I was going to buy the used Monopoly game but no dice. (Now I'm board.)
@Mike Is your token a tROLL? Emus don't need no stinkin' tokens!
@Mike I'd try to compete with your punnery, but that would be an exercise in f-utility.
My five favorite original clues from last week (in order of appearance): 1. Auto setting (6) 2. Mobile home? (5) 3. Service agreement (4) 4. Shell fish? (3)(7)(5) 5. Call me! (3) STREET SHELL AMEN GAS STATION SUSHI CAB
My best puzzle time ever! I’m so excited.
Oh, terrific theme! I left the revealer blank after filling in all the theme answers, and dug in my heels, determined to figure it out. I did see that I’M was atop the three theme answers, and kept thinking the reveal was I’M OVER ___. But over what? What do SNAKE, CLASS, and CINNAMON have in common? Man, was I on the wrong track! I finally uncled, filled in the revealer, and smiled at being so fairly beaten. High respect to the constructor for presenting such a potent challenge to conquer, and for so excellently outwitting me. I love being gotten like that. I also love that DRY/EYES cross! This is a Monday beauty, giving the new and newer solvers a good chance to succeed in filling the grid in, and introducing the concept of theme, which many newer solvers don’t realize that crosswords can have. (I know this because I’ve taught many newer solvers in my crossword solving classes at an adjunct of UNC-Asheville). So, here’s a puzzle perfect for the beginning solver and yet one that gave me, an experienced solver, a run for my money in trying to figure out the theme. When you can satisfy such a range of solver in a single grid, Malaika, you’ve made one special puzzle. Brava, thank you, and forge on please!
Administrative note: Big family event this week; I shall be away, returning over the weekend. Wishing all a lovely week ahead!
(Second try) Administrative note: Big family event this week; I shall be away, returning over the weekend. Wishing all a lovely week ahead! Et tu, emu.
@Lewis How about NONE, ONE, TWO, TRIO, and NUEVE? ADD it up. Also, we can NOSH on a CINNAMON BUN. (I had a croissant today.)
I loved this breezy puzzle. I'm quite sure I've never solved a NYT Monday puzzle in less than five minutes before, so today's time is a personal best. Great fun! Thank you, Ms. Handa!
Joan, Way to go! Even the emus applaud you
As a former resident of South Beach when I worked for The Miami Herald, I can attest that the Florida city with a South Beach neighborhood is Miami Beach, a separate municipality from the city of Miami across Biscayne Bay - different mayor, different police force, etc. Same school system across Miami-Dade County though (one of my old beats).
@Charlie Savage Mr. Savage, I see that you have signed in with your NYT handle now two days in a row. When I saw it yesterday, I made it a point to bring up what I felt might be a touchy subject with you about your article published as a teenager in a local NJ paper. Many of us here have significant (and often quite public) professional lives, yet we keep that private and out of the comments here. As they say, with all respect, you do you. But I don’t get why you can’t sign in with a more discrete handle.
@Hardroch Agreed. As the beleaguered potentate of a small African country, I live in terror of the possibility that someone might discover what I think about crosswords, which is why I go by the nom de poste Dan from Alexandria.
I think that’s enough Ana De Armas for a while
This takes Monday to a new level of intricacy. It will be hard to match. Impressive.
This was a trouble-free solve, except for leTS Be before SITSBY. A very appealing puzzle, enjoyable, lively, and breezy. Loved the picture, Sam! I stand by (gentle) flares alongside boot-cuts, pencils, and leggings. I still wear them with pride, hehe. Something else that took me back to the 70's was 21D, the 1970 #1 hit. Funnily enough, though, it reminded me of a completely different song – Timmy Thomas singing 'Why Can't We Live Together.' It's an anti-war song that was a global hit in 1973 (when I was a 10-year-old living in flare pants!) and has been re-recorded by Steve Winwood (with Santana) and Sade. <a href="https://youtu.be/ztZI2aLQ9Sw?feature=shared" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/ztZI2aLQ9Sw?feature=shared</a> (Please note: I post it here not to bring politics into this forum in any way, shape or form, but because it's a fabulous song.) Thank you for this puzzle, Ms. Handa. I'm rooting for you to hit for the cycle!
I mistakingly posted the link to the song that's in the puzzle (worth a listen, though.) The link to Why Can't We Live Together is: <a href="https://youtu.be/zJ38KmkQPik?feature=shared" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/zJ38KmkQPik?feature=shared</a> . . . . . . . Be peaceful, emus. Please.
@sotto voce thanks for the links to the music. Can we have an emu chorus line?
Loved it. Not a PB for me, but a pretty smooth solve. Thought this was a really clever theme, with different types of 'rolls' for each of the answers. And I agree with the constructor - I've always thought that making easy puzzles has to be harder than making difficult ones. My answer history searches today led to a couple of quite unusual puzzles. I'll mention those in a reply. ..
