Like most Thursday puzzles, I skipped the “trick” clues, waiting for the revealer. It wasn’t until I got POCKETS through the crosses, and saw that they were lined, that I realized the revealers were there all along. Very clever. Aside from that, any puzzle that includes a ZEDONK is aces in my book. The first time I saw one, I laughed so hard I made myself a little horse.
I found this one [hard / easy]. I [maintained / lost] my 2000 day streak. My time was [above / below] my average [and a personal best] - is 35 nanoseconds good? [CAPS] and [CAPS] [witty pun]. I have never seen [CAPS] used and am astonished it got past the editors who clearly don’t know me very well and my own personal but definitive lexicon - see below. This was [chewy / crunchy / too easy] for a [every day of week except Monday]. The [theme / gimmick] was [brilliant / funny / impenetrable]. I [like / love / applaud the debut of] setter. [witty emu pun] Signed Samuel Johnson creator of the English language and cross word supremo.
@William/Sam, are you supremo at crosswords, or just words which are cross? (I'm spacing out my post this way so I won't be accused of including a [witty emu pun].)
@William James This comment was too clever by half.
@William James Hilarious! Now make one for the "correctors". Your opinion is so wrong... Blah blah is in the dictionary/ Wikipedia... Cutesy emu phrase
To complete the task, satisfactorily, as this puzzle's construction. ☑☑☑☑☑☑☑☑☑☑ ☑ ALLTHEBOXES ☑ ☑☑☑☑☑☑☑☑☑☑ cc: emu handler
A Wednesday rebus, and now Thursday graphics, and I'm in puzzle heaven! What a mind you have, Mr. Deeney! You've given us a memorable grid to sink our teeth into. The themers were creativity at its best, and the fill was crunchy, clever, and delightful. I wish I were just starting the solve, so I could enjoy it all over again. Alas, it's come to an end, but at least the smile remains. Thank you so much!
This puzzle was rich with lovely answers. All the theme answers (counting their graphic first words) had zing, then in addition, there were these beauties: ZEDONK, ONE POT MEAL, WHY AM I HERE, OLD MONEY, ENMITY. The first three are NYT debut answers. The four theme answers (with or without the graphic first word) are debuts as well. The result is a grid shimmering with freshness, answers and clues never seen before. That’s the difference between “just another puzzle” and one that stands out. Joe’s last NYT puzzle had a visual element as well, but in the clues. For instance, the clue for HEBREW NATIONAL was the word “national” written in Hebrew, and the clue for CHINESE CHECKERS was “checkers” written in Chinese. All your themes are playful, Joe, and that’s why I light up when I see your name atop a puzzle. It’s great to see you again after a year’s absence, and please, don’t be a stranger. Thank you for this gem today!
This morning my son texted me the following: if they made a sequel to Animal Farm, I know which animal Chairman Mao would be... a Zedonk! You know you’re getting old when your son starts making Dad jokes!
You can always expect something different and original from Joe Deeney. It’s almost a given that there will be something that’s never been done before. This one was no exception.
On my laptop, at regular size, the curls in the border of 27A merely looked like stitches. It was easy enough to get the answer without knowing that they were curls, but I had to enlarge the grid to see that they were curls (which I did not think to do while I was solving). In general, though, I do like visual creativity in puzzles.
@Liz B Agree. I thought this perhaps a camera roll, like the old movies with sprocket holes, or 35 mm film.
@Liz B I did it on my computer too and zoomed in to make sure curls worked (before realizing it didn't matter for plugging in the answer). I also figured "holed up" would be far too slangy for the NYTimes lol!
Nice puzzle. I was in the mood for a quick one tonight, and by my own less than Olympic standards, it was. But I didn't get the 'curled up' bit for 17A. Whenever I see the 'SERIF' word as in 62A meaning the little tail on a font I am reminded of the Guardian's April Fool supplement in 1977 about the 10th anniversary of independence in the tiny tropical island group which was San Seriffe. I'm a native Brit and a Guardian reader for 60+ years and I remember this issue and reading the supplement with growing incredulity. Take the time to Google it: Guardian San Seriffe - you'll be glad you did.
@Andrew This is fabulous! I found this very detailed article about it, which is worth a read. It's truly amazing how it came about and how they pulled it off: <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/gnmeducationcentre/archive-educational-resource-april-2012" target="_blank">https://www.theguardian.com/gnmeducationcentre/archive-educational-resource-april-2012</a> Long live the archipelago of San Serriffe!
