This was brutal. I may have set a new record for Things I Had To Look Up. That doesn’t mean it was a bad puzzle, it just wasn’t on my wavelength. Kudos to anyone who made it through without help.
@Heidi Excellent way to express frustration and exhaustion over a puzzle. No whining, no claims of unfairness, no attacks on the constructors or the cluers, no complaints about foreign languages. A lot of posters could learn something about grace from this post.
@Heidi Thinking like the constructor is a very elusive thing. I think this is the first Friday where I did not have to look things up! There are usually pop culture things that I don't know, but those are easy to Google. It took me about 10 min longer than my usual 35 min average, I was quite amazed to get done -- almost. I did have to read the column for TBH. I had cBS for the NFL clue. I'm too old for texting acronyms and to uninterested in football, so that one square was a Natick for me.
Periodic reminder that almost no one is an expert in every facet of culture touched by a diverse crossword puzzle. Sports, entertainment, literature, and language—from Latin to slang to Spanish to Hawaiian—are all fair game. The *whole thing* about crosswords is that the things you do know help you figure out the things you don’t know. Three Spanish-language clues from a Latinx constructor and people are losing their minds! 17% of Americans speak Spanish, which is not too far from how many follow professional tennis. Y’all. Embrace the learning. Embrace the new and diverse. If you can’t, I’m pretty sure you can find an archive from 75 years ago.
@Elly Zee can we stop using Latinx? I think it's safe to use "Latino" for this constructor.
@Sam I don’t want this to become a thread about “Latinx.” I’ll do my research on that. I did not know the constructor’s gender or pronouns and used the placeholder I had mentally at hand. For now, people should just pretend I used whatever word they think is most appropriate and focus on the content of my message.
@Elly Zee I think the issue wasn’t that there were too many Spanish answers. It’s customary to include some foreign language, but generally preferred to stick to 100-level vocab. NOCHEBUENA is a somewhat specific cultural term, and DOLOR is not one most people would remember from Spanish 101. Caballeros also literally translates to “horsemen” and is commonly used to refer to cowboys. The gentlemanly “SENORES” is reasonable, but when “cowboys” fits, and is equally valid, it’s preferable to clue less ambiguously. Spanish is fine, but in the same sense that obscure trivia ought to be clued more directly, so too should non-English answers.
"I just got a part in the play about a bakery!" "Congrats on the speaking roll!" ("The audition was a piece of cake!")
@Mike Well, I declair, I've never cinnamon ice a part so easily. (Watch out for muffin lines.)
@Mike You laugh, but one of the things that help me up is that I had SPEAKINGROLL, and the cross was killing me until the head slap moment.
Very painful puzzle for one that doesn't know Spanish or much American cultural references. (aka me) Had to come here just to get words like NOCHEBUENA SENORES DALOR and things like PFLAG ALASKAROLL PAGESIX. BURP cloth? SACRA? Can't say I liked it much but whatever. It's done.
@Ernest as a fellow lioncitysolver, you have my sympathies.
I found this one fun. I had to bounce around a bit because each section had some spots that troubled me, but it fell together nicely. The final domino to fall was DIAERESES. I had long forgotten the singular form of the word, and never knew the plural, so all I could think of were umlauts, which clearly didn’t fit. In fact, when I plunked the the last letter (the E in SENORES) I fully expected to get the dreaded “something’s amiss” message and was pleased not to. Although I’m no punster, when I saw DIAERESES, all I could think of was: what did the woman with chocolate and peanut allergies do when she ate a peanut butter cup? DIAERESES.
@Marshall Walthew outstanding. Screenshotted for my rainy-day-laughs file. Thank you!
@Marshall Walthew Sorry to be "that guy", but your joke depends on DIAERESES being pronounced something like "die o' Reeses". Unfortunately, it is pronounced like "Die-ERA-seas". Maybe it's funnier in print.
In spite of how grumpy I am today ("just today?" my wife says), I really do enjoy this comment community. I actually think that now I do the puzzles just to be ready to read the comments. So, thank you. You know who you are.
@Francis I’m glad you joined this community. I’ve enjoyed reading your thoughts, even the grumpy ones (which are much less grumpy than some peoples’).
@Francis I agree that the comments, sparring, puns, etc. make this format so much fun. I also appreciate your cave comment. Just make sure you get good internet services. After all, what is a cave without a crossword? Have a hope-filled joyous weekend.
I am here doing the crossword first thing this morning because the news about last night's debate is too devastating to read.
