Overall this was a good crossword, but I was disappointed by a handful of poorly conceived clue/solution pairs: “Got clean, in a way” - “in a way” implies some kind of metaphorical or figurative solution, but “bathed” is completely literal “Dark side of the moon” for “mare” is bad phrasing as a lunar mare would never be described as a “side” of the moon, even given poetic liberties “Reefer” is slang for marijuana, and “joint” is slang for a marijuana cigarette, though loosely related they’re not synonyms and this clue should have included extra phrasing to make the leap from a specific method of taking a drug to a slang term for the drug itself “Ad site” being the “destination” for a popup makes no sense whatsoever. I get that popups are associated with internet ads, but how is it a destination? And what is an “ad site”? The entire point of internet ads is they’re jammed into other websites you’re already on for some other purpose
@Crossy If you click on a popup ad, it will take your browser to the ad site.
Astute observations. Some sloppy cluing right there.
Crossy, You or I may not use REEFER to refer to a "Joint," but that doesn't mean nobody does. <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/reefer" target="_blank">https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/reefer</a> Don't bogart that emu
Add me to the list of people who struggled with this one, with the NW finishing last. It took me longer than my Saturday or Sunday average solving time.
I enjoy how often a “pithy quote fill in the blank” clue can have several possible words that make for just as pithy a quote. “STYLE is knowing who you are, what you want to say and not giving a da(rn)”, but so is: POWER NERVE CLASS CHAOS TRUTH BEING GLORY FAITH YOUTH GRACE HEART PEACE TASTE This concludes my poem, “Thirteen ways of looking at Gore Vidal”
@Cat Lady Margaret The word that William Buckley called Vidal in a televised debate in 1968 also has five letters.
every single entry I guessed at first was wrong. quite remarkable, the misdirection was epic. I finally finished it. it was a tough go.
I can't make all these types of bread! Variety is the slice of strife. (And I'd quit my job, but I knead the dough.)
@Mike I love your rye sense of humor. The emus appreciate it also.
A struggle for me. Felt Saturdayish than many Saturdays. Not a complaint. That CHEERLEADER felt so right for so long for “Enthusiastic sort” was just the longest of many either no-knows and know-wrongs for me. I’m a very “enthusiastic sort” for this puzzle. Great work, David!
@Puzzlemucker The same thing (in this case an identical crossword grid) viewed in 13 different ways. I think that’s it, and it’s more than enough for me, though Henry su and John Ezra found some great possible connections to Stevens’ poem in David’s November puzzle. If nothing else, I love the opportunity to re-read Stevens’ poem with each of David’s puzzles. Each reading is, in fact, different and takes me deeper into the poem. In that sense, his project also involves 13 ways of looking at Stevens’s “13 Ways of Looking at a Blackbird” poem — at least for those of us who read the poem again each time the next of David’s puzzles appears. I have to say, I find this incredibly stimulating. It reminds me of taking my first Modern Poetry class in college, when I felt such intellectual and emotional excitement about poetry. So, thank you for that David. Any elevation of poetry into the everyday (especially poetry as thrilling and thorny as Stevens’) is something to be celebrated and cherished.
@Puzzlemucker Me too, me too! Very Saturdayish and delightfully sadistic--I loved it madly. So many misdirects, my favorite type of clue. I don't come here that often anymore but I have to come and crow a bit on days like today--it's so easy to go through a few times and think "wow, this one's just too hard" but if you just keep coming back, suddenly PREACH will appear (my NW corner was the last to fall for me), and then, voila, the domino effect. Happy sigh.
