I pulled out 34A Helpfully pushy person: NUDGER because I had put in NUDNIK, even though it didn’t really make sense that a nudnik would be helpful. Ultimately, that nagging feeling that a nudnik wasn’t helpful turned out to be accurate, and nudger–a word that apparently merits a red squiggly–was the word that does fit. So there you have it: Red squiggly words are well incorporated in the New York Times Crossword Puzzle. Yay.
There was (no) theme today.
13A *Stay in power: RESIGN -> RE(S)IGN -> REIGN + S.
23A *Hold on to: HEAVE -> H(E)AVE -> HAVE + E.
26A *Done openly: COVERT -> (C)OVERT -> OVERT + C.
37A *Changing gradually: REVOLUTIONARY -> (R)EVOLUTIONARY -> EVOLUTIONARY + R.
50A *Doesn’t eat: FEASTS -> F(E)ASTS -> FASTS + E.
54A *On this spot: THERE -> (T)HERE -> HERE + T.
66A When revealed in this puzzle, it reverses the meanings of the answers to the starred clues: SECRET. The letters that make the answers opposite make them secret? It’s weird, but fine.
Finished this one in 15:36.
| Day | This Wk | Best | Average | 4-Wk Avg | Streak |
| Monday | 6:08 | 3:49 | 9:25 | 6:05 | 76 |
| Tuesday | 5:22 | 13:16 | 9:11 | 0 | |
| Wednesday | 15:36 | 7:38 | 17:03 | 11:40 | 17 |
| Thursday | 12:12 | 28:43 | 29:35 | 2 | |
| Friday | 16:23 | 32:15 | 21:01 | 16 | |
| Saturday | 20:12 | 34:22 | 34:25 | 16 | |
| Sunday | 15:11 | 53:56 | 46:41 | 3 |