Long time lurker, first time poster - hit my 1000th puzzle streak with this one and I'm a bit overwhelmed with joy. Joy for this Wordplay community - @Puzzlemucker's beautiful odes from December 2023 sums it up better than I ever could; joy for my friends who I babbled my puzzle thoughts at (special thank you to the Bens from Toronto!); joy for anyone who loves the interplay of words. I'm having a streak-breaking party fittingly enough, right at Independence Day b/c I love any excuse to celebrate. I'm so unbelievably happy right now - on to considering tackling the next challenge of constructing :-)
@Sade Welcome to the joy of participation. Some would say it’s even more fun thsn solving the puzzle. Hope you return! !!!!!
@Sade Huge congratulations! I wish you the best of luck with construction, and hope to see your name in the byline for a crossword soon!
@Sade Congratulations and welcome! Best of luck in your new constructing venture, and I look forward to more posts from you here. . . . . .
XDIN is a very very clunky bit of fill. Bad choice, and should have been edited out.
Good theme, but the crossings around I CHING COINS were not fun, to say the least
SKOAL as a Nordic toast? I mean... Danish - SKÅL Swedish - SKÅL Norwegian - SKÅL Icelandic - SKÁL Finnish - KIPPIS I know why it was SKOAL - and it's a good way to ensure that it's pronounced right - but I guess I have to be a little Scandi-snobbish about it. Cheers!
@Søren Thustrup I came to say the same thing. I would have accepted SKAAL as a transliteration but SKOAL makes no sense (nor have I ever seen it written like that)
@Søren Thustrup Especially considering there’s a common American “dipping” tobacco brand spelled SKOAL. Slightly obscure (thankfully!) in today’s world, but common enough that people would’ve seen it at gas stations. The spelling as is makes very little sense, even if I was able to intuit it from crosses.
T-Strap shoes are still around, still chic, still sexy. Only a heel with no sole would complain about such a kicky style. I'm sure when you peer into your crystal ball to see what will be tripping down the carpet in the future, the T-strap will be there, sometimes even leading the parade. Trust me, I know—it's a shoe-in. 🥠 🥠 🥠 Have a cookie, Emu. You'll see.
The question is, if I still read the TAROT CARDS, would they have predicted today's Golden puzzle? And if I still cast the I CHING COINS, would the Book of Changes have affirmed that a beautiful solve was in store? Signs point to yes... It's been years and years since I've touched either, and no longer even own the deck nor the coins, but I still have the I Ching Book of Changes in all its glory. It's also been many, many years since I've heard Janis IAN singing "At Seventeen," that heart-wrenching classic. <a href="https://youtu.be/ESS0eKJpEZQ?feature=shared" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/ESS0eKJpEZQ?feature=shared</a> But my favorite from that album ("Between the Lines") was always "From Me to You" and it was great to take a listen again. <a href="https://youtu.be/ESS0eKJpEZQ?feature=shared" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/ESS0eKJpEZQ?feature=shared</a> And so , 'twas a puzzle that was a delight to solve, brought back some memories, and even came with a soundtrack. What more could I ask for? Thank you, Ms. Golden! I see a bright constructing future ahead for you! :-)
"From Me to You" <a href="https://youtu.be/WqQ_1xs2uVA?feature=shared" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/WqQ_1xs2uVA?feature=shared</a> . . . . . .
Here’s the thing about Wednesdays. It’s harder than you think, but easier than it looks. Or maybe it’s easier than you think, but harder than it looks. Either way, as long as everyone is having fun! Which I did. After fixing my rushed, silly errors.
Juliana’s last puzzle, two months ago, called WALLFLOWERS, where flowers graced the perimeter of the grid, lifted me into the sublime, reminding me of the marvelous parade of floral colors that pass through the months, beginning in the spring. Today, the grid awakened sleeping memories, brought me to places in my life that I haven’t thought about in ages. Decades ago I consulted a world-famous TAROT reader, back in my college days I plunged into the I CHING, and in my high school days, much time was spent with friends on the OUIJA BOARD. Ah, one of crosswords’ hidden gifts, triggering long unvisited memories, bringing one back to former states of mind, bringing alive lovely locales and people long unthought about. To me, reliving it in my head is far superior to a photo album. Juliana, your theme clues were fun, as was the fill-in, but the joy your puzzle evoked, like the joy from your flower puzzle, was priceless. Thank you so much for making this!
