Sunday, May 3, 2026 |

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Mark Diehl’s New York Times crossword, “What Are the Odds?” — Nate’s write-up

05.03.2026 Sunday New York Times Crossword

23A: PLASTIC SHEETS [Moisture barrier supplies] (PATCHES)
26A: GIVES A DARN [23-Across, oddly?] (they help darn clothing)

35A: NO EASY TASK [A hard job] (NESTS)
40A: STICKY PADS [35-Across, oddly?] (birds’ homes, often made of sticks)

55A: BRIDGET JONES [Fictional diary writer] (BIG TOE)
60A: LOW DIGIT [55-Across, oddly?]

81A: KEN KESEY [“One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” author] (KNEE)
83A: CHILD SUPPORT [81-Across, oddly?]

99A: BARBARIANS [Conan and others] (BRAIN)
103: THINK PIECE [99-Across, oddly?]

114A: ACCOUNT REP [Client’s sales agent, in brief] (ACUTE)
118A: NOT QUITE RIGHT [114-Across, oddly?] (like an angle)

This week’s Sunday NYT crossword has us playing the odds – in that the odd (every other) letters of each themer spell a new word or phrase, which is then pun-nily clued in a follow-up entry. Neat idea! I haven’t read the constructor’s notes yet, but I have to hope that finding BIG TOE amidst BRIDGET JONES was the seed for this puzzle – what a find!

Writing up this puzzle, it strikes me that there was a BIG TOE / KNEE / BRAIN body parts sub theme. I wonder if there was a version of this puzzle where each of the words-spelled-from-the-odd-letters fit that tighter set, though who am I to complain about NESTS coming out of NO EASY TASK.

I found this puzzle to be a largely enjoyable solve, though there were certainly some entries and crossings that were new to me. AEC / TASS / OMEARA in the top right corner stumped me for a bit, and KEN KESEY / RIESEN / SENTA in the left center was the last section to fall.  (It was anyone’s guess which vowel should go in the RIES_N / KEN K_SEY crossing, since SENTA at least had the KNEE confirmation.)  ICH / ACHT / EIN also felt like more German than I’m used to in one puzzle, and I only got YPRES and PARI from the crossings.  As always, YMMV.  If you knew a bit of German and some of those folks’ names, I bet this one was smooth sailing!

My only actual nit to pick was the clue for CHOCTAW [One of the so-called Five Civilized Tribes]. Even if that clue is historically accurate, referencing a civilized vs. not civilized classification for actual groups of human beings in 2026 did not spark joy. Here’s what Wikipedia has to say, for what it’s worth: “In the 21st century, this term has been criticized by some scholars for its ethnocentric assumptions by Anglo-Americans of what they considered civilized, but representatives of these tribes continue to meet regularly on a quarterly basis in their Inter-Tribal Council of the Five Civilized Tribes.” It would have been so easy to clue this entry in so many other CHOCTAW-celebratory ways.

How was the puzzle for you?  Let us know in the comments – and have a great weekend!