Enjoyed the vibe of Remington Steele (1987-91), MacGyver (1985-92), VHS tapes, solo albums and eps vs. digital detox, the new normal, diodes and infodemics. Also was amused by some of the parings: teleology, which examines results, goals and purposes in order to explain something, and root causes (aetiology), which examines underlying reasons, background, motives. Also: Isle (clued as Key) near Largo: cue Key Largo, an old noir movie with Bogart and Bacall. The film's music was scored by Max Steiner, so having Isle/Stein/Largo made nutty sense to me. It's funny about the pronouncements in this puzzle, Leary positing comedy as the ultimate free speech, Descartes that doubt is the source of knowledge. If some comedian said that doubt was the source of all comedy, I would have nodded just as sagely. If some philosopher had said that comedy was the source of all knowledge, I would have given that some thought and ultimately agreed. If some talking head on tik-tok said that free speech was the root cause of our current infodemic, I'd shut my laptop, go on digital detox, and pick up The Adventures of Augie March, a beautiful book, with prose so rich and giddy it's like consuming a slice of really good cheesecake -- one made with plenty of eggs. Apple sauce? Include me out! Merci beaucoup for this!
@john ezra To paraphrase Newbie: Dude, your knowledge knows no bounds. Actually, I am unable to channel the inimitable Newbie. I’ve never read “Augie March” (or any Bellow?). Thanks to your description, it’s on my list. And I might go back and rewatch Key Largo (ideally on VHS).
It was a good puzzle, thanks, except for one glaringly wrong clue. Last night — last night! — I was out for dinner with fellow mathematicians (mostly Oberlin College profs) and complained that the Times puzzle clues COSET as "Mathematical subgroup." There was a chorus of No, No, No, That's just plain wrong! You need a test solver who can catch such a mathematical howler. That entry has appeared 8 times in Shortz-era puzzle. Five times the clue has been incorrect; twice it's been acceptably vague; the best one was "Subdivision in group theory" back in 2020.
@Gary K Great story! It’s still quite early, but I’m predicting this will be the comment of the day. I’ll let a more experienced commenter propose the over-under here. Thanks for posting. ( Where’d you have dinner and would you recommend?)
@Gary K Not a mathematician here, so help me out (if you don’t mind). Is the basic point that cosets are multiples of subgroups, thus not necessarily subgroups of the original group? Because many dictionaries (e.g. M-W) begin their definitions of coset with something like “ a subset of a mathematical group…” which sounds wrong, if I’m following.
@Gary K A crossword clue is not a mathematical definition. Each mathematical subgroup is indeed a (left and right) coset. “Each mathematical subgroup is one” would have been better.
Would anyone be able to help me understand 31A? Clue is Meet and answer is FIT. I guess I'm tired like @Steve L and @Barry Ancona, but it's just not coming to me. Thanks in advance.
@Pezhead I was thinking of it like puzzle pieces, but defer to anyone with a more astute answer.
@Pezhead Seems like it depends on a strict definition of meet which means only to come together without gaps or overlap. When two pieces of molding or tile MEET at a corner they FIT. If they don't fit, then COLLIDE or CRASH is more appropriate than MEET.
@Pezhead meet 3 of 3 adjective archaic & dialectal British : precisely adapted to a particular situation, need, or circumstance : very proper … their ghosts … haunt the fires by which sit armed men, as is meet for the spirits of fearless warriors who died in battle. —Joseph Conrad
Man, this puzzle was perked up and toughened by fresh answers. Perked up because these answers are not same-old same-old. Toughened, because they don’t have clues I've seen before and perhaps remembered. When fresh answers gang up in a puzzle, I feel the newness I felt when I started solving puzzles all those many years ago. That is a gift. So, look at John’s answer set today, with eight NYT debut answers – all of them long (8 letters or more). And look at how vibrant they are: DIGITAL DETOX, I GOTTA RUN, INFODEMIC, JURY RIGGING, MERCY BUCKETS, NEW NORMAL, NO LUCK SO FAR, and SOLO ALBUM. Wow! That NW stack includes two of these, and the SE stack has one plus two answers that have only appeared but once in the 80 years of the Times puzzle. Two grace the middle area. So they’re nicely spread out. This made for a fill-in marked by spark and luscious labor. There was glee and satisfaction, bolstered by humor (as in “Sign in front of some bars” for CLEF). Thus, this was not simply a go-through, it was an experience, and a mighty fine one at that. Thank you so much for creating this gem, John!
