My five favorite original clues from last week (in order of appearance): 1. A little unwell? (6)(4) 2. Lose liquidity, in a way (4) 3. Salty drink (3) 4. Place for subs (5) 5. It may go across the board (5) MEDIUM RARE CLOT SEA BENCH QUEEN
"Did you want me to pick up some deodorant?" "Sure!" (I have a Degree in these puns.)
@Mike Really, that one should be Banned.
I think you all need to Dial it back a little.
Crossword Revolution Day 27: YES Yes UNDER PRESSURE I YEARN To soar like SERENA Or GLO like IDINA To be as RESOLUTE as ARETHA Or EVEN Awkwafina, To say “YES, why SURE I’m ABLE and PURE!” But MOSTLY I’m MOROSE Drowning in PATHOS My heart’s fire in ASHES, I’ve given UP on the MASSes. Open your Eyes, Dream but don’t guess. Your biggest Surprise Comes after YES. (The last stanza is the last stanza of Muriel Rukeyser’s “Yes”) Crosswords Saved the Day ™.
Here’s a link to the full Rukeyser poem: <a href="https://murielrukeyser.org/2022/02/04/yes" target="_blank">https://murielrukeyser.org/2022/02/04/yes</a>/
In English double negation implies a positive but double positive doesn’t imply negation …. said the professor Upon which from the back of the class someone called out YEAH SURE
@Ιασων “I don’t want none” What would you do? Double negation in English means a negative - because it’s language, not mathematics.
@Jane Wheelaghan A double negative sometimes does end up being a positive. It is not not a thing.
UNDER PRESSURE: such a classic. <a href="https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=a01QQZyl-_I" target="_blank">https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=a01QQZyl-_I</a> David Bowie and Freddie Mercury now both gone, what a loss. Born too late, I was.
@Sam Lyons Bowie kept churning out such excellent music. We could certainly use more like him.
I drink tons of red wine and have never heard of syrah. But, I'm cheap and my wine comes in a box. it's my Cardboardeaux.
I though debra was the singular form of debris and this equivalent to a “messing” on set, knowing nothing about the actor. Happy to get it right though!
Is this MOSTLY protestant sending His Holiness heartfelt wishes that he is feeling better and will soon be celebrating MASSes again? Oh, POPE, YES! Thank you, Kate Hawkins and Erica Hsiung Wojcik, for such a lively Monday puzzle—easier enough for beginners and engaging enough for pros.
Good to have both Popeye and Yam in a puzzle because there's nothing better than Robin Williams singing: You don't have to be no fish To tell when you're flounderin' What am I? Some kind of barnacles On the dinghy of life? I ain't no doctors but I knows When I'm losin' me patiensk What am I? Some kind of judge, or a lawyers? Aw, maybe not but I knows what laws suit's me So what am I? I ain't no physciscisk But I knows what matters What am I? I'm Popeye, the sailor And I yam what I yam what I Yam and I yam what I Yam and that's all that I yam 'cause I yam what I yam And I gots a lot of muskle And I only gots one eye And I never hurts nobodys and I'll never tell a lie Tops to me bottoms and me bottoms to me top And that's the way it is 'till The day that I drop what am I? I yam what I yam! *** Today, I and some friends went to the local deli for lunch, and we all got everything bagels. Everything in the case looked so good that I told them, "Give me an everything with everything." My friend Clyde who's on a diet said, "Give me an everything with nothing." Chas, who always has a hard time making up his mind asked for "an everything with something" and once that was sorted out (a schmear), Laura, who professes not to be picky asked for "an everything with anything." Luckily the counterman knows Laura and got her what she really wanted, a toasted sesame bagel with a schmear topped with some thinly sliced red onion, green paper and tomato, with a dash of salt and pepper.
@john ezra Green paper? My kingdom for an edit button! Speaking of Popeye, I liked the mini-nautical theme... with oars, Popeye, the HMS Resolute (built for arctic exploration in 1850, it was used to search for Sir John Franklin, who disappeared in the Arctic searching for the NW Passage; the Resolute was also abandoned in 1854 when it got iced in, and was recovered by a US Navy team two years later; in thanks, some wood from it was used to construct the Resolute desk and presented by the Queen to the president of the US as a gift in thanks, and which is now being desecrated by the person who sits behind it)...
