NY Times Crossword

April 12, 2026

Lance Enfinger and John Kugelman

INITIAL THOUGHTS

 

The capital letters starting the clues below are the initials of the words in their answers. For example, Clue 1 begins with HOT - and the answer is Helen Of Troy. 

 

1. HOT woman worth fighting for

 

2. GOT in the ballpark

 

3. BOB Dylan album title

 

4. MOB wives 

 

5. SOAP film

 

6. KID napper's demand

 

7. THE big poker game 

 

Answers:

 

1. Helen Of Troy

2. Give Or Take

3. Blonde On Blonde

4. Mail Order Brides

5. Snakes On A Plane

6. Keep It Down

7. Texas Hold 'Em  

 

 

ACRONYMS - Old and New

POTUS (President of the United States) and SCOTUS (Supreme Court of the United States) are the two oldest recognized acronyms in English. They were first used by telegraph operators in the 1870s. A more modern companion to POTUS is FLOTUS (First Lady of the United States) referring to the President's wife.

Texting, the Internet, social media, and even medical advances have spawned hundreds, if not thousands, of acronyms, abbreviations, and initialisms.  

Can you identify these?

1. IMO / IMHO

2. FWIW

3. BTW

4. GMO

5. WIP

6. WiFi

7. CT Scan

8. MRI 

9. PDA 

10. YAHOO

11. PICNIC 

12. BIPOC

13. RAP (RAP sheet) 

Answers:

1. In my opinion / In my humble opinion

2. For what it's worth

3. By the way

4. Genetically modified organism

5. Work in progress

6. Wireless Fidelity

7. Computed Tomography

8. Magnetic Resonance Imaging

9. Personal Digital Assistant or Public Display of Affection

10. Yet Another Hierarchically Organized Oracle 

11. Problem In Chair Not In Computer

12. Black, Indigenous, People of Color 

13. Record of Arrests and Prosecutions 

 

 

GAMES/World of Puzzles

February, 2024

Todd Kreisman

LETTERS OF INTENT

 

Each of the clues below is pointing you to a different well-known acronym or initialism. Additionally each acronym or initialism appears somewhere within the clue itself. For example, the clue, Particularly sensitive area of a hospital, would be answered by ICU - as found in particularly. 

1. May be used when one has a pressing deadline

2. Something one might see during a trip to the cemetery

 

3. Used when typing in your secret code

 

4. If you're driving, you car will have one of these

 

5. How all that temporary data gets crammed into your computer

 

6. Agency that helps keep you safe, mainly during disasters

 

7. Agency you become familiar with after you get your first job

 

Answers:

 

1. ASAP (has a pressing) 

2. RIP (trip to)

3. PIN (typing)

4. VIN (driving)

5. RAM (crammed)

6. FEMA (safe, mainly)

7. IRS (first job)

 

 

KISS (not the band)

The acronym KISS popularly stands for Keep It Simple, Stupid - implying that the person being spoken to is stupid (hopefully in a fun way). But the original acronym had no comma. It was coined by Kelly Johnson, lead engineer at the Lockheed Skunk Works. The origins of the acronym are in designing something so simple-stupid that it could be fixed in the field, with minimal tools, under combat conditions. The KISS principle states that most systems work best if they are kept simple rather than made complicated; therefore simplicity should be a key goal in design, and that unnecessary complexity should be avoided.

A AS IN ACRONYM

GAMES/World of Puzzles

December, 2020

Beverley Byer 

Name the word the designated letter stands for in the following acronyms. Then give the complete acronym. 

1. A in SALT

2. B in BASE

3. C in SCOTUS

4. D in DINK

5. E in LEM

6. F in ALF

7. G in GIGO

8. H in MASH

9. I in UNICEF

10. J in

11. K in SWAK

12. L in AWOL

13. M in MADD

14. N in NAFTA

15. O in OPEC

16. P in POTUS

17. Q in FAQ

18. R in CARE

19. S in NASCAR

20. T in EPCOT

21. U in SCUBA

22. V in VIN

23. W in WAC

24. X in

25. Y in NIMBY

26 Z in PZEV

Answers:

 

1. ARMS (Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty)

2. BUILDING (Building Antenna Span Earth)

3. COURT  (Supreme Court of the United States)

4. DOUBLE (Double Income No Kids)

5. EXCURSION (Lunar Excursion Module)

6. FORM (Alien Life Form)

7. GARBAGE (Garbage In Garbage Out)

8. HOSPITAL  (Mobil Army Surgical Hospital)

9. INTERNATIONAL (United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund)

10. J

11. KISS (Sealed With A Kiss)

12. LEAVE (Absent WithOut Leave) 

13. MOTHERS ( Mothers Against Drunk Driving)

14. NORTH (North America Free Trade Agreement)

15. ORGANIZATION (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries) 

16. PRESIDENT (President of the United States)

17. QUESTIONS (Frequently Asked Questions)

18. RELIEF (Cooperative for American Relief Everywhere)

19. STOCK (National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing)

20. TOMORROW (Experimental Prototype Community Of Tomorrow)

21. UNDERWATER (Self Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus) 

22. VEHICLE (Vehicle Identification Number)

23. WOMEN'S (Women's Army Corps)

24.  X

25. YARD (Not In My BackYard)

26. ZERO (Partial Zero Emissions Vehicle)

NEW (to me) ACRONYMS

1. ROMEO - Retired Old Man (Men) Eating Out 

2. PHAT - Pretty Hot And Thick - originally referred to a full musical sound, but now means "excellent" 

3. EGOT - Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony

 

