The quotation attributed to A.A. Milne in 55-across does not actually appear to be from Milne's work at all; it's one of many false Winnie-the-Pooh quotations (or what I call a "FauxPooh") that spreads virally across the internet. The real bear of very little brain would never have stooped to such saccharine levels. An article that discusses the misquoted Pooh phenomenon, including this very quotation as an example of words never penned by Milne: <a href="https://dirt.fyi/article/2022/09/misquoting-winnie-the-pooh" target="_blank">https://dirt.fyi/article/2022/09/misquoting-winnie-the-pooh</a>
@Caroline I must agree. I have read the most insipid quotes falsely attributed to Winnie-the-Pooh, Alice in Wonderland and others widely circulating on the internet.
@Caroline Well spotted and beautifully put. Especially like FauxPooh. I had no idea that ersatz Poohisms are a thing. Is nothing sacred? And "stooped to such saccharine levels" had a great resonance with Pooh's love of honey -- I. e. true, pure, organic sweetness as opposed to artificial sweeteners like saccharine (and of course saccharine's primary meaning, too).
@Caroline Thank you, Caroline. When I got that answer, I was skeptical that it was a true Pooh quote. I read it to my husband, and he agreed it sounded like FauxPooh. I Googled the quote, and got a variety of hits, but not one of them mentioned the book or chapter from which it allegedly came.
How many times in one month can “ATTA” appear in the NYT Crossword?
Yes, and how many times must the cannonballs fly Before they're forever banned? the answer, my emus...
And tomorrow's NYTimes headline? 500,000 people just learned the correct spelling of WHACAMOLE" 😉
@MP Rogers Yes! A definite TIL fact for me! It was very difficult to not make another rebus out of CK. But I will remember that from now on.
The theme and grid were Greek to me, But I am not to blame. I do not know this game at all. I do not know this game. But lo! The "Aha Moment" -- Wow! "Aha, Aha!!!" I cry. The rebus "HOLE" gets changed to "MOLE"!!!! And I can't tell you why. I feel so smart! I stand apart! I drifted blithely o'er That blasted game I cannot name, But didn't hurt my score! I saw the hitch; I made the switch From HOLE to MOLE in time. The theme's obscure, and yet I'm sure This puzzle was sublime!
@Nancy - fantastic - sublime! And emulicious.
When the dog, the mole, and the pig need to get something done, they'll have to beg, burrow, and squeal. (I like the mole most of all, but I have tunnel vision.)
@Mike The pig ought to be careful, since they make sausage out of ground hog. Unless it's emu sausage. After all, they lay green eggs.
Looked up “holecules” just in case. Turns out they are not a thing.
I understand the Aztecs created the original, albeit, more messy version of this game: GUACAMOLE cc: emu handler
And then there's the Mexican sauce made with holy water: Holy Mole emu emu emu emu . . . it's emus all the way down
As someone born and raised in Lyon (and still living there), I’m also happy to find my city as a clue in this puzzle. On a side note I’m still not good enough to solve a Sunday puzzle without help (I do for Monday puzzles though) but I’m gradually getting there. It’s a work in progress. 🙂
@Laurent You should be infinitely proud of the ability to do even a Monday puzzle in a foreign language. As a late coming beginner to learning French, I can’t imagine being able to do ANY crossword in your language. Bravo!
Rebuses, shaded squares, left/right grid symmetry – a grab bag – yet nothing out of whac. Fun to fill in, to discover which rebus was unlike the others, to smile at the play on “knuckle” in the NOOGIE clue and the play on “spot” in the TEATIME clue, to nod with respect at the exemplary misdirect [Make perfect, maybe] for PRACTICE, and to say hello to PLOSIVE and PALPITATE – a couple of old friends I haven’t visited in many an age. And yet, what I’m walking away most with comes from Nathan’s notes, where he reveals he worked on perfecting this puzzle for more than two years, including many iterations. The persistence, drive for excellence, and patience, not to mention working to bring the best experience possible to the solver – I’m wowing and bowing at that; I find it deeply inspiring. Thank you for your example, Nathan, and for bringing the fun of the arcade into the pleasure of filling in the box. All you put into this, IMO, handsomely paid off!
