A nugget of trivia I really like is that Chilean Sea Bass is a made-up name the food industry came up with in the 70s since they thought no one would want to eat 'Patagonian Toothfish'- which is the original name of the fish
@Rahul Knowing it's a made-up term, I appreciated seeing "Chilean" in quotes. I didn't know the name goes as far back as the 70's, or that it previously was known as a toothfish! Thanks!
Shout out SOTTO Voce. Nice to see your handle pop up in the puzzle and thanks for all your great contributions to this community.
@Striker I too thought of my friend sotto voce when I filled that in. She's one of the people who keeps me coming back here.
@Striker Thank you. Really. That's very kind of you. And I think I'm blushing...
@Striker I second that emotion. Having traveled with my art historian/art conservator daughter to see the great museums of Europe, I was delighted to see the four “MAKEUPARTISTS” appear in the gray squares, as they are 4 of my favorites. But I was just as glad to see our colleague SOTTO Voce, whose comments I always read with great pleasure, feature in the puzzle as well. And how fitting that SOTTO appeared in the NW.
@sotto voce Yes, that was all I really wanted to say about this puzzle, that it was delightful to find you on the other side of the comments section. Thank you for all your kindness and insight!
I stopped by to note the shoutout to our SOTTO voce, too. [smiles and waves]
@Striker Yes! This! Loved seeing SV in the puzzle! Such a lovely source of insight and whimsy! There’s an Easter egg right there! 🥚 🥚 🥚
@Striker Piling onto the SV fanclub here. I hit Pause the instant I read 2D, simply in order to find this! Yay, SOTTO Voce! As CCNY so aptly said, a wonderful EASTER EGG indeed!
@Striker So many S.V. 'Woo-Hoos' even the flies r havin' a 'ball'.
@Striker I just had to put my two cents in about our SV appearing today…big smile here as well. To be honest, when I first began reading SV’s comments I was unfamiliar with the term. Then I started seeing the expression in lots of odd contexts, so I looked it up and it has become one of my favorites. Great idea for a handle!
@Striker I came here also to thank Sotto Voce for her lovely comments. I'm another member of your fan club! I was so tickled when I saw your handle in the puzzle!
@Striker 😘 @Sotto Voce 😘
Thank you, you beautiful people, each and every one of you. You've most definitely melted my heart. Your words are high praise which I can only hope to live up to. XOXO
My dad took up painting. Pop goes the easel! (I think his work's great, but that's a splatter of opinion.)
@Mike Who knew of your brush with frame? Or did Dad only Dali with art and waste the family Monet? Manet have done the same and would have done better to go into baseball, possibly as a picture.
@Mike hope he’s not just in it for the Monet.
@Mike Once again, you've given us a Moan Releaser. (Hope this wasn't too Corot-sive,)
@Mike and Co-conspirators Y'all have all outdone yourselves today! Thanks SO much!
Fun theme! Spent 14 years of my life watching TaeKwan Do classes. My youngest, only a few years in, was sparring. Poor buddy was (is) such a pacifist. Had to go against Master’s eldest. A girl. Two years younger than my son. And his friend. And she was better and faster. We were all yelling for him to “Get her!” “She’s tough, don’t be afraid to kick her!” Even she paused and said, “Bring it on! I know you’re going easy on me!” My little buddy dropped his shoulders and landed a HEEL KICK just as she dropped *her* head to spin kick. His foot. Her jaw. She went down. He had to kneel, facing away from her. She was so tough, but he was *so* not. Trying to keep tears from pouring down his face, sneaking looks over his shoulder to check on her. Her brother went over and talked him through what was happening and tried to calm him. So many lessons learned that day. He’s about to graduate from med school, and she is flying home *today* from Hong Kong after competing on Team USA in the World TKD Poomsae Championships! So, I think it all worked out. Happy Tuesday all!
@CCNY Great story. Thanks for taking the time to tell it.
@CCNY Your son has a beautiful spirit. I hope it’s stayed with him.
@CCNY Ah, the old, "boy meets girl, boy kicks girl in the face" story. I was hoping for a romantic ending. (Imagine telling that one to the grandkids.)
