Deb Amlen

New York, United States

Columnist and Editor at The New York Times

Blogger and Producer at Wordplay

Columnist at BUST Magazine

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Articles

NYT Crossword Answers for May 29, 2025

1 month ago | nytimes.com | Deb Amlen

wordplay, the crossword columnJohn Kugelman lifts our spirits and a few other things with today's clever Thursday puzzle. Jump to: Today's Theme | Tricky CluesTHURSDAY PUZZLE - John Kugelman's puzzles have primarily been Sunday grids in The New York Times. This is his 11th crossword here, yet it's only his second weekday puzzle. He seems to have a good grip on the tricky Thursday shtick: A nice tug of war between the constructor and the solvers.
NYT Crossword Answers for April 25, 2025

2 months ago | nytimes.com | Deb Amlen

wordplay, the crossword columnAdrian Johnson is quite a stacker of words. Jump to: Tricky CluesFRIDAY PUZZLE - I think those of us who have tried to construct a crossword puzzle can agree that it's not an easy task. Even the best puzzle makers run into jams. A grid might be filling like a dream and then suddenly the constructor runs into a dead end, where nothing fits.
NYT Crossword Answers for April 18, 2025

2 months ago | nytimes.com | Deb Amlen

wordplay, the crossword columnGreg Snitkin and Glenn Davis open our solving weekend with a spirited themeless puzzle. Jump to: Tricky CluesFRIDAY PUZZLE - This is Greg Snitkin's third crossword in The New York Times, and Glenn Davis's debut. Mr. Snitkin and Mr. Davis offer a puzzle packed with lively entries that gave me a real run for my money. Their long, stacked entries are all fairly crunchy, especially at 1A, which is also a debut. One thing that solvers may notice is a dupe in the grid.
NYT Crossword Answers for April 17, 2025

2 months ago | nytimes.com | Deb Amlen

Jump to: Today's Theme | Tricky CluesTHURSDAY PUZZLE - Ilan and Shimon Kolkowitz - brothers who are, respectively, a doctor and a physics professor - are men of science. They have been trained to approach problems broadly at first, as expressed in the medical aphorism "When you hear hoofbeats, think horses, not zebras."I mention this because the Kolkowitz brothers are making their New York Times Crossword debut today with an entertaining puzzle that teaches a similar lesson.
NYT Crossword Answers for April 3, 2025

2 months ago | nytimes.com | Deb Amlen

wordplay, the crossword columnHanh Huynh's puzzle gives main-character energy. Jump to: Today's Theme | Tricky CluesTHURSDAY PUZZLE - I like Hanh Huynh's crosswords. Today's puzzle is his fifth in The New York Times, and all you have to do is go back to his past grids to see how much he enjoys playing with words. His debut puzzle, from 2023, is my favorite, but I think you'll like this one, too.
NYT Crossword Answers for March 28, 2025

Mar 27, 2025 | nytimes.com | Deb Amlen

wordplay, the crossword columnZhouqin Burnikel returns to deliver a Friday puzzle that is packed with misdirected clues. Jump to: Tricky CluesFRIDAY PUZZLE - It's been nearly five months since we've seen a puzzle from Zhouqin Burnikel, and I, for one, am very glad she's back. Ms. Burnikel has a way of filling her puzzles with lively entries and - for her late-in-the-week puzzles, where the high-wire walks happen - packing the clues with all sorts of twisty misdirection.
NYT Crossword Answers for March 21, 2025

Mar 20, 2025 | nytimes.com | Deb Amlen

Boaz Moser: I feel very blessed to be back with a second Friday puzzle in The Times!I didn't have much confidence in this grid at first, so I put out an open invitation online to see if anyone wanted to help me clue it. Jacob was instrumental in getting it finished. In the end, most of our clues were changed. The grid felt pretty flexible difficulty-wise, and so we decided to pitch it as a tricky Saturday.
NYT Crossword Answers for March 20, 2025

Mar 19, 2025 | nytimes.com | Deb Amlen

wordplay, the crossword columnYou won't know which way you're going with Daniel Grinberg's puzzle. Jump to: Today's Theme | Tricky CluesTHURSDAY PUZZLE - All I can say is, "Wow." Normally, I don't appreciate someone who pushes personal boundaries, but, by all means, please push crossword construction boundaries. And that's exactly what Daniel Grinberg, the constructor of today's puzzle, has done.
NYT Crossword Answers for March 14, 2025

Mar 13, 2025 | nytimes.com | Deb Amlen

FRIDAY PUZZLE - Something happens when I'm solving a really good puzzle, and I'm curious whether it happens to you, too. I smile when I write in a particularly lively entry or read a fun clue. For me, this happened in today's puzzle at 21- and 44A, which were Brandon Koppy's seed entries, as he mentions in his constructor notes. They are both making New York Times Crossword debuts. I also liked 3-, 7-, 19- and 26D. That last one makes a return to the Crossword after not appearing for 57 years.
NYT Crossword Answers for March 13, 2025

Mar 12, 2025 | nytimes.com | Deb Amlen

THURSDAY PUZZLE - I'm hungry. A snack would go down really well right now. Are you hungry, too? Rich Proulx and Simeon Seigel have kindly set out a buffet for us, but we will have to figure out what to do with it. You're probably thinking, "Duh, Deb; we're supposed to eat it," and of course, you would be right. Sure, we can snack away, but here's the question we need to ask ourselves: Are we really getting the most out of this buffet?

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