A classic Sunday puzzle. The wonderfully punny theme and sparkling wordplay made for an all-around fun solve. I laughed out loud at FRENCH ROAST. Brilliant! One of my favorite clues “Get off to a flying start?” for TAXI. . Well done, John! I thoroughly enjoyed deride.
I enjoyed this puzzle. Fun, silly, playful punny theme. And some really nice, clever misdirecting clues. A few riffs: ~~~ "What, you call yourself a hockey team?! You're totally embarrassing Toronto." MAPLELEAFRAG ~~~ "Meh, so he's turning 18. Big whoop. It's not like he's more mature than he was at 9 and it's not like I care, anyway." BIRTHDAYBASH ~~~ "That Earl— or is he a Duke? whatevs— is really a bore, and ugly to boot" NOBLESAVAGE ~~~ [*obscure "Monk"-niche entry*]: "Hey, I liked Bitty Schram better, Sharona just kicks Natalie's @rse."* [*NOT my opinion!] TRAYLORTRASH <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traylor_Howard" target="_blank">https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traylor_Howard</a> ~~~ "This bread $vcks." LOAFPAN ~~~ "Scorcese? Overrated. Spielberg? A hack. Fellini? Bleh. Coen Brothers? More like the Groan Brothers, if you ask me" DIRECTORSCUT ~~~ ____ Anyway, fun, fun Sunday puzzle. And diss is de honest troot!
@Becca There's no crying in baseball. <a href="https://youtu.be/6M8szlSa-8o?si=YC-TrYp_cEK7xer3" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/6M8szlSa-8o?si=YC-TrYp_cEK7xer3</a> ********************** **********************
@Becca -- (Second try)... Hah! Nailed it! Brava! Et tu emu.
Clever Sunday offering. Nice to see a Variety Puzzle bearing Will Shortz's name. Hope he's doing well.
@Etaoin Shrdlu THAT is what one calls FANTASTIC news...Love to see Will back at work.
@Etaoin Shrdlu I didn’t know this but I am very glad you posted this. Here’s to Will’s recovery!
When it comes to archaeology, I can dig it! (No bones about it!)
@Mike That's such a refreshing attitude because folks around these parts often have several bones to pick. Thanks for the smile.
Mike, An emu entombed my first reply. Trying again. I'm waiting for Archaeoprof to show up at the site. (Is carbon dating done online now too?) ...
@Mike Tut, Tut, Indiana. It can be dusty, painstaking work. Mama said there'd be #!*ing days like that. Beware the mummy's curse.
Wordplay is a clever endeavor, kindling the brain. Humor warms the soul. When a puzzle combines the two, well, it makes me feel good all over. And that’s just what John Kugelman does time and again. This is, after all, the man who previously brought us [“I know they’ve had them on all day, but let the kids eat their candy. After all, a Ring Pop is a … “] for WEARABLE THING TO TASTE. Who clued JUNK DRAWER as [Erotic artist?]. And today the wit combined with the twinkle in the eye continues. Everyday phrases reimagined by taking a word meaning “insult”, and using one of its other definitions to marvelous effect. What makes the theme answers sparkle is not only the wordplay, but their clues – funny, right on the mark. Clues made by an artist, IMO. Plus, this is one of those themes where the cat is out of the bag after the first theme answer, leaving six more to try to guess with as few letters filled in as possible – something my brain relishes. In addition, some excellent cluing originality, new clues for answers clued many times before: [Get off to a flying start?] for TAXI, and [It’s bright when its full] for MOON. Taken all together, your puzzle produced a spontaneous mental standing-O, John. I laughed. I wowed. My brain’s work ethic was satisfied. Thank you, sir, and I eagerly await your next!
Talk about BURNAFTERREADING...or, in my case, slightly BURNed. Im talking about 'The Unbearable Lightness of Being' by Milan Kundera. That's the book my then boyfriend was referring to when he told me he'd started on a great read. A month later, I found it atop my bed, where my father would place books he recommended. It was a painful read. Boring. Uninspiring. But I pushed through to the end. After all, both my boyfriend and father had obviously liked it. And it was a worldwide best-seller. When I was finished, I went first to my boyfriend. "I'm mystified. You liked that book?" I asked, sheepishly. "Oh, I didn't," he replied, "I stopped reading it before the second chapter." I then went to my father, with the same question, only to receive the exact same answer. "Well, then why did you leave it for me to read?" I was irritated. He, non-chalantly, looked me in the eye and replied, "Because I didn't want to throw it away." Grrrr. But now of course I can laugh. . . . . . (I did, however, bravely go see the movie when it came out, and, in an odd turn of events, it was actually good.) Thank you for a great puzzle and the funny memory it sparked, Mr. Kugelman!
