Wonderful to see Will back in the saddle, but let's not forget that the entire team of editors, from Joel to the many others, were groomed and trained by Will over multiple years. So in a way, he never left. Kudos to the ENTIRE puzzle team, and welcome back, Will.
This puzzle would never have been accepted in the Will Shortz era. (Welcome back!)
@Barry Ancona why not? (I'm new here)
@Barry Ancona Okay that was a good one. ____________________ Jesse Goldberg 8/28/2024 for Puzzle of the Decade (emu filler)
Okay I get that Will Shortz is back but I still don't understand Barry's comment. Would someone please dumb it down for me - I mean REALLY dumb.
@Barry Ancona Yes, it was especially interesting to read the other day that Will has been selecting the puzzles since May. So much for all of the "Will would never have allowed this puzzle to run!" comments over the past 8 months.
@Barry Ancona You got an audible chuckle out of me with that one. What will replace it..? … … …
From short staffed to Shortz staffed! Hurray! Welcome back, at long last, Will, and welcome aboard Ms. Binney. Good debut. We really missed you, Will, and are so happy about your recovery. Keep paddling. ____________________ Jesse Goldberg 8/28/2024 for Puzzle of the Decade (emu filler)
My five favorite original clues from last week (in order of appearance): 1. What you may have to do if someone doesn't take charge? (3)(4) 2. Forgo a ring, maybe (5) 3. Drawer with knobs? (4)(1)(6) 4. Strong draft (5) 5. They might make you jump (2)(6) PAY CASH KNOCK ETCH A SKETCH STOUT UP ARROWS
Much Crosslandia joy, with Will’s return. First and foremost, happiness over his recovery. But also, gratitude for Joel and the entire NYT team, whose talent and expertise kept the puzzle top tier, a formidable accomplishment that I will not forget.
"Water you dewing with that hose?" "Just streamlining my approach. I'm shore you're love it!" (That made a splash.)
Regarding Monday cluing, which is supposed to be relatively easy, there’s such a fine line between “so easy as to be embarrassing”, and “easy, but you still have to think”. I believe Hannah nailed the latter today. Clues like [Pepsi or Coke] where there are a couple of possible answers, but not a slew. Still, you can’t just slap the answer down. Clues like [Places for policy wonks], where you might need several crosses before seeing the answer. This puzzle is well made, with not only “Oh, isn’t that interesting” clues, such as those for ZEBRA and ALBERTA, but also covering many areas – music, geography, food, sports, current parlance, flora and fauna, and others. Also, the answer set is admirably free of junk. Not to mention a bit of serendipity fun, TENOR in the grid to complement ALTO SAX, and the lovely PuzzPair© of a backward WETS crossing WATER. And for an experienced solver, as I am, trying to guess the reveal after uncovering the theme answers, plenty of sweet brainwork before throwing in the towel. Quality all around, an impressive debut. Congratulations, Hannah, and thank you for this sterling Monday puzzle.
@Lewis I had TAP before TUB, which made me laugh. So far no one has seen fit to take on 50A....Maybe the Dog People are late to the party.... All you need is.... a CAT, but... Son and his wife have 4; PhysDau has 3; DHubby and I have 1. (We're the only ones with any sense....or maybeit's just that we have the least room.)
So glad to see Will Shortz is back!
Congratulations to Hannah Binney on her debut puzzle. Welcome back to Will Shortz. Thank you to the entire Games team and constructors for another entertaining puzzling year.
What bc a delightful debut, Hannah! Thank you for the sparkles, the humor, and the crunchiness of today’s puzzle. We look forward to seeing more of your work! And many thanks to Joel Fagliano for his hard work these last few months while Will was under the weather. Your skill and your dedication to our crossword world is much appreciated. 💜 And last, welcome back Will. We are so glad you’re better! 😊
Shout out to Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump, Fort MacLeod Alberta Alberta has 6 UNESCO sites more than any other province in Canada. I live an hour away from 3 of them - Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park, Writing-on-stone, and the above. Also visit Wood Buffalo National Park, Dinosaur Provincial Park and the Rocky Mountain Parks (Banff, Jasper). And no we have no interest in becoming a state!
