i've been an on-and-off nytimes puzzler since my college days in the 80s, and for many years i stayed away from friday and saturday puzzles. they were just too intimidating. during covid, my then-teenaged son, aaron, and i started doing the puzzle together. i think the saying "two heads are better than one" especially applies to puzzling! and our various interests and knowledge combined very effectively. still, our longest streak was 100 and something days. aaron went away for college for a few years, and our joint puzzling days were limited to school breaks and summer vacations. but then life happened and he decided that he wanted to come back home. and so, we got back to our puzzling. we've had a number of pretty significant streaks over the years, but today (well, really tomorrow, but we completed sunday's puzzle tonight) we unlocked a new achievement: 366 days/one full year! friday and saturday puzzles no longer intimidate us, and our average times for those days have even gone down quite a bit. reading wordplay after we solve a puzzle and scrolling through the comments here have definitely added to our fun. we've even worked on constructing some puzzles of our own, so who knows? maybe one day we'll get up the courage to submit a few. so anyway, thanks for being such an informative, generally supportive, and occasionally hilarious puzzling community!
@Hope Levav Congratulations! Beautiful post.
@Hope Levav Love that! What great memories you’ve been building with your son. And congrats on your yearlong streak! That’s impressive!
@Hope Levav Makes my cynical old heart a bit warmer.
@Hope Levav , What a wonderful post! Bless you and your son. I've been solving cryptics and NYT puzzles on and off since my college days in the 80s as well. Like you, getting a gang of Friday and Saturday puzzles only recently. Unlike you, my son and I do solve, not together though. Would love to emulate you. Have a great day!
@Hope Levav It's posts like this that makes this cyber place magical.
@Hope Levav: You once made a nice reply to one of my posts; allow me to do likewise! Loved your message here.
@Hope Levav here, here, i hear you, my lower case sister!
@Hope Levav My son used to help me a bit when he was small. One time, there was a clue involving the Red Sea. I think the answer was "Ethiopia," but he thought it should have been "Eritrea," or the other way around. This was before we could comment online. He wrote a letter to Will Shortz, who very kindly send a handwritten reply, explaining the answer and encouraging him to keep doing the puzzles. He didn't, but he educated me about rap, metal, and video games, so he's still helping.
Stoner who kept on praising this puzzle? HIGHLY RECOMMENDED Disgust with body builders? GAG REFLEX History course on the Civil War? CLASS REUNION Well, it's been an easy weekend, but a fun one. I'd go outside to look at the moon but it's raining here (NEGATIVE REVIEW).
@john ezra Spectacular! Leaving you a “I have never seen such an amazing sunset!” (GLOWING REVIEW)
Some may say too easy. I say with all that's going on in the rest of the NYT, I welcome the smooth sailing of this friction-free solve from Rich and Jeff!
Interesting that the clue for Pluto could be GOD or DOG…Despite my interest in mythology I had the latter first
@SP Reminds me about that old joke about the agnostic dyslexic insomniac...He stayed up all night long wondering if there was a dog.
@Steve L Yes, there was a Three Dog Night. But there was no spoon...
@SP Me Too! I had 90A and then dOg. They go together, right? Especially at our house. My son was a character at Disneyworld for awhile, and Pluto was one of his character roles. Great fun!
I love word quirks, and crosswords are proof that they abound in our language. I love how constructors find them through flashes of insight, or serendipity, then run with them in a puzzle’s theme. Today, for instance, giving new meaning to words that start with RE and riffing on it. I was greatly entertained as I uncovered the theme answers. This was a hoot. Something special about those theme answers – six of the seven have never appeared in the 80+ years of the Times puzzle, despite being very in-the-language and having punch. Terrific finds. Bravo on that, Rich and Jeff! (Only SPOT REMOVER is not a debut answer). And while more than 18,000 answers that begin with RE have appeared in the NYT puzzle, I found it very hard to come up with quality alternate theme answers, and man, I tried. Either I thought of a RE word and couldn’t come up with anything, or what I came up with fell flat. So, I was not only entertained, but impressed. Thank you, Rich and Jeff, for putting this together, and providing for a lovely gambol in the box today!
"Head of a noted animal rescue project" was worth the price of admission. "Let's take it nice and easy" kind of puzzle - just what I needed. Hope the week turns out to e a good one. Happy puzzling!
@Min That, and Adam's apple locale, for which I obviously and confidently plunked down neck. Both were my favorite clues of the day.
