I don't know what anyone is talking about with the new format: I played the game on Signal and every time I put down a word, Marco Rubio and Pete Hegseth sent me messages saying "Great job, John Ezra!" with clapping hands emojis. It was so much fun!
Lego enthusiasts have to learn the bricks of the trade. (These puns call for plastic measures.)
@Mike Those little Lego characters really stick together. But their vehicles are always up on blocks.
@Mike I have a strong urge to block you....
@Mike I've been keeping track of your entries in daily logs. Now I'm spending time linkin' logs, which knex them together.
@Mike Which early Erector Set a standard for architectural innovation? Frank Lloyd, right?
Congratulations on a fine NYT debut, Mr. Benson! Sorry to see that your puzzle’s charms are lost in the (totally justified) complaints about the layout of the web version of the puzzle. I hope we’ll see you back soon.
@Eric Hougland I would like to second Eric. I'm always glad to see someone break into the construction business. Excellent work!
@Eric Hougland Agreed. It was a great Tuesday puzzle and I hope that doesn't get lost in the (as Eric said, justified) complaints. Well done, sir! I really enjoyed your puzzle.
Congrats on the NYT debut! This was a fun one. I really liked BARMENU for "spirit guide."
Uncanny how some of the answers in today's puzzles were similarly in puzzles earlier this week, including ET TU, ALMA, Langston Hughes's "I TOO," and the echo of yesterday's LEGO controversy. Am I wrong in thinking this is the only occasion where I can safely say that we've had two LEGOS in a row here? Or is it still two LEGO in a row? Just yanking your chain. I never knew from water feature and I never hope to see one, but if it came to becoming such a creature, I'd rather see than be one. I would've thought the Vatican would be the smallest yada yada, but no, it turns out they're not part of the EU, despite using the Euro as their currency. Like last Tuesday this one had some mmmmph to it, and while I don't really find much delight in the themers, I liked the pushback in the cluing, and felt tested. You had to know some slightly weird stuff to get through this puzzle, and I can imagine it making some solvers slightly plaintive. Ah well, there's a lot to be plaintive about these days. Word of the day: LIAR.
@john ezra Yeah, the editors frequently have repeats close to one another which will then disappear. It’s annoying. Expect more of Hughes.
Anyone else have the Laverne and Shirley opening theme song stuck in their head now? 😄
@Bethany having grown up mostly in small town New Mexico, I realize now that was probably the first Yiddish I learned (without knowing it was Yiddish, and without knowing what it meant...)
@Bethany Since Laverne and Shirley are the topic...A schlemiel is the clumsy oaf who knocks over a ladder with a paint can on it. A schlimazel is the person he spills it on.
It’s a wow theme for me. Here you have a term for something you watch on a screen clued with the title of an example of the term – and an answer that’s an in-the-language phrase totally unrelated to movies or tv. That is sophisticated and clever. High props to Bob for coming up with it. It may also be tight, that is, a set of worthy theme answers that are hard to add to. The best I could come up with is the tepid [“Apollo 13”?] for HIGH DRAMA. Bob, you said your original submission was a Sunday puzzle – can you chime in and tell us what other theme answers you came up with? I liked seeing the contradictory cross of CACKLE and SAD SACK, and the rhyming LIAR, FRIAR, and IRE. It’s also sweet to see three promising debut puzzles in a row – the gift of new Crosslandia voices. Congratulations on your impressive debut, Bob. Thank you for a splendid outing!
@Lewis Thanks for the kind words, and glad you enjoyed the puzzle! Stopped in to read the comments and apparently I drew the short straw on timely bugs – must be a Windows thing, the format looks fine on my Mac in both Safari and Chrome **shrug** I dubbed the Sunday puzzle “It’s Literally Worth Watching!”, and some of those themers were more “literal”, whereas the editing team felt more strongly about cohesive wordplay. Ultimately it ended up being a tighter puzzle this way, so I'm pleased they offered the opportunity for me to revise it. A few that were left on the cutting room floor: • [“Free Solo?”] – GRIPPING DOCUMENTARY … (I loved this one but it was, indeed, too literal and ‘documentary’ doesn’t have another meaning) • [“The Biggest Loser?”] – WEIGHT LOSS PROGRAM … (too long for 15x15, though I did yoink ‘program’ in the reworked puzzle) • [“Total Recall?”] – MENTAL PICTURE … (couldn’t get the symmetry nailed down with another 13-letter themer, so I went in another direction) I hope those affected by the formatting issues have an entertaining solve nonetheless!
