I finished the puzzle saddened that the enjoyment had come to an end too soon. "Who should I thank for this fantastic grid?" I thought as I clicked the "i" to check the byline. Robyn Weintraub! But of course! Who else would create a Friday puzzle that makes you crave for more? It's got crunch, but it flows. It misdirects but then lays some other answers gently at your feet. It gives you spanners you think will be impossible to get, until they suddenly burst forth from you with a quick clackity-clack of the keyboard, excited, gasping for air. Aaaah, a Robyn Weintraub – the stuff that a Fabulous Friday is made of. The thing is, there's nothing easy about the puzzle per se. But it might even dupe you into thinking it was easy. And that's a testament to the brilliance of R.W. Everything always falls into place. But now if only Robyn Weintraub could be the constructor of life itself...
Would just like to mention that a puzzle Rachel Fabi and I made is coming out tomorrow in the Los Angeles Times as well as the Washington Post. It’s free, and can be solved online or printed out. If you decide to give it a try, I hope you enjoy it! (This is in addition to the themeless Times puzzle I mentioned yesterday that will be coming out later this month.) Et tu, emu.
@Lewis Thanks . I’ll check them out after I finish your June 11, 2015 NYT debut. It’s really, really challenging 😅 and I’m glad. It’s more fun solving it because I’m acquainted with you from this comment section. I’m currently mentally going through four-letter US cities to find one that is an anagram of a world capital.
@Lewis Thanks for the notice, Lewis. I’m looking forward to it. I don’t consistently do the LAT puzzles, but I try to do them when the constructor’s name jumps out — and a Rothlein/Fabi co-construction would be likely to catch my eye.
@Lewis Thank you for letting us know. This is the first time I have set a reminder to do a crossword!
@Pani Korunova I just went back and did that one, too. It took me a while, but I finally got it! It’s a toughie!
Seeing 31A (WINE SNOB) always reminds me of that classic James Thurber New Yorker cartoon with the caption "It's a naive domestic Burgundy without any breeding, but I think you'll be amused by its presumption."
The humor, personality, everyday phrases, fiendishly clever clues – Robyn’s calling cards – are all here. I relish these, never take them for granted. Outside of Robyn’s puzzles, how often do these all show up in concert in a single box? Less obvious but equally impressive are her grid-building skills. Always – truly always – grids so free of junk, that when I look over the completed grid, calmness overtakes me. Even in a puzzle like today’s, with a low-count 70 words and 32 black squares, there’s just no sense of answers born of desperation. She makes it look easy, but trust me, it ain’t. Robyn says that this is a new grid design for her Friday puzzles. It well accommodates her penchant for long answers. I’ll add that it’s the first time this grid design has ever been used in the Times puzzle. I loved IT TAKES TIME, IS THAT A YES OR A NO, and CEDAR PLANKS, and all three are NYT answer debuts. I liked seeing BETS on the side, and the contradictory neighbors NONE and A LOT. And my bean caught five LL’s. I light up when I see your name atop a puzzle, Robyn, even before filling in the first letter. What a gift that is – thank you so much for another splendid outing!
BTW, regarding [Screenwriter's way of re-introducing some characters], I'm thinking "Screenwriter" refers not to a person writing a movie script, but to any computer user, who writes by putting characters (letters) on a screen. Yes, there's not question mark on the clue, but on Fridays, they often leave those question marks out. Et tu, emu.
Congratulations on your 50th NYT puzzle, Ms Weintraub! Thank you for the many amusing puzzles you’ve created over the years.
No idea why, but this is the second night in a row where I finished the puzzle without coming to this column for hints. Maybe, after 10 years or so, I’m getting decent at this? In any event, a fun puzzle.
I am admittedly still a bit sore about the comment earlier this week, “I hate musicals. Literally, everything about them, and the people who love them, because they're so insufferable.” And so, insufferable though I may be, I was glad to see Elsie show up in this puzzle. Auf wiedersehen À bientôt Good night
@Justin Whatever one’s opinions of musical theater, the problem with the statement is obvious on its face. Probably should have been flagged. Statements like that say nothing about its intended targets. It does help sort comments into those one wishes seek out vs. those to avoid in the future.
@Justin You're right, I groaned when I saw the "Cabaret" clue. I hope you're happy. Funny how Grace KELLY appeared today, after I exempted "High Society" from my general disdain for musicals.