@Lewis I never remember past puzzles but I DO remember the wallflowers and I LOVED it. What a lovely puzzle - and a lovely post by you. I will note Ms. Golden's puzzles going forward!
@Lewis I remember the WALLFLOWERS puzzle and it was a delight.
Thanks for the hints, I’m still learning crosswords and this one helped me complete the puzzle without using the dreaded autocheck! I don’t normally get through Wednesdays otherwise.
@Niki Congratulations on tackling a Wednesday without auto-check! It's a great milestone and a wonderful feeling, isn't it? Keep practicing and one day you'll look and find you no longer need auto-check at all. But take your time and enjoy the ride and the learning. Well done!
@Niki Congratulations, Niki. 🦤 I'm extinct. But if I were alive, like the emus, I'd be applauding.
From magic 8-ball to crystal ball, what are the ODDS we'd get 2 such puzzles in a row? As we enter a particularly horrible election year summer with the airwaves amok with prognostications on the death of democracy, we may indeed turn to supernatural means to gain some insight into what the future holds. I'm utterly superstitious myself with no illusions as to my rationality or intelligence. The local Goodwill has received many an article of clothing from me that proved to be attractants of bad luck and disagreeable situations. Once worn to ill effect, no foul; twice worn, out it goes. Mercury's in retrograde? I'm staying inside. What I particularly like are the many ways of figuring out the future, besides the themers: you can rely on the guidance of an ELDER, or you can go to a MOSQUE and seek spiritual / religious counsel; you can use your gut instincts to bet on the future, if you sense the ODDS are for a ROSY outcome or likely to GO SOUR. But how do you know if the game is a SCAM or the REAL MCCOY? You can read the classics -- Ovid -- or the Bible -- Leah -- to know what lies ahead; or you can game it out, as they do at the Pentagon, though not necessarily by playing an RPG. Maybe they do: I wouldn't put it past them to determine our military strategies through D&D! Or just ignore it, watch shows about the raciest taxicabs & the LUST that takes place in them, or American Idol (AKIN -- CLAYS echoes Clay Aiken?) or what to wear on a tundra (anorak yes, t-strap no)...
@john ezra Oh, the RPG clue tripped me up - I instantly put DND and had that sitting as a wrong answer for ages.
@john ezra My rational(?) explanation for the "bad luck apparel" is that the memory of the first traumatic incident produces a level of stress and distraction that increases the probability of another bad outcome. I have had that experience and stopped wearing the cursed garment. As for the cards, coins, stars, and crystals, I believe that they all "work". But it is introspection and the power of the mind of the querant that provides the guidance.
@Evan Can someone please explain RPG?
Sorry, I meant to say what the heck are i ching coins?
@Dave S Coins that you shake and throw that leads you to a section of the Chinese Book of the I Ching that is meant to provide guidance for your future actions
@Dave S I CHING COINS were new to me as well. That section of the puzzle was the last to fall.
@Dave S I have an I Ching set that I got many years ago. I tried it out a couple of times and (while I was skeptical) I found the results to be insightful and helpful. They were also kind of generic, much like western astrology, so there's that. 😄
i just gotta say, this is the best comment section on the entire internet. this place is a menagerie of the most pedantic and self-important scolds that ever were and that makes the comment section just as fun as the puzzle itself.
Not a fan. The upper right was particularly poor - even the Wordplay columnist came very close to calling foul on the ludicrous purported spelling of "Xed in". (And I questioned "taxicab" since it seemed as if both words were simply abbreviations from taxicab, but upon checking after finishing the puzzle, the dictionary appears to be more or less on the constructor's side here?) Never heard of t-straps and the theme, while interesting, seemed a little loose; for one, what's ON the Ouija board is the text, not the Ouija board. It just didn't make me happy; little to no humor, but about the right difficulty for a Wednesday. Ah well, to each his or her own.