Blissful when the tiramisu is served? SPIRITUAL RETREAT And that will have to do, because Steve L is right - there are so many. I could do more, if they didn’t have to be good, haha! Rich and Jeff chose some fun ones, and it took me awhile to figure out what was going on. Puzzlement achieved.
@Cat Lady Margaret Alternate clue for SPIRITUAL RETREAT: Swing Low, Sweet...?
This will be amusing to most of you-but here goes…. Today is my first time completing a NYT Sunday puzzle. I started solving the Monday puzzles and progressed to Tuesday, and Wednesday. Reading the comments, I’ve come to the conclusion these puzzles are easy for most. They sure aren’t for me but I enjoy the challenge. And I’m happy to complete the Sunday puzzle! Hurray!
@Charlie congrats on your first Sunday solve! Here’s to many more!
@Charlie Congratulations!! ☺️ Everyone starts where they are. And I think most out here are only competing with themselves. Many out here have been solving for decades upon decades, so there's no comparison. I started about 16 months ago. So enjoy your wins! The first of many, I'm sure!!
@Charlie - Congratulations on your first Sunday solve! It's a great feeling, isn't it? The more you solve, the easier they get.
@Charlie As you get to know the recurring actors, e.g., Eno, Ari, Asp, Eel, Oreo, and others (et al, et alia, and et alii), you will find that the puzzles become easier to complete. This is because clues that used to have many possible answers suddenly have one likely answer. Also, as you learn how to turn phrases on their heads and consider all the weird/creative ways they can be interpreted, you will find you make another leap forward. I believe many of us had this experience, so you will find plenty of compassion here.
Crossword Revolution (CR) Day 19: ALOO GOBI I must admit to feeling rejuvenated about the CR after getting some generous and encouraging feedback yesterday, including an enlightened explanation of just what the heck I’m doing by @Kate Tani: “one part algospeak,* one part deference to crosswords’ function as a non-political escape (meaning obscured exactly for this reason), and one part acknowledgement that everything tastes like what’s happening politically right now.” ALOO GOBI might be taking that last part a little too literally, but revolutionaries must eat and I do love vegetarian Indian food, including ALOO GOBI. * “Algospeak refers to coded language and euphemisms used on social media platforms to avoid having content removed or filtered by an algorithm.” (Dictionary.com) A Crosswords Saved the Day ™ production.
@Puzzlemucker Thinking about a sequence of poems? REVERSE ORDER Speaking of which, I like to have ice cream as my entree and finish up with an ALOO GOBI DESSERT. As others like to say, I'll see myself out. BTW, Muckie, I really love your CSD project, it's a little positive to look forward to, after each day's atrocities. Speaking of which, activist who doesn't like the way our current government is set up? PROTESTANT REFORMATION. I'll see myself out...again!!
@Puzzlemucker Feeling very starstruck indeed! CR is brilliant and it’s been cheering me up since you-know-when. Happy if I contributed in a small way! ALOO GOBI: fuel for the road ahead!
Lines from Genesis? ... or NYT crossword to some DAILYRECREATION
@Henry Su Repeated praise? RECOMMEND
@Henry Su I might need you in case anyone tries to infringe on the Crosswords Saved the Day mark. Hope all is well with you!
I wish the app would give you SOMETHING when you set a personal best. I don't need an animation or anything but having to back out to your stats page and select the day to see if you got it is a little anticlimactic. How about just a "Congratulations you just set a new record!" on the solved time page?
@Eric I scored a personal best for Sunday puzzles today. It took fifty percent of my average time. The 18A, “Head of a noted animal rescue project” was a very clever way to clue a tired entry. Kudos to the team.
@Eric If you solve on an iPad, you do get a comment on the completion splash page about your time compared to your average for the day of the week. Usually mine is XX:XX slower than your average, because I'm faster on a computer. I haven't seen this on the web, and I only do crosswords on the iPhone if I have no other way to play.
@Eric agree. I just looked at the splash screen. It shows your solve time. How much faster (or slower) than average, and streak length. There is plenty of unused screen real estate, some of which could be used to indicate if it’s a personal record.
@Eric That would be great if my stats times were real. Somehow I ended up with a PB on Saturdays of 5:31!! Normal is about 10 times that! I asked about fixing it to the NYT Tech team, but they said they'd have to reset all my stats back to zero, so not worth it. I guess it gives me something to work towards -- but I can't read and type that fast. My Monday PB isn't even that fast!
