While I’ll let everyone else argue over INUITS, my overly pedantic and wholly unnecessary comment for the day is to point out that ALPO is a subsidiary of Purina and therefore not a rival. Enjoyed the puzzle though!
In the Tuesday puzzle, a tribute to Toni Morrison listed the six works she had published before they earned her the Nobel Prize. Many commenters loved it, especially those who treasure her writings. Many did not like it, especially those who seem to think that reading is not a good idea. Two names that appear very frequently in the puzzles over the years are ODETS and AGEE. I had never read either, but dutifully filled them in simply based on familiarity with the puzzles and their common fills. But at some point I was prompted by writing these names over and over, I decided to get their works and read them. I was given the gifts of — encountering amazing wordsmiths — reading literature that affected me deeply and — writing those names ever after as a pleasure — a reminder of their contribution to my life. Yesterday, many posters encouraged the complainers to just go ahead and read. Often, when musical genres and artists or sports heroes come up, similar urging appears. Take advantage and reap the benefits.
@David Connell Thank you for your thoughtful and well-reasoned response to yesterday's comments.
@David Connell - Beautifully stated! I have finally stopped gnashing my teeth over the sports trivia and rap stars that trip me up in these puzzles and started to appreciate that Xwords are less about showing off what I already know than they are about finding out what I still have to learn. They provide us with a lifelong continuing liberal arts education … in the broadest sense of the term.
@David Connell You share the name of the bassist of one of my favorite bands: The Connells.
The square root of one is one, so I'm declaring ACT I as a bonus themer.
@Grant Have you had your math checked by mathematical "genius" Terrance Howard? <a href="https://tinyurl.com/z3vrzmup" target="_blank">https://tinyurl.com/z3vrzmup</a>
In addition to its role in the square root theme, I kind of like “cloud three” as a legitimate concept on its own. You’re on cloud three when something marginally decent happens: I’m on cloud three! My agent says they finally read the first chapter of my manuscript. I’m on cloud three! My favorite band is playing here in 2028. I’m on cloud three! My Black Oxford has one apple on it this year.
Spoiler alert here but — INUITS is a pretty awful answer for describing residents of Nunavut (4D). The plural of Inuk (meaning “person”) is Inuit (people) - no S needed. Essentially the equivalent of saying “The Spanishes” rather than being acceptable like “the Italians” etc. I’m not Indigenous so I can’t comment whether or not it’s an offensive or upsetting mistake, but I will say it’s a very easy one to avoid with good research. Disappointing to see.
@Cormac My first thought upon seeing this is that there's going to be someone complaining about incorrect pluralization. I knew it was going to happen; just didn't know that someone would beat me to it by a minute at 10:07 p.m. ET. You've fallen into the tamale trap, North of the Border version. Yes, among the various polar region peoples of North America, the term INUIT is the only plural, and the singular is indeed INUK. But that's in their language, not in English. English has a tendency to regularize foreign plurals, so you go to a sandwich counter and order two PANINIS, which is like ordering two sandwicheses, if you were speaking Italian. But it's perfectly fine English to say INUITS. And it also fine to use INUIT as a plural, just not the only plural. <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Inuit" target="_blank">https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Inuit</a> <a href="https://www.dictionary.com/browse/inuit" target="_blank">https://www.dictionary.com/browse/inuit</a> <a href="https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/Inuit" target="_blank">https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/Inuit</a> <a href="https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/learner-english/inuit" target="_blank">https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/learner-english/inuit</a> <a href="https://tinyurl.com/bdd62nst" target="_blank">https://tinyurl.com/bdd62nst</a> (Collins Dictionary) I'm sure someone will still insist that all five dictionaries are wrong, but there are people who believe Tim Walz will turn the Midwest into Mogadishu.
@Cormac thank you. One of the requests I see from Inuit is to understand that the plural of Inuk is "Inuit." It's a fact that NYT editors should be aware of.
Cormac, 1. No need for a spoiler alert in the comments for an answer in today's puzzle 2. This is the seventh time INUITS has a appeared as an answer in the crossword. 3. This dictionary has both Inuit and Innuits as acceptable plurals, and it's pretty good about noting issues with usage. <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Inuit" target="_blank">https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Inuit</a>
My nerdy family tree has square roots. (And if they're not squares, they're irrational.)
