Okay, I tried it out, below, but many of Caryn’s really made me laugh! Bagels! Eleven! Hee hee! “I’ve got two imaginary aunts who help me avoid boring social events” EMERGENCY RELATIONS “Request to the only competent person around the campfire” DO THE RELIGHT THING “Mom’s calling for us to come in for dinner, again” THAR SHE BELLOWS
@Cat Lady Margaret You are BY FAR my favorite commenter on this thread.
I have done every NY Times crossword since 1969. During these 55 years, whether I liked a particular puzzle or not, I always marveled at the talent of constructors and their ability to create a grid. Now Ms. Robbins joins this elite group. Nice job. Very entertaining. Don't be a stranger around here.
Michael, This is the constructor's first *Sunday* crossword. She joined the elite group of NYT constructors two years ago. <a href="https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=10/17/2022" target="_blank">https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=10/17/2022</a> Not a stranger.
@Michael Sixty-five years ago, my dad smiled at my struggles with the NYT crossword, then he gently taught me about ANIL and SERE and a dozen other staples I’ll think of in my dreams tonight. Know what? His xword advice has been of much more value to me than anything he said about the birds and the bees. Go figure LOL
@Michael I have done every puzzle since 1786. Sometimes I would pop over to Alexander Hamilton's for help. Herman Melville also, who was good with nautical clues. O what larks!
“Kilometre” abbreviated isn't ‘Kil’. It’s like saying “foot” abbreviated is ‘Foo’. ‘Km’, ‘k’ and ‘kms’ are the only intelligible abbreviations of kilometre. And while we’re here, ‘kms’ should be avoided at all costs; pluralising unit abbreviations is redundant.
@Tom Except, you know, in American English. It worked fine. I hate when people do this but here's the dictionary of record's reference. <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/kil" target="_blank">https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/kil</a> Do you folks down under really not write "tsps" for teaspoons? I'm kind of betting that you do... /Emuses
@B that M-W entry is unreliable online nonsense, almost surely not vetted by a real editor.
Really liked the theme and the punning- made me chuckle. Not a fan of some of the garbage fill. Looking at you KIL, GDS and EMEER
Nowhere is Kilometer abbreviated to KIL. Nowhere. It’s crosswordese and rubbish. The puzzle was delightful otherwise. Rheas are better than emus.
Same with 35 Down. “Snarlup” is not a natural word at all.
KIL for kilometer... Seriously? I have never once in my life seen kilometer abbreviated to anything else than KM. Is this something Americans actually use? Or is it just unfortunate crosswordese that misled everybody, and not just solvers from metric system countries? Coming next week - CTR (centimeter), LR (liter), and possibly ME (mile) and IH (inch).
@Andrzej fully agreed. KPH or KMH as a unit of velocity had us stuck, but KIL never would have come close to occurring
@Andrzej 1! And in a world where “KIL” is the abbreviation for kilometer, what is the abbreviation for “kilogram”? Or I guess they don’t have kilograms in the world where they abbreviate kilometer to “KIL”…
@Andrzej No, Americans don't usually use KIL. The more common abbreviation in the US is mi. But if we have a need to refer to kilometers, it's generally km, like everywhere else. But KIL is in at least three online dictionaries, so somebody must use it, and to enough of a degree that it passes muster with panels of experts.
Great puzzle but there is an error in one of the clues. "Selling Sunset" is a Netflix show, it's not connected to Bravo in any way. From someone who solves most crosswords while watching a Bravo show, I should know!!!
@Allison came here to see if anyone else caught that mistake! High five!
@Allison - you are so right, Allison. Not sure why anyone wouldn't believe you, but for those who need a citation, here you go; <a href="https://www.netflix.com/title/80223108" target="_blank">https://www.netflix.com/title/80223108</a>
At first, I answered 90D [Academy endorsements, casually] as NODS, which made 98A DON’T GET DAD, GET EVEN.
@Derek Ledbetter Same here--but eventually realized it had to be NOMS.
@Derek Ledbetter It is NODS - literally nobody has ever said NOMS. Like half the other junk answers in this one.
I liked the theme but not the fill. EMEERS is just not good. Way too much junk in my opinion. I’m glad I read the column before posting, since I too was confused by “no elfly zones”. NOEL FLY ZONES is the highlight for me…now that I see it
@Albert Emeers, as a variant spelling, has often appeared in NYT puzzles.
