I love the needlelike verticality of the theme and the fact that the clue for IDIOM is “A pain in the neck”. Congratulations, Jared, on a jab well done!
"Should we go to the acupuncturist?" "Ooh, maybe. Let's put a pin in that." ("Point well taken.")
@Mike You're great at punning! Stick with it!
@Mike Midnight acupuncture is just a shot in the dark. / / /
@Mean Old insert pun here... ok I'll Qi myself out now
Nice debut, Jared. You managed to calm the screams of pain from the wounded Monday solvers without boring the rest of us. It was not a difficult puzzle, but nicely put together, with some chewy clues threaded throughout. Thank you, and I hope we see more of your constructions before too long.
Yesterday’s brouhaha over proper names got me thinking about how they can be as much of a help to some solvers as they are a hindrance to others. When I started doing crosswords, the wordplay in the clues was intimidating. I didn’t know what to make of clues ending in “, say” or a question mark. Could I trust the ones that seemed more straightforward? And wait, now you’re telling me the answer can be more than one word? Within this sea of uncertainty, proper names were a godsend. Same goes for pop culture titles. They were unambiguous, they didn’t have multiple possible synonyms, and they often became the crosses that brought clarity to tougher clues. Did I know them all? Of course not. But the ones I did were immensely helpful. So when a veteran solver gets stumped by a person, title or term that seems too niche for the NYT crossword, I would ask them to consider that that Thing they’ve never heard of may also be a novice’s way in. Even (or especially?) on a Monday!
@Heidi Hats waaaaay off!!!!!! Two thumbs waaaaay up!!!!!! Really insightful comment!
@Heidi The complatins yesterday were not about proper nouns as such but rather about crossing them, or accumulating many of them in a single area of the puzzle. I was not stumped by ARARAT/UHURA/TARDIS, but there was no way out for me out of the other problematic area, where a podcast producer, city, poet, actor and duck formed a network of arcanity. And on a Monday, of all days! It really is nice when a name is a gimme (like Atahualpa was for me a few days ago) and it provides you with crosses for the other entries. However, when many names converge on a small area of the grid, and you don't know them, there is no hope for you. Ultimately, I do not think such construction is fair on any day of the week, and on Monday it is simply unacceptable. I see your point, Heidi, and I agree with it, in principle, however, only with the caveat concerning bunching or crossing proper nouns.
@Heidi I used to do some very basic rock climbing. I never made the association until now, but I think it affects the way I approach crosswords. If you're with a group of people at the base of a cliff, you don't really think of the series of problems you're about to try to solve as being fair or unfair, too easy or too hard. It's just the task before you. Maybe it'll be easy. Maybe it'll be tough. Maybe you'll find out that it's beyond your skill level and you'll have to give up on the attempt. But you don't blame the cliff.
@Heidi Almost all of the "brouhahas" over the puzzle...on any particular day pretty much sound to me like "I cannot do the puzzle. So it must be too hard". Its always an abstract piece of data over a word which "virtually no one knows" or "its a Natick...and naticks are mean" or "you made the puzzle too hard for today" On a regular basis I run into words which I am less than likely to know...I may be too old. Or I may not be of the social/racial group which would be likely to know that answer. Or its a topic in life which i just dont give a fig about and would never read or watch something on it...so I know nothing about it. But there are also words which I do know because of my age...OR because 2500 puzzles ago in a different publication I came across it. Or maybe I just know more on that topic. In the end, I always find it more of a philosophy question than some decipherable level of difficulty the puzzle should have. To me the puzzle is mostly art...Which the editors try to make enjoyable on a daily basis and mostly succeed. They could very easily quantify the difficulty of a puzzle if they really wanted to....Publish the expected average solving time every day....Publish 7 lists of words acceptable for each day of the week etc. And that would suck the life out of the puzzle and kill it. Puzzles are a personal journey...and some legs of that journey are harder than others.
@Grant I had to LOL at your comments too. As a once young lady snowboarder on many a lift line, I've literally heard that line you just gave, so, so, so many times, LOL.