@Mike Hah... I suspect that in reality your family is imaginary. You're back to square -1, fella.
@Mike When you were in college, was the room over the main square the quad attic?
I'm a big exponent for this puzzle. It's like it was created by a higher power. And in the words of Andrew Wiles, I think I'll stop here.
Some candidates aren't as good. In fact they're a bit weird. Then there's these: Getting my kicks on Route 8.124 Apollo 3.6 The 2.645751 Samurai 5.2915 Days Later 10 Years of Solitude 1.732 blind mice, men in a tub, and old ladies locked in the lavatory Plan 3 From Outer Space
@Gretchen F I like the condensed version of 10 Years of Solitude, and the preliminary nature of Plan 3. OTOH, the rest of your numbers are only approximations, he said irrationally.
@Gretchen F 3.464 angry men Gone in 7.75 seconds 100 maniacs Haircut 10
@Gretchen F Or if we allow for cube roots, there's that classic Beatles hit... Two Days a Week
I know there are other fans of Vertex in this community and I just wanted to say how sorry I am that the NYT has decided to discontinue it. It wasn’t a good sign when it never had its own button in the redesign of the Games app, which I can imagine didn’t help its numbers and therefore hastened its demise. The last Vertex puzzle will appear August 29, sadly. I find them soothing and they use my brain in a quite different way from the NYT puzzles. They are also often very clever and produce their own kind of “aha!” moment when the whole picture comes into view (as I solve on my phone, I never see the entirety until the end). Many thanks to all the designers and especially Burgess Voshell. Your work will be missed on a daily basis.
@Jannicut I, too, will miss Vertex. It is my morning meditation, my fifteen minutes of calm in this crazy world. It is Art, not words. And Mr. Voshell's titles are brilliant. Please, please NYT, reconsider.
@Jannicut indeed. My 5 year old quite enjoyed them.
@Jannicut My iPad froze up on the first one I did and would never allow me out... and I never cared enough to seek intervention from the emus... I'm sorry for everyone, but I believe many of these extra games/puzzles will die because they'll run out of possible material. (Maybe they'll have to bring backk the Vertices.)
That was a good puzzle. Surprisingly challenging for a Wednesday, complete with a rather complex theme. I generally knew what was up but didn't really get it until the revealer came together. Very nice. /Emus are jealous of Paul's luxurious hair, well past 8^2 , also dyeing to know his secret
Mr. Donaldson, as someone who hasn't a clue about construction, I didn't understand a word of your notes except for the icing on the cake part, ha ha. But what matters is that it really showcased just how difficult it is to construct a puzzle, and I'd like you to know it's not taken for granted! I loved the marriage of math and language in this puzzle. The penny dropped for me at the revealer, so I went back and filled in the missing EIGHT of the song, with a big aha also for the other themers I had gotten from crosses. Until then, I'd been scratching my head about CLOUD THREE and SWEET FOUR. Thank you so much for a great puzzle, with just enough bite for a Wednesday, and a fabulous theme. Truly ingenious!
Come on now, NYT. The singular is Inuk. The plural is Inuit. "Inuits" is no more a word than "Maoris" was the last time we had this conversation.
@Cas Thank you! I came here hoping someone had already called this out. Just felt so wrong adding the S.
@Cas it pained me to see it written down and I can’t imagine the roasting I would get if I said “Inuits” around any Inuk I know.
@Cas I am among the uninformed, and I thought just 'Inuuit' was plural, so that I welcome the posts straightening that out. I don't think that I would come across this term without crosswords...there doesn't seem to be any central information source to keep folks abreast of such... Thanks for posting, all.
There's no such word as "Inuits." Inuit, no s, is itself the plural of Inuk, an Indigenous person in the Canadian Arctic (formerly referred to as Eskimos).
@Jamey Thank you for mentioning this - I came to the comments to mention the same thing! The word Inuit is already plural!
