My five favorite original clues from last week (in order of appearance): 1. Training announcement? (3)(6) 2. Air force? (3) 3. Green juice? (5)(5) 4. Run slowly (4) 5. Order at a bar ... or a butcher shop (5) ALL ABOARD TSA SOLAR POWER SEEP ROUND
Clue #5 should read [Order at a bar ... or at a butcher shop]. Et tu, emu.
I'd share my thoughts about bees, but I'd just drone on. (You'd tell me to buzz off: I'd be waste-sting your time.)
@Mike Honey, hive always combed through the comments while I'm sitting in the parlor, knowing you're in the counting house dreaming something up punny.
@Mike I love it when you wax punny....
I don’t know how she does it, but Andrea always makes a Monday puzzle interesting, so glad that Daniel asked for her assistance. I didn’t need to say CHEESE to make me smile as I solved this puzzle.
I love Monday puzzles, and this one was an especially good one. But I breezed through it so quickly, I missed the subtleties until I read the Wordplay, "scheme", "con", "trick", "sting" = "racket". More clever than the average Monday puzzle!
Joan, I gather you "breezed through it so quickly" that you didn't bother to read the second half of the 60 Across clue? It's not for nothing that such a clue is called a revealer.
It’s early. My brain is fuzzy. I counted on my fingers as I recited the alphabet. Literally landed on mno as the 19th-21st letters. Three. Times. Fun Monday. I’m gonna drink my tea now.
@CCNY Where I grew up in Midwood, Brooklyn, the addresses on the avenues corresponded to the crossing numbered streets; I lived at1710 Avenue O, and it was where Avenue O crossed E. 17 St. On the numbered streets, the house numbers corresponded to the numerical order of the crossing avenues' letters; that is to say, the houses around the corner from me started at 1500 E. 17 St., because O was the 15th letter of the alphabet. Needless to say, I didn't have any trouble with that particular answer.
@CCNY You did better than I! I was solving late-night and decided to count backwards from 26/Z, also on my fingers. Needless to say, my brain doesn't work that way very well! Took me three tries... and then I felt like a dolt, haha. @Steve L TIL, thanks -- and mind blown! I don't know Midwood (or any of the alphabet avenues south of J) very well. But casting my mind to, say, E. 3rd St, it is absolutely in the vicinity of Avenue C. Cool indeed!
Great puzzle, but I can always use music, so of course my brain zeroed in on STING, and I went straight to a song that's the opposite of a RACKET, devoid of NOISE, and free of TRICKS like auto-tune. The bossa nova shout-out to RIO fits right in, and of course it doesn't hurt that the CAMERA absolutely loves him. <a href="https://youtu.be/lB6a-iD6ZOY?feature=shared" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/lB6a-iD6ZOY?feature=shared</a> Add to the puzzle's musical inspiration a great solve, ride and ROMP, and I'm a happy camper with a SMILE on my face. Thank you, Daniel and ACME!
@sotto voce Thanks for the video. It is, of course, unfair that one man should be gifted with such talent, beauty and as I think the kids say, "rizz." But good for him and us too. Saw him in PDX years ago with K. D Lang opening. What a great concert! Love you comments, and oh yeah, nice puzzle ACM and Daniel!
Was this one of my faves? Yes! Does that have anything to do with the nod to my humble West Coast AU home? Sure, maybe. Great Monday puzzle, enjoyed the theme.
I tried once again to guess the revealer after leaving it blank and filling in the theme answers – something I’m weak at and working to improve on. It gives me a hill to climb on Mondays rather than one to sled down on, much to my brain’s delight. Today I did see the connection between the last words of the theme answers, and that’s as far as I got. I’ll count it as a win-win, at least figuring that part out, and it satisfied my brain’s work ethic. My crusade continues! This puzzle had a bouncy and fun feel – not surprising, considering the constructors, and some lovely serendipities: • RACKET abutting NOISE. • ORAL near TEST. • A downCAST. • OKRA on the side. • PuzzPair© of RACKET and ACER. • A-ender fest: PAULA / UMA / AGRA/ OPERA / OKRA / CAMERA / BRA. A splendid outing and a sprightly start to the week. Thank you Andrea and Daniel!
Sam is not kidding about that kid having an attitude! And I am here for it! Go, kid go! That kid might even have a little bit of ZIP! Enjoyed the puzzle and theme, fast and fun! Slowed down only by CZAR and ZIP.
At first, I had WELD not MELD and was wondering if COWICCON was a thing.
@JD One could argue that Borden’s Elsie is a COW ICON.
