Hey, one of these could’ve been an entry in yesterday’s puzzle too: “Drab green hidey hole for pointy jawed fish” OLIVE GAR DEN Yes, this was an OG clue you’ve never seen before and never will again!
@Cat Lady Margaret Brilliant, CLM! O, Live Gar Den and prosper!
It is very hard to construct a Monday puzzle, where the answers are commonly known to most everyone. When you start interlocking words in a grid, lesser known words very often become the only possibilities, and you have to scrap what you’ve done and begin anew. (It’s okay and even desirable, to make things a bit more interesting, to have a few spread-out unknowns but they have to be very easily crossed.) It is also tough to clue a Monday without the clues in general being so easy that the solver feels insulted. So, making a good Monday puzzle is an art; it is not something simply dashed off, and credit to Kiran for crafting this lovely one. I liked seeing ROMA near TOMATO, and when I saw the three answers SOFT, SHEL, and CAB, I couldn’t unsee “soft shell crab”. Cute elegant theme and admirable Monday build, Kiran. It was a gift to start my day experiencing beauty. Thank you!
@Lewis I really enjoy your reviews of puzzles. The heartfelt positivity never fails to brighten my day. Even on days when I myself dislike a puzzle (not that today is such a day), I appreciate how well argued and beautifully worded your posts are. I've experienced many bad puzzles, but not a single bad Lewis post. Today, you put into words my feelings about the puzzle, exactly. The several unknows made the otherwise very simple puzzle quite interesting.
Wow, Andrzej, thank you for those kind words -- makes my day!
@Lewis Also, I love the contrast between how gentle your posts are and how brutally hard I find your puzzles :D It's like learning your soft spoken kindergarten teacher is a MMA fighter in her spare time :D (not that that has happened to me, but dang, it would have been so cool)
@Lewis I would think that Monday puzzles are the hardest to construct.
I love the Garden's breadsticks: I could eat Olive them! (It's a real pastability.)
@Mike Vi-know you could. Best with a soft Cab.
@Mike you know why the French chef killed himself? He lost the huile d’olive!
@Mike Just stay calm if you decide to take a table outside -- don't get all frisky al fresco.
My five favorite original clues from last week (in order of appearance): 1. Star sign? (3) 2. Call for delivery? (4) 3. African creature whose name is one letter away from what its horns might do (6) 4. Not own (4) 5. What might lead to a row at a party? (4)(5) CUE PUSH IMPALA DENY LINE DANCE
@Lewis Very much enjoyed your LAT puzzle last Friday, thanks for the heads-up!
@Lewis 33A in today’s New Yorker crossword 😉 .
(Per Sam's request): There once was and old geezer who belonged to the old guard, and flew Old Glory, and whose olfactory glands enabled him to sniff out oat grass, which he wove to make an outer garment for when he was an organ grinder, as well as to make oven gloves, which he didn’t wear when playing online games. The end.
It’s a depressing anecdote, but I’ll share it anyway as an example of how the most innocuous-sounding entry can sometimes stir up an unpleasant memory in a solver. (The story is also about one of the most surreal moments of my life.) __________ In 1990, my 24-year old sister Andrea was hit by a car while crossing a street at night and was instantly killed. At Andrea’s memorial service a few days later, a woman who none of my family knew (probably one of Andrea’s coworkers) offered this remembrance of Andrea: “I want to share something about Andrea that many of you probably didn’t know: Andrea had a substance abuse problem.” Long pause, during which my siblings and I looked at each other with dumbfounded expressions. “She was addicted to the bread sticks at OLIVE GARDEN!” __________ I don’t think that OLIVE GARDEN should be off-limits for the crossword. But in the same way that the Jackson Browne song “Fountain of Sorrow” takes me back to that funeral home in St. Louis, any mention of Olive Garden reminds me of my sister. Maybe that’s not entirely a bad thing.
@Eric Hougland I'm so sorry to hear about your sister. I'm not good at expressing sympathy in words in either Polish or English, but please know I truly feel for you, in the most human way possible. Your opening up about your grief helps others deal with theirs - I know it helped me just now. It's so weird to be reminded of our grief, is it not? I lost my mother to cancer several years ago. I like it when something reminds me of her - and it can really be something as mundane as a bread stick, can't it? - but it makes me sad, too. I try to think of it as a good sort of sadness, rooted in love and memories of things that will never happen again but I'm so glad they did...
