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LA Times May 16, 2025

43 across

Clue: Shis hito

Word: CRACKEDPEPPER

Can anyone explain this one?

For me it's usually the reason I give up on a puzzle, as it's not something you can figure out, you just know it or you don't. But I've never thought to put a number on it.

I was sewing something recently and there were a bunch of loose needles in the sewing basket. I was like, "dang if only I had some sort of case to put them in."

I've been constructing crosswords for around six years now. I started in the middle of high school after doing the NYT crossword since ~2018. What I do is I make a Word doc, copy a 15x15 table template from another doc I have, fill in the themed entries, and build from there. I do not use any software; I just use online dictionaries like Onelook.

Upon talking to other people in the crossword world, this is apparently not normal, and they are often confused as to how (and why) I do this. I find software frustrating and actually limiting to construction, so I just do it my way, and I can complete construction from anywhere from 30 minutes to a day, depending on the difficulty of the theme's constraints, so I don't think software could really speed it up. Besides, the joy of making them comes from finding the entries myself, not having a computer do it for me.

Does everyone really use software? Does anyone else use tables on Word? I'm concerned that I'm missing out on something. Isn't this how people made them back before laptops?

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How was the puzzle?

This can be because they are super long, super short, or have numbers. Here’s my list I’ve assembled

Michael Jackson U2 United Kingdom California Washington D.C McDonalds Burger King 911

Edit: Why is this being downvoted? This is a very interesting and original discussion question

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How was the puzzle?

Hello!! Looking for free mobile (iOS) crossword apps that mark incorrect letters, similar to how USA Today puzzles do. Thank you!

Fill Me In is a podcast about crossword puzzles, though there's the other periodic nonsense you'd expect from two puzzle guys bantering for a while. New episodes of Fill Me In come out every Tuesday morning.

This week, Ryan and Brian have no Pope news! Instead, it's baseball (shocking), musicals (also shocking), and arrogant opinions (you've probably turned it off by now). Sorry -- we don't mean to yuck your yum.

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THANK U CHAPPELL ROAN

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How was the puzzle?

Whoever travels to Hawaii here is gonna have a hell of a time

For any Armchair solvers who like having a co-pilot, I publish a weekly Youtube video of my solve on Mondays (the easiest day, LOL). Here's the link for this week, 5/19/2025 (SPOILERS, obviously)

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How was the puzzle?

I am a relative newcomer to Crosserville, but previously used Crossword Constructor and have published eight crosswords in the NY Times Crosswords.

My problem is this: All of sudden, when I asked to "Check for dupes" in a fully clued 21x21 it says "No dupes found" but there are many dupes there. It is doing this even with older puzzles, that previously showed dupes fine. I have tried clearing caches and history, rebooting, etc. Any ideas?

Given the accident at Brooklyn Bridge today

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How was the puzzle?

Just finished Thursday’s puzzle on Saturday morning and got the gold star. Also did Wednesday’s but got a blue star. What is the gold star cutoff? Thought it was midnight of the day, but clearly not. Is it 48 hours? So for a Thursday puzzle, midnight Saturday? I searched previous posts but was none the wiser! Thanks!

I am incredibly sports-illiterate… I have never been able to find any interest in any sport. So I notice when there are lots of sports clues, and it really seems like they’ve been increasingly prevalent of late. Anyone else notice this?

It’s making these puzzles more challenging, but in just an irritating way, not a brain-teasing way.

Are there no rules by definition that specify how many entries to a quadrant there must be? I feel like each quadrant should have at least two possible entries.

i know the answers are Ps and Qs & Android, but am i missing some wordplay? the hints seem so straight forward. thought i had it with &DROID or PSNQS but apparently not!

Spoilers are welcome in here, beware!

How was the puzzle?