Wednesday, April 23, 2025

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LigeThe OzarksApr 23, 2025, 2:23 AMneutral76%

In the Ozarks, "yeet" is a question. Yeet? Yup, I'm full.

87 recommendations3 replies
dutchirisberkeleyApr 23, 2025, 6:12 AMneutral90%

@Lige In Texas it's djeet yit?

10 recommendations
Mrs JonesMid-AmericaApr 23, 2025, 2:01 PMneutral95%

@Lige something like "yeet yet?" in Baltimore iirc. Or was it "djeet jet?"?

3 recommendations
GCOhioApr 23, 2025, 12:15 PMpositive97%

Two of my favorite figures from Greek mythology right next to each other, Icarus and Asparagus

81 recommendations6 replies
Mean Old LadyNow in MississippiApr 23, 2025, 1:11 PMneutral62%

@GC Don't you have the latter mixed up with Sparatacus?

3 recommendations
BillDetroitApr 23, 2025, 1:23 PMpositive49%

@GC And here I thought "Icarus" was a leafy green vegetable. (You should taste my *Icàres Hollandaise*. Mwah!) (Chef's tip: briefly heating helps remove the waxy coating--plunge it into ice water immediately afterwards to "shock" it.)

5 recommendations
MomerlynPAApr 23, 2025, 1:42 PMneutral49%

@GC That's spectaculus!

3 recommendations
NitpickerBloomfield NJApr 23, 2025, 3:11 PMneutral62%

@GC Was Asparagus the son who went too deep into the woods?

9 recommendations
Mike RDenverApr 23, 2025, 4:19 PMpositive80%

@GC. One of the reasons I read these comments is that I never know when someone will really crack me up with an observation from left field. You really did that today, thanks!

9 recommendations
CrabSaskatoonApr 23, 2025, 2:45 AMpositive81%

I’ve been waiting for Dingus to show up in the crossword for a very long time. Thank you.

48 recommendations2 replies
jbrochester, nyApr 23, 2025, 11:00 AMneutral71%

@Crab Coincidentally, Monday was Dyngus Day

4 recommendations
NESB is Still thinkingGreat LakesApr 23, 2025, 10:14 PMneutral89%

@Crab Do they use “DINGUS” in Saskatoon?

1 recommendations
EddieKentuckyApr 23, 2025, 2:17 AMneutral67%

I done did this puzz

43 recommendations2 replies
PaulNYApr 23, 2025, 3:03 AMneutral94%

@Eddie do you want a cookie?

11 recommendations
LewisAsheville, NCApr 23, 2025, 11:30 AMpositive62%

I liked: • Having NO NAME in a puzzle with eight. • Having AURORA echoing the up-in-the-sky theme. • All those schwa-de-vivre enders – LHASA, AMELIA, LIMA, AURORA, TUBA, NAFTA, SCUBA, UNA, DRAMA, LOLA, plus partials NEBULA, NOVA, and SCOTIA. • TUBE crossing TUBA, not to mention TUBE sharing the puzzle with UNCAP. • All the theme answers, which shimmered with spark. • The bonus of an extra column. • Learning GALAXY BRAIN and more about it after solving. So, the box you made, Brandon, brought me great pleasure – as your puzzles have a habit of doing. Thank you so much!

35 recommendations1 replies
JoshPittsburghApr 23, 2025, 12:07 PMpositive95%

@Lewis, And although it might not augment your schwa-de-vivre, ICARUS beside ASPARAGUS may bring US some joy!

12 recommendations
JustinDenverApr 23, 2025, 2:48 AMpositive92%

Not a Shakespeare clue in sight, but happy birthday, Will! (Other Will.)

34 recommendations
LoganAlabamaApr 23, 2025, 2:11 AMnegative79%

Solid puzzle. If I had to pick some nits, I didn’t love “NEWAT” — just feels awkward to me, like I need it to be NEWTO for some reason. And the clue for STARSTRUCK feels a bit goofy? Like I feel as though most people might be starstruck meeting tswift, you know?

29 recommendations1 replies
kilaueabartOakland CAApr 23, 2025, 5:09 PMneutral80%

@Logan I distinguish "new at" and "new to." "Unfamiliar with"--"I'm new at this kind of puzzle." "Unfamiliar"--"This kind of puzzle is new to me."

2 recommendations
Steve LChestnut Ridge, NYApr 23, 2025, 2:12 AMneutral86%

Sam, I assume you know that William Butler YEATS not only spells his name differently from the slangy verb, but also pronounces it Yates, so that it neither rhymes with either YEETS nor that other poet, Keats.

28 recommendations3 replies
Sam CorbinNew York, NYApr 23, 2025, 2:35 PMpositive58%

@Steve L Interesting, I actually pronounce the word "Yeets" as "Yates." (Kidding. I didn't know about that quirk of pronunciation!)

