Tuesday, April 8, 2025

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MikeMunsterApr 8, 2025, 4:46 AMneutral54%

"What do you think of my tortilla chips?" "Nacho best work." (My humor's pretty cheesy.)

63 recommendations3 replies
KatieMinnesotaApr 8, 2025, 1:41 PMnegative87%

@Mike Too corny for my taste.

12 recommendations
jmaeagle, wiApr 8, 2025, 1:50 PMneutral70%

@Mike O queso, maybe you ought to taco break. I know you try asada you can.

12 recommendations
EsmereldaMontréalApr 8, 2025, 5:38 PMneutral74%

@Mike I'd respond but I need to chili out for a while.

1 recommendations
BonnieBrooklynApr 8, 2025, 3:54 AMpositive62%

It’ll always be the Tappan Zee to me.

43 recommendations1 replies
GretchenSoCalApr 8, 2025, 3:01 PMneutral53%

@Bonnie and it will always be the Gulf of Mexico to me.

4 recommendations
FrancisGrand Marais, MNApr 8, 2025, 3:43 AMneutral48%

Ok. When I was in college, I was at a seminar on X-ray Crystallography. I was very excited about it, and then the speaker said "of course you need a computer to analyze the data". I was still using a slide rule. I figured I'd never be within ten miles of a computer. Fast forward.... One of the answers in the puzzle is DESKTOPCOMPUTER, and I'm thinking, jeez, that's really kind of a relic of the past, isn't it?

35 recommendations12 replies
VaerBrooklynApr 8, 2025, 4:00 AMneutral87%

@Francis Depends on where you are, I think. Maybe not for individuals in their homes. But the law firm where I worked up until last year still uses desktop computers and very often people have two monitors to work with. I assume other law firms and certain businesses are similar.

15 recommendations
Al in PittsburghCairo,NYApr 8, 2025, 4:54 AMpositive51%

@Francis At least with a desktop your most sensitive data won't walk out the door each night to be left on a bench somewhere. See this week's Metropolitan Diary. Spoiler alert: The tale has a happy ending.

6 recommendations
Rich in AtlantaAustell, GeorgiaApr 8, 2025, 9:21 AMneutral70%

@Francis I must be really old. I've been retired for several years, but I spent most of my working life writing programs for IBM mainframes in assembler language. So... ...DESKTOPCOMPUTER is what I was sitting in front of for some decades. ....

7 recommendations
Linda JoBrunswick, GAApr 8, 2025, 8:17 PMnegative62%

@Francis Hey! I resemble that. I'm reading this on my desk-top computer. Do most everything on my desk-top. Can't stand trying to read stuff or look at photos on an eentsy mobile phone screen. Someday I'll be dragged kicking and screaming into this century . . .

1 recommendations
john ezrapittsburgh, paApr 8, 2025, 2:51 AMneutral52%

Who had "some" at first for [more than a few]? Or have I had a few too many? A timely reminder in a cheery puzzle, undoubtedly composed in better days. What are they chipping away? What will we have to chip in? Why did he call the CHIPS act "horrible"? Loved having both Erika Sanchez and Sonya Sotomayor ... and when you cross them you get Sonia Sanchez, another great voice. And also the theme and Ms. Sanchez bring to mind Erik Estrada, star of "Chips." They make a welcome Latin vibe to the puzzle, or perhaps Tex-Mex (if you count Oilman Pickens), with taco salad & chalupa heading the menu, washed down with one (solo) cup of an ice cold cerveza. Mmm. And a goodly amount of (uh...) schwa sounds? Dahlia, aruba, opera, chalupa, eras, kinesthesia, mania, sonia, erika ... pretty schwatastic... Yep. We will all have to chip in,

33 recommendations1 replies
RyanDetroit, MIApr 8, 2025, 2:59 AMneutral49%

@john ezra schwatastic is a new one haha Same here with the “some” conundrum. My some turned into Most, then into MANY.

9 recommendations
ErickQueens, NYCApr 8, 2025, 2:47 AMneutral89%

Just came to say it's the Tappan Zee

29 recommendations3 replies
Al in PittsburghCairo,NYApr 8, 2025, 4:40 AMneutral65%

@Erick I have to agree with Steve L here. The Mario is a new and different structure standing in a new location. (As long as the bolts hold up.) Unlike the avenue west of Fifth, which I and most others still call "Sixth Avenue". My family often used the Triborough when I was a child and I'd probably still call it that if it ever came up in conversation.

6 recommendations
The X-PhileLexington, KYApr 8, 2025, 1:42 PMneutral88%

@Erick And the stadium is Shea. And the airport is Idlewild.