@Pat Right there with you. A very dark, dark day, indeed. I feel like I have a raging hangover, and I didn't even drink last night.
@Pat Tom Friedman's column today was a very compassionate call for Joe to step down so someone else can step up. Until last night, I completely disagreed with all who said similar things, but now it's apparent...So sad. :-(
I date the beginning of the end at the day in the summer of 1966 when 2nd lieutenant George D. Taylor respnded to an assertion I had uttered by saying, "Whom told you that?"
At first I thought I had a breakthrough on this tough grid, guessing that both Anaīs Nin and Anne Brontë had diabetes. Darn, one letter short. Solid Friday puzzle -- enjoyable and instructive.
Glad it was a challenge today, because I finally hit 1000 and I feel like I earned it.
@Carol That must have been so satisfying! Congratulations!!!
@Carol Congratulations Carol!
@Carol congrats!! You have a much better attitude than me. When I approach round numbers I pray they land on a Monday or Tuesday 💦
Crossing DIARESES with PFLAG and ROC was, well, a choice. Technically it doesn't break my rule since DIARESES is an ordinary noun, but it's a hella obscure one, especially with equally obscure crossings. Took me about 16 minutes to get to those last two letters before I caved and hit Check Puzzle
Steven M., It's "your" rule, so I guess we can't comment on it, but PFLAG and ROC were two of the gimmes that helped me spell DIAERESES correctly. Different strokes. Different emus.
@Steven M. One person's natick is another person's gimme. Just have to accept it.
@Steven M. I agree. I initially had GLAAD then had to abandon when I got no crossings with it. I never heard of PFLAG or ROC before.
So. Much. Spanish. I’m trying to retain the Spanish I come across here, but that was overload for me. 5A and 14A were a mystery. I got BURP, aka a muslin here so, you know, found my level. My biggest success today was having DIAERESES as a gimme. I was born and raised a stone’s throw away from Haworth, the Brontës ancestral home and was force fed their novels all through my schooling, up to and including my BA degree. At university I was the go to reader for Wuthering Heights, as I could translate the broad Yorkshire utterings of Joseph for my Southern class mates. Amazing what recollections the NYT crossword can throw up.
@Helen Wright Congratulations on having DIAERESES as a gimme. Big leg up there. But I don't understand how knowing all about the Brontes (I don't know how to get the fancy mark in there) clued you into a fairly obscure (to me anyway) linguistic term.
A very orthopedic puzzle! SACRA, ULNA, wow! And some handy IBUPROFEN for aches and pains.
Note to self- DIARESES. (That’s it. Just please, try to remember it.) Response from self- I’ll remember there’s a word, but there’s no way in Hades I’m gonna remember how to spell it.
@CCNY yeah, that spelling, especially the missing 'e' that a lot of the comments have... If it's ever used again, I hope the crossings are a bit more common than PFLAG (I'd never heard of that, and I didn't want to put in an 'a' to have "...iae..." ugh.
@CCNY Hope you can remember it, and if you do, it's DIAERESES, not DIARESES. Just trying to be helpful, not a smart alëc.
Tired of the NY Times forcing all this woke stuff on us. 49D is expecting me to know pronouns? Kidding obviously, I was glad to see PFLAG on here even if I had GLAAD for the longest time instead. I know some French so I appreciate how often that comes up, but it’s nice to see Spanish for a change. Especially given that there are 34x as many Spanish speakers in the US as there are French speakers.
@Sean I'm sure glad you were kidding. Today of all days is one where I didn't need to read that written sincerely. Excuse me, now, please. I'm on my way to building a cave to hide in.
@Sean Heh, Poe's Law led me to think you were serious till I got to your 2nd para. I too had GLAAD first till the crosses didn't work. I'm GLAAD you were kidding. Ya never know.
@Becca the idea of one of those “anti-pronoun” people being upset about the word whom is funny to me
I appreciated this one tonight, when I was trying to keep my mind off the front page news. But now I don't have a Friday to do tomorrow and I'm still gonna be in ostrich mode. Anyone have a suggestion for a good archive puzzle?
@Dan I’ve been working my way through late 2019 and enjoying it. Just don’t do Nov 7, which is the worst NYT puzzle I’ve ever encountered. Fun to read the comments though!
DIAERESES: the situation where you know the answer, you sort of know the word, but you have no clue how to spell it. Emotional turmoil or masochistic pleasure depending on which author you prefer...
