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May 10, 2026 
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In their constructor notes for this puzzle, Adam Wagner and Rachel Fabi said “Not only was this puzzle incredibly fun to clue — it was also a blast to title. There were SO MANY good options.” Tackle this unusually shaped grid and tell us how you did in the Wordplay column.
Puzzles You May Have Missed
Three of the 30 greatest living American songwriters made Bonus Minis that we published this past week. They’re free for everyone, and you can solve them below.
Crossplay Tip
Consider making plays that run parallel to existing plays: Playing words that “overlap,” or run parallel to each other, nets you not only the points from the main word you’ve made, but also from the shorter words you’ve made in the perpendicular direction. If your play includes a high-point tile on a triple letter score, you can score six times that tile’s value. A 5-point W can net you 30 points on its own, and a 10-point J can net you as many as 60!
Connections Quandary
Here’s the hardest category from Monday, May 4. What connects these four things? See the answer in the P.S.
Strands
Last week’s hardest Strands puzzle was GO RIGHT AHEAD, from Thursday, May 7 — 79.63 percent of solvers were able to complete it.
Last week’s easiest Strands puzzle was GET UP! from Tuesday, May 5 — 92.31 percent of solvers were able to complete it.
Strands puzzles last week — from May 1 to 7 — were nearly equal in difficulty compared to those from the week before.
Wordle Weekly Recap
Hardest word: PUFFY, from Sunday, May 3.
Average guesses: 4.55, with 12.21 percent of players solving in three or fewer.
Easiest word: PLUME, from Friday, May 1.
Average guesses: 3.81, with 40.23 percent of players solving in three or fewer.
The Wordle answers last week — from May 1 to 7 — were a bit easier than those from the week before.
Spelling Bee Hive
Overall, the Spelling Bee hives last week — from May 1 to 7 — were much easier than those from the week before. Of our subscribers who played last week, 42.37 percent hit Genius at least once.
Last week’s hardest puzzle: Friday, May 1, had the hardest pangram, with only 26.39 percent of users finding it.
Friday’s pangram: CHILDLIKE
Letter set: L C D E H I K
Relax With Us
It’s my favorite time of year — Tony Awards season! The nominations were announced last week, and personally I’m thrilled to see “Titaníque” and “Cats: The Jellicle Ball” get nods. So I’ll spend several hours this weekend in yet another YouTube rabbit hole enjoying Tony performances from years past. There’s something for everyone. You’ve got elaborate opening numbers, and performances that defy gravity and where anything goes. Watch “Spring Awakening,” “Rent” and “In the Heights” and marvel at how young everyone was. You want “Rose’s Turn”? Take your pick — Bernadette! Audra! (Patti did “Everything’s Coming Up Roses,” if you recall.) Oh, do you want more Bernadette? This one makes me cry every time. Do you want to keep crying? Here, have Raúl Esparza singing “Being Alive!” And there’s nothing more thrilling than revisiting Jennifer Holliday’s 1982 performance of “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going“ from “Dreamgirls.” Which are your favorite Tony performances? Let me know — I’d love to add to my playlist.
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 terms that start with familiar names for kinds of dogs.
