"Hey, kitty, what are you going to do today?" "No idea. Wait. Scratch that." (That cat had probable claws.)
@Mike There you go, littering up the comments again. Next time, try to nip it in the bud.
@Mike I read your entry to Charlotte the Kitty. She responded in cat-sign-language: Quite a stre-e-e-e-etch... Made me Yawwwwwwn Put me to sleep.
@Mike It always comes back to the exhisstential question: Tabby or not tabby? 🐱
@Mike I spent Thanksgiving with my daughter and son-in -law on their couch petting their two (almost) black cats curled up next to me. This has nothing to do with the puzzle, but I just wanted to let everyone know that I had a wonderfully relaxing Thanksgiving
Today marks my 1000th crossword in a row. I'm not entirely sure there's anything else in my life I have this long of a streak in.
@Sonja almost certainly breathing! If all goes well I should hit that milestone in May ... in the meantime I go backwards in time in the archives.
@Sonja Congrats! I was up to about 650 and then forgot to go back and finish a hard Saturday. I often start it and then come back later. I didn't realize my mistake until after I'd started Sunday. Darn it! I know you can finish previous day and keep the streak if you don't start the new day, so I blew it. But I've done 2477 puzzles, and have not gone back to archive. That's a lot of good days solving.
I started crosswords to get through the nights when my baby was born, and today is her first birthday. I guess she knew I would need extra time on the SW corner, so she was up all night! Thank you to all the constructors, columnists, editors, and commenters for seeing me through the craziest year of my life!
@Emily And no doubt you frequently could have answered NO.
A crossword-related realization that recently hit me: I have a superpower! It’s my only one, but it is genuine. And it is this: When I’m watching “Jeopardy”, and there’s a category where all the answers begin with the same letter, I am a beast. I run the category with no hesitation. If I am with people and we are calling out answers, I bark those answers out before anyone else, and people look at me with new respect. I have realized that crosswords are responsible for this superpower; every puzzle brings so much practice in this skill. Mind you, it is a skill that’s useless IRL, that adds nothing to the quality of the world. But I don’t care. It is a superpower, and it’s mine!
@Lewis Yes! This! And there’s not a soul who can triumph at Wheel of Fortune if they’re playing against a crossworder. Almost takes the fun out of it. Almost.
This was a very fine puzzle, but it was a tough one for me. Much more like a Saturday than a Friday in terms of trickiness. I spent way too long trying to figure out what PARKAS had to do with "things that might be down for a ski trip," until the lightbulb went off. That was an excellent clue. I was also unfamiliar with a lot more things than on a typical Friday for me. I've never heard of KINPIRA, ESSENE, or Alan PATON, nor had I heard of Hassock or chalcocyanite in the clues. None of this is a criticism of the puzzle, but it makes me nervous for what Saturday will bring!
@Bea I knew Alan Paton because I read “Cry the Beloved Country” in high school and it made a big impression.
@Dardanus Wonderful book! We moved to South Africa for a two-year stint in 2020. In prep read "Cry the Beloved Country, " and also "The Covenant" by Michener and "Born a Crime" by Trevor Noah. Each is an interesting history of the country and aparteid from a different era. Actually, don't read Born a Crime, listen to the audio book. Noah does all the accents and it's wonderful.
Well, I had "are you alive?" for the longest time.
@Marcia Fidler me too!
Spent a long time certain the number of states was "zero" rather than "none." I think of "none" as a quantity, not a number?
@smoakes completely agree! “None” is not a number. Bad clue
@Blake You really ought not to take any crossword clue too literally, grief and pain lie that way.
@smoakes I was also frustrated by this clue. A quick google says that none is considered a number, which I wholeheartedly disagree with but do have to concede that technically the clue is accurate (as ‘number’ doesn't necessarily mean numeral). Technicality or not, I still don’t like the clue!
@smoakes I had none first. Then had the same thought and switched it to zero. The crosses make it clear that zero was not it, though.
My reaction to a good dry pun? EAU. I’ll see myself out.
