Today the New York Time published its 11,000th online crossword puzzle, and I've completed all of them. I'd love to hear from others who have done this.
@KA Nelson I’m not there, as someone who only came to it a few years ago, but on my way (done with Mondays, working my way back through Tuesdays now). Today was puzzle #2000 for me! Congratulations on completing all 11,000!
My father liked to think of himself as worldly, but he was at times startlingly naïve. After he returned from his first trip to Europe, which included a tour of Heidelberg, he told me breathlessly that Mensa was such a huge organization in Germany that it had a building of its own on every university campus. I didn't have the heart to tell him that in German, "Mensa" means "cafeteria."
I'm mostly a lurker in these parts, but I wanted to say thanks to all the columnists and regular posters in the comments thread who helped me reach a 1000 game streak today. Absorbing your knowledge has helped my solving skills tremendously, and while those 1000 games came with their fair share of lookups especially in the early days, those lookups are a lot fewer and further between now than they were in the beginning, even on the late week puzzles. I still somehow have an average time of 15 hours, 59 minutes and 10 seconds on Saturdays due to a timer glitch that the games team was unable to resolve, but perhaps in a decade I can get that average under 10 hours. Cheers and happy new year.
@Andrew I feel you on the average time thing. While not nearly as dramatic, my average time for Mondays sits in the low 20s even though I usually solve in 6-8 mins. Not through a glitch, though; I walked away from the computer a few times forgetting to hit the pause button and ending up with 3+ hours on those puzzles. Whoops! I have already finished the Mondays in the archives so I will slowly watch it to come down the next several (many?) years, a few seconds per week!
@Andrew OMG why are you talking about your "time?" I need to back off. Have fun.
@Andrew and Rachel Absolutely use the archives to get your average time down. For one thing unlike the current puzzle you can approach the puzzle when you choose, and can just pause it and come back another day to refresh your thoughts. But also old puzzles are of a different zeitgeist; like reading a bestseller from a period that you don’t have any experience of you get hints of the culture of the time. The world of 1993 was a different place.
"You don't have to tell me to make these folds again!" "Yeah, but it bears repleating." ("Whatever, it's clothes enough.")
@Mike Better scotch that idea. That machine's dangerous. You could get kilt.
@Mike Not to skirt the issue, but people can get kilt serging into a scuffle over a ruffle. I don't mean to needle you, but now I'm pleating with you to not lose the thread! Sew what, emu. 🪡
This one was PURELAXATION. cc: emu handler
My nine favorite original clues of 2023 (in order of appearance): 1. Only human, briefly (4) 2. It's a mouthful, frankly (3)(3)(3) 3. One who's out and about (11) 4. ( and ) (4) 5. Illegal product that's still made? (9) 6. Ones doing some heavy lifting before retirement? (5) 7. Acute ... or the opposite of acute (5) 8. Walk in place? (5)(8) 9. Telenovela profession (2)(3) ADAM (Alex Rosen) HOT DOG BUN (Ada Nicolle) SLEEPWALKER (Robyn Weintraub) ARCS (Erik Agard) MOONSHINE (Malaika Handa) JACKS (John Nagamichi Cho) GRAVE (David P. Williams) FRONT ENRANCE (Tracy Bennett) TE AMO (Brooke Husic and Brendan Emmet Quigley)
@Lewis Wow! I’d say they are all unforgettable except that I forgot them all until reading your list. Each requires a double take, and a couple require a triple take: “What’s that ‘and’ doing in there?” Bravo and thank you for this!
@Lewis I usually remember all of them, but not today. When was ADAM (Only human, briefly) clued? There were several that I did not recall. Guess I thought that you were showing very recent clues/entries. My bad if I have just forgotten. TY for the best (as usual), Lewis.
The CLARO/MCJOB/ALPHA crossing was very rough for me
I see the constructor lived in St Louis so he must know what he is talking about. But I lived in Columbia MO for years, and never heard it called 'The Lou.' Mind you, as a native Brit I suppose my friends did not want to tell me they were on their way to 'The Lou' in case I misunderstood them. Could be.