Re the climbing analogies, I think it's kind of a fair analogy. When working on a particular route, its called projecting. It was literally called a project. It's like doing Monday puzzles all the time until I can do it (I'm fairly new to crosswords). Sure the mountain is nature whereas puzzles are human-made, but with both, you learn a bit with each go. You get good at certain parts, find new toeholds or ways to "solve" the problem. Many routes do not call for a dyno, but I had to try that anyway because i could not reach the hold. There's no blame, just what my limited height (or limited exposure to some pronouns) brings. And yet, that entire route, while hard for me, could be "easy" for other climbers. The point I'm making, as many are, is that there need not be a set-in-stone (no pun intended) formula for Mon, Tues etc. Perhaps there are hard Mondays and easy Tuesdays, without needing the puzzles to switch days. I see it more generally, where Mon-Tues will be, on the whole, easier than Thur-Fri. I got this Tuesday puzzle with greater ease than yesterday's but that's ok. I figured yesterday had a hard fill, but the theme was "easy" (last part of the entry is doubled). Today, maybe the theme was considered harder but the fill was easier. (That said, I've received acupuncture so that helped, but never heard of Little Lulu). All in all, they were both fun, and will be easier than what's to come the rest of the week!
Had to come here to tell some word nerds that AS OF NOW I hit 1,000 on my streak today. Most normal folks would be BEMUSEd but not amused. Cheers!
@MikeW Congrats! That’s impressive!!
@MikeW I see your original post finally showed up! Thank the stars -- I mean emus. Fwiw, here's your subsequent post, about three hours before this one appeared: <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/shared/comment/45uvji?rsrc=cshare&smid=url-share" target="_blank">https://www.nytimes.com/shared/comment/45uvji?rsrc=cshare&smid=url-share</a>
Congratulations a clever debut, Mr. Cappel! I loved the theme – and I can relate to it. I've gotten the STAB IN THE BACK quite a few times, as well as on my legs, feet, hands, and ears. Because of the amazing results, despite my initial skepticism, I have every reason to believe it's not a placebo effect. After my first ACUPUNCTURE treatment in the early 90's, I became very interested in Chinese medicine (as well as Eastern philosophy), and I find beauty in the concept of the meridians that run through the body. Other entries that spoke to me were OSKAR Schindler, a true mensch, and Hermann Hesse, a great author (yes, I LOVEd the movie Schindler's List, though I bawled like a baby, and the book Siddhartha, though I was still quite young and not yet attuned to spiritual quests.) Thank you, Mr Cappel. Your puzzle was a very satisfying and peace-inducing sojourn away from the news.
Word pairs that have the same amount of letters, thus tripping me up when I try to enter them in a crossword: --Pistil and STAMEN --Mauna Loa and Mauna KEA --Sasha and Malia Obama --Jerry's friends Elaine, George, and Kramer --Sierra Madre and Sierra Leone --Mattress makers Serta and Sealy Can anyone think of more examples?
@Katie Brilliant idea for a list! I'd add: - e-commerce sites Ebay and Etsy - variant spellings of "uie" and "uey" for a U-Turn
@Katie ACUPressURE instead of ACUPUNCTURE
@Katie Aah and ahh Wooooooooooooow and Woooooooooooooww
@Katie Pasta vs Penne Advil vs Aleve pita vs naan
@Katie Excellent, Fantastic, Brilliant, Wonderful, Marvelous!
@Katie A few from late 1994 (enjoying today's weather on the porch with the Archives): BERG/FLOE EPIC/SAGA WED/ONE OPEL/AUDI Also: MOA/EMU(!) And our old favorite, ALIA/ALII, though I'm not sure if it qualifies
This was so much easier than yesterday's puzzle - my solve time yesterday was nearing Wednesday territory, and today it was Monday-ish. I've had a rough morning - our old Jorge the Lab is in poor health, and even though my wife and I are providing him with the best veterinary care available, there are some really bad days and nights, which take their toll on all of us, canine and human alike. Today started as one of those days... I approached today's grid still shaken by the dog's episode, as well as yesterday's unpleasant crossword experience, so I did not try to suss out LPGA and PROAM - I simply looked those up when the crosses I had on my first pass did not reveal all the letters there. Golf does not exist in my world, and while I have heard of LPGA, PROAM looks like a letter salad to me (but names and words like Szczebrzeszyn, rzerzączka, śródziemnomorski or szczerbaty I perceive as completely normal. Go figure). Other than that it was a nice, quite relaxing puzzle, with a good enough theme.