@Red Carpet Water you trying to say? ____________________ Jesse Goldberg 8/28/2024 for Puzzle of the Decade (emu filler)
It's right there in the song, people. NONE is the loneliest number that you'll ever do Two can be as bad as none It's the loneliest number since the number none I'll get my coat.
I may be over-thinking this but is there a correlation between the upper left and the lower right? scratch that - case in point are you awake - over a barrel (not very comfortable) and my favorite - no time to die - nearly ready. Just a thought. Happy puzzling. I hope some of you are smiling.
@Min I haven't been able to raise a smile for weeks now, but I appreciate your effort.
Deb I think HAD works for 6D [Bore] more in the sense of she bore/had twins. Was anyone else mildly surprised to see the word UP repeated in the answers to 6D & 11D? I thought that was frowned upon. Tough puzzle for a Friday. I had to fight for it!
@Minuteman It is not frowned upon (at least by the authorities) to have particles like UP repeated in clues, just main words. Of course, some of the commentariat (you're not the first today) don't like it, but that's just personal preference.
@Steve My issue was with repeated words in separate answers, not clues… or is that what you meant?
Since I live in Japan I know the humble home-cooked staple KINPIRA, but I’m surprised to see that it’s well-known enough to make it into the puzzle. A gimme that I second-guessed til the end.
@Kate Tani I don’t think I’d ever seen the word before today. And while not an expert about Japanese cuisine, I’m at least familiar.
@Kate Tani It's not well known. I thought it borderline unfair. Never heard of anything close to it (except tempura). ____________________ Jesse Goldberg 8/28/2024 for Puzzle of the Decade (emu filler)
@Kate Tani I have never seen or heard of the dish before and only filled in those squares through the crosses.
@Kate Tani My favorite is kinpira gobo (牛蒡) and my partner-in-crime makes a mean one, much spicier and not nearly as sweet as what is sold in supermarkets. Not a big fan of renkon (蓮根) in general but if sliced very thinly and properly kinpira-ed, I can enjoy that too. I too was surprised to see it in the puzzle and though very familiar with it, was not a gimme.
@Kate Tani Never heard of it. Ever. But I figured out the crosses. So, samesies..?
Kate, I don't recall ever seeing KINPIRA on a menu, but I'm always happy to learn a word from the puzzle, especially when I can fill it easily from the crosswords. Bill, The next time I'm in the Japanese grocery store across the street from my home where I often pick up sushi for lunch, I'll see if they carry KINPIRA.
@Kate Tani So we have a consensus. Bad clue. Not a single person residing outside Japan has reported knowing the (large-ish) word before its appearance in this puzzle. Perhaps we can finally call one "obscure", certainly for a US audience? It looks really tasty though. I do see one US based (?) recipe reference at Spruce Eats. /ugh, just noticed that they've been absorbed by the same conglomerate that destroyed Serious Eats ____________________ Jesse Goldberg 8/28/2024 for Puzzle of the Decade (emu filler)
@Bill in Yokohama Gobo is indeed the best, and definitely homemade. Can’t forget the peppers (鷹の爪)！ I saw KI and thought “it can’t be” but it was! How would you describe it, like a cooked Japanese slaw?
TIL: Essene. A headlong plunge down this rabbit hole brought up the sectarian « Thanksgiving Hymns, which express a powerful anthropology of human depravity redeemed through divine grace » Seems apropos, even after all these years. The text dates from anywhere between the 3rd to the 1st century BCE. Sometimes I remind myself of a retort I received from the distinguised academic who once tried to knock some sense into me. I said: « Why do I have to know this? It’s a purely intellectual excercise. And she said: « Why? Don’t you want any? » I’m always grateful for any and all of the nuggets I mine from the Wordplay column. Congratulations to the constructors on the two beautifully crafted triple stacks. <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Dead-Sea-Scrolls" target="_blank">https://www.britannica.com/topic/Dead-Sea-Scrolls</a>
@Rusty Wheelhouse What a fabulous retort!
@RozzieGrandma Still haven’t lived it down.
I thought the answer for A15 was “are you alive?”
@Michael Hendler Hah! that would be the definitive answer, wouldn't it? I had "AREYOUthere?" for the longest time. Oops.
