Hear! Hear! This sublimely clever theme really made me smile. Nine theme entries and each one special in its own way. “Pooh, Pooh?” for THIS BEARS REPEATING is fabulous, and "11?" for ONE AFTER ANOTHER is just brilliant. This is the constructor’s fourth Sunday puzzle of 2024. Wow! Congratulations, John, very impressive.
In his cluing and themes, John Kugelman is a word-player, and, IMO, a terrific one, who elicits oohs of delight out of me. After seeing the word “fun” show up often in the comments, I don’t think I’m alone. I sense the twinkle in John’s eyes in his puzzles, and heck, you can see it in his headshot on XwordInfo. John sets a high bar, spending 100 hours just coming up with the theme answer set for this puzzle. That’s before coming up with a grid design, a decent total answer set, and the cluing. Do you know how long it takes to clue a Sunday puzzle, actually coming up with novel clues rather than just repeating clues from the past? Many, many more hours. The non-theme cluing, IMO, was one of the best parts of this puzzle – with so much spark, such as in this trio of never-before-used clues: [Shock proof?] for GASP, [Park worker?] for VALET, and [Tiger’s target] for PAR. The theme answers that took so long for him to come up with – and I believe if you try to come up with some good ones yourself, you’ll see why – were simply lovely overall, including the world-class worth-the-price-of-admission THIS BEAR’S REPEATING for [Pooh-pooh?]. When a puzzle is a mood lifter in addition to being a brain pleaser, it’s a gift. Thank you, John, for the hard work you put into this. It sure paid off for me. I loved this!
@Lewis Nice of you to remind us to check xwordinfo! Yep; he's a cutie.
Love the theme. Thought of another possible entry. “What what?” As BICURIOUS
We had a great time repeating these theme answers out loud as we went, sharing a laugh each time. The effort put into such an extensive theme list and the care taken in choosing the fill shows. We surely appreciate smooth puzzles like this! Thank you for another entertaining brunch puzzle.
You: OHH x OTRO Me: AHH x ATRO Curse your mutterings and basic Spanish! cc: manejador de emú
@Steven Oh? you felt there was something wrong with OTRa? I didn't, until I had to trudge through the puzzle a zillion times to get that O. O well, I can now recite the entire puzzle from memory.
@Steven For me, it was the combination O or A at OHH/OTRO crossing plus the I or Y at the ELI/STEADICAM crossing. So I had four possibilities. This sort of thing can take me a very long time to uncover but, luckily, I got it pretty quickly this time.
"Is your friend still reading about Pooh-Bear?" "Winnie gets the chance." ("How about you?" "Well, honey you should mention it...")
This puzzle was obviously oversized, but it seemed wider than just one extra column. I thought, as did others, that the Pooh entry was worth the price of admission.
Steve, I second, mate, and I expect repeated accolades for the entry for the Pooh clue. #####
Agreed. That one was golden. Glad it didn't get pooh-poohed by the editors. (Not that there was any reason to.) Does pooh-pooh get me stuck in the emu filter?
Mr. Kugelman, for the exhaustive hours you put into crafting this, please rest assured that the resulting grid has delighted, impressed, and thrilled many of us on the receiving end of it. Your puzzle did so much more than just entertain or challenge me; it somehow made me feel honored to have had a go at solving it. Few puzzles are able to elicit this feeling in me, one of being awed, much like standing face-to-face with a Rembrandt or Van Gogh, and this one did just that, as I admired the construction that went into it. No junk fill, brilliant clueing, and a stroke of simple genius for the themers. Thank you for this Sunday masterpiece!