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, “nae” does not mean “no” as in the answer to a yes/no question, it only means “no” in the context of quantities. In Scots, “naw” is the answer to a yes/no question. “Have you got any Irn Bru?” “Naw, ah’ve got nae Irn Bru at aw”
@Dougie I think this every single time. it's the same as people saying "Glasgae". We don't say that!
@Dougie "Huvye goat enny Irn Bru?" Naw ah huvnae there'll be nane in tae the morra." I'm wi' you there should be nane ae that nae fur naw in the crossword.
Fly ball as the clue for 36 across is one of the funniest I’ve seen in a while—any day of the week. Thanks for the laugh!
So, I didn’t catch the theme until the end but it was pretty cool. It reminded me of the MIRO museum in Barcelona, where I also visited the Picasso Museum and the Sagrada Familia. The latter is almost finally finished, and is just so breathtaking. Speaking of churches, I thought there would be at least some SOTTO voce grumbling about multiple religious references — PEW, PSALM, ARKS, MATTHEW and even EASTEREGG. I thought it was charming. I see, however, that the expected complaints about *two* rapper clues is a train that arrived as scheduled. Sad that it’s not viewed as a learning opportunity. To contradict myself, please please please don’t construct an all-sports puzzle, as hinted at by today’s constructors. That will be the day my streak ends and my migraine will win 🤕. It also may be the day when I begin constructing my all hip hop all RANDB puzzle in retaliation 🤣🤣🤣. Bom dia ☀️
Nice Tuesday outing. Love the MAKE UP ARTISTS theme, it took me a moment to work it out. TMILK? What kind of plant juice is that? Oh, I get it! Nice. I’m up early this morning as my winter cold has well and truly kicked in; I left my DH to get some peaceful slumber away from my coughing, sneezing and general bleurgh noises. I intensely dislike cold viruses; feeling awful but not ill enough to justify a duvet day. Yuk.
@Helen Wright I hope you feel better soon!
@Helen Wright BLEURGH. Such a descriptive word. Have we ever had that in the puzzle? Feel better.
@Helen Wright. I hope you feel better soon!
Lots of loveliness in the box today, the whole e n c h I L A D a ! Et tu, emu.
@Lewis Nice find for an additional theme answer! Especially if “whole” fits, too. If I have time later, I may try to see what artists I can find that would have worked. It was a bit disappointing that all four who made it into the puzzle were European men, but I understand how difficult it can be to find good theme answers for something like this.
Lewis and Eric, I apologize for somehow missing these, and then posting not long ago and hours after yours, Lewis, the same Dali reversal. I guess my more-rapid-than-usual pre-post morning perusal didn’t even register this in my memory. My bad…
After cracking the lovely "backward-spelled artists" gimmick, I tried to guess the revealer after leaving it blank. Crickets. No idea. Uncle. And when I finally uncovered it, I broke into a huge smile because it is so wonderfully silly and childlike as well as clever – easily my favorite moment of the solve. I love the crossword constructor brain that came across the term MAKE UP and flashed on creating a puzzle with backward words embedded in long vertical answers. That’s the kind of brain I look forward to seeing more from. I was surprised to see that ME TOO ERA has never appeared before today in the Times puzzle. I liked the seeing the embedded backward DUNE which connected both words of POSE NUDE, echoing the theme in a way. And I, who for some reason, gravitates toward looking at words backward, adored this theme. Congratulations on your debut NYT, Geoffrey, and on your second, Brian, and thank you both for a puzzle peppered with happy pings!
Administrative note: I am heading West to visit family and will be away for a week, returning here a week from tomorrow. My Five Favorite Clues list for this week shall show up then. Wishing all a most lovely stretch ahead! Et tu, emu.
A problem with half-awake speed solving (after a nearly yearlong hiatus)? Convincing yourself that why, yes, METrO ERA, the period of accountability for excessive use of carbon fuels and encouraging the populace to use public transportation may have started in 2017. Thought it had been earlier, but who can tell?
@Sam Lyons Have you not been playing the puzzle itself for a year, or just speed solving? Hard to believe. Certainly, you haven't been posting as often as you used to. Glad to see you back.
