I loved this puzzle and absolutely will not complain about it being “too easy.” At a certain point, who cares? I’ll take x minutes of sheer fun, which I thought this was. Sure, I love that Saturday feeling of being up against it, of feeling like I might be a lot less good at this Xword thing than I thought I was before I started it, of pushing my brain to its upper limits. But I also love puzzles with personality and this had plenty of it. All of the “?” clues were keepers and the ANDY clue was brilliant. Of course, I’m blown away that a high school sophomore was the primary constructor. Yowsa!
@Puzzlemucker You describe my feelings about this one precisely. It was pure fun with a lot of witty misdirects, both of which I’m perfectly happy to encounter on a Saturday.
@Puzzlemucker What impressed me is that Grace is already keeping "a shortlist ... of longer entries I like." Constructors sure start early these days.
@Puzzlemucker I love this comment. The psyche of a solver 😊
Oh, the freshness of this grid! By fresh I mean answers we have never seen in the Times or have hardly ever seen, meaning that we are not only brushing against newness in answer, but in clue as well. It’s like going someplace you’ve never been before – your interest is immediately magnified. There are ten NYT debut answers here, nine of them bigs (eight letters or more). But it goes beyond that. They are bunched at the heart of the grid, the center stacks. Not just the gorgeous triple horizontal middle stack, but also the stack that begins with RAIL THIN and heads southwest to GLORIOUSLY, and the one starting at BOSS BATTLE, cascading down to CONFIDANT. Every single answer in these three big stacks are either debuts or have appeared only once before in the NYT puzzle! OMG, that is remarkable! That is the opposite of stale. And this group is not ho-hum – my favorite debuts including CULT CLASSIC, HOT SOAKS, JAUNDICE, RUSH JOBS, and TOOK LEAVE. And the one-timers include CONFIDANT, BOSS BATTLE, and NONE TO SOON. So, a highly entertaining solve for me, this grid pulsing with originality. Layer on top of that that this is a debut puzzle (on a Saturday!), made by a father who clued the puzzle, and daughter, a sophomore in high school who designed and filled the grid – and I’m feeling very good about the world and Crosslandia. Thank you, G&G, for knocking my socks off in addition to a most splendid solve. Keep at it – please!
"Want to buy my board game with some missing pieces?" "No dice!" (Now I'm on a roll.)
@Mike Sorry. Anyone who'd try to sell such a sub-par cheesy game must have a checkered past.
@Mike There's something I feel moved to get off my chess. A pawn my word, I would feel rooked if I tried to play a game without even the bare bones—crapped out and board!
@Mike After reading the previous two comments, I'm going to have to Scrabble around to think of something to add new Life to this. At least you don't have a Monopoly here. Are there emus in Catan?
TIL that there are at least 14 different sizes of wine barrels, and that a HOGSHEAD is one of the three most common, somewhere in the middle size-wise. I have a much greater appreciation for the naming of the Hog’s Head in the Harry Potter books. I also learned that the world’s largest wine barrel is considered to be the Heidelberg Tun, holding 220k liters and built with a dance floor on top of it! My source: <a href="https://somerled.com.au/archives/range/wine/wine-jargon-part-2" target="_blank">https://somerled.com.au/archives/range/wine/wine-jargon-part-2</a>/
@Rachel Very interesting article, thanks for posting. TIL that the Heidelberg Tun was built in 1751 using 130 oak trees. The entry HOGSHEAD came right into my mind from the song “Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite” on The Beatles “Sgt. Pepper” album in 1967. The inspiration was from a 1843 circus poster Lennon had purchased. In the lyrics Mr. Henderson was to perform somersaults over men and horses and “lastly through a hogshead of real fire”. The next line’s mention of “Henry the Horse” got the song banned from radio broadcast by the BBC as it supposedly was a slang term for heroin. See: <a href="http://tinyurl.com/49a5bt2f" target="_blank">http://tinyurl.com/49a5bt2f</a>
Loved your original idea for 23A - I wish it had survived. No idea what a BOSS BATTLE is but I can see how it can be the highlight of a video game. I should have got the English word + Spanish equivalent = Boy's name but I was looking for a 2 + 2 and I was still wondering until a few seconds ago why (Spanish) DY should be the same as (English) AN. D'oh! (or is it DUH? - someone here will correct me).
