NYT Mega crossword is a bounty – or torment – for puzzlers
NYT ‘Mega’ crossword is a bounty — or torment — for puzzlers
Word up! The thickest Fresh York Times crossword ever spreads across two total newspaper pages, and will take a normal person hours to finish.
Culture
Notice anything? Yeah, we haven’t packed in any answers yet. Check back in 2017, when we may be halfway done.
Gael Fashingbauer Cooper/CNET
What’s a six-letter word for "haunted house sound"? Four-letter word for "posterior"? What was John Denver’s very first hit (22 letters)?
If you’re wrestling over these clues and more, you’re one of those buried in the Fresh York Times’ largest crossword puzzle ever, the Super Mega, published in a special all-puzzle section, Puzzle Mania, in the print edition of Sunday’s newspaper.
While normal Fresh York Times crosswords measure fifteen by fifteen squares (21 by twenty one on Sunday), this monster is fifty by fifty squares, with seven hundred twenty eight tantalizing clues just stringing up out there, waiting to be attempted, erased, attempted again, crossed out and screamed at.
The Super Mega takes up two utter newspaper pages, and was constructed by Frank Longo, who’s not only a puzzle-maker, but a fact-checker and test-solver for the Times’ regular crosswords. Two of the answers are forty nine letters long, and four run twenty two letters.
"It’s a gigantic grid," Longo says in the Times. "It was hard to know where to commence." (Sob us a sea, boy who has all the answers.)
Also in the news
There’s already been one correction made to the puzzle. "There are two 387D numbers in the grid," the Times notes in its Wordplay column online. "The 2nd is supposed to be 388D, and does not affect the solving of the puzzle."
While a normal Fresh York Times crossword takes ace solvers as little as six minutes, an average person needs thirty to forty five minutes. "I’d say multiply that times four for this one, so two or three hours at the very least," Longo says. (Substitute "hours" for "days" if you’re being realistic.)
Fresh York Times puzzles get progressively firmer as the week goes on, and "the difficulty level for this puzzle is from Tuesday or Wednesday, verging into a Thursday," Longo said. "We didn’t want it too hard because it’s so crazily big. You could spend all day on it. An elite solver could knock it off in an hour and a half."
Ha ha ha ha boo hoo hoo hoo, hour and a half, indeed. We’re going to say this puzzle takes hold of those who attempt it and pulls a two hundred fifty six Across, aka, "Turns inwards out." And if you’re lightly frazzled, you might consider fifty six Across, "Stay away from." But we’re going to go with one hundred forty five Across, a four-letter word for "posterior." As in "this crossword is a true ache in the four-letter-word for posterior."
But for those who can get through it, there’s a chance for a prize. The finished puzzle exposes a phrase, and those who find it should send that phrase to the specified email address. Five winners will be chosen to receive a year’s subscription to the print newspaper, and fifty more will get a crossword book signed by Times puzzle-editing legend Will Shortz.
Just don’t let yourself yell out three hundred thirty nine Across, "I give up!"
NYT Mega crossword is a bounty – or torment – for puzzlers
NYT ‘Mega’ crossword is a bounty — or torment — for puzzlers
Word up! The thickest Fresh York Times crossword ever spreads across two total newspaper pages, and will take a normal person hours to accomplish.
Culture
Notice anything? Yeah, we haven’t packed in any answers yet. Check back in 2017, when we may be halfway done.
Gael Fashingbauer Cooper/CNET
What’s a six-letter word for "haunted house sound"? Four-letter word for "posterior"? What was John Denver’s very first hit (22 letters)?
If you’re wrestling over these clues and more, you’re one of those buried in the Fresh York Times’ fattest crossword puzzle ever, the Super Mega, published in a special all-puzzle section, Puzzle Mania, in the print edition of Sunday’s newspaper.
While normal Fresh York Times crosswords measure fifteen by fifteen squares (21 by twenty one on Sunday), this monster is fifty by fifty squares, with seven hundred twenty eight tantalizing clues just stringing up out there, waiting to be attempted, erased, attempted again, crossed out and screamed at.