@Andrew I'm guessing you didn't see my previous post... The LOU is where you'll find Anheuser's Busch....
@Andrew I’ve lived in St. Louis on and off for well over 50 years. Referring to it as “The Lou” is definitely a thing. However, that moniker is newer, like the last decade or so. What really stings is being called the second largest city in Missouri. While technically true, it’s only true because of how city/county lines were drawn so many years ago. Having also lived in Kansas City MO, I can attest that St. Louis functions as a larger city.
@Andrew check out Nelly's classic, Country Grammar. You'll learn he's from "The Lou" (and proud).
When I told my non-crossword-solving husband that today's compiler was a Tulane graduate, he knew immediately who he was - a former student of his who had his first crossword accepted while he was in his class. So he says many congratulations Jared!
Hah! What a fresh theme with a lovely revealer. One splendid result of the Times bringing on so many new constructors is that the chances of sparkling theme ideas like this coming to the editors’ desks are greater. And what a junk-free grid. In Jared’s notes on his last puzzle (a NYT debut), he stressed that creating a spotless grid was a very high priority. This puzzle is so clean that when I gaze at it, it calms my mind. Plus [Cool place in a hot place], a terrific clue for OASIS, which has appeared nearly 300 times in the major outlets, but never with a clue like this. And lovely answers HAIKU, IRON HORSE, and QUEST, not to mention classing up the answer set with MACBETH and KITT. Fresh, clean and pleasing. Thank you so much for this, Jared, and I’m filing you in my memory for FUTUREFERENCE.
A quirky puzzle, and a portal back to 1980...there's American GIGOLO, Richard Gere slouching toward bed-lehem, and BO (repeating) over DEREK, and there IS something utterly repetitious, come to think of it, about that movie "10" (1979), the constant swelling of "Bolero" ain't it claro, left me feeling an eeny bit AT SEA...so memorable yet at the same time so forgettable... and although every year brings a coup or two, the 1980s were rife with coup attempts and coups d'etats, especially in Africa, and of course were sometimes subsidized by our BOYS running their SHAM Iran Scam, but they were oddly fire resistant, weren't they, those Oliver North sorts, they refused to say zip when confronted; they were, by nature, reserved, just stuck their chests out and stayed mum, no matter how much they shook their maracas, coached to just shut their eyes and think of something else. You know what they mainly thought of? Having dozens of BBQ wings the way they do 'em in The Lou, maybe a brew, some Breyer's chocolate chip afterward, Eartha Kitt on the juke box in that bar...what was it called? Oho...MacBeth's --
@john ezra I enjoy reading your posts, and this one might be my favorite yet! It really flowed, I thought, or perhaps I just caught your vibe. Thanks! But if it's going to be Breyer's, it's gotta be MINT chocolate chip!! And not even because of 33D. It's their best flavor! Too late at night to come up with clever things to say to feed the emus...
@john ezra I didn't read what you said. TLDR. But I loved it. Because I love every word you write.
A timely puzzle as tomorrow I am taking my car in for a TIREPLACEMENT
I did a double take on MC JOB and thought "Poor emcees, being used to derisively portray mundane employment..." as I shook my head in heartfelt sympathy. Well, thank goodness for the column! [Face palm.] Other than that slight brain freeze fiasco, the rest came easily and the solve was smooth, quick, and really enjoyable, with the theme entries making sense from the get-go. I must have been on the same wavelength. This puzzle was a true gem. Thank you, Mr. Goudsmit!
@sotto voce I originally had BSJOB in there. When I saw the real answer I did get the reference but felt bad for all the people who work or have worked at McDonalds getting slighted. Food service can require quite a lot from people.
@sotto voce Dear woman! I did not "get" MC JOB. If it is what I think, it is a terrible clue/word. Don't you think? Anyway, off to have a drink! and to laugh.