A pretty fun puzzle, especially when it was actually a few guesses on the long clues that really got things going. I struggled a lot with FANS/FIT, considering PANS is a less jargon-y fit.
I'm going to comet on Thursday's puzzle here because I just saw a comment that needs to be responded to, but the comments there are closed. I had a tab open to the Thursday comments and, before closing it, looked of any new comments. The newest comment, by someone named Patrick, admitted that PEG was a word and technically correct as clued, but still lambasted it as "most egregiously awful. Hostile, almost." That's fine -- there are words I'm not fond of, or certain usages or definitions of words I don't care for (octopi, anyone?), but I don't expect constructors to cater to my own personal preferences. Our own Eric H. replied, suggesting that that Patrick check out the definition of PEG in a dictionary. That was met with a reply, written by Don from MD, claiming that it was NOT in "any dictionary to which I have access" and Don specifically cited Wiktionary.org, claiming that of the 18 definitions provided, not a single one related to throwing. So I went there to see for myself: There are 18 definitions of PEG used as a *noun* and none of them, of course define a *verb* meaning to throw. But if Don had bothered to continue to scroll down to the verb definition, he would have found that there are 13 entries of PEG as a verb, the 5th of which is simply "To throw". Don't believe me? Look back at those comments and then check out that entry on Wiktionary. Please, people, if you're going to register a complaint, please try to do your homework a bit better.
@CaptainQuahog And I’m sure I’ve even heard PEG as a noun meaning a throw many times: Ground ball to short, the flip to second, that’s one, the PEG to first, double play! Never mind the dictionary. We don’t need no stinkin’ dictionary.
@CaptainQuahog Brother Clam, you've got it pegged! Sorry emu! Still sorry! Silly emu, jokes are for dad!
TIL- I’m not the only one that says MERCYBUCKETS. I’m not the only one who says DIGITALDETOX. Some people say TAXBITE. And when my husband chuckled after I said I had jimmy-rigged my car’s engine with duct tape, and corrected me that the term was jerry-rigging, he’d be the one getting corrected 27 years later. Which is today. Yeah, he was kinda right. But I’ve been waiting for this… Twisty, tricky Saturday. Got my splint and sutures removed yesterday and now I have a walking boot I can’t walk in for a month. And hoo-boy! The pain is zinging through my ankle like lightning bolts! Fun to have a distraction for a bit! Happy Saturday all!
@CCNY MERCY BUCKETS was almost my first answer. It came almost immediately to mind. I guess that's because my foreign languages are German and Spanish, NOT French! So when someone speaks to me in French, my answer will be MERCY BUCKETS!
Nice! Like it often happens, I found the Saturday puzzle to be easier than Friday. 38A is not clued well. Given a subgroup H of a group G, you can decompose G into (left/right) cosets, and one of these cosets is indeed the subgroup H itself, but the others are not subgroups.
I was so sure that the answer to “Pay for a crime, say” was “do the time” that my whole northeast was crazy.
@Lauren Atlas Same here, but I was also fairly sure that there isn't any "tape" that begins with "HH." Thankfully, I finally thought of a different meaning for "key" than the one I'd been stuck on, and things fell into place after that.
@Lauren Atlas That was my first thought as well. "Don't do the crime if you can't do the time."
@Lauren Atlas I wonder about solving styles. I almost never fill in a long one unless I have at least three or four crosses. Of course that doesn't guarantee you'll have the crosses you need, but it increases the chances you won't end up with poisoned squares.
"Why does this apiary follow all these rules?" "Just bee clause." ("But hive stopped droning on about it.")
A wardrobe supervisor once corrected me and I've never forgotten it. Neither Tony Stark nor Captain Jack Sparrow has a GOATEE; they both sport Van Dykes. I know, I know, meanings change over time. Now get off my lawn. Great puzzle. Lots of fun rabbit holes. Welcome back Mr. G, and thanks.
