This puzzle was my 1,000th Gold Star for my streak. I really enjoyed it 🥹 I invited my friends over and we all worked on it together. I am so grateful for crossword puzzles for fostering connection, I love asking people for help on clues that play to their particular niche. I have learned so much from the smart and passionate people in my life, and I am happy to have found a way to make this usually solitary hobby a social one. Thanks for all the puns, the word play, and the learning. I’m so incredibly grateful for the distinctly human urge to make and solve puzzles. I’m looking forward to 1,000 more 🤍🖤
@Annie Congratulations on the kilosolve©. Great comment on process and participation as well.
Way to go, @Annie!
@Annie Great streak. On to 10,000!
@Annie The only way I'll ever get to 1000 is in binary, which is the same as 8, decimal.
@Annie Congratulations on your streak! What a fantastic achievement and dedication to complete with no errors every day! I reached 1000 yesterday too :)
@Annie Wow ... congratulations Annie - fabulous. I've got a live streak of 20 going at the moment, so a long LONG way to go to catch you. I solve on my own, with no dictionaries, wiki, or other help. Hope your next 1,000 is just as much fun 🌞
Thanks everyone! To be clear though, I have zero shame in looking something up if I get stuck haha. I am of the mind looking things up is learning for the next time 😊 so it might not meet everyone’s definition of a gold star puzzle, but in the end it’s just about taking a little time for myself everyday to do something I love. I am so impressed with people who maintain their streaks with no mistakes or look ups! But that’s not always me, and it especially wasn’t at first I want to encourage anyone who feels like they can’t get them perfect without asking for a little help (be it from friends or the internet!) to be still be proud of starting a routine. it’s all for the love of puzzles, after all 🖤
"We're buying a hotel. You inn?" "Yes! Sounds suite!" (I had to resort to this.)
@Mike Mike pun? Checks out.
@Mike "We're buying a hotel. You inn?" "Well, I have some reservations."
@Mike And to think, some are downright hostel to puns!
@Mike I couldn't figure out how @Mike's puns related to the puzzle, then I eventually spotted "AREYOUIN". I guess I finally got the connecting rooms.
No complaints. This puzzle was mEaTY as I struggled with it and, finally, ZESTY when I got it solved. I’ve never heard of Q DOBA in my life. East Coast thing? Mid West? And, are we sure [Who’s cutting onions?] should get the question mark treatment? DICER seems like an extremely literal answer. Not a punny one. I suppose, because the phrase seldom used literally, the literal answer becomes the pun? Great puzzle. Thanks a bunch, Jake Bunch
@Striker Yeah it's another of those ubiquitous and yet anonymous "is it a sub shop? is it Mexican food?" chains that almost no one you know has ever been to. And yeah, you reminded me how much I didn't like the onions clue; I expected more. :( ____________________ Jesse Goldberg 8/28/2024 for Puzzle of the Decade (I do this instead of emuing)
@Striker It may not be the greatest of clues, but I read it as a question: "Who is the person who is cutting onions?" And the answer would be the DICER. In other words, the ? is part of the clue phrase.
@Striker I was hoping DINAH was the answer about onions. I mean, someone’s in the kitchen with her and she must be doing something in there.
"I’ve never heard of Q DOBA in my life. East Coast thing? Mid West?" Striker, QDOBA is national, but there aren't that many of them. I've never seen one in the wild; there doesn't seem to be one in Manhattan. There may not be one near you. <a href="https://locations.qdoba.com/us.html" target="_blank">https://locations.qdoba.com/us.html</a>
@Striker Deb’s column made me aware that “Who’s cutting onions?” (with the “?”) is a contemporary idiom to convey the notion that someone is emotionally moved by something (perhaps to tears) but wants to deny it.
