Thursday, February 29, 2024

I've never achieved a Thursday before. Thanks for throwing us a bone. FYI infants wear onesies, not toddlers.

The pictures were so literal, the clues were not really clues but answers. If this ran on a Tuesday, it would have been cute, but on a Thursday? Kind of disappointing. Esha did a great job, the editors, not so much. Total agreement with others who pointed out the tone deafness of the GAZA clue. That never should have made it to print. I did love seeing ZAATAR. Years ago, when I purchased ZAATAR for the first time, it was disappointing. The dish I made with it was underwhelming. What I didn't know back then is that there is ZAATAR and ZAATAR spice blend, ZAATAR being just one ingredient in the spice blend. After mixing it with sumac, etc. it was perfect. One of my favorite blends now.

HORNBILL took me a little longer because it's not exactly like the other ones, right? It's not a BILL playing a HORN. Or am I missing something? (I frequently do). Still, I liked the puzzle a lot; I like the variety of doing something slightly different, even if it was easier than I was expecting for a Thursday. And the drawings were fun.

I don’t normally complain about puzzles ….. but. This one was very cute, but way too easy for a Thursday. I’m ok with easier puzzles early in the week, but Thursday through Sunday I hope for at least a bit of a challenge, and relish the real toughies.

I was surprised when the crossings made it clear ONESIE was the answer for 48D. Speaking as someone who has changed thousands (!) of diapers and done up countless snaps on onesies, these are typically worn by infants, not toddlers. How would you even potty train a toddler who’s wearing a onesie?

To have two double-a words in Zataar and Aare is a nice little touch, and it made me notice how many entries had two a's in them: samosas, avia, Albany, aerate, catan, abdicate, harp seal and of course the One We Could Do Without: Gaza. Just too loaded a word to use around The Shire. Of course, the anagram for Trumpeter Swan is a phrase that google turned up ZERO results for: SAW TRUMP REPENT. No one can imagine using that phrase in a sentence, I guess, even in a work of fiction. After the Stormy Daniels trial, what will his total HORN BILL be?

? [Ahem] And now the Times are here With pictured clues, I feel uncertain My joy of solving grids Might take a dive, my stats may worsen. I've learned so many words And unraveled rebuses that filled in such a sly way And now, with little pics - I'll solve the Time's Way. Yes there were grids, I'm sure you knew, Words wouldn't fit, and you felt screwed. But through it all, you had no doubt Those clues would change, you'd cuss and shout. So face it all, stay tall and proud, and solve the Time's Way. For what is a solver? What has he got? If not gold stars, well not a lot. If not clued words that he can read, Then give him pictures that he can see! Let the records show, I may be slow, to solve the Time's Way. 😉

Easy for a Thursday but loved the puzzle and the drawings. Nicely done

Wow, the new app is terrible. The old one was clean and functional. I could access everything I wanted, the elements were well arranged, and there weren’t all these awful huge ui elements clogging up the screen. Who decides to break something that is working very well in favor of something flashier but less functional? Why was this necessary‽ Who is trying to justify their job here? I wish people would follow that old adage about not “fixing” things that aren’t broken. The puzzle was fine. The picture clues are cute and all, but easy for a Thursday.

Well, I liked it. Whenever anyone asks me, like Grumio from Taming of the Shrew, “Is there any man has rebus’d your worship?” I like it when I can say, “Why yes, yes they have. Esha Datta rebus’d me today and it felt like the Thursday puzzle had sprouted Egyptian hieroglyphs. It doesn’t happen often and it was loads of fun to solve.”

Two things I loved about this puzzle. One, it had pop. Turns out that 16 of the answers have been used less than 10 times in the 80 years of NYT puzzles, and five of those answers are NYT answer debuts. One of those debuts, ZA’ATAR, I may have unknowingly tasted in Middle Eastern restaurants, but after rabbit-holing it online – a journey filled with lauds about its flavor -- I’d now like to knowingly give it a try. Two, the revealer. While I was solving this, pretty much dashing through it, at one point I thought that man, this is a lightweight Thursday; what it needs to make it satisfying is a great revealer. And Esha came through! Fabulous wordplay, reparsing the baseball term “wild pitch” in a most wacky and wonderful way. After seeing the text clues to the theme answers (see my reply to @john just a little earlier), well, I would have preferred having them as the theme clues, delightful and charming as the drawings were. The text clues were end-of-the-week tough and, IMO, would have been more Thursday-appropriate. But the puzzle’s pop and revealer shined so brightly that I still left the grid thinking, “Excellent one!” Great theme and great spark in this one, Esha – thank you so much for making it!