@Wark ya....you and I don't want to become a 51st state. Hopefully the rest of the province agrees.
@Wark We were as astonished to hear that there was a plan for your becoming the 51st state, as I am sure you were.
@Wark Would you be interested in adding the west coasts of Washington, Oregon, and California to Canada?
This was another Tuesday-difficulty-level Monday for me. I had almost nothing on my first across pass, and I needed several passes across and down to deal with the grid. The SW corner gave me the worst trouble - I've never heard of SHIP as clued, and I fixated on the building blocks having to be, well, buildings 🤣. It also took me a long time to come up with SO AND SO. The latter has a Polish counterpart that looks very different but is constructed effectively the same: "taki owaki". I love that phrase and use it often, even though I am not a particularly delicate or polite person and have no qualms about directly insulting people when they deserve it. There is just something linguistically very elegant and satisfying about "taki owaki". In the end I needed no lookups, but I was close to giving up and googling some stuff. It was not an unenjoyable puzzle - I just found it hard for this time in the week.
@Andrzej thanks, buddy, for giving me something new to say when my husband calls from work. I will ask him how that *taki owaki* co-worker of his is behaving today 😂
@Andrzej Same here! Even though I’m familiar with the term SHIP, I had adoS for 64A and sOdA for 57D and was completely flummoxed by that SW corner for the longest time as well, not knowing what could go into 56D, 56A and 43D (the last two being new terms to me). Came close as well to Googling until 57D clicked and then everything else fell into place.
WILL! Hi! WILLcome back! Willcommen, bienvenue, welcome! Joel did a great job while you were gone, but we were so concerned for you, and knowing that your byline is in place tells us that you did the hard work and made it back to be with us. Perhaps you are living proof that the hard work of puzzling is beneficial to your brain health (right up there with dark chocolate, nuts, berries, socialization, spirituality, and exercise). Here's to a wonderful New Year for you, and for Joel, who no doubt will be able to enjoy some breathing room now. And for all of us, who have studied the bylines since you've been away.
@Momerlyn Nice, although you misspelled milk chocolate. ____________________ Jesse Goldberg 8/28/2024 for Puzzle of the Decade (emu filler)
O O H A W E L C O M E B A C K I E W O E L A Y S L H !! 💋 And that's the long and Shortz of it! Shout-out also to Joel F, who held the reins and kept things going in the interim, including some very fine puzzles we may tend to forget AMID the HUBBUBS and STIRS and ADOS that are part & parcel of our feisty Comments section— & we thank him for that! We may have said "ONO" when Will got laid up earlier this year, but then we said "ENO he's working hard to git back to the Xword ROYALCOURT & we look forward to his return!" He OTT to get a medal. OREOughta at least get a virtual GROUPHUG! (*Hmm, has that ever been a crossword answer? Well it is now. With the Jeopardy question being: "Q.: What is being EXUDEd & EMITted & WAFTed from the Comments section today? A.: GROUPHUG". I expect the honeymoon to be about two weeks before Comments section resumes its usual MELEE & RHUBARB & BROUHAHA at normal course & speed. But that's OK. That's just par for the cross. We still appreciate the work & the care & the love-of-the-game [or lovelineoflinethelinegame] that go into the creating & editing of these crosswords. PLAY BALL! Welcome back Will!! PS I very much enjoyed today's puzzle, it was both Monday-breezy but also had a little bit of welcome 'crunch'. Very very nice puzzle, & very very nice debut. Thanks Hannah!
@Becca What happened to that "O" of "OH BOY"! It wandered off! When I posted it I thought it looked like O O H A W E L C O M E B A C K I E W O E L A Y S L H !! 💋
Hey Hannah! I was pleasantly surprised to see Head Smashed In Buffalo Jump mentioned! It does make one feel nice to be seen 😊. Wondering if you've been here or just used it as a clue. FYI, The Last of Us and Brokeback Mountain were both filmed near here. I also had a lovely time doing this puzzle! Looking forward to more from you.
