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August 9, 2026 
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In the print introduction for today’s puzzle, Will Shortz wrote: “Erik Agard, of Kansas City, Mo., is a senior puzzle editor for the Andrews McMeel Universal media company. This is his 84th crossword for The Times. Erik says his favorite thing about crosswords is constructing grids — like this themeless one that he packed with fresh vocabulary — and writing ‘really tricky clues that misdirect.’ Some of my favorite Erik originals here are 62-Across and 21-, 32- and 54-Down.”
Puzzles You May Have Missed
Crossplay Tip
Limit your opponent’s extra turn advantage: If you cannot empty the bag but expect your opponent will be able to after your turn, it is often good practice to make a longer play and leave as few tiles in the bag as possible. Doing so gives your opponent access to fewer total tiles than they would have if you had made a shorter play. As a result, even though the opponent nets an extra turn, the firepower of that turn may be dampened because having fewer tiles shrinks the set of possible plays.
Connections Quandary
Here’s the hardest category from Thursday, Aug. 6. What connects these four things? See the answer in the P.S.
Strands
Last week’s hardest Strands puzzle was STAYING HEALTHY, from Tuesday, Aug. 4 — 81.89 percent of solvers were able to complete it.
Last week’s easiest Strands puzzle was ALL THINGS CONSIDERED, from Wednesday, Aug. 5 — 88.64 percent of solvers were able to complete it.
Strands puzzles last week — from July 31 to Aug. 6 — were a little harder than those from the week before.
Wordle Weekly Recap
Hardest word: SLUSH, from Saturday, Aug. 1.
Average guesses: 4.45, with 17.65 percent of players solving in three or fewer.
Easiest word: POSIT, from Wednesday, Aug. 5.
Average guesses: 3.79, with 40.88 percent of players solving in three or fewer.
The Wordle answers last week — from July 31 to Aug. 6 — were roughly equal in difficulty compared with those from the week before.
Spelling Bee Hive
Overall, the Spelling Bee hives last week — from July 31 to Aug. 6 — were roughly equal in difficulty compared with those from the week before. Of our subscribers who played last week, 34.92 percent hit Genius at least once.
Last week’s hardest puzzle: Saturday, Aug. 1 had the hardest pangram, with only 19.92 percent of users finding it.
Saturday’s pangram: BRICKBAT
Letter set: R A B C I K T
Relax With Us
Many writers and artists are familiar with the fear of the blank page, the daunting prospect of starting a new creative project or conjuring an original idea from scratch. When staring down the yawning void of a barren notebook sheet and finding nothing to fill it with, it’s easy to feel discouraged. But a writing instructor once taught me a simple technique that remedies this creative block, one that I’ve also found to be oddly relaxing: taking a line for a walk. Originated by Paul Klee in his Pedagogical Sketchbook, taking a line for a walk is exactly what it sounds like: Draw a line anywhere on the page and let it wander across the sheet, twisting and curling if you so choose, going wherever your hand takes it. Soon, the mind starts to drift; latent thoughts and associations emerge. You enter a more relaxed, creative head space, one unburdened with the pressure of finding the perfect idea. Maybe visual inspiration emerges from the random crisscrossings of the line, maybe not. What matters is that your mind is primed, and your page is no longer empty.
How are we doing?
We’d love your feedback on this newsletter. Please email thoughts and suggestions to crosswordeditors@nytimes.com.
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P.S. The answer to the Connections Quandary is that they are all places with nets.
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