THE SOLUTION DIAGRAM FOR THIS PUZZLE contains 25 “rosettes”—clusters of seven hexagon-shaped cells—plus a few extra cells on the far left and far right. Each rosette is identified by the number in its central cell. For example, rosettes #1, #2, and #5, respectively, look like the following:
All of the clues yield seven-letter answers, which are to be scrambled before entry. When the diagram is completed, the central row (blank, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, blank) will yield a seven-letter answer pertinent to the theme. Another two-word phrase will emerge from rows 2 (blank, 2, 3, blank) and 8 (blank, 23, 24, blank).
There are eight unchecked cells, one each from rosettes 1 and 25, two each from rosettes 11 and 15, one at the far left, and one at the far right. The unchecked letters in rosette 1 (and 25) will be determined from the placement of the other six letters. The far left and far right cells will be determined by the theme entry. And the other unchecked cells in rosettes 11 and 15 spell out a common four-letter word that could describe the overall shape of the diagram, especially if you squint.
There are three proper nouns. (One wouldn’t have to be but is as clued.) Everything else is playable in Scrabble. And to quote Stephen Sondheim, who brought cryptic puzzles to the United States in the 1960s, “Ignore punctuation, which is designed to confuse.”
Thanks to Jerry Miccolis for test-solving and editorial suggestions.
- Mule carrying some Peruvians back to mineral deposits
- Mingler operating an old economy car
- EU evils might be hard to pin down
- That lady’s band? They probably ran into each other during school days
- Despicable one knighted may be called obsequious
- They say plotless musicals can get raves and pans from the critics
- Uncontrollable greed instilled in high school investment club that focuses on futures
- Greece is nonbelligerent until peacetime ultimately, and it’s hard to swallow
- Pivots in two directions and lives wantonly
- Advantages seen in junk drawers
- Skip’s heavyhearted, edgy—it can’t be avoided. Or can it?
- Snakes found in garrets? Unfortunately
- Some middle distance runners gobble up turkey at first, then some fish
- Woes expressed in work-song series at the Fringe
- Doctor, after one, who can come up with a treatment?
- “Namaste America” is all over ship
- Wise-ass is bashing imarets
- Pretty half of a philosophical statement of acceptance
- A basketball player like LeBron James is so pushy
- Make an error on your Tinder profile and go out with Mr. Wrong?
- Unfortunately Tim, Ian’s pagan
- Knotty entanglement, in more ways than one
- Adam gets excited returning to a children’s novel
- Onanism runs rampant at chateau
- Perhaps in name only? Yen does not exist “in name only”
Center row: _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Rows 2 and 8: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __
Four-letter word from unchecked cells in groups 11 and 15:
TOM TOCE is an FCAS and a seasonal director at KPMG. He is a member of the Jeopardy Hall of Fame. Solutions may be emailed to ttoce@nyc.rr.com. In order to make the solver list,you should send him your solutions by June 1, 2026
Solution to Previous Issue’s Puzzle—Stop! And Go Play in the Park!
The three consecutive letters that needed to be excised from each of the eight too-long-to-fit theme answers each represent a common IT initialism (ROM, LTE, USB, GIF, URL, ISP, SIM, GUI). This was hinted at by the alternative enumeration in the clue for 17-Across, rendering “cut IT out.” Also, you’d be correct in assuming that the names of the family members were not random—they are subtle tributes to past generations of IT innovators: Charles Babbage and Ada Lovelace of the 19th century, and Alan Turing and Claude Shannon of the 20th. Each of their stories is fascinating.
ACROSS
9 BASILICA—BA + SILICA—Simple Charade
10 P(ROM)OTIONS—“PRO MOTIONS” pun—Double Definition/Pun
11 A(LTE)RABLE—(w)ALTER + (c)ABLE—Comb. Construction/Deletion
12 ALEJANDRO—ALE(x) + J + AND + R + O—Construction
13 PADDLEBALL—PA + DD + LABEL(rev.) + L—Comb. Construction/Reversal
14 H(USB)ANDS—H + US + BANDS—Simple Charade
15 RE(GIF)T—(el)F inside TIGER rev.—Comb. Insertion/Reversal
17 CUT IT OUT—Given by Down Entries
21 SO(URL)Y—S(O)URLY—Insertion
23 D(ISP)ENSE—“dips seen” anag.
24 MEAT LOCKER—“mackerel to” anag.
26 ETIQUETTE—“Quiet” Letter Bank
27 FAC(SIM)ILE—FA + CSI + MILE—Simple Charade
28 DIS(GUI)SING—“Dig is using” anag.
29 FIELDERS—Sufi elder statesmen—Hidden
DOWN
1 MARRIAGE—CARRIAGE –> MARRIAGE—Letter Replacement
2 FIBBED—F(ancy) + I + B + BED—Construction
3 FILE MENU—FRILLIER MAE IN FUR—Hidden in Odd Letters
4 CALAMARI—CA + LA + MA + RI—Construction
5 APPEAL TO—(d)APPE(r) + ALTO—Construction
6 STRAW HAT—“what tars” anag.
7 HOLDINGS—HOGS around (L + DIN)—Container
8 AS YOU SAY—A + S + Y + O + U + S + A + Y—Hidden Last Letters
15 REDHEADS—“he dreads” anag.
16 TANGIEST—TEST around ANGI—Container
17 CHERUBIC—ache: Rub ice—Hidden
18 TIME TO GO—EMIT(rev.) + TOGO—Comb. Construction/Reversal
19 TRADE-OFF—“draft foe” anag.
20 UPLIFTED—U + P + L + I + F + T + E + D—Hidden in Initial Letters
22 OVERLORD—“old rover” anag.
25 CICADA—CIA around CAD—Container
Solvers: Steve Alpert, Dean Apps, Jack Brauner, Laura Cremerius, Jared Dashoff, Todd Dashoff, Christopher Dickens, Mick Diede, Deb Edwards, David Handelman, Jason Helbraun, Pete Hepokoski, Catharine Hornby and Bruce Harvey, Max Jackson, Ruth Johnson, Joe Kilroy, Paul Kolell, Ken Kudrak, George Levine, Tim Luker, Ben Lynch, David McGarry, MEP and the Connors, Jon Michelson, Molina Team (Michael Manos, Lillie Honeychuck and Erick Whitescarver), Jim Muza, Ram Raman, Bill Scott, Andrew Shewan, Sally Smith, Zig Swistunowicz, Tim Tebbe, T.O.C.E. (Josh DenHartog and Sam Donohoe), and James and Betsy Uzzell