@Lewis I generally enjoy reading your comments, but I wonder: has there ever been a puzzle you didn't love? Not trying to be snarky, just curious.
One thing I love more than reading comments from the anti-rebus sect is reading the chorus of replies amounting to one big STFU. Rebuses have been around since the cave paintings of Lascaux and the tombs of the pharaohs. And these were clearly signaled. So lighten up and deal with it. Now I think I’ll buy myself a MOLESKINe notebook, and never ever write a word in it. Only rebuses. Nice 8-bit mallet, by the way. Can’t touch this.
@LordBottletop Perfect. (emus want much in perfection)
@LordBottletop Your post made me spit out my morning tea! Very funny. Loved this clever, fun puzzle! The rebus entries were well signaled and created a fun solve. Only trouble was SAMSA/PLOSIVE crossing. Had to whack away at the top square with lots of letters to finally get it done. Very appropriate ending! Great job, Mr Hasegawa!
@LordBottletop Loved the 8 bit mallet graphic, but it took me straight to Minecraft before I even filled in the letters. I eventually dug out the correct answers.
Thanks for the fun and clever puzzle, Nathan! And kudos to the genius who made it possible for online solvers to enjoy the graphics!
Cool fact -- I've worked with Nathan's father on a court case. Making that familial connection (I didn't with Nathan's debut in April 2021) served as an extra revealer for me. ATTA keeps making experiences, this time as a BOY.
(Ugh) I meant to type "appearances" Not "experiences"
(Third attempt) Darn. I meant to type "appearances" Not "experiences." Sometimes my fingers seem to have a mind of their own.
@Henry Su Or, conversely, sometimes my mind seems to have fingers of its own. Bless its heart.
Just completed this puzzle in the back of a VAN with the band Marche Funèbre on the road to Paris, where I'll be filling in as their lead guitarist tonight. We're on at six thirty at Le Klub! #bandlife
@Robrecht Shred 'em at Le Klub Scene tonight, sir! Sounds like tons o' fun. The wee pup BB wishes she could be there, as does her human.
@Foster Thank you, and kLUB SCENE! I can't believe I missed that one!
I could almost post the same comment as yesterday. Won’t complain about this being “too easy.” Loved the theme and thought the execution was first-rate, including the tech crew’s ending graphic. I think we need a little Little RICHARD. Fits with the theme, “Keep -a-Knockin’”: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sAh7O9eHNHk" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sAh7O9eHNHk</a>
@Puzzlemucker There really can't be too much Little Richard.
What a fun puzzle, with surprises popping up all over the place. I like the fun fact clue for REWROTE and the charming Pooh quote for MILNE. Such clever wordplay for PRACTICE, BLACK HOLE and MOLECULES. Great debut of CLUB SCENE and HOME STATE. As a New Yorker I love the extremely clever “Five Burrows” alternative title. Well done, Nathan. Indeed a SMASHING SUCCESS.
As someone who has devoted my career to solving climate change (how’s that going by the way? :/), I have a gentle correction to Nathan’s clue for 56A. I feel a bit bad about this especially since Nathan cited it as one of his favorites but in the interest of precision … The OZONE HOLE, the environmental problem addressed by the Montreal Protocol, is *not* a climate issue. The ozone layer, a region of the stratosphere, absorbs almost all of the sun’s ultraviolet radiation — thus protecting life on the surface (including us). In the 1970s, scientists discovered that chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) — manmade chemicals used in refrigeration, cooling, aerosols, and other applications — were depleting the ozone layer (atmospheric circulation and polar temperatures means that ozone depletion is concentrated over the poles, leading to a “hole” over the Antarctic where the lowest ozone levels have been recorded). The 1987 Montreal Protocol instituted a phaseout of CFCs (and, subsequently, other ozone-depleting chemicals) that has led to a dramatic reduction in ozone-depleting substances, leading scientists to project that the ozone layer will slowly recover to 1980 levels over the next several decades. All of that is a triumph of science and international diplomacy. However, it is distinct from climate change. (cont’d on next post…)
@Nat K I had similar but much less thorough thoughts. Hmm, not really climate change, but what else could it be…
… Climate change is the rise in average global temperature (and associated impacts, such as sea level rise and an increase in frequency and severity of extreme weather events) due to anthropogenic emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases. So, while the OZONE HOLE is indeed an urgent environmental problem, it has little to do with the climate crisis we now face. There is an interesting footnote here, however. While the *problem* of ozone depletion is not a climate issue, the *solution* to it — the Montreal Protocol — has been leveraged to help address the climate crisis. Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) are industrial chemicals developed largely as a substitute for ozone-depleting CFCs. While HFCs do not deplete the ozone layer, they are powerful contributors to climate change, with global warming potentials hundreds or thousands of times that of CO2. The Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol, agreed in 2016, adds HFCs to the list of controlled substances under the Protocol and thus sets a timeline for their phasedown as well. Some analyses project that the Kigali Amendment will avoid 0.5 degree Celsius of warming by 2100, which would represent a major contribution toward meeting the Paris Agreement goal of limiting warming to well below 2 degrees above preindustrial levels and pursuing efforts to limit it to 1.5 degrees C.