Wow. When I did my first pass, I had almost nothing. I thought I would not be able to finish without autocheck. In the end I managed to fill the grid on my own though - well, almost, as I looked up FAA, IRONCHEF and AMA (why could this not have been clued the Reddit way, as usual! Because it's Friday). With a puzzle as hard as this I simply needed a few more crosses to get going past the 10 or 15 answers I was reasonably sure of initially. CHOPIN was a gimme, obviously. Btw, I'm not a fan of the name, for this particular airport. It is located in the Okęcie district of Warsaw, and it is one of the oldest airports in this country - it is not only an important transport hub but also a piece of Polish history. It was simply known as "Okęcie" for decades. Then in the 1990s for promotional reasons it was renamed. Can you imagine renaming your oldest US airport, College Park?. The managers wanted a name easier to pronounce and remember for foreigners. There was also a nationalist motive: Chopin was French-Polish. Many Polish people suffer from an inferiority complex vis-a-vis other European nations, and can't bear thinking of sharing Polish icons with others. Making Chopin patron of *Poland's* busiest airport was supposed to show there was more Polish in him than French. (In a similar vein, a politician of the 2015-2023 ruling populist party publicly claimed in 2016 that sophisticated Polish people taught the disgusting, uncouth French how to use forks in the 16th century...).
Oh and QDOBA, I looked that up to. What kind of a ridiculous name is that!? Is it a brand people actually recognize, or was it just unfortunate crosswordese filler? I must admit, obscure American brands are my least favorite answers in NYT puzzles. I don't know the names of your sports teams and universities, either, but at least I care about sports, education and science, unlike silly corporate onomatology.
The EMU ate my rant about the the name QDOBA. In this second post about I'll withhold the ranting against corporate onomatology and just admit I had to look it up, on top of the three things mentioned above. Spare me, emus.
@Andrzej I've often thought that if you really, really want to denigrate someone, name a bridge or a highway or an airport after them.
@Andrzej I was pleased to get CHOPIN, because I connected through there this month! At the time I did recall that he was Polish, even with that French last name, so their marketing scheme worked on me.
@Andrzej I immediately thought of you when I saw 59A. It took me a bit to come up with CHOPIN, as I'm pretty ignorant of music in general, and certainly the more classical. Anyway, I thought to myself, "I'll bet Andrzej is being rewarded for his efforts to educate himself on baseball!" Good on ya', mate!
@Andrzej Here I was rejoicing that the AMA clue was not Redditary. I'd grown so very tired of that. Do others actually prefer usual clues reused over and over? Even for so-called easier puzzles, I wish some of the "standard" clues get retired.
I thought we might have a Friday rebus when I couldn't fit HOUR IN LINE in 54A TIL QDOBA but the crosses made it easy, even if it didn't look right.
Once again the NW was the last to fall, mainly because I have no idea what BADBEAT has to do with poker. I often seem to struggle with that quadrant... Nice puzzle Jake,
@Dave S A bad beat is when you lose with a very good hand. For example, you have kings full of aces and someone else has aces full of kings.
@Dave Rosenbaum wouldn’t that require five aces and five kings?
@Michael Ostroff. Texas Holdem. Two kings and an ace on the table. I have a king and an ace, he (expletive deleted) has two aces.
@Dave S a bad beat isn’t really just losing with a good hand. It’s losing when you outplayed your opponent in the sense made decisions that were in expectation right, while your opponent made decisions that were in expectation wrong, yet got lucky in the end, often by getting the only card that could help them on the river (the last card dealt). The beat is rendered “bad” by a sense of injustice.
Interesting puzzle, how if you worked the short words and the crossed, you could fill the grid in a smooth and even descent, like window shades. And so that happened and [sad Chopin music] still I did not get the gold for my country, Ezralandia. Well, it was actually the very first letter. HAD BEAT / HONE IN. As in when one team has another team beat, but the other team manages to eke out a win. That's when it really hurts. "With a hand like this, he thought, the whole table he had beat." So he bets everything he has and before you know it, tears of blood are streaming down his cheeks and James Bond is wearing a quiet, almost rueful smile, as if the Vesper he was sipping had suddenly grown rather zesty, to die for, even... "Hone in" is what you tell your barber to do for your ducktail, or your fade, or whatever kind of cut you have in mind. So "H" works, yeah? That's my excuse, O people of Ezramania, may you find it within your hearts to grant me another opportunity to win tomorrow; I promise you victory laps, and I will answer every chant of "Go Team Go!" with a "Let's Roll!" and my heart will beat a seism that would a zillionaire's ego into a zillion pieces, some bone-in, others not so much, like Attila the Hun put through a dicer, probably untested for such uses. "Are you in all the way?" I will ask, as I watch the dicer CHOP IN two the zillionaire's little sea legs, and yes, people of Ezralandia, with gusto I will win gold. I won't forget: it's on my to-do list.
