My five favorite original clues from last week (in order of appearance): 1. What's needed to make bale? (3) 2. Brewer's implement (8)(3) 3. Very clear, as a stream (4) 4. Cross state lines? (6) 5. End of the line? (4) HAY BASEBALL BAT INHD TIRADE BAIT
This was a great one and made me smile! An added bit of whimsy for this one is that Shrek (another of the puzzle’s entries) utters the phrase “you and what army” in the first movie.
@Emily M, I could not believe that Wordplay failed to mention this!
This puzzle was a delight. It's not easy to come up with a clear but catchy theme for a Monday, revealed with clues that may be familiar but not stale. Congratulations, Jack Scherban, and I would say that your confidence is well placed.
Just popping in to thank Jack for a fun puzzle. Congrats on your debut!
After seeing asshat in the Sunday, I half expected a cheeky Rear Admiral inclusion here, ha.
@Jacqueline Cute one, boss! But like SP above, I don't get the second and third italicized references....
Jacqueline, Good idea, but Rear Admiral wouldn't work with the revealer. Service error.
GI never had as much fun with a Monday puzzle. Worth a gold seal (if not a navy or ultramarine one). A most admira(b)l(e) debut! Thank you, Jack Scherban. You’re a real trouper. …… !!!!!! Emus, Dismissed!
It is cringeworthy to still see clues like “Yucatan people of old” (59A) to refer to MAYAN people, who are very much still around. We don't need to feed into the Vanishing Indian trope. Why not just leave it at "Yucatan people", especially since we don't have any evidence that this term was used in the past as an endonym?
@eleanor I guess it is more controversial to say that all yucatanenses are Mayans than saying that their ancestors were Mayans. And even though there still are some people who identify themselves as mayans (or specifically indigenous), day by day there are less “true” Mayans (as in people who are direct descendants of mayans without intervention) and the use of the different dialects that compounds the culture nowadays is more of a cultural thing than useful way to communicate with others Sorry for my bad English
Fun way to start a Monday. Congrats Jack on your NYT debut, and piloting the entry ISLAND HOP. Another fun way to spend the day, though I haven’t done it in Hawaii. Today I learned O NEG is the universal donor, always thought it was O POS (my type). Thanks for enlightening me. Let me take this opportunity to promote blood donation, a worthwhile endeavour if you are able.
Great puzzle! But FYI the Mayans are not just “old” people - they still live in the Yucatán (and other zones in MX and Central America), speak the language, and practice their cultural traditions!
@Kate Ostrom - at my grandson’s graduation, the “student speaker” (chosen by faculty on the basis of a written speech submitted) told about his adoption from Guatemala (IIRC) and referenced his Mayan ancestry. His theme was “dare to dream” and his speech was inspiring.
Hah! A theme based on not only wordplay, but silliness as well. Not only a riddle to crack, but humor to amuse. That is, a treat! And a debut. The constructor indicates that he is anxious to make more puzzles. That makes me happy, as I’m intrigued to see more from the mind that made this puzzle. SERGEANT PEPPER thrust me back to the era when I must have listened to that album hundreds of times, each time fully involved and thrilled. What a gift to get right back into what it felt like to be me back then! The sensational CAPTAIN OBVIOUS and YOU AND WHAT ARMY buoyed, lifted the entire solving experience. The joke behind the theme – military people who aren’t military at all – so elegantly punch-lined in the reveal, elevated my fill-in from enjoyable to scintillating. Congratulations on your debut, Jack. What a treat – thank you so much for making this!
I thought I was going to break my personal record (7:38) for a Monday, but a spider lowered itself on my laptop and rocked my world. So today was between 9:00 and 10:00 minutes, depending on whether getting Shelob out of the house counts toward my solve time. If you want to translate RAKES IT IN into Gen-Z (my kids' age group), you will want to say MAKES BANK. If you were raised by the Greatest Generation, as I was, you will have heard SNAKE EYES quite a bit, along with many other references to gambling games. Being a Gen-X guy, I use D&D references Make sure to tell your friends and family that you love them, and give yourself several beats before you hit reply on social media... is antagonizing a stranger really necessary? Peace be with you
@Alan Parker Gosh, I'm solidly Gen X but all I could think of at first for RAKES IT IN was "Makes bank." Hmm, wonder where I learned it. (I don't have kids.) Maybe I'm just young at heart! I love the last paragraphs you've been adding to your posts lately. I don't know if you always have but I've noticed (and appreciated) it over the last few weeks or so. Peace to you, as well!!
