Just checking in. Busy work week. I’m sure I didn’t miss any controversies. ;-) Really loved this puzzle. Like Deb, I struggled out of the gate but picked up a lot of steam once I hit the middle of the grid. Well done, Julian. Great constructor note as well.
@Puzzlemucker Not a one. Nada. Zip. Welcome back. (emus are happy to see you, too)
@Puzzlemucker Always happy to see you! And it’s taken me two months to say this, but your December 31 ode to this community made my new year. Thank you. Do emus write couplets?
Some puzzle, particularly the golf and basketball clues were misleading and witty, the cluing for opera was also charming, since we were all tempted to enter something a little more bawdy -- I thought of six right off the bat that might be heard in one bordello or another that I refrained from filling in -- and "takes in the paper" was nice, old school NYT cluing: the whole puzzle was somehow a throwback, older-than-you'd-think vibe. Wise beyond your years vibe. And I admire the constructor's notes, the openness and pureness of spirit, to be patient enough to keep working at something until it's ready is a rare trait these days -- and the calm wisdom evident in the words, lots to like about all that. Unfortunately for my own enjoyment, as soon as I put down speech therapist, I began wondering how Daffy Duck would pronounce that. It didn't take long for Daffy to invade my brain and voice every word in the puzzle. Thenorita. Alathka. Themth the Facths. And tho on. "Try not to laugh," I tell my wife. "Don't worry," she says, "I'm not going to have to try."
@john ezra Today you give us two comments rolled into one. A beautiful one, and then a funny one. Loved it! . . . . . E'mu fan
@john ezra Hi, John, Sam and I are about ready to discuss the Shrew. Hope that you'll share your thoughts. Everybody else here is welcome to join in. I've posted some notes on background and themes in late comments to Tues, Wed, and Thurs puzzles..
This was the first Friday puzzle I've tackled (and actually completed) without any hints, and with very minimal googling. I had a blast, and I love seeing that this was the constructor's first puzzle! Great work Julian, I look forward to your next puzzle - no matter how long it takes! :)
@Julie Congratulations on your first Friday puzzle! I’m sure it’s just the first of many!
Great puzzle. Paid to be over 70 so of course RAG was the tune. (Is RAP really 2/4 time? ) But anyway, RAG sets off happy memories of my grandmother, who after many hard years (divorced an alcoholic philandering husband, sent 4 children to college despite her siblings telling them "Go to work for Aetna and help out your mother", lived in a cramped apartment fot years) then late in life inherited a house and some money, taught herself classica guitar and played piano and organ--including RAGTIME. She also found a classical pianist who played it on the harpsichord.
@RozzieGrandma What a really, really nice story about your grandmother... and I am so glad for her and her children. I also thought 2/4 time was rap! :~)
@RozzieGrandma I want to play ragtime on the harpsichord. Pretty, pretty please? (Emu, you would like it too, if you could hear analog.)
This one tested my resolve again and again, and each time I refused to buckle. Let me tell you, when that last square filled in, I felt proud and satisfied. So, as a puzzle itself – before even considering other factors, such as answer and clue quality – this, for me, was top notch. Those other factors ended up enhancing the experience. A grid design that elicits a peaceful feeling. Six NYT debut answers, all longer than eight letters, my favorites being THEM’S THE FACTS and TRY NOT TO LAUGH, both in that center stack, a thing of beauty. Smart cluing, from the lovely [They who shall not be named] for OTHERS, to the simple yet marvelous misdirect [Simple bucket] for layup. Not to mention an uber-low 66-word grid whose answer set is smooth as velvet. I love the backstory, where Julian let his brain work on the cluing for a full year – a full year! –marinating that paid sweet dividends, IMO. A jewel of a puzzle that had me pumping my fists at the end. More, please, Julian, and thank you so much for making this!
Congratulations on a solo debut and smooth solve. My woeful ignorance of both hip-hop time-signatures and catwalk jargon (mis)lead me to RAP/POSEE.