Great Monday puzzle, Mr. Pandey. Well done! My only problem was the clue for CARTS [Grocery conveyances.] I just couldn't understand "grocery." What is that anyway? And does it have something to do with "groceries," that beautiful term, but so old-fashioned? It's a bag with different things in it, isn't it? Yeah, I think that's what it is. Ducking and running, but before I leave, here's ASIA with their cover version of Globus's "Orchard of Mines" – <a href="https://youtu.be/tsqvFHIgbzE?si=TqGv_yHxqlYXPiJQ" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/tsqvFHIgbzE?si=TqGv_yHxqlYXPiJQ</a>
@sotto voce Don't worry, you don't need groceries anymore. You have your two dolls, and they obviously came in a grocery bag, so you're just going to have to make do.
Is the answer to 42 Across still correct? How about 45 Across? Or 54 Across? Or 58 Across? There is more to this Monday than meets the eye.
@Barry Ancona OH GEEZ Will the OLYMPICGAMES be boycotted again in Los Angeles (LALALAND) in 2028?
@Barry Ancona That depends on whether you still think there's 16 Across.
@Barry Ancona 69A! Treat yourself to a 1A Listen to some 38A Take in some 40A Take a 13D Splash on some 8D 62D!!!!
@Barry Ancona I'd been planning to say the puzzle needed a trigger warning to the effect that so many answers would have us saying 69A or 62D (bonus points for having them cross). 22A 42A 54A 58A 65A 27D 35D 55D 63D. Yes indeed: sad times for the 16A Just noticed that Mr. carrot top has an unhealthy fondness for 2D regions. can something useful be done with this?
I'd like to be under the sea In an Octopus's Garden In the shade
Monday funday! Gonna be thinking of OG pairings all day. Original gangster Overgrown Old g… Oh, give up CC. Not awake yet. Finally home. Youngest is sitting next to me. He’s squeezing in a quick trip to Sweden to spend some time with my mamma before residency begins. Older son got married on Saturday, and it was perfectly un-perfect. Feels like a month since last Monday, but all good. Wonderful, even. Now I want to sleep for a couple days. Is that allowed? Is that even a thing? I want it to be a thing. Happy Monday all!
@CCNY Happy Monday to you, too! I started my day earlier than I would prefer, but I found a pangram in Sunday’s Spelling Bee and reached Genius with it. A minor accomplishment compared to what your sons did this weekend. Congratulations to all! Where’s your son doing his residency?
@CCNY I know you mentioned this recently after the match and I queried about it. Like Eric H, I ‘m curious about his specialty and program. It’s an exciting time of life. Also, there are few decisions to be made for three to five years. You just do the best you can at whatever they tell you to do, until it’s time to pick a subspecialty. Fond memories…
@CCNY, Welcome back! Glad to hear that you somehow squeezed it all in — a “perfectly un-perfect” wedding, a harrowing flight — you did it!
Thank you all! He’s doing his residency in internal medicine, because he will apply for a hem/onc fellowship. Oncology is the goal. So many mamma feels crammed into a few days! Congrats on your pangram, Eric!
@Dutchiris Is there a tilde in cenote? 🤣 I think I'm going to start using your approach. It got me to Genius for yesterday's but I’m taking a break at 16 away for today's. (Though it should be ten. 😉)
Taking Your Olympic Measure Alberto Ríos 1952 – Think of the records you have held: For one second, you were the world’s youngest person. It was a long time ago, but still. At this moment, you are living In the farthest thousandth-of-a-second in the history of time. You have beaten yesterday’s record, again. You were perhaps the only participant, But in the race to get from your bedroom to the bathroom, You won. You win so much, all the time in all things. Your heart simply beats and beats and beats— It does not lose, although perhaps one day. Nevertheless, the lists of firsts for you is endless— Doing what you have not done before, Tasting sake and mole, smelling bergamot, hearing Less well than you used to— Not all records are for the scrapbook, of course— Sometimes you are the best at being the worst. Some records are secret—you know which ones. Some records you’re not even aware of. In general, however, at the end of a long day, you are— Unlikely as it may seem—the record holder of note. Copyright © 2021 Alberto Ríos. —Poetry was an Olympic event from 1912-1948. The "Pentathlon of the Muses" refers to the five artistic disciplines that were part of the OLYMPIC GAMES art competitions from 1912 to 1948.