@B taxi means shuttle, cab means car. I agree it's not redundant
Finished it without cheats but the west was tough. ICHING, TSTRAP, NIA. Fortunately I guessed the K to finish ANORAK to come up with AMOK. which helped me fill it all in.
This was mostly smooth sailing for me, save for that Midwest region. I had ABUT for “set against” for the longest time, and my ignorance of Marvel movie directors, 1920’s heels, and Chinese divination did nothing to set me straight. I finally caved and looked up the director’s name, which led me slowly to the solution. It seems I could used a few divination techniques of my own.
@Heidi I too googled "movie director DaCosta." According to Wikipedia, "The Marvels" was the biggest flop of all-time. I guess Ishtar and Gigli no longer have that claim to fame.
TAXICAB is, to my understanding, a portmanteau of TAXImeter CABriolet. The first term, itself a compound word, refers to price (TAXI, from the French taxes, cp. tax) and measurement (METER), while the latter is a type of carriage. This gives us a passenger vehicle for hire that charges for the distance travelled. Other uses of taxi are all derived. So, no redundancy
Patrick, Correct on the etymology of both parts, but on the streets of New York today TAXI and CAB are used by themselves to describe the same vehicle, so in current usage TAXICABS is redundant. "Call me a TAXI." "You're a TAXI."
Spent years listening to my boys and their friends at the dining room table, sometimes for days on end, playing RPGs. Beautiful, fond memories… Except the grocery bills. And now one has just competed his thesis on the Christian origins of the tarot. Apparently, the deck was meant to be used as a tool for self-reflection and meditation, not to predict the future or *read* for others. (His mind and education are far superior to mine, so forgive my over-simplifying if you are more in-the-know than I on these points, but I think I got the gist.) Nice puzzle. Fun one!
As a college student I compared the results of a Rorschach test with a Tarot reading. I had about 20 subjects for my little experiment. The results were the same, bu the paper was not a hit with my professors. Where was the Magic Eight Ball? Nice one Juliana and as a New Yorker of a certain age.... we often call them TAXICABS.
Must have been on the same wavelength as the constructor today...it was like I had a crystal ball revealing the answers.
Leanne, The clues were Predictive text? ...........
I was very impressed by the clever clues for the theme answers, even if I questioned some of the fill (looking at you XDIN!). Over all an enjoyable Wed, challenging in places and yet somehow I managed to finish under my average time by over 5 minutes. Is an EAVE big enough to provide shade? I kept trying to find ways to shorten awning or umbrella, lol.
@Janine An EAVE can be big enough to shade windows, which makes a big difference where I live.
@Janine Yeah, I thought that clue was super weird. Windows (as Eric said), sure. But a sidewalk café? Seems like an editorial overreach, trying to be trickier than necessary... My first guess there was "tree", which still seemed a stretch, but was the only 4-character word I could think of! (Seriously, the image in my mind's eye of a café table huddled under an EAVE is pretty ridiculous!)
Had a lovely time with this puzzle! The top half flew by, but I got stuck on the bottom (no fault of the construction) and had to take my time with it. The theme actually helped - it was how I managed to solve OUIJA BOARD from a few crosses - and I thought the wordplay of the themed clues was delightful, as well. A real pleasure to play! (I also feel I might have had a bit of an advantage being Chinese and being familiar with the I CHING, but even so, that was the theme clue that was the hardest to crack.)
No idea what RPG means other than Rocket Propelled Grenade. Never heard of ICHING COINS so that required an alphabet run with no satisfaction to get the dunce music. I’m IRKed by this puzzle and think it’s a bit SUS. Ever sought the shade of Cafe EAVES? Me neither.
@Roger Role-playing Game, such as Dungeons and Dragons. I know this mainly from crosswords, but I have seen it enough now that it’s almost replaced “rocket-propelled grenade” in my lexicon. I CHING COINS was new to me, too.
