I was struck most by the meter of this puzzle. So many iambic entries: FLASH FLOOD, PRANK CALLS, SAY CHEESE, PLOT POINTS, UPLIT, BOPEEP. . . . You can practically chant them. Throw in a few anapests (MARINE CORPS, JERSEY SWAP, SAMURAI, SO DO I),* some Shakespeare (WHO GOES THERE?) and the plaintive DON’T LEAVE, and a puzzle poet could have a feast. Well done, Colin. Happy New Year to the best crowd on the internet! And as I’m sure many have already said, a huge welcome back to Will S. * Your stresses may vary.
@Puzzlemucker I'd hazard that most of your examples are spondees rather than iambs, but as you say one's stresses may vary. Say Cheese and Bo Peep are surely iambs. Meter, miter, trochee, spondee, let's call the whole thing off! This last year I got out of the habit of reading poetry regularly, but decided one of the ways I'd try to make 2025 palatable is to read a few poems each evening. I started yesterday with Ted Kooser, an old favorite for his contagious delight in the minute particulars. Here's the title poem from his 2014 collection: Splitting an Order I like to watch an old man cutting a sandwich in half, maybe an ordinary cold roast beef on whole wheat bread, no pickles or onion, keeping his shaky hands steady by placing his forearms firm on the edge of the table and using both hands, the left to hold the sandwich in place, and the right to cut it surely, corner to corner, observing his progress through glasses that moments before he wiped with his napkin, and then to see him lift half onto the extra plate that he asked the server to bring, and then to wait, offering the plate to his wife while she slowly unrolls her napkin and places her spoon, her knife, and her fork in their proper places, then smooths the starched white napkin over her knees and meets his eyes and holds out both old hands to him.
@john ezra Love the phrase “contagious delight in the minute particulars.” Sounds like a recipe for happiness - or at least contentment - to me. Thank you for sharing the lovely super evocative poem!
I should redo my backyard, but I'm kind of on the fence about it. (Don't deck me for this one.)
@Mike Don't be so defencive. We truss you to seder right things. Happy Friday!
Mike, If I had to choose just one pun of yours to protest, how would I picket?
@Mike I wish folks wouldn't picket your puns!
My Lola answer was immediately "I met her in a club down in old SOHO" but I guess my mind is Kinky that way. .
@Dvd I did the same ... and then I read the clue more carefully when SOHO didn't work.
@Dvd "a little brains, a little talent with an emphasis on the latter", and "whatever Lola wants, Lola gets". But the Lola at the COPA "lost her youth and she lost her Tony, now she's lost her mind."
A lot of clever, funny twists in this one, along with some just plain solid fills. Most solvers will not understand why I was so happy to see MOOG in the puzzle. For months I have been trying to use it, but it was never the right word (I'm sure there will be a deluge of people telling me how many thousands of times it has appeared in the past, but recently?). I have always loved it for its weirdness, not to mention the sounds it makes. There were so many clues that made me smile: "Small stretches" was a honey, "Words before someone finally snaps?" was just enough off that it took me a while to see it—there were so many that gave it some SPICE. A perfect way to end the week-day string of solving. Colin Adams, shall we call this one a birthday puzzle for all of us? Thank you. Clearly you are up to the Friday puzzle challenge— tough enough and full of wit and imagination. Another Friday would be nice, but any day you're back will be fine by me. I hope you are having a stellar birthday! 🎂
The spice must flow! And so does this puzzle, spiced, as it is, with references to the gym: curling and biceps, sinews and building mass, coil those fists, rev yourself up to get those fluids moving at a good rate, and with an equal sprinkle of Judeo-Christian references: apse, miter, Abel, holy mass, seder, sin & guilt, amen, possibly flash flood (though Noah would argue that 40 days and nights of rain is not precisely a flash flood)... Also enjoyed the potential dialogue this one evokes: Prank Caller: [Ring Ring!] Me: Hello? Hello? Who goes there? Prank Caller: [in a scary whisper] S_cks to be you... Me: Huh? What do you want? Don't leave! Prank Caller: [in a scary whisper] Say cheese...
@john ezra -- To your Judeo-Christian list, you can add REV and MITER. Regarding FLASH FLOOD, it's still a little too soon for that term around these parts.