@replay Thanks for sharing this. I got choked up reading it to my husband. I’m not sure why it affected me so, but it is a very good poem.
it seemed a custom fit for todays puzzle irregardless it stands proudly on its own feet
And you, @replay, are the record holder of the best thing I've seen posted on the internet today! Hoping you can keep that going until midnight tonight at least. THANK YOU for a great perspective!
[Late victory] = OVERTIME GOAL
@Barry Ancona [Mathematical collection of rotations and reflections] = ORTHOGONAL GROUP Note the OG within the O G.
"Flag nickname" = OLD GLORY "Score on yourself" = OWN GOAL
In the musical of The Phantom of the Opera, the Phantom signs his notes "O.G.," which stands for OPERA GHOST.
I drove my Chevy SIX TEN extended-CAB to the LEVEE but the LEVEE was dry.
@replay Now I'm gonna have this song stuck in my head for the rest of the day. Could do a lot worse though
Nice Monday puzzle and an enjoyable workout. The reveal was one of the very last things I filled in and that made for a nice 'aha' moment when I went back and reviewed the theme answers to see the commonality. Couldn't ask for anything more. A couple of vaguely related puzzle finds today. First - a Wednesday from January 19, 2011 by Kristian House. The 'reveal' clue and answer in that one: "Beaver Cleaver expletive ... or what you might need to be to answer 18-, 23-, 51- and 60-Across?" GEEWHIZ And then a couple of those theme clues and answers: "Cry for help on an F.B.I. cruise?" GMANOVERBOARD "Guess as to how the thong came to exist?"" GSTRINGTHEORY And the other two theme answers: GMAILROOM GSUITCASE Here's the Xword Info link: <a href="https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=1/19/2011&g=37&d=A" target="_blank">https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=1/19/2011&g=37&d=A</a> Might put another puzzle find in a reply. ...
@Rich in Atlanta And... the other puzzle find. A Tuesday from March 26, 2013 by Samuel A. Donaldson and Doug Peterson. This one was all in the clues. Some examples: "Wow, he survived!" MANALIVE "Wow, you're a regular expert at turning right!" GEEWHIZ "Wow, those reptiles have mad hops!" LEAPINLIZARDS "Wow, look at that bovine idol!" HOLYCOW "Wow, I'm standing next to Mr. Clooney himself!" BYGEORGE Here's the Xword Info link: <a href="https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=3/26/2013&g=26&d=A" target="_blank">https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=3/26/2013&g=26&d=A</a> I'm done. ...
Sam doesn't like Doonesbury?? Oh geez.
@Jones Doonesbury comics are shaggy dog stories told by a visiting uncle, but I welcome any evidence to the contrary!!
@Jones I wonder if Sam knows that Ross Trudeau is the son of Garry Trudeau?
I wonder if Sam knows Ross Trudeau.
Lifelong, native Floridian here, though that might not say much given the 20 brief years I've existed on this Earth. Being driven to after-school activities when I was little, maybe 7 or so, we always used to be able to smell the sweetness of the orange groves as we drove past a half mile of them, just off the side of a somewhat major state road. No longer do they exist, long replaced by apartment complex after apartment complex. I still think of the smell and the trees every time I pass that area.
@K W In the 1980s when I was a kid, oranges were a rarity in Poland, as few Soviet-aligned states produced them, so they almost never made it to our shelves. Imports from the "West" were not a thing. In the 90s democracy and market economy changed everything. Oranges - and all the other goods previously so exotic - suddenly were everywhere. But I still had no idea what an orange grove looked like. I started travelling around Europe, sure, but given school schedules, I did that in the summer, when the oranges had already been picked. I finally saw groves of orange trees laden with fruit only in my 40s! Over the past few years my wife and I have been beent trying to get away from Warsaw for a week or so in winter or spring. In the Kolymbethra gorge among the ruins of the ancient city of Akragas in Sicily in January, in Spanish Andalucia in February and on the plains of Greek Argolis in April we saw and smelled the awsomeness that is an orange grove. Wow! I'm so happy to have experienced that :)
@K W I’m sorry to hear that the orange groves are gone. I don’t know about other people my age a few days shy of 65). But when they tore down something in Austin (where I lived for almost 40 years) and built something new, within a few years, I couldn’t remember what the place used to look like. It’s a bit different when more-or-less open country gets turned into suburbia, but eventually it seems like it’s always been that way. (Huge sigh over the automobile-centric land use policies in this country.) Hang on to those memories.