Loved this puzzle! (though as usual I told my husband it was “irritating”, ha, as that’s what I say for every puzzle that doesn’t immediately fall into place for me…which is most of them ;). It made me think, stumble around to get a foothold, and taught me a couple new things. Bravo!
Chorus of no's! What with Nona, No Nonsense, Noche Buena, not so nice, nano, I'm humming "No No No Part I" by Destiny's Child: You'll be sayin' no, no, no, no, no When it's really yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah Not so nice Nona! Right outa Damon Runyon. Diaereses, what a mouthful. Just no, but what I really mean is yeah yeah yeah! I figured it was either umlauts or that both of them were diarists & this was just a schmancy word for it. Nin's diary was quite famous, published in several volumes. When she was hanging out with Henry Miller things could get spicy, it's a bit NSFW. But besides its climaxes, it has its moments: “Men can be in love with literary figures, with poetic and mythological figures, but let them meet with Artemis, with Venus, with any of the goddesses of love, and then they start hurling moral judgments.” (Nin, Vol. 1, 1931-34) Emily, more than Anne, kept a juvenile diary, although Anne both wrote in it and was its subject. I fed Rainbow, Diamond, Snowflake, Jasper, pheasant this morning. Branwell went down to Mr Drivers and brought news that Sir Robert Peel was going to stand for Leeds. Anne and I have been peeling apples for Charlotte to make an apple pudding and for Aunt’s nuts and apples. Charlotte said she made puddings perfectly and she was of a quick but limited intellect. Tabby said just now come Anne pilloputate (ie pill a potato). Aunt has come into the kitchen just now and said, ‘where are your feet Anne?’ Anne answered, ‘on the floor Aunt’.
I had to cheat quite a bit to finish this one. Probably shouldn't count it. Roundabout answer history searches today were vaguely inspired by ELO (maybe somebody will get this). Anyway... XANADU - 35 times KUBLAKAHN - once STATELY - 24 times, but never part of a longer answer PLEASUREDOME - nope. And, my inevitable puzzle find today. A Saturday from May 28, 1983 by Ernst Theimer with four 15 letter answers, all of them making their one and only appearance: TREASUREMEASURE PLEASURELEISURE GLUTTONSBUTTONS GRUESOMETWOSOME I'm outta here. ..
@Rich in Atlanta Oh - and an off-topic answer history search. Just wondered about possible answers ending in... UMP. So - Quite a few, but notably: CHUMP GRUMP SLUMP DUMP And.. perhaps my favorite: ONENOTRUMP ....
Oooh, that NW was killer for me! It would have helped if any of the ALASKA rolls that I've had were salmon-wrapped. I just looked at the menu of every sushi restaurant I go to and none fall into that description—but I've also Googled and see that in some places they are described like that. 🤷♀️ I had NOCHE BUENA early on but it wasn't enough to help me up there. I have to go out for dinner soon (ironically, sushi) so I ended up giving the roll a lookup and was rolled over by the answer! Oh well! Besides, I should have come up with ALOUD and T SHIRTS sooner, those are absolutely in my wheelhouse! Nice puzzle! Funny enough, for the tough spots, I kept wanting to enter a rebus to make my wrong answers work! 😆 It seemed so natural after yesterdays dozens of super fun rebuses!! I see yesterday's puzzle is up to 940 comments!! Wow! Go us!! My work/life schedule rarely allows much comments participation on Thursdays but it did yesterday, so I did my part!! Okay, off to sushi... hope there won't be any SPEAKING ROLEs.... Oh, I do amuse myself!! 😂
This puzzle went very smoothly for me. I don’t understand the negative comments, but I enjoyed it!
I did not care for this one at all. Unnecessarily oblique cluing, given that the answers themselves were already difficult to parse. CPLUS as a 2.3? Obtuse, at best. Crossing the PRU, a 3-letter Natick? Oof. PFLAG over DIAERESIS? Rough. Add to that a significant amount of Spanish trivia, and this puzzle sagged, rather than sang. Not a fan.
@Edward When it comes to late week puzzles, unnecessarily oblique cluing is a feature, not a bug.
@Edward I actually was going to post a comment above specifically to say that I felt this puzzle did not sing. It just felt a little clunky in spots, both in the actual entries and also in many of the clues which, though not bad, IMO could have been a little better. It just didn't sing. Not Mrs-Miller-level 'off', but certainly not Pavarotti, either. Oh well. It had some good facets but it waren't mellifluous. Just like that sentence waren't. IMO. IMO emo ELO emu
@Edward I found it rough, but got through in 19:51 minutes, with seventeen cheats. On a lark, I found the link in my email to Easy Mode, and did the same puzzle with easy clues in only 4:11 minutes! The easy version had "Grade for a score of 77-79%, typically" to clue "CPLUS".