Is it true!? Is Will Shortz back?!! You've been missed Mr. Shortz.
@LisaK Maybe that's why we had the double ZZ in 22D! Good catch Lisa K. Welcome back Will. Looks like he's been back all week.
@LisaK Yes! <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/29/crosswords/editors-note-guess-whos-back-back-again.html" target="_blank">https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/29/crosswords/editors-note-guess-whos-back-back-again.html</a>
OK, Fellow Wordplayers, it's 2025, a new year! Time to put aside the GUILT and head back to your respective GYMS! Whether you're looking to bulk up your MASS, or prefer the shredded look, with every muscle and SINEW defined, time to REV yourself up, go ALL IN, and attack it like a Tokugawa ERA SAMURAI! No excuses! Let neither SNOWY white-out blizzard nor FLASH FLOOD keep you away! But first, a few tips: 1) It's a gym, not a SPA--don't PERCH on that incline bench whilst you check your social media--other people are waiting to use it! 2) Speaking of social media--in that swolfie you're about to snap (SAY CHEESE!), you will look hotter, more defined when UPLIT--now that's JPG worthy of Insta! 3) Always remember to TARE the scale before you weigh yourself, unless your goal *is* to bulk--everyone FIBS about their weight; it's no great SIN one needs to make AMENDs for! 4) Speaking of SINS--remember to do you LAUNDRY regularly--no one wants you smelling like a flock of crop-destroying EMUS! 5) Some exercises can be less dangerous, and more productive if done with a spotter, A DUE. Just make sure they're reliable, and won't leave you stranded mid-set gasping "DON'T LEAVE me!" 6) That gorilla with the 18"guns doing preacher-curls--I dare you to go up to him and say "technically, the plural is bicipites."--I just *dare you! Oh wait, you just did--well, SUCKS TO BE YOU.
@Bill Of course, music is a great motivator whilst working out (gone are the days when hard rock or techno ECHOED across the workout floor--now everyone uses ear-buds, and the gym is quiet as a Gothic APSE). But what to listen to? Of course, AC/DC is always good: how about a cover of "Thunderstruck," done on MOOGS (<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qup5iM1P0hU" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qup5iM1P0hU</a>)? Or "Santa Fe," sung by TOM COLLINS in Act I of *Rent*, performed by the MARINE CORPS Marching Band (<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KwmTGhsL6IU" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KwmTGhsL6IU</a>)? Or anything by Rita ORA? Or even something by Barry Manilow, if it will get you off the FENCE and moving! That old codger with the too-tight tank-top, and the short-shorts pulled way too high up his LOINs--if only you could UNSEE him! (Oh wait, that's me . . .) AMEN
@Bill 7) Do not count out loud. Imagine the cacophony if everyone did that.
@Bill Me (age 75) and my husband (77) do a boxing class every morning. It's really good for his Parkinsons Disease -- or rather good for keeping it at bay. The classes before and after ours are full of young people and the music is loud and racous. For us they put on Beach Boys, or Stones or Beatles. Great fun! This morning we started dancing between rounds.
I am a gullible and trusting person, and as a result, misdirecting clues often fool me. But over time they’ve fooled me less and less. While filling in the box, I’ve grown more cynical and suspicious. Today this helped me slap in FIBS for [Small stretches, perhaps], and LAUNDRY for [Heaps of dressing?]. So, yay for that! But Colin still got me for far too long with [Words before someone finally snaps]. Small steps. Funny moment: For the photo op between two opposing players, for a bit I had myself believing KELSEY SWAP was a thing. That southeast quadrant shimmers with pop, with three NYT answer debuts (PRANK CALL, PRECISELY, JERSEY SWAP) – (I’m amazed that the first two have never previously appeared in the Times puzzle) – and two answers used only once before (PLOT POINTS, SUCKS TO BE YOU). A sextet of lovely homophone-able answers: GUILT, PRIZE, ABEL, TARE, KAMA, APSE. And a terrific riddle clue in [Items harmed when they’re scratched, but not when they’re burned]. With a mix of splat-fills and fits-and-starts – and I love both – this had lots of SPICE for me, Colin. Thank you for a sweet first Friday of the year!
