“Why oh why must we deal with these pointless coins?” YOUR THOUGHTS FOR A PENNY “Ack, you bought scented soap again?” TROUBLE FOR A NOSE “It really isn’t worth it to look directly at the eclipse” SORE EYES FOR A SIGHT But none as funny as “what a beautiful tackle box”, haha!
@Cat Lady Margaret Up here in the frozen white North (for now, anyway), we got rid of the penny in 2013. The light went on for the government — I know, hard to believe that ever happens — when it was determined that it was costing the government 1.6 (CDN) cents for each penny produced by the Royal Canadian Mint. In the spirit of today’s crossword puzzle, I suppose you could say that when the penny dropped, they dropped the penny.🙂🙂
@Strudel Dad Would make sense for other countries, too. But that reminds me of a trip to Canada about ten years ago. I owned a retail store in the US, and we had quite the collection of Canadian coins, mostly pennies. I brought them with me (why not?) and dumped them at the first cash register. The very nice clerk didn't bat an eye, just took all the coins. Later I found out that Canada didn't even use the penny anymore! Now that's Canadian Nice.
@Cat Lady Margaret When I was growing up in the late 90s, we had these things called Caboodles, which were basically beautiful tackle boxes for your makeup (or, in my case, Pogs).
"Hey! I knead your help for this recipe!" "You're asking me?" "That's a whisk I'm willing to take." (These puns got mixed reviews.)
@Mike Well, you can't eat your cake and have it too. ;)
@Mike Well, some were bound to be beater than others, so no excuses for loafing. We're always crust when you take a day off.
@Min Nice to discover that there is at least one other person out there in the English-speaking who knows the correct form of the expression. As simple logic would tell you, all of us can have our cake and eat it too.
@Mike I'll rise to the occasion -- this is proof that your posts are half-baked.
A GLUTTONFORPUNISHMENT, I persevered until end. I didn't believe it, but the chimes seemed to think I was done, so argue? Who am I to? No look-ups, although I was able and willing, because there were many details in this devil, such as Larry's last name having a y not an i, and CHANGO? The only way I have seen in written, is PRESTO CHANGe-O! Don't misunderstand, I enjoyed the solve and spent a lot of time grinning and chuckling as themes unfolded. A fun and funny puzzle, and more pleasure than pain. Thank you, John. I'm looking forward to another one. (Don't stay away too long, even if you long to stay away.)
@dutchiris This is one of those things I've picked up from previous puzzles, reluctantly. The last time they had "presto chango" I was SO sure it had to be wrong. But searching and NGram reviewing showed it was, somehow, more prevalent than "changeo" or "change-o". But it still looks dead wrong to me. Ah well. ____________________ Jesse Goldberg 8/28/2024 for Puzzle of the Decade (emu filler)
@dutchiris it’s from the movie Chango Unjained 😉. Or something like that 😂 SRSLY, i totes agree with you 🤓
@dutchiris I didn't like this answer. The original phrase is "a glutton for punishment" not "a glutton for a punishment".
@Alex That's why there is only one A in the answer, not two.
@dutchiris You are correct, CHANGE-O is the only possibility because otherwise it would be pronounced with a hard G instead of a soft one. And with the E dropped, the long A would change to a short A, for that matter. For those who think I'm talking gibberish, I had phonics starting in the first grade. I've used it all my life. While we're at it, a JIG is a dance, not a celebration. Otherwise a fun puzzle with a cute theme.
Aargh! UNo/PAEoN instead of UNA/PAEAN. It took me awhile to catch onto the theme, but once I did it was smooth sailing. DISASTER FOR A RECIPE is my favorite, with the great clue “Accidentally using salt for sugar, say?”. And I like how the constructor used other salty clues for the crossing of SEASON and TAR. I love POUFFE, the necking GIRAFFE, and the debuts FAINT OF HEART and PRESTO CHANGO. A fun theme! Thanks, John.
I see John’s name atop a puzzle and my whole being rings with smiles, as I know it will be a feel-good experience. I know I’ll toil enough to satisfy my brain’s workout ethic, yet I won’t frustratingly keep running into walls. I know there will be wordplay in the theme, wordplay that brings a happy feeling rather than eyerolls or that requires severe untangling. I also know that the theme will make me think, “What a cool idea!” Just a cozy comfy experience, like sitting in a plush armchair with my feet resting on a POUFFE, from which I will leave relaxed and refreshed. As I did today. John has been Mr. Sunday of late, with seven Sundays in the last year and a half. Often his grid designs have interesting features, like those three ascending plus signs in the box today. There were some lovely answers along the way: POKY, GRIFT, PAEAN, POUFFE, TOTTERS, AS YOU DO, and FAINT OF HEART. I also liked the trio of names where the letter “y” sounds like the letter “I”: SYDNEY, LYNDA, and FLYNT. But mostly, I loved the JK experience, a pool of feel-good, for which I’m eminently grateful. Thank you, sir!