@sotto voce I loved "The Unbearable Lightness of Being" and Kundera's other books as well. I remember your GONG as a BLASTFROMTHEPAST! A lovely book, but sometimes it's a matter of timing when you read a book and you're on the same wave.
@sotto voce I was in Paris for junior year abroad when the movie came out: "L'insoutenable légèreté d'être". Daniel Day Lewis, Juliette Binoche and our xword pal Lena Olin -- what's not to love?? And I did, so I promptly went out to buy the novel... in French... (Because what better way to improve one's grasp of a language than to read something enjoyable in it? I still feel that way!) Didn't get past the first chapter. Just like your beau!
Very funny! how many words we have for blasting someone. I guess it put me in a mood, because there were even more insults sprinkled in the puzzle (even if they don’t feature their own special verb). CLOG DANCING: “Your flailing motions have caused a crowded stampede for the exit.” VIRAL VIDEO: “I’m pretty sure no one wants to see how bad your flu symptoms are.” BIONIC ARM: “The violin doesn’t respond well to that stodgy bowing.” DISLIKED: “I can truly say I didn’t hate your novel.” AIRPORT CODE: “Your power point presentation sounded like reading them.” DOOR, BUSTER: “Dude, this meeting is so over. Scram.”
@Cat Lady Margaret Still hoping that someday you construct or co-construct a puzzle of your own.
Sunday is the puzzle I look forward to all week, and today was an excellent example. Thanks for a beaut!
Puzzles with fill after fill that drop in easily, spiced up with arcane trivia and a few head-scratchers here and there, then present you with AWING themers that make you laugh are a gift. Thank you, John Kugelman, this one is a winner.
My apartment number is 5-O, I didn't realize until now that I could say I'm from the police apartment.
For your DOTs only! Overheard amidst flashing bulbs in Cannes - BURNAFTERREADING Sean: Ack! Yer lookin' a bit peely wally, lad. Nic: That's WEIRD. I usually PERSONIFY cool in this here jacket. S: "Did you buy that zoo ESCAPEE you're wearing? Has a snake WONOUT over ARMANIS?" [photographer shouts out,"Mr. Connery, who are you wearing?"] S: "DUA look like I care?" N: "He paid a TAXI driver with a BIONICARM to SLIT some cloth and DEMEAN the red carpet with that GREEN GSUIT!" S: "NEVER! My kilt represents a symbol of my individuality and my belief in personal freedom!" N: "More like a KNITTINGNEEDLE STOLE your LOCHTE NESS monster! No CLOGDANCING for you in that - INCASE you MOON the paparazzi" S: "Now that would be a fine FRENCHROAST!" Les photographes scurry away, muttering "You'll be sorry! You'll all be sorry, you rats!"
@Whoa Nellie Wow, Nellie, just WOW! 👏👏👏👏👏👏👏 (Feel free to join in, emus)
@Whoa Nellie I canne-not believe how good your roast is! .
All right, Crossword editors, I'll read "Things Fall Apart!"
@Jake You should, it’s very good!
Really clever puzzle - I just never quite tumbled to the trick and couldn't get enough down crosses to get any of the theme answers without some cheating. That's all on me - it all seems doable after the fact. Still actually amazed that everyone else found this one unusually easy. Puzzle find today: A Sunday from July 16, 2006 by Ashish Vengsarkar with the title: "Anagrammatic who's who." This one was all in the clues. Some theme clue and answer examples: "EVIL BRAT IN THERE :" IVANTHETERRIBLE "CANNY OLDER AUTHOR :" ARTHURCONANDOYLE "TO APPEAR ON ELBA, NON? :" NAPOLEONBONAPARTE "EAGER TO USE LYRICAL MOLD :" SAMUELTAYLORCOLERIDGE Thought that was just a jaw-dropping feat of construction. Here's the Xword Info link: <a href="https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=7/16/2006&g=23&d=A" target="_blank">https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=7/16/2006&g=23&d=A</a> I'm done. ..
Hi guys. I've been away for a while. Since I broke my hip a while back, I've had trouble sitting at my desk long enough to read/contribute to Wordplay. (Forget the phone. I can't type with my thumbs, and the screen is too msall for very much reading.)_ Anyway, today's puzzle was a delight and appealed to my overall snarkiness. Thanks to all.
@Deadline Glad you're back! Hope you heal up well.