My surprise birthday party! DO RE ME. (and the cash gift was nice, too)
Quite a breezy Sunday. It took me a few theme answers before I fully grasped the theme, but a lot of the fill was quite predictable. Glad to see ALOO GOBI. I am quite partial to Indian food and this is one of the few dishes I can actually make myself. A bull or a heifer? GENDER REVEAL
Like a dog wanting a reward before doing a trick? HASTY RETREAT Et tu, emu.
Re: today’s puzzle- Resplendent and really refreshing. Required no rebus, resulting in a reduction of reactive replies. Revved to relax and rest, regain the requisite renewal that recoup my resolve regarding reaching readiness for re-entrance to the realm of real work. Regards, (re)CC.
I found this puzzle great fun and was delighted to solve a Sunday puzzle without needing cheats! (Of course, this likely means too many will complain that it is too easy.) Thank you for giving the average solver a fun break! More, please?
Fun and smooth solve; sadly, one less thing to do on Sunday morning. But I'll need the time to shovel the snow, and make the snacks for the Super Bowl party. Looking for more distractions from the current state of affairs.
Ask for the fast train: SPECIAL REQUEST Habitual cough: CHAIN REACTION Mistaken dog catcher: SPOT REMOVER Head on the desert: A LOO GOBI Rented bench: LET SEAT ____________ Very cool puzzle: THIS ONE Thank you, Rich Katz and Jeff Chen, for this gently complicated puzzle—absorbing but not punishing, and with much to entertain. We already have enough in the paper that can give us a headache.
@Constant Reader. As @barry.Ancona pointed out several hours ago, the point of the themes is that they are two word phrases the second word of which begins RE which by being read as “about” gives the solution to the clue.
[Equivocate on questions about the "Queen of Rock 'n' Roll"?] PUNT RETURNER
The good thing about doing these outside a grid is that you don't have to worry about length, much less symmetry. Try these: 1. God handles the whole shebang in two, not seven days. (7, 10) 2. "Call me X, call me Y, call me Z --whatever you think of first." (11, 12) - - - - - - - - 1. WEEKEND RECREATION 2. SPONTANEOUS REGENERATION
Some of you solvers would complain if you were hung with a new rope: Just sayin. Light and breezy Sunday puzzle, just the way we like them. Only challenge was LESTER instead of some misspelled variant of Leslie. Thank you Rich and Jeff
dk, I think the main complaint here would be about “hung” vs “hanged”. (And that the knots slip too easily these days)
57 seconds short of my Sunday record, which is probably one of two best times that are actually accurate, but I'm not disappointed. This was a fast, but amusing puzzle, and part of the speed was that the theme was so accessible and helped with the solve. There were only a few areas where I had to rely on crosses to fill in answers, and that helped as well. Thanks Rich and Jeff!
Fun puzzle. Typical slow start for me, of course, and had to cheat a bit early on, but a great 'aha' moment when I caught on the trick and then just had a great time working out each of the theme answers. Was really surprised to see that most of the theme answers were debuts, as they are all quite familiar phrases. SPEECHRECOGNITION, CHAINREACTION, HIGHRESOLUTION? Again - just really surprised at that. Puzzle finds today were inspired by realizing that: SUPERBOWLSUNDAY is 15 letters. Found a couple of quite amazing ones. I'll put those in replies. ...
@Rich in Atlanta As threatened. First, a Thursday from June 5, 2008 by James Sajdak. The theme answers in that one were all clued fairly straightforwardly. e.g. "Tiny sideshow attraction" FLEACIRCUS "Old weather forecaster." FARMERSALMANAC "When a big game is caught." SUPERBOWLSUNDAY And BULLMOOSEPARTY was another theme answer. And then there was the reveal: "Where things are freely bought and sold ... and what the starts of 17-, 23-, 36- and 46-Across do?" OPENMARKET Furrowed brow for a moment before it dawned me. Really clever trick. Here's the Xword Info link: <a href="https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=6/5/2008&g=36&d=A" target="_blank">https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=6/5/2008&g=36&d=A</a> One more puzzle in another reply. ...
@Rich in Atlanta "Tom Brady's hot take?" INSTANTREPLAY (For the folks overseas, the former quarterback is now a TV commenter, and will be calling the big game tonight.)
I solve for pleasure, not to guess the theme (which usually goes over my head anyway until I read the comments). And I certainly don't do these things to see how fast I can get to the end. A crossword puzzle is a pleasant diversion, and I like to savor it and marvel at the skill that went into creating it. Great job guys 👍
Ken, I hope everyone solves for pleasure, and you and I are hardly the only ones who don't race through the puzzle. I am surprised that your solving doesn't include trying to understand themes; I would think you would want to savor and marvel at the relationship between all the clues and their answers.
