“Teentsty” may be one of the most inelegantly spelled words I’ve ever seen—and it has no place in this otherwise reasonable puzzle.
@Tim In LA To the contrary, it's the only word that DOES "belong" in that place in the puzzle - minus the extra "t" you added, of course ;-)
@Tim In LA Completely agree. The only flaw.
My ongoing series of interesting wrong answers: Caitlin Clark is a SHENOM. I guess I made that up, but it seemed apt. A Good Samaritan is an ALIEN. As in, a person from another land who was able to treat a stranger with humanity. Most of my wrong answers make me laugh, but this one made me sigh.
@Cat Lady Margaret Love SHENOM (and the sentiment which led to ALIEN).
@Cat Lady Margaret Shenom! Excellent!!!
@Cat Lady Margaret SHENOM was actually my first answer, it just felt right!
@Cat Lady Margaret yep! I also went for SHENOM first 😁
How fitting to finally solve this challenging gem with ATANEND :) And how worrisome to have CU_ for “It’s a mouthful.” Umm :/
@Fabiano hahaa, thank you, I was hoping someone else would comment on that! For a sec, I imagined the cross would be something like "DIEYOUMUST" 😂
I had the strangest experience with this one that makes me question my grip on reality. I could have sworn the first three(!) times I looked at 21A, I was absolutely sure it was mayor of *Detroit*. When the crosses finally pointed to DINKINS, I thought, "but that's for New York City". And I looked at the clue, and sure enough it had changed to New York City. I wish I had been born smart instead of so devastatingly handsome.
@Francis What is reality in 2025? Rejoice in your devastating handsomeness and know you have made me smile. Have a great weekend - :)
@Francis you can rest comfortably tonight that you didn't put Kwame in there.
A gentle, friendly Saturday. During lockdown, our youngest lived at home. A gentle, lovely gem of a human. He showed me the game GeoGuessr (I think?) which plops you somewhere, *anywhere* in any country on the planet, via Google Earth. The game is to figure out where you are. Little nuanced clues like striped roadside posts or the types of animals or trees by the roadside telling you it looks like Cambodia, but must be, say Laos, or something like that. If it looked like Africa but the street signs were in English? Bam! (Usually) Ghana or Gambia. We’d sit on the kitchen couch and play as we learned, learn as we played… Just hanging out. *deep mamma sigh* Match Day was a week ago and he matched with his first choice of hospital. 1,000 miles away and beginning residency. Pretty sure “residency” means something about “living there.” But those many days in lockdown, learning to distinguish Estonia from Latvia will remain one of *the* fondest memories of my entire life. It’s funny how a memory of something so random can envelop and fill one’s entire heart to the brim. Have a beautiful Saturday all! Hug ‘em if you got ‘em!
@CCNY What a sweet, lovely memory. This is going to make me feel happy inside all day. (And I'm going to look for that game!) Thank you for sharing. :)
@CCNY You got me all curious…what specialty did he decide on? Such an exciting time in a young person’s life. So much fun traveling to all those different medical centers during the process,
@CCNY Unexpected gifts are the best ones. Best of luck to him!
Disagree with TEENTSY spelling. Raiders org slowed me down a lot, I was sure it was NFL.
@Dave K. For the [RaidersOrg] we already had NBA for [Magic org] so I put NFL on the back burner and guessed that it would be more literal, and luckily was right.
@Dave K. What I liked the best about Raiders is that it was a veiled capital in reverse. I saw the capital R and immediately went to football. Hah, it's a lower case!
@Dave K. I put it in but didn’t like it from the start.
This was so great! As is often the case on Saturday, I had almost nothing on my first across and down pass. I was tempted to start looking up names, Andrzej-style, but then I thought: the clues I did get were really cool! Why not give myself a chance of enjoying the rest of them unaided? And that's what I did - I filled the grid quite quickly in the end, without outside help 🤩 The clueing was really nice and on my wavelength, apparently. Not knowing some names and expressions did not stop me. TOP BANANA I've never heard before, I think, but I love it 😀. TEENTSY - that just looks so weird! I realized it had to be something like that when I got some crosses there, but I was still surprised by what emerged, exactly. Nice coincidence BTW - I only got TANTO because recently I've been playing the latest installment of the Assassin's Creed franchise: Shadows. It takes place in feudal Japan, and my awesome female shinobi protagonist has a TANTO in her arsenal, as well as a katana, some kunai and shuriken 🤩. It's a huge game and I've only just begun it, but it's wowing me already with its depiction of the historical era. The graphics on PS5 are amazing, too, and the gameplay is very smooth. It's nice that I experienced a connection between two great games: the PS5 one and today's wonderful grid 🙂
@Andrzej Big sigh. So you're a gamer, too...ah, jeez...I don't know if you saw my tantrum the other day about gamers. But I might as well apologize to you, too, now. I'm and old man that has some (probably) outdated notions. My attitude towards gamers is almost certainly one of those. Now...on to better, less embarrassing (for me) stuff. I loved your description of resisting the easy way because it seems so like what I go through. Click on clue...nope, don't see it...click on the next clue...nope, nothing comes to mind.... Later in the game, when I really stop and think, I might have gotten those earlier had I not abandoned it about a half second thought.
