I solved without ever figuring out how the theme worked. I would never have gotten it without reading Wordplay. I’m a word person first and foremost, and while gimmicks like this do add a nice extra dimension to solving, I’m perfectly happy to just get by with word intuition and crosses. That said, I found this one very clever, but way above my pay grade.
@Marshall Walthew as someone who this happens to a lot (brute forcing b/c the theme eludes me), for whatever reason this one clicked. That being said, there were enough easy crosses/the phrases were common enough that it was almost unnecessary to understand the theme. Spent 5-10 minutes staring at that OUTEAT CFO TOAT little square, though..
I enjoyed this puzzle although I have to admit that “SHORT I” caused my brain to emit a repetitive clicking sound.
@ESB yes, I enjoyed the puzzle but to be honest even after reading the blog I still don't understand the clue. What does clicking have to do with it?
@Andy This one boggled me, too. I only got it through the crosses. The clue is referring to the phonetic sound that repeats over and over in “repetitive clicking”, which is a Short “i” sound.
"Hey, who are the Three Musketeers?" "Literature questions? You know I'm never good Athos." ("All for pun and pun for all!")
This was the kind of puzzle where the crosses seemed to lead to an answer that doesn't seem to fit the starred clue... but since there's a star in the clue, so just roll with it. Then once the revealer is in place, aha! Fun one.
@Michael Weiland I find that “just roll[ing] with it” is often a useful approach to Thursday puzzles. Usually, I’ll figure out the trick before I finish filling the grid. If I don’t, there’s always the Wordplay column to explain what I missed. (The revealer in today’s puzzle clearly explained the trick.)
Well, this is a constructor who loves wordplay, obvious to see in the word-manipulation theme and in the many first-rate punny clues. Some of those punny clues have been used before, but, IMO, were well chosen. Some of them were original, such as [Pounds, perhaps] for ACHES, and [Down more than] for OUTEAT. All of them had me smiling throughout the solve, and that is a gift. I filled in the entire grid except for the revealer, and wrenched my brain trying to crack what it could be, trying to see how the theme answers could relate to their clues. All to no avail. Finally, after uncle-ing, I had to bow down to the beauty of the conceit, to the wit of taking ALL FOR ONE, ONE FOR ALL, and first, seeing this theme, then second, beautifully executing it. I liked the duplicate [Stag] clues – could have had another duplicate by using [Carpenter or mason] for TRADE as well as for BUILDER. First thing I thought of after solving this was that I want to see more puzzles from you, Sara, with your love of wordplay and your ability to craft a terrific theme. Congratulations on your NYT debut, and I repeat, more please. I loved this!
I might be too tired, but I don’t think I would have figured out the theme and solved the puzzle without reading the article.
@Maddie But at least Deb Amlen feels sorry for us rubes…
What a wonderful debut. Loved the clever cluing with the doubling of “Guinness” and “Stag,” loved the theme itself, loved plenty of the clues (“Final points in scores?” So good.) Was frustrated by TOAT until my brain finally stopped trying to read it as one word and then I was impressed the puzzle had one more surprise for me. Favorite puzzle in a while, and this has been a particularly good week!
@Thad I still don’t get TOAT. What is it?
You can also target your ABS, but you're never going to finish the puzzle. I had no clue what the name of Michael Jackson's first SOLO concert was. It could have been BAB, right?
@Catherine Last letter to fall for me, too. I figured Bab wasn't right, but I had to run through the letters. And I was 20 in 1980 (in the US), so it was a no duh once I got it. Sorry "Bad" didn't come right away, MJ.
@Catherine That clue was probably for old-timers like me. The announcement of Jackson's Bad Tour was as big as the Taylor Swift/Beyonce tours are today. It was hyped worldwide.
@Catherine I didn’t know the name of his first tour specifically but I’d heard of BAD and it often happens that child stars make a huge deal of it when they think they’re no longer innocent, naive children, hence BAD and it was pretty, pretty good as was Sara’s puzzle! Kicked myself when I had to read below all the folds for Deb to say the revealer but whoever said, “Just try to think about the revealer as long as you can stand t” is right. That can really help when Deb just gives us a hint, but I got too impatient to find out:)
I just do not understand all the complaints and negativity in the comments after brilliant puzzles like this one. I don’t play tennis because I’m no good at it and I don’t enjoy it. But I don’t go around complaining about it being an unfairly difficult game. These puzzles have become one of my favorite activities in my retirement. I really feel like it helps keep my brain from aging faster. I especially enjoy Thursday, Friday and Saturday puzzles; I used to skip Mondays and Tuesdays but I’ve recently started doing them too, and even though they’re easier they are clever and fun! And I usually enjoy reading the column almost as much as doing the puzzles.