Nice puzzle. Perfect for a lazy Sunday night. Interesting solve and clever clues. Mondays are always easier and more straightforward. This one had a little misdirection and longer solves which was lovely. A palate cleanser for the week. Crisp, clean, cool and satisfying. Looks like we dodged Beryl this time, but my relatives to the southeast of me will take the brunt. Flooding is a given these days in some parts of Texas. We'll keep in touch and make sure everyone is safe. Not our first rodeo. Cheers y'all from Texas.
Always happy to see another ACME enterprise and wasn't disappointed by this one - no Bodily harm to the construction either. Pretty typical Monday solve - was close to having everything filled in before I tumbled to the trick and that's always a nice 'aha' moment. Looking at the puzzle on Xword Info, saw something I'd never noticed before: ACME - 86 puzzles - never a Friday or Saturday. Mr. Bodily - 10 puzzles - never a Friday or Saturday. So they've both only ever done themed puzzles. That's... fascinating. And, a couple of very interesting puzzle finds today. I'll put those in a reply. ..
@Rich in Atlanta As threatened: Not sure exactly how I stumbled across these. Anyway... I'd have to call 'vowel' on these. First - a Thursday from May 20, 2004 by Greg Staples with four 15 letter theme answers: JUNEAUOILTANKER ONOMATOPOEIAUSE ADIEUOAHUISLAND SEQUOIAEMPLOYEE And then - A Sunday from November 17, 2013 by Julian Lim with the title: "Vowel play." Theme answers from that one: CHATEAUOILS ROUEAIRLINES UNDERSEAOUIJA MAUIOENOPHILE ADIEUOARSMAN PRAGUEAIOLI BAHAIOEUVRE LEIAOUTCOME Pretty amazing. Here are the Xword Info links for those: <a href="https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=5/20/2004&g=43&d=A" target="_blank">https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=5/20/2004&g=43&d=A</a> <a href="https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=11/17/2013&g=103&d=A" target="_blank">https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=11/17/2013&g=103&d=A</a> ...
Sad to note that this is only the first puzzle by ACME this year, after six last year. More ACME, please! !!!! !!!!
@Steve L I couldn’t agree with you more! ;)
Enjoy the constructors’ back stories, thank you for sharing. Fun puzzle. Was stuck at CZAR/ZIP for a bit (originally put in HIP for oomph), this was tricky.
After the super difficult Sunday puzzle, this was so nice. Fun and easy (but not too easy). Clever, but not overly clever. 9D and 48D had me for a sec, but other than that I breezed through.
A straightforward Monday that was still entertaining. The clues ZIPped along, the theme stood out quickly and made me smile. Constructors, I salute you, I felt neither TRICKed nor SCHEMEd upon, just pleasantly amused while downing my (decaf) coffee. Thank you.
What is the overlap of people celebrating BRAT summer and doing the NYT crossword, I wonder?
Wow! Got a Monday PR today, 3:53. At this point it comes down to filling in nearly everything on the first try with no typos. I wouldn't say it was any easier than the usual Monday, just good luck for me and not making any mistakes.
@Dave Munger I had a Monday PR of 8:03 today and thought I did well. Then your comment crushed that - LOL!
@Dave Munger I would have surpassed my record if it wasn’t for my fat thumbs! If only Ken had changed his name to “Kem.”
Solved in 11 minutes flat. I was happy to get the spanner SKATEBOARDTRICK immediately without any crossings. The Z in CZAR/ZIP was my last letter entered.
Thanks to Daniel and Andrea for a peppy grid that resulted in a new Monday PR. It’s a wonderful way to start the week. Hooray!
My dove slipped in a COO. We got this one done in short order. Thank you Andrea and Daniel, enjoy the lakes. Go to Sea Salt for lunch.
@dk I went to “our” place, Barbette!!!
Daniel and Andrea left out the biggest grift of all: TRUMP ORGANIZATION (I guess it's too long. 😉) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Loved this, and it’s nice that the Monday/Tuesday puzzles have a slight bit more grit to them these days… I would quibble with a STING being described as a RACKET . . . but it doesn’t mess with the solve or the overall beauty of the puzzle, so I’m good with it.
@John Peil Is your quibble that STING is a law enforcement action? That question came up just last week when one of the Connection used STING in a group of words meaning confidence games. The American Heritage Dictionary in part defines STING as “a confidence game, especially one implemented by undercover agents to apprehend criminals.” I think we’re so used to hearing about police stings that we don’t remember or don’t realize that the word has a broader application. I can’t think of it without being reminded of the old movie in which Paul Newman and Robert Redford play grifters who run a complicated con on a crime boss played by Robert Shaw.