6 recommendations
BethGreenbeltApr 8, 2025, 4:37 AMnegative63%

I breezed through this puzzle thinking it was really easy and then, like others, had to go back and figure out all the places I went wrong: POwERGAME instead of POKERGAME RuCKus instead of RACKET KINESTHESIs instead of KINESTHESIA By the way, here's an article about the difference between KINESTHESIA and proprioception, which is what I first thought of when I read the clue, but it wouldn't fit, even though I tried to cram it in like one of Cinderella's evil stepsisters trying on the glass slipper. <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/neuroscience/proprioception-and-kinesthesia" target="_blank">https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/neuroscience/proprioception-and-kinesthesia</a>

29 recommendations2 replies
BruceAtlantaApr 8, 2025, 11:04 AMneutral74%

@Beth I knew proprioception, but not kinesthesia, and had POwERGAME there as well. I'd raced through the puzzle up to then, but that cross forced me into my only lookup and accounted for a big chunk of time. I kept trying to make syNESTHESIA work, too, thinking that I might be somehow mistaken about what that word meant (I wasn't).

2 recommendations
HaninDubaiApr 8, 2025, 8:35 PMneutral78%

@Beth I thought it was for sure proprioception too!

0 recommendations
CCNYNYApr 8, 2025, 10:51 AMpositive57%

A chippy chiparoo of a puzzle! And now it’s 6:40am and I want a taco salad and warm cookies.🍪 Why not? I’m doing it! Adulting is lame. Except for the part that you get to have tacos for breakfast. That’s the best part.

29 recommendations9 replies
AndrzejWarsaw, PolandApr 8, 2025, 11:10 AMpositive72%

@CCNY Right? Quite late in my life I realized I can literally have *anything* for breakfast. Leftover Indian food? Sure! A slice of pizza? Why not! As kids we get taught all these rules only to realize most of them don't make sense at all :D Also, at 44 I am still waiting for this mysterious adulting to kick in :D. As a child, teenager and young adult I expected something (what exactly? who knows?) will finally happen, and I will *become* an adult - a different sort of person than I was before. But nope. Stuff sort of happens all around me, and perhaps these days I am more of an actor than just a subject of this stuff, but everything stays generally the same. With more fun breakfasts :D

18 recommendations
Cat Lady MargaretOn the westward trainApr 8, 2025, 3:35 AMpositive95%

Since Sam Cooke has appeared tonight, check out this ridiculously talented fellow doing A Change is Gonna Come: <a href="https://www.classicfm.com/discover-music/instruments/violin/sam-cooke-change-gonna-come-vocal-duet" target="_blank">https://www.classicfm.com/discover-music/instruments/violin/sam-cooke-change-gonna-come-vocal-duet</a>/ It will send you!

27 recommendations5 replies
BethGreenbeltApr 8, 2025, 4:56 AMpositive92%

@Cat Lady Margaret This is incredible! So glad I watched. Not what I was expecting AT ALL, and from the ovation he got, I'm guessing the audience wasn't either. I just forwarded it to every music-lover I know. By the way, the music group I volunteer with on Monday nights is performing another Sam Cooke song, "Bring It On Home To Me," so I had that on the brain already when I saw your comment.

7 recommendations
Elizabeth ConnorsChicagoApr 8, 2025, 8:47 AMpositive82%

@Cat Lady Margaret That was something else. Thanks fir sharing.

6 recommendations
MargaretIndianapolisApr 8, 2025, 9:57 AMpositive95%

@Cat Lady Margaret Boy am I glad I checked the crossword comments today. This is magnificent. Thank you.

4 recommendations
MaryNew EnglandApr 8, 2025, 11:11 PMpositive98%

@Cat Lady Margaret Thank you for sharing the link. I’m so glad I checked it out.

2 recommendations
JackDCApr 8, 2025, 1:37 PMpositive84%

To me, it always was and always will be the Tappan Zee. You just cannot make up a cooler name than that.

25 recommendations3 replies
GrantDelawareApr 8, 2025, 2:29 PMnegative59%

@Jack Nice to see I wasn't the only one. I was driving up to the Adirondacks that summer, and was furious when I saw the new sign.

6 recommendations
AmyCTApr 8, 2025, 2:34 PMneutral70%

@Jack my first thought, too!

6 recommendations
JayMassApr 8, 2025, 3:53 PMpositive70%

@Jack All this talk of the bridge brings to mind Really Rosie, who can tap across it. Believe it! Words by Maurice Sendak, music, piano and vocals by Carole King. <a href="https://youtu.be/hNkoj8RHh6M?feature=shared" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/hNkoj8RHh6M?feature=shared</a>

