OMNOMNOM? That's an answer? Oh no no no.
@NobodyThree Try telling that to Cookie Monster! :)
@NobodyThree agree. But NOMNOMNOM would have been ok.
@NobodyThree What exactly is your objection? It seemed the perfect answer to me!
@NobodyThree I didn't like it either but the Muppets would probably approve: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TbZ_hTEOKZc" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TbZ_hTEOKZc</a>
@NobodyThree Funny, that was a gimme to me. Interesting how differently brains can work.
@NobodyThree Exactly. These [] clues are far from my favorites, but this one was bizarre. Let’s just make up combinations to fit the crosses. And, yes, two or three “nom”s would have been ok.
@NobodyThree Not only is it an answer, but there are numerous examples of it in the wild. It still leaves me with questions, though. Where did Brad get the inspiration? Was it <a href="https://youtu.be/gmWEd68-63E?feature=shared" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/gmWEd68-63E?feature=shared</a> or <a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/147305/om-nom-nom" target="_blank">https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/147305/om-nom-nom</a> or <a href="https://cuttherope.fandom.com/wiki/Om_Nom" target="_blank">https://cuttherope.fandom.com/wiki/Om_Nom</a> or something else? Are all of the above an homage to Cookie Monster?
@NobodyThree I didn't see anything wrong with it. OM NOM NOM has been in use for years, as the sound you make when you eat something. It's a fairly common onomatopoeia -- or OM NOM NOM-topoeia, if you will.
@NobodyThree Really despise a clue that leads to a string of letters that someone believes describes a sound.
@NobodyThree It doesn't really make sense with the clue, because people don't say it much in real life but I still got it
I rarely enjoy a challenge but today forced myself to complete the puzzle without any lookups, and I did it! I'm actually quite proud of myself - there was a lot of trivia in the grid today, and also American expressions (like GO LONG), most of either unknown to me, or unfamiliar as clued, at least (for example, I got ARSENIO with enough crosses, even though the clue was arcanely mysterious to me, with the Dog Pound thing). I also got the theme, which restored some of my faith in my own intellect - I usually have problems parsing words differently and seeing connections between words.when trickery us involved. I enjoyed how all the themed entries where actuak words rather than gibberish. Cool stuff. I may have a pedantic nit to pick with DRACULA - the original Romanian was DRACULeA, I think? Wikipedia confirms my suspicion. The clue implying the answer will be in Romanian is a mistake. Still, that is not as bad as something my wife encountered in a non-NYT American crossword recently, where Serb was clued as... Kosovo resident. Now, I know some Serbs reside in Kosovo, but given the Kosovans' struggle for independence, the fact Serbia does not recognize it, and generally how important and dangerous ethnic tension has always been in the Balkans, that was an incredibly ill-coceived clue: not as bad as, say, 1944 Warsaw resident: German, but getting there.
Meh, autocorrect failed to correct some typos, ironically also in the sentence mentioning gibberish...
Way to go, @Andrzej!
@Andrzej I am hopeless with the geography of the Balkan states. When I was in elementary school, it was known as Yugoslavia, and everyone was saying that the country would only last as long as Tito lasted. Sure enough, when it came apart, I was was well past school, and I never internalized the new map.
@Andrzej I’m thoroughly impressed, Andrzej. Truly.
Just had to DROP in (TROU still on) to say that I absolutely loved this. Clever, playful, and challenging, it was the perfect puzzle to wake up to this morning. Thanks, Brad!
Haha, I enjoy these themes where the unclued word appearing in the grid just *might* somehow fit the clue in a weird way. Isaac Newton wrote about GRAVY? Sure! Alchemy was all the rage. I’m sure it was an ongoing quest to find the exact right ratio of fat and thickener. A SUBTITLE is not obvious? Sure! How about “Easy Ten Minute Recipes: the complete, unabridged, comprehensive guide” The minty Cuban cocktail is MOJO? Sure! Just have enough of them.
@Cat Lady Margaret Now you have me picturing Elpheba defying GRAVY as she soars over the TARPITS.
"You know about circuits?" "Oh, yeah, I read up on current events!" ("Wire you so amped up?")
@Mike I just get a charge out of it.
@Mike This pun has met with some resistance. If you liked it, though, more power to you.
@Mike Ohm god, I can't take much more of this PUNishment....
@Mike Shocking! What LED you to go off the grid and start thinking outside the box? Please try to stay grounded.
Fantastic debut. Mr. Lively will be a TAN of this industry if he can COMPOSITE more puzzles like this.