@Justin I'm so sorry for the hurt to which you were subjected. Thank you for being vulnerable enough to let us know. Please read Warren's post over and over, allowing to sink in the full impact of what he is saying. Each and every sentence of his has power and magic to it. And, please, his post is the only post you should now take to heart.
A puzzle with a life lesson. One thing I like about the grid design is that it focuses the eye and the most central and shortest word: SIP. In other words, slow down, enjoy, relish, take time to be a bit of a wine snob, but in a good way, like if Enya was a wine snob. Stop being all "this is not a drill" and more "it takes time." OK, I'm down with that. Entre nous, the moral of this puzzle is wake up and smell the cedar planks! Not much of a choice of spirit animals here. Oh well, guess I'll pick "C" being a Scorpio and all... A. Meerkat B. Toad C. Stringray I saw Grace Kelly read poetry in Pittsburgh in 1978. She was very elegant and a good reader, a rich mellow voice with shades of mirth and trickery. Friendly with the crowd. Had a healthy, outdoorsy air to her, like Monaco suited her. I think my wife told me she met Princess Grace during the same trip and actually curtsied. "Yeah, we all had to learn curtsying back then." Then she demonstrated a curtsy; it was so charming, like seeing a little magic trick, a sleight of hand. I asked her to do it again but she refused.
For the person snooty about cabs I had UBERSNOB.
Once again, the link to the column from the main Games page is broken. Anyway, a good surprise to see a Friday Robyn Weintraub, after only doing an easy peasy Wednesday New Yorker by Robyn yesterday. I must be perpetually on Robyn's wavelength, as I sailed through this one with virtually no issues, and a Tues/Wed time. One little nit to pick, though, with the Mini: For 1A, the clue ["We haven't decided yet," on schedules] solves to TBA; when that is the case, the schedule should read TBD (to be determined). TBA should be used when it's the announcement that is being withheld, not the decision. But of course, there's no Colorado town called DSPEN. I guess that balances out the Thursday Mini, which had a square that was an unintentional Schrodinger square.
@Steve L I had TBC (to be confirmed) but there's nowhere called Cspen in Colorado either.
@Steve L I see your point with TBA vs TBD, but I believe the terms are used more loosely in practice, that either one is actually said when the decision isn't final. TBA flows better when spoken, which gives it an edge.
@Steve L I had TBd also which cost precious seconds.
Did you like the puzzle today? I was very much on the same wavelength as the constructor. IS THAT A YES OR A NO? It’s a yes from me! Lots of fun today
I never stop to look up the constructor before I dive in, and this puzzle was no exception. But as I wended my way through great themeless fill with top notch cluing, I had an inkling this was a Robyn Weintraub. What a talent! I love solving your puzzles, Robyn. Thank you for making them.
Happiness is a Robyn Weintraub puzzle. Happy 50th. Let's TWIST away like we did last summer! <a href="https://youtu.be/MggQSspSGU8?si=cWeqghK2fnlhf4u8" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/MggQSspSGU8?si=cWeqghK2fnlhf4u8</a>
@Vaer Great video with some spectacular dancers. There was quite a bit of Lindy Hop mixed in with the twisting, And that black Petticoat—yowza!
Had rotator cuff surgery yesterday and so happy to see Robyn's byline this morning! This was a one-non-dominant-handed treat! ITTAKESTIME - yes it will!
@cm10014 Heal quickly! Sending good vibes!
@cm10014 Here's to a swift recovery! I'm impressed that the day after surgery you're here doing crosswords, with your non-dominant hand, yet.
@Shan thanks! Crosswords keep my mind off the post-op pain!
@cm10014 wishing you good healing! I think ITTAKESTIME is the right attitude - it took my wife about a year to fully recover, but her shoulder is better than ever. If you’re like her, you’ll be happy you did your PT!
Love those long fills. Love that I now have Cabaret as my ear worm (a favourite film; the dancing! The burlesque! Love, love the rotary dial vid. Have seen it before; my eldest was also caught out aged 14 trying to use my friend’s rotary to call me. He had less idea than they did, he just kept hitting the numbers. Sadly no video evidence to torment him with. Love a Robyn Weintraub puzzle. A perfect way to spend a wet afternoon, having spent all morning helping to decorate our village hall for tomorrow’s Winter Festive supper. Storm Darragh is heading our way tonight, with a red alert warning of threat to life. 70 to 90mph winds expected, hens and cows have been battened down away from trees. Fingers crossed for minimal damage. At least we don’t get earthquakes; hope all over there are ok.