@WMY I just came here to post the same thing. It was RAp or polka and only rap fit. (I’ve only ever heard open calls referred to as open calls, so I thought, “Maybe pOSEE is East Coast lingo.” Apparently—not quite…)
@WMY Thank you!!! The penny dropped and I was finally able to finish the SE corner.
@WMY Can't tell if you're joking about the hip-hop thing. Rag is a bit older than that though ! :) If anyone's interested here's a link to maybe the most famous ragtime tune: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMAtL7n_-rc" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMAtL7n_-rc</a>
Ah, the “Covid era purchases”. TESTS, sure, but also: Virtual concert tickets Take-out meals Sourdough starter Online therapy sessions NYT games subscriptions Books More books Extra seed potatoes
@Cat Lady Margaret I had masks there at first. Also brought to mind lots of loungewear, baking ingredients, gardening tools and seeds, TP (ha), art supplies, webcam…
@Cat Lady Margaret Shots, Cat Lady, shots! (My second fill after masks, before I finally got TESTS.) 😺😺😺😺😺 〰〰〰 Juju for the Emu
@Cat Lady Margaret Et alia We didn't purchase a single one of the TESTS....they came in the mail--constantly, without our having ordered them, and then Medicare was billed by various entities as far away as California.... because (as I was informed when I spent a day on the telephone calling the Medicare Fraud line) Medicare itself had provided millions of ID #s and names and addresses in an effort to blanket the nation with TESTS (free to us) and help curb the exposures and illnesses. I was kept busy writing REFUSED and reporting Attempted Fraud to Medicare. It took months to quell the deluge. It was an impressive scam...and a costly one.
Mr. Xiao, it's heart-warming to know this is a special puzzle for you, and so I would like to share with you that it was treated with great care by me. Without having read Deb's words beforehand, I synchronistically solved the puzzle savoring it, exactly as she suggests. I walked away from it a few times, keeping in mind something I always like to think of when engrossed in a challenging solve: "The answers already exist," I say to myself, "All I have to do is tune in to them." TRY NOT TO LAUGH, but this is the thought that quite often breaks open for me what I couldn't see before. I started out very sure I would need to write an OBIT for my attempt at solving this, yet slowly but surely, it all started getting filled in, until I finally sat and admired the completed grid, ELATEd. Thank you, Mr. Xiao. It was a special puzzle for me, too.
Thought I was a goner after my first pass — hardly anything filled in. Then it all fell into place pretty quickly! Turns out the constructor and I were on the same wavelength. Very enjoyable puzzle!
Fun and challenging puzzle. Had to flyspeck at the end because I had RAP instead of RAG (POSEE seemed vaguely possible). Finally, I had __CK for canoodle and you can bet my first thought wasn’t NECK.
"Could you help me cool this beverage?" "Ice sure can!" ("You aim to freeze!")
@Mike If I offered you help in peddling your puns, would that be AdvICE?
@Mike My friend worked on the racing boat for the second largest city in Ireland. He was part of Cork's crew. Emus are bad luck on a ship -- or off one.
@Mike Wish I could help, but I'm all bottled up soda help is not on the way. 🍾 🧊🧊🧊🧊🧊🧊 This one's on me, Emu.
I really liked Deb's comparison between solving and wine appreciation. So tired of seeing everything being timed and/or turned into a competition.
I thought the “goofy clue for 37-across” was worth the price of admission all by itself, and was glad to learn it had survived so many iterations and changes. Fun and elegant puzzle that absolutely picked up steam as it went. Thank you Julian Xaio and please keep constructing!
@Jannicut My standard answer for years to such 37A queries was, "Not for hours and hours." It's all about managing expectations!
I haven’t finished today’s puzzle yet. Just dropping in to say the new Games app interface is terrible. Low information, less usable, and aesthetically unappealing. Please revert to the former interface.
What a beauty this puzzle. So many great clues it would be hard to list them all—"Takes in the paper" was one I got right away, but I still thought it was a delightful clue. "Simple bucket" and "Makes you turn red on a green" were some other favorites. Solving the puzzle was like having a really great dance partner. Dips and fancy footwork could be surprises, but Julian Xiao's confident leading made me confident I could follow. It was all in the CUING. I'm really looking forward to dancing with you again soon, Julian. Thank you!
