As an alternative to the (relatively) easier NYT Monday puzzle, there’s always Brendan Emmett Quigley’s torture chambers.  Always themeless, always challenging, occasionally cruel (especially if you don’t know current stuff, like rappers’ names and internet slang).   In Across Lite, I use the pencil option the first time through.\

Some hints:

It has a very famous shower:  But you might not want to get in it, no matter how dirty you feel you are!

John P. Marquand character:  Call me “Mister,” if you please.

Cleaners, Chef, etc.:  Well, for most of us the answer is true.  Some people have them “in” all the time.

Lose the Fat:  How cruel a way, right in 1-across, to remind us of just how much we enjoyed the holiday season.

Contributes:  4 words phase that doesn’t usually mean donating money.

Geological time period that underwent a time change:  What happened isn’t it new anymore?

Electronic gift guide? :  And I thought these things were supposed to be completely intuitive these days.

X games vehicle:  Just ’cause it’s winter now, doesn’t mean the game’s on snow.

Formally attired:  What no tux?

Part of a baker’s dozen:  Yeh, THIRTEEN fits, but it’s wrong, though it’s the right idea.

It borders Connecticut:  Ok, it’s not an abbreviation, so it can’t be a nearby state like MASS, think board, not map.

Some Twihard Writing crossing Indie Rock’s Les Savy ____ was what, at least for me, what Rex Parker calls a Natick. (Two unknown things crossing each other;  all one can do is guess.)  I had to do a lot of guessing in this corner.  Don’t be embarrassed if you have to use check or even the dreaded Reveal, here.  Sure, you could look it up in google, but then you might get more answers than you bargained for.

Basic tips (for specific hints, scroll down a bit)

1.  Monday’s through Thursday NYT crosswords are always “themed.”  Sunday’s puzzles are not only themed, but have a “title” that is itself a major hint to the theme. This means that several answers have something in common.  The usual answers that link to each other are the long answers running across the puzzle;  sometimes there are long down answers that also fit the theme.   Puzzles get harder through Thursday.  Sunday’s puzzle is bigger but as hard as an average Weds.

2.  Sometimes there’s one clue that gives you a hint about how the answers are related.  Scan all the clues right away at first to see if there’s a “special” clue that indicates that several other answers are related to it.

3.  Occasionally there are circles drawn inside the squares.  The theme is then usually tied to these circles, rather than the long answers.

4.  Occasionally a particular subset of clues are related, but not just or not all the long answers.  In this case, there’ll usually be an asterisk (*) next to certain clues to tell you they are related.

5.  Themes are almost always some kind of word play.  Occasionally the theme relates to the date of the puzzle, like the Abe Lincoln theme in the Jan. 1st puzzle this year.

Some general essential info:

1.  A question mark at the end of a clue means that the clue/answer combination is some kind of word play, not a straightforward definition.

2.  Quotes around a clue (unless it says something like, “according to so-and-so”) indicate that it’s a verbal expression so the answer isn’t always  a normal “word” like you could use in Scrabble.  e.g. “I’m cold” = BRR or BRRR.  Sometimes, though it just means something that’s said aloud and the answer, presumably is also said aloud.

3.  A common trick is to put a question mark or other indication to warn you that the answer is a prefix (e.g. “Beginning of a system?” = ECO) or the first letter of the word (e.g. “End of the world?” = DEE).

4.  A  _____ in the clue indicates the missing word is the answer.

5.  References to foreign places usually mean that the word is a simple word in the clue, but the answer is in a different language

6.  Don’t assume plural clues will have an S at the end, though early-in-the-week puzzles more often do.

7.  Many answers are two or even three words where you might expect just a single word.

8.  The NY Times is very careful about things like parts of speech, plural or singular, etc.  Your answer must be exactly the same in this way as the clue.  Though there are some exceptions, a slangy clue almost always means the answer is slang also.

Specific Hints

23-across The fourth letter of “cancel” but not the first is a variation on #3 in the list above.  In this case, you have to consider that not all letter sounds are created equally.  Some are harder than others!

This puzzle has tons of answers that fit hint #7.   I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many two word answers.  It’s almost a theme for the shorter answers.

There are two examples of quotes around clues in this puzzle.  In this case, all the words in the answer are normal words; they’re just alternate expressions like the ones in quotes.   I’d say 23-down (Meh) should probably have quotes around it.

Black sheep’s cry:  What, white sheep always only bleat once?

Theme Hint:  All but two of the long answers is 2 words.  All the long answers have one word in them that shares something obviously in common with one word in the other long answers.  32-down and 10-down, however, do not fit the theme.  Critics of puzzles (most notably Rex Parker) will often point this out as a flaw in the puzzle-maker’s construction when this happens.