@Michael Hendler When our toddler grandson is saying "No!" to everything, we ask him, "Can you say no?" -- which sometimes leaves him confused.
There were so many misdirects that led me down the wrong path again and again. I put fills in, took them out, put them back (CASEs IN POINT: SNAG, BRITA, ATTUNED), but suddenly everything started to click and most of the puzzle was filled! Until I got stuck again. I was startled when it was suddenly done, and sorry. I was having a really good time. Thank you, Willa Angel Chen Miller, maybe you and Mr. Stock could cook up another for us.
I enjoyed 35D for the script directive in The Winter’s Tale, EXIT, pursued by a bear.
@Justin PhysicsDaughter does the puzzles when she's here...and got stuck there. I asked if she hadn't read any play scripts in Lit class. "Well, Shakespeare," she answered. So I said, "Pursued by a bear?" And she got it. LOVE that line.....(which also describes the EXIT of some press secretaries, come to think of it....)
@Justin That’s exactly what went brough my head! Anytime I read the word EXIT “perused by a bear” inevitably runs through my brain. Embarrassingly I had EXIm with mars instead of TARS for the longest time.
I thoroughly enjoyed this crossword, especially since I live at 7200 feet! A fine collaboration by Willa Angel Chen Miller and Matthew Stock! Thanks you two! I found the clues to be clever. I like when I encounter a word, such as 9D, where I have to think about its applications. 31A is the kind of clue I find very entertaining. There were a few things I had no knowledge of, but after circling around a few times, I figured them out. A fun one solved in average time!
Much like a Thanksgiving meal, this was a lot to digest, somewhat stupefying, but ultimately something to be savored. Post-solve nap is optional.
A satisfying, fun, and most lovely pot-pourri today: • Tough, satisfying-to-complete areas that required a good number of return-to’s. • “Whee!” splat-fill areas. • Exquisite wordplay, as in [Chemistry research centers?] for NUCLEI, [One whose hard work iis showing?] for REALTOR, and [They might be down for a ski trip] for PARKAS. • Spark in the NW and SE stacks, where five of the six answers are NYT debut answers. • A riddle! An actual riddle! – [Question that can’t possibly be answered “no”]. And for me: • A simply gorgeous word I don’t remember ever seeing before: KINPIRA. • Answers I loved (SCRATCH THAT, MACABRE, CASE IN POINT, NAME ONE). • The rhyming sing-song abutting pair of SALARY ad CALORIE. Matthew, I always know I’m in for a first-rate experience when I see your name atop a puzzle, and Angel, congratulations on your debut – may it be the first of many! Thank you both for a splendid outing today!
RE 33a: “None” is not a number!
@Brendan And crossword clues aren't dictionary or mathematical definitions. The clue is perfectly fine. Many others have commented on this before you, below. ____________________ Jesse Goldberg 8/28/2024 for Puzzle of the Decade (emu filler)
@Brendan frustrated me no end! Clue could have easily been “How many states begin with B”. Come on editors!
It’s probably been a minute since the SATs, but analogies like 16-across should go: “Solid : glace :: liquid : ___” (colons single-double-single, not double-single-double). For next time, and we know there’ll be a next time.
@SW You are absolutely correct. By my count this is more than the 20th time such a clue has been used in 2024 alone ,the last being just last Tuesday [Giga:billion::_____:trillion]. This is the only time the colons were used incorrectly, hard to believe this got by the editors.
Many, many answers got on the cross. Whew. Or, as my son cheerfully reminds me, “Crossword puzzles are easy. You only need to know half the answers.”
This one I I had to work for, harder after a big turkey dinner and too much wine. Happy Thanksgiving to all my fellow puzzlers!
(2nd post) A tip for all you carnivores out there: pre-cut and -packaged STEW MEAT (I have no problem with the entry, btw) is usually of of the cheaper cuts, per pound, at the grocery store; but it's frequently the pieces-parts trimmings from more expensive cuts--filet, sirloin--which would otherwise be tossed. So, often a better deal to buy it than a whole piece and cube it oneself.