I super loved this puzzle!! I'm not sure I can really explain why but I did! I really got the theme, which as a new person to crosswords does not come easily to me always, but today I totally got it, but not in the super easy way. I felt like I kind of jived with the clues. It wasn't super easy but it was super satisfactory and I finished a bit better than average. Have I said super enough times in this comment?! Just in case I haven't, I thought this puzzle was super! My favorite was 22 down - AUNT. While I wish we could have had kiddos, I love feeling so seen in that clue. I adore my biological niblings -- and my many non-biological niblings!! 🥰 Because I loveThe Good Place so much, it was fun too see Janet's not a boyfriend in here, too! What a hoot!
@HeathieJ I felt the need to geek out and share 22D with my niece. I'm with you on feeling seen! Also with you on family goes so much further than just biology. :) I'm not sure that feeling extends to emus, though. Let's hope they don't crash this party! ;)
Looks like Jared is being set up for a specialist role at the Times Crossword. This, his second puzzle, is a Wednesday with letters in themers that need to be used twice. His debut was a Wednesday with themers containing pairs of rebuses. Watch out for his next Wednesday! Jared: I that a theatre major I see before me in 45D? And a poli sci major at 37D? Both good majors for crossword constructors and editors! Lost my emu what'll I do? Skip to my LOU my darling.
I was feeling a bit down, and I can't imagine a morefreshing puzzle than this one. Thank you, Jared Goudsmit, I'm feeling much better now. 🪿 🪿 🪿 🪿 🪿 🪿 🪿 / / / Is there such a thing as an emu throw? (Yes, I know that's not an emu—it's a symbol.)
Aretha Franklin’s nickname was ReRe, also Aunt Re. I liked the theme. Somehow I flew through this puzzle although I’m not sure why. Just on the right wavelength I suppose.
@Ann The last verses of her signature song (unedited) ‘spect When you come home (re, re, re, re) Or you might walk in (respect, just a little bit) And find out I'm gone (just a little bit) I got to have (just a little bit) A little respect (just a little bit)
Regarding Sam’s oblique reference to “the Scottish play” for 45D, it got me to thinking that a good crossword clue might be “fittingly part of M_ _ BE_H, whose mention can bring a curse”. Incidentally, here is one explanation on Google: Though it is a popular play that has been performed all around the world for four hundred years, it has also been credited for sparking a curse for theaters, known as "The Curse of Macbeth." The first performance of the play was a disaster from the beginning, as the young boy cast to play Lady Macbeth died on the opening night of the play, and Shakespeare had to step in to replace him. King James I, the inspiration for the play, hated the violence so much that he banned the play for over a century.
Fun puzzle. Really slow start for me, but tumbling to the trick was a big turning point and that's always a nice touch. Ended up well under my Wednesday average. Side notes: Couldn't help but note that all of the theme answers are 11 letters, which means that the implied entries would be 13 letters - a notably awkward length. But was still surprised to find that NONE of the full length theme answers has ever appeared in a puzzle. You would think that... at least in a Sunday puzzle maybe? But.... nope. A couple of fascinating puzzle finds today that I'll put in replies. ..
@Rich in Atlanta As threatened: First - three remarkably similar puzzles: Two Wednesday puzzles - one from 1999 and one from 2018. And a Thursday puzzle from 1997. In all of them, the theme clues used 'cheesy' as part of the clue. Here are some samples. First from the 1997 puzzle: "Cheesy TV comedy?" THEEDAMSFAMILY A couple of other answers in that one: HAVARTIFIVEO THEMUENSTERS* From the 1999 puzzle; "Cheesy 1997 comedy?" THEGOUDABYEGIRL A couple of others: EDAMSAPPLE JIMROQUEFORT THEMUENSTERS* And... the 2018 puzzle: "Cheesy 1992 military drama" AFEWGOUDAMEN Some others; FETAATTRACTION THEPELICANBRIE MUENSTERSINC* *The MUENSTERS showed up in all three and there were some others that were in two of the three, but the others were all varied renditions. I'm done. ..