This was a capital-P Puzzle for me, with tricky clues making many answers slow to slap down, which in turn made the theme slow to crack. Capital-P Puzzles transport my brain to its delicious I-love-this-kind-of-work place, and then, when the box finally fills in, it feels good through and through. Observations: • An elegant touch is that the only answers in the grid that contain IT are theme answers. • Sweet to see GO LONG in a puzzle with a theme about passing. • Also sweet: the rhyming neighborhood with SEER, LEER, and SNEER. • [Result of some cord cutting, informally] for INNIE – gold! A debut that felt like the work of a pro – color me impressed. Thank you for this, Brad, it was a capital-P Pleasure. Congratulations, and may there be more to come!
@Lewis SNEERS the first answer I got (reliable sources tell me that I am well-practiced, perhaps too much so, at that expression). Too bad I put it in the grid at 15A, where SNORTS belonged. (I forget Deb Amlen’s term for that phenomenon.)
I thought this was a gem! I love the theme.
Really fun puzzle. I didn’t really get going until the clever gimmick clicked for me. Once I got “it” the puzzle came together. I was a little disappointed that there were several answers that had appeared recently: DROPTROU, GOGO, ARSENIO, although the clue for DROPTROU was clever. But there were some fun clues, especially result of cord cutting for INNIE, like a doormat for TOONICE, and sign of terrible service for NOBARS (as a former restaurant worker I tried no tips first).
@Marshall Walthew I'd love to see "no tips" clued as [sign of terrible customers].
Om nom nom nom nom nom nom. <- *me eating a CREPE*
I never know how to reply to a question with my mouth full. At least now, I know how to spell it.
Congratulations on a fun NYT debut, Mr. Lively! This was one of those puzzles where I just had to trust that eventually, it would become clear why certain answers didn’t fit their clues. Somewhere between the halfway point and three-fourths, it clicked. Thanks!
Mr. Lively, how appropriate your surname is for this puzzle! Congratulations on a very clever debut, playing ping-pong with us! Unfortunately, I dropped the ball at the G of GO LONG, having no idea *ever* about sports terms. I even thought a [Passing remark] might be sOLONG. The cross didn't help me since I had no clue as to what Ed.D. meant. But none of that mattered. It was a tiny glitch for me in an otherwise fabulous solving experience. Thank you so much! ............................................... The musical accompaniment for me today was "Stadium Arcadium" by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, just because ARCADE always makes me think of that song, despite the words having entirely different meanings and origins. Still, this puzzle did have for me that paradise quality - harmonius, tranquil, peaceful - that "Arcadium" implies. <a href="https://youtu.be/j9qfClVvfIw?si=9hgc5ifiLsGN54-k" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/j9qfClVvfIw?si=9hgc5ifiLsGN54-k</a>
@sotto voce I had the same problem
@sotto voce Ed.D. is the terminal degree in some settings for Education - think PhD only with slightly less cachet (or recognition by the general public :-). (There's probably more to it than that, but this is the crossword clue level explanation)
Two traps I fell into: I had “suitable” in mind where “subtitle” should go and had such a hard time unthinking that first thought; “too nice” was a huge dook for me, I had a hard time getting away from toon ice. Drop trou will always evoke a fond memory for me. Near the end of my first concert tour abroad, one that had been over-programmed, our ensemble was worn to a frazzle and running on fumes. We gathered on stage to warm up for our concert in Munich, and there was no there there. I thought the concert would be a complete disaster. We changed into our formal attire and gathered outside for our pep talk from the stage manager, whose job it was to get us psyched up. He stood in the middle of our circle quietly taking us all in with his eyes, then simply dropped trou. We all broke up laughing, all of our tension and tiredness fell away, and we sang one of the best concerts of the tour.
@David Connell -- DROP TROU was actually a trap I fell into, where I correctly surmised that "brief" in the clue was being played on, but I was thinking legal brief rather than undies.
@David Connell The thing I love about musicians is that they always have these cracking stories to tell. I worked as a software developer who played the bass in gigs around town, as a side line. He was probably making $100/ hour or more programming. One day he got up and left early, saying. "Got a gig. Going to make tens of dollars." There is something magical about music.