@Bill I briefly thought of Tofurkey as the centerpiece of a hearty vegetarian Thanksgiving feast. I cringed as I typed that.
@Bill I prefer to select the meat I cube into stew. The fat content of pre cut meat is all over the map and the results are unpredictable.
Toughest solve for me in a long while. I struggled in both the NW and SE corners, and there was much I learned. For example, TIL that SANTAFE is the highest state capital and that KINPIRA is a sautéed and simmered Japanese dish. I enjoyed the subtle misdirection of HAD for bore, and lots of other devious clues. This was just really satisfying puzzle on several levels. It was nice to see Alan PATON crop up in grid. Reading Cry The Beloved Country as a young teen was a seminal event in the development of my awareness of the scope of injustice in the world.
Oh, something I know! Got 16A easily enough as EAU. But to be precise, Deb, glace means ice (or ice cream), as clued. Glacé, with the accent, is most often an adjective meaning icy, but also glaze, like on a cake. Glaçon, in case anyone wonders, is an ice cube. Useful in a restaurant. My French is mediocre, but almost all the French clues are gimmes. Yay.
@Nora Thank you! I was really reluctant to enter EAU based on my (nearly nonexistent) knowledge of French.
Definitely a workout for me, especially the northwest corner, but I got it without any lookups or helps and had an immediate gold star. That is still not quite my norm for the Friday and Saturday puzzles yet, though I'm getting closer and closer to it being the norm, as it is for the other days of the week now, so huzzah! I even caught my own mistake of putting in mARS first before TARS. I briefly thought, EXIm... Sure maybe it's a showbiz thing that I don't know about... And then slapped myself on the head and laughed at recalling, "Exit, pursued by a bear." Anyhow it was a fun one for me. I didn't mind that it took me a little bit longer than average because it was good to have a lazy day after cooking the feast. Sadly, our dishes don't sing and they don't dance but the flatware is always entertaining and there was plenty of telling of jokes and lifting of glasses! 🕯️🕯️
Can someone smarter than me tell me why “NONE” is an acceptable substitute for “ZERO” for 33A? Especially when the clue says “NUMBER of…”?
@Solomon how many states start with B would have been a more accurate clue. Got me too, eventually I switched to NONE when a cross didn’t work with ZERO.
@Solomon Dunno - I can't understand how it's NOT acceptable. It's a direct answer. Unless you're being ludicrously literal about the word "number". ____________________ Jesse Goldberg 8/28/2024 for Puzzle of the Decade (emu filler)
@Solomon You're all gonna think I'm a dope, but first I had five, then nine. Finally got none after the coffee kicked in.
@Solomon Isn't that a fairly typical "misdirect"?
@Solomon especially bad cluing since the editors seem to have completely forgotten about Barizona, Bisconsin, Bassachusetts, and Borth Dakota.
I really hate US brands/products in crosswords. It makes it very difficult for non-US solvers (KCUP, BRITA). Also, STEWMEAT? The rest of the puzzle was fine. But consider this solver's gears grinded.
@Alex I find it eternally baffling that people complain about American brands and slang being used in a puzzle published in an American paper.
@Alex I suppose strictly speaking it should be "stewing meat" but it's a common enough phrase.
@Alex We all have our knowledge gaps: as a Brit, although president in Kentucky, baseball, US college sport and Japanese food are my wastelands.
@Alex Actually, isn't BRITA international? I certainly know it from Poland. But you probably have not heard of its Polish competitor, Dafi. Which is why I am with you: for us, foreign solvers, American brands make the puzzles less enjoyable. That being said, trivia practically must feature in American crosswords, because the need to have every square checked sometimes necessitates relying on weird letter combinations. So... Do I like (American) trivia in these grids? Well, no. Do I know it has to be here? Well, yes.
@Amanda NYT bought the International Herald Tribune & branded itself international. It's happy to market to international readers & take our money. Niche Trivia is just poor constructing. It's solving, it's just googling.
@Alex Those were not-quite-known brands for at more than one US solver as well. That K was my last fill. And others in this community had trouble with the first vowel in BRITA.
