CROSSWORD - May 22, 2026

SUDOKU - May 22, 2026

CROSSWORD - May 22, 2026

SUDOKU - May 22, 2026

Find out how closely you’ve been paying attention to the latest news and other global events by putting your knowledge to the test with our Quiz of The Week.

This week’s question: A new study has identified a likely reason many people find old houses spooky: inaudible, low-frequency soundwaves emitted by aged boilers and pipes that can cause stress hormone levels to spike and produce a sensation of discomfort. In seven or fewer words, come up with a slogan for a plumbing firm that specializes in silencing those haunting sounds.

How to enter: Submissions should be emailed to contest@theweek.com. Please include your name, address, and daytime telephone number for verification; this week, please type "Haunted plumber” in the subject line. Entries are due by noon, Eastern Time, Tuesday, May 12. Winners will appear on the Puzzle Page of the May 22 issue and at theweek.com/contest by May 15. In the case of identical or similar entries, the first one received gets credit. All entries become property of The Week.

The winner gets a one-year subscription to The Week.

Click or tap here to see the winner of last week's contest: Redheads research

CROSSWORD - May 15, 2026

SUDOKU - May 15, 2026

CROSSWORD - May 15, 2026

SUDOKU - May 15, 2026

Find out how closely you’ve been paying attention to the latest news and other global events by putting your knowledge to the test with our Quiz of The Week.

This week’s question: A Harvard study of ancient and modern human DNA has found that Homo sapiens are still evolving, and that natural selection seems to favor the red hair gene. If a researcher were to write a scientific paper explaining the evolutionary triumph of redheads, what should it be titled?

RESULTS:

THE WINNER: “The Scarlet Better”

Joe Malone, Cohoes, N.Y.

SECOND PLACE: “The Red Planet”

Janine Witte, Doylestown, Pa. 

THIRD PLACE: “Fire and Reign”

Mary Jo Astrachan, Oneida, N.Y.

 HONORABLE MENTIONS:

 “Crimson Tide”

Jesse Rifkin, Arlington, Va.

“Better Red Than Dead”

Sarah Medley, Arlington, Va.

“Red Dawn”

Kevin McDonnell, Harriman N.Y.

“Ginger Bred”

Rick Torrence, The Village, Okla.

“The Orange Revolution”

Erica Avery, Greenfield, Mass.

“Better Off Red”

Ken Kellam III, Dallas

Click or tap here to see the winner of last week's contest: Senior Gaming

CROSSWORD - May 8, 2026

SUDOKU - May 8, 2026

CROSSWORD - May 8, 2026

SUDOKU - May 8, 2026

Find out how closely you’ve been paying attention to the latest news and other global events by putting your knowledge to the test with our Quiz of The Week.

Ohio police entered the home of a 91-year-old woman who’d failed to answer multiple check-in calls, only to find her engrossed in a video game and trying to beat her previous high score. If this nonagenarian were to write a book about the joy of late-in-life gaming, what should it be titled?

RESULTS:

THE WINNER: “The Old Woman and the Wii”

Raven Deerwater, Mendocino, Calif.

SECOND PLACE: “Going for Bonus Lives”

Lucinda Cross, Houston

THIRD PLACE: “Immortal Kombat”

Joel Nelson, Goleta, Calif.

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

“Gran Theft Auto”

Jesse Rifkin, Arlington, Va.

“Shawl of Duty”

John Parry, Eldersburg, Md.

“Aunt Candy, Crushing It”

Ken Kellam III, Dallas

“Duty Doesn't Stop Calling”

Len Rosen, Wilmington, Del.

“Late In the Game”

Lidia Zidik, Reading, Pa.

“Tell Them Nana Will Visit in a Fortnite”

John Bregoli, Weymouth, Mass.

“I’m as Young as My Avatar”

Daniel Hicks, Randolph, Mass,

“Eat, Play, Score!”

Gary Greene, Greenfield, Mass.

“Keeping Your Mind Crafted”

Marcia Murphy, Burlington, Mass.

“Superannuated Mario”

Jim Riedy, Estero, Fla.

Click or tap here to see the winner of last week's contest: Snake fasting

CROSSWORD - May 1, 2026

SUDOKU - May 1, 2026

CROSSWORD - May 1, 2026

SUDOKU - May 1, 2026

Find out how closely you’ve been paying attention to the latest news and other global events by putting your knowledge to the test with our Quiz of The Week.

A Burmese python can devour a whole antelope and then go on an 18-month fast thanks to a special molecule in its blood, a new study has found. If researchers were to create a snake-derived drug that gives humans the same feast-and-fast ability, what name should they give the medicine?

RESULTS:

 THE WINNER: BoaZempic

Daniel Burstein, Jacksonville, Fla.

