I had "SETTLE" (resolve) for "METTLE" (resolve), and it really made the center of this puzzle a challenge.
@UCCF agreed, i knew 'sy man' made no sense and should be 'my man' but have never used the word 'mettle'
Never had the opportunity to test your mettle?
@UCCF I did the exact same thing! Both answers are correct even though they mean different things. It was only when I got to 25D that I realized it was not "sETTLE". .............................................
I think this is my favorite puzzle of the year so far! So clever — this is one of those that confirm I could never create a good crossword puzzle because HOW do you come up with this???!??? Sorry to hear about the technical difficulties some were having :( definitely very frustrating & I always feel horrible for the constructor!
@Emma fellow Emma, I agree! I had technical difficulties too (no circles appeared) but it honestly didn't take away from the solve for me. It made it very difficult, but I still solved it eventually and was so satisfied when I did.
This one is just not for me. I hate-solved it.
Hi @Julia, What did you dislike about it? Kind and civil feedback is important to constructors, so we discourage comments about "hating" a puzzle without at least some rationale.
Have you ever done a traffic rotary going around twice before you figured out where to exit? Yeah no, me neither. But if I ever do, I’ll know what to cry out to the other confused motorists: RAMA LAMA LAMA DING DONG DONG! (P.S. adding this puzzle to my faves of 2024 list!)
@Cat Lady Margaret I've often done that on a traffic circle if I am unfamiliar with it and unsure which lane to get in to exit.
@Andrew Yes, that’s the thing to do. You can go around and around as many times as you like without someone noticing. Except for any passengers. Just give them a steely-eyed glare.
@Cat Lady Margaret I don’t believe I’ve ever done so, but as a kid, my dad once humored my request to go around the rotary multiple times for fun. RAMA LAMA DING DONG had me completely stumped. Usually I can figure out unfamiliar song names by guessing words once I have enough crossings, but this one was, as my husband put it, intentionally unguessable nonsense. It was a big frustration for me in an otherwise enjoyable puzzle, especially as one of the theme clues (I loved the loop de loops once I got my app updated).
"You said there'd be roller coasters!" "No, I said I'd keep you in the loop." "I've been taken for a ride!" (Admission impossible.)
@Mike Guess they saw you as fair game.
I am so sick and tired of NYT using puzzle designs that don’t work on its digital platform. Come on, you can do better.
@Michael What didn’t work? Like Laura, you may have “Show Overlays” turned off in your puzzle app’s settings. You need to turn that in to see circles and other puzzle overlays.
@Puzzlemucker Overlays are turned on for me, yet no circles appear. Maybe on iPad it’s working, but definitely not on my (fully updated) iPhone.
Had absolutely no idea what was going on and managed to solve only by sheer dumb luck (and the grace of crosses). There were no circles on my iPhone and yes, I checked to make sure overlays were on. I usually hate it when people complain about these things but man, that was disappointing and frustrating.
@Mel Ok, I just went to the App Store and force updated the app and now I see the circles. But should we really have to check every day to make sure we have the latest version of the app before we solve? Ugh.
@Mel Thanks for the tip. I, too, habitually solve on my iPhone (I try not to use my MacBook much after I'm done with work for the day!) and didn't see the circles until after force-updating the NYT Games app. I didn't lose my streak, but what a slog 😅
@Mel Worked perfectly on both iPhone and iPad without any extra effort on my part. Not sure why, could be some setting working on my behalf.
I was not tall enough to ride this ride. cc: emu handler
Just what the doctor ordered. Thursday worthy with no technical snags for folks. Just a good old-fashioned brain test - make sense of that which does not appear to make sense. That’s what Thursday puzzles are all about. Beautiful job, Simeon.
@Deb, It might be helpful for you to remind people to turn on “Show Overlays” in the Settings for their puzzle apps.
@Puzzlemucker i usually hate gimmicks, but this was fun! Was so happy when i figured it out.
Trickiest part of the puzzle for me was thinking 25A (Resolve) was a verb, answer SETTLE For a few minutes, tried to make a rebus S'UP MAN work in 25D When I finally got the center squared away, still no gold star... Finally got gold when I realized C3PO ends in PIO and it wasn't a hair NET that causes some head-scratching. Enjoyed this puzzle and figuring out the trick early helped with the solve.