@Andrzej I hope Jorge’s journey resolves itself well. Your comment “golf doesn’t exist in my world” made me think about the many things that haven’t existed in my world in my lifetime: war, famine, invasion. Lucky us. I enjoy your little windows into Warsaw here. NICE PUTT crossed with OPED and LOTSA … I can’t imagine tackling a crossword in a foreign language.
@Andrzej Sorry to hear your beloved Lab is ill. We lost our amazing Lab Retriever Dougal at the age of 10 from kidney failure. I felt such grief I swore I would never have another dog. But, two years later I was persuaded by the menfolk. We’ve had Kobe the Shiba for almost 7 years now and he’s a joy. But Dougal will always have a piece of my heart. We buried him in a friends field with a marker that simply say; Dougal, A Proper Dog. I wish you and Jorge all the best, whatever the outcome.
@Andrzej It's the toughest, and most loving part of being a pet owner. Seeing them out of the world in the best possible way. I'm guessing a lot of us are tearing up. I know I am.
@Andrzej Oh Andrzej, I’m so sorry you’re suffering. When our Archie was 14, his health suddenly took a nosedive. A good friend -who is a veterinarian- called me to offer support. I asked her about his suffering, his pain…all of it. She told me that my sweet dog was not, in fact, suffering. He was feeling unwell. He trusted us and loved having us near. The purity of his heart was not tainted by worry or fear. He just didn’t feel good. We, however, suffered terribly. I’m so sorry for this difficult, heartbreaking time. How lucky Jorge is to have family that cares so very much and loves him so big.
@Andrzej As a life-long dog lover and owner, my heart goes out to you. Francis really said it best. I hope it turns out that Jorge is just going through an old dog rough patch. If not, he’ll help you see it’s beyond that and your heart will break. It has always been clear from your posts that you are a thoughtful, compassionate human. Jorge is a lucky dog to have a good home and such good people.
@Andrzej Worrying about someone we love so much takes such a big toll, indeed! I'm hoping that Jorge will take a turn for the better again soon! I know it is you who probably feel like the lucky ones, but he's a lucky pup to be with two people who love him so much! And I have no doubt that he feels every ounce of your love and care! ❤️ And I'm glad that the puzzle was enjoyable for you today!
Never have had acupuncture, but have been a blood and platelet donor many times, another way to GET THE POINT. Things a donor would prefer not to hear: HOPE SO UH UH TRIED MOVE THE NEEDLE But it almost always goes swimmingly. Next time my person gets a good stick, I’ll be tempted to say: NICE PUTT!
@Cat Lady Margaret I’ve had some miserable experiences with blood draws. So now, whenever I get a phlebotomist or nurse who sticks me without any pain, I make sure to compliment them.
I wrote a brief comment last night to say (read, brag just a little) that solving this fine puzzle brought my streak to 1,000, which I'm kinda proud of. As I noted, there aren't many other groups of folks in the world that might appreciate it. I was BEMUSEd this morning to find that my post had been eaten by emus. Anyway, thanks to Mr Cappel for pushing me over the top.
@MikeW Yes…I think most people in this group would appreciate it. I certainly am. Congratulations.
@MikeW Wow, congratulations!
@MikeW Your original comment finally showed up, about three hours after you posted this one... <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/shared/comment/45uqsl" target="_blank">https://www.nytimes.com/shared/comment/45uqsl</a> And yes, congratulations!! I've never made it more than 1/3 of the way there.
I like that the theme answers are step-by-step in proper order. First the acupuncturist gets the needle, then places it in, then may move it. So, they tell a little story. Nice touch, Jared. Those theme answers are zingy too, and are bolstered by a supporting cast of lovelies – ROPE IN, CANAPES, SKITTLES, BEMUSE. All these lovelies occupy the middle three rows, making that area sing. Uncovering the reveal ACUPUNCTURE brought a huge “Hah!” and “Good one!”. That delight, as well as the fact that the puzzle-maker is an upper-level Scrabble competitor, brings the promise of a new and special voice in Crosslandia. Not only is Jared a wonk adept at manipulating words and letters, but also an entertainer. So, I was not only charmed by your puzzle, Jared, but also touched by hope for the future. What a gift! Thank you, Jared, and please, keep ‘em coming!