Theme:  Ok, so Puzzle Envy.  What does that tell us?  Probably “puzzle” doesn’t add much, just there to make it humorous.  So envy.  Think what that word sounds like.  So is something added?  Are there multiple letters in a single square?  Really, it’s much simpler…and not particularly clever or fun, I’m afraid.   Anyway, solve a one or two long clues and you’ll see it.  That’s give you some automatic fills for other long clues.

Specific clues:

Go downhill in a way:  think winter & fun.

Lawyers’ cases, maybe:  Don’t thing legal cases, not that this kind of case is illegal.

cancels:  think rocket flight

court statistic:  think basketball

shot blocker:  think slr

Miss identification:  think newspaper announcements

“Norwegian Wood” strings:  not every plural has an S at the end.  By the way, do you think he burned her furniture in the fireplace at the end or just enjoyed sitting in it after sleeping in the bath?

Hit 1944 film starring a 12-year old actress:  Jeez, I thought the horse was the star!

Choices of time:  think when you’re setting your digital clock and don’t want to screw up when you set the alarm.

’60’s prez  – no, Ike was in the ’50’s, the 1950’s.

Slammin’ Sammy:  Well SOSA won’t fit.  There’s more than one way to swing a club

ending with pscyh-  :  there could be more than one of those crazy people!

Some Swedish models:  No, not Anita Ekberg and Heidi Klum’s German.  Not that kind of model.

WWII Threat:  Surprisingly, the U’s weren’t the only letters to worry about.

The N.F.L. Burress:  Ok I guessed the Met opera singer at first, I admit it.  Close, but not cigar.  Remember what marks the spot.  The Pastoral Poem that crosses this one looks like it has an “O” missing, but it doesn’t.  To save you from having to use the forbidden Reveal button (in Across Lite) or having to read Rex Parker or wait ’til next week, here’s a really stupid hint:  what is something made of the plastic had a collision with a country south of the border that crunched the two together?  No help?  Go ahead, be tough, press reveal!

Themeless, bien sur.

Reconcile:  2 words;  I think there’s a basketball player with this last name.

Certain Arabian Peninsula native:  Well, it ain’t an Omani or an Iraqi or Irani, so maybe this native just lives in the gulf?

Philly court legend:  His nickname, that is.

Shrimp protrusion:  This explains why you don’t eat the whole shrimp!

Never: 2 words, and NOT ONCE doesn’t fit.

Kind of paint: …or where you’re painting.

Jai alai need:  Es absolutamente necesario!

It doesn’t include a bass:  Think bass voice, not the long thing with 4 strings.

The Marx Brothers in “Monkey Business,” e.g.:  How else would the Marx brothers end up on an ocean liner?

Friday, so no theme.  Just 4 answers the full length of the puzzle down and across.  So some specific hints:

Lake cabin sight:  You might not see this sight because you’re so attached to it!

1894 Novel whose title character…fingerprints: 2 words, the first part of the first word is somethin’ you might want to eat.  the second word has a presidential ring to it.

Words from one who’s at a loss for words:  The answer isn’t at a loss for words, it has five of them in fact.

Target of some political attacks: Probably the only thing the left and right agree is that it’s not fair.

You may feel below it…though being far above it isn’t good either.

Does street campaigning:  It’s a figurative expression that’s literally what some politicians do.

French Urban network:  A bit of an odd way of cluing a more ordinary answer.  (It’s not the RATP, btw)

Ways to go:  Could be found in the French (or any other place) urban network, but also in a place you inhabit every day!

Oh boy.  A Thursday with some nasty turns.  This is one of those themes that you may catch onto quickly (be sure to read the note at the top of the puzzle), but that isn’t like to be a huge help solving the puzzle.  One theme hint:  When it says “the missing part can be found in four other places in the puzzle,”  this is one of those “think outside the box”  (one of my least favorite phrases, btw) but pay close attention to what’s inside the box (i.e. the puzzle grid).   Even when I was done, I had trouble finding all four spots.  The fact that a couple of the one’s that are missing something work without the extra something weakens the theme considerably IMHO.

One more comment before the hints:  There are is at least one and possibly two Natick’s in this puzzle — places where two very unusual answers cross each other so you pretty much have to guess.  I admit I had to use “Check” in Across Lite several times before I could figure out what the Three pronged fishing spear (It is not anything with TRI in it!), the swimmer, the old guitarlike instrument and the inferior imitator were.  Oh well, there are always days like that.

Now for some specific hints:

1967 Disaster:  Think a cape in Florida that is famous for something other than hurricanes or hanging chads.

Lazy sort:  Think what really lazy people do all day because even being a couch potato is too much effort.