@K W We have a ten feet tall mock orange in our backyard, in full bloom right now, covered with beautiful, fragrant blossoms. It's not the same as an orange grove, but think about shopping for one in a pot. Ours is more than 50 years old (here when we bought the house), but in the right setting one will flourish and at least you will have that sweet smell again.
@K W 65 years on this earth as a native Floridian. Nothing smells better than the orange blossoms. Will always be my favorite fragrance. Jo Malone is the only one I wear.
Destroyed my Monday record today. Fun, and I’ll take the win, but maybe a little _too_ easy, IMO. :-)
This puzzle went so fast I skipped a lot of downs and had to go back after solving to see what I missed. One such was OLDSPICE, which reminds me of my grandfather. I'm not usually a fan of cologne on anybody, regardless of gender, but I'd take Old Spice over Axe any day. I once was on a packed plane next to a YOUNG guy who had apparently doused himself in the stuff before leaving the house. What a headache I ended up with! And since the plane was full, I couldn't change seats. /daily rant
@Beth That’s one of the benefits of wearing masks in a flight.
My contribution : translate the french message! :) « Hello sky, Santa is listening to you. Phone your message, 10 grouped lines ». Strange syntax!
Is Kiran Pandey new to creating crossword puzzles, or when it comes to constructing, is he an OG?
@Michael Daly-Jones This is his seventh NYT puzzle.
Lennie Briscoe: "That was a rhetorical question." Card Player: "Suit yourself." Everybody Loves Raimondo's
@Michael Daly-Jones Good one. Too bad it wasn't included in the puzzle. I was trying to think of other OGs but never came up with the OG OG!
I'm going to assume that the emus are eating any comments that contain the two word title of the 1977 George Burns/John Denver movie? (If not, then why in the world hasn't anybody suggested the original "O-G" phrase? I mean OMG, C'mon)!
As a GenX-er, I object. The internet is our youth. (or the Millennials, but not GenZ.
@Anthony As a member of Generation Oregon Trail I have to agree with you.
@Anthony I can't keep all the Gens straight. So I definitely deserve an "okay Boomer" label.
@Anthony I'm the tail end of GenX and didn't see the internet until I was 17 and starting college. That could still be considered "youth", but I read the crossword clue as meaning childhood (possibly because I'd already found the cubs/kittens answer of YOUNG).
@Anthony Ahem. It may be your youth, but WE invented it. Baby Boomer
@Anthony wholeheartedly agree. As a millennial we were using computers at school in the first grade already (shout-out to Oregon Trail and Maevis Beacon typing haha!) so I'd def say x/y were more the gens that grew up with the internet. Gen Z is more like the gen that grew up with smartphones/smart technology, as smartphones weren't really a thing until I was in high school/college.
This one was fun, and brought to mind that bit of crosswordese I used to see quite often, but not so much anymore. That is the architectural element known as an OGee. Would have made a great reavealer.
@Doug, That happened to be in the impossible Eugene Maleska puzzle (5/15/49) that Deb Amlen mentioned in the column a few days ago. One of the few that I was able to fill in on the first pass.
There’s something deeply comforting about a Monday NYT crossword, and today’s puzzle delivered that familiar, satisfying ease with a touch of clever charm. As someone who relishes the gentle ramp-up into the week’s solving journey, I found this puzzle to be a delightful warm-up—like stretching before a long, rewarding run. The theme was light and playful, centered around the phonetic phrase “OH GEEZ”, which tied together four long entries: OLIVE GARDEN, OLYMPIC GAMES, OPERAGLASSES, and ORANGE GROVE. Each one brought a smile, not just for the “O.G.” initials but for the variety and vivid imagery they evoked. Who doesn’t love a mental stroll through an orange grove or a nostalgic nod to unlimited breadsticks? Clues were crisp and accessible, with just enough sparkle to keep things interesting. Highlights included: “Queen of the Nile, informally” for CLEO — a classic clue with a breezy twist. “Shake, as a dog’s tail” for WAG — simple, yet joyful. And “Silverstein who wrote ‘A Boy Named Sue’” for SHEL, which felt like a warm literary hug. The grid was clean, the fill smooth, and the solving experience—start to finish—was like sipping a perfectly brewed cup of coffee. No obscure trivia, no awkward abbreviations, just a well-constructed puzzle that reminded me why I love Mondays in Crosswordland. If this is the tone-setter for the week, I’m excited to see what Tuesday and beyond will bring. Here’s to a week of wordplay, wit, and that unbeatable “aha!” feeling.