5 recommendations
dutchirisberkeleyApr 23, 2025, 6:01 PMneutral68%

@Steve L I googled "W. B. Yeats pronunciation" and some hits seemed muddled, but the best explanation rhymed it with "gates". I always pronounced it "yaytes" which seemed to work.

0 recommendations
IngridGermanyApr 23, 2025, 10:07 AMpositive96%

Asparagus was an easy one, since it is currently Spargelzeit (asparagus time) in Germany. Everything is asparagus. You can even get asparagus ice cream at some ice cream shops. I enjoyed a delicious cream of asparagus soup at my local Ratskeller just on Monday. Yum!

22 recommendations4 replies
TishaMarylandApr 23, 2025, 11:14 AMnegative60%

@Ingrid *leans in* asparagus… ice cream? Are we talking spears as sprinkles or something far more sinister?!? I am simultaneously intrigued and disgusted… off to google I go. Today I learned something new. Thank you.

6 recommendations
David ConnellWeston CTApr 23, 2025, 5:24 PMpositive95%

@Ingrid - My very first visit to Germany was in Spargelzeit, and I really love asparagus. Still a favorite memory comes from (later in life) culling bright green sprigs of wild asparagus in southern France and making omelettes of them with the neighbor’s fresh hen eggs. As for ice cream, I make home-made black pepper ice cream, baby peas ice cream, curry and coconut ice cream, grana padano and rosemary ice cream…so many wonderful savories just waiting for the person bored by fruits and sugars.

2 recommendations
DawnWSeattleApr 23, 2025, 3:18 AMpositive98%

What a delightful Wednesday puzzle! The answers came readily, but the way clues related to the theme popped up throughout the puzzle felt like finding little nugget after little nugget of gold in a rippling stream.

20 recommendations2 replies
Elizabeth ConnorsChicagoApr 23, 2025, 5:06 AMpositive93%

@DawnW That’s such a lovely way to put it.

5 recommendations
Sara O'BannonOmaha, NeApr 23, 2025, 11:57 PMpositive63%

@DawnW I felt this too. A smooth solve with no lookups for me and only twenty seconds off my record time for a Wednesday. I needed this as I will be on the struggle bus here until Monday's puzzle.

2 recommendations
sotto vocepnwApr 23, 2025, 2:52 AMpositive95%

No DRAMA solving this puzzle, and it was very nice to see SOAR, AURORA, and ICARUS in supporting roles. You're a star, Mr. Koppy. Thank you for shining your constructing light upon us earthlings! (Here is Soundgarden's Chris Cornell doing an acoustic version of BLACK HOLE SUN: <a href="https://youtu.be/ltc5EsuyBh4?si=CeiXGJFOR6ALJE9i" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/ltc5EsuyBh4?si=CeiXGJFOR6ALJE9i</a>)

19 recommendations7 replies
SteveSeattleApr 23, 2025, 3:06 AMneutral41%

@sotto voce RIP to a 🐐

7 recommendations
Elizabeth ConnorsChicagoApr 23, 2025, 4:56 AMpositive96%

@sotto voce That was stunning. Thanks.

2 recommendations
CindyIndianapolisApr 23, 2025, 11:31 PMnegative73%

@sotto voce Soundgarden played here a week before he passed, but I had to work and skipped the show. There are plenty of artists I try to see before I can't, but he wasn't on my list. 😞

1 recommendations
CindyIndianapolisApr 24, 2025, 3:57 AMpositive58%

@sotto voce Thank you. A singular voice to be sure. I can't find the source, but I think I read that he came late to singing in his higher range. Paraphrasing, but "imagine picking up a violin for the first time and realizing it was a Stradivarius."

0 recommendations
IsabeauCA, USApr 23, 2025, 2:25 AMneutral56%

On the importance of commas: I missed the one in 57A's clue so had "at all" for "however briefly". Got rid of it when the crosses didn't work (well, NAFTA still did, but not the last two) and noticed the comma finally. Now, let's eat, Grandma...

18 recommendations1 replies
PaulCairnsApr 23, 2025, 8:04 AMneutral73%

@Isabeau, thanks I was taking a bit to get that. not related to comma use but I first wanted to solve romantic type this week as Lovah

2 recommendations
mnemonicaEl PasoApr 23, 2025, 4:20 AMpositive82%

Nice. I wasn't familiar with the term "galaxy brain," because I'm old -- but I've googled it and I'm sure I'll run into it all the time now. As one does with new vocabulary.

18 recommendations1 replies
Sam CorbinNew York, NYApr 23, 2025, 2:28 PMneutral55%

@mnemonica That's the attitude!

6 recommendations
The X-PhileLexington, KYApr 23, 2025, 12:15 PMneutral73%

Not to pick too small a nit, but... A DINGbat is a Doofus. A DINGUS is a Doodad. You may now return to your regular programming.

