Donnerstag

Hot on the heels of last Saturday's NYT, Will Nediger's got another themeless puzzle, the "Themeless Thursday" in the Sun. Plenty of lively phrases (BOOZE UP, NO WAY JOSE, GUMMY WORM, HA HA HA HA), words (WEIRDOS, SPOOFED, MONKEYS), and clues ("Governor after Gray" = ARNOLD Schwarzenegger, "space neighbor" = ALT key), plus assorted X's, Z's, and J's. Well done, Will.

Ethan Cooper MUSCLES through the NYT with an impressive 65-letter theme featuring a muscle TEAR, CRAMP, PULL, and STRAIN. For a little extra oomph, there's also a mini-theme with ARAB, SAUD, IMAM, and RABAT.

NYS 5:48
NYT 4:00
LAT 3:36
CS 3:30