@Nat K I wondered about that. Thanks for the explanation, and thank you for your service.
Well, this was just a ton of fun (I should have said 'w0le lot of fun' but couldn't come up with a way to illustrate that nicely.) Quite a few Unknowns for me: ZIP CAR, Don deLILLO, WHACAMOLE (as spelt), PIA, AOL's original name, the musical SIX (though not difficult to guess, speaking of WHACk)..... and just when we got resigned to the appearance of ATTA WAY, here comes the MUCH MORE USUAL 'ATTA BOY'..... I did take Phonetics my senior year in undergraduate study; it was mildly interesting, especially since I had never been taught any phonics at all (like many kids, having figured it out--imperfectly--on my own.) Dick, Jane, and Baby Sally, your legacy is illiteracy! (My mother was an early victim of the "Look-Say Method." She never learned to read or spell well, doomed by her learning disability and the misguided 'teaching' schema.)
@Mean Old Lady, a friend who used to live in Pakistan once told me that PIA stood for "perhaps I arrive"! In those days they didn't have the best safety record. That one was a gimme for me since that joke has stuck in my head for 40 years!
A gentle and playful Sunday — just the thing for a foggy, rainy day. And a clue sparking thoughts of ‘A Farewell to Arms.’ I’ve never read a biography of Hemingway, or even serious literary criticism on any of his work. In fact, the last time I had thought about Hemingway was in high school, when I rammed my way through 4 of his novels in the space of a week or so and wrote the usual essays. I had called his prose pithy and had thought it terse; called it unadorned and meant simplistic. I spent the next 30 years calling it my least favorite prose style. Which was simplistic. I went back to Hemingway last summer, prompted by something I read. In a space of a week or so, I breathlessly read 4 novels. And then I spent the next week or so just thinking. I marveled at how much could be said without saying much about it at all. I thought about Hobbes and thought that maybe Hemingway had read him—of course he had read him—and that he then set out to append an adjective to a declaration of his: that life was “nasty, brutish, and short”— and also beautiful. “The world breaks every one and afterward many are strong at the broken places. But those that will not break it kills. It kills the very good and the very gentle and the very brave impartially. If you are none of these you can be sure it will kill you too but there will be no special hurry.” The chapter ends there. The next one opens with gardens fresh from the rain and a “lake in the sunlight with the mountains beyond.”
A very clever, fun puzzle. I was stuck, but hammered it out with the help of the gray squares.
I looked at the empty grid but the only game it brought to mind was Tetris. Fortunately, I gave that idea up quickly. This was a very entertaining puzzle, and I love rebuses, so I was all in. For those who aren’t quite comfortable with rebuses yet, the circles in the grid representing “holes” were a gentle introduction. I found the mole, and thought that perhaps there would be others, but WHAC-A-MOLE took care of that. TIL how to spell that correctly! My WHAC-A-MOLE experience was primarily overseeing my younger brothers and trying to prevent them from killing themselves or others, so I clearly wasn’t paying attention to spelling. Many clever clues to go along with the theme and the end-of-puzzle illustrations. Thanks for the fun!
