Complete respect for 50A, Futbol Stadium Cry. What a great way to point out her puzzle didn't use OLE ANYWHERE.
@Rick Box This is the first time in something like 600 Crosswords I’ve done where the answer to that clue was *not* OLE.
@Rick Box At this point, using OLE is a sign of laziness. I wish the puzzle authors would just stop.
@Rick Box Marginal. Oleomarginal, I'd say.
@Rick Box I was initially irritated that i couldn’t mindlessly insert OLE for 50D, but then I realized what a silly reaction that was. A breath of fresh air, really!
It’s hard enough to make a 70-word crossword that has hardly a whiff of junk, harder to make one both clean and lively, and even harder to make one that’s scrubbed and vibrant, and infused with a theme. Enter today’s offering, which Sarah’s notes say is filled with romantic references for this romantic day. And she pulls it off without even a touch of strain or desperation. That requires skill and talent, and here it is on display in her first solo NYT themeless. I was won over the moment I uncovered TIDY SUM. Truly, I stopped for a moment after filling it in, warmly smiled, and thought, “Oh. Now. That’s gorgeous.” It is SO SWEET to brush with beauty any time, but especially on Valentine’s day, and that, on top of this lovey-dovey-imbued grid, got me feeling just right. Thank you, Sarah, for coming up with the idea for this amorous puzzle, for following through with it, and for nailing it!
@Lewis I noticed that SARAH signed the puzzle with the "Ragtime" entry.
"Sara(h), you're the poet in (our) heart(s), never change and don't you ever stop" bringing us your wonderful crossword puzzles (with apologies to Stevie Nicks for taking liberty with the lyrics.) I always appreciate a grid wherein the unknowns are inferable, needing only a few or even just one letter to break through. It also delights me when the fill is varied and interesting such as in this one. Many thanks for this puzzle, Sarah, and to the barbershop quartet for a stupendous Valentine's Day greeting (with honorable mention for the crossword garment!) A Happy Valentine's wish to all in Crosslandia - editors, constructors, columnists, and my dear commenters - with all my love, and many thanks for the joy you bring.
"Your parents pay you to clean your room?" "Yeah, I get a tidy sum!" ("I thought I'd also get paid...must have been a mess-understanding.")
I'm pretty sure there are going to be a lot of "too easy" comments here, and they may be as right as you can be about something that is neither wrong nor right. Anyway, I've been thinking about a comment about going back to 1993, when the puzzles were so much harder. But I wonder...isn't a 1993 puzzle probably easier in 1993 than it will be in 2025? Puzzles obviously don't exist outside a context. So is it even possible to evaluate a 1993 puzzle for difficulty now? Or a puzzle now for how hard it's going to be in 2057?
@Francis It’s not that it was easy. It was easy for a Friday. Editors decide which day to run a puzzle, not constructors. It was a lovely puzzle that takes about as much time as an average Wednesday puzzle.
@Francis super true. I have been working on the first puzzle (from 1942) off and on for more than a year. The shift in context is so huge, "easy" clues feel impossible. The 90s era is more accessible to me at least (among other things my wife & I had a stretch in those years where we did the puzzle each morning) but even so there's a lot of ephemeral knowledge tied to a time period.
@Francis Don't you think we (the future folk) will be speaking Chinese by then?
In some traditions the 2nd Commandment is, Thou shalt not brag about solve time. Indeed, many scholars have concluded that Moses solved with one finger on his tablet.
@LBG Where was his other finger?
@Andrzej You'll have to look in the TALMUD.
@LBG That’s an interesting image. Did the (putative) author of the Torah not use a Torah pointer whilst reading what is now one of the most well known parts of the Torah? (For some reason, I have a sudden urge to attack Pearl Harbor.)
I enjoyed the rectitudinousness of this puzzle.
Love the singing Valentine and the bonus of a themed Friday! I also liked that the stadium cry wasn't "ole" for a change. Thanks, Sarah!
@CarolinaJessamine I have no link to the singing valentine! What is it?
This grid seems tailor-made for John Ezra to give us a sequel to his steamy “Atlas Stripped” novella from Tuesday. Perhaps CANOODL(ING) KENDO WARRIORs this time around? But revolutionaries can’t get sidetracked . . . Crossword Revolution Day 24: SARAH The novel “Ragtime” holds a special place in my heart, as it got me through a tough day in a hospital waiting room over 40 years ago. If you were compiling a list of novels to read to understand the United States, this would be at or near the top of the list. And, of course, Audra McDonald is an American treasure. So, thanks SARAH for including your name and cluing it in a way that helps move the CR forward. A Crosswords Saved the Day ™ production.
