I am always impressed by puzzles with theme answers that include two-word phrases wherein the former and the latter words are all related, as in this puzzle. A nice theme, with good theme answers, and very nice fill. For me, this was a 10/10 Monday puzzle.
My five favorite original clues from last week (in order of appearance): 1. Where peas are queued? (3) 2. Bare-bones outfit (8)(7) 3. Small-town issue (5)(5) 4. Bumpy ride? (5) 5. Whose performances were as astonishing as all get-out? (7) POD SKELETON COSTUME LOCAL PAPER CAMEL HOUDINI
No wailing, bawling, nor whining went into solving this puzzle. Just loads of delight. In your notes, Mr. Locke, you speak of being "struck by the array of volatile news items and opinions" on the internet. Unfortunately, you're right. But I'm confident that at least your puzzle won't be subjected to the current avalanche of HUEANDCRY and you'll not need thick skin! It's a smooth puzzle that was a joy to solve. I especially liked "Be up against" for ABUT because of its elegant simplicity in misdirection. Congratulations on your excellent NYTXW debut, Mr. Locke! I hope to see more from you!
Ok, prigs, pedants, originalists on the Supreme Court of Cruciverbia, art teachers and color theorists, bring it! Explain to us that "white" and "black" are not hues because they are achromatic. That you can't believe the Times would permit such grievous errors. That you are joining a class action lawsuit to prevent the tint from ever tainting the Gray (another neutral color, not a hue) Lady's lily-white* pages. Raise your hue and cry... me a whitewater river! In a sec I'll be channeling my man Steve L., cautioning all to remember that clues are hints to a puzzle's answer, not the pure definition of the answer. Sometimes it is, sometimes it's...close. Agree with the two Sams on this puzzle, that it's very smooth and lyrical, and the grid design is pleasing. I hope to see more from Mr. Locke, and it's interesting to me that a career in a stressful field like firefighting didn't deter his son from an equally stressful career. I'd like to think that he must have admired his father's courage and commitment and found them qualities worth emulating. Of course, that's not how life works, not as a rule. Right emus? Funnily, I was just listening to Wilco's "Yankee Foxtrot Hotel" and was astonished to see WILCO in this puzzle. There's something out there!! *Regarding "lily white," google's Gemini is confounding: "Yes, Lily White is a hue. It's a pure white color that belongs to the Blue hue family." Pedants, help me out here!
@john ezra: I do hope these complaints will be sustainably shade-grown. As groans about shades really should be.
@john ezra So you’re expecting comments from those who suffer from Too Close Syndrome? (Funny that this kind of puzzle appears right after my Sunday puzzle comment!) !!! !!!
Wow on this theme! To me, getting from HUE AND CRY to “finding two-word phrases where the first word is a hue and the second is a homonym for a type of cry” is a huge leap in creativity. My first thought upon uncovering the revealer was, “How did he think of this?” It’s masterful, IMO. Bravo, sir! The theme got me thinking homonyms, and then they started popping out at me in the grid: WARE, SOAR, LEA, DYE, OWED, TALES, SONS, LYRE, SOME, and, as Sam pointed out, EYEFUL. Also popping out were lovely four-letter semordnilaps: OGRE, EROS, IRIS, DUAL, ABLE, and ABUT. And the pièce de résistance was the magnificent PuzzPair© of the REAR/TEETH cross and WISDOM. A bright and brilliant theme with a scintillating supporting cast – a Monday rife with treasure. Talk about potential – I’m itching to see what you come up with next, Tom. Congratulations on your NYT debut and thank you for a dazzling outing today!
@Lewis I'm surprised you didn't comment on the PuzzPair® crossing of (German) U(nter)-BOAT and UBER. Most days, I find I can make a long post and maybe one short reply before the emus wake up, but just in case . . .
Congratulations on your NYT debut,Tom. Your constructor notes got me thinking about people all over the world solving in many different circumstances, using them to distract from issues big and small. Thank you to the constructors, editors and support staff that make this happen, and especially to the people doing the tough jobs that help all of us.