@Bill in Yokohama Yeah, NIT lost me about 8-9 minutes until I saw this. It was the only thing I couldn't figure out. AFTER also not seeing the circles on my phone until I was told to update the app. Thank you SO MUCH for calling out PIO (which I think I disagree with, but whatever, haha)
@Bill in Yokohama Another NET/NIT person here… gah. If I had been filling out analog in the old days, I’d have been delighted with myself and moved on with my evening… 🙄
I really enjoyed the puzzle but didn't finish due to the Naticky crossing of TCBY and BAL and - to a lesser extent - the crossing of TAJ and JAMON. But the pluses definitely outweighed the minuses.
Simeon is ever creative, looking for unusual angles, which is probably why he’s Mr. Thursday, with 9 of his 11 NYT puzzles falling on that day. I love out-of-the-boxness, and so I enter his puzzles with an undercurrent of excitement. After I uncovered the first theme answer and how to decipher it, my jaw dropped and my whole being resonated with “How did he DO that?” The wows echoed as the theme continued. Oh, I’m guessing computer coding spit out these answers, but I want no confirmation of that. I want to believe that Simeon just has one of those brains that comes up with these things. He certainly does have one of those brains just to come up with this theme in the first place! And will you look at how gorgeous the three theme answers are? – THIS THAT AND THE OTHER RAMA LAMA DING DONG WHEN THE TIME COMES Add Thursday-level bite, that triple-O in TOOOLD, and two rare-in-crossword five-letter semordnilaps (SADAT and STRAD), and I’m floating in Crosslandia bliss. Kudos, Simeon, for producing a grid that must have been a bear to construct, and thank you for a simply splendid outing!
Had SETTLE for "Resolve" and kept thinking, "SYMAN" who says that as a brotherly greeting except maybe Simeon's brother, if he has one, playing on his name. And then it dawned on me. Also liked the double meaning of "Masters" in the cross of PGA and GRE (which I had as GPA for a time, too). I rue the day when LIV will be the answer to a golf clue. I love the loop de loops! Really clever idea and perfect execution, and also admired the choice to put them from the middle upwards -- no self respecting coaster has 'em at the bottom -- and in fact we purists in Pittsburgh who grew up going to Kennywood, an amusement park in Pittsburgh featuring world class straight up (and down) roller coasters -- The Thunderbolt (NYT #1 coaster in the country, 1974), Phantom's Revenge (in its time the fastest in the world with the longest drop) and the Steel Curtain (a "hypercoaster" meaning it has a drop of at least 200 ft) -- were taught to look upon the new generation of coasters with loop-de-loops and corkscrews as rude upstarts, churlish, somehow phony and not in keeping with the spirit of roller coasters. But De gustibus non spituputandum, right? Which translates as, Your taste in nausea may vary. Rama lama ding dong. The title itself is an earworm, it's going to be playing in an endless loop de loop for hours...
@john ezra I really liked, right as I started the puzzle, seeing (ex) NIHILO literally coming out of nothing—the NIL in the cross. This being a Simeon (SY, MY MAN!) Siegel puzzle, I suspect this wasn’t coincidental.
Hi everyone, Sorry about the overlay. I’ve reported it, and it probably will be fixed tomorrow. For now, please try turning “Show Overlay” ON in your settings. It may not work for those solving in the iOS app, but it may help others who have it turned off by default.
If you update your app to version 4.64.0, you should be able to see the circles in the app!
Entertaining! I found THIS THAT AND THE OTHER pretty easily but had some trouble coming up with the Edsels' song. I did enjoy Simeon's original clue for that one. I don't care much for roller coasters (and especially not upside-down ones) but I had fun with them in the puzzle.
@Liz B We had a similar experience. THIS THAT AND THE OTHER (just common usage but also a funny line from an early Seinfeld episode) clued me in to the mechanics of the theme and RAMALAMADINGDONG caused me great consternation, largely because I could have sworn it started off with "shama". Everything else clicked once that was in place.
@Liz B Yeah, most of us probably aren't old enough to know that one (even well into middle age!).
@Liz B I agree. The constructor’s original clue for the song was better, and for me at least would have been easier than the editor’s substitution.
I couldn’t see the circles until I updated to v4.64.00 on iPhone. But here’s the thing: my phone (and I assume many/most others) are set to auto-update all apps. Whenever this crucial update came out, it was still in the auto-update queue on my phone along with many other apps. Life in our times. So this is a NYT tech fail. Don’t publish a puzzle that needs to run on the latest update until well after the latest update has been released and installed on your subscribers’ devices! 🤦
@Jon G. I don't think so. I solved on a desktop, but then looked at my iPhone to see what the deal was. I didn't have the option to update the app, so I already had the latest version. Sometime overnight, someone on the tech crew fixed the problem, which was apparently in the coding for this specific puzzle, and specific to iOs (it worked fine for Android).
