“What some do during a night out” - I was so sure that would be SNORE. Now you know what my social life is. Well, it’s fine actually, but it doesn’t involve doing shots.
@Cat Lady Margaret I plunked in "sleep." Between your "snore" and my "sleep," I dare say constructors and Joel should make a note of this!
@Cat Lady Margaret The T that was the cross of SHOTS/BIOTECH was my last fix. I had a P there. Oy.
Sparkling Saturday debut, Mr. McDermott! Including RILKE and WABI SABI in the puzzle gave it a certain aura that nicely balanced out the in-the-language spanners. I've loved the concept of WABI SABI ever since first learning about it years ago. Applied to life itself, and not just to aesthetics, acceptance of the little imperfections casts a spell of grace. Another Japanese principle I'm quite fond of is that of Mono No Aware, the sensitivity to what's ephemeral. It turns fleeting moments of beauty into the very preciousness of life. As for the puzzle, there was nothing less than perfect about it; fleeting yet perfect. A very welcome breeziness for a week-ender. A delicious romp. Thank you, Mr. McDermott!
I’m stuck on CLAY for “singles material, say.” A single to me is a $1 bill, an unmarried person, or a song (as opposed to an album). I can’t find any connection.
My favorite answer is WABI-SABI, which was new to me. Went down a lovely rabbit hole reading about it. It’s also fun to say, each half rhyming with “bobby”. Makes me want to throw wabi-sabi willy-nilly into conversation today. And then I started substituting song title words with it: “I Can’t Get No Wabi-Sabi”, “Bridge Over Troubled Wabi-Sabi”, “Papa’s Got A Brand New Wabi-Sabi” – and now I can’t stop. My second favorite answer is MOMALA, because it reminds me of the elder members of my clan when I was little, who all called me “Bubbala”. I filled in MOMALA and sweet memories of them and then flooded in, warming my heart. Plus: • My eyes grew happily wide at the rare-in-crossword six-letter semorrdnilap ANIMAL, and then they grew even wider at the so-much-rarer seven-letter semordnilap – REVILED. • A lovely pair of PuzzPairs©, the neighbors TIME / SLOT, and the imperfection-embracing WABI SABI with its neighbor REPAIRS. • The north, south, and center stacks are filled with serious pop – six of those seven answer have appeared in the 80-year-old Times puzzle one time or less, and the seventh has appeared just twice. So, very much to love here, a gratifying portal to the weekend, a splendid outing. Thank you so much for making this, Jacob!
Lewis, WABI-SABI was new to me too, and I enjoyed many of the other answers in Jacob's grid. I do wish the cluing had been Saturday level, not Wednesday level, so filling the grid could have been more of a challenge. I never rush through puzzles -- I prefer to savor them -- but this one went much too quickly.
Fay for elfin folk? Nay. Fae, never fay.
@George H Funny, I had F_Y, and wondered whether it would be FAY or FEY--guessing Tina had the morning off. I never considered FAE. OED lists the principle form as "Fay", with variants "Fee" and "Faye," but neither "Fey" or "Fae." Also, it only lists it as a noun ("often attributive"), even though I think of it more as a adjective. Wordy Webster lists "Fay" (n. and adj.) and "Fey" (adj. only), the latter with secondary meanings "doomed (to die)" and "campy." As fate would have it.
@Ged Harrison Yet it’s Morgan le Fay, not Morgan le Fae. (That was my only frame of reference to help me get it.)
Oh, so those individually-wrapped Kraft cheese slices were made of clay. Makes sense now that I know. (backhander of a clue, that)
@JohnWM I thought they were made of plastic 😉 .:.:.:.:. .:.:.:.:.:.
My husband said WABISABI. I said don't be ridiculous. On the other hand, both of us know Bunny Lebowski from our many meetings, but neither of us knew who she really is. Nevertheless, the puzzle was done in good time, and we both had a very good time working it—no look-ups (except for my lack-of-faith look-up of the W word). This was a lovely way to spend our Friday evening—entertaining fills that were perfectly accessible through solid crosses and no clunky cluing. Jacob McDermott, a Saturday debut is nothing to sneeze at, even one that included ACHOO! Thank you, and do come back soon.
