2023-01-02T17:16:43Z")
Do you do it on a computer? I play on my phone and I don’t think my thumbs could ever move that fast. ---
**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:** [January 2, 2023, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-crosswords-after-wednesday/971677/48 "2023-01-02T17:31:10Z")
That was on computer, yes. The fastest I could do a Monday on the phone with my fumbling fingers is probably somewhere around 5:30. I wish there was a way to sort times by what device I used to solve it. I do see a 6:05 a few weeks ago that I would have done on my phone, so I’m basing a fast estimate off that. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2023, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-crosswords-after-wednesday/971677/49 "2023-01-02T17:36:57Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > That was on computer, yes. The fastest I could do a Monday on the phone with my fumbling fingers is probably somewhere around 5:30. I might have to try computer. I do them on my iPad, and a couple of years ago a Monday glitched in the NYT system and it lost my results, so I went back in and redid them…even knowing the answers in advance, I was somewhere around 5 minutes. ---
**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:** [January 2, 2023, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-crosswords-after-wednesday/971677/50 "2023-01-02T17:40:16Z")
Yeah, it’s much easier. I started with iPad, and I did have a handful of sub-5 results on that, but with iPad, it still runs about a good 45 seconds slower than on the computer, once you get used to the little shortcuts. ---
**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:** [January 2, 2023, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-crosswords-after-wednesday/971677/51 "2023-01-02T17:40:31Z")
I got through it pretty quick - 4:55, so your 3:59 is very impressive to me. I would have to type and move accurately, and not get stuck, to come close to that. ---
**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:** [January 2, 2023, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-crosswords-after-wednesday/971677/52 "2023-01-02T17:43:21Z")
Trust me, two years ago I didn’t understand how it was even possible to get to 4 minutes, but with this one, I felt I could have gotten 3:30 if I didn’t stumble at a couple of places. It’s weird, because it didn’t feel full-tilt like some other tries I’ve made at 4 minutes. So I think part of it is just relaxing and letting it flow. But then there’s these folks with sub-3s out there. Back when Rex Parker on his blog posted solve times, I swear every Monday was between 2:30 and 3:30. (for example, I picked 12/21/20 at random on his blog, and it’s a 2:50 solve time. Mine was 7:31 for the same date.) ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2023, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-crosswords-after-wednesday/971677/53 "2023-01-02T18:22:21Z")
Do you use a mouse, or just all shortcuts? ---
**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:** [January 2, 2023, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-crosswords-after-wednesday/971677/54 "2023-01-02T18:23:42Z")
Oh, no mouse, no. I don’t think I’ve ever even tried it with mouse – just tab, shift+tab, and arrows. I think ESC lets you enter rebus answers. There may be other keys, but those are all the ones I use. I just use the NY Times interface. I know that are people who like other software for their solves, but I’ve never tried anything else (I think Across Lite is the popular one.) ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2023, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-crosswords-after-wednesday/971677/55 "2023-01-02T18:24:27Z")
All right, thanks, I’m going to try that. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2023, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-crosswords-after-wednesday/971677/56 "2023-01-02T18:24:50Z")
Note that for the rebus answers, you can just enter the first letter of the word. ---
**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:** [January 2, 2023, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-crosswords-after-wednesday/971677/57 "2023-01-02T18:28:13Z")
Actually, that is a good tip. I hadn’t tried it enough to determine whether that was a universal rule or not. I’ve used it at times when i couldn’t figure out how the puzzle wanted me to enter an unusual type of rebus or multi-letter answer (like T across, but F down), and found that just entering the across one was enough. Now I guess it works for all manner of rebuses. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2023, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-crosswords-after-wednesday/971677/58 "2023-01-02T18:52:02Z")
It may help in particular if you’re going for a short solve time. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2023, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-crosswords-after-wednesday/971677/59 "2023-01-02T22:04:30Z")
> [@Maserschmidt](#): > > All right, thanks, I’m going to try that. 🙂 I’ve done 10 or so Mondays from the archive, and not once was I as high as my Monday average, 6:22, and two of them even came in around 4:45. I’m still reflexively reaching for the mouse sometimes, but whatever, this is way faster. #themoreyouknow ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2023, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-crosswords-after-wednesday/971677/60 "2023-01-02T23:32:53Z")
I may have mentioned this earlier but something I do to make the easier puzzles _slightly_ more challenging is to complete them Scrabble-style. Meaning after completing one clue, every subsequent one I complete has to cross an existing solved one. So no jumping around the board. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-crosswords-after-wednesday/971677.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-crosswords-after-wednesday/971677.md?page=4)