Hi, @Lewis! I solved your and Rachel's WaPo puzzle late yesterday afternoon. Much fun, thank you! Caught at least two North Carolina connections--did I miss any? By way of thanks, here's a favorite track/ From before Orange became the new Black: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WuN2GBAuQRo" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WuN2GBAuQRo</a>
I liked the theme and was able to fill the puzzle fairly quickly, but I knew there was going to be problems. There were too many unknowns crossing unknowns and too little patience from me to guess my way out of this one.
Unless I'm missing something, I am not sure how the title of this one is particularly informative. Shouldn't it be "Fun for Just"?
@Steve L The puzzle is just some "for" fun.
Steve, The theme is so easy it is JUST FUN with FOR. Can't think of why a more revealing title is needed, or what it would be.
@Steve L Possibly better title? "Be For" ___________________ Jesse Goldberg 8/28/2024 for Puzzle of the Decade (emu filler)
@Steve L It took me a minute, but if you think of "for" as a noun, not a preposition, it makes sense. I'd prefer a more obviously funny or clever title but I'm not nearly creative enough to come up with one.
WIN FOR THE! I spent too much on my last roadtrip. I am BROKE FOR GOING.
Russian Reversal? I might call it a Yoda Puzzle. Fun it was, but not without its challenges. I don’t know who those people are who are solving this puzzle in 22 minutes, but they would never let me into their club!
Fourteen minutes. Fourteen minutes of flyspecking. Reeeeally wanted to be maddened b a natick. Alas, ‘twas only CC, reading CaMPLIMENTS FOR FISHING. Campliments. Not even gonna look. Already know this was a *me* fail. Love the puzzle. Seems like a great Sunday for newer solvers with a simple theme, but so much fun fill!
@CCNY "you drove those tent pegs in beautifully " "You build a fire like nobody's business"
@CCNY I find it highly doubtful that a beginner would enjoy this puzzle.
In the world of professional kitchens, bulk sugar usually comes in 25-lbs. or 50-lbs. bags; salt, usually pallets of one-pound cans or three-pound boxes, but 25-lbs. bags are out there. So mix-ups can happen. (A more likely mix-up is dumping sugar into the flour bin, or vice versa.) For years, every Sunday, on the way to a church gig, I ate breakfast at a particular diner. I sat in the same booth, and had the same server--it got to the point where, by the time I got the booth, my coffee was already sitting there, waiting. One morning, as I took the first swig, the coffee was uncharacteristically awful. Nothing that a little more sugar couldn't cure. Even more awful. So more sugar. In fact, the bus-boy--who I believe was on a work program for those with IDD--had filled the sugar jars with table salt.
@Bill I like to imagine the bus boy peeking out from the kitchen door and getting a good laugh as he observes the customer experience.
I enjoyed the transposed themers, although I’m a little embarrassed to say that I didn’t actually notice the transposition aspect until I got to DISASTERFORRECIPES. I’m frequently a little slow to notice themes if they’re not either in my face obvious or necessary to complete the puzzle. I liked the wide range of musical topography covered by the puzzle from Haydn to Puccini, to STAN Getz, to NILS Lofgren, to Andrea Bocelli, to LANA Del Rey. A veritable symphony of musicians. Of this group my favorite is STAN Getz the tenor saxaphonist who epitomized the “cool” west coast jazz style, and helped fuel the bossa nova craze in the US in the 60s. His version of The Girl From Ipanema is very fine, but most of his catalog is worth checking out. I have also been some LANA Del Rey recently.
@Marshall Walthew Should read: listening to some LANA Del Rey recently.
LYNDA, not Linda FLYNT, not Flint Y oh Y didn't I remember their proper spellings?
@Jon Onstot, I grew up in southwest Missouri and always loved hearing the name of your town!
@Jon Onstot yup, and POKY was not obvious enough to me to give me the Y in FLYNT!
I've only recently begun to comment here and on other NYT game forums. I have caught on fairly quickly that grousing about a puzzle, or worse, succumbing to braggadocio are recurrent themes. Now, I do my best to avoid anything that might hint at these things. If you hate the puzzles so much, why bother with them? If you find them so easy, why bother with them? I guess these great mysteries will never be solved here in Wordplay purgatory. To those of you who are truly clever, I truly enjoy your quips and insight.