@Andrzej TOP BANANA is a show biz term for the leading actor in a variety show, like Bob Hope, and not necessarily what I'd call a "Head honcho," who would be a boss. I haven't played AC Shadows yet, but it looks awesome.
@Andrzej I just started AC Shadows last night. Didn’t get far. It was late. I haven’t really, really enjoyed one since the Ezio stories but this one looks promising. I’m with you on the story-telling kind of game. The Last of Us is probably my favourite. Can’t do FPS anymore. Don’t have the reflexes or ability to filter all the info coming at me.
SACRE bleu! What a lot of tiny complaints there are about TEENTSY—but I DON't CARE. Most people seem to have the same take on the puzzle that I did: Entertaining fills, fun to solve, and full of drama (always welcome). Thanks, Christina and Jacob, looking forward to more.
Now that’s entertainment: • Scintillating wordplay clues coming from all directions. • A wealth of endearing answers: CLEAR SIGN, TUXEDO CAT, NO WORRIES, PEELED (out), RIVETED, I LIED, BACKSTORIES, PHENOM, TOP BANANA, TRIAL SIZE. • A high number (16!) of long answers, bringing interest and the fun of trying to guess them with as few crosses as possible. • A low number of three-letter answers (8), which can junk up a grid. • Lovely serendipities – RAGU crossing a backward RAGU in the SE, ROLE above ACTOR, and the PuzzPair© of SANDBOXES and EAT MY DUST. • Sweet TIL that that you can put rice in a birdfeeder – I had no idea! • Delightful knottiness in some places balanced off by thrilling whoosheroos in others. Splendid, this prime Saturday puzzle shimmering with quality, sending me into my day with a life-is-good smile. Thank you so much for this, Christina and Jacob!
@Lewis I think the RICE is used to throw at weddings, not to put in the bird feeder. While RICE wouldn't harm a bird, bird seed is a more nutritious option. Years ago there was a myth going around that if birds ate the uncooked RICE that was thrown at a wedding, their stomachs would explode, so some people started using bird seed instead.
@Lewis But, as I've often mentioned, a high number of long answers typically makes a puzzle *easier*, at least for me. Each one I figure out gives me a lot of filled boxes in a hurry.
"I don't know my unit circle." "That's a clear sine you should study." ("Do you know trig?" "Of course! I have a degree in radians.")
@Mike Kinda went off on a tangent, didn't you? (Did you tri anglers for 43A?) Gotta go--I need to get a pi out of the oven.
@Mike I hear that punning is a vector-borne disease. (transmitted by orthopods)
@Mike Wait just a secant, cos you cot me off base, and now you're making me feel obtuse. Lighten up!
@Murhatroid certain that the steak was CUrED, I got stuck badly on ORBED and almost gave up.
@Murhatroid After looking up various definitions of "orbed" and "encircled", I'm not convinced they mean the same thing. "Orb" seems to mean "to form something into a sphere (or circle)", whereas "encircle" means "to form a circle around something". So, troops would encircle (not orb) a city, and one would orb (not encircle) cookie dough.
Phew! I almost broke my streak by accident. Being in the U.S. Pacific time zone, three hours behind New York, I usually solve the night before the puzzle’s actual date. However, on Friday night, I realized that I had not solved Friday’s puzzle so I quickly dashed it out and finished at 8:45 PM Pacific time/11:45 PM New York time. So I was a mere 15 minutes away from losing my streak which is now over seven years. Now, I suppose I should put streak in quotes because I allow myself to do a little bit of research, such as looking at a map or the Wikipedia page for a movie, occasionally. I know that some feel that this doesn’t “count”. But it’s my streak and I’m always happy to complete the puzzle. I learn more when I let myself do research but I like the challenge of avoiding it. When I started solving, no amount of googling would have allowed me to finish a Friday or Saturday puzzle. This experience is a reminder to me not to borrow trouble. The reason I forgot to do the Friday puzzle earlier is that I got anxious about the doctor’s appointment I had today which, thankfully, turned out to be no cause for concern. Once again, I proved Mark Twain correct when he said, “I've had a lot of worries in my life, most of which never happened.” How many times must I re-learn this? The puzzles continue to delight me. Oh, and I solved Saturday’s puzzle and enjoyed every minute of it, (no lookups). “Wrigley field?”, at 27D, made me smile. Happy weekend, everyone!