@Sam Lyons I’m sure there are many folks here besides me who would love to hear where in the Old World you might be. Perhaps you could use what3words to give us a clue….
I just completed this puzzle from the back seat of a car driving down bumpy roads in Puerto Rico with unmarked speed bumps, while looking at lots of chickens, dogs, cats, and the occasional horse. It took a bit longer than usual.
@Bruce Glad you were in the back seat and not the driver. We were in Puerto Rico once, probably circa 1990, staying in the Condado area near San Juan, and decided to take a long drive around the island and wound up in Ponce, on the other side of the island. We took the expressway going out. Since we had taken a long loop around over half the perimeter of the island to get there, we decided to take a mountain road back across the interior, which would obviously be a slower road, but much shorter. That was quite the mistake, as it was the most hair-raising ride I'd ever been on. We drove on the edges of mountainsides and had narrow hairpin turns and poorly paved roads the whole way. And since it was night, it was dark, as street lights were the exception. It was the most frightening driving experience I've ever been on. Ponce, though was a very nice town, and we ran into friends of ours from New York who we didn't have any idea were going to be there. No one was doing the crossword puzzle, because it was pre-electronic solving and pre-Wifi and probably even pre-cell phones.
Congratulations, Mr. Schorkopf, on a fun and high class NYT crossword debut! I typically don’t like a grid arrangement in which the theme answers runs Down, because it’s much easier to read right to left than top to bottom. I more or less ignored the shaded squares while solving. But it’s such a nice theme, and all of the phrases that incorporate the painted really shine. Thanks, gents!
This puzzle has given me a whole new perspective on art.
I had a few hang ups with this puzzle. (It was a bit off the wall.) But is it art? I don't know, but I know what I like.
Like many puzzle aficionados, whenever I come A C R O S S A C I P H E R I dance a C O O L H A K A . No, neither one of those would be cromulent themers. Calling them green paint would be too kind. And that's why they don't pay me the big bucks.
@ad absurdum Pretty good. The best I could do was S U N S T R O K E E F F E C T S headache, dizziness, nausea, vomiting and confusion, and it's not even in the right order.
First off, thank you, Messieurs Callahan and Schorkopf, for an artful puzzle! It took me by surprise to encounter my handle in it, and I think my heart fluttered a bit – which brings me to another very special thank you, one that goes out to @Striker along with all those who recommended his post and all those who replied in the thread. Your kindness means the world to me. As for your appreciation of my contributions, I'd like to turn it on its head to my appreciation of you – you who welcomed me into your fold, you who allow this introvert the comfort to participate. Your knowledge, culture, wit, humor, and civility are a daily balm I cherish and look forward to. And so, being on the receiving end of your lovely words has left me flustered, since all I ever feel is that it's an honor to be part of this forum, where I get to linger among all of you, cruciverbalism's truly great. Thank you again for showering me with your kindness. [*quietly* exits stage left.]
@sotto voce You should repost this tomorrow. At this point, it's not likely to be seen by that many people.
@sotto voce Such eloquence! Your words resonated with me, as I am sure they do with so many participants in this wonderful group. "Ain't that grand?"
A lively puzzle with some colorful and painterly flourishes. An easy solve, but one that cheered me up. Great fun Brian and Geoffrey. Give us more.
What a fun theme as those upside down artists gradually revealed themselves. And perfect degree of difficulty for a Tuesday IMHO. I’m definitely looking forward to more from Brian and Geoffrey.
Is it only me, or is 42 across sometimes spelled in the NYT crossword as AAH and sometimes it’s AHH? I might have caught it today except it crossed with 32 down, another onomatopoeia MWAH, which I thought could be MWAA. Having two onomatopoeia cross was the trickiest part of the solve for me.
@Suzanne Bee In the puzzle, the two words are used interchangeably. To me, they seem different. I think of the relaxation sound as AHH and the doctor directive as AAH. I always wait for the cross. In this case, I could see how someone could be tripped up, but I have never seen MWAa.
@Suzanne Bee I always just leave out the middle letter until I can get it from the crosses.