So much to love in this puzzle! [Say it again, louder] So much to love in this puzzle! From my pennant-flagged former home state, to, OHH, my current home! Ste. Anne de Détroit! The second oldest parish in the United States, co-founded in 1701 by French Franciscan and Jesuit priests (orders which did not always play well with one another). The original building was closer to downtown Detroit, and of course burnt down, as did several subsequent re-buildings--the current basilica, from 1886, is the eighth incarnation. (<a href="https://tinyurl.com/2prcc6hx" target="_blank">https://tinyurl.com/2prcc6hx</a>) The neighborhood was at first predominantly French, then Irish, then Latino, and now Urban Hipsters--at one point, during the 1940's, Masses (including sermons) were said in Latin, French, English, and Spanish. You can buy a great homemade guac at the nearby La Colmena grocery store (very busy around 1pm on Sunday, after the noon Spanish Mass ends). Mozart wrote two symphonies in G minor, Nos. 25 and 40; and whereas the 4Oth is all elegance and grace, the earlier one--which you might recognize as the opening title music to *Amadeus*--is definitely *Sturm und Drang*: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bnxS9iPBTkw" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bnxS9iPBTkw</a> For a little late-20th c. storm and stress, let's turn to Mr. Dolby: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qkj4p3rI17s" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qkj4p3rI17s</a>
@Bill just because I’m curious (and I should probably go google it, rather than post here), do you know if it was common to have masses in anything other than Latin prior to Vatican 2? I thought that council was what turned the altar around and allowed the services to be spoken “in the vernacular,” but it was before my time. I can easily imagine various parishes doing their own thing before the cardinals ratified (or whatever the correct verb is) it, though. TIA!
Where's my "Clunk not Clonk for a thud noise" gang at?
I finished the puzzle in record time. Then I spent almost as much time looking for mistakes, with frequent visits to the RAGE ROOM to scream. Done now, found them at last, and could go back to admiring the really funny puns and clever cluing. A tour de force of a puzzle, and the fills that wound up on the cutting room floor were as good. There were no look-ups necessary (except afterward), no crazy stuff, just a solid Sunday, except more solid and a lot more fun than most. Thanks, John Kugelman. Got any more?
@dutchiris Same girl, until I had to figure out aHH, aTRa and ARa. OHHHHHHHH well!
Sigh - I was so proud of myself for remembering that a Manning is named ELy. Sadly, he's actually named ELI. And the seemingly obviously correct word STEADyCAM would never have revealed that to me. I had to resort to Autocheck for that one square. So close.
@Gregg Right? I actually had ELI in there's initially, but changed it to ELy once STEADyCAM was revealed by crosses. STEADICAM looks so strange... Much less so Than ELy.
@Gregg Lost a good forty minutes--including a "Clear Puzzle"--all the more so, as I doubted the crossings of STARKILLER/TANK/FOULTIP and OHH/UH NO: I hate those entries which are really incoherent grunts, and can be spelled any way. The Natick of the pre-verbal. In the end, it was Caitlyn's column which saved me--so I got a Gold Star, but only on a technicality. Damn you, Mr. Manning!
@Gregg Right. Terrible crossing, which in fact was my undoing. I left it as is, just my little way of protesting.
What an impressive piece of work! All of the theme entries had such outstanding clues. One of the best Sunday puzzles in recent memory, and a definite candidate for that annual list of the year's best puzzles.
The reason that I don’t enjoy Sunday puzzles as much as the T-F-S group, besides my short attention span, is the amount of fill a Sunday puzzle seems to require to make the themes work. This Sunday felt different to me. The theme answers all brought a smile to my face, and the fill was equally enjoyable. I second previous comments praising the effort that Mr. Kugelman put into this one and thank him for that effort. I worked for me.
@Vislander It worked for me. Always remember to proofread before hitting the submit button. I’ll learn one day, hopefully.
I found crossing an allergy med with a university a bit Natticky Loved Tiger's target clue
@Bill in Yokohama I'd argue that Tiger's target isn't par, but to be under par, but I still like the clue.
Bill, The university crossing the allergy med is nowhere near Natick. In the NY Times Crossword, it should be a gimme. ####
The irony of having to fix OHo to OHH to get the gold star.... ha!!!