Bravo!!! What a wonderful puzzle today. So many initial misdirects on my first pass (er….passes). I just love it when a puzzle is baffling at first - which OF COURSE I assume is bad cluing….then it slowly reveals itself, and you get on the right wavelength and see just how clever puzzle makers are. Thank you!! I needed a great puzzle like this today.
I don't know that I have ever managed to complete a puzzle that seemed so hard without needing to go to the Wordplay column for hints. The puzzle never felt like I could finish it until the very end. That felt like some real perfect sweet spot difficulty for me. Bravo.
Woo doggy! That was a tricky one, but what a pleasure to finish. One of those puzzles that was completely locked up until a single, simple entry provided a key to the entire grid. It was COACH that broke things open for me, this evening. RAp / pOSEE kept me from a gold star. Changed it to RAG (I assume, as in RAG time?) and was surprised to get the happy music. I first had entered Guard for “entry level position”, which I thought was pretty cool… And the food with the backward food led me to all sorts of dark possibilities like Taco / caT. I thought this puzzle was incredible. It was filled with all sorts of points of interest and I’m a happier person having solved it. Thanks, Julian Xiao - Well done!
@Striker “Rap” had me for a while too! Definitely a 2/4 tune in most cases! And “posee” certainly sounds like it could be modeling lingo, since “posing” is something models do… ah well.
Thank you! I needed your comment to complete this one.
@Striker THANK YOUUU I was stuck looking for my mistake for ages. Something felt off with pOSEE but I had no idea RAp was wrong.
Only a small thing in the grand scheme, but - Avoiding a quick peek, web verification, and/or reveal/auto mode from last night to this morning . . . the tiny joy of finally figuring that last little "P" into a "G" and getting a happy little reward! If only all the kinks and bumps on this blue marble could be smoothed so patiently. A good weekend to all happy solvers and peace keepers.
One of those puzzles that started slow but things smoothly clicked into places once I got going. Thank you for the enjoyable puzzle! 13A I kept seeing ONION DIP. I did not fill it in because I knew it was the wrong answer but I could not unsee it until late! I need some snack now
Loved this puzzle. It's quite rare nowadays to actually be actively engaged with the process. Julian Xiao has demonstrated that he can bring pure Joy into solving puzzles. It's all down to the creator and the patience and wit to construct what is definitely heads and shoulders above the everyday fare. It reminds me how much I enjoy Crosswords that are not saturated with 3- 4- letter words that are not very satisfying. I'm truly a fan of the NYT crossword experience and this gem is why. They take the time to nurture and uncover true talents. Julian Xiao is now at the top of the list. My New favorite name among several others in the NYT crossword elite stable.
ROM- or SIT- or KID- ? ADVERT? CHI or TAO? PIG or HOG? BALOO or AKELA or ?? THEMS THE BREAKS! Or NOT. Wanted RAG right off, but decided that wasn't Modern and Trendy enough.....hence RAP... (TSK or TUT?) CLERGY before CLERIC There was so much in this puzzle that I half expected to find Jimmy Hoffa at long last... Congrats and Thanks to Julian Xiao for such a lively and diverse puzzle.
@Mean Old Lady "PIG or HOG?" Even as I debated which it might be, my heart bled a little for our poor, much-maligned, omnivorous porcine friends. How much do emus eat?
@Mean Old Lady "There was so much in this puzzle that I half expected to find Jimmy Hoffa at long last..." He *was* there, just well hidden, in 61A.
Congratulations, Mr. Xiao, on your solo NYT debut! I found it appropriately challenging for a Friday and especially admire the central stack. I also enjoyed your constructor note. My own attempts at constructing a themeless puzzle all too often end with a grid that isn’t worth clueing. Thanks for sticking it out with this one.
