Thursday, May 23, 2024

I'm wondering if anyone else made the mistake that cost me 20 minutes: I figured out the braiding theme fairly quickly, but I entered the answers so that they would be correct in the *down* direction, while containing flipped letters on every other line in the *across* direction (e.g., "OEDS"). The way I explained the trick to myself was "The grid is 'braided,' but if you 'unbraid' these strands, flipping the letters in each of these pairs every time the gray square is on the right, all the acrosses become correct." I thought it was just a cool "extra" that (when you fill it that way) the shaded zig-zags also formed legit English words, albeit kind of random ones. Eventually I realized it must be the opposite way (all the acrosses correct, all the downs confusing), did the unbraiding on the screen rather than in my brain, and got the happy music....but not before spending 20 minutes trying to figure out if I had made a mistake somewhere else. For sure, the way the constructor intended it is better than the way I filled it, because his way contained a visually correct grid (all the words shown were real, they just didn't match the clues) and mine contained ugliness like "OEDS." Still, Thursdays DO sometimes contain weird things that look at first glance like mistakes, so it didn't seem obvious at first that my way wasn't the intended way. Was it just me??

Oh what fun that was!! What a clever and twisty puzzle!! And as a newer solver coming up on a year in a few months, I'm still always tickled when I can figure out a Thursday theme all on my own and solve it without any help! Huzzah! I also solved it in half the time of my Thursday average. I don't know if that means everyone's going to say it was too easy or if I'm just significantly making improvements on my solving times, but it was really enjoyable either way. After some travel out of the country with my MIL, who is experiencing advancing dementia, she is staying with us at our place for a bit. There's so much that we struggle to try to make sense of in what she's going through, which doesn't seem possible. Today was a very bad day for her. I'm so grateful for puzzles like this at the end of a long day that are fun and challenging--but solvable. I'm so grateful for solvable in what often seems increasingly unsolvable circumstances. In life, I seek answers that too often just don't exist. I'm not always sure I can find the answers by myself in a crossword puzzle yet, but I know the answers exist.... and if I didn't know it, I can get it on the crosses or learn it some other way. Loving that! Thank you to the constructors, editors, amazing column writers, and everyone else involved, who bring fun sanity to an insane world! 🍸Cheers, fellow solvers! 🍸

Dear Editor, Yet another case of the creator and/or clue writer(s) trying harder to impress themselves instead of trying to impress the puzzle’s solver. While it’s interesting that the two braided words end up making other unbraided words, the unbraided words had nothing to do with the clues. So it’s more gimmick than puzzle, and every time you publish a gimmick you’re actually eroding the NYT Crossword brand. Again, just because it can be done, doesn’t mean it should be done. @Senior Editors, are you paying attention to what’s going on here?

as someone who’s hair is currently in BOXBRAIDS to avoid getting up extra early to do it before my 830s, I adored this puzzle! I actually managed to figure out a Thursday theme!!!! (well ~kinda~ bc I “unbraided” the entries on the downs, THEN noticed the acrosses were weird and had to go back.) but that didn’t stop me from hyping myself up because I made halfway before even opening the wordplay!!!! I even managed to avoid ye olde ECG vs EKG debacle! 🤩 my recent obsession with crosswording to get through a boring lecture is paying off (don’t worry, my grades are great as well 😌) still had a few look-ups— one day I’ll learn every achievement of Mr T and these various celebs of before my time but for now I gotta go to class. do the emus like ANNIES? I heard their cheddar bunnies are yummy, might pick some up for a snack after class 🐰

Solved the theme easily enough, but I felt like I was missing something since the down clues, while valid words/phrases, seemed completely nonsensical. Meh. Not a fan of the theme

A bit of a hairy solve, but in the end, it weaves me spellbound.

My wife and I always do the puzzle together. We finished this one to extend our streak. But now we may get divorced. Adam Wagner, I hope you're happy.

I thought IPAS were hop-ular brews. ... I'll see myself out.

The constructor clearly has a twisted mind, and I love it! Like others, I was initially fooled into thinking the across answers were scrambled, but then I untangled my thoughts and realized it was a vertical trick. BRAIDS then came quickly but it took a while to get BOX. Excellent clue for DIMES (Tiniest change) and RISK (Dangerous thing to assume). Thanks Adam, this was great fun!