6 recommendations
AndrzejWarsaw, PolandApr 8, 2025, 2:39 AMnegative65%

Personally I found this way too hard for a Tuesday. I was *this* close to turning on auto check, and only some guesses and a lookup or two helped me avoid that. I found the SW quadrant incredibly tricky and full of unknowns. KINESTHESIA, CRONUT (???), KHAN (this I remembered from some past puzzle in the end), TROTH (???), the strangely clued SENT all being intertwined almost ended up being my undoing. I'd expect such an accumulation of unusual words and proper nouns on Friday or Saturday maybe, not Tuesday! What is TROTH? How does "thrilled" solve to SENT? I seem to remember something from a previous puzzle or comments to one. Song lyrics? Baby you send me? What weird usage this seems to me... There were unknowns for me elsewhere, too. TOLLHOUSE COOKIE I only got from crosses, and not knowing the product I had no idea how it had anything to do with chips. I needed the column to grasp how this was a themed entry. Chocolate chip... Ok. BTW: in my many years online I was surprised to learn many Americans love chocolate chip cookies but frown upon raisin ones. Apparently discovering what one thought were chocolate chips are in fact raisins is a major first world problem in the US. Raisins are very popular in Poland, and I don't know a single person who doesn't like them. I always have a bag of raisins on hand, and they are one of my favorite snacks. My wife adds them to cakes, too. This was not a bad puzzle, but damn was it hard for the day the editor ran it on!

24 recommendations37 replies
RyanDetroit, MIApr 8, 2025, 2:55 AMpositive56%

@Andrzej I was thinking SENT is like the modern usage (probably just AAVE) when people say “that sent me!” But it is usually in the context of something funny, so saying sent means thrilled seems a bit of a stretch to me too.

7 recommendations
Steve LChestnut Ridge, NYApr 8, 2025, 2:58 AMneutral60%

@Andrzej SENT = thrilled? <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mrwfB4aAZZc" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mrwfB4aAZZc</a> CRONUTS are a cross between a croissant and a donut. Oatmeal raisin cookies are among my favorites, even though I hate eating oatmeal. My wife hates anything with raisins in it.

9 recommendations
SPCincinnatiApr 8, 2025, 3:08 AMneutral85%

@Ryan This Sam Cooke song “You Send Me” may help with the context… <a href="https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=_y3VnMm53pc" target="_blank">https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=_y3VnMm53pc</a>

13 recommendations
JoyaNew YorkApr 8, 2025, 4:22 AMneutral54%

@Andrzej Here's some context for TOLLHOUSE COOKIE, courtesy of Friends. ;) <a href="https://youtu.be/7kb5xzKVZxA?si=2ZBkhQa-51qTGyD6" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/7kb5xzKVZxA?si=2ZBkhQa-51qTGyD6</a>

6 recommendations
DavidBudapest, HungaryApr 8, 2025, 7:24 AMpositive71%

@Andrzej As a fellow non-American, only my extensive knowledge of Friends could help me with TOLL HOUSE. CRONUT also came from some show, not sure which one but I think I heard it in multiple - now I kinda want to try it! I was also stuck on SENT, it was the last word I filled and only figured it out when filling in POSED. Still not sure when would I use it.

6 recommendations
Jane WheelaghanLondonApr 8, 2025, 8:19 AMneutral39%

@Andrzej I've never understood the fondness for chocolate chip cookies - hard, dry and almost tasteless. Now raisins .... I love. In the UK try Eccles cakes, Chorley cakes, Welsh cakes, fruit mince pies, Dundee cake (a heavenly rich fruit cake with almonds on top) and they are all full of dried fruit.

3 recommendations
Elizabeth ConnorsChicagoApr 8, 2025, 8:51 AMpositive75%

@Andrzej The Toll House cookie recipe is probably the most famous cookie recipe in the US.

11 recommendations
Kris HBerkeleyApr 8, 2025, 3:08 AMpositive88%

Non NYer here having to look up Tappan Zee and delighted to find a lovely painting, a Washington Irving story, and who the Tappan people were, as well as explaining why it’s spelled Zee instead of Sea. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tappan_Zee" target="_blank">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tappan_Zee</a>

23 recommendations
Steven M.New York, NYApr 8, 2025, 2:12 AMneutral56%

I refuse to refer to it as anything other than the Tappan Zee Bridge. Fun to see clues about salt in both the Mini and Full

19 recommendations10 replies
Dave K.New York, NYApr 8, 2025, 2:14 AMneutral85%

@Steven M. Andrew Tappan Zee will probably be our next mayor.

6 recommendations
MencColoradoApr 8, 2025, 2:30 AMneutral90%

@Steven M. I think there’s always a repeated word in the mini and the full.

3 recommendations
Steve LChestnut Ridge, NYApr 8, 2025, 2:56 AMneutral88%

@Steven M. I understand the habit of calling things by their old name (cf. Sixth Avenue vs. Avenue of the Americas), but the CUOMO Bridge is a completely different bridge than the old Tappan Zee (albeit in the same place, more or less). Interestingly, the new bridge couldn't be built exactly where the old one was, but it had to be built slightly upriver, not downriver, from the old one, in order that the Thruway Authority could control it, and not the Port Authority, which has rights to any Hudson River crossing up to a point that's just before where the old bridge was. I'd like to see the city crossings with the old, more descriptive names--Triboro, Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel, etc.--get their old names back.

23 recommendations
Strudel DadTorontoApr 8, 2025, 10:31 AMnegative77%

@Steve L Having those old names revived sounds like a bridge too far.