Though it is true that we use ASANA to describe all kinds of yoga poses, the clue about sitting poses is actually hinting (I would guess deliberately) at the word’s origin: asana is from Sanskrit, meaning “a sitting down.” One-word clues such as “resolve” are regularly cited by frustrated solvers here as “vague” and “annoying,” when such clues are the delight of true puzzlers. Read as a verb, it must be “settle”; read as a noun, it must be “mettle.” The only way to resolve it is through the crossing. Crosswords do that, they test your mettle.
@David Connell Very well said. My experience has been the clues that challenge me most are the clues my husband (who does not enjoy XWs) finds most irritating. Vague and with an array of ways to read, suss out, and somehow emerge surprised and victorious! I want a clue to be a riddle. Or to teach me something with the help of crosses. Not fill-in-the-blank, or what’s the capital of Idaho…
@David Connell I'd say you're in fine fettle today. I did not know the meaning of ASANA, so thanks for that. Sanskrit was not offered at my school...but JAMON was a gimme.
Agree with Mr. Seigel that “Doo-wop refrain incorporating a Hindu deity, a Buddhist monk and a doorbell” for 33A would have instantly become my favorite clue of all time.
@Suzie Lee Absolutely! That clue left me inwardly chuckling for a loooong time. Loved it.
I’ve never commented on a puzzle before but this one warrants some praise! Absolutely blown away by the construction and had a blast solving it.
Wow. A lot of emotion today. I’ll add mine. I LOVED it! I thought it was quite clever and a nice change from the rebuses usually found on a Thursday.
A clever but rewarding challenge. My biggest difficulty was landing on "nega" as a prefix.
I love me a Simeon Siegel puzzle and expected trickery. Trickery there was, but I solved everything without understanding just how the looping worked in the highlighted theme entries. Decided to read the column. “Ohhh, circles!” “Wait. What circles?” [in the tone reserved for Señor Gato when he chanced the kitchen counter] “Again, NYT?”
@Sam Lyons If only we could telepathically tell all those folks who have not yet solved the puzzle about the circles. So impressed that you and others could solve the puzzle without circles. Not sure that I could have.
I am newer to the world of crosswords (doing the NYT crosswords for about a year) and I rarely venture beyond Thursdays. But today was my favorite Thursday since I started. Rebuses tend to frustrate me, but this puzzle had the whimsy of a rebus while still sticking to "one box/one letter" rule that I still rely on for a clean solve. I wasn't particularly quick but I was absolutely tickled when I figured out the central "trick". So thanks Simeon Seigel and NYT for a great puzzle! Also thanks to Deb Amlen and the other writers of Wordplay. Once I discovered this column, I was absolutely hooked on crosswords. I hope in time to become a true cruciverbalist!
I managed to solve this, but I’m more than a little fed up with the app giving no indication what’s going on. Again. This just isn’t fair.
@Prose Agreed. At least a note telling us that it’s broken on iOS.
@Prose I knew I had at least one letter wrong, but wasn’t sure if it was because I couldn’t see the theme clues properly, or if it was just a wrong answer somewhere else. I resorted to using Autocheck and it turned out to be the latter.
I also suffered from the SETTLE METTLE thing - not sure if that was very clever or serendipity on the part of the constructor. Some wonderful clues - the best drivers, the opening line, the sweaty exercise. 64A could have been NIT or NET (a hair net can be scratchy - ask me how I know!) and I have to admit that I'm a little puzzled by 36D. I recall in the first Star Wars the robots were R2D2 and C-3PO; so I can see how Artoo arose but not THREEPIO. All in all very satisfying and well over my Thursday mean.
@Andrew I remember Luke yelling into his communicator, "Threepio! Threepio! Where could he be..?" when he, Han, Leia, and Chewy were stuck in the trash compactor.
What a great Thurs! Thursday is always my fave style puzzle because of the extra weirdness!
My iPhone kept prompting me to update the app and I stubbornly kept pushing “later” - can’t you see I’m solving here? Only later did I realize the update would have given me the circles.
@Ambrose ah, me too. Hate those interruptions—couldn’t they put a note? “No, wait, this one will actually be useful!”
Thank you, Simeon! This was a thrilling ride, and I didn’t even come close to losing my lunch. There’s something extra satisfying about 41A being ‘WHETIMES’ (setting aside the loops) because when you ride a roller coaster, it is “whee!” time! (Although being 41 now myself, I have to say the big coasters hit different these days.) This had everything I love about a Thursday puzzle!
