New York Times crossword May 27 / Constructed by Byron Walden

Apologies for the late post. We had family visiting from out-of-town, and there’s nothing like walking around Independence Hall in 80-something-degree weather and 96 percent humidity.

Today’s puzzle is literally crammed with clever entries. The “State Quarters” in the title refers to the U.S Mint’s series of 25-cent pieces representing each of the 50 states. Clues describing a few of these coins are italicized — e.g. 10 Across, “Patriot Caesar Rodney on horseback” — but the trick is not only figuring out which state that is (Delaware) but how to squeeze it into the four allotted squares. Yes, eight letters in four squares. So you “quarter” it, entering two letters per space: (DE)(LA)(WA)(RE). The squeezed letters, of course, also work going down: (DE)LIS (“Handlers of brats,” 10 Down); (LA)IN (“Stretched out,” 11 Down); (WA)NG (“Designer Vera,” 12 Down); and (RE)EF (“Island protector,” 13 Down).

You have to "quarter" some states to get them to fit in this clever puzzle.

Other “state quarters”: (MI)(CH)(IG)(AN), for “The Great Lakes,” 19 Across; (OK)(LA)(HO)(MA), for “Scissor-tailed flycatcher with wildflowers,” 27 Across; (CO)(LO)(RA)(DO), for “Rocky Mountains,” 39 Down; (AR)(KA)(NS)(AS), for “Rice stalks, a diamond and a mallard,” 66 Across; (NE)(BR)(AS)(KA), for “Covered wagon next to Chimney Rock,” 59 Across; (MI)(SS)(OU)(RI), for “Lewis and Clark and the Gateway Arch,” 75 Down; (MA)(RY)(LA)(ND), for “Statehouse dome,” 100 Across; (IL)(LI)(NO)(IS), for “Abraham Lincoln,” 109 Across; and (KE)(NT)(UC)(KY), for “Racehorse in front of the Federal Hill mansion,” 112 Across.

And then there were the super-tricky states: Home-sweet-home (PEN)(NSY)(LVA)(NIA), for “‘Commonwealth’ statue and a keystone,” 46 Down; and (NEW)(HAM)(PSH)(IRE), for “Old Man of the Mountain rock formation,” 69 Down. Good thing New Hampshire memorialized the formation on a quarter, because it’s not there anymore.

Cross Words Dept: The ingenuity of this puzzle can’t be fully appreciated without seeing how constructor Byron Walden used the doubled- and tripled-letters in non-theme answers. “Military issue jacket with a furry hood” is a SNORKEL PAR(KA) (16 Down), using the (KA) in (AR)(KA)(NS)(AS). ”Severely parched” is (AS) DRY AS A BONE (61 Down), with the (AS) coming from (NE)(BR)(AS)(KA). “Civil defense devices” are AIR RAID S(IRE)NS (82 Across), using the (IRE) in (NEW)(HAM)(PSH)(IRE). Those are just a few of the many.

You’ll Shoot Your Eye Out Dept.: “Old comic book cowboy” is RED RYDER (67 Across), which I know only because of his BB gun’s central role in the classic movie “A Christmas Story.”

Something New Every Day Dept.: The puzzle had a lot of interesting long answers that were not part of the theme (and not part of my general knowledge base!). “Snake predators named for their calls” are LAUGHING FALCONS (24 Across). “French Baroque artist who painted ‘The Fortune Teller’” is GEORGES DE LA TOUR (101 Across).

For Fun Dept.: “Area that’s frequently swept?” is a RADAR RANGE (57 Down). “Salts” are ABLE SEAMEN (26 Down).

Questions or comments? Leave them here, visit my Facebook page or tweet me @crosswordkathy.

New York Times crossword May 20 / Constructed by Alan Arbesfeld

Despite today’s puzzle title, this grid is not filled with wisecracks. But it was constructed by a wise guy — or “Y’s guy,” I should say. The theme answers are all common phrases minus the letter Y. So 23 Across, “Chocolat, say?” is not a movie reference but a TREAT OF VERSAILLES. And 70 Across, ”‘Don’t let that youngster get off without paying!’?” is BILL THE KID.