17 recommendations16 replies
MeganAurora, COApr 23, 2025, 12:37 PMnegative82%

@The X-Phile dingus is also slang for a dimwit

1 recommendations
CalypsoTexasApr 23, 2025, 1:06 PMneutral64%

@The X-Phile from Merriam Webster: US slang : a dim-witted, silly, or foolish person —often used in a joking or friendly way

1 recommendations
Barry AnconaNew York NYApr 23, 2025, 1:07 PMneutral71%

I only knew a DINGUS as a doodad, but M-W has a second meaning that supports the clue: US slang : a dim-witted, silly, or foolish person —often used in a joking or friendly way <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dingus" target="_blank">https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dingus</a>

0 recommendations
Mean Old LadyNow in MississippiApr 23, 2025, 1:12 PMpositive40%

@The X-Phile Thank you!! I kept looking at that and thinking, "Really?" I wanted DINGDONG, which of course wouldn't fit, so I left it because the toothpaste tube wanted it that way.

2 recommendations
KatieMinnesotaApr 23, 2025, 1:18 PMneutral61%

@The X-Phile Nah. I call my cat a DINGUS all the time. Other nicknames include: -goofus -dork -fluffy baby -Lady StinkButt -[unprintable obscenity]

13 recommendations
Barry AnconaNew York NYApr 23, 2025, 1:41 PMneutral90%

The X-Phile, An emu ate my first reply in which I noted that the Doodad meaning was the only one I had heard but that M-W has a second slang meaning supporting the clue. There is a link to the M-W def in a reply I made earlier to Strudel Dad.

3 recommendations
LilyPAApr 23, 2025, 2:33 PMneutral47%

@Mean Old Lady Lol, I first had DIMGUY, Oh well, I was close!

1 recommendations
NitpickerBloomfield NJApr 23, 2025, 3:17 PMneutral71%

@The X-Phile No nit is too small.

2 recommendations
GrantDelawareApr 23, 2025, 3:20 PMneutral58%

@The X-Phile "Dirty Dingus McGee" with Frank Sinatra and George Kennedy, was a funny cowboy movie. Not sure what the portmanteau for that would be...comoater?

1 recommendations
JenniferManhattanApr 23, 2025, 3:43 PMnegative75%

@The X-Phile I can still hear my brother say with contempt, “you DINGUS.” Of course, he was talking to my other brother, not me.

2 recommendations
Solar RonNapaApr 23, 2025, 12:26 PMneutral62%

Here’s a fun fact about John Tyler who was president from 1841-1845: He has a living grandson ! I found that out a few years ago while visiting the Tyler mansion, called Sherwood Forest, in Virginia. Tylers first wife died so he remarried a younger woman and had a son in the 1860s who did the same thing and had a son in the 1920s who still lives.

16 recommendations1 replies
LprNashvilleApr 23, 2025, 1:24 PMnegative41%

@Solar Ron that's crazy. I remember reading that recently and I'm still 🤯

4 recommendations
MeganAurora, COApr 23, 2025, 2:29 AMpositive87%

Being a member of the John Phillip SOUSA Band of Colorado love Tuba being clued instrument similar to a Sousaphone. Trivia: John Phillip Sousa had the idea of the Sousaphone but J.W. Pepper manufactured the first one. It was created to have something easier to play standing or marching than a tuba. Got hung up on Sashimi as I was thinking Sushi and put a U first. A little tricky but fun

14 recommendations3 replies
BillDetroitApr 23, 2025, 11:19 AMpositive86%

@Megan Wow! Even as I'm reading and replying to your comment, our local radio station (WRCJ) is playing its 7:15 am Sousalarm! (changes every day, today's is the one with the famous piccolo solo in the trio!--wait! here comes the sousaphones!)

2 recommendations
JanineBC, CanadaApr 23, 2025, 3:18 AMnegative59%

I was zoned out on cold medication while doing this puzzle, and wasn't even thinking about a theme until I got to the revealer clue. It was like a splash of cold water... "who... what? Huh?" I was clearly not in GALAXY BRAIN mode! 😄 When I finally gathered my brain cells together I found it a quite clever and fun crossword.

14 recommendations
AndrzejWarsaw, PolandApr 23, 2025, 4:07 AMneutral66%

DIN DIN... Baby speak is in, I'm out.

14 recommendations22 replies
AndrzejWarsaw, PolandApr 23, 2025, 4:09 AMnegative79%

Baby-talk even. Anyway, that's the straw that broke the camel's back.

8 recommendations
dutchirisberkeleyApr 23, 2025, 6:43 AMnegative85%

@Andrzej Everybody seems fine with "My bad," which sometimes only seems embarrassing to hear a grownup using preschool language, and sometimes makes me gag.

6 recommendations
AlexisPerth, AustraliaApr 23, 2025, 7:42 AMpositive95%

@Andrzej I’ve enjoyed reading your snippets of Poland. Maybe we’ll see you around again someday

13 recommendations
Eric HouglandDurango COApr 23, 2025, 10:09 AMpositive60%

@Andrzej Please don’t let one answer drive you away. Many of us enjoy reading your comments.

