1 Across is terrible cluing. A lines judge never says "in" or "its in." The only words they ever say are "out" "fault" or "foot fault"
@Steven M. Sometimes line judges think out loud.
@Steven M. Fun fact I once read, I imagine it's still true; singles tennis has the highest judge/ump/ref to player ratio of any sport.
@Steven M. The clue is [Ruling from a tennis line judge]. It doesn’t say anything about a call made during play. This “ruling” might be made during a “discussion” (think McEnroe) after the ball goes by the complaining player.
@Steven M. I didn't like this clue either. I'd almost prefer it as "call from a rec tennis player" because it's something you'd say when making your own calls, not something a line judge at a tournament would say. I suppose possibly the chair umpire at Roland Garros might say it when inspecting the clay mark but not the line judge. Ah well, pedantic.
Hi @Bill in Yokohama This may have been true at one point, but now (at least at the major tournaments) line judges have been replaced with cameras and software that call all lines. So, now there are fewer people on court to call the match (1 chair umpire for 2 singles players) than playing.
Seems 60A is a stretch: flyer the much more common spelling for handbill vs. flier. Could have clued "flier" many other ways, or used the well known singer Mya as clue for the down, leaving "handbill" in place as the clue for "flyer".
@L.S. The AP Stylebook would agree with you. “Taking a flier” for the Associated Press means “to take a big risk.” Not a handbill.
It may "usually" be a Y for this meaning, but the I is also accepted, and most solvers would be expected to know how to spell [Hamm of soccer fame]. <a href="https://merriam-webster.com/dictionary/flier" target="_blank">https://merriam-webster.com/dictionary/flier</a>
It is news to me that baby goats can only pronounce M’s and don’t develop the ability to form the B sound until the third year.
@Sara I completely agree Sara. Ridiculous.
@Sara perhaps oddly, and certainly to my amusement, farmers or crossword constructors or both seem to have decided that goats say MAA while sheep say BAA. I have spent a bit of time around both species and whenever this comes up I try to recall whether there was a noticeable difference in their sounds that might be particularly well represented by the B vs. M distinction. So far, I haven't straightened it out in my brain, but I accept it as true for puzzling purposes!
Enjoyable! My time was longer because I kept dozing off. I also got stuck on WORLDBEATER (🙄🙄🙄) and MAA (again). I guess my children are still *kids* because I hear MAA all the time. Would that make me the G.O.A.T.? (insert groan here). Hey, ITOOKASHOTAT it! Crossword puzzles always have at least one eerie clue. Today’s “weird to see that” is DRANO. We have a clogged kitchen sink that we just can’t clear. The Liquid Plumber equivalents here in Portugal are not working. Hubby took apart pipes, and even used the snake (or “cobra” in Portuguese 🐍). It’s still backing up. I’m guessing one more week until he calls a plumber to finally GETITDONE. Bom dia
The Harry Potter theme today warmed my little nerd heart ❤️ This was a lot of fun, and felt perfectly Tuesdayish. Thought for the day.... If we destroyed all the art, literature, or music whose creators had questionable actions, thoughts, or comments, we would hardly have any culture left to speak of.
@Janine Regarding your thought for the day: My record collection would take a huge hit.
@Janine Why are all our heroes so imperfect? <a href="https://youtube.com/watch?v=xlsAdYjUzI4" target="_blank">https://youtube.com/watch?v=xlsAdYjUzI4</a> Jill Sobule. May be the best songwriter you never heard of.
@Janine Literally no one in this thread is saying we need to destroy HP. For me, the reaction ended at a groan and sigh
@Janine "Questionable" is doing a lot of heavy lifting, what you mean is "influencing a country's politics in a lot of life-destroying ways"
Alas, Harry Potter forever tainted by the author being the cheerleader-in-chief for stoking anti-trans hysteria (perhaps second only to the future commander-in-chief). At least solving this didn’t put any more money in her pockets.
I spent several minutes poring over a completed puzzle wondering where I’d gone wrong only to discover that FLIER, the less-common spelling of “flyer”, was to blame. The cross-clue was not helpful for me to distinguish between the two, as sports trivia is far from my forte—and “Mya” and “Mia” are both valid names. Not commenting to protest the puzzle or anything; just here to gripe a bit!
MRR, Sports may not be your forte, but MIA Hamm is a fact, not trivia.