I have seen tarsiers - in zoos, never in the wild. I have petted rays - at the aquarium, never in the wild. I have encountered snogging - in Harry Potter, never in the wild. I know that people squee for fandom - from the internet, not in real life. I know irl - not in real life. I have no fomo - for reals. I don’t understand why people can’t accept that encountering a thing for the first time has nothing to do with them themselves, and can and should be judgment free. But rather it is the first encounter - once a stranger, later a friend. If you never heard or said “hue and cry” - or have heard it but never seen it spelled, or defined - today is your day. Do not miss the opportunity. The first time I saw Paris… The first time someone peeled a durian in my presence… The first time I danced without self-consciousness… There needs to be a lot more appreciation for first times! <a href="https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=CK6jKL2qWxo&pp=ygUjZmVlbHMgbGlrZSB0aGUgZmlyc3QgdGltZSBmb3JlaWduZXI" target="_blank">https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=CK6jKL2qWxo&pp=ygUjZmVlbHMgbGlrZSB0aGUgZmlyc3QgdGltZSBmb3JlaWduZXI</a>%3D
@David Connell I’ve just now read this through three times, and it’s still good. Well said. (now being when it says you posted it 20m ago)
@David Connell May your words reach far and wide in this crossworld. I wish there was a doorway where this could be posted for all who enter here. Very beautiful, very inspiring.
@David Connell -- Wonderfully put. Thank you! Et tu emu.
"Won't you let me paint your house?" "But I don't even know hue!" ("Don't worry, I'll swatch what I'm doing.")
@Mike You might get the brush-off, eh? Emu Muumuu Tutu
A delightful Monday puzzle for a NYT debut, Tom Locke, and delightful constructor notes. (h/t to John Ezra and the two Sams) And in all of our endeavors, let's try hard not to MISAIM. That goes for you too, emus
@Barry Ancona Have you given any thought to retiring the emu schtick?
@Barry Ancona Every time that you post, it looks at first like a surprise haiku. But… my mind’s eye sees you squinting at a mobile with the text zoomed up large!
It may be a MYTH -- but for this puzzle I really didn't need more than 10% of my brain to solve it. A really, really easy Monday as far as the clues were concerned. OTOH, the cute theme was unguessable. I saw the colors, but didn't see any connection between WHALE, BALL and WINE. Homonyms!! Very, very nice. Never thought of that. HUE AND CRY is a terrific revealer!
@Nancy I had the complete opposite experience on every point! I found it slightly harder then most Mondays recently- it took me more passes through and I had two mistakes I needed to find once I filled it out. On the other hand, I did understand the WHALE BALL WINE homonyms connection even before I got the revealer filled out, thought that was fun. But, having never heard of the expression HUE AND CRY before I did not find it a terrific revealer :/ Interesting how different people's takes on the puzzle can vary so much.
What a great Monday puzzle. Fun theme, interesting fill, good clues and all managing to stay at a Monday level. And what a perfect reveal! Come back soon, Tom.
Cute! I have a rule when hiking with kids. No whining until the last half mile (by which time they are usually so proud of themselves that the WHINING is tongue in cheek!). WHITE WINE (WHALE, BALL) reminded me of that.
@Clare. I wish I had thought of this rule when my son was younger. Great rule! But we didn’t need the rule after all - he told stories non stop, even on 10-16 mile hikes. Great puzzle!
Shout out to Sam, whose columns are always – always – delightfully peppered with wordplay, today’s being an especially good example, with stellar zingers from top to bottom. Brava!
Congratulations on a fun NYT debut, Mr. Locke! I’m sure we’ll be seeing you back here soon.
This was an especially clever Monday puzzle. I thought it was cute when I got the first part (hue), only to feel double the pleasure when I realized the second part (cry) was also in the theme answers. Great debut!
At last, a puzzle that I have nothing but admiration for. Clever, well-constructed, and just plain fun. Congratulations on your NYT debut, Tom!
Anyone else wondering how the "HUE" got into the phrase "HUE AND CRY"? A quick internet search informs that it isn't related to the HUE of color, but comes from the Middle French "hu" which means shout or outcry. Which, I suppose, makes HUE AND CRY a fine example of hendiadys (like "sound and fury" or "kith and kin").
@Linda Now you've done it! How long till some fiendish constructor puts hendiadys in a Saturday puzzle? Along with other obscure rhetorical terms? Still, always cool to learn a new word. Means "one through two". So I might even remember it.
A clever and fun debut, Mr. Locke! Looking forward to more puzzles from you.
Thank you for the fun puzzle. At the obvious risk of being a pedant, I feel inclined to point out that in my training it is not proper to follow “Roger” with “WILCO” as the meaning for “Roger” (“I hear and understand”) is included in the meaning for WILCO (“I hear and understand and will comply”). It is funny the things that stick in your head if you are made to do push-ups when you get them wrong…
@ckargel Perhaps it is another hendiadys like HUE AND CRY!