@Cindy 😀 Glad you avoided your streak break. Regardless of how you define "streak" seven years is a long time. Concerning you doctor appointment...I don't know your age, but when I was in my 30s and 40s *every* visit to the doctor was like the Sword of Damocles. So I know exactly what you mean. Happily, though, my experience is that as one gets older (I'm 72) it got easier. Much easier. When I was called into a "doctor wants to talk with you" appointment after a prostate biopsy, I knew what was up, and it didn't really bother me. At one point talking to the proctologist at that appointment, he told me my case was mild, and yet when I made a kind of joke he looked up and said "You find this funny?" I felt like I was in the second grade again. Anyway, it may get easier. Who knows? Glad it's all ok.
@Cindy You have no idea how I empathize with you! I also feel anxious about doctor's appointments, but then when I really do have stuff checked out, my fears are usually proven to be baseless. Some ten years ago I had a cancer scare that ended up being nothing at all. I love that Mark Twain quote! Don't worry about looking up stuff - if that makes your solves more enjoyable, go for it. I know I do - but, again, just as you, today I needed no outside help and greatly enjoyed this very fine grid 🙂 @Francis I'd have joked under the circumstances, too. Some people can't appreciate that, can they? I have a tendency to not treat things seriously, and sometimes I experience surprising pushback against it. For a year I was on the board of our housing co-op (many if not most housing estates in Poland are legally organized as co-ops). I was being my usual self - professional but not in a very serious way - and that triggered another guy on the board so much that in the end it contributed to my quitting.
@Cindy While I was growing up in the late 70's and 80's, my mother would get the late edition of the Sunday Times from 7-11, mostly for the crossword; she finished most every one she tried... By scanning the the four bookcases she stationed at each corner of our family room, searching, searching: Witches of Eastwick.... John... UPDIKE! By strolling over to the giant globe that forever flanked our fireplace, spinning, spinning: St. Chrisopher and.... NEVIS! By moseying over to the foot of the stairs, yelling, hollering: "Greg! Five letters! Duke Boy Tom! I got W-O! Eh...? Hmm... WOPAT.... Fits!!! Thank you!" And when she was done she was done. No music to reward your, or silence accompanied by a taunting "Not quite, Copernicus!" message to crush your soul. Maybe she'd check it the next Sunday edition, maybe not. All of which is to say... Your streak counts. And so does mine! Once I hit the 40 minute mark and I haven't made progress on a section, I know there's a disconnect that's never going to resolve itself without a trip to Word.Tips for salvation. Such was the case here. TEENTSY??? Ok, whatever, fair enough, but in my 50-plus years that has only ever been TEENSY or TEENSIE in my head. And there was _no_ getting me off NFL for "Raiders' org". What is this, the PSATS? The MCATS? The LSATS? No, respectfully. It ain't. Cheers.
@Cindy I’ve been solving for about 4 years now, and I often read these comments and wonder what constitutes a “streak”. For me personally, it’s a gold star with no lookups. In that regard, my highest streak is 53 (although I currently sit at 49, so that’s definitely within reach). But I read comments on here about streaks well into the thousands, and I often wonder if they’re using the same criteria I use. And I’m not judging anyone’s criteria, so much as I’m marveling at the thought of going years on end without ever being tripped up.
@Cindy,wow, what a streak! It’s my understanding that the cutoff is midnight in your time zone, not NY. Someone correct me if I am wrong.
@Cindy I'm so glad to hear you had nothing to worry about. I have a strange and probably counterproductive feeling that the more I worry about a thing, the less likely it is to happen.... thus justifying all my worry because I made it okay by worrying. Yes, my worry and I are that all-powerful! 😂 By the way, I do not recommend anyone else adopt my warped life views. 😉
@Cindy I’ve enjoyed reading the thread that my post started. Thank you, everyone, for the empathy, good wishes, book recommendations, family memories , and wisdom. The discussion of the meaning of life and dangerous vs serious, has given me food for thought. @Andrzej, I’m just finishing a class on meaning, values, and mission Ha! @Francis, I’m not much younger than you but I’m going to try to adopt your attitude because so far I’ve become more anxious about medical things as I’ve aged. I love the way your mother solved! @Greg Chavez Regarding the time the puzzle needs to be completed to get a gold star, the NYTimes says it’s midnight EST on the day of the puzzle, see below, so it is interesting to learn that there is some wiggle room. === <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/28/crosswords/daily-puzzle-2025-03-29.html#commentsContainer" target="_blank">https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/28/crosswords/daily-puzzle-2025-03-29.html#commentsContainer</a> Blue and Gold Stars Completion of the puzzle is represented with different colored stars. Gold Stars reflect the number of consecutive puzzles solved before midnight EST on the publication date without using Check or Reveal. Blue Stars are puzzles that were solved but do not qualify as part of a streak. This could mean they were solved after midnight EST on the publication date, you skipped a puzzle day, or you used Check or Reveal.
@Cindy Seven years is so impressive. I’m glad you remembered in time.