Never heard of the nickname for Missouri's second-largest city. I wonder what Brits think about the city that's called "The LOO"... Nothing here for the re-mus...
@Steve L I imagine they would think ... THAT's the place to go! Or so the emus told me.
I'm not sure what anyone outside the U.S. might think, but I'd guess that in the U.S. "the LOU" is less likely to be St. Louis and more likely to be Anita Van Buren.
A fairly smooth puzzle with a theme I enjoyed quite a bit. On a personal level, I take 10A as what I hope is a positive omen: for a few years my older daughter has been working in management for a restaurant chain and today opens a restaurant in that chain that she’s a partner in. Their specialty: BBQ.
Sam, you love the jazzy sting upon completion but I love the little prompts telling me “Halfway “ or “3/4ths”! It’s as if the Crossword is saying “Keep going, you can do this!”
When I left Kansas City (on the Kansas side) in 1996, St. Louis had always been considered the larger and more important metropolitan area, especially politically. KC was often slighted when it came to state funding and projects. Haven't kept track of Missouri politics, etc., since I moved away, so I was surprised to hear that STL was now considered the second largest, and I had been trying to figure out a nickname for KC (fail). Most of the puzzle was fairly easy, but there were a few sticking points, esp. the above. No trouble with the theme entries, though. Nice puzzle, Jared, and thanks.
JayTee, Greater Saint Louis is still larger than the Kansas City Metropolitan Area. Kansas City MO has a larger population than the city of St. Louis. And I'm relieved to learn that "The LOU" is only a decade or so old as a nickname; I never heard it used when I lived in Iowa (more than 50 years ago).
The geek in and retro computer enthusiast in me put IIC in 35 Across instead of INC!
Great puzzle... Loved the revealer (RE FUSING) which I figured out after getting the first themer (FIRESISTANT). Reading the Constructor's Notes, I am impressed by his sheer talent... and varied interests. Hope to see more of you, Jared.
This was a tricky yet fun Wednesday for me! Very enjoyable. I do have to thank Nelly for referring to his hometown as The Lou on his hit single “Country Grammar” back in the day. You couldn’t escape that song for months after it came out, and it was the first time I’d ever heard anyone call St. Louis The Lou. TMYK!
@Jen Thanks for bringing up this old Nelly classic. Someone else may have referred to this as well, I’m not sure. But in any case I think it deserves a link today. Worth a quick look for those interested in these kind of things. See also my reply to Steve L ‘s first comment of last night, funny St. Louis Post-Dispatch article from about 15 years ago about “The Lou”. <a href="http://tinyurl.com/2p83azwc" target="_blank">http://tinyurl.com/2p83azwc</a>
This puzzle really tripped me up. 16 and 26 across can be solved by using the R from ALARM and DEREK sticking up out of the word like the "fuse" on a stick of dynamite. I thought that was super clever. Of course I couldn't make that work for 46 and 61. I'm inventing themes that don't exist.....
I figured out the other theme clues before I could guess the theme key. I enjoyed the theme from this Wednesday! I struggled the most with the South West corner. I'm a very new crossword puzzler (since) mid 2023, being attracted to them from the NYT games app from playing Wordle. Initially, I struggled and could only complete them with autocheck when stuck. Then eventually I started getting some GOLD star completions and I totally agree and concur with your assessment of the happy jingle @Sam. I can't miss a day now and eagerly await for 2PM to come around for my daily fix (time the daily is released here) and I equally look forward to your Wordplay column and the comments. One thing that irks me though is the consistent amount of Spanish clues and/or answers required for an English crossword. Sometimes the mind bending required in my only fluent language (regrettably) is enough without having to deal with obscurities from another language.
Christopher, If you think of this as a crossword in English published in the United States of America, the amount of Spanish should be understandable. And I wouldn't call CLARO obscure; it was CLARO to me.