@Puzzlemucker Well, the bodice ripper will have to wait, dear friend, I literally poured rain on that idea! I loved Ragtime, too as one of the few historical novels that was utterly convincing somehow. I've found that people who like Ragtime often also like "Time and Again" by Jack Finney, a lovely, sentimental novel about time travel from 1970 back to 1882, which to me, was also charmingly convincing. Ever read it? But reading historical novels right now may be a painful exercise in nostalgia for a time when institutions appeared solid, dependable, bulwarks for a more-or-less functioning society. Yesterday with each paean to Lincoln on his birthday I felt close to bursting into tears. Just his name alone got me going!
@john ezra Yes, I have read “Time and Again,” a long time ago in hardcover with charming illustrations. I think a reviewer of the film “Time after Time” mentioned this novel and I was curious enough to search it out.
@Puzzlemucker I was sure it would be FALSEIDOL, but on second thought CR is more sophisticated than that. Thanks for the recommendation! Ragtime will be the next book I read.
This seemed awfully smooth & easy. Seems like the trend to make Fridays more accessible for newcomers is continuing. I get that, but please please the old pros too.
@Dave S Long time solver here , Dave. I thought it was perfectly suitable for a Friday.
@Dave S There was a lot of trivia though, so it could have been hard (although it was mostly gettable if you are familiar with common English names).
@Dave S Hey there, maybe it's just you getting better at crossword puzzles! ;)
@Dave S Isn't that the whole point of the easy Friday mode offering? When that was introduced, I thought the regular Friday puzzle would get back to being more challenging, but that hasn't happened.
Never thought of "a little unwell" as potential crossword fodder because we jokingly called our rain barrel the unwell. When the kids put out mason jars to measure rainfall, we called them "little unwells" (that's how we roll at J-ez's crib) -- neither kid grew up to be a scientist. But MEDIUM RARE is an even better answer. Chef's (the) kiss! What did we do with the water in the rain barrel? Every so often I would happen by it, on the side of our house and stop to peer into its clear depths. It was a true wooden barrel with staves of oak, belted with iron, picked up at a flea back in the nineties. I stopped up the many leaks with some tarry goop that turned the inside greenish black. Then I would push up my sleeves and use both hands to give my face a good rain rinse, with its scents of ozone, cloud and Pittsburgh (coal, coke, steak & fries atop your salad, kolbasi, smoky sweat) -- it woke me to the core. Then I'd wrestle the barrel to its side; the water eagerly gushed down the driveway. Months, maybe even a year would pass before I'd do it again. --a rich puzzle spiced with unusual words. As others have said, GOL was a great subtle mockery of our steady diet of OLEs. Nose rings, the afterlife, Enya, Lama, false idols, tents & the Talmud gave this puzzle a distinctly pan-mythic ancient religion new-age vibe which I found charming, like the Sheik of Arabee. Here's a Valentine to the law: <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/02/13/us/doc-annotation-letter-to-bondi.html" target="_blank">https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/02/13/us/doc-annotation-letter-to-bondi.html</a>
There's a whisper down the line at 9:39 When the crossword's ready to drop, Saying "Sarah where is Sarah has she gone to hunt an error? We must find her or the puzzle can't start." All the editors and the proofers and the web edition’s users They are searching high and low, Saying "Sarah where is Sarah if she’s off singing a capella Then the crossword just can't go." At 9:42 then the signal's nearly due And the solvers are frantic for the drop— Then Sarah will appear and she'll saunter to the rear: She’s been busy in the costume shop!
This puzzle is like its own little ROMCOM. it runs the gamut from CATCH FEELINGS, WOOS, and CANOODLE to the lovely symmetry of THE KISS and ONE LOVE to AMOUR and finally the I DOS. SO SWEET! What's not to love? Thanks, Sarah. Happy Valentine’s Day.
Wow! A singing valentine - SO SWEET, thanks Sarah and friends. The challenge is on, constructors! Videos of yourselves doing an aria, perhaps? Or some interpretive dance? Standup comedy? Yoga? (we know one such person). Let’s see what you’ve got!
