{"id":222312,"date":"2026-05-06T19:08:10","date_gmt":"2026-05-06T19:08:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/222312\/"},"modified":"2026-05-06T19:08:10","modified_gmt":"2026-05-06T19:08:10","slug":"jeff-tweedy-wrote-a-new-york-times-crossword-puzzle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/222312\/","title":{"rendered":"Jeff Tweedy Wrote a New York Times Crossword Puzzle"},"content":{"rendered":"

Wilco<\/a> frontman and noted crossword aficionado<\/a> Jeff<\/a> ______ (6 letters; like a popular suiting fabric) has written the New York Times\u2019 monthly bonus crossword<\/a> for May. The grid\u2019s theme is \u201cMy Life Was Saved by Rock \u2019N\u2019 Roll,\u201d with answers that reference songs by both Lou Reed<\/a> and the Velvet Underground<\/a>, as well as several other CBGB icons. Tweedy even snuck in a callback to Yankee Hotel Foxtrot<\/a> with a clue about the NATO alphabet (a Times crossword staple). If you have a New York Times Games subscription, you can play Tweedy\u2019s puzzle here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m a pretty massive crossword puzzle nut, and I have been for a very very long time,\u201d Tweedy wrote in a post<\/a> on his Substack newsletter, Starship Casual<\/a>. \u201cAs an addict, you have to remind yourself that you\u2019re still an addict, even when you\u2019re aren\u2019t doing things that are terrible for you. Crossword puzzles are a pretty benign outlet for an addictive tendency, in my opinion.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tweedy also appeared in a brief video interview<\/a> with Times puzzle editor Christina Iverson, where he talked about the similarities between songwriting and solving a crossword: \u201cI think that putting a song together and finding the right word to express what you want to say succinctly, or with clarity\u2014that can feel like putting a puzzle together sometimes. But the difference, obviously, is that there\u2019s no right answer for a song, really, and there definitely is one for a crossword puzzle.\u201d<\/p>\n

This week, the Times tapped<\/a> Carole King, Diane Warren, and the Magnetic Fields\u2019 Merritt\u2014all of whom appear on their new list of \u201cThe 30 Greatest Living American Songwriters<\/a>\u201d\u2014to each write a five-by-five mini crossword. You can play those for free here<\/a>, here<\/a>, and here<\/a>. Tweedy didn\u2019t make it on the list, but did vote for himself on his ballot<\/a>\u2014and deservedly so!<\/p>\n