Gonna be a rough NE corner for those not familiar with SASSON jeans.
@JJ, I got there by (maybe incorrectly?) extrapolating that a SAMLET is a baby salmon. Though, then I thought shouldn't it be a salmet? Or maybe a salmlet?
@JJ I loved not knowing SASSON - I was thrilled to learn about it. Huge thanks to the constructor 😍
@JJ roughest corner for me for sure.
@Andrzej Few Polish or Irish words instead would throw the cat amongst the pigeons.
@JJ (And those cognizant in the 70s): Oo la la!
@JJ agreed—a brand that folded (pun intended) in the mid-80s? yeesh. there's a difference between niche and "clothing company that declared bankruptcy forty years ago".
I really thought the theme was a letdown after the time it took to figure it out. I didn't really have an "aha!" moment, more like an "oh, that's it?" moment.
@Shrike I found the theme pretty straightforward but the clueing for the fill to be a little extra tricky
This puzzle was certainly not “Waldorf/Dressed”. On second thought, maybe all crossword puzzles are - WORD SALAD. In the best way - yummy.
@Cat Lady Margaret One more: Flee / Dodge FORD ESCAPE
@Cat Lady Margaret I can’t resist “Pulsar/Nebula” for PORNSTAR and “Fled/Exited” for FOREGONE (I started with foreplay and flirted with corporal - I think the heat is getting to me!)
I haven’t read many comments yet, but, I found this to be a wicked and fun little Thursday - All variety of misdirects and wordplay. The theme definitely helped me out in a big way - once I figured it out - And the revealer is the only way I would have had a chance at that. For my money, thats the best kind of tricky Thursday puzzle: Solve the revealer -> crack the theme -> solve the puzzle. In that order.
@Striker Ditto! I floundered for quite a while, then decided to think about how ORS could fit the theme entries. And voilà, some enlightenment! I thought it was quite clever and had several fiendish misdirects. My kind of puzzle.
@Nora Why flounder when you can samlet? <3
"That gold is mine! You'd better hand it over!" "Ore what?" (Get a lode of these puns.)
@Mike I've sure metal-ot of them lately... how ironic
@Mike Sometimes those claims just don't pan out. Even when they do, the partners don't share the pie right.
@Mike Head golds often make people testy. What a bore they are.
I oh so loved, loved, loved this wonderful puzzle with a cute theme 😘😍🥰
@Andrzej Who are you and what have you done with our favorite curmudgeon Andrzej?
@Andrzej I distinctly feel something pulling on my leg.
@Beth in Greenbelt This wonderful, lovely puzzle changed me 🥰 I'm so grateful to the constructor 😍 Can't wait to see more from him 😘
@Francis A SAMLET, maybe? With its cute little fishy teethies? 🥰😍
@Francis I'm in such a great mood!!! 🥰 Thank you for noticing!!! 😘 (Seriously though. This stared as a joke but it's actually... Cheering me up. I hated this puzzle quite passionately, with its insipid theme and annoying fill that for me required lookups and checking the puzzle. I thought I'd post out of character for once. Probably my improved mood at the moment is just because I made myself laugh with all this fake cheer. Or maybe the positivity, if faked, made a difference? I mean... I hate ironing. It's the main reason I usually wear a t-shirt to work. When I do have to iron a dress shirt though I keep repeating the mantra "Lubię prasować!" - "I like ironing" - and it works... For those few minutes I'm ok with ironing) This t-shirt of mine is a huge hit with my students at uni: <a href="https://rebelios.pl/dane/full/5/5ea0066ce4994d29a660bccd20e45267.jpg" target="_blank">https://rebelios.pl/dane/full/5/5ea0066ce4994d29a660bccd20e45267.jpg</a>
@Andrzej your snarkiness made my night. 🧑🍳😘
@B Please don't spoil the upcoming 2026 Mandalorian movie for me with any inside info you might have! 🤣 Unless it makes you happy 😍. Than it's ok!!! 😘 'Tis Grogu, or "baby Yoda". <a href="https://pliki.ppe.pl/storage/65c8778648cfc9c9e744/65c8778648cfc9c9e744.jpg" target="_blank">https://pliki.ppe.pl/storage/65c8778648cfc9c9e744/65c8778648cfc9c9e744.jpg</a>
@Jacqui J You misspelled "sincerity" there! 😘 (Also, I know the difference between than and then, even if my previous post does not prove it. I love cute little errors though 🥰)
@B Also, my wife has never used any emoji involving a heart in her life. And she's about as prone to awwing over cuteness as I am - if not less! We are the perfect match 🤣
@Andrzej Hitting’ the palomas early! And now we’ve got two polish word nerds. Jekyll and Hyde Andrzejs. I *knew* it was gonna be a great a day!