Well....IN RE this puzzle: Much Ado About Nothing Much. Sorry, guys. I enjoyed the cute clues and misdirects in the rest of the puzzle more than I enjoyed the themers It must be my age: I put in "Living WILL" before I had to revise (even though I recently referenced "Living WAGE" in a Comment. The PLUTO clues/entries were fun to unravel. I liked being reminded of RONDOS....my clarinet instructor and I once played a Mozart duet; the sonata took a half-hour (the entire lesson time) and yes, ended with a lively RONDO. It was a peak experience after weeks of practice on my own.... So, those were the things that made the puzzle enjoyable for me.
Whoa! I can't believe how fast I finished this one—less than half my average. If I hadn't taken a call from my husband and forgot to stop the timer, it would have been a personal best, but no regrets. After all, IMINLOVE! I've gotten better over the last 16 months or so, but I'm definitely not that good or fast, and I don't particularly try to be fast. Even the couple things I didn't know, like RONDOS, filled in with no trouble. The only resistance was trying to remember how to spell ECHINACEA, which I knew right away but just left at ECHIN until I was sure. It was an enjoyable enough romp, not a SLOG, but I missed trying to figure things out more, like I expect with Sunday puzzles, which I have all the time in the world to puzzle out. Today the theme just filled itself in. 24D made me smile because it made me think of the ever incredulous Hastings on the David Suchet version of TV's Poirot. I'm not big on Agatha Christie adaptions but I enjoy that one. It always cracks us up when he says it. LETSEAT ALOOGOBI!!! Yes, let's!!! It's my favorite! Sorry, I get a bit overly enthused by Indian food. Saturday, we had GINMARTINIS, my favorite (even if I think MARTINI shouldn't have to be modified by saying GIN... unless you want a particular gin) but today's STOLI is for you vodka martini drinkers. Cheers to you! Think I might just shake me up one a little early tonight... Hendrick's GIN for me, thank you very much!
You know who else whistles while they work? Dwarves, that's who. Other than that, no problems with clues or theme.
@ That’s an entirely different kettle of fish.
@Vaer Sorry, pet peeve coming up. If you're offended by gratuitous pedantry, look away now. It's "dwarfs" in Disney (and astronomy, and more generally). "Dwarves" is Tolkien's coining, and I think not much given to whistling.
@Oikofuge I haven’t looked at The Hobbit to verify this, but out there on the web, I found this: In a foreword to The Hobbit, published in 1937, J R R Tolkien writes: "In English, the only correct plural of 'dwarf' is 'dwarfs' and the adjective is 'dwarfish'. In this story 'dwarves' and 'dwarvish' are used, but only when speaking of the ancient people to whom Thorin Oakenshield and his companions belonged." And, for no particular reason, I will point out that my hometown hockey NHL team is the Toronto Maple Leafs.
@Oikofuge I’m surprised no one else has mentioned the moment in Stephen Sondheim’s Into the Woods where the two princes, during “Agony (reprise)”, have the following exchange: CINDERELLA'S PRINCE yes, but even one prick- It's my thing about blood. RAPUNZEL'S PRINCE Well, it's sick! CINDERELLA'S PRINCE It's no sicker Than your thing with dwarves. RAPUNZEL'S PRINCE Dwarfs. CINDERELLA'S PRINCE Dwarfs... RAPUNZEL'S PRINCE Dwarfs are very upsetting.
PSA about ECHINACEA: As someone who's been interested in herbs and alternative medicines for some thirty years, I share with you that echinacea is considered as nature's antibiotic. As such, it should be taken as needed, and never continuously as prevention. End of PSA. 😉 Onto the puzzle. The themed RE went over my head. I don't like it when that happens. It makes me feel not that I myself failed, but moreso that I failed the constructor(s) by not honoring their ingenuity. Other than that, I enjoyed this puzzle very much. I did half of it last night and hit a wall, only to have it flow this morning after good sleep and coffee. Memorable entry: [Ones moving with the music] for ROADIES. Thank you much, Messieurs!
May I humbly tho’ gleefully let thee know That after toilsome years that total four On me today a divine glow My first streak of seven, love it to the core.
Skipping the mini bc football, about which I neither know c nor care. Please have an opera puzzle to ,ake up for this.
@juliana of emdash Yeah and all those vowel-heavy words! ARIA AIDA OTELLO. Love those Italians.
