I started doing NYT crosswords when I couldn't sleep at the end of my pregnancy, my son is now over a year old and today is my first completion without using the Check Puzzle or Reveal Letter functions! I always struggle with American-centric clues (names of US sports teams or of senators for example), I was glad that for once the crosses worked in my favour for the words I didn't know. Hopefully the week ahead will be as nice as today's crosswords.
"Look at me! I'm the square root of negative 1!" "You can't be real!" ("Well, I brought my plus-one. It's kind of complex.")
My five favorite original clues from last week (in order of appearance): 1. Verb that sounds like its opposite (4) 2. The vowels not seen in "bad debt", ironically (3) 3. Entry fee for some clubs? (4) 4. She's so full of herself! (10) 5. Contracts for shrinks, e.g. (7) RAZE IOU ANTE MATRYOSHKA SYNONYM
@Lewis Matroyshka was inspired— surely a candidate for BCOY.
Boom! That’s a PR at 3:22! It’s been a long time since I had a Monday PR and this one was by 20 seconds. I never have much to say about the quality or content of Monday puzzles, but it was satisfying today to fill most of the theme answers with no crosses. Thank you Shaun Phillips! (Just noticed he was able to pop his own name in the grid - nice)
Shaun (47D, nice touch!), it's really too kind of you to show appreciation for us solvers. But, in truth, there wouldn't be any of us if it weren't for the tireless labor of love of constructors like you. Thank *you* for your delightful puzzles! This one was very creative, with a smooth flow and a wonderful revealer for the MYTH themers. It made me laugh out loud – with one exception. C'mon, now, we all know that the Loch Ness monster is as real as can be... I wish you a Happy Belated Birthday, and I dare say this is not your HEY DAY by all means, but just the beginning of many more published puzzles to come. Nicely done, Shaun!
@sotto voce Whoohooo!!! I'm solidly with you on Team Nessie!! And I wholeheartedly agree with your kind sentiments about constructors!!
@sotto voce I'm glad someone else made note of the SHAUN in Shaun's puzzle. Have to look back to see if it was in his first one too. Do any constructors have such a signature solution? Something like Hirschfeld's NINA?
Fast and LADEN with fun! Even though I propose a better clue (in my very humble experience; others disagree) for 15A IKEA would be: Many folks strongly dislike any furniture they need to assemble themselves, and would prefer their imaginary friend, a beatnik, eat shashlik each evening on a table delivered and assembled by professionals. Oh, I do emuse myself!! And yes, I am very much FOR REAL! 😂 As for the theme revealer question, I want to believe!! 👽🛸 Thanks for another fun puzzle! And cheers all to a good week ahead!
@HeathieJ If I wanted to build furniture, I'd work in a factory! My daughter has a company she calls that sends someone over to assemble your stuff. How cool is that?
Did the Monday puzzle in under 4 minutes, keeping my streak alive; got the wordle in two tries; hit genius level in Spelling Bee; and the Mariners swept the Mets (definitively). I'll take the Ws!!!!!!
@Classic Hip-Hop Fan So which wordle did you get in two? I thought it came out at midnight each day in all time zones. The Monday wordle (#1150) took me six today. …..And please nobody write in that this was a spoiler…. — — — — — — — —
This Monday puzzle was a real joy to solve.
To Shaun Phillips - thank you for the most enjoyable puzzle and constructor notes. I could feel the happiness and playfulness in your interaction with your young daughters. How lucky you all are to have such a fun relationship. Thanks again for allowing us {me} to be part of that experience, What a great way to start the week - hope it's a good one for all!
Not a PB, but was close at 11:24. Solved most of the across clues the first time through so had to read some of the downs afterwards. No look ups, easy breezy, a perfect Monday.
This must be the earliest I’ve posted. Got up at 5 am as just too hot to sleep. Ironically Storm Debbie, which gave you all in the States such a horrible time has shifted the jet stream so we’re getting the torrid heat from Spain. We’ve gone from a cool 15c Saturday to 29c yesterday and a forecasted 32c today. As our houses are built to retain heat and ACs are not a feature here it is H.O.T. Oh, the puzzle; cute, fun, fast. A perfect Monday grid. I do get a little bored with ETON though. I understand that it’s good fill, being recognisable worldwide, but it grates a little from this side of the Pond, being an extremely elite establishment, inaccessible to most. Gripe over, I’m off to walk the hound before it gets too hot.