SECOND PLACE: SSSatiated

Yvon Jensen, Georgetown, Texas

THIRD PLACE: Wegulpy

Nathan Gonik, Southfield, Mich.

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

Constrictin

Lisa Asche, Ellwood City, Pa.

GULP-1

Erica Avery, Greenfield, Mass.

Viperdin

Guy Rusiski, Pittsburgh

Engorgeous

Paul Kim, Orono, Maine

Shed

Emma Strickland, New York City

Slytherthin

Larry Rifkin, Glastonbury, Conn.

oZOOmpic

Patty Oberhausen, Fort Wayne, Ind.

Scale Down

Lidia Zidik, Reading, Pa.

HissyFeast

Skip Flanagan, Roseville, Calif.

Scarfitall

Troup Miller, Austin

Click or tap here to see the winner of last week's contest: Scream slogan

CROSSWORD - April 24, 2026

SUDOKU - April 24, 2026

CROSSWORD - April 24, 2026

SUDOKU - April 24, 2026

Find out how closely you’ve been paying attention to the latest news and other global events by putting your knowledge to the test with our Quiz of The Week.

Nearly 20 so-called scream clubs have opened across the U.S. over the past year, enabling club members to get together at outdoor spots and shriek out their various frustrations. In seven words or fewer, come up with a snappy advertising slogan for a club recruitment poster.

RESULTS:

THE WINNER: Shriek and you shall unwind

Erica Avery, Greenfield, Mass.

SECOND PLACE: Have a yell of a good time

Bill Kypreos, Gold Bar, Wash.

THIRD PLACE: Bellow ’til you’re mellow

Moe Cougher, Olathe, Kan.

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

Shout! Shout! Knock yourself out!

Mary Jo Astrachan, Oneida, N.Y.

Be a scream player

Laurel Rose, Pittsburgh

Get your shriek on

R. Aractingi, Kearney, Mo.

Let off some scream

Valerie Kenny, Verona, N.J

Scream, too

Daniel Hicks, Randolph, Mass.

Have a wail of a time!

Kenneth Burgan, Grass Valley, Calif.

Scream the pain, stay mostly sane

Scott Arthur, East Northport, N.Y.

Join us for bellowship!

John Parry, Eldersburg, Md.

Click or tap here to see last week's contest: Spiked sheets

CROSSWORD - April 17, 2026

SUDOKU - April 17, 2026

CROSSWORD - April 17, 2026

SUDOKU - April 17, 2026

Synthetic opioids, stimulants, and other drugs are being smuggled into prisons by being soaked into thousands of pages of mundane-looking documents, letters, and photographs. What would you title a crime drama about this trade in chemically spiked paper?’

RESULTS:

THE WINNER: “CSI: Copy Room”

Richard Hogenson, Dickinson, N.C.

SECOND PLACE: “Cooked Books”

Skip Flanagan, Roseville, Calif.

THIRD PLACE: “Breaking Pad”

Margaret Koskinen, Arlington, Va.

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

“The Paper Chase”

David Hill, Minneapolis

“Plunder Mifflin”

Jesse Rifkin, Arlington, Va.

“Between the Lines”

Markie Gekas, Winnetka, Ill.

“Not Your Father’s Police Blotter”

James Pearson, Anaheim, Calif.

“The File High Club”

Josh Mehlenbeck, Herndon, Va.

“Speed Reading”

Larry Rifkin, Glastonbury, Conn.

“Paper Pusher”

Suzie Fraser, Whitesboro, N.Y.

Find out how closely you’ve been paying attention to the latest news and other global events by putting your knowledge to the test with our Quiz of The Week.

CROSSWORD - April 10, 2026

SUDOKU - April 10, 2026

CROSSWORD - April 10, 2026

SUDOKU - April 10, 2026

You have six tries to guess the five-letter word. Type in the letters and hit enter. After each guess, the colour of the tiles will change if you choose the correct letters. A green tile means the letter is in the correct spot. A peach tile means the letter is in the word but is in the wrong spot. The tile will not change colour if the letter is not in the word. Play May’s Chain Word games here.

Guess the four-digit number in six tries. Choose your number and tap enter to submit. Each tile will change to green if the digit is correct and in the right position, or orange if it is correct but in the wrong position. A dark grey tile means the digit does not appear anywhere in the number. Play May’s Guess the Number games here.

Fill the grid with numbers one to nine so that each row, column and square contains every digit exactly once. Play May’s Sudoku games here.

Find out how closely you’ve been paying attention to the latest news and other global events by putting your knowledge to the test with our Quiz of The Week.