@Suzanne Bee AAH has appeared 154 times; AHH 53 times. The cluing is not usually helpful. However, "Ooh and ___" type cluing is always going to be AAH. But "Say ___" and "That's the spot!" types of clues can be either. Hope this helps!
@Suzanne Bee Welcome to my nightmare. I am constantly being thwarted by UEY vs. UIE, AAH vs. AHH, the ITSY/EENY/TINY triptych and will never know whether I am supposed to eat a KEBAB or a KABOB. At least we stay on our toes, eh?
Congrats to the constructors for a very good Tuesday puzzle, with fun clues and a cute theme. More please.
Just a bit on the tough side for me, but that just made for a nice long workout. Must confess that I never really caught on to the trick until after I was almost done. That's all on me. Nice puzzle. And of course I had a couple of puzzle finds today. First one - a Thursday from January 8, 2009 by Joe DiPietro. That one didn't have any hint or reveal as to the trick. It just becomes obvious after you manage to fill in a couple of the theme answers. Some clue/answer examples: "Supermodels?" SHOOTSTARS "One who fattens up cattle? " STOCKSTUFFER "45s from Count Basie and Benny Goodman?" SWINGSINGLES And there were more. Here's the Xword Info link: <a href="https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=1/8/2009&g=45&d=D" target="_blank">https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=1/8/2009&g=45&d=D</a> I'll put another puzzle (or two) in a reply. ...
@Rich in Atlanta As threatened: A Tuesday from November 15, 1994 by Judith Perry. A couple of clue/answer examples: "Talk show host's holiday songs?" LENOSNOELS "Actor's first course?" ALDASSALAD "Artist's soup ingredients?" KLEESLEEKS And some other theme answers: LEESEELS LANGSSLANG MAYSYAMS ARNESSNARE Here's the Xword Info link: <a href="https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=11/15/1994&g=41&d=A" target="_blank">https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=11/15/1994&g=41&d=A</a> And then - a Sunday from May 10, 1981 by Jeanette K. Brill with the title: "Interior decoration." There was no 'reveal' in the puzzle beyond that title. And must confess that I had to look over the theme answers more than once to grasp what was going on. Still don't exactly get the 'interior' part of that. Anyway - some straightforwardly clued theme answers: CARPETBAGGERS MIRRORIMAGE STOOLPIGEON CURTAINRAISER ONENIGHTSTAND DAVENPORTIOWA Here's the Xword Info link: <a href="https://www.xwordinfo.com/PS?date=5/10/1981&g=52&d=A" target="_blank">https://www.xwordinfo.com/PS?date=5/10/1981&g=52&d=A</a> I'll shut up now. ...
@Rich in Atlanta SWINGSINGLES makes me think of the Swingle Singers. For anyone who’s into swinging vocal Bach… <a href="https://youtu.be/sN3Vbh5mHbM?si=RI2i0NFkV8K2OGcn" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/sN3Vbh5mHbM?si=RI2i0NFkV8K2OGcn</a>
@Rich in Atlanta SWINGSINGLES makes me think of the Swingle Singers. For anyone who’s into swinging vocal Bach… <a href="https://youtu.be/sN3Vbh5mHbM?si=RI2i0NFkV8K2OGcn" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/sN3Vbh5mHbM?si=RI2i0NFkV8K2OGcn</a>
TWO rapper clues in the same puzzle is at least one too many.
@The Whip Hip-hop has been the most popular music genre for several years now. Like it or not, it's part of our culture. <a href="https://www.xxlmag.com/nielsen-hip-hop-rb-most-consumed-genres-u-s" target="_blank">https://www.xxlmag.com/nielsen-hip-hop-rb-most-consumed-genres-u-s</a>/
@The Whip i was so happy that this old woman who grew up pre-hip hop knew them both immediately. not too too many at all! the puzzle helps keep us sharp and us au courant. i often enjoy puzzles that get me googling to find out more about an answer.... like i imagine there are puzzlers out there learning more about the artists in the grey areas after doing this. a more broadly aware public is a happier, healthier, more connected public imo.
@The Whip I was just thankful the artists weren’t rappers.
A fun fill, and the UP ARTISTS were a clever reveal!