I'll join the chorus (daddy sings bass). Unusually enjoyable for a Friday. Not all that easy for me, of course, but managed to finish a bit below my average time. And... very relieved to see that I'm not the only one who fell into the RAP trap. Took me a while (and pondering) to find it, but managed to get there. 50 day streak. I believe this is only the third time I've gotten this far. Don't expect it to last a whole lot longer. ..
@Rich in Atlanta And, of course, my puzzle find today, inspired by a search for DRAG. A Sunday from July 7, 2002 by Lloyd E. Pollet with the title "On/off." The clue/answer that got me there: "Smoke a funny cigarette?" PUFFTHEMAGICDRAG A couple of other theme answers: ALEAGAINNATURALLY CHRISTMASBUS CANTHEBARBARIAN ABANDSHIP Here's the Xword Info link: <a href="https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=7/7/2002&g=23&d=A" target="_blank">https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=7/7/2002&g=23&d=A</a> ..
Whew 😅! I thought this one would take me down! Why did I put russia instead of ALASKA and stubbornly try to make it work? Hungarians have contributed much to the world’s collective knowledge and to crossword puzzle makers. Between ELO and the inventor of the Rubik’s cube, there’s not a week that they are not mentioned! Camila and Shawn had more than one collab? Today I learned about SENORITA. Not sure about their romantic chemistry but they make good pop music together. Good job 👍🏾 , Julian. I hope you are enjoying college life!
@Pani Korunova To be fair, ELO is clued as the rock band at least 75% of the time. (Do emus play chess?) !!!!
Good one. 70 years of solving.
@George Wow, that is quite an accomplishment! Congratulations.
@George Yes, sometimes it takes a lifetime to solve a single puzzle. Hmmm . . . not sure I'm referring to crossword puzzles . . . . Oh well.
Very enjoyable Friday puzzle, as a theme lover not something I can usually say. Like others I loved ARE WE THERE YET ? Nice notes from Julian as well, looking forward to more, maybe a Saturday next time.
I was not on the same wavelength as today's constructor - I struggled with many clues, and not only the trivia ones. I would never have completed the puzzle without multiple lookups and autocheck. The long entries were actually much easier to figure out - I did them all on my own - than some of the short ones. Simple bucket: LAYUP - apparently that's a basketball term? Simple is what I am when it comes to sports terminology, in any language and with regard to any sport other than climbing. . . . Elo is a slang Polish greeting.
@Andrzej A LAYUP is a basketball play in which you dribble toward the basket, and if you can get there unimpeded, you just jump a bit and lightly toss the ball into the basket. According to a physical education teacher I once had, it was the simplest basket possible. I disagreed, as I just didn't have the coordination to do this reliably. I was terrible at basketball in general, but if I had half a chance of sinking a bucket, it was by taking a set shot (away from the basket a bit, and both feet on the floor, tossing the ball with both hands). I wasn't much of a dancer, either.
Oh I had a lot of fun with this one, felt like it was made for me! To be a bit pedantic though, as a former model, a GO-SEE is not an open casting. A GO-SEE is a request casting without a particular job or project in mind, so that the casting director/photographer/designer can get to know you. An open call is open to whoever an agency wants to send and sometimes members of the public. I don’t think I can write what we actually called “open calls” in this comment section (imagine waiting in a windowless room for up to three hours with 100 people, nowhere to sit, possibly no toilet access, no guarantee of being seen and 10 other appointments you have to make)…
@S Gray Like that insight into a vocation that seems so glamorous.
Look for the bare necessities, the simple bare necessities Forget about your worries and your strife I mean the bare necessities, old mother nature's recipes That bring the bare necessities of life BALOO knows. Like Deb says, sit back and savor the puzzle. Thanks, Julian, enjoyed it. Fresh fill and clever cluing, very little glue. The crossword puzzle is the bright spot among the OBITs, OP- EDs, and sour political news in this old RAG. THEM'S THE FACTS!