Alan Parker, You told us you and your family were safe. Please tell how your home is. Best wishes ... and hopes.
A fine Monday but can anyone explain the italicized words? I kind of get it for Captain Obvious (he “must” because it’s obvious) but not the other two.
SP, Sam says (in the column): Of the words in italics in the clues, Christina Iverson, a puzzle editor for The Times, said they were “a fun way to emphasize the goofiness of the theme.” Goofy, perhaps — but clever, too. I would have liked to have heard a bit more from Sam on the cleverness. Perhaps we may yet hear...
@SP I thought it was because none of the three are actual army officers, so they wouldn't have a legitimate army to back them up when challenged.
@SP very puzzling - I lost time trying to understand their significance, as the answers to the questions seemed to be gimmies, and I thought I had to tweak the answers. Also, what does EBT have to do with food stamps please?
Last week, flyspecking didn't reveal my KEBAB vs. KEBOB error. Based on last week's answer, I switched to KEBOB but the answer today is KEBAB. You say KEBAB, I say Kebob, let's call the whole thing off
I've been on a quest to break 4:00 on a Monday solve and have been so close with a 4:17, but today I broke through with a 3:36! It's gonna be a good day!
A very fun puzzle! I would have broken the five minute time, but for a little typo that took a minute to find. (I'd originally tried to type "You and whose army", which ended up 'you and whot army'.) YeaY for Yuma, the town that so often gets forgotten! I hope to see more puzzles from Jack Scherban!
Count me among those who got SERGEANT wrong on the first pass through. Maybe Jack should have changed his clue to “common misspelling of a Beatles infantry leader” and just left his original grid alone.
A lovely, fun theme that felt fresh. A perfect Monday grid. Btw; we say YOU AND who’s ARMY on these shores. It pairs well with that intellectual football (soccer) chant, ‘Come and have a go if you think you’re hard enough’, complete with finger pointing and general huffing. The Bard would be so proud to see what’s happened to his beloved language.
@Helen Wright Growing up in Philadelphia it was always "YOU AND WHo's ARMY!" also - so perhaps a regional variation? Good fun and at least I got CAPTAIN spelled correctly on the first try.
@Helen Wright "You and Who's army" would only be correct for friends of Dr. Who. The question is, whose army will you bring with you to the fight?
A nice debut for Jack. I'm glad younger people are in the mix.
Came so close to breaking the Roger Bannister barrier. 4 minutes, 1 second. Got like 80% of the across answers at first blush and filled in the rest with my first run of downs
@Steven M. Similar here, I broke my personal best with 6:09. A really good Monday.
@Steven M. We just passed the seventieth anniversary of Bannister's great achievement. You can watch the video of the entire race here: <a href="https://youtu.be/Nb5AtK08gPM?si=evdqnOnW--nxX0xd" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/Nb5AtK08gPM?si=evdqnOnW--nxX0xd</a>
Very fun quick puzzle for Monday. I even learned a new one from the crosses: AIDA. As for the italicized words people are asking about in the theme clues, I thought laying the emphasis on those adverbs was just a way to make the descriptions drip with sarcasm, to match the tone of the keystone theme answer.
@Jeff AIDA is often useful in crosswords; also good to know that it premiered in Cairo, as it’s frequently clued.
Congratulations on your debut, Jack. Maybe you can get Captain Underpants in a Sunday grid one day. It's very surprising that PUBLISHER hasn't appeared since 1955.
Nancy J., The publisher was just here in February. Thu Feb 1, 2024 46A Adolph who purchased The New York Times in 1896 Simeon Seigel OCHS, not EMUS
@Nancy J. Yes, that surprises me as well about PUBLISHER not appearing since 1955. I see the clue was “Bennett Cerf.” that day 7/10/1955. At first I was puzzled about why the period after his name, until I figured out that until the late 60’s all clues ended in periods (I think). I remember that fellow from “What’s My Line?” along with Arlene Francis. I actually enjoyed that show back in the day….
Fun Monday! Congratulations on your debut, Jack. Quite an accomplishment. I hope there are many more from you to come. So nice to know that’s it’s not just us “older folk” interested in crosswords. I will forever remember how to spell “ sergeant”.
Best Monday score yet at 3:22. It beat out my previous of 4:23.
Great debut, Jack, and hope to see more from you. Fun puzzle, and thanks.