@Lewis If the WNBA Las Vegas Aces (Plum) played the Indiana Fever (Mitchell), you could have a KELSEY SWAP. (Totally out of my wheel-house--pure Google.)
NYT: The clue for 12D was overly precise and arcane and wrong. Days of a Jewish calendar start the evening before, and the SEDER takes place on 15 Nisan, not before 15 Nisan. This clue may have come about from a misreading of a Jewish calendar, where the date appears for the daytime and not the evening before, but it's understood that the day begins at dusk the night before. Here's Wikipedia: "The Passover begins on the 15th day of the month of Nisan, which at present falls between March 26 and April 25 of the Gregorian calendar. ... The 15th day begins in the evening, after the 14th day, and the seder meal is eaten that evening."
@Lois I came to say this! I was like "this is definitely what they meant, but it's also definitely not right"
@Lois I noticed it too last night, but by the time I was done with the puzzle, I had forgotten to comment. (Last night, my wife looked at our electric menorah in the window, still fully lit, and exclaimed, "It's not Hanukkah anymore!" and put it away. Same reason.) Note that the first night of Passover "...at present falls between March 26 and April 25 of the Gregorian calendar" because the Hebrew calendar didn't have a slight modification like the secular calendar did with the Gregorian changes, and in a few more decades, Passover will occasionally end in May. Notwithstanding the validity of Lois's correction, my family has indeed had a few SEDERs that took place wholly or at least mostly before the 15th of Nissan began. When small kids were present, it was more important to wrap up at a decent bedtime, and it gets dark late in late April. But you're not supposed to start before sundown.
Funny image: “Basis of some admissions”: At the entrance to the concert arena, there’s a sort of confessional booth. Instead of paying for a ticket, you submit GUILT of a certain size in order to be admitted.
@Cat Lady Margaret Gelt will work too.
@Cat Lady Margaret I love this! 😄 If only I could pay for airline tickets the same way. I would have frequent flyer miles from all the GUILT trips my mother has sent me on! 😂
@Cat Lady Margaret As a long time professor, I thought "admissions" referred to college, and I had confidently put in MERIT. It stayed there for quite a while, before I saw the error of my ways.
Favourite clue: Words before someone finally snaps. I have yet to break one hour for an end of the week puzzle, but today was close.
@Harri That was my favourite too - made me laugh when I got it!
[Challenge to an intruder] — or the English translation of “Quo Vadis,” the title of one of Nobel Prize winner Henryk Sienkiewicz’s bestselling novels. So goes 3am, insomniac free-associating. Fun and spunky, this solved very smoothly for me until the crossing of FIBS and FaSTS. If you’ve never seen Dune, SPaCE as a sought-after commodity is a perfectly reasonable guess, one you forget was a guess when you’re flyspecking your acrosses…
@Sam Lyons All this time we thought you were a Bene Gesserit making stops here on Earth. From Wikipedia: "the Bene Gesserit is described as an exclusive sisterhood whose members train their bodies and minds through years of physical and mental conditioning to obtain superhuman powers and abilities that seem magical to outsiders" Part of the conditioning involves heavy use of the drug "melange" which most characters here and in the books call "spice". It is produced only by the gigantic sand worms on the desert planet of Arrakis. If you do read Dune you will find yourself becoming very conscious of your water usage. The article is an exhaustive TL;DR treatment following the Order through all of the novels,films, and sequels so I won't give a link here. It's easy to find but it is intended for readers who are familiar with Dune lore.
@Sam Lyons I never thought I'd see Sienkiewicz's name in this comment board. You made my day! "Quo Vadis" is one of his worst books btw, full of some of his most shallowly constructed characters (the Christians are so terribly one-dimensional... The slightly debauched pagan Petronius is the only person in that book with any sort of depth. In the Polish movie adaptation of the book - a very bad film otherwise - he was played to surprisingly great effect by the aging action hero Bogusław Linda). Sienkiewicz's other historical novels - the 17th century trilogy of "Ogniem i mieczem", "Potop" and "Pan Wołodyjowski", and the 15th century "Krzyżacy" - are much better and played an important role in defining Polish national identity in the late 19th century. He created some of our most beloved literary characters, like the sly yet bumbling Onufry Zagłoba, the gentle giant Podbipięta, the master swordsman Michał Wołodyjowski and the conflicted hero/villain Andrzej Kmicic. Does the last name look familiar? I'm named after him 🤣. Sienkiewicz had a singular writing style - blending modern and historical Polish - which I have always really liked. I can actually imitate it quite well: ask me to switch into Sienkiewicz mode and I'll instantly produce prose indistinguishable from his.