The true story, not the apocryphal one: One chill evening in 1680--chill as only evenings in Britain can be--Newton was dining with John Flamsteed and Edmond Halley. Flamsteed was asking Newton about his recent work on optical theory, but Newton's mouth was full, and all he could utter was an "omnomnom" (or was that a "nomnomnom"? Accounts differ.) Newton was, in fact, helping himself to another serving roast beef, when Halley, whose mouth was parched from that dry-as-dust oatcake, reached for the pitcher of ale, and inadvertently bumped Newton, causing him to spill gravy all over his front ("For every action, there is an equal, but opposite reaction"). And thus Celestial Mechanics was born. *** Don't get me started on "food sensitivities," but I gotta drop in to say that, although OATS do not contain gluten*, they are frequently eschewed but persons striving to keep a gluten-free lifestyle. Oats are frequently processed in mills which also process gluteny grains, and cross-contamination is considered possible. Some companies offer "certified gluten-free" oats, for which they charge more. *unlike RYE and barley, both of which contain more gluten than wheat. It's amazing how many people--chefs included--don't realize this. And yet they live.
I really, really enjoyed this puzzle, all the way from actually doing it, to going back and figuring out things like "Why is the constructor so sure brits are a smart set. I mean, after all, Boris Johnson? So when I got it it gave me a shot of delight, more so than usual. Bravissimo!
In response to accusations that Brad Lively was feeding his own ego, by that logic we would all be feeding our own egos when we solve crossword puzzles. We come to the puzzles to accept a challenge that we are as clever as the constructor, and for people who guard their streaks and times, to vie for some kind of superiority over other solvers. There are puzzles that drive me crazy with clues I can't figure out or fills that I just don't know, but ultimately I accept that the lack is mine. Blaming the constructor is to blame the messenger.
Great puzzle. Great moment when I finally decided to stuff the IT into SUBTLE and discovered the new word formed. I love a Thursday where you think you [grok] the trick that’s being played only to go on to SEE there’s more to the theme than you originally thought. Thanks for the good time, Brad Lively
I got the idea here fairly quickly (that doesn't always happen!) and enjoyed passing the IT around. The SW corner was a little harder for me because MINIMAP, but now I know the term.
@Liz B Me,too. Also not familiar with Cenac Wyatt - now I know him as well .
I was puzzled until suddenly IT all made sense. Isn’t that just the best kind of puzzle? Congratulations, Brad, on a very impressive debut.
Comedian Wyatt Cenac is an amazement of dry humor, deadpan, irony, self-parody. He plays the lead in the unfortunately short-lived series “People of Earth” and it is hilarious. Oh, for a third season! If the name Wyatt Cenac doesn’t ring a bell, and if you like dry, droll humor, look him up!
Fun solve! Great refresh after a tough day. Enjoyed the clever theme, the amusing clues,and OMNOMNOM (which my son said a lot as a teen ). Plus got a good laugh from Deb's "She overthought everything" comment...
I got mojito really quickly to change to mojo, but it took me a while to get that i needed those "it" letters in the other answer with circus. So that turned out to be pretty fun. Now, I'll read the journalism part of the nyt and be horrified at reality again.
This was cute and fun. Lively, even. I like how GRAVY, RYE, OAT and CREPE feed right into OMNOMNOM. Similarly, I suppose it’s fitting that (rhymes with) tEXTING, SNORTS and a broken MOJITO lead one to DROP TROU. I have a feeling that the Mouse House up above would disapprove.
@Heidi An earlier version of this post was seemingly caught in the filter, even though I used similar editing tricks to bypass the offending word. Apologies for a duplicate post if that one shows up, too.
A glorious debut that has *it* all! OMNOMNOM? C’mon. That’s even fun to type! And how did I know it when I didn’t actually know it? I love that about language. If you understand it, it works. If it works, it’s language. My husband loads the dishwasher so…wrong. He has dish-ues. And I have issues with his dish-ues. I was crucivibing all the way through this spicy, saucy Thursday. Thank you Mr. Lively for this gift!
Cool! The rare-in-crosswords s’moresdinlap, which is a word that in both directions sounds like your mouth is full of marshmallows and chocolate… or toon ice. ( wink to Lewis :)
Fun puzzle and a good workout. Actually caught on to the trick fairly early and enjoyed pondering to finally catch on to each of the theme answers. And... must admit I had to cheat on OMNOMNOM - That is completely unfamiliar and even with some crosses I had to look it up to confirm. Fun puzzle find today. A Thursday from May 17, 2001 by David J. Kahn. Some theme clue and answer examples: "Swedish tennis star's favorite movie?" BJORNFREE "Singer who really cuts the mustard?" CELINEDIJON "Vehicle for touring Scandinavia?" FJORDEXPLORER And the reveal: "Coxcombs (and a hint to solving this puzzle)" POPINJAYS Here's the Xword Info link: <a href="https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=5/17/2001&g=55&d=A" target="_blank">https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=5/17/2001&g=55&d=A</a> I'm done. .....
