The Crossword Stumper
Credit.Caroline Oh/NYT
May 10, 2021
STARCRAFT is a series of real-time strategy games developed by Blizzard Entertainment. The series is set in space, in the 26th century. The original game was released in 1998, and the sequel was released more than a decade later.
Players pick from one of three races: the Terran, an evolved version of humanity; the Protoss, a race of psionic superhumans; or the Zerg, a rapidly evolving race of insectlike creatures. The goal of the game is to eliminate all of your opponent’s structures.
STARCRAFT first gained popularity in the U.S. as an e-sport (or competitive video game) in the late 1990s, then internationally in the 2000s, especially in South Korea.
Cheap Cab, Perhaps
David Steinberg returns to us with an intoxicating Saturday puzzle.
Pinches of garden herbs at Masseria Il Fratoio near Ostuni, Italy, in 2013.Credit.Chris Warde-Jones for The New York Times
May 7, 2021
SATURDAY PUZZLE For mid- to long-term solvers, isn’t it so nice to see the gentle genius of David Steinberg on a weekend again? He juggles a lot of puzzle projects while wearing editing hats, but it has been a while almost two years since his last (24th) Saturday grid (which makes this puzzle a bit of a milestone: 25).
This themeless has a very graceful flow, but there are loads of small and large head-scratchers that I had to unwind after the fact very satisfying.
Ed Sessa offers us an important lesson.
From left: Matt Besser, Amy Poehler and Matt Walsh attended the 20th annual Del Close Improv Marathon Press Conference at the UCB Theater in 2018.Credit.Nicholas Hunt, via Getty Images
May 5, 2021
THURSDAY PUZZLE Administrivial alert: Good morning, everyone. The comments are still down because of a Google-side glitch and the tech team is working on the issue. We apologize for the inconvenience and will keep you updated.
In the meantime, look! Kittens!
Image
Look how cute these kittens are!Credit.Christopher Furlong, via Getty Images
When I moved to New Jersey from New York City some 25 years ago, I was a driver with very little experience, because I, like most residents of the Big Apple, relied heavily on public transportation. One of the first things I learned about driving outside of New York City was that, in most places, drivers were allowed, nay,
why, have I never noticed this? Nina Sloan’s debut theme changes everything I thought I knew about my childhood.
Ms. Sloan a first-year student at Dartmouth College who has also been published in The Wall Street Journal crossword deftly points a finger at perhaps the most insidious case of bullying and gaslighting from the cabal known as Big Candy. (Please note that while I am not the type of person who believes in conspiracy theories, I am perfectly happy to start one.)
Good for you for being a whistle-blower, Ms. Sloan. This sort of thing needs to be called out and dealt with. I shall require substantial donations of the items in the puzzle as, uh, evidence.