4. GOAT - Greatest Of All Time

 

5. SETI - Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence

6. PICNIC - Problem In Chair Not In Computer

7. WYSIWYG - What You See Is What You Get

    (pronounced: wiz-ee-wig)

OH, POOH
From The Enigma
NPL Magazine
July, 2017
NEXT LINGO

The two missing words in this flat can be answered with an acronym and its anagram  - in that order.

Obama often smiled,
Other presidents too;
But our current _ _ _ _ _   _ _ _ _ _

Answer:

POTUS (President Of The United States)
POUTS

BASE JUMPING

BASE jumping is an extreme, often illegal, sport involving jumping from a fixed structure using parachutes or wingsuits. It was originally written as B.A.S.E. Jumping, but has morphed into the current acronym BASE.

B - Building
A - Antenna
S - Span
E - Earth (cliff)

21st CENTURY ACRONYMS

1. What's a YUPPIE?

2. What do yuppies turn into when they have children and one of them stops working to stay home with the kids?

3. What is the acronym follow-up to the question, "Why are you spending all your money?"

Answers:

1. YUPpie - Young Urban Professional or
                     Young Upwardly-Mobile Professional
 
2. SITCOMs - Single Income, Two Children, Oppressive Mortgage

3. YOLO - You only live once.

ACRONYMS

How many of the following acronyms or initialisms can you identify? [You can pronounce an acroynym (SCUBA), but not an initialism (GPS). Some acronyms, by convention, are not pronounced, even though they could be (GI).]

1. SWAK
2. SWAT
3. GED
4. IPO
5. SRO
6. CRT
7. GI
8. NEA
9. RBI
10. SLR
11. FYI
12. DIY
13. HRH
14. NSF
15. WMD
16. OTC
17. FOMO
18. HMS
19. AARP
20. ERA

Answers:

1. Sealed With A Kiss
2. Special Weapons And Tactics
3. General Education Diploma
4. Initial Public Offering
5. Standing Room Only
6. Cathode Ray Tube
7. General Issue
8. National Endowment for the Arts
9. Runs Batted In
10. Single Lens Reflex
11. For Your Information
12. Do It Yourself
13. His/Her Royal Highness
14. National Science Foundation
15. Weapons of Mass Destruction
16. Over The Counter
17. Fear Of Missing Out
18. His/Her Majesty's Ship
19. American Association of Retired Persons
20. Equal Rights Amendment or Earned Run Average 


Credit: NY Times Crossword
February 3, 2015
Joe Krozel

A -  AS IN ACRONYM
Credit: GAMES Magazine
March, 2013
Beverley Byer

An acronym is a (pronounceable) word formed by taking the first letters of the words in a phrase. How many of these acronyms can you identify?

1. SALT
2. DINK
3. LEM
4. ALF
5. GIGO
6. SWAK
7. AMEX
8. MASH
9. UNICEF
10. NASDAQ

Answers:

1. Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty
2. Double Income No Kids
3. Lunar Excursion Module
4. Alien Life Form
5. Garbage In Garbage Out
6. Sealed With A Kiss
7. AMerican EXchange 
8. Mobile Army Surgical Hospital
9. United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund
10. National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations

SHAZAM

SHAZAM is an acronym. What does each letter stand for?

Answer:

Solomon, Hercules, Atlas, Zeus, Achilles, Mercury

ACRONYMS

An acronym is a word formed by taking the first letters of the words in a phrase. It has to be pronounceable - that is, it must contain at least one vowel. NFL (National Football League) is an abbreviation, not an acronym. How many of these acronyms can you identify?

1. SCUBA

2. NASA

3. RADAR

4. LASER

5. ZIP

6. NIMBY

7. HOMES

8. NATO

9. NASCAR

10. ASCAP

11. SWAT

12. AWOL

13. OPEC

14. MADD

15. EPCOT

16. COLA

17. UNESCO 

18. TASER

Answers:

1. Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus

2. National Aeronautic and Space Administration

3. Radio Assisted Detecting and Ranging

4. Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation

5. Zone Improvement Program

6. Not In My Backyard

7. Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, Superior

8. North American Treaty Organization

9. National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing

10. American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers

11. Special Weapons and Tactics

12. Absent WithOut Leave

13. Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries

14. Mothers Against Drunk Driving

15. Experimental Prototype Community Of Tomorrow

16. Cost of Living Allowance

17. United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization 

18. Tom A. Swift Electric Rifle