@Jamey Adding to this, from a Canadian website on Inuktitut language usage: “It’s important to note that in Inuktitut, the noun ‘Inuit’ is plural in form and refers to several persons. Therefore, it remains invariable in English, and an ‘s’ should not be added to the end of the word to pluralize it.” Some people DO write “Inuits” and it appears in some dictionary entries, but using the language as the people themselves recommend is a matter of cultural awareness and respect.
@Jamey Thank you! Came here to say the same thing
Decided to take a quick dissertation writing break (statistics) to do this puzzle, and now I'm interpreting today's math theme as a sign from the universe to stop procrastinating with crossword puzzles. (or maybe a sign to do a few more from the archive?)
Everything is awesome. After almost two weeks of the Olympics, ANCHORS was a gimme. It's hip to be a square root.
19A clue directly contradicts answer. ALPO is a subsidiary of Purina. It is not a rival.
Yaaaaaaas I solved it without needing to check the answer key or the Wordplay for once!
Well that was fast and fun! It probably would have been more fast, but not more fun, if I hadn't gotten distracted by some frolicking bunny rabbits as I sit out here on our garden balcony. And then came along some sort of low flying military looking aircraft, which made the bunnies scamper... 😬 Anyhow, I forgot to turn off the timer. I guess I don't have a super lot to say about this puzzle but I did really enjoy doing it and it was one of my faster Wednesdays! Like Sam, I briefly felt like somewhat of a math genius, which I've never been. I'm really good at practical math, like I can figure out a tip and a recipe modification like a champ, but anything much more complicated is not my wheelhouse. I also wanted to say that earlier today I finished what I think was the most difficult puzzle I have done in my nearly one year of crossword puzzling! It was in the archives, March 31st 2023.... It was a Friday and I have mostly conquered Fridays without any lookups at all, which is my goal... No lookups ever! I'm not there yet but I'm trying. This one nearly killed me though! I enjoyed it and I learned a lot but ooohwee! It made me think how far of a way I have to go yet! And I am here for it!! I'm trying to get all the way through 2023, and then I'll start going back further in the archives. Time to go in as the mosquitoes are starting to eat me alive! Cheers! 🍸
@HeathieJ I don’t think otherwise will be able to fully appreciate just how proliferous the amount of rabbits in Saint Paul is. Course it doesn’t help that the crows chase away the hawks and eagles from getting them…
Cool puzzle! A bit chewy, but no look-ups, and very entertaining. I'm a klutz at math, but this time it didn't matter, and it was so much fun. Thank you, Samuel Donaldson. You made my Tuesday night (and Wednesday solve).
Loved the trick to solving this problem! Especially enjoyed the Paul McCartney clue. I can vaguely remembre thinking how old 8x8 would be when I was about 8! As I close in on that particular birthday, I am waiting to achieve a maturity that my 8 year old self would have assumed for me!! An observation: I believe ALPO is a brand is owned by the Purina Corp. Don’t think you could classify them as rivals? I see the Inuits/Inuit debate elsewhere. As we have learned from Ukrainians in the last few years, language really does matter. As we’ve all managed to learn to call the capital of Ukraine Kyiv, I don’t think it’s that big a step to learn Inuk/Inuit as they have asked.
@Caitríona Shanahan I guess, if they ask. But we don’t call Germany “Deutschland” and they surely do not call us the “United States of America.” The French call Germany “Allemagne” and the Germans call France “Frankreich.”
"I believe ALPO is a brand owned by the Purina Corp. Don’t think you could classify them as rivals?" Caitríona, I don't buy dog food, and I don't follow that market segment, but it appears they haven't been rivals since 2001. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alpo_(pet_food" target="_blank">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alpo_(pet_food</a>) #####
Brute force solve and not much fun as a result. Too much reliance on brands and plurals and a trick that required an explanation. Only saving grace was no rebus to consider. NE was perfect storm of “Os” - 6 in 18 letter grid. It solved, it passed the time, it caused me to kvetch…I’m probably very happy.
Question: does the NYT ever seek appropriate consultation before going ahead with “Inuits”? Like, maybe ask and see whether or not it might be culturally out of step/inappropriate. Or maybe the NYT doesn’t care? I am a daily solver but the misuse of Indigenous names is a recurring theme in these puzzles. It’s kind of a bummer.