Well, in this his third NYT puzzle, David has cemented in my mind that’s he’s got the knack – the skill and wit to create sterling puzzles. Look at those six crossing elevens, all splendid answers! Look at the cluing, including the best kind of vague clues, the gettable kind that surrenders after one or two crosses, and other clues infused with wit and deception, such as [Concern for the 1%] for BATTERY, and [Common spots for autographs] for DOTTED LINES. Look at the answer set. Where is the junk? Where is the junk in this ultra-low-word-count (66) puzzle? Where is the junk despite that slab of white in the center? Remarkable! I don’t know if it’s coincidence or design – and time will tell – but there are a couple of threads woven into David’s three puzzles. One is marijuana, with today’s REEFER, puzzle #1’s SPLIFF, and #2’s SMOKE POT. The second is quaint reactions, with today’s I’LL BE DARNED, #1’s GOLLY, and #2’s GOSH. I do know that with just three puzzles in, David has established himself, IMO, as a Crosslandia force, with a strong and capable voice, and I’m eager to see what’s next. This, for me, was an outing rife with thorniness, humor, and beauty, a sumptuous trifecta that fills me with gratitude. Thank you, David!
@Lewis You can probably get your five favorite clues this week from this one puzzle! !!! !!! !!!
Definitely Saturday-worthy. Quite the variety of material. Not an EASY READ, but a GEM. Well played, David Williams.
IF you solved this one with no lookups, consider yourself a crossword master.
Laura, I'm glad to see you patting yourself on the back for taking down this monster! <a href="https://nyti.ms/3TP00FN#permid=130250535" target="_blank">https://nyti.ms/3TP00FN#permid=130250535</a> emus are glad too
Tonight took longer than my Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday times put together. Never happens! What an absolutely fantastic Friday treat. Thank you, thank you, thank you for this. I’d like to compose a proper panegyric to show how much I loved this puzzle, but @PM now has me all confounded on how to spell love. Oy, the muddlement…
I had ILLBEDAMNED rather than ILLBEDARNED, then I spent way too much time trying to figure out what a CMEME was.
I was disappointed with this puzzle. I love good punny clues, but these weren't. Mare are not sides of the moon. "the 1%" is something no one ever says about a battery. I could go on, but I already wasted too much time on this puzzle.
A few general thoughts about today’s and yesterday’s puzzles. I’ll start with today’s, and if you didn’t do yesterday’s and don’t want spoilers, you can stop reading at the break. There are some of us who have gotten pretty good at crosswords, and can solve most Friday and Saturday puzzles in less than 15 min. We welcome gladly the opportunity to solve a tougher one from time to time, even if it will pull our average down a bit. Today’s took me a shade over 20, and although it may seem wondrous to some of you, it was quite slow for a Friday. But as an experienced solver, I can tell you that the puzzle was eminently fair. If you don’t know who Alan THICKE was, or why the MARE clue falls within accepted cluing conventions, that’s on you. You’re not expected to always know everything, and improvement and understanding come with experience, but it’s not the constructor’s fault that you couldn’t finish the puzzle. And don’t insinuate that he was being malicious because the puzzle was too hard for you. If you stick with it, one day you’ll be thrilled to get a puzzle that requires you to put things in and take them out. Yesterday’s puzzle comments to follow.
@Steve L SPOILER ALERT: This comment is about the Thursday puzzle. Lucky for me, I solved yesterday’s puzzle in a format that didn’t have the glitch, but I can sympathize with those who did. Some points that bear making: It’s not the constructors’, the editors’ or Apple’s fault that this problem occurred. It was squarely the fault of the IT people at the NYT. There are test solvers, but it’s not their job to test every combination of apps and devices, so they’re not to blame, either. Apple is not to blame, because their software can handle underlined letters. The tech people at the NYT should have discovered the problem before the puzzle went live. If they couldn’t figure out the right code to get the underlines to work, they could have informed the Games Dept. of that, and the fix they eventually hit on could have been rolled out before 10:00 pm. And the complaint should be that the IT people should figure out where these issues exist before the puzzle drops. Not that creative and innovative puzzles like this one shouldn’t be accepted. For future reference, after a fix is applied, you can go to the puzzle in the Archive calendar, long press on it, and the updated puzzle will install.
@Steve L Way harsh, Tai! :) (If you don't understand the reference, look it up!) But I agree completely that experience paves the way to success. This one took me a solid 45 minutes to get my bearings (SLICED BREAD did the trick), and from there, 20 minutes to complete. I would've been SOL just a few weeks ago. I'm with you - the cluing was tough but fair.