The Super Mega takes up two total newspaper pages, and was constructed by Frank Longo, who’s not only a puzzle-maker, but a fact-checker and test-solver for the Times’ regular crosswords. Two of the answers are forty nine letters long, and four run twenty two letters.
"It’s a gigantic grid," Longo says in the Times. "It was hard to know where to begin." (Sob us a sea, stud who has all the answers.)
Also in the news
There’s already been one correction made to the puzzle. "There are two 387D numbers in the grid," the Times notes in its Wordplay column online. "The 2nd is supposed to be 388D, and does not affect the solving of the puzzle."
While a normal Fresh York Times crossword takes ace solvers as little as six minutes, an average person needs thirty to forty five minutes. "I’d say multiply that times four for this one, so two or three hours at the very least," Longo says. (Substitute "hours" for "days" if you’re being realistic.)
Fresh York Times puzzles get progressively tighter as the week goes on, and "the difficulty level for this puzzle is from Tuesday or Wednesday, verging into a Thursday," Longo said. "We didn’t want it too hard because it’s so crazily big. You could spend all day on it. An elite solver could knock it off in an hour and a half."
Ha ha ha ha boo hoo hoo hoo, hour and a half, indeed. We’re going to say this puzzle takes hold of those who attempt it and pulls a two hundred fifty six Across, aka, "Turns inwards out." And if you’re lightly frazzled, you might consider fifty six Across, "Stay away from." But we’re going to go with one hundred forty five Across, a four-letter word for "posterior." As in "this crossword is a true agony in the four-letter-word for posterior."
But for those who can get through it, there’s a chance for a prize. The finished puzzle exposes a phrase, and those who find it should send that phrase to the specified email address. Five winners will be chosen to receive a year’s subscription to the print newspaper, and fifty more will get a crossword book signed by Times puzzle-editing legend Will Shortz.
Just don’t let yourself yell out three hundred thirty nine Across, "I give up!"
NYT Mega crossword is a bounty – or torment – for puzzlers
NYT ‘Mega’ crossword is a bounty — or torment — for puzzlers
Word up! The largest Fresh York Times crossword ever spreads across two utter newspaper pages, and will take a normal person hours to accomplish.
Culture
Notice anything? Yeah, we haven’t packed in any answers yet. Check back in 2017, when we may be halfway done.
Gael Fashingbauer Cooper/CNET
What’s a six-letter word for "haunted house sound"? Four-letter word for "posterior"? What was John Denver’s very first hit (22 letters)?
If you’re wrestling over these clues and more, you’re one of those buried in the Fresh York Times’ largest crossword puzzle ever, the Super Mega, published in a special all-puzzle section, Puzzle Mania, in the print edition of Sunday’s newspaper.
While normal Fresh York Times crosswords measure fifteen by fifteen squares (21 by twenty one on Sunday), this monster is fifty by fifty squares, with seven hundred twenty eight tantalizing clues just dangling out there, waiting to be attempted, erased, attempted again, crossed out and screamed at.
The Super Mega takes up two total newspaper pages, and was constructed by Frank Longo, who’s not only a puzzle-maker, but a fact-checker and test-solver for the Times’ regular crosswords. Two of the answers are forty nine letters long, and four run twenty two letters.
"It’s a gigantic grid," Longo says in the Times. "It was hard to know where to begin." (Sob us a sea, dude who has all the answers.)
Also in the news
There’s already been one correction made to the puzzle. "There are two 387D numbers in the grid," the Times notes in its Wordplay column online. "The 2nd is supposed to be 388D, and does not affect the solving of the puzzle."
While a normal Fresh York Times crossword takes ace solvers as little as six minutes, an average person needs thirty to forty five minutes. "I’d say multiply that times four for this one, so two or three hours at the very least," Longo says. (Substitute "hours" for "days" if you’re being realistic.)