Picking up on the artists' names, but not reading the clue to the revealer, I wondered whether it had something to do with painting hung upside down--a distinct possibility with Miro or Klee, less so with Goya, but weirder things have happened: <a href="https://news.artnet.com/art-world/paintings-upside-down-2383248" target="_blank">https://news.artnet.com/art-world/paintings-upside-down-2383248</a>
@Bill That’s funny! I struggle to imagine how the Gaugin and Van Gogh paintings were mis-hung. Especially the Gaugin.
Amended revealer: "...or what you do when filling in the shaded squares without remotely needing to be aware of it." Another skillful job of grid construction that didn't have an awful lot to do with me, the solver. I noticed the artists only when I hit the revealer -- although obviously I would have seen them earlier if I'd tried harder. But the embedding was good and led to some nice long Downs like MIRROR IMAGE and HATHA YOGA. And there were some nice non-theme Acrosses, too, like ME TOO ERA and I WON'T BITE. A commendable job of puzzle-making, but not terribly exciting for moi. Or should I say MWAH. (They are homophones, right)
@Nancy Your point about the theme is insightful. As a newer solver I haven't thought very deeply about themes but there really is a difference between a theme that reveals the cleverness of the constructor vs a theme that feels like a collaboration of cleverness between the constructor and the solver.
Fastest I've ever solved a NYT crossword (21:33)! Might not be very impressive but I am a bit of a newbie-- haha please go easy on me. 😅
@Demi Congratulations and well done!
I missed a PB because I had AaH at 44A, and hadn't read the clue for 32D, until I needed to when error checking.
@Bill in Yokohama I pretty much doubled my time because I was happy with AaH and MWAa for too long. Whichever way you spell it one of them looks wrong.
I honestly had no idea what the theme was even after I finished it. At some point, I did try reading the shaded clues backwards, but was like, "KLIMT? KLEE? That can't be right." The only artist I recognize is GOYA, and I got that clue late so I didn't check it backwards until after reading the article. Oh well! Still a fun puzzle.
Someone posted a comment saying the theme was lame. That is basically all they said. Several commenters, including myself, took issue with that opinion, and replied. All replies that I saw were completely civil. Now the thread is gone. Anyone know why? At any rate, not being a fan of having my voice suppressed, I am re-submitting my response to the original comment/thread that was removed: You know what is ironic? Lame is a pretty lame word. I have yet to read a comment in six years that contained the word "lame" that was at all informative.
@Jim It is possible that in addition to the replies that people flagged it and that resulted in its removal.
@Jim When the original comment is taken down, the replies go down with it. When a reply is taken down, the rest of the thread is normally still there. Normally, as I said.
@Jim I noticed exactly that earlier today, with the same rather incredulous reaction. There wasn't anything particularly bad about the post -- certainly not compared to many that stay up... I came to the same conclusion as Vaer: it must have been reported enough times that it was automatically removed. Go figure!
I’m not usually one to comment on the absolute correct spelling of things. But I know one thing for certain. MWAH can only be correctly spelled one way. Regardless of how aah and ahh might be spelled. And that’s all I have to say about that. (I’m sitting in a bar in Oslo next to a man who thinks he’s a dead ringer for Tom Hanks. I’ll not disabuse him of that notion, but I felt the need to chime in on MWAH.)
The reveal was pretty entertaining today. I had no idea what was going on when I had KLEE, KLIMT, and MIRO in place, those just look like gibberish if you're not up on art history enough to instantly recognize them as surnames. Then I finished up the puzzle with GOYA, which *is* instantly recognizable to me, and I suddenly figured out the theme.
Took me a while to figure out what RAND B meant. Must have been a hard night.
@HEK I still don't know what it means!
@HEK That’s because it’s always R&B. That AND gets me ever time. Same thing happens with the AANDP grocery store and military RANDR leave.
@HEK I've seen it in the puzzle a number of times and it still manages to flummox me.
I figured out the theme with KLIMT and GOYA - unfortunately haven't heard of MIRO or KLEE - but I still didn't understand how MAKEUP ARTIST made sense for it until I read this article. Gotcha. I liked this one, always appreciate an easier start to the week after pure pain over the weekend :)
Based only on what I’ve seen glancing at magazine racks, I’d bet Cosmo often involves a swarm of makeup artists. This puzzle was fun - didn’t really bite, but I think I heard the occasional “Mwa-ha-hahh!”