@Alex I have never heard anything but stew meat here in the USA.
Congratulations on a fantastic debut, Willa Angel Chen Miller! Matthew Stock, your puzzle-making skills continue to impress. Stealing from Monty Python here: The Dead Sea Scrolls must be ESSENE to be believed. This was my slowest Friday in months, mostly because of the quantity of wine consumed with dinner and the hour at which I started solving. I got so sleepy halfway through that I had to the puzzle down. A bit of insomnia a few later gave me the opportunity to bumble my way through the rest of the grid. Most of the answers came quickly, but the NW corner was sticky. I didn’t remember the Bond title, I had never heard of AYI Kwei Armah and I misread the clue for SANTA FE as asking for the state with a capital at 7,200’ (ironically, our house guests drove up from Santa Fe yesterday (and brought all that wine!)). I finished with a few typos to find and a bona fide error in the 47 square. MARS and TARS both make sense, though obviously EXIm is not a stage direction.
Lots of good clueing and misdirecting throughout the puzzle - after my first pass I had a few entries with only a few crossing clues giving them support. SNAP, FLAP, SNAG and SATE began to fill in the middle and before too long the Southern edge filled in, the East and West edges filled in and NUCLEI, NONE and REALTOR got some traction into the NW corner. But that’s as far as I got. Time slipped past as I tried to remember anything after SKYFALL but the empty boxes clung to me like a disease. Finally I remembered why I had to finish the puzzle, I had to finish it for Dame Judi Dench and her great modern portrayal of M. “We are not now that strength which in old days moved earth and heaven, that which we are, we are; One equal temper of heroic hearts, Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield" So I gave up and had a look at the blog post, and FALSTAFF became SANTA FE and NO TIME TO DIE arose out of the broccoli floret mist. Welcome to Scotland.
@Michael I like "broccoli floret mist" as an image of the brain. So where do the ones that DO mysteriously pop up reside versus the ones that don't (but that you keep hoping will)? I am endlessly amazed at what does. And how do you like Jane Austen on the subject (Mansfield Park, 1814) "There seems something more speakingly incomprehensible in the powers, the failures, the inequalities of memory.. We are to be sure a miracle in every way--but our powers of recollecting and of forgetting, do seem peculiarly past finding out." [And no, that didn't pop up perfectly; I had to look up the exact words, but the gist is well in my broccoli.]
The clues for PARKAS and REALTOR worth the price of admission, and also the Ghastly/MACABRE duo was terrific. Nicely done, Willa and Matthew.
A tough one with plenty to work on. But give me this over the gimmicky ones or the rebuses anytime. Great workout.
That was super fun. Thanks, constructor!
“Physics research centers” would have been a much better clue for NUCLEI. Chemistry has almost nothing to do with atomic nuclei.
@Shimmer It could also be referring to the nuclei of cells, in which chemistry plays a bigger part.
@Joe Nope, that would be for biologists. It’s a bad clue.
@Shimmer The atomic nucleus determines the nature of the atom - number of protons = atomic number = element - and has quite a bit to do with the chemistry.
@Shimmer - Well there 's an entire field of study called "nuclear chemistry" -- I suggest you tell all the nuclear chemists out there to correct their understanding if the field they've devoted their lives to studying.
A couple of weeks ago, we had a reference to *A Wrinkle in Time*, which spurred me to reread it. Lately, I've had more than usual opportunity for reading and Wordplay, and it occured to me that I have never read any other of L'Engle's novels, outside of the "Time Quartet." So I borrowed a Kindle file from the library of an omnibus edition of the "Polly O 'Keefe Quartet"--I made it through *The Arm of the Starfish*--*A Wrinkle in Time*, 'twaren't, and yesterday I got an email reminding that my digital loan is due expire. And, mirabile dictu, this morning * Arm* shows up in the puzzle! (Bonus points if you can spot the *second* puzzle reference in this post.)