Criticize cattily: 2 words

Unwakeable: 3 words

Steve Martin romantic comedy:  Aren’t all Steve Martin movies romantic comedies?  Anyway this one takes place, as its title indicates in a specific place in the U.S.

Group of whales:  Yeh, I thought it was a POD too, but it isn’t.

Country where marinated bear…:  Do they have that many bears in the Baltic that they go around marinating them?

Serious rap:  Or a description of this puzzle!

Theme:  Circles and a clear hint in 1- & 71-across.  I’d suggest working on a corner, perhaps the upper right until you can see what the circles spell.  That’ll give you a good start on the theme and that will help in doing the other sets of circles.  For a “big hint,”  skip to the bottom of this post.

1-across:  Spelling kountz.

Specific clue hints:

River in 1957 Movie:  If you’re young, you may never have heard of it.   Sounds oriental.

SALT Topic:  SALT is an acronym and so is the answer

Singer/actress Luft:…  or _____ Doone

_____ avis:  Avis is a bird, and this one is all about being uncommon

Midwest hub:  Think airport

Model’s path:  as in Project ________

Lawrence of Arabia figure:  One of a great many in the movie; not a specific actor or part

Amo, amas, I love _____:  Pssst, it’s a rhyme.

Hot desert wind:  2 words

10 sawbucks:  a sawbuck is $10.  Since the clue is slang, so’s the answer

Digital book file extension:  you can guess the answer because it makes sense that this would be the extension

Hit for Guy Lombardo…Jimmy Dorsey:  2 words;  has something in common with the answer to 16-Across

Gershwin opera heroine:  Title character along with her love

Like much folklore:  Well, it ain’t found in books

Things that lead to mergers?:  (In case you didn’t know:  Question marks indicate puns / plays-on-words) Don’t think business or marriage.

Billy Blanks fitness systems: 2 words, but neither is a word in English

Big theme hint:  Each set of circles forms a word starting at the 12:00 spot if it were a watch face & proceeding clockwise.

Theme:  23-across + 51-across –   presidential order signed Jan. 1, 1863.   All you need to do is think about what was going on at the time in history.  (which is tied, obviously, to 18-across, etc.)  In this puzzle, I’d definitely suggest trying to get as many of the paired clues as early in the puzzle as you can.  Many are easy to figure out and this will help with some of the tougher clue/answer combos that cross the long answers.

Disclosure to a loan applicant:  Take note that it’s to not from the applicant, so not SSN but…

Acquired with little or no effort:  2 words

TV’s Sue _____ Langdon:  She must have watched too much TV to spell her middle name rite.

“Holy Toledo” & “It’s f-f-freezing”:  Remember that clues in quotes generally mean answers that one hears or says, but may not be real words.

Rickover known as the father of the navy:  I wonder if his naval career was spawned by the teasing he got in school about his first name!

For those who find the NYT early week puzzles a piece of cake, Brandan Emmett Quigley offers up a challenging puzzle each Monday.  Quigley likes to use a couple current pop/rap/sports figures that can drive us old fogeys nuts, but c’est la vie.  Quigley sometimes will violate the “can you talk about it over Sunday morning breakfast with the the whole family” test of propriety, but I like that little bit of spice.  Here’s the link to his site.

Here are some hints for this Monday’s puzzle (themeless):

Britpop band with the album “13”:  It’s all hazy to me, and it’s not even New Year’s Eve yet!

Ungulate that hums:  No ungulate isn’t the thing in your throat, nor some sea creature like a clam.   In fact, a sea creature would have to go a long way to reach this ungulate.  (I like that word.  I think I’m going to start using “ungulate” as a verb every now and then, just to see if anyone’s paying attention.  Truth is, though, I know everyone’s stopped paying attention to what I say many years ago!)

Talk, finally:  3 words.  It includes ratting on somebody, but is more general than that.

Elate:  also 3 words.

E.M. Forster book whose title came for “Leaves of Grass”:  Thank goodness Emmett added the Leaves of Grass hint.  Not.  I thought Leaves of Grass was about New England.  The E.M. Forster book’s about England, in a sense, though not in England.

First AFL team to beat an NFL team:  Nope, NY Jets doesn’t fit.  If you know any teams, just try seeing which ones fit the length you need here.

If Sam Goldwyn…:  Never heard of this person, and the rhyme doesn’t give any help.  Have to get the down crosses.

Speaking of which, the answer to Numbness is 2 words and isn’t a precise parallel grammatically.

It has many picture frames:  Think cels.

