What really enhances this theme – gives it pop – is that of its eight answers (including the revealer) six have never appeared in the 80 years of the NYT puzzle. They not only have sizzle for that reason, but they’re excellent answers as well: DAMN WITH FAINT PRAISE THIS IS JEOPARDY SILENT AUCTION TEARDROPS ON MY GUITAR CINNAMON BREAD SCIENCE PROJECT So, there’s that, on top of finding words with silent letters, all from the word AUCTION, and placing them in the grid in the order that the theme demands. Lots of goodness and skill, and on a NYT debut puzzle, as well. Bravo and congratulations, Zachary – looking forward to seeing what you come up with next!
@Lewis Therein lies the rub. What to appreciate more: the ingenuity of the construction, or the solving experience?
Kudos to Caitlin for explaining a theme that was so "quiet" that it never came to me.
Any puzzle that debuts a phrase which I’ve heard thousands of times over the past 50 years is OK with me. THIS IS JEOPARDY! Having done many, I also love the debut of SCIENCE PROJECT. Throw in a Taylor Swift song, YOGI and POOH, and I’m a happy camper. Congratulations, on your debut, Mr. Schiff with a silent C.
@Anita As a longtime Jeopardy fan, I started with, " double", on that one.
Well I didn't like this one at all, unfortunately. (Solved it anyway eventually, once I got past the ludicrous "Da Vinci Code" clue.) The theme in my view is entirely uninspired, the clues lacked wit, Witherspoon is a terrible gimme-of-gimmes, and that lies below an awful "Natick" section where insufferable items such as pai gow and "Sion" (WTH) and Elihu lie. I see it's a first Sunday effort but sorry, I'm personally not a fan.
@B So are you saying that trivia shouldn't be based on popular works of fiction or that it should be more highbrow like Bach or Turner & Hooch?
@B Calling "DaVinci Code" merely 'ludicrous' is like calling Dan Brown 'a talentless wanna-be author.' It's just so inadequate! ELIHU Yale is not as undeserving as Dan Brown, so I beg you to make an exception there. He didn't pick his name. And there are always the crosses (to help us solve, and for us to bear.) Take an extra-strength tylenol and call me in the morning...
Very nice inaugural Sunday puzzle from Zachary Schiff.
While I hated that part of my ‘MEDAY’ came to an end sooner than usual, I did enjoy the breezy flow of this solve. I do wish that the critics try their own hand at creating a publishable, Sunday-worthy puzzle based on their own criteria… maybe they could find a way of incorporating “humble pie” into their clues…
@JM So your point is that only positive comments about a puzzle are acceptable? Really?
@B The problem is a lot of them almost sound like ad hominem attacks, or like when a really unattractive and out-of-shape man criticizes women for not being a 10 in beauty or fitness. Just kind of cringe and unnecessary. You can say you had a hard time with it or that it was easy so you must be a genius, but it seems distasteful to criticize the constructor with no evidence you could have done "better" (according to your standards).
@JM I'm no constructor, but I think HUMBLE PIE would make a great seed entry in someone's crossword!! (As I sit here in one of my favorite t-shirts emblazoned with "Must. Have. Pie." on the back! Courtesy of the ever-delicious Two Fat Cats Bakery in Portland, ME...) And I agree with your TOTAL comment: breezy flow to this puzzle overall, which came to an end sooner than I'd anticipated. Cheers!
After the arduous workouts of Friday and Saturday, was grateful for today's gentle breeze, tiresome naysayers notwithstanding. The play's the thing, after all.
Circling letters to spell out a word that appears in the puzzle doesn’t make a theme.
Nitpicker, It was a light theme, but there was more to it than what you state. The circled letters that spelled AUCTION were (ostensibly) SILENT.
"Are you going to the auction?" "Yeah. I've got a lot to think about." ("Bid there, done that.")
@Mike Cautions about actions at auctions: Don't use your paddle to fan yourself. Don't wave at a friend you spot across the room. Don't nod at an auctioneer's sparkling spiel. Don't nod off. Don't nod. And defintely, after sitting motionless for longer than you thought humanly possible, do not raise your arms over your head for a stretch. Many who make auction mistakes have paid a terrible price.