Having hired one of our best workers based nearly entirely on admiring the tattooed visage of John Steinbeck on their shoulder, I am now also perfectly willing to vote for Grace Warrington as President of the United States 18 years from now (when she's 35 or so) because of the staggered triple stack in this puzzle in which she has expressed justifiable pride. Someone so good at stacking can probably do the same for the Supreme Court after all! A double albatross for me means two versions of Baudelaire's "L'Albatros" (1841) from Fleurs du Mal: Often, for pastime, mariners will ensnare The albatross, that vast sea-bird who sweeps On high companionable pinion where Their vessel glides upon the bitter deeps. Torn from his native space, this captive king Flounders upon the deck in stricken pride, And pitiably lets his great white wing Drag like a heavy paddle at his side. This rider of winds, how awkward he is, and weak! How droll he seems, who lately was all grace! A sailor pokes a pipestem into his beak; Another, hobbling, mocks his trammeled pace. The Poet is like this monarch of the clouds, Familiar of storms, of stars, and of all high things; Exiled on earth amidst its hooting crowds, He cannot walk, borne down by his giant wings. -- Richard Wilbur trans. Next one in replies...
Here's the second part of the "double albatross" -- Baudelaire's poem, "L'Albatros" translated by Paul Muldoon: Again and again, for a little light relief, the crew pulls in and pinions an albatross, one of those great ocean- going birds that are effortless companions to a ship attempting the abyss by its own effortless motion. Barely has he been flung down on the planks than this Lord of the Blue is lamed and ashamed; he piddles along with two white wings hanging from his flanks like a pitiable pair of paddles. The winged voyager, how unwieldy he is, how weak! No time ago we found only felicity; now we find only fault. One crewman forces a dudeen into his beak. Another mimics the former highflier who’s now all but halt. The Poet is not unlike this Prince of the Clouds who rode out the storm and suffered the slings and arrows; exiled on dry land, amid the jeering crowds, again and again he’s dragged down by the weight of those wings.
Here's Roy Campbell's "L'Albatros" (1952) Sometimes for sport the men of loafing crews Snare the great albatrosses of the deep, The indolent companions of their cruise As through the bitter vastitudes they sweep. Scarce have they fished aboard these airy kings When helpless on such unaccustomed floors, They piteously droop their huge white wings And trail them at their sides like drifting oars. How comical, how ugly, and how meek Appears this soarer of celestial snows! One, with his pipe, teases the golden beak, One, limping, mocks the cripple as he goes. The Poet, like this monarch of the clouds, Despising archers, rides the storm elate. But, stranded on the earth to jeering crowds, The great wings of the giant baulk his gait.
TIL about BOSS BATTLE--something completely out of my wheelhouse. And I was happy to suss out MANDALORIAN with a few of the cross words. Nice job, Grace and Greg!
Congratulations on a fun NYT debut, Ms Warrington and Mr. Warrington! I enjoyed pulling out little bits of stuff that I have learned from crosswords like BOSS GAME and ERAS. “This Is Spinal Tap” is one of my favorite movies.
@Eric Hougland And the dialogue was all ad-libbed! <a href="https://www.bfi.org.uk/interviews/rob-reiner-how-we-made-this-spinal-tap" target="_blank">https://www.bfi.org.uk/interviews/rob-reiner-how-we-made-this-spinal-tap</a> I hope the sequel is at least half as good.
@Eric Hougland One movie I’ve seen more times than I can count, and still not nearly enough. I feel like we have a bunch of favorites in common. I believe you’ve mentioned John Prine, Lucinda, Tom Waits, and now Spinal Tap. If I say you have great taste, I’d be complimenting myself, so I’ll just say, I bet you’re a fun fella to hang with.
Nice puzzle and I think the constructors really rocked it with their original clue for 23A.
@Ed Me too! I don’t know a lot of RUSH songs, but at least I’ve heard of Geddy Lee and Neil Peart. Clever!
@Ed I had never heard of Geddy Lee until today, when a friend recommended I read his memoir. During the same conversation, I admitted to being a crossword addict. And, now, despite knowing nothing about rock music, I was able to recognize his name in youth e Wordplay column. Amazing.
That southeast quadrant was a killer!