Fresh York Times puzzles get progressively tighter as the week goes on, and "the difficulty level for this puzzle is from Tuesday or Wednesday, verging into a Thursday," Longo said. "We didn’t want it too hard because it’s so crazily big. You could spend all day on it. An elite solver could knock it off in an hour and a half."
Ha ha ha ha boo hoo hoo hoo, hour and a half, indeed. We’re going to say this puzzle takes hold of those who attempt it and pulls a two hundred fifty six Across, aka, "Turns inwards out." And if you’re lightly frazzled, you might consider fifty six Across, "Stay away from." But we’re going to go with one hundred forty five Across, a four-letter word for "posterior." As in "this crossword is a true agony in the four-letter-word for posterior."
But for those who can get through it, there’s a chance for a prize. The ended puzzle exposes a phrase, and those who find it should send that phrase to the specified email address. Five winners will be chosen to receive a year’s subscription to the print newspaper, and fifty more will get a crossword book signed by Times puzzle-editing legend Will Shortz.
Just don’t let yourself yell out three hundred thirty nine Across, "I give up!"
NYT Mega crossword is a bounty – or torment – for puzzlers
NYT ‘Mega’ crossword is a bounty — or torment — for puzzlers
Word up! The largest Fresh York Times crossword ever spreads across two utter newspaper pages, and will take a normal person hours to finish.
Culture
Notice anything? Yeah, we haven’t packed in any answers yet. Check back in 2017, when we may be halfway done.
Gael Fashingbauer Cooper/CNET
What’s a six-letter word for "haunted house sound"? Four-letter word for "posterior"? What was John Denver’s very first hit (22 letters)?
If you’re wrestling over these clues and more, you’re one of those buried in the Fresh York Times’ thickest crossword puzzle ever, the Super Mega, published in a special all-puzzle section, Puzzle Mania, in the print edition of Sunday’s newspaper.
While normal Fresh York Times crosswords measure fifteen by fifteen squares (21 by twenty one on Sunday), this monster is fifty by fifty squares, with seven hundred twenty eight tantalizing clues just stringing up out there, waiting to be attempted, erased, attempted again, crossed out and screamed at.
The Super Mega takes up two utter newspaper pages, and was constructed by Frank Longo, who’s not only a puzzle-maker, but a fact-checker and test-solver for the Times’ regular crosswords. Two of the answers are forty nine letters long, and four run twenty two letters.
"It’s a gigantic grid," Longo says in the Times. "It was hard to know where to begin." (Sob us a sea, stud who has all the answers.)
Also in the news
There’s already been one correction made to the puzzle. "There are two 387D numbers in the grid," the Times notes in its Wordplay column online. "The 2nd is supposed to be 388D, and does not affect the solving of the puzzle."
While a normal Fresh York Times crossword takes ace solvers as little as six minutes, an average person needs thirty to forty five minutes. "I’d say multiply that times four for this one, so two or three hours at the very least," Longo says. (Substitute "hours" for "days" if you’re being realistic.)
Fresh York Times puzzles get progressively stiffer as the week goes on, and "the difficulty level for this puzzle is from Tuesday or Wednesday, verging into a Thursday," Longo said. "We didn’t want it too hard because it’s so crazily big. You could spend all day on it. An elite solver could knock it off in an hour and a half."
Ha ha ha ha boo hoo hoo hoo, hour and a half, indeed. We’re going to say this puzzle takes hold of those who attempt it and pulls a two hundred fifty six Across, aka, "Turns inwards out." And if you’re lightly frazzled, you might consider fifty six Across, "Stay away from." But we’re going to go with one hundred forty five Across, a four-letter word for "posterior." As in "this crossword is a true agony in the four-letter-word for posterior."
But for those who can get through it, there’s a chance for a prize. The ended puzzle exposes a phrase, and those who find it should send that phrase to the specified email address. Five winners will be chosen to receive a year’s subscription to the print newspaper, and fifty more will get a crossword book signed by Times puzzle-editing legend Will Shortz.
Just don’t let yourself yell out three hundred thirty nine Across, "I give up!"