@Eric Hougland — I was thinking *exactly* that movie and my rationale was *exactly* that it wasn’t nefarious and therefore could not be labeled as a racket. Your examination of The Sting being defined as a CONfidence game and therefore being a CON seems to adequately relate that action to the clue RACKET . . . thank you for the education, that’s why I’m here!! :0)
Loved this one! The theme was trickier for me to figure out than the usual Monday puzzle. But I’m confused how 48D “White House policy chief” is CZAR? Can someone explain? Thank you!
Grace, CZAR (as in, say Energy CZAR) is often used in the media to describe people in major but not Cabinet-level federal jobs. #####
I had to 45 across at 46 down. It's been quite a while since [Yahoo competitor] versus Yahoo was a thing.
Nothing says the exotic lure of the tropics like a glass of cheap white wine: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4HdZkGqzKps" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4HdZkGqzKps</a> (Yes kids, there were TV commercials for wine in the 1960's.) (Enjoy responsibly)
I don’t usually comment on Mondays but this one was specially clever and fun. Thank you!
Had to look up 27D and 33A at the end, because I couldn't for the life of me figure out which clue I had wrong even after going through each and every clue, I thought it was CZAR and ZIP I had wrong, the latter which I also had to look up. First time I've heard of MELD.
Such a noisy puzzle on a Monday morning might not appeal to all potatoes, some of whom cannot just pop off their ears. RACKET-NOISE-CRUNCH-BRAT-WAR-(HUE&)CRY-ADS-OPERA Do I need at least five rests? I’d say aye, sir.
I had fully intended to write about this puzzle. But, it being Monday, I both completed it early and then got very busy with Monday things. Oops! It was a lovely puzzle, buttery smooth fill that was enjoyable and surprisingly quick (even for a Monday). Not at all boring! I loved seeing PAULA Poundstone at the top of the grid. I feel we are overdue for a Netflix special or some such from her. Or bring her back for the political conventions -- I'm dating myself, but she was great at covering those in the 90's! Far and away my favorite today: [Word yelled in unison by party guests]. I could totally feel the joy and SURPRISE with that one! Thanks to the constructors!! 🎈🎉
Strands #127 “Rise and shine” 🔵🔵🔵🟡 🔵🔵🔵 I don’t miss the lower right corner one bit.
@Eric Hougland I carefully checked before posting, sorry! Fwiw, I always scan all the comments and then refresh before submitting my own. Yet another frustration with this commenting platform's functionality... And now I have to pad this comment to make sure it posts. Oy.
@Eric Hougland Strands #127 “Rise and shine” 🟡🔵🔵🔵 🔵🔵🔵
Strands #127 “Rise and shine” 🔵🔵🔵🔵 🔵🔵🟡 Such a good Monday, start-of-the-week theme! As always, please don't post any Strands spoilers until there are at least three replies, or in other words after there is a View All Replies button. // We don't need to tell the emus to rise and shine-!
@G If it matters, let's use @Eric Hougland's thread immediately before this one to post about Strands today. It already has the "requisite" three replies. 😁 Chalk this one up to the byzantine ways of the NYT Comments platform 😂
Was close to a new PR but struggled to see the section around the ADS clue for about a minute! This one was especially neat too, so thank you!
I can’t get the Tuesday puzzle
@suejean @Hanson I don't have a problem -- I always solve in the browser (on my phone). Does this link work for you? <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/crosswords/game/daily/2024/07/09" target="_blank">https://www.nytimes.com/crosswords/game/daily/2024/07/09</a> Fingers crossed! (Must feed the emus)
Just curious... If the clue for 60A were simply, "Boy, is that loud!" without the "or a hint to the ends..." Would that have been acceptable to the editors?
@Nick P I don't know what's acceptable to the editors but having the second part of the clue there is what ties the theme together. Otherwise it's only referring to the revealer itself. The second part explains the full theme. I don't know what's acceptable to emus either. And that is no joke!
Okay, regarding adult brats, I’m finally going to bite: How does one pronounce Charli XCX? (or does it take more than one?)
@JohnWM I'm going to hazard a guess that it follows a similar scheme in how you'd expect us to pronounce JohnWM.
Apparently goodbye/adieu and farewell/au revoir just mean the same thing nowadays? C'est domage.
@Mike Adieu literally translated means "to God", and au revoir "see you again". While they're not the same, farewell and goodbye aren't really direct translations either.
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