Very subtle trick. Blink and you myth it. .
@ad absurdum Jocular and ocular. Aye, I like it. in the kingdom of the blind, the one-eyed emu is a pain in the... eyes?
I'd say you hit a Homer this time, Mr. Gangi. A fun puzzle and a miracle of construction. (Eye can't say enough about that!) It was a pleasure to spend the evening sailing around the Aegean in some classic company, but I'm aware that what you did may have been more challenging than what we did. Either way, I'm looking forward to more of your puzzles. Thank you!
18A isn’t ambiguous—it’s another reference to this puzzle’s theme. Odysseus famously defeated the cyclops by gouging (or “poking”) out its eye, and since the creature only had the one, it was blinded. It’s no coincidence that this answer begins with the one, circled “I” in this puzzle.
@MRR I assume the intersecting MAIM has to do with this event, too.
@MRR And a nice, if grisly, touch that the crossing word is MAIM!
@MRR You know, this is what I get for being 5'3 — automatically regarding "I can't see!" as a reference to someone short standing behind someone tall. 😮💨 Oof, my pride
Monarch pupae are not wrapped in a COCOON... rather, a chrysalis. Moths have coccons, not butterflies.
@Michael Weiland The milkweeds, golden Alexanders, pipevines, and spicebushes in my yard are growing, and I anticipate visits from many different butterflies, not one of which will have emerged from a cocoon.
@Michael Weiland Yes! A rare lapse by the puzzle editors.
@Michael Weiland Not always. There’s a rare genus called Parnassian, that pupates in a cocoon. These butterflies live in the Pacific Northwest, in Siberia, and as far away as North Korea and the northern islands of Japan.
I find it a bit funny that some posters complain about POLYPHEMUS being too niche, even esoteric. He's part of one of Europe's oldest and best known stories, one at the foundations of a shared European and American heritage. I found the whole theme a gimme, which was a nice surprise in a puzzle which otherwise required me to know some wrestler and a regional brand.
@Andrzej CYCLOPS is not Niche, but POLYPHEMUS is not a word that has permeated into modern society
Cute theme and fun solve, but… THERE IS NO B STREET IN DC! Not unless you have a time machine. The Bs were renamed Constitution and Independence in the 1930s. I believe this is the second time I’ve seen this error in a NYT crossword. It’s starting to feel like a deliberate snub. ;-)
@Jody Yep. Bad clue. Thematically appropriate that the street signs say "Eye Street," though.
@Jody I had that thought many years ago when a similar clue appeared in a puzzle. While it is true that there is no B St. in the center of Washington, where all the famous buildings and monuments are, if you cross the Anacostia River into eastern DC, there is indeed a B St. And even an A St.: <a href="https://www.google.com/maps/@38.8878844,-76.9563975,17.42z?entry=ttu" target="_blank">https://www.google.com/maps/@38.8878844,-76.9563975,17.42z?entry=ttu</a>
@Jody Map apps indicate a B Street SW, inside Fort McNair. It doesn't fit the L'Enfant naming scheme, though; its latitude is between Q Street SW and R Street SW.
First of all, this is Joseph’s third NYT puzzle, and the grid art of his first – well, it may be the cutest looking puzzle of all time. You are missing a heart-warming moment if you skip over this: <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/crosswords/game/daily/2022/03/16" target="_blank">https://www.nytimes.com/crosswords/game/daily/2022/03/16</a> . On this puzzle, I love how Joseph placed that one circle close to the top of the grid. It could have helped to reveal the puzzle’s gimmick, but for me, at least, I was so engrossed in the rest of the puzzle, that when I got down to the bottom, where the reveal was, I had totally forgotten that circle. So, when I uncovered ONE EYE and saw what was going on, and saw that circle again, it was a fantastic “Oh yeah, I forgot about that!” moment. Joseph got me good there, and I love being gotten good! Also, I don’t think anyone so far has mentioned that they noticed anything unusual in the cluing until it was pointed out in the revealer, certainly not I. Bravo to Joseph for pulling that off, depriving the clues of a common vowel – and have no one notice it. He got me good there again. One more way he fooled me. I tooled through the puzzle thinking that it was simply a myth-based tribute, with no thought that there was an underlying gimmick. So, when I uncovered the ONE EYE reveal, oh, trust me, that elicited a huge “Hah!” As I said, Joseph, I love being gotten good, and to be gotten good three times, well, three’s the charm. Many many thanks for this!
