A note of mass thanks here in order not to sound like a broken record under each kind comment: Thank you ALL. I love having such a wonderful and enthusiastic puzzling community to write for, and such talented colleagues with which to share this column. So do stick around — invite your friends, even. You can tell them, to quote a certain Carrollian cat, that "we're all mad here." And what a treat it is.
A swell puzzle! My eye was caught by the interesting group of words with unexpected double letter endings: COBB, SKYY and TOPPS (yes, I see the "s" in TOPPS, but it fits the pattern). Those, along with a fair few words with double letters -- GOO, ACHOO, KISSCAM, PICCOLO, TOSS -- lent this puzzle an overall musicality I enjoyed. I am the walrus calf I am the walrus calf Goo Goo Achoo! Sam Corbin, happy one year anniversary. It both feels (to me) like you just got here and that you've been here forever. You made yourself at home, quickly and quietly established your unique voice and wit, and you work so naturally with Deb and Caitlin, both of whom have their own voices and talents, that it seems like peanut butter and chocolate to me. Anyway, I hope the folks at the Times gave you a nice bottle of Canadian ice wine or a crossword themed sweater or something. I'll probably never file my taxes again without thinking, "On this day, Sam Corbin came to work at the New York Times."
@john ezra On Sam’s days, I read the title to her piece and try to guess what the photo might be. Today I was close. Although, since there are two, I suppose they are double eaglets, or an albatross, even. Congrats, Sam.
Congratulations, Sam, on your blogiversary. You are such a spark, such a lovely chaser after solving a puzzle. You are the dessert that caps the meal. You have widened the art of choosing a photo for the column by regularly bringing wit into the equation. You entertain by opening the gates to your marvelous wordplay-talented brain. You edify and entertain with pertinent snippets from your life, as well as with interest-piquing background to puzzle answers. You keep things popping and new. Here, a year after your debut, there is no fade to your spark. I eagerly come to your column, knowing it will be fresh and uplifting. Above all, your engaging personality shines through, which buoys my step as I transition from the puzzle to my day ahead. I am amazed at how complementary you, Deb, and Caitlin are, making the WordPlay experience so rich. Congratulations, Sam, and here’s to many more ahead!
@Lewis I'm kvelling at these kind words — thanks so much!
Dagnabbit, my car has tyres and a boot, but I automatically assumed we were discussing an American auto …. Spent far too long trying to figure out where the correction was necessary in the obviously incorrect BARBACOA before I backed off and guessed that Mr Gosling didn’t have a South African Mouseketeer cousin called Rian 🤦🏻♀️
Congratulations, Sam, on a year in the books! I always look forward to reading through your commentary on the puzzle at hand, as well as learning something new in the process.
What a sweet, breezy puzzle for a Tuesday. Loved the theme, filled the grid as quickly as my stylus would let me. I always appreciate a tough puzzle, but sometimes it’s nice to give the brain a rest, especially when the theme is as delightful as this one. Huge fan of Mr Fry; not only an outstanding actor, but a highly intelligent and brave soul who spoke openly and compassionately about his mental health issues. As a side note; I’m almost certain the caption photo today would have come from Abbotsbury; the only (I believe) swannery in the UK. It’s about 15 miles from me in Dorset. A wonderful place to visit, on a lagoon nestled in the shelter of the Chesil shingle bar on the famous Jurassic coast. The sight of so many beautiful Mute swans is always breathtaking.
@Helen Wright You're right about the photo, and gosh, it sounds like a trip to the swannery is in order for me.
@Helen Wright If I ever get to the UK, the swannery would be lovely to visit. Swans are so beautiful, and fittingly, Swan Lake is the most beautiful ballet.
This was a fine, breezy Tuesday puzzle. I could quibble that the starred clues gave more information than was strictly necessary, but I won’t because I thought the concept of including persons whose last names were also immature animals was clever enough. And I was amused to see CHARLESLAMB make a full fledged appearance in the puzzle after appearing so many times under his pseudonym.
Jeff Chen used to talk about Cruciverba, the crossword goddess, who, when things fell into place when constructing a puzzle, was smiling down at you, and who, when they didn’t, was bringing her wrath upon you. After reading your notes, Adam, it sounds like she was smiling at you big time, providing a theme answer set that worked beautifully (when so often this is the point where a theme idea dies), and I saw more as well. This is a grid filled with clean answers, and some lovely ones, including RELIC, TAPIR, SMITE, and TIPTOES. She also popped a couple of sweet question-mark clues into your brain – [Wild couple’s cruise?] for NOAH’S ARK, and [What might catch X’s at an O’s game?] for KISSCAM. I’m grateful for learning a new meaning for FRY, for learning a culinary term in BARBACOA (a style of cooking meat), and for the scintillating PuzzPair© of BIG BIRD and EAGLE. Thank you for a breezy, balmy solve, to accompany a short-sleeve day here in the Carolina mountains. And may the fickle Cruciverba continue to hold you in her favor!