@MRR MIA Hamm is hardly obscure. She is to women's soccer what Gretzky is to hockey, to put it in Canuck speak.
I had Tims instead of Toms and was struggling as to why there was a rude word in 26D
@Drew Thanks for the best laugh I've had in days!
@Drew I had Took A STAB At in 26D so my rude word was at 51A. And since Hardy/Petty didn’t ring a bell, I just assumed they were TAMS.
@Drew Then it might’ve been clued as [Vengeful movement taken when suffering from a lower intestinal disorder]. Thanks for the laugh! 😂
Oh, I the gyrations I went through trying to suss the revealer after leaving it blank and not looking at its clue, just the kind of gyrations my brain hungers for. I got nowhere, nor would I have come any closer had I permutated through infinity, because I know nothing of QUIDDICH besides its name. No matter. It was brainstorm heaven. Lance Enfinger has range, following his debut Saturday – a puzzle about which I waxed rhapsodic, even for me! – with an early-week offering. I found a lot to like today as well: • That FLAKE fallen to the ground, with a neighboring BRR. • Three very worthy debut answers (and debut answers aren’t automatically worthy) – ATTENTION SEEKER, TOOK A SHOT AT, and STORM CHASER. • A lovely TIL in SIT SKI. • The SAT down and backward LEG up. • A magnificent abutting PuzzPair© of KIM CHI and IT’S HOT. • The answer that touched this Jeopardy addict’s heart. All in all, a splendid outing, Lance, once again. Thank you so much for making this!
I'm not into Harry Potter so I was quite surprised to get the theme - or rather the revealer, as the themed answers I simply solved from their individual clues. There also seemed to be quite a lot of trivia for Tuesday, but I knew most of it - also rather unexpectedly. My wife and I visited the Craters of the Moon in 2013 on our way from Oregon to the Tetons so it was a gimme 🙂
GEL was a great one. HP hit the bittersweet space in time when my boys were voracious readers, but had *just* grown out of wanting me to read to them as they snuggled in bed. Ronald Dahl, The Black Stallion, Ramona the Brave… I loved those cozy evenings so very much. Nicely done, Lance and Rylan!
A tennis line judge has bever said "it's in". A horrible first clue especially when the only thing a tennis line judge does actually say, "fault", is also 5 letters. MAA and AHAS are the worst type of answer. Also personally hated the harry potter theme but that one's subjective
Perfect Tuesday, and I certainly can’t be upset with a Harry Potter theme. Although I’m waiting for the JK Rowland haters to come out in force.
@SP This is not a suitable forum for our hate. Sorry to disappoint.
@SP I am opposed to all cultural flotsam in these puzzles (e.g. HP, Star Wars, one-hit TV/ music/rap wonders) but in particular those that give recognition to those who marginalize groups of well-meaning fellow brothers and sisters (so I would include e.g. Roald Dahl as well).
Cricky (clever + tricky)? Frunchy (fun + crunchy)? Whatever you all it, call it a good Tuesday. I confess that the theme never occurred to me, even though I got QUIDDITCH easily. But the fact that the theme wasn’t needed, just there for potential support, is part of what makes it a good Tuesday puzzle (IMO). And I will never stop admiring the amazing fictional world of the Harry Potter series, no matter what I may think of its creator. Sometimes, art overcomes its origins.
@Heidi Cricky and frunchy are so far top contenders!
@Heidi I'm a fan of - Frunchy! No question on pronunciation. I only saw the first HP movie. It was in a live theater venue with the background music player by the RI Philharmonic Orchestra. Great way to see a movie! For some reason, I didn't enjoy it. So, I never saw any more of them (nor read any of the books). I do like the books she wrote under a male pen name (Robert Gilbraithe - I think). I enjoyed the puzzle even though I didn't know the positions noted in the themer. Frunchy!
@Heidi Totes adding frunchy and cricky to my vocabs. Note to all- CC is lit. At least in one way…
WHAT A TREAT to have such an artful dodger of a puzzle on a Tuesday. I was ready to strangle my laptop when "key" absolutely refused to be the lock locker, then when I TOOK A Stab AT 23D, I was stymied once again. The fills were so fresh (even the OREO had a little crunch left in it) that the whole puzzle was fun, start to finish. What a delightful family you must have, Mr. Enfinger, and good for you that you are showing them the joy of word work. Thank you for this one.