As I struggled with the first half of the grid I thought I was in for a tough Friday. ONE LOVE saved me. Huge Ska fan, it melds well with Punk. Memories of sneaking out to Blues parties as a teen. Highly illicit get togethers with imported Jamaican Ska discs and ‘tobacco’. ENYA a shoe-in as the credits song to the LOTR trilogy films. Everything else followed. I found the clue for 26D a bit odd, though I can see I’m in a minority there. It just felt clunky to me. Neck before NOSE, several unknown names and a completely unknown phrase held me up for a while TAKE THE L?? I mean, I can work out what it means, but do people actually say that? GOL instead of the eternal ole was nice to see. All together a Good Friday offering, thank you Sarah. Sadly my uptight British soul would shrivel and die of embarrassment if someone sent me a sung Valentine. Or anything sung to my face tbh. Just can’t deal. I know, I know. I need therapy.
@Helen Wright but I thought ska was fast, and this particular song was reggae?
@Helen Wright It’s possible that the reason I married my husband is because he doesn’t tell servers in restaurants that it’s my birthday. I’m of a mind that nobody enjoys it, they just want the free dessert. My son would just sob, bawling through the singing on his birthday. But he wanted us to do it. So we’d just speak the words quietly and not look at him. And we *all* need a bit of therapy, no?
@Helen Wright People here do indeed say TAKE THE L here, and it may be baseball-related. Wins and losses are a statistical category for pitchers, and they are abbreviated W and L. Which pitcher in any game (as there are usually several) gets the win or takes the loss is statistically determined by a set of rules. So the pitcher who loses the game statistically is said to TAKE THE L. Baseball is a game that is played every day of the week, for the most part, through a six-month regular season, and then, if a team is good, another month-plus of playoffs. There are times when a team is getting beaten so badly that the manager no longer wants to use his best pitchers, so he brings in the lowest guy on the totem pole for "mopping up" duties, or even uses a non-pitcher to do this. The manager knows that it's better to concede a game he isn't going to win anyway, and save his better pitchers for the next day. In that case, you can say that the manager has decided to TAKE THE L and move on. This strategy is applied to the outside world as well, to move on from something hopeless in the hopes of succeeding on something else after that. Hope you haven't given up by this point!
If someone woos you, does it make you feel woozy? If someone canoodles you, is it chicken soup for your soul? If we don’t gripe about a really fast Friday puzzle, is that good karma?
@JohnWM I did note the 'easy' puzzle, but that isn't the same thing as griping, I hope. Now I want a book entitled _KITTEN CHOW for the Soul_
Happy Pitchers and Catchers report to spring training day!
Nice Friday puzzle. Not all that easy for me, of course, but just had a good time working it all out. Lots of nice 'aha' moments when something finally dawned on me. Valentine's day led me to a really unusual puzzle find. I'll put that in a reply. ...
@Rich in Atlanta As threatened: A Sunday from April 8, 2012 by Daniel A. Finan with the title "IN-NUENDOS" Don't think I would have had a chance in heck with this one. Clue/answer that led me there: "Lurid 1979 film about John Dillinger's girlfriend, with "The" :" CO(L)ORFORV(A)LENTINES(D)A(Y) So... the apparent implied answer was "Lady in red." A couple of others: "Golf ace :" T(H)EL(O)NE(L)IESTNUMB(E)R Implied: "Hole in one." "One who looks friendly but isn't :" (W)(O)O(L)(F)ACETIOUSLY Implied: "Wolf in sheep's clothing." I've never seen another one like that and can't say that I entirely grasp some of those. Here's the Xword Info link: <a href="https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=4/8/2012&g=69&d=A" target="_blank">https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=4/8/2012&g=69&d=A</a> ..
This one moved quite fast for me, at almost 2 minutes faster than the Thursday one. I did notice how our constructor snuck her name in there at 39A. Spelled "correctly", as she says, as the name derives from Hebrew, which has a ה, or a he, at the end. This letter is a precursor to H and generally has the H sound, except at the end of words, much like in English. But since Hebrew is usually written without vowels, the ה serves to indicate that there is a vowel sound at the end of the word, so it is a useful letter indeed. On the other hand, it's altogether silent in English, and exists for etymological purposes only.
@Steve L You must have an א number of facts to share with everyone who reads the comments!