Good morning, solvers! Re: any technical difficulties you might have with today's puzzle: The issue fixes itself if you update to the most current version of the NYT Games app.
@Elie Levine Not sure I’m doing anything wrong, but I couldn’t see any circles or overlays on iPad or iPhone. I only learned I was supposed to after coming here. Tried to turn overlays off and back on, changed the color theme, to no effect. The app was already up to date, so I can’t update it either. It was a bit of a frustrating mid-week grid for me without the cues to the theme. Usually I don’t have any issues seeing the circles or overlays.
@Elie Levine I can’t update to the latest version. They’ve dropped support for my phone
@Elie Levine thanks for putting the notice in the info section of the puzzle and making the i blink! The circles only showed for me after updating, so that notice was the difference between me solving the puzzle and being utterly baffled by it.
Absolutely loved this puzzle. Major kudos to the constructor! I am grateful to have never run into technical issues using the app—Android/Google Pixel—because the issue described by many iOS users (missing visual clue overlays until force-updating the app) sounds incredibly frustrating.
Beautiful puzzle. Love that the theme was solid, but also that the clueing were also Thursday level. Sometimes, the theme forces the fill to take a backseat to make it possible to construct, but not today! Solid, fun ride!!
Loved it. Circles only appeared this morning, we’re not visible last night, and that made the difference Sign of a good puzzle is the hate mail
I'm extremely impressed by the effort it took to create this puzzle. A truly astounding achievement. There were a lot of proper nouns I wasn't familiar with (including the nonsense song), so this was a tough solve, and I ended up turning on autocorrect after hitting a wall for 20 minutes. I thought for sure the character with an opening line was ISHMAEL! I don't always do Thursdays due to gimmicks, so no surprise this wasn't my cup of tea, but I still have mad respect for the creator!
Also, the southern half having both Spidey sense and THREEPIO made my geeky heart happy. Clearly a labor of love here!
Rebuses hard? Don't be silly, it's a puzzle like this one that is hard. The crosses seemed so obscure that even the certainties seemed doubtful. That said, amid the stonewalls , e.g. TCBY? (we don't have that here) there were some sweet clues tucked in—found Prepare for a kiss easier when I just LEANED IN, but all in all, the whole project was just MESSY for me, and I spent far more time solving it than I had to spare. You're a very clever fellow, Simeon Seigel, but next time they tell you that you've created a Thursday puzzle, just say no and hold out for a Saturday, which is where this one belonged. Still, I do appreciate your wit, and thank you for all the work that must have gone into this Peak of Revelation. (Next time I see your name, I'll be ready.)
@dutchiris According to their website, there's a TCBY in Milpitas, less than an hour from Berkeley. So I guess it depends on what your definition of "here" is. I'm sure there are several McDonald's, Starbucks, and In-N-Outs closer to you.
This was a real “wow” Thursday for me. I may have actually said “wow” when the theme clicked (which, surprisingly, didn’t take long even though it felt pretty complex, in the moment). And I also may have chuckled out loud (COL?) when I entered RAMA LAMA DING DONG Really enjoyed this one. SIMEON SEIGEL is becoming a favorite constructor of mine - I haven’t forgotten the confetti puzzle on NYE. Mr. Seigel ushered in January with a doozy and now he’s done the same for February. Let’s make this a monthly thing. Amazing work - thank you!
Even with the circles I found this very difficult, so have a lot of sympathy for those who didn’t get them. Very impressive construction, and for me quite a struggle, needed lots more help than usual for a Thursday, but not a problem for me. I always enjoy seeing my favorite tennis player. (7 down)
Can the tricky clues please be placed above the theme so it isn't a hazard to quickly scroll past it if we just want a few fills to help out but want to try to solve the puzzle part.
Hi @Meghan, If you look at the top of the column just below my byline, there is a jump link to both sections. Click the one you want to read first and it will take you there without your having to scroll.
OMG ... the wonderful "loopdeloop" you see when, for example you trace out RAMALAMADINGDONG! I don't know how on earth the constructor was able to do this. I now need to read Wordplay and find out more. Thank you Simeon Seigel and editorial staff! THIS WAS AMAZING!
LOVED IT. Got stuck and did a check, admittedly... but still like to think I solved it. Kinda. Anyway, I feel good about it.
Very late to the party, especially being on the West Coast, so I’ll make it brief: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
I can’t see the circles using the Games app on my iPhone. I looked at the column halfway through the puzzle, which I normally don’t do, and realized I was missing a visual cue.
@Laura I think you probably have “Show Overlays” turned off in the settings for the puzzle app on your phone. Turn that on and you should see the circles. My iphone puzzle app shows them; I have “show overlays” turned on.