@Helen Wright Did not realize that Britain(Europe?) had storms bad enough to name. Stay safe!
TIL why the mortality rate is so high for South African ballerinas.
Thanks for a fun puzzle. The rotary dial conjured up memories of Lily Tomlin's wonderful telephone operator, Ernestine - "One ringy-dingy..." - "Is this the party to whom I'm speaking?" Nice to share moments of fun and laughter.
@Min I had forgotten that she said, "Is this the party to whom I'm speaking?" Thank you. You made my morning.
The puzzle was lovely, but the rotary phone video absolutely made my day! One YouTube commenter said that “Kids today will never know the satisfaction of slamming down the phone after an argument.” So true! (Although I’ve never been a slammer.) I’m looking forward to many more puzzles from Ms. Weintraub!
Hi mods, the link is broken to this wordplay column from the puzzle in both the iPad and android phone apps. (I got here the hard way.)
I find it quite extraordinary (given the level of revenue the crossword brings in) how often basic usability errors like this occur. Imagine if there were spelling mistakes in the grid! That’s how basic this is.
@Classic Hip-Hop Fan Yeah, the URL structure itself is different. Usually I construct the URL by changing the dates in my bookmarked URL to get to a specific game (for archive games, etc.). The app must be using the same logic to construct the URL and here we are. URL as per usual structure: <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/05/crosswords/daily-puzzle-2024-12-06.html" target="_blank">https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/05/crosswords/daily-puzzle-2024-12-06.html</a> Actual URL today: <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/05/crosswords/turning-point.html" target="_blank">https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/05/crosswords/turning-point.html</a>
This one was as smooth as they come, thanks to the relatively easy spanners and plethora of longish answers. I did outsmart myself by trying oenophile before the less snobby WINESNOB, but that was easily fixed. Normally I’d prefer a more challenging Friday, but after a week of having my first floor carpet removed and the hardwood floor underneath refinished (and the attendant household disruption), I was grateful for a fun but quick puzzle. TIL why ENYA chose to be known pseudonymously.
@Marshall Walthew Mononymously, yes; pseudonymously, not so sure. Eithne Pádraigín Ní Bhraonáin (born 17 May 1961; anglicised as Enya Patricia Brennan), known mononymously as Enya, is an Irish singer and composer. (Wikipedia) So ENYA is just the Anglicized version of Eithne. Irish spelling is confounding to pretty much anyone else, but ENYA is just an Anglicized rendering of her original Irish name.
I’m always on Robyns Weintraub’s wavelength, it seems. I think we all are! That doesn’t always mean fast, but it always seems to mean a lot of fun. Today was a personal best for me - actually beat my old time by several minutes. And I really enjoyed it the whole way through. Thanks, Robyn! Happy weekend, everyone!
@Striker new Friday PB for me as well, but only by 4 seconds
Guess I shouldn't be surprised that everyone else found this one easy. Wasn't that way for me and I had to do some look-ups but I did manage to get through it. Always glad to see a Weintraub puzzle. And of course I had a puzzle find today. A Wednesday from January 29, 2003 by Fred Piscop. Some theme clue/answer examples: "Yemeni thieves' hangout?" ADENINADEN "Why the tourist departed for Africa?" TOGOTOTOGO "Mideast Olympic marathoner's claim?" IRANFORIRAN Don't recall seeing another like that before. Here's the Xword Info link: <a href="https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=1/29/2003&g=26&d=D" target="_blank">https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=1/29/2003&g=26&d=D</a> I'm done. ...
Ahh… Open up the iPad… sip my tea… rub my eyes… tap on the app and see the constructor’s name. I’m *so* fan-girling. Took 6 seconds longer than Tuesdays, because solving her puzzles feels like sledding down an untouched hill of freshly fallen snow, whizzing along, trying to absorb the moments as they fly by. She always cruci-crushes it! Was this her first of 2024? Second..? I need more!
@CCNY It was only her second NYT puzzle this year. The other was on 6/14. One every six months isn't enough!
"Good morning for Freudian psychosexual development!," he said, chewing on his pencil. Although it bothers me how blithely we toss the word "anal" about --see? Even the emus have no problems with it!--completely oblivious to its literal meaning or etymology. Solvers who have a hissy-fit whenever they encounter a tilde-less Spanish year have no difficulties with it. Not to mention how our common usage completely ignores the possible "expulsive" manifestation of the fixation. Now, pardon me while I go back to alphabetizing my spice rack.