Well, this was a capital-P Puzzle for me. I was flummoxed for what felt like a very long time, because I entered the theme’s down answers as downs rather than being braided, which led to all kinds of theories as to what was going on, and many a “Huh?” and “Wha?”, and much gerrymandering among the across answers Underneath, there was faith that things would eventually become clear. And they did. But this was as long of an “I don’t get it” stretch as I’ve experienced in memory, where my brain and I were desperately shouting “SAVE US!” (46A). A Capital-P Puzzle. The kind that keeps my head small, that keeps me from being jaded about crosswords. And I’m grateful for that! I loved [What a king might sit on?] for SLATS, which brought a huge “Hah!”. I loved [What banana bread is often baked in] because I haven’t thought about banana bread in ages, and what a divine flavor it has! I also loved uncovering BOX BRAIDS and it not helping me figure out how the theme was supposed to work because I was so stubbornly set on the wrong direction I started out in. There’s something very funny in that, in how blind we can make ourselves! So, much joy, with a heaping side of humility – and I loved it! Thank you, Adam!

Step back three inches or three feet when you see a grid for the first time. Ask it questions. Try to see what is there to see. I’m not addressing all the proud failures today but the puzzled solvers. Step back and investigate the grid as it is presented before jumping into unknown waters. The first impression for the patient solver should have been: the downs; the key is in the downs. Let me offer: when you suspect the trick is in the downs (which should have been extremely obvious today), solve the acrosses as best you can and let those fills inform your idea of the downs. When a cross reference is ever offered, there is a rule: See N down + With X, … always always always means the “see N down” fill follows the “with X” fill - you either get that or … not. Don’t keep blaming the editors, please. They work hard at this. All the horrible negativity here translating to “I didn’t get it so it was terrible and anybody who did get it is a smarmy jerk” is enough to just wish “Rex Parker Trashes the NYT Crossword” was a steady link here, available to all, so all the haters could just get on along to their true and honest home. The trick was made clear, the editing was consistent, bravo to the constructor, and thanks to the editors and columnist.

Hated this puzzle!

The theme was easy but the unrelated words were lazy. Maybe I'm missing something, but it would have been more fun if those words were somehow related to a theme. Or to anything, really.

Wow! When I finished the puzzle, I imagined Adam Wagner poring over his wordlists to find entries that would work. I now have equal parts of disappointment that the theme entries were the product of a Python script and admiration that Mr. Wagner made the effort to learn enough Python to pull this off. I was surprised to come here and see people calling the puzzle easy. Part of what caused me to struggle was some wrong answers, like APP at 1A instead of PDF. It didn’t help that when you have a word slot selected, the shading is almost invisible. (I don’t much like grids with circles, but that might have worked better.) It took me 10 minutes or so to realize what was going on with the braiding, though some of that may have been due to the potent margaritas I had with my birthday dinner. And when I had the grid filled but got the “Not quite there” message, it took me a bit to notice that the Across answers all made sense. Once I did, it was easy to find my mistake. Thanks, Mr. Wagner, for a challenging but ultimately solvable Thursday!

Adam, I just love seeing your name in the byline because I know I'm in for a good time. I was not disappointed. You are a true maven. Very very clever theme!

Sorry to complain but the link to the answer key generates a PDF copy of the blank puzzle instead of the completed form.

This was clever. Once I got box braids it set me on the right path to the down clues. Still stumbled over a few but eventually got it. Loved Mr. T as an answer here!

I saw what was going on pretty quickly, but didn't catch on to how the answers were suppose to be entered, so I initially had all the downs in normally with half of the acrosses mangled. I eventually swapped the pairs of letters, but not before getting slowed down by the first letter of 24A, since I'd never heard of the director and I thought maybe it was directed by the star, whose name shares a couple of letters (and 24D was an obscure enough pun that I wasn't getting it). Tough to flyspeck when some of the words are doing the wiggle-waggle. I eventually resorted to looking up the movie, and came in just a bit over average. I would have gotten it by running the alphabet on that one letter if I'd swapped the braided words first. I expect some people will be hating on this later on. As always happens.

Enjoyed this one. I'm in awe of the patience it must have taken to construct a puzzle like this. Definitely a shout-out to Adam and the editors for their hard work. It's truly groundbreaking puzzle Cheers to everyone: Adam, Christina, Joel and of course Deb who's humor is the glue for solvers to stick with it. This one anyway. Without her commentary I would never have had the confidence to join the Thursday Club. Looking forward to Adam's next endeavor.

