My five favorite original clues from last week (in order of appearance): 1. Merchandise with logos for "Balenglaca" or "Guddi," e.g. (9) 2. It's followed by an extra point (4) 3. Figure in history or math? (9) 4. "Ave Maria" finale, appropriately? (4) 5. Your business start-up? (4)(2) KNOCKOFFS ALSO CLASSMATE ARIA NONE OF
@Lewis "Your business start-up?" was such a great clue.
There isn't candy by a blackboard, but there is chalk-a-lot. (I finally erased the boards, though - better slate than never.)
@Mike The neighborhood and the school I attended in Grades 2-5 are now designated as A Historic District. Ouch. And our "chalkboards" (nobody used that term) WERE dark slate.
Mike, Sweet one today…I won’t say I never endured PUNishment in early grade school in the late 50’s. The deed?; clapping the erasers clean in the schoolyard. That exercise is not unlike applauding your puns…Bless their hearts, those Sisters of Mercy.
Chalk one up for Scherban on this. Surprised there was no mention of Dover Cliffs -- made of the soft white limestone called chalk, lovely place (and fine poem by Matthew Arnold, appropriate for our times "where ignorant armies clash by night."). Just great to find words like BOULDERERS ...and the godfather of American lexicography, Noah WEBSTER. First, a little lesson about chalk and black boards. Now, Jack, get up here! That's right, stand straight. Jack, you wrote that blackboards are "obsolescent," right? Right, you did. What is that behind me? That's correct, Mr. Scherban, it's a chalk board. Now here's a nice piece of chalk. Write on the board 20 times, "The blackboard is not obsolescent." Go on, get started! Next, to be clear, the chalk of Dover Cliffs is a calcium carbonate. It really was used as chalk in times of yore, but left a rather dusty trail. Modern chalk, akin to gypsum or plaster of Paris, is a calcium sulfate hemihydrate, and the hydrate portion of that equation ensures that modern chalk doesn't leave trails and clouds of dust on use. Early 20th century marketing campaigns often touted "dustless chalk." Eliot & Webster? Surnames of two great American firsts: Noah Webster first published his dictionary in 1806; his expanded version of 1828 is the basis of the one we use today. Eliot's Indian Bible (1661) was the first Bible translated into an indigenous tongue, in the Natick dialect of the Massachusett language. That's right: Natick!
@john ezra Please teach a lesson every day! I’ll be the lady in the front row.
@john ezra Will that be on the test?
@john ezra Sir, sir, my English Language teacher said that while the blackboard isn't obsolete, it is fair to describe it as 'obsolescent', meaning 'becoming obsolete' - she made me write it out 20 times on the smart board.
I wrote this column, not Deb! Much love to her though, I learned from the best <3 correction made
@Elie Levine Maybe you can tell us what became of the 2024 Super Mega? Thanks.
@Elie Levine I suppose that Minnie in the picture is looking for her cousins (of which there are so many!). Let us hope, however, that they are not bigger!
@Elie Levine In December 2024, the NYT published a print-only special edition of Puzzle Mania which included the Super Mega crossword contest. Winners were supposed to be announced in January 2025. Last year's (2023) winners were announced on January 18, 2024. The NYT published several on-line guides and made a big deal about the puzzle, even setting up a "support group" page. To date, no winners have been announced, and it seems the NYT has forgotten altogether about this "big deal" puzzle that they touted so much.
@Vaer Appreciate that info. Thanks.
I have come here to say that blackboards are not obsolescent and where they have been made so, they should be brought back. I am an English teacher and, as they say, you can have my beautiful and beloved six-panel blackboard when you have pried it from my cold dead hands. Does it malfunction? Never! Does it require electricity? Of course not. Does it enable the students to watch their teacher writing in cursive or drawing a picture with all the subtle shading that chalk allows? Well, naturally. Do students zone out less because the teacher is actively creating (drawing diagrams and mind maps in real time, for example, with the possiblity of dropped chalk and hilarious mistakes) rather than pressing buttons and clicking a screen? Indeed they do. Does one need to spend valuable time learning how to use it? No. Keep the blackboard and real education alive. Oh, and students should have paper, pens, B2 and coloured pencils, not computers. See above.
