I don't want to sound like a BROKENRECORD, but this was a fine Monday debut. Thanks and congratulations, Sala and Emily. #####
My five favorite original clues from last week (in order of appearance): 1. Warning not to go (3) 2. Alternative to hanging out? (5) 3. Marked Twain? (8) 4. Ontario, e.g., to the Québécois (3) 5. It's pressed for time (9) RED DRYER DOGEARED LAC STOPWATCH
@Lewis When it aired, I thought the clue "Warning not to go" was pretty weak wordplay, as "Command not to go" was more accurate; although here in urban Detroit, RED is more often a "Suggestion not to go." (And there have been times, Sundays 5:45am, when I'm running late for work, I have not heeded that suggestion.)
@Lewis I loved DOGEARED, too! I even read it to my partner. Shout out to WARRENG, whose “Regulate” never once sounded presidential.
Nice Monday puzzle. I’m tired of complaints about Saturday’s puzzle. Puzzles of that caliber are what make and give the NYT crossword its deserved reputation. Sam Ezersky is an all-star and does yeoman ‘s work on a daily basis on the Bee.
@Norman Yes! The folks at the NYT have been doing their best to bring new solvers into the fold. That's fine, but unfortunately, a lot of those solvers don't realize they can't just jump into a Saturday puzzle and figure it out in mere minutes without the requisite experience. (Some of them might not even realize there's a weekly progression.) And I do realize that there are some experienced solvers who didn't like the puzzle for whatever reason, including that they thought it wss too hard...but it WAS a Saturday, and they're supposed to be hard. I had a typical time for a Saturday, and I'll be most experienced solvers did, too. Note: Some of those same solvers were incensed yesterday that the puzzle contained numerals, even though the use of numerals in NYT crosswords dates back to this week in 1954.
@Norman @Steve L @Man and 2 dogs, I am the furthest thing from an experienced solver, having just passed my 1-year mark in the puzzles. But puzzles like Saturdays are what I aspire to get better at... and that help me get better. I completed it with just two lookups, and I enjoyed it! It took me a very, very long time... Like ridiculously so! Hence the lookups. I eventually had to get going and meet a friend, so I had to call it and deny myself the gold star. I'm very okay with all of that because that's how I figure my crossword muscles will get stronger. It's been my aim to solve every single day completely cleanly and I have achieved that on most Fridays and a handful of Saturdays now. Given that this one was a step up in difficulty, I was actually pretty proud of only two look ups that day. I need those kind of puzzles to keep getting better. A year ago or 6 months ago, I couldn't have done it without loads of lookups. So I look at the progress, not perfection. As for the complaints, if I could have a dollar for every time I roll my eyes over something to the effect of, "The constructor thinks they're too clever by half," I would have enough money to pay a healthy salary to someone who could construct daily puzzles that are entirely HeathieJ-centic and all of my struggles would be gone. Wouldn't that be dreadful!? ☺️
Congratulations on a fun NYT debut, Ms Wanetick and Ms Biegas! Nicely done! I am quite intrigued by the unit of distance called the HOP SKI-PANDA JUMP.
@Eric Hougland HOP, SKI, PANDA JUMP is an annual triathlon in Southwest China. After the event, the PANDA eats, shoots and leaves. The emus diet consists mainly of comments that are deemed too brief.
Fun puzzle! I assume it’s just by chance, but anyone notice when a bunch of answers repeat one day to the next? SEEP, EGOT, EMEND (excluding ODE since it’s so common) in both today’s and yesterday’s.
@Maddy And we had EBONY in both the Mini and the main puzzle today!
@Maddy This happens so often, I’d be very surprised if it’s entirely by chance.