@Roger That's my familiar use of RPG as well. Did an answer history and was surprised to see that the first appearance of RPG wasn't until 2013. And that time it was clued as "Shoulder-fired weapon, for short." It's appeared more times since then and always been the game clue. And... RPGS has been an answer 6 times, but... first appearance in 2019. And - always clued to the games. Really surprised at that - seems like any three letter sequence has to be a useful piece of fill. Can't understand why it was never, ever used before then. ..
@Roger I needed a lot of crossing luck to finish this one, and even then had to walk away to finish the due west. Luckily I Ching finally occurred to me, but even then I had to consider if it used coins, as I was only aware of the practice using yarrow sticks. RPGs stumped me too before I realized the high heels needed a particular kind of strap. Fun Fact (and quite appropriate to this puzzle): the die inside a Magic 8 Ball is also 20-sided!
I think people are being too hard on XDIN. What else would fit to make the NE work at all? I think the occasional stretchy fill is okay.
@Byron I thought it was very clever. When I typed it I in wasn't sure, but delighted when it turned out to be correct. I enjoyed the wordplay in this puzzle. It didn't feel like a stretch to me.
I had to do a little bit of guessing for this one; I could have used a crystal ball or something to see my way through this puzzle. I actually got through this one in about my usual Wed. time, despite spending some time trying to figure out what went with I Ching, but that was my biggest hold up. Thanks, Juliana!
Fun theme, just about right for a Wednesday.
It’s always enjoyable when I come to the comments and see discussion and grumbling over a word that didn’t catch my attention at all. In this case, TAXICAB has done it. I love the explanations, from detailed history of the TAXImeter CABriolet from @Parrick J. to the succinctly put "taxi means shuttle, can means car" from @Michael M. Thanks for enriching discussion! Both valid but I disagree because language changes. TAXI and CAB are the most commonly used in modern language and, importantly, without distinction. I’d say TAXICAB has become redundant. Such fun!
I was cruising through this one with lots of answers in my wheelhouse, e.g. music: IAN, CARLOS, soccer: ALYSSA, LotR: SMAUG. Things ground to a halt, however, at the middle left. I didn’t know NIA or TSTRAP, and, not having grasped the theme, ICHINGCOINS remained opaque to me (I associated I Ching with sticks), despite the fact that I actually have a CRYSTALBALL, that sits on a shelf just above the chair where I often sit when working the puzzle. For years the crystal ball resided on my desk at work and I often wondered if visiting clients had concerns that I was relying on divination rather than legal research to solve their problems. In any case, I eventually eked out enough other answers in the sector and ICHINGCOINS was the last domino to fall.
How many NIAs are there in Hollywood? [Vardalos] used to be a X-word staple. Then came [Peeples] amd [Long]. Now we can add [DaCosta] to the mix. Oh, it's so hard to be a puzzle-solver!
For the record, very little of Greenland is tundra. The only thing you can describe "much" of Greenland as is "ice sheet."
@Steve Demuth That was one of my last fills today because of that very fact! I couldn't see how "ice"-anything could fit in that space. STY and SUS were finally the tipping point for me. For the sake of the moderation software, I will pad my comment by adding - I wonder how much more might be visible if the ice sheet is receding. I still have a hard time believing it's TUNDRA, with so many rocky crags! (I only saw it once, almost 30 years ago, so I'm no expert.)
Couldn't help but wonder whether 46D SCAMS was the theme revealer in this puzzle. 😎
@archaeoprof A missed opportunity to clue it that way! I solved this one in fits and starts, and didn't even remember filling that answer until you mentioned it. Good catch, thanks! And always nice to "see" you here.
"Forego" is the less-common spelling for "passing up" because it is incorrect, much like "forgo" does not mean "to come before".
@Brian Alas, the clue is fine. Whereas we were taught that there was a different between forgo, to pass something up, and FOREGO, to go before, the latter is now accepted as an alternate spelling of the former. <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/forego" target="_blank">https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/forego</a> That this would eventually happen was a forgone conclusion.
@Brian forego was one of the greatest handicap racehorses ever. Won eight eclipse awards I think
@Steve L Merriam Webster is not a great reference for "accepted spellings" - it seems like as soon as they find a misspelling on the internet they put it in their dictionary.
@JB I agree that it's very odd. 'Xed' appears from time to tiime, but this... Is a new one on me. Tsk.