@Lukas Nicely said. Bonus points for using “solving experience.”
I did the puzzle without reading Sam's comments and did not know there was a theme. Now that I read the comments and looked back...oh gosh.
@RDB I didn't know there was a theme until I got to the revealer, the very last across entry in the puzzle. Didn't need it for solving, but it did add a little extra something.
I got the theme right away. I didn't know if there would be a revealer. I enjoyed it when I found it. N.B. Quite a few of us don't read the column until after solving the puzzle.
In the 1920's, Louis Bromfield wrote some novels and Hollywood film scripts, one--*The Rains Came*--set in India; made a crapload of money; got interested in "experimental"--i.e. sustainable--agriculture; bought some 600 acres of farmland in North Central Ohio, near to his birthplace of Mansfield; and renamed the place Malabar Farm. Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall got married there, with Bromfield as best man. It is now a state park. Adjacent to Malabar Farm is a hill, once named Poverty's Knob, but now known as Mt. Jeez--from Bromfield's exclamation over the view from it: "Oh, Jeez!"[sic] *** *** You don't have to be from a race of mythical beings, just free and lonely, to enjoy this bit of Schumann, as played by a very young Pinchas Zukerman: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6VWaq6jfR8M" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6VWaq6jfR8M</a>
@Bill Just the other day, I solved that yucky Eugene T. Maleska puzzle (5/15/49) that Deb Amlen mentioned in the column. 98A was [Malabar _____] FARM. I’d never heard of it.
@Bill I should have mentioned that in the 30s and 40s, Malabar Farm became a getaway spot for Bromfield's Hollywood A list buddies, to evade the paparazzi and drive a tractor. It would have been better known in 1949.
@Bill Did Malabar come from the caves that feature in E.M.Forster's Passage to India? (One of my all-time favorites. All too timely.)
Got a PR today 4:47 on a phone. Maybe could have shaved off a little more if on a keyboard, but I’ll take it!
@Dawn same here - felt it was so straight forward, even for a Monday! Got stuck a bit in the SE corner but overall was a great start to the week!
So enjoyable. I was literally singing little rhymes such as GLUM ALUM and RUMP OF THE GRUMP UMP. DELIGHTFUL. Let's have more of these puzzles.
Fun to start off with a nod to my home town. Perfect level of difficulty, but still just right level of difficulty. Great start to the week, well done, Kiran.
I hadn't heard the word FAE before, but it was easy to get from the crosses, and easy to see its relationship to "fairies". Thinking about fairies, I thought of an episode of one of my favorite podcasts, "In Our Time" with the extraordinary Melvyn Bragg. <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p003c1b3" target="_blank">https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p003c1b3</a> I think of fairies as these beautiful creatures, mostly full of delight, but with perhaps a streak of mischief. But fairies have been long feared, creatures on the edge of "civilization" who might kill one's child as it slept at night, or steal it and replace it with an evil twin. It's amazing how are concepts change over time!
@The X-Phile "Or easy gold at the hand of fae or elf." From Robert Frost's "Mowing".
@The X-Phile Also, isn't it interesting how folklore varies from culture to culture? Fairies, ogres, trolls - none of that features in Polish folktales. In their stead we have Baba Jaga, sirens, basilisk, devils, magical animals, and enchanted knights. Take Warsaw: a siren features in one of the legends about the founding of Warsaw, a basilisk was said to have infested the Old Town once, and whoever finally manages to find the elusive Golden Duck in the dungeons below the Ostrogski castle will acquire limitless riches. Not a fairy in sight though.
@The X-Phile Oops. Apologies to Mr. Frost, who apparently used "fay". My memory failed me, and so did the "AI" built into Google's Chrome browser, which told me: The line "Or easy gold at the hand of fae or elf" is from Robert Frost's poem "Mowing". It contrasts the practical work of mowing with the fantasy of a magical and effortless reward, suggesting the true value lies in honest labor. The phrase implies a rejection of fairy tale promises of wealth and ease, emphasizing the value of the work itself, not just the potential reward.