Bravo to Daniel Savage for the excellent illustrations. It takes great talent to visually say so much with such few strokes, reminding me of Picasso's "Sleeping Woman."(the drawing, not the painting.) Impressive artwork, Mr. Savage! As for the puzzle, I cracked myself up with DOORDIE. Major dook. The rest flowed unencumbered and in good time, light and breezy. The animals are having a party so I figured so would I. Thank you, Ms. Datta!

I love picture puzzles and thought this one was a lot of fun. Was it the hardest Thursday puzzle I’ve encountered? No. But did I enjoy doing it? Absolutely. Not every puzzle will appeal to every subscriber, but I call fowl on anyone who can’t appreciate a cute musical bird.

Today I’m reading comments about how programmers don’t deserve their pay because of how the new app looks. Are the moderators asleep? As for the puzzle… spent way too long trying to figure out what DOOR DIE meant.

Lovely puzzle Ms. Datta. The pictures were a nice change of pace for a Thursday. I never complain about a puzzle being too easy or too hard. Some folks just think differently, so each puzzle is a way to learn how another person perceives things. One of the reasons I enjoy crossword puzzles. The NYT never disappoints. Thank you.

Pinnipeds get my seal of approval! (I call them on my flipper phone.)

Way too easy for a Thursday, I was hoping for something more fun. My opinion on the 10A clue is that it’s technically accurate. Conflict is a very broad term that can be applied to wars or family arguments. In crossword puzzles, I’m not looking for current-day news analysis, nor a particular point of view (although I have mine). Also, for years, journalists have referred to the ongoing cycle of violence in the region as the Mideast conflict, so I don’t fault the editors for thinking of this clue as an anodyne description. But perhaps any reference to Gaza should have been delayed until quieter times.

I'm not sure how everyone else found this to be easy--pretty challenging for me. Felt like a Thursday for sure. Am I the only one?

Vis-a-vis the continual debate over "the puzzles are getting easier" vs. "no, you're getting better", I usually side with the latter. But this week's puzzles are testing my resolve with this position. There has been no meat in any of these puzzles, and this one should have been a Tuesday at best. Next you'll see "Canine pet" for DOG. BTW, AARE has been clued 328 total times, but only three times (including this time) since 2015, with the last one before this in 2018. Today's exact clue has been used 12 times in the Shortz Era and dozens of times prior. The best clue, from 2013, was "Swiss bank depositor?"

Nice job, Esha Datta. DO OR DIE seems to have won stump-of-the-day! It was my last entry. Must be something visually that got us all??? Light and melodious for a Thursday, Nice treat. (Hi, Deb Amlen :) always a joy on a Wednesday night to read.)

Loved it. Learned I know very few specific animal names, but the crosses got me there! With a “crushed” ankle, the trek from my bed to the kitchen couch is a long, somewhat terrifying journey. I search for any real motivation to awkwardly get out from under my covers. Today it was, “What silliness may be waiting for me in the Thursday puzzle?” Then, opening to sweet doodles, I knew I was right to expect a little gift. Thank you Esha. I needed that.

As I write this, I see there are 224 comments. I suspect over half address how (relatively) easy today's puzzle was. So what? It was FUN, and that's why I do crosswords. Sure, I appreciate finishing a more challenging puzzle, too, but today's puzzle gave me joy. Perhaps that was due to the whimsical pictures for some of the clues, and that's fine, too. Oh, and also a no-lookup, personal best for a Thursday. THAT'S fun! ☺️

Call me a curmudgeon, but I was underwhelmed: Once I entered "FIDDLER CRAB," I thought: "is that's all there is? The whole reason a fiddler crab is call a fiddler crab anyway, is because he looks like he's holding a violin." The drawing of the trumpeter swan bore much resemblance to Louis from E. B. White's *the Trumpet of the Swan*, the last--and least--of his novels for children; or more precisely, illustrator Edward Frascino's drawing of Louis. HORNBIrd kept me on Medrose Place wayy too long. Henceforth, I will always write "deicer" with a hyphen ("de-icer") or, better yet, a dieresis ("deïcer"), just as an affectation. Finally, y'all are spared any links from me today, as it appears that noöne has ever composed a Quartet for Horn, Trumpet, Harp, and Violin, much less a Quintet for English Horn, Horn, Trumpet, Harp, and Violin; or at least recorded it and posted it on Youtube. I have the afternoon off--I shall spend it composing one, using Cagean aleatoric processes.