@Sam Lyons Never read or seen Dune, so I thought WATER would be a reasonable guess for a desert planet. The fact that not a single letter coincides with the credited response did slow me up a bit (insert compulsory crab about BICEP).
I maintain that the singular of biceps is biceps. It's the "two-heads" muscle. Also, the BICEPS would be a "Curl target", but I'll take it..... The curling target is the HOUSE.
@mjengling. I had the B in Bopeep so the curling target was the Broom!
Happy birthday Colin! Feeling a bit like you’re GUILTing us solvers to be more physically active with this one- GYM LOSE SINEW BICEP FENCE FIST JERSEYSWAP LUTZ MASS and I’ll even toss in SAMURAI! Lovely Friday. Thank you and enjoy your day! 🎂
@CCNY PRECISELY. That's what stood out to me, the preponderance of gym and sports words. I've never heard of a JERSEY SWAP, so that southeast corner was the last to be resolved. Some phrases seemed very American, probably tough for our international solvers. Like SAY CHEESE, WHO GOES THERE, SUCKS TO BE YOU, PRANK CALL. Even the UPLIT face of someone telling scary stories around a campfire, that strikes me as a cliche from American TV and film. Overall, a nice chewy Friday puzzle, thanks Colin. I'll nap this AFT.
I absolutely loved 23A and thought it was very clever! I’m still a novice puzzler that has only recently tried my hand at Friday puzzles, but I loved this one and the not-so-obvious answers to many clues
@Kate J I liked that one too! At first I thought Heaps was a veiled proper noun and wondered if there was a fashion designer with the last name Heaps. When the real answer became obvious from the crosses, I laughed out loud. Congrats on getting to Friday solves! I started doing late week puzzles a little over a year ago and it is thanks to this column and community that I am now able to solve every day of the week. I hope you enjoy your crossword journey!
I enjoyed the puzzle. I thought the level of misdirection was just right for a Friday. I just needed to look up several proper names. AFTS... Is this something any living person ever uses or it is it pure crosswordese? I remember somebody once telling me here such abbreviations were traditionally used in calendar notes. Is this the case here, too? Usually the answer to a clue about nap time is PMS, but today that would not fit. I know I'm repeating myself but the ubiquitous abbreviations are one of the biggest differences between American English and Polish. We do use some abbreviations, of course, but they are much less numerous than in the US.
@Andrzej I have never used or seen afts as this sort of abbreviation. Rear of boats - yes - afternoon naps- no.
@Andrzej I'm guessing I might be a little older than Min; AFTS as an abbreviation for "afternoons" was very common in the days before the internet when people looked for a job (or a house or an "apt.") in the newspaper. These "want ads" cost the buyer by the line, so everything was abbreviated. If someone was needed for just the afternoon shift, you might well find AFTS in the ad: AFTS only. AFTS and weekends. You get the drift. You don't see it much anymore, but it's definitely a thing.
At a recent holiday (large) family get-together, I saw what happens when you [Give juice to] a bunch of under-5-year-old girl cousins who most of the year are restricted to largely sugar-free liquids. Rev? Yeah - with power and frequency. Deified Moly, this was a fast Friday puzzle!
This puzzle's clever clues and answers scratched my brain in just the right way this morning. Might be one of my favorite themeless puzzles I've ever completed. Seriously 10/10 job all around, thank you very much for such a fun Friday puzzle!
Did anyone else almost get stuck by filling in "crankcall" instead of PRANKCALL? The former was by far the more common term when I was growing up (1970s).
@JGinDC Growing up in the ‘80s and ‘90s, it was always “prank call” locally, but often “crank call” in media.
@JGinDC I always heard “prank” growing up in Colorado in the 80s, but changed it to “crank” thinking of the vulgar and wrong (yet sometimes hilarious) tv show “Crank Yankers”. Only to discover I was right the first time.