Quite a clever puzzle—I'd have to say it left quite an impression on me. I was almost ready to put HOLE in every rebus spot, but decided to wait on the clues and surrounding letters, and that turned out to be the right move. I had seen the 11,111 vs. 123,454,321 relationship before and remembered that the former was the square root of the latter; but that obviously was incorrect. Having idolIZE before HEROIZE gummed up the works for a while, but I finally got it FACTORed out. Lots of misdirection in this one, but I finally nailed it. Glad you hammered this one out, Nathan, it's a smash hit!
@JayTee I was too precipitous and put MOLE in each of the squares with circles. The lack of a MOLE made MOLESKIN difficult to see.
@JayTee 11,111 is both a factor and the square root of 123,454,321. No difficulty being both....
HOLE-Y MOLE-Y! That was fun. The emus are gonna gobble this right up. ***************************
I had the S for the choir director’s command, so had some fun with that: SING! SOFT! SLOW! SOUL! SPIN! SOLO! SOAR! STOP! SSSH! (On another subject: Can you score an albatross in whacamole?)
@Cat Lady Margaret thanks for the giggles with your fun post!
I saw the random circles and shaded squares and went henpecking for the revealer and tried Donkey Kong after staring at the puzzle a bit which didn't fit. I then tried to solve the area with the shaded boxes first but that didn't click so I headed back up to the SE and WHACAMOLE came with SMASHING. Actually I left out the C just in case it was a k. In crosswordland you never know... there may be a DUkETS lol. I had the toughest time in that shaded area but it ended up helping when I realized they spelled out MALLET. When I got the music I was a little disappointed with the lil rebuses but when I closed the overlay and the little graphics showed up I was hooked. LOL. super cute.
What fun! Thank you, Nathan and the NYT Crosswords team. Shout-out to the engineers behind the finished digital grid. Delightful.
I loved solving this puzzle! I laughed out loud when I finally figured out the theme, then again when I figured out the gray squares. Thank you, Mr. Hasegawa, and well done!
That was fun! Great puzzle, thank you. I found it very challenging since I'm not familiar with the game - so the result was especially rewarding. More like this, please.
This morning I was treated to A Sunday puzzle that I ambled through, thoroghly enjoying the relaxed pace A game of Whac-a-Mole ( I won ) A charming graphic after the gold 🌟 A reminder of that game being one of my very earliest memories of heart-racing anxiety A Tom waits reference. And hopefully an earworm that will last for days… Well the music plays and you display your heart for me to see I had a beer and now I hear you calling out for me And I hope that I don’t fall in love with you <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UhZyLn0oVCs" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UhZyLn0oVCs</a>
@CC I like that one too, but my favorite is another song. Without specifically giving it away, will just note that FIFTYFIVE has never been an answer or part of any answer in a puzzle. But... LICKETYSPLIT was an answer in 3 puzzles. And... LADYLUCK 5 times. ..
Terrific puzzle — smooth fill, fun theme, delightful construction (the MALLET hitting the MOLE brought a smile on its own), clever cluing (particularly the brilliant [What’s the matter?] for MOLECULES). The only problem is that as a print solver on Sundays I have serious FOMO for what sounds like a fun graphic at the end! Thanks Nathan for a lovely Sunday.
@Nat K You know if you have a print subscription, you have full online access, including to the puzzle? After solving in print, I often go back and fill the puzzle in online, when commenters have extolled its graphic effects. Today’s were cute.
I don’t usually like Rebus puzzles, but this one was great fun! I even clapped and giggled when the little pictures popped up on my iPad at the end!
Good crossword puzzle today. I liked the way the boxes changed after I completed the puzzle, that was really neat. Thanks.
Back in high school, FACTORing polynomials was truly the BANE of my existence. I nearly failed Algebra II. Thanks for reminding me, Nathan. EUROS, COINS, PESOS, and a DUCAT? This puzzle was money!