Sound design, if a bit drawn out. cc: emu handler

Sigh...and sigh ANEW. Easier and easier is the trend? A cute witty give-a-way-answers picture puzzle on Thursday. Note to puzzle publishing powers-that-be: You are not doing justice to Esha Datta's fun effort by placing it on a supposed challenging puzzle day. And re subscribers that welcome late-week mental workouts, what are we --chopped liver?

Maybe not the best idea to have the solution to the image clues in the image description, that's not really how accessibility works...Disappointing

I really think we need to shy away from stating things are clearly easy. I know this has already been addressed by journalists in the comments, but the fact remains, everyone learns and solves differently. The answers were more readily apparent for frequent Times solvers, but let’s not eschew potential puzzle players away with what could be misconstrued(or fairly interpreted) as condescension. What if you took away the intense gratification someone felt for solving something they thought was a real challenge, or worse, robbed them of the joy of attempting to solve future Time’s Crosswords because they were too stupid to do something that was deemed easy?

I would toot my own horn about how quickly I finished the puzzle, but I doubt that it would be heard above the general cacophony from all the other tootles and the general applause for this fun puzzle. The illustrations were perfect for the clues and the whole solve was delightful. Thank you, Esha Datta, we enjoyed a little ZAATAR to spice up our Thursday.

Count me in in the way too easy for a Thursday crowd. Cute idea but there must be someway to clue it without totally giving it away in obvious pictures. Also agree that HORNBILL doesn’t exactly fit the theme pattern.

Just want to give a shoutout to HORNBILL, which was new to many folks in the comments. This one made me smile because I watch a livestream of a birdcam in South Africa and hornbills often come to the feeder. Out of all the animal names, for me that was the one that was recognizable as a type of animal and not just a literal interpretation of the picture. As a musician I loved the illustrations. INATUB was a fun gimme as well.

I know my animals and today knew my authors so no problems but it took me a moment to understand what a DOOR DIE is!

...but my real name is Mr. Earl.* Where was I? Oh yeah - nice puzzle - filled out fairly smoothly for a Thursday. 51a took some crosses as it was the last theme answer and I had come to expect that each theme answer would be a 'type' of some species. *... and they don't often call me SPEEDO; actually, not ever. Not a record time for me. As to the other main topic of discussion, I'll just say... hope that reading that clue is the worst thing that happens to you today. ..

A muse not related to today’s puzzle… David Steinberg, I miss you! Yes, In December you retired from making puzzles, but I miss you already. Your puzzles had such wit, class, and craft. They were exemplars of the art of constructing. Consistently so, through your huge output of 111 in the Times. I hunger for your puzzles. Sometimes a tv series ends, and ends at just the right time, and I’m glad it didn’t run longer. But I don’t feel that way about your puzzles. I want them to continue. I want to respect your life and needs, so how about a compromise, say, one or two puzzles a year, somehow squeezed into your busy life. Those theme ideas still come to your fertile brain, don’t they? And I’m guessing you write those ideas down. Just one or two puzzles a year. Yes? Think about it. Please? Pretty please?

Some alternative clues for 10A: "Ancient city is famous for its hand-woven carpets, wicker furniture, and pottery" "Site of fourth-century Saint Porphyrius church" "Where gauze originated" "Middle Eastern territory with one of the highest literacy rates in the world"

Cape Breton fiddlers occasionally use a “wild note” among their repertoire of ornaments for a tune. You substitute a higher pitch for a regular melody note of the tune. It jumps out and hits the listener right between the ears. Now, we have a drawing to go with that: the wild fiddler crab!

I don't mind the new app layout, but it would be *really* nice if the Games app allowed you to access the Wordplay column for any given puzzle directly from said puzzle itself. Having to hop over to the Times app and click through several nested sections is tedious. (Cute puzzle today, but yeah, really easy. Only missed a personal-best time because I solved on my phone.)