@Rich in Atlanta As threatened: Answer history searches today, for no discernible reason, focused on repeated vowels. Ended up mostly thinking about U's. Anyway... first puzzle find was a very clever theme. A Thursday from July 22, 2004 by Greg Staples. In that one, the reveal clue/answer was: "Internet letters, and a hint to this puzzle's theme :" WWW And the theme answers: HINDUUTOPIA ISUZUUSEDCARS FONDUUTENSILS OAHUUKULELE And then... a Sunday puzzle from August 27, 2000 by Dana Motley with the title: "Double or nothing." One theme clue/answer example: "Washington dingbat? WALLAWALLYOYO And some other theme answers: BONBONBOOBOO MUUMUUFROUFROU PAGOPAGODODO SOSOCOUSCOUS DADAPAWPAW MAUMAUNONO CHICHICANCAN Don't think I would have a chance in heck with that one. Here's the Xword Info link: <a href="https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=8/27/2000&g=87&d=A" target="_blank">https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=8/27/2000&g=87&d=A</a> I'm done. ..
I'm gonna be the CLASS ROoSTER and crow that I got a personal best in this fun puzzle at 6:41. Started these puzzles during lockdown. Fridays and Saturdays are still beyond me. My average for Saturday is 59 hours!! I guess I left a browser open in frustration once. I didn't get the "rolls" until I read the reveal. Thanks.
Missed my best by nine seconds. A fun Monday with a cute theme. Glad I chose to leave a couple of ambiguous entries blank, as it is faster to type on the second pass than to delete and then type.
Love a Monday puzzle with a fun theme. I probably also like it because it gave me a new PR for a Monday. Good stuff!
Almost beat my pb by 2 minutes. Almost! It was all filled in then took me 3 minutes to find my mistake. I hate it when that happens. Haha. Thanks for a fun puzzle
As Mondays are pretty consistently my least favorite day of solving, I so appreciate actually getting a “Ha!” out of a revealer. Thank you Malaika! …
Several people having personal best times today reminds me of something I’ve noticed lately: I almost never have a personal best anymore and I’m seldom above average. I wonder if that’s true for everyone who’s been at this for many years. I’m not especially speed oriented, but I do notice my time, especially on Mondays, and I was only a few seconds off today. But with thousands of puzzles behind you, the chances of beating an old record become remote. By the same token, with average times inflated by struggling newbie years, one has far more below average days than above. It makes me think of Lake Wobegon, where all of the children are above average.
@Paul Turner That’s true for me. I typically beat my daily average, and while I got a few new personal bests in 2023, I’ve yet to get one this year. Like you, I’m not particularly interested in seeing how fast I can solve. I did give it a shot with today’s puzzle, and though I felt like I was entering answers quickly, I ended up over a minute slower than my fastest Monday. That made it my 11th fastest Monday.
@Paul Turner you're also getting older. 😜
@Paul Turner. True for me, as well. I’d often thought it would be nice to be able to get averages for more recent data, after one’s becomes adept at solving. Maybe YTD, as well as lifetime?
I don’t time myself, but can actually join the chorus of very quick solve as I wasn’t half way through my very small cup of coffee when I finished this fun Monday puzzle. Loved the reveal. Definitely looking forward to more early week puzzles from Malaika.
One more “roll” reference (at least for those who haven’t embraced the digital photography age) and who remember a quaint notion of a roll of film: 43A. !!!!!! …… Emus, roll on out of here!
Wow PB for a Monday and finally broke the 5 min mark! Although I could have sworn “Feel like a woman” was a TPAIN song??
@SP Me, too. BTW, has Shania covered "Buy U a Drank" yet?
This was a fun one, and my personal best time at 5:29 - making it a very happy Monday for me! A year in and I’m still trying to hit under 5 minutes on a Monday, but with my clumsy fingers and my phone’s tiny keyboard I’m not sure I’ll ever make it.
@NtMandatory I don't solve for speed but I've often seen comments here that to get super fast one needs a full keyboard. My few attempts to solve on a phone have supported that advice. Congrats on your PB!
My fastest Monday ever at 5:57! An easy but fun one
Thank you, Malaika. Lovely Monday puzzle and amusing revealer.
A note for the writer and editor: the Mexican holiday doesn’t usually use that word, it’s actually only typically used in the American/Chicano celebration of the holiday. In Mexico the word in the blank is simply skipped. Just FYI for future clues :)
This was a fun and fast puzzle, perfect for Monday.
Nice puzzle—fun and quickly done! Thanks, Malaika
6:29 PB for me. Nice way to start the week! Onward, my fellow word nerds.
Just a note to the creator and future creators: for 1A, the name of the holiday in the clue actually does not contain the word “LOS,” which is an unnecessary addition mistakenly added in America
Eleazar, Es verdad, pero... Since the parenthetical in the clue is (Mexican holiday), not (festa de Mexico), the answer should be in English, not Spanish, and in El Norte as you note we have mistakenly added the LOS. Have a tamale.