@MExpat I’m a boomer, and even I have to say, “OK, boomer.”
@MExpat - Before I retired, and probably more than 10 years ago, most of our blackboards were replaced, with no advanced warning, and without any consultation with faculty. Many of us objected, and many of the purloined blackboards returned. I assume the blackboards are still there. I find them far superior to whiteboards for most applications. There are unanswered questions about the health effects of dry markers, too. (Yes, I know there are known health concerns with chalk dust.) There are also always those who seem to think it is OK to write on them with a Sharpie®.
@MExpat GenXer here, and I teach my college students using a chalkboard (although green, not black). So at least the green ones aren’t obsolescent. Admittedly, I also have a whiteboard.
@MExpat hear hear. At many universities, especially in maths and physics departments, blackboards are still very much the preferred medium.
When I taught, chalk was the only option. Of course, it gets dust all over your hands. My problem was that I had a phobia about having my fly open in front of sometimes over a hundred students. You could tell how often I checked to make sure things were all in place by the chalk dust on my pants.
@Francis We gave my brother a lift to a job interview, teaching in the physics dept of a university. "How'd it go?" "Not well." "Oh?" "Too late I discovered that my fly was unzipped." Fortunately, he was hired at another school. Zipped.
@Francis I feel ya! I still like to use the old black board when teaching at uni - there is something satisfyingly tactile about it - so I double and triple check my fly when I'm leaving the toilet: to not get chalk all over there later 🤣
@Francis This kind of thing does happen from time to time and the students will remember it. See <a href="https://tinyurl.com/3fr6b8jv" target="_blank">https://tinyurl.com/3fr6b8jv</a>
@Francis I taught for 28 years. In the last ten we got a computer with cart and projector and projected on a screen. White boards came after that. With markers!
I love when a puzzle triggers sweet memories as KAUAI did for me, memories rife with the feel of blissful relaxation, and rich with nature’s beauty, from the Napali coast, where a spectacular chain of mountains lines the ocean shore, to Waimea Canyon, a breathtaking mini Grand Canyon. Here’s proof of our evolving language. Remember when BAE brought cascades of “Huh?” and “Wha?” in the comments? And now, it seems, nobody gives it a second glance. A trio of PuzzPairs©: KERMIT/CROAKS, WEBSTER/CITE, BOULDERERS/RISEN. Speaking of RISEN, I like the UP of CHALKED UP on a landing leading to rising steps. Today’s grid design is atypical for Monday, with its 72 words (typical of Friday) and 36 black squares (typical of Thursday). I like it. It allows for more interesting answers and is less choppy than usual. For instance, today’s puzzle has 29 three- and four-letter answers. The four January Mondays averaged 43. Fun theme, spark in answers, lovely memories – what’s not to love? Thank you so much for this, Jack!
“If you asked me why I love crosswords, I’d respond with, ‘Where else can you find Igor, Santa Claus and Kermit the Frog next to each other?!’” Not to mention TS Eliot and Keanu Reeves! Whoa. When I was in elementary school, cleaning the blackboard and clapping the erasers was a treat reserved for only the best students. I’m proud (and horrified) to say I inhaled a great deal of chalk dust in those days. I’m also very sensitive to that particular screeching sound a piece of chalk (or an errant fingernail) can make against a blackboard, so I say good riddance to those classroom relics. Give me a whiteboard any day.
@Heidi I'm so old that I never had a classroom with a whiteBOARD! It was a big achievement when I convinced the administration to paint the classroom; of course they did a poor job (didn't even take off the switchplates) but it was a huge improvement.... Oh, the puzzle! BOULDERERS. Srsly? This is really a term used by folks out in the real world? MY name for rock climbers is "Nuts." Those harnesses don't look any too comfy, and if you're going to wear one, doesn't it take a bit of the glamour/drama/suspense/excitement out of the "sport"? Other than the ambulance ride, that is. I suppose CROAKS is just a coincidence. A puzzle with COLAS and OREO PIE....then LIPO. Hmm. Remember the MAINE? Has that ever been the answer? Not much to say on a Monday. ...that would pass muster.