You don’t have to be a particle physicist to get a crossword in the New York Times, but it looks like it didn’t hurt, either! Very fun Monday, but while I completely respect not wanting to eclipse a newbie’s moment in the Sun, I think most of us noticed the byline for the editor and want to say, “Welcome back, Will!”
This is the kind of Monday puzzle I like: Easy enough to do without any lookups, but still challenging enough to make me work for it. Well done. So now that Will is back, can we stop the complaints about how the puzzle is going to hell without him? Because henceforth I’m sure there will be nothing disturbingly fresh or innovative. (Welcome back, Will.)
Don't know why, but buttercup brought a smile to my face. Perhaps it's the winter weather, or the Gilbert & Sullivan song or just the beauty of the blossom. Thank you for your fun and fine puzzle.
Min, For me, the smile was because the yellow chin belongs to my granddaughter :)
@Min And who could forget this gem? <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSofzQURQDk" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSofzQURQDk</a>
I’m 71 and have been familiar with SHIP, shippers, and shipping since the advent of online TV show discussion boards in the 90s — although I was probably older than the average poster at the time. I also recall the use of SO AND SO and no-goodnik as euphemisms for sonofabitch. I’m never sure if I’m familiar with such slang because of my age, my ethnic background, or my parents’ placing as much importance on keeping up with current slang as they did on using proper grammar. Welcome back, Will. ❤️🌈
@NESB is Still thinking This 67 year old agrees re SHIP. I was thrown slightly by the word modern in the clue, as if SHIP was from the last few years.
@NESB is Still thinking Whenever we kids would act up, our grandmother would call us an old so and so. Her other expression was good grief Gertie.
Congrats on the solid debut! Welcome back Mr. Shortz. Thanks Mr. Fagliano.
Oooooh, Will Shortz’ name is back as editor. Is he back to work?
So wonderful to see Will back with us!
TIL that the word SHIP can refer to fans who want to create a romantic relationship between fictional characters. As in: "Hermione and Ron? I'd totally ship them." The term seems to have its origins in fans of the X-Files who wanted to see a romantic relationship develop between Scully and Mulder. Given my chosen moniker, I feel like I should have known this already!
One NIT to pick: stem cells aren’t really the “building blocks” of anything. They divide and give rise to other, more common cell types that make up the bulk of tissues and organs. The stem cells themselves are a rare population among their more “differentiated” descendants. That pedantry aside, a lovely debut!
@Zintis indeed - stem cells are sort the opposite of building blocks, really.
I never make comments in these things (just lurk). But when I saw entries that indicated Will is back, I just had to comment "WELCOME BACK, WILL! WE ALL MISSED YOU AND YOUR RETURN IS ONE HECK OF A WAY TO END THE YEAR! BEST WISHES FOR STELLAR 2025 AND BEYOND !"
Congratulations Hannah! Lovely debut! And I know I’m not alone when I say that when I saw the editor, all felt a wee bit more right with the world. Thank you Joel, for stepping in and doing such a fabulous job while Will was away. And to the entire team- you’re rock stars! Just really, *really* nice to see that name back on the puzzle…
Thank you, Joel for the great job you did as puzzle editor (and constructor) in Will's absence. In my view, you got continually better at the job as you went along. Not knowing anything about the situation, as time went by, I began to sense that you might have the job for quite a while longer. My thought was that if so, the helm was in very capable hands. The NYT is fortunate to have an ample well of talent in this department.
Welcome back, Will!!! We’ve missed you sooo!!! What a great puzzle to edit and work us out on a Monday! Here’s to many more and a happy new year to you and yours!!
Nice debut, Hannah. I will now add that meaning of SHIP to the things I will never use but will remember for crossword puzzles.
Not much force in the units, but fun to work and fine for a Monday. Congratulations, Hannah Binney, on your Times Crossword debut. Persistence doesn't always pay off, but this time it did. Welcome aboard.
Congrats Hannah on a lovely debut. Yeah, SHIP is new to me. Next time maybe more particle physics?