@john ezra I think you and Mike from Munster are reciprocals. :) ____________________ Jesse Goldberg 8/28/2024 for Puzzle of the Decade (I do this instead of emuing)
@john ezra John Ezra, it is really too early in the day to be drinking, and I hope you will realize the need for reform and wait until noon before hitting the sauce in future.... And not use HONE IN ever again.
@john ezra Love Ezralandia! Think you misspelled it once (as Ezramania)... unless there are sister lands? Thanks for your fun post (as usual). emu food
I hate when I get a BAD HAND. Brown BASMATI rice is a household staple here. It is also helpful in solving crosswords. Six years' AGE GAP did not seem too serious in 1979, but it's a little more impactful down the road.... We don't use little phrases like "TO DIE FOR" in case it's too close to home. QDOBA was kinda tough. Wanted Quizno....tested some creative spellings. If you're a ZILLIONAIRE, maybe you think you should be a co-president... I am reminded of the novel _The Octopus_ .....only I think the situation is worse. Hey, all you Tarheels--better check your voter registration, 'cause you might have been purged. The PARERS have been hard at work. Wow, who knew Jake Bunch had constructed his puzzle with so much apt and timely material?!
Well.. for once the puzzle was not my primary focus this morning, and I had to look some things up but managed to get through it. Nice puzzle for the most part. As usual a number of things that weren't dawning on me from the clues but finally came to mind with some crosses. Things are about to get a whole lot more interesting here. Flooding, winds, tree limbs, power outages... who knows. I'll check back in later (if I'm still connected) and let you know how it went. ...
@Rich in Atlanta Good luck! Hurricanes be beyatchs.
@Rich in Atlanta Will be thinking of you!! My (other) brother Ric was to have been traveling by air today (via ATL) for a weekend visit. That is cancelled; we'll see what Mother Nature has to say about the New Plan....
(This was originally slated as a reply to someone's complaint about ALEKEG, but I thought I give it its own thread.) I'll say this again (and probably again and again). Pretty much every day there is a crossword answer I've never heard of, but am able to fill it in either because the answer has a shred of reasonableness (such as ALEKEG) or it just seems to be the most likely answer given all the pieces of the puzzle. At the end of the day, it doesn't really matter if this crossword is the only place this specific string of letters has ever been in print. Just accept that you have never heard of it, and that whether or not it is in use somewhere is immaterial. Sure would cut down on a lot of comments.
@Jim - It always astonishes me how many people assume that if THEY have never heard of a word or of a particular usage of a word or expression, that it simply HAS to be wrong. Most of the time, it is a word or expression that many, if not most of us, are familiar with. More often than not, a simple check of a dictionary will reveal that the entry is correct, even if it is one I've never heard of, used, or like. (For example, even though I detest the execrable plural of octopus that shows up far too often, I accept that it is a valid crossword entry.) I view entries that I have never heard of as learning opportunities -- not as excuses to puff up my ego by pretending to be an expert on whatever entry I may fail to understand.
There’s something peaceful about seeing those floating black squares. It puts me in a lovely frame of mind to approach the puzzle. A lovely counter to Helene’s stormy weather outside. This puzzle gave me some rich resistance from things I don’t know, from clues that would work for several answers, so couldn’t be filled in immediately, and other clues that flummoxed me until crosses rescued me. Thus, my workout ethic was easily satisfied. It’s hard not to adore a puzzle that’s cheery (GO TEAM GO), beery (ALEKEG), and query (AREe YOU IN?). I also liked the symmetrical pair of lovelies (LYRICAL, BASMATI), and the food-centric southeast (CUPCAKES, CREAMERY, PEA, PARERS, ICERS). Jake, you gave me many smiles in your last puzzle (a debut), one of them being [Hunks of plastic] for KENS. Here I am, smiling again after this one. Three’s the charm — looking forward to your next. Thank you for a splendid outing!
Power is flickering, from the storm, about to go out. May be a couple of days before I return. Wishing all of you well. Et tu, emu.
Nice themeless, Jake. For what it's worth, I think your original clues for 25A: [Get to know inside out?] and especially 45A: [Championship rings?] were better than the ones that were used. Also, great clue for SEA LEGS.