@Steve L "But as an experienced solver, I can tell you that the puzzle was eminently fair." Agreed, 100%. I like a challenging puzzle, and tricky clues, especially the ones that make you say, "Oh, I get it now. Well played!" For example, I was patting myself on the back for filling in SOBER for "not stiff." Oh, AGILE is literally a perfect answer for that clue, not a misdirect at all! Side note: I got Alan THICKE easily, but I was thinking of Family Ties, which was a show I actually watched back then. I couldn't tell you who played the dad in that one, probably because I was more interested in Justine Bateman.
Terrific, challenging puzzle. Felt like a Saturday to me, and my time reflected it. I fell for a lot of the misdirects and wordplay. Well done!
Put me down as someone who also found this one on the tougher side. It was just one of those puzzles that I had to tug, prod, and poke at until the answers start to emerge from the clues. Especially the NW and SW. Very nice, David. Deb's question and our constructor's quest for 13 sent me on a post-solve read of literary criticism of Wallace Stevens's poem, which I pulled from JStor. My conclusion is similar to Puzzlemucker's -- I think David is using Wallace's blackbird as a metaphor for this particular puzzle grid. Yes, it's exactly the same grid but what we get from each installment depends on the fill and the cluing. It's quintessentially impressionistic. I'll share an exposition of the third stanza that I especially liked from my readings. This comes from Price Caldwell of Mississippi State University, "Metaphoric Structures in Wallace Stevens' 'Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird,'" published in The Journal of English and Germanic Philology (1972): There are at least three movements in the stanza. First, the wind, invisible to the eye, is made visible to the imagination by the whirling blackbird. Second, the chaotic motion of the blackbird in the wind is structured as the formal, abstracted motion of pantomime is juxtaposed to it. Third, pantomime as a mental construction is realized as, in effect, the bird becomes its actor and the winds its stage. As in stanza I the lines create both thing-as-idea and idea-as thing.
(I ran out of room) Perhaps David intended to spur us (or me at least) to go back, read, and think about Wallace's poem, especially its construction, and appreciate the parallels with the construction of crosswords. In today's puzzle, I especially like the center crossings of: SMOKE ALARMS and DEAD BATTERY (test the former after replacing the latter) EAGER BEAVER and SLICED BREAD (the latter being an enthusiastic comment from the former) DOTTED LINES and I'LL BE DARNED (the latter being a remark about the clever cluing of the former)
@Henry Su Price Caldwell's interpretation is very good and insightful. I subscribe to it and to applying it to this puzzle. Between you, Al from Pittsburgh and Puzzlemucker I think you're onto it. Thing as idea; idea as thing. I can ponder that one endlessly. Emu as idea; idea as emu.
I believe V is the artist formerly known as Eve Ensler. She changed it in 2019 to excise her abusive father. I could be wrong.
@Mimi Yes, you are correct. Good point. A bit of trivia: V is the stepmother of actor Dylan McDermott.
A lot of very cheap, very vague and very finicky clues in this one. I think it went beyond challenging into unfair territory.
That was a workout. Took me forever. NW corner was inscrutable until finally it was with HEE then PREACH. DEfER held me back for quite some time, making me wonder whether lOfTEDLINES were good places to sign a painting. Also, I held onto Aqua Velva for far, far too long... An excellent challenge for a Friday morning.
For 30 minutes all I had in the NW was A PE EAD And I thought I was stumped for the first time in a while. Somehow my brain offered up RED TAPE and it finally broke open. Wow, what a tough one.
@Carol I had APE and RED TAPE early on, as well as HEE. Thought of CUTE, too, but thought that was too cute. Le sigh.
@Carol same here! Although my breakthrough was (????)READ and AGILE
@Carol exact same! And then got REDTAPE and thought it would fall into place and… it did not. For a long time. Not sure how I landed on EASYREAD but thank goodness I did, I was just about to google the Gore Vidal quote!
Am I the only one who thought a runner’s goal was a SEAT because they were tired from all of that exercise?