@Albert agree great theme, lots of good clues, ruined by poor fill. Kil is just wrong. Obscure trivia you can't intuit from crosses. Obscurity isn't clever.
Fun puzzle! Anyone else enter NAIR for the hair removal product? :)
@S Godwin I remember 1. It smelled awful, and 2. The commercial jingle: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1N_MoXc_99E" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1N_MoXc_99E</a>
@S Godwin With a great deal of confidence, and it took me a while to let go of it.
What do you give someone with big aspirations? Heimlich maneuver. Nice puzzle. The constructor might be my doppelganger. So many oldy-but-goodies! Haven’t seen ANIL in years, and WELBY brings tears to my eyes. Thanks
The problem with abbreviating kilometre as KIL is that it will inevitably get mixed up with kilogram. There’s a reason why the standard abbreviations are what they are and it’s best not to mess with them.
@Sonja AMEN! I sat there puzzling with just the K (thinking off all those signs on the autobahn) and was forced to add the IL against my wILl.
@Mean Old Lady 10/10 for that wordplay! I tried variations of kms, kmt, kph, really anything else because I too was unwILling to IL
some real antics for those of us unfamiliar with old time TV and sewing machines. But the real head scratcher was SNARLUPS. Sounds like a bad Pokémon. All that aside, friends and I enjoyed solving the theme clues quite a bit. Nice puzzle overall.
Congratulations, Caryn, on your Sunday debut. Great puzzle! Way to go! Well done! CHEERING SELECTION
OMG -- The theme answers are SO good!!!! When you have a change-a-familiar-phrase-into-a-wacky-one type Sunday theme, there are only two tests that matter. 1) Are the wacky answers funny, clever and even inspired rather than being forced and TEPID and 2) Are they accurately and fairly clued so that the solver has a sporting chance of getting them with just a few crosses. This passes both tests with flying colors. I got most of the themers with very few if any crosses: EXCHANGE WEDDING VOWELS; PACK YOUR BAGEL AND GO; WHAT'S PASTEL IS PAST and YOUR DELAYS ARE NUMBERED. I had NOEL, but needed crosses for the rest; I knew it was PEELER something-or-other; and I couldn't get the truly magnificent DON'T GET MAD, GET ELEVEN without lots of crosses. I laughed out loud over every single one of them. They are all so funny and so original and so well-chosen. The constructor is a retired editor. Of course she is! We retired editors have a deep love of wordplay and the colorful things you can do with language. Congratulations on a wonderfully entertaining and beautifully conceived puzzle, Caryn!
@Nancy, well said. PS there is info for you at your old crossword hangout... - @A
TELOS, LAMBDA, GAIA, GEMINI, ASTRA, and even OLIVE TREE. It’s all Greek to me but happily … I know Greek! ZOO too, actually. And … what were the discussions for cluing AGAPE? You can’t get more Greek than that, can you? Also: hat tip to SERE, ANIL, SAL … blast of the past! How did Mel Ott, Gordy Howe, and Bobby Orr not get invited to this party?
Clem, Re: AGAPE The "Greek" clue appeared with some frequency in the pre-Shortz era, but only once thereafter: Fri Jul 3, 2015 49D Love of one's fellow man, to Greeks Brandon Hensley My grandmother would have been familiar with it. She also chortled every time Mel OTT appeared in the grid, having run into him in a speak in the late '20s.
@Clem Gemini (twins) and Astra (preceded by Ad) are Latin.
@Clem So fun… for the octogenarians in the room!
I have a friend who uses "kil" as an abbreviation for kilometer. The other day I asked him how tall the Texas Capitol building is and he said "About two and a half hund I think?" His daughters have taken his car keys, but they can never take his liberty.
The puzzle was fun and entertaining. The constructor should be esteemed (my first fill) if not revered (the correct fill). And yes, "kil" was bad. But I think it's time for the NYT to require posters who want criticize fills like "kil" to propose a new fill and clue. In practical fact, they will be required to propose multiple new fills and clues, up to and including an entire new puzzle, because clunkers like "kil" are in a puzzle for a reason. Constructors don't put "kil" in puzzle, and editors don't leave "kil" in a puzzle, so that they can gather their loved ones and point to the puzzle and proudly proclaim, "Look, I put 'kil' in a puzzle." They do it because they like the rest of the puzzle and they don't want to redo the whole puzzle to avoid "kil." So, puzzlers and puzzlettes, embrace the "kil."