@Mark Good observations. I tend not to crab over puzzles although I do occasionally complain about specific clues. I hope I don’t brag a lot but do talk about when I feel I am in sync with the creator, and occasionally note when I think a puzzle is easier than usual. I think it’s nice to hear from others about whether they think a puzzle is too easy or hard because it helps gauge your own reactions. I think pointing out errors or specific issues with clues may help other creators in the future. I agree with you I don’t like people trashing entire puzzles especially when they don’t give many specifics or their issues are more personal to themselves (“I don’t like pop culture or rap music” for example). Still overall I find most of the comments interesting and enlightening.
@Mark If we're not here to comment on a particular puzzle, what are we here for? Is criticism of a puzzle acceptable or not? If it is, then some criticisms will inevitably be seen by some people as "grousing". If someone finds a puzzle unusually easy, are they permitted to say so? Why not? What would be the proper way to do so without seeming to be bragging? I am posing these to you, @Mark, and none of the questions are meant rhetorically. If you are under the impression that quips and cleverness are the be-all of the forum, I think you're mistaken. They're a happy bonus. The forum is for discussion of a particular crossword. Obviously. ____________________ Jesse Goldberg 8/28/2024 for Puzzle of the Decade (emu filler)
@B Valid criticism is good, displaying sour grapes is not good or constructive. Remarking that you have done well is fine. Insinuating that others have not done well or that you are somehow superior, is not fine. I hope that answers your questions as I have nothing else to say.
First time ever doing a Sunday puzzle on a Saturday. I usually have more self-discipline. And this one was so much fun, I fear no lesson learned. All the themed answers are cute. TIL a fact about giraffes (I'd apologize for the spoiler were it not for the photo.) Thanks for the explanation for 20A which made no sense to me. I wouldn't have gotten 93D if the city hadn't shown up on the Tasman Sea a couple of days ago, prompting me to find it on a map; sure enough it was noted as being in NSW. Liking the 95A shout out to fluoridation since we're threatened with an HHS secretary who wants to end it. Here's hoping enough senators have spines. The fact that he was involved in an anti measles vaccination effort in Samoa that killed a bunch of children might be enough.
Curious what others thought of RITUAL instead of ‘rite’ for [confirmation]. Clues are not definitions, yes, I know, but they usually do follow the accepted semantic usage. I’m not “up” on Catholic practices but I’m fairly sure that, for example, one gets anointed with consecrated oil when becoming confirmed, which would be one of the RITUALs within that particular religious rite. A small quibble with an otherwise clever and enjoyable Sunday puzzle. But if not in a forum called Wordplay, where can I wonder about it out loud?
@Sam Lyons It would be somewhat presumptuous of me to discuss the English side of things, so I'll stick to Polish. We have the same duo of words - your ritual is our rytuał (pronunciation is similar, somewhat), defined as the way specific actions are performed during a symbolic/religious/magical ceremony, and your rite is our ryt (pronounced like writ rather than rite), defined as a set way of performing complex symbolic, religious or magical ceremonies. However, in common modern Polish ryt is no longer used, and it pretty much only exists in dictionaries. In its stead these days we would use either the word ceremonia (ceremony) or obrzęd. The latter word is basically a very Polish synonym of ceremony. It shares its etymology with rząd (government), and refers to the fact that we are dealing with a specific chain of actions governed by predetermined rules. So yeah, in Polish your concerns would be valid, too. Rytuał is an element of ryt/obrzęd, rather than the ryt/obrzęd as a whole. Still, we both entered RITUAL without any doubts, didn't we? The clue worked, and as a bonus it allowed us to have this nerdy discussion ❤️
@Sam Lyons This distinction-without-much-of-a-distinction reminds me of when, a few months ago, people were bickering over the difference between a strategy and a tactic. It seems that the same distinction applies; a strategy is an overarching plan that includes many individual tactics; a rite includes many individual rituals. Or, a ritual is simply a rite, in ordinary parlance. But also please note that Confirmation is not limited to Catholics. Reform and Reconstuctionist Judaism, and to a lesser extent, Conservative Judaism offer Confirmation to youngsters of high school age. It coincides with the holiday of Shavuot, the one that celebrates the giving of the Law, because it falls out at the end of the school year in late May or June, and because of the connection of the ancient Hebrews receiving the Law on Sinai with that of teens committing to a Jewish life. <a href="https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/jewish-confirmation" target="_blank">https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/jewish-confirmation</a>/ <a href="https://reformjudaism.org/beliefs-practices/lifecycle-rituals/what-confirmation" target="_blank">https://reformjudaism.org/beliefs-practices/lifecycle-rituals/what-confirmation</a>
@Sam Lyons Well, the technical term is "sacrament," one of seven in the Holy Mother Church. And I needn't tell you that "ritual" is just the adjectival form of "rite," subsequently used as a substantive. All three work for me. I think your discomfort comes from connotations that "ritual" has taken on as something which is an empty formality. Funny, I didn't think Catholicism at all; rather a "government confirmation hearing"--something which, I fear, is destined to become increasingly empty in the years ahead.