And isn't the plural of inuit INUK? Or are both spellings allowed? (still better than eskim0)
@CatDad The word Inuit IS the plural for Inuk. You would use Inuk for one person, Inuuk for two people, and Inuit for multiple people. :)
@Jeremy I absolutely agree with you. Just because something is “technically an acceptable English pluralization” doesn’t mean it’s okay to perpetuate. Indigenous communities and cultures in the Americas have been subjected to genocide and cultural erasure for centuries. An easy step towards creating a better future for Indigenous people is to respect the language they use for themselves. I hope the NYT crossword editors will take this to heart going forward and stop using this word as an answer.
Others have criticized or defended the use of Inuits. (Previous use really cuts no ice as to whether an entry is worthy or not.) This was only the tip of the iceberg in this puzzle's "pushing it" for plurality, however. Some top constructors consider it a sign of weakness to rely heavily on words ending in "-s." This puzzle does that. Sheds, cops, Hokies, ribs, and "your roots" . . . plus adios, SMS, Oikos, LDS . . . OK. But: While pho, cedar, spoor, and A.M. can of course be made plural, they are singular in common parlance. Anchors, sets, and eras (except in T. Swift's tour title) are only slightly less of a stretch. All could confuse and frustrate the relatively new puzzle-doer who might be attempting a Wednesday. Constructors are allowed considerable leeway, but using too many of these creates clutter in a weekday-size puzzle. One is left wondering: Would Will have allowed it?
@Ars longa I always thought of plurals as a little bit of help. You can usually at least plug in that final S, which could help a newer solver.
@Ars longa - While I agree that plurals can be overused and might be a crutch, I don't think some of your examples really make the point. "Roots" in this context is how hair is discussed. No one says "The root of this hair is showing" SMS is an acronym (short message service) and not a plural (same for LDS) and Hokies and ribs are more common than their singular form. I'll agree with you on OIKOS/SPOORS and ADIOS/PHOS fall into your criticism.
@Ars longa Ultimately though, I would say there is a difference between pluralizing words that aren’t usually plural in daily usage in order to help a fill versus using a word that doesn’t technically exist (Inuits) and in the process misnaming an entire Nation of people who have a horrific history of genocide, cultural genocide, and erasure
Sadly this was too much of a slog for me to be enjoyable. As sometimes happens, an awful lot of clues were US based names. Generally I can get by with the crosses, but today it was all pretty opaque. Also, setting a grid with a maths type theme to someone like me with dyscalculia (‘diagnosed’ at the ripe old age of 50 alongside my then 8 year old) is never going to work. I’ve read Sam’s column and a lot of the comments here and I still don’t get it. Don’t waste your time trying to explain it to me, I really, really, can’t read numbers. How I’ve got through life with the numerical bit of my brain missing I’ll never know. Thank the gods I’m good at words! Sam did clear one thing up for me; the difference in the US/UK interpretation of STODGY. For me that word will always apply to heavy pastry with a soggy bottom. Ah well, not every day can be a gem. As always, I appreciate the constructor’s skill.
@Helen Wright Yes - I can only hear Paul Hollywood on Bake-Off saying "What a shame. It's got a stodgy bottom!"
@Helen Wright I absolutely agree about all the very USA - specific terms and brands in this one, it made it a real slog. Totally fine as obviously it’s the NY Times but it’s just not much fun for those of us who aren’t living there!
@Helen Wright Fortunately, you can calculate and relate ages pretty dang snappily.
Thanks a thousand² -- this was a delightful way to work math into a puzzle. Fun to see the mascot for my brother's alma mater -- the Hokies. Always loved visiting the Blacksburg campus, but I decided to become a Demon Deacon instead. Would love to see that mascot worked into in a future puzzle. Bonus points if you know what school it is.
@JBW Sports isn't a strength for many here, so I'll take the pts. I think that I learned about Wake Forest and the Demon Deacons back when Frank McGuire took a few NY kids down to North Carolina to play in the ACC. If I remember, Bones McKinney was coaching the Deacons at the time. Amazing how some things get stuck in one's memory. Demon Deacons and Blue Devils. Must be a helluva place.