13 recommendations
Joe PGreenville SCApr 23, 2025, 11:14 AMnegative79%

@Andrzej You can’t quit now— you’re in too deep. It’s kind of like the mob.

20 recommendations
Mean Old LadyNow in MississippiApr 23, 2025, 1:30 PMnegative76%

@Andrzej You think you can just walk away? Hah! We know where you live!

4 recommendations
JTChicagoApr 23, 2025, 7:20 PMpositive65%

He'll be back. One week, tops.

1 recommendations
BillPhiladelphiaApr 23, 2025, 8:17 PMneutral68%

@Andrzej There are good days and bad days… I’m reminded of a speech from Deadwood… Doc Cochran: She wants me to brace her leg so her dragging it doesn't drive you crazy. Al Swearengen: So what'd you tell her? Doc Cochran: Not to worry about your moods, that you generate those yourself and then you find your excuse for having 'em Might just be a bad day.

2 recommendations
Sara O'BannonOmaha, NeApr 23, 2025, 11:54 PMpositive86%

@AndrzejFor my whole life my Dad would refer to it as Din Din. As in what time is din din? I miss hearing that, so today's clue brought me a smile. Dad was a Southerner, where dinner is actually at midday but he got used to it in the evening with my NYC mom. I hope you come back soon. I look forward to reading your perspective from Poland.

2 recommendations
TomUSAApr 24, 2025, 2:48 AMpositive98%

@Andrzej. Just know you have made this board a more interesting and fun place. That is no small thing!

0 recommendations
Times RitaNVApr 23, 2025, 11:11 AMneutral42%

Your resident curmudgeon checking in here. Did I finish the puzzle in a relatively quick time without having to resort to looking anything up? I did, thanks to the crosses. I know it's un-PC to disparage a puzzle in this hallowed space, but this has to be one of my most-hated puzzles ever. Slang after slang entries. Things that nobody says, ever - BABYCRIB??? It's just a crib. GALAXYBRAIN? Okay, maybe I'm just too old. But this was a total slog.

14 recommendations4 replies
PaulNYApr 23, 2025, 12:55 PMnegative61%

@Times Rita I actually think people here are ok with others not loving a certain puzzle. You'll find that when the complaints come across as non-productive that they get the most push back. Things such as... "I hate this puzzle so im cancelling my subscription" What are you 12? Ya wanna cancel...Cancel...Why go find the boards and then rage quit. "This isnt a crossword..." Fill in the blank what the complaint is...Rebuses...Missing letters...Not being symmetrical...whatever... The NYT are a premier company in the business...You may not like the format...BUT we can most certainly assure you its a crossword. "I dont know this word so the NYT shouldnt use it" Its hard to take anyone seriously with some of the words they dont like. etc. But actual discussion of the puzzle and its merits is in general appreciated here...Every puzzle cant be everyone's favorite...and statistically...one of the puzzles is going to be someone's least favorite. It happens over 365 days a year...decades on end.

41 recommendations
LynnMassachusettsApr 23, 2025, 4:51 PMpositive81%

@Times Rita To put a cap on what Paul said: I think your response is very PC. You gave your experience as your experience. It was vivid and energetically put, and interesting to read. Thank you for the spice!

4 recommendations
HeathieJSt. Paul, MNApr 23, 2025, 6:12 PMnegative59%

@Times Rita While I did like this one, I totally grimaced to realize it was BABYCRIB. I had CRIB in there but that area was tough for me and I couldn't for the life of me think of what kind of CRIB it would be. Your complaint about the puzzle was very reasonable and I'll just ditto Paul in NY. :-)

5 recommendations
SheldonHalifaxApr 23, 2025, 1:50 PMneutral40%

A fun one. My biggest struggle was self inflicted by putting Cod for Cape Cod, instead of Ann. I guess I need to study more Massachusetts geography.

13 recommendations7 replies
BevIpswich MAApr 23, 2025, 2:45 PMneutral52%

@Sheldon Ha, I live one town over from Cape Ann, and I, too, put in Cod!

14 recommendations
Sam Lyonsroaming the Old WorldApr 23, 2025, 4:18 AMpositive95%

BLACK HOLE SUN. And just like that, I’m 18 again (and a bit angsty, in a good way). For that alone, thank you, Brandon. The neat theme is just a cherry on top of that SUNDAE.

12 recommendations19 replies
GrumpyTorontoApr 23, 2025, 5:17 AMneutral55%

@Sam Lyons Yikes! I just Googled the top 100 for the year I turned 18 - which was l-o-o-o-n-g before Soundgarden was hitting the airwaves. Some I can't remember at all (Disco-Tex and the Sex-O-Lettes apparently had a hit with "Get Dancin' ")? Some I wish I could forget (looking at you, John Denver, The Captain and Tennille, Minnie Ripperton)! On the other hand, there were also some that the mere thought of instantly transports me to a magical time. Too many to list, but Cat Stevens, BTO, and Janis Ian are among them.