Huge fan of the clueing. Relaxed, clever and just *slightly* off kilter. There should be a word for that solving stickiness, when you really get in a groove, your wavelength matches the constructor’s, (you’re cruci-vibing, obviously) so much so that you *see* the misdirect, but then wonder if it’s the opposite misdirect… Does that make sense? Like “Possible cause of an icy glare” I immediately plopped in SLEET, but then wondered if the misdirect was that it really *was* a look of disdain, and the misdirect was the other way around. And for SHOTS, I was certain it was SnOre, for a “night out.” Feels like there should be a word for that. Just me..?
@CCNY yes! I immediately thought of 1A but then started second guessing myself and didn't put it in till I worked the crosses.
@CCNY Not sure I’m sure I’m getting what you’re getting at, but I’m half confident this wouldn’t be a word that would capture that false sense of doubling back on the wrong way forward… simdirection? (or not)
I was so sure WABISABI would be kintsugi until it didn't work with any of my crosses. This one was tough for me in a few spots, as I have only seen ASSAM tea once before and didn't recall it, have always seen FAY spelled as fae, and didn't know MRT was in the WWE hall of fame. But that didn't stop it from being a fun puzzle, and I honestly found it quite refreshing. Recently I've found many of the puzzles to frustrate more than delight me, but today gave me just what I was seeking in a Saturday. A few clues on the first go-around, more slowly trickling in on each pass, and then a bit of learning at the end. A very nice puzzle!
@Jackson I was also pretty confident on kintsugi. Then I realized there's no one named REgA McEntire!
@Jackson I ended up having to check the puzzle to get FAY. I've seen fey as an adjective but have never seen "fay" instead of "fae" before either. And I have seen "fae" a bunch of times as someone who reads a fair amount of fantasy books.
I felt today’s puzzle was delightful. There were no ridiculous clues but enough spice for me to pause on occasion.The nog is on me tonight!
I got off to a quick start, then kept hitting little snags. None of the longer answers came quickly. And I’d run into WABI-SABI in previous puzzles but couldn’t remember what it was called. But every time I got stuck, I found something that gave me enough to work off of. The proper names really helped me out: EFRON, TARA REID and RILKE all went in right at the start. REBA McEntire showed up just as I was bogging down in the SW. Thanks, Mr. McDermott!
@Eric Hougland To each his own. For me proper names are largely blank clues. For today, in particular, crossing an actress clued from her role in a movie I've not seen, with a singer from a genre I'm not familiar with, is a natick.
Statement. I did not finish this one successfully. (that's an understatement) I'll leave it at that. Puzzle find today was a Sunday from May 29, 2016 by Kevin G. Der with the title "Best picture adaptations." Some theme answers in that one: SILENCEOFTHEIAMBS THEVASTEMPEROR DUNCESWITHWOLVES GONGWITHTHEWIND FRENCHCONFECTION GERMSOFENDEARMENT Here's the Xword Info link: <a href="https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=5/29/2016&g=76&d=D" target="_blank">https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=5/29/2016&g=76&d=D</a> ..
Despite the fact that I did not know WABI-SABI and still think it sounds more like a condiment than an aesthetic, I finished this puzzle in what seemed like no time. I hardly had to stop for a breath, and I completed it with a sandwich in one hand, strangely enough. Because felt a little hungry as 10:00 hit, and since I realized that if the puzzle turned out to be a hard one, I'd have to stop in the middle for something to eat, I decided to cobble together a quick bite to take to the computer. I needn't have bothered. The sandwich was more of an impediment than a help, as it got in my way as I kept hitting on the next answer before I finished entering the one before it. Maybe I was on the constructor's wavelength, but more likely, this will have been a Fri-Sat combo of two easier-than-average puzzles.
@Steve L You take bragging rights seriously.