@JGinDC I also had cRANKCALL, and was trying to figure out how to parse that cRECISELY. Especialy since it went down, it took me awhile....
Out of curiosity, how many AFT naps do you think are acceptable on a Friday afternoon? I've already had one but I'm sure hankering for another.... 2025 has been exhausting already! And if multiple AFT naps are wrong, I don't wanna be right!!
HeathieJ, Let’s not just moralize or guess about such things. This is a question that needs rigorous, first-person research. And not only on Fridays - to ensure an unbiased control. Let the double-blind (or at least, both eyes closed) testing begin!
Nice puzzle. Typical Friday workout for me and had to cheat a bit just to get going, but then had an enjoyable time working the crosses and pondering until something finally dawned on me. Some very different puzzle finds today. I'll put those in replies. ....
@Rich in Atlanta As threatened: First - a Thursday from July 7, 2011 by Caleb Rasmussen. Hard to describe this one. The 'reveal' clue and answer: "Traffic sign literally violated 12 times in this puzzle" NOUTURN Except that in the puzzle grid that was actually appeared with some turns and connections. More or less like this: NOU ___T__ ___URN And then all the other theme answers 'turned' at the U. e.g. ____R ____E ____C SHOUR ____L ____D ____E ____R So that the implied answers were: RECUR and SHOULDER Several others. Here's the Xword info link: <a href="https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=7/7/2011" target="_blank">https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=7/7/2011</a> One more puzzle in another reply. ....
Don’t you just love it when you’re in the constructor’s wheelhouse? It happens so rarely for me, but today’s offering put me right in Mr Adam’s mindset. It felt playful, with AC/DC and Lola’s COPA setting the background music (who’d put those together??) Woody’s crush brought back memories of me and the kids at the cinema. ARUBA was one of the stops on our cruise last November, we had a great day with our lovely taxi driver. He took us to a rock garden on one of the stops. Sounded dull but was incredible. The rocks were actually huge boulders, shaped by the wind into gravity defying structures. That and the butterfly farm were the highlights. A French 75 is a favourite cocktail, up there with a dirty gin martini. Happy Birthday Mr Adams. Have a lovely day and thank you for setting me up for a good one too (despite the detox headache).
Fun grid, but I may have to throw in with the "too easy" crowd this week. Set a new PB for a Friday, and by several minutes. Maybe I was just on the constructor's wavelength, but it felt more like a Wednesday level of difficulty.
I found this one to be right in my wheelhouse, except for a small section in the bottom middle. I fell for the curling target misdirection and never read Dune and thus didn’t know about SPICE. Getting FISTS unblocked that mini logjam and allowed me to finish in a decent (for me) time. I served French 75s for a New Year’s Eve toast, so that clue resonated with me. Although I do love a refreshing TOMCOLLINS in the summer (made with good gin, fresh squeezed lemon juice, club soda, and a dash of simple syrup), I had never made the connection that a French 75 is basically the same drink but with champagne instead of club soda. I shun any Tom Collins made with lemon lime soda. Cheers.
I enjoyed this puzzle and its cluing, but it went more quickly for me than I would expect from a Friday -- did anyone else think this was more of a Wednesday puzzle??
@Classic Hip-Hop Fan one third faster than my average for me…. Got slowed down in the lower left or it would have been closer to a PB for Friday…
@Classic Hip-Hop Fan Xwordstats.com calls it Easy, with the median solver 26% faster than average. Of course, that stat can change as more people solve throughout the day. Median solve time is 11:05 at the moment. (New solvers, don't despair; most of the solvers signed in there are the experienced ones.)
@Classic Hip-Hop Fan -- Super easy. I did it in under eight minutes, and I think that's waaaaaaay too fast for a Friday.
Today, as is usual on Fridays, the New Yorker offers a Mini crossword only. Today's, though, is quite unusual: <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/puzzles-and-games-dept/mini-crossword/2025/01/03" target="_blank">https://www.newyorker.com/puzzles-and-games-dept/mini-crossword/2025/01/03</a>
@Steve L That was fun. The rebus clues worked surprisingly well. Thank you for the link 🙂
Steve L, I think that may have been my first New Yorker puzzle. Fun. That 1D clue seems as vague as my knowledge of economics, and just reinforces that I know enough to get by.