A perfect level of difficulty for Monday with a perfect theme. I finished in 11:59, which is 10:24 faster than my all time average. For those starting out on crosswords: That used to be me in 2021. I started out practicing Mondays (my time used to be 60 min), then Tuesdays when I could do Mondays in under 30 min. Now I only do Wednesdays (< 30 min) and Thursdays (< 60 min) for the most part. I truly delight in the trickery and mockery that Thursdays bring - rebuses seem mundane now. I don’t do streaks. I didn’t grow up in the US so many pop references beat me. I am below average at word games - I have never enjoyed languages and English is my second language. I never thought I would enjoy crosswords. Most of you beginners will have more success than I have. I have seen this among friends who I have introduced to crosswords. Persevere, because sheer delights await you around the corner. Good luck!
@Anand - I’ve eaten many a sour fruit mixed with lemon juice and chaat masala, and your post is just such a thing. Thank you for representing another way of thinking and being.
Aye, David! Thank you for representing an entirely new way of complimenting. As goes the lingo, that was not on my card of bingo. I will never be able to look at chaat the same way again.
What a lovely moment this puzzle gave me. I had uncovered the three theme answers and was trying to guess the revealer, having purposely left it blank. I was getting nowhere. But then I saw that each of these things – the bunny, broken record, and skater – jumped. So, I started thinking of phrases with “jump”, “jumper”, “jumping”, and still, nothing worked. Somewhere in all this I thought that Peter Cottontail, according to the song, actually hopped, and that a broken record actually skips, but that “hop” and “skip” don’t apply to all three theme answers, and dropped that line of thinking. So, when I finally gave up after this swirl of effort, and uncovered HOP, SKIP, AND JUMP, my reaction was, “Oh, yes, that’s IT, it’s exactly right, and it’s such a gorgeous phrase!” It was one of those rare times in this crazy world where everything stops and feels perfect. What a lovely moment to start the day and week with! Thank you for that, Sala and Emily. Thank you also for a puzzle that had clues that made me think, to balance the many Monday foothold clues, not to mention the big smile you gave me with the dook GOON TOUR. Congratulations on your debut, and brava!
Great debut, Emily and Sala. Wine and crossword constructing with a friend—goals! My only complaint is that I now have the PETER COTTONTAIL song stuck in my head like a BROKEN RECORD.
@Valerie I really hope that happens to me too, the song being stuck in my head, that is... I've had Madonna's like a prayer stuck in my head for days on end! It's driving me mad, I tell you, mad!! 😵💫
Lovely Monday, and tied my best. And so, off to the ER, where I expect I will be the only volunteer today, as it is a holiday. Also expect a busy day, as it is a holiday. People get stupid on holidays. Celebrate your weekends off, right to organize, minimum wage, and benefits, America! But do it safely!
Finally! After a disastrous Saturday, and a very weird Sunday, finally one I can do. I feel like I'm starting out all over again.
@Francis Regarding Sunday's puzzle one question. Did you need to study up on your times tables?
Fun puzzle, congrats on your debut Emily and Sala, hope to see more from you both!
24 days ago, I started playing the crossword on a whim. I haven’t always finished them and I’ve used a lot of Check Puzzles and Reveal Squares, but I’ve enjoyed the effort (and reading the comments here). I wanted to share that today is my first gold star! And the fastest I’ve cottoned on (pardon the bunny pun) to the theme. I have a lot on my PLATE now and my streak might be UNEVEN, but ISEE how fun the crossword is and I don’t plan to stop anytime soon! :)
@A hobbit Congratulations on what I'm sure is your first gold star of many more to come! And welcome to the a fun and thought-provoking new hobby!! You may well know this already but the puzzles get a bit harder each day as the week goes on from Mon - Sat (Sun is the biggest but it's mid-week difficulty), so don't be discouraged if it takes a while to get gold stars on later week puzzles. :-)
@A hobbit Congratulations on your first gold star! As HeathieJ said, you'll have many more in your future. Have fun!
@A hobbit May you have many more happy, hobbity, games,
Liked the SKIP being related to BROKENRECORD… from the days of needles on grooves in 33s, 45s, and 78s. Except my daughter got a turntable a couple years ago too, and took all my Otis Redding albums off to college. Analog phonographs returned.