The terms “chewy” and “chunky” and “crunchy” when applied to crossword puzzles leave me slightly nauseated. Not sure if I’m the only one. I have that thing (misophonia?) where I can’t hear other people chewing and somehow it extends to reading about it, too. That said, I found this fairly chalky for a Monday.
@Justin For me it’s the chalk on the chalkboard that gives me the heeby-jeebies so I’m going to stick with a bit of a chewy Monday. Sorry.
@Justin Ahh, another member of the tortured club of misophonia sufferers, emphasis on *suffer*. Once, a friend of my mother’s joined us on a road trip from South Carolina to Philadelphia. She popped gum ceaselessly for 12 hours. Can you imagine the depths of hell that was for me 😩? I’m still telling my husband to “eat with your mouth closed” after all these years. 😑 I went over my usual Monday time by 34 seconds. I got stuck at the pairing of THENATS and KENDO since I didn’t know either. I had to run through the alphabet until I got to N. Speaking of hell, news from the US makes me want to crochet with my cats on my lap nonstop until someone tells me it’s all over. 🙇🏽♀️ That’s going to be one massive blanket! Try to have a bom dia, everyone!
@Justin People chewing... Argh. I can't stand it! Over in Europe few people chew with their mouth open, especially at restaurants. When we visited the US, my wife and I were shocked to notice how ubiquitous it was across the pond. Shocking, and disgusting. Also, slurping drinks... The horror!
@Justin I just said the same to my significant other a few days ago about "crunchy", which is the one I see most. I wince when I read it.
@Justin I have that thing too. I didn't know it was a thing for a long time. Thought it was just me. Just knowing it's a thing helps (a little).
Crossword Revolution D14: OBOE The official instrument of the CR. Doleful, underrated and beloved by dogs everywhere: <a href="https://youtube.com/watch?v=hPbUvalo44M" target="_blank">https://youtube.com/watch?v=hPbUvalo44M</a> A Crosswords Saved the Day production.
@Puzzlemucker Wow, this is incredible. Thank you!
@Puzzlemucker That's really nice. Thanks!
Mouse's bigger cousin is in the White House: Just sayin! I had to run through my list of pirate names, Snick, Snee, and SMEE. Thank you jack, a fun Monday
Nice, easy Monday. Fun to see croaks and Kermit, though Kermit has a very nice voice and I’ve never heard him croak. Fun one
Today is my birthday, and learning that the BLACKBOARD is now "obsolescent" makes me feel every one of my 55 years. Regardless, happy to keep on crossword solving in my apparently advanced age!
@Pax Ahimsa Gethen Sorry for the rude awakening, but hope you have a very happy birthday anyhow!!
@Pax Ahimsa Gethen Happy birthday, fellow Gen-Xer!! 🎈 It's also my nephew's birthday, and he turned a quarter-century today. That makes me feel really old! Hmm, I wonder when he last was taught on an actual chalkboard (not a whiteboard)...
Sort of a school day puzzle (felt like my knees were bumping the bottom of the desk)—easy and fun, with a few startling fills to wake up the class—I graded it A.
@dutchiris Speaking of BLACKBOARDS and desks.... the school I attended in grades 2-5 is in a Historic District. I myself am practically a Historic District-- I've had smallpox vaccinations, injections against typhus and typhoid, and I've actually had measles, rubella, and whooping cough (the latter as an adult, caught from a student). I remember when Jonas Salk was a national hero; everyone in our school was vaccinated against polio. (I was in 3rd grade. Virginia Cooper cried buckets, and I still hold her in contempt for being such a baby 69 years later.)
Just think, with no chalk, kids miss the opportunity to go out and "clap the erasers" while surrounding themselves with a cloud of chalk dust." It was such a sweet break from rote learning and Dick seeing Spot run.