I do feel badly that Bob Benson's nice debut is being overshadowed by everyone's (mine included) dissatisfaction with the website glitch. Nice debut, Bob!
STIES are where pigs live. STyES are something different. Wonder if I was the only one who spent lots of time figuring that out.
@Spellbound phew I spent 5 minutes staring at the puzzle trying to find my error. Its been a long time since I've worked in an office, RYCOH looked right to me 🤣
Ok, fun Tuesday solve but this gray-haired man objects to OLD being clued as obsolete!
@Peter M Hey, at least you have hair! Question: Do emus have gray hair?
@Peter M People have too much vanity - just relax and enjoy being obsolete. We're all heading there if we're lucky! :)
Yes, there a keyboard under the puzzle. In addition, the puzzle is not playable on my laptop screen. The clues are on either side of the grid, there is no repetition of the current clue above the grid, and everything is much too small to read. When I enlarge the image I get a message telling me to rotate my screen (what??). I hope this is a fixable error and not a new format, because it is useless to me.
@Millie Me too and you wrote the text in a much better way than I would have. As you said this is a useless format -- my stress level increased trying to read the clues. In a font relatively tiny compared to the useless keyboard. If this setup shows again, I'll pass.
This is terrible. Please put it back the way it was.
The online puzzle format on PC is dreadfully ill-conceived - The enormously oversized on-screen keyboard is non-functional, either by touchscreen or mouse. - The puzzle display has been reduced in size to near invisibility - The separation and lack of synchronization between "across" and "down" clues is disconcerting and difficult to work with. Please make the old format available and consider improving it with more practical changes, such as scalable fonts, adjustable column widths, and an expandable active clue field.
@Kenneth Mino I heartily second this. The online format is a mess!
@Kenneth Mino If you read the earlier comments, it was stated that this was a glitch and not on purpose, they are working to fix it. The mobile format was accidently assigned to the online version meant for PCs.
@Janine, I had read most, if not all, of the previous comments on the subject, but none provided a satisfactory explanation. I reported my observations.
Pretty chewy for a Tuesday; looking at you 11A/D, 42A, et al. Still enjoyable though. TIL there was a button for tracking on VCRs. Don’t think that was a thing in the UK. Is it because there were different systems? We had, I think, PAL. I love learning new Yiddish expressions. I’d heard Schlemiel, but now I know what it means! Took me an embarrassingly long time to figure out Eeyore’s malady; Dismal? Gloomy? Off to feed the alpacas. Destructo-dog finally left yesterday, so the girls can relax. The chickens had to put up with her barking at them too, but they just glared at her and carried on. Our poor, middle aged Shiba has been flat out by the Aga since the Lab left; she was basically a teenager, stamping her feet, swinging her hair and crying “it’s not FAIR!” Every 5 minutes. Can’t wait for grandchildren 😯
@Helen Wright I’m pretty sure tracking was needed for playing back VHS tapes regardless of the colo(u)r encoding system that was used. I don’t recall ever having to adjust the tracking manually on any VCR I encountered in the ‘90s, but I think that’s probably just because the players in use by then were pretty good at adjusting everything automatically. Those dastardly devices were tracking (for) us without us even knowing it!
If there was ever a group that appreciates the fact that language matters, it's NYT crossword fans. So to that end—and please accept this in the spirit in which this is presented — I object to using "old" as a definition for "obsolete." It's in these small ways that language subtly shapes how we view people, things, and ideas. Words matter.
@LinRP "Old" is not being used as a definition; it is a clue, and clues are not definitions. A clue is valid if even one sense of the word matches the answer in one way or another, and this is the case here: You can't use that charger with the new iPhone, it's the OLD one. You can't use that charger with the new iPhone, it's the OBSOLETE one. As an "old" myself, I don't want to be considered obsolete, either, but that's the way crossword clues work. There's rarely exact overlap, and in many cases, it's an intentional misdirect.
@LinRP This has come up here before, and Steve L's answer above pretty much sums up the conclusions we came to in the past. Super short version: Old may mean obsolete. It doesn't always mean that, but it having that meaning sometimes is good enough for a crossword clue.
@LinRP it’s also a group which knows what pedantic means
Lot's of fun with clever double definitions. Great Tuesday!