Did not click at all. Some cultural disconnects. GOTTALOVEIT is not sarcasm (or irony) in the UK it’s a genuine observation typically. DEARY can just about connect to Sweets GROUSE is muttering disapproval not a full blown row ABLER so more able…more fit for purpose? Others that just clunked rather than clicked After a straight through streak this week this was disappointing. And it appears I’m alone here :(
@William James I’ll join you in giving this puzzle a ‘meh’. Felt pretty disjointed to me and didn’t hold my interest…. Took me a little longer than average as I see it aside a couple of times…
@William James Nah both me and friends use GOTTALOVEIT more sarcastically than genuinely. I definitely associate it more with sarcasm and annoyance and something going wrong than actually loving something. And I’ve been called sweets more than DEARY by friends parents in Scotland. But RAISEASTINK would be definitely more of a scene than a grouse and ABLER is not great
Okay, okay... I'll admit it! I first learned about WABI-SABI from Bobby on King of the Hill. I'm not ashamed! (Maybe just a little...) Actually think about the concept of a fair amount. What a fun Saturday puzzle! At first I didn't have much and once again I thought, especially since I'm not at home and am in a very chaotic environment, that I wasn't going to be able to pull it off but once I really relaxed into it, there it was! And no lookups! I haven't been able to look at comments yet, but that probably means people are saying it's too easy, but that's okay, I'll take it! And now, it's time to go jump into the Caribbean Sea! It is a huge perk of all of the hard work and chaos involving our little sort of second home here. And it was very good motivation for me finishing my crossword... If I didn't get it done this morning, I wouldn't have been able to get back to it before midnight. Cheers to a good weekend, all!
Fast solve for me. Most of it was very smooth and steady. I agree the clue for CLAY is pretty stretchy (no pun intended) and I already gave my rant on MOMALA elsewhere, but there’s always nits and I’m not going to let it spoil an otherwise stellar puzzle especially one with an “I Love Lucy” reference.
LUCY I’M HOME (17A) brought back fond memories of my high school Spanish teacher who was born in Cuba and played with Desi Arnaz as a child. Typical Saturday for me, needed lots of help, but I’m fine with that.
Loved this breezy tough gem of a Saturday puzzle. More importantly, happy Star Wars Day to all those who celebrate.
I love that the constructor might have made sure WABISABI was in the puzzle as a recognition that no matter what, a lot of people are going to jump all over any imperfections in the puzzle. A peremptory plea for mercy.
@Francis Probably the best and wisest comment I’ve seen here today. Not that it couldn’t have stood a little more polish, mind you… ;-) No, really, I liked it!
SRSLY?! That's the most flattering picture you could find of me?!?! Gotta love it. *snorts*
@ascot racecourse racehorsedum Today is simply not your day. Have a mint juleps and relax.
I dabble at woodworking. Everything I make is WABI SABI. Embrace your mistakes!
WABISABI??? How many languages do I have to learn to solve the NYTXW? I think that APTER is a much better fit for "better fit" than ABLER -- which I don't think is even a good fit for the clue. But because it's Saturday, I didn't write it in -- saving myself the hot mess I had at 28D where I wrote in ABLIST instead of AGEIST for the "discriminatory policies." I won't bore you with all the answers I tried in that spot, but the upshot is that my grid at 28D is illegible and that no tournament director would accept it. This is the 2nd day in a row that the NE corner chock-full of crisscrossing pop culture answers. Today it's TARA REID, EFRON and ARI. I don't like to RAISE A STINK, Joel, but when those of us who refuse to plunk ourselves headlong into pop culture confront such a proper name-riddled corner, WE ARE SO DEAD. Believe that WE CARE deeply about such things. Can you please SPARE US in the future? Please? Some of this was whooshy for me -- I saw AS IF immediately and loved the clue, for example. But some of it was very hard. The clue for 2D reminded me of just how many synonyms for "drunk" there are in the English language. But at least the answer wasn't in Japanese. I struggled in several places, but was able to finish without cheating.
@Nancy Unlike many French and Spanish (not to mention Latin) words that show up in the puzzles, wabi-sabi is a concept talked about in English. It’s like complaining that knowing terms like sushi or tofu requires a knowledge of Japanese to answer. And if you think the need to know current pop culture is a new thing, go back and start doing the first puzzles in the archives. Not only will you find references to the pop culture of the day, you’ll have to think about archaic language, terms that are no longer acceptable, and the need to remember a time before social media and widespread internet usage.
@Nancy There's no such thing as pop culture, only culture. And yes, you will need a wide range of cultural knowledge to solve the crossword puzzle. And it's not like these references are even new--The Big Lebowski is 26 years old, dude. Of equal vintage is the show King of the Hill, which is where I first learned the word WABI-SABI. Believe it or not, you can learn a lot from movies and tv shows. You just need an open mind and a sense of humor.