@Helen Wright Is it wrong that I was hoping it was Hogwarts!? I know it doesn't fit in so many ways, but the heart wants what it wants! 😂
@Helen Wright Thanks for the post. TIL that tropical storms here can affect your weather. Who knew? Found this reference to it: <a href="https://tinyurl.com/yzmpcwyz" target="_blank">https://tinyurl.com/yzmpcwyz</a> — — — — — — — —
Today's crossword is so fun! I enjoyed it a lot :D
This puzzle (and the Gameplay column) makes me want to reflect on the concept of MYTHS. I used to teach a course on Classical (Greek and Roman) Civilization, and I would tell my students not to think of it as Classical mythology, but rather Greek and Roman religion. We can use the word MYTH, but only if we understood it in its literal meaning as "story". Just as there are Bible stories (which some people believe literally, others think are interesting metaphors, and yet others think are just nonsense) so we should think of the stories/myths of Greek and Roman (and Norse and Hindu and...) religion. Would we be comfortable calling them Bible MYTHS?
The X-Phile, As I trust you know, the word MYTH has quite a few meanings. I have no problem using the first definition for all of the above (regardless of what others may consider any of them to be). <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/myth" target="_blank">https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/myth</a>
@The X-Phile As an atheist, I see no difference between the stories of any religion - they are all equally mythical to me. Does the word "myth" change its meaning depending on the beliefs of the person considering it?
Today marked 100 Mondays in a row, and I also set a new personal record of 8:42 minutes!
3:00 flat. I love a Monday that lends itself to a speed run.
@Chris Whoa, I don't think I can tap the letters fast enough to get down to a 3 minute PB. What app/device do you use?
Chris g , I sense a theme here. Are you for real, or did I myth something just because I’m so slow? :)
IDE have finished much sooner if ITE typed a D instead of a T in 22D. By the way, Sam, Mom says she wants her 25 cents back.
@Strudel Dad The idea! That child should have found coal in her Christmas stocking. Santa knows.
@Strudel Dad A spunky kid you had there, eh? I'm wondering how many times mom and dad asked her, "ARE YOU FOR REAL?"
Great Monday! And brought back a memory... About 8 or 10 years ago, when I lived and worked in Milwaukee, a movie was being filmed on the east side. I received a call asking for permission to film part of it in our facility (I worked as the director of marketing and communications in a senior living care complex). After some discussion with our senior staff, we decided to allow it. On the day of filming, the star of the show walked in, and our gruff and grim security staff turned into mumbling schoolchildren as they stumbled to their feet (I thought they were going to salute!) to greet Sean ASTIN, making his way to the elevator. Addressing him as Sir, geeking out over his resume ("I loved you in Rudy!), all but asking him for an autograph... I guided him to the elevator and apologized for them on our way up. He was obviously very used to it, and very gracious. Oh, the movie? "The Surface." Don't bother. The highlight of the movie is seeing my name and all our staff who got used as extras mentioned under the thank-you section in the credits. But it sure caused excitement for one day!
@Mar in PA - So glad to hear about a second generation Hollywood star who is pleasant to work with. His Mom and Step-Dad must be proud.
If it hadn’t been for SANTA CLAUS, I could have had “maybe” instead of MYTHS. I like my answer better and I’m sticking with it. ;) Great puzzle. Even tho my answer was wrong, I laughed and smiled a lot during this puzzle. Thank you!!