@Christopher A nit.. You call it the "theme key," but I call it the "revealer." Later! and later to my emu friends...
The San José Strut Plays softly at 6AM; Now, the day must start. If you get stuck on [Unagi](3), Wayne and Dary can help you: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVB4etZAlBU" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVB4etZAlBU</a> Happy Whursday, everyone!
That was surelaxing! TIL Chac-chac MCJOB, and the LOU! Crosses got me there, so thanks for the fun additions to my grey matter! Nice one!
Fair and fun! I just had pep for get up and go instead of zip!
TIL: Kansas City is larger than St. Louis! I even had to loom it up, because I didn't believe it. Who knew! (I love when I learn stuff from a puzzle -- I wish everyone else did.)
@CaptainQuahog - No, I have not taken up weaving. I already have too many hobbies. I looked it up. On the Googles!
@CaptainQuahog also, apparently, everything is up to date there.
@CaptainQuahog I learned the same thing. Also, TIL that "the LOU" is a nickname for the Gateway City. Lived in Missouri for 4 years and never heard that.
I needed breakfast AND coffee for this one. I tried to solve the theme revealer first which was a lost cause. Then I understood how to fill in the answers and why but the theme revealer was still the last section to fall for me. Oh and I had to fix RAGat to RAGON. I hadn’t noticed it needed a change when I updated nAG to RAG.
@Joya thank you! I had NAGON and couldn’t imagine it being RAGON because MANACA sounded correct to me :-)
Crunchy for Wednesday, and a nice challenge. Saw the REpeats early on but still wasn’t sure quite how it worked. My holdout spot was the NE corner, where my failure to think of BBQ and my ignorance of The LOU gave me some trouble. Eventually the penny dropped. Thanks for the fun, Jared Goudsmit.
The answer to "Janet's "not-a-robot" boyfriend on "The Good Place"" should be JASON.
@Jason Mendoza but Jason you are human so the 'not a robot' boyfriend has to be DEREK
@Jason Mendoza Hmm, never even heard of "The Good Place." I wanted Jason to be the leader of the Argo (51D) until I noticed it was Argos in the clue. Were there more than one?
I liked "MCJOBS" especially the revealer that the company had originally used that term in a hiring campaign. In deference to the millions of our populace who eke by through those positions, I offer some alternate clues leading to the answer "MCJOBS": TV HOST GIGS EDINBURGH APPLE STARTER?
Like Sam, I get a thrill from hearing that 2 second ditty upon completion. It also brings up a way in which the app and print differ. On paper, you could fill in that last letter and feel a sense of accomplishment. You smile. Admire the totality of the completed puzzle. In the app, you fill it in, ready to do a dance with our favorite tune, only to get message akin to “not so fast…” and spend the next 5 minutes looking for that one wrong letter that you would never think to look for using pen and paper.
@JPT I solve on paper and upon completion check xwordinfo to make sure I didn't make any mistakes. It's not a successful solve if there are any writos or other errors. Before I check, I go over the grid to make sure its clean. I imagine that's what most paper solvers do, but I could be wrong.
Every now and then someone will post they just hit a milestone streak number, perhaps in the hundreds or thousands. I'm assuming all those streaks are for online solvers only. Paper solving you get one chance to get it right. Any paper solvers keep up with streaks (no lookups)? To me a paper streak in the hundreds would be impressive.
Just wondering... Will Nobis MISERE be commenting today? Will I ever read Kant’s “Critique of PUREASON”? Dormez vous, FREJACQUES? - - - - - - - (Emu PREQUISITE)
@Lewis And let's not forget... Someone who only says: Fe fo fum Might be... Fi resistant. ..
This was a lot of fun! I did have to look up chac-chac (and it is what it sounds like - of course!), otherwise a pretty breezy puzzle. Thanks to the constructor!
I was fooled at first with “pop” fly and naturePreserve but eventually got there!