Loved that the themers were mostly tough, but the crosses did the heavy lifting. So we got a Tuesday puzzle that didn’t feel like a fill-in-the-blank. And some more interesting clues that are common on Tuesdays like “Wild couples cruise” and “What might get some Xs at an Os game” Nice! A very pleasing Tuesday! (Except for the mention of SPLINTs and fractured bones as I sit, for the 8th week, with seven fractures and my foot in the air as I do the puzzle. Nine screws and two titanium plates. But PT began last week, so the painful progress phase has begun! Hooray..?)
Sam tosses a lifesaver or two Even if we need just a few To keep a streak going And stop to-and-fro-ing It's Sam who comes up with some glue On days when I'm almost in tears And my brain has jammed up its gears Sam knows what I suffer She steps in with a buffer And the muddle quite magically clears All this is so gracefully nestled In all those hard clues that I wrestled I don't feel a dope For forgetting a pope Or not know that some trains are trestled The choruses of praise are deserved For saving us when we're unnerved And for doing it all with writing That's funny and exciting And never pedantic or condescending or know-it-all, and certainly never hinting that we were dummies not to get it when she just breezed through the whole darned puzzle, brainier than we are and rubbing it in, but instead providing a beautifully written guide to how she arrived at the solve, knowing that some of us didn't need any help and some of us did, but cares so much that she's always warm and entertaining. Thank you, Sam, for a job that is so perfectly well done.
Congratulations, Sam, on your 1st year at NYT. Others here have said it so eloquently but I just wanted to add my appreciation for your witty and fun columns. Wishing you the best!
"Do you like that stable boy?" "Yeah, but he just gave me the colt shoulder." ("But one day you'll make a nice bridle and groom.")
@Mike Thant's our Mike. Always horsing around. 🎠 🎠 🎠 🎠🎠🎠🎠 🎠 🎠🎠🎠🎠 🎠 (Emus are welcome to join the parade)
Congrats on completing you first year Sam! I remember your first official column, and at the same time it feels like you're always been here helping us solvers with the tricky clues and sharing our collective experience with each new crossword. I shared your delight with the theme, who knew there were so many famous men with baby animal last names!
Really fun with an enjoyable “puzzle within a puzzle” to keep interest up. Nice to see the talented Stephen Fry making an appearance too, I’m sure he’d approve of the witty clue!
@Spacebabe A break from Mr. REA for a change. And since REA sounds like it has something to do with fish, I was expecting him to be the answer. !!! !!!
Passing through to congratulate you, Sam, on what's been a wonderful year of reading your daily columns. You bring your own very special cruciverbalist pizzazz to it, and you are truly appreciated. Thank you so much, and here's to many more years! Also, my other standing ovation goes to the editorial team. Your reshuffling so we can keep enjoying the Mini hasn't gone unnoticed, and you're all doing a brilliant job covering all bases while Will is away. You are a magnificent team!
Small quibble, but in my experience as a musician "noodling" on a guitar (50A) almost always implies the act of improvising random melodies on a guitar, rather than simply strumming chords.
(and by 50A I meant 50D!) .
Terrific, fun and breezy Tuesday. I absolutely loved the clue for NOAHSARK. And the themer was so clever! Bravo.
@Kate Clever, but not original. Variations on this idea have been used many times in the past. The last such clue was: Tue Feb 7, 2023 14 A Organizer of a couples cruise? NOAH Also: Fri Oct 14, 2022 50 D Organizer of a couples getaway? NOAH Wed Jun 8, 2022 4 D Months-long couples retreat? ARK Mon Oct 4, 2021 63 A Setting for a couples cruise? ARK There were others, but you get the idea.