@Classic Hip-Hop Don't tell anyone, but I went through all the permutations of AHA, AHH, and OHO before finally getting it... Great puzzle, though, perfect Sunday difficulty!
This was so satisfying in that I got a Sunday personal best while never once thinking “this is easy!” Perfect tension between crunch and flow.
Two hearty thumbs up!! When my youngest was in (afternoon) kindergarten, his allergies were bugging him one morning. I gave him some Benadryl before he left for school. Three hours later, the bus pulls up, elder son hops out… I wait… driver waits…looks confused… nothing. Trying not to panic, I jumped on the bus, and about halfway back there he was, curled up, lying down on his seat, out cold. Their school was at the end of our street. Two minute ride, max. That stuff’ll knock you out. Fantastic puzzle. Happy Sunday all!
@CCNY So true! BENADRYL could be a cure for insomnia. I hate when I have to take it... (These days they also tell you to take generic pepcid along with...whatever!)
To John Kugelman: I went to your Constructor's Note mostly to find out if the hilarious THIS BEARS REPEATING had been the original impulse behind the theme. When I got there, I found out that you had to leave two real beauties on the cutting room floor: [Meme?] = I AM BESIDE MYSELF [Wee-wee?] = LITTLE BY LITTLE I adore them both! Sometimes, alas, the inconveniences posed by grid design and the requirements of theme answer symmetry really get in the way of some really inspired and funny and delightful ideas -- don't they? Big sigh.
@Nancy Yes, indeed. This puzzle was essentially a Rube Goldbergian contraption built solely to deliver the joke POOH POOH = THIS BEARS REPEATING. The NYT, sadly, wouldn't take my 1-themer version.
John, [meme?] with this puzzle! Please don't stop crafting these masterpieces!
Fun puzzle but I almost got beat by a bit of a Nattick at 63A and D. I don't speak Spanish and had AHH and ATRO. Took a bit to change the A to an O for the solve.
The solve was rather quick, but the clever theme phrases made for a satisfying Sunday. Well done!
Great puzzle with lots of really clever clues. 👏
A very clever puzzle much appreciated; a rarity I ever await. The genius reminds me of a NYT favorite puzzle of mine from long ago I can’t recall the title or cruciverbalist who made it but I chuckle now at psychedelicatessen long before it was plagiarized! LOL
Amazing construction; I am so impressed. Nothing more to add to all the enthusiastic comments so far.
I wanted 15 Down to be SPACE TOWER, because that is what they call it at the Minnesota State Fair, a.k.a. the best fair. I didn't go on the Space Tower yesterday, but I did get my yearly Pronto Pup, so I'm good. As for the puzzle--amazing. A simple but clever theme, perfectly executed. And with interesting fill, little to no glue. RESURGENT, BRAIN DUMP, STARKILLER, PARIS TEXAS! I've been a fan of The Shining for years, but didn't know the STEADICAM was invented for it. I took my time with this puzzle, and it was worth it.
Great puzzle and fun theme, John!
Spaceshot is new to me. I have only ever seen that ride called the Slingshot.
Never mistake great cluing for ease. My first time through had me on the lookout. These clues were enjoyable. There were carefully constructed Naticks, but those were attainable. Learned something new and got a giggle. ALL OWS made me laugh.
A fun solve with some nice misdirection. "Dirty film" made me think twice. :)
Fantastic. Too many parts were my “favorites” to list!! Thank you.
"Hubba, hubba!" is the equivalent of a wolf whistle. Pair of pants fit it well. Lots of clever clues and entries here. Thanks for a fun 20 minutes!
As someone from the West Coast, we don't have EDY'S, we have Dreyer's. No matter how many times this clue comes up, I can never remember it. It's just some weird mental block.
I prefer an "ahh, I get it" crossword, but one check puzzle later it turned out to be an "ohh... i get it" variety
I was so confident in my answer of BYU as a university with international campuses that I didn’t even question what a RABGER was until it came time to check for mistakes.