The NW corner came in so effortlessly for me that I expected this to be an easy puzzle. But it ended up being a "keep-the-faith" solve that I was sure at times I wouldn't finish without cheats. There was challenge-a-plenty and I really enjoyed it. I thought I was home free when CULT CLASSIC and then the wonderful NONE TOO SOON came in. But not so fast. I hadn't yet contended with the crossings of the wonderfully-clued CONFIDANT (my last answer in; it looked DOOK-y and I couldn't see it), ELON (I knew the SUNS were in a more professional league, so I avoided writing them in, but I didn't know ELON at all) and the completely baffling double albatross clue. I've played golf, if you want to call my hacking "playing", but no one ever told me about the double albatross. Because probably they took one look at my game and thought: "Poor thing -- that's terminology she will NEVER have any need for!" A word about the peculiar cluing of ERAS (10A). Boy, does that ever represent the narcissistic, self-involved age we live in! We used to have things like the Depression Era and the World War II Era and the Civil Rights Era -- and now we have...what? My Kindergarten "Era"? Your Getting Your First Car "Era"? Good grief. My faux "rant" aside, I loved this puzzle -- finding it challenging, well-clued and involving.
@Nancy -- I love how you followed your sentence with NONE TOO SOON with one with "not so fast". Et tu, Emu.
@Nancy 10D is what did me in. I finished the puzzle with one of my best times--I thought--but then took forever to figure out that the E in that square was what was blocking the happy music. (I had an O.) Humbling that I had all the proper nouns correct and my miss was a perfectly fair clue, not a Natick.
This was a lively puzzle and fun to work. I nearly TOOK LEAVE of my senses, with so many slightly off-kilter clues—warnings to PLAY IT SAFE and not be over CONFIDeNT or I'd wind up a DAMSEL in distress. (Consider the PAR FIVE MAN HOLE.) Thanks for the fun, Warringtons. You made my Friday Saturday.
Enjoyable Saturday puzzle. Typical long workout for me, with a couple of googles early on, but then just a lot of pondering and working the crosses and... actually managed to come in a fair amount below my Saturday average. And then a big 'wow' moment after reading the constructor's comments. 14 years old. Wow. Just wow. And... was VERY surprised at the number of the very familiar answers that were debuts in this puzzle: RUSHJOBS MANDALORIAN JAUNDICE CULTCLASSIC and a couple of others. And... even HOGSHEAD and CONFIDANT had never been in a Shortz era puzzle before. One answer history search today was for: DAMSELINDISTRESS Well... 16 letters, so it's never been in a puzzle, but 'distress' was in the clue for DAMSEL (and DAMSELS) several times. I'm done. Looking forward to more from the Warringtons. ..
@Rich in Atlanta Ooohh - and puzzle find today. This was a fairly recent puzzle (Thursday September 3, 2020), so I suspect that most here had done it (I had, but had completely forgotten it). Anyway.... the reveal in the puzzle was BOUNCEBACK and there were four theme answers. Here are the clues and answers as rendered. One letter in each of the theme answers was circled and I've put those in parentheses: "Fried Hanukkah treat." EKACNA(P)OTA "Apollo command module, for one." ELU(S)PACE "Home of Whitman College." NOTGNIHSA(W)ALLAW "Fruity loaf with a moist texture" DAER(B)ANA Oh, and there were... 539 comments on Wordplay for that puzzle. As you might guess - they weren't all positive. Here's the Xword Info link: <a href="https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=9/3/2020&g=38&d=A" target="_blank">https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=9/3/2020&g=38&d=A</a> ..
What do you call a cross between a kealoa and a Natick? That’s what HOPIN/BINET felt like to me — I had HOP oN instead, which fits nearly as well, and BoNET sounded perfectly reasonable. Other than that minor nit, which is on me as much as the puzzle, this was a beauty. As the father of two now college-age daughters I love the collaboration (and am super-impressed by Grace, who — judging by the constructor notes — is already a sophisticated constructor as a sophomore in high school!) That middle stack was lovely — as Sam wrote, a great combo of old (“Rocky Horror”) and new (MANDALORIAN) pop culture references, with some great crosses. Thanks to the Warrington duo for a sparkling and smooth Saturday, and looking forward to more!
The resulting puzzle is a gem, but I'm even more impressed by Ms. Warrington being so young and having started doing puzzles only three years ago. And that this is a father-daughter collaboration is so very touching! The cluing tripped me up in many places, as did the answers themselves with unknowns to me (HOGSHEAD, BEAN, HELEN, DAMSEL bug, PARFIVE and double albatross, ADESTE...) Just as I think I'm getting better at this, a puzzle comes along and puts me in my place. Touché, Ms. and Mr. Warrington! And thank you. It's good to be humbled now and again. Well done, and congratulations on a stellar Saturday NYT début!