@Al in Pittsburgh I’m sure you know UNC grads are Tarheels
Alpo is a subsidiary of purina and not a rival…..
@Paul They're a rival on the shelves, for sure.
@Paul Interesting alert: I was shopping for cat food this morning, so out of curiosity I checked the shelves for Alpo canned dog food. Neither Petco nor Meijer (a primarily Midwestern super center chain) carried it. Maybe Purina discontinued the brand.
Laughed out loud when I figured out the theme (having already gotten SWEET____, WHEN IM _____, and CLOUD _____ and puzzled over what sort of rebus hell I was walking into). Well done!
@Stephen Same here! Absolutely loved the concept 😊
I'm sure the good folks at Purina Alpo will be intrigued to learn that they are rivals with Purina.
Alpo is not Purina’s rival. It’s one of their own brands.
Fun fun fun! A fast, steady solve. Liked the theme. It was clever. I hit the Paul McCartney song milestone a few years ago, so now I’m singing “When I’m 128” Kidding, not kidding……
I liked this puzzle, btw. I had gotten only as far as CLOUD THREE, went immediately to take a peek at the revealer clue and saw the word "hairstylist". "I bet it's YOUR ROOTS ARE SHOWING," I said to myself. And it was. "Will you still love me when I'm [blank]?" went the song (I think) and I couldn't for the life of me remember what age Paul's question referred to. FIFTY? SIXTY? SEVENTY? Aha! SIXTY-FOUR! It's all coming back now. Bet you wish you were SIXTY-FOUR now, Paul. I think you and I are the same age and I know that I do!
I did pretty well on this one once I got squared away. I caught on to square root trick quickly and didn’t need the revealer, although I thought it was cute. A little gentle math never hurt anybody. Tegan and Sara struck me as a whimsically obscure clue for POPDUO.
@Marshall Walthew I have one Tegan and Sara song in my collection. Often when I hear it, I wonder why I don’t have more. Whimsical obscurity is fine by me.
@Eric Hougland T&S are quite good, but they are pretty far from the mainstream. Congratulations on your new home.
This was a good puzzle, however, the word “Inuit” is the plural form. “Inuits” is like saying “Americanses”. The singular is “inuk” and for two is “inuuk”
@Ethan Coudenys Well, the singular for “German” is “Deutschlander” and the plural is “Deutschlandere
@Ethan Coudenys Well, the singular of a German is “Deutscher” and the plural is “Deutsche” (in the nominative case), but I expect “Germans” is acceptable in an American English crossword puzzle.
I’m just happy to see Homeland clued. Such a fantastic and underrated show, and a rare one that kept the quality up throughout the seasons and finished in a great way. Also, Peter Quinn remains one of my favourite and most tragic characters, even this long after the show has ended.
Really clever theme! Here's my other 1.41421356237 cents - I've golfed for half a century and never teed a ball. Teed up, usually
I wondered why McCartney's teen song would be "When I'm Eight," seeing as a teen he would have already surpassed that age. It made more sense when I got to the revealer phrase. (But I suspect a very young prodigy could write such a song at age five or six, though. After all, Mozart began at age five or so.) Fun puzzle, all in all!
@Joan I thought that was the cleverest bit of misdirection in the puzzle. I hadn’t twigged to the theme on my first pass so it seemed perfectly reasonable that he’d repurposed a theme from his youth.
@Joan When I was... 9 or so, I played the track of "When I'm Sixty-Four", involving placing the needle on disk, over and over again... maybe there is something inherently juvenile in the song. It was my older brother's LP, and I only played it when he wasn't around, but he figured out and got upset at me for touching his stuff. So I rode my coaster bike to a little store called "Banana Records" in Oakland, which had a wall of 45's, and I got up the gumption to ask the clerk could I buy a 45 of "When I'm Sixty-Four"... 45's cost about $1 then. They said something like "that hasn't been released as a 45" which made no sense to me. So hard to call "When I'm Sixty-Four" a hit if it was never a 45, but, it in crossword land, that is not at all important IMO. Actually no 45 was released of any track on Sgt. Pepper, as I learned from Wikipedia... also learned that one of the most famous lines in the song... "Vera, Chuck, and Dave", itself a possible clue for a cross puzzle ("Vera, Chuck, and ----") was contributed by John Lennon, who had a remarkable poetic ear.