9 recommendations
JoyaNew YorkApr 23, 2025, 7:43 AMpositive82%

@Grumpy oh this is fun! Here’s mine: 1 "The Sign" Ace of Base 2 "I Swear" All-4-One 3 "I'll Make Love to You" Boyz II Men 4 "The Power of Love" Celine Dion 5 "Hero" Mariah Carey 6 "Stay (I Missed You)" Lisa Loeb and Nine Stories 7 "Breathe Again" Toni Braxton 8 "All for Love" Bryan Adams, Rod Stewart and Sting 9 "All That She Wants" Ace of Base 10 "Don't Turn Around" Ace of Base

10 recommendations
JoeSApr 23, 2025, 12:58 PMnegative64%

@Sam Lyons I am embarrassed by the top 10 from the year I was 18. There were sooooooo many better songs…but, here are the Billboard Top 10 (1971): 1. Joy the World, Three Dog Night 2. Maggie May/Reason to Believe, Rod Stewart 3. It’s Too Late, Carole King 4. One Bad Apple, The Osmonds 5. How Can You Mend a Broken Heart, BeeGees 6. Indian Reservation, Paul Revere & the Raiders 7. Go Away Little Girl, Donnie Osmond 8. Take Me Home, Country Roads, John Denver 9. Just My Imagination, The Temptations 10. Knock Three Times, Tony Orlando and Dawn One clear memory from this list (I mean aside from all the angsty high school dances): At my first off-campus college party that fall, there was a young woman who sat on the floor next to record player, playing Maggie May over and over. Every time it ended, she reached over, picked up the tone arm, and started the song…over and over.

3 recommendations
Mean Old LadyNow in MississippiApr 23, 2025, 1:27 PMneutral60%

@Sam Lyons Now see what you've done! My 18th was just after HS graduation. On the list (that I actually recall): Wooly Bully Satisfaction You've Lost that Lovin' Feelin' Downtown Help My Girl And #11 Help me, Rhonda Most are rather forgettable, I guess, unless rejuvenated by a movie (Top Gun, etc.)

4 recommendations
CherryGeorgiaApr 23, 2025, 1:37 PMneutral55%

@Sam Lyons My top five: Faith by George Michael Need You Tonight by INXS Got My Mind Set on You by George Harrison Never Gonna Give You Up by Rick Astley Sweet Child O’ Mine by Guns n’ Roses

6 recommendations
Sam Lyonsroaming the Old WorldApr 23, 2025, 1:55 PMpositive86%

My teasing @Grumpy and @Al in P. earlier aside, I like something from everyone’s list so far (though, @Cherry, I think you and I are the ones right about the same age). @Joe “Take Me Home, Country Roads” was on my dad’s “Road Trip” mix-tape. I don’t think I ever saw a national park within driving distance of Salt Lake without that song playing in the background. That and something that went along the lines of, “Haaaands across the water (water), haaands across the [na-na-something].” Possibly also by John Denver, but lost (to me) to the sands of time by now. Music. Amazing how it instantly brings the oldest memories to into foreground.

2 recommendations
CindyIndianapolisApr 24, 2025, 12:29 AMnegative72%

@Eric Hougland Totally depressing. The top Hot 100 song from the year I turned 18 was a little Dolly Parton song covered by Whitney Houston. The next eight were either entirely unknown to me or are featured a Kroger commercial. (#10 was Informer by Snow, which I can appreciate for its novelty.) So far, I think B.A.'s have the most legs.

1 recommendations
CindyIndianapolisApr 24, 2025, 12:44 AMpositive92%

@G My parents got me Songs From The Big Chair for Christmas the year they got a new stereo (with a tape deck!) Fast forward to 2015 when they killed it at Bonnaroo.

1 recommendations
Cat Lady MargaretOn the eastbound trainApr 23, 2025, 3:32 AMneutral67%

In season at our place, we refer to the endless green spears at DINDIN as ASPARAGI.

11 recommendations
kilaueabartOakland CAApr 23, 2025, 4:35 PMnegative54%

I don't feel too bad about looking up "noomi" but I shouldn't have had to read the second paragraph of the Column's Tricky Clues to see that I had misspelled ICARiS! These things happen when one tries to do a puzzle without Autocheck turned on. But my Phony Streak is now up to 10 days.

11 recommendations2 replies
GBKApr 23, 2025, 7:43 PMpositive97%

@kilaueabart 10 days! Woo hoo!! Good luck with "tricky" Thursday tomorrow. May your streak continue...

4 recommendations
LoopyWherenowApr 23, 2025, 8:22 PMpositive94%

@kilaueabart Congrats! Ten day streak is when the training wheels come right off and you never go back to Autocheck again. I’ve found the puzzles to be far more fun and satisfying since eschewing AC. And lookups are totally ok in my book. Just resist it till the very end when you feel you’re hopelessly stumped. 🤔

2 recommendations
JamieSalem, ORApr 23, 2025, 2:52 AMpositive90%

Overall an easy Wed for me. Had a little trouble in the SW corner, but made it through. With SASHIMI crossing LHASA and LIMA, it took the rest of the crosses for me to figure it out. Fun puzzle none the less.