I’m a doofus. Early on in the puzzle I thought we were playing skee ball, but I got to thinking how Whac a Mole would be a fun theme for a puzzle, and my constructor brain started thinking how it could be done. Oops! Mr. Hasegawa has done it, and done it very well! (Now wondering if there has been a skee ball themed puzzle…)
@Michele G I seem to remember a Pachinko one, and for a short while I thought that might be what we were looking at here.
@Michele G Please make a skee ball themed puzzle! That would be so fun!
Proud I completed this one with no lookups in just under an hour. Got really hung up in the MALLET section until I started from scratch (aside from DELILLO) and got MOLECULES, then everything flowed from there. Fun to learn GAIUS. Good one today!
Gold star for the theme and execution. I particularly liked the way MALLET was in the shape of a mallet. HEROIZE gave me a bit of a pause (I know it is a real word, but a tad clumsy), but given the constraints of the brilliant (YMMV) construction, I can deal. Thanks Mr. Hasegawa!
After moving by the acrosses and not getting very far, I decided to let my solve wander and by chance hit the MOLE(CULES) on the first WHAC. That, with the title, made for a smooth solve for the other HOLEs (though I wondered if we were going to see pit, void, and other synonyms as the rebus). I agree with those who say the circles took the edge off the puzzle, but it's Sunday, not Thursday, so I can forgive. The reward graphics were completely delightful. I expected moaning at the rebuses, and I was not disappointed. It's fascinating to me that folks call this "cheating," even though the practice (along with many another diverse puzzle style) is accepted, even welcomed by the Crossworld. As in so many other venues, clear (if complex) rules, widely agreed upon, are not negated by one person's deciding he doesn't like them, no matter how loudly he complains.
I always loved playing Whac-A-Mole as a kid. Only TIL that there’s no “k” in the spelling. It also occurs to me that having my own personal W-A-M setup would be a great stress reliever for work! Thanks to Nathan Hasegawa for a highly enjoyable theme and likewise credit to the NYT design team, always the unsung heroes behind the scenes, for a fun online (iOS) result. Meanwhile I have MC Hammer and Mary Travers competing for airtime in my brain. Gonna need a MALLET to make that stop!
@JMF I would argue that when you are stressed, a timed, fast-paced, often frustrating game that makes your heart race would be a bad idea. Like playing Operation or Concentration… YMMV but I’d go with a punching bag.
I thoroughly enjoyed today’s solve! This is a wonderful Sunday puzzle. I did spend a few minutes trying to find the error preventing me from the happy music. Turns out it is DUCAT not DUkAT (I knew that too!) and WHACAMOLE not WHAkAMOLE.
Complete and clever fun! Kudos to Nathan Hasegawa. Can't wait for another.
@Mimi Stayed in a state park in your neck of the (piney) woods some years ago. Loved it!
Amazing puzzle! Loved everything about it, especially being tricked into filling in HOLE for MOLE. And of course I just happened to be listening to the delightful "SIX" while solving. There's a refrain in the first song of that musical where each ex-wife sings her own fate: Divorced Beheaded Died Divorced Beheaded Survived Maybe some constructor can make a puzzle with those being the six rebuseses? Whacanex?
Cute graphics, fun finale for decently difficult puzzle
I loved this puzzle! Very tricky, challenging, and fun. I figured out the mole part, but opted for molecular instead of molecules but figured it out as I worked out the down clues. Does TMC still exist?
Extremely fun and cute! I especially enjoyed the little mole that popped up after I'd finished.
Got ahead of myself once I figured out the rebus, and filled in “hole” for every rebus spot. Took forever to finally figure out “molecules” lol
Challenging and fun! I really enjoyed it, and it’s too bad that not everyone did. I had to look at Wordplay towards the very end because I was stuck in that very math-y and science-y spot, where FACTOR crossed TITER. (English Major here). I’ve learned to accept those occasional gaps in my knowledge. The theme was just a multifaceted delight, and I can hardly wait to see what young Mr. Hasegawa has in store for us next time.
This puzzle was thoroughly enjoyable. Figuratively, there were no "holes" to be found!
Thank you for a fun and pretty smooth puzzle! I liked GOWHOLEHOG and MOLECULES in particular. Also "five burrows" is delightful. I look forward to solving more of your puzzles!