Boy howdy, John Guzzetta! Thansk for a sweet little gem. Can't rightly decide if you're responsible for ending the week on a high note, or leaving the gate open for a fun weekend . . . anyhoo, it's grids like this that make solving fun - and to any nut who balks at this puzzle, "san fairy ann!"
Crunchy as long-roasted asparagus. I’m going to start (or perhaps join the front end of) the “never heard of” parade: MERCY BECKETS, INFODEMIC, Ms. Kirke (LOLA), Mr. Fitch (NILES). Needed a lot of patchwork to JURY-RIG a completed grid. I’ve always been a fan of John Guzzetta, including his jaunty photo over at Xwordinfo. He delivers tough themeless puzzles that are always a workout for the frontal lobe. And yet, they usually have a fresh earthiness to them, in a Weintraubuan way. Witness NO LUCK SO FAR, DIGITAL DETOX, NEW NORMAL, LIGHTEN UP, I GOTTA RUN. Loved the puzzle. I only wish SMUG had been clued with “AudreyL’s cloud.”
@Puzzlemucker * MERCY BUCKETS. Though, one of Godot’s characters might have grunted MERCY, BECKETT!
just me who's not wild about MERCY BUCKETS? Feels a bit ugly to have an intentional mangling of another language - not trying to say it's evil or anything but wasn't satisfying enough for me.
It's exactly the same as "MUCH GRASS," commonly used in Southern California.
@H Agreed. My least favorite entry in this puzzle. Surprised by the constructor's notes that it's a "fun and quirky phrase that I hear in conversation." Happily I've never heard it before (I would be confused rather than amused) and I can't even imagine how it came about as "buckets" is nothing like "beaucoup." Oh, well. Different strokes and all that.
@H maybe it's more common where I live in Canada, but it's a pretty common phrase here that even the French side of my family will jokingly say once in a while! it gave me a smile to see in a crossword
I know that every time I have a teeth-grinder, when I come to the column there will be comment after comment about how really easy the puzzle was, and how much fun. Even with a lot of gimmes there were fills for this one that just wouldn't fill for way too long. The SW was my first solved corner so it always comes down to the wheelhouse (especially happy to see AUGIE March), but actually, none of this puzzle was what I would call easy. In the end it was clever and satisfying, but both Thursday and Friday were much easier for me. John Guzzetta, you SLY DOG, thanks for a real workout. I'm trying to LIGHTEN UP so I can go to sleep now, but NO LUCK SO FAR.
This was my kind of Saturday puzzle - hard but enjoyably doable. I only needed to look up the meaning of concupiscent, and two or three names, but some of the trivia I knew, which rarely happens. I felt a pang of nostalgia at Remington STEELE, which was one of the shows on satellite tv that my parents got in the early 90s so I could watch stuff in English to learn it better. I also remembered TELEOLOGY from the philosophy course at university. I was slightly confused by JURYRIGGING - I thought the term was jerry-rigging? The latter was my instant answer to MacGyvering, but it did not fit. Reluctantly I entered JeRYRIGGING, but that did not work, and looked very wrong. I googled both terms, including their etymologies, but I would appreciate it if somebody kindly explained to me how they are used in everyday language by native speakers. Which is more common? Do they mean the same?
@Andrzej I have only heard Jerryrigging for this meaning. Juryrigging is something else altogether: when the prosecutor or defense manages to sit sympathetic people on a jury.
@Chrisinroch That is jury tampering. Jury rigging is correct, as clued in the puzzle. Jerry rigging is widespread but wrong. (Which I suppose makes it right enough.)
@Andrzej The Wordplay article had some remarks on that..
I have been addicted the Times Xword for many decades, I am 88. Perhaps, blame it on my youth, but in general, I am finding them more difficult, because the associations to the clues seem more abstract.
@jazzpsy 38 here and solving daily for 5 years or so. This one threw me for a loop. I’m still not clear on how “fit” fits with “meet,” hmm.
@Erica C Think of it like Lego blocks: if two block fit together, they are meeting.
Nice puzzle. Lots of interesting words and phrases. I'm tired. See you in the morning (to see what scandals I missed). Please feed the emus.