Oooh, a grid so big it printed out landscape! Kind of goes with TEXAS. I've never seen the movie, but Ry Cooder's soundtrack is sublime. PARIS, TEXAS: <a href="https://youtu.be/X6ymVaq3Fqk?si=UGiI9AQSWWssRzbM" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/X6ymVaq3Fqk?si=UGiI9AQSWWssRzbM</a> What a great theme. ONE AFTER ANOTHER, RAP DUO and THIS BEARS REPEATING were personal favorites, and all but the creepy [Hubba, hubba!] (Hi, Lpr!), made me smile. GASP for [Shock proof?] fooled me for a second. It's funny how, even though I know better, I sometimes ignore the question mark. Great clue.
Fantastic puzzle - really enjoyed the theme. One tiny nit to pick - I thought for 87-down the clue should have used the French name for Corsica (La Corse). Or chosen another French island where we use the French name in English (like Martinique).
@Michele G The hypothetical clue [Sir, in Spain] cluing SEÑOR does not require “España” in it. “Corsica” clues French; it doesn’t have to be IN French.
@Michele G that definitely would have made the answer for 87D more obvious…but why do you say it *should* have been clued that way?
That was fun! I especially liked 94A "Buccaneer's buddies"....which I got instantly, and just as quickly doubted because it came to mind at once! Arr, me HEARTIES! I started in the SE and after I filled in the corner with PAIR OF PANTS I was stumped/stupified/baffled by the "Hubba, hubba!" Clue connection. I still am. All the other themers were understandable and even very clever. (Faves: 21A and 64A!!) One quibble: 41D "Talks incessantly" Shouldn't that have been YABS?
@Mean Old Lady Yabs?? I’ve never heard that before. (And neither has my spell check, which wanted me to change that to “Tabs”.) I had YAkS originally, but eventually changed it to accommodate the cross. To me, YAPS is more like something a puppy would do. Similarly, HUBBA HUBBA is only tangentially a pant (as in panting after someone), since it’s actually an exclamation, but I don’t mind these kinds of stretches when the result is this much fun.
Well that was fun. An easyish Sunday overall with a few tricksy corners, but a real joy to fill. I chuckled at Pooh Pooh. A delightful fill all round.
Quite a fun puzzle. I appreciate the hard work that went into this one, and the variety of the theme answers. Wacky Wordies and similar puzzles have been favorites, and this one, while not as visual, provides the challenge of properly interpreting the theme clues to come up with the proper answers. Nice job, and thanks for an entertaining exercise!
Today it was my turn to search endlessly for the mistake, getting the "Almost" screen over and over. Turns out that it's ELI Manning and STEADICAM, not STEADyCAM. Just not enough of a football fan I guess. Story of my life.
@Francis ha, me too! It was my wife who found my error in the end. “Eli. With an I. Eli Manning.” Thanks, babe.
@Francis That bothered me a bit too, but I knew the name was ELI so I stuck with it.
Love the clever theme but did anyone else get annoyed by "ALLOWS" as the answer to [Ow!Ow!]. Isn't it a bit of a rule that a word shouldn't be in both the answer and the question?
@Melanie Kind of, but since it served the theme so well, I don't have any problem with it, and really the only rule is whatever the editors enforce.
A worthy Sunday puzzle! I had to come back to it after church and my daily walk, to finish up some blanks in the top part of the grid. It took me some time to suss out the theme, and I think the first one I got was the one involving Pooh, everyone’s favorite bear. That was also my favorite of the theme answers. Thanks for a clever and smile eliciting puzzle, Mr. Kugelman.
A good puzzle (I'm not nearly good enough to call it easy by any stretch). I spent almost half my time figuring out that it was Clonk instead of clunk. And my music knowledge is rather poor so the cross clue was not helpful. Am I the only one that has never really heard clonk? (My swipe texting won't even find it, keeps going to either clunk or clink)?