@john ezra Sorry to be culturally obtuse but what is a schmear a schmear of? I get that’s it’s something spread, apparently (only?) on a bagel, but is it always the same thing or can one schmear anything soft? Google definitions are unhelpful
@NH If you have to ask, you will never know. If you know, you need only ask. I don't know why your question made me think of that Harry Potter quote. But you can know. It's cream cheese. I think it's Yiddish, but when it comes to bagels, to me, it's always cream cheese.
This is a 29A – SMART – puzzle. Smart in clue, answer, and theme. The cluing made me think, with more clue-play -- vagueness, misdirects and wordplay -- than Monday-typical. Mondays are often rote fills for me, a veteran solver, but today I found myself going a delicious touch slower than usual. Lovely answers appeared along the way, such as RESOLUTE, THE WORKS, MELD, UNDER PRESSURE (a NYT debut answer), IDINA and ARETHA, NOODLING, POUNCE, EVOKES, MOROSE, and PATHOS. And a theme whose reveal landed with a “Wow!” and a “Hah!” Whose theme answers were fresh, all of them having appeared only four times or less in the NYT puzzle's 80+ years. A theme that gave my brain the work it loves trying to guess the reveal, even though unsuccessfully. Smart from start to finish. A lovely first collab between you two, Katie and Erica, and I’m hoping it’s not the only. Thank you both for a right smart Monday!
Who did we see around the RESOLUTE desk? UH OH! ABLE? YEAH, RIGHT......
The first puzzle I think I’ve ever done without any hint, look-up, or help! I finally feel some progress being made and like I should get a MERIT badge of my own
OT Fun: POUNCE reminded me of our Ohio next-door neighbors' huge black Newfooundland, Elsie, who loved to lie outside on a snowbank, surveying her kingdom. One afternoon I had sent PhysicsDaughter over there on an errand, and when the Husand opened the front door, Elsie ran out --and (as our offspring put it, ) "POUNCED me!" (PhysDau, being quite petite and wobbly on her best day, went flying.) The neighbor was horrified, but Elsie's 'victim' thought it was hilarious and great fun. I would not have thought a Newfie could "POUNCE."
Nice to be surprised and amused by a Monday revealer. Missed opportunity to clue both Ari and Idina with something like [Wicked actress?]? Bet we woulda had cluing like that if Lin-Manuel Miranda was in the room where it happened.
@ad absurdum Excellent and wouldn't even really need the question mark for either. Agreed this was a superior Monday theme.
I seem to be on an emu blacklist as both my weekend comments have been lost in the ether. What did I do this time, my fowl friends? Here goes: a good Monday, crunchier than the average for me, though no one clue stands out as being particularly difficult. NOODLING a new term for me and one I shall drop into conversation from now on. UNDER PRESSURE my earworm of the day. Happy to hum it all day long. I loved Bowie’s long trench coat so much in the video I bought myself a similar one. Probably made me look foreshortened as I’m not very tall, but I felt the bees knees in it. OT and at the risk of being banished again; RESOLUTE raises grim memories of last week’s news.
Someone yesterday was asking about whether there was a coincidence when a word is the same between the mini and the main. I think Vespa today is solid proof that this isn’t an accident or a coincidence.
@Paul This is a celebration of Ruggero Leoncavallo's Pagliacci aria “Vesti la giubba,” which means "Put on the costume," modernized to "Vespa lo scooter" which could mean "Get on with the scooter," and harmless enough.
@Paul So good they named it twice?
Good puzzle. If you want to serve a red wine that goes with virtually anything and isn’t as heavy as a Cabernet Sauvignon or as delicate as a Pinot noir, then a SYRAH is your go-to. So many excellent wines being bottled in Walla Walla and the Red Mountain AVA these days. Highly recommend.
@kkseattle Unless you’re one of us who taste ammonia in Syrah/shiraz! 😜
For the Mini: O-nay a-way... IXNAY does not mean no. For the main: [In the main] felt super dated, but the rest of the puzzle felt pretty fresh. I really loved [Messing around on set?] for DEBRA and the fun fact about the ASCOT [Tie named for a British horse racing venue]. And I liked that SMART/phone/*** combo could have also been jack/phone/***. Maybe we'll see it later this week. (apparently the word I censored is ok for the puzzle and the column but not ok for the comments) Oh and every part of an elephant is big lol.
@Joya Of course I filled in ohnay first, too. Rarely does the Mini have a mis-direct, but it did today. I thought it was funny.
@Joya <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ixnay" target="_blank">https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ixnay</a> See the definition for the adverb. The clue works for me.