10 recommendations
JamieUSAApr 23, 2025, 2:36 AMpositive98%

I absolutely love the phrase GALAXYBRAIN and really wish it was making its debut in a themeless for maximum delight. I kind of saw it coming after I got the other theme answers first.

9 recommendations
ElizabethOjai, CAApr 23, 2025, 4:23 AMnegative91%

Um, actually…… (I am irrationally irritated by 15A. The computer in question originally came in *one* color, Bondi Blue. The second generation of the IMAC was the five-colors version.)

9 recommendations2 replies
krovadmaCanadaApr 23, 2025, 6:09 AMnegative62%

@Elizabeth My 1998 self (I bled in six colors) was equally enraged

4 recommendations
Rufo SanchezMinneapolis, MNApr 23, 2025, 12:08 PMneutral74%

@Elizabeth Same here! I think all that needs to happen is to remove the word “originally” from the clue; it works otherwise. (Or could be changed to “once”, if the extra detail is desirable.)

4 recommendations
ad absurdummcuApr 23, 2025, 2:04 PMneutral60%

Anyone else mistakenly go see "The Iron Lady" expecting a cool new Marvel movie?

9 recommendations1 replies
Jill from BrooklynThe InterwebsApr 23, 2025, 8:49 PMneutral46%

@ad absurdum Let me tell you about the time I watched Civil War. Not one superhero!

3 recommendations
dlrSpringfield, ILApr 23, 2025, 2:28 PMneutral90%

Is a streak of 969 called a Methuselah? Asking for a friend...

9 recommendations1 replies
PaulNYApr 24, 2025, 2:20 AMneutral83%

@dlr pretty sure it’s called a “lonely threesome”

0 recommendations
Marshall WalthewArdmoreApr 23, 2025, 2:27 AMpositive98%

I had a blast with this space themed puzzle. AURORA was a nice little extra cosmos themed answer. In a weird coincidence, I happened to be listening to Astral Weeks while solving. Must have something out there in the universe. BLACKHOLESUN is a fine song. There’s an interesting version by, of all people, Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme.

8 recommendations8 replies
CrabSaskatoonApr 23, 2025, 2:47 AMpositive64%

@Marshall Walthew all time music video too

5 recommendations
Elizabeth ConnorsChicagoApr 23, 2025, 5:04 AMpositive98%

@Marshall Walthew Steve and Eydie were talented artists. I really enjoyed this. Thanks!

1 recommendations
MichaelMaplewoodApr 23, 2025, 6:19 AMpositive95%

@Marshall Walthew Many fine memories of Steve and Eydie performing sold-out holiday week-ends in the spectacular Imperial Room nestled within the even more spectacular 3000 room Concord Hotel at Kiamesha Lake, N.Y.

1 recommendations
BillDetroitApr 23, 2025, 1:08 PMpositive50%

@Marshall Walthew As long as were on covers of "Black Hole Sun": Lea DeLaria is primarily known as an actress/comic (*Orange is the New Black*), but she's also an accomplished jazz singer. Here's her cover from the album *Double Standards*: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYGa8YeP5BI" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYGa8YeP5BI</a> (You should hear what she does with No Doubt's "I'm Just a Girl," which, knowing DeLaria, is really quite funny!)

1 recommendations
Strudel DadTorontoApr 23, 2025, 6:49 AMneutral46%

Call me a DOOFUS, but I never heard of DINGUS before now. That, along with a couple of other clues, made this Wednesday a PW for me.

8 recommendations1 replies
Barry AnconaNew York NYApr 23, 2025, 11:20 AMneutral88%

Strudel Dad, I know where I've read it .., and heard it. In his [Dashiell Hammett's] writings of the period from 1924 to 1952, "dingus" signifies, variously, a magician's prop, a typewriter, a short story, a novel, and an elusive artifact, a black bird better known as the Maltese Falcon. <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dingus" target="_blank">https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dingus</a>

8 recommendations
Mean Old LadyNow in MississippiApr 23, 2025, 1:39 PMnegative82%

I am worried because Rich in Atlanta hasn't been here for a few days. I don't recall his applying for leave!

8 recommendations3 replies
Barry AnconaNew York NYApr 23, 2025, 1:43 PMneutral76%

Mean Old Lady, Rich was here yesterday. <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/shared/comment/471vgn?rsrc=cshare&smid=url-share" target="_blank">https://www.nytimes.com/shared/comment/471vgn?rsrc=cshare&smid=url-share</a>

5 recommendations
Rich in AtlantaAustell, GeorgiaApr 23, 2025, 2:18 PMpositive85%

@Mean Old Lady I'm here. Thanks for noticing. I've just been a unusually busy the last couple of days. Nice to be noticed by my sister from another mister. ...