@sotto voce Casting wide the puzzle net, @sotto, but no luck as of yet. Lighthouse in the storm, gotta keep shining 😊
That bottom right corner was brutal. I finished the whole puzzle except for that in about 10-15 minutes and was stuck for another half hour before giving up. I guess just bad luck that I had no clue about ADESTE, DAMSEL, and BINET and they were all stuck together.
@Jon same, very tough corner, almost impossible without the trivia
@Jon I had virtually the same experience. I hate it when this happens, nice steady progress and then SLAM! Face in the dirt. Despite having almost everything in the bottom center I couldn’t make hay with the SEASONPASS and HOGSHEAD connectors. RDA and aHME (thought it couldn’t get worse than “ah, me” but nope, we have OHME too) weren’t enough to seed my brain and with that… I was grumped out and a proper menace to fair play. That should have been the signal to hang it up, go to bed and try again in the afternoon. But I was weak and I looked up the answer for HOGSHEAD, but that didn’t help either and I ended up going to bed anyway. Instant DNF with a side of still-not-done. Ignominy. Disgrace. After putzing around for the first part of the day, I opened the puzzle and bing bang boom. NBA, ANGLE, REHANG, DAMSEL. Didn’t need stupid HOGSHEAD after all. Had to keyboard cycle to get the “T” for the BINET, ADESTE cross but it ultimately was not unsolvable for me. Curse my late night crankiness.
@Jon Same same. Usually I can eke out at just enough to fill in the gaps but that bottom right corner was my nadir.
“Double albatross, eh? That must be when you take way too many shots. Probably, like, say, 15 shots on a PAR NINE hole.” I submit my thinking so that you golf people can have a good laugh. Now I see that “albatross” means the opposite of what it sounds like it should, and there’s no such thing as par nine. Enjoyed the puzzle, GW&GW, and the extra laugh from my golf goof.
@Cat Lady Margaret Haha! I have no excuse. I know what a golf albatross is and still put in PAR FOUR before FIVE. Some people learn a new language in retirement, others study Classics or take up an instrument. My plan is take a remedial math course.
I, too thought a "double albatross" surely had to refer to scoring OVER par by some particularly embarrassing amount. I'm surprised to learn that it's actually a good thing! 😆
@Cat Lady Margaret Although I've played golf all my life, I never knew the origin of the nicknames for under-par scores on a hole. If there's any sense to it, the birds seem to increase in size as the hole score is lower under par. Common usage is: birdie (one-under par), eagle (two-under par), albatross AKA double-eagle (three-under par), condor (four-under par). The last is only possible with a hole-in-one on a par 5, or by taking only two shots on a par 6 hole (which is itself a rare bird). I found this article which explains the origins better than I can: <a href="https://www.scottishgolfhistory.org/origin-of-golf-terms/bogey" target="_blank">https://www.scottishgolfhistory.org/origin-of-golf-terms/bogey</a>/ Last fall I scored the second eagle of my golfing life, holing out a pitching wedge shot from 105 yards out on a par 5, the 18th hole of the lovely Tacoma Country and Golf Club, where I was a guest of a member.
The southeast sector really threw me off, but generally had a great time with the rest. ABASE, ASCETIC, BOSSBATTLE? Don’t see those every day!
Well, this was slightly harder than Friday. That's something, I guess. In addition to Rush, the puzzle has echoes of Taylor Swift with ERAS and SHADE. And while Grace highlights the staggered triple stack, my eyes turned to the entries down the middle: you have AMASS and HOARD (do plutocrats COO?), and the image of triumphing in a BOSS BATTLE GLORIOUSLY. Great to see you in the late week, Sam.
Oh, yeah, I left one more pairing down the middle: Your BEAN is a good place to store INFO.
Here's my second attempt: One more observation about the entries down the middle: Your BEAN is a good place to store INFO.
Hi all - Had a tough time with the Northeast corner - held on to REED THIN way too long , and NO DEAL ( I've seen too many commercials lately for DEAL OR NO DEAL ) . Finally broke through with ascetic. Challenging fun puzzle - loved CULT CLASSIC in the middle . As a budding constructor at age 66 I am astonished, amazed and impressed that a high school sophomore is constructing- way to go Grace ! Hope to see you at the ACPT .