@Sam Lyons Here’s the first definition of RITUAL in my dictionary: A ceremony in which the actions and wording follow a prescribed form and order. The clue seems fine to me.
@Sam Lyons @Andrzej @Steve L @Bill Thanks for this discussion. The intersection of language and social behavior is certainly of interest in Wordplay. Btw, Sam, my New Year's Resolution Shakespeare project floundered, (foundered?), after five plays. Foundered seems more permanent and more accurate.
@Sam Lyons In Methodism, The Ritual was a manual for clergy that outlined the procedures for performing baptisms, weddings, funerals, and the dedication of new churches. We had the Ritual of Baptism, for instance. I don't remember hearing any of our rituals referred to as "rites." Maybe early Methodists were trying to emphasize the symbolic and dedicatory nature of these observances over the more mystical associations with rites in the Catholic church?
@Steve L And Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints also does Confirmations. Done immediately after baptism (at age 8 or later) by giver and helpers laying hands on head of person receiving and giving a blessing and bestowing the Gift of the Holy Ghost as spiritual guide for life. It is one of the primary rites or rituals of the church. But I guess I think of rites as being specific acts done in a specific way for a specific reason -- usually religious in nature. Rituals can be looser. I have my morning ritual -- arrise, exercise, shower, eat breakfast....
I'm new to commenting on these, so I have only just learned the verb "to flyspeck," which I needed to do for a while--since even though I was familiar with "otra vez" in Spanish, it did not occur to me that I could therefore conclude that vez was feminine and therefore would take unA rather than unO, and since paeAn and paeOn are both literary terms with too many vowels in peculiar places, well.... What a fun puzzle!
@Fritz That ended my steak as well… with MOON jelly contributing to my uncertainty ( could slacking be IcED?)
I think the emus decided to be more strict about "off-topic" comments. It's shame; the little stories that people tell, remembered thanks to the puzzle entries or clues, are little bright spots that give us a glimpse into the personalities, humor, and lives of our fellow solvers. Why interfere with that? Spoilsports do not add to any endeavor.
Mean Old Lady, I totally agree about the value of comments here, on topic or very often otherwise. But I highly doubt that topicality is a major filter, or a useful way of thinking about why a post lands or fails to. Like the computers that took other human games (Go, Chess) and dominated them in ways that human devotees could not even comprehend, coded algorithms can’t yet properly interact in a human-like manner in fun human places like this. Still, they may be allowed or even appointed to rule over it, like many a tin pot dictator.
The first time I make deviled eggs, I used a tablespoon instead of a teaspoon of salt. Talk about a disaster!
@Marcia Fidler I once mistakenly used peppermint extract instead of an equal amount of vanilla extract when making a pumpkin pie. I began to "scent" some hints of my error while the pie was baking.
@Marcia Fidler I once made shortbread by using baking soda instead of cornstarch - for a big party. Oops.
That was fun. Typical slow start for me, but caught on after working out 23a, and then just had a great time figuring out all the others. Couldn't help but wonder about other types of trick puzzles and stumbled across a couple of them. First... a Sunday from January 27, 2008 by Mike Nothnagel with the title: "I need my space." One clue/answer example: "Offers breakfast to students before first period?" BRINGSHOMEROOMTHEBACON And some other theme answers: AFRAIDOFTHEDARKROOM THEBALLSINYOURCOURTROOM NORESTROOMFORTHEWICKED DAVYJONESLOCKERROOM And there were more. Here's the Xword Info link: <a href="https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=1/27/2008&g=107&d=A" target="_blank">https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=1/27/2008&g=107&d=A</a> And... there was another somewhat similar puzzle. I'll put than in a reply. ...