4 recommendations
MikeMichiganApr 8, 2025, 4:27 PMneutral93%

@Steve L A bridge of Theseus, perhaps?

1 recommendations
MCArizonaApr 9, 2025, 4:13 AMneutral74%

@Steven M. I'm not from New York. I've never heard of the Tappan Zee Bridge. I HAVE heard of one or more "Cuomo's" in relation to New York, so that clue was gettable for me.

1 recommendations
VaerBrooklynApr 8, 2025, 4:58 AMpositive98%

The Divine MISS M (Looks funny in the grid); TOLL HOUSE COOKIES; and DAHLIA, there's a lot for me to like in this somewhat Toughened Up Tuesday from Ms. Lin. Enjoyed it.

19 recommendations3 replies
VaerBrooklynApr 8, 2025, 5:02 AMneutral72%

@Vaer Whoops, forgot to thank Caitlin for the picture of the EMMY atop her March 30 Wordplay column.

7 recommendations
Jane WheelaghanLondonApr 8, 2025, 7:57 AMneutral83%

@Vaer I'm assuming TOLL HOUSE COOKIES is a brand name, albeit a little odd.

2 recommendations
DawnFloridaApr 8, 2025, 12:16 PMnegative63%

Got stuck in the left center and had to resort to a puzzle check. No gold star for me today. I never reveal. Only check. I couldn’t easily come up with kinesthesia as I’m more familiar with the word proprioception. A quick google search reveals they are largely interchangeable in most cases, just not in a crossword puzzle! 😜

17 recommendations2 replies
Mean Old LadyNow in MississippiApr 8, 2025, 1:07 PMnegative65%

@Dawn I thought of that, too, but doubted it would be in a NYT crossword. (Now someone will look that up and show me I'm wrong, ha ha, sparing me the effort.) People still think there are just Five Senses.

3 recommendations
RobinNJApr 8, 2025, 2:16 PMneutral50%

@Dawn I thought of that one, too! But then I filled in the crosses “THE”, and I was quite puzzled. I seem to have a knack for being confidently and astoundingly wrong :p

5 recommendations
Andrew FEdinburghApr 8, 2025, 7:32 AMneutral48%

It's possibly just a function of being someone who has had some sort of personal DESKTOP COMPUTER for a longtime (a programmer), but I absolutely consider 'error' a verb: if you do this, and then that, then the bit of code over there will error.

16 recommendations6 replies
Rich in AtlantaAustell, GeorgiaApr 8, 2025, 10:03 AMnegative59%

@Andrew F To 'err' is human, to forgive divine. I don't think 'error' really works as a verb. Able was I ere I saw elba. ...

7 recommendations
BruceAtlantaApr 8, 2025, 10:51 AMpositive89%

@Andrew F One of the great joys of the English language is the freedom it gives you to verb a noun.

6 recommendations
dlrSpringfield, ILApr 8, 2025, 2:03 PMneutral82%

@Bruce As Calvin (of "Calvin and Hobbes") said, "Verbing weirds language."

3 recommendations
GBKApr 8, 2025, 2:22 PMneutral57%

@Andrew F Yes, this. I got the answer without much thought thanks to crosses, but "my compile errored out" or similar is and has been very much a thing in software development for a long time!

5 recommendations
OikofugeScotlandApr 8, 2025, 1:13 PMnegative80%

Gad. The only thing I fear more than a grid rich in American sports references is one, like today, with American food references, particularly if they're referred to as "treats", which pretty much guarantees I won't have a clue. I should by now recall the name of ELIE Wiesel and the KHAN Academy, but of course I don't. Had RuCKus for RACKET, and POKERfAcE for POKERGAME (while thinking grumpily that a face isn't an activity). So that was an epic slog for me. Not a big fan of EST for a guess, unless it's short for something other than "estimate", or I'm missing some subtle wordplay. An estimate as anything but guesswork. [But spare me the dictionary link, thanks. I'm aware that people use it that way, just as they use "theory" to mean "stuff I just made up" and "research" to mean "reading my social media".]

16 recommendations10 replies
JohnWMNB CanadaApr 8, 2025, 1:22 PMnegative64%

Oikofuge, EST - That’s such a *random* thing to comment on! (I’m estimating ‘random’ might make your list of such popularly misused words, too :)

3 recommendations
CaptainQuahogPlanet EarthApr 8, 2025, 1:37 PMneutral78%

@Oikofuge - Decloaking for a moment to mention that I had the very same thought when I entered EST in the grid. Although I know it is used that way, a true EST is far from a guess. OK for a crossword, but I really bumped on that. Carry on.

9 recommendations
Dave MungerNorth CarolinaApr 8, 2025, 2:06 PMpositive75%

@Oikofuge I had POKER GAZE for a long time, not knowing Bette Midler's nickname. But GAME works too, as I learned after a few minutes of rechecking every other answer in the puzzle!