Thou shalt have no other GODS before me....Thou shall make no graven IMAGES... I think IDOLs were understood to be FALSE... It's nice to revisit some archaic language in the face of a lot of Noob Speak...like CATCH FEELINGS (in lieu of measles? Mumps? Rubella? Because I think they'll be coming back, actually. Do worms have an AFTERLIFE?) Happy VD, everyone! I guess the easier-than-normal puzzle was our Valentine treat, eh? I made Springerle cookies imprinted with love birds and roses. Mmmmm Love the scent, the taste, the pre-bite-prettiness!
@Mean Old Lady your cookies - how lovely!! Happy Valentine's Day.
This started out tough and was fairly daunting. As most of the cultural stuff was unknown to me, I didn't have any real gimmes. I got Micky Mantle's entry only because of the number of squares. I eat chocolate and read ingredients on the stuff I eat, so that got me three letters with no effort. And then Enya and Eke showed up, what a surprise! :-D But by playing detective I slowly gained toeholds that then cascaded into significant fills. So for an unhip, culturally clueless, previous generation guy who knows a bit about linguistics and likes to puzzle things out, this took about 25 minutes. I doubt that is brag-worthy, but that's not my point. As a data/analysis guy, I figure the construction team might appreciate some anecdotal information on how the puzzle worked.
A smooth, easy, and flowy Friday. Great fill and cluing from top to bottom, with some lovely thematic answers for V-day. I hope today, everyone finds love—whether a secret AMOUR or your longtime ONE LOVE, may today be a day of people who CATCH FEELINGS watching ROM COMs. Many lovers today will share a huge moment—THE KISS and perhaps even a few I DOS. Some will just CANOODLE while their partner WOOS them with hugs and chocolates. And some will choose today to love themselves, settling in for some VITAL self-care with NO MESS, and I think that’s SO SWEET too. As for me, I’M DOING OK and I hope all of you fellow puzzlers are, too. Let today be a reminder to love everyone, including ourselves. ❤️ Love!
@Edward I couldn't agree more!! Thank you for this lovely, puzzle-induced sentiment! Happy Valentine's Day! 🧡❤️💜💕
Couldn't ask for a better themeless crossword for Valentine's Day. Thanks for the singing Valentine Sarah, that was SO SWEET! Tomorrow I'm going to celebrate 1/2 price Chocolate Day. 🍫
17 proper nouns... i guess this is just becoming trivia now.
@Charles Totally agree. Although this was an easy solve, the prevalence of niche cultural signifiers is tiresome.
@Charles Right? Apparently most solvers don't mind it though 😢
@Charles Judging by the way you end your comment, I sense you think that proper nouns in a crossword are a new thing. Let's go back to the very first weekday NYT crossword (9/11/50). (I chose that one because it's the same size as today's; earlier ones were all Sundays.) The apparent theme of this puzzle (yawn!) was NYC's reservoir system. So here are the theme answers: 1. ASHOKAN (a reservoir) 2. ESOPUS (a watershed area) 3. HOWELL (Wallace E., meteorologist associated with literal rainmaking) 4. SCHOHARIE (a reservoir) 5. CATSKILLS (where rain falls into reservoirs) 6. CROTON (a reservoir) Other proper noun answers were (with truncated clues): 7. EPINAL (French city) 8. INGA (clued just as [Girl's name]) 9. PIAVE (Italian river) 10. ADRIAN (Greenburg, Hollywood designer) 11. NEILSON (past Smith College president) 12. LETT (Latvia native) 13. EAST SIDER (Manhattan denizen) 14. HOPALONG (Cassidy, kids' idol) 15. OPEL (German car) 16. LODGE (Henry Cabot, senator) 17. MAE ([Miss Murray or Miss West]) 18. EASTON (Pa. city) 19. TRENT (English river) 20. ITO (clued just as [Japanese name]) 21. OMA (Lee, heavyweight boxer) 22. ETO (Where Eisenhower commanded) Bracketed clues are verbatim. In case you think this is a fluke, more to come in a reply.
@Charles - As near as I can tell, most people just use the word "trivia" to demean anything in a crossword that THEY don't know, as a means of making themselves feel better about it, rather than trying to learn something new. Frankly, almost ALL entries in a crossword could be considered "trivia" (the actual meaning of the word, not just an epithet used to demean stuff the solver just doesn't like). The exceptions would be theme entries, which often don't make any sense other than in the context of their themes.