@Rich in Atlanta As threatened: A Sunday from November 29, 1998 by Matt Gaffney with the title: "Money changing." There was no hint to the trick beyond that title. A couple of clue/answer examples: "Part of the Musketeers' cry :" WASHINGTONFORALL "Big blaze :" LINCOLNALARMFIRE And some other theme answers: HAMILTONLITTLEINDIANS JEFFERSONMAN JACKSONQUESTIONS GRANTPERCENT FRANKLINYEARSWAR Think about it. Here's the Xword Info link: <a href="https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=11/29/1998&g=23&d=A" target="_blank">https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=11/29/1998&g=23&d=A</a> I'm done. ....
My favorite Yakov Smirnoff joke: "In America, you have American Express: 'Don't leave home without it!' "In Russia, we have Russian Express: 'Don't leave home!'" Does this count as a Russian reversal?
TIL that PAEAN and PAEoN are two different words (and I've already forgotten which is which) and that my minimal knowledge of Spanish does not extend to the phrase for Once. The theme answers were fun for all -- all for fun? Whichever. I could be a little burnt out.
@Vaer I flyspecked for probably 10 minutes to find that same error...
@Vaer The same here and I eventually had to give up and hit "reveal". My two day streak down the drain
Vaer, TIL that I guess it’s hopeless to imagine I will ever remember to spell PAEAN without that wrong O (let alone the Spanish one), even though in theory I “know” both words, how to spell them, and what they mean. I guess that’s like saying, in theory I know how to flyspeck my crossword puzzle without my reading glasses, but it still goes wrong. On the plus side, my guessing skills at Italian operatic dune crossings are bang on.
@Vaer TIL, thanks to your comment, that "paeon" was a word at all. Not a very common word, though.
Cute theme, especially DISASTER FOR A RECIPE. There were many musical references, but having just seen Gillian Welch and David Rawlings this past Monday, 19D immediately brought to mind: <a href="https://youtu.be/BDed6iuRMC8?si=h0oId-sOUWIVXHms" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/BDed6iuRMC8?si=h0oId-sOUWIVXHms</a> "I want to do right but not right now" Love that line......
@Nancy J. Echoing St Augustine (I think): "O Lord, make me chaste but not yet."
@Nancy J. That's really nice. Thanks for the link.
@Nancy J. Wow that’s awesome, I love that line too, thanks for the link! On my device the next thing that came up was an interview w them singing a Townes van Zandt song “Snowin’ in Raton”. Magical. You made my day!
I have always maintained--and will continue to do so--that the "poetic" clues are cheap fillers. ETERNE, ERE, EER. Doesn't matter which one it is--we can do better.
@Kristopher “We can do better”? Can you, though? Really?
@Kristopher I rather liked “iambic” yesterday. Being a poet, and a lover of 19-20th century poetry, I’m gonna say nay … nay.
@Kristopher Crosswords have to use cheap fillers sometimes. Why pick on the poetic ones?
Fun puzzle . Never watched or read Dune so Arrakis was impossible for me to suss out . Pouffe was also a stretch . Had Logy instead of POKY forever . Can't win 'em all - otherwise excellent puzzle .
@Cathy Parrish Ditto, ditto, ditto. I'm still in limbo deciding whether to admit crossword defeat and "check puzzle" (and go from streak of 49 to 0) or go ahead and put in ARRIKA and POKY from my tentative "Spice Planet" google which brought up the "K". I couldn't believe that after multiple rounds of flyspecking— including in the "list"-style vertical layout view you can click on— I kept breezing by LOUFFE, which of course sounds credible but I'd never heard of. Had I torn out the "L" and the "G", I might've bumped into POKY ("slow-poke") but I bet I would've gone through much of the alphabet replacing the L as well as the G so maybe it's best I didn't. I'll probably cede my streak but we'll see. My wish to retain the streak is probably muddying up my decision… "CLOUDING THE CEDE", as it were . Other'n that, I really enjoyed this puzzle, and loved the theme. Very fun and clever. And as usual, it goes to show that one person's Natick is another person's gimme; Patrick Ryan said above that his waterloo was STAN Getz and NILS Lofgren, where I got Stan right away and remembered the name Nils… also OORT Cloud came right away. I grew up reading tons and tons of science fiction, where RL astronomical references would crop up now and then; but I was a fiend for the short story form, and somehow have never read Dune (or Asimov's Foundation Trilogy as well as other mainstays). But I've read so, so many wonderful SF short stories from so many authors through the years… OORT!