Thanks, Esha, for a delightful puzzle! I knew these animals because of my kids who, like yours, had vivid imaginations in their youth. I was surprised to get so many clues, and solved with another personal best. I hope there are few grousers regarding the pictures. They were so fun! Great sophomore (but not sophomoric) effort!

For the first time, I've got a 31 day streak. Technically it's my first calendar month streak, too, even though it's February. Leap year credit! Just wanted to share!

another neat, fun puzzle that gets ruined by way too many proper nouns. AGEE/HECHE/LAHIRI crossing each other really put a black mark on this.

my favorite themed puzzle of the new year thus far, excellence on all counts. i especially loved seeing ZAATAR and LAHIRI and that graceful TRUMPETER SWAN floating across the middle of the grid. kudos to you, Esha, on a wonderfully original and playful sophomore effort. if you read this let’s make a puzzle sometime :)

I’m ok with the new app design except one major complaint. The color codes for the solve progress for each grid are way less intuitive. What I mean is, in the old design you were able to quickly grasp which grids you have solved by the color and fill of the color (gold, blue, half-filled blue, etc.). Now everything is on the blue background so this is less easy to catch at a glance. I hope I’m clear and the design team reconsiders the color scheme.

I agree with all who thought it was easy for a Thursday, but it was still an enjoyable puzzle. I was amused by the little illustrations and the punny revealer. The only downside was my discomfort over a single clue, and the divided comments I knew would be the result. I do crosswords to give my mind a respite from the depressing realities of the world, I certainly don't want to see them dredged up in the comments.

I thought DOORDIE was a new word for me, so I looked it up. Chuckled when even Google knew it was DO OR DIE.

Everyone is really up in arms about the wrong thing here. Why are we not talking about how heinous that HECHE/LAHIRI/AGEE proper noun crossing was?! emus: please resolve the conflict in the comments

Pretty pictures. Pretty easy. And it is a rebus puzzle, isn't it? no emus with an instrument?

This puzzle startled me. Instead of the clever misdirects and nuanced clues of a typical Thursday that provide a delightful challenge, this puzzle pedantically telegraphed the answers with visual cartoons. It reminded me of worksheets in grade school where an image was placed with a blank, and one needed to spell out the word.

Cute puzzle, although pretty easy; Deb's calling it a beginner's Thursday puzzle is spot on. It was nice to see pictorial rebuses for once, though. Nice sophomore effort, Etta, and thanks.

Really curious as to the decision process behind approving the entry and cluing for 10A. I cannot think of another topic guaranteed to generate impassioned and non-crossword-related responses in the Wordplay comments (other than American politics in an election year, maybe), as evidenced by some of the comments here. Not expressing an opinion either way -- just making an observation after reading the comments. As for me, this felt like an overall easier Thursday, but personally thought some of the cluing wasn't that great, but maybe (again) that's just Thursdays for me. For example, I have literally never heard of 61A and don't know a single person who wears that, and I've been an avid runner and triathlete for 10+ years. (I'm sure someone will tell me this entry has been clued 485 times since the launch of the crossword, though)

I loved this puzzle! KUDOS to the constructor. However, BOO on the editors for missing a once-in-four-years opportunity for having a leap year day themed puzzle. I love when a puzzle's theme matches the holiday or special day on which it appears.

Of course, the instant the printer spit out the puzzle, I had the trick, the entries, and most of the fun... NAILED IT. But enjoyed the puzzle, being a birder, so Thanks! To Esha Datta! The Ford F-150 is the BIG 'big name in trucks.' We had one long-bed F-150 *without a crew-cab* that we bought used after an internet search. It was up in Missouri, but they said they'd drive it down to us in Arkansas. All they needed to know was what name to put on the title. DHubby gave both our names....and the guy had a fit! "You don't want your wife's name on that title! You could go out of town and she would sell it out from under you!" DHubs really had to get insistent about it. We made sure the cashier's check was made out from just me.... (Ever after, we've wondered about the state of affairs in Missouri marriages...) Not a week went by tht we didn't find a note on the windshield: "If you would like to sell this truck, please call..." But once we finished our remodeling, we turned it in as the first "Cash for Clunkers" transaction at the Ford dealer...Fortunately we had been lazy and left three years'-worth of registration slips in the glove compartment to prove the required length of ownership. That was when I got the Escape Hybrid...whch DHubby insisted was "too old" after 12 years of faithful service. I donated it to Habitat. The End.