@Andrzej …wait a minute…🤔 Andrzej is mocking the uber-positive posters… the ones who always act cheery…🥰 Or maybe, they really *are* always chipper..?😒 Which means…🫢 Andrzej is mocking… me! 😳 🥺 😢 [ CC slowwwly backing out of this thread, about to turn and run ]
@CCNY Never! Seriously though. I did not want to mock anybody. The whole shtick was about my acting out of character. I myself found the contrast between my usual, long, often grumpy yet always honest posts and these super-short shots of fake cheer hilarious. Yes, I admit to laughing at my own jokes. (Also, I enjoy the positive, long, engaging posts of yours, and Lewis's, HeathieJ's, etc. I respect all of you for them and would never mock you)
@Matt I have the same gripe, though I’ve argued with myself that many of them do have doctorates. Possibly a better clue could have been rehab worker, perhaps?
@Matt Having been sprung from hospital rehab a mere two weeks ago, I worked with OTs and PTs. One of my PTs was a doctor, in the sense that she has a PhD in Physical Therapy, but the clue infers that these are medical doctors, which they aren't. And the ones that will continue to come to my house for the next month don't seem old enough to have graduated from medical school!
@Matt O T =Occupational Therapist
Mostly fun Thursday. I didn’t love “OWEITTO” and I especially didn’t love “SAMLET.” That entire top right corner was a real hassle.
@Logan How can you not love that cute little fishy? And the lovely opportunity to learn about it? 🥰 🎏
@Logan I was certain it was smolts…which seemed wrong as a plural. I am from eastern Washington and have fished for salmon my whole life. I have never ever heard of this term SAMLET.
@Francis If I were not feeling all this lo❤️e for this wonderful puzzle I'd be sad you think I'm not being sincere 😢 But I am feeling the love so 😘😘 Can't wait for tomorrow!!! 😍 Maybe it will be an Adrian Johnson ❤️
Puzzle as capital-P puzzle, where you work to crack a layered riddle. Masterful construction, with those crossing theme answers, and for me, going from empty to a full grid was a terrific ride, rich with brain-loving resistance and discovery. But I just want to focus on one thing, because it’s a Seigel hallmark. Yes, coming up with good theme answers takes much gruntwork – scanning “?OR?” words, finding phrases they start, coming up with examples of the second word that start with specific letters, and more. Not easy. Try it sometime. What Simeon did on that front was impressive enough. But what blows me away is that he came up with this idea in the first place. How did he do that? How did he go from blankness to THIS THEME? That’s what Simeon regularly does. He’s a brilliant inventor. It’s why I did a little inner leap when I saw his name atop the puzzle today. So, thank you, Simeon, once again, for a fun and satisfying solve, and for another opportunity to experience your remarkable talent. Bravo, sir!
What a slog. I'm still not sure what it was about --- and I'm not even gonna look.
@R.J. Smith Agreed. I didn't get it, had to look up most of the answers, and had about as pleasure out of this as an enema.
@R.J. Smith I'm so sorry to hear you did not enjoy this doozy of a puzzle 😢 Have a lovely day 🥰
@upperwestside2 You silly goose 😍 An enema can't solve a puzzle so we can't know if one would take pleasure from it. You're too funny!!! 😘
A "samlet"? Really? I spent my entire 32 year career as a salmon biologist and have never once heard that term. Really? C'mon!
@Ichthyoman Farther down the Comments section, I posted a quotation from Izaak Walton's "The Compleat Angler" of 1661, in which he used the word SAMLET. It went into a bit of a decline after the nineteenth century, though, from which it has not recovered.
@Ichthyoman I'm putting SAMLET under elver on the list of "Huh, I might see that again someday" crossword answers.
@Ichthyoman yes. I visited the Alaska SeaLife Center in Seward this week, which describes the complex salmon life cycle and its stages, none of which are samlet.
Well, someone has likely posted a better version already, but ... Waiting for Godot / Death of a Salesman
@Xword Junkie Nice one! And today's puzzle was just about as much hilarious fun as those two laugh-fests put together.
@Xword Junkie I love it!