@JohnWM I'm more inclined to think cosmo involves a swarm of photoshop artists
After solving and looking at the puzzle, I noticed there a number of words that when read backwards are also words or phrases, starting with OTTOS(SOTTO) in the NW and LEG(GEL) in the SE, and while I'm at it, I'll toss in ROKER as a palindrome. No idea how frequently this happens in other puzzles.
@Vaer Lewis typically reports the semordnilaps he spots in puzzles.
@Vaer How is Roker a palindrome?
Lots of fun, and the theme was clever. Thanks, Brian and Geoffrey. You make a great team. 😊👏🏻
I didnt like it. It was terribly easy even by Tuesday standards
@ks I liked this puzzle and found it perfect for a Tuesday. I suspect many people did.
@ks I solved the puzzle in my usual Tuesday time. The theme was a bit meh - it seemed terribly random and I found nothing exciting or interesting about it - but I liked the puzzle itself well enough. Some natick-y squares held me up for a bit, but I needed no lookups.
@ks Humble bragging is never a good look.
It's a nice theme, but I didn't even notice the shaded part until I had finished the puzzle.
Except for the curry ingredient and the asparagus, this puzzle (and, I presume, the co-conspiritors) had nothing in common with the MOL! Who are the mystery-folk in the 48D clue? Why do people think everyone South of the Mason-Dixon Line likes the abomination called SWEET TEA? Wait! You mean her name is not Megan THREE Stallion? Since TMILK made no sense, I looked it UP and down, so KapOWIE! I had the trick, and it gave the Reveal away, too. YOGA. Taekwando. R AND B. BAs. (We who earned the BS might feel the weensiest bit smarter.) FYI-- if the model POSEs NUDE, it is called "Life class." I modeled for *figure*-drawing classes (it paid well) fully clothed. Tsk! Nice EASY puzzle, but what's that on your head, Geoff?
@Mean Old Lady I've had two friends--one male, one female--who would supplement their incomes by POSing NUDE for life classes. Neither one was what you would call conventionally beautiful, nor were they particularly exhibitionists. No, it has more to do with being comfortable (and no more) when nude in front of others, and able to hold still for long periods of time.
@Mean Old Lady Reminded me of a funny situation I hadn’t thought of in many, many years. The high school and junior high school I went to in late 60’s-early 70’s was on the UCONN campus (hi fellow alum Cal Girl!). One day at lunch there was a big commotion in the jr-high hallway, as a huge crowd of kids was gathered at a wall of windows. Immediately across the street was the university’s fine arts building and a class was being held with a female model as described in 21A…..what a scene…
Very fun puzzle! Perfect for a Monday or a Tuesday - my only ever potential gold star days so far. I didn’t get the theme clue but really enjoyed the entire rest of the puzzle. Thanks, makers!
This was fun! Had a couple of hiccups in the middle left and bottom left (fell for OWIE/ODIE like a sucker) and had to look up EMIR because I originally thought the paintball cry was IMOUT. It all cleared up fairly easily when I looked a little closer at the clueing. I do feel that AHH should have alluded to relaxation though, rather than satiation, which feels more like it should be MMM or YUM. The theme was clever. Nice to run into some old friends from my misspent youth skipping math class to read art books in the library.
Enjoyed the puzzle! Had a little more trouble reading the down/up themers just because harder to read for me. Circular reasoning at its finest, eh?! 😉 But I think you know what I mean. Felt fun and fresh to me. Liked METOOERA there by the sermon on the mount, EASTEREGG, which I don't know why I knew off the bat, and SLOE. On the cruise it's easier to come by rum and tequila but we finally found a place with Hendricks martinis made right... My favorite! Still haven't tried an AL SLAMMER. (@G, didn't get back to your comment but back in the day I remember Seagrams wine coolers and Boones Farm seemed like the height of culture. Yikes! The very thought of them make my tummy roll now. Ha! My husband still prefers the sweet stuff but like you, I've moved a whole different direction.) Anyhow, our cruise just had to cancel our visit to Turks and Caicos, which was the whole reason we chose this particular cruise. Super bummed because we've wanted to check it out for ages. We'll still have fun, perhaps even running AMOK, but still bummed at moment. Soooooo, with extra down time, can anyone recommend a super fun archive puzzle that sticks out to you for me to try? Totally cool with fun tricks, rebuses, etc. Thanks!