Like others, I was stumped by the RAp/pOSEE cross and had to mentally run the alphabet to find another letter that would work, especially since I don’t think of rap as being in 2/4. But before that, though, I had to fix my big error of “THEM’S THE rules” which is definitely a phrase I’ve heard before and tripped me up for quite a while! Once I fixed that, everything else fell into place. Great puzzle! Challenging and enjoyable.
@Laura And I immediately had jumped to, "Them's the breaks!"
Great puzzle, Julian! Challenging and fun. Hope to see more from you!
I simply loved this puzzle. Fun fill. Fabulous cluing. Just the right sort of Friday for me. Had to read almost every clue multiple times, and it felt like savoring a fine meal. Unlike a more typical Friday, I had very little on the first pass, but eventually made progress in the northeast and then that success spread through the center. The last bit for me was 58-Across, but I was ELATEd, not IRKED. THEMS THE FACTS of my solve. Thanks for taking the time to bake this one to perfection, Julian!
Great (solo) debut, Julian! To be young again, when a year seems like a long time. Many constructors talk about having a puzzle in the slow cooker for quite awhile. The attention to detail shows in the quality of the clueing. I liked the appearance of some unique answers, like CORKSCREWED, TRYNOTTOLAUGH, and THREEPUTT. Well done.
Well and truly savoured. A lovely puzzle with enough crunch to keep me interested. I’m glad I’m not the only one with RAp/G issues. I assumed it was my lack of musicality. I wouldn’t know a 2/4 thingy if it slapped me in the face.
I enjoyed this puzzle. Filled it in pretty quickly but then spent a minute afterward staring at 33D asking myself "What in the world is THE ME PARK" until it dawned on me.
@Geoffrey King ahhh… the All About Me parks. I know a few people who get stuck on THOSE rollercoasters!
Omg I shattered my Friday PB by 30%! It feels great to feel like I’m finally “getting” crosswords. I always love repeated clues, and INSTA/KILO and SCI/ROM. Between PEACEMAKERS, UNIONREP, SPEECH THERAPIST and TEAMSTER, I really liked the vibes of this one. And now I have a personal note to find out who Nina RICCI is. Thanks for the fun lunch break!
@Sachi Well done! I’m on the same upswing myself, and isn’t it a relief?! Just the last week I’ve found myself ‘getting’ them too, though today took a few passes to get my head around the phrasing and look sideways at how clues are worded. Lots of fun crosses in this one!
Mr. Xiao, there were some very fine clues today and I certainly took my time to crack them down. Thank you for this lovely puzzle.
"I feel sick" was a common theme as we drove to Maine from NY. Sister's claim to fame was vomiting in every State. Day 1 of my new world order I will ban all puzzles by those decades younger than me... which may be everyone. Thank you Julian, A wonderful Friday, And, ko likes it too.
@dk I was the “kid who got carsick.” Every trip. Then my parents quit smoking and, amazingly, I stopped getting car sick. … Mmm. Smoked emu. But not on Fridays during Lent.
Challenging , but doable . Best puzzle of the week by far . Are we there yet ?? - I tried not to laugh - but failed :)
Crossing a three-stack of humorous sayings with SPEECH THERAPIST was nothing short of brilliant! This was indeed a thing of beauty, despite feeling sure at one point that this would be a streak-breaker. Then I switched the two film prefixes, erased “snog” and took a chance with STEREO. And grinned when I realized I’d mistaken the “containing” clues with “palindrome” – silly mistake, one that often happens when I try to solve too close to my bedtime. But little by little, I found a few other toe-holds and much to my disbelief, inched over the finish line before turning out the light. And only about 3 (very enjoyable) minutes over my average … Thanks!!
Now that was a workout. Every time I thought the puzzle was going to fall into place, like after I got the wonderfully clued THREEPUTT, and then again after I got the equally wonderfully clued THEMEPARK, I found myself stymied for a time. For a while I even thought I was CORKSCREWED. Finally, however, the long central down SPEECHTHERAPIST (also cunningly clued) gave me enough to complete the puzzle. Whew!
