This one hit my pleasure zone again and again: • Gorgeous single-word answers (LITHE, SAVORY, HECTOR). • ANN Patchett, whose books melt my heart. • Longs that roll off the tongue (GIVE OR TAKE, MORE TO COME, ADIOS AMIGO). • That terrific ETCH-A-SKETCH clue – [Drawer with knobs?]. • The number 18 right next to MILA. • BATHE and LATHE because – and I don’t know why – I love the feel of words that end in “the” (such as lithe, soothe, scythe, clothe, and breathe). Filling this in was a bit like tubing down a river, repeatedly charmed by sights and sounds of nature. This puzzle contains six NYT answer debuts. Debut answers are not necessarily special, but, IMO, all today are very worthy additions to the oeuvre: ETON COLLAR, GLAM ROCKER, FOLK ARTIST, LIGHT TIMER, ROYAL COURT, I LOVE THAT FOR YOU. And they add pop to the grid. One of those sweet puzzles which, in addition to delighting my brain’s work ethic, allowed me to bathe in beauty throughout. Thank you so much for this, Jem!
P.S., I love Jem's NYT debut grid design, which accommodates the lovely long debut answers as well as the roll-off-the-tongue ones. This puzzle design allows for 10 tens, plus an 11 and a 15!
Hi, @Lewis! I hope you don't mind that I referenced you in a post which I was composing, just as you were composing yours! Nonetheless, [Famous British rock group] was a wonderful clue in a wonderful puzzle--were FOLK ARTIST and GLAM ROCKER really debuts? Hard to believe!
Correction on my above reply: The grid design allows for ten 10s, TWO 11's, and a 15. Even better than what I said before!
Nice puzzle with a lot of pleasantly tricky stuff. And I'll bang a gong for that great T. Rex clue that the editors scrapped.
OK well this is great. I’ve been doing the NYT crossword for probably 40 years, but never in the app… my daughter signed me up for Christmas, and I already love it so much it might become a problem! I especially like reading the comments after really good puzzle (like this one!)
@Joe P Welcome! They come out at 10 PM sharp. And don't forget the bonus puzzles and minis, if you're into that sort of thing. Reachable in the Archive section. Some of the other games are good too but I've stopped playing them except for Spelling Bee. Connections is tiresome and has a fatal flaw (the strikes system). ____________________ Jesse Goldberg 8/28/2024 for Puzzle of the Decade (emu filler)
@Joe P Welcome to the Wordplay comments! I got a good laugh at your note that "it might become a problem"! On the (possible) second day of your subscription! I find myself planning my day around the completion of the various games! I guess there are worse things to be obsessed with! 😁
I loved everything about this puzzle, start to finish. For most of it I never knew what to expect. I started out with oil painter, only to find out a minute later that it had to be wrong. Then filled in ADIOSAMIGO and took it out again, because I was determined to write in a (wrong!) cross or two, then, of course, put it back. Assuming that the rock group was a band, I was trying to remember every British rock band I had ever heard of, and burst out laughing in delight when it turned out to be as clued, a group: STONEHENGE (maybe my favorite clue of the year). Thank you, Jem Burch, for a puzzle that was a joy to work. I sincerely hope that there will be MORETOCOME!
@dutchiris The number of groups I went through trying to fill that one. The Beatles? The Zombies? Supertramp? Duran Duran? Portishead? Eurythmics? But I still laughed even harder at the clue "Resident of the Mojo Dojo Casa House."
As a lifelong Washingtonian who grew up on the Salish Sea, you might know what my favorite clue was today.
Not my wavelength. So not so easy for me. But very satisfying. And some great clueing. Took me one cigar and two bourbons. So timing was perfect.
Really enjoyed this one- it was on my wavelength. My only slowdown was the southwest, but it resolved pretty quickly on my second pass. Some clever and fun misdirects here.
@Julia My wavelength as well. Fun clues!
The "T-Rex" clue that had been proposed for 13D would surely have been Friday-worthy. Thanks at least sharing that.
For me, this was the easiest (still satisfying, though) Friday puzzle in ages. I must have been on the same wavelength as the constructor!