@Lewis loved the symmetry, plus they were all vertical like needles in the skin!
Nice, only one reveal. like yesterday - the golf initials. Had to smile at 'reeks', reminded of the old name of my home town of Edinburgh (Ed-in-buh-ruh please) which was Auld Reekie, mainly because of the smoke from coal fires. Reeks was more associated with being smoky than stinky. London used to be called The Smoke. A good luck saying is "Lang may your lum reek" - long may your chimney smoke; it was also good luck to bring a lump of coal on your first visit to a house on New Year's Day, especially if you were the First Foot - the first to cross the threshold.
@Jane Wheelaghan Auld Reekie, heh, nice. Thank you for the post 🙂
@Jane Wheelaghan My friend in Scotland, born and raised in Edinburgh, sends that as his New Year's greeting every year! I've known him since I was 18, so I've long become accustomed to the saying and I also enjoyed seeing it in the puzzle and in your comment! ☺️
I want to start by thanking Sam for her pointed comments and sharp wit in the Wordplay column. This was a nice Tuesday, and a nice debut, so thank you, Jared. No major problems solving this one; my only mistake was LOTta instead of LOTSA, but that was quickly corrected when I looked at the down entry. Fun puzzle!
I just wanted to say that the suggestion yesterday that soon we will have an entry so niche that it will be the constructor's mother's social security number was outrageous. This is a crossword puzzle after all. Not a sudoku (sp?). But I think it would be great if it turned out one of the niche entries was the constructor's mother's maiden name. [But I have to admit that I thought the comment was hilarious.]
@Renegator If I ever get into crossword construction, I’ll have to include [General Secretary of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia purged in a 1952 show trial] as a clue. (We’re not related, to my knowledge.)
Apparently, there's an emu out there without a sense of humor. My long list of possible nits and its entire thread was taken down. (As was the poster who apologized to our Canadian constructor for...well, you know what.) SMH, as they say.
@Steve L I read and appreciated both of them earlier today and was bummed and BEMUSED when I looked for them later, only to find them gone.
@Steve L I'm so glad I got to read them last night. Both comments were super funny and delightful. I won't expound on censorship, not even jokingly, so that this thread won't also disappear. (Are we even allowed to boo-hoo the emus?)
Congrats to my buddy Jared, an amazing player at the Toronto Scrabble Club. If he tackles crossword construction with the same determination that he has with Scrabble, he’ll be hitting the ‘cycle’ in record time!
My spirits dropped when I read 1A, but actually I had a lot of fun and obscure US sport trivia wasn't as prominent as I feared. Lovely little theme, I especially enjoyed that they were Down clues looking like needles pricking into a patient when you click on 27D :) Many thanks Jared, super puzzle!
Great puzzle. Just the right amount of thinking for a Tuesday. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Especially, after Sunday and Monday. Please save any comments about the previous 2 puzzles being fine, that's your opinion and this is mine - they were a pain in the neck.
@Jamie Why is it OK for you to state your opinion, as you just did, but if others state an opinion you don’t agree with, that’s not OK?
A much more Tuesday-like puzzle, not that I didn’t get a kick out of yesterday’s brute. I got the theme revealer first, so had fun finding the NEEDLES as it were. My only real struggle was 1A/2D. Needed all the crosses to get there. I was thinking meet? Track? before hitting PRO AM. Hah, that raised a chuckle. Blenheim PALACE is a fabulous place to visit. More humongous mansion than actual palace, the extensive gardens and woods are incredibly beautiful and a joy to spend a day in. I once treated Mum to a birthday afternoon tea in the Indian Room. You can keep your teas at the Ritz or Savoy. THAT was a spectacular feast in one of the most ornate rooms I’ve ever sat in, overlooking (if memory serves) the formal knotted garden. Even better, the staff were professional but super friendly, so we weren’t in fear of being snubbed for picking up the wrong fork! Oh the horror of upper class etiquette.