I'm surprised that wabi-sabi is new to so many. I truly thought it was part of our usual parlance. Maybe it's in high rotation for me because I make things that are invariably slightly flawed. To that point, any objections in cluing that might arise in these comments should be responded to with the rejoinder "it's wabi-sabi". Seems to work for me anyway.
@momonjava Ha! I love that idea!! It's, ironically, perfect!! !
@momonjava That’s what u heard in my head when I saw the answer pop! I always default to the Amish purposefully using imperfections in their work. Especially when I catch my own. This was a puzzle for the creatives!
I have certainly enjoyed the recent run of challenging Saturday puzzles, and today’s breezy delight broke that mini-streak. But I will hardly complain when the fill sparkles as much as this one. Loved learning WABI-SABI and smiled at the idiomatic long entries GOTTA LOVE IT, RAISE A STINK and particularly the very evocative WE ARE SO DEAD. Didn’t notice the clue for CLAY in the solving (it came from the crosses), but after reading the comments I have to say that it was brilliant. Also liked the veiled capital of [Grammy material] for NANA. Thanks Jacob for a fun Saturday.
"His puzzle will probably be most challenging for solvers who prefer trivia to idioms", per the Wordplay column. Well, yes - but the rather lame and not very clever phrases used in abundance in this puzzle aren't really idioms. And it's not a matter of being challenging, it's a matter of being really annoying. What, I ask, did we poor hapless puzzle solvers ever do to deserve all this in just one puzzle: --"Please, we don't need the details" (SPARE US) --"That's just great," sarcastically" (GOTTA LOVE IT)" --"Our parents will kill us!" (WE ARE SO DEAD) --"Don't flatter yourself!" (AS IF) --"My word!" (HEAVENS) There were some clever clues, granted; but for me, the puzzle was indeed not my favorite. I really wish that the NYT would reverse the unfortunate trend that seems to be taking the puzzles in such a phrase-heavy direction.
@HeidiK Or at least consider stating how many words are in the answer, as in acrostics puzzles.
Pretty smooth sailing, though not quite as delightful as yesterday's puzzle. My unfamiliarity with ASSAM tea, Kamala's nickname, and whatever "singles material" meant, held me up for a bit in the SE. (Thanks to commenters for clearing up that tennis reference!) A lot of clever wordplay in the clues, which is what I'm here for. GOTTA LOVE IT! (non-sarcastically)
This seemed like a departure from recent more challenging Saturday puzzles, probably due to the longer answers being so intuitive for me. As much as I prefer the tougher end of week offerings, some great clues like those for SLEET [59A], CLAY [60A], SHOTS [7D] and PODIATRIST [31 D] made this enjoyable. Sibling memories of WE ARE SO DEAD made me wonder if "If I have to come up there" was ever in a puzzle. It wasn't.
I know there's a contingent that doesn't believe in the emu lag. Yesterday I posted something about T-PAIN in a Lonely Island video. Right after I hit send I realized I should have warned that it was NFSW, so I added that comment. The comment about the video posted immediately, around 4pm yesterday. The warning posted today at noon. :\
I find myself agreeing with Steve L that this was a Fridayesque Saturday mainly because I'm not good enough to solve a true Saturday without help That said, I did enjoy it. On another topic, starting with yesterday's puzzle I noticed when I open up the Games app on my android phone, the entry icon to the xxxday Puzzle now includes the name of the constructor. I'll be curious to see if Sunday's will also manage to include the title.
Adam as the first single made out of CLAY made sense to me before reading about the tennis. 😃
I’m beginning to think I’m out of step with the world. Seems like whenever the consensus is that a Thursday through Sunday puzzle is hard, I find it fairly easy, and vice versa. I seem to have had more trouble with this one than most. The NE corner really slowed me down. It wasn’t until I tried DEARY for sweets instead of dears, that I got FAMILYTREES and that unlocked that quadrant. This illustrates the peril of automatically inserting an S at the end of an answer when the word calls for a plural. That S at the end of dears cost me dearly.