Self Taught for Folk Artist; Chess Board for Royal Court. Didn't take long to correct those but it made for some, er, puzzy-aches, such as "Glove That For You" and "ABS'ED" (someone fit in mind and body is abs'ed indeed, as well as being latted and pec'd). Even though the cluing for "F E M" is a little complicated, so much better than that clunker recently about some partners in female romantic relationships. Where was the Vetoer for that one? Vetoer. What a terrible but great word. It's not new to the NYTXWs but it's been a while. (Once, a few years after the Kill Bill movies came out, it was clued as "Bill Killer" which probably had more kick then than it does now). Abled, OTOH, is just a curst word. If a poet used that word in a coffee house, I'd stand up, stub out my Gitane, tilt my beret, and leave. Well, a good puzzle, gently Friday. TGIF indeed. Can't believe the eds took away that T-Rex clue and replaced it with the utterly humdrum Bowie-Ziggy one. Come on Fagliano, all that glitters is indeed gold! Tomorrow night I'll announce once again the Puzzle of the Year contest. I hope you'll put into Replies your favorites as nominees. For example, here's one of my faves, which I remembered because there was a puzzle of hers earlier this week: Sarah Sinclair & Paolo Pasco's 6/27/24 pizza shaped puzzle. The ingenuity of the 39-rebus-squares and its toppings is a tour-de-force. Check it out: <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/crosswords/game/daily/2024/06/27" target="_blank">https://www.nytimes.com/crosswords/game/daily/2024/06/27</a>
Hand up for chessbOaRd. Like you, it didn't take me long to ditch it. As soon as I started the downs, the seed entry (8D) took it out.
I’m surprised at how relatively easy and doable people found this puzzle. Most of it, yes, i t zoomed night through. BUT I found that tiny bottom left corner near impossible. It felt like every clue could have been a pun even though there was no sign of it. Or it felt like the words there were much more exotic than the rest of the puzzle. I thought those 8 words were going to be a streak killer and I got to the answer only by staring for a long time and some luck.
The SW and SW central had me STUMPed for quite a while despite having FLASK,STATIC, and SHORT NOTICE in place. Congrats to Jem Burch! (Are you related to the Burch family who lived on Briarcliff Road in Atlanta? Oh, the Puzzle.) 35D clues a Palomino as being TAN. It so happens that PhysicsDaughter's horse Carter (the love of her life) is a Palomino, and in no wise is he TAN. He is a lovely, soft gold, with a personality to match. He is very calm and unflappable, which is perfect since PhysDau is, according to the clue for 53D, not ABLED. (Both of us thought first of SOUND for that spot.) I'd say more, but the entry is ridiculous: would ANYbody use that awkward word? Discussion seems superfluous....but DISABLED, on the other hand, works. ("Differently-ABLED, however, is ridiculous--a mawkish attempt to make up for acknowledging reality.) Our daughter is 44, and she has been disABLED since that second heart surgery at age 7 months. The fact that she has a PhD and is a researcher with the Corps of Engineers would suggest that both DISabilitty and Ability can co-exist (even comfortably, if inconveniently.) Okay, ....yes, I keep a soapbox in the closet; it's often needed. Wouldn't Shakespeare have spelt it "CURS'D"? Who had an original Folio? Please check!
@Mean Old Lady Shakespeare used CURST a lot, though the big problem for the clue is that he used it as an adjective meaning "bad-tempered" or "angry", including an early description of the phenomenon of being "hangry", in The Winter's Tale III:iii: "Ile go see if the Beare bee gone from the Gentleman, and how much he hath eaten: they are neuer curst but when they are hungry" He occasionally used "curs'd" as a verb, but not with any connotation of "putting a hex on". For instance in The Tempest V:i Ferdinand says: "Though the Seas threaten they are mercifull, I haue curs'd them without cause." I think it may be a case of mistaken cluing.
Because my brain sees patterns where none seem to exist, I note that in the past week we've had: LITE BRITE RUBIK'S CUBE ETCH A SKETCH Can Spirograph be next? Or Shrinky Dinks? For future reference, Flea's real name is Michael Balzary. Face-palmed when I got FATS Domino.
@Grant my brain loves your brain.
"British rock group" is the stuff of legends indeed. Nicely played!