Congratulations on your NYT debut, Mr. Schiff! This seemed more challenging while I was solving it than it really was, but it was enjoyable throughout.
@Eric Hougland I've been doing these for 50 years, and enjoying every Sunday puzzle. I like taking the time to make sure every answer is correct. It avoids having to find that one mistake in a huge xword. Sundays are for slowing down and enjoying the day.
Well, wasn't that cute?! I started at the very bottom, fortunately, because when I reached the top and saw a Taylor Swift clue, I thought, "Oh, NO!" And a hockey star, too... but it all worked out, after all. Among other tricks, I wanted the 'Big container' to be a TUN, and I thought SPIT ON was more contemptuous than mere SPIT AT. ...and then there's biting your thumb at someone,, but it wouldn't fit... Quite entertaining, Zachary Schiff... I'm rather expecting to learn that you are yet another HS Senior, what with all the HS-ish clues--absent only the PROM... I dont know how long this took me, but my cup of coffee cooled off more than I like because I didn't break to have sips, since the solve was progressing without pause... Time does march on, does it not?? Thank you, my Brother Rich in ATL, for the 'hoppy birdie' wishes....it was a good day! I went around humming "77 Sunset Strip!" (But without acting it out, the Lord be thanked. LOL)
@Mean Old Lady ah, happy belated birdie!
It was so subtle that I filled the entire puzzle in 25 mins without understanding the theme….then didn’t have enough patience to spell out the circled letters. Thanks for the explanation!
I thought this puzzle was fantastic, especially for a debut! Very clever theme and some really good answers. Learned a few things, too. Great job, Zachary!
Whew. Tough one for me and probably a few more googles than I should allow, but managed to work it out. Not sure exactly how I feel about the theme. Nice to see something different but... I feel like I'm not entirely grasping it. That's all on me. With apologies - inspired by 103 across, I just wondered if one old favorite Rolling Stones song could possibly be described as.... ...Damning with a paint phrase. Ducking and running. ..
@Rich in Atlanta Watch that ducking and running business, my brother! we're not as flexible as we used to be! Left you a note in my comment (above somewhere)!
Is it DAMNing WITH FAINT PRAISE to say this solved like a big Tuesday for me? That said, there was some clever cluing going on, which I appreciated, and any puzzle with Paul KLEE in it gets extra points from me. (Nice picture, Caitlin.) CINNAMON BREAD sent me down a CINNAMON Girl rabbit hole. <a href="https://youtu.be/zjGbu0uL6z0?si=_kPG4zsVqj6JnNdr" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/zjGbu0uL6z0?si=_kPG4zsVqj6JnNdr</a>
Something tells me there’s a large intersection in the Venn diagram of NYT crossword solvers and Jeopardy watchers.
@Katie Yes indeed, and Alex Trebek was our favorite Canadian. Wheel of Fortune maybe not so much, although it was nice to have a slight nod to Pat Sajak, who just retired from that show.
@Katie I may or may not have cried several times during the Masters tournament lol it's just good to see smart people existing
@Katie Not me. One is TV, the other is print. The former is really hard to like, the latter less so.
"My solve galloped along, and it never felt as if I was on too long a path." Mine too, Caitlin. But even while galloping I did note the circled letters and saw where we were headed. The theme unfolded nicely, but for me it was a themeless solve, not my favorite type of Sunday crossword. And while BRED, GITAR and DAM support the silent concept, and I'll let SIENCE get by, HUSLE and FRUT really don't work for me. I would have liked total silence from the silent letters. Your pronunciation may vary.
@Barry Ancona Wow, Barry, I don't think I've ever seen you pan a puzzle before. Is this really your first? Not a criticism, just an observation! Emus and Lemurs take note
@Barry Ancona I didn't have a problem with this. Regional pronunciations may vary, but do you think there is an "i" sound in FRUIT or a "t" sound in HUSTLE? Are you saying that without the "i", the "U" wouldn't be long? Does the "t" contribute at all to the pronunciation of HUSTLE?