@Steve L thanks! I suppose not unique - but I did like the inclusion of “wild” in there as an extra little punch. :) @Barry you’re right, I did mean the “baby animal”theme was clever! Enjoyed it all around.
coming from a country with zero baseball or spanish, I was surprisingly able to easily suss out the middle left portion easily, while learning a new couple of things. Very breezy and fun theme for a Tuesday, thanks for the creative and educational puzzle. Thinking if 46A could be also clued as "Risky... or risqué choice of surfing apparel" :P
Let's hear it for the RAT czar of NYC. (Though at present she's a czarina.) And by weird coincidence, for whatever reason, I only just noticed this weekend that RYAN's last name was an animal baby, so easily added him. Random thought, Can a Gosling be a Mouseketeer? I'm sure there will be solvers who hate this because of the trivia, but I really enjoyed the solve.
"Man-child" is a phrase I've heard many times, but MANBABY? That was new to me. Ok, it's good to learn something new. (Sociologists may want to examine why there is no term "woman-child" or "woman-baby", let alone a "Petra Pan complex.) However, for me, the whole puzzle was made worthwhile by the fabulous clue "What might catch X's at an O's game?" Brilliant!
@Linda MANBABY, indeed. Also, what could be lower than that? MANZYGOTE?
What a great idea for a theme and just right for a Tuesday. Congratulations, Sam; I always enjoy reading your comments and look forward to at least another year.
Adam took the time and trouble to find some really playful and colorful ways to clue certain answers. The RAT czar. The sardonic CHARLES LAMB quote. The BIKINI clue. The KISSCAM clue. The KISSCAM answer, for that matter. It makes me think he'd be fun to have lunch with. But if we have lunch, Adam, I won't order a BARBACOA. I never order "mystery meat" and BARBACOA is certainly a mystery to me. I wanted BARBeCue there and it just didn't work. An odd but amusing theme. The MAN is a man, or at least a man's first name. But the BABY is a critter. Talk about mixing your metaphors. But who cares? This was the kind of breezy, good-natured puzzle that I really like to see.
Congratulations Sam on your first (of many, I hope) year here. I heartily enjoy your columns, with their graceful combination of humor and kindness. And the puzzle? Oh it was delightful! Even I, who know very little about sports or celebrities, could get this one. Very clever theme. Thank you Adam!
NYT, please don't reward this kind of behavior. These guys have a lot of growing up to do and you'll know when, by their names: STEPHENFISH CHARLESRAM RYANGANDER SAMUELSTALLION cc: emu handler
Perhaps there will be some who didn’t know the word fry for a young fish, who may yet have used the expression “small fry”, not realizing its origin. I was a fan of Hugh Laurie and of Stephen Fry for some years before learning of their long comedic collaboration. Very funny stuff.
@David Connell Ditto to both thoughts in your comment. (If only there were a "like" button, haha. And no emus...) My partner came to our relationship already a huge fan of Blackadder, but it was many years before he got me to watch a full series. The Fry/Laurie interactions, along with the rest of the hilarious cast, made me a fan for life, too!
A quick comment related to yesterday’s forum, but I thought as a PSA it would get more views posting today. Yesterday PuzzleDog made a recommendation of a Saturday themed puzzle from 6/6/2015 that resulted in 9 replies, all quite favorable. I started it late yesterday, worked on it on and off. After an hour I turned on Autocheck and finally finished 20 minutes over my Sat average. It’s a pretty remarkable puzzle, worth taking a look if anyone has some free time today.
@Hardroch on your recommendation, and PuzzleDog's from yesterday, I just did this. Agreed - it was a wonderfully clever, and knotty theme. It made my day to have figured it out.
@Hardroch Agreed! I started it last night from Puzzledog's recommendation but haven't finished yet. I ended up putting check puzzle on because something was clearly afoot. Almost everything I had entered was wrong! I've figured out how to deal with the shaded letters already though so most of that is filled out. Not even sure how I achieved that but after removing so many answers, I was just staring at it for a while mumbling and sometimes yelling out, "What is happening here!?" I was so sure of what I had in 1A... and suddenly I had a big aha! Pretty incredible! I look forward to finishing it! Thanks for bringing this up here today! I wanted to comment on it once I was done! :-)
@Hardroch, Hello again. I didn't get a chance to reply to you a few posts ago. Yes, I have lots of relatives in Willamantic. My dad was one of 15 children, 10 of them boys, so lots with our last name. Also, it is a very common last name for immigrants from a certain M.E. country, so many with our surname aren't even related. Do you have a sister who is a musician, starts with an E? My sister remembers her.
Got tripped up early on by TIRE/TYRE. Being a Brit I didn't even question the word boot in the clue and used the American spelling because this is an American crossword and I've been caught out by that before. RYAN GOSLING gave me the correct spelling and I was left confused at the British spelling until I read the article! Good fun puzzle and I solved it quicker than normal with no lookups or checks!