Fun puzzle! Thanks! (I probably don't post often enough to be an emu target, but) 😁😁
What an enjoyable Monday puzzle, Shaun! You managed to pack a lot of theme material into a small grid and still keep the fill interesting. Also, how did you know I played my Fairport Convention album, Heyday, just yesterday? <a href="https://youtu.be/rzD9QiRme0k?si=7oCADK86BVTY5Dsx" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/rzD9QiRme0k?si=7oCADK86BVTY5Dsx</a>
Cute theme and an enjoyable solve. Just needed some crosses to work out each of the theme answers, but still came in well below my Monday average. Just thought the reveal was so clever - left a big smile on my face. One 15 letter answer that occurred to me, inspired by 1d: THETETOFFENSIVE Nope - never been in a puzzle. And of course I had a puzzle find today. I'll put that in a reply. ..
@Rich in Atlanta As threatened: A Sunday from November 3, 2013 by Andy Kravis and Victor Barocas with the title: "Stolen Produce." All of the theme answers were in pairs. One example: 23a: -"Many service dogs, after 29-Across? :" EMNSHEHRDS 29a: - "They get stuffed at Greek Restaurants." GRAPELEAVES So... the implication is that you remove G, R, A, P, and E from (G)E(R)M(A)NSHE(P)H(E)RDS to arrive at that theme answer. One other theme pair example: OCHNSSSTER LEMONDROPS So, the implication was: (L)OCHN(E)SS(MON)STER Here's the Xword Info link: <a href="https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=11/3/2013&g=60&d=A" target="_blank">https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=11/3/2013&g=60&d=A</a> ..
I complain when they're too hard and I complain when they're too easy. There's no pleasing me!
@David Hancock You should see if baby bear has created any crossword puzzles. I have a feeling they would be "just right".
What a delightful idea for a Monday theme. Fun from start to finish, great way to start the week. Nice constructor notes as well, thank you, Shaun.
You mean HOBBES isn’t real? Next you’ll tell me Sherlock Holmes doesn’t exist!
@LarryF and Snuffy. (Although I remember watching the Sesame Street episode with my little daughter back in the 80's when the adults finally got to meet him.)
@LarryF Like Tinkerbell, if you believe in him, then he is real. Personally I think he's more real than Calvin. Keep the faith!
@LarryF - I have never seen Sherlock Holmes in the flesh, so it's possible he isn't real. However, my friend Mycroft is rarely wrong about these things and he assures me Holmes is very real.
It saddens me when people think Nessie is a myth. She and her sister Morag in Loch Morar are just shy.
@Peter I know deep in my mind that Nessie doesn't exist. I also know, deep in my heart, that she does.
Interesting to read that NYT gets hundreds of crossword submissions each week.
Nice Monday - I see Shaun worked his own name into the puzzle! Re: the Mini - K-hive is a thing? OK!
@Amy I noticed his name being in the puzzle as well and was a bit surprised it wasn't mentioned in the article.
nice puzzle to start the week. i still miss calvin and hobbs.
@AlphaDelt I do too, but I read the reruns daily on gocomics.com, and that helps. I think they still have a free option if you're interested.
I think the BL corner could be either an N or D (although the N is better)
@mainer I had D and it took me about 10 minutes to figure out my issue
@mainer Wouldn't DONE be 100%?
All I can say is, what took me so long? When the puzzle was filled, it took about 30 seconds to see the mistakes, and there were more than one. The perils of thinking about something else while you solve, and not looking at crosses now and then. Well, it's a sleepy, sunny, Sunday afternoon. What did I expect?
Super fun theme and puzzle! I enjoyed reading your constructor’s notes, as well! Thanks, Shaun!
Debut part two! Nicely done and thanks.
A first! I actually learned a new word while doing a Monday puzzle. Lassi. Love Indian food but never heard of this yoghurt drink
@Calhouri oooh, mango lassi is DELICIOUS!!
Happy belated birthday, Shaun Phillips! Thanks for a mythical Monday.
I was mortified by the blog photo :). Is that the aft side? Cute theme and we did it. Who could ask for more. Thank you Shaun and good job getting your name in the grid.
Very nice theme for a Monday puzzle. Some fine six-letter horizontals here: DEMOCD, BUNION, NEWMOM, SEAICE, HEYDAY. ENSHRIINE is also interesting. A few too many names for my liking: EVAN, ASTIN, DESI, SHAUN, KERRY. Why not alter the tricky TUTSI and invite TULSI to join too? (She can bring the ALE.) LASSI seemed tough for a Monday---I didn't know it---but it's okay as long as you know the correct spelling of OWIE.