@Bill Agree with your point but not that alphabetizing spices is the A-word. how else to store them?
@RozzieGrandma I rely on a blend of flavor profile and container size! But I don’t read too much into it … sometimes a cinnamon stick is just a cinnamon stick
Welcome back Will Shortz!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I haven't done the puzzle yet and I haven't read the comments yet, but I'm running very late and I wanted to get this up sooner rather than later: Not quite the "I'll be back next week" you promised me in your email on November 13 -- but close enough. Or at least it would have been close enough if I hadn't had a secret to keep for what I thought was going to be only a few days. You should know, Will, that this is by far the hardest secret I have ever been asked to keep. But I kept it. I am truly a vault. During the last three weeks it seems like a zillion people here were pleading for your swift return -- and I never said a word. When I saw Robyn's name after her long absence, I wondered "is this the day Will returns?" I glanced at the byline -- which I might not have noticed otherwise. And it is! I think coming back on a Robyn Friday is a wonderful touch. Off to do her puzzle now...
@Nancy The puzzle in the app says it's edited by Joel, so are you saying that the puzzle in the paper says it's edited by Will?
I have a rotary dial phone that connects to my iphone via bluetooth. I use it occasionally just for the nostalgia, plus you have the satisfaction of slamming the phone down on unsolicited scammers.
In the zone and quickly done. Lots of fun! Thank you, Robyn Weintraub Day You made mine.
OMG I just watched the video Deb Amlen posted of the teenagers trying to use the rotary phone. Ah-mazing. 😂😂😂
@Justin Sure but there's a theory it's a fake. what do you think ?
@Justin Rotary phones, now that was the real digital age. You actually had to use your finger, to make it work.
Can I please have some MEERKATS as my SPIRIT ANIMALS? They're small, so I'll need at least two of them. TIL that dolphins have no sense of SMELL. I guess they gave that up in return for echolocation to find their lunch.
@Grant It was a necessary evolutionary adaptation due to their lack of soap. ____________________ Jesse Goldberg 8/28/2024 for Puzzle of the Decade (emu filler)
Robyn the GOAT! Love her puzzles. The right intersection of challenging and fun.
Morning! Though 1A was an easy fill, from there the puzzle started off with a lot of blanks and maybes. Too many. I got that uncomfortable feeling that yesterday was a fluke and I’d return to checking the column for Friday help. Then, in the manner of a truly great puzzle, some sure BETS emerged, and my confidence grew. By the halfway point, I thought I might be able to complete it. Then, it all fell into place in such a way that I wanted to applaud the constructor. No lookups yesterday or today. Whaaat? What a feeling! I see from comments that I’m not alone. Therefore, I’m probably not improving but getting a couple great puzzles back to back that fell neatly into my wheelhouse. I love, love, love Issa RAE and am always glad to see her show up here. I remember Stinky PETE from watching Toy Story back in the day with my kids. We still use that term when, let’s say, someone needs a shower. Congrats on your 50th puzzle here, Robyn!
I always enjoy Robyn's puzzles. Since I started this daily habit about 5 years ago, she's the first constructor whose name I learned/remembered and always looked forward to. That said, I have to wonder, why does the NYT always publish her on Friday (which should be a more difficult day)? In The New Yorker, she's always published on Wednesday (that publication's easiest day). I enjoyed today's puzzle but it took me a touch longer than Tuesday's and less than half the time of Wednesday's.
@Bill in Yokohama Her puzzles are usually themeless, hence a Friday slot here. As far as the New Yorker puzzles go, I think she's specifically told to create easy puzzles so they can run on Wednesdays. (It's also my opinion and observation, which not everyone agrees with, that the late week puzzles here have have gotten easier over the last few years due to all the complaints from people who think they should be able to solve every puzzle. Of course there are exceptions, and maybe tomorrow's will be a killer.)
For some (no?) reason this morning, I’m sitting here and contemplating the fact that a simple and otherwise-random series of five symbols (E-L-S-I-E) can somehow encode, among all the possible arrangements of atoms in the known and unknown universes, the exact one that creates in the neurons of my (and hopefully your) brain a meaningful link to [Sally Bowles’s flatmate in Chelsea, per a “Cabaret” number]. And that despite the fact I have never seen “Cabaret”, known of Sally Bowles, or been to Chelsea. Ain’t the alphabet great?! Better than any old nth prime. So the five crosses rapt that one for me. They downed it. Otherwise, nothing very wowie about today’s puzzle, but I liked it.