@Helen Wright I never got to Blenheim on either of my English vacations in 1993 and 1994, but I know it from art history books. Good to know experiencing it lives up to what one may expect. My wife and I may actually go to England during the summer this year. Maybe we will put Blenheim on our itinerary. (As for your final paragraph: abolishing class distinction was one of the few good consequences of Poland ending up on the wrong side of the Cold War)
@Helen Wright When we went to England in 1985, everyone said not to miss Blenheim Palace. I’d never heard of it, but i recall being glad we went. But alas, I can’t remember much else about it anymore.
@Helen Wright I had the fancy tea at Windsor Castle, ages ago, and it was scrummy. On the bus ride, the guide directed our attention to the residence of, "another famous queen, Elton John."
@Helen Wright I was happy to see Blenheim PALACE in the crossword today! On my very first overseas trip, we visited England for a few weeks, including IIRC going to Blenheim twice(!). Spring of 1980, thirteen years old and I still can remember how beautiful I found it to be. It was just the right size to be impressed but not overwhelmed by it all. Your description is very evocative and brought it all back to me, thanks!
Fun puzzle, and a great debut. 62A: "A golfer's play on a cheeky compliment?" Thank you, I'll see myself out...
Fantastic debut! I do love my Idris Elba… This time of year (where I live) tends to wear on people. The rare sunlight melts the once beautiful snow into blackened lumps along the curbs. The first real signs of spring are so subtle, everything just looks dreary and feels heavy. Wishing you all a bright Tuesday with plenty of serotonin, vitamin D, and a little spring in your step!
@CCNY Yeah, MUD SEASON... I take Vitamin D in capsules. So many SCCs... a souvenir of living in Hawaii in the Fifties. "Sea and Ski" was supposed to protect us (hah!) May as well have been putting on Ipana toothpaste.
@CCNY You've very well captured my feelings about springs. Snow is the only thing that can make this wicked world seem pure, and spring takes it away.
I have a real blind spot when it comes to the phrase EATAT. It's not a phrase I ever use but I have seen it a couple handfuls of times since I've been doing the puzzles, and I totally get it, but unless I have a clear crossing, I never seem to think of it. I don't know if acupuncture can help me with that but I wish something could. That was the one crossing I struggled with today in this delightful puzzle, since I really don't follow golf at all. I've learned a number of terms to expect just by doing the puzzles but I didn't know the name of the event. All I could think of was open. And for vex, I got myself thinking it must be some kind of Latin word. SMH at myself. Anyhow, I thought it was a really nice puzzle and I enjoyed it a lot! A very pleasant outing! I used to go regularly for acupuncture for quite a while and I think this was also a timely reminder for me to resume that practice. ROSEBUDS was nice as one of my favorite signs of spring... But what I love the most is how the light stays longer into the evening now. Ahh! Hello lightness, my old friend, I've come to talk with you again... 🌞😉🌞 Anyhow, it's not a yes or no one, but I'm off to cast an important VOTE in a special election in my fine state. 🤞
@HeathieJ Re: VOTE I have my fingers crossed that it will go well. So much at stake.
This Harvey dude who picked up his first win on Jeopardy! this evening might be around for a while. At least, I hope so. Dominant victory by an inspiring man.
@Striker I was really rooting for him, and I was so happy for him!
Fun puzzle. Probably would have done better, had I not kept falling asleep. Maybe I should finish my coffee? Not sure why I'm so sleepy...maybe the time change is catching up to me. We're having our annual Pi Day Party this weekend (day after Pi Day, though, since it's a Saturday) and I have to get off my duff and make another pie. Anyone bringing a pie is welcome; show up without one and you are required to recite Pi to its first billion (leaving you unable to have the time to taste anyone else's pie). A few years ago, The NY Times published a special XWrd for 3.14 day and I printed it out for guests to try...hoping for another this year! (Or just publish the link to the old one...I've got a mostly new group of people this year.) My chicken pot pie is done...now on to a dessert pie. Favorite clue of the day: Sample sake, say: SIP. Go ahead, say it out loud. It's a great tongue twister!
@Momerlyn If you spend at least $3.14 at Burger King this Friday, you get a free slice of chocolate pie. (Not Oreo.) Also, it's my ex's birthday; she has a pi-shaped cake pan for the occasion.