@sonnel "Analog phonograph"??? Redundant! Five points off. Some of us never gave the phonograph away. Nor the Regina music box, nor the Gramophone, nor the Amberol... Practically everything in this house is an antique, including the humans.
I laughed at the vision I had of the hand on player hopping, skipping, and jumping atop a scratched record. It took Sam's explanation to straighten me out, as I'd completely missed the twist to the themers vis à vis the revealer. Nice touch! And before I had the crosses for CHOCO____ , I really wanted it to be CHOCO LOCO. That's what I would have named a fun treat anyway. I still don't get how CHOCO rhymes with TACO. I'd be grateful if someone could explain. Congratulations, Sala and Emily on this great début, and thank you!
@sotto voce If you start saying "chocolate", but then stop after the first two syllables, then that would rhyme with taco. At least the way I say those two words.
I was on pace for a PB. Filled in the last box and... no joy. With the wind out of my sails, I started a recheck. Turns out I married "Gummi BEAR" on the first pass and assumed the rest would work out. It didn't. Fun puzzle and a nice Monday theme.
Congratulations on a great debut together! This was a fun puzzle with very clean fill.
Fun Monday puzzle. Bit of a slow start for me but then came together pretty smoothly. Working out the reveal was a really nice 'aha' moment. Looking forward to more from our new constructors. Answer history search today was for the sequence of letters in our constructors' names. Just a couple of finds: BIEG? The only actual appearance of that sequence was: TONYOBIEGRAMMY - in a 1985 puzzle. But the sequence also appears in.... BOBBIEGENTRY and DOBIEGILLIS But neither of those has ever been in a puzzle. And... NETICK appears in variations of AIRPLANETICKET(s), but... None of those have ever been an answer in any puzzle. I'm done. ..
Rich, See? You started solving again before Swift from Appleton reported or denied a connection to Lawrence. #####
@Rich in Atlanta Oh... appropriate puzzle find today. A Sunday from August 31, 1986 by Frances Hansen with the title: "MISNOMER" Four 21 letter theme answers in that one: THEARTISANISNOTATWORK THEBUSINESSMANSATPLAY ATHOMEWERAPORTAKEANAP WHOCALLEDTHISLABORDAY Here's the Xword Info link: <a href="https://www.xwordinfo.com/PS?date=8/31/1986&g=108&d=A" target="_blank">https://www.xwordinfo.com/PS?date=8/31/1986&g=108&d=A</a> ..
"Frequent flier" is all but frequent - it's almost universally "flyer." But that's pretty inconsequential here, kudos on an excellent puzzle.
@Georgie Boy I had "flyer" at first, because I've never seen FLIER used in that sense. Google has "frequent flyer" more common by a factor of nearly four: <a href="https://tinyurl.com/4vdztz3n" target="_blank">https://tinyurl.com/4vdztz3n</a> But obviously it exists; thus, either spelling is possible in the puzzle. Since I needed the I for PETER COTTONTAIL, the fix was quick and simple.
@Georgie Boy The bunny's TAIL forced the FLIER; (it was the last corner for me, as I like to work bottom to top.)
@Georgie Boy - When we did our family homework in the Low Countries we discovered that our full family name was van den Heuvel tot de Westflier “from the little hill to the western floodplain” and learned that “flier” is a useful term for a field that is allowed to flood as needed, a kind of escape hatch in the lands below sea level. Pronounced “fleer”, rhymes with “beer.” I remain agnostic on flyer vs. flier. I can’t stand cluing and gluing instead of clueing and glueing; I always want to pronounce the former pair as monosyllabic sounds. Klwing! Glwing!