Woo-wee, that was fun. And tough. But fun! Felt like the entire middle was a “don’t-overthink-just-go-with -your-gut” vibe, a few even felt like that Weintraub ease. But the corners were an entirely different puzzle! Extra-crunchy, some Saturday-level, tough crosses. Where were the Oreos, Erie and Eno? Nowhere! This one felt very much like the archives I do early-week for a challenge. Definitely not a repeat of anything I’ve seen lately. Whew! I’m awake now. Terrific puzzle.
A 13-part poetry-crossword mystery saga is an incredibly highbrow and gutsy offering and I’m here for it!! I am totally unqualified to comment but here goes nothing. I think Mr. Williams would like us to notice that crosswords have a formal structure just as poetry has a formal structure, with their particular meanings filled in any number of ways. So is it too far to say that we are engaging in the poetic every time we do a puzzle? Also it occurred to me that if you say “13 Ways to Look at a Crossword” you can see there’s an affinity between “Crossword” and “Blackbird”, the rhyme of course but also the back shift. I love it!! Can’t wait for part IV.
What do you mean, please, by “back shift”?
@Kate Tani I think you are right on the money here. I made a similar comment.
I DID write a comment yesterday, but in the rush to get out the door so early maybe I muffed the submission... And today, practically bleeding from the ears, I have a grid filled with 'best guess' and 'Srsly?' stabs. I'll be back after I scroll down to take a gander at the key. Ah, so....(as the Germans say)...I had DEFER instead of DETER; and my answer fits the clue better, but....that might have helped, but '(upside-down)? quien sabe?' I recognize that the seas are MAREs on the moon, but the way it's clued is opaque at best, and--for me--impossible. Further: I have been on beaches in Europe, in Hawaii (on two different islands), in all the Gulf states, on Caribbean islands, on the Atlantic coast, on the Pacific coast, on the North Sea coast, on the Mediterranean coast, and just guess how often I took a book....!!! anyone? Anyone? Bueller? There are a million things to do on a beach, (keep yr mind out of the gutter) and none of them require a book. Oh, and I have 'Snatched up' children more than a few times, and YANKED was good enough to get them out of harm's way. Only a pig would have YOINKED. I entered that K under protest. Big FAIL for me. Too bad xwordinfo doesn't have a photo of you, David P. Williams; my dartboard needs updating!
@Mean Old Lady I feel a bit better about my epic failure, knowing that at least I'm in good company. My sister from another mister. Not you, emus. ..
@Mean Old Lady I always love reading your comments but I have to disagree with you today - one of the greatest pleasures in life is reading a book with the sound of waves and seagulls as background music. Once you've frolicked in the water and walked the beach end to end hunting shells and spent some time spotting seals and pelicans and stared off into the vast distance thinking deep thoughts and sent the kids off to the hamburger stand for lunch, a book on the beach is paradise. Me too on defer. One of many, many misdirects in this puzzle for me.
I'm late to the party, but I need to comment and say I'm shocked the editors allowed a clue that dead-names the writer V. Especially considering the reasons why she abandoned her former name. Really poor taste from the constructor and editors.
A fine puzzle with tons of zhuzh. Especially the fine vertical and horizontal long triplets, with their musicality and echoes. Especially the dueling CHARGE / DEAD BATTERY TREMOR / STEADY DOLCE / SEL REAPER / VITAE AGILE / TRIP But you know what? Last time I spent a lot of time spotting black birds and trees and what-all in an effort to show how the puzzle related to Wallace Stevens. Very clever of me and all that, but this time I'm just not feeling it. David Williams can explain if he wants (which would have Stevens yoinking his book back in a tizzy) but I'm willing to take it on faith that there's some kinda arcane meaning a smarta** Stevensophile can suss out, but not me. There's probably a whole league of people on this site who have the sriracha to do this. I'm seceding the floor. Love the cluing of SLICED BREAD, love the Hanlon's razor maxim and the quotation from the stylish Gore Vidal. I had CHECK for one arriving tomorrow, supposedly. Fun fact: Samuel Beckett was surprisingly punctual about keeping dates & appointments. Favorite "eager beaver" video (trust me, you'll want to watch this repeatedly, it never gets old): <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ImdlZtOU80" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ImdlZtOU80</a>
@john ezra I'LL BE DAmmED That's a cute beaver. She even yoinked the tree. It looks like she's living the dolce vita.