Whenever I see "I never heard that phrase before," and it's a fairly common phrase, I always wonder about the age of the poster. Are you young and just starting on the puzzle journey? Are you not especially well read? Or perhaps you've heard the phrase but not heard it properly. (Like in rock songs, i.e., There's a bathroom on the right). The XWD is undeniably more difficult if you aren't well read, which is why, at this group's urging a few years ago, I finally read Moby Dick. As for this puzzle, it was a treat. I caught on to the theme quite quickly, changing my BLACK list to BLACKBALL as soon as I saw the revealer. A marvelous debut! and a perfect Monday, as well. Brava!
@Mar in PA I'd offer that being "well read" isn't a helpful way to look at the skills that make for a good crossword solver, nor is it a fair assessment of someone's age, intelligence or life experience. We live differently, read differently and speak differently — and I find it utterly thrilling to discover these differences through a puzzle, of all things.
@Mar in PA It depends on your definition of 'well-read.' I read a good amount of historical fiction, where the sheriff is always raising the HUE AND CRY, summoning all the able-bodied men of the village to chase down a murder suspect. Spoiler alert: it's always the wrong man, but no worries, Brother Cadfael will find the real killer. But I've probably never read any of the 'fashionable' books on Oprah's book club, so I didn't know that the main character of Everything, Everywhere, All at Once was an IRS agent last week.
There's a fellow in town who owns a GREEN SAAB. (His license plate reads, WASAABI.) No Idea how I would clue that for a puzzle, but it fits.
@Grant Aha, I was trying to think of something for Saab/sob, also. We once had a grey cat with startling green eyes, adopted from the local shelter. Her previous owner had named her Wasabi. Not sure if that was for her green eyes or because she thought she was hot stuff. We kept the name, it fit.
An absolutely delightful puzzle! I zipped right through it, and then went to check the Wordplay. I'm sure glad I did, because I zipped so fast, I missed the full extent of the "hue and cry". Very clever! I hope to see many more puzzles from Tom Locke!
Agree with Sam. Can’t get a tighter theme than this. Really clever
Back after a week away; managed to keep up with the puzzles, but often too otherwise involved to post. Then I come home to this, which was a nice break after the early weekend puzzles. It's always nice to see new constructors in the Times, even if they're just new to us. Thanks, Tom, it was a nice, relaxing exercise, just what I needed after traveling.
Great puzzle for a Monday. Todays should serve as a benchmark for all Monday puzzles…. Proving it is possible to construct an easy Monday puzzle with a theme and without overdoing it on lazy fill. Lots of unique combinations and crosses. Bravo!
I had never heard the phrase "Hue and cry" before today, so in that sense the theme fell a little flat for me. But it has sent me down this morning's etymological rabbit-hole. "Hues and cry" falls under the English linguistic category of "legal doublet"--a stock idiom which consists of two (occasionally three) words which are basically synonyms. Often, one is of Anglo-Saxon origin, the other of (Norman) French--i.e. "Last will and testament"--the idea being that if you didn't understand one, you'd understand the other; although both "hue" and "cry" are both French. In fact, the first couple citations from the OED, from c., are both from Anglo-Norman French texts. And forget all that nonsense about "Huesium et clamor"--that is simply a back-translation into contemporary (13th c.) Latin of a phrase that had already existed in French and English. In other words, you're not going to find the word "huesium" in Cicero.
@Bill Ditto. Thanks for doing the research and sharing the findings. I always appreciate the linguistic oddities of some grids.
@Bill Are you implying that “Huesium et clamor” is null and void?
@Bill Oh, thanks for that. I'd seen the expression enough times to not question it. Of course it's French, because of the Norman conquest of Britain. (Huer = to shout.)
Congratulations, Tom. Most enjoyable. Thank you.
Nice one Tom. Welcome to the major leagues.
"Thar she blows!" Although mostly they wanted 'the Right WHALE"...so I was sorry to be redirected to "wail" by the Reveal. However, I am saved from mentioning HS art class and the meanings of HUE, tint, tone, shade, and "the absence of color" and "the presence of all colors," and the resulting confusion when you got to class and the Physical Science teacher talked about Light. After 'wail' and 'bawl,' 'whine' is pretty tame, lame, and diluted.... The news lately features a lot of scenes with the HUE AND CRY centered on college campuses. The right to peaceably assemble should be upheld, and it's sad to see the rioting. Puh-leeze don't call out the National Guard...
Today's Bee has both HU and CRY. Coincidence? Or conspiracy? Don't think that counts as a spoiler as neither are accepted.
Late off-topic post. Quite a few comments about HUEANDCRY. I had to go look up the clue history for HUE and... as I half suspected, it was clued a number of times to the city in Vietnam, though much more frequently in the pre-Shortz era. But anyway... that led me to remember a moment on a firebase in Vietnam - yes this actually happened (might have mentioned this before - I just don't recall). Anyway.... ...around sunrise one morning after a number of cloudy, rainy days, as we're all getting up the sky is finally perfectly clear and one of the guys looks out to the east and says "whoa - you can see the gulf from here." And someone else says - "really? Can you see Hue out there." And the response. "Oh yeah - way, way out there." ..