@HeathieJ Aww, what a bummer about your cruise! I hope they provide another port at least, not just days asea. If you're stuck with extra time aboard, perhaps you two can recreate some Leo & Kate scenes -- POSE NUDE for a drawing session, for example? (Too far??) It's more than a little uncanny that just yesterday we had a clue and now today an answer with SLOE gin!! Even if I'm not much of a gin girl, I'd take Hendricks over the sweet stuff any day these days. And wine coolers, another blast from the past! Bartles & James, peach. Eeeww... Picturing you amidst a sparkling sea, as we are socked in with fog all day today. Good curl-up-on-the-couch weather -- lemme know if you find any gems in the archives!
Late puzzle find: A Sunday from August 5, 2007 by Caroline Leong with the title: "Winging it." Some sample theme clues and answers: "Nurse Florence sells adventures? :" NIGHTINGALEHAWKSLARKS "Actor Steve repeats what geezers say?:" MARTINPARROTSCOOTS "Lawyer Atticus avoids crazies? :" FINCHDUCKSCUCKOOS "Architect Christopher gobbles banisters? :" WRENSWALLOWSRAILS "Famed magician cheats chumps? :" MERLINROOKSBOOBIES "Disney's Captain Jack dupes church leaders? :" SPARROWGULLSCARDINALS Here's the Xword Info link: <a href="https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=8/5/2007&g=106&d=A" target="_blank">https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=8/5/2007&g=106&d=A</a> ....
Todays' puzzle is much easier than Monday's. Maybe they got switched?
Late to the game but I loved this puzzle . It gave me great satisfaction to solve it since for me at first it did not appear to be easy and I am a Monday, maybe Tuesday or Wednesday solver . Fagettabout the rest of da week. But suddenly I looked away and back while multitasking and Klimt and Goya were staring back at me. AHA ! From there Miro and Klee were EZ and so much information came from those two artists that the rest of the puzzle fell right into place . Made me feel like I was cheating . Very satisfying .
As promised, another solicitation for Puzzle of the Year nominations! Please REPLY below with the dates, constructor names, and (optional) your reasons for your choices. I'll use the first of the replies to give you more details. We've already received some great choices, but not nearly enough. And this will give you reason to go back over the last year and remember the high points (here in Crosslandia, not in the real world). Thanks, we're very grateful for the responses so far, and hope to hear from the regulars as well as the lurkers in the shadows. Happy puzzlin'!
PUZZLE OF THE YEAR Details on nomating and voting: 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. We thank Tito & Puzzlemucker for their great work 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. Nominating & Voting is open to all. Just one vote per puzzle, please!
@john ezra Thanks, John. I would like to add that no one should refrain from submitting a nomination because they don't have multiple candidates for each category. If there's just *one* puzzle from this year that stood out for you, please nominate it. That said, we've got a decent-sized list so far, and I hope everyone will find a few puzzles that they remember fondly.
The muse seems to have deserted me, but the raw material for a good ditty is in this puzzle, and it's hard to resist penning a merry lyric that rhymes Goya with "soya" but I'll wait until my muse returns. Meantime, it did remind me of a slightly non-PC routine from the old Benny Hill show where he plays a Julia Child figure (in drag) demonstrating how to cook Chinese. Worth watching if you're at all irreverent (or don't take offense too easily): <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_7Z5N1tktI&t=18s" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_7Z5N1tktI&t=18s</a>
@john ezra I watched as much as I could endure. Diffculty pronouncing L sounds is characteristic (as of course you know) native speakers of Japanese. The phonemes are not simply reversed. I won't go into the details of speech-language development...one of those "it doesn't pay to know too much" situations. I hated missing some of the jokes, though. Untutored in naughty slang.