@Andrew Thanks! And thanks, sotto voice, for the linked article. Very amusing.
@Andrew Dear Andrew, dear sotto voce, thank you both for one of the most enjoyable rabbit holes (emu crevasses?) I’ve ever been down.
ZEDONK! Zis vas ze zany Zursday I vait for, hoping for ze vackiness! Ze trick had me all over ze grid at first, but it all fell togezzer nicely. Vat to do next? Vordle! And it is ze Friday of Fridays!!
@CCNY Tsk, tsk; have you been at the cooking sherry again? You knew it vaz Zursday at zee beginning, but by zee end....
When the ocean watched the ball game, it did the wave. (That'll tide you over.)
@Mike Was that the one where the White Caps were playing Nets? I could never figure out whose tern it was. 〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰🐟🐟🐟🦈
The graphics were cute and gave the puzzle a touch of whimsy. EYES for peer group was clever. I so wanted it to be jury. TIL there’s a creature called a ZEDONK (sounds almost Seussian). And finally, always happy to see the appearance of ANI DiFranco, no matter how many times she shows up, and be reminded to include more of her music in my playlists. Overall a very productive puzzle.
@Marshall Walthew eyes for peer group was great!
@Marshall Walthew Yes, true, Peer Group was the one clever clue. I just checked again. Nothing else was, and the theme clues were merely clunky.
“Curled up with a book”? Or “Holed up with a book”? Aren’t those holes depicted on 27A?
@Julia Gerson They do look like holes to me at normal size. If you zoom in, they look like curlicues.
@Julia Gerson Oh wow, I thought it was supposed to be "cozied". Not great either way. /cozy emus
I opened the puzzle, scanned it, and thought, "Uh oh, not a Thursday rebus, but maybe something even harder!!" Then I ignored the graphics and let the puzzle solve itself. The clues for the theme fills were funny when you added the waves and curls and tilts and lines, and all the clues together added up to a fresh and truly enjoyable Thursday. Good for you, Joe, to construct this fine puzzle, and good for us that we got to work it.
Always fun to solve a Joe Deeney construction, though in my mind I was Playing TO THE CAMERA, instead of Waving. A little bit of a spacey theme, what with LEM, SOYUZ and UFO in the grid. Finally, I'd like to thank Mary Berry for teaching me what an ETON mess is.
The all-time best New Yorker cartoon that never actually made it into the New Yorker: <a href="https://images.app.goo.gl/ngokt4HeQUDMTtDz6" target="_blank">https://images.app.goo.gl/ngokt4HeQUDMTtDz6</a>
@Hillary Rettig Thanks for sharing that great New Yorker cartoon. I’m scratching my head about how you found it if it wasn’t ever actually in the New Yorker, but I guess it doesn’t really matter. It was a good chuckle.
Hi Everybody, I just dropped in to correct Deb on the Keats poem - that ode is ON a Grecian urn, not TO. Should have picked his Ode to a Nightingale. Anyway, I scrolled down and saw that someone beat me to it, but as along as I'm here I'll add that I loved this poem, saw it all clearly on my ordinary Android phone and enjoyed it very much.
Viv! Thanks for dropping in. Good to see you. [Seems like old times...]
@Viv -- Hi Viv! Great to see you! Et tu, emu.
@Viv Thinking of you often during these fraught times... Emus, begone!
I'm swinging back by to honor Don Quixote, that memorable character who saw windmills as giants/monsters to be fought against and defeated. I first watched the movie, "Man of La Mancha" as a ten-year-old, and I was moved then –as I am now – by Peter O'Tooles' poignant rendition of "The Impossible Dream": <a href="https://youtu.be/oo7VlD66ISM?feature=shared" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/oo7VlD66ISM?feature=shared</a> Maybe it's the powerful crescendo, maybe the beautiful lyrics, and possibly both that make me hold this music close to my heart... To dream the impossible dream To fight the unbeatable foe To bear with unbearable sorrow And to run where the brave dare not go To right the unrightable wrong And to love pure and chaste from afar To try when your arms are too weary To reach the unreachable star This is my quest To follow that star No matter how hopeless No matter how far To fight for the right Without question or pause To be willing to march, march into Hell For that Heavenly cause And I know if I'll only be true To this glorious quest That my heart will lie peaceful and calm When I'm laid to my rest And the world will be better for this That one man, scorned and covered with scars Still strove with his last ounce of courage To reach the unreachable star Songwriters: Mitch Leigh / Joseph Darion
@sotto voce You should also give Richard Kiley’s version a listen. Emus love Broadway musicals too.