@Bellinghamster I enjoyed your commentary and I fully agree. When I do the archives, I too often skip the Mondays and Tuesdays. This weeks’ almost perfect Monday puzzle has prompted to rethink that approach. But I enjoy reading these commentaries as much (or more) than the puddle
@Bellinghamster - A lot of people think that if they can't figure out the theme, or the "gimmick", that the problem is with the puzzle, rather than with themselves. So they come here and vent, usually unfairly.
Loved the theme! Very cute and clever. Got a bit tied up at the end with OUTEA- and TOAT which I was reading as “-o at” for a while.
Repeat after me: When the answer to the clue makes no sense at all, the trick is in the clue. I was looking for the trick in the clue from the ONSET -- and though nearly maddened with curiosity, I took my own sweet time getting to the revealer. I had filled in SOME NERVE, TOILET BRUSH and SPARKLED and I wanted to figure out the trick for myself. I couldn't. And yet it's really such a simple one. Simple, but not obvious. I loved this and it will go in the running list I'm keeping for Puzzle of the Year. A brief note. Maybe a couple of years ago, I hit upon the idea for an ALL FOR ONE theme. In my case, the trick was in the answers and not in the clues. I came up with some ideas for themers and was crestfallen to learn that the theme had already been done. But it's another puzzle entirely when those words are swapped in the clues. This is so much better an idea. I love this variety of puzzle!
@Nancy Thinking about your comments on the golf ball puzzle,...I think your objection to that one was that the theme didn't really involve the player having to solve anything, just observing a bunch of O's in a row. I didn't really understand that at the time, but I do now, because this one definitely requires input on the part of the players. So, Nancy, I agree with you. Given our rocky exchanges, I thought I should comment when I think "Damn, Nancy was dead right about that."
Once I got the revealer, my moment of enlightenment is perfectly described by the crossing of REREADS and I SEE NOW. I love that kind of theme. Nice twin clue for HART and SOLO. I enjoy reading a clue and thinking “Hey, haven’t I seen that before?”. I also like “Head of lettuce” crossing RED LEAF. Lovely constructor notes. Congratulations of your debut, Sara.
@Anita Can you explain how SOLO is the answer to "stag"?
@Reuben When you attend an event by yourself you are said to go stag. Do emus ever go stag?
One of those themes that definitely make me say “I wish I had thought of it”. Clever, elegant and well executed. While I didn’t deliberately try to get the revealer first, I dropped down pretty quickly there naturally and it helped me get all the theme clues very easily. Without that it would have taken me longer because I do think the non theme clues were intriguing and appropriately challenging for a Thursday. But once I got the trick I solved well under my average but no matter I was delighted all the same.
Congratulations on a clever NYT debut, Ms Muchnick! I typically enjoy “clue manipulation” themes, and this was no exception. I hope we’ll see you back here soon!
Very impressive debut, Ms. Muchnik. I wonder if anyone else arrived at the answer to 9D in the odd manner that I did. I took the clue to be a reference not to a book of maps but rather to the image of the Greek god from whose name the term derives: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlas_(mythology" target="_blank">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlas_(mythology</a>) !!!!!! ……. Emus, begall!
@Strudel Dad It really works both ways, doesn't it? Like you, my first thought was capita lA Atlas. With the Earth on his back.
@Strudel Dad. However, in the classical mythology Atlas was holding up the heavens or sky, not the world. Let’s not give the pedants a toe-hole.
I was confused at first, but the revealer opened up this puzzle for me. It was fun to go back and REREAD the theme clues and realize they all made perfect sense. I was stuck for a bit at the crossing of OUTEAT and TOAT, which I dooked both ways, lol
@Janine that was the last one to click into place for me.
Congratulations on your debut! There have been a lot of great puzzles lately but this one takes the cake. I loved it. “Head of lettuce” was so good! Looking forward to more.