Fun puzzle and a pretty smooth solve. For once I actually caught on to the trick fairly early and that just added to the enjoyment of figuring out each of the theme answers. Always glad to see another Katie Hawkins day (and you too, Ms. Wojcik). Of course I have some puzzle finds today. One is a previous puzzle by Ms. Wojcik in collaboration with Matthew Stock. A Wednesday from November 23, 2022. I probably did that one but had forgotten. That one was unusual in that all of theme clues were just a string of colored circles. One clue example was a string of circles - (red, yellow and green) - and the answer was - TRAFFICLIGHT. In another one the clue circles were - (red, yellow, blue, green and black) and the answer was OLYMPICRINGS. Here's the Xword Info link if you want to go take a look. <a href="https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=11/23/2022" target="_blank">https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=11/23/2022</a> I'll put another puzzle find in a reply. ....
@Rich in Atlanta As threatened: A Sunday from May 7, 2006 by Trip Payne with the title "Cue the opening." Don't think I would have had much of a chance at this one. Anyway... some clue/answer examples: "Long time that just flies by?" QUICKCENTURY "Nickname of a boxer who converted to Islam?" QURANDURAN "Bee product?" QUILTBYASSOCIATION "Grizzlies who give great interviews?" QANDABEARS And there were more. Here's the Xword Info link: <a href="https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=5/7/2006&g=71&d=A" target="_blank">https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=5/7/2006&g=71&d=A</a> I'm done. ....
Often there are complaints about cluing that skews too old (actors from long ago) or too young (modern slang). So I just wanted to give a shout out to the multigenerational cluing for 2 down 😊. Equally easy for me (Gen X, pushing 60) and my daughters (Gen Z, around 20). Though maybe some Millenials might have found it tricky.
It's a tribute to the multi-culturalism of the NYT XW that entries like BAO buns and CHANA masala should appear--on a Monday! And people may dismiss 1A, but we shouldn't underestimate Glen Bell and his franchise for introducing Mexican cuisine--even the most watered-down versions of it--to America at large, through the 1970's. Were it not for Taco Bell, we might not have fish tacos and pollo con salsa mole on every street corner.
@Bill Okay, so it's the vegetarian menu items that I have trouble with, because I never order those, except for mapo dofu. Tikka masala for me, thanks, or kick it up to the vindaloo.
I knew I was in for a good time with this puzzle when I figured out that Messing around the set was Debra, best known from Will & Grace. And any puzzle with Ms ARETHA Franklin is OK by me. Here she is with Think from the Blues Brothers, which started out as an SNL skit, which is on my mind having watched the anniversary special earlier. <a href="https://youtu.be/WY66elCQkYk?si=7K44C3CkfNf-JpPB" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/WY66elCQkYk?si=7K44C3CkfNf-JpPB</a>
@Vaer The Debra Messing bit in Bros might be my favorite cameo of all time.
@Vaer That was a fun clue. I watched the SNL Music special, haven't seen the Sunday special yet. 50 years of music is pretty hard to fit into 3 hours, but I really wished we'd been given a peek at Dua Lipa in that feather hat singing Levitate.
YUP, that was a fun Monday, although could have been a Tuesday for me, as I took quite a bit longer than usual on a Monday, but seem to be the only one.
If I complete it in less than an hour then I’m satisfied. It took me 42 minutes today and of course I always get more focused/motivated when there’s a theme. Thanks again and have a Marvellous Monday! Namaste!!
Nice theme. I recently saw YEAH RIGHT scrawled across an ad for the Qc gas company (Energir), which was touting how important natural gas is for fighting climate change. Understated but effective commentary.
I liked this puzzle despite not seeing the theme until after I finished the solve. That's probably just because Monday is the one day I try to be speedy. Fun fill! I'll never not like a puzzle that includes Idina Menzel. After seeing her in Wicked on Broadway she became my first celebrity crush :)
13A,“valuable metals” are not “ores” exactly. Ores typically contain minerals with metal elements in them (but not in metallic form/state) at high enough concentrations to be economically mined and refined. There are a few ores that contain native metals (gold being one), but you still wouldn’t call the ore itself a valuable metal.
@NQL indeed, "valuable rocks" would be a better clue.
TIL where they got the idea to call it a “smart” phone. (Butt dialer?) Nice puzzle, where the revealer reveals the wit.
Almost 4 minutes lower than my average Monday today! Hyped about that. Good juju heading into this week. Need an ego boost since I'm newish to the crossword. Have an awesome rest of your Monday everyone!