@Steve L thank you for sharing that! Was cute. I hadn’t done the New Yorker before. I love the Partner Mode to solve with a friend!
@Steve L That puzzle used a different part of the brain :) Thanks for the link.
I was on pace until I went SPLAT in the SE corner. I was ALL IN on JERSEY SnaPS, not on the FENCE. Just couldn’t UNSEE it! Excellent puzzle — though I remain baffled by 48D (PROM).
@RIch Garella I think it might be how some kids ask someone to prom...involving some social media staging, perhaps, with a sign held up?
Happy birthday to the constructor!! That’s fun timing
Started badly by putting freak storm for 14A, but the ubiquitous 'F1 neighbor' soon showed me the error of my ways! I enjoyed this puzzle - had to look a couple of things up but never reached the 'give up for now and come back to it later' stage, which I often do on the harder puzzles. Nice start to the day.
@Puzzled Brit I had a similar poor start with pop up storm, a popular usage here which didn’t seem to exist in my youth, much like lake effect snow. Of course that could just be my misconception. I also liked this puzzle a lot. It went smoothly for me and I enjoyed the wordplay. I hate to use “too easy” to describe a puzzle. Some are harder than others for me, and I would guess, a lot of people.
Happy Birthday, Colin! What a wonderful puzzle! I loved the clues at 13D (especially since this Midwest girl moved to the South and misses the snow - though we may get some next week!🤞), 20A, and 27A. I managed to solve it 5 minutes below my average with only one lookup (SPICE), having never read the book or seen the movie. And, I have my first ever 6-day streak going! Whoo-hoo! (Spare me the berating for counting a streak with lookups. I’m still a beginning solver moving toward intermediate.)
@Cherry The SPICE must flow, and we must all start somewhere. Don't fret about lookups; I never do!
I had SUChaTragedy for such a long time, even though I couldn't reconcile it with UNSEE. But SUCKSTOBEYOU is fair enough, and funnier. Solid Friday puzzle. Keep them coming, Colin.
@Esmerelda I fielded some "sympathy" calls from my sister, hearing, "OH, POOR, POOR YOU" and "IT'S NOT SUPPOSED TO HURT." Neither one quite fit, then or now. (Changed her tune when she was the patient, hah.)
Just noticed that Will Schortz has returned as the editor. Welcome back! Happy New Year!
UPLIT for 34A I guess only makes sense if you’ve pointed a flashlight up under your chin while telling that spooky campfire story. Definitely looks scary as a kid.
@Sam Yes, that's exactly what the clue was trying to evoke.
@Sam The light from the fire comes from below, eh?
This one moved at a pretty quick pace for me, until I hit a few sticky spots— especially the SW corner. I was also very confident that 30A was cRANKCALL, which meant I could make no sense of 30D until nearly every cross was filled in. D’oh! While I have no issue with AFTS anchoring the NE corner, I wasn’t crazy about the clueing for it. Maybe something like “alternative to fores” or simply “ship backs” would have seemed a bit less clunky?
@Heidi As a child, I also called it a crank call, and since learning prank call some years later, always wondered if it was a regionalism (I grew up in NY, hour or so north of NYC) or if I was always mistaken.
Happy birthday Colin! Great puzzle, I had so many favorite clues and was smiling frequently as I filled in. MLike Deb I started out a bit slow but eventually hit my stride. Favourites today : AMEN LAUNDRY PRECISELY SAY CHEESE FIBS JERSEY SWAP GYMS CDS SNOWY SUCKS TO BE YOU FRESH FISTS 57A TARE was a bit puzzling tho, can someone explain? Initially thought it was TIED but didn’t work. TIA!
@Nina Tare is that button you press on a scale to turn it back to zero even after something is on it. Like on a kitchen scale after you put the bowl on the scale but before you put the flour in the bowl. You press tare and then add the flour to see the weight of the flour without the bowl.