@Wesley I have a long streak going, but I allow myself lookups and even looking at the solution if I'm really stuck, as I was today. Cross of TI_E and INSE_T. I started running the alphabet, but got to N and gave up. Once I saw the answer I felt pretty stupid. I'm always worrying about getting a flat TIRE when I drive one of our cars. It's a 1956 Thunderbird that my Dad bought new. I got to drive it in High School, and bought it when I was about 30. It has a spare tire -- theoretically. It's inside the continental kit on the back bumper. But you can't get it out without ruining the paint job, and it's always flat, because it hasn't been replaced in 40 years. My husband tried to fill it recently -- no luck.... Now that we are retired it's our only 'second' car. I say we have one-and-a-half cars. Also can't drive the T-bird in the rain. The removeable hard-top leaks badly.
@Cindy Did you know that as long as you finish Friday before you start Saturday, even if it's Saturday afternoon, your streak will stay alive? You just have to do them in order. Can't even open Saturday.... I also do look ups, but still count my streak. I'm always getting better, but there are pop-culture clues I will never know. And others where I just go mind-blank.
@Cindy I forgot to do this puzzle until after 1 am EDT Sunday. After completing it, got the yellow star. I'm on the East Coast. So, the midnight cut off isn't a thing anymore.
A moment of silence for all the tuxedo cats (like mine) who will have their sun naps interrupted with a phone screen excitedly shoved in their faces. "You made it in, Gus! Look, that's YOU!" His response? I DON'T CARE 😒 Gotta teach this man how to read smh
Back from Hawaii, because with everything being so calm in the world, it felt like a good time to visit paradise. And it truly was. But good to be home! Caitlin summed up my feelings about this puzzle: “It’s heavy on wit, light on obscurity and entertaining to solve, solo or with your own pal.” My solving pal was my dog, who I missed slightly more than I enjoyed basking in paradise.
@Puzzlemucker Sacré pitou. Paint me riveted! Back from the paradise of the Pacific to a real phenom - a puzzlesolving pooch! Would love to get the backstories here! 😉 [Insert _____ to kindly posted rib] I can only imagine the beauty of the Aloha state, but dearly relate to the tranquility of home sweet home. Happy solving, Puzzlemucker.
Entertaining, and it solved smoothly, but I was sort of disappointed that it didn't resist me any more. I want my Saturday puzzles to have more bite to them. But maybe I was just lucky with the particular clues and answers in this one--or some good guesses. I wouldn't spell TEENTSY with the extra T, but I can hear people pronouncing it that way--maybe it's a more regional thing? I hope Christina and Jacob will collaborate on future puzzles!
@Liz B I balked at TEENTSY too and only put it in because the crosses made me do it.
Yep, it’s 3am and my valiant effort to tiptoe to the kitchen noiselessly for a glass of water flopped. As I reached the refrigerator, I heard a happy “Rrrr!” and turned around to see the same eager, silver dollar-sized eyes over the same tuxedo as in the column photo. Señor Gato is ready for action. Freya help me. A lovely puzzle with very little glue (only four 3-letter entries in the whole grid), but… but… I would have loved more resistance. Measured in wee-hour meow-MEOWWWs, it lasted only a couple dozen. Happy Saturday, fellow crossword warriors.
@Sam Lyons Let us know if Freya gives you a golden apple. I hear that they keep you healthy, young, and godlike. Skoal.
Tiny, Teeny, Teensy, TEENTSY. As the item gets smaller, the word gets bigger.
Any smaller and the bits become TEENTSY-weentsy.
Yes, humor and congeniality indeed, several possibles for the Lewis List. I'm on the fence about "The" Mona Lisa; it's commonly referred to as simply Mona Lisa, from the Italian "Monna Lisa" (M'lady Lisa), and while Italians still refer to it as "La Gioconda" which would translate more to Mrs. Gioconda -- Lisa was the wife of Francesco del Giocondo. On the other hand, it's such a bigtime painting, calling it "The" Mona Lisa conveys a sort of singularity to it, like "The Ritz" and "The Empire State Building." How do we know that it is a painting of Lisa del Giocondo and not Isabella of Aragon, or, as Freud speculated, only nominally of a Florentine noblewoman and that the enigmatic smile is a pentimento of Da Vinci's own mother, granting benign approval to Da Vinci's various projects as her eyes follow him around the room? Because a scholar discovered in a German library in 2005 in a 1477 edition of Cicero a marginal note from 1503 written by Agostino Vespucci, one of Da Vinci's acquaintances and admirers, who is reminded of Da Vinci by a passage in Cicero and ends his marginal comment by remarking that Da Vinci was working at the time on a portrait of Lisa del Giocondo. The smoking gun! It's astonishing that a rather boring painting like The Mona Lisa is considered the Top Banana out there. I much prefer Carol Lew's portrait of Tuxedo Cat, and it costs a lot less, too: <a href="https://oldworldpetportraits.com/product/tuxedo-cat-oil-painting-template-maurice-framed-or-unframed" target="_blank">https://oldworldpetportraits.com/product/tuxedo-cat-oil-painting-template-maurice-framed-or-unframed</a>/
@john ezra Would it be too pedantic, since we’re talking about how to refer to the painting of Mrs. Giacondo, to point out that “da Vinci” is a place indicator and not a surname, and that the polymath is properly referred to by his first name (since he didn’t have a proper surname)?