Stuck in the NE forever, not a yogurt eater, except as tzatziki(Chef John’s)looked for a hyphenated meter like Sno-Cap(prefer SnowCap), and was mystified by the pair. Overall, I thought it a perfect Wednesday
@Snorting Elk SNO-Caps is a brand name, so they get away with that... How are you allowed to stay in Seattle and not eat yogurt? (Our son is getting away with it, too, but mostly on the strength of his sourdough-baking skills.)
I actually laughed out loud on the train when I got the theme. Lovely puzzle!
Smooth with an LOL reveal. Well done and thanks.
I think the themed nature of the puzzle worked perfectly here. Once I figured out how the numbers worked, I was able to fill in more of the word endings and was able to get further. Second Wednesday puzzle with no lookups. Yet to defeat a Thursday one though.
@Harri Congratulations! You’ll get your Thursday soon. And then a Friday and a Saturday. Good luck!
Thoughts on the Purina/Alpo rivalry…competitor and rival can have different connotations. For example, I can have a rival on the same swim team, but they aren’t considered to be my competitor. The clue asks for a Purina rival, so I can see a rivalry, but they aren’t considered competitors.
Callie, ALPO does not seem to me to be a [Purina rival] even on the same team. <a href="https://www.purina.com/alpo" target="_blank">https://www.purina.com/alpo</a> I think even emus would agree with me.
The singular of 4 down is Inuk. Inuit is the plural form and there is no added to it.
@Lorien THANK YOU! As a Canadian, I was surprised to see that this made it through since it's so very easily checked. (I guess I should consider myself lucky that "Inuit" was the answer and not the older term... sheesh.)
A grammar error in today's puzzle. "Inuit" is a plural word. One Inuk, many Inuit. One iqaluk (fish), many iqaluitt. I'm certainly no authority on Inuktitut grammar, but I can help you out on this one. And you can check out resources online. I'm pretty sure "Inuits" is not a thing.
@Heather Glad someone else mentioned this! I also noticed that. Also no where near an authority on Inuktitut grammar, but can confirm that everything I've seen on the subject says that "Inuits" is incorrect since the word is already plural.
Oh that was soooo much fun. Personally I had to work out the answer to SWEETFOUR, which made me think of a mashup between two rounds. Still took more work, but eventually I SNAGGED IT. thank you!!
I’m ashamed to say I made it all the way through this puzzle without ever understanding its theme. In my defense, CLOUD THREE came too early to earn anything more than a shrug, I know nothing about basketball, and how should I know what a barely-pubescent McCartney was writing? I kind of wish the fill had been harder so I would have needed the revealer. But even though I missed the cleverness, I applaud it. I also suspect that matching HOER (say that three times fast!) with “bed” was a bit of a sly wink.
@Heidi My time being just barely below average, If the fill had been any harder, my time would have been higher than average.
Well this may show my age and/or nerdiness but Teegan and Sara (admittedly with different spellings) first and foremost can’t be anything but Dr. Who companions to my mind.
Insistently unhip? Oh, yeah? Maybe I just don't want to put my energy into being stylish. Did you ever think of that? And if I'm so unhip, why did I spend a whole minute trying to come up with a style of pumps that start with D? (For the record, I do have one pair of heels--low but sparkly-- for costume purposes only, but still...) Oh, and we could do without that set of skinny, slinky hips in the photo. Like it or not, the Walton family has contributed a good deal to the state of Arkansas, with particular focus on the NW part of the state-- Crystal Bridges Museum, the arts center, U of A endowments... and if Kroger's produce was as fresh, I wouldn't be shopping at WALMART, would I? Ha ha, clever and fun, Sam A Donaldson; always glad to see you after I get over the sinking feeling!
Neat theme. Inuit is already plural - it means "the people" in the Inuktut language.
I am a little sad that the clue for nene was a reality tv personality. This one was not for the birds.
@Min well, I'm grateful for your comment, since that one was blocking my progress in the SW corner! Thank you. :)