@Nancy J. I agree! It always makes me sad when I see the constructor’s favorite clues that were edited - often I like the originals better :)
After a 979 day streak, this one very nearly did me in. Twice my normal Friday time. Who knew that BASMATI, JASMINE, and RISOTTO, and ARBORIO could cause such multiverse befuddlement at 4 down….
No problems with the puzzle, and it was challenging and do-able, appropriate for a Friday. But It felt like a slog to me, few aha! moments. Maybe that reflected my mood - I had watched the Oakland A's last home game ever, and what a sad moment that was - a billionaire and a sports league shafting a blue-collar city and sports fans who deserve far better. One of the few highlights here was to learn about PEA; my guess had been soy.
@David S Yeah it's sad. Soy is better in most every way, but has gotten a bad rap, perhaps due to dairy lobbying. So Beyond uses pea and messes with both taste and people's digestion. I don't know how anyone can stand their stuff. Impossible is leagues better. ____________________ Jesse Goldberg 8/28/2024 for Puzzle of the Decade (I do this instead of emuing)
@David S I agree. Oakland has been mistreated by both the NFL and MLB. It really sad what happens to the fans, so that the fat cats can have bigger and bigger yachts.
@David S It was a heartbreaking afternoon watching that last game. More memories than I can count at the Oakland Coliseum. Shout out to Larry Beil (local sports anchor for ABC Bay Area) who went in on John Fisher this week. <a href="https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=mOV4vo1eo1M" target="_blank">https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=mOV4vo1eo1M</a> Multi bILLIONAIRE and he wants tax payers to pay for his new stadium. Can’t wait for the Vegas deal to fall through because of Fisher’s ineptitude.
@David S Hand up for SOY. PEA? How is that better? A legume is a legume.
My best Friday so far. I got about 80% filled without lookups. To the best of my recollection, I've never solved a Friday or Saturday without help, but my day is coming!
@MExpat My crystal ball suggests to me not next Friday, but the one after that: All you!
Solid puzzle, though I had a gimme that I might not have otherwise gotten, as I flew out of CHOPIN en route to Berlin a week ago today
So far today I've survived the crossword puzzle and the fringes of Helene. We've had rain and some wind, which is going to continue for a while, but nothing else so far. Good puzzle, thanks, Jake.
@JayTee You're on the right coast, eh? (Ha ha, sorta) I remember when Kissimmee was a quiet little fishing village.
"It ices! It dices! It pares! It's the new Cruciverb® from NYT industries! No kitchen should be without one! Let Pop band ABC show you how it's done: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYb1bcFcopc" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYb1bcFcopc</a> . . . And if you call within the next thirty minutes, we'll send you a *second* Cruciverb® free--you just pay shipping and handling.
@Bill FWIW, in my career I have iced about a zillion cupcakes, and never once described myself as an "icer." I live in constant fear of being replaced by an Unifiller Cupcake Decorating Line: <a href="https://tinyurl.com/44yvzr49" target="_blank">https://tinyurl.com/44yvzr49</a> (It pumps! It deposits! It decorates! It automates!)
@Bill We regularly go to the Central Washington State Fair in Yakima (today, even!), because it’s family-friendly and you can talk to the kids who raised their critters and the aunties who put up the blue ribbon preserves. Of course, the arena is full of booths, and I miss the guy who used to sell the as-seen-on-TV mandolin: “slices tomatoes so thin they only have one side!”
@Bill The IRON CHEF had lots of assistants in his kitchen today. And yes, I was singing, "How to be, how to be," as I plunked in that Z.
@Bill Failure without "it makes julienne fries". ;) ____________________ Jesse Goldberg 8/28/2024 for Puzzle of the Decade (I do this instead of emuing)
A little late to this party, but I can't let LET'S ROLL go by without comment. It continues to cause unbearable sadness for me. Just a few months before 9/11 we had a reunion dinner for a special group of junior high school students from my school (for older NYC current or former residents, SP classes), and this was 37 years after graduation. One of the classmates who attended was Mickey Rothenberg, also in my H.S. graduation class. He was the businessman who was executed by the terrorists before Todd Beamer used those immortal words. On 9/11 I always say a special prayer in his memory.