Long time solver, first-time commenter. A lovely, quick fill, although I, too, tripped over the SERGEANT spelling. The 'revealer' so to speak was very intuitive. Great debut, Jack!
34D. Medium for OLD home movies??? Now, I am feeling old. Fun, fast way to start the week!
@Call Me Al We have Ampex Corp. to thank for the HS-100 disk recorder. <a href="https://kimon.hosting.nyu.edu/physical-electrical-digital/items/show/1121" target="_blank">https://kimon.hosting.nyu.edu/physical-electrical-digital/items/show/1121</a> The device was first used by ABC Sports from what I could quickly dig up. I'm wondering who coined the term "Slo-Mo?"
Pleasant start to the week as we prepare to decamp for Maine. Nice one. Thank you Jack ps. We misspelled Sergeant as well and again.
@dk It’s the puzzle that egregiously misspelled SGT. <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sgt._Pepper" target="_blank">https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sgt._Pepper</a>%27s_Lonely_Hearts_Club_Band A quick look at the album cover shows that the rank is not spelled out at all.
What a fun puzzle. Super easy, yet thoroughly enjoyable.
Second Monday in a row with a stellar theme -- remember last Monday's mini-golf puzzle? Too often early-week puzzles have sparks of brilliance unalloyed by the fact that the grids are relatively easy to fill in. While I know of many experienced solvers who skip these puzzles, not I. I eagerly look forward to them.
What a great theme! Congrats on your debut Jack! Can't wait for the next one.
That was terrific, Jack. Congratulations on your debut and a lovely Monday puzzle.
Ground control to Major Tom - fun puzzle and a smooth solve. Right up my alley. Re: 38a - I would have gone with battalion in the clue rather than brigade and... don't call me 'surely.' One rather interesting answer history search result today. I've come across some things like this before, though I don't recall anything else specifically. Anyway - I did a search for ONEG, wondering how often it had been clued to force of gravity vs. blood type. And... that varies, but what stood out was.... ...that answer has appeared 54 times in Shortz era puzzles, and... only ONCE in a pre-Shortz puzzle. Has to be some kind of change in standards or something - just can't figure out what it might be. And, another puzzle find that I may put in a reply. ..
@Rich in Atlanta As threatened: A Sunday puzzle from July 9, 2017 by Will Nediger with the title - "First for knowledge." I'm guess I probably did that puzzle but didn't recall it at all. Anyway... one theme clue/answer example: "Brother who's a criminal? :" FELONIOUSMONK And, some other theme answers: FREEZEACROWD CHEAPFRILLS MIFFBUSTERS SECURITYFRET and then... a pair of down answers with the clue being "half-dozen real estate agents?" SIXCHARACTERSIN SEARCHOFANOFFER I'm done. ..
"I would have gone with battalion in the clue rather than brigade..." Rich, And I was not an infantry leader. emu, apparently
Must be no Shrek fans out there, including Sam Corbin—that answer in upper left can’t be coincidence with “you and what army”.
@Joe Today I am learning just how much the Venn diagram circles of NYT Crossword solvers and Shrek fans intersect.
Charming puzzle, but your punning lead photo of the Purple One, Sam, really makes my day!
I hoped that the military titles -- hardly all that interesting in themselves -- would be justified by the revealer. So I spent my time trying to guess the revealer in advance. And I couldn't. But my excuse is that I've never heard the expression YOU AND WHAT ARMY? I've only heard the expression YOU AND WHO ELSE? When YOU AND WHAT ARMY came in, I enjoyed the joke. The joke being, of course, that none of these characters leads a real army, not being real themselves. I found it quite an amusing revealer. And now a word about CAPTAIN OBVIOUS. He's a mascot for Hotels.com??? Why on earth would I ever want to stay at a hotel that boasts such a mascot? "You need fresh towels? It should be obvious where to find them." "You're looking for our dining room? It should be obvious what floor it's on." No, CAPTAIN OBVIOUS is the last hotel mascot I'd be looking for. I'd so much prefer... PRISCILLA THE PAMPER LADY DRINKS ON THE HOUSE HANNAH SLEEP SOUNDLY SUSIE YOU GET AN UPGRADE URSULA I thought this was a breezy and enjoyable Monday puzzle. It was pretty easy -- but not insultingly so.
@Nancy Hotels.com is an online booking site, not a hotel itself. Captain Obvious -- who apparently is no longer their mascot -- touted how obvious it was that Hotels.com provided the lowest prices on the best hotels, as well as how convenient the site is and what great customer service it provides.