Sadly, I found this extremely difficult and I almost didn't carry on but decided to look up or reveal when the crossers didn't help. I didn't know many proper names/brand names: PUSHPOPS, FLYNT, PONTIACS, MOCHI, OORT, NIH, IMED, TYRONE, RAGTOP, EDNA, NEO, PRESTO CHANGO (I got PRESTO) ANNIKA, LAMOTTA, IAGO, (in Aladdin?), ODIE, POM, ZAHN, TKO I do feel a bit weedy! Some clues were just mystifying, meaning I didn't understand the solutions! POKY, USO, CALL, ECON, LAST, ORS. Other names were ok, I've seen Nils Lofgren, and EWERS and SPOOR were familiar. Roll on Monday.
@Jane Wheelaghan In the Disney movie "Aladdin," IAGO is a parrot voiced by Gilbert Gottfried. He's the sidekick to the villain Jafar, the Grand Vizier. The movie is over 30 years old. I saw it when it was released, mostly because Robin Williams did the voice of the Genie.
@Jane Wheelaghan Odie is the dog in the comic strip Garfield (who is a cat). L S A T is is the Law School Admission Test here in the US. POKY was last for me. I'd consider it an old timey word for slow. I would have thought there was an e in there which is why I left it blank until the end. It's always interesting to see what clues/answers people outside of the US have trouble with. Thank you for sharing!
Too many unique names, sadly. It would be nice if the editors would enforce not allowing corners that are two names of people or places (trivia, in other words). When that happens, there's no way to work backwards - a cross of two names especially names that are spelled uniquely, leaves the players with no alternatives, especially with two places. TKO vs ANNIKA and ETERNE vs TYRONE creates two "death squares" on the K and the E (ANNITA and ETERNA, e.g.) So playing online, you can, at best, guess at the two letters and hope - which means, in theory, you have 26 squared (676) combinations to raw guess. Death squares - when two unique names are crossed. Dual death squares - a guessing game.
@Malcolm Death squares sound so much more ominous (and Star-Warsy) than Natick! Finally finished this puzzle in WELL over my normal time, so plenty of death squares for me too. But thanks again to everyone who suggested things to do in Oslo! (I did get St. Olaf right away, but that probably had more to do with Betty White than anything else).
Two Y instead of I names… Thing I learned exists: moon jelly
Tiresome for a Sunday. Trivia laden.
Loved this puzzle! So many of the weird “tricks” in NYT crossword puzzles involve rebuses, turning corners, or other nonsense that violate the basic rules of putting words in boxes. This was immensely clever while still being completely orthodox to the clues and the grid. Thank you!
It's been a long while since I've played the board game, but memory (what little I can rely upon it these days) serves up "Take a Ride on the Reading".
Too many obscure pop-culture references, at least for me. The ANNIKA, TKO, ARCANA crossing was especially wearying.
@Ors Another case of different strokes , , , Those three were gimmes for me.
The Tyrone Biggums shout out is incredible 😂
A quick, and I hope polite, correction to Caitlyn about “The clue [Not being allowed to lick the spatula clean?] at 106-Across is also challenging. It solves to PUNISHMENT FOR A GLUTTON. That is pretty strict for tasting a little brownie batter that would have just gone down the drain.” This also had me thinking that it was a sloppy clue—at first. But then I realized that it’s NOT about being punished for tasting the batter. It’s that not being allowed the batter IS punishment (for some unknown transgression) for a glutton.
@IRA You are right on the money. The GLUTTON stuck his finger into the batter for a taste...serious faux pas and transgression. The PUNISHMENT fit the crime!
Really fun theme; each entry brought a smile. I do struggle with my eyes with a Sunday puzzle though, so time for a short nap. I’m sure I’m not the only one.
@suejean I typically solve on my iPad. The Sunday puzzles are hard on my old eyes, too. I think the difficulty I have seeing the grid might explain why I so often find Sunday puzzles underwhelming.
@suejean I pull out a pair of cheaters (magnifying reading glasses) to do the Sunday puzzles. 1.5x or 2x magnification is enough for me, so far.
I enjoyed this puzzle and finished it in a short amount of time... and then spent a long time finding my errors. I started second guessing everything: PAEAN or PAEoN, FAINT or FeINT, MADAMA or MADAMe, ANNIKA or ANNItA? Made it to the music, in the end! :) Thanks!
Quick and easy Sunday, just the ticket when there's a lot of work to be done but a Sunday crossword is impossible to forego. Enjoyed the theme. Loved the OORT clouds reference!
@ST Not so quick for me, but I also loved the OORT cloud answer. I was just teaching my ESOL class about it the other day. After a basic unit on astronomy, I had the students write what questions they still had. These included, "What is beyond Pluto?", "How do we know the universre is expanding?", and "How will the universe end?" So in addition to talking about the Oort Cloud and the Kuiper Belt, I attempted to explain cosmic expansion, redshift, and all the different ways the universe could end, like heat death and vacuum decay. Not sure how much they understood, but it was a fun lesson!