TIL that you can pause a puzzle, come back to it the next day and your streak is intact! How did I not know this? My inner OCD perfectionist is happy; I entered a couple of answers on Saturday’s grid, in between setting up for the big shindig. Held said shindig, which was a huge success. Came back to it late yesterday to find the streak holding. Hurrah. Ditto Sunday’s grid. Finished today after clearing up post party and saying farewell to the late hangers on last night. Some people don’t know when it’s time to leave. Ah, the grids. Saturday was good, Sunday was a nightmare. I have dyscalculia so this was fighting in the dark with both hands behind my back. Not fun at all. Today was fun. A clean grid with just enough bite that I didn’t get the revealer til quite late. I need another nap now. This celebration lark gets harder as you get older.
@Helen Wright So glad to hear the shindig was a huge success!! I'm also glad to hear that your streak was intact. I think that if you come back to it the next day *before* you start that next day's puzzle, it usually holds up. Although at least once that didn't happen for me, so I don't know if there's a certain time length or if it's just not very consistent. It didn't bother me because I'm not really tracking streaks but I know a lot of people do.
Today's comment is brought to you by the letter N for nostalgia! This puzzle was lovely including the sweet constructor notes about friendship and collaboration! Two of my favorite things! ❤️ Another favorite thing, mmm... Choco TACO!! So delicious and fun to eat!! Nostalgic! The puzzle was pretty smooth sailing with the only pause being putting in bear instead of WORM. I don't remember the last time I had a gummy worm but when I was a cook at a camp, I would sometimes use them to make dirt cup desserts... Oreo crumbs and gummy worms. I haven't thought about that in forever! What a fun other life that was!! Happily, I'm still very much connected with the camp but my days of cooking three meals a day for 200 people are long past. Speaking of gravy trains, I did make a lot of gravy! It was not an easy job but it was a terrific one! Nostalgia x 2! Nostalgia x 3 is that I'm currently listening to American Pie by Don McLean, thanks to LEVEE... Which always reminds me of my dad tinkering in the garage on one of our old clunker cars, or on his beloved Studebaker, as he sang along to this song playing. I'm sure it was only once that I heard it playing while he was out there but it stuck with me. He's been gone a very long time now and I always appreciate these little organic reminders that show up in my life. A wonderful puzzle and a delightful theme with three happy memories serving as the brandy soaked cherry on top! My thanks! ❤️
@HeathieJ Just so you know - I pulled up American Pie on youtube after I finished solving. I can still remember how that music used to make me smile. Maybe I should drive my Chevy to the levee. An all-time favorite. ..
Loved that there was ARIANA right above TOM Sandoval. As a fan of Vanderpump Rules, this made me laugh. Love when puzzles have little “Easter eggs” like that!
Duncan THANK YOU it absolutely made my day to have my Vanderpump Rules obsession collide with my NYT Crossword obsession. I'm sure it went unnoticed by many, but was was deeply appreciated by me.
Below "if you are considering a passion project with a dear friend … do it" I was amused to see an ad for Alice Cooper and Rob Zombie on tour :)
Nice puzzle. I hadn't heard of EMEND before yesterday, but luckily it was in the crossword then so I could remember it for today.
I’ve always loved the expression HOP, SKIP, AND A JUMP and very happy to see it in the puzzle today.
Good thing I check my puzzle before calling it done. You do not BLOb after [making a birthday wish], a REDe is not a [second chance], OVEa is not [Finished], and rFA is not an [Advanced deg.] How many online speed solvers got caught up in that? Very nice debut, Sala and Emily. I'm sure I'll be able to stop hearing Here comes Peter Cottontail Hopping down the bunny trail soon.
Very enjoyable puzzle as well as fun to read constructor notes. I found it a bit difficult for a Monday puzzle, but assembled that was because of the holiday.
@suejean , I’m not a very good proofreader it seems
@suejean I actually thought it was easy, even for a Monday. My time bears this out. Different strokes, I guess. !!!