Nice puzzle! I found it had a little more challenge than many Mondays, which is nice.
The literal antonyms of each word of today’s theme also likely captures the larger zeitgeist in the US today, unfortunately.
@Sara Yeah, it was a pretty good, dontcha know.
People must be sleeping in--slow start on the Comments. Well, this puzzle had some nice (not so common) vocabulary! MOROSE, PAthoS, SOUGHT, RESOLUTE, NOODLING, and the clue "Staffs" for CANES, which I reall liked. Over too soon! How am I supposed to finish my coffee?
@Mean Old Lady Not much to be said about today's puzzle, I guess. To quote my mom, "Silence at the table is a compliment to the chef."
Begging the creators of crosswords to stop using ARI Grande to fill up space. There were at least two other crosswords this week with the same clue.
Oh. I don't know. I think [Grande] is a nice clue change for ARI. Wed Feb 5, 2025 61D Filmmaker Aster Sun Feb 2, 2025 6D Shapiro of NPR Thu Dec 5, 2024 33A Melber on MSNBC Tue Dec 3, 2024 33D The N.F.L.'s Cardinals, on scoreboards etc. etc.
@Lauri No, just one other, last Thursday.
Lovely Monday puzzle😊 Thank you so much NYT for making the Mondays a little more interesting/challenging than they used to be.
I stopped. I collaborated. I listened. Oh…wait. Different puzzle. Thank you Kate and Erica! Happy Monday all!
Probably a coincidence, but it appears to be Vespa day. (See also the Mini.) Quite a lot of food references - CHANA (masala), EGG, CANDYBAR, MAS (Taco Bell), POPEYES, DELI, THEWORKS (Everything bagel), BAO. I could even include RANCH (Dresssing, though it wasn't clued that way.) Did I miss any? I'm going to get a loaf of bread going. Chicken Parm for supper!
@Amy PS I did miss one thing - we can have SYRAHS with our dinner!
A nice Monday with a few unfamiliarities that made me work a bit harder than I'm used to, but the crosses were fair and helped out. Nice job, Kate and Erica, hopefully this is only the first of many collabs. Thanks!
I won't mess about, great puzzle. Last night also finished yesterday's which was equally fine.
Shaved a minute+ from my Monday average; that’s affirmative. As Monday’s go, I dug this one as it had a good beat and was danceable. Voiceless it cries, / Wingless flutters, / Toothless bites, / Mouthless mutters. I took this J R R Tolkein riddle from The Hobbit. It came to my mind’s eye thanks to the overnight (and current) Middle Atlantic Coast atmosphere. It’s UNDER PRESSURE. With Respect To George And Abe, Bru
Solid puzzle, but seemed quite un-Mondayish to me. That said, my solve time was a bit below my Monday average. Strange. Some interesting *words* here: RESOLUTE, MOROSE, SAVIOR, PATHOS.
Well there could be a SCRAbBOOK....... Nice one Kate and Erica, thank you
I guess I don't know how to spell UGLY or GYDDYUP
Nice Monday puzzle. What a relief. The crossing words revealed all the words I had trouble with. Congrats to the witty constructors, and "Yes. OK. Sure." to more puzzles from them. Happy Holiday to all who have one today, and a good Monday to everyone!
What a great Monday! It was fast, but didn't feel trivial and the theme was fun. Really like the alternate clue [Fragile rock?] for 9D! Great job!
What a fun puzzle to start the week! And a PB with no look ups always feels great! Thoroughly enjoyed the cluing today and will be hearing the incomparable Ms. Menzel and Queen+David Bowie for the rest of the day, but what great earworms! Thanks for the great Monday puzzle, Erica and Kate.
Fresh and fun. It was nice to be able to spend a tad more time with it than on some Mondays. Clever but very accessible theme. Thanks Kate and Erica 😊
Strands Thread Strands #351 “Sun shade” 🟡🔵🔵🔵 🔵🔵🔵 Cast no spoilers please until after the View All Replies button. It's those minutes of despair, staring at a board of disconnected letters, followed by the "aha!" moment that keeps me coming back to this pleasant diversion.
@John Carson Strands #351 “Sun shade” 💡🔵💡🔵 🔵🔵🔵💡 🔵🟡 Three hints then you're out? That might make it more interesting.
@John Carson Strands #351 “Sun shade” 🔵🟡🔵🔵 🔵🔵🔵 Made in the shade!