Deadline! It's great to see you back in the comments. (Drop in on the Monday comments in an hour or so; people will have missed your late appearance here.) [red peppers]
@Deadline OH DL! So happy to see you back. I've really missed you. Glad to hear that things are getting better. Happy, happy, happy. ..
I enjoy punny Sundays! It lightens up a larger puzzle.
@Swift Agree! Many puns make light puzzles.
A highly enjoyable, though not very taxing, solve for me. Loved the themers. My only glitch was BEBE before CECE WINANS, which I crossed with Bali instead of CUBA, because I missed the Spanish hints in the clue, which would have pointed to the right island. Somehow I knew about Lady Gaga and the Queen song, probably from a different puzzle. But now I feel obliged to post the video of Queen performing RADIO GAGA at Live Aid. <a href="https://youtu.be/o-0ygW-B_gI?si=Mjd4GN_3_AhEUFUw" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/o-0ygW-B_gI?si=Mjd4GN_3_AhEUFUw</a>
@Vaer So glad you posted it! As one of the 1.9 billion people who watched it on T.V., I can vouch for it having been un.be.lieve.a.ble. Here is a short backstory on Queen's brilliant 20-minute set: <a href="https://www.udiscovermusic.com/stories/queen-live-aid-concert-performance" target="_blank">https://www.udiscovermusic.com/stories/queen-live-aid-concert-performance</a>/
@Vaer Thanks to all for the links, which sent me on a long walk down Memory Lane. I had not forgotten Freddie Mercury, that would be impossible, but just watching that 21 minute set reminded me of how spellbinding he and Queen could be when they were at their best. For me it was never about the glitz or the light shows, but the music. Forty years later, they still rock!
Ahem. I think I detect some disrespect toward bivalves in 101A. If you bony bipeds think you're so darned smart, let's see you do what the oyster does. How long would YOU persist in building a bed that can become a reef that protects the coastlines you critters clearly love? Hmm? How long?
@CaptainQuahog Shelle horreur!!!!!!!!!!!!! My last brief response comment took over 12 hours to appear. Let's see how this one goes. Though five lines should be fine.
Hey CQ: “What would you get if you genetically crossed a rabbit and an oyster?”"……… “Your funding taken away and a call from the ethics committee.” I’ll show myself out….
"You finished today's puzzle pretty quickly, but not as quickly as I did!" SUNDAY BEST (Been a while since I PBd a Sunday!)
A fine puzzle overall, and the clue for FOOT, once I finally got it, gave me the best forehead-slap I’ve had for a long time.
@Doug If that's not one of the top 5 clues of the week, I don't know what is.
That was a fun one! Got the theme with KNITTING NEEDLE and that helped with getting all the other themers. Some nice misdirection and tricky cluing added to the enjoyment. Thanks, John!
This elicted many GROANS, but I mean that in a good way. I always enjoy a punny Sunday. Thanks, John, a few laughs are the perfect way to start the day.
Hello, Wordplay! Been on the down-low due to a SCOURGE of unforeseen home-improvement issues (30-year itch of home ownership?) merged with the insistent calls from the spring garden…🪻🌸🌼 This type of puzzle can end up feeling tedious, but not in this case. The themers were each unique in their approach. Nice work, J.K.!
@Kate Speaking of SCOURGE: Funny how many letters it has in common with TROUBLE!!! (Ask me how I know.) !!!! !!!!
My favorite clue of the week: "Non-metric unit ... or a metric unit."
Playful and diverting. Even when I'm not necessarily blown away by all the humor in a puzzle, I find it infectious when the constructor's own amusement is palpable. Can't you hear him chuckling as he writes that hilarious "Dear John" letter? As he comes up with that wacky FRENCH ROAST (in what may or may not be mangled French)? I did -- and I chuckled too. In those instances, I was more amused by the clue than the answer. But the answer that made me chuckle was BLAST FROM THE PAST. It's both simpler and more subtle than the other themers -- and there was a delicious moment when I went back to re-read the clue... and then the joke belatedly landed. I had some trouble in the SE, what with WIIS and DUA and RADIO GAGA. Nor did I know that a G SUIT prevents blackouts; I thought it was meant to keep you from bouncing off the ceiling. But mostly an easy and breezy puzzle I enjoyed.
Fun: this puzzle. Even better: sitting outside doing today’s puzzle Better still: sitting outside in a lounge chair doing today’s puzzle
Well, that was right up my street. What a fun fill, working out the ‘roast’ sayings. My longest hold up was TABLE SUGAR; I don’t think I’ve heard the term before and it just didn’t gel, despite only missing the fill for 97 and 102D. 59A took a while to see as well. Gave me a chuckle once it became clear. An excellent Sunday. Thank you.