Tactically well constructed. Definitely themeless. I’d also like to see some of the author’s humor in his next one. I was glad for (1) no rebuses (2) no obtuse cryptography (3) few naticks, although GAUL and PAI GOW kinda got me for a bit. With this workmanship, I would like to see the Author’s creativity flourish in his next publication.
@Red Carpet Definitely themeless? Did you miss the theme, or is that some kind of editorial comment? Fact: There was a theme. SILENT AUCTION. The word AUCTION spelled out by the circled letters are all silent in their original answers.
I don't think the clue for 25 D fits the answer. "Hardly" does leave room for at least a scant amount (there was hardly any milk in the jug, so I tossed it) or minimal degree of something (I hardly knew him). Nary literally means "not one".
@Mark P Do you have nary a care or hardly a care? What if you could care less or couldn’t care less? English is weird.
@Mark P I agree. And the first four sources I checked define "nary" as "not one"
Anna Sui makes a comeback. Field with a pool was genius. Very good Sunday solve
Thank you for a delightful Sunday puzzle! Might be my first Sunday puzzle without hints, lookups, or even a peek at the column. I got many from the crosses. Never heard of CREAM ALE, and I’m not familiar with early Taylor Swift (or any, actually)— but I do know lots of people with SIDE HUSTLEs in this economy, and of course the two bears, and Paul KLEE. And thanks also for reminding me that tomato season is coming and soon I’ll be buying BURRATA for an extra special summer treat. 😋
I’m beginning to fear early onset Alzheimer’s has sneaked up on me; I’m finding the latest batch of puzzles far harder than I should. After yesterday’s catastrophe I was slightly dreading the Sunday big one. While it’s definitely more approachable and entertaining, it was still a slog for my poor old noodle. I didn’t start well, being unaware of both 17 and 22A foodstuffs, also not being a fan of Ms Swift so unable to name a single song. Never watched JEOPARDY. Would associate FRUIT SALAD with dessert, not a side dish. Do you see my struggles here? BUT. Glory, DEKE, learned from previous puzzles. Ditto KLEE, SUI, GRE. The bears were gimmes, as is LEEDS, next to my birth place. Slowly, one hand hold at a time, I scaled the Everest of the Sunday behemoth. The fact that the rest of you ran up it like it was a sand dune bothers me not one jot, it was a workout for me. I even got the theme. Well done Mr Schaffer, on an entertaining and (for this solver) tricky grid.
@Helen Wright I don't know about the others, but I for sure didn't "run up it like it was a sand dune". Or rather maybe I did, slipping and sliding and muddling and scrambling as I would in sand. Anyway, the only reason I don't worry about early onset Alzheimers for my self is that it's not that early for me. The way of all flesh, I tell myself, trying to keep calm.
A great debut but I'll admit I found myself miffed more often than not - without specific knowledge I couldn't get whole quadrants which led to a sort of sprawling frustration.
I think this might be to do with the way Americans are taught to read, but I've never quite been able to grasp what crosswords consider 'silent' letters. 'Frut' would not be pronounced as FRUIT, 'ui' is clearly a digraph! These run the gamut from being genuinely unpronounced to a crucial part of the spelling. Also, the INCA weren't exactly known for their pyramids even if they built a few, I find that clue a little forced. And they would be basically the latest pyramid-building civilization so hardly 'early'! (Apparently it's a very nitpicky Sunday morning for me...)
@Michael Pronunciation and spelling are different things, the "i" isn't missing, it's just silent. You only hear the long "u" sound, otherwise it would be pronounced "frew-it". That is my take on it, anyway. Yes, it's true that some of the Incan pyramids are only 500-800 years old, but one recently discovered one has been dated 4000-5000 years old, which qualifies as early to me. I guess I'm the comment nitpicker today. :)
@Michael I'm guessing the reason the Inca clue was a little forced was so that it would match the symmetrically placed MAYA.
The editors don't often make mistakes in the puzzle, but today's is a doozy(raise your hand if that word makes you think of Groundhog Day). I don't even have to look it up to know that there's no way anybody would actually pay to run a marathon!