“I’ll take 30D for $100” Board reveals CANADA *buzzer* “What is Birthplace of Alex Trebek” That’s correct for the win! (And a lot of other really great people)
@Wark Board says: The 51st State for $1,000,000,000,000. Answer: What is the birthplace of Alex Trebek?
Glad to see my chewy solve experience was shared by most. Tuesdays do seem to be getting tougher. As an HP obsessed family QUIDDITCH and its associated positions was a total gimme, appreciated all the more as so much of the surrounding fill was a head scratcher. I do have an issue with 1A (I see I’m not alone). In over 50 years of watching Wimbledon, not once have I ever heard ITS IN by a line judge. Just no. The Jeopardy presenter needed the crosses to complete the surname. ALEX I remembered, the rest I did not, never having seen the programme. Love the misdirect for GEL. I can’t think of a better term for this than bracing; like a walk on the beach in a Force niner. A lovely feeling of achievement once it’s over.
@Helen Wright Totally agree about 1A. I love watching the tennis majors and I have never once heard a line judge say, ITS IN. Don’t they usually only yell OUT? It would be super distracting to everyone if they called ITS IN during a long rally! 🤦♀️
@Helen Wright Why do you Brits insist on adding an extra "m" & "e" to program?
I shot myself in the foot right from 1A. I figured "5 letters? Must be fault." That started me on the road to disaster. When the crosses didn't fit I had to just wipe out the northwest corner and start over. Fun grid overall though. Nicely contrived!
Great puzzle! 10 points to Lance Enfinger!!
"She was afraid to come out of the water. She was so nervous someone would see...." Thanks for a fun flashback and a silly song bouncing around in my head. Thanks for the puzzle and the smile and the memories.
@Min -- " ... two three four, tell the people what she wore" ..
38D is a very timely clue - today is the 125th anniversary of thr opera’s debut in Rome
I would have solved this puzzle quicker if I hadn't been chased by a rogue bludger. It nearly knocked me off my broom!
I do appreciate all the clever clues to OREO(S), but I also wish we could have at least a temporary moratorium on the word.
@Gill Oh, we did . . . for (I think) 4 days!
[Forgetting to plug the computer in, say] I.T. SIN I felt like I was playing Connections, staring at Keeper, Beater, Seeker and Chaser, knowing that they are the final set but not knowing why and not wanting to submit them until I figured it out. Alternate reindeer maybe? Finally had to solve the revealer. Oh well. I think there should have been a note with this puzzle, "The Harry Potter books are must reads before solving" so that we would know it was mandatory and not just a recommendation.
@ad absurdum [When all else fails, reboot.] I.T. SHOT
@ad absurdum P.S.- Come back next year to solve the puzzle after you’ve read all seven volumes and 3,407 pages. 🙂 There are worse ways to spend one’s time. Especially if you’re reading them with one or two of your offspring, snuggled together in bed.
Everything I know about Harry Potter I learned from the NY Times crossword. So as you can imagine, I've learned a lot.
Yes, it's hard to ignore the author's politics now, but I sure did enjoy the Potterverse in its heyday. It was exciting waiting in line to buy the new books, and to go to see the first midnight showing of the movies.
I lovely workout, although I missed the theme altogether. I adored the ALEXTREBEK clue/answer.
Nice Tuesday puzzle, with a solid theme (if you've spent anytime in the Potterverse, that is). Found QUIDDITCH crossing KIMCHI especially appealing, for some reason I still can't explain. Having just filled in ERSE at 27D, I read "28D Back end" and desperately hoped it would be "ARSE". "Labor day event" for BIRTH was very cute. Briefly missed the uncapitalized "d", and wondered if BARBQ was about to appear.
Right off the bat -- the 1A clue baffled this tennis player of some 40 years, A line judge doesn't call a ball in during a point, they make a hand gesture (palms down) so as not to disrupt the play. Thus, if asked after the point by the chair umpire, they would instead say "it WAS in". So many other ways for this to be clued, using tennis shows a lack of understanding of the professional game.
Was going a bit slowly until I got to the Harry Potter clue, and fortunately I remember enough HP lore that those long crosses immediately came together after that. Ended up just slightly under my average Tues time. Perfect (and definitely breezy) for a Tuesday, imo.
HP? There was nothing about Hewlett or Packard in this puzzle...