@sotto voce I love that song, but something about it always makes me cry. Ugly cry. I've even tried immunizing myself by listening to it repeatedly. No luck.
This week’s series of gentle introductions to puzzle gimmicks continues (building upon yesterday’s somewhat rare, but beginner-friendly Wednesday rebus) with an offering that, upon first glance, made me think “ooh boy, this is going to be a Thursday to remember, and there will be a tidal wave of vitriol from the crowd of commenters who hate any puzzle that doesn’t make them feel appropriately clever”…but then turned out to be a Tuesday-level grid with some fun entries and funky styling. TIL: Gina Raimondo is 10th in line for the presidency (in a pinch), and a “rod” is 16.5 feet.
I solved this puzzle fairly quickly but did not enjoy it overall. I much prefer wordplay to trivia so these clues and answers were mostly irritating to me. The theme entries were amusing at least but I'm hoping for more wordplay in Fridays puzzle. No problems viewing the puzzle as intended on my Android phone.
I read it as HOLED UP WITH A BOOK but the result was the same. I love the idea of a ZEDONK. Fun Thursday!
@Elizabeth Funny. I read it as “cozied up with a book” because the graphic looked like a tea cozy.
For all those who regularly take issue with rebuses on Thursdays and feel that they have missed out this week, may I point out that the inclusion of a graphic component in the theme entries comes very close to making them into classic rebuses.
This was one of the most creative and cleverest crossword ever. Really enjoyed it. Pass the Dramamine.
Woohoo! That was a great puzzle! Very clever and fun. Yeah, not terribly hard for a Thursday, but the enjoyment factor made up,for that. Thanks!
PB for a Thursday for me. Nothing too tricky. It was (TILTED) AT WINDMILLS that gave away the theme for me.
Would this theme have worked better if only the first word received the graphic treatment? AT // UP // ONES I liked it either way, but I do feel it would be more literal and logical that way, plus it would have made the grid slightly less visually disorienting. Great puzzle. Well done, Joe Deeney!
@Striker That's interesting.... it definitely would have worked, but I'm not sure if it would gave been better. Easier on the EYES, but harder to see, I think. I wonder if the constructor considered it. 🤔
Brilliant!!!!! Bravo! As someone who routinely glances at an Amsler grid to monitor for macular degeneration, I was briefly alarmed LOL. My favorite clue: “The long way there”
@Chrissy I totally get what you’re talking about. Point well taken! You are not alone…. — — — — — — — — — — — —
@Deb Amien: Keats's famous poem is a bad example, since it's "Ode ON a Grecian Urn" not "TO".
Some found it hard. I thought it was not too hard. More importantly, I think, is that it was fun and different. It must be hard to find a new Thursday gimmick! Nice one, Joe!
Sorrry to report my eyesight and thid puzzle wee not a good match Sort of got the tited squares but the lines and curves were too subtle for me. Even with the Android app in high magnifacation Hope everyoe enjoyed it. I promise i wont report you under the ADA act. Mr. MaGoo
I haven't done the crossword in a while, but I checked it today just because I'm a fan of Thursdays. I'm glad I did! I thought it was very clever, and I enjoyed the graphics.
Very cool puzzle. Once I figured out the tilt from AT WINDMILLS, the rest got easier. The curls, though, looked like a filmstrip to me, but the clue was pretty straightforward. Thanks for the fun!
I solve on the app and have an Android phone-the puzzle appeared as it was supposed to, no issues (I solve in the default light mode). Pretty easy for a Thurs, but fun.
This turned out not to be as difficlt as I first thought, once I got TILTED AT WINDMILLS. However, ZEDONK was news to me. Besides that, it was fun.
Easy enough but this one defines "the juice wasn't worth the squeeze". The graphics seem unwisely chosen to me, except for the windmills. Is the book cozied or curled or...? The pocket lines are WAY too dense - on my largish phone screen I thought it was shading or dots for a good while. And the waves... honestly they don't look like waves at all, do they. A noble experiment I suppose? I didn't like it (and didn't notice much clever). Wasn't much fond of the "fill" either. Ah well. :( /striped zemus?