Do you love Thursdays? You should try The New Yorker’s July 1 puzzle!
@Bill in Yokohama You’re a little late to the party. I called attention to the July 1 puzzle on July 1, and said I’d post comments the next day. I did so, and there’s quite a thread in yesterday’s comments about it.
@Bill in Yokohama Thanks for the recommendation, Bill. That was a fun one!
@Bill in Yokohama indeed, that was a fun one! And very atypical for a New Yorker puzzle in its Thursday-ness.
Theme was fun but think the construction and complexity suffered a bit from endeavouring to make the theme answers sufficiently evident to fill. So the downs seemed to fill fairly simply as base structure for the solution. The resultant other crosses then got a bit awkward and laboured. Also sticking / tending to ones knitting is generally used - in the uk at least - to mean stick to what you do best rather than an admonition.
Dear Ms. Golden, While solving this puzzle I was awed by the creative, surprising clues for the themers and knew that there couldn't be many, or any, more options that you came up with. Being blessed with the accuracy of Nostradamus, I was wrong. Please share some of the other options you found.
Minor clue quibble: I suppose the word "much" can cover a range of territory, but for me, TUNDRA can only be considered [Much of Greenland] if you ignore the more than 80% of the island which is covered with ice. (I of course immediately tried filling in "ICECAP" but the crosses quickly refuted that try....)
@Remy And yet it’s been in the puzzle six previous times in the past 21 years, from an impressive list of constructors including Rich Norris and David Steinberg (both of whom also have extensive crossword editing experience).
@Eric Hougland Thanks Eric for the statistics. I am of the opinion that something is done doesn’t mean that it’s always good. People can disagree with Rick Norris and David Steinberg just like they can disagree with the Supreme Court. That helps with progresses. I appreciate the courtesy of your response. As to other snide comments on other threads from people who take pride in their trivia knowledge, they don’t get me worked up at all. I know professionally I can do things that would make their head spin in half a minute, just like they can do mine, so have a good day everybody!
There’s not enough appreciation here for the two references (kinda) to Mean Girls in today’s puzzle! One in the clue and then also with Janis Ian, who is also a mean girls character. I thought that was cute. Overall i really liked this puzzle although i also didn’t love the x’d in clue
I didn't like today's crossword. There were too many answers that didn't make sense even after they were revealed. E.g. 19 across (marked, as a box): XDIN... The answers are supposed to be accessible to the general public, either through research or recall (once they "hit" you). I got that the answer was "exed in", but there's no way a person could double check "X'd in" because it isn't even common shorthand for "exed in" (it exists as the name of an engineering firm, and that doesn't connect to the clue or the answer at all). The creator and editor assumed that everyone would just recognize it/accept it as valid, but I've never seen it shortened that way, anywhere, ever. That answer wasn't clever- it just came across as lazy to me. As for 41 across (metal detectors?): ICHINGCOINS; I enjoy abstract concepts and niche subjects in crosswords but this was neither. That answer was too much of a reach and didn't connect to the clue. "Coins= metal"- great- but I Ching isn't a translation of or a homophone for any word that means seeking OR finding, so to simply put it there in front of "coins" makes no sense. If a person knows of the I Ching and how it's used then the answer makes even less sense. The clue gave no indication that there was a book involved in the answer, nor did it give a hint as to which direction one should search in. If someone has never heard of the I Ching before, how are they even supposed to know WHAT to look up or double check?
Karmakameleon, I either didn't know or had forgotten that coins had any connection to the I Ching, but I knew 41A was one of the themers (the clue was in italics and had a question mark) and that all of the themers were devices for divination. I knew the I Ching could be used for "detection," and coins are "metal." This is a puzzle to be solved. Think of other things the clues can mean.
Delightful fun. I don’t get the nitpicking of some. It’s a puzzle.
The clues for the themers were very clever. Nice one, Juliana!