Someone asked me earlier this week if I ever look at a puzzle and say to myself, "I might not be able to solve this one." Today's puzzle almost fit into that category for a while, but I told myself to trust the process, and lo and behold, in just about a minute longer than my Saturday average, I was done. But there were some mitigating factors: 1. I was particularly tired tonight, due to the way the day unfolded. 2. We had a house guest, to whom I was trying to talk for a while at the start of my solve, before it would be better to concentrate. 3. I started solving on my phone, always a bad idea on a Saturday, but when I went to solve undistracted, I switched to my desktop. Maybe if none of the above had been in play, I would have felt less challenged, but in the end, it was all me, and not the puzzle, as everything is fair as far as I can tell. The "thanks a lot" I know in butchered French is "mercy buttercups"...it didn't fit. DIGITAL DETOX was a new one on me. Didn't know RONNIE Coleman or LOLA Kirke. Enough for now. 32D. 53D.
@Steve L Trust me, it’s not just you. I had to turn on autocheck halfway through to get a single word in the southwest. I solved the entirety of the northeast with no issue, but there was no way I was making any headway in the southwest without help.
Here is what I have to say about today's puzzle: Anytime someone asks me if I found what I was looking for, my answer is most likely going to be, "Huh!? Was I looking for something? Do you remember what it is I was looking for and if that maybe why I came into this room!?" That was obviously too long to fit the allotted boxes but it was pretty much what first came to mind.... 😉 Also, you know you've been doing too many puzzles lately when you start the puzzle late the night before and then it shows up in your dream. When I woke up today, I remember feeling a little disappointed that the answer for the clue they sometimes come in shoe boxes was boots. I thought that was a real cop out! I opened the puzzle and just started laughing so hard at myself. It's been a rough several days and it was good to laugh! Aside from my silliness, I did enjoy the puzzle and that's not always the case for Saturdays. I, like many, struggled with FIT and FAN. It was the last thing I got and I had to do it as a lookup cuz just nothing made sense to me. Thank you to all of you who ksometimes repeatedly) explained the meaning of those words in their clue contexts earlier in the comments section. FAN I'd have missed but I really should have figured out FIT for meet. Enjoyed MacGyvering -- and the Denis Leary and Descartes quotes a lot! And of course I always love seeing my man, Remington Steele get some respect!
@HeathieJ I thought of you as soon as I read the clue for Remington Steele this morning!! As I was entering the answer, I kept thinking, I can't wait to see HeathieJ's reaction to this one! ☺️ It was one of the only gimmes I had for quite a while, and it was the only toehold I had there in the SW until almost the very end. Never say that man isn't always saving the day! 🤩 I saw one of your posts earlier in the week, but I've been a day behind in solving (until finally catching up today), so didn't have the opportunity to comment. I'm very sorry for your loss, and have been so heartened hearing of your moments of joy! Sending you a big hug! 🥰
After reading the first few Across clues, I thought that this would be a real challenge. The clues for DIORAMA, ISLE and GRAN are vague; I didn’t know the word INFODEMIC; as much as I love listening to Dvořák‘s music, I couldn’t have told you that the second movement of his 9th symphony is marked LARGO (though it’s here on the iPad I solve on) . . . . So after a minute, I switched to the Downs and MERCY BUCKETS popped right in. After that, the answers came in a nice, steady flow. Most of the eight words that appear for the first time are fun words to see in a grid. I’m a bit surprised that JURY-RIGGING, I GOTTA RUN and SOLO ALBUM are debuts. Thanks for the fun, Mr. Guzzetta!
As so often happens when I solve puzzles, one of the clues or answers connects to something recent in my life. Today, it was my super funny cab driver who hailed from Somalia! He regaled me with hilarious stories of his early dating life before he met his current wife, with whom he has six children. Thanks, Ishmael, for the entertaining cab ride to ORD this morning. ❤️
I found this much easier and faster than Thurs or Fri. Dioramas, dings, new normal, and digital detox came right away and no real issues in any quadrants. Briefly had do the time for 10D and pans for 31D. TIL escalator clauses. Same wave length, thanks for a fun puzzle John Guzzetta! Agreed Caitlin on stripy looking wrong.