@B I didn't have trouble with the waves and curls, but I thought the last one was shading too, for the longest time. Couldn't see the lines on my Android phone app. But I thought it was acute theme overall! It made me smile :)
A most enjoyable Thursday puzzle, IMHO. While my time to solve was 15 minutes faster than my average, it would have been faster still if I didn’t have to play the “alphabet” game to learn what a ZEDONK was. (Guess I should have started at the other end.😕😕)
Fun idea for a Thursday puzzle. Glad my Show overlays was working. Caught on with the windmills entry. I thought it was the appropriate amount of crunch, Joe and look forward to more. I never curl up with a book any more as I like to have it on my iPad so I can enlarge the print.
Ah, I quite enjoyed this. I do hope the graphics were clearly vislble for everyone. Sounds like you had to have your overlays turned on for the digital solvers. My only misstep was in looking for shady dealings rather than LINED pockets. Is it too early for some of that national spirit? With tonic and a twist of lime, please. Strands was fine. Except my age was showing, first I looked for VELVET. Strands #186 “Going underground” 🔵🟡🔵🔵 🔵🔵🔵 No spoilers, plz, until after "view all replies"
@Linda Jo Strands #186 “Going underground” 🟡🔵🔵🔵 🔵🔵🔵
@Linda Jo Strands #186 “Going underground” 🔵🟡🔵🔵 🔵🔵🔵 I commend the puzzle team for the diversity of words included. I wonder how many people don’t recognize the word in the upper left. (The thing is common where I used to live, but I don’t know how common it is in other parts of the country.)
Three cheers for the inverse trig functions!
Sounds like people had tech issues, but I didn’t, I could see the funny boxes fine, though I wondered what “light mode” meant in the notes. Anyway, a little easier than usual for me on a Thursday. And I mostly filled in everything before finding the theme, which was cute. I love the “tilting at windmills,” though who needs imaginary enemies when there are so many real dangers out there?
Had so much fun with this one. And a Thursday personal best for me!
One minute off my Thursday best. And I even did it while drinking a cup of MOET
The editor’s note should probably have mentioned the fact that you also need to have overlays turned on.
@Dan Judging by the comments, perhaps you’re right. But why would you turn them off in the first place? And then complain that you’re not seeing what you’re supposed to? SMH.
@Dan thank you for this comment. @Steve I have never changed this setting, so I assume it is off by default
@Kim mine too! I've never had an issue with graphic puzzles before but nothing showed up at all for me and I couldn't figure out why. I definitely didn't manually turn overlays off, maybe a bug in a recent Android update.
Loved this! A clever conceit that put a big smile on my face.
Question -- until a couple of months ago when someone did a Reply to a comment there was an option to View Thread. Now, only the original post does View Thread. When I see a message that is obviously a reply to a previous comment I'd like to see what the original post was. It's hard to scan through all the other posts to find it. The reply may have lots of recommendations, but be a bit nonsensical without reading the original post. How do we get the View Thread choice on all replies that are part of a conversation? Thanks!
@Sue I've noticed that sometimes the comments open in Reader Picks or NYT Replies instead of All Comments, and when that happens I see some replies that aren't attached to their original comments. If you switch to All Comments, the replies are all neatly attached to their originals. (At least on the website. Not sure about the app.)
@Sue, yes, yes, yes! I’ve been waiting for someone to bring this up because it’s been driving me crazy. Sometimes the “show thread” (or whatever it is) is there (like with this post, yay!), but mostly not. Thought it was just me.
I did the puzzle and thought the theme was fine, but I have to complain about the clues. Overall they were way too easy. It seems more and more that since Thursday puzzles have “tricks”, the editors compensate with really straightforward cluing. With this puzzle they went way too far. I’m not calling for Saturday level cluing, but this level of clueing makes the puzzle not a challenge and boring to boot.
@MarkN I found this puzzle hard. Granted, it’s early and maybe I’m not quite awake but we’re not AP exalted puzzle fillers. I’ve been solving for 7 years.
I found it hard, too, not only because of the trivia and Americana (never heard of a Jumbotron, for example), but also the vagueness - rather than punny brilliance - of some clues.
GAMES Magazine's Wacky Wordies + Tuesday level difficulty ＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿ = a fun puzzle too soon
Good thing the fill was easy, because I didn't get the theme at all
After reading the column and seeing how the grid should have looked, it is disappointing that the necessary changes weren't made to the app version of the puzzle.
@Kim I run the app on an Android and it looked fine. Sorry that happened to you.
I liked this, the trick was clever and amusing when I grasped what was going on, and the fill was challenging but not impossible. What a Thursday puzzle should be, in other words. Bravo!