I didn't even clock the RE: part of the puzzle so reading this article gave me an even greater appreciation for this puzzle ! I really enjoyed this, it was a nice Sunday for me. The hiphop/r&b references and the French language clues were right up my alley. Usually I'm filled with dread when a puzzle has lots of clues which require knowing the names of any of the actors/public figures, but it didn't hinder me in this one. Appreciate the Kendrick Lamar clue since he's performing at the Super Bowl today! Watching his show will be the second highlight of my day- after completing my NYT puzzles of course.
Clue for 18A, cute! A straightforward puzzle to provide some distraction in these anxious days.
In reply to the column: RE might look like it's an abbreviation for "regarding", but it's not. It's a form of the Latin word res, meaning thing, related to the English word "real", and believe it or not, "rebus". <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/re" target="_blank">https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/re</a> <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rebus" target="_blank">https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rebus</a> The fact that it stands in for "regarding" is a coincidence, much like the English "much" and the Spanish "mucho" have completely different etymologies.
Steve, A coincidence? I don't think so. Yes, RE comes from the Latin "thing," but you don't see a progression? re 2 of 4 preposition ˈrā ˈrē : with regard to : in re
@Barry Ancona. The “re” in the French “regarder” from which we get “regard” has no etymological connection with the Latin “res”, it serves as an intensifier. So, I would say definitely coincidence. Unless, of course, you are arguing that the usage of “in re” some how arose from some unconscious connection, “convergence “, to Leigh regard.”
@Steve L So...I'm confused... So the theme is that the theme answers have a -RE- in them, and the clue/answer pair makes sense if we interpret -RE- as "in regards to"?
@Patrick J. (Autocorrect strikes again) that last should read “in regard to”
@Steve L Caitlin never said "re" was short for regarding. Putting "(garding)" is just a good visual way to elucidate the theme.
@Steve L Interestingly the 're' in 'republic' also comes from 'res', ie matters of the people (res publica)
@Steve L Late to the party, but I’d like to add that there are plenty of words in English that have come to have completely different meanings from their original. Re may indeed come from res, and the dictionary may provide that definition but if the vast majority of English speakers understand it (and therefore use it) to mean “regarding” — which especially appears to be the case when someone writes “in re”, then at a certain point that’s what it means. You all know all the examples of migratory meanings but I’ll throw out “media” for one. We use it as a singular even though it’s plural.
Got stuck on SPECIALINQUEST for ages before the penny finally dropped. Fun puzzle, nice and breezy with some clever clueing.
How to stop this? Noreelection.
I got 1/10th of the way through this puzzle and thought that at some point it would get more difficult. Nope. For me, just a really dull puzzle. Last Monday's gave me more trouble. This one did absolutely nothing for me except to allow me to go to bed earlier. I did appreciate a couple of clues, such as [Bud after Jack, perhaps?] and the [noted animal rescuer]. And since I've been solving before many of the commenters were born, the Spanish muralist SERT is old crosswordese for me. I love a Sunday puzzle that's challenging, but eventually makes me smile at its cleverness. This one was just boring, and not what I would have expected from Jeff Chen. I suspect that many newer solvers loved this because they were able to complete it in record time, since it was so easy.
@Times Rita [Bud after Jack] seemed like a giveaway clue to me.
@Times Rita I agree. The cluing offered little challenge. I wasn't left with a solution high, but just some extra time on a Sunday morning. The theme was OK, but I kept expecting it to be more interesting than it was. Kind of disappointing.
@Times Rita That clue first took my mind to the rhyme we learned when younger "beer then liquor, never skicker; liquor then beer, never fear" or "...you're in the clear" Obviously the intended entry was a much better one.
@Times Rita Oh how I appreciate Lewis from Asheville when there are comments like these. Also, the most recommended comment today from Hope Levav is a heart warmer. I hope the dopamine rush writing these negative comments balances out your boredom and disappointment. On the flip side, its worked for me.
What my late friend would have called "a real filler-inner."
Within a minute of my best Sunday time ever, so I understand those who commented that they were disappointed it was an easy Sunday. I don't solve for speed though, and although the solve was relatively painless, it was still enjoyable for me to figure out the theme and appreciate some of the trickier clues. I don't mind a kinder and gentler Sunday crossword every now and then. Sometimes it's what we need. CR!
