MONDAY PUZZLE — Philip K. Chow, a civil engineer in New York City, makes his New York Times Crossword debut with a puzzle that taught me something that I did not know. You can’t ask for much more than that, except maybe for a puzzle made of dark chocolate. An olla podrida is a stew with meat, vegetables and beans. If you are an expert in crosswordese, you know that the word olla means “stew pot,” which may have gotten you at least halfway there. This may or may not be tricky for some solvers, but I just want to put this out there: Isn’t SPELUNK one of the most glorious-sounding words ever?

Source: International New York Times March 14, 2021 21:56 UTC