Solve the Sunday Crossword
In his print introduction for today’s puzzle, Will Shortz wrote: “Jill Singer is a filmmaker in Lexington, Mass., working on media for history museums. She and her colleagues recently completed a series of short films and exhibits for the new Museum of Utah. This is Jill’s third crossword for The Times. “Like most people, I haven’t used this puzzle’s subject in years,” she says, ‘But as someone interested in both history and language, this seemed like a fitting way to say goodbye.’” Read more about today’s puzzle in the Wordplay column. All three crosswords are free this weekYou have access to every new crossword puzzle through the end of the day. Whether you have a few seconds or 60 minutes, there’s a puzzle for everyone. Start solving today.
Puzzles You May Have MissedOn Wednesday, Aug. 19, seven of our puzzles shared a common theme. Solve them now to see if you can figure it out:
Crossplay Tip
Make plays that support a winning strategy: When you’re far behind, try to ensure that there are many places on the board to score well. Try not to block places where sweeps might fit, and be more aggressive than usual in making bonus squares available. However, when you’re far ahead, try to ensure that it’s difficult for your opponent to score and make sweeps, even though you’re also making it hard for yourself to score. If nobody scores much, you win!
Play Crossplay.
Connections QuandaryHere’s the hardest category from Sunday, Aug. 16. What connects these four things? See the answer in the P.S.
Solve today’s Connections puzzle.
StrandsLast week’s hardest Strands puzzle was FOOL ME ONCE …, from Tuesday, Aug. 18 — 84.48 percent of solvers were able to complete it. Last week’s easiest Strands puzzle was ON A BENDER, from Monday, Aug. 17 — 92.14 percent of solvers were able to complete it. Strands puzzles last week — from Aug. 14 to 20 — were a bit easier than those from the week before.
Solve today’s Strands puzzle.
Wordle Weekly RecapHardest word: GEODE, from Friday, Aug. 14. Average guesses: 4.46, with 15.24 percent of players solving in three or fewer. Easiest word: STRIP, from Tuesday, Aug. 18. Average guesses: 3.51, with 54.24 percent of players solving in three or fewer. The Wordle answers last week — from Aug. 14 to 20 — were easier than those from the week before.
Solve today’s Wordle.
Spelling Bee HiveOverall, the Spelling Bee hives last week — from Aug. 14 to 20 — were much easier than those from the week before. Of our subscribers who played last week, 43.89 percent hit Genius at least once. Last week’s hardest puzzle: Tuesday, Aug. 18 had the hardest pangrams, with only 23.71 percent of users finding at least one. Tuesday’s pangrams: HEADBANG, HEADBANGED Letter set: B A D E G H N
Solve today’s Spelling Bee.
Relax With Us
A.I. slop is taking over my algorithm. Every morning, I open the Reels tab and scroll, shamefully feeding my craving for nonsense: A man professes his love to me in Turkish with state-of-the-art C.G.I. transitions; a woman cuts up potatoes that come to life and dance; and someone’s uncle wishes me happy birthday before morphing into an insect and flying away. So on Tuesday, when I discovered “Niu Lai,” a microbudget animated film from China, I was pleased to learn that it is A.I.-free. The name of the film translates to “The Bull is Coming” or “The Arrival of the Ox.” It follows a timid calf, who’s learning to walk, through a bizarre dream sequence. If I could describe the film’s vibe in three words, they would be “eerie,” “janky” and “confused” — it’s exactly what I’m looking for in a film. “Niu Lai” was made for people like me. Some critics have said it is one of the worst animated films ever made. Its dragging, aimless plot left me with more questions than answers. But “Niu Lai,” in its 86-minute entirety, was completely hand crafted by a mother-and-son duo over the course of five years: directing, 3-D modeling, animation, editing, voice acting, writing and music composition. The film’s budget was so small (some sources say $200) that local Chinese theater employees had to hand draw the posters to advertise it. Before it went viral, “Niu Lai” shrank to screening at only four theaters in the country from an initial 245, because of poor ticket sales. Now with millions in sales on its way to becoming one of the most profitable films in history. This weekend, I hope you join me in spreading the good word of “Niu Lai.” “It’s become a kind of performance art, where everyone participates,” said Yifan Gu, a filmmaker who hosted a sold out, unsanctioned screening of the film in San Francisco, told The San Francisco Chronicle. For every $10 in sales, Gu vows to buy a ticket online for the movie at a Chinese theater, so that profits go to its creators’ pockets. “You can feel the connection between this film and the real relationship between the mother and the son,” Gu said. “People feel touched, actually.”
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