18 recommendations
David ConnellWeston CTApr 23, 2025, 6:11 PMpositive77%

Seeing that I watch “The Hudsucker Proxy” every year at some point near New Year’s, “dingus” will always call the late great Paul Newman to mind. A wordplay lover’s film from top to bottom, including a crossword constructor scene. Highly recommended.

8 recommendations3 replies
Eric HouglandDurango COApr 23, 2025, 9:25 PMneutral59%

@David Connell Yes, “Hudsucker Proxy” has a crossword construction scene, but it’s wrong! It implies the constructor is writing the clues before filling the grid. Still, it’s a fun movie (one that I enjoyed more the second time I saw it). Jennifer Jason Leigh’s Katherine Hepburn is spot on. (Wikipedia suggests the performance is also an homage to Rosalind Russell, who I really only know from “His Girl Friday;” perhaps the Wikipedia author simply meant that Leigh’s character is similar to Russell’s.)

1 recommendations
MangoNYCApr 23, 2025, 5:59 AMpositive75%

third time was the charm in terms of spelling “lhasa” correctly. lahso, lahsa, lhasa.

7 recommendations2 replies
Eric HouglandDurango COApr 23, 2025, 9:53 AMneutral53%

@Mango Lhasa ha vista, baby.

7 recommendations
BillDetroitApr 23, 2025, 11:35 AMneutral75%

A puzzle in which everything was right in my wheelhouse, except for the (substantial) parts that weren't. (How many times have I, personally, linked Weird Al's "Yoda" in these comments?) 67A could have been clued as [Ohio city whose name is pronounced with the accent on the first syllable]. OK, with a population of 1447, it's really more of a village. Here's a 2003 song by the Electric Six, the songwriter of which shares his name with a president and a Texas city. In the video, inexplicably, he dresses up like another president who shares his name with a Texas village (pop. 276): <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IslF_EyhMzg" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IslF_EyhMzg</a> *** Just to prove I still have culture, Here's Auden's 1938 poem "Musée des Beaux Arts):

7 recommendations3 replies
BillDetroitApr 23, 2025, 11:37 AMneutral70%

About suffering they were never wrong, The Old Masters: how well they understood Its human position; how it takes place While someone else is eating or opening a window or just walking dully along How, when the aged are reverently, passionately waiting For the miraculous birth, there always must be Children who did not specially want it to happen, skating On a pond at the edge of the wood: They never forgot That even the dreadful martyrdom must run its course Anyhow in a corner, some untidy spot Where the dogs go on with their doggy life and the torturer's horse Scratches its innocent behind on a tree. In Brueghel's Icarus, for instance: how everything turns away Quite leisurely from the disaster; the ploughman may Have heard the splash, the forsaken cry, But for him it was not an important failure; the sun shone As it had to on the white legs disappearing into the green Water; and the expensive delicate ship that must have seen Something amazing, a boy falling out of the sky, Had somewhere to get to and sailed calmly on. [Extinct Greek waxwing] :-) :-) :-)

21 recommendations
BillDetroitApr 23, 2025, 11:50 AMneutral79%

@Bill (I should warn that the Electric Six video, even this the "radio edit" version, borders on the NSFW. Is that Lemmiwinks?)

2 recommendations
Mean Old LadyNow in MississippiApr 23, 2025, 1:10 PMpositive53%

Zip, zip, zip! Finis! Welp, 37A and 13D were varieties of Stumpers! Thank goodness for crosses. GALAXY BRAIN is a weird answer, though it makes sense in retrospect.... SOOT before FLUE. TSK for the clue at 56D...a "new word" I cannot seem to remember because... well, probably in self-defense. Ugh. Don't you wonder why TV and movie people can't just phone the Mayor or Chamber of Commerce in these cities like Taos and LIMA and ask how to pronounce the names? TYLER is a lovely "City of Roses"--and the park also has an array of dozens and dozens of varieties of Japanese maples. We visited too early for roses, but just right for azaleas and catalpa trees in bloom.

7 recommendations
RobinNJApr 23, 2025, 6:26 PMpositive97%

This puzzle was solved 30,000 feet in the air. By me! (A wonderful distraction from plane sickness.)

7 recommendations
dutchirisberkeleyApr 23, 2025, 6:24 AMpositive80%

Well, this one will put the stars in your eyes if nothing else well. Trippy puzzle. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V10nYSsaAtY" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V10nYSsaAtY</a>

6 recommendations
ZachChicagoApr 23, 2025, 8:17 AMneutral77%

Boystown is no more! It's Northalstead now to be more inclusive.

6 recommendations1 replies
BillDetroitApr 23, 2025, 11:40 AMnegative73%

@Zach Sic transit Gloria (Gaynor) Chi-town :-(

4 recommendations
RyanMelbourneApr 23, 2025, 8:29 AMpositive98%

Found this a breeze for a Wednesday, but very enjoyable, thanks! Solved 28 minutes quicker than average, at 17minutes - a new record for a Wednesday (only been x-wording for 4 months so my solve times are definitely higher than most)

6 recommendations
Jane WheelaghanLondonApr 23, 2025, 9:50 AMnegative73%

Somewhat frustrating for me, purely because of popular culture references, of which I knew none, which happens sometimes, and unknown DINGUS. I remembered SARAN (instead of cling film) and TAC. I nearly revealed the Soundgarden song but persisted with crossers and it revealed itself. Galaxy brain, nebula award, the gaybar and RPG need to be committed to memory also!