Really fun puzzle! Remarkably smooth for a puzzle including a gimmick that could lead to wrong turns. Luckily for me, the crosses tipped me on to the re-fusing, and then the revealer cemented things. Thank you, Jared!
So, four Themers and a Reveal--is that like "meat and three"? Whatever....Jared has served up a very nice Good Morning puzzle...EXCEPT for the mysteries like 29D/35A and the 60A clue with .png and the 37D writer and Missouri's 2nd-largest city (Srsly? It's only 2nd?) and 43A, which brought me low. Had the name been clued more accessibly (ditto for 27D) I'd not have finished with 2 errors. Takes all the VIM and vigor out of an old puzzler. Maybe I should REthink my hobbies. It has been a very long time since I was tested on Spanish idioms. I always appreciate a baseball clue. There is talk of moving the minor league team associated with the Atlanta Braves, which would really break my heart. The nonstop heat wave kept us away for some of the worst weeks, but we enjoyed our flex tickets. (It's where Mothers' Day was celebrated, ha ha.) HEM IN and PEN IN before the BOX saved that NE corner. See you guys in the funny papers....
@Mean Old Lady Second largest city? Oh, right. I keep forgetting that Kansas City is in Missouri. What's up with that? Our minor league team (Wilmington Blue Rocks) was affiliated with the KC Royals until a few years ago, when they switched to the Nats. I hope they don't move - it's the only pro sports team in Delaware.
@Mean Old Lady It's sort of a trick question. The city of St Louis is also a county. But surrounding it (not to the east) is St Louis County. The city has serously deterioated and there has been a mass migration away from it. So the city itself is only a shell of what it once was, while the STL metropolitan area remains very large.
I was frustrated with the clue on St. Louis, and then shocked to read the puzzle author is from Missouri himself. I’ve neither seen nor heard of STL ever referred to as “the Lou.” I’d be embarrassed for anyone calling it that out loud. While I’m sure there is no reference work puzzle authors must cite for the veracity of their clues, this clue bothered me enough to comment. Can puzzle-makers create nicknames?
@Cat I did not know about this nickname as well, but Wikipedia lists "The Lou" as one of St. Louis' nicknames. You can find the article at this link. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Louis" target="_blank">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Louis</a>
@Cat, Having grown up in Carl Junction on the other side of the state, that clue bothered me, too. In nearly 30 years of living in Missouri, I never heard St. Louis called “the Lou”. And why would Kansas City be called “the Lou”, anyway? 😊
@Cat “Can puzzle-makers create nicknames?” Anything is possible here in the Big Lemon! (Wonder what they call Houston?)
(second post) "When I first started doing crosswords, I held fast to the romanticism of pen-and-paper solving" Being exclusively an on-line solver--mainly on PC, sometimes on i-Pad or Android phone--I'm always surprised by the number of people who solve in pen-and-paper, but then come on-line to poist comments. espite that being the M.O. of two of my favorite commenters--one of whom has a handle which begins M.O. . . . Now, when I try solve on pen and paper, I get frustrated with the inability to quickly erase and replace entries; but then, working other puzzles, I get frustrated by other publisher's differences in use of arrow-key shortcuts, auto-advance, etc. And although one publisher offers a cute (albeit repetetive) cartoon upon successful completion, it's not nearly as satisfying as the Happy Music. Sometimes, just before entering the last square, I'll announce to my Partner "I'm going to make it ring!"; sometimes he'll sing along, although usually he just rolls his eyes. And sometimes, if I'm solving in bed, I'll get up and get the headphones, just so it doesn't wake him. And with pen-and-paper solvers, when they've fully filled in the grid, how do they know that artist isn't M. C. Wyeth, living in Matick, MA? Dumb question, but when does the print edition of the NYT publish the solution to the dailies--that day or the next? It's been so long, I can't remember.