Goodness....yesterday the mysterious "Magic Ball" (not a part of my childhood, adolescence, adulthood, but who knows? Maybe in my dotage...) ...and today I CHING COINS, which sound like the biggest time-waster ever, even more than Strands, Connections, and LetterBox all rolled into one! (Calm down. I admit I sometimes do one or more of those 'newer' games. However, The Puzzle and Spelling Bee are my only Must-Do assignments.) Remember when our BioSomethings were believed to affect our fates? And I'm told my blood type predestines me for certain ailments. And there's that asteroid coming! What does that presage?? Perhaps all of this bespeaks our anxiety to know What Is Going To Happen?!!! I don't know. I have to confine myself to questions I might be able to answer (or have answered by a kindly passer--by.) Such as: What is a 'Tringali'? (A three-fold Svengali?) If your goldfish has ICHING, is it doomed? (Inevitable outcome guaranteed; just name it 'Fluffy' to save time.) Did the gods ordain that your daughter play viola in order to give you the word ARCO? (Possibly!) You never know. Juliana, so long, and thanks for all the fish.
@Mean Old Lady If I may, I would just like to elucidate that the I Ching and The Book of Changes are not mere fortune-telling, but rather a philosophical means of guidance for action (or non-action) using the principles of Taoist thinking. Those who would use it as no more than an oracle would be missing out on the true beauty of it, which lies in the teaching it provides about yin and yang energies, and the negative impact of ego, along with what it means to follow the Tao ("The Way.") It's a thought-provoking and magnificent road map for *personal transformation* into a more peaceful life. As I mentioned in my comment, it's been eons since I've cast the coins, and no longer even have them. But The Book of Changes (alongside the Tao Te Ching) remains a treasured part of my library as a reminder of how our own actions, posturing, and perceptions effect circumstances and outcomes. Though summarized to an extreme, I hope this sheds some light on what the I Ching is really about.
Solid Wednesday. Decent enough theme. First time learning about ICHINGCOINS and not mad about it. Not a fan of XDIN or SKOAL, however. First one is definitely way too forced and SKOAL is just simply wrong. Other than that though, quite enjoyable. Thanks Juliana!
I loved this wonderful puzzle! Kudos to Ms. Golden! My last and most satisfying entry was for 29D Courtroom profession. Brilliant. Although all the wordplay was ingenious. Wednesdays are my favorite puzzle days. Perhaps because that is my level of play most days. Whatever the reason, I like Wednesdays. Looking forward to Thursdays and all the creative ways one can construct a crossword. Thank you NYT puzzle staff and community. Have a safe and relaxing fourth. Try not to worry too much. Cheers.
A couple comments from behind the line: 1) Although rigatoni are certainly tubular (no arguing with the clue), their defining characteristic is their ridges; otherwise, they'd be called "smoothatini." 2) Canola oil is not extracted from some mysterious Canola plant--there is no such thing. It is actually Grapeseed oil. It's just that the Grapeseed Growers Association of Canada (where most grapeseed is grown) figured that no one would buy something called "Grapeseed oil," due to the unpleasant connotations of the name. So they decided to market it, patriotically, as "Can-ola oil." Except that you have to strike off the initial "G" in every instance of "grapeseed," lest you incur the wrath of Emu.
@Bill No that's completely wrong but you have the right general idea. You're thinking of "rapeseed oil" which was renamed for even more obvious reasons. Grapeseed oil also exists and is made from grapes.
@Bill I always knew they were on and the same, but I never knew why they went by such different names. Thank you for the explanation. I suppose they couldn't have just added that initial "G" lest people think the oil came from the seeds of grapes.
Never heard of I Ching - I stared for the longest time seeing nothing but ACHING CHINS. XDIN was tricky but it makes more sense when you imagine a checkbox. I was stuck on cardboard.
@Grey haha laughed out loud at ACHING CHINS.
Wow I solved a Wednesday! I loved this puzzle! Quirky theme and creative clues. Thank you Juliana!
Thanks for the kind words, Juliana. This is a great puzzle, and I'm glad my little bit of advice was helpful! Congrats!
Seems I've fallen out of the habit (he's unclothed!!) of commenting. Need to get my priorities straight - Puzzle, then work!. Sweet and smooth but must confess to being completely at sea in the I CHING area. Ya got me good. Well done and thanks.