@Times Rita Thank you for sharing that story. 😢
What a puzzle!!! Every time the light went on and I saw a fill it was a SEISM of delight. Simple fills with lots of choices (no, not arborio, BASMATI) so the crosses were tightly locked when they worked, and the whole construction was rock solid. I gave myself a pass on two look-ups—if we have QDOBAs around here, I never saw one, and I abhor cooking shows, but otherwise I just kept on truckin' til I WONGOLD. Dire need of distraction tonight, and you got me through it, Jake Bunch. Take a couple of VICTORYLAPS. Thank you, and l am looking forward to your third.
@Anonymous = dutchiris! Forgot my true nom de NY Times!
Smooth solve and lots of great clues today. [Debugging soft wear?] is going into my personal hall of fame for fantastic clues.
@IV I was confused by that one! How does “soft” work in that clue? I get it for the sake of the wordplay of course, but how does “soft” relate to MOSQUITO NET? Or am I just trying too hard to make sense of everything?
I found that difficult. Great clues.
@Wendy Laubach Or was it difficult because the clues *weren’t* great?
QDOBA sounds like one of those randomly generated Chinese brand names selling house slippers, mouse pads, and inexplicable 24x36 inch prints of a brick on Amazon.
Arborio...no. Jasmine...no. BASMATI!...oof. That's a snippet of how this whole puzzle went down for me – most definitely not on the constructor's wavelength, and a clear departure from yesterday's puzzle. As John Denver would say, "Some days are diamonds, some days are stone..." <a href="https://youtu.be/pUt2zDrddIQ?feature=shared" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/pUt2zDrddIQ?feature=shared</a> ... and some days are gold, but not this one! Thank you for the challenge, Mr. Bunch. You win. ;-)
@sotto voce I lucked out with the rice by getting either SEISM or ON AUTOPILOT first and effectively backing into BASMATI. (SEISM was practically a gimme after the discussion a few weeks ago when it was clued as [Cause of a Richter scale blip].] But “arborio” reminds me that it’s been a long time since I’ve made risotto, which is one of my husband’s favorite dishes.
I liked it. :) Pretty smooth and enjoyable to solve. One-across turned out to be the last fill, which makes me a little unhappy; I'd never heard the phrase. On the other end, literally, "good standing in the Navy" was probably the best clue. I read Wordplay and the constructor comments, looked back at the grid, and still don't see anything remarkable about it? "Isolated squares"? Whatever, man. Nice puzzle regardless. ____________________ Jesse Goldberg 8/28/2024 for Puzzle of the Decade (I do this instead of emuing)
@B I noticed the isolated squares in threes that are hugging AMA, STS, HER, OVA. This helped me see that this grid is very close to having 90° symmetry instead of the usual 180°, with only the two isolated squares above the D and below the B in QDOBA spoiling it. And there are only 30 black squares in total, which is relatively low. It's an unusual grid, and I found it interesting.
Super smooth and satisfying solve. Less of a head-scratcher than what I usually expect for Friday, but definitely not one to be attempted ONAUTOPILOT. So many fun entries -- TIL that CHOPIN has a namesake airport; loved the clues for MOSQUITONET and GOTEAMGO; the crossings of ZESTY/TODIEFOR and CUPCAKES/CREAMERY made my mouth water. Nicely done, Jake Bunch -- take a couple VICTORYLAPS!
I had never heard of a BAD BEAT (I haven’t played poker in 50 years and can barely remember the ranking of the hands). It wasn’t until IGLOO that I started filling in the grid, but then I zoomed through it (despite thinking first of DALÍ rather than MIRÓ). TO DIE FOR reminds me of the Gus Van Sant movie with Nicole Kidman and Matt Dillon. I remember really liking that 30 years ago. I could see it again; it’s got a great cast. According to Google maps, all the QDOBA restaurants in Austin (where I used to live) are “permanently closed.” But I got it with only a letter or two. My biggest slowdown was misspelling ZILLIONAIRE. It didn’t fit the first time I tried it. Thanks for the fun, Mr. Bunch!