I never did find D'Artagnan, Porthos, Aramis, or Athos anywhere in the solved puzzle- oh well.. "emu handler"
@Steve It was a heart-breaker! Possibly the emus ate them.... You never know.
Glad I’m not the only one needing Deb to explain the theme. I filled the grid without too much trouble, but stared in vain trying to work the trick. Naturally, once it’s explained it’s blindingly obvious. A clever but deceptively simple trick. I particularly like the symmetry of the doubled L, E and D at 63A 67A and 70A. It felt very pleasing in an odd way. (Just to emphasise my dyscalculia I had to toggle between the filled grid and my post to get each number. My aging brain is definitely deteriorating numerically, I am now incapable of holding more than one number at a time in my noggin, with the exception of my phone number. I expect that’ll go eventually as well and I’ll have to carry the written number around. Ah well, as long as my literary lobe functions I’ll manage).
@Helen Wright Welp....I have an awful time coming up with my cell phone #....perhaps because I hardly ever phone myself. It just doesn't seem to want to stick! My 'literary lobe functions' were given quite the workout with today's Spelling Bee! To reach Genius, one had to surpass 300. I'm at 63/345, and I'm quitting. Once they open the door with endings like -ED and -ING, it's a giant slog. Next they'll include -S and we'll be here forever, helping Sisyphus with that stone.
TOAT? TOAT? Oh! To a T! Filled it in but didn't actually get it for a while afterward. Sheesh!
A great puzzle -- and my 100th solve! Congratulations and thank you, Sara. Looking forward to 100 more puzzles of this caliber.
I love this! Did the whole darned puzzle without figuring out the trick and then howled with laughter. I especially liked “stone tool”.
Thank you for clarifying the theme! I was in the same boat as you - finished but puzzled over the starred answers and how they fit the theme. I feel so much better now!
"Head of lettuce" is now my favorite clue of all time.
Wow, the naysayers are out in force today. My grandma used to say, “if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.” I thought this puzzle was great! Big smile when I figured out the revealer, and a headshake when I parsed TOAT correctly.
@Steve Glad you liked the puzzle. I did too, once I figured out the gimmick. However, though I like the saying of your grandmother, I think it's a maxim for interpersonal behavior, not for making comments on a puzzle's design. Let the sayers of "nay" have their say, and they will feel better—just as we do, putting our own comments in.
Nothing really to add, other than nice puzzle! Earliest I've done a Thursday, so I had to comment something.
Really enjoyed this one. Typical slow start for me, but tumbling to the theme was a big turning point and I actually ended up well below my Thursday average. Glad to see another new constructor - hoping to see more from her. Answer history search today: Dawned on me that... ALLFORONEANDONEFORALL is 21 letters, and... yep - that was the reveal in a Sunday puzzle from January 16, 2005 by Damon J. Gulczynski* with the title "Pledge of Allegiance." Some theme answers in that one: DROPPINGTHEBONE ROLLINGSTALL HEIRTOTHETHRALL TONEINTHESADDLE HONEOFFAME ICECREAMCALL GALLWITHTHEWIND Here's the Xword Info link: <a href="https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=1/16/2005&g=67&d=A" target="_blank">https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=1/16/2005&g=67&d=A</a> *and... couldn't help but wonder about some of the strings of letters in the constructors surname. In brief: LCZ - once in a pre-shortz puzzle - ASMALLCZECH CZY - nope ZYN - twice - FUZZYNAVEL and ZYNGA and... NSK - lots of times in an interesting variety of terms, e.g. - ANAKINSKYWALKER GDANSK GREENSKEEPERS ONSKIDROW STRAVINSKY SANSKRIT BUTTINSKY THINSKINNED and several others. I'll shut up now. ..
Thanks, Deb. I didn't get it at ONE till you threw me that bALL! Hi to Wordplay community - it's been a while since I stopped in. It's always nice to see you, one and all!
I figured out the trick! Very satisfying moment of revelation. Maybe I can do Thursday puzzles after all!
When the final book is written on the great American experience, which ended in total destruction from civil war, it will relate not how it resulted from political division, or BLM protests, or conflict between pro-Palestinians and pro-Israeli, or trans people vs. cis people. Rather it will relate how apparently the catastrophic war started in personal disputes on a Thursday NYT crossword puzzle column, WordPlay, which then metastasized to the public at large. Historians will be mystified by the emus.