@drsophila "Ilk" after a 113-Down?
@drsophila In the Maleska era, KIL was usually clued as an Irish monk’s cell. Is that what people want? It’s not great fill, but at least the LeMans clue gives most people a chance to figure it out.
drsophila, An excellent post! Love your blend of humour and obvious sense. As you say, Eric H., we pretty well all knew what it was from the clue and the crossings. Plus, I’m always happy when a crossword allows me to say KIL (klunker I learned).
I was nearly knocked out when my insurer gave me free roadside assistance: They threw in the tow(el)s!
Makes and models of cars....almost always have to be dredged out of the mud by crossings... Aptly enough, EXCHANGE WEDDING VOWELS happens to appear on the day of our 45th WEDDING anniversary. (Time is speeding up... This afternoon we'll start Year 46....with hope in our hearts for the Republic...if we can keep it.) EMUs should try milkweed leaves; maybe it will help their wings!
@Mean Old Lady Happy Anniversary to you and DH. What was for breakfast? Inquiring emus want to know.
@Mean Old Lady Congratulations! We share an anniversary; today is 17 for us. My gift is a typo I can't find.
"Should we serve bread for the bride and groom?" "I propose wedding toast." ("That wouldn't get a good reception.")
If an airline told me "YOURDELAYSARENUMBERED," I would be absolutely livid. Like, dude, you felt you had to number them? This was a delight to solve. Thanks Mrs. Robbins!
That was a really fun workout for me. Had to cheat a bit on a few down answers, but I was just fascinated by trying to work out each of the theme answers once I caught on to the trick. Just a ton of nice aha moments when something finally dawned on me. And... I went and looked at Ms. Robbins previous puzzles. Couldn't help but note the similarity to her last one - a Wednesday from August 9, 2023. The theme answers in that one: GHOSTLYPRESENTS NOCHANTSINHELL LOSINGPATIENTS PRINTSOFTHIEVES Just looking forward to more. ..
The seven long, punny themers were cute, but tightly constrained the rest of the grid, forcing a lot of three-letter entries. Of these, KIL and GDS were pretty bad. Is KIL supposed to be an abbreviation for kilometer? "Embarassing mistake?" for TYPO was cute, with the intentional misspelling of embarrassing. PICKACARD and OLIVETREE were nice, symmetrically placed, long entries, as were COASTAL and DURANGO.
Is DON'TGETMADGETELEVEN the new tagline for Stranger Things? I LUV puzzles like this—funny and great word play—and I definitely LUVed this one! ELFLY through me for a bit but I'm here for it!! Even after filling it all out, it was hard to see the NOEL through the ELF. Chuckled out loud when I did! SRO I got immediately only because I struggled with it in Saturday's puzzle. Maybe it'll stick this time! 🤞 A few spots that slowed me down... I'm lookin' at you, LOLA! Ha! Good one! I'd certainly forgotten about her but I was so fond of the idea of BAGELS that was working out I knew ole Bugs had to go! But overall a clean and fairly breezy solve for me.(Remarkable how quickly WELBY came back to me!) Anyhow, really got a kick out of each of the theme answers and a lot of the others entries! But my favorite has to be IN A DREAM! I've watched every episode of both shows in Bob's name and so many of his other bits! What a gift to the world Bob Newhart was! This video link is so classic Bob! ❤️ <a href="https://shorturl.at/2ZsY9" target="_blank">https://shorturl.at/2ZsY9</a> No ERASERS were worn down over here... and I never MOPED a bit. (I jest!)
@HeathieJ I, too, loved the Newhart clue. I really, really wish I had a picture of myself at the moment Suzanne Pleshette sat up in that bed. Just priceless. And a great homage to an incredible talent in the wake of his passing. RIP, Bob Newhart. You gave me a lot of great big, big smiles. You were a giant.
KIL is a terrible answer. Most obviously because it's not used anywhere as an abbreviation for KM. But also in French "kil" as an abbreviation seems to be more associated with mass or volume. Unless it is a reference to engine size here? There was an easy opportunity for some sly misdirection by referring to Le Mans the place in the clue, rather than the race.