@ad absurdum The first marathoner, Pheidippides, certainly paid: after the defeat of the Persians at Marathon, he ran the 26.2 miles, and, after announcing to the Archons of Athens "Oh Joy, we won!," he promptly died of exhaustion. His wife got to keep the souvenir race-bib.
a. a., Click and scroll down for the fees (not fee) for this year. <a href="https://www.nyrr.org/races/2024tcsnewyorkcitymarathon" target="_blank">https://www.nyrr.org/races/2024tcsnewyorkcitymarathon</a> Note: NATICK is not at the eighth mile.
Fun Sunday puzzle. I didn’t understand the cleverness of silent auction until I read Wordplay. Nice trick!
A flaw of this grid is that if you have not read "Davinci Code" or watched "Black Panther" or care about hockey or think about Yale - you are trapped inside two squares that require knowledge and can't be figured out in any way besides letter guessing - which leaves you with (26x26) potential combinations (676 options). Grim.
@Malcolm I definitely hear you and have been there before. And I definitely fall into three of your categories of knowledge gaps with today's puzzle. (I have watched Black Panther but I still didn't get it immediately.) However, I've learned DEKE and ELIHU (sometimes ELI) from doing puzzles, so that made the crossings work out for me. I don't know how often those two show up but I have them added to my mental list of crossword words to remember. I've only been doing puzzles for a little over 10 months so it helps me to identify those items that I find (or read here) are recurrent.
@Malcolm Ever hear the saying, "It's a feature, not a flaw"? Crosswords draw from a wide variety of interest areas, and the fact that you got stuck because you didn't know two that crossed is not a flaw. AKA was inferrable if you understood the clue. ELIHU is the founder of Yale and the reason the students are called Elis, and has been clued as such dozens of times (also remember diplomat ELIHU Root, who has been the clue many times). Your complaint might just have been...if you don't know Elton John's/Taylor Swift's songs....political alliances....British banks....East Coast ice cream brands....Bauhaus artists...cartoon bears and marsupials...lyricists' birth names...trivia about actors...studio heads...judges in 30-year-old legal cases...jazz musicians...TV franchises...Chinese domino games....baseball stats....pyramid-building civilizations...soul singers...NBA team names...Pokémon phrases...car makers...gun manufacturers...Viking funerary customs...cookie brands...famous boxing families....fashion designers... Get the picture? Not sure how many of these cross each other, but I'm sure many of them do. To solve crosswords, you need to have a broad range of knowledge. Luckily for you, many of these answers appear again and again. But the best solvers are just generally aware of the world around them. Good luck moving forward!
@Malcolm Very much agreed. As shown by his quote in the Wordplay article, the constructor is a huge fan of "Da Vinci Code" and apparently thinks obscure references like this are okay. They are not.
I'm sorry, this is a theamb which just doesn't hold whater. I got the Happy Music, then just stared at the grid, trying to see if there was a layer of wordplay I missed. Then I read the column. What defines a silent letter? OK, the "n" in DAMN must be considered silent, as DAM WITH FAINT PRAISE would be pronounced the same (and, in fact, that's a spelling Noah Webster might have approved of)*. CINNAMON BRED would be pronounced the same with out an "a", but "ea" is such a common digraph in English that It's hard to consider the "a"in "bread" (or "eat") a separate, silent letter. The "t" in HUSTLE isn't pronounced, but it--or a second "s"--must be there, or else we would have a SIDE HOOSS-(or HYOOSS-)LE. Similarly, without the "u", in Modern English (or Spanish, or French), Tay-tay would sing about TEARS ON HER JEETAR (although variant spellings with "gi-" and even "ghi-" occur in the 17th c.). And, although the "c" in SCIENCE isn't exactly pronounced, it's so etymological that even in the 14th c. it was seldom dropped, and without it, one might mistake one's potato battery for a ZIONIST PROJECT. But I was vary proud of myself that I got TEARS ON MY GUITAR with just a few crosses, and a good nowlege of the tropes of Country Music! *In Middle English, "dampne" is a common spelling--what the hell is that "p" doing there?