Someone please tell Sam that AROAR is a bee word. Sincerely, Wardens/Deputies or Watchmen/Donut Squad
Just over a year of doing the NYT crossword every day and starting to see the gold stars a bit more frequently. Getting familiar with some of the Americanisms and those funny recurring three letter words (nail varnish anyone😄). Today was a slog but I got there eventually so have that merry feeling of mild smugness to set me up for the day. Like others I struggled with the NE corner particularly samlet, Sasson and Ned but trial and error got me there in the end.
Way to go, @Jonnnn! You’re probably doing better with the Americanisms than I’m doing in cryptic crosswords with British footballers.
Often I solve tricky puzzles without seeing what the gimmick is, or sometimes I figure the gimmick out without needing the revealer. Today was neither of those days. The revealer tipped me off that I needed to sprinkle some ORS in the themed answers, and those extra letters made an otherwise difficult seeming puzzle come together in a reasonable time. HORNBLOWERS reminded me of the C. S. Forester books that I devoured in my youth. They were a forerunner to the Patrick O’Brian books i devoured in my adulthood.
Here's Izaak Walton, in "The Compleat Angler" (1661 version), the chapter on salmon from my father's well-thumbed facsimile copy: The Salmon is accounted the King of freshwater fish; and is ever bred in rivers relating to the sea, yet so high, or far from it, as admits of no tincture of salt, or brackishness. He is said to breed or cast his spawn, in most rivers, in the month of August: some say, that then they dig a hole or grave in a safe place in the gravel, and there place their eggs or spawn, after the melter has done his natural office, and then hide it most cunningly, and cover it over with gravel and stones; and then leave it to their Creator's protection, who, by a gentle heat which he infuses into that cold element, makes it brood, and beget life in the spawn, and to become SAMLETs early in the spring next following.
@Oikofuge This is 2025 and not everyone is Scottish or Christian.
@Oikofuge I think the main point of Chowder is that SAMLET hasn't been used in the American Colonies since 1661.
@Oikofuge Thank you for posting this lovely excerpt. My dad used to subscribe to the Compleat Angler fly-fishing catalog and I had no idea why it was spelled that way. We probably have the book too. Good memories.
Deb did not have to tell me that INVENTOR fits in 16A. I'll add that WIDEBODY fits into 13A. Between the two of them, I got off to a fairly slow start. And I'll also mention that this is the kind of Thursday-tricky puzzle where I just saw that something odd was going on with the theme answers, but I didn't know exactly what. By the time I saw the revealer (ORS) at the very end, I had pretty much completed everything without any idea why those theme answers were right. So I just filled in the last three or four answers I needed, and then, jingle having played, I finally stopped to take measure of what was happening. Moral of the story: When you have a tricky puzzle where you have no idea why the theme answers are making no sense, just keep going. Eventually, the revealer will show up to explain how it works. One kvetch: The word I know for "happiness" in Hebrew is "simcha" (שִׂמְחָה). Granted, I do not possess a deep knowledge of Hebrew vocabulary, but Google Translate tells me that in Hebrew, Sasson means....Sasson. Is there anyone out there who is truly fluent in Hebrew to confirm or refute this clue?
@Steve L Made the same mistake. Quickly incorrectly corrected it to inventee, thinking it had something to do with the OR theme. Took a while to resolve it
@Steve L Lots of words for "happiness" in Hebrew. Try here: <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Happiness_in_Judaism" target="_blank">https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Happiness_in_Judaism</a>
@Steve L "Kol sasson v'kol simcha" is a part of the Jewish wedding ceremony, very common I'd say. "The voice of joy and the voice of gladness" in some translations.
@Steve L Your experience was very similar to mine with similar issues in the NW section. Somehow, like you, I got it all filled in without understanding why until I got to the revealer and figured it out. It didn't help that PORT AUTHORITY has two ORs, or that I had originally filled in SORE SPOrt, so I was looking for ORs in both parts of the answers for the longest time.
@Steve L Hebrew speaker here. The word Sasson in Hebrew is שָׂשׂוֹן. There are many different words in Hebrew for happiness, and every one of them has slightly different connotations (or at least did in Biblical and Rabbinical Hebrew). According to some translations, the difference between Simcha and Sasson is inner happiness (i.e. contentment) vs. outer joy (i.e. celebratory).
@Steve L Simcha usually refers to a happy event, such as a Bat Mitzvah party, not just happiness. And Google, (read way above) gave me a completely different translation for happiness, which I've already forgotten.
@Moshe I don't have those squiggles on my keyboard.
@Steve L, AIRCRAFT also fit into 13A, which caused me some trouble. And for 16A, I had MONOPOLY! Those two words made the NW corner a disaster until I felt certain enough about one of the crosses to erase them. That was OTTOI, which took some research.