Ah, this is one where my mileage varied. I’ve never pared potatoes (though that isn’t to say others haven’t), and “ALE KEG” made me feel a kinda way and gave my eyebrows an arching workout. Otherwise, I offer my usual admiration to the clever folk who make these puzzles for my enjoyment. Y’all amaze me. Fellow cruciverbalists, especially y’all further Southeast than I, take good care of yourselves.
Should Andrzej appear today, he may appreciate that CHOPIN was a gimme for me today as was SELENE. The rest had to be teased out. Nice puzzle. Somewhat faster than normal but a decent workout. SEALEGS brought a smile Thanks
@Ιασων Well done. I don't know the patron of any German airport, even though I've transferred in Frankfurt and Stuttgart a few times. Do German airports even have patrons? And if so, do they make more sense than a French-Polish composer who never even dreamt of aviation?
I’ve never cried over a crossword puzzle before, but you got me Deb. I’ll never forget those words and that great hero. Excellent Friday puzzle. My emu is solemn today.
Nice Friday. Came for obscure, multi-faceted clues, got what I came for. Friday and Saturday are funny to me. It’s *almost* like an early week puzzle. I just know I have to read the clues in a different way. Like [De-bugging soft wear]- it’s Friday, so it’s 1) *not* about computers 2) something worn that is soft 3) to keep bugs away. Almost like upside-down day. Anyone else feel this way? Great Friday. Thank you Jake!
One nit to pick: SPOT ADS aren't a thing. An ad is a spot, and a spot is an ad. I've worked in broadcast media for 15 years on the advertising end of things, and I've never heard anyone refer to a "spot ad." But points for QDOBA. I used to go to one when I lived in Sioux Falls. It's better than Chipotle!
Katie, I've never run into SPOT ADS on the East Coast either. Speaking of regions, I discovered there are three QDOBA (Qdobas? Qdobi?) in Sioux Falls; there are none in Manhattan.
@Katie Collins dictionary has this entry: spot ad in British English or spot advertisement or spot announcement noun informal a brief advertisement broadcast in a programme break So apparently it's used in the UK.
@Katie noun a brief radio or television announcement, usually an advertisement, made by an individual station during or after a network program
Not sure what the emus are up to today. Third attempt to add a reply here. The puzzle editors rarely use a term that doesn't exist, but my experience aligns with that of the OP. But I never worked for The Beeb or for a U.K. advert shop. So much for all the answers being U.S.-centric.
So I'm trying to guess what a BAD BEAT at poker is. I mean I already know you're seated on a chair that's painted green, but what else? You had a huge bet sitting on the table? You lost by a whisker -- three queens to three kings? I don't play poker, but I sort of have the feeling that this may be a made-up phrase that nobody says. Not a good idea to put questionable or controversial fill at 1A. Other than that, though, I found this an enjoyable puzzle. It seemed fairly easy for a Friday -- except for the places that weren't. I made my grid very messy by filling in two answers in very dark ink that were wrong: ON AUTOmatic before ON AUTOPILOT and, spurred on by the initial "Y", I had YES AND NO instead of YOUR CALL for "I could go either way on that". I liked the clues for VICTORY LAPS and SEA LEGS. But many clues seemed quite easy for a Friday -- CHOPIN in particular. I very much appreciated the lack of names and the very clean grid. And will I EVER learn to spell ATTILA? I knew him early on, but waited to write him in until I could confirm the spelling. I'm a really good speller, but this is a blind spot. Does anyone know a mnemonic? Anyway -- smooth, clean and enjoyable.
@Nancy Just spit-ballin' here, but: It's not smart two tees one ell of a hun! . .
@Nancy as someone who used to play a lot of poker, this was an instant gimme to start the solve! It's said very frequently in Texas Hold 'Em and is usually used when a player has all the odds in their favor and still loses the hand. Usually it's when you lose to someone playing a junk hand - or like you said having four of a kind and getting beaten by someone with a higher suited four of a kind.
@Nancy It is NOT a made up phrase that no one says. If you have an amazing hand, but get beat, you have a bad beat. You win a huge amount of money for that. Example: losing four of a kind with Kings to four of a kind Aces or having a full house that loses on the river to a higher ranking full house.
@Nancy Yesterday you and I both had posts delayed for over half a day. It's happening to me again, so I'll repost my attempt at a mnemonic. It's not smart two tees one el of a Hun! .