@Gina D I've seen the clapping of erasers (in movies), and it always seemed Medieval in the way it forced the youth of earlier ages to breathe in clouds of chalk dust. By the time I hit elementary school (in the early '70s), there was a device (kept in the janitor's quarters in the basement) with a whirling brush connected to a vacuum cleaner. It still made plenty of dust though.
@The X-Phile I was in elementary school in the mid to late 70s (small-town New England) and the teacher still sent one or two of us out to the playground every afternoon to “do the erasers.” It was a coveted assignment, but then no one told us it was bad for our lungs.
I guess I needed more coffee, as I found this a challenging Monday…Finished 40 seconds under my average but a few minutes over my typical Monday recently. Still, I appreciate the relative difficulty, since usually after the more difficult weekend puzzles, I find the ease of the start of the week a let-down. BLACKBOARD gave me a slight bit of nostalgia since when I started teaching 40 years ago my classrooms had them…so I was flooded with all sorts of memories: the sound of the chalk on the slate, the chalk that broke if I was writing something with particular enthusiasm, the way it always bothered the OCD part of me that when I erased a board at the end of class the ghost of chalk dust always remained… and that led me to recall the stacks of papers I collected if there was an assignment instead of downloading them from the digital platform, the way I always marked them up in pencil instead of red ink since I wrote a lot of comments in the margins (I taught writing) and red seemed like shouting whereas I thought my students might be able to take in the content of what I wrote more easily if the marks on the page were lighter…the way I’d sharpen my black Eagle # 2 1/2 pencils before a grading session, lining up five or six of then so I could pick up a new one if one became too dull…
@Joe I found this puzzle unusually challenging for a Monday. I am nowhere near prolific at completing New York Times crossword puzzles past Thursday or Friday. But over the years I’ve gotten pretty good. I never had a Monday time as bad as this one. It took me nearly 30 minutes. I was in shock! That said, I still enjoyed completing this puzzle. I can’t even blame it on not having my coffee as I ended my Sunday with this puzzle!
Fun puzzle. The answer to 6-D and the clue for 9-D made me think of "Young Frankenstein." Abby, who? - Abby Normal.
Interesting subtheme with SICKOs and DIRTBAGs and OGLErs and RATs who know DIDDLY doing ODD and ILLICIT things that make me SOB and go EWW. Truly the stuff of my night and daymares. Sheesh, I feel like I need a shower after this.
Nice Monday puzzle and a cute theme. Pretty smooth for the most part, but was completely unfamiliar with BOULDERER so spent a fair amount of time pondering crosses in that area. No big deal - just made for a nice workout. A couple of quite unusual puzzle finds today, both inspired by BLACKBOARD. I'll put those in replies. ....
@Rich in Atlanta As threatened. First - a Thursday from February 16, 2017 by Keith Redwine. Never seen another one quite like this and it's a bit hard to describe it. Anyway... the reveal clue and answer in that one: "Feature of this puzzle that's "fixed" by a literal reading of four squares :" ASYMMETRY And then those four squares were all rebuses of the word 'BLACK' which worked with the across and down answers. e.g. BLACKBOARD/BLACKBEAR, BLACKSEA/BLACKHAT etc. And without those 'black' rebus squares - yes, the puzzle would have been asymmetrical. You have to go look at it to really get it. Here's the Xword Info link: <a href="https://xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=2/16/2017&g=1&d=A" target="_blank">https://xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=2/16/2017&g=1&d=A</a> ....
@Rich in Atlanta I just did that Thursday “asymmetry” puzzle a few days ago. Took me a fair bit to figure it out. Great puzzle.
My brain processing 38A: Bird 3 letters = EMU (Facepalm) I immediately had to Google and see if I could justify myself in that moment. Maybe emus really are wise? Nope.
