So, thanks, Christina, for bringing me "up in the big leagues" with you! As noted, hard work alone isn't always enough… we all need the support of others to succeed. Only one of us is a crossword rockstar (hint: not me). I still grin every time I read it… pirate voices start jabbering in my head!Ĭhristina showers me with accolades in her notes, but we both know this puzzle would have never gotten off the ground without her magic touch. But Christina's clue for ‘TIS THE SEAS is one of my all-time favorites. I love the cluing stage of puzzle-making, and I admittedly (much too often) think I'm pretty clever with clues. That's not to mention the uplifting gospel choir rendition of the song - I dare you to listen to it and not tap your foot! All while never forgetting that you didn't get there alone. It's a tribute to hard work and perseverance and a reminder to occasionally take a moment to celebrate the fruits of your labor, like the Jeffersons do in the opening credits of the show.
SCOTT: The old TV sitcom theme song this puzzle is based on has long had a special place in my heart. We have more puzzles coming out in other outlets, including the LA Times and The Atlantic, so keep an eye out for his byline :) He has what it takes to be a great constructor: patience, a good sense of humor, the ability to internalize feedback, and a willingness to work hard. He has a knack for wacky clue writing, and most of these were his. Scott did most of the grunt work on this one - sorting through a long list of words that are other words with/without "ON," and compiling a list of any that were potentially promising in a 4-page document. I suggested reworking the idea as a Sunday, and this is what we ended up with. The NYT team liked our long entries but felt the gimmick was a little too one-note.
"TONY" was clued as "Ty, after Movin' on up," etc. The entries on the bottom were mostly the same as these, but instead of having longer phrases on top, we had 4 and 5 letter words that became other words with an ON.
We initially made this as a 15x15 puzzle. Review our Help topics or chat with one of our Customer Care advocates.CHRISTINA: I am SO excited for Scott to be making his NYT debut! Scott and I have made several puzzles together, and this is one of my favorites. In global leaderboards, it is impossible to monitor or constantly try to stop cheating. There are currently no global leaderboards (where everyone who plays the Mini Crossword shows up on one leaderboard).
If you want to add an extra person to a full leaderboard, you will need to remove someone before adding a new person. You can have up to 25 people on your leaderboard, in addition to yourself. Leaderboards are personal, so the only people you will see on your leaderboard are those you invite to join and confirm to add. Solve time is calculated the first time that you solve a puzzle. You can only view the leaderboard for the current live Mini puzzle. When a new puzzle arrives each day, the leaderboard automatically resets to reflect the new puzzle. You and your friends who play the Mini Crossword can add each other to your leaderboards to keep track of how long it takes for everyone to complete each day’s puzzle. Leaderboards is a feature available for the Mini Crossword on the New York Times Games site for Desktop and the Mobile app.