I was unfamiliar with the verb "to HECTOR" (I was trying to make it HECkle)--turns out, per OED, it derives--through a couple steps--from the prince of the Trojan ROYAL COURT Hector; although I'm still not sure whether the one he was "bully; to brag, bluster, domineer"-ing was his foe, the Greek Achilles (notable for his HEELs); his brother, Paris (whose lover and her sister both emerged from EGGS); or perhaps the THUNDER GOD Zeus himself, who started the whole thing when he allowed Eris to throw such a hissy fit when she wasn't invited to the Olympia High PROM.
@Bill What a delightful post! LOL at several points, especially Eris...that Golden Apple went to someone else, and wowie zowie, she showed *them*! She could have taught Carrie a thing or two!
I lucked out because 1A was a total gimme for me. Got it in about two seconds. If you’re not familiar with GRANDMA MOSES you should check her out. She was self taught and didn’t start painting until late in life. Her paintings of the Hudson Valley capture something that even the best trained artists can’t. Loved STONEHENGE as well.
I’m really not big on political correctness for its own sake, and I don’t love the nitpicking of words with valid acceptable usages that sometimes goes on here. That said, you could have done better with the curing on 53D: “Possessing a full range of physical and mental faculties.” It may seem like a subtle nit, but as far as I’m concerned it is careless to label a person as abled or disabled. A person who has a specific disability is not “disabled”, and to say otherwise can be demeaning. Therefore, IMO, this clue could as well be seen as possibly demeaning to people who are not fully “abled.” Argue/disagree if you must.
@John Agree. It was so not a thing I’d say that it took me until I had ABLE__ to finally type the D in there.
@John Took me a while to abandon “alert” there (as in the “alert to time and place” question that doctors answer at the start of an exam).
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, everyone!
That T. Rex clue is brilliant and like so many in the comments I wish I had gotten to solve it. I tried for way too long to make Stone Roses work as the famous British rock group. Didn't think they were that famous....
@Sof Stone Roses. That's exactly what I thought, they weren't that famous. I didn't know them until I saw Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. The song Fool's Gold plays at the end and I wasted no time tracking it down. Great song! With or without the music the ending of the movie puts a big grin on your face. Probably most people know Snatch, LSTSB is an earlier one pretty much in the same vein. Well worth a look. As for the puzzle, yeah RFS CURST and ABLED weren't pretty but since the constructor has acknowledged them and taken responsibility, no harm, no foul!
At first I was only able to fill the NE quadrant on my own. Then I looked up some stuff I was clueless about (FOLK ARTIST, FATS, RFS, OHARE, ROTH, ANN Patchett, TED) and that allowed me to complete the puzzle. The clueing turned out to be just about on my wavelength - wittily misleading in an enjoyable way. Thank you Jem Burch for the mental workout. HECTOR as 'be a pest to' was new to me. I checked the etymology online. Interesting. How common in actual English is this use of the word? I haven't learned it in 40 years so it doesn't seem to be common at all in literature, movies and games.
@Andrzej I know hectoring as bothering, as in stop hectoring me, but don’t know its origins. I’d say it’s fairly common but perhaps not everyday. Also I’m 44 so wouldn’t be surprised if it’s less common now than when I was picking this stuff up as a kid! When I got CURST and ABLED I thought this was going to be one to endure rather than enjoy. Then I got ETCH A SKETCH and rather reconsidered.
@Andrzej It's not an everyday word but not that uncommon. I feel like it's the kind of word used in YA or junior high fiction when teachers and authors are trying to expose kids to a wide variety of vocabulary. Hemingway probably wouldn't use it but JK Rowling probably would. Maybe that's just my experience as a middle years teacher talking.
@Andrzej Not common, but I use it occasionally. It's more aggressive than nag or bother, but I think less aggressive than bully, even though MW says that's a synonym. I looked it up, interesting (somewhat bizarre) etymology.
@Andrzej I’ve heard it (or read it) but it’s not something I’ve heard used recently
@Andrzej I had the H and filled in HARASS.
@Andrzej I’ve never heard of hector/hectoring, as both a native speaker and an avid reader. Could be a UK thing based on replies?
@Nate possibly, but I’ve used it, born in Ohio. Maybe just our choice of reading material.