@Sara maybe not defined as wise but they did defeat Australia in a "war" (often used as a clue for EMU!) <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emu_War" target="_blank">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emu_War</a> My favourite thing out of it though is the fake "battle" wikiwar image: <a href="https://reddit.com/r/funny/comments/269p5o/yes_this_war_actually_happened/#lightbox" target="_blank">https://reddit.com/r/funny/comments/269p5o/yes_this_war_actually_happened/#lightbox</a>
Chalk one up for Scherban on this. Surprised there was no mention of Dover Cliffs -- made of the soft white limestone called chalk, lovely place (and fine poem by Matthew Arnold, appropriate for our times "where ignorant armies clash by night."). Just great to find words like BOULDERERS, DIDDLY, DIRTBAG, SICK and the godfather of American lexicography, Noah Webster. First, a little lesson about chalk and black boards. Now, Jack, get up here! That's right, stand straight. Jack, you wrote that blackboards are "obsolescent," right? Right, you did. What is that behind me? That's correct, Mr. Scherban, it's a chalk board. Now here's a nice piece of chalk. Write on the board 20 times, "The blackboard is not obsolescent." Go on, get started! Next, to be clear, the chalk of Dover Cliffs is a calcium carbonate. It really was used as chalk in times of yore, but left a rather dusty trail. Modern chalk, akin to gypsum or plaster of Paris, is a calcium sulfate hemihydrate, and the hydrate portion of that equation ensures that modern chalk doesn't leave trails and clouds of dust on use. Early 20th century marketing campaigns often touted "dustless chalk." Eliot & Webster? Surnames of two great American firsts: Noah Webster first published his dictionary in 1806; his expanded version of 1828 is the basis of the one we use today. Eliot's Indian Bible (1661) was the first Bible translated into an indigenous tongue, in the Natick dialect of the Massachusett language!! That's right: Natick!
@john ezra Thank you John. My eyebrow also twitched at the idea that BLACKBOARDS are history. Not in schools round here they’re not. We lived in Hampshire for many years, further West than Dover but the same coast line. Dig more than an inch or two down and you hit CHALK. Never needed to buy sticks of it, I just had a little pot of suitable sized chunks for use on the kitchen notice board.
@john ezra Since this is a post that flaunts its pedantry, I will point out the distinction between "obsolescent" and "obsolete". However, I want to agree with you. The blackboard will not be obsolete so long as I'm in the classroom. (Of course, I retired a year and a half ago.)
@john ezra If you're climbing the White Cliffs of Dover, do you have to rub stone dust on your hands?
As an amateur climber and follower of all major international and national climbing competitions (and apparently a climbing terminology pedant) I didn't like the clue for BOULDERERS ('Recreational rock climbers'). Lead (sport, to Americans), bouldering and speed are three main climbing disciplines, recognized by the IFSC and included in the Olympics (recently in Paris as two events: speed, and boulder and lead, AKA combined). Sure, some climbers - like my wife and I - climb recreationally, doing either lead or boulder (speed is rarely recreational). But bouldering is the specialism of many professional climbers, like the incomparable Oriane Bertone or Mika Mawem of France. Many all-round climbers have a discipline they are better at, too, and it is often boulder: USA's awesome Natalia Grossman comes to mind. At the World Championships there are separate medals for: lead, boulder, boulder and lead, and speed (and also paraclimbing). There is nothing recreational about bouldering, specifically. Why not clue BOULDERERS correctly as 'Some rock climbers'?
@Andrzej You could raise the same issue with any number of clues. Not all dictionaries have the name Webster on them. Not all slender instruments are oboes. Not all doors open with a knob. It’s just the nature of crossword cluing.
@Andrzej as a climber I didn’t much appreciate this clue either. A boulderer climbs shorter distances without a rope. You don’t want people who only just heard of this to get the wrong definition for the word, as I know a lot of us learn new vocabulary through puzzles.
@Andrzej I had no idea that there was competitive bouldering, but ESPN shows professional cornhole and axe throwing, so why am I surprised? I did a fair amount of free climbing back when I was young and invulnerable, but my favorite thing was buildering.
As a mathematician, I very much protest 17A being obsolete. But as a "recreational rock climber" myself, this was a fun solve! Happy Monday!
@Remi Obsolescent and obsolete are two different things.