@Lewis Thanks for the reminder of that adorable puzzle. I’d forgotten how many clues were the same…but not! And then ending the “game” with the final across. Such fun!
Sam Corbin: 18A. “Cry after a poke” seems to be a reference to what one would say after being poked in the eye, similar to what happened to Polyphemus in The Odyssey - it isn’t a reference to poking someone to get a better view.
@HD So I've realized, red-faced! (That said, I will bravely continue my campaign to get tall people to stand farther back at live shows.)
Understood the revealer wrongly. Returned to clues and reread them all, to locate the one clue that had the, you know, eye. Was sure there would be another clever reference to Ulysses concealed that way. Nope, just can’t read. But bonus: composed my comment based on the theme. A tad hard to eschew that one letter.
Lots of fun. The classical theme was certainly a nice change from the usual parade of pop culture pseudo-celebrities. More like this, please.
This theme reminds me of the song by The Shirrells, “This is dedicated to the one I love.” I’ve always called it “The Cyclops love song.”
I've browsed the comments quickly, but not in detail, so I apologize in advance if this has already been raised. COCOON! OK, I know it's been pedantically hammered to death. I saw it, too. It didn't bother this biologist much, because this is a crossword, not an entomology textbook. But you do you. What everyone seems to have missed is that this clue/answer pair missed an awesome opportunity related to the theme. One of the most spectacular moths, whose pupa spins a most awesome COCOON, is... Antheraea polyphemus, the POLYPHEMUS moth! During some eclosions, my home is completely covered with them at night -- I even hear their softly flapping pit-a-pats against my windows. It is a sight to behold. And in the morning, there might be 50 or so POLYPHEMUS clinging to the siding, the windows, and the deck -- a tiny fraction of the hordes that were present the night before. THAT is the sin of the 70A as clued. A much better clue would be "Wrap for 20A". That this opportunity eluded the constructor and the editors is a crime against all cruciverbalism!
@CaptainQuahog When I filled in 20A it brought back the memory of my Entomology prof mouthing the *O* in POLYPHEMUS in an exaggerated fashion to call our attention to the large round spots ("eyes") on the wings. He then went on to talk about the C shaped markings on the Cercropia moth.
@CQ What a great post, thanks for this. I don’t think I was aware of this moth previously, but didn’t take much research to figure out how it got its name. It has these tremendous “eye spots” on each wing. TIL these are evidently a form of distraction patterns called “startle patterns” meant to distract predators. Wiki (for what it’s worth) says, “The pattern on the hindwings of the Polyphemus moth resembles that on the head of a great horned owl.” Sure enough a quick search on YouTube yields this example of such a display. https;//tinyurl.com/347bczda — — — — — — — —
@CaptainQuahog YES I had the same thought about the Polyphemus Moth, what an opportunity. And sorry, but I did give a deep sigh when I realized chrysalis wasn’t going to fit, and yes, they really wanted me to put cocoon in there. I haven’t read all the comments either, but glad at least it’s brought up. It’s one thing for the answer to be a stretch, totally different for it to be just plain wrong. And TIL aleph and just to say I love the language entries, if I don’t know them, I learn something worthwhile, unlike the trivia. All that said, it was a fun theme and I thought the puzzle was great. End of rant(s)
As a teacher and frequent reader of The Very Hungry Caterpillar I am always sure to point this out to my students that butterflies create chrysalises, not cocoons (as Mr. Carle erroneously writes). When I saw the clue at 70A I had a tiny spark of hope that maybe there was some other clever entry that I hadn’t figured out yet. But alas, it was not to be! I am gratified to see other puzzle goers noting this error and I suppose, as lauded as they are, the puzzle editors are only human and may be afforded a mistake here and there. This oversight aside however, this was a clever puzzle that I quite enjoyed. It seemed a tad easier than a typical Wednesday but I think it’s just that solving flowed more me and I didn’t get stuck in any particular spot. Extra kudos for the volume of work I’m sure it took to ensure there really was only the one ‘i’.
@Jessica - I noted this as well as soon as I got to it and saw how many letters in the clue. A common mistake for sure - and I too was happy to note others had caught the error. I also greatly enjoyed this puzzle!