Others: A “Macho drag queen?” is A STUD IN SCARLET (39 Across). “Like literary classics?” are GOOD AND READ (50 Across). “Call to the bar?” is a BEER BELL (54 Across). “Like a centaur?” is PART ANIMAL (68 Across). An “Unbiased account?” is a FAIR TALE (86 Across). “Announcement made by a transplant surgeon, perhaps?” is LIVER STABLE (89 Across). “Stigmatize a ‘great’ king?” is BRAND ALEXANDER (97 Across). And “Two reasons to avoid a dog kennel?” are THE SOUND AND THE FUR (119 Across).

Twofer Dept.: The doubly-used clue “Lose it” yields GO POSTAL (18 Down) and EXPLODE (94 Down).

Famous Last Words Dept.: “Words from a con man” are TRUST ME (78 Across), a “Wonderland message” is EAT ME (127 Across), and an “Emphatic denial” is I SAID NO (29  Across).

For Fun Dept.: “Take a peke?” is not a typo (despite what my spellcheck thinks) but a clue for DOGNAP (36 Down). Think I would have capitalized “Peke,” though.

Philly Shout-Out Dept.: Although it was clued as “Little genius,” WHIZ KID (11 Down) was also how several of the 1950s Phillies could be described.

Learn Something New Every Day Dept.: Took me forever to puzzle out “It’s grounded every Saturday” but I finally got it: the Israeli airline EL AL (82 Down). Saturday, of course, is the Jewish Sabbath. Also, while I knew that “God with a shield” is ARES (14 Down), I did not know that a “Shield border” is called an ORLE (46 Across).

Worlds Collide Dept.: It was great to meet fellow journalist and cruciverbalist @cathgrimes at a writers conference this week!

Questions or comments? Leave them here, visit my Facebook page or tweet me @crosswordkathy.

New York Times crossword May 13 / Constructed by Ben Tausig

Greetings from my stoop! It’s a beautiful day in Philadelphia — headed up to a sunny 80 degrees! — leading to the first outdoor solving of the year for me.

In case you hadn’t guessed, constructor Ben Tausig tells you straight out that “The title of this puzzle, e.g.” is a PUN (85 Across). “Indies” makes you insert a “D” sound into common phrases to create new ones: “Persians who protect their feet?” are THE SHOD OF IRAN (36 Across).

Others: “Entitlement to cross the stream first?” is RIGHT OF WADE (50 Across). “‘If you can’t behave on this tour, I swear you’ll be sorry!’?” is NO MORE MISTER NICE GUIDE (69 Across). “Big part of the dairy business?” is CHEESE TRADE (88 Across). “Lost subject of a hit Beatles song?” is WANDERING JUDE (104 Across). “Clothing-free version of the national pastime?” is WHOLE NUDE BALLGAME (115 Across). And a “Slogan for medical marijuana activists?” is WEED SHALL OVERCOME (23 Across).

Sex, Drugs and Rock-’n-Roll Dept.: I was semi-surprised (but not offended) at the pot reference in 23 Across, seeing as how Will likes to keep the puzzle G-rated; I guess it’s kosher because joints are legal in some states now.  I was more surprised (but not offended) by the clue and answer for 106 Down: “Made whoopee” is DID IT. I was not surprised at all to see The Who and Bruce make appearances: ”‘Tommy,’ e.g.,” is a ROCK OPERA (12 Down), while “State for which a Springsteen album is named: Abbr.” is NEBR (78 Across), for “Nebraska.”