@Momerlyn You reminded me of one of my favorite football game cheers: 3.14159 Come on boys - hold that line. ....
Lovely puzzle. This one was actually easier for me. and more fun, than yesterday's main puzzle. LOTSA the answers were right in my wheelhouse. Congratulations to a fellow Torontonian! Let's have more puzzles from Jared Cappel.
Congratulations to Jared for a really fun puzzle and I hope he gets his wish for many more of his puzzles to be shared with us.
Nice Tuesday puzzle and an enjoyable workout. The reveal was one of the last things I worked out and that was a nice 'aha' moment as the theme finally dawned on me. Did get stuck for just a bit in a couple of places. One example was in the area of SMH, which is not a familiar term. No big deal - managed to work it out. Quite a remarkable puzzle find today. I'll put that in a reply. ...
@Rich in Atlanta As threatened: A Wednesday from May 4, 2011 by Jeff Chen. The puzzle had 5 'uncrossed' squares at the end of down answers. And the reveal theme and answer was: "Maneuver required five times to finish this puzzle" UTURN And those down theme answers as they appeared - first the one that led me there: ABLEWASIER And the others: MADAMI DEIF ROTA AIBOHP Here's the Xword Info link: <a href="https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=5/4/2011&g=7&d=D" target="_blank">https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=5/4/2011&g=7&d=D</a> I'm done. ....
@Rich in Atlanta So, you say you got *stuck,* eh!? What a perfect thing to happen on an acupuncture-themed puzzle! Hehehe 😉
@Rich in Atlanta Glad you mentioned it SMH since I had not seen that either. The texting clues are not my favorite
I believe the column photo is the first patent application filed by Acme Corp. Fun puzzle. Surprising, to me, theme. There was a live-action animated movie about Wile E. Coyote suing Acme. I can't remember hearing about it previously, and it sounds like we'll never see it as it remains unreleased for tax purposes. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coyote_vs._Acme" target="_blank">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coyote_vs._Acme</a>
@ad absurdum That's a movie I'd love to see. Hopefuly it'll get released someday.
Congrats on the debut. I wondered why the thematic entries were verticals, and my guess was confirmed in the constructor's notes. Seemed like a lot of proper nouns again today, but, like yesterday, I knew almost all of them. Even recalled OSKAR, WELTY, SORENTO, ASTIN and HESSE. Parsing PROAM might have been my biggest challenge here. Seemed like a solid Tuesday puzzle to me.
Sam, the cutline for the drawing at the head of your column is priceless! It made my day, so thank you! (The crossword was fun to solve, too.)
@Trish I got a kick (!) out of the drawing atop the column as well. I’m sure I’m not the only one who had a pair of “kangaroo shoes” in the 60’’s. They were red and strapped onto your feet. They really didn’t work too well but made a lot of noise. I see you can still find them out there! <a href="https://tinyurl.com/maw9wd48" target="_blank">https://tinyurl.com/maw9wd48</a>
Gather ye ROSEBUDS. Any puzzle with Idris ELBA in it is okay by me. How is that after all this time I'm only realizing now that his name is also Napoleon's island? Thanks, Jared
@Vaer Amazing that we had the same exact experience – I also hadn't realized this about Idris ELBA's name until this very puzzle. The sudden consciousness of it was a very strange and "Wait.What?" feeling.
Some crunch, some fun. Loved the theme, although I kept trying to spell it ACCUPUNCTURE with 2 Cs (which obviously did not fit). Enjoyed NICE PUTT, ROSEBUDS and STAMEN (the last of which took embarrassingly long). Thanks!
Many gimmes, as befits a Tuesday....especially WELTY! Her home and garden here in the capital city of Jackson are shrines; Millsaps College (the private liberal arts school that spawns most professionals in this state) teaches her writings. One of the other residents here lent me a book of her short works...which I found very dated--"Old School" is the polite term in these parts. Woof. Other than that... Blenheim is generally referred to as a CASTLE, methinks. Ah, Socrates. Have someone "think" about shoelaces instead of TEACHing them how to tie them; best of luck to ya. (My kids were still 2 when I taught them how--using "backward chaining." Works like a charm.) An ACUPUNCTURist who STABS with the NEEDLES won't have a clientele for long! See you tomorrow!