@WM I had the exact opposite experience. No problems with Thursday or Friday, but had a tough time with this one. Look-ups of two names to finally get it done.
So much fun on a Saturday. Just the right combination of challenging and smooth. MERCY BUCKETS for this one, John!
Made me smile to see MERCY BUCKETS. There’s a Drive-by Truckers song by that name that I absolutely love. It’s especially good seeing them perform it live. Puts a lump in my throat every time. <a href="https://youtu.be/U-sBQi0pbXE" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/U-sBQi0pbXE</a>
I came here expecting to read about how hard/unfair the puzzle was. But doesn’t seem to be the case. I thought this was the hardest puzzle of the year. I’m pretty proud of myself for ⭐️ this one. For me, it’s one of those puzzles that helps me assess how much I’ve improved in my solving skill. I don’t think I could have successfully struggled through this a year ago. Personally, I thought the puzzle had way too many proper nouns. But like I said, I appreciate it because it was such a grind for me. Each corner was a struggle. And getting one corner didn’t bring confidence that I could solve the next empty corner. Maybe I’d feel differently if I had crashed and burned. But I didn’t. So I walk away encouraged. Not discouraged.
@Weak You are a bit early if you are expecting complaints about difficulty. Those folks usually show up sometime after noon on Saturdays. Takes them a while, don't cha know. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YNSxNsr4wmA" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YNSxNsr4wmA</a>
Came here to see if someone explained why FANS is "Strikes out, slangily". I guess many it's a baseball thing. I had to "wheel of fortune" as they say cycle the 31A/D square. Once I got it, I could see how "meet" could be a clue for FIT but it's very tricky. FANS I still don't get. I scrolled down a ways and this didn't seem to have come up (wish we could search the comments for a word).
@Jessica Bloom FANning is (according to an earlier post) a baseball term for striking out (because it makes a fanning motion?). There is an old, archaic definition of "meet" that means suitable or FIT. I can search the comments on my macbook by using command f. I do have to load all the comments first by scrolling all the way to the bottom and it doesn't find any matches that are hidden behind "view all replies" though. Hope that helps.
@Jessica Bloom 31D/A was also where I got stuck and still not understanding either of the clues, but a good puzzle otherwise!!
@Jessica Bloom I am an avid baseball fan and it is such a common term, I never even thought about why. I would say because the bat misses the ball, spinning through the air like a fan blade.
All right. FIT… what are we doing, here, summer stock? I have saucy doubts. cc: emu handler
This was a really tough one for me. I can’t remember the last time I had to resort to so much Googling. I guess I just need to write this one off as a lack of synchronicity between designer and solver. I can’t say it was a bad puzzle, it just wasn’t for me.
@Heidi Me neither. Too many random phrases that could be worded a dozen different ways, too many TV references I've never heard of. It veered between too easy and impossible.
It’s great how sometimes these puzzles sync (I.e., FIT/Meet) with one’s experience, knowledge or peculiar way of thinking. And sometimes not. For example, yesterday’s was very difficult for me. That’s not a complaint. It was a really good puzzle that required it a back-and-forth fight to get it all. Sometimes it’s a slog, but that is no bad thing. Puzzles should puzzle us. Fairly, of course. Today was the opposite, but just as enjoyable. I finished in a third of the time Friday took. The long answers (NEWNORMAL, JURYRIGGING, NOLUCKSOFAR and ROOTCAUSE) jumped right in place with minimal or no crosses. Just happened, no idea why. And STRIPY made me laugh, thinking of this old bit from the Muppet Show I used to watch with my nieces and nephews. Here’s the video clip. <a href="https://www.getyarn.io/yarn-clip/5dc92514-f6fa-4ec3-8d05-d3a23f3d2103" target="_blank">https://www.getyarn.io/yarn-clip/5dc92514-f6fa-4ec3-8d05-d3a23f3d2103</a> The two new words for me COSET and INFODEMIC were fun, and fairly assisted with the crosses. Well done and thanks, Mr Guzzetta!