The most challenging puzzle this week for me (so far). It took me longer than my average time, but I like to think it was because I was enjoying the puzzle so much, I didn't want it to end. 😄
I should have taken the advice to slow down, as this one was just so good! (I'm riding on a train sans WiFi and definitely not THERE YET.) There have been a few standouts in my current streak, the weekend puzzle from the father-daughter team from Vermont comes to mind, and now another banger from a young constructor, fresh, clever, and elegant. Hats off to Julian Xiao. Like the finest conductors, it will be a pleasure to stay current on his works.
I started out thinking that this was going to be a tough one. After entering (incorrectly) maskS, I searched for an entry point through about two-thirds of the puzzle before I found another one. Then I started getting more hits, and more started filling in, until I finally got back to the top and figured out that I should have entered TESTS, and that helped fill in the NW and finish the puzzle. Really enjoyed (and instantly filled in) 37A; had a lucky guess with BALOO; and liked both sets of duplicate clues. Liked the other long entries as well. Very nice sophomore effort, and glad you had the perseverance to carry it to completion and acceptance. Thanks, Julian!
SPEECHTHERAPIST, before I got SPEECH and after I got THERAPIST, but before I knew THERAPIST was one word and not two, gave me real SNL Jeopardy vibes. Haven't laughed so hard at the crossword before.
@alan Believe it or not: <a href="https://therapist.com" target="_blank">https://therapist.com</a>/ …….. !!!!!!! Emusbegone.com
Lots of lovely clues! I stuck with THEMS THE BREAKS for too long until I realized it wouldn't fit. After that, the rest of the puzzle just flowed. Well, almost. I know nothing about golf, and THREE PUTT came about only from the crosses, and that took a while. I didn't fall into the RAP trap because there's no way I'd ever consider Rap and Tune in the same sentence. So my first thought was the right one. Any Friday puzzle that makes me smile more than a few times is a winner!
What a great Friday puzzle! I loved all the parallel clues and entries: in addition to the ones Deb mentioned, there was INSTA/KILO, and OBIT/OP-EDS. Am I missing any? A musician by avocation, if not vocation, I, too, fell for the RAp/pOSEE trap, even though I felt uncomfortable with it. Raps, like most current popular music genres, are predominantly in duple meter (beats in multiples of two), they are usually notated in 4/4, also called "common time," and abbreviated as "C"*. Also, even though many raps have tuneful hooks or refrains--I recently linked a video of a rap by Eminem, which featured a lovely refrain by Dido--the whole idea of "rap" is rhythmic spoken word, not tuneful melody. And "(Une) Posée" seemed a possible, if unlikely modeling term. But that wasn't the right answer. Here's Thomas Wilson performing a useful task, for the [benefit] of the Chamber Orchestra of the Springs, in a little Expensive Noise in 2/4, by Scott Joplin: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jgxgqXGjFsg" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jgxgqXGjFsg</a> But not all rags are in 2/4--here's the great jazz pianist, Johnny Guarnieri, adding a beat (or three) in an unconventional take on the Maple Leaf Rag (the video was excerpted from one with a lengthy spoken intro; but who's that guy who edited himself in on the drum kit?): <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Di1Flrgq2E&t=39s" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Di1Flrgq2E&t=39s</a> *I could give a lengthy musicological explanation why "C" is *not* an abbreviation for "Common time." Maybe David will do it for me.
@Bill I agree -- RAP seemed obvious but I too seemed to recall that they are mostly in 4/4. Never heard of a POSEE so that didn't seem right either. Couldn't remember from learning "The Entertainer" in fifth grade what the time signature was, but finally parsed out "GO SEE" and it all made sense.
@Bill Treemonisha! Great seeing that link--thank you. I take your point that not all rags are in 2/4. Conversely, I'm not sure Joplin would consider the 2/4 sample you provided, his overture, to be a rag. He pulled a lot of musical styles into his opera, didn't he? This got me to pull out my book of Joplin rags and reminds me how much I miss playing them. Might be time to get a keyboard again.
@Bill Thanks for the musicology!
Thoroughly enjoyable puzzle! Thanks!