Very elegant! I loved the braiding concept and especially appreciated that the unbraided downs made real words . "Two in a row?" for FOES was my favorite clue/answer pairing. "This is the life!" For BIOTA was a close second. I didn't have a whole lot on the first pass, and looking back, I don't know why. Until I picked up on the trick, I was getting a little nervous, but then things moved along fairly quickly. Lora instead of ARLO at 43A and help US instead of SAVE US at 46A slowed me down in the SE, but it all got sorted out. PSA: With rabbits appearing twice in the clues, it's a good time to remind everyone to check for nests in your lawn before you mow. <a href="https://www.greenwoodwildlife.org/check-your-yard-for-rabbit-nests-before-mowing" target="_blank">https://www.greenwoodwildlife.org/check-your-yard-for-rabbit-nests-before-mowing</a>/

A puzzle that is fun and challenging to construct is not necessarily one that is fun or challenging to solve (I almost said "play" but I wouldn't want to offend anybody here). I sometimes wonder if the editorial team here thinks their audience is primarily other crossword constructors.

What amazes me, is not just the braiding of the answers, but that the remaining straight downs are not just gibberish but real words. What a treat.

I feel like I’m back at the challah factory from Sunday’s grid. Adored this puzzle, from the theme (which I figured out pretty much immediately) to the clues. “Two in a row” was my favorite bit of wordplay from the day (and possibly the week), but I also enjoyed the surprise but welcome appearance from Batman,

A fun one! These BOXBRAIDS look good on you, puzzle.

Wow, one of my least favorite puzzles in years. Any “trick” you can just ignore by solving across seems kind of lacking. As does using Python — why not ask Chat GPT? Plus hanging the entire thing on an obscure Janet Jackson movie (yes I saw it) seems like a reach, esp. when box braids aren’t even part of the constructors culture.

Brilliant! I love this puzzle! I didn’t pick up the theme until I'd filled both NE and NW with crosses, and if I hadn't got the theme I never would have filled that nasty SW quadrant.

If the puzzle can be solved in two ways it should be completable as both ways. I figured if I had the down answers filled consistently and correctly then it would do a cute little animation of the braiding when I was finished.

I misunderstood the trick and entered all the downs as coherent words which merely flipped two letters in every other across going down the braids. Didn’t get the happy music so took another look. Realized both downs were braiding with each other. Should have realized sooner. Oh well. Got there. If the goal of the shading was to help us see the pattern, perhaps two shades should have been used. With only one shaded it appears only one word is braiding. Really appreciated the cleverness of the constructor though. Not complaining.

Need to correct the link to the answer key.

Because the unclued (unbraided) down entries are real words, I was imagining they could somehow be mangled to fit the corresponding clue: “Academic achievements” = DOGBEDS: that’s what the graduates at obedience class are given? “Doesn’t allow” = FERRIES: undesirables at the island paradise are removed that way? “Available, as an apartment”=FERMENT: after a bad batch of kimchi, no one would rent it? Anyone want to try TOERING or BLUEHEN??

I'm a mid tier solver here, and I figured out the braided answers after 20 minutes or so. But biota, bets, and Dora together threw me for a loop. Biome was the best I could do. And not having heard of box braids added to my pain. So this was clearly unfair, unjust, and probably some sort of deep state cultural misappropriation. I demand a prorated refund of my subscription. Or a package of Oreos.

Not bad, though as a former resident I can attest that Karl abides in San Francisco, and doesn’t generally visit the Bay Area.

Another time waster. How these overly clever puzzles get in is above my pay grade. Just gotta do 'em to keep the streak intact.

I figured out we had to twist the words early on and my heart dropped because I have a tough time parsing downs longer than 5 (visually) but I persevered and got it done! One time I had box braids and went to the library and all the little kids thought I was actress/singer Brandy lol.

Surprised at some of the negativity here, I thought this was on the straightforward side for a Thursday. My 2 cents: I thought the fill was pretty good. I think the constructor gets major style points (if not solving points) for coming up with interlaceable words that make other words (Python or not) and anyone complaining about the new words not being related is smoking something—how many words do you think you could do this with? On the other hand, the braids don’t add much to the solving experience, once you get the trick, which is pretty quickly once you get enough acrosses. So for me this solved more like a Wednesday than a Thursday and the braided answers became more of a confirmation rather than the focus. But still enjoyable and impressive.