@Mean Old Lady Blenheim was also the name of an British BOMBER, during WWII.
@Mean Old Lady Ha ha, good one on Socrates. Here in my house we have our own philosophers: Scoffrates and Mediocrates. My question is what has philosophy gotten us? Just look around! I thought castle, too, but properly it is Blenheim Palace, although often called a castle according to our internet pals.
@Mean Old Lady From Wikipedia: Blenheim Palace (/ˈblɛnɪm/ BLEN-im[1]) is a country house in Woodstock, Oxfordshire, England. It is the seat of the Dukes of Marlborough. Originally called Blenheim Castle, it has been known as Blenheim Palace since the 19th century. And although Google calls it Blenheim Palace Castle in England its website basically sticks to "Palace": <a href="https://www.blenheimpalace.com" target="_blank">https://www.blenheimpalace.com</a>/
@Mean Old Lady In Europe we generally use the word "castle" to describe a large, fortified building, and not necessarily one ever serving as a residence - many castles were built purely for defense and only featured spartan quarters for the soldiers. A palace is always a residence, usually grand (but not always - ornate hunting lodges are sometimes called palaces, for example). A palace generally does not feature any fortifications - much like Blenheim. There may be some confusion, sometimes. A grand residential building within a castle may be called a palace - but the whole thing is still a castle. Also, in the 18th century wealthy Europeans fell in love with the historic style and they started building palaces made to look like castles. Neuschwanstein in Bavaria is a prime example. Those may be called castles, even if they are not, not really. Finally, it is most common to use the word "castle" for medieval and Renaissance structures, with towers and turrets and the like. Fortified palatial residences of the 16th-18th cent., made up of a palace surrounded by a bastion fortress, are sometimes called castles (like the Polish Krzyżtopór castle in Ujazd), but they may be called palaces just as well. Yes, I'm into castles ;p
@Mean Old Lady It’s Blenheim Palace, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
We don't have Skittles here so C looked fine there, and in Oskar, so that took a while to figure out. Difficulty was just right for Tuesday I think. But I'm still fuming and that's because of the Sunday puzzle. Commenting there was closed now so I need to vent here. The clueing was just awful and the whole experience was nightmarish. Oh well, starting a new streak now.
STABONTHEBACK/ROPEON forced me to reveal. English is my second language so those two sounded perfectly fine to me. Sigh.
Printing and framing this! Fantastic!!!
Really enjoyed this puzzle, and was delighted to see the creator is from Toronto, a city we love (go Blue Jays!)
Sign seen near recently opened rose buds? EAT AT STAMEN. (This post is lame enough to make a bee muse.)
@JohnWM I think the bloom is off the rose with this one.
@JohnWM My rose bushes are leafed out--not budding yet--while the early Spring bulbs are in bloom, as are "Japanese magnolias." I had put in TREE BUDS, because those are definitely in bud, and some are bright red--so cheery! Yet more proof that the crossword editors are not "garden people"....
Had my first 60 degree day yesterday after a long Wisconsin winter. Spring has sprung!! This puzzle was great.
@Kiran The bluebirds were scoping out my backyard nesting box this morning. Hopefully, nest building will begin soon.
Rather than a "first all the across, then all the downs" approach I just follow the crosses. So this turned out to be a west to east solve and about half way through I wondered if there was a theme. That thought bubble was burst with the reveal at 27D. Nicely done.
Fine debut! If anyone is considering ACUPUNCTURE for migraine relief, it did help my mother. Love the picture - even at 65, I'd love to put on those contraptions and bounce around!
Anyone else have LOTtA at 57A? (ASTIN was a no-know for me.) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Ron, One person did mention having to change it from LOTtA after looking at the cross word. FWIW, Sean ASTIN has been here quite a few times while you've been solving (and AtTIN has never appeared).
So a bit of a side issue, but - Anybody else unhappy with the 6A "joke" clue in the mini? Putting the answer word in the clue - even as a joke - IS NOT FUNNY!
@Grumpy You guys got me to do the mini just to see what you were talking about. Glad to hear that it's all in good fun, rather than a real debacle.