No one puts their GPA on their resume for years. Technically it’s not something that can used in evaluating a candidate since GPA has no statistical relevance on how someone will perform in their job. Just because an employer asks you a question doesn’t mean they know what they’re talking about or that they even should ask that question.
@logical Likewise. I know SPOOR as the Dutch word for a track; the Dutch Railway is "Nederlandse Spoorwegen" (literally, Netherlands' Trackways). But "tracking".... why not?
@Michael Weiland In Norwegian, «spor» can be a track, but also in a more abstract sense a clue. It can also mean a trace. A bloodhound is “sporhund”, so I guessed SPOOR but have never heard the word in English before. But it makes sense, or should I say “ it tracks “ :-)
@logical I belive I learned SPOOR from crosswords many eons ago. It's one of those words that stuck with me through the decades.
I take it Slack is some online communications app? I’m getting old…LOCS also threw me for a loop. Then I had to flyspeck multiple times because I had LONIST for a long time and LA DAMA seemed perfectly sensible. Ah well got there eventually and the theme was perfectly delightful!
@SP Slack is indeed a messaging app. I think it’s used mainly for inter office communications.
A great Sunday outing; tough despite finding the theme at 73A. LEGOLAND an absolute favourite park when the kids were young. Waiting for grandchildren now so I can do it all over again (no pressure kids). Giraffes aren’t the only animals that neck to the death, Alpacas throw a mean neck punch too Sticking with mustangs over PONTIACS held me up longer than it should have done.
@C. O'Connor Agreed. Sunday grid turned into trivia night with a pointless theme.
A straightforward puzzle that was a slow one for me, probably because I gave up on my battle with insomnia and succumbed to the lure of the puzzle, once again, in the wee hours. Anyway, once I caught on, I loved this one. 106A was the one that did it for me. After that, I was able to identify all the other theme clues, and all the missteps I had made earlier in the puzzle. A fair bit of trivia heretofore unbeknown to me, but I was able to figure them out.
Started this one late last night after a very long day of travel from Minnesota to Port Canaveral. So tired! Finished it this morning on balcony and because vacation, I allowed myself to check the answer key for the couple things I had missed, like Uno instead of una and madame instead of madama... Got to remember that spice island. Mostly want to say, fun one! Love the reversals! Off to explore.
I am usually tickled by word order themes like this, but today for some reason I didn't catch on and had to read the column for the explanation. I'll bet I would have enjoyed the puzzle a lot more if I'd gotten it on my own. (Let's be honest. "Oh, what a clever theme!" often really means, "How clever I am to have figured it out.") And I firmly believe the world would be a better place to live if there were only one way to spell PAEAN. Somebody should do something about that. Thanks for the fun!
@Peter C. There is only one way to spell PAEAN. Paeon is a different word.
An excellent puzzle, with the bonus of including one of my favorite critters, the MOON jelly. One of the last research projects I did before retiring, and which got one of my undergrad students a trip to a scientific conference to present his results (he got more travel money than I did from our administration!) was on MOON jellies. It was his first trip to the west coast and he had a great time. There was a missed opportunity here.... I even entered the wrong answer at first, base on this: 113A and 108D -- the two clues should have just been "salt" and 113 A should have been SEAmaN. Of course, this would have eliminated MOON jelly, but I never would have known! And I am not sure how many of the other crossings could have been made to fit, but before I had the crosses, I was sure 113A just *had* to be SEAmaN. Well done puzzle!
My 3 year old did this puzzle and I had to explain to him what a G Spot was. Not cool NYT.
@Cathy, if your 3-year-old did the Sunday NYT crossword, I think he can handle a scientific explanation.
Ok fellow puzzlers, I'm sure you're already tiring of this, but please REPLY to this message with nominations for Puzzle of the Year. The next time I'll post this message will be on Tuesday night, Dec. 10. I'll reply to my own message with the particulars. This is purely voluntary, for fun, and to lift up and celebrate some of the great puzzles we've all solved (or not!) this year, a year filled with cleverness, delightful clues, unusual rebuses, brilliant grid designs, and many debut constructors. You can honor their work and your enjoyment by nominating your favorites! In your reply, please put the date, name of constructor, and (if you want to give an extra plug) any commentary you'd like to make on standout themes, clues, etc. It's easy to get into archives and review the puzzles, so, even if you're not ready to do so now, perhaps you can make a list and reply to make next solicitation on the 10th. Happy puzzlin'!