@suejean, We just assembled it was autocorrect. 🙂
Didn’t have a chance yesterday, but here’s a big shout out to Sunday’s cluing of the great jazz trombonist Vic Dickinson. A very quiet man off stage, his playing was just the opposite - exuberant, inventive and full of humor.
@John Dietsch Thanks for reminding me of the great jazz trombonist Vic Dickinson. He played for awhile in a group called, “The World’s Greatest Jazz Band” between 1968-1978 (there’s a wiki entry that lists the members). One of the other trombonists in that ensemble was a guy named George Masso, who had played with Jimmy Dorsey’s band. Seems that Masso found the life as a professional jazz musician to be financially challenging, so he gave it up for a time to become a high school music teacher/band director. Happens that when I was in Junior High in Storrs, CT he realized that there were no up coming trombone players for the HS band so he approached me and asked if I would be willing to try that instrument. He gave me private lessons for free for about a year and I went on to play all 4 HS years in band, orchestra, pep band, jazz band….good memories of that fellow. Still have my trombone in the attic.
Emily and Sala, I see what you did with WORM and ARIANA above TOM. Well played and a good bonus chuckle!
@Greg tha k you for noticing! Though I will admit I missed worm - great catch, a happy accident for sure
Jumped on the 3 themers first and still did not guess the reveal. Congrats on a cute and clever debut. Also *just* finished Saturdays, been picking away all weekend. I actually should say "almost" finished it as I got stuck at the ZTILE/LAC cross. Tres bien.
Ah so well done! Just challenging enough to make it fun! Thank you Sala and Emily! Please keep it up!
Tom Sandoval! I did not expect to see Vanderpump Rules in an NYT crossword but it absolutely made my night. Cheers, and congrats on a fun puzzle! 🍸
This was a fun Monday puzzle…and isn’t it fun that EBONY appeared in both the mini and maxi puzzles?
@Anker Lerret Folks may be annoyed that you entered a 'spoiler' here. I myself do not care (don't do the Mini), but many do. Emus don't care about policing that kind of transgression.
Although I guessed the Reveal before putting pen to paper, the exact form was still in question (A HOP, SKIP, AND JUMP?) so it was fun to work that out, and even working bottom to top did not spoil the fun as the Across hints were revealed. DHubby's collection of Old 78's includes a few with flaws that cause SKIPs; for big hits, it can be difficult to find one in good condition. We've been known to sort through great stacks of RECORDS in the hot loft of a barn. (The Hunt was great fun back then...) And how timely to find 50D, a reminder of a recent puzzle that created "a learning opportunity." A really good Monday puzzle! Kudos and thanks!
A great Monday puzzle! I hope we see more from Emily and Sala! Good week, everybody!
Quintessentially Monday: clean, clear, and fun. I predict that this fine puzzle will draw many more people into our hobby!
This was a lot of fun. I loved the long entries, and the theme was just right. Congrats!
I recently read the fantastic ‘Count of Monte Cristo.’ If I had stayed on the Dumas train and started ‘The Three Musketeers,’ then I would’ve shaved 20 seconds off today’s time by not having to guess one letter!
41 Down is, hands down, the most non-laborious hint I have ever seen in any NYT crossword!
Perscribo, For the 306th appearance of STU in the NYT Crossword, our first time constructors offer a debut clue. #####
I struggled with EMENDS and THELIKE only because I don’t use those terms.
Did not like THELIKE as it was our misstep :). The rest was just peachy. Thank you Sala and Emily.
Well, that's DONE and OVER with. A nice Monday puzzle, felt fresh, clever theme. PAPI crossing AISHA took me a moment, both unknown to me. The emus ate my comments both Saturday and Sunday. Yes, Virginia, the emus are real.