@The X-Phile Yes! In Our Time is fantastic! I haven't listened to the Fairies episode, though. Guess I know what I'm doing tonight while making dinner.
Got my fastest Monday ever at 3:30. Fun to race through!
Oh geez this one got me. Got almost all of them on my first pass. I was cruising. Then a huge roadblock. Terms I had no idea about. Oh, well. It was hardish for me in places. Still a very nice puzzle for a Monday! All y’all have a great evening! Thanks for the puzzle, Kiran Pandey!
I'm not a crossword snob (I generally don't have much success after Thursday), but today seemed a little too easy even by Monday standards. But an easy one is fun from time to time, it makes me feel smart. As for OG, I might suggest OLD GEEZER and ORGANIC GROWTH.
@Andrew Kennelly I don't know if you're a snob or not, but if you think a Monday puzzle is too easy for its day, you're missing the point of the Monday puzzle. It's supposed to be an introduction to crosswords to newcomers. Also, for you this may have been super easy, but that does not have to mean everybody perceived it thus. I have been solving NYT puzzles for almost 2 years now, nad I do well even on some Saturdays. Today, however, I needed 4 minutes more than my Monday best. The proper names slowed me down.
As a food snob I can't tell one chain eatery from another, especially in the US. Did you know Panera Bread (which I remember as a very sad place to work and eat at from the brilliant series 'What we do in the shadows') has the same number of letters as OLIVE GARDEN?
@Andrew Kennelly I appreciate just being able to relax with a Monday puzzle.
@The X-Phile To avoid posts being invisible, reply always to the original post rather than to any of the replies. That's what I'm doing here, replacing the @ with your handle. We discussed bialy on the board several months ago. When I first encountered bialy in the NYT crossword, I was surprised. It's not known in Warsaw at present. I wouldn't know about the city of Białystok - even though it's one of our major cities I only ever was there once, and for a day only. I can't find any modern references to Bialystoker kuchen being popular anywhere in Poland. However, in 2020 it was included by the minister of agriculture on the list of traditional foods of the Podlasie region, but its described there as an historical rather than current thing. I'm not providing a link since it's all in Polish. Some Jewish food in Poland survived the horrors of our 20th century history, like chałka, which you may know as challah or hallah. Most was lost...
I'm sure there are a few clever ways of clueing this O-G combination: Off-Gassing: the process by which materials release gases, particularly volatile organic compounds (VOCs), into the air. My dad shaved with a razor and brush. He used Old Spice shaving soap.
@Call Me Al Many of the homes we lived in were older, smaller, or had fewer amenities--for instance, one bathroom shared by all--children dressing for school, dad preparing to drive to work... so dad shaved in the kitchen, using a mirror mounted on a cabinet door. I thought it was normal. (No lotions or after-shave.)
Monday, Monday can't help that day.... tra la la. Grandparents, lived in FLA, used to carp that CA grew more oranges, the second gripe was Maine, they lived there in the summer, had fewer vacationers than other states. Thus Florida should not be so tied to oranges and Maine vacations. My father stated they would complain if they were hung with a new rope. Oddly, they complained about him as well. Thanks Kiran, a good one.
Sometimes I'm terribly bad at reading down answers. Today I took way too long to figure out HONESTABE. Even after I filled it in, I was reading it downwards thinking, what the heck is that? What kind of nickname is that? Hones tabe? Hone stabe? It wasn't until I typed it into Google that I saw what it was supposed to be.
@Michelle I had the same issue as you! Whenever I am reading down, some words don’t make sense to me right away like reading across. Maybe the clue should have been, “the president who the current one always compares himself with but is the complete opposite” lol! Namaste!!
@Michelle I was OK with HONEST ABE, but I often have trouble parsing those long Down answers. Our brains just get too used to reading left to right.
@Michelle I'll often write out a down entry that I'm having a hard time figuring out. At least half of the time, that will immediately give me the answer.
Really fun and clever! Loved the revealer.
Obliterated my previous record of 3:40. Got 3:14. Almost hit the three minute mark, but my finger slipped a couple of times. Makes me think a three minute puzzle is doable
@Steven M. A three-minute solve is possible. I say that with confidence and certainty and experience.
@Steven M. Is that on a keyboard or phone? Because if it’s phone, I’m impressed.