Bill, Cool info in your comment! I always enjoy learning about English from people learned in its ways. And I always wonder why such people would ever use the word “must” when discussing its spelling and pronounciation. ;)
@Bill Thank you for explaining the theme! I spelled out 'auction', and didn't realize until I read your post that the letters in the words were 'silent'. I needed only two cheats, that's almost none!
@Bill Hmm, well, your objections and phonics-adjacent claims don't really hold water, but it wd be pointless to go over all of that. English is 85% phonetically regular, and while there are exceptions to be learned, the large number of persons who master reading and writing would attest that it CAN be done. Every so often I think it would have been fun to write in the days when orthography had not be 'regularized' and capitalization was at the whim of the one wielding the quill... but there's room for us all.
Not worth of a Sunday. Theme clues were easy.
Sadly, I feel like this one lacked charm and cleverness, both in its theme and clues.
This was great for a Sunday afternoon on a warm summer day. Thanks for helping me return to doing the NYT crosswords, which I first mastered in college decades ago. I must confess this is much easier than the Sunday puzzles in the 1980s, unless I've gotten a lot smarter. I seem to recall that at that time it demanded I use every bit of the Ivy-League liberal arts education in progress at the time, plus knowledge of lots of crossword idiosyncracies-- for which I would call my mother. Thanks for a fun 90 minutes.
Well constructed. The trick was clever and helped my solve but a bit of a stretch. My only comment, not meant as criticism, is that I did not find it funny. Most Sundays have at least one laugh out loud answer. Activity with a silent P - swimming. I’m sure I’m not going to be alone in having problems with 86D, 99 & 110A - oof.
@Snorting Elk I admit I had to stop and think about your suggested humorous Sunday clue for a few seconds, but then I realized that you make a good point. It’s exactly clues like that which I really appreciate, the literal laugh out loud ones. When I read your clue to my partner on the other end of the couch, she immediately exploded in laughter. I went so far as to check if your clue was actually ever used, but it seems SWIMMING has only appeared twice and not since 1981. I’m sure your clue would make Lewis’ list. Bravo/Brava!
I really enjoyed the clue for GENETICS... Field with a pool. I thought that was cute! And I really liked that I remembered DEKE and KLEE from past puzzles! I didn't know those before my crossword journey began. I think there were a couple others like that, which I remembered too but now I'm blanking on them. The Northeast was the hardest corner for me this time. Particularly because I had kudrow for a while as the former friend. I suppose friend would have been capitalized if it had been kudrow, but when I got back up there to finish the puzzle I took out pretty quickly and started over. I enjoyed filling out the puzzle enough but I do agree that the theme was a little bit light on theminess, if you will. I'm always in for a good tricky puzzle, or gimmick as some out here people call it, especially on Thursdays and Sundays! Still, today went by fairly smoothly and breezily and I had a nice time working it!
@HeathieJ, while I live in an area steeped in hockey culture (think Bruins,), I learned "deke" from a police procedural series that was hockey-centered! It seemed as though as soon as I learned it, it started appearing in crosswords, but I suspect it's more like noticing a car model when you've just bought the same one!
Great Sunday solve. After this week's brutal midweek puzzles, this one was actually fun. I thought the theme was subtle but well-constructed. As a Canadian, I appreciated all the hockey trivia, and was very proud to get Cam NEELY right away. OILUP was hilariously clued; NODISC is a great error for Blu-Ray (DVD!!!); SEEDY for dive bars cracked me up; and sneaking MAYA and INCA in there, for the same clue nonetheless, was impressive. CREAMALE was our "fiddlesticks" - we tried creamADE and creamANE, probably because we call it cream SODA up der in da Great White North eh. Well done sir, great debut!
@Alex CREAM ALE is an old style of beer, with Genesee being the most common in the states, though it is uncommon overall...
Alex, Not always. This is a really good one, local in my parts: <a href="https://www.grimross.com/maritime-cream-ale" target="_blank">https://www.grimross.com/maritime-cream-ale</a> (their Chaval D’or is my favourite)
This was a leisurely solve for me today. I was entertained by the clues, and the theme revealer made me smile. That is all I ask of a Sunday crossword. I did get hung up for a while on a typo, I put in poof instead of POUF and I spent a long time looking for my error. I had "coif" at first and I thought I had corrected it correctly, lol.