@Remi As a mathematician, I wonder if you have any personal experience with Hagoromo chalk or with the hoarding of same chalk circa 2015? <a href="https://tinyurl.com/2tzwrvhn" target="_blank">https://tinyurl.com/2tzwrvhn</a>
A few answers that made me stretch, a few where I had to dig into the memory banks, a nice range from the old to the new. No rushing through this one. A nice evening diversion, thanks, Jack!
Lovely puzzle but stumped on Oreo Pie - I ate half of an Oreo once in my teens. Could really taste the 25% sugar and not much else.
Lovely Monday. Woke up wondering how long I’ll go before breaking in to the Oreo pie I made for dessert last night. It’s so ridiculously decadent, yet the fastest, easiest pie I’ve ever made. These are the things I’m thinking about today… the perfection that is an OREO PIE. Have wonderful week all. And, have some pie. Pie fixes things.
WARNING: SPOILER ALERT... Super smooth and fun puzzle, despite the DIRTBAGs SICKOs, SOBs, RATs, STDS, and other things that make you say EWW. On the other hand, OREO PIE balances it all out! Nice one, Jack!
@The Whip As I read those clues I thought of the current occupant of a certain white abode. First time commenter here.
Good fun, and I really enjoyed the fill and openness. Thanks!
P.S.S., …….and ticklish ELMO gazing at the trio from the grid’s cellar. My sun sign is the scales, but plagued by a lifelong curse of acrophobia. I’ll have to leave the BOULDERERS be for now; and the goats & big horn sheep. O. T. but newsworthy and in today’s Zeitgeist marks 66 years ago, “The Day The Music Died.” 😢 <a href="https://youtu.be/Z13vOA7s0FI?si=k0McTqzCDtwkSmAD" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/Z13vOA7s0FI?si=k0McTqzCDtwkSmAD</a>
Happy Groundhog Day, everybody!! While I'm certainly familiar with CHALKED UP, I honestly don't think I've ever actually uttered it. Odd. Wait, aren't classrooms themselves obsolescent?
Oh. And I meant to say, in re BLACKBOARD, that the clue seems unobjectionable to me because it uses the word "obsolescent" (becoming obsolete), rather than "obsolete". Despite the persistence and continuing use of blackboards in some settings, surely their widespread, ongoing replacement suggests that they are *becoming* obsolete?
@Oikofuge The school I worked in got rid of them at least 15 years ago, and actually at that time, they would have been called "chalkboards", since they were green. Actual blackboards went out around here maybe 25 years ago or more. I'm sure you can still find either one somewhere in the world, or even in this area, but "obsolescent" is perfectly fine for the clue.
Many of the "Tricky Clues" mentioned in the piece were literally the easiest in the puzzle for me: ICE POP, CROAKS. SMEE, KNOB, RISEN, EWW - I wrote all these in mere milliseconds after reading the clues! I suppose there's no such thing as a "normal" crossword solver. I had all my difficulties in the SE corner - BUNTS, ALAMO, RAE, BAE, ELMO, TRUE & SSNS took me a while to weave together. Got it done pretty much bang on my average in the end. Very enjoyable puzzle, thanks!
Stumped on 'Diddly' Squat for quite awhile because I put down 'doodly'. Thought it was a fab Monday puzzle.
Jay Werba & dutchris, It’s not unlike Robert Gordon’s DOODLE(D)y squat. <a href="https://youtu.be/_bQ_R8X7Jrc?si=ZdOYW6jOFy2-hCPL" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/_bQ_R8X7Jrc?si=ZdOYW6jOFy2-hCPL</a>
I'm apparently not allowed to use words that are puzzle answers. I'll just say that 5 A, 15 A, 27 A, 31 A, 2 D, 10 D and 12 D seem to be telling a story. It makes me want to SOB and go EWW.
TIL BOULDERERS and BUNTS. That corner holding me up a little longer than the average Monday. Lots of known names; the poet, the painter, the frog, the furry one, the gorgeous one, sorry, KEANU. A beautiful Monday puzzle, a soft chalky theme. What’s not to like?
@Helen Wright That corner got me too!