@Rich in Atlanta Oh.. and one more puzzle find.This one was cute. A Sunday from August 26, 2012 by Amanda Yesnowitz and Doug Peterson with the title; "Put a lid in it." The puzzle had 6 rebus squares which were all the word 'HAT.' A couple of theme answers: LADYC(HAT)TERLEYSLOVER* HORTON(HAT)CHESTHEEGG* TOCATC(HAT)HIEF* MA(HAT)MAGANDHI C(HAT)TANOOGACHOOCHOO* And all of those answers with asterisks were making their one and only appearance in any puzzle. And... with apologies - the last one I listed reminded me of one of my very favorite punch lines from a joke. A line from Dale Evans: Pardon me Roy, is that the cat that chewed your new shoes? I'll shut up now. ...
Note from an avid cyclist, and amateur linguist, on ETAPE: Of course, we *want* it to be "étage," because that's the cognate, and False Friend* of "stage." But it's not: it's "étape," which is cognate to "staple," and, further removed, "staff." Why? Well, to summarize wiktionary: A public storehouse--> (by extension) Supplies issued to troops on the march.--> (by extension) The place where troops on the march halt overnight.--> (by extension) The distance marched during a day.--> (by extension, cycling) A stage of a multistage bicycle race. That's a long way for a word to ride, just to get the yellow jersey! *The kind of Friend which lets you draft from them, and perhaps offers you a swig from their water-bottle; but in the end will cut you off at the last bend, and land you in the ditch:-(
@Bill Which is why crossing ETAPE with a name which could well be ROEGER is almost solver-abuse!
@Bill I'm totally flashing back to the scene in "Breaking Away" where our hero catches up to his heroes, the Italian team, and one of them throws a swagger stick into his spokes, sending him over the handlebars. That's actually the only thing I remember from the movie.
Sometimes my brain just…can’t.
@Cathy same - ended up plodding through with the crosses - “it” never clicked.
@Cathy Same here. The whole thing gave me a headache.
@Cathy I’m right there with you.
This was cute and fun. Lively, even. I like how GRAVY, RYE, OAT and CREPE feed right into OMNOMNOM. Similarly, I suppose it’s fitting that S*XTING (edited to thwart the emu police), SNORTS and a broken MOJITO lead one to DROP TROU. I have a feeling that the Mouse House up above would disapprove.
Excellent debut! Thursday is my favorite day, too, and this did not disappoint. The theme was clever, but not too difficult to parse before I finished my coffee. It had tons of fun fill as well: DRACULA, ARSENIO, MINIMAP, VOLTRON, OM NOM NOM! Congrats!
Not sure if anyone has mentioned it yet, but can we get a hats (caps?) off to the developers for today’s Strands grid? Bravo! 👏👏👏
@Jill Strands #389 “Playing the field” 🔵🔵🔵🔵 🔵🔵🟡 It took me a bit even having quickly figured out the theme.
@Jill Today's was Christina Iverson's gem. A nice tribute: Strands #389 “Playing the field” 🟡🔵🔵🔵 🔵🔵🔵
@Jill indeed it was a beaut.
This was such a nice puzzle! Intuitive trick to the theme, fun wordplay, and it was cool to see internet lingo like omnomnom. 🫶
Tough but fair. Nice wordplay theme with solid theme answers. OMNOMNOM!
Great debut puzzle, Brad! A perfect Thursday for me, both fun and challenging.
Kudos to Christina Iverson for her Strands puzzle today. It was really quite clever, both in its concept and layout!
@Merry It was a particularly good one today.
Really enjoyed this Thursday puzzle! Loved that it came with two separate 'A-ha!' moments: the first quite early on when I realized that the 'IT' was left out of the clues with 'pass it on', and then the second after much head scratching when I realized the 'IT' was actually 'passed along' to other clues. 🤦♂️
The Knights who say "Ni!" wish to complain about this puzzle, and also to say "Ni!" to the constructor. I thought it was fine. Oh no, now I've said it! I've said it again!
@Grant - Dang “” you made me laugh! Woof!
@Grant I thought a George Thorogood revealer would have worked here: “Move It on Over.” (Coincidentally, I he’s that song on the radio the other day, for the first time in years.)
Clever theme utterly ruined (for me) by ROEPER/ETAPE. I stopped paying attention once Gene Siskel passed in 1999, and I am neither fluent in French nor a devotee of cycling. So I failed with ROEGER/ETAGE. Tough crossing that one, since ETAGE is actually a word in French. Just not the right one here. Not a fan of the puzzle's form either, with essentially three separate parts glues together with DROPTROU and the utterly silly OMNOMNOM. OK, letting it go now. Some nice elements here, but won't be calling it a favorite any time soon.