@Jim For what it’s worth, searching English-language results in Google Books brings up a fair amount of usage of CLONK in published works, mostly graphic novels and children’s books. I can’t recall ever seeing it before, myself, and I’m not particularly well versed in the music world, but I guess I’ve seen Mr. ENO’s name in print often enough by chance to get the cross, even if I couldn’t tell you a single fact about him.
@Jim Clonk is a common word. My issue is that I associate Clonk with metallic or other very hard solid objects hitting things. Where a Thud is for soft fleshy things. eg. "Someone gets CLONKed on the head with a frying pan, and their unconscious body hits the floor with a thud."
NIGHT BIRDS and RADIO SPEAK sent me back nearly fifty years listening to Alison Steele on WNEW-FM late at night and drinking sloe gin and orange juice with my friends (I know, gag, right?) I may have even been wearing a huck-a-poo shirt. Nice puzzle. For the record, I liked RAP DUO.
@Vaer Thank you. Just last week I was trying to remember the name of those shirts! And I seconded my memory of Alison Steel on a later post above.
Not too hard, not too easy, this one’s just right. Add a bear (Pooh Pooh Pooh) for a Gold (ilocks) Sunday.
I loved every second of this puzzle. THISBEARSREPEATING is obviously beyond adorable, but for me personally there were so many great answers: KODIAKS (my Chinese rescue border collie is Kodiak), RANGER (childhood dream job), NYU (alma mater), SAMADAMS (favorite easy-to-find beer, despite the fact that we are very much a Yankees household), and on and on. And of course it goes without saying that my inner teenaged boy, mentioned the other day, was pleased with the start at 1A. Thank you for the delightful morning, Mr. Kugelman! I appreciate the effort you put it to get the themers to work so nicely!
The bottom line is that I couldn't anticipate ANY of the theme answers without crosses. They ranged for me from the fabulously funny THIS BEARS REPEATING...to the rather tepid THE MUMMY RETURNS...to the what-on-earth PAIR OF PANTS. "Hubba" is many things, but a PANT it isn't. It's usually shouted, in fact. I had DOUBLE CLuCK for "tsk, tsk" before I had DOUBLE CLICK -- and mine is funnier, even though it's not a phrase. And the worst themer, I thought, was ALLOWS. A paltry two "ows" does not an "all" make. Nevertheless, I thought the puzzle met its burden of providing a pleasant Sunday diversion. And it was pretty name-free too -- always a welcome plus.
@Nancy Nancy, going back about a week, when you introduced me to Rex's blog, I was under the impression that people could comment. I've checked daily, and yes, I do often agree with him. But I don't see comments. Did I misunderstand? Sorry, but there's no other way to contact you.
I've not read comments yet as we wind our way back from Milwaukee, Minnesota to actual Minnesota, but I'm hoping everyone enjoyed this one as much as I did! I'll try to catch up though because I'm always curious what you all thought. Anyhow, IT BEARS REPEATING: Fun, fun, fun! Very enjoyable puzzle! Loved all the theme answers, especially that silly ole Pooh bear! Also loved GASP for "Shock proof" -- super cute! Had one error that needed finding, the crossing of 48A and 38D. I was pretty sure that Brian the singer's name started with an E from other puzzles, and the N came easily but I put down CLaNK for the across answer. It seemed quite reasonable to me. It's the only one that I thought could possibly be a mistake because everything else looked good. Completely on me that I didn't fully remember Brian's name. I always hope these tough for me crossings (and posting about it) help me remember it in the future! Cheers, all!
@HeathieJ Enjoy the great Minnesota city of Milwaukee, did you? Certainly one of my favorites, even if Laura Ingraham thinks it's changed for the worse.
@HeathieJ One might even say the fact I didn't know Brian's correct last name is a..... wait for it.... MAGOR SIN!!