Cat Think Tank feels like an appropriate title for a Far Side panel. Except I think it was mainly the dogs doing the plotting in that world.
Justin, Heh heh! I was imagining that it must have been an ivory-tower think tank that came up with the phrase “All you need is love and a cat.” Clearly, they’ve never had a cat… or a litter box, or dry and wet food (all over the floor), or various drinking fountains (to encourage splashing more water all over the floor), or vet bills, or cat hairs everywhere, or…
@JohnWM It should be COT! Meaning those in a SHIP don't need anything fancy to keep them going, right?
Welcome back Will!! We missed you! I chuckled when I saw SHIP used that way. My Gen Z daughter has used this term for years. As a result, it is part of my lexicon. I suspected that many of my amigos here might struggle, though, because you don’t have a moody slang-slinger in your life 🤭. Hannah, congrats! Thanks, BESTIE, for a fresh and breezy Monday puzzle. What a brain you have! The closest I’ve come to physics is the type I’ve learned from the various Star Trek series and movies. 🖖🏾 Looking forward to learning how to make various MOCKTAILS for Dry January! Adeus!
Thank you, Hannah, enjoyed the solve. I clicked on the link you provided and read the NYT article about your day job and I must say I'd much prefer to solve your crossword puzzles than try to understand that other gigantic muon-ic puzzle you are so wonderfully trying to solve with others. Brilliant and good luck with both of your careers.
I'm so, so happy to see Will Shortz is back! Today is a very good day. And congratulations to Hannah Binney on your debut! It was a lovely solve. I especially loved the clue for 50A. Power to the Cat Ladies.
I picked up the theme quickly enough (after all, it’s a Monday puzzle), but I didn’t notice the size progression until I read this article. The only new entry for me was the “ship” one. I don’t know if it’s because I’m an old geezer (turned 61 just today) or if it’s just because I’m not into fandom activities, but for me it was definitely a Saturday clue hiding in a Monday puzzle :)
Been solving the puzzle on and off from the late 60’s under the editorship of Farrar through today, I appreciate Will Shortz’s innovations. So welcome back to the second toughest job in America. I found today’s puzzle slightly more difficult than the typical Monday. After a couple of weeks off, I am ready to tackle the time-consuming TFSSu grids again.
SMART debut. Chewier than your average Monday but no complaints from me. SHIP also new to this baby boomer, but I get it; as in relationSHIP, right? I hadn’t clocked that Mr Shortz was back till I came to the comments section. Welcome back sir, hope you’re fully recovered and fighting fit. Goodbye and thank you Mr Fagliano, you held your post well.
@Helen Wright teenaged granddaughter's vocab to the rescue for me. She's always telling me who she's "shipping" - sometimes boys, sometimes manga/anime characters. WorSHIP? RelationSHIP - not sure.
Welcome back, Will, we truly missed you! A pleasant Monday puzzle to be sure. 8:06 completion. I knew SHIP only because I have a 20-year-old kid...
Nice Monday puzzle. Glad to see our new constructor - looking forward to more. Pretty smooth solve for the most part. The reveal was the last thing I filled in and had to work the crosses before it dawned on me. That's just a nice touch. And... yeah - not familiar with that usage of SHIP and had to work it out from the crosses. And that led me to one answer history search today. And yep - in four appearances in previous puzzles, LOOSELIPS always sink ships. I'll put my puzzle finds in replies. ...
@Rich in Atlanta As threatened. First - one of the oddest puzzles I've ever encountered - A Thursday from June 19, 2008 by Joe Krozel. Never seen a grid pattern like that one and remain baffled as to exactly what was going on. There was a triple stack of 15 letter down answers on the right side of that puzzle. The three clues and answers for those: "One who exhibits pack mentality?" CIGARETTESMOKER "Who quipped "God tells me how the music should sound, but you stand in the way" ARTUROTOSCANINI "Job seeker's fashion advice" DRESSFORSUCCESS And then an odd pattern of black squares to the left of those three answers. And lastly - what I guess was the 'reveal' in that puzzle: "Number of clues in this puzzle that contain factual inaccuracies." TEN I've.... looked over the puzzle multiple times and I'm not entirely catching on to that. Here's the Xword Info link: <a href="https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=6/19/2008&g=12&d=D" target="_blank">https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=6/19/2008&g=12&d=D</a> ....