@Andrzej It was an entirely new word to me, as well. Maybe a flicker of recognition from some distant book. According to Chat GPT: The verb “hector,” meaning to bully or harass, has been utilized by several notable authors in their works. For instance: • Jonathan Swift employed the term in his satirical writings. • Henry Fielding used “hector” in his novel The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling. • Laurence Sterne included the word in The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman. These examples illustrate the term’s presence in English literature, particularly during the 18th century. The verb “hector” originated in the mid-17th century, deriving from the name Hector, a Trojan prince in Greek mythology. The term came to describe blustering or bullying behavior, possibly influenced by a gang of youths in London known as “Hectors” who were notorious for such conduct.  In literature, “hector” has been used to depict characters exhibiting domineering or bullying behavior. Its usage by authors like Swift, Fielding, and Sterne reflects its integration into the English lexicon during their time, enhancing character development and thematic expression in their narratives.
I flew through the top half of this puzzle, but got completely stuck on the bottom half. "Heckle" instead of HECTOR, "The Beatles" instead of STONEHENGE, "taxi" instead of MEGA... these mistakes threw me off. I had to Google the few googlable (is that a word?) clues to get me back on track. [Feathery layers] was a great clue, it had me thinking boas? Down? There were a lot of good ones. All in all, a fun Friday!
@Janine SAME. That was exactly my experience too. I can’t think of the Beatles as a rock group, but pondered whether I was just nit picking. I laughed like a drain once I got it. Brilliant.
Really nice puzzle. .Actually surprised to see that so many found this unusually easy. Not all that easy for me, of course, and had to cheat a bit, but still ended up being an enjoyable solve. First puzzle find today was one that is very appropriate for me. A Tuesday from October 7, 2003 by Steve Jones. Three 15 letter theme answers. Here are the clues and answers for those: "Is like a stumped puzzle solver?" DOESNTHAVEACLUE "Like a stumped puzzle solver?" ATALOSSFORWORDS "Where a stumped puzzle solver goes?" BACKTOSQUAREONE And... a couple of interesting puzzle finds today. I'll put those in replies. ....
@Rich in Atlanta As threatened: First a Sunday from February 1, 2004 by Roy Leban with the title: "Film Sounds." Some theme clues and answers: "Cow's favorite movie of 1983?" ALLTHERIGHTMOOVES "Cat's favorite movie of 2000?" THEPURRFECTSTORM "Snake's favorite movie of 1981?" HISSTORYOFTHEWORLDPARTI "Frog's favorite movie of 1944?" ROSIETHERIBBITER "Bee's favorite movie of 1983?" RISKYBZZZNESS And there were more. Here's the Xword Info link: <a href="https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=2/1/2004&g=111&d=A" target="_blank">https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=2/1/2004&g=111&d=A</a> And... one more find I might put in another reply. ....
Thank you, Jem, for a very fine Friday puzzle and your notes. I loved this for me despite the fact that I kept falling asleep which did nothing good for my Friday average (an exhausting seasonal business issue not a boring puzzle issue). I agree with Lewis regarding the many clever, fun clues and answers. I may have actually turned red with embarrassment when I got STONEHENGE and kept wondering why I had never heard of that famous rock group until…D’oh!
@M. Biggen I thought first of SUPERTRAMP, which I consider to be a pretty groovy answer.
Several years ago, I was a passenger in a freight truck driving down the NJ Turnpike when we came upon a tour bus with FATS Domino written on the side. I asked the driver to slow down. As I was along side the driver, I rolled down my window and lipped to him, "Where's Fats?" He pointed his thumb at his chest. Fats was driving his own tour bus. I did some searching when I got home, and he was appearing in Atlantic City in the coming days.
A bit too easy for a Friday (maybe I was just on the constructor's wavelength today) but 10/10 for the fresh and witty cluing
@Rahul, agreed- i did this in less than half my average time. But shady undertones and classic rock were delicious!
@Rahul I found it to be the perfect Friday difficulty. My solve time was about average for this time of the week.