@Atavistic Cringeworder I wouldn't use KIL as an abbreviation for kilogram, and you wouldn't, either, but Merriam-Webster, Collins, and dictionary.com all list it, so apparently some people do use it. That's enough to make it valid for crosswords. It's one thing not to like it, but another to say it's a "terrible answer". Answers are either valid or not valid; it's not really a judgment issue here. But I'm still searching to find a justification for that reality series to be a Bravo show.
@Steve L “KIL” - sorry, that’s just wrong. The clue referred to Le Mans. American dictionaries are clueless. Especially dictionary.com.
EMEER--the variant spelling--was a staple of crosswords of my youth (1970's). Seeing it brought back memories of working dailies with my Mother. It's the little things. The puzzle has been out for 11 hrs. and 25 min., and I can't believe no one has mentioned Nigel: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xgx4k83zzc" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xgx4k83zzc</a>
@Bill Yes, I was surprised to se EMEER, too. I remember it being in the puzzle quite often, but it's been years since I've seen it here.
I didn't like this puzzle. Theme was clever but the fill was remarkably bad - I am looking at things like KIL (just wrong), EOE (still not sure what that is), OTO and ANIL and SERE (all old crossword-ese, I'd rather see EPEE esp when the Olympics are on and I actually hear people say that word), GDS (also seems wrong - is this actually used?), NOMS (has anybody ever said "Oscar noms"?), EMEERS and DAL (both weird spellings, though I guess this and "dahl" are also used for what I think of as daal). Plus maybe another. One or two of those would be a fun challenge, but so many of them looks like the Times' editing staff was out on vacation this week. Also, minor grumbles, but who says that view is COASTAL and SOLAR is a type of farm? Finally (acknowledging this is my fault) the proper nouns -- the sewing machine pioneer, two actresses whose names I sort-of knew but wasn't sure about spelling, and an obscure cartoon character -- were all out of my trivia wheelhouses. At least there was a Stevie Wonder reference, but not much else for stuff I know.
@David S Completely agree with daal and emirs— thought there was no way they could be the answers with those lengths. But I live next to a solar farm, those are real and becoming more common ☀️🔋
@David S For some of us ELIAS Howe is a household name... to be REVEREd. I don't know who first arranged for an electric motor (instead of a rocker pedal/belt/wheel arrangement) to power a sewing machine, but the earlier, ingenious concept of a mechanism that would interlock threads to create a stitch BY MACHINE instead of by laborious hand work...well, goodness! Talk about your labor-saving devices!
@David S EOE is an oldie and a goodie. Equal Opportunity Employer.
You have an error in 5 down: Selling Sunset is not on Bravo nor is it produced by Bravo, it’s on Netflix.
@mk - Given that 95% + of the comments here that supposedly point out an error in the puzzle, either clue or answer, are bogus (see the comment about the weight of the ORCA, for a perfect example), I always check out such accusations. Congratulations! I had never heard of this show (and, seeing what it is, there is a Very Good Reason for that), so I checked it out and found that it is, indeed, on Netflix, not Bravo. I did see it described as "a Bravo-like show" one place, but it's on Netflix. Not Bravo. Welcome to the 5% club! Well done!
The theme was brilliantly executed: fun and funny. GDS, KIL, EOE and spellings like EMEER... they kind of tempered the good times.
A clue 'xxx at/in yyy' point to how something is said in the language of jargon of yyy. Only an US American newspaper could dream up something like KIL for kilometres. This kind of stuff borders on cultural appropriation. Or should 'unit at Daytona pitstop' be INC, since that's first three letters of inch? Or POU because that's first three letters of pound? A few of such nonsensical entries can really rob the joy from solving an otherwise well designed puzzle.
@Marek I’m with you on KIL, and GDS seemed forced as well. I loved the themers especially pack your bagels and go , but those two really nits slowed me down. One person’s trivia is another’s knowledge gap and that’s the way it was for me today.
@Marek I'm with you 100% about 26A. (Read any of the many comments before yours with the same bone to pick.) However, the point you're trying to make gets lost with the nonsensical statement "Only an US American newspaper could dream up something like... " Whomever "dreamed up" KIL, it was not the constructor, Games staff, nor "the newspaper". In no way does the "newspaper" have anything to do with what goes into the puzzle, other than being the media platform upon which it is published...
Sorry to pile on, but KIL is terrible. Nobody, but nobody, would ever use that as a unit. And while we’re picking automotive nits, HUBCAPS don’t protect rims, they protect hubs, from dust infiltration. (To the extent they protect anything, other than being aesthetic choices, or help reduce drag.)