@Francis And all for one (puzzle) about one for all. Truly, it is the hardest theme.
congrats on a first puzzle! that’s awesome. once i finally read the 63 across clue more closely and saw that it referred to the starred clues rather than the answers, i got the theme and finished up. nicely done. so my critique is not with the theme. it is with a few of the other clues, where the connection to the answer seems tenuous. 2D - eh… seems like a stretch 8D: i would describe nilgiri as being “on rice” more than “over rice”. subtle difference but in context of food, “over rice” connotes more of a larger bed or scoop of rice, not a tidy square of rice that the fish covers. . 62A: i don’t see how “points” gets us to codas. yes, i understand that a coda is a final passage in a musical score. but “points” seems to have no connection to the answer. it only has a connection to the pun aspect of the clue. 66A: i guess you can argue that “dunno” elides the “t” sound. but elide refers more to dropping syllables and vowels, which is not what’s happening in “dunno”. i understand that these nuts are pedantic, but this is what i mean by some of the clues being just a shade too removed from the answers - leaning in favor of cleverness at the cost of accuracy
@Andrew sorry, “nuts” in last paragraph should be “nits”. autocorrect outwitted me several times on that :-(
@Andrew "These nuts are pedantic" could sum up this whole comments section. And I'm here for it!
Never did get the theme, but I still beat my average. I consider that a bullet dodged. Nice puzzle.
Can someone please explain TOAT to me? I don’t get the answer or how it relates to the clue, but other comments suggest it might be clever wordplay. I tried Googling for hints, but it’s still not clicking (unlike a short I!)
It was a silly, convoluted theme today. It was a relatively quick solve without consideration for the theme. Additionally some of the clues were ridiculous: clicking sound/short i? Meh. Not fun.
@Ron Many is the time I solve the puzzle without consideration of the theme, after which I enjoy a moment of revelation when I see how the theme works. Today, the revealer at 63A absolutely helped me understand what the substitution, and therefore the theme, was. As for 2D, you may not like this kind of clue, but it is fairly common, and only is ridiculous if you don't understand it. The phrase "repetitive clicking sound" means that there is a sound in "clicking" that repeats. (Plus, it also appears twice in "repetitive".) That sound is SHORT I. Similarly, "Head of lettuce", 37D, which here is CFO, could just as easily be ELL, since L is the first letter, or "head", of "lettuce". Since it's a fairly common kind of clue, it's best just to understand it...
A true puzzle today, one which I very much enjoyed puzzling out. Thank you, Sara Muchnick & eds!
Great puzzle today! As I figured out each answer, I had a laugh at the clever way Sara worded each clue. She is a true wordsmith with outstanding parents!
I only started doing the NYT crossword 10 months ago, and used to only attempt Sunday through Wednesdays. About 6 months ago I started trying to do everyday of the week, and initially needed lots of lookups to finish Thurs, Fri, and Sat. Now after all these months of daily challenges and practice, I feel like I'm really hitting my stride. All that is to say, I loved this puzzle and found the theme straightforward once I got the revealer. Made solving the starred clues much easier and the rest of the grid came together from there! It's odd to me that so many people are complaining about this one.
Nice one today. Once I understood the theme, it was a pretty quick solve. Half my average Thursday time. :)
I always play on my phone. always. My streak is 15 hundred and something. But today I was at my computer and I used the browser. And the revealer was blindingly obvious because of how its laid out. Once I had ALL FOR ONE - the clue "shall" was highlighted - and there it was - broad as daylight. I might use the browser more often now.
@Chris Well, I use a browser, the clues were highlighted, and I still didn't make the connection. I solved the puzzle but came here to understand the theme. Now I get it!
@Chris Yeah, I find the phone app really limited when it comes to seeing themes and tricky clues. The iPad app is good, a lot like a browser.
Re 9D “whole world in your hands.” I think this refers to the art deco statue of Atlas at Rockefeller Center holding the world in his hands, rather than a book of maps.
@KXL Maybe, but a world atlas fits the clue perfectly and makes sense as well. ...................................... .........