@Cathy Parrish had all those as well! Also oLDESTSON. o to E won the day. Great puzzle
Greg's RUSHJOBS clue was far superior to the editorial substitution in my mind. Of course, the first album I ever bought was Permanent Waves, so I may have a different perspective than most. Like many, the SE corner was nearly my downfall. I was proud to recognize NBA on my first pass, and RDA was a straightforward fill, but the rest... The puzzle was a smooth solve for me otherwise, with each pass through the grid filling in more answers. An enjoyable way to start my Saturday.
Seems like we’re all agreed . . ANDY for the Crossword Hall of Fame?
I solved this one in fairly good order, except for trying firstborn before settling on ELDESTSON. I held on to my mistake a little too long because the terminal N fit nicely with MANDALORIAN. I enjoyed seeing the word HOGSHEAD crop up. I’m not sure why. It’s just a word that tickles my fancy.
@Marshall Walthew I went down the same path except with an additional deviation. First born became oLDEST SON and I was still wondering whether 'oras' was some sort of social media lingo that had passed me by - which would be entirely normal - when the 'You really should not be allowed to cross the street on your own' message came up and I was scrambling for corrections.
I had HOPoN x BoNET down there in that tricky little south east quadrant. A very nice puzzle with a crosser or two that definitely added tens of minutes to my solve. But it wouldn’t be a Saturday unless we all spent a little time in Natick! Gotta love a good Saturday.
A double albatross, eh? Challenge for TWO Ancient Mariners? They stoppeth two in three, mayhap? Had never heard of that. PAR FIVE....double albatross (birdie? Hmm) Looking at this with a JAUNDICEd eye. I was unable to work during the last few months of a pregnancy....and saying I TOOK LEAVE would seriously misrepresent the situation. No teach, no pay. Best of luck to ya! (But they *were* nice enough to let me keep paying the health insurance premiums, which was a life-saver in those days.) I think I read AGASSI's book way back when... interesting. This is a low-energy day; the deluge in the night woke me up. We've already had 8" this month and actually did not need more IF ANYBODY IS LISTENIING! Mud, GLORIOUS mud! .
@Mean Old Lady With the Ancient Mariner in mind, I assumed that an albatross was a bad thing for a golfer to have hanging around his neck. I play golf infrequently enough that I'm likely to score a 'snowman' on a PAR FIVE hole, meaning an 8.
I sailed through until I got to the SE corner, which took me about as long as the rest of the puzzle for some reason. As an example of my confusion, I had FIRSTCLASS for "big ticket purchase" (45A) for a long time. Confusing Steven Vincent's last name with Alfred's also cost me a good amount of soul-searching (49A). All that works with HOGSHEAD, ADESTE and REHANG, by the way.... After I gloriously solved that recalcitrant corner, I had to go up and realize that OLDESTSON gave me ORAS, which could be slang for life phases, for all I know, but that ERAS would make better sense.... which it did. I had a lot of fun with this--I thought the cluing was quite wonderful and a lot of unusual answers. And I am in awe of it being the (partial) product of a high school sophomore! Thanks very much, Grace and Greg!
The column today had me cracking up picturing a double albatross. Great puzzle too! The central entries were great and each corner felt like its own level of difficulty. BINET/ADESTE was a little mean though. Has anyone else noticed how much IOTA has showed up the past week or so? It's crosswordese of course, but it's been especially heavy lately. Even once in the mini!
@IV Yes, I noticed that too.
Gotta love a high school sophomore who appreciates Spinal Tap!
Hats off to those for whom this was easy. Perfect Saturday for me. Difficult but ultimately solvable. 5 min over average. Extremely satisfying. More from the Warringtons, please!
Thank you Grace and Greg for this rather extraordinary debut! Ranks among the most fun solves in recent memory, As an avid admirer of all constructors, I often enjoy the notes as much as the puzzles. The Warringtons, clearly a very special father/daughter team, did not disappoint. Then along comes @johnezra with three (three!) translations of poignant poetry to ponder humanity, for better or worse, in the afterglow of a first rate puzzle. Great way to start the day! Loved the comments (and Saturday Sam). I’ll be off to work with a smile thanks to all of you.
Everyone is glowing (justifiably so) over the mountain of fun answers and clues, but are we really not going to talk about RDA / ADESTE / ANGLE? What a brutal crossing. Emus please don’t throw SHADE.