Okay, okay, so I looked up NO TIME TO DIE. I hoped it would spring this bear of a puzzle open for me and it did. But just barely. I had ARE YOU AWAKE in first, confirmed by AKIN -- but after that the entire top was a mystery. I didn't know AYI; I think CROSSES is very badly clued (what is "in a way" doing there?) and don't get me started on "bore" = HAD. Just. Don't. What's the vowel? I have BRITA/KINPIRA, but it could be BRETA/KENPIRA or anything at all. I forgot to look. Guess I don't care so much. FELTS as a verb? My biggest wrong answer stumbling block was MOT for the bit of wit. I had it in mind (bore it in mind?) and I couldn't shake it. It took me forever to come up with PUN. This was Saturday-tough for me and not in such a fun way either. Only my stubbornness propelled me onward -- and, as it turned out today, upward.
Nancy, Many commenters who HAD children seemed to have quickly grasped the clue of [Bore].
@Nancy I took "bore" to be as in,"He bore a mark," or "She bore a load." The idea of childbirth did not occur to me until reading the comments. For felting, it is an interesting process that you can actually try at home. I had the same issue you did with "bit of wit." That might be the last thing I filled. Glad you prevailed.
@Nancy “felting” is a process through which a fabric, after having been knit, is processed to make it tighter. More-fabric-like, if that makes sense?
@Nancy Yes, FELTS is a verb. <a href="https://petcube.com/blog/how-to-felt-cat-hair" target="_blank">https://petcube.com/blog/how-to-felt-cat-hair</a>/
@Nancy Felting is a very old craft and the oldest known textile. It's the process by which the noun felt is made. Or the flannel you wear on your long walks in the wood.
Good one. The Bore/HAD discussion reminds me of a favorite Joni Mitchell song, a deep cut called Chinese Cafe/Unchained Melody. first verse contains this lyric: My child's a stranger I bore her, but I couldn't raise her ========== Her line reading (to me, at least) makes the initial meaning of bore sound like "she's bored with me," making the follow-up a surprise. And it was written before it was widely known that she had given up a child for adoption many years ago. Thanks for getting me to re-listen. <a href="https://youtu.be/7G333adJxbM" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/7G333adJxbM</a>
Bob T. Thanks for that link. Hadn’t listened to it in many many years - forgot (or only now able to appreciate) how good it is.
I found this a challenging and thoroughly enjoyable solve. The NE and most of the S came together reasonably fast, while the NW and part of the mid region were locked in a deep freeze. Once I tumbled to PARKA and PUNK, the rest of the northern ice cover (consistent with 16A and its clue) gradually melted. For a Friday, there seemed to be relatively few obscure (for me) items (AYI, LUMIERE, KINPIRA, KCUP) but all were finally gettable from the CROSSES. In a themeless puzzle it’s always fun to find correspondences among the entries: here SANTA FE and SAINTLY echoed at a distance across the grid’s diagonal axis, while the light of LUMIERE matched the heat of CALORIE. Among the several French entries there was also one cleverly fractured word: (5D) TOMB - (16A EAU (de Napoléon). This was, I think, my first exposure to KCUPs. It occurred to me that if we replaced the initial W of 38A WAXFIGURE with an M, it would make an ideal cross with 32D.
@Fidelio -- Hah! Terrific post and great catches! Et tu emu.
As usual way too many obscure proper nouns.
@LJADZ I counted seven proper nouns. Two of them are capitals (state and national), which hardly qualify as obscure. I supposed the others are up for debate (PATON was the only one I hadn't heard of). Where is your threshold?
Interesting the different responses to the number of proper nouns in the puzzle--either "almost no" or "way too many." I did not know any of them except for the water filter, and that was because for a time it seemed as though everyone except me had one. Even so, I found the puzzle a very smooth solve and quick for a Friday. Learned several new things. 1D was a surprise. I had always thought Denver was the highest at 5,000 ft and couldn't imagine any US capital being almost half again that high. (Depending on your definition of "almost," but close enough. Still gotta acclimate.)