TEENTSY? Google says no. Internet says no. Apart from that, it was hard but fair and fun.
@Mu Merriam Webster scrabble dictionary oks it…
@Mu Gooogle Ngrams (usage in published books) seems to indicate that it was a reasonably common, though still less frequent, variant in the first half of the 20th century. <a href="https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=teensy" target="_blank">https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=teensy</a>%2Cteentsy&year_start=1900&year_end=1970&corpus=en&smoothing=3&case_insensitive=false
Nice puzzle. Only gripe is TEENTSY. Never saw it spelled that way.
Unusually enjoyable Saturday puzzle. Not all that easy for me, of course, and had to look up some things, but just had a great time working things out from the crosses. Eight debut answers in this one and most of them pretty familiar terms - SANDBOXES, BACKSTORIES, CHEWINGGUM, EATMYDUST and others. Was really surprised to see that. Two thumbs up. I'll put my puzzle find for today in a reply. ..
@Rich in Atlanta As threatened. Having grown up in a town built next to an IRONMINE (Iron Mountain), I went did a search for that answer and that led me to a Sunday puzzle from July 12, 2015 by Patrick Berry with the title "Start again." IRONMINES was an answer but not a theme answer. I won't give the clues, but here are some examples of the theme answers: TUTUOFDIAMONDS MIMIANDMYBIGMOUTH AYEAYEDOCTOR COCOACONSPIRATOR BYEBYEPRODUCTS And there were more. Here's the Xword Info link: <a href="https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=7/12/2015&g=88&d=A" target="_blank">https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=7/12/2015&g=88&d=A</a> I'm done. ....
I made this harder for myself than it needed to be by sticking with some wrong answers for too long. 24A clEar for BLESS 31A AilED for ACHED 35A suet for RICE 40A Inexplicably, PEaLED for PEELED 41A innie for NAVEL It's been years since I've had so many wrong turns, but I enjoyed the process of unwinding them. Since I don't look at the news until I've read the comics and finished my NYT puzzles, maybe I was deliberately stalling to save myself from whatever fresh aitch e el el awaits me.
Thank you, Christina and Jacob, for a superb Saturday solve! I found the puzzle to be vibrant and smooth rolled into one, and really enjoyed the romp. To Caitlin, I say: I can't believe my mind went nowhere near pinball nor real estate when I saw [It requires a flipper]; only snorkeling. That's three misdirects for just one clue! And I truly thought at first that the one always seen in a fancy fur coat would be some kind of diva. (Then again, I guess cats could be divas sometimes...) As for my musical accompaniment to this puzzle, the first one is the obvious Billy Joel "SHE'S Got a Way" <a href="https://youtu.be/i1waaD72R3E?si=WDL5NRWwZ9KNzsFa" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/i1waaD72R3E?si=WDL5NRWwZ9KNzsFa</a>, followed by a nod to 1A, a heavy metal band that's no, not Iron Maiden, but rather Metallica with a beautiful ballad, "Nothing Else Matters" <a href="https://youtu.be/tAGnKpE4NCI?si=f6_C_7bsx9qVgehp" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/tAGnKpE4NCI?si=f6_C_7bsx9qVgehp</a> Here's wishing everyone a wonderful weekend!
@sotto voce Love your musical selections! “Nothing Else Matters” is a great song. “She’s Got A Way” made me smile when I got to it in the grid. I sang that song as the accompaniment to one of my best friends walking down the aisle at her wedding. I realized that was nearly 15 years ago now. How time flies!! I hope you have a wonderful weekend as well!
@sotto voce Fantastic song! You nailed it. Thank you! Listening to it again… 🎶
@sotto voce My immediate thought re Flipper was burgers! Pinball or real estate (or snorkelling) didn't spring to mind at all
Had Shenom for phenom for a long time believing it was such a clever name for a female phenom :)
I know a certain Christina and Jacob who are going on the Naughty List.... Holy cow! First, a TUXEDO CAT is cute, but not that fancy...CALICO, now--THAT is a fancy fur coat! (Ask me about SweetFeet sometime...) Next: ORBED: Not a fan....and furthermore: We need to know Naipaul's birthplace, for Pete's sake???? And who allowed the spelling at 38D? What low-down, possum-eating scurrilous villain would commit such an atrocity? "Set your Phasers to STUN, gentlemen. These criminals deserve to be sent to the IRON MINES!" (Where there are no doubt ADITs, SamE.) Funner answer for 41A: INNIE. An OUTIE wouldn't accumulate much lint.