@Edward Now, now. You'll get those next time! Emus Make Shade With their plumes...
@Edward RDA/ADESTE was actually my stab at an anchor in the SE! I can’t imagine if I didn’t have that, considering that my final issue in the SE was not knowing three letters crossing HOPIN in HOGS_EAD (hogsmead sounded like a thing), _HME (a or o?) and B_NET (probably an I?).
ELON alum here celebrating a saturday PB (9:39)!! Thanks Grace & Greg for the collegiate shout-out :)
@Abigail, Wow! A double win for you, then!
Quick but nice. MANHOLE brought back memories of sticking a rake handle in the notch and sliding the cover aside to retrieve a Pensie Pinky that rolled down the sewer during a stickball game. We became much more careful after my brother nearly lost his big toe. CONFIDANT is such a great word and Secret lover? was an excellent clue. I was surprised to see that the word was a debut in the Shortz ERA.
@Nancy J. "Spaldeens" were my stickball go tos!
Really nice puzzle that was slightly above my pay grade, so required some use of Check Puzzle. Thank you Warringtons. (Loved seeing my dad's name at the end.)
@Vaer Your dad's name is ANGLE? !!!! !!! !!! (It sure ain't emu!!!)
John Ezra's contribution this morning is, as always, a very bright addition, or to be exact, several bright additions to the discussion. My dear friend and quondam chess opponent was chairman of the U of M's French and Italian Department for many years. He adamantly refuses to read any literature in translation, maintaining that such is an implacable distortion of the original. While denying himself "War and Peace" e.g., the validity of his point is clearly demonstrated by the wildly variant versions JE has generously provided us: dark, smudged, faintly-mirrored murmurs of Baudelaire. Lots better than nuthin', though, one could easily argue. My last golf outing, despite years of diligent practice, resulted in the wedge busted over my knee and the rest of the clubs tossed into the adjacent water hazard. Is it any wonder then that the wee pup BB has never heard the term "double albatross?" "ARF," she cried, in wonderment. Thanks for the fun, and a very fine puzzle.
@Foster Thanks for the shout out! Of course you're absolutely correct: translations rarely if ever match the power, nuance, multiplicity of meanings, music and intent of the original, but as you say "Lots better than nuthin'." Even worse, an in-depth analysis of any work in translation is basically limited to the translator's take (and implicit analysis) of the original. As someone who never became fluent in a second language -- and envious of those who are -- I've had to settle for translations to read some of the greats. Prose translations can often hew more closely to the original than verse, but still always a reduction and a loss. Better than nuthin'.
@Foster One of the core ideas in R. F. Kuang’s “Babel, or the Necessity of Violence” is the tension inherent in translation, and the novel has some wonderful discussions about what translation is and what translators do. It’s a beautifully written book.
Only in Burlington would one say Eldest vs. Oldest. I think an American Pie pizza would be suitable compensation. Guess who used to live in Vermont? Nice one except for the aforementioned error on our part. We are off to Eudora Welty's Home (Why I live at the PO) and then onto Bentonia's Blue Front Cafe (aka Juke Joint). Thank you Greg and Grace
@dk took me ages because I could only think of the common teem: first born son
An excellent themeless Saturday with all the bells and whistles. Like others, I was bemused by "ANDY" in 51A, incorrectly parsing it to AN and DY. Appreciate the comments that explained it - quite the brilliant clue. Congratulations to the Warringtons (and a big wow to Grace - a high school sophomore that knows Rocky Horror and Spinal Tap!)
This was a nice puzzle. Wasn’t sure if I’d be able to get through it on my first couples passes. But I really disliked the answer “Oh Me” Oh me instead of oh my? Have never heard Oh Me, that just sounds really off
@Jake Agreed. "Ah me" or "Oh my", but "Oh me" is definitely forced.
@Jake Agree. I had "ah me", then changed to "oh my" then just let it go and solved it with the crosses. It still didn't sit well.
Seems like Mando would fit in nicely at The Hog’s Head… NBA…has that been clued like that before? Loved it! And HOPIN…great misdirects in this one. A few minutes off a personal best — I was expecting a bit of a tougher road for a Saturday but I really enjoyed this puzzle through and through. Thanks so much!
@Browncoat “Org. that prohibits traveling” and “Org. that discourages traveling” have been used. I think “concerned with” takes it up a notch because it brings AAA into play.