I haven't thought about KNEX since I was a kid, I'm pretty sure there's still a bin of them in my Mom's basement somewhere. What a fond memory, great puzzle Enrique!
Hands down the hardest Friday in ages for me.
I've ordered a lot of Alaska rolls, not once did I see them made with the salmon on the outside. Overall pretty easy except for NW. Obscure + foreign + regional? is a tough combination so I looked up a few words to finish.
SN, I'm not a big Alaska roll fan, but here's one as described in the puzzle: <a href="https://izzycooking.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Alaska-Roll-Sushi-thumbnail.jpg" target="_blank">https://izzycooking.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Alaska-Roll-Sushi-thumbnail.jpg</a> emus do not eat sushi
@SN same on Alaska roll. Maybe it depends on where you're eating. If anyone in the Philadelphia area gave me an Alaska roll with salmon on top, I'd be triple checking my bill that they didn't charge me for the wrong roll.
An interesting solve--I had all of the top half filled in and very little of the bottom half. Once I figured out how to spell DIAERESES, that helped me break into the rest of the puzzle. And replacing LEGO with KNEX, once I saw HUSK.
Am I really first, to point out the error in 48A clue?
Bill, Seems so. Better an error in the clue than in the grid.
@Bill in Yokohama I once attended a talk where the speaker misspelled multiple words on the flip chart. His comment was that anyone who can't spell a word more than one way lacks imagination.
Hard! What a DOOK-y answer is DIAERESIS. I wanted a "C" in there somewhere; aren't they diacritical marks? Or are those different marks entirely? I've never heard of BURP cloth and I would never wear a fabric that makes rude sounds. Or any sounds at all, for that matter. A note to my high school, Dalton. You did me a huge disservice by allowing me to take French and Latin. You should have insisted that I take Spanish. The NYTXW is now all Spanish all the time -- and I am at a huge disadvantage is all I can say. When was the last time the NYTXW showed the slightest interest in French vocabulary? What does it say about me that I wanted SCAREY instead of SCENIC for the ridgeline hike? The only thing that saved me was that that's not how you spell SCARY. NONA instead of NOrA was very mean (NOT SO NICE) too. But CAST prevented me from falling into the LIST trap at 1D and I did manage to pull CANT out of my you-know-where. I ended up finishing this puzzle with no cheats. I didn't even pull my sushi restaurant menu out of the drawer -- even though I was sorely tempted.
@Nancy Burp cloths don’t make any sounds, thank goodness. You put one over your shoulder after baby has eaten and hold baby against it and pat baby’s back and bounce gently until baby brings up any air bubbles - which are often accompanied by some portion of what baby ate. They’re protective, and easily tossed in the laundry :)
@Nancy I feel like we get a fairly good helping of French. At leasts that's the view of someone who completely missed any education in French, only German and Italian, which is close enough to Spanish to be helpful.
That was a challenge, but well worth the effort.
I did Spanish in the early 50's, so only needed a couple of crosses to get NOCHE BUENA. Unfortunately I didn’t do at all well on most of the puzzle, but expect that on a Friday. At least no chorus of “too easy for a Friday”.
So glad to be back to a normal-sized comments section today. Wednesday night, I predicted a 1000-comment section, and as of right now, we're only at 914, but those comments are still open, so have at it if you want to get it into quadruple digits! Anyway, some observations from that marathon session: Even though they are known for their less-than-stellar track record with electronic solves, it should be obvious to solvers that if the NYT runs rebus puzzles regularly, there's a way to solve it online. Complaining that there isn't when you just aren't aware of how isn't a good look. Especially since if you'd just ask, someone would tell you how, as did happen several times. The fact that the puzzle got you doesn't make it a bad puzzle. Maybe you're new and weren't expecting that kind of a puzzle, but you might be more prepared next time. Unfortunately, there's no good way to warn newcomers of rebus or other tricky puzzles in advance without ruining it for the rest of us. And maybe you're not new and are just not catching on. It's still not the fault of the puzzle. If you don't like rebuses, there are many crossword outlets out there that don't use rebuses. The USA Today and the Washington Post come to mind.
@Steve L Scold all ya want, but puzzles like yesterday’s remain pretty self indulgent to me. The Thursday chicanery is something I just put up with. I get the premise fine; I just don’t think it’s valid crossword construction.