I’m having a weird spell of reverse dementia. I’ve been doing these puzzles for years and just had my fastest Saturday and Sunday solves ever - back to back! Booyah!
I've read all the comments and I don't think I read a single one that didn't greatly enjoy this puzzle. Remarkable! Well, I've never been one to go along with a crowd so I'll just say that I thought this puzzle was... Oh I can't even PORTEND, it was great! No AMBIvalence at all! Loved it! The punnier the better! If I had to pick a favorite femur, I think it would be BURN AFTER READING but they all made me chuckle, as did a lot of the femur ones, like STOLE. Ha! My voice to text wrote femur instead of themer a couple of times. I think I'll leave them in as a nod to the ARCHAEOLOGICAL DIG! I apologize in advance for the following: The voice to text on my smart phone is so dumb it couldn't spell its way out of a bowl of alphabet soup! TECHNO SLAM!
@HeathieJ The Zoom voice-to-text our church uses isn't quite that bad, but it tries to do music-to-text and that's CRAAAAZY. Guitar plucks as OOH UHH AWW
You can add me to the list of people with Sunday bests today (while decidedly not wearing my Sunday best on a Saturday evening). I got the theme after KNOCKONWOOD was seeded with multiple crossers. The theme answers still took some thought except for ARCHAEOLGICALDIG, which was nearly insta-filled. I also enjoyed the fun trivia bits, especially CLOGDANCING Charlie Chaplin. All in all, great fun.
Anyone got extra milk? Because that Sunday PB was chunky! cc: emu handler
I’m a little surprised I didn’t see more comments today about 38A, UMA. This entry has appeared more than 180 times in N.Y. T. xwords, virtually always in reference to the actress. I believe the last time it was clued otherwise was on 2/15/2009, when the clue was, “Fox News anchor Pemmaraju”. Prior to that you have to go back to 3/21/1993 when the clue was, “Fringefoot”, a type of lizard (also clued like that 10 times previously throughout the 70’s and as far back as 1967). Between 1942 and 1953 it was clued 5 times as today to the Hindu goddess. The first time the actress was the clue was 5/2/1990, “Actress Thurman of ‘Dangerous Liasons’”. a movie made in 1988 when she was just 18 years old. Of note, she appeared on the covers of British “Vogue” when even younger in 1985 and 1986. It anyone wonders about the connection between the actress’s name and today’s clue I suspect it has to do with her father Robert, who was a former Tibetan Buddhist monk and my professor of Eastern Religions at Amherst when I was a Freshman there in the 70’s. (Her mother was Timothy Leary’s ex-wife). I long time ago I linked this article from the NYT about their family, but if anyone missed it last time, it’s worth a quick peek… <a href="https://tinyurl.com/4f2aejbe" target="_blank">https://tinyurl.com/4f2aejbe</a>
"I’m a little surprised I didn’t see more comments today about 38A, UMA." Hardroch, I'm sorry most of us disappointed you by not commenting about 38A. We'll try not to let it happen again. ......
@Hardroch Well, at least we got Teri GARR. No SELA Ward, though.
I am 51. I have a 23 year old and 13 year old. Never seen Brah. Bruh on other hand all the time. Maybe that’s a midwestern thing?
@Darren I've seen "brah" more from friends of my classmate who lives in Hawaii; I think it's more of a surfer lingo.
@Darren I'm 74, and all the spellings of that pronunciation of "bro" are new to me. The pronunciation itself seems very new to me--first time I heard it was watching "Treme" on TV 10-12 years ago. I only see the spelling of the word in subtitles when I watch TV, so I am totally dependent on the talent or preference of the subtitle writer.
34 minutes - a PB for Sunday! However… ‘gaol’ is not a word in common usage in Britain (jail is the preferred modern spelling) and Arial is NOT an alternative to Helvetica. It is a poor imitation. How very dare you.
Jonathan, I agree ARIAL is a poor imitation of Helvetica, but "alternative" does *not* mean equally good or equivalent; it just means another choice (without respect to merit). <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/alternative" target="_blank">https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/alternative</a> The Cambridge Dictionary calls GAOL "old-fashioned" but not obsolete or archaic. <a href="https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/gaol" target="_blank">https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/gaol</a> Congratulations on your Sunday PB!
@Jonathan Baldwin Haha. I am also NOT a fan of Arial! ;-)
Loved this! Especially 59A and 101A. Sent me down a few rabbit holes about Charlie Chaplin, and also Damascus Steel.
Putdown on paper, indeed. Confidently filled in Dracula for 94A, but other than that it was smooth sailing. Fun!