Theme hints:

This is one where there’s a “key clue.”   There isn’t one in every themed xword, but it’s a good idea to scan all the clues quickly to see if there’s one that ties the rest together.  Understand also that you may not “get” that special clue until you’ve put in most or all of the other long answers.  That’s especially true here, since the clue itself doesn’t tell you much of anything immediately.

The “key clue” is especially important here because it tells you that only the across clues are involved in the theme, not the long down clues.

By the way, once I’d solved it, I still had some doubts about the “and figuratively” part of the clue.  It seemed partially true, not entirely.  The answers to 17-, 30- and 45-Across are definitely literally what the answer to 60-Across says they are.

Specific hints:

Barbershop floor sweepings:  Remember that not all plurals in S.

Letter before omega:  Omega is actually the last letter of the Greek alphabet.  ‘course that doesn’t tell you what comes before it.   It isn’t what you’d expect if you’re thinking of the English alphabet.

Genre for Andy Warhol:  Sounds like something that your kids toast for breakfast.

I can’t take any more:  3 words, but don’t get ripped up about it!

Carved Idol:  2 words, but don’t go worshipping it!

Theme:  Puns involving “Plus Ten.”

In case you didn’t know:  Always pay close attention to the title of the Sunday puzzle.   If you see the long clues are puns (indicated by the question mark at the end)  you’ll most likely need to get several shorter clues that cross the long answers in order to have a decent shot at solving them.  In most cases, the answers are literally what the clue says, but a much more common short phrase is discovered if you apply some rule to each.  When I see plus ten, I immediately wonder if it’s arithmetical or if the letters TEN are added into the answer.  Well, it’s not that, but it is something quite similar.

I’d suggest trying to get as many down clues that cross Champion model maker at the county fair?  (or it could be at a Science Fair just as easily).  Once you see how the more common phrase is turned into the phrase that fits the clue, you’ll have a useful hint to solving the other long clues.

Musical composition about a lumberjack’s seat:  Well, it might be the lumberjack’s seat before or after cutting down a tree, but not while cutting it down.

And there’s one clue/answer combo that could fit the pattern:   Take 21-down, Pope Agatho’s successor.  Let’s start with this:  It’s a short name followed by two roman numerals.  Suppose it was Pope Agatho’s Hawaiian successor?  (With the question mark as part of the clue.)  Well, it doesn’t exactly work, but might give you an idea of what’s going on in the theme of this puzzle.

Need another theme hint?  At the bottom of this page you’ll find a final theme hint.

Non-theme clues:

Elusive African animal:  Well, I can’t give a hint without giving it away, but, for future reference this animal and the ELAND may be elusive in reality but are very common in crosswords.

Dr. ____ : Two three-letter doctors are very popular in xwords.   One’s a wrapper, the other’s the lead role in a long-running English sci-fi series.

Don’t Nobody Bring Me No Bad News musical:  Rhymes with the nickname of another Broadway smash hit recently made into a movie

Logical start? :  The question mark here tells you it’s a prefix.

Hops dryer:  KILNs are used this purpose in pottery.  Another answer worth storing in your mind for future reference.  It’s an anagram of a cereal cereal.

Equilibria:  As in more than one equilibrium

Grilled cheese sandwich go-with:  Note there’s not “?””  This is not a theme answer and just a straight 2-word answer.

El _____ :  Lots of things can follow El.  In this case, it’s a place.

Singer Falana and others:  Well, here’s a case where it should be safe to end it with an S.

Heavy-duty protection:  Think dinosaurs, particularly Ankylosaurs if you know what the heck they are.

Eponymous Italian city:  Have you ever heard someone use the word “eponymous” in a sentence?  No, I haven’t either, but often first albums are, literally, eponymous, if that’s any help.

Final theme hint:

Remember that, in xword-puzzle-land, sometimes what looks like a letter can also be a number.

Ok, it’s Saturday.  So no theme, no gimmes, at least one long clue that you don’t know.  So how ’bout some hints?

Sports org. of 1967-76:  It’s maybe the most commonly known league that got absorbed, along with some of it’s rules, into a current profession sports org.

Word of logic:  Boolean logic, that is

Bygone theory of astronomy:  Well, Copernicus sure set him straight!  Besides he even spells his name funny.  And he wasn’t even from Brno or one of those other places that hate vowels.

Blanket:  Think covering a lot, but not necessarily keeping you warm at night.

Hideous one:  It might help you to know that this is a kind of weak answer.  I don’t think anyone ever actually refers to someone who’s hideous using this word

Obituary word:  Not just obituaries use this word in announcing events in the newspaper

“Ugly Betty” actress:  A lot more famous for her exploits on something other than the silver screen

One-seat carriage:  Or what if a slap-stick actor married the world’s oldest comedian.