@Janine I also had a typo I couldn't find for the longest time, "this is jeoparty", why I thought the phrase ended in 'party'? An error from an early guess that I failed to catch. It was a decent puzzle. I thought for a good while I might actually get by without any cheats, but the upper right corner got me. Still, two cheats isn't bad, for me, anyway!
Nary (not one) does not mean hardly (few).
Enjoyed the puzzle. Off to the archives. I was happy to see "Damn with faint praise". That's an expression that deserves a comeback. Have a good Sunday.
@Amy Yes, but the word should be "Feint" not "Faint" I'm sure Barry Ancona will disagree but "Faint" means soft or light. "Feint" means phony.
Wonderful debut. A leisurely, sprawling solve throughout the day since very early this morning. Ended up stuck in the NE with my "Pro" RATe and NARY an idea of who NEELY is. The circles and reveal not the star of the show but who cares? Hope to see more from this talented constructor.
Big day for fellow Corrections-heads. We ride at midnight, Jackals! (Is this the summer that the curtain finally rises on “Cicada, Cicada” with music by Neil Sedaka??) (Great puzzle. Thank you!!)
Got through this in fairly good time, but I was hoping that the title would have had a bit more representation in the theme answers instead of just the silent letters. It felt more like a themeless, as Barry said earlier. Waited till the revealer to review the circled letters so it was a muted "aha" moment today. Had a few struggles here and there, but crosses corrected the guesses most of the time, and got me PAI GOW and NEELY. Looking over things caught the rest of my errors as I was working toward the finish. This was as nice effort and a good NYT debut. Thanks, Zachary.
I wouldn't know a Taylor Swift song from a Gregorian chant, so I appreciated the "swiftness" of the crosses that filled in the answer. Light, breezy Sunday puzzle that included some lovely theme answers, e.g. DAMN WITH FAINT PRAISE, THIS IS JEOPARDY. Finished it quickly, saw that the circled letters spelled out SILENT AUCTION, but then needed Wordplay to explain the underlying theme. Still can't get my printer up and running after a new router installation, so have had to resort to typing the puzzles on my PC, which I detest. At least I get home delivery on Sunday (giving me those beloved Variety puzzles), so I was able to solve this one the way I love - pen on paper. I know, I know...
After traveling for pleasure for two weeks and losing my streak, I was happy to start (or finish) the week with an easy Sunday solve. Thanks for the fun!
Had a nice, leisurely morning solving this puzzle. Some people like more complex puzzles, but solving a Sunday puzzle without having to look up answers is relaxing and enjoyable to me. Great job, Zachary!
A lovely puzzle for a Sunday afternoon. Very enjoyable solve!
Tripped up by 36D. Nothing to indicate an abbreviation, so I filled in "RUN". Then had trouble with the second and third crosses. Finally sussed it.
@John The abbreviation signal is only needed when the abbreviation is pronounced in full when encountered in writing, such as adj. for adjective or etc. for et cetera. Lexical items like RBI which are read as they are written and often understood without having to know what the letters stand for don't need the signal.
Awww. Thats all? I was hoping to read a great Wordplay explanation of the part of the theme I missed but nope… I did it really enjoy the puzzle though, especially for a Sunday. No slog at all. It would have been better served as a themeless Sunday.
Oddly I thirst for a Genesse CREAMALE or a Jenny as it was called in my teen years (Circa 1963-69). One spelling error. ko got the theme and we both were brain dead at SILENTAUCTION. Zombie solving is so much fun. Thank you Zach
@dk I got this one easily but wondered how many would know it.
Hmm. Was I the only one who immediately went to EGG CREAM for 17A?
My first answer for 17A was BROWNCOW :)
Alas, lost my six-day streak. The KLEE/COREA crossing proved too tough, especially with SCARE also conceivably being ShAvE or SCApE, along with POUF/ELIHU (had an o for the crossing). The rest of the puzzle breezed by and the theme was underwhelming