1 recommendations
AndrzejWarsaw, PolandApr 8, 2025, 2:08 PMnegative78%

@Oikofuge I wasn't a fan of EST for "guess", either. Some guesses may be estimates, but the overlap of the two terms is too small IMO for the clue to work particularly well.

2 recommendations
KenMadison WIApr 8, 2025, 2:46 PMpositive97%

@Oikofuge Your last sentence is pure gold!!!

2 recommendations
Rich in AtlantaAustell, GeorgiaApr 8, 2025, 9:42 AMnegative38%

Tough Tuesday for me. Had to look up a couple of things early on, but then it was just a lot pondering and working the crosses. And... I really wasn't getting how the theme worked until I stopped and reviewed and pondered after I was done. Just made for a great 'aha' moment. Two thumbs up for this one. Quite unusual puzzle find today. I'll put that in a reply. ...

15 recommendations1 replies
Rich in AtlantaAustell, GeorgiaApr 8, 2025, 9:58 AMneutral88%

@Rich in Atlanta As threatened: A Sunday from June 27, 2004 by Peter Abide and Steve Kahn with the title "Hear, hear!" A couple of theme clue and answer examples: "Long live the king! Long live the king!," for example? CHANTSOFREIGN "Author Bret's deceptive move?" FEINTOFHARTE And some other theme answers: AISLEOFWHITE PEACEOFGNUS THYMEOFKNIGHT RITEOFWEIGH BAWLOFWACKS And there were others. Here's the Xword Info link: <a href="https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=6/27/2004&g=112&d=A" target="_blank">https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=6/27/2004&g=112&d=A</a> I'm done. .....

12 recommendations
dutchirisberkeleyApr 8, 2025, 3:10 AMpositive47%

This was fun—I kept slopping in typos and wrong answers (for instance POWER for POKER and trying to figure out how wINE was going to work with the down clue when I got there), hitting the down direction key when I meant to go across, and generally making a mess of things, but miraculously, it all came out just fine and I had a good time. Thank you, Barbara. Cute Tuesday.

14 recommendations2 replies
BethGreenbeltApr 8, 2025, 4:23 AMneutral74%

@dutchiris Same! I entered POwER at first and couldn't figure out what wine had to do with awareness of body perception.

7 recommendations
JimNcApr 8, 2025, 11:25 AMpositive87%

Harder for me than a typical Wednesday by 36%. An enjoyable workout. Barbara, you can’t leave us hanging. What was the name of the chip?

14 recommendations3 replies
Xword JunkieJust west of the DelawareApr 8, 2025, 11:37 AMnegative64%

@Jim And worse ... today's only Tuesday!

7 recommendations
Nancy J.NHApr 8, 2025, 12:00 PMneutral54%

@Jim Barbara's story reminded me of Hooty McOwlface and Boaty McBoatface.

11 recommendations
AnitaNYCApr 8, 2025, 1:25 PMpositive83%

When the chips are down you can count on a fun puzzle from Barbara. Hey, there’s an idea for a vertical theme.

14 recommendations
Mean Old LadyNow in MississippiApr 8, 2025, 1:03 PMneutral49%

If I just had a nickel for every TOLLHOUSE COOKIE I baked in the course of my 77+ years.... or even for every little taste of the COOKIE dough (after I put the CHIPS IN)...I wouldn't be fretting about the meltdown at the NYSE. (Actually, I'm not fretting; when you are absolutely powerless, turn your attention elsewhere.) 24D was a gimme. _Sensory Perception and the Child_ (author J. Ayres) was part of my "extended educational experience," (otherwise known as parenthood.) Our son was found to need occupational therapy for "Dyspraxia." (Because he was "achieving above grade level" he did not qualify for this help through the school system, so guess who won the apprenticeship?) Learned a lot, but the best solution was hiis outgrowing the need to "cut and color" and my teaching him typing/ keyboard skills long before there were little computer programs to do that. He (and I) remain "gravitationally-insecure." (Heights are a problem.) Oh, yes--great puzzle with fun clues in a variety of subjects. I seem to recall previous encounters with Barbara Lin. Brava!!

13 recommendations1 replies
Margaret from BrooklynBrooklyn NYApr 8, 2025, 1:54 PMneutral53%

@Mean Old Lady Thank you for teaching me the word "dyspraxia." My nephew was not neurologically like other kids but did not fit any box neatly, so as he grew up he was given whatever diagnosis was in favor and was bounced from med to med. He was afraid of crossing bridges, refused to learn to ride a bike or drive, clung to the wall when on an open staircase, couldn't manage escalators, but that was never explained. Now I know. Fwiw, he now drives--in fact he's a Door Dasher.

11 recommendations
NatdeguTorontoApr 8, 2025, 1:27 PMpositive93%

What a fun puzzle. The theme was clever -- dare I say, chipper? This Canajian fills in the known words, and waits for the Tex-Mex foods to reveal themselves. After thinking I would have to look up the name of a palace, I got a real kick out of 63A (doh). In the end, I filled it all in with no lookups. Lots of tricky, fun clues. More from Barbara Lin, please! P.S.: Chips... chocolate... mmm... must have some.