Great puzzle. I got bogged down with RED tape in the NE corner for the longest time. Also had to get over my assumption that Macgyver was an expert at JERRYRIGGING, which obviously didn't fit. Looked up the etymology and was surprised to learn that JURYRIGGING comes from something you'd do on a boat, rather than in a court room. Thanks for a worthy weekend workout!
You know, as someone in my mid twenties who doesn’t particularly care for television, I sometimes feel like I’m doing these crosswords on hard mode. At least I know what a VHS tape is! This puzzle is actually a really good example of a well-constructed crossword in that regard, though, I think. Everything is so well placed and mixed that things that I could never in a million years have guessed I could fill from crosses. Friday and Saturday are usually my favorite days of the solving week, and this week has certainly not disappointed. These were a particularly strong pair. While I particularly enjoyed yesterday’s puzzle (and would love to see some more fresh ideas from constructors from my generation) this was also the most enjoyable Saturday puzzle I’ve done in a while. It’s nice to end the week on a high note for sure!
@PC Ha! I think you're right. You're too young for the stodgy (though less stodgy than in the past) Gray Lady crossword. I could never do them when I was younger. It never failed that two archaic (archaic used to be a common modifier in the clues) terms. I really do think being old helps with these. Except for the rapper names.
Nice. I got it done with change from one hour, so I'm happy. But first go-around was very unpromising with 44A STEELE and 14D CLEF the only gimmes. Oh and MONT-St-Michele. But STEELE begat CLAUSE and CLEF begat FIDGET and I was on my way. A worthy Saturday.
Thanks, John, for giving me FITS this morning. The long answers seemed to go in relatively easily, but I spent about 30% of my total time trying to decide what letter to put in for the _ITS/_ANS crossing. I kept going through the alphabet in my head, but nothing seemed to work. I finally decided on F with extreme low confidence, guessing that it was like bringing two ends of a seatbelt together. Now I can see "FIT your needs" is just like "meet your needs", but for whatever reason, that was just not coming to me. Right answer for the wrong reason? I'll take it! I never would have gotten the baseball term (I wasn't even sure it was actually related to baseball), so I'm just glad I was able to hang on to my streak.
@Nancy. J I "ran the QWERTY" at _ITS/_ANS, until, half-way through the middle row, I got the Happy Music (I find this more efficient than "A . .B . .C"). But I was mystified by "FITS"--my feeling is that if I can find even one phrase wherein the answer word can be substituted for the clue, the clue's valid; but I couldn't think of one--but I guess your example above meets/fits the need.
Wow, this was hard! Almost every one of my earlier fills was wrong, which required a lot of flexibility on my part. That said, I throughly enjoyed solving this puzzle with New World Symphony on in the background. Cheers.
Enjoyed This Puzzle. I learned that I have more knowledge than I thought but I also learned more about useful topics that I will ponder. These treats aren't typically found in a crossword. John Guzetta is a truly talented constructer. He made me realize that our world is moving so fast backwards that there is no longer recognition for critical thinking outside of profitable returns. I don't think I realized how far we have strayed from trying to understand and do what is right. He definitely fired up the Old brain cells with quite a few excellent clues— solves. In a Crossword puzzle, one can find a way to escape the madness that infiltrates everything with the pursuit of power and profit but not knowledge ethics or wisdom. Crosswords can be a great guide with talented creators like John Guzetta.
Great puzzle! It felt so fresh and contemporary with entries like INFODEMIC, NEW NORMAL and DIGITAL DETOX, as well as the fun seed entry MERCY BUCKETS. I like the symmetry of JURYRIGGING and NO LUCK SO FAR. Fun adjacency of I GOTTA RUN and CIAO. I also like the crossing of COMEDY with SLY DOGS, and the adjacent GAGS. Great clue for INERT. Well done, John. I’m adding this to my list of themeless favorites.
Haven't seen this constructor for a while! Welcome, John Guzzetta! (Spell-check rejects your name....) I know I read that Saul Bellow book...in the mid-70's...and I recall almost nothing about it. I think I'm on JG's wavelength--got 1A/D instantly (though I held off because it was just too quick.) A very quick but satisfying solve. Nothing left but to say but MERCY BUCKETS, John!