First Friday with no look-ups whatsoever! Loved it
That was great! I really enjoyed the solve. I loved GOODKARMA for [clean energy?] and of course MEDIUMRARE for [a little unwell?]. I had MEDIUM___E and still needed 2 more crosses before seeing rare. FALSEIDOL was a gimme but I really enjoyed seeing it in a crossword. Well, not exactly a gimme... there's a Ten Commandments song from my childhood that I had to sing in my head for it. I was annoyed with the [unrealistic claim on the packaging of a kids toy] until I got the NOMESS answer. That combo has my utmost respect, and I don't even have kids lol.
@Joya The kid's toy answer was the last to fall for me. I'd completed the puzzle, but there was an error...I'd entered EDT for the DC time zone, because although I had seen that winter was specified, EDT just kind of comes out whole from my brain, without any thought of what the letters stand for. That left me staring at the statement that "no meds" was an unrealistic claim for a child's toy. The world has gone so far off its rails that I sat there for a few moments and wondered about it.
Sorbet is what comes to mind with this puzzle. Very refreshing. For instance, I was so used to ole that I was shocked and pleased when GOL was used. I put some answers in on the first pass saying, “No way is it going to be” CATCHFEELINGS or TAKESTHEL. When the crossings fell into place and started chanting “Wheelhouse! Wheelhouse!” (Yes, IMDOINGOK — just the excitable type 🤣) Then I pressed my luck too far and entered bsure for 35A. Please tell me someone gets that reference. If you do, you can feel free to tell me how ridiculous and far fetched it was 🤣. Sleep APNEA was, unfortunately, a gimme. GOODKARMA, ONELOVE and many more just tumbled into place with no lookups. As a superfan of Bewitched, which I have watched on reruns all my life, I was hoping for something show related for 59A. My one cat’s name is Samantha. I would have named my tomcat Darrin but I find that character odious 😤. If I can break through the two-cat limit imposed by my husband, I’d have Tabitha, Serena, Endora, Maurice, Dr Bombay and, of course, Uncle Arthur 😂. So clearly, KITTENCHOW was a breeze. I enjoyed the puzzle and the musical treat, SARAH!
@Pani Korunova Nite and Day! I didn't go there, but totally get why his crooning would have fit nicely into this one. Ahh…the ‘80s. Definitely a love/hate sitch for me.
@Pani Korunova Actually, isn't the stadium cry GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL!?
@Pani Korunova Our black kitty came to us named Tabitha by the animal rescue operation... and we changed it(!). A little too on-the-nose for us, but I wouldn't mind naming a non-black cat after a good witch! It's so awful that superstitions persist against black cats. Ours is the funniest, wiggliest, best cat in the world! (Well, tied with our tabby, that is!) 😻😻😻
@Pani Korunova I get bsure! I think we'd need a new day of the week for that Clue/Answer combo. Can you imagine the comments?
Today's ear worm was courtesy of Bob Marley. We are celebrating Valentine's Day all year, since we are celebrating our 50th anniversary all year, and little gifts have been popping up all along. I came home from my volunteer shift at the ER today to find the best part of Valentine's Day waiting for me...chocolates, chocolates, and more chocolates. Excuse me, while I go stuff my face. Delicately.
@Momerlyn We got married in 1975 also. Nice coincidence. Enjoy your lengthy Valentine's day. ...
Thank you for the barbershop quartet interlude! I really enjoyed that. And the puzzle was also a lot of fun. Thanks again, Sarah.
I have not looked at today's puzzle yet, but I have comments about a puzzle from 2006, which I've been working on for a while, it's really hard. For me, anyhow. Did I mention that it's super hard? And that I'm probably not going to be able to complete it? Anyhow, earlier tonight I was sitting in a favorite local restaurant bar, waiting for my friend, and working on this 2006 puzzle. I'm a regular at this place and my server is a regular at this place for many years. So while I was working on this, he approached, and one of the clues was, " Home bartenders tool." It was five letters and I knew it started with a T. Knowing that dear Dan is a server and a bartender, I asked him... Bless his heart, he looked at it intently... He couldn't think of anything but he said he think about it... and also ask the bar manager... He came back a little while later with my martini, no need to mention that it was a gin martini... Hahaha... And said to try tongs number one, or, tulip. Huzzah! It was tongs! I have never in a million years would have thought of that!! I mean, It's technically a cheat, but screw that, huzzah!! Also this puzzle includes the answer SAPID for like pleasing the palate or some such. Seriously!? Beyond my pay grade. Har! All right, I think I'll sleep for a while and then sometime soon I'll be back to work on today's puzzle. Sapid.... 🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯
@HeathieJ My long held view on these puzzles is that I’d rather solve them with family, friends and even the occasional stranger than solve alone. My ten year old grandson takes his role as the resident video game expert seriously and is always delighted to help out his parents and grandparents when the need arises.