And now about the puzzle itself: I solved this one in less than half my average Sunday time, and considerably faster than the Saturday puzzle. On the other hand, the theme sort of left me cold. I get it; I understand it; it just didn't do very much for me. Maybe that's just me, but that's how I found it. My limited knowledge of Indian words (Hindi, I guess) includes ALOO meaning potato, but does that mean that GOBI means cauliflower? Then it would be the Cauliflower Desert, wouldn't it? Lemme look... Apparently, the Hindi word for cauliflower is फूलगोभी (phoolagobhee), so maybe a shortened form? And that was about the only non-theme answer of any interest to me in this very workaday puzzle. As for the theme, there are literally hundreds of words in English that begin in RE; if those letters show up yellow in Wordle, they go directly at the beginning...unless they go at the end, where they're also extremely common. The best theme sets are those for which there are hardly any other--or no other--possible examples. This was the opposite of that. So what you know after one or two correct answers is that you're going to find an RE in the middle of all of them. Hardly cause for excitement. Somehow, I expect a more interesting puzzle from Jeff Chen.
@Steve L I got mine in 6:12, which is one of my lower times for a Sunday.
@Steve L I got a cheap thrill out of trying to spell ECHINACEA right. Wasn’t even close until the crosses fixed it. And yet I nailed ONOMATOPOEIA yesterday.
Steve, I sped through the fill too (and I've had ALOOGOBI), and while I was not challenged by the themers, I did enjoy them. I appreciated the wordplay after missing same in the Saturday puzzle. An easy trio of weekend puzzles. I hope this is a blip and not a trend.
@Steve L "[T]he theme sort of left me cold. I get it; I understand it; it just didn't do very much for me. Maybe that's just me . . . ." It's not just you.
@Steve L I think this was just a tongue-in-cheek aside, but for the record, the Gobi (the desert) is rather far away from the Indian subcontinent, being located in northern China and Mongolia, and the name comes from Mongolian, which is not related to any of the languages commonly spoken in or around India.
@Steve L When you next visit an Indian restaurant, keep an eye out for 'Aloo Gobi' which is a delicious potato & cauliflower creation. One step further gets you 'Aloo Gobi Mattar' where peas are invited to the party. Highly recommended!
My fastest Sunday in 8 years of daily solving.
Fun fact: the Bible makes no reference to the forbidden fruit being an apple. The clue in question, however, was clever enough that I will refrain from penning a strongly worded letter to the editor.
Sunday best for me, at just shy of 24 minutes with no errors. Got the theme at SPECIALREQUEST, which certainly helped with the other thematic entries. The clues for the themers seemed especially well done. Only "Broadway offering titled with dots and dashes?" for SHOWREMORSE seemed a bit dodgy. Very solid puzzle, and not too many proper nouns, which I found especially helpful. Enjoying my HIGH RE SOLUTION right now, before turning to ice removal and other chores.
Usually when I see Jeff Chen’s name my heart sinks a little; in a good way that is. I expect a tough, chewy grid. Today’s was not that, but it was still a delight so this is a thumbs up, not a complaint. I kept waiting to hit the wall with a fiendish theme, as I couldn’t guess what it might be from the title. Instead it was a smile of (re)cognition as I understood where it was leading. HIGH RESOLUTION indeed. Temporarily halted at the crossing of 33D with 46A. Living Dead? Wake? As no clue to the tributary. Threw random letters in until WAGE hit. Duh. Head before HELM another momentary check, but otherwise my smoothest Sunday solve in EONs. Off to put 76A on now for a satisfying cuppa.
I got a high when I finally resolved the trick 🙂
I'm starting to get annoyed with myself. I hurry to complete a puzzle without fully grasping the theme sometimes. I'm too focused on speed, it seems, and not enough on taking a moment to just let things percolate. Today exemplifies that perfectly, and I think it's a gem of a puzzle!
I approached this one with "great resolve." A very fun puzzle with an imaginative twist. It took a bit to see the wordplay, but then I caught on.
The fill was enjoyable, and the theme is clever — I’m learning about it now. I was having fun in the moment using downs to solve it, so I didn’t try to figure out the theme as I was going. It was pleasant experience nevertheless.
Absolutely _love_ this theme! "Speach RE: Cognition". Hilarious. So funny, so fun. I also liked "head of a noted animal rescue project" NOAH. (I had considered the national oceanic and atmospheric administration, before considering the correct century. Despite the fact that they don't particularly focus on animals, to my knowledge...) I admit the question mark had me looking for a RE in 54 across "roadies" -- But it didn't throw me too badly. Another good double entendre there. I'm so glad I found this one! Thanks constructors and editors!