13 recommendations
RobinNJApr 8, 2025, 2:19 PMpositive87%

Solved this one over a glass of tea on my sofa. Relatively quick! Perhaps you could call me a couch potato chip. :)

13 recommendations1 replies
MikeMichiganApr 8, 2025, 4:25 PMneutral61%

@Robin "MYCOUCH" could have been a themer, because I'm pretty sure there are some chips down in those cushions.

5 recommendations
AChicagoApr 8, 2025, 4:15 PMnegative44%

Like many, several initial entries were wrong which made this hard, in a good way. It forces me to be flexible. Being a neurologist has been helpful in the past, but not today. I wanted proprioception or a variant to work so badly. While KINESTHESIA is technically wrong (it’s awareness of joint *movement). I think the clue is appropriate enough for a lay audience. Great puzzle!

12 recommendations1 replies
MikeMichiganApr 8, 2025, 4:23 PMneutral55%

@A Agreed - I tried proprioception, which would more accurately fit the clue, but of course it's too long.

7 recommendations
HeathieJSt. Paul, MNApr 8, 2025, 6:47 PMpositive62%

You know that I rarely nit any picks but KHAN is spelled wrong. It's KHAAAN. Three As! This is an indisputable truth. 😉 <a href="https://www.youtube.com/shorts/TA0ykZJCOKg" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/shorts/TA0ykZJCOKg</a> Anyhow, really nice puzzle and a fun theme! I had a CHALUPA just yesterday, which is not a frequent thing at all, so fun to see it in here crossing TACOSALAD. Lots of good food references and one of my two favorite flowers (DAHLIA) to boot! I'd have gotten EMMYS on the crosses anyhow, but because of a recent puzzle that I think asked for what she's holding, it was a nice gimme.

12 recommendations5 replies
Eric HouglandDurango COApr 8, 2025, 9:55 PMneutral54%

@HeathieJ You were the person who commented about how messy it is to eat a taco in the car, weren’t you? I’ll bet a CHALUPA is even messier. You’re right that the Emmy statuette was in a recent NYT clue for atom. Just yesterday, I solved and blogged a BEQ puzzle that had the clue [Winged statuettes].

3 recommendations
FrancisGrand Marais, MNApr 9, 2025, 12:15 AMneutral92%

@HeathieJ So is the conversion factor 1 second of Kirk yelling Kahn per additional "A"?

4 recommendations
SamNZApr 8, 2025, 3:20 AMnegative71%

Might just be me but I think “mean, median or mode” is disappointing clueing for STAT. Nothing to indicate it’s an abbreviation

11 recommendations1 replies
Elizabeth ConnorsChicagoApr 8, 2025, 8:53 AMneutral87%

@Sam It is its own word now. That’s why we can use stats for its plural form.

8 recommendations
HeidiDallasApr 8, 2025, 4:09 AMnegative56%

I was very confused by all comments about the Tappan Zee Bridge, which I must have breezed right past because I didn’t see it in the puzzle anywhere, until I realized… oh. It’s the Mario Cuomo now. Not a very popular name change, I’m guessing?

11 recommendations4 replies
MBMaineApr 8, 2025, 9:54 AMpositive86%

@Heidi I think it’s safe to say Mario Cuomo enjoyed a better reputation than his son Andrew—he served three terms as Governor. (He was my choice, way back in the early ’80s!) But as others have said, the bridge, although entirely new, will always be the Tappan Zee to many of us—(sorry, Mario).

10 recommendations
ChrisMelrose NYApr 8, 2025, 11:02 AMnegative53%

@Heidi and after the signs were all up, Andrew insisted they add his middle initial. ..Mario M. Cuomo.......my tax dollars at work.

3 recommendations
EddieKentuckyApr 8, 2025, 9:39 AMneutral67%

I done did this puzz

11 recommendations2 replies
BruceAtlantaApr 8, 2025, 10:39 AMneutral64%

@Eddie Props

4 recommendations
KatieMinnesotaApr 8, 2025, 1:38 PMpositive52%

@Eddie Honestly, at this point I'm just impressed you haven't been emu'd as a spambot. Bravo!

5 recommendations
GrantDelawareApr 8, 2025, 2:56 PMpositive95%

CHALUPA crossing TACO SALAD? Sounds like our constructor made a run for the border. Happy Taco Tuesday, everybody!

11 recommendations1 replies
Barb LinPennsylvaniaApr 8, 2025, 3:43 PMpositive50%

@Grant I think I noticed this while constructing. Yes, Taco Tuesday is an apt day to publish it. Is it time for lunch yet?