I never found an opening that really let me get into this one, so I spent a lot of time googling. I did finally finish. Maybe I can plead tiredness from a night listening to the heavy rain from Helene? At least it was just heavy rain and only slightly breezy because the storm jogged east and left me on its western fringe. Never heard of QDOBA, though after some googling I know there's one not far from me.
Enjoyed today’s puzzle, but had one of those clueless moments - even after solving it with the crosses - where I just couldn’t figure out “BONEIN” - thinking it might be an obscure German cut: “BO NEIN” or “BON EIN”. But eventually I saw it …
@Michael Lloyd Same with alekeg. A lekeg? A leakage? Ale keg. Ah…
So, as a daily lurker but rare commenter in these parts, I read all the comments sure that someone else would ask the question on my mind. As no one did, I shall. Do you all actually WEAR mosquito nets?
@PaganPicnic Consider the netting that hangs down from a hat that one might wear to keep the bugs off your face and neck. I'd say that is worn, right? !!! !!!
@PaganPicnic I bought a hat with a pull-down mosquito net that was meant to cover face and neck years ago before a trip to Alaska. I was too embarrassed to deploy it on hikes though. Goofy looking.
@PaganPicnic I thought the same. When I think of mosquito nets, in my mind, they're always hanging on a bed or over a child's stroller. But I guess hats with nets exist.
An enjoyable puzzle. Solved this one is less time than average, but it wasn't exactly a piece of cake, either. Lots of fun clues. I especially like the fact that there are few pop culture references. So often I need to look up movie or song titles, brand names, etc. that I've never heard of. Today's puzzle only had one clue with such a reference, but I was able to figure it out with cross fill. (Living where I do, there's no need to step into a restaurant chain to get Mexican food! I prefer to support local businesses, anyway.)
Not my thing. Five (5!) random phrases with equally random answers, several questionable words (DICER, PARERS, ALEKEG), and an awful triple cross in the SW. Didn't finish and didn't care.
@Teresa Why do I always get the feeling that when someone's response to failure is "didn't care", that they cared so much they needed some sort of coping mechanism to handle it? I think if you didn't care, you wouldn't bother commenting to tell us. My read is that you were extremely frustrated. I think we have all been there solving a difficult crossword.
I found this one tricky and slower than normal for a Friday, but admittedly my concentration was split as I was watching a football game while solving. Once again the NW was my biggest sticking point. I had never heard the expression BADBEAT as term for a poker loss, or any kind of loss for that matter, and GOTEAMGO, although perfectly logical, eluded me for a good while. Debugging soft wear for MOSQUITONET was quite fine, and I enjoyed SEALEGS for good standing at sea, even if the match between clue and answer was perhaps a little askew.
@Marshall Walthew I forgot to praise SEA LEGS. It's surprising how quickly one adjusts to the motion of a ship. Our vacation (ha ha) while we were living on the post at Schofield Barracks (on Oahu) was a trip via LST to The Big Island where we stayed for a week. Kilauea Iki had just erupted, adding to the excitement. LSTs are flat-bottomed, so they wallow a lot; for most of the day after we disembarked, we kept staggering as we automatically adjusted for the roll. Funny feeling.
@Mean Old Lady I wouldn’t know about sea legs. If the ship is rolling enough to need them, I will be so seasick that standing and walking are not happening.
If you haven't heard of it, you haven't heard of it, but for what it's worth Qdoba has over 750 locations in the country. So it's not as obscure as some commenters think it is. (The name is made up, though; it was created to avoid potential trademark infringement from other restaurants.)
Greg, I've heard of it, and I know it isn't regional, but I've never seen a QDOBA in the wild. There doesn't seem to be one in Manhattan. <a href="https://locations.qdoba.com/us.html" target="_blank">https://locations.qdoba.com/us.html</a>
@Greg Apparently there are only 13 QDOBA locations in Canada, restricted to two Provinces. I live in the largest city in the country, and the nearest location is over an hour's drive from me (over 130km/80 miles). So no, never heard of 'em. And as I ranted about yesterday - nobody on any other continent would have the slightest chance with that clue. It seems The NY Times is happy to take anybody in the world's money in exchange for access to their puzzles, but that's where their interest in being international ends.