The distinction in Tricky Clues between 52A calling for a spoken response and 24D not is blurred by putting quotes on all the clues in Tricky Clues. In the puzzle, 24D does not have quotes, so the answer is not spoken; 52A does have quotes, which calls for a spoken answer. This puzzle is a bit quote crazy, with quotes for a spoken response also on 64A, the revealer, but quotes for other reasons on 18A, 72A, 21D, 23D, 48D and 57D. Enquote
Very well done Ms Handa! Very well done, fairly straight forward yet interesting to do!
My best time ever, just under 4 minutes. psyched
This was a great Monday puzzle... I wasn't quite as speedy as a lot of other commenters, but I did finish under my average. When I got to the revealer clue I already had SNAKE EYES and CINNAMON BUN filled in, and I wondered how "snake eyes" was a roll (I was thinking food). The moment I realized was an epic forehead slap. I'm not really into gambling, I guess.... lol
I don’t worry too much about my average solve times because I work on crosswords while making and having my coffee or maybe on a work break while snacking. But today I thought I’d solve as quickly as I could. Total concentration. I picked a good day for it! PB! While it only took a few minutes, I don’t feel sad because it was such a cute theme. Thanks!
Like many others, a new personal best for me. Still haven't broken the seven-minute mark. Clever theme.
Broke my Sunday record yesterday and missed breaking my Monday record by 5 seconds today...
I’ve never heard of a bird called a Tern before this puzzle. And then it popped up again in today’s mini!
@Insert80sName I had done today’s mini first, and when I came across it here, I already had T-RN. Imagine my delight!
@Insert80sName The TERN used to have a higher population in crosswords, appearing up to 10 times a year (1980), but it has appeared every year since 1997 at least once. It had a good year in 2022, when it had six appearances, and it appeared a month ago (4/5). Overall, it has been an answer 282 times. This is one bird you should make the acquaintance of.
Challenging enough for a Monday. “sitsby” tripped me. Nice theme!
@Peter Little known fact: F. Scott Fitzgerald was considering various names for his titular antihero, and at one point, he had considered Jay SITSBY... But we know how that turned out.
Cute! I'M fond of puzzles with more themers, but this was so novel and the reveal so clever, that I cannot but admire and praise it. Thanks, Malaika! But just in case you decide to make a larger version, how about IMPETIGO? You ever see that word around any more. Lots of fresh vocab in this one, which added to the fun.
Easy puzzle, but the very first clue is erroneous. The holiday here is Mexico is called “el día de muertos”, no additional article.
@J Rosen exactly! And pretty sure most here just say “día de muertos” don’t even need “el”
I seem to be following a trend here! This was a quick and east solve, and a personal best for myself at 6 minutes, 4 seconds.
In crossword related news, the most recent episode of Taskmaster (Series 17, Episode 6) saw a special prize task entry from contestant Steve Pemberton. He had constructed and seen published the Guardian’s cryptic crossword for the day of filming of the episode. Cryptics have uncrossed squares, letters that are only part of one rather than two answers. The uncrossed squares in his puzzles spelled out, in part: “Greg, please give Steve all five points.” Steve got the five points for it. Maybe somebody can link to the actual puzzle? Just one of those rare moments when the real world intersects with crossworld.
Hey DC (my next-town neighbor in Weston) (Okay, I have more than one home). Your fascinating challenge should have been answered many hours ago by some millennial, but since it seems not to have been, I suggest this Guardian Cryptic Crossword, #29,186. It took me a few hours to look through close to 30,000 cryptic puzzle crossword patterns to find it, but I have a photographic memory. (Not!) See: <a href="https://tinyurl.com/2pp3fvua" target="_blank">https://tinyurl.com/2pp3fvua</a> — — — — — — — —
I got the "im" part quickly but it took me reading Wordplay to understand the "on a roll". I quite literally laughed out loud. Thanks for a fun puzzle! And as always, thanks to the Wordplay column for helping me notice the brilliance of these puzzzles.
What a super cute theme. I actually giggled a little lol.
*Almost* accomplished my goal of completing the puzzle in one pass, doing all across answers in order without skipping a letter, but I got overconfident and put TORN instead of TORE. Oh well, maybe next time. And it was a good puzzle, too. I like to have a well-constructed easier puzzle to start the work week off with after the tough late-week ones.
Completed in six minutes and forty-two seconds. One of the easier Monday puzzles you’ve published in a while
For the umpteenth time, Miami ≠ Miami Beach. South Beach is in Miami Beach.
What is the connection between the puzzle and the photo? Did I miss it?
@Tom I'm guessing that it's because 21D mentions the year 1970? I'm also guessing I'm wrong...
Pedantic note regarding the clue for 27 down: South Beach is in Miami Beach, which is actually a separate city from Miami.
@Wendy Officially, yes. But I think it works for the puzzle. After all, that whole area is generally referred to Miami, even North Miami, North Miami Beach, Coral Gables, Aventura, etc. . . . . . .
Would have broken my PB but for SITSBY (had leTsBe). Just a couple seconds over my PB after the time to find my mistake
@Steven M. An address where a UK brawler might live! LETSBY AVENUE
What a great puzzle! Loads of fun and a very smooth solve!