12 recommendations
Shari CoatsNevada City, CAApr 8, 2025, 4:44 PMpositive99%

This puzzle was so much fun! My last spot to fill was the Big Ten school in Happy Valley. Thanks for the smiles, Barbara Lin. Seemed like a perfect Tuesday level to me. Nice to have something to smile about. 😊 And I always enjoy your comments too, Sam. 😊

10 recommendations
RyanDetroit, MIApr 8, 2025, 2:51 AMnegative53%

This one had several plurals and past tense words I ended up having to go back through and recheck. KNEel instead of KNELT, POSts/POSEs instead of POSED. And I definitely had POKERfAcE instead of POKERGAME. I need to read more carefully! This was a good Tuesday for me though, didn’t have to look anything up ☺️

9 recommendations
John CarsonJersey CoastApr 8, 2025, 11:23 AMpositive94%

A fun one this morning. Guess I'm not all that "chipper" because it tugged in a few places. Well done. A TIL on the Tappan Zee.

9 recommendations
Xword JunkieJust west of the DelawareApr 8, 2025, 11:35 AMneutral93%

There are eight Ks in this grid.

9 recommendations2 replies
cameronchattanooga tnApr 8, 2025, 12:16 PMneutral72%

@Xword Junkie and thats oK

3 recommendations
IZLondonApr 8, 2025, 5:56 AMneutral53%

EENSY? Another one to add to my mental list of tiny words…

8 recommendations3 replies
STNew YorkApr 8, 2025, 1:18 PMneutral68%

@IZ The eensy weensy spider went up the water spout, down came the rain and washed the spider out! Out came the sun and dried up all the rain, and the eensy weensy spider went up the spout again.

4 recommendations
Jane WheelaghanLondonApr 8, 2025, 9:05 AMpositive96%

Nice crossword. I should have got VERBS more quickly than I did. When I was in New York we always had rye bread with caraway seeds - delicious.

8 recommendations11 replies
BruceAtlantaApr 8, 2025, 10:49 AMnegative67%

@Jane Wheelaghan I was well into adulthood before I realized that what I took to be the taste of rye flour was actually the taste of caraway seeds. Russians say that American industrial bakeries destroy the taste of rye flour by blowing it through pipes in order to transport it from the silo to the mixer, or otherwise using pneumatics to move the flour around. They say it removes all the aromatics that give it flavor, and you're left with something tasteless.

7 recommendations
Joe PGreenville SCApr 8, 2025, 11:54 AMneutral49%

I think “doissant”would sound better than CRONUT.

8 recommendations3 replies
Xword JunkieJust west of the DelawareApr 8, 2025, 11:57 AMneutral55%

@Joe P Probably not, in American at least.

2 recommendations
dlrSpringfield, ILApr 8, 2025, 1:51 PMneutral83%

@Joe P I've seen "dough-sant" as an alternative to Cronut (tm).

3 recommendations
suejeanHarrogate, North YorkshireApr 8, 2025, 12:08 PMpositive96%

A clever and fun theme, but glad that I wasn’t the only one who didn’t think this was a Tuesday puzzle. I wonder what tomorrow will bring.

8 recommendations
The X-PhileLexington, KYApr 8, 2025, 1:21 PMpositive80%

This is not a complaint. This was a perfectly pleasant Tuesday puzzle, neither too easy nor too hard. But,... In my not-too-limited experience, TACO SALADs don't have CHIPS IN them, rather they are served in one large, fried tortilla. One might say that the edible bowl was an enormous CHIP, but even then the SALAD's IN the CHIP, not the other way around. I suppose there must be places in world where TACO SALADs just have CHIPS sprinkled IN them. To people who regularly each such things all I can say is, "You're missing out on the real enchilada." Mmmm, TACO SALAD. Such a nice choice at a Tex-Mex restaurant when I want to eat "healthy".

8 recommendations9 replies
KatieMinnesotaApr 8, 2025, 1:30 PMneutral75%

@The X-Phile Whenever I make TACO SALAD, I use tortilla chips. I dump all the ingredients on top of the chips. You can eat it with a fork, or just pick up the chips nacho-style. Chilaquiles are my preferred tortilla chip dish, though.

7 recommendations
Eric HouglandDurango COApr 8, 2025, 3:44 PMpositive63%

@The X-Phile I thought the same thing about TACO SALAD, though I rarely order that. (I got one a few weeks ago when I saw someone else eating one. It was pretty good, but it didn’t have tortilla chips in it.)

4 recommendations
AmyCTApr 8, 2025, 2:56 PMpositive97%

Another puzzle full of food! I was actually eating a TOLLHOUSECOOKIE when I sat down to work on it. Serendipitous! I, too had "ruckus" before RACKET, but ELIE Wiesel to the rescue! Just right for a Tuesday morning.

8 recommendations
Charles Nelson ReillyNYCApr 8, 2025, 3:06 PMnegative77%

I did really badly on this one. Totally ruined my Tues average. The NW nearly killed me. I kept wanting “Bluffer’s activity” to be something related to raising or all in. For some reason I had The Divine MUSES. Having cash to spend was HOLDING. Thrilled was AWED. I’m going to go POUT now.