@HeathieJ Ah... A martini... I haven't had one since I had my liver examined in 2022 🤣.
@HeathieJ Mmmm, gin martini. I prefer mine dirty. *Yet again Apple auto corrects gin to gun. You need a therapist IOS.
@HeathieJ Andrew, sincere question here, how do they examine your liver? (to paraphrase groucho; "outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. inside of a man, it's too dark to read")
What a weird puzzle. Apparently it was very easy - but only for those who knew all the names, maybe? Because there were so many proper noun and trivia clues! I knew some of the answers, but I needed 10 or 15 lookups, too. Having googled all the arcana, I solved in Wednesday time (and 3 minutes faster than last week's "Tuesday").
Disappointed that I am not a member of the easy Friday club today – my solve time was just a hair under average. I had a hard time gaining any momentum when I started the puzzle last night so I picked it up again early this morning and was able to finish. I hope Sarah has started a trend where constructors submit a video that entertains us.
Well, the good vibes are just flowing! Because our anniversary is a couple days before, Valentine’s Day isn’t a thing in our house, now that the kids are grown. So it was really, truly fun to be serenaded! And right after this love-centric ode to puzzling! It felt like that, to me. Canoodling, wooing, amorous solving which is the One Love we all have in common. Happy Friday all!
@CCNY Same! Our anniversary is right before Valentine’s Day. We stretch it out a bit but only a little bit.
It was a bit slow-going for me. Never saw the word CATCH associated with FEELINGS or heard the term TAKESTHEL, so I had to rely on a lot of crosses to get those answers. For some unknown reason, though, ALF came to me in a flash, though I never watched the show. I did know ONE LOVE, and I love it when a song lyric makes the title pop into my head. Unfortunately, it happens rarely! My favorite clue was [A little unwell], though it evoked memories of my mother telling me that that was the term used when a girl/got her period, i.e. being unwell. Thank heavens that's not used anymore! I did manage to finish without any lookups, so now I can look forward to Saturday's offering.
@Times Rita Alf appears pretty regularly in these parts
To Sarah's musical wish, "I hope you enjoy this puzzle," I reply "I do! I do!" (IDOS) What a wonderful Valentine's Day-themed themeless puzzle! Taran! Princess Eilonwy! Fflewdur Fflam! Gurgi! Doli! When my original Yearling paperbacks wore out from innumerable rereadings, I invested in a hardback one-volume omnibus--about five years ago. I can't read the passage in *The High King* in which Fflewdur burns his harp, without crying. By way of a musical Valentine Day's offering, here's "Garden of Love's Sleep," from *Turangalîla-Symphonie* by Olivier Messaien, one of the greatest orchestral works of the 20th c., IMHO. Here performed by the Royal Concergebouw Orchestra under Riccardo Chailly, with Jean-Yves Thibaudet on piano, and some really weird mathematical graphics (what the?): <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SO1a2NQoYaA" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SO1a2NQoYaA</a> Bonus points if you can guess what other entry this refers to!
@Bill For those interested here are passages from Book Five, The High King, as it relates to the burning of the harp ( from 16A). <a href="https://tinyurl.com/4mu7cdhf" target="_blank">https://tinyurl.com/4mu7cdhf</a>
@Bill I failed to guess the other entry reference, but the music put me IN A TRANCE. Your link also led me to a totally unrelated Stephen Colbert interview with Elton John and Brandi Carlisle. As a huge fan of both, it was lovely to see them together and learn of their connection. Thanks! Delightful puzzle today, Sarah Sinclair, and I ❤️ your Valentine video
@Bill It's been so long since I read those books that I didn't remember it was Prydain, so LLOYD was a hopeful entry for me. All I can recall is that Gwydion was the hero, Arawn was the evil sorcerer, and the gwythiants were the evil birds.
@Bill I’ve been lucky enough to have been to het Koninklijk Concertgebouw a few times. Not for this piece, unfortunately. I know that three of the ten movements in the Turangalîla-Symphonie have the 43A entry in their titles, appropriate for today. Thanks for the link.