No GROANS here. Really enjoyed this one!
Thoroughly enjoyed this one. Also, any puzzle with a Neil Peart or Rush reference gets a 10/10 from me.
@Geoff If it had been Estonian composer non-pariel Arvo PEART, I'd have known it...instead, had to dredge it out letter by letter... I never know the bands, rockers, drummers, etc.
DHubby installed a new computer for me... and I had to log back in w/ the NYT; all my settings were off. There might have been some choice words...roughly speaking. The hardest part of the puzzle for me was the Avocado/police thingie. Of course I had OIL first, then DIP....and I didn't "get" the 'gram bit for 41D... Except for the long-running Jack Lord series, I have NEVER heard police referred to as FIVE-O. I know 'les Flics'... Happy Sunday, all. Hope your travels have been safe if you're some of the gazillions on the road/in the sky/over the water.
@Mean Old Lady The young’ us call the INSTAgram app “”the gram” or just “gram. I only ever heard of police as FIVE-O from the old tv show Hawaii Five-O. And I hear you. New computers and phones are a mixed bag. I always feel I need days or more to *move in* to a new one. …
@Mean Old Lady I posted some expurgated lyrics earlier but the emus didn't let them through. Hopefully those don't come through hours later. Ice-T refers to the police as Five-O in the song "Mic Contract" on his 1991 album O.G. Original Gangster. I'm not saying it's common knowledge, but that's where I've heard it. 🧊
@Mean Old Lady I feel your pain about the new computer. My current machine was "new" about a year ago, and it was installed by the Geek Squad, and there are still problems. Besides freezing up all the time, it changes all the colors of my displays. If I got to Settings | Personalize and try to change them back, each time I change one the computer, all unbiddden, changes them all to other things I don't want. During the installation, I had asked my Geek to please remove Bing because the nasty program kept hijacking whatever I was doing. He said he had, but somehow it must have left breadcrumbs, because it keeps sneaking back and taking over again. I HATE Bing!
20A not all snakes have "slit" eyes. Crotalids (pit vipers) in the US, including rattlesnakes, copperheads and cottonmouths have pupils that appear vertical when constricted, but elapids (coral snakes) and colubrids (e.g., ratsnakes, gopher snakes, garter snakes etc) do not. And the pupils in all of these snakes appear round when dilated in low light.
@CarolinaJessamine My favorite part of the comments section: when an absolute nerd comes into educate us on something completely obscure yet fascinating. The more you know!
Got the 3 weekend puzzles in a combined time of less than an hour. Pretty sure that’s a first for me. I’ll take it
I do enjoy Punday puzzles like this one :-)
21 minutes, no mistakes. Been an easy weekend. F/S/S puzzles combined in an under an hour, and I solved all three without mistakes. Have my first chance for a seven day streak now. Either I'm getting better or the late week puzzles are getting easier. Biggest obstacle came from misreading the RADIOGAGA clue and trying to figure out the rebus that would allow that answer to be ladiiGAGA
As no one likely wants to hear I'm usually AMBIvalent about Sundays but this gem kept up the interest level straight through. Fell for the mis at [Court grp.] so TRIed to figure out a word that started with FREaC . . . so that corner took a bit to work out. Nice one and thanks.
A great Sunday puzzle. The theme clues / answers were witty. The constructor has a gift for sly humour. The level of difficulty was just right -- fun and funny, instead of ridiculously frustrating. I confess to a few lookups after filling in the grid, but I took my best STAB at it. More from this constructor, please!
Not easy for me, but a lot of fun gradually getting the terrific theme entries all of which made me smile. Keep them coming, John.
A sunny day puzzle, that really has it made in the shade. (and that is no slight achievement)
If you have around nine minutes to spare (and appreciate drum artistry), here's a drum solo from 1997 by Neil PEART. It's interesting from a technical standpoint that he switches between matching and traditional grips a couple of times during the solo. His drum "kit" is impressive because of the number of pieces of gear, and also because the platform rotates so that he continues to face the audience when switching between drum sets. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ies3DkRbe-Q" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ies3DkRbe-Q</a>
Mr. Kugelman is hands down my favorite constructor! He needs to be on staff! Keep ‘em coming!
This week’s puzzle included a very welcome surprise - my grandmother passed away last weekend and solving 38A (Uma - her name!) felt like a much needed hug.
It's a good day when the constructor and I mindmelf and are on exactly the samewave length. Rare for late week, but a steady progression from one clue to the next. The only square that took some thought was 64A where I was over thinking. I was sure it was IOS, the system that runs I Pads, I Phones, etc. Forehead slapper on that one.