Bill, If you look at the Newspaper Version PDF of today's puzzle, you'll see the answer to yesterday's puzzle. The totally offline see Monday through Saturday answers Tuesday through the following Monday; Sundays (of course) are week to week. Offline solvers with digital access can (obviously) compare their handiwork to the key in Wordplay or on xwordinfo.com.
@Bill Aww...I always look for your input...and I cherish your presence even when you're wrong to prefer online solving. I just don't see how folks can do without margins in which to scribble, using pens to darken (or embolden) important letters such as RE, and circle theme starting-points. Today's ink: pink! Mood enhancer.
Many a time I spent pen & paper solving with a paperback copy of the NYTimes' Crossword Dictionary at hand! Was AT SEA most of the time. My brain REFUSED to think outside the box.
Can anyone help me understand the difference in clueing the following: AHA, AAH, HAH, OOH, OHO, HOO? Every time I come up against one of these three letter noises I never know what the constructor is going for.
@Tradcarp I read all of those in my head with different tone and emphasis! Haha! I always imagine AHA to be an exclamation of realization. An AHA moment. OHO is also for a surprise but perhaps with more sarcasm, judgement or gloating. I look forward to others’ answers.
@Tradcarp You can use the xwordinfo.com Clue and Answer Finder to see how words have been clued. <a href="https://www.xwordinfo.com/Finder" target="_blank">https://www.xwordinfo.com/Finder</a> AHA has appeared 642 times, and has been mostly clued toward "Eureka!" (22 times in the Shortz Era), "Now I get it!", (14), "Got it!" (13), "Now I see!" (12), and the like. This can also occasionally clue OHH (3). AAH has appeard 138 times, almost always as a contented sound; spas or doctor's offices might be referenced. Be aware that this can also be spelled AHH (49). HAH has 143 appearances, and is always clued as a joke, or something like "I bet!". "As if!" or "In your dreams!" OOH has shown up 178 times, as an expression of amazement, with fireworks or phrases like "Impressive!" or "So nice!" or sometimes "I'm intrigued"; also, it's the "Lead-in to 'la-la'". OHO's 266 appearances related to catching on or discovering something; some examples are "Looky here!" and "Well, well, well!" (6); "Well, what have we here?!" (8), or just "Cry of surprise" (7). HOO has only 58 appearances, and often, the clue has something to do with yoo-, woo-, or boo-. So "Sob syllable" has 5 appearances. Owls used to show up once in a while, but I guess the emus have scared them off. I'll leave you to play around and find the uses for some you haven't mentioned, like HEH, HAR, etc. Do enough puzzles, and you will be able to guess which one works best in each case. But be flexible; "Eureka" has occasionally clued OHO as well as AHA.
I love pencil and paper. I use the app to solve and my work and studies are all done online. But… I just love and will always love paper and a mechanical pencil. (I love a good quality pen too but pencil ranks higher if I’m being honest.)
@Katie A fellow pencil and paper solver here for the same reasons you state. I spend a lot of time looking at various screens and the morning, or sometimes middle of the night, solve is a nice break. I do save the solves and run them through the printer on the other side. The downside is, as mentioned here earlier, is that I can finish a puzzle and be perfectly happy with it then come here to the column and comments to learn of an error.
@Katie Explain why you love pencil and paper. To me, it seems that you have to press down too hard with a pencil. I wind up overwriting with pen. emu food
@Bonnie I for one solve with pencil and paper because I subscribe to the NYT print edition and read it pretty much cover to cover every day. It’s a great publication and news source. Also, with the print puzzle, you can see all the Across and Down clues at the same time.
This was a lot of fun, Jared. But you left me eager to go beyond the revealer's simple explanation that the REs have been FUSED together in the themers. So, as I was out on a stroll yesterday (something we might take outside), my mind wandered to these random thoughts: BOREPEATING -- it go too boring to repeat the RE FAREDUCTION -- we'll reduce the fare by eliminating the extra RE FIRESISTANT -- this material is resisting the fire; look, it's already blocked the RE from getting through NATURESERVE -- to save nature, we'll start by holding the RE in reserve