@Jessica I also noticed right away that chrysalis was never going to fit, and so it must be (erroneously) cocoon...glad to see your remarks, as I wasn't finding anything at all about it as I read through the comments section! I have to admit I did not know the difference between a cocoon and a chrysalis until I attended a lecture from our local butterfly house and bug zoo proprietor. (How lucky we are to have a bug zoo and butterfly house in northern Michigan!)
“presumably the poker is the one who needs a better sightline.” No! The poker is the one who poked 20A in the 73A !
@Andrew The mythology lightbulb went on moments after publication. how fitting -- it was *I* who couldn't see what this entry was subtly referring to 🤦♀️
The front door wasn't open, so I had to sneak into the comments cave under a sheep. How did ewe get here? I hope the ayes have this one. Thank you, Joseph.
@Barry Ancona I heard it on the o-vine. Nobody did it.
I (haha) LOVED this puzzle. Quick and clever fill, and for Greek mythology fans like myself, it's just a really enjoyable solve. I especially enjoyed COCOON and EDEN. As I was solving, I had the thought that STRUM is usually clued with a guitar, not a ukulele- now it makes sense! Avoiding "i"s at all costs!!
I had an eye pun all ready. Iris I could wink of it. (Maybe this teacher will ask his pupils.)
I am surprised and somewhat saddened by the people who complained about having to know something of the Hebrew alphabet. I'd have expected word-nerds to be alphabet nerds too ( and have never encountered complaints about having to know the Greek alphabet--about fraternities, yes). Check out <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alphabet" target="_blank">https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alphabet</a> I had wondered how both an Indo-European language (Greek) and an Afro-Asiatic one (Hebrew) would have so many similarities in their names for the letters. Turns out BOTH took from the Phoenicians.
Well *I* thought today’s a great crossword, thank you Joseph! Those old Greek legends are far from my forte, but nonetheless no horsefeathers for me and managed to complete the puzzle ASAP. And gosh just to create one comment sans *that* letter—the forsaken “eye”—be a heck of a challenge! Well done on an entire puzzle!
That was fun. Given the constructor's self-imposed "one I" grid restriction and creative theme I won't even complain about the Oreo.
One of my most fun AHA moments when I caught on to how the theme worked. Very impressive construction. Thanks, Joseph for my favorite Wednesday puzzle for a long time. ( maybe for ever)
All that Greek and Roman mythology I learned as a kid, sure comes in handy when solving crosswords. I’m constantly amazed at how much of it I’ve retained, although several trips to many of the great museums of Europe with my art conservator daughter, probably helped reinforce that early learning. All that is by way of saying that today’s delightful puzzle was well within my wheelhouse. The puzzle was nicely constructed and had some nice little bonuses tucked in. Bravo!
Very fun puzzle! Thank you, Joseph Gangi! (Your name has "one 'i'!)
A challenging puzzle—I finished around a minute over my average—but nonetheless I found it delightful; like at least one other solver, it took me to my freshman year of high school when I had to read The Odyssey, which I initially faced with dread but came to love before I finished. It’s stunning how a single word…POLYPHEMUS…can carry one back nearly 60 years. More recently I’ve read the Emily Wilson translation, which I recommend…including her long (90-page) introduction.
Tricksy clue for 71A for a DC local. I was under the impression there is no B Street in DC's grid as the streets between A and C are Constitution Ave (north of the Capitol) and Independence Ave (south of the Capitol). Apparently North B Street was renamed Constitution Ave in 1931 and various stretches of South B Street renamed Independence Ave between 1934 and 1950. I didn't realize, though, there's still a small stretch of South B Street (now B St SE) east of the Anacostia River. I was all ready to complain, but the clue is technically correct even though today's B Street is very different than every other lettered street on the grid. Not sure if the technicality was intentional, but I've learned something today. This concludes your DC geography trivia minute.
Wow, how cool! My mythology isn’t what it could be so this sent me down a rabbithole of looking up the Cyclops tale. What I learned from a crossword today!
Thought for a brief moment on my first quick pass that we had a Wednesday rebus because there was no way potato salad was gonna fit
Alternate cluing for 18A: "Words uttered by 20-Across, maybe" Alternate cluing for 65A: "How the hero of 41-Across got home"
@Henry Su Your first alternate would have rescued me from my (presumably wrong) assumption about the phrase. But it's OK — I really was overdue for another edition of "Why did Sam's brain go there" in the column.