Even I feel pedantic saying this, which makes it a staggeringly pedantic thing to say, but the Roman numeral in 66 down invites the Latin spelling of the number rather than the Italian.
Well, despite having delayed and procrastinated, I ended up not having to spend today doing my taxes last minute, singing "I owe, I owe…" although I did. (I finally got to them the first week of the month.) It was much more fun spending a little time on this puzzle, and it was much less taxing as well (sorry). Going to file this one under Entertaining. Nice puzzle, Adam, thanks. 🍋 Squeezy #76 🍋 Wheezy Mode EZ: 😎 🍋 PZ: 😎 🍋 LS: 😎 🍋 ImSqueezy.com Strands #43 “This and that” 🔵🔵🔵🔵 🔵🔵🔵🔵 🟡
@JayTee I agree, I loved this Tuesday puzzle! 🍋 Squeezy #77 🍋 Breezy Mode EZ: 😎 🍋 PZ: 😎 🍋 LS: 😖 🟩 ImSqueezy.com Strands #44 “On the grid” 🔵🔵🟡🔵 🔵🔵🔵 (Yes, the next day Squeezy and Strands, as I solve in the morning.)
Though it wouldn't fit easily into a crossword, the cutest "mammal with a miniature trunk" has to be the elephant shrew. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSAHHyMM0Ow" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSAHHyMM0Ow</a>
@Pax Ahimsa Gethen Thanks for that. I had never heard of the elephant shrew.
Sam, congratulations on your anniversary, milestone. I am one of many, who enjoys your savory commentary. Kudos, and keep up the good work, EH!
Loved this puzzle. Sometimes Monday and Tuesday puzzles can be a little on the blah side, but this one was a delight. TIL (thanks to Sam) that there are Savana elephants and forest elephants, and that they are both endangered 😟. I also learned about elephant shrews from a fellow commenter. Congrats on your anniversary, Sam. You are doing a terrific job. 😊👏🏻
In full agreement with Helen, the wee pup BB sings out a full-throated ARF, and not just because so many of her fellow earthlings are represented. Though the clues were mostly straightforward, several had the sort of clever twist that plants a question mark on the top of her cocked head, and a chortle in her human's belly: Xs and O's; Miss Piggy's self reflection; wild couples a-cruising, etc. A pleasure, and thanks for the fun. Also, congratulations and best wishes to Sam on her first anniversary, whom the wee pup considers a mighty fine addition to the team. ARF!
@Foster BB blushes at the visual of the bikini clue, but her human holds brave women in very high regard (as evidenced by his truly exceptional spouse) and thus is allowed the citation.
Well, I was appropriately puzzled by this one. Managed to finish it, and I get it, but still feel like I don't entirely get it. Feel like I must be missing something. No big deal. Anyway... answer history search today led me to a constructor I'd never encountered before: Fletcher Ingalls - who had 3 Sunday puzzles published between 1975 and 1982. In his last two puzzles, the string of letters - HORSE - appeared a total of 33 times. Even after an extensive review, I don't feel like I'm entirely getting what was going on with those. If you're in the mood for being puzzled, go take a look at his Xword Info page and review his works: <a href="https://www.xwordinfo.com/Thumbs?author=Fletcher+Ingalls" target="_blank">https://www.xwordinfo.com/Thumbs?author=Fletcher+Ingalls</a> I'll shut up now. ..
@Rich in Atlanta Perhaps Fletcher was just… horsing around? *cue that smug ginger dude with the sunglasses* YEEAAAAHHHH!
Since I'm really bad at "famous people clues", I skipped them and just let the crosses do the work. That made for a nice laugh when I went back to look at 39A and checked out the names for the first time. Very cute, Adam!
The theme clues themselves really stumped me today; as did the main theme clue (not sure what the correct... terminology is here? lol, oops!). I'm used to the term "man child", and I've never heard of "man baby" being a phrase or saying, so I was hesitant to try it out at first; until BABY became clear to me. (then I tried it and later it seemed to work.) Also... (can't believe I'm admitting this publicly on the forum, but) I genuinely did not realize how the word "BABY" was involved in the hint/theme. until I read this article! I noticed COLT/stallion were related words, but I guess my brain froze and didn't register "baby". I literally laughed out loud when I read that part of the article, because, duh!