Crossword constructors frequently approach me and say, "Sir, I would love to put the lyrical entry INTEGRATED DEVELOPMENT ENVIRONMENTS in one of my puzzles, but I hesitate to do so without a worthy clue. Could you help me? I just have to add that you're much more handsome in person!" And I reply, "Yes. Yes I am. But I don't have a clue." But now I do! [Debugging's oft where?]
The only clue I was annoyed by the 1st, 2nd 3rd clue. I had SEQ(uence) at first but still don’t know what STS is supposed to mean
@John Streets. Not my favorite either.
@John @Francis For the longest I thought it was STa for standings. With WINaGOLD making sense I didn't notice the error at first, but it was the only answer I wasn't 100% sure about. That's when I finally noticed a plural was needed for WINSGOLD.
@John short for Streets. 1st street, 2nd Street, etc...
@John I was clueless at first (not literally) and left it blank. With a letter or two I came up with STS and thought it a pretty Friday-worthy clue - hard to come up with, but makes perfect sense once you get it.
@Joya — exactly the same here. Wasn’t until my second pass around after finishing, looking for what I could have possibly done wrong, that I finally saw the plural in the clue and realized it should be “wins” and not “win a”.
About 50% over average for me. Was very pleased when I finally got it. Thanks for a fun puzzle.
So is the slangy use of “ILL” to mean “good” or “awesome” somehow related to the fact that I thought about mountains and peak performances as the crosses filled it in? Or am I just still a little peak-ed from the slight stomach bug I had yesterday? The puzzle couldn’t have been nicer, what with all the icers, dicers, and Basmati ricers. Crafty clues!
@JohnWM I took it in its old school meaning Aka I’m feeling a bit peaked. Aka ILL
Tough and fun workout with the top row the last to fall but it did take several sittings to complete. That makes up for going down in flames on today's Mini. First time fail. Nice one Christina. Much preferred Jake's original clues but can see why the editors looked the other way on the one for UGLY. Well done and thanks.
Interesting that QDOBA was so troubling for so many. I didn't have a problem with it and wondered if the restaurant hadn't fully penetrated the US. It turns out they have locations in 47 states. Many states with just a few locations though, so maybe that's the issue. Like many others, the NW was a bear for me, but somehow I got it done.... enjoyable Friday for me!
@Dave Munger I hadn't run across a QDOBA either, so I just Googled and ... golly, there's one right here in town. I rarely drive that way, but now I'll have to go look. The things you learn from the crosswords....
I guess I’m old enough that I’ve never encountered “Who’s cutting onions?” as internet speak so I just assumed with the question mark that it couldn’t LITERALLY be talking about someone cutting onions…
@Eric oh, that explains it. (Yeah, me too.)
== Interdep Memo == To: Recdep; Minitrue From: Miniplenty Date: 26/9/84 Dayorder: All bb anterev records rectified, fullwise. Mention brand* of aperitif bb invented. Gave ppls of Oceania to liberate them of oldthink, promote crimestop. Teledep ads Fri. Stock Oct 1. * "VICTORY LAPSE" /cc/ Emudep
Steven, I have absolutely no clue what any of that means, save that “victory lapse” is a pun (unknown context). Hints, anyone? Really brings back memories of emails from departmental deputy ministers and the like. (and of some of my posts here =)
I rarely credit gripes about proper noun trivia answers, but QDOBA doesn't seem quite fair. Of course, trivia master than I am, I got it immediately, but if I hadn't have heard of it, I would never have gotten it. Q and D next to each other? I'm at least expecting letters that would be found next to each other in the wild...
@Dan Well, of course the Master of Trivia got it. Reminds me of a joke I heard a while back. A successful microbiologist was asked to give the graduation speech at her alma mater. As she spoke about molecules, the President of the University interrupted her, saying, "Maybe you should describe a molecule for those who've never been up in one."
@Dan "Q and D next to each other? I'm at least expecting letters that would be found next to each other in the wild..." Yes that does make it a lot harder, but fair game for a Friday, I guess. I had not heard of QDOBA either, but finally got it through the crosses.
Tricky Friday full of misdirects and floating black squares. Surprised to have finished in 7 seconds under my average Friday time - thought this one was a bear. Bravo, Mr. Bunch!