Tough one but got through it with some help from Deb’s column. By the way, the answer for 31A PUNK was inadvertently omitted in the column. Turns out, Deb’s taking my mind away from indigenous culture to another culture made it more fun! Also, wasn’t sure why LUMIERE was not in all caps but I’d already seen the light to answer it 😄. Pardon the PUN! For some reason, Napoleon keeps coming up this week. Every day, there has been some reference. I watched a Netflix series where Napoleon III played a key role, and now I see his name (or namesake’s name) everywhere! The way our brains notice patterns and motifs amazes me. As far as the Bond song, I couldn’t NAMEONE so I had to wait for crossings. Finished 9 minutes earlier than my average, but I credit the column in helping shave some time off. Hope you enjoyed Thanksgiving if you observe it!
The only difficulty I faced today was the inclusion of trivia I did not know. Other than that I found the puzzle easier than this week's Wednesday and only slightly harder than the Tuesday grid from the previous week. Weird. I suppose I was on the constructor's wavelength?
@Andrzej Really? You had it that easy with no cheats / lookups? I found it a grind, with some clever clues and some nearly unknowable stuff. It seems sometimes that you and I have opposite experiences. Honestly I think some of the more obscure fill really detracted from what could have been a much better puzzle experience - the "bones" of a great puzzle were there. ____________________ Jesse Goldberg 8/28/2024 for Puzzle of the Decade (emu filler)
This was hard for me, but didn't take all that long in the end. The upper left gave me a lot of trouble, and the bottom left wasn't fun either - ark of the starfish, arc, art, oh duh, of course that's ottoman. If I hadn't finally remembered that Bond movie title I would probably still be staring at the upper left. (I stopped watching in the Brosnan era, and stopped caring after Moore.) Cluing was fair overall, and sometimes quite clever, but some of that fill! At least we know Stock is to blame for that nefarious upper left. :) A real Friday workout for me. I was a little worried. ____________________ Jesse Goldberg 8/28/2024 for Puzzle of the Decade (emu filler)
Why did I decide that Laramie was the capital of Wyoming? Fun fact, it's also at 7200 feet altitude. Fortunately TSA at 19A and an erroneous (but not completely wrong) FuLlS (in place of FELTS) at 29A got me back on the right track... the Atchison, Topeka, and SANTAFE.
Great puzzle. Took me longer than usual, probably because I didn’t have much left after cooking and cleaning for 28 people. Best Thanksgiving ever. Happy Holidays, all.
Great long debut answers and some tricky fill. A perfect Friday.
Re the NONE/ZERO controversy - surely crosswords are an art not a science? The clue points towards meaning, but isn't a synonym. Like the nice crossword clues - PARKAS, SAINTLY, BURN UNIT, TEEUP. As many are pointing out, quite a lot of trivia today; really made it difficult for me, but that's not a complaint, I just don't happen to know Disney films, arcades, podcasts, Bond films, Japanese food. Geography is hit or miss, obviously. But I too read "Cry the Beloved Country" at school. However these: TSA? RAS?
@Jane Wheelaghan TSA Transportation Security Administration The people who screen passengers at airport. The clue is referring to the fact that one is allowed only small amounts of liquids in your carry-ons and will take aways that too big water bottle from you that you bought to keep yourself hydrated. An RA is a Resident Advisor in a college dorm. Generally a more senior student who serves a variety of functions for the other students who live on the same floor of the dorm. I'm sure they function differently depending on the school.
For way too long had body instead of TOMB -- SCRATCH THAT! (Got a slight chuckle that it CROSSES NO TIME TO DIE.) Fun clues, fun Friday.
@LBG Hand up for BODY (it's not *wrong* but it didn't fit in the puzzle!)
@LBG I was trying to think of the French word for body, lol!
@LBG I have a vague recollection of an episode of Man from U.N.C.L.E. where the intrepid agents foil a plot to steal Napoleon's body. (Why would you want that?) In the last scene, Ilya Kuryakin makes a joke about Napoleon Solo's namesake, as they gaze down at the TOMB. Funny how some things get stuck in my brain. I have no recollection of the Bond theme, however. "Goldfinger," "Live and Let Die," "Nobody Does it Better," "All Time High," and even "View to a Kill," sure, but not that one.
@Lia Sorry, too long, it’s corps. Same word singular or plural. If it weren’t for that dang S there, it would fit. :)