@john ezra I’m not usually one for cute animal videos, but I enjoyed that one. Thanks!
Statement. I didn't do well on this puzzle. And, in case someone doesn't get that - - it's an understatement. Obladi oblada. ..
@Rich in Atlanta Oh.... nothin' else to do, so here's my puzzle find today. Four 15 letter theme answers: GENERALASSEMBLY CONCERTOFEUROPE LEAGUEOFNATIONS PARISPEACETALKS And... that puzzle appeared on - 9/11 (1979) ..
This coulda been a Monday puzzle. But only an April 1st Monday. Quite challenging. Thanks, David! Shine on, you crazy diamond! I'll see you on the dark side of the moon. (Thirteen Ways of Looking at Pink Floyd?)
Hardest. Puzzle. Ever. And I LOVED it! Thanks!
Man, what a good puzzle - good fill, some wonderful tough and fun clues. Much slower than usual getting a foothold; eventually thought I'd reached critical mass and was flying; but then that NW corner eluded remained elusive for a good while.
An alternative cluing of 31A would capitalize "wonder." (Chuckle, chuckle.)
@Henry Su That's how I interpreted it/finally got the answer!
@Henry Su I laughed after I solved this clue too. Wonder Bread was and is the definition of sliced bread.
The construction of this was clever, but the cluing was too CUTE by half, with some stretched past the breaking point. Seriously, MARE? None of the moon’s maria are a “side,” nor are they necessarily dark. Too many entries seemed designed not merely to challenge solvers but to frustrate them. I solved it (in twice my average Friday time), with a minor ASSIST (just a confirmation via the solving tips of my guess on EASY READ), but can’t say I’m looking forward to 10 more like this one.
Life is too short for a puzzle like this. I'm almost always game for a toughie, but this one...
That was a rough ride. Sometimes you just click with a puzzle, sometimes you don't. I thought this one was risking my streak because it took forever for me to get a real toe hold. Pleased to keep the streak alive (882!).
I felt very clever when, for [Not stiff], I had ALIVE; and still think it would be a CUTE clue/answer pair.
Way above my pay grade. I follow the dictum "no stress" because I must. As much as I love a challenge, it can breed excitement or disquiet. And that's where I must draw the line. Part of the beauty of puzzles is the reminder that I'm in control of what I'm feeling, which makes them a good practice for all of life. And puzzles offer the benefit of putting, right at my fingertips, resources to dial down the disquiet, something not so readily available in life. That's why I turned on autocheck one third of the way in. With that, it became to me what it should be -- a game to tackle, still challenging but without negativity toward it or myself. Of course, this isn't an appraisal of the puzzle itself. My singular experience is always just that. And so I thank Mr. Williams for humbling me and creating a puzzle that, in my case, helped me to self-attune and regain perspective. That said, what I'm loving the most about the puzzle is the Pandora's box opened by the referenced poem. Reading Deb's attempt to figure out the mystery, and the comments about it as well, I immediately thought of Nostradamus and the head-scratching that's ensued from his words, with so many trying to interpret them ahead of the world events they allude to. I'm clinging to optimistic expectation that Mr. Williams will, at some point, be more transparent than Nostradumus was willing to be!
The NW was as tough as any quadrant I’ve ever encountered. Lots of misleads throughout- DEFER not DETER. Apple product *had* to be CIDER. Dark side of the moon? had to be MARS. Tee OFF, Tee PEE … And I’d all but forgotten about PLASMA TVs. So, in conclusion, great puzzle!
@Andrew It was a tough corner for me too and I came here to the comments looking for answers. Could you save the CAPS for the correct answers, please? CORER, not CidER for example? DETER, not DEfER. I mean, is it Tee off or Tee pee? You're not helping anyone with the puzzle, just adding to confusion.