Pretty good Friday puzzle. DOXED has two Xs, though.
@John "The Beast" I agree, but M-W accepts both.
@John "The Beast" I think I’ve seen both DOXED and “Doxxed”
"Good morning for Freudian psychosexual development," he said, chewing on his pencil. But it has always bothered me how blithely current usage tosses about 51D, totally oblivious to its literal meaning and etymology: solvers who throw a hissy-fit at the sight of a tilde-less Spanish year, have no problems with the (outmoded) psychological term. Not to mentioning completely ignoring the fixation's "explusive" flip-side. Now, pardon me while I return to alphabetizing my spice rack. (2nd attempt to post--it also bothers me how words that are licit in the puzzle are unacceptable to the emus.)
@Bill Welp, I just lost my (supportive) response. In short: Freud shd have won the Nobel Prize for Literature. What an imagination! My first child development class was taught by a Freudian adherent. Auuggh! Thankful that I had Chess, Thomas, and Birch (on inborn temperament), Piaget (now, *there* was a genius!), Ilg and Ames ("Your x Year-old"), and more...long before I had children of my own (the strictest teachers of all.)
@Bill - The best comment of the day! So, so true... And it applies to so much more than thẽ tildẽ issuẽ.
I filled in the puzzle with my pen! No points for penmanship, but way less frustrating than using the computer/keypad. Fave clue: 29D....fun Aha! Moment! Love the our Robyn Weintraub--no WINESNOB, she--included MEERKATS. Unlike "the little foxes," they won't spoil the vines. My R hand is 44A...but we are going to call this a "sensitivity" instead of a new allergy. 'Contact dernatitis' sounds so much better. If you are a Delicate Flower (bats eyelashes), watch out for bennzalkonium.
Enjoyed this more than I usually enjoy a Friday puzzle. In fact, I often wait for the Easy Version to get me out of a hole, but not today. Sometimes it's just a matter of familiarity with terms, sometimes it's just a matter of caffeine. Happy to say they have brought volunteers back into the ER, so I am off to prepare (they took us out in October because they decided they needed paid people there, due to the high volume of traffic. But paid people don't do what volunteers do. I predicted we'd be back in two months, and I was right. It took 6 weeks). (Oh, and the paid people are still there, too.) Have a lovely day, puzzlers!
I'm always torn when solving a Friday puzzle between thinking I'm brilliant or thinking it was too easy.
@Phil Me too. Then I botch the Saturday and realize it was the latter all along. I'm just not brilliant.
(Still working on Weintraub) Dear Puzzlers, The Puzzle of the Year nominations are now underway! Eric Hougland has now taken the baton from Tito as the coordinator of nominations and voting, with the assistance of Cat Lady Margaret and yours truly. As in years past, there will be two rounds of voting. In the first round, you’ll be able to vote for more than one puzzle in a category. The puzzles with the highest number of first-round votes will then move to a second round, where you'll vote for your favorite in each category. Information below on the procedure: DATES: 1/12 Deadline for nominations 1/15-1/19 First Round 1/22-1/26 Final Round 2/2 Announcement of winners & runners-up CATEGORIES: Early week (M-W) Thursday Themeless (F-S) Sunday NOMINATIONS: Nominate as many as you like. Please review 2024's puzzles in archives, Wordplay columns & comments, xwordinfo.com, etc. To nominate puzzles, REPLY to this message (or future ones from us) with your picks. We'll make sure your selections get on the ballot. Nominations should include the puzzle date and constructor. Also, please include a brief statement as to what makes it POY material: standout themes, clues, etc. VOTING. We'll use a custom-made ballot on an outside website. The ballot is easy to use and will allow for voting on each of the four categories. We’ll provide a link when voting begins. Voting is open to all who have a games account at NYT. Just one vote per puzzle, please! Let the nominations begin!
Dates of puzzles already nominated: January 11, January 12 February 1, February 4, February 12, February 21 March 8, March 10, March 17 April 6, April 8, April 14, April 18, April 28 May 10, May 23 June 10, June 20, June 26, June 27 July 28, July 31 August 14, August 28 October 2, 7, 10, 12 November 14 December 1
Just to answer a question someone might have: Anyone is free to give reccos for folks who nominate a puzzle, but, unlike in the past, that won’t be a “vote”. We won’t be counting reccos but instead using the ballot Eric has developed.
@john ezra Do we have a name for this award?