8 recommendations
Xword JunkieJust west of the DelawareApr 8, 2025, 3:33 PMneutral75%

With the many posts about the Tappan Zee Bridge, I thought I'd add one about the Tappan Zee. Borrowed from Wikipedia: The Tappan Zee (also Tappan Sea or Tappaan Zee) is a natural widening of the Hudson River, about 3 miles (4.8 km) across at its widest, in southeastern New York. It stretches about 10 miles (16 km) ... Its name is from the Tappan people of the Lenape, and the Dutch word zee, meaning a sea. So although the new bridge is in a slightly different location than the original, it certainly still spans the Tappan Zee. Hope the old name is soon restored.

8 recommendations
Rich in AtlantaAustell, GeorgiaApr 8, 2025, 5:33 PMpositive48%

My usual late puzzle find. This one was all in the clues, but thought it was quite clever. A Sunday from January 21, 2001 by Con Pederson with the title "Small-town headlines." Some theme clues and answers: "STATE DESTROYED BY MOUNTAIN LIONS" CATSKILLNEWYORK "STATE TOURISM INCREASES AMONG ORDINARY FOLK" "PLAINVIEWNEBRASKA" "PARISIAN TEAM HANDILY DEFEATS ALL-STATE SQUAD" FRENCHLICKINDIANA "CITY AGENCY DECEIVES STATE LEGISLATURE" COUNCILBLUFFSIOWA And there were more. Here's the Xword Info link: <a href="https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=1/21/2001&g=108&d=A" target="_blank">https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=1/21/2001&g=108&d=A</a> ...

8 recommendations
ClaireVero BeachApr 8, 2025, 8:42 PMneutral69%

The dahlia originated in Mexico as well as C. America, so I will take this opportunity to remind everyone that Mexicans are NorteAmericanos. They Certainly were when they owned California, Arizona, NMexico and Colorado. They could ski then.

8 recommendations1 replies
FrancisGrand Marais, MNApr 8, 2025, 11:02 PMnegative53%

@Claire I find it remarkable how few people understand that the United States didn't just grow from the East coast west. It also grew from the south up. The oldest European settlements in the south west are as old as those on the east coast. It also grew from the Alaska southward, from Russians which established posts as far south as Fort Ross in California. Very poor history taught in grade schools even in the past. I doubt they're doing much better these days.

4 recommendations
CindyIndianapolisApr 9, 2025, 1:12 AMpositive79%

We're going on 24 hours after the column and between people asking about SENT for [Thrilled], so I'm going to refer again to the amazing Sam Cooke. (I wanted this to be my wedding song, but "For Sentimental Reasons" was my aunt's favorite song and my sister talked me into the "I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you" song.) They're not dissimilar musically, but why mess with perfection. Darling, you send me I know you send me Darling, you send me Honest you do, honest you do Honest you do You thrill me I know you, you, you, you send me Darling, you, you, you, you thrill me Honest you do <a href="https://youtu.be/fz2-1G2lkeQ?si=1tztjm48wjF4FkKr" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/fz2-1G2lkeQ?si=1tztjm48wjF4FkKr</a>

8 recommendations
JamieSalem, ORApr 8, 2025, 2:28 AMpositive46%

Finished the puzzle and then spent the next 5 mins figuring out where my spelling mistakes were. Oh well, fun Tuesday puzzle.

7 recommendations
Joe PGreenville SCApr 8, 2025, 9:07 AMneutral53%

Not a piece of cake.

7 recommendations3 replies
Jeff ZMadison, WIApr 8, 2025, 11:04 AMneutral64%

@Joe P I've beefed on Tuesdays, and I came close to beefing on this one. I only got it after getting the clue that reveals the theme.

2 recommendations
JohnWMNB CanadaApr 8, 2025, 12:04 PMpositive70%

They just need to figure out how to safely squeeze a few chips into my aging brain, and I will be glad to have internal access to that cool kinaesthesia app: “Find My Left Foot”. For going down stairs in the dark, among other things. Not sure if the puzzle suggests a Lin’s Law, of doubling the complexity of each chip-themed clue as you go down the puzzle? Fun, in any case.

6 recommendations
JeremyOttawaApr 8, 2025, 12:29 PMneutral46%

Didn’t realize it was Wednesday!

6 recommendations
MichaelWestern MassApr 8, 2025, 2:28 PMneutral74%

It’s a tiny (eeny?) point, but a DORMER is the structure that holds the window. It’s the roof, of whatever shape, and the ‘cheek’ walls, not the window itself.

6 recommendations4 replies
VaerBrooklynApr 8, 2025, 2:52 PMneutral84%

@Michael Yes, and the type of window that goes into a DORMER, is a DORMER window.

8 recommendations
TonyOregonApr 8, 2025, 3:16 PMneutral62%

Again with the abbreviation answer (5d) that's not indicated in the clue. Even looked it up on Merriam Webster's website to be sure, and yep, the only entry there is "abbreviation for Reorganization" Fun puzzle, aside from that one picked nit

6 recommendations