@Patrick Ryan Agreed. Some seriously bad & clunky fill here.
Selling Sunset is not a Bravo show (I’m a bravo expert!), it’s Netflix
@Kristin came here to say the same thing! It’s a Netflix show, not Bravo
@Kristin yes! at first i thought it was supposed to be a trick. this is an embarassing error.
@Kristin I'm so glad others pointed this out! I'm surprised this error got through.
The worst vice of Sunday puzzles, IMHO, is tedium. Who has time for Sunday acreage combined with Friday difficulty? And even when not that tough Sunday can turn into a slog by the end, completed more than anything else out of obedience to the same superego watchdog that makes us read boring books to their finish and eat every last lima bean. So puzzles like this one offer relief almost as much as delight. This was good fun from start to finish, and if that came at the cost of a tiny bit of suboptimal fill, who cares? I enjoyed it all the way through and still have plenty of time to get out and enjoy the morning sunshine.
Thought it was a bit weird that there is a musical set in the HOV lane but anything is possible these days and to drive in one you usually need at least two passengers so it seemed ok, plus my knowledge of musicals is quite limited. (Cha Cha, Wave...)
Splendid puzzle. Just splendid. I got big, big smiles from this one. BTW, I just found "Newhart" on streaming, and I''m really excited to find out what the big surprise in the series finale is. I hope no one spoils it for me!
@Francis 😂😂😂 Turns out he was dead all along!! Oh, sorry, meant to say spoiler alert!! !!
Follow that guru, find peace in the present? GO WITH THE F(EL)LOW Thanks, Caryn, good Sunday puzzle. Emus, your delays are numbered.
@Linda Jo Nice ones! That would be (1) Your El Train contribution. and (2) Also our deepest desires for the emus -- in both ways to parse the sentence. 😊 Emus, no puns for you!
Caryn Robbins is my dream. The witty, consistent themes always brought a chuckle, and DONTGETMADGETELEVEN, plus the flashing alert that Sunday puzzles have a title, flipped the top half from impenetrable to a piece of cake. Brava!
GDS for goods? ELIAS Howe? Sere? A wholly unpleasant experience.
A 50 minute solve for this Sunday’s edition. The “two by two” clue threw me for a loop as I had the wrong word for one of the down clues (the surfer’s hazard). A little trial and error for a few minutes provided me with the correct answers. To Ms. Robbins, thank you for a fun puzzle to solve for this Sunday! I was able to get all of the “el” clues with little difficulty which gave me a lot of down clues.
Enjoyed this one immensely! Thank you, Caryn!
Something about the elegance and execution of the theme today - the altered phrases display lots of thought and wit, without being convoluted or over-stretched - brought me back here more than 12 hours later to finally say: very nice!
What a clever, fun puzzle! I was delighted by the construction and theme. A bit more challenging than a typical Sunday, but that added to my enjoyment.
Nice themers, Caryn. DON'T GET MAD GET ELEVEN was my favorite, but I see that @Bill just beat me to posting the link I had all ready to go.
Fun one! A few areas slowed me down a bit, but that’s what I like! It’s Sunday. And I have a fresh bagel waiting, and a small tub of whipped, herbed cream cheese. Puzzles and yumminess? Life is good.
"Excellent" is an understatement for the quality of this perfect puzzle. Ms Robbins has silly humor and wit, and vast knowledge, and makes fresh, idiosyncratic connections that to me mark the very best of crossword puzzles, the kind that you are positive could only be generated by a personable human who chuckles all the way through, as I did.
Many of the clues (and some of the answers) were just a bit... off for me. Like I'd get an answer from crosses and be like "okay, yeah I guess that kinda makes sense?" That in combination with the (very cute) theme, in which it is mandatory to have cross letters to get the answers, made this an impossible fill for me. Also I never thought an airhead = scatterbrain. Some of the smartest people I know are scattered.
Sometimes puzzles feel like they take ages to solve, and at the end I'm surprised that it actually wasn't that long. This puzzle took way longer than a usual Sunday for me, but it didn't feel long and I didn't begrudge the time--it was chewy and enjoyable all the way through.
I loved this puzzle! Great humor in it. I even managed to not need cheats by holding out and waiting for the crossing words to come to me. (Yes, that feels SO satisfying!) Thank you, Caryn Robbins!