@Nancy I thought Captain Obvious was supposed to be a ship's captain, not a military officer. Oh well, close enough for a Monday theme, which I enjoyed,
The best crossword yet. The use of faux military characters and good references were highly satisfying to solve.
That was a fun solve! Loved the theme. Have a good day everyone!
Had to solve at arm’s length. (waves hand back and forth over nose) This puzzle was rank. cc: emu handler
EOY nominee for most endearing constructor’s notes award!!
I also had a hard time spelling SERGEANT, I misspelled it as SARGEANT. Reading the constructor's note made me feel a little bit better about it! A lovely Monday solve.
What an impressive debut puzzle. Hopefully we will be seeing many more from Jack.
@suejean My comments always get printed straight away without mentioning the emus
We are all teen girls. Thank you SO much, Sam, for putting us onto Olivia Gatwood in your column today, who (per the article you linked to) calls teen girls "our most distinguished professors, who teach us to bury the burst until we close our bedroom doors, and then cry with blood in the neck, foot through the door, face in the pillow, the teen girls who teach us to scream.” Then also this, because sometimes internet rabbit-holes are a good thing: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MHaCKwYCFZs" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MHaCKwYCFZs</a>
Amusing theme! I just gotta say, Dang, Colonel Sanders, you got moded! Does anyone remember "moded"? Google tells me it was mostly a California thing in the '70s and '80s with a brief comeback in the '90s. It basically meant burned or humiliated. And it may or may not have derived from "demoted". Which is probably why I thought of it. I also found that there was a phrase "Moded, corroded, your butt exploded". Wow. That's the kind of zinger that leaves a mark.
Congratulations on an amusing NYT debut, Mr. Scherban! Your puzzle seemed perfectly pitched for its Monday slot. I’m sure we’ll see you back soon. Thanks!
A nice Monday puzzle, but 59A “Yucatan people of old” needed editing. Mayas still live in the Yucatan, and nearly a million of them speak Yucatec Maya, one of around 30 contemporary Mayan languages. This would be like cluing “southwest people of old” for “Navajo”.
Jessica, The clue was also criticized yesterday. I read "of old" to mean indigenous, not nonexistent. (emu, not moa)
My fastest Monday time yet (by one second). Fun puzzle!
Yep, COLONELs head brigades, but in what ARMY are SERGEANTs only Infantry NCO's? A CAPTAIN generally heads a Company... and ...what did you do with the Major? And the Lieutenants? I had a brief moment of hope that a modern Major General would put in an appearance. Maybe next time, Jack Scherban? As for 11D...are we reachiing the point where this clue/entry is going to elicit only "Who?".... Wanted a Shar Peis for the 'Wrinkly-faced dogs'...PUGS just have mashed-in faces, IMHO..... rather like their feline counterparts, the Persians (ugh.) Hope that doesn't start a war....
@Mean Old Lady RE: 11D; I have only ever seen Martha RAYE in the Polident commercials. I'm sure she was funny, but her movie career was before my time. TIL she was 'adopted' by the Green Berets for her USO service in Vietnam, as she was one of the few entertainers who would go out to their forward bases. She held the honorary rank of Lieutenant Colonel, and was buried in the SF cemetery at Fort Bragg, the only woman so honored.
@Mean Old Lady @Grant I had to wonder whether young Jack Scherban had any idea who Martha RAYE was, or whether that answer was just one provided by his puzzle construction software. Like Grant, I only remember her from Polident commercials. Which is not to say that she wasn’t funny. I just checked her filmography, and the only movie of hers that I may have seen is Charlie Chaplin’s “Monsieur Verdoux.”
Knowing foreign languages helps. "Sergeant" in French is "Sergent" In German, it's "Sergeant" In Russian, it's "Serzhant" I think, in America, we are fooled by the ubiquitous shortening of the word to "Sarge."
I think we are more likely fooled by how we pronounce it. (I.e., why would "SAR jint" start with SER?) Emus, parade rest
Fun puzzle. I had no idea about CAPTAINOBVIOUS or the revealer, but still came in in approximate PB territory. (My official recorded Monday best is 2:xx, but I know that's not right.) Not sure of my actual PB, but I'll take it whenever I get below five. What delayed me, other than the glaring blank for the hotel themer? My usual confusion between MAYAS and Incas, which was the only error I had to correct. Fun Monday. Thanks!