Monday, March 30, 2026 |

BEQ tk (Eric) rate it
LAT tk (Stella) rate it
NYT 3:41 (Sophia) [3.67 avg; 3 ratings] rate it
The New Yorker tk (Amy) rate it
Universal tk (pannonica) rate it
USA Today tk (?) rate it
WSJ tk (Jim Q) rate it

Gary Cee’s New York Times Crossword — Sophia’s Review

Theme: Each theme answer ends with something that could be BACKED UP, in different ways

New York Times, 03 30 2026, By Gary Cee

• 17a [Endless TikTok scrolling or Tetris playing, e.g.] – TIME SINK
• 20a [Wastebasket, jokingly] – CIRCULAR FILE
• 38a [Illegal distribution of narcotics] – DRUG TRAFFIC
• 59a [Where to pick up luggage at an airport] – BAGGAGE CLAIM
• 64a [Went into reverse … or what the ends of 17-, 20-, 38- and 59-Across might be] – BACKED UP

I’m impressed with the number of different meanings of BACKED UP that this puzzle showcases, along with the how each of the theme answers changes the meaning of their “backed up” word. A sink or traffic can be literally backed up, a file can be backed up onto, say, another hard drive or to the cloud, and a claim can be backed up by another person. In terms of the answers themselves, TIME SINK was my favorite. I’m not familiar with the phrase CIRCULAR FILE and needed nearly every cross to get it – is this a joke that other folks have heard before?

I thought all the long fill in today’s puzzle was well-chosen – INSIDE SCOOP, DEAD WEIGHT, LANCELOT, and I liked the shout-out to the ALL-BLACK cast of The Wiz, a show I saw for the first time last month when the touring production was in Seattle. There isn’t a ton to call out about the shorter fill, although I was impressed with the smoothness of the larger corners in the NE/SW sections of the puzzle (although MCI slowed me down a bit). ONE SEED is also appropriate given that we’re in the middle of March Madness now!

Happy Monday all!