Surveys show that while a growing number of teenagers are trying to decouple from smartphones and social media, Baby Boomers are spending more time than ever on iPads and other devices. In seven or fewer words, create a public service announcement that younger Americans could use to warn their elders about the dangers of screen addiction.

 RESULTS:

 THE WINNER: Not okay, Boomer

Laurel Rose, Pittsburgh

SECOND PLACE: Get off my LAN!

Jeff Morris, Alexandria, Va.

THIRD PLACE: Social Security, not social media

Trish Studer, Massillon, Ohio

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

 Aren’t your eyes bad enough already?

Rich Wolf, Westminster, Md.

Don’t trust anybody over 30 feet away.

Larry Hance, Barboursville, Va.

6 or 7 hours online is sus.

Doug Carasso, Seal Beach, Calif.

Get your “Face” in a “Book,” Grandma,

Lidia Zidik, Reading, Pa.

Incontinence pads, yes. iPads, no.

Mike Graves, Emporia, Kan.

Don’t scroll your feed. Roll your weed.

Peter Gordon, Great Neck, N.Y.

Screen out your screens, bruh!

Mary Jo Astrachan, Oneida, N.Y.

Use parental control.

Darrell White, Lakewood, Colo.

I learned it by watching you doomscroll.

Rebecca Burgan, Grass Valley, Calif.

Look up: Don’t ghost your own fam.

Diane Larson, Beaverton, Ore.

Just say no to Boomscrolling!

John Anderson, Winston-Salem, N.C.

You didn’t get this old by yourself.

Moe Cougher, Olathe, Kan.

CROSSWORD - April 3, 2026

SUDOKU - April 3, 2026

CROSSWORD - April 3, 2026

SUDOKU - April 3, 2026

Find out how closely you’ve been paying attention to the latest news and other global events by putting your knowledge to the test with our Quiz of The Week.

A Nigerian woman set a new Guinness World Record for the highest number counted out loud after spending 14 hours a day for 70 days counting to 1,070,000. If Favour Ogechi Ani were to write a book about her quest for numerical glory, what should she title it?

RESULTS:

 THE WINNER: “My Days Were Numbered”

Troup Miller, Austin

SECOND PLACE: “I Count”

Mark Thermansen, Portland, Ore.

THIRD PLACE: “The First Million Is Always the Hardest”

Jesse Rifkin, Arlington, Va.

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

 “Make Me a Countess”

Allan Thomson, Gordonsville, Va.

“Down for the Count”

Lidia Zidik, Reading, Pa.

“Add Nauseum”

Fayne Pearson, Newport News, Va.

“Sum Kind of Wonderful”

Ken Kellam III, Dallas

“Numb and Number”

Rick Torrence, The Village, Okla.

“Number-crushing”

Valerie Mason, Southbury, Conn.

“1,070,000 is the Loneliest Number”

Jon Eganhouse, Playa Del Rey, Calif.

“Blessing My Counts”

Mary Jo Astrachan, Oneida, N.Y.

“To Infinity and Beyond”

Patty Oberhausen, Fort Wayne, Ind.

“One is Not the Loneliest Number”

John Keefe, Mount Vernon, Wash.

“Counter Intelligence”

Bill Levine, Belmont, Mass.

“The Book of Numbers”

Kenneth Walker, Bridgeport, Ohio

“Next Goal: Doing It Backwards”

Daniel Hicks, Randolph, Mass.

CROSSWORD - March 27, 2026

SUDOKU - March 27, 2026

CROSSWORD - March 27, 2026

SUDOKU - March 27, 2026

Find out how closely you’ve been paying attention to the latest news and other global events by putting your knowledge to the test with our Quiz of The Week.

Funeral homes and spas in Japan have started offering “coffin lying,” in which people pay to relax and meditate inside an open or closed casket. If a wellness guru were to open a so-called coffin lounge in the U.S., what life-affirming name should he or she give the business?

RESULTS:

THE WINNER: Lay to Rest — Diane Ross, Hatfield, Pa.

SECOND PLACE: Close Your Lids

Jake Miller, Camp Hill, Pa.

THIRD PLACE: Cross Over Training

Kenneth Burgan, Grass Valley, Calif.

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

Rest in Peace

Tim Mistele, Coral Gables, Fla.

Live and Let Lie

Trish Studer, Massillon, Ohio

Heaven Unearthed

Suzie Fraser, Whitesboro, N.Y.

A Little Taste of Heaven

Chuck Gaston, Lititz, Pa.

Take Life Lying Down

Ken Kellam III, Dallas

Esprit de Corpse

Laurel Rose, Pittsburgh

Tombaya

Jeff Jerome, Northampton, Mass.

The DracuLounger

Joel Nelson, Goleta, Calif.

Discover Your Future

Glenn Brooks, Burien, Wash.

