Word Has It: Solving the Sunday NYT Crossword

This Sunday's NYT Crossword (by Dylan Schiff and John Kugelman) finds the gang talking about Kuges as an entire sub-genre of puzzles. Topics include Twinkies, Richard Gere, and Nintendo games. Solving for 345 Sundays in a row!

This Sunday's NYT Crossword (by Peter Gorman) finds the gang talking movies, from critically acclaimed documentaries to Halloween classics. Topics include elementary school bling, McDonald's Monopoly missed opportunities, and young salmon. Solving for 344 Sundays in a row!

This Sunday's NYT Crossword (by Michael Lieberman) finds the gang on a cozy day with Lex in a Costco parking lot. Topics include state lines, claw machines, and vocal fry. Solving for 343 Sundays in a row!Timestamps00:00 - Weather, rain, and microclimates in Virginia and the Bay Area01:47 - Rainy-day vibes and Costco parking lot logistics03:02 - Chuck E. Cheese money machines and Dave & Buster’s nostalgia05:32 - Why Lex is waiting out the afternoon near Costco06:26 - Mapping Batesville, Charlottesville, and Albemarle County07:14 - Crozet, Claudius Crozet, and local school geography07:39 - Lynchburg’s name, TikTok, and Virginia history08:34 - Virginia’s state shape, Delaware’s weird borders, and Rhode Island13:14 - Fall colors, airport grass, and visiting Crozet15:44 - Starting the crossword with heart transplants and wordplay18:46 - Caldera, Osiris, and other clue-solving stretches20:08 - Agita, Melee, and arcane clue construction23:22 - Pet passports, ink pads, and more crossword fills25:55 - Echidnas, egg-laying mammals, and Australia27:42 - Paper cup, paper cut, and appercu30:14 - Elicit felicity, tally up, and clue pattern recognition32:29 - Dayton, bun me, and a string of sports and language clues34:36 - Flop era, Taylor Swift joke, and teen viewing recommendations36:32 - Whistling, whistle credibility, and parenting power37:20 - Speech therapy, lisps, and the mechanics of pronunciation39:22 - Vase versus vase, and the social life of accents46:36 - Mid Atlantic accent, Troy audition, and dialect coaching49:35 - Vocal fry, celebrity examples, and learned speech styles51:38 - Cars losing color, monoculture, and flattening regional identity52:40 - AI dog videos, media trust, and getting fooled online55:07 - Rhoticism, lambdacism, and the cruel naming of speech conditions56:29 - Final crossword cleanup and Lex heading out for gas

This Sunday's NYT Crossword (by Kathryn Bale) finds the gang on National Trucker Day, talking HoCo and Tom Petty cover bands. Topics include temporary tattoos and cereal cinematic universes. Solving for 342 Sundays in a row!Timestamps00:00 — Late arrival from the car and family driving chaos01:20 — Kids, concerts, and Olivia Rodrigo night03:07 — Hosting homecoming prep turns into a burned-arm disaster05:32 — Solo night at Full Moon Fever, the Tom Petty tribute band07:46 — Jacob Dylan, Wallflowers, and legacy-act comparisons12:11 — Mashup costume ideas and Halloween creativity13:13 — Meeting in person at Montana and first impressions15:01 — The temporary tattoo versus the real tattoo18:43 — Crossword theme reveal: “ten four”19:21 — Early puzzle solves and theme exploration22:57 — Crossword momentum picks up with more fills30:14 — More entries, false starts, and pattern spotting34:18 — Biblical clue cluster and the puzzle’s quirky range38:02 — The grid’s theme starts to make sense42:41 — The ten four celebration clue and the aha moment44:33 — Why truckers matter and the National Truck Driver Appreciation tie-in46:11 — Homecoming aftermath and the triple-puke car story49:30 — Teen sleepover negotiations and changing plans50:28 — Full Moon Fever as the perfect pickup soundtrack52:41 — Wrap-up, goodbyes, and the end of the call

This Sunday's NYT Crossword (by Adam Wagner) finds the gang all together in Montana and decked out in their Western Best. Plus, they're joined by special guest Dr. Tim from the HealthTech Remedy podcast for some speed-solving. Topics include ranch HR, the Coriolis Effect, and Shaggy. Solving for 341 Sundays in a row!