@Sam Corbin Don't be too hard on yourself. I'm surprised neither the constructor not the editors thought to explicitly link these two, mirror-symmetrical entries to the puzzle. It would have added to the fun. Or maybe they're Easter eggs for us to find.
Kudos! What a delightful puzzle! Very clever clues, and an unusual theme. Well done!
What I particularly enjoyed about the clue about the poke is that if you only have one eye, one poke means “I can’t see!” Which brings yet another level to the overall theme. This was a joy to solve.
Really fun puzzle, loved the classical theme.
Not too easy - perfect Wednesday puzzle. Brilliant effort - gave me a good laugh when completed. Thank you for the entertainment!
I rarely comment, but as a former Classics student this made my day when I spotted the theme. I had to dig a bit deeper to recall the proper spelling of POLYPHEMUS, but after that it was smooth sailing (unlike what the unlucky Odysseus got!) I appreciated WANDERED, ORAL, MAIM and PLOY as additional nods to the Homeric theme. Couldn't help wishing that STRUM had been clued using the classical Greek lyre, but possibly that was a step too far - and I'm not completely sure that's the correct verb for a lyre. Great fun!
@Kathryn I spotted the 'peripheral' theme answers of 18A and 65A, because they were symmetrical, but not the other two. Nice catch. And of course MAIM includes the ONE EYE in the grid.
Loved the theme, and the mythology reference was great, but not sure how I feel about ALEPH Beth. Not once in my 22 Jewish years on this earth have I ever pronounced, or heard anyone pronounce, Bet as Beth
@Stella Agreed. That a puzzlement to me as well.
@Stella that one got me for a long time - finally erased my “eliza” when I realized there were no i’s in the puzzle and got ALEPH on crosses - and finally googles because I had only ever heard Aleph Bet.
@Stella But Google ALEPH BETH and you will find books and videos and language-learning apps that use it.
Such a delightful puzzle. I enjoyed every minute of it and must have been on Mr. Gangis's wavelength (though Greek mythology is not my forté and has never captivated me.) I had to therefore get POLYPHEMUS from the crosses, especially because I really wanted it to be a geometry clue just so I could put in POLYHEDRON. Favorite clue? Definitely "Wrap for a monarch." It inspired thoughts of the safety of the COCOON created by a warm comforter, as well as the beautiful vision of all things that FLAP their wings and fly free. Thank you for this delicious puzzle, Mr. Gangis. EYE've had a wonderful time.
The Classics nerd in me made this puzzle a walk on the beach, although it also briefly renamed Ms. Cohen "Easha," as I wanted to have FLORAe in my garden. There were, in fact a whole race of cyclopses: the patriarchs of the clan were three brothers, sons of Uranus and Gaia, Brontes, Steropes, and Arges by name. They forged the first thunderbolts for Zeus, although later, in a hostile takeover, ownership of the company passed to Hephestos, and they became mere employees. That their race continued meant that there were also cycloptettes, although, like where Cain got his wife, this is never explained. Here's Handel's musical take on the whole situation, OBOEs and all--Polyphemos himself doesn't appear until 1'50'': <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=arBNPhF3QE0" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=arBNPhF3QE0</a>. And here's the Man of the Hour himself--who knew he could play the flute so well?: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4K4EMHnlWCo" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4K4EMHnlWCo</a> (Sorry for the static videos, the live action ones weren't all that good.) The circle around the "I", Mr. Gangi, was overkill, but etymologically a nice touch.
@Bill Pierre Grimal reminded me that the Polyphemus' father was the Olympian* Poseidon, his mother the nymph Thooas; so clearly the gene for cyclopism was passed down on the X-chromosome. *Poseidon kept a pied-à-terre on Olympus, for tax purposes, although he spent most of his time at his beach-house.
@Bill I agree that FLORAS didn't sound exactly right, but I checked and see that the plural of flora is floras or florae! So, bravo to you. I think that they should have clued SASHA as "Obama's daughter" ... never heard of the skater Cohen! But then again, Easha is NOT a proper first name! hehe
@Bill - Hands up for "florae."