I hope that the ballot will be easier for Wordplay readers to use than the comments recommendations previously used. I hope also that the ballot will make it easier for John Ezra, Cat Lady Margaret and me to tally the votes. Many thanks to Puzzlemucker and Tito for having administered the Puzzle of the Year awards for the past few years.
@Deb Amlen For an award name, how about the Shortzy? Definitely not the Willy.
@Cyndie I may or may not have snorted
Congrats to Rockin' Robyn on the 50th NYT puzzle. Never miss the New Yorker entries either. Smooth but satisfying. On boardwalk excursions to Ocean City NJ (alas, Wonderland is no more) my mother-in-law would always insist on driving by the Kelly family's beachfront enclave. Brick construction of course!
Congratulations to Robyn on this 50th puzzle! It was a clever delight, and the telecommunication clue was hilarious. It was an easy solve, though, at less than half the time a Friday puzzle usually takes me. Friday puzzles in the archives are much harder.
I loved this puzzle and the clever entries. For a Friday puzzle it was easy, I mean. I know who I am and I finished with no hints or lookups. Unheard of for me and a Friday puzzle. Or maybe I’m just getting smarter… 🤔
I certainly don't know Ms. Weintraub's intention, but in fact this clue can be associated with screenwriting of the filmic variety. In the early days of word processing film scripts, the repetitive task of typing out line attributions (the character's name before the line of dialogue), especially in dialogue heavy scenes where you might be called upon to type the character's name scores of times, was onerous. So, many writers used the Copy and Paste functions to enter the line attributions. When screenwriting software was introduced, the writer would set up macros with the characters names and save themselves the repetitive task and the slightly clunky Copy and Paste process.
@Byam Stevens That's funny, I was thinking of how they used CGI to "re-introduce" the characters of Princess Leia and Grand Moff Tarkin in "Rogue One." (The original actors were gravely ill and deceased, respectively.)
Strands #278 “Find your people” 🔵🔵🔵🔵 🔵🔵🟡🔵 They're here.
@Linda Jo Strands #278 “Find your people” 🟡🔵🔵🔵 🔵🔵🔵🔵 Yep! Cool spangram.
@Linda Jo very cute! Strands #278 “Find your people” 🔵🔵🔵🔵 🔵🔵🔵🟡
Q.) Do I, every Friday, pine for a Rockin’ Robyn Weintraub puzzle?A.), THAT’s A YES, not A NO…I consistently have more winners with Robyn’s works than I do nonstarters. My thinker MEREly seems to fire on all cylinders. Robyn’s long answers, in mine EYES, do not intimidate where others ARE more prone to stifle…The NE was a bit thorny but my stick-to-itiveness up there was its’ own reward, delivering me to solvation…Number please? Pre 17A (& dial tone) era, at home when you picked up your device, an actual person on the other end would ask you to announce the number where you wanted the call directed. <a href="https://youtu.be/H2jnUjA_Ims?si=k5ocBuj9M6O7IXCT" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/H2jnUjA_Ims?si=k5ocBuj9M6O7IXCT</a> Thinker/THE KISS and sodas/COLAS are two of a few speed bumps I encountered today…Chubby’s mis-direction provided a nice TWIST. And these two, 31/35 across, stacked up nicely. Also, I enjoyed the name game that was underway in the NW. Matter of fact, I got a kick out of all the cryptonyms I unearthed that were dotting the gridscape today…Bye for now WPers on this first weekend of the last month of 2024; my three minutes has ended and I’m fresh outta nickels.
New personal best for a Friday . . . just over half of my average time. But I thought it was a challenging puzzle nonetheless (there's a word I'd love to see in a crossword!)--the long answers just seemed to be in my wheelhouse, some answered without any crosses. Thank you, Ms Weintraub!
A strange thing happened last night. I printed out the puzzle to work on paper (old-school type) and at the top it said "Edited by Will Shortz." The online version said "Edited by Joel Fagliano," as usual for many months. Must have been a weird glitch, but I was excited for a minute. Hoping Will is doing well.
@Marcia : Others have noticed this phenomenon. I do the puzzle in the actual printed paper; it says Will is the editor.
My best Friday time no hints! Think I’m getting the hang of this. Especially loved 16-Across and ‘tis the season for 54-Across! Thank you Robyn :)
Of COURSE this was a Robyn Weintraub puzzle. The freshest I’ve seen in years. And a shout out to CEDAR PLANKS. The most heavenly way to grill that salmon we caught we caught.