Fun puzzle, as (almost) always, thanks to brilliant constructors and editors. But what drew me to comment was Sam’s intro comment that we have funny ways of measuring things in the US. If you haven’t seen it already, enjoy this SNL skit called George Washington’s Dream re: coming up with weights and measures. I’ve rarely laughed so hard… and have done so a few times since. YouTube link to skit: <a href="https://youtu.be/JYqfVE-fykk?si=XFwT-QfUGvK2NeUi" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/JYqfVE-fykk?si=XFwT-QfUGvK2NeUi</a>
@Jill Thanks for posting this! I've watched it before a few times and it's always a terrific laugh!! I wonder what scale of temperature emus use! !?
@Jill "And how many yards to a mile, sir?" [Pause] "Nobody knows."😂 Fabulous skit! Thank you for posting it.
@Jill Thank you so much for the link. The irrationality of our weights and measure system never seemed so clear!
I'm rather crestfallen that my earlier comment was removed, I thought it was pretty clever and am unsure why it was deemed inappropriate :-(
Bill, Not going to even give us a hint about the subject matter of the post we can't read? Was it really removed, or did it never appear? emus are simetimes a mystery
Today’s theme, and that obvious criticism at 39A, can only mean the holiday-Monday puzzling fun is over, get up off this couch you slouch, and go do some exercise… or yard work.
I loved the cute and clever theme! If you ever want to sample the best gummy WORMs (and peach rings!) in the world, check out Albanese’s at your local Publix. But should you find yourself driving through Northwest Indiana (a couple miles off I-65), stop at the Albanese Candy Factory. They are even better fresh! Do emus like gummy worms?🐛
What a cute debut Sala and Emily! Can’t wait for the next one from you guys. I especially loved THELIKE and the [seasons to taste] clue for SALTS.
If only I had not misread a clue and turned “revered star” into “reversed star,” leading me to put in “rats” instead of “idol”! It would not have given me a personal best, but it would have given me a complete puzzle without having to ask what I had done wrong. Gotta wear those reading glasses.
A bit off topic, but has anyone figured out the magic number of keystrokes that would “call off” the EMU? Or even better, is it possible that the EMU has passed on to the EMU afterworld?
@Krad EMUS chew at the short answers of frequent commenters because they think we're spambots. We're obviously not, but you can't convince an EMU of anything. (What's the difference between a leopard and an EMU? You can tell a leopard by its spots, but you can't tell an EMU anything.) EMUS apparently judge length by number of lines, rather than characters, which is why Barry A. writes in verse. Four or five lines seem to be sufficient most of the time. As for your last question, I don't think so. I think the NYT has a contract with an EMU farm in Australia. All the drudge work is outsourced overseas these days.
Just read the earlier Barry/Bill Emu exchange. Guess emus are alive and well. I can see it for auto-censoring some content, like impulsive (but insightful) trashing of you-know-who, but should length really matter? (Watch out for answering that last one—the EMU may be listening). So here I go. Boo, Emu
@Krad As you can see, your 3-line post got past the emus. I have never had an issue with them. I think they just have an aversion to some posters. Might be the flavor of their toothpaste?
And the like will always recall Christopher Smart’s poetry as set to music by Benjamin Britten. Those who know, know. Those who are curious, can meet it <a href="https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=SuD8USbCwBE&pp=ygUbcmVqb2ljZSBpbiB0aGUgbGFtYiBicml0dGVu#searching" target="_blank">https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=SuD8USbCwBE&pp=ygUbcmVqb2ljZSBpbiB0aGUgbGFtYiBicml0dGVu#searching</a> In Germanic languages Old English - ond swā forþ German - und so weiter (usw.) Dutch - en zo voorts (enz.) In Slavic languages Polish - i tak dalej (itd.) Ukrainian - і так далі (і т. д.) In Baltic Lithuanian - ir taip toliau (ir t.t.) In all of those languages, “forth”, “further” is the element. In Latin “et cetera” and most Romance languages, “and the rest” is the element. Those who remember Gilligan’s Island know what I’m talking about… But most Asian languages echo Seinfeld: “yadda yadda” would be a goid equivalent for Japanese - nadonado Korean - deung deung