Pleasantly Thursday. Took me a minute to figure out the gimmick, but the revealer revealed it, and knowing the gimmick was helpful to solve the rest of the puzzle. Just the way it should be. Also good cluing. I got tripped up at first in the northwest with airplane and then airLINER. Also inventor.
Loved. It. HORNBLOWER popped up from the crosses, so I stared at the clue… squinched my nose, furrowed my brow, and…*poof*! H or N blower! Yowza. Now I’m off and running. Like sledding down a hill with my two chubby cousins. We could never get going right away, slogging through the first 6 feet or so, but then…wheeeeee!!! That extra weight made the ride down faster and oh-so-much more thrilling. Simeon, I bow to you. Gorgeous. It’s gonna be a great day.
Nothing comes between me and my Sassons. (I will brooke no corrections.)
So, funny story, I started solving from the SE corner, filled in ORS from the crosses without ever clicking on or reading the clue, and so I never even saw the grid light up with the theme entries in yellow. (This is all before coffee.) Finished the puzzle still wondering how the theme clues related to the answers. A colleague teaches undergrads. His go-to saying after he’s had to answer questions that the students would’ve answered themselves had they looked at the syllabus or done the assigned reading is: “Amazing [rhymes with whit] happens when you read.” Doesn’t it, though? Over all, not too easy, not too hard—just right for a Thursday. ERIEPA and ERNURSES just wouldn’t parse for me, and the penny took a minute to drop on the latter because I’ve never heard the term EARNED RUN. (Great clue there, btw.) SAMLET for young salmon was new for me (luckily inferable), as was SASSON (thank you, newsfeed brain, for offering up NED Lamont from your dark recesses). PALOMA will always be the name of a song by Chavela Vargas to me, but the cocktail sounds really tasty. JPOP and BTS, thy names will always be “crossword fill I’ve seen before.” All in all, given the Simeon Seigel byline, we got off pretty SCOt free today. Have a good Thursday, everyone.
"Baby"salmon? I haven't heard that expression, or SAMLET. They're fry, parr and smolts in these parts. Not a fan of the theme, which felt a little laboured, but it sure helped with the solve, so no complaints. Why the question mark on [Marquis name?]? It threw me off the obvious DE SADE for quite a while.
@Oikofuge laboured is the word.
@Oikofuge Parr is the word I learned from these puzzles eons ago. Also fry and smolts are not obscure. Never heard of SAMLET either.
@Oikofuge I also hadn’t heard the term, but looked up its usage. Appears to date from around 1655, according to one source. Doesn’t say whether it has ever been used since then.
@Oikofuge Because "marquee name" is a phrase for a media star. Yeah it's still a bit lame cluing.
@Oikofuge If it's a tent that's too small is it a marqwee?
Drawing / Mail - - - - - - - - - DORM ROOM
Lewis, Very good! You should try puzzle constructing.
Any recent arrivals who thought my comment to Lewis was snarky, please scroll down.. <a href="https://www.xwordinfo.com/Author/Lewis_E._Rothlein" target="_blank">https://www.xwordinfo.com/Author/Lewis_E._Rothlein</a>
Dang, Lewis! You teach yoga? And you look impressively fit even in that headshot. Respect!
@Lewis Except... A drawing isn't a room. A mail isn't a room. (Yes, I am aware of "dorm room" and "drawing room".)
@Mr. Dave -- You are absolutely right! Excellent catch!
Future puzzle creators please learn from this one. This is not what you want to create. This was awful
Constructors making puzzles for George, please note.
@George srsly? If you're going to criticize a puzzle, at least explain why you didn't like it. While it might not have been everyone's cup of tea, and I didn't get the theme until I read the spoiler (after completing the grid correctly) I was delighted with how elegant it is. Mr. Siegel paid attention to every detail, and came up with themed entries that were bloody perfect. Plus, many of the actual clues were deliciously deceptive morsels which, when I filled them in, I really appreciated.
@George Tell you what. Why don't you put out an saying that you will buy a puzzle written especially for you. You pay all the costs. Not the price of the games admission, but the *entire* cost. You see, the puzzle makers would not make puzzle as cheaply as they do (few hundred dollars) without the hope of getting it published in the NYT. That prestige is worth a lot of money to them. Money they would expect as straight cash for constructing a puzzle purely for your own enjoyment. I would expect you could get tailor made puzzles for about $5000. Each.