This puzzle was bright and fun! While solving, I noticed the grid has a very youthful feel, full of things like Doritos and ICE POPS and words like "oopsie", DIRTBAG and DIDDLY-squat that I don't believe I've used since I was a kid... We have the storybook pirates Jack Sparrow and SMEE. Jocular activities: pool and bouldering and baseball (tempered by hopscotch and Jeopardy). And of course Santa CLAUS and the oft-commented BLACKBOARD! For many years, youthful G's libation of choice was RUM and COLA (Coke, of course). Brings back fond memories! Thanks for the romp, Jack!
@G I felt very much the same vibe as you... but I didn't feel like commenting about it today, so thank you for doing it!! :-) Gee, wonder why I'm in such a funk these days, eh?! Hmmmmmmmm. Anyhow, youthful HeathieJ once way overdid it on RUM and it took a very long time to be able to drink it again, let alone enjoy it. You know there's nothing I love more than my Hendrick's martinis, but sometimes a RUM and Diet Coke COLA is just the ticket!! :-)
@G & HeathieJ You guys made me think about the Andrews Sisters and an old long time favorite: <a href="https://youtube.com/watch?v=zGxL2uNr7bk" target="_blank">https://youtube.com/watch?v=zGxL2uNr7bk</a> Hope you enjoy it. ..
Quite the enjoyable puzzle today! The chalk theme was a charming touch. It brought back memories of school days and the sound of chalk on the board. Thank you for a delightful and nostalgic challenge!
Fun puzzle, although I have to admit the theme didn't fly with me until the end. But it was easy enough, while still being Monday-challenging, to be enjoyable. However, at OREOPIE I said, What? Two Oreos in one puzzle? Unfair! It wasn't until I was reading the comments, and realized no one else noticed it, that I realized I was mushing two puzzles together. Perhaps I should've had a coffee break in between. (Mmm, coffee. 'Scuze me, everyone. Time for a refill.)
Strands thread. Summon no spoiler please until after the View All Replies button. Strands #337 “Order up!” 🔵🟡🔵🔵 🔵🔵🔵🔵 Have to confess that I had a real hard time focusing on this. It is hard not to see these games as being trivial in light of of what is happening here in the US. I suppose diversions from the news should be welcome but I'm finding it more and more difficult to justify the time spent. However I will keep solving and initiating this thread. Cute little spanner. One of the entries raised the eyebrow though. I'll comment on that later.
@John Carson The few minutes it took to solve this puzzle did actually provide a diversion for me, up here in Canada where we are facing the fallout from the 25% tariffs being imposed on our sales to the US. Your comment brought me right back to the here and now.
@John Carson Maybe this will help you cope? <a href="https://theguardian.com/world/2025/feb/03/europeans-democracy-advice-trump-americans?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other" target="_blank">https://theguardian.com/world/2025/feb/03/europeans-democracy-advice-trump-americans?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other</a>
@John Carson Strands #337 “Order up!” 🔵🔵🔵🟡 🔵🔵🔵🔵 Cute spanner, as you said. However, I didn't think the title tied to the theme, especially -- had me thinking diner orders, and some of these definitely weren't that! BASTE and PICKLE seemed very tenuous means of *making* eggs. I hear you about the ambivalence of puzzling in these days. (I wish my adeptness at solving these problems translated to the real world!) But I do think the few minutes spent on them helps the brain in many ways... Whiling away time in the Wordplay comments, maybe not so much! Haha. Partaking in community makes it worth it to me.
@John Carson Strands #337 “Order up!” 🔵🔵🟡🔵 🔵🔵🔵🔵 There are at least a couple of entries I haven't seen in that context.
So today I learned that the bouldering I do (over, you know, real boulders in a gully), is not the bouldering that BOULDERERS do for this puzzle, which might actual require some climbers' chalk. And I ran into CUESTICK for the first time. In these parts it's just a cue.
@Oikofuge And so now, having been approved and then withdrawn long enough for me to post the same content again, it gets reapproved. Sigh.