I (hue and) cry foul on the Natick in the mid-south, with the crossing of Laurence's feminist sister Ms. T and that scrivener of velvety verse, Rainer Maria Silke! Oh well, back to today's reading list: Agatha Christie's less-offensively retitled mystery *And Then There Were None*, Randy Shilt's groundbreaking reportage of the early years of the AIDS epidemic *And the Band Played On*, and Maya Angelou's excellent collection of poetry *And Still I Rise*. All sarcasm aside, here's a velvety setting, by Martin Lauridsen, of a text written by an Austrian poet, who was born in Czechia*, died in Switzerland, and wrote a lot of stuff in French: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Da71hW4qgak" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Da71hW4qgak</a> (all those first-inversion chords in D-flat major!) *OK, it wasn't Czechia back then.
@Bill Thank you for the Lauridsen!
Good morning! That was a great Saturday. I didn't have much on my first passes, but persevered without lookups. Yaaay. Puzzles done - now I have to clean. Boo! LOL
I got very tripped up wabisabi - because kintsugi also fits! Couldn't figure out what I was doing wrong haha
@Jenna Thanks for posting this! I’ve seen that word before and just couldn’t remember where I saw it and what it meant. I see now that it refers to a fascinating Japanese art of repairing broken pottery in a manner that renders the final product even more beautiful than the original. I guess Kintsugi is also kind of a philosophy about breakage and repair in general. But, I think the reason I recognized the word was because about ten years ago Death Cab for Cutie had an album titled Kintsugi which was nominated for Best Rock album at the Grammy Awards. If anyone is interested, here is a short article with great pictures: <a href="https://tinyurl.com/3hareayc" target="_blank">https://tinyurl.com/3hareayc</a>
I’m here for the struggle and the delicious payoff. Very crunchy, chewy, and decadent aftertaste. WECARE will feed me for days. Bravo!
Taking a flyer on 5D made me realize that I don't really know how to spell GENEALOGY.
Mean Old Lady, It’s an extra fun Spelling Bee today: -ING and -ED in the same game!
@Eric Hougland Just found the last word! Now if they would only allow S. Without S, it's just a Pelling Bee. !!!! !!!! !!!! EMU is too short...
Loved this Saturday puzzle. Perhaps I was on the same wavelength as the constructor, but I still found it challenging in places. “Grammy alternative” was a fun one, and I learned something new from “wabi sabi,” which I got from the crosses. Thank you, Mr. McDermott!
A delightfully breezy puzzle, for a Saturday! I only needed five cheats. I loved the thrill when I sussed out the phrases. More like this one, please!
Took me a little longer than my average time but slowly but surely finished without even looking up the name of the poet. Always a good feeling.
Almost a Saturday record for me, which was a little disappointing (in the sense that I hoped for a more challenging puzzle), but also really enjoyable to guess right on so many long clues. WE ARE SO DEAD! I remember saying that to my sisters many many times. Brought a smile to my face. Thanks for a nice cup of coffee and puzzle.
@Michael R I don’t think NYT Saturday crosswords are created for the few people who found this puzzle way too easy.
I thought this was a solid themeless entry, it started out tough but came together more smoothly than I expected. Except for the southeast corner! I don't remember the last time I had so much trouble trying and retrying a section. I got it in the end, but only after a lot of effort. And don't tell anyone, but I had to look up the poet's name to give myself an in...
i liked it! just crunchy enough for a rainy saturday only a little annoyed by "ball handler" happy saturday, everyone!
Dear Editor, thank you for a standard Saturday puzzle. I’ve been critical of your recent Saturday offerings, but this one had some really good challenging clues. Keep it up!
I started so slowly that I thought this was going to be a slog, but it fell into place in half my usual time and I enjoyed doing it. Nice puzzle!m
WABISABI is a second hand store in Moab where I got an acme juicier for 10 bucks along with a bunch of Barbie stuff. The staff saved Barbie detritus for us and the annual Barbie Shoot. "Sock it to me" caused all kinds of problems. Nice one Jacob, thank you
@dk Barbie Shoot? I'm intrigued. Does that event involve a trip to the rifle range?
"Wabi sabi". Never heard of it before, but I'm sure I'll have plenty of chances to use it. Thanks.
Fun! Very nice long ones. And relaxed for a Saturday (I can rarely solve them). Loved loved looooved “where roots are branches" for FAMILY TREE. Thanks, Jacob. <3