Very much enjoyed learning some new trivia today from this puzzle! Went down the rabbit hole (not EARS, unfortunately) reading about Ananda Mahidol. Don't begrudge a little look up when I get a dose of good history!
As opposed to yesterday’s intercepted TDPASS, this somewhat SLYDOG, but no man OFWAR, had DOUBT and is pleased the ROOTCAUSE isn’t total dunderheadedness. I shall stroke my SMUG GOATEE today as I forgive the COMEDY of DINGS that was Friday. Probably should DIGITALDETOX. IGOTTARUN. CIAO.
I liked this Saturday. My only huge struggle was my final square of the puzzle, which was 31 and took me minutes to figure out. I am not a baseball FAN, and thus I never heard of the slang term of fanning to arrive a player out. I was thinking Bans for strike outs, not Fans. But, Bit did not make sense for Meet... whereas Fit was a plausible match (does this fit your needs /does this meet your needs) and voila I got my star to keep my steak alive.
MERCY-Boo-coop for a fun puzzle! This was an enjoyable one to chew over. Bone apple tea!
I happily crossed DOPAMINEFAST with LIFEHACKING while the grid was still mostly empty. Had to change both before long, but the correct answers were equally fun. Loved this puzzle. Thanks!
Back in my very distant past, I remember someone -- in real life? on TV? -- using the term MERCY BUCKETS in place of "Merci Beaucoup". I found him crashingly unfunny and boorish at the time. But he did me a huge favor today. He gifted me a long, well-situated answer in a puzzle where I was struggling everywhere. I don't know what DIORAMAS are or why they come in shoeboxes. I've never heard of DIGITAL DETOX -- but what a colorful phrase. INFODEMIC is even better; I love many of these new portmanteaus and the fun for me here was having to guess it. I'd already guessed DEMIC based on the crosses, but the first four letters were up for grabs. I don't understand the clue for INERT (2D). But that's the only clue in this puzzle I don't like; mostly I thought the clues were inspired. I love curiosity-provoking clues like the one for COMEDY (19A), the one for DOUBT (50D) and the one for SIAM (8D). Also misleading clues like the ones for CLEF (14D) and STEIN (15A) I thought I'd have to cheat on what turned out to be RONNIE and LOLA -- but I didn't. I solved this fair and square, if rather slowly. Crunchy, colorful and engrossing Saturday.
@Nancy agree it’s an engaging puzzle! INERT is a reference to certain elements (eg Argon) that are chemically unlikely to create bonds with other atoms, aka “unlikely to join”
@Nancy INERT elements to not form compounds. They are reluctant to join with other elements that way. (I love the way you don’t like this clue because you don’t know how it works.) Dioramas are 3D representations. They are often school projects and are often created in shoeboxes.
@Nancy I've known people who use Mercy bowcups, but buckets was new to me.
My first Saturday with no lookups! Started incorrectly with DOTHETIME at 10D…NE corner was my last fill. Thanks for the reminder to ask my accountant dad to help me with my taxes. Have a great weekend, all!
My first guess for "Sign in front of some bars" was "We ID". I thought that was a good guess, and I made it work with "Satire" as the test of free speech. Oh well. I got it figured out in the end.
I don’t understand 31 across or down. I only got it by guessing (and it was my last undone square). Can someone help me? How does “fit” answer “meet”?
@Emma It's an Old English term, meaning "appropriate," still used in some Church hymns, for example: "It is meet and right to worship Thee. . . "
@Emma I had to come to the comments to figure that out, myself. There's a lot of explanations earlier in the comment sections but in short, in addition to what Alexander L said before me, also think of it as if something meets the requirements, it could be said that it fits the requirements.
@Emma I came to the comments for the same reason. I remain unconvinced! 😏
Relaxing for a Saturday & I learned ( or relearned?) a new word, concupiscent. Thanks
Despite a lot of names of persons unknown to me and a number of phrases or terms with which I was not familiar, I got this one done in a reasonable time. That philosophy course I took in college finally paid off, by giving me TELEOLOGY, and DOUBT (as the Cartesian source of wisdom) to compensate for the things that were foreign to me. DIORAMAS in shoeboxes evoked memories of elementary school days. All in all an educational and fun puzzle.