Self Taught for Folk Artist; Chess Board for Royal Court. Didn't take long to correct those but it made for some, er, puzz-aches, such as "Glove That For You" and "Absed" (someone fit in mind and body is abs'ed indeed, as well as being latted and pec'd). Even though the cluing for "Fem" is a little complicated, so much better than that clunker recently (Dec. 15: [Some partners in lesbian couples]). Where was the Vetoer for that one? Vetoer. What a horrible, no good, ugly, great word. It's not new to the NYTXWs but it's been a while. (Once, a few years after the Kill Bill movies came out, it was clued as "Bill Killer" which probably had more kick then than it does now). Abled, OTOH, is just a curst word. It's just a drag, man. Well, a good puzzle, gently Friday. TGIF indeed. Can't believe the eds took away that T-Rex clue and replaced it with the utterly humdrum Bowie-Ziggy one. Come on Fagliano, all that glitters is indeed gold! Tomorrow night I'm going to put in one of my announcements about the Puzzle of the Year contest, so I hope you will be thinking of nominees to put as Replies to it. Here's one of my picks, for example, which I remembered because there was a puzzle of hers this week: Sarah Sinclair & Paolo Pasco's 6/27/24 pizza shaped puzzle. The ingenuity of the 39-rebus-squares and its toppings is a tour-de-force. Check it out: <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/crosswords/game/daily/2024/06/27" target="_blank">https://www.nytimes.com/crosswords/game/daily/2024/06/27</a>
@john ezra I may not take the time to search out your post tomorrow so hopefully this can serve as my (sorta) nomination for POY [copy/pasted from my post last week, Eric pointed out it really shd be in a reply to you & not just random post]. Here 'tis, copy-pasted from Dec 19: __ "…[I scrolled down awhile looking for one of either Eric's or John's "POY" threads but can't find it, so just gonna post this here!] While I don't know if I'd nom this Mon puzzle from May as POY for entire category of Mon-Wed— there are too many M-W puzzles I may've really really liked that I don't recall rn— but as far as Mondays go, I think it was my favorite. I think it was everyone's favorite! Everyone loved it! It was delightful, playful, had a wonderful original theme, was engaging, but absolutely Monday-breezy level! In fact, that puzzle led me to do a retro-solve on many of that constructor's NYT puzzles. The xword was Mon 5/13/24, by Jeremy Newton. It was just easy on (and pleasant to) the brain in the way that some opera singers say Mozart is on their vocal cords and spirit. If there were a way to nom it for the best Monday P.O.Y. I'd go for that w/o hesitation! I just dunno if it beats out all M-W puzzles of the entire year, who knows. I don't have the Bunsen burners, Tesla coils, retorts (well, I probly have the retorts, lol), PhD's or Science Schoolin' to get the answer to such a deep question. But for Mondays? POY! Oh, poy! So them's my stories & I'm stickin' to 'em." __ There!
Having chessboard instead of royal court certainly slowed me down!
Alas, I had to remove my comfortable OXFORDSHOE and replace it with a stiff ETONCOLLAR. This was a very enjoyable Friday puzzle with no lookups or naticks. TIL: Fats Domino’s real name, Salish, and Mojo Dojo Casa House. (I saw Oppenheimer instead.) “Famous British rock group“ is my favorite clue of 2024!
This felt way too easy for a Friday. However, I have felt incredibly annoyed when others remark the same on days I've struggled! So this one just happened to fit with my limited knowledge and I'll take it!
@JGrey It was just right for a Friday for me. I once aced a Saturday almost everybody else said was too hard, so these things happen.
@JGrey I put the brick back down when I read the second sentence.
From FATS Domino to Just KEN, and Grandma Moses to ANN Patchett, what's not to love in this puzzle? OK, maybe RFS. Very easy-going for a Friday. Thanks Jem.
Many great clues (and definitely loved T-Rex clue), but the one that made me laugh out loud was 37D "feathery layers." Hen and egg puns are the best.
@Nor Just another variation on the classic crossworld misdirection with words with -er endings. In crossworld, towers are trucks that come get your car, sewers are seamstresses and tailors, flowers are streams and rivers, showers are people who present things, etc. Except, of course, when they aren't. Always be on the lookout!
I’m with all those who were delighted with the Stonehenge clue, and in fact found lots to like in this Friday puzzle, including Jem's constructor notes.
Great Friday puzzle. The top half came easily, the bottom, not so much, making a lovely chewy Friday. STONEHENGE made me laugh out loud; it’s just up the road from us so a frequent sight as we drive around. Never go near it on either Solstice though; impassable with all the Druids, Pagans and assorted tourists. Wasn’t aware of 1A. In my ignorance I was thinking biscuits or some such line. Forgive me. The crosses helped it along so felt a bit sheepish when she revealed herself. Loved, loved the clues for 13D and 34 (plus the Marc Bolan bonus).