@Puzzlemucker agreed - this was an excellent variation and misdirect. Once I had '__A', my first two ideas were TSA and AAA. :)
One of those Saturdays where intuition must come to the rescue of ignorance. Atop the list of things in this puzzle I don't know is .... how I ever finished it! But the 'don't' is now 'didn't' -- which is why we solve in the first place.
Very impressed by this father and daughter team and certainly look forward to more. Maybe a fun theme next time.
Smooth sailing until I reached the bottom corners. Probably needed more sleep but soldiered through. Knew DAMSEL flies but that clue really bugged me. Not remembering ELON SERTainly held things up on the other side. A charming debut and hope to see more from this dynamic duo! I hope Mr. Kite will benefit from that HOGSHEAD of wine.
@John Ditto! Crackek those corners after a night's rest. No flies on us, eh? 😉
@John TIL that DAMSEL bugs and DAMSELflies are two different things. And yes, I have Lennon-McCartney to thank for HOGSHEAD.
What. Just. Happened. I loved the puzzle. Zero nits to pick. I did get lucky knowing a couple things like SERT BINET… But I just flew through this like a Tuesday! Save for actually moving the cursor on my iPad, it was a Tuesday, time-wise! Okay, mayyyyybe a light Wednesday. Was it just a lucky day for me? Oh, and I loved it! The clueing, phrases…all of it! So I lied, the only nit I’ll pick is that it’s over and my cuppa is still nearly full and warm! Is it upside-down day? Cannot just be me. I’m simply not that clever.
@CC Ahhh…now I’ve read the comments. I am clearly not alone. But I want to add, what a remarkable feat of this young constructor to so beautifully create misdirects, using fresh, animated fill and give us all a fun Saturday. Thank you Grace and Greg! Please keep ‘em coming!
Whew! This solve took a bit longer than normal as I couldn’t find a decent pace and place to gain momentum. Little by little I was able to inch forward to completion. Happily, one of my first answers was CULTCLASSIC. Applause for the Warringtons. Looking forward to future challenges form this duo.
Oh my (OHME???) that SE corner was a toughie! And I had LEASESOUT as my immediate gimme, except.it.was.wrong . . .
I had lots of fun with this puzzle and finished in near PR time. Congrats to the constructors on a very fun and clever Saturday!
Sam's explanation of an albatross and a condor is not quite correct. They are not the same. An albatross is three under par, so on a PAR FIVE, it is not a hole-in-one but rather it is two strokes. A hole-in-one on a par four is an albatross. A condor is 4 under par, so it is a hole-in-one on a PAR FIVE- (or two strokes on a par six). In my golfing days, I never needed to know those terms. I mostly recorded bogey, double bogey( buzzard) and even double par quite often.
@coloradoz in this case the clue is "double-albatross", rather than the single, which carries it to the equivalent of a condor.
@coloradoz A double eagle, like an albatross, is three under par, one stroke better than an eagle.. Gene Sarazen shot a famous one at The Masters. <a href="https://www.augusta.com/masters/story/history/1935-sarazens-double-eagle-makes-history-second-masters" target="_blank">https://www.augusta.com/masters/story/history/1935-sarazens-double-eagle-makes-history-second-masters</a> A double albatross is by analogy one stroke better than an albatross and thus a hole-in-one on a par 5 as clued.
Would loved to have solved your 23A clue and glad you referenced it in your comment. Any HS soph who loves "Spinal Tap" has got a wicked (and I'm sure delightful) sense of humour. Good going Dad & Dot!
@MRG I second the motion to restore the original 23A clue. It would have been a gimme for some of us, but it is clever, and those guys deserve a shout out now and then. Fun puzzle even if I got bogged down in the SE.
Congratulations, Warringtons, on a wonderful Saturday puzzle. I wondered if the father-daughter dynamic gave rise to some generational one-upsmanship, in which Grace drew upon her SocMed savvy and Swift-boated the old man with ERAS, whereupon Greg played the Dad card by reciting a line from the Music Man referring to obsolete containers: "Gone with the HOGSHEAD cask and demijohn, gone with the sugar barrel, pickle barrel, milk pan, gone with the tub and the pail and the tierce.” But Grace threw down the gauntlet and used her gaming experience to win the BOSSBATTLE Royale! Clever clueing on ANDY. At first, I’m like AN and DY? Duh!