@Xword Junkie DEMOCD is a wicked combination of letters, especially if you get the ending first... Example in a sentence? I'm interviewing a Brooklyn psychiatrist. Doctor, what kind of patient is the most challenging? The hardest challenges are DEMOCD patients.
Xword Junkie, This is the eighth appearance of [Indian yogurt drink] in the grid (and the second Monday). By now you should be saying "LASSI, Come Home." OWIE, emu!
Possible Wednesday-level clues for 1A and 15A: 1A: SKOGSTA, for one. 15A: Maker of SKOGSTA.
I enjoyed it. I remember "PONE" from Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings' "The Yearling." Seems that the kid in the book always had some corn pone he was carrying around with him. "HEYDAY" threw me for some reason, and I thought it was "HER DAY." I have seen "DESI" Arnaz's name a lot in these puzzles.
@Jason I remember PONE from the last time I made it.
15 Company name aptly found in "The bookcase came together like a charm!" Cute but very wordy for a four-letter word.
Thanks, Shaun, for sharing "these funny little gridded pieces of my heart". It was a delightful puzzle. Calvin & Hobbes, and Nessie are funny little pieces in my heart, too. Strands! No spoilers, plz, until after "view all replies". I got the spangram first today, yay. Strands #162 “Everybody cut footloose!” 🟡🔵🔵🔵 🔵🔵🔵
@Linda Jo Yay us! Strands #162 “Everybody cut footloose!” 🟡🔵🔵🔵 🔵🔵🔵
@Linda Jo Strands #162 “Everybody cut footloose!” 🟡🔵🔵🔵 🔵🔵🔵 One more for team "yay!" A footloose and fancy-free solve today.
Is this the first reference of Mega Man in a NYT Crossword?
drew, I personally did not recall a prior reference, but a bit of research reveals that this was not a debut. 2 results for MEGAMAN from Modern Era puzzles: Thu Sep 28, 2023 14A Video game hero who battles the evil Dr. Wily Ricky Cruz Shortz Thu Aug 30, 2018 1A Classic video game hero a.k.a. the Blue Bomber Grant Thackray Shortz Who gnu? Not eye. emu?
A personal best for a Monday. Just the right touch of fun and mix of clues. If I didn't know it (like the yogurt drink,) I just filled in around it.
Hobbes as an IMAGINARYFRIEND feels like the odd one out compared to the other "real world" theme answers. But I'll let it slide because I'm always happy to see a reference to that comic ;)
This was delightful. 20” over average although it felt easy in many places. Nicely done! Sorry I gave up too soon on the arcade claw puzzle!
Another great puzzle from Shaun Phillips!
Add to tricky questions A46, as the surface of Loch Ness is 52 feet above sea level. I was flabbergasted to spell out Loch Ness Monster as a "Cryptid in the Scottish Highlands". And I was thinking Hound of the Baskervilles. Not really a cryptid. Maybe the Floridian Highlands but clearly not the Scots kind. Overall fun of course. If there is a Nessie it spends most of its time below sea level. The abyss of Loch Ness is 670 feet below sea level or about half way done to the Dead Sea.
As mentioned by the creator of Calvin and Hobbes, Hobbes is NOT imaginary. Poor clue and answer choice.
"What is that object flying off the starboard bow of the Enterprise, Spock?" "I can't identify it, Captain, but it appears to be pulled by nine tiny reindeer." In other words, I suppose there could be an UFO in a work of sci-fi, but in general the spacecraft therein are identified, just fictional. Rare for me to say it, but "poor clue." And odd that it wasn't included in the themed entries.
@Bill As a long-time Star Trek fan, I have to interject. Some of the most exciting episodes of the many ST series revolved around meeting new entities (because they were not always people), initially unidentified. That's how ST:TNG began, and in fact all of Star Trek: Voyager hinged on the novelty of an unknown part of the galaxy, full of unidentified objects, many of them flying.
Great puzzle for my "first day back to school" brain! Thanks for a fun puzzle, Shaun!