Perfect Tuesday level and congratulations on the debut, Bob! I enjoyed your labor of love. Looking forward to seeing more from you.
My screen on my iPad looks the same as it always does, a shame it’s causing trouble for so many as it is a fine debut puzzle, just right for Tuesday I think. I also really enjoyed Bob's notes and look forward to more puzzles from him.
Oh, what fun to laugh and sing a solving song today! Wasn't this fun, clever, quick, and fresh? We don't have any RICOH-brand stuff; DHubby says even the cameras are "kind of out of fashion." (Sometimes Mr. Fix-it wears his Mr. Techie hat.) Welcome, Bob Benson. And what great timing--mentioning "The Lego Movie." IN RE, tsk AS TO-- the PLASTIC bricks...how do you feel about the plural of.... (Hey! Stop throwing things! Ow! That hurt!) On today's calendar, sewing the labels onto the two quilts. I used the sewing machines "monogram" program to stitch out given names, birthdates, and nicknames, and Yes, I sign my work. ..for posterity, or (more likely) just the fun of it. Wishing us all a productive day!
@Mean Old Lady as a camera nerd, I loved seeing RICOH. Their GR-III model is still one of the most popular and sought after cameras!
Too many proper nouns crossing each other and a subpar theme. Not my favorite.
[Pick your courtroom drama] MOTIONPICTURE "Forest Gump" WALKIETALKIE
The format change in today's puzzle was an unwelcome surprise. I do the crossword on a laptop where a keyboard on the screen is absolutely useless (I understand that it's useful for other devices, but surely there could be an option for something like tablet mode?). I suppose I could get used to having clues on both sides of the grid, but it takes time away from solving when I have to change my view from one side to the other while solving rather than moving slightly up and down on the same side of the grid. I hope this was a glitch, but if this was a deliberate re-design, please go back to the drawing board.
Looks like this is not the day to leggo our LEGO. Sorry for those who are experiencing technical difficulties, because this was an enjoyable puzzle and a solid debut. Welcome, Bob! Hope you come back to play again soon.
I got stumped on some of the fill and had to rework my entries here and there. And that's a compliment, Mr. Benson. A bit of a challenge on a Tuesday is always welcome. Kudos to you on a fine puzzle. Now that you've crossed it off your bucket list, please write in "Get even more puzzles published in the NYT." We'll be anxiously awaiting them! (The musical accompaniment today is another Mr. Benson - the guitar virtuoso, George Benson <a href="https://youtu.be/6jdH1T8hc9c?si=peYiJm-YMgzB8i3V" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/6jdH1T8hc9c?si=peYiJm-YMgzB8i3V</a>)
Great Tuesday puzzle with just enough bite.
Might be a GenX thing, but reading 26A and then reading this column immediately made me think of intro to the "Laverne and Shirley" theme song: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJzF8_df1R8" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJzF8_df1R8</a>
@Pax Ahimsa Gethen same! (And, yes, I'm a GenXer.) Learning the meanings of the two Yiddish words adds a whole new dimension to the song!
Is this a new redesign that's being rolled out today...? If it is, it's horribly formatted for PC or laptop screens – the actual crossword is microscopic as compared to everything flanking it on the sides and beneath, and the keyboard doesn't even do anything. Why do computer users even need an on-screen keyword? Is this a glitch......?
Haha, an unintended laugh out loud, after yesterday, to see the clue for the PLASTIC FILM. And then, just look at 22D! Don’t the editors realize that the third-person conjugation of OGLE is OGLE?
I, fortunately, have not experienced the layout bug, and I've done both the Monday and Tuesday puzzles. Wondered if it was OS-related because iOS apps can sometimes be run on Apple Silicon Macs, but both my old Intel iMac and my newer M1 MacBook Air were showing the "usual" webpage graphics. As for the puzzle, I found it a little bit crunchy, but definitely doable. Nice to see another new face, and very nice debut puzzle. Thanks, Bob!
Really really hate the new layout. Keyboard on screen while solving on a computer is 1) useless 2) takes up a bunch of screen real estate. Also, the on-screen keyboard didn't even work??? The clues split to left and right is something I think I could get used to, but for now it makes it a lot harder to check crosses while solving an area - I basically end up focusing on the lists one at a time and viewing the grid in my periphery. With the two column across/down list you could view both at once while doing this, but now my vision constantly has to sweep from the left to right side of the screen. Also, the lists are super short in height because the keyboard takes up so much space. It's really really bad. Also what happened to the San Jose Strut‽‽‽‽‽‽‽‽‽
@Andrew apparently the jingle plays fine when I solve in Chrome but it wasn't playing at all in Firefox
@Andrew Agree. Giant grid and tiny, hard to read clues. Who thought this was a good idea? It's more difficult to read. Go ack to the old form please!!!