Re: [heth]/ETA The linguist Geoffrey Sampson, in his book *Writing Systems: a Linguistic Introduction* (1990), discusses the development of the Greek alphabet, with its written vowels, from the Semitic consonant-only abjad. In it he hypothesizes a conversation between a Phoenecian trader and his Greek customer, describing this new-fangled think called "writing" (The Greek had apparently forgotten all about Linear B). The Phoenecian: "OK, this mark here stands for 'Aleph . . .no not Aleph, 'Aleph!--can't you hear the difference?" *Writing Systems* is a fascinating read--at least for language geeks--and is real scholarship, but not so obtuse that an amateur linguist such as myself couldn't follow it. *** *** Ah, the Diaeresis! If you're going to be so pretentious as to pull that one out of hat, you should at least spell it "diæresis", or perhaps the self-referential "diëresis." I was hoping to find a video clip of a song by some heavy metal band which uses a Tolkien Elvish text as lyrics, but Youtube did not cooperate. Lots of videos about making barrels, however. But I did find this, which is really quite lovely, and worth a listen: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyM1tSf6J6I" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyM1tSf6J6I</a>
@Bill also, I admit I struggled over [Pain, in Spain], then had a "D'öh" moment when DOLOR appeared: it's a perfectly good--if uncommon--word in English, too, Dontchaknow! Anyhoo, here's a lovely setting (in Latin) of the lamentation "O Vos Omnes" by the Spanish-speaking composer/cellist Pablo Casals: "si est dolor sicut dolor meus." <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8N9rdHoM90" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8N9rdHoM90</a>
@Bill If you're questioning why it ended with "es" it's because it's plural - "what X and Y have in common" tends to be plural. "They both have [something plural]."
@Bill I'd love to hear from a linguist on this. English was been the world's de facto default language for a few centuries now, but I feel its time is coming to an end. What's your guess as to what the next default language will be? The Asian languages seem primed to take over, but as I understand it there are so many dialects that it will be difficult for one to rise to the top. What's the opinion of an expert?
No matter what else, pizza wasn't involved.
Loved it, but a bit tricky. Took six minutes longer than usual. Like other solvers, I had to replace LEGO with KNEX. I didn’t resort to check puzzle, but had to look up DIARESES. Now I can’t get that word out of my head. Someone else doubted the salmon on the outside of the ALASKA ROLL, but my AI app says that is indeed the typical construction. Kudos to the puzzlesmith.
A delightful puzzle. Lots of getting stuck, working the crosses, then enlightenment, as words like TELEPRESENSE and DIAERESES began to emerge. This really hit my sweet spot for a Friday.
@Nancy J. Ooof, when will I learn to proofread? Luckily, it actually emerged as TELEPRESENCE.
DIARESES? What ever happened to umlaut? I learned something new today, I thought this answer was some very strange way of calling them both diarists. A solid and pretty easy Friday, thank you Enrique!
@Albert DIAERESIS (singular) is the same mark as the umlaut, but different languages use one or the other for different purposes. In German, it's an umlaut, and it serves to alter the sound of the vowel it's above. In French (and in words borrowed from it in English), it's a DIAERESIS, and it serves to separate vowels that normally would form a diphthong, like Noël and naïve. Some publications like the New Yorker also use it on English words like reëlection, whereas most others just insert a hyphen. In Spanish, the diaeresis is only used on the U, which is normally silent after a G, as in guitarra, but when it is pronounced, as in bilingüe, the diaeresis indicates that. Some people, like the Brontë sisters, use the diaeresis the same way in their names, to indicate that the name isn't pronounced "Bront". Hope this helps!
@Albert, I too was stuck on some strange variant of “diarists”. We all know Nin in that context, and certainly not a stretch to think at least one of the Brontë sisters kept a diary as well. Somehow I never notice those diacritical marks!
@Steve L Yes, fancied up by their father from the Irish “Brunty”!