Hmm... I think the amount of white on ZEBRAS (especially the underbelly) counters the assertion of 6D. But I hope there's a big argument and people waving their citations overhead. Not sure we can foment 700+ Comments, but C'mon! Give it the ole college try! Do people still use "He's a TOOL" for "obnoxious person"? It could be shortened it to "an OBNOX" and then folks could move on. I tried my best to come up with PC something for 10A. Never used a MAC of any sort, but PhysDau prefers them for work and play. I really need to know more about th Buffalo Jump in ALBERTA. I had not realized Edmonton and all were such lively places....eh? Gotta go; daughter has a super-fun appt with one of her host of new MDs. In other news, we completed the 1000-piece puzzle in about 3 days and a wake-up (in addition to all the cooking, eating, and Zooming. ... a new record!)
@Mean Old Lady A fellow jigsaw puzzler! ❤️ We're finishing a 2000 piece puzzle we got for Christmas, and I just had a 3000 piece one we did over several months framed - this one: <a href="https://www.puzzle-mania.pl/pannini-giovanni-galeria-widokow-starozytnego-rzymu-1000-elementow-eurographics" target="_blank">https://www.puzzle-mania.pl/pannini-giovanni-galeria-widokow-starozytnego-rzymu-1000-elementow-eurographics</a> The frame is huge and gilded, befitting the baroque painting and weeks of our efforts. It will look awesome as an opulent accent in our otherwise modern, Scandinavian-style apartment, once I finally get around to hanging it...
@Mean Old Lady Sorry, 6D is correct. I learned this when I lived in South Africa 2020-2022. And here's an internet link -- so it must be true! <a href="https://www.sciencefocus.com/nature/are-zebras-black-with-white-stripes-or-white-with-black-stripes#:~:text=All" target="_blank">https://www.sciencefocus.com/nature/are-zebras-black-with-white-stripes-or-white-with-black-stripes#:~:text=All</a> the fur grows from,as black with white stripes. When I first put the question to Google, the top answer was AI generated, and it agreed with above link. My, how times have changed..... AI here, AI there, AI everywhere!
TIL Zebras are black with white stripes.
When I used to frequent the old X-Files discussion forum, a millennium or so ago, there developed two camps regarding Mulder and Scully: the 'Shippers', who felt that "Mulder and Scully Belong 2getha 4eva!!!1" and the so-called 'NoRomos', who didn't. I was a fervent NoRomo ("Mulder and Scully are friends with a deep connection and also attraction but c'mon they don't need to get married and move to the suburbs and have two-and-a-half kids and a dog, jeez"). "Shippers" is basically short for "Relationshippers", and it's a term used by TV fans everywhere, including I think the show "Castle" and many other shows. And at some point I guess it became a verb, to 'ship' two characters on a TV show or whatnot. The pinnacle of Shipper stupidity on the active and playful X-Files forum was when one RabidShipper® reacted to the tongue-in-cheek parody-posts of NoRomos (posts that insisted, just to stir up the Shippers, that Mulder and Scully Hate Each Other [MASHEO]), with the RabidShipper responding in all caps "YOU ARE ALL MAD & STUPID!!!!" which became our battle cry. It was all great fun. But despite not being a teenager or young'n, even then, I've known the term "SHIP" for quite some time. And we won't even TALK about "slash". (Mulder/Skinner etc)
@Becca Can we bring back NOROMO please?
So today I learned about "ship" as in "relationshipping", which was nice. But also that "How to tie a tie" is a "common tutorial topic". Which was very slightly depressing.
@Oikofuge Goes in the same category as writing in cursive and reading an analog clock, I guess.
Congratulations on a nice NYT debut, Ms. Binney! Your perseverance paid off. Hope we’ll see you back soon.