That was some seriously clever clueing. A lot of groaners. This was tough in a fun way. A well constructed puzzle.
Between Dark Side of the Moon and SHINE ON (You Crazy Diamond) I would guess that Mr Williams is a Pink Floyd fan. Bring me champagne when I'm thirsty, Bring me REEFER when I want to get stoned. - Muddy Waters, not Roger
Way off topic, but thought this might be of interest to the Wordplay crowd. I was doing my usual answer searches and sort of stumbled across Chattanooga in that search. And that led me to remember one of my all time favorite word-scramble jokes. Won't tell the whole thing but I think you can figure it out. It involved Roy Rogers and Dale Evans and a mountain lion grabbing some boots. The punchline was: "Pardon me Roy, is that the cat that chewed your new shoes?" Ducking and running. ..
@Rich in Atlanta - Weird! I remember my Dad telling that one when I was a kid. He was fond of shaggy-dog stories, the longer the better. Anyway, for some reason I had thought of this joke, and almost shared it with someone, earlier this week. (This may be an interesting example to the Baader-Meinhof phenomenon that came up in the comments yesterday or the day before.)
Tough. Fun and tough. I believe 42D (PELE) was the answer to final jeopardy this week. Thanks for the great puzzle, David P Williams!
Very difficult Friday. It took me 2 hours and 27 minutes with no lookups. Real brain exercise.
Hardest Friday in a long time. Way over my average. Loved it.
My concern for the 1% was that this would be one of the one percent of puzzles I couldn’t solve. I was right to be so concerned.
A toughie for me—ended up working my way through SE, SW, NE, and finally after much struggle, finished in NW. I had ruled out ADSITE as implausible, so took a while to talk myself back into it.
This one cost me my streak:( how did everyone get into the NW corner?? Even Knowing the answers, I just can’t imagine how I could have gotten a toehold in that corner
@CS How? Very, very s l o w l y. I haven’t done this in awhile: I had to walk away and come back to it. On the bright side — brownie points scored for cleaning the kitty litter box.
@CS I had to put this down and come back to it a few times. Brisk walk always helps. NW was quite tough, but SE was last to fall for me. cc: emu
@CS When I was ready to give up, “Preach” finally came to me & finally unlocked that corner.
Cruel, cruel puzzle. Don’t fool me into thinking it’s Saturday on a Friday morning. Actually, please do. This one was tough but outstanding.
I thought it was my fever (finally succumbed to Covid earlier this week) that was making this so difficult, so I'm happy to see that I wasn't the only one who struggled and that my brain is still functioning. The NW was the toughest section I remember in quite a while. All I had was APE and EASY READ and "you" instead of HEE for the longest time. What finally cracked it for me was remembering all of those "too CUTE by half" comments, so even though that irks me, I'll have to thank some fellow posters for that.
@Nancy J. So sorry you got Covid. Is it the latest strain they are talking about? You know, I don't even know of anyone who has had Covid. Guess I'm very lucky. Today I have cold symptoms so am living on Alka Seltzer severe cold formula. Take care!!!
@Nancy J. I briefly thought VEE for "Tee follower"; "shirt" was too long. I hope you make a quick recovery; my niece came down with COVID Saturday after just visiting her 92-year-old grandmother; luckily, granny has tested negative twice. Niece finally tested negative yesterday. Grandma had the most recent booster in October; niece didn't. People, if you haven't already, get your booster! Those new variants have the potential to turning us--or at least some of us--back to 2020!
The quintessential Friday experience: Nothing. The streak is over. Well, let's try this. Ha -- that's pretty clever. Don't speak Spanish/Portuguese/French, but it makes sense. Never knew that! This corner is impossible. Music. 45 seconds faster than average. Huh. Will Saturday be even worse?
I have nothing against the full but the clueing was overly opaque and tangential even for a Friday. Barely eked it out
13 ways of looking at a blackbird is all about construction of language, about precise conjugations and geometric lingo. I suspect that this is 13 ways of viewing a crossword--each one a new reflection although all have the same shape. I'm sure others have felt the same way. I love the ride thus far.