@pmehra I didn't understand it until I read your comment, haha! We got there, we got there ;)
@pmehra In response to: "[...] the main theme clue (not sure what the correct... terminology is here? lol, oops!)." I think the word you were looking for is "revealer" -- the theme-related answer that aims to shed light on a puzzle's theme. Hope that helps! FWIW, I got the BABY part of the theme answers -- and that even helped me with the revolver clue -- but was a bit at a loss for the MAN aspect. Still am left feeling there must be something more to the "man" angle than I'm seeing... (Now I've admitted it publicly, too-!)
@pmehra Heh heh, I thought it might be more apt/interesting if 62A had used [gelding] instead of [stallion]...
This was a nice Tuesday. I sit down with my coffee and my breakfast, and enjoy the puzzle every morning. Happy Anniversary, Sam Corbin. You have my dream job!
I thoroughly enjoyed this puzzle. And, Sam, I thoroughly enjoy and appreciate your columns and commentary! Happy Anniversary to you and imho it’s a happy anniversary for all of us! (I’ll confess that I don’t always figure out the connections between the puzzle and the photo selection, but the photos are always interesting in their own right.)
Remembered why I don't do these at night. Mind really short circuited for a while. I got there under average, but this felt like it should have been faster. Anyway, love the revealer. Even as a man, there are too many man babies. If you would like a fun song about men being terrible, dial up "drone" by Chastity Belt in your streaming service of choice (unless you own the album and then we should talk about Live Laugh Love).
Interesting theme, but TAPIR/OPI/TRE was way too hard of a crossing for a Tuesday
@Steven M. OPI was a gimme for people who get or give themselves manicures. What percentage of crossword enthusiasts is that? Not sure. TAPIR and TRE may have been a bit out of the wheelhouse for many but it seemed like an overall ideal Tuesday.
Steven M., Time for a field trip to the Bronx (if you're not already there). <a href="https://blog.wcs.org/photo/2018/06/01/malayan-tapir-camouflage-oreo-bronx-zoo-endangered" target="_blank">https://blog.wcs.org/photo/2018/06/01/malayan-tapir-camouflage-oreo-bronx-zoo-endangered</a>/ sorry; no emus
Very excited to see Dan Campbell in a NYT puzzle. That is all.
Man, Ryan Gosling is really living the life.
Fun puzzle, Adam Vincent! GOSLING is what clued me in! emu food more emu food
Congrats, Sam!! I can't believe you've only been here a few months longer than I have been doing these! I'd have never guessed and I mean that in the best way possible! Thanks for all you contribute to this community! I always read your articles, even if I sailed through the crossword. They're too fun to miss!
Oh no! I just realized that I completely forgot to do the puzzle last night. Not quite sure what was occupying my attention instead. Anyway, I'm glad I remembered, as this was fun, and it's really nice to see STEPHEN FRY here.
Hmm...To be frank, I was looking for a bit more zing this morning...but then I thought, "It's Tuesday. Find some other way to get your mind off how sore you are from Sunday's yard work!" So instead I'll thank Adam Vincent (are you new here?) and request more puzzles that include SesameStreet clues instead of rock group references! I did another hour's yard work this morrning--trying to reclaim a flowerbed that has heavy clay soil and gets all-day sun but no water from the sprinklers. The Bermuda grass and nut sedge love it. So now my hands are stiff. The fun never stops! I'll see youse guys tomorrow!
I loved how almost all the theme clues used references that ECHOed the revealer in some way. For the three men with extensive catalogues of work to their credits, how fun that two clue choices implied the natural world ("Wilde" > wild and "Mouseketeer" > mouse), and one implied immaturity ("children"). Unfortunately, the last themer had no such luck -- and I suppose, a much less broad set of accomplishments to his name... (Unfortunate, too, that my near-complete lack of knowledge of gun innovation history plus a blithe early-morning oblivion to the theme had me speedily entering Winchester in 62A-!! It fit! Haha.) Another stumble on my part, for a giggle: at 8D, I had BA_BACO_ ... and had to ask my Chipotle afficionado partner for help because I couldn't unsee "bacon" in the second part of the word-! Mind you, we make a slow-cooker BARBACOA in regular rotation. Doh!! Like others, I loved the clues for NOAH'S ARK and KISSCAM. Add BIKINI, the aforementioned ECHO, and hearing Miss Piggy's MOI (always exclamatory) to my list of fresh, fun cluing. Yay! Thanks, Adam!
Congratulations on your 1 yr anniversary, Sam! I enjoy your upbeat early week columns. And, I dare say, your punniness.