@KXL I thought of Atlas the titan as well. But I think for that the clue would have been “the whole world in HIS hands”. And in the statue you are thinking of, isn’t the world more on his shoulders/back? But it does kind of work both ways. .:.:.:.:.:. .:.:.:.:.:.
@Jeb Jones Atlas doesn’t hold the world in his hands in myth. He holds the sky on his back. Otherwise where would he stand? That said, the artistic convention became showing him holding a globe of some kind.
Super fun puzzle! I didn’t crack the theme until I was *dall with the clues and went back and pieced it together!
A great debut puzzle, kudos! For once I solved the revealer early on, and then everything made sense, and became a little easier to solve. Some great clues in here. Had a big smile when I finally got OUTEAT. Same when I realized how “lettuce” fit with the answer!
Clever! I have a small nit to pick over DOEST versus DOST, but maybe that’s because I’m a Southerner and I save time and ELIDE on occasion. Y’all (see what I did there?) have a lovely day.
@Barbara Prillaman ....which is why I entered GOEST first. Also, for the ball-and-socket JOINT, I wasn't familiar with using ROTARY... Wondering how many CFO's refer to the money they are managing as 'lettuce'.....
@Barbara Prillaman It is my understanding that DOEST is used as a main verb, while DOST is used as an auxiliary: --Prithee, DOST thou go to the laundromat? --In troth I do. --And thou DOEST your laundry there? --Forsooth I do.
A ROTARY JOINT "gets the bone rolling?" What kind of ridiculous word salad is that? Same with SHORT Is "repetitively clicking." Yes, there are four Is in the clue, but how do they click? I would have sent this puzzle back to the drawing board, despite the clever theme. Fun Fact: The CIA's "secret" airline, Air America, was incorporated in DELAWARE because of the limited financial disclosure regulations. Apparently, that's helpful if you're flying guns, money, and drugs around Southeast Asia.
@Grant the SHORTIs in the clue ARE the two short i’s *in* the word “clicking” … so the clue would have worked whether the 3rd word was clicking, dripping, thinking, limiting, etc. The meaning of that word is insignificant, as long as it has “repetitive” i’s (I concur that “bone rolling” is a stretch!)
@Grant The clue is not "Repetitively clicking", it is "Repetitive clicking sound" which I interpreted to mean the sound in the phrase "repetitive clicking". As for the ROTARY JOINT clue, while not scientific, is something I can relate to when I rotate my shoulder joint. I respect your right to not like them, but I think they both work.
Hmmm. The Company must be working with the emus. Let's see if this message gets through... Grant, And the beer. Don't forget the beer. How else do you think I got to drink a bottle of Amstel in the delta? Still can't disclose the location...
Very tricky and fun. Thursday is always a treat and I then look forward to the Friday and Saturday challenges. Keep the bar high! And thanks!
“They may even solve the entire grid without using the theme as a solving tool…” Like me. “…or without looking back to appreciate that the theme even exists” Not like me. Completely baffled, which brought me here.
@Brendan me too, exactly. i don't always read the column after i'm done, but today i just had to read it, i was so baffled.
I have still been solving puzzles fairly regularly but life happens, and I don’t always have time to read Wordplay (or finish my comment, especially when there’s so much I want to say, usually a lot of gushing!) But this one I don’t want to miss commenting, even if the Friday puzzle has been published, and probably barely anyone will get to read it. It’s just TOO GOOD! And it’s an NYT Debut! I am floored. Congratulations Sara, on your maiden puzzle and your new baby! I enjoyed this very much. Like Deb, I got the Revealer and persisted thru the solve without mid-checks but still didn’t understand why the themes were such (until I read Wordplay). This is why reading Wordplay is essential LOL. But my mind got the workout it needed, and so much clever clue-ing! I also liked the clue pairs throughout the grid. Will try to comment again later with the clues I especially loved. Toughest clue for me was TO AT and SHORT I. I thought Head of lettuce was CFO because of Chief Food Officer lol. I still managed to write a long comment even if I have so much to do today. And yes, a lot of gushing. I told you. So well deserved tho. Happy Friday!
@Nina @Michael @Katie A perfect CODA to the day's comments. How refreshing to read your contributions after plowing through so many from the "nattering nabobs of negativism". With apologies to William Safire. A
@Al in Pittsburgh. I thought that quote was Agnew, not Safire. It throws a slightly different light on the relative intelligence of the natterers.