When I started this I thought I had no chance of finishing. It seemed like it took me 10 minutes to find a couple of answers that I felt confident enough to write in. From those I had a short spurt where I got a fourth to a third of the puzzle filled in, but them I hit a wall. To that I closed my eyes and fell asleep. To my surprise, when I awoke my brain started coming up with answers to the clues, and in the end I finished in 38 Minutes, which for me is about 15 minutes faster than my average Friday. What a difference walking away can make.
An enjoyable puzzle that I found mostly easier than most Fridays, but not everywhere. My big hangup is "chilled" = HUNG. Why???? I suppose in the sense of lounging around and taking it easy? But when you're "chilling" -- a verb I never use, btw, -- aren't you HANGing OUT? Or HANGing LOOSE? I definitely did not like this clue/answer. Other than that, the puzzle was fine. FEM led me right in at the outset and I never looked back.
@Nancy You could be hanging out when you're chilling out.
@Nancy You’re right about the meaning. The reason it’s hung and not hang is because chilled is in the past tense—we chilled last night/we hung out last night.
This was a fun one, although a little easier than many Fridays. OTOH, there were some sneaky misdirects and clever clues. Enjoyed!
I am SURE that Jem came to this on her own, but I have to point out that on 11/27/2020 Robyn Weintraub clued "Classic British rock group" for STONEHENGE. (Yes I'm obsessive/compulsive, but it's my all-time favorite clue)
@Mark Abe I much admired that clue when Robyn Weintraub used it. It’s the perfect misdirection, as almost every one who reads it will start running through their own list of bands. But I have to point out that on 9/29/2015, Kurt Krauss clued “English rock group” for Stonehenge. It’s a good enough clue that it deserves to be used every four or five years.
@Mark Abe It's not necessarily Jem's clue. I believe the editors substitute new clues if they find the original one not quite good enough.
So wanted DECK and ROYAL FLUSH for 67A and 62A, respectively. Just not in the cards today.
@Joseph SUIT may have also worked!
Friday crosswords are usually my least favorite, but I loved this one for me. Despite being held up by “chessboard” for ROYAL COURT and “heckle” for HECTOR for way too long, I found this to have just the right combination of trick and treat. ETCH A SKETCH made me smile, as did STONEHENGE. (I haven’t been doing this long enough to be aware of the previous occurrences.) Too bad T Rex was snuffed out.
@Heidi I agree about T Rex, but maybe because they were a group, the solve would have needed to be plural?
@Heidi I agree that ETCHASKETCH & STONEHENGE were the best. Excellent cluing throughout. A nicely challenging Friday.
With a name like Grandma Moses, in Old Testament times I think she could have been more like a thunder god. A puzzle that started lightning-fast for me (top left), slowed in the bottom left, but still finished as a light timer over all.
This was a tough one for me, perhaps because my brain had been numbed by watching the worst football game ever. Yikes, Seattle and Chicago. Was delighted to see SALISH. And I laughed out loud at the clue for STONEHENGE. Terrific puzzle. Happy Boxing Day from our annual trek north of the border.
@kkseattle Sorry, but that was yesterday. Today is Wrestling Day. (Per Bob and Doug McKenzie.)
I completely agree - Stonehenge was a fantastic clue and I had to celebrate out loud when I finally cracked it !
Loved this puzzle. Multiple missteps and re-thinks were great fun. No lookups, no checking comments or notes, just a delightful group of smart clues and answers.
I may point out that TGIF are [Letters of relief] only when, in fact, one has Saturday off. Actually, I might have thought that at 4 am this morning, as I have today off--but not tomorrow. My schedule changes from week to week, although in the last couple months I've been more likely to exclaim "TGIW!" Once, many years ago, my Brother-in-Law asked my Partner, 'So when's Bill's weekend this week?" "Jim, you know Bill doesn't get weekends!" Me: "No, actually Jim, it's Tuesday and Wednesday--thank you for asking!" He gets it--so many people don't. The tunnel vision of the nine-to-five.
@Bill When I was working at A to Z, my schedule was Sunday to Wednesday, with ten hour shifts. Barring overtime, every weekend was three days, which is nice. It was common to say, "Today is my Friday." Mid-shift meal break was always called lunch, even if it started at midnight.
Fun puzzle, just wanted to say I enjoyed the original clue for GLAMROCKER very much!