The Ultimate Test Drive

Daniel Hicks, Randolph, Mass.

Dead to the World

Lavinia Ycas, Boulder, Colo.

Rest in Peace (By the Hour)

Andrea Carla Michaels, San Francisco

Pine and Dandy

Larry Hance, Barboursville, Va.

CROSSWORD - March 20, 2026

SUDOKU - March 20, 2026

CROSSWORD - March 20, 2026

SUDOKU - March 20, 2026

Find out how closely you’ve been paying attention to the latest news and other global events by putting your knowledge to the test with our Quiz of The Week.

This week’s question: Inflation has pushed the price of a pint of Guinness in Ireland above 6 euros ($7.08) for the first time, a hike one lawmaker called “absolutely wild.” If an Irish folk singer were to write a ballad lamenting the increasing unaffordability of a night out at the pub, what would the song be titled?

RESULTS:

THE WINNER: “Erin Go Broke”

John Keefe, Mount Vernon, Wash.

SECOND PLACE: “O Danny Boy, the Price of Stout’s Appalling”

Carol Broderick, Bellevue, Neb.

THIRD PLACE: “Molly, a Loan?”

Rob Huffman, Fredericksburg, Va.

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

“Finnegan’s Take”

Erica Avery, Greenfield, Mass.

“Tapped Out in the Tap Room”

Kenneth Burgan, Grass Valley, Calif.

“Keg o’ My Heart, No More”

Diane Ross, Hatfield, Pa.

“House of the Rising Sum”

Tim Mistele, Coral Gables, Fla.

“‘Tis Beyond a Reasonable Stout”

Mike Cunningham, Greendale, Wis.

“Nothing Compares 2 Brew”

Laurel Rose, Pittsburgh

“An Arm, a Leg, and a Half-Empty Keg”

John Parry, Eldersburg, Md.

“Prices are Dublin”

Jesse Rifkin, Arlington, Va.

“Gotta Downscale When I Down Ale”

Rick Torrence, The Village, Okla.

“The Saddest Guinness Record of All”

Richard Houghton, Anacortes, Wash.

“I Can’t Afford to Cry in My Beer”

Alan Rosenspan, Sharon, Mass.

“When Irish Mouths are Drying”

Phil Plumley, Canal Fulton, Ohio

“My Wild Inflation Woes”

Lavinia Ycas, Boulder, Colo.

CROSSWORD - March 13, 2026

SUDOKU - March 13, 2026

CROSSWORD - March 13, 2026

SUDOKU - March 13, 2026

Fill the grid with numbers one to nine so that each row, column and square contains every digit exactly once.

Guess the four-digit number in six tries. Choose your number and tap enter to submit. Each tile will change to green if the digit is correct and in the right position, or orange if it is correct but in the wrong position. A dark grey tile means the digit does not appear anywhere in the number. See April’s page for more daily Guess the Number puzzles.

Find out how closely you’ve been paying attention to the latest news and other global events by putting your knowledge to the test with our Quiz of The Week.

A Chicago-area man who voluntarily surrendered his “emotional support hog” to an animal sanctuary is now suing the nonprofit to regain custody of the 330-pound pig, named Chief Wiggum. If Hollywood were to make a courtroom drama about this unusual custody battle, what would it be titled?

RESULTS:

 THE WINNER: “Beyond a Reasonable Snout”

Karl Wulffraat, Albuquerque

 SECOND PLACE: “And This Little Piggy Went Home”

Mike Gray, Tampa

 THIRD PLACE: “Habeas Porkus”

Jeff Goodrich, Andover, N.H.

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

“Ally McSqueal”

Erica Avery, Greenfield, Mass.

“Law & Oinker”

George Strong, Plano, Texas

“The Hog Shank Redemption”

Kenneth Burgan, Grass Valley, Calif.

“Hog Tried”

Patty Oberhausen, Fort Wayne, Ind.

“Hog Day Afternoon”

Timothy Olson, West Des Moines, Iowa

“Odor in the Court”

Ken Kellam III, Dallas

“The Witness Will Squeal”

Jesse Rifkin, Arlington, Va.

“Bringing Home the Bacon”

Amy Torchinsky, Chapel Hill, N.C.

“Perry Bacon”

Lidia Zidik, Reading, Pa.

“The Porker Chase”

Laurel Rose, Pittsburgh

“Pulled Pork”

Tim Mistele, Coral Gables, Fla.

“Free Wiggum”

Daniel Hicks, Randolph, Mass.

“That Swine is Mine”

Daniel Tuchman, Marina del Rey, Calif.

“Snort Tort”

Sherry Jones, Chapel Hill, N.C.

CROSSWORD - March 6, 2026

SUDOKU - March 6, 2026