Polyphemus was not "the" cyclops, he was one of many cyclopes. But he probably did yell something like "I can't see" when he was poked in the eye by No Man/wily Odysseus. Too bad the constructor couldn't get that one "I" into "Poseidon," Polyphemus' father.
Well - looks like the ayes have it* today. I'll join the chorus. The usual long workout for me, but that was just one amazing feat of construction. Had to go and review it all after I was done and was just stunned to finally see what was going on. Wow. Just wow. *A couple of remarkable puzzle finds today. I'll put those in a reply. ..
@Rich in Atlanta As threatened: THEAYESHAVEIT was an answer in one puzzle, which I'm sure I had done but had completely forgotten. Anyway... it was a Sunday from April 5, 2020 by Jim Peredo with the title: "Double talk." In that one the trick was all in the clues. For example, the clue for THEAYESHAVEIT was "Passing comment?" A couple of other examples: "Run-on sentence?" GOAHEADWITHOUTME "Just saying?" TURNABOUTISFAIRPLAY Here's the Xword Info link for that one: <a href="https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=4/5/2020&g=36&d=A" target="_blank">https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=4/5/2020&g=36&d=A</a> .... And then... another remarkable Sunday puzzle from April 21, 1996 by M. Gaffney with the title "Manana." A couple of sample clues/answers: "Mick Jagger's late girlfriend?" RUBYWEDNESDAY "TV show on delayed broadcast?" SUNDAYNIGHTLIVE And a couple of other theme answers: MAUNDYFRIDAY MANICTUESDAY And here's that Xword Info link: <a href="https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=4/21/1996&g=33&d=D" target="_blank">https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=4/21/1996&g=33&d=D</a>
Tougher than usual Wednesday for me, which is always a good thing. I didn't know POLYPHEMUS and did not know the skater. Actually, SASHA immediately popped into my head, but I thought I was mixing the skater up with SAcHA BARON COHEN, so I didn't put it in right away. I also had ark instead of POD at 11A, so 13D just had to be kEEn, right? I did get it sorted out, but my time was a little longer than most recent Wednesday's. The missing "I" part of the theme was very impressive. At no time did I find the clues forced, which I would expect given the constraint. You did a great job, Joseph. This is a puzzle to be proud of.
Hebrew alphabet is really tough for me. And didn’t recall the cyclops being POLYPHEMUS. So, on my ODYSSEY home, I WANDERED around Natick for quite a while. Fun puzzle. Go warriors.
Yay! What a delight. Thanks Joseph. And shout-out to the editors for the clue to 21D.
I won. Or, rather, completed the puzzle. Impressive puzzle, demonstrating selfless commitment to the craft.
Saw the clue, hoped…hoped… could it be..? On a Wednesday? POLYTHEMUS!! Memories of freshman year of high school… Siren song…calling himself Noman… “Who did this to you?” “ Noman did this!” Sneaky devil… (I’m certain I’ve remembered most of this inaccurately, but my eyes are barely open and I don’t care. It was 40 years ago.) Brilliant and fun puzzle. With one 👁️. Loved it.
@CCNY That POLYPHEMUS is misspelled above bothers me greatly. What *also* bothers me is that I’m doing Strands. Got the spangram, and all other words. Except one! And I cannot figure it out! Hints can’t help because it’s the last word! Without spoilers, I don’t think anyone can help me! Arrrrrrgh!!!!!
"Beth" is an unnecessarily obscure clue for Aleph. Unless you're a Semitic language scholar, you have no chance with this one. I'm not a crossword constructor so what would I know, but this just seems weak to me.
@Ken I actually loved this one! First thought was ALpha, thinking NATO…it was early… Then that didn’t work and ALEPH, Beth… Lightbulb! I am forever fascinated that we all, here in this little word-world, have so much in common and can feel and experience a clue, answer, or entire puzzle in such different ways. Hope you enjoyed the rest of this gem!
@Ken — The Hebrew alphabet is sometimes a clue. Always trips me up.
Loved the meta-theme that included the clues as well! Nicely done.
I enjoyed this one. Thanks to the whole team 🙌🏻😊
You know it's a good puzzle when you can suss out and learn a new words by slowly figuring out the crosses. Many smart clues, or maybe I'm just on the same wavelength as the constructor. Would have been cool to have seen NOBODY in there too? :)