@Xword Junkie Etape was a gimme, and I'm glad it was, because I've never heard of the person crossing it.
Congratulations on your debut, Brad. IT was a pleasure to work IT out. Cracked up entering OMNOMNOM - did anyone else picture Cookie Monster or was it just me? 🍪🍪🤣 Great start to my Thursday morning, so thank you ☺️
I loved the misdirect at 6-Down: Affirmative reply to "Sprechen Sie Englisch?" I trust I wasn't the only one who thought that the answer had to be in German. But I had confidently entered DISNEY in 1-Across, and I don't think there are any German words that begin with "Y". And certainly the "House of Mouse" can't end with a "J". Very clever!
@The X-Phile I agree! Very clever. It certainly made me stop and think. And though I had already filled in DISNEY, for a moment I wondered if I'd gotten it wrong. I don't think I've ever seen a clue that plays with languages like that. I loved the simplicity and brilliance of it.
That was a nice puzzle, congrats to the constructor! For me, I had just a few lookups. Also, I did not know GROK and had "minemap" before realizing it was MINIMAP. I only got half the theme. I realized the IT was removed but didn't understand the passing back and forth. That's on me, though. I'm disappointed in myself because I recall a recent puzzle with AorB which was the clue for the entry right next door. I did get the trickery of that puzzle, but for some reason I didn't connect (in today's puzzle) that these were clues involving the next door neighbor as well. I guess it was just too SUBTITLE for me, or perhaps I'm not the BRITAIN I thought I was! Still impressed with the grid, though. I know I'll grok it next time.
This is the kind of puzzle that makes me want to stop wasting my time. Not funny, amusing or interesting, just a constructor's ego to be fed. Of course as a Canadian, I am in a bad mood with all things American these days.
@Lorne Eckersley I'm an American and I'm in a bad mood with all things, too, for the same reason as you. However... taking it out on the constructor is classless. I do not think of Canada as classless, and yet here you are. Any time I see someone talking about the constructor's "ego", or their unwillingness to let anyone solve their "precious" puzzles, I just want to scream, "Heal thyself!"
@Lorne Eckersley Sorry you didn't like this puzzle. I did, and I don't share your assessment that it wasn't funny, amusing or interesting. But when you purport to know a constructor's motive, and impugn them based on no evidence whatsoever (a hunch, perhaps?), you are just being nasty without reason. The fact that one person in Creston, BC, didn't like this puzzle doesn't mean that a constructor created a puzzle for the sole purpose of feeding his ego. Only one person looks bad when you make assertions like this, and it sure isn't Mr. Lively.
@Lorne Eckersley As a Canadian I thought it was a clever theme and helped with solving the puzzle. I have my own negative feelings about a lot of what is happening but they have no bearing on my enjoyment of the puzzle. Good work.
@Lorne Eckersley I'd be willing to bet that most folks who participate in the Wordplay comments section hate what's going on in America at the moment just as much as you, if not more so, whether American or otherwise. What's that got to do with the puzzle or the constructor? Just because you didn't enjoy the puzzle doesn't mean it's objectively bad or that you can somehow read the constructor's mind. You're just showing your own small-mindedness. We've already got enough of that in Washington.
@Lorne Eckersley's critics OooooKAY. It isn't helping to jump down Lorne's throat; I'm sure we all hope he feels better and relents in the harsh judgments made late at night --perhaps after a hard day. And, Lorne? Please step out into the hall and stand there until you feel better and fit to join the class again. We all need a break from time to time.
@Lorne Eckersley man, your comment seems like it really hit a nerve for a lot of people. I guess many of us are feeling extra touchy. Hoping you and others can continue to find joy and escape in the puzzle and in this column. Here’s to better times ahead.
@Lorne Eckersley I couldn't disagree with you more about this puzzle, and I'm in the same bad mood as you are. Of course, I don't blame the people of the US (or at least not the slight majority).
I thought this was a fun clever puzzle. Omnomnom gave me a chuckle. Nice debut, Mr. Lively!
Thought this was really clever. Was stuck at about 60% complete because while I could see how IT was omitted in italicized clues, I wasn’t connecting the back/forth of IT. Once that (finally) dawned on me, the puzzle pretty much completed itself. I love Thursday puzzles.
Excellent puzzle with terrific cluing -- great job Brad!