Athletic Dept.: Quite a few sports are represented in the grid today. “Hank Aaron led the N.L. in them four times” is RBIS (12 Across). “Mark who won the 1998 Masters” is O’MEARA (19 Across). “Famously temperamental court figure” is MCENROE (16 Down). “Jason who’s a five-time baseball All-Star” is GIAMBI (52 Down). “Two-time N.L. batting champ Lefty” is O’DOUL (39 Down), who I’d never heard of until today. (Here’s his bio.) And while the answer to 114 Across, LIN, could have been clued as a reference to phenom Jeremy of the New York Knicks, it instead referred to artist Maya, the “Vietnam Memorial designer.” So much for Lin-sanity. (That coming from someone in a city whose NBA team made the 2nd round of the playoffs for the first time in about 10 years. Go Sixers!)

Two-For-One Dept.: “Smack” is KISS (76 Across). “[Smack!]” is BAM (93 Across).

Philly Shout-Out: “Dead Sea Scrolls writer” is ESSENE (103 Down). The scrolls are actually on display in Philly right now at the Franklin Institute; Essene is also a health food store in the city. Diagonally across the state, by the way, you’ll find ERIE, PA (“City down the lake from Buffalo, N.Y.,” 60 Down).

For Fun Dept.: Anyone who can fit KIM JONG UN (“World leader beginning December 2011,” 31 Down) into a puzzle deserves big kudos. Other creative entries: MORSE CODE (“Something you might tap into,” 64 Down), SKIP ROPE (“Play double Dutch, say,” 99 Across) and ODWALLA (“Big maker of smoothies and energy bars,” 90 Down).

Questions or comments? Leave them here, visit my Facebook page or tweet me @crosswordkathy.

New York Times crossword May 6 / Constructed by Alex Vratsanos

When I was in junior high, kids who wanted an easy “A” for an elective worked in the A-V department. It stood for audio-visual, and what it meant was that you got to go around to various classes to run filmstrips (remember those?) and occasionally small-scale movie projectors.

In today’s puzzle, the “A-V” in the title stands for constructor Alex Vratsanos and several other phrases that start with those letters — like AUXILIARY VERB (“Have, say,” 23 Across) and ACTIVE VOLCANOES (“They’re likely to blow,” 38 Across).

Others: AT VARIANCE (“Not seeing eye to eye,” 65 Across), ARTICLE VII (“End of the main part of the Constitution,” 68 Across), ALESSANDRO VOLTA (“Electrical pioneer,” 89 Across), AFRICAN VIOLET (“Common household plant with colorful blooms,” 114 Across), ALOE VERAS (“Some succulents,” 46 Down) and AQUA VITAE (“Brandy, for one,” 50 Down).

A-V P.S. Dept.: “Sailor’s cry” is AVAST (65 Down).

Seriously? Dept.: “Store, as corn” is ENSILE (119 Across), a bizarre verb that I can only guess stems from the noun “silo” but sounds pretty made-up to me.

Doubled-Up Dept.: “Bit of a jam” is a twice-used clue that yields SNARL (73 Across) and SNAG (98 Across).

Bad Example Dept.: “Cancun, por ejemplo” is ISLA (76 Down), the Spanish word for “island.” I would argue the narrow strip of land that comprises that city’s main hotel zone is more peninsula than island; “Cozumel, por ejemplo” — an island off the coast of Cancun — would have been a better clue.

Run For The Roses Dept.: “Wager” is PUT (15 Down), and a lot of people put money on Bodemeister, yesterday’s Kentucky Derby favorite who ended up second to I’ll Have Another. Philly-area horse Union Rags — owned by Phyllis Wyeth, wife of painter Jamie Wyeth, of the local art dynasty — came in a distant seventh.

Philly Shout-Out Dept.: “Get-rich-quick scheme?” is LOTTO (78 Across), a painful reminder that a winning Powerball ticket worth about $172 million was sold just a few blocks from my house on April 25. The jackpot went to 48 Philly transit workers, from newbies to some who have worked at the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority for more than 40 years.

Questions or comments? Leave them here, visit my Facebook page or tweet me @crosswordkathy.