NYT Crossword for Sunday, May 31, 2026 by Jeffrey Martinovic and Evan Park - Target Practice

Will Shortz notes:Jeffrey Martinovic and Evan Park are fellow students at Western University in London, Ontario. They became friends over cards (bridge, the Korean game Mighty) and intramural sports (ultimate Frisbee, water polo, softball, and others). This puzzle started when Evan observed that the two shaded words in the grid could intersect. Together, they brainstormed theme answers related to that crossing, then filled the grid and composed clues over a month of video calls.Jeffrey Martinovic and Evan Park notes:We are good friends from school, bonding through activities like frisbee, water polo, cards, outdoor adventures, and of course, crosswords. We are both graduating now. Jeffrey will be starting work soon and Evan will be traveling the world for a year, volunteering along the way. What a nice graduation gift it is to have a puzzle together in the Times as we go our separate ways for a while. This puzzle arose when Evan had an idea that included a literal representation of a bow and arrow. Jeffrey thought to link it to William Tell because every morning his high school would play the William Tell Overture in the halls right before class. The concept developed organically from there, and the puzzle came together over many iterations, spanning months, all over video call. We hope you enjoyed solving!