@Mean Old Lady I put innie in as my first guess to 41A! But my handsome tuxedo fellow is always, as I sometimes remark, clad for a gala. Fancy dress at all times!
@Mean Old Lady I knew VS Naipaul was from the West Indies; and a couple of crosses soon led me to Trinidad.
@Mean Old Lady I was slightly disappointed that 32A was not BODEGA CAT. We haven't seen one of those here in a while. Agreed on ORBED...still doesn't make sense to me.
@Mean Old Lady Many solver won't know V.S. Naipaul at all, but if you do, you should also know that his heritage as a TRINIDADian of Indian descent is central to his writing. On the other hand, you're spot on with ORBED and TEENTSY. But, hey, it's Saturday. I'll leave the CAT question to others with more expert experience.
@Mean Old Lady I had calico cat first, as well.
@Mean Old Lady There are a lot of fur patterns on so-called tuxedo cats. Mine really does have a white shirt showing, so very much like a tuxedo and quite fancy.
We had a hard time getting around "orbed" and were a teensy bit annoyed by the extra "T", but otherwise an excellent puzzle.
I couldn't find "teentsy" in any online dictionary besides vocabulary.com. And even then they provided no examples. I don't know their reputation... Is this so archaic it's not included in OED or MW dictionaries anymore? Or so new it hasn't hit them?
@JC I agree. It's a bogus word.
@JC The unabridged OED does list it as a variant of teensy but provides all of two—beyond obscure—quotations for it: 1914: “If he discovered one edge protruding even an eentsy-teentsy bit beyond the others it would make him unhappy.” Daily Northwestern (Oshkosh, Wisconsin) 1966: “It is just a teentsy-weentsy bit off, isn't it, darling, not to let you know he was coming.” ‘W. Cooper’, Memoirs of New Man
@Sam Lyons Interesting, it didn't come up in my app version. Thanks for the correction.
@JC I ran a Google ngram on teensy vs teentsy, and the occurrances of teentsy are vanishingly small, even as teensy increases in usage. I sometimes pronounce it teentsy, but that's not the issue.
Thinking further about the puzzle... 25D [Good Samaritan, maybe]...I don't think the point of the parable is that the Good Samaritan was especially good--he was just being a decent human being. Sure he was being better than others, but he was just doing what we *all* are supposed to be doing. Not just the saints. Whoever they are. I wish I was a saint.
@Francis I think the clue may be literal - many of the early Christian characters were and are considered saints by the Catholic Church, even if many of them have not been officially canonized.
@Francis I was a little surprised by the idea of the Good Samaritan being a saint because I always thought of the parables as stories told to illustrate a point, which implies that the people in them may not necessarily have existed, and that the parables weren't intended to be taken as a literal history. Sorry if this offends anyone's beliefs.,.it's just my take on it. "Saint Francis" has a nice ring to it. You should check to see if it's been taken yet.
@Francis One of my favorite hymns (which we sing on All Saints Day every year) is “I Sing a Song of the Saints of God.” Sample lyrics: “You can meet them at school, or in lanes, or at sea, in church, or in trains, in shops, or at tea, for the saints of God are just folk like me, and I mean to be one too.”
@Francis I think the parable may be even more about (for) the ones that didn’t stop and help.
@Francis Remember that Samaritans were considered unclean and were despised. Yet it was a Samaritan who decided to care for a person that most likely would also have despised him... Yet the priest and the levite, who would have been considered holy to the audience Jesus was speaking with, actively avoided him. And I think some of this gets at, if you believe in Christianity and the Bible at all, the depravity of man stemming from original sin. As such, your premise of the Samaritan just doing what a good human should do, does not align with that Biblical belief.... Above all, I think the parable is meant to expand our understanding of who our neighbor is... And however one believes or doesn't believe, that is a good lesson! And in this very politically divisive day and age, a real challenge... Would we help save someone in a ma,ga hat, or would we look the other way? And it may not be that they've been robbed and beaten, but are they still our neighbor?
This was an odd one for me. There were a lot of clues with twists, but miraculously none of them seemed to hang me up for long and the puzzle was over before I knew it. My biggest hang up was suet for alternative to birdseed rather than RICE. I liked the clues for SANDBOXES, IRONMINES, COINTOSS, and CHEWINGGUM among others. I also liked the Will Rogers quote, which I had not heard before.
@Marshall Walthew I was also reluctant to give in to RICE as an alternative to birdseed, having been told long ago that rice is bad for birds. TIL that it's not true, which makes me happy. I'll take my happiness where I can find it, these days.
@Marshall Walthew I interpreted this as birdseed is an alternative to RICE for throwing at wedding parties.
I'm surprised so many people thought it was so easy.
@Jane Yeah, me too. I almost never sail through a Saturday. I almost always part way through think "I don't think I'm going to get this." But this forum has had a multitude of discussion on "easy" and "hard". An future alien society might cite this forum as the most extensive discussion of "easy" and "hard" found anywhere within 500,000,000 light years.