This took me longer than usual, which I have CHALKEDUP to a GRO-O-OSS cold that I am struggling to DEPOSE, and is definitely not a slight on this delightful Monday puzzle. Having said that, I’ve never heard of OREOPIE before, and I’m a little scared now of the SICKO who came up with it. (only slightly exaggerating….)
Nice Monday puzzle! Generally, smooth sailing, but with a few fun wrinkles (like CLAUS instead of Santa, and BAE instead of Hon). One complaint: Are we really ready to assert that BLACKBOARDS are becoming "obsolete"? They were always an essential part of my classroom. Of course, I am (recently) retired, and would always tell my students that I was a dinosaur who would die out soon enough. (Only print editions of books! No electronic devices in the classroom!) Alas!
@The X-Phile English teacher here and still fighting the good fight. I am 100% with you.
For blackboard connoisseurs, you may find it interesting that just to my north is Brownville, ME -- a town that was known for its slate quarries. I believe all are closed now, but there are several piles of slate tailings in the area, and I have picked up some good specimens just poking around. The slate in Brownville was famous for having almost perfectly flat and uninterrupted cleavage planes, so perfect that, for a time, Brownville slate was used to build the most expensive billiard tables in the US. I have no idea if it was exported overseas to make snooker tables and the like. There is also the famous Slate House in town, which was completely sided and roofed with slate. It was built in the mid-1800s and its foundation is also entirely made of slate. I drove by it a couple of years ago and it looked to me like the slate roof had been replaced with architectural asphalt shingles, but I am not certain of that. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slate_House_(Brownville,_Maine" target="_blank">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slate_House_(Brownville,_Maine</a>)
This had a few options that fit each answer. Good prep for a Friday, with some easy enough flying to make one slow down and think about the answer first. Not my fastest, but still average. Good to have Will back!
Fun and easy Monday felt great after banging my head against it for 2:00:00 on the Sunday.
@Jamie funny it was the opposite for me today. The rebus came to me about 20 minutes in the Sunday puzzle and it was a quick solve after that. On the other hand, today’s upper left quadrant just stumped me for a long while before I finally figured it out.
Chalkboard may be considered obsolete by those university departments whose classes are phoned in through the disgusting medium of power point but they are alive and well elsewhere.
@Lars they've been replaced by whiteboards in every classroom I've seen in the last few years.
@Carl Those are the enemy too. It is an uphill battle...
@Lars And whiteboards are now being replaced by electronic boards. You'll still find them but most teachers prefer the Promethean and other similar boards.
Very, very pleasant. I got stuck on KAUAI/ELMO/RAE. I'm not familiar with Rae as a name, or with the others. OREOPIE/SMEE was the same. Is OREO used in crosswords just because of the vowels, or are they really extremely popular in the US? Help! SSNS?
@Jane Wheelaghan SSN stands for Social Security Number, a unique identifier assigned by the USA government to a person and used for such purposes as keeping an account of government pension contributions.
@Jane Wheelaghan I asked about OREO previously as well - it seems it's just a really useful filler word, what with these American puzzles needing loads and loads of crossing entries. OLEO & ARIA are other similarly very regular ones.
@Jane Wheelaghan Oreo, oleo, ono, eno, eerie, eel, emu, otoe, etc etc… it’s all about the vowels!
@Jane Wheelaghan I am familiar with RAE, a cousin's name, and was pretty sure Tickle me ELMO had come up before, but bizarrely was unable to see that RAE backwards really does spell a body part! If I cared about times, I'd now be bemoaning a wasted minute staring at that cross.
@Jane Wheelaghan RAE is a common nickname for Rachel. Here's one from the UK, although she spells it Raye: <a href="https://youtube.com/watch?v=BtdBQ1-fzXM" target="_blank">https://youtube.com/watch?v=BtdBQ1-fzXM</a> She was nominated for Best New Artist at the Grammys last night.
Thanks, Jack for a lovely Monday….but, as a 40-year math teacher, chalk sucks—even Hagoromo. And my college still has chalkboards in every classroom (save the one I teach in).