Ha ha… loved the theme; it made me chuckle. Easy Monday puzzle but fun.
What a nice, fun Monday puzzle. I had a few wrong guesses, but they were easy to fix. The theme put a smile on my face. As for the word FAE, fantasy writers have been using that spelling for many years. (Another commenter has noted its use by Robert Frost.) Once again, the Mini was mind-bogglingly frustrating. Having never seen "30 Rock", I actually had to look it up. In a Mini! My time for the Mini almost equaled my time for the main puzzle. Can't the Minis go back to being... fun? Speaking of fun, Happy Victoria Day to all the Canadians out there. Let's celebrate Canada!
@Natdegu I thought the mini was fun! I was not a watcher of 30 Rock, but I do know that 30 Rock means Rockefeller Center, the address of NBC, so I figured that was right, and the crosses proved me correct. I was stuck on the movie studio/Amazon question but, again, the crosses filled it in. That's why I love the mini. It rarely takes more than a minute, although one last week took me 3! Ouch.
@Natdegu yes! Happy Victoria Day to our fellow Canadians framily (friends/family)! My forever apologies to your country for the terrible behaviours that your neighbours to the south have recently done and are still doing. Please know that I’m forever on your side as well and Namaste!!
O. G. phrase: Old Geezer
@Jeff Anderson Merriam-Webster marks “geezer” as “informal, humorous or mildly disparaging.” The American Heritage Dictionary labels it “derogatory.” I find it a bit offensive, but maybe I’m just sensitive because of my advanced age. FWIW, it hasn’t been in a NYT puzzle since 2021. Is that a new sensitivity on Will Shortz’s part or just that Z is hard to accommodate in a grid? FWIW even more, the 2021 appearance was in Trenton Charlson’s “Snoozefest” puzzle: <a href="https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=10/3/2021&g=40&d=D" target="_blank">https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=10/3/2021&g=40&d=D</a>
I don’t know if this is the right place for this comment, but I would love the option to fill in all vowels. Just like you can reveal a letter or a word, on really hard days, I would like to reveal the vowels
@T. E. Not really the right place for suggestions here....Yeah there are puzzle columnists who might read it here and think its a great idea and mention it to someone. In some ways your best bet is <a href="mailto:NYTGames@NYTimes.com">NYTGames@NYTimes.com</a> They dont make many changes to the app...but ya never know.
No comments on the puzzle, but I'd really like some context around the photo of the French children speaking to Father Christmas.
@Edward The only likely reference I could find was 2D. Cute photo though.
I assumed they were calling Santa with “ALIST” of one thing after another.
@Edward Usually, Sam picks a photo that illustrates an alternative meaning for the clue that she uses to title her column. So, the young girls in the photo are holding phones to their ears, expressing themselves to Santa who is presumably holding his phone to his ear. Ear-to-Ear Expression. That's the title for the column and clue for 56D, which is answered in the puzzle with GRIN.
I had to wait for the crossings to get FAE. I am more of a nonfictiion person--I write nonfiction..some of it would be termed "creative non-fiction." I read more nonfiction than fiction, though I enjoy a good novel or mystery very much.. (O'Brian's sea novels come to mind, for instance.) But I couldn't get past the first few pages of Tolkein, fell asleep on the movies, never picked up _Wrinkle in Time_.... yet I loved the SciFi novels of Pohl and Lem. Perhaps my life has had too much reality? And yet, there is _Charlotte's Web_ (and the final sentences which ring so true.) Perhaps Kiran can next build a crossword around my favorite exclamation....GEEZ Louise....? Nice Monday, but as always, over too soon. And too many mentions of the Mini....
@Mean Old Lady GEEZLOUISE was an answer in a Tuesday puzzle from 2021. And then were a pair of equal length down answers on opposite sides of the grid: GOODGOLLY MISSMOLLY Here's that link: <a href="https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=4/6/2021&g=23&d=A" target="_blank">https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=4/6/2021&g=23&d=A</a> ...
@Mean Old Lady Such a nice reflection on literature. Charlotte's Web is also one of my very favorites, likely for the same reason it's one of your favorites. You should post excerpts of some of your writing when the mood strikes; I know I'd love to read it.
What a fun little clue this one was. A nice start to the week on Monday. One that gets me thinking but not so hard that it's adding stress to what is already the most stressful day of the week. Thank you!