@Puzzlemucker I have it turned on also (just double-checked). Maybe I need to update the app or something.
You’d think that people as clever with words as the NYT puzzle team could write a description of features that don’t display properly on app versions of the puzzle. This is waaay overdue for a fix.
@John MacC I’m on an iPad, and when I solved the puzzle the app, I couldn’t see the loops, but when I updated the app (after solving the dang puzzle), I could see them.
@Larry Edelestein thanks for the tip! Worked for me too.
@John MacC this is getting frustrating for sure
Had to employ my SPIDEY sense to help solve this Simeon Siegel special. The song for today's theme is by the great Billy Preston, performing it it here with Ringo and an iteration of his All Starr Band. <a href="https://youtu.be/-fZMwtkfVCA?si=RmvNUgp6SoW9E1yx" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/-fZMwtkfVCA?si=RmvNUgp6SoW9E1yx</a>
@Vaer Sorry for spelling Seigel wrong. Trying to do too many things at once. ************** @@@@@@@@
@Vaer Perfect song for a perfect puzzle! I love Billy Preston but had never seen that performance. I really enjoyed it. Thank you!
@Vaer Doh! I came here intending to start my comment with: Will it go round in circles Will it fly high like a bird up in the sky You beat me to the punch. I guess I'll just have some water. ..
Favorite puzzle I've done in a long time! I was worried I wouldn't get the trick for a moment, but I could feel that I was so close. Stared at an 80% completed grid intensely for a solid 5 minutes just trying to SEE it. When I got there it was so satisfying! Thank you to the author!
Coming in late with a long one for all three of you still reading the comments an hour before the new one drops. I liked the puzzle - even showed the person next to me at lunch, who is not a puzzler, the trick. But ... In Mendon, MA, there's a place called Southwick's Zoo. It's a not very small zoo in the woods that has been there for 60 years or so, and it's a really neat place. I would go to it when I was a kid, when it was called Southwick's Wild Animal Farm. When you walk in and down to the intersection of a few walking paths, there's a little white shed with a few steps on either side that lead to little windows in the shed walls. Around the shed are signs proclaiming that the Great Red Bat, which can be seen in the shed, is a dangerous animal, no pictures, etc. So, when I was little and saw the shed for the first time, I was really excited to see the bat. I walked up the steps, peeked in the little window, and was struck by two emotions at the same time - bitter disappointment because all that was in the shed was a red whiffle ball bat hanging from chains, and delight at the word play. But mostly disappointment. Shed's still there, at least last time I went maybe 8 years ago, when I introduced my son to the bat. Also disappointed.
@Jay Great story! I guess I’m one of the three still up. I missed most comments today, so when I went for “sort by newest”, you came right up. Thanks for this. Actually maybe the high point of my day….says a lot about my day…
Thursdays are often my favourite puzzles and this is a great example why. What a fun puzzle to solve!
The hardest part was finding the stars for the theme-clues. I'm not lying! Eye-drops, glasses off, plus my Weakened Condition ...but it got sorted, and (even as I thought to myself, "Is that the screaming over this puzzle that I'm hearing?") I was just having The Best Time! (Messed up sinuses, messed up ears, sheesh.) I'm not going to be patient with anyone who maligns this puzzle or posts a rant. This was just Genius Plus. Adolph OCHS, eh? IPA is "hoppy?" No wonder I don't like it too much. Had never thought about a synonym for METTLE... not totally satisfying, but okay with 'resolve' Famous opening words? ABRACADABRA (was devastated when that didn't take) ...Reread the clue; then for some reason mixed up the tales and tried to shoehorn ALADDiN in there (Bzzt!) but after another attack of sneezing, coughing, blowing (sorry) my mind cleared and dear old ALi BABA made his appearance. Thanks ever so much, Simeon Seigel. Wow.
@Mean Old Lady I really enjoyed this one, too. i sure hope you feel better soon.
@Mean Old Lady Sounds like you are on the road to recovery, back to your Mean Old Self and I'm glad to hear it. The circles were quite faint on my copy too and had to have the toner on full blast. I was very satisfied with sETTLE for "Resolve" which really held things up in that crossing.
Coming in late to add a bit of love for this puzzle. Loved the theme — one of those great instances where I went from “what the —-?” to “hmmm…” to “AHA!” to “now THAT helps me get the next one.” Definitely in Simeon’s wheelhouse for this one as I raced through it in half my Thursday average and nearly a PB. Thanks Simeon and the editors for a fun puzzle!