6 recommendations
Eric HouglandDurango COApr 23, 2025, 10:35 AMpositive81%

Anyone likes fun, tricky Thursday puzzles might enjoy May 3, 2008, by Patrick Berry. It’s technically a Saturday puzzle, and my time was a sold Saturday time (on the long side for a Thursday). Once I figured out what was going on, it was pretty easy. There are a few names in the SE corner that might be unfamiliar to anyone who wasn’t around in the 1980s.

6 recommendations3 replies
HeathieJSt. Paul, MNApr 23, 2025, 6:14 PMpositive98%

@Eric Hougland You've been on fire with the archive puzzle recommendations (and other publication's puzzles) you've been making recently. I've done all of them the last couple or so weeks, and really enjoyed them. Thank you for your service, good sir!! ☺️

2 recommendations
JohnWMNB CanadaApr 23, 2025, 11:50 AMpositive94%

Our evening meal on the weekend, with two sub-four-year-old children, was most definitely a din din. But we love ‘em Anyone else suffering from a tendency more toward black hole brain? This was a spacy puzzle. For my song choice, I’m going with Eddie Vedder’s cover of “Hard Sun”.

6 recommendations
JustinMinnesotaApr 23, 2025, 1:07 PMneutral59%

Solving crosswords . Constructing crosswords o Editing crosswords O Mollifying words so they're not so angry all the time (*)

6 recommendations
PhilCanadaApr 23, 2025, 5:03 PMpositive86%

I love that this puzzle gave some boomers a hard time. Now you know how us millennials feel almost every puzzle. LOL. I need more puzzles like this. I have thought about taking up the art of crossword puzzle making to just make the ultimate boomer stumper.

6 recommendations1 replies
Jane WheelaghanLondonApr 23, 2025, 5:37 PMneutral42%

@Phil What?! The crosswords are full of references, regularly, to stuff boomers have never heard of!

8 recommendations
HeathieJSt. Paul, MNApr 23, 2025, 6:49 PMpositive93%

Can't believe I immediately knew what "Yeets" meant! Thank you past NYTXword puzzles! 😆 Enjoyed this one. Hadn't heard of GALAXYBRAIN before and I like it! Came in better than average on time. Got a bit slowed because all I could think of for 37A was "there's a little black spot on the sun today" (King of Pain, The Police), which of course doesn't fit and is from 1983, I believe. I'm much more familiar with that one and it just kept playing in my peaBRAIN. But I worked it out. Also, stalled by feeling confident (again, thanks to past crosswords) that 19D was either pwns or owns. Finally, I just had to take it out and could see clearly, now the rain has gone... (sorry, great old songs are just coming to me now). IVdrip at 46D was another slowdown, but overall, I'm getting better at tearing out what doesn't work. Was proud that I waited for a crossing to fill in ANN. I first wanted it to be COD, of course, but I've been fooled by that before. We used to have a LHASO Apso named Sasha, so it crossing SASHIMI in the lower right was fun. ANDSO, it was a good one for me, with a few slowdowns, but I do like to puzzle out puzzles. ☺️

6 recommendations
DuncanBostonApr 23, 2025, 10:40 PMpositive95%

I loved this puzzle!! It wasn’t too tough or over-reliant on trivia/proper nouns, and none of the slightly tougher reveals felt like a stretch or an awkward fill. However it had a few that I needed to come back to and think about, which is always nice (when it pays off). Well done!!

6 recommendations
Neal S.ChicagoApr 23, 2025, 2:36 AMneutral63%

Did anyone see DINDIN and visualize a cat instead of a human child?

5 recommendations2 replies
SteveMaineApr 23, 2025, 7:06 AMneutral69%

@Neal S. For me it was Wallace & Gromit.

5 recommendations
Mean Old LadyNow in MississippiApr 23, 2025, 1:32 PMneutral60%

@Neal S. See? It's NOT "baby talk"--it's CatPeople Lingo!

2 recommendations
IZLondonApr 23, 2025, 9:21 AMpositive85%

Easier one for me today. No lookups and managed to get the answers I didn’t know via crosses. Not a PB, but close!

5 recommendations
Joe PGreenville SCApr 23, 2025, 10:03 AMneutral66%

From now on, just call me “Galaxy Brain”.

5 recommendations
MikeMichiganApr 23, 2025, 3:45 PMnegative85%

IV "tube"? That is just not a thing that exists.

5 recommendations1 replies
Barry AnconaNew York NYApr 23, 2025, 4:11 PMneutral80%

Mike, I call it a line too, but it is a tube.

9 recommendations