@Captain Haddock I couldn’t help but wonder if we had another marine biologist here, àla CQ, but now I see this refers to Captain Archibald from the work of Hergé. TIL the fish is named after the marlinspike, not vice versa. And see 5/23/2019, 54A [Popular European comic book hero], TINTIN. 🤗
Yeah, I vacuum behind the couch alt-weekly… a.k.a. every six months or so. (Don’t tell any one.) Smooth puzzle. Loved the very niche botanical theme: witch’s broom, which (true story) has always been a fascination of mine.
@JohnWM You're supposed to vacuum behind the couch?!
Decent enough, but did the cow eat the sheep?
@Heg Yes, that's where goats come from.
@Heg I've noticed that many of the animals in XWD land speak in different accents than I'm used to. Perhaps it's the editor's local vernacular. I remember when I was first learning French, in 4th grade, a teacher telling us that in France, dogs say "boo boo" instead of "bow wow." And here I thought they said "woof."
I guess it was inevitable that Harry Potter would take over the crosswords, too.... WORLD Domination! I TOOK A STAB AT 26D before getting SHOT... You don't see ALEC? TREBEC?'s name spelled out that often, do you? Easily corrected. Lance Enfinger....sounds painful! I ran my finger up on a very sharp pin yesterday; ow, ow, OW! Quilting can be dangerous to your health!
@Mean Old Lady Your interpretation of Alex Trebek reminds me of a quote from the Simpsons. The joke is that Homer's boss, Mr Burns, can never remember his name. Mr Burns is reminiscing about playing golf with Richard Nixon and he muses to his assistant "I wonder if this Homer Nixon is any relation". Smithers replies, "unlikely sir, they spell and pronounce their names differently". ;)
@Mean Old Lady I always get a chuckle from your comments!
Alex, I’ll take Harry Potter for $1000 - What is Gryffindor? Perfect Tuesday and I was definitely on the same wavelength as Lance. I did one pass of across clues and had it mostly filled in with only a few downs to finish it. Thank you, Lance for this perfect pick me up. 🦉
I’m taking issue with flier vs. flyer, but a fun one to solve, all the same.
I’d say ‘head off’ and never ‘head out’. That’s the thing with idiomatic English - it changes by the mile.
The Harry Potter connection went right over my head. The name of the game was vaguely familiar, but I just assumed it was a kid's (MAA) game I was unfamiliar with. I was surprised to see that ATTENTION SEEKER, STORM CHASER and TOOK A SHOT AT were debuts. All three are so much in the language.
This puzzle wasn’t a HIT for me. Much of it felt uninspired and the cluing was a bit clunky. I think the main issue is my own fault: I dislike Harry Potter. As a musician, it made me cringe to see it spelled as FLIER. I’ve never seen it spelled that way. Surely there was a better way to clue that word.
@Charles Nelson Reilly Unless you're an aviator, or a hockey fan from Philadelphia, US spelling is with an I. Wondering what being a musician has to with preferring Y?
@Seward Parker Huh, sure enough. I learned something there. Language is interesting.
What does the cow/sheep hybrid say? MAA!
@Tony Baloney this was super frustrating!
This is the second puzzle I have seen this in. C'mon it's either Baa (see "Babe") or Moo (see "Old MacDonald . . ."). Unless the barnyard is in another country perhaps?🤔🤭
I spent the summer on a dairy farm in the Sullivan County Catskills 65 years ago. I heard a lot of MOO bringing the cows in for milking. The farm also had a sheep that said BAA and a goat that said MAA. Maybe those were older animal languages or regional accents, but I remember them.
@Tony Baloney In some funny clips on youtube some goats actually cried “Help!…” in the woods that incurred concerned 911 call and real police dispatch for search and rescue.
Great puzzle, Lance! Loved the description of this puzzle as “brough.” Thanks for the new word, Sam!
If you’re looking for TOMS, you can’t do much better than Hardy and Petty!
@Joe P Cruise. Hanks. Selleck. Seaver. Brady. Jones.
@Joe P Could slow down solvers a bit with "Petty or cat"?
@Joe P Don't know Tom Hardy (not really into films, other than old ones), but I was a big fan of Tom Petty back in the day.
Misdirection to the max; it had me going around in circles! Such a puzzlement! Nice!