Lifelong tuxie adopter so I loved that one - especially crossing him with SANDBOX :0) Got my Cubs and Hawkeyes involved today as well
I wasn’t moving off of EtTubrUte for “Cry from a cutthroat competitor” easily. I realize it falls apart under any examination, but I wanted it.
@dcy I had been hearing a lot of podcast ads for a new kind of milk that is supposed to be kinder on the stomach. I was super disappointed when I finally saw it in a dairy case and discovered it was called A2 milk and not “Et tu, milk?”
Smooth sailing for a Saturday, but some clever and fun clues. Loved “Wrigley field?” In the vein, I was looking for “mitt” for “Brewer’s need” since I grew up in Milwaukee.
You know, everyone talks about how beautiful the Mona Lisa is, but to be honest, I think I find almost everybody painted by Botticelli to be more comely. No offense if you were the model for the Mona Lisa. It may just be me.
@Francis I concur. I've always found her quite masculine-looking, even before I became aware of the theories that 1- Da Vinci modeled her after his own visage and 2- she is a disguised portrait of his pupil – and possible lover – Salai.
@Francis I've always thought Leonardo's painting of Ginevra de' Benci in the Washington National Gallery to be superior. And you can walk right up to it.
@Francis I've never understood the appeal of the Mona Lisa, and seeing her with my own eyes in 1996 was a bit of a let down, what with all the hype that surrounds her. I've been to countless European art museums, and in every one I've found paintings more interesting, thought-provoking or beautiful. It's a fine work of art, sure, but I just can't see what's supposed to be so special about it.
@Francis I don’t think I have ever heard of Mona Lisa being described as beautiful, just enigmatic, but the painting itself is a beautiful, miraculous thing. Most who have studied art history appreciate the painting and what a departure it is from what had gone before. Da Vinci was renowned in his day for his mastery and the painting has a great history attached to it, especially how it came to be at the Louvre. The painting has always been famous. I think the painting is misunderstood these days. Most people have no curiosity about why the painting they are looking at is so important. Just another thing to check off the bucket list.
@Jane Wheelaghan The ermine painting made a stop in Milwaukee, as well. I enjoyed seeing it. I don't recall specifically, but I wonder if it's usual gallery was being refurbished, so they toured the painting.
@Francis I have a print of THE MONA LISA in my living room. She is looking at me right now and she does not appear AMUSEd by the criticism. (Her enigmatic smile can turn into a look of disappointment with a change in the light) 😄
Although I have never heard of the PHENOM Caitlin Clark, I have seen THE MONA LISA who is also quite phenomenal. The first time I saw her, so long ago, one could see her up close. Now she has become a bit ANTISOCIAL and who can blame her, not a moment’s rest. NO WORRIES though, the Louvre has so many other artworks, beautiful things that are practically ignored, that one can admire in peace. Today’s puzzle was great! 👍 Thank you, Christina and Jacob.
Entered IRONMINES instantly, and the NW was finished very quickly. Made good progress until I decided the author hailed from SRILANKA instead of TRINIDAD. Didn't know TANTO, but got it from the crosses. ORBED is rather odd, and I don't think I've *ever* seen TEENTSY before. All in all, I must have been tuned to the right frequency today, since I finished in about 25 minutes, just like yesterday. Nice Saturday puzzle. All the long entries seemed solid to me. Got to see the partial solar eclipse this morning, as the sun rose over the New Jersey Highlands. Expecting sunshine and almost 80F---what a marvelous day for a bee dance.
@Xword Junkie I rarely ever check my stats, but today I did. Thursday, Friday and Saturday all solved within one minute of each other. Wednesday was only 2 minutes shorter! To the archives I go!
My only quibble (and I really enjoyed that puzzle) was tanto as an answer for Japanese short sword - it’s really more of a dagger. The wakizashi is actually the short sword worn in tandem with the katana. Otherwise, lots of fun!
ORBED? Really? 🤪🤦♂️
@Walter, That was my last to fall! CUBED steak seemed less likely than CUrED steak to me, but the iota of sense offered by ORBED won out over ORrED.
Spoiler for the mini crossword below... I did not get TEENTSY as well. I had it spelled as teensie. Also, I had BIGKAHUNA, at first, having just come over from the mini. Is it possible that puzzle was there on the same day for an intentional misdirect? Lol I had to look up a couple of things, but over all, nice puzzle.
Assumption: When solving the NY Times crossword, everyone from time to time will encounter a word they've never heard of. Given that, does it matter whether it exists or not? Why? Either way you've never heard of it and will have to make a judgement using your experience and judgement (and the crosses) to decide what the answer is supposed to be. Despite not having heard of TEENTSY, I bet that was not the one thing that prevented anyone from completing the puzzle. If you finished the puzzle, why care if the word exists or not? It's a puzzle and you figured out. Whether TEENTSY exists are not, I think it was fair, and there was no reason to infer that constructors somehow messed up.