I have to side with the "too far by a mile" crowd here. Yes, there are tricks and rebuses but I have a problem with being forced to enter totally incorrect words to complete the puzzle. I saw early that substitution was going to be required, but for instance, the "correct" answer being dogbed went against my every thought of what a crossword is, was, and should be. To avoid the snark from the resident caped defender, I'll just say that this was beyond my skill level when actually it caused me to break all the rules I've learned over the years.

A themeless puzzle with a twist. Fun, quick fill once I got it.

A very cute theme that was fun to solve. I can't imagine this puzzle without the shading to hint at what was going on! As it was I almost got hung up around the BIOTA/DORA cross, but it eventually all clicked.

Really enjoyed this one! Looking at the various controversies in the comments today, I have a few thoughts: 1) Often (usually?) grey squares will guide a fill--that is, tracing an answer along the gray squares will reveal where the letters go according to whatever "trick" is happening. Think of embedded answers, for instance. 2) I enjoyed this even though I completely missed that the downs *as filled* were also coherent answers. When Deb's column called that out, my enjoyment turned to admiration. I don't feel like I have to be smarter than the constructor in order to be satisfied; in fact, I like it when I can marvel at the constructor's cleverness. I want to be smart enough to solve it (and, having been at this for almost five decades, I usually am); thankfully I can still take joy in the skills of others (Python or no).

Clever theme. We got the switching letters pretty quickly. And noticed the acrosses could be correct and the downs could be correct, but not a the same time. Hmmm. But we did like “Academic achievements” to be DOGBEDS. So we decided made all the downs correct (i.e., match the clues). No music, but we did notice the grey squares twisted back and forth to made real words, but saw no theme there. Using crosses, we guessed the correct revealer was BOXBRAIDS, but weren’t sure. We knew the movie, and how JJ looked, but did not know the name of her hairstyle. So we learned that (Yay!). But still couldn’t see what the trick was. Bumbling on, we made the crosses correct (i.e., match the clues), leaving the downs incorrect, but showing real words. Cue the happy music! But what the heck was the trick? Oh, the correct down answers twisted down. Like….oh [expletive deleted], like BRAIDS! We initially felt really dumb, but then smiled and laughed at how clever this puzzle was. A classic gotcha. Well done!

This solved a little more slowly for me simply because my eyes have trouble tracking the zig-zag patterns of the braids. But I loved the cleverness of this theme. Well done, Adam! Extra fun from the pairing of TOE RING and TOE SHOE, two appearances of rabbits in TRIX and ANNIE'S, and the mirror symmetry of BANK SAFE and I'M BATMAN (although those words wouldn't be a declaration by Bruce Wayne, lest he gives away his secret identity, but by the Caped Crusader).

That was a slog. Sadly, my dogged determination made me see it through to the end. I think I need to get a life.

For some reason I started with the downs so I did it backwards.

Wow! and... whew. Really enjoyed this one. Tumbled to the trick fairly early, but with my poor memory still had to stop and ponder to remember exactly how it worked at each theme section. Still managed to come in below my Thursday average. And... thought it was jaw-dropping that each of the down theme answers without the swerve were also legitimate terms - DOGBEDS, FERRIES, etc. Only answer history search today was more about the clue, and... yes - TRIX was clued exactly once as: "____are for kids." And... puzzle find today was also inspired by TRIX. A Thursday puzzle from February 20, 2003. Theme answers in that one: CHEXOUTOFREHAB KIXITUPANOTCH TRIXOFTHETRADE I'm done. ..

Wow! Just Wow What a rollercoaster of a solve! Can we go again?

Wow!! This week is funny. Set a PB for both Monday and today and probably my worst time ever for Tuesday! What a blast this puzzle was. Took me a hot minute to realise what was going on, but once it clicked boy was it fun! Thanks y’all. This extends my streak to a new longest record also!

"You want me to bet on your hairstyling abilities?" "It's a lock!" (Sounds like a tress exercise.)

So satisfying when it clicked! A really, really fun one.

This was so good! 👏👏👏

Loved the tricky hidden trick, although I got it sideways and kept the downs straight and zigged the acrosses. Still worked - just didn't solve! Clue of the day: Karl the Fog!