@Andrew They need to have an option to revert to the old form. It's awful.
@Andrew Did some more testing and I'm not getting the new layout at all in Chrome incognito so I'm kind of inclined to think this is a bug and actually the mobile/progressive layout or something
Hate the onscreen keyboard! How do I get rid of it?
@Robert Danley ME TOO! I don't have a touch screen, and I have poor eyesight. So this format is completely unworkable. Please provide a full screen option for use with physical keyboards.
Another pleasant debut puzzle for those who were able to see it. Thanks for taking us to the movies, Bob. Now let's have a word with the projectionists...
@Barry Ancona Two of the four are TV programs .... and yes, I know about the (endless) movies, but those have longer titles.
I contacted Games support yesterday after it changed to the huge keyboard and split clues, and got this back just now: "Our development team has implemented a correction for the unintended keyboard display. Please refresh your page to apply the fix." Should be all good now—it looks good on my end.
For me, this was a perfect puzzle for a Tuesday. Kudos to Mr. Benson.
@Steve And apparently, solving after 8am MDT avoids glitches. Glad I live west of the Mississippi (west of the Missouri, too, for that matter).
Any puzzle referencing Eeyore is okay by me. Congrats on the debut.
@Vaer The therapist my husband and I saw for a few years gave me a stuffed Eeyore because I was so glum all the time. He still lives on my nightstand.
I read (past tense like Lego and ogle) through all the comments before I wrote my post. Apparently the ease of doing this on my phone has saved me some issues tonight. I found this a delightful Tuesday with a few tricky clues. I tend not to watch the Simpsons or pay attention to titles so I had yello instead of yells. Aside from that I tried watering rescues instead of Features for Finding Nemo but both were quickly resolved. I look forward to more puzzles by Mr Benson.
@Megan that should be water rescues, not watering. Down side of auto correct on my phone
Using a MacBook Air and opening the puzzle in Firefox, I have no issues. It looks the same as it has always looked.
The new layout is terrible. I have a very difficult time using it. I cannot adjust it to make the clues readable for both my wife and myself can see it. The keyboard is useless to me. I see no way to eliminate it. Please give an option to get rid of the keyboard and go back to the old layout.
@Brian M I agree! I was frantically searching for a way to get rid of the keyboard which takes up most the screen making the puzzle much too small. Absolutely HATE this! :(
@Brian M Agreed the new format almost made me not play. As a software developer I would bet money they did it so they could use the same interface in their new app.
Is anyone else frustrated with the new layout of the crossword? My online screen now has across clues left of the board, down clues to the right, and a giant onscreen keyboard that takes up 1/2 the screen, reducing the size of the board significantly. Is it just me? Did I accidentally toggle some option that turned on the onscreen keyboard? If so, I can't figure out how to turn it back off. Who needs a giant onscreen keyboard when you have on the laptop itself? This new layout has slowed down solving a lot. I have to glance back and forth to the clues, and squint at the tiny board now. Is there a way to switch back to the old layout?
@Michael Thorson, yes, I had that problem. It seems to have switched to app mode on laptops--I was able to use a desktop. Which did not make me happy. At all.
@Michael Thorson I'm frustrated too! Like you I thought I'd accidentally toggled to "terrible mode."
This was Wednesday difficulty for me with all the names and abbreviations. I don't get FTS for military installations, and I have no idea what a FRIARS CLUB is, for example, so the crossing of the two on the first letter was nasty, and my last square to fall (bRIARS seemed plausible to me). Not knowing schlemiel and the tv channel in the quadrant directly W complicated things, too. How is VCR a device with tracking tech? I'm obviously not understanding something (also, VCR... I haven't had one for 20 years!)
@Andrzej Forts and tracking is what you would have to do to a vcr if the frame wasn't quite right. It was a little adjustmentknob in early versions I suppose a button later on.
@Andrzej VCRs had a dial called "Tracking" which you could use to fix video problems.
@Andrzej I thought this puzzle was difficult too, but I got stuck in the northwest corner. Fts is short for Forts. The Friars Club is a comedy club in New York City that I had vaguely heard of and sort of recognized the name of, but once again, the NYT assumes that everyone is intimate familiar with all things New York City.