It's true. If you're out of birdseed, rice and beans make a tasty meal. Wiggly Field Dog Park is okay but it's almost all asphalt and gravel. Grass would be easier on the paws. And the L roars by all too frequently. (Yes, Barry, the L I say) Nobody knows if Wiggly Field or Wrigley Field came first, but it's something to chew on. I have one teentsty nit--it should be ZERO SUGARs.
@ad absurdum Maybe it should be, but it isn’t.
ad absurdum, Lots of Wiggly Fields with grass, but not L-accessible. <a href="https://www.we-goparks.org/dog-parks" target="_blank">https://www.we-goparks.org/dog-parks</a> <a href="https://www.yourmetroparks.net/parks/voice-of-america-metropark/wiggly-field-dog-park" target="_blank">https://www.yourmetroparks.net/parks/voice-of-america-metropark/wiggly-field-dog-park</a> <a href="https://dentonparksfoundation.org/explore/wiggly-field-dog-park" target="_blank">https://dentonparksfoundation.org/explore/wiggly-field-dog-park</a>
@ad absurdum I just looked at my case of Coke Zero, and it says ZERO SUGAR. All over the box, in big bold letters. Whaddaya gonna do?
Never heard of TEENTSY, but the crosses took "teensie" away. Ok, everyone together now..."Two, three, four tell the people what she wore! It was an...." Earworm for the day - you're welcome!
I guess I have to agree with several people who said it was easy for a Saturday, since I did actually manage to complete it, which only happens maybe half the time for me at best. It was pretty much in my own personal sweet spot for challenge vs doability. I was very happy to see the gold star when I typed my last letter in. Of course it was the extra T in TEENTSY, which I think is a small sacrifice to make for the greater good of actually having a puzzle to solve.
@Maverator I was on the opposite end. After an whole amount of time I have up on this one. I probably should've tried putting it down and coming back to it later, but alas I decided to take a fail on this one after flying through Fridays puzzle. Oh well.
Woke up to six inches of snow, so getting a Saturday solve lifted my spirits. Love winter, but we were already down to bare ground, so this will only serve as a setback for our muddy roads. Re: Caitlyn Clark, I grew up 70s/80s playing sports through college but being an avid fan of baseball, football, etc. since it was all I was taught to value. Today I only watch women’s sports, so I am thankful for Caitlyn, Juju, Paige and all other women who paved the way, making it possible to watch more women’s sports on TV. My daughters and nieces all have our NCAA women’s March Madness brackets filled out and are watching every game. Can’t wait for WNBA season to start!
@MaggieP Nothing nicer than snow in December, and nothing worse than snow in April (this weekend is close enough). Prince even wrote a song about it: <a href="https://youtu.be/ikZgBhSMSUM?feature=shared" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/ikZgBhSMSUM?feature=shared</a>
@MaggieP How about Mikaela Shiffren and Lindsey Vonn, 2 of the best skiers ever male or female.
Andrzej — I always enjoy reading your comments, but today’s stream of consciousness about the meaning/meaninglessness of life was particularly interesting. (And not only because it coincides so closely with my own view.) I’m glad you haven’t allowed the irrational and inconsistent moderation of this forum drive you away.
Took just a TEENTSY bit longer than Friday’s, both of which were less than half Thursday’s total— not really close to a PB, but I don’t recall many Saturday’s being quicker solves. And yet, it was crunchy enough that there was a moment when I wondered if I would be able to complete it. These are my favorite types of puzzle: I almost always persevere, and find the seemingly impossible quite solvable. If only I could transfer that unflappable determination to other areas of my life… sigh. This one had some nice cluing, and very little crosswordese. No huge ahas, but some nods of appreciation. And even though TEENTSY did elicit a bit of raised eyebrow, the spelling does match my pronunciation, so I won’t complain!
I believe this is the only time out of the over two thousand NYT puzzles I've solved that the last letter to fall was in the exact center of the puzzle. And my next action after that was to check Merriam-Webster to confirm that "orb" was a verb meaning to "encircle" something. It was labeled "archaic," but it was there. Probably something I'll never encounter again in anything I read, and certainly nothing I'd ever drop into a conversation, but I'll file it away anyway.
@Bruce That was my last letter as well, coming up with "cubed" steak, which my mother bought from time to time. Then I checked on the archaic "orbed".
To the constructors: Caitlin Clark was a big story last year, perhaps especially for NYT readers and particularly readers of the Morning newsletter. It’s always fun to read about her and I’m not much of a sports fan. Great puzzle and a PB for me. ALAN Moore was a complete gimme for me - it just goes to show how different people’s spheres can be. The world is wide.
@Noemi I don't follow basketball, period, but I remember that the big CC story was that she wasn't selected for the Olympic team. Thumbs up for ALAN Moore; "V for Vendetta" was good, but "Watchmen" is one of my favorites.