A Harry Potter themed puzzle? Really? Considering that Daniel Radcliffe is over 35 years old, this hardly seems timely. The "Crossword Stumper" featured today was on the word "Calvinball". That seemed appropriate, in that both Calvinball and QUIDDITCH are both imaginary games, fictional relics of another era. Personally, I prefer Calvinball.
@The X-Phile How is Daniel Radcliffe's age relevant at all?
@The X-Phile ??? The crossword also mentioned a 125-year-old opera, and Tom Petty, who has been dead for several years. I'm not sure I see the problem.
@The X-Phile Did thee have a problem with yesterday's theme? ;-)
Many commenters thought that last Tuesday’s puzzle was tougher than the average Tuesday. I think we may see some of the same again this week. My time, though not off by more than a couple of minutes, was definitely not a Tuesday time.
@Steve L I didn’t feel too tough, but my time ended up being way higher than my recent average. Nice change of pace.
@Steve L My time was about half of last week's and still longer than a usual Tuesday for me.
@Steve L I had a different experience—my time was well below my average Tuesday time today. But I benefited from the Harry Potter theme, which gave me the answers to the spanners very quickly. Will be interested to see how others find this puzzle!
@Steve L I thought last week’s Tuesday was easier than last Monday’s and sort of felt the same today. However, my time was faster than my average
@Steve L This took 60% of the time I needed last week, and felt Tuesday-ish, unlike that infamous grid.
@Steve L I thought this was quite easy and just right for Tuesday. I don't keep time but I probably finished a lot faster than normal. This had a decent theme but it was nothing like the difficulty (or cleverness) of last Tuesday. In my estimation. ____________________ Jesse Goldberg 8/28/2024 for Puzzle of the Decade (emu filler)
@Steve L I will say I did this one on my phone with the playoff game in the background, but since I had no stake in that game, I figured I would be able to tune it out for a few minutes while I solved. I don't know if that contributed to my relatively slow time, but xwordstats.com has it as a "Hard" puzzle, with the ratio of finished faster/finished slower than average at 46/54. My time was only a few seconds better than the given average. Of course, that site only monitors those who have signed up for it, and I assume most of their subscribers are seasoned solvers.
@Steve L scant seconds longer than my Tuesday average.
A crisp little Tuesday. I skipped the Northwest and came back to it last, at which point the theme helped me with KEEPER being the only remaining QUIDDITCH position I could think of. Rebuilding after Saturday’s drubbing. Thanks for the great puzzle, Lance Enfinger.
Interesting Tuesday solve. I'm not at all familiar with QUIDDITCH, so that and all the other theme answers had to be worked out from the crosses. And still managed to come in right around my average Tuesday time. First puzzle find today was kind of interesting. A Tuesday from April 5, 2005 by Harvey Estes. The first three theme answers were straightforwardly clued. Those answers: 20a. THISINSTANT 27a. THATGOODNIGHT 50a. THEOTHERWOMAN And then the 'reveal' clue and answer: "Hint to the starts of 20-, 27- and 50-Across" ODDSANDENDS Here's the Xword link: <a href="https://xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=4/5/2005&g=29&d=D" target="_blank">https://xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=4/5/2005&g=29&d=D</a> Might put another puzzle find in a reply. ...
@Rich in Atlanta As threatened. Here's the other one. A Thursday from June 10, 2004 by Paula Gamache. One theme clue and answer example: "Multicolored yarn?" MOTLEYCREWEL And the other theme answers: FORGETTHEPASTEL MADEBYHANDEL FLASHINTHEPANEL Just thought that was kind of cute. Here's that Xword Info link: <a href="https://xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=6/10/2004&g=40&d=A" target="_blank">https://xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=6/10/2004&g=40&d=A</a> I'm all done. ...
I dunno about 17A. Seems to me that, if it becomes a sting operation, that means the beekeeper has done an extremely poor job.
@Rob Yeah, I'm pretty sure a honeybee dies if it stings, because it loses its stinger. That's bad for business, but the clue was rather punny.
Quidditch easy, world beaters still not sure a word or phrase. Faster than my average Tuesday which was nice. Felt easier than yesterday.
@Megan I went down a Trebeck SNL rabbit hole, myself. Thank you for playing. 🐴
Megan, To be sure. <a href="https://merriam-webster.com/dictionary/world-beater" target="_blank">https://merriam-webster.com/dictionary/world-beater</a>