@Rich in Atlanta I'm late today. So glad I scrolled down far enough to read this. Thanks <3
Nice Monday puzzle. Interesting theme. An easy, breezy start to the week. What’s not to like?
Personally never heard the phrase HUE AND CRY, although I assume that's on me. Enjoyed it overall. Tricked myself with the German Sub question because I again assumed that Uboat would be too simple, and the fighting section made me think DIVED, even if that isn't accurate. Nice first crossword.
The editors may be experts on tight puzzle construction, but I know a subtle theme when I see it only after reading the column. Slick.
Congratulations on a fun debut! Very nicely constructed tight theme. Thank you!
Great debut, Tom! Did this one a full five minutes under my Monday average! I wasn’t familiar with the term HUE AND CRY but was able to figure it out from the crossings. Clever theme! I hope to see more of your puzzles in the future! My favorite clue, 71A “Mamas’ boys,” made me chuckle.
Hats off to the constructor. I had so many words that absolutely fit and were absolutely wrong. I ended up below average because of it. Deeply enjoyed sinking my average with this puzzle. I hope to see more.
Bravo. That theme and the revealer were marvelous. Worth the effort to uncover the puzzle.
Clever debut! A double “a-ha!” is always double the fun. Happy Monday all!
@CCNY I agree. Usually I want at least 4 themers in addition to the Reveal entry, but this was just so well-done.
Nice theme. Most Mondays I don't pay attention to the theme. This one was clever.
Great puzzle. Nice debut, Mr. Locke! Loved the "hue and cry" theme. Fun Monday. Tight fill. Hope to see more Locke puzzles.
The M-W listing for HUE AND CRY includes examples of contemporary usage in mainstream media... <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hueandcry" target="_blank">https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hueandcry</a> Now I will add some more text to avoid having a flock of emus raise a hue and cry over this post.
@Barry Ancona this does nothing to dissuade my opinion that HUE AND CRY is too obscure for a Monday puzzle.
@Sam Never heard this phrase before either, but I love learning something new with every puzzle.
A charming NYT debut with a delightful reveal. Many thanks. Have a rant about today's Mini but I'll wait until later today to comment on that or chime in on someone else's thread.
@John 3D? That’s a usage that I hadn’t heard. It slowed me down because I had switched to the Downs when I realized that I wasn’t 100% certain on the spelling of 6A.
What a fun theme. Thanks!
Really fun Monday puzzle. Wasn't dog easy* for me, but worked everything out from the crosses and with a bit of pondering. The reveal was almost the last thing I filled in and that was just a terrific 'aha' moment when I saw how the theme worked. *Answer history search today was inspired by a combination of WILCO and ABLE. Wondered about themes that might have involved the phonetic alphabet. Well... ABLEBAKER was an answer once (1971 puzzle) and was clued as: "_______Charlie." But then a very roundabout search led me to ZULU and eventually one of the most unusual puzzles I've ever encountered. I'll put that in a reply. ..
@Rich in Atlanta As threatened: a Sunday puzzle from August 3, 2014 by Ian Livengood with the title "Chee Whiz!" One clue/answer example: "German philosopher with an injury? :" WOUNDEDNIETZSCHE Some other theme answers: FILTHYRITCHIE BLACKTAICHI THELONESTARCHYSTATE IGUESSSOCHI TABLEFORTUCCI ARCHIERATEDMOVIE Here's the Xword Info link: <a href="https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=8/3/2014&g=91&d=A" target="_blank">https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=8/3/2014&g=91&d=A</a> ..
MISAIM about sums up my misdirection in the East middle quadrant. I had lute instead of LYRE! That was a tricky play for a Monday. Well done.
@Red Carpet Yes, I found LYRE an odd entry--I connect lyres with ancients like David and Orpheus, and lutes with Medieval troubadours. However, organologists--yes, it is a profession--think otherwise, and place the Lyre in a subfamily (Yoked Lutes) within the greater "Lute family"--which also includes "Bowed Lutes", i.e. Violins etc. Here a lute, there a lute, everywhere a lute-lute.
That was an elegant start to the week. Thank you!
Hmm. I've never heard of "hue and cry," so this theme went totally over my head. Woosh! Otherwise, a fun puzzle.
@OboeSteph Same here! But it was fun learning about the phrase. Now that we know it, I bet we'll notice it popping up everywhere. :)