Here are the deets. Eric Hougland, with the assistance of Cat Lady Margaret and yours truly, is coordinating the Puzzle of the Year Awards this year (big thanks to Tito and Puzzlemucker for their great efforts in past years). You're also welcome to suggest a name for the award. Several suggestions have come in, some pretty good. No, we're not naming it The Willy. 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. 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. Anyone can nominate & vote.
@john ezra I can’t remember the date. But it was the United States map one that had the state park answers in the corresponding areas, and the revealer was a great Schrodingers puzzle. That one
My suggestion for the name of this prestigious award: The Reagle
@john ezra -- Here are my nominations (the two with asterisks especially stood out): TUESDAY, 1/16, Marshall Hermann, every answer has exactly one l, reveal ONEL. THURSDAY, 2/1, Simeon Seigel, two loop-de-loops in theme answers. TUESDAY, 2/6, Victor Barocas – MOVEDOVER, brilliant theme, some unexpected Tuesday bite. THURSDAY 2/8, Samuel A. Donaldson – OPPOSITES ATTRACT (PASSOVER / UNDERGO) THURSDAY 2/15 Teddy and Rich Katz – DOUBLE OR NOTHING Double Schroedinger using double letter rebus – multi layered. *SUNDAY, 3/17, Simeon Seigel, combo Schroedinger and u.s. landmarks. Wow. TUESDAY, 3/26, Laura Dershewitz and Katherine Baiker, AD HOMINEM to Ad Hominem, answers like HOTEL SUITE SWEET. THURSDAY – 6/20 Ella Dershowitz TRADE NAMES, great cluing and theme. *WEDNESDAY, 8/28, Jesse Goldberg, Kangaroo Phrases, words embedded in phrases. Wow. TUESDAY, 9/3, Alex Eaton-Salners, TWO PARTY SYSTEM, i.e. SOCIALIST.
@john ezra There are others but what comes foremost to mind at the moment when I can't really look back in the archives right now is, 8/28, Jesse Goldberg for its words in phrases. It filled me with complete glee and every time I think about it I still feel gleeful! Many puzzles make me happy but glee is a whole nother level! Thanks to @B for helping me keep the date and constructor name in mind. ☺️
See, this is the problem. Am I getting better, or are these puzzles getting too easy? If the former, okay good for me, maybe it's time to finally turn on the timer and compete with myself on speed - though an idea I still don't like. (Dislke timers/rushing when I'm trying to have fun.) If the latter, then perhaps I am / we are being lulled into a false sense of smugne... I mean security. Perhaps the difficulty meter will swing wildly and unpredictability going forward, or worse, degenerate further into TV Guide territory. These are also ideas I don't like. Or... maybe it's just an unusually easy week to soften us up for the holidays. Dunno. Sigh. Anyway... Fun puzzle and I really liked the clever theme - after the first two answers it was clear and I looked forward to plopping in the others based on first guesses. ____________________ Jesse Goldberg 8/28/2024 for Puzzle of the Decade (emu filler)
@B Try xwstats.com. It will quickly let you know whether smugness is appropriate. The median solve time for this puzzle is currently 21:34. For this week here are the reported global stats, Monday through Saturday with difficulty based on global average in parens: 5:09 (average), 6:59 (average), 11:26 (average), 11:46 (very easy), 11:13 (very easy), 17:24 (easy). This site only reports stats from those who have joined, and the times may biased toward more experienced solvers. I don't really know. Personally my times were more than 20% faster for Wednesday's through Saturday's crosswords.
As usual on a Sunday, I looked up tons of trivia: 20 clues, if not more. At the same time, for once I actually knew a lot of the trivia answers, too, like ARRAKIS, LANA and TOGO. The word POUFFE surprised me. I did not know it in English. However, puf (pronounced almost identically as pouffe) is the Polish word for a fluffy ottoman, apparently sharing the same French etymology, from the word pouf. It does not happen often that speaking Polish helps me solve a NYT puzzle, but today it did. Also, Sunday puzzles involve spanners which usually seem just random strings of words to me, and only very rarely does a Sunday theme actually help me complete a puzzle - today I caught onto the theme quite quickly and used it to fill many squares. It was a fun theme, too. It usually takes me 40+ minutes to fill a Sunday grid. Today it took 10 minutes less. It is said Sunday crosswords are usually Wednesday difficulty, just much bigger. Today I actually found that to be true - most Sundays are considerably harder for me than Wednesdays. So IMO this puzzle was not too easy - the other recent Sundays may have been too hard though.