Yay, Friday! Great puzzle!! I loved the clue for 1D, right off the bat. I got 10D with only two crosses (I and H). But I felt it was a missed opportunity for some mellifluous late-week-level cluing, even as I was typing it in! <a href="https://youtu.be/zWpMYRWwJp8?si=qZ_hKUZNaIBGgGf6" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/zWpMYRWwJp8?si=qZ_hKUZNaIBGgGf6</a> Love Will Get You There, indeed. Happy Pride, everyone!! (And isn't that voice such a chip off the famous paternal block??) Pride is a nice segue into PFLAG. C'mon, y'all: I didn't know this particular organization off the top of my head, either. But it is not a stretch in the least, that a P and FLAG could work in that space. To me, that's the joy of crossword solving -- the extrapolation, that ah-ha moment when the hunch proves correct. WHAT A TREAT! @Nancy J. said it so well a little down-thread, in part: Sometimes you just have to relax, work with what you know, and give things time to fall into place. <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/shared/comment/4002mg" target="_blank">https://www.nytimes.com/shared/comment/4002mg</a> Thank you, Enrique. Between the clue for CAB and the Post's PAGE SIX, the smattering of Spanish throughout and centrality of the Pride Flag, this felt like a very NYC puzzle (and right in my wheelhouse!). What a great way to start the day!
@G PFLAG is not directly related to the pride flag. It is no longer considered an acronym, but originally stood for Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays. PFLAG was founded in 1973; the familiar rainbow flag was created five years later. So the similarity of the name to the flag is coincidental.
Some puzzles are difficult for good reasons. Others, like this one, are just filled with lazy, misleading inaccurate clues.
Misleading clues are a staple of late-in-the-week crosswords. Crosswords are puzzles. Which are some of the lazy and inaccurate clues that fill this puzzle? ???????
A proper workout with the NW the last to fall, Also finished gnawing my way through yesterday's fare. Well done both and thanks.
I didn't realize that this had become the Nuevo York Tiempos crossword. I have no beef with using the odd Spanish clue/answer, but this was just too much for me. Also, if we are going to use foreign languages, how about some more German and less French and Spanish?
@Eric 17% of Americans speak Spanish (50x as many as speak German, and infinitely more than speak Latin, which makes frequent appearances without comment). About 4% of this puzzle had Spanish language answers. That seems like a fair ratio.
@Eric They did it just to rile up the segment of the population that detests Hispanics. Remember the uproar when someone with an Hispanic name sang the national anthem as some important baseball game? All the people saying "Couldn't you find an American to sing the American anthem for the American pastime?"? It's the same thing. We in the shadowy cabal just enjoy pushing buttons.
TELEPRESENCE or that daily commute, either makes me reach for the IBUPROFEN. Lively puzzle, thanks, Enrique. I hope the emus don't get DIAERESES.
Where I thought yesterday’s was charming and fun, though hard, today’s just felt uncomfortable. Nothing was clicking for me. I wasn’t on the wavelength for this one, and I don’t feel stretched in a good way. Also it has been a lousy few days personally, so I hope you’ll forgive the vent. Sorry, not my cup of tea!
@Emilie Sorry you’re going through a rough patch. I hope things get better for you soon.
I am surprised that Magnus Carlsen, ELO, didn't make Deb's list
@Bill in Yokohama Good call. I got it from the crosses and forgot to look it up when I was done. Thanks!
@Bill in Yokohama so grateful someone explained it in comments. Honestly I still don’t really totally get it except for something-something chess.
Brick wall By the time I’d looked up the 20th clue realised it was not really happening. On a different wavelength completely. Nothing clicked. Clicking revealed showed I was miles off. No pattern recognition and some of the potentially more useful crosses were quite opaque to me. Shame as this week has otherwise been loads of fun.
My experience was just the opposite; Fridays are usually a struggle for me, but this one went relatively smoothly, with few lookups, probably due to different stuff in my particular memory's junk drawer.
@Bruce, same here! Just looked up NONA (not Nora Gaye) and Spanish Christmas Eve. Got the onevabout Nin and Brontë strictly from the crosses…I was stuck on some strange variant of diarists and didn’t notice the diacritical! All in all, an easy Friday puzzle for me
Solved it unaided, but took me almost 40 minutes. Seemed like a nice, solid Friday puzzle. Wondering if "What Anne Brontë and Anaïs Nin have in common" should be singular, i.e., a diaeresis, rather than DIAERESES. Some entries with interesting initial pairs of letters: CPLUS, TSHIRTS, PFLAG, KNEX.
@Xword Junkie It works either way. Each name has a diaresis. Both names have diareseses. Anyone who thinks that’s an obscure word is naïve. Or they have never read the New Yorker.
Humph. That was downright painful. Took me 55 minutes to solve. Did I not get enough caffeine this morning?
Geeze Louise: Initials I do not know, Spanish I do not know. Sigh. ko was the big help here as I stared dumbly at the page wishing for the IBUPROFEN. Thank you Enrique
Tough but fair. Great Friday outing!