Loved the constructor’s video Valentines greeting. As Deb mentioned, Sarah has previously sent some great photos to liven up her constructor’s notes. It’s worth going back to remind yourself of some of these…..pizza chef, Halloween theme. And her spelling bee knit hats and crossword top in today’s video. Class act!
@Hardroch Oh yea, she also has patterns for wordle hats and xword gold streak wool hats. <a href="https://tinyurl.com/ybesy7s3" target="_blank">https://tinyurl.com/ybesy7s3</a>
What a lovely singing Valentine! Thanks Sarah and Wordplay!
Loved the singing Valentine greeting 😍🥰 Didn’t mind an easier Friday - plenty of fun Valentine clues squeezed in there to elicit a smile 😃 Thank you, Sarah Happy Valentine’s Day, Crosslandia ❤️
Great puzzle. As many have noted, the 'medium rare' is a thing of beauty.
@CB I've been mulling that one over for a while now, and I've come to the conclusion that MEDIUM RARE is actually a lot unwell. A little unwell would be medium well, but of course you couldn't pair those two as clue and entry.
Thank you Ms. Sinclair for this Valentine treat. My "One Love" returns from NYC this afternoon. "Canoodling" just might break out!
This one was a gem! CANOODLE? TAKESTHEL?MEDIUMRARE? Beautiful— thank you!
You canoodle, but you may not. I loved this themeful themeless puzzle! Still trying to decide if ["Willing to join our endeavor?"] was meant to be part of the theme.
Happy Valentine's Day. 💐♥️💐♥️💐♥️💐♥️💐♥️💐♥️💐♥️💐♥️💐♥️💐♥️ The Emus ate my comment last night, but happy Valentine's Day to them too anyway.
I thought this was just about right for a Friday. I had a lot of misdirects—WEBSITE instead of WARRIOR (love that clue) OLE instead of GOL, ROKER instead of DENTE, RWANDA before UGANDA. Love the callout to LLOYD Alexander although for me it was The Black Cauldron. Not a great fan of CATCHFEELINGS as a marquee entry, seems a little clunky but maybe it’s just an idiom I’m not familiar with. Finally anyone else see a 5 letter word starting with F for “bad things to blow” and immediately come up with something that didn’t pass the smell test?
@SP Jason uses the phrase “catch feelings” on NBC’s “The Good Place.
@SP "maybe it’s just an idiom I’m not familiar with" Absolutely. I've heard this expression many times in pop culture. Try Googling it.
A fun puzzle to solve. Appreciated all the nods to the unstated theme. TOL what the eye test chart is called. And like Deb, did not know that ONE LOVE was initially a Ska song. And as Joni sang, In France they kiss on main street amour, mamma, not cheap display. <a href="https://youtu.be/sEgcHrbyTgk?si=QbgsU3eB3YWoyR1P" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/sEgcHrbyTgk?si=QbgsU3eB3YWoyR1P</a>
@Vaer Whenever I have an eye test during my yearly physical or to renew my driver’s license here in Japan, it’s a Landolt C chart (had to look it up to find what it’s called), not a Snellen chart. Apparently, Dr. Landolt’s test (which uses only circles, each with a gap on the top, bottom, left, or right) is also the one typically used in most of Europe.
Thank you, Sarah, and thank your Familiar Sounding friends, for the SO SWEET singing valentine! I needed that.
An easy but enjoyable puzzle. The musical Valentine's message was delightful!
Good morning. Excellent cluing and a really fun fill. Lots of Valentine gems without being overbearing. "So close"... Laugh of the day: "NO MEds" made perfect sense to me at 2D crossing with EdT. Have a great day with your loves! (And happy "national singles awareness day" to the rest of us.)
@Amy I did the same thing! Could not for the life of me figure out why a children’s craft kit would claim to have no meds! 🤣
Love the video message from the creator. More of that, please!
FALSEgods and ole really hung me up in the southeast. When things like AGAME and INATRANCE didn't seem to work, I first took them out instead of my two wrong answers, as I wracked my brain to remember the Futurama name. I watched a season or two a very long time ago, but could not place the name until I eventually decided to take out gods and ole... but I got there. Otherwise, I was surprised to sail through as fast as I did. It felt fun and lively though, and it'll give me more time to stare blankly at the remainder of the puzzle from a 2006 Saturday, that I've been working on and off for hours and hours. Like many, I really enjoyed the clue for MEDIUMRARE... A little unwell? Ha! Cheers to the weekend, all!