@Justin thanks so much, I didn’t know this! 🤩
@Nina just noted Isaac was the column writer today, oops! Hi Isaac! 🙏😊
Happy birthday, Colin! This went by quickly, but had a lot of nice fill. It's funny how things get in your brain, and you have no idea how you know them. With almost no crosses, JERSEY SWAP went in. Even as I was writing it, I was thinking it probably wasn't correct because I don't recall ever seeing it or hearing about it. It was just living in a dusty corner of my brain waiting for today.
@Nancy J. Around here, I think they tried that once, but no one wanted to take Jersey.
@Nancy J. The JERSEY SWAP is a soccer thing, mostly in Europe, between two opponents who played hard against each other all game.
Happy Birthday! This was a delightful puzzle and I worked through it surprisingly quickly for a Friday. I must think the same way as Colin.
Hi! The answer "SEDER" is actually a meal _on_ the 15th of Nisan, not before, since the calendar day changes over at nighttime. Please update the clue to reflect this. Thanks for all your hard work!
Man, the worst thing about playing this game as an expat is how often bad American spelling stumps me. In this puzzle, it should be "mitre" not "miter". I also never get "odor" or "labor" when they're clued.
@Jacob Black It has been occasionally clued as [Headgear for the Archbishop of Canterbury], or similar, requiring the English spelling. This stumps even Canadians: <a href="https://www.noslangues-ourlanguages.gc.ca/en/quiz/canadian-spelling-pretty-tricky-eng" target="_blank">https://www.noslangues-ourlanguages.gc.ca/en/quiz/canadian-spelling-pretty-tricky-eng</a>
@Jacob Black You misspelled "different"
@Jacob Black I often forget which spelling is British and which is American. For that reason today I only entered MIT__ and waited for crossed to get the order of the remaining two letters 🤣. I do the same with ocher/ochre.
@Jacob Black In America we use the American spelling... nothing wrong with that :)
@Jacob Black Funny, my guess is that the constructor himself may be British, which might help explain the otherwise poor clues of Tom Collins, "prank" calls, and "jersey swap". All not American. ____________________ Jesse Goldberg 8/28/2024 for Puzzle of the Decade (emu filler)
@Jacob Black What gets me is ocher/ochre. I simply cannot stomach the American spelling, even though I am an American. For some reason "ocher" just triggers me.
@Jacob Black [Removes name from invitation list.] Whew! That was a close one! Everyone ELSE I met in Toronto was so very pleasant! But then, HE's not Canadian.
@Jacob Black Do you also misspell gray up there (kidding!).
@Andrzej I'm a native Californian, and still have the same issue with MIT__ and OCH__. And some places around here think we go to the Theatre!
PRANKCALL took me back to my (much) younger days. "Excuse me, sir, is your refrigerator running? Well run after it! You wouldn't want it to leave the house now would you?" And after completing the puzzle, I looked up TOMCOLLINS - sounds like it would be delicious made with Champagne! Happy Birthday to Colin, and thanks for a nice Friday puzzle.
It's been a long time since I've had a TOM COLLINS, probably because Canada Dry discontinued that mixer. I could probably build one from scratch, but I'm a bit leery about putting raw egg whites in anything right now. I'd never heard of a drink called a French 75, but perhaps it's named after the WWI artillery piece? One more thing: GYM and LAUNDRY, but no tanning? Coulda had the Jersey Shore trifecta, but that show's been off the air for a while now.
@Grant I suppose they made a JERSEYSWAP for a better show.
Two big early mistakes made this a slow solve. First of all, I had the first L from FLASH FLOOD, and wanted the fearless casino bettor to be FLUSH, rather than ALL IN. If you don't have a lot of money, how can you be fearless in a casino, much less go ALL IN? But I guess that's just me. I've never forgotten my two forays into the casino world at a young, impressionable age -- one on the Vegas strip and maybe five years later one in that big casino in Monte Carlo. The bettors in Vegas, even when they only had $50 on the table, were sweaty and FLUSHed and beyond angsty. They bet as though their futures depended on that bet -- and looking at them, I guessed that in some cases it might have. The well-heeled, well-dressed bettors in Monte Carlo might have had $1,000 on the table (this was the 1960s and that was real money back then) looked bored and blase. They could well afford to lose it. My other mistake, though I didn't write any more in than SUCh was the dismissive "that's rather unfortunate response. I had SUC, I needed a T for TRUSS, and SUCH A TRAGEDY fit perfectly. Who would have guessed that the much, much nastier SUCKS TO BE YOU was the answer. (To be continued below)
(Continued... Take that, you length-monitoring emus, you!) Does anyone know people who say things like that to them??? If someone said that to me, I not only wouldn't be willing to have them as a friend or even a casual acquaintance. I wouldn't even be willing to have them as an enemy. What gratuitous snark. And because we can't UNSEE it, I don't think the NYT should be giving a phrase like this the time of day. Some good clues and some colorful fill like the unknown-to-me JERSEY SWAP. But once again, too much pop culture. Why clue SPICE that way if you don't have to?