@Andrzej For whatever this is worth, I had no idea about FTS and FRIARSCLUB either. That was my last fill and I was like, well, P didn't work so maybe F will... Nor did I know the VCR thingy.... I mean, I used a VCR for many a year or decade but was clueless about that. I remember the Christmas my dad surprised us with a VCR! It was so exciting! He bought it with the VHS movie of Annie. I'm pretty sure he thought I would dig that, since he favored me over my two older brothers.... of course, as what red haired father wouldn't his red haired daughter!? Hahaha! Turns out I wasn't much of an Annie, also red haired, person either but, he tried! 😂
@Andrzej to clarify as well a Friar's Club Roast is where comedians come together and insult the guest of honor (often another comedian). Also, you all just not have rented movies or borrowed tapes of recorded shows. If you didn't adjust your tracking, you often wouldn't be able to see anything on the screen. When I saw the clue I had the V and thought, it would be funny if it was VCR. I got stuck just south of you since I put in SPEc I had some word ending in box and couldn't figure anything political out for it and didn't know the actor that crossed. Made for a tough SE corner.
Congratulations on your debut, Bob. I thought it was a little stickier than the usual Tuesday, and appreciated that. Hope to see you back soon.
Clever, charming Tuesday. Lovely debut! Woke up after my first night taking the blood pressure medication my doc says I now need. I pouted. and waited a week. Last night, took it, and went to bed. Holy shamoly! Slept like a baby! So maybe this was the most friendly Tuesday puzzle ever, and/or I got a beautiful night’s rest. Aah… Hoping you all have some lovely moments today!
Yikes! Just read a few comments! I solve on an iPad. Nothing was different today. So sorry that messed up the solve for so many! Just a bummer!
Hi Deb, Co Crocker here. Maybe you remember me from the "Old " NYT Forum days? As you can probably guess, I have found my way back here for a singular reason. The new format is simply awful. Please pass my feeling to those who matter. I have completed every NYT crossword since the beginning of 1997 . I have never missed one. I am old, tired and grumpy and this new hodgepodge makes me want to quit. I hope you and the old gang are all well.
I see people are having a problem with a phantom keyboard below the puzzle. I just want to note that I didn’t seem to have that problem. It looks the same as always on my iPhone .
@Paul It looks like desktop users are getting the app version today.
Loved the puzzle, kudos to the constructor. Hate the new format. It is not an improvement in any way.
@Asher I couldn't agree more that the format is pretty bad! I was hoping there was an option to revert the layout to the prior display. Previously with the across and down clues in the same area on the screen, my eyes could dart between them with ease. Now my eyes have to traverse from left to right when I want to change solving directions? Blech!
So you all are saying the new layout is… NOT GREAT, BOB! (The crossword was fine, I just had to use that line because of the constructor’s name.)
Fun puzzle - all in the clues. Had to work some crosses for each of the theme answers, but that just made for nice 'aha' moments as each of them dawned on me. Really enjoyed it. And my puzzle find today was another 'all in the clues' type. I'm sure I did this one but had forgotten it. Anyway - a Sunday from March 19, 2023 by Robert Ryan with the title "Give me a break!" Some clue/answer examples: "Zone out?" DEPARTMENTALLY "Seat at the dining table?" SUPPOSITION "Beauty that runs in the family?" KINESTHETIC "Boys' club?" MALEFACTION "Swindle by instant messaging?" CONTEXTUALLY And there were more. Here's the Xword Info link: <a href="https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=3/19/2023&g=23&d=A" target="_blank">https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=3/19/2023&g=23&d=A</a> I'm done. ....
Wondering why there were 165 comments at 8am on a Tuesday. Aha. (I only solve on Android) This was pretty tricky for a Tuesday! I had totally forgotten about VCR tracking. For anyone under 35: it was this little dial on your VCR that you could theoretically turn if the playback was fuzzy. 90 percent of the time it did nothing and made it worse as I recall.
Happy to report that I just reopened the completed puzzle, and at least in my setup, the puzzle is displaying properly again. I'm using Chrome on a Dell desktop of recent vintage, But it seems to work in Edge and Firefox as well. Hope everyone else is experiencing the same thing!
@Steve L Looks good here, too! Glad the team brought back the previous format. I haven't checked the music yet, though.