@Nancy There is a legend in my family that my maternal grandmother's grandfather, a minor noble from Wielkopolska (western region of Poland, at the time - in the final decades of the 19th century - under Prussian/German rule) lost almost everything he had on a gambling trip to Monte Carlo. He managed to return home only to die of hypothermia on a nightime sled ride. We were never able to prove or disprove the story, but there are some indications it may actually be true.
Wow that felt way too easy for a Friday. I’m a horribly slow, plodding solver that has to pick up and put down the late week puzzles multiple times just to make a dent, but this one flew by almost effortlessly. This must be that “wavelength” thing y’all are always talking about.
Today was like a mullet of sorts: Friday on the top Wednesday on the bottom. I absolutely loved the LAUNDRY clue (Heaps of dressing?). And I loved how LOGICPUZZLE fit in overall. Seeing PNG out of context made JPG a surprise at 53 down when I got it from the crosses. Overall an enjoyable solve. Happy birthday Colin!
Well, this was a quick one… Started off with AC/DC as I had heard about the Power Tour, and then things started falling. Made some educated guesses, and only one had to be changed, so I got lucky. My solving pattern was basically down the left side and up the right, and I managed to decipher some of those wicked misdirects correctly as well. Happy Birthday!, Colin, and thanks.
Am I missing some hidden meaning in the answer SPLAT for [Bad sound to hear by a kitchen counter]? It just seems... not great.
@Gregg Ever have an egg roll off your kitchen counter and hit the floor?
@dutchiris Sure. I cook and bake all the time and I've had all kinds of mishaps. But this clue just felt very non-specific and, I guess, lazy. There's no witty or clever take on it. Just, SPLAT. It doesn't feel like a Friday clue to me.
@Jim I think I was pretty careful to indicate that this was my opinion and my personal emotional feeling about one particular clue, not a slander of the constructor. Ruminating on it more, I think my main problem is the use of the word "Bad" in the clue. I would have preferred a word like "Concerning" - and again, this is my personal opinion.
@Gregg "It just seems... not great." You mean, it sounds... bad?
Except for a small detour in the lower right this puzzle had the makings of a personal best! Oh well, still several minutes faster than average for a Friday….
I had a little bet going with myself that today’s column photo would feature the uplit face of a spooky storyteller. Missed opportunity. Not that there was much to the column today. I’m not an alcoholic but I would be interested in knowing more about a Tom Collins vs. a French 75. Guess I can Google that. But why bother reading the column at all? Sigh. I guess Deb is allowed some days off.
Not much SINEW needed but a fun solve nevertheless. Happy Birthday to our talented constructor. A few nits: Would not ARUBA be a constituency and not a constituent? Having trouble connecting PROM to the clue but I'm probably out of touch with adolescent angst. And, MITre just seems more elegant than MITER but that's just my angle on the subject. Lastly, I'm looking at [Swift developments?] on the cutting room floor and have trouble connecting to PLOT POINTS. A veiled capital? Well done and thanks.
@John Carson A dateless guy or gal looking for a taker.
@John Carson PROM crossed with SPICE was my last square. And despite Barb K's explanation, still unsure I understand.
@John Carson There's a thing nowadays called a prom-posal. A sometimes elaborate way to ask someone to the prom. Instead of, you know, just asking the person directly. One person holding a sign that says Prom? would be a prom-posal. They could be standing in front of someone's house or classroom or, perhaps, it would be posted on one of the various social media sites for the intended recipient to see. Seems like things that used to be ordinary and between a few people are now big visual things to be shared with the world! (Like gender reveals)