After yesterday's Wednesday level Thursday, I was curious to see what the actual Thursday was, and found it to be a pleasant and brisk Schrödinger-that-wasn't. Nevertheless there's a decent amount of glue holding this one together. I think OWEITTO is simply painful to look at.
@Steve Meh. ERIEPA isn't any more aesthetic than OWEITTO
@Steve I keep trying to parse AROAR as aro plus ar. Like aro-ace (short for aromantic asexual), except ar isn't a thing in that realm.
@Steve often for me the things I dislike in a puzzle are two-or-more word constructions, they always feel forced. There were several in this one that irked me.
Hmm, seems that some other initial comments are on two extremes, love/hate. For me this was more down the middle. It was serviceable. But I found yesterday's Wednesday puzzle better built and more engaging in its theme and execution. That is, more fun. I was particularly unimpressed with the revealer clue today. Again, serviceable, but not delightful. Ah well. To each his or her own.
@B It was such a lovely revealer though 🥰 I'm sorry you didn't like it 😢
@Andrzej You rascal you. You got me but good. :)
@Francis You misspelled awwing 😍
An extremely fine Thursday puzzle from Simeon Seigel today. Besides a clever theme, the clues were for me appropriately tough, so it took me a good while before the theme dawned on me. Once it did, the oceans of white space could finally get filled in. Very satisfying!
I really enjoyed this puzzle and am happy to say I feel like I am starting to get better at solving Thursday offerings...at least this week! I got a chuckle out of the clue for an appropriate nickname for a gumbo chef. :-) The theme was unique and engaging, as well. Thanks for a fun Thursday puzzle, Mr. Seigel, and happiest of birthdays to your mother.
As always, Simeon Seigel delivers a clever trick with just vague enough clues to keep things interesting. Excellent clues for ER NURSES at 59A and INHERITED at 14D.
I think I got the hang of the theme... Polaris / Notable name
@Alex LOL Hope you don't get deported!
@Alex Could you give this Canadian a clue? Thanks.
@Natdegu Hmmmm...did some Canada specific Googling and maybe (Leslie) Nielsen instead of "Notable name"? Or, depending on where your interests lie, Nick (Suzuki)? The answer may not please the pearl clutchers.
I found this quite challenging by Thursday standards…finished a couple minutes above my average…but I’m satisfied as I managed to plug away with no help, and I found so many of the clues clever: “They try to admit the worst first, informally.” “Forces offshore.” “Secured by a slip.” “Kind of average.” Congratulations to Simon Siegel for a first-rate crossword.
Difficult brain workout. Had to really think. And that's a good thing.
@Laura Stratton I absolutely agree! Once I finished it, I literally said out loud “a great puzzle, only because it was really hard!” Way over my average time, but I pushed through with no look-ups and am very proud.
I had ORS early on (Start at the Bottom!) and kind of skitttered around the grid, filling in HRE great OTTO I and the like. Took a wrong turn thinking AUTocrat, AUTocracy. Abandoned that for things like VERNE and ERIE, PA... finally noticed the suspicious number of ORS in the puzzle, and that tipped the scales. Fave: HORNBLOWER. As it happens, I'm nearly finished reading the CS Forester sea novels featuring Horatio HORNBLOWER (presently a comodore in the Baltic.) My dad was introduced to the first novel --newly published _Beat to Quarters_--by a fellow mariner when he was in the Coast Guard. (That novel's success led Forester to write both prequels and sequels.) Dad (b. 1912) saw more opportunity to advance in the Army and changed branches; he was in OCS when Pearl Harbor was attacked. Quite different from the Aubrey-Maturin novels from O'Brian, but quick reads with interesting history....
@Mean Old Lady I just knew you would bring up the Horatio HORNBLOWER novels. I'm partial to Bernard Cornwell when it comes to historical fiction, but I've enjoyed Forrester as well.
After 30-plus years living and salmon fishing in Southeast Alaska, today I heard of “samlet” for the first time. Uncommon usage, but hey, it’s a Thursday crossword, so I’m good with that. This was a tough puzzle for me, until suddenly, it wasn’t. I enjoyed it, I think!
@Theresa yep, as an Oregonian, I'm with you on the word, "samlet" In all my years of ocean and river salmon fishing I've never heard the word either.
Theresa, I certainly understood you the first time, and I'm glad you think you enjoyed the puzzle!
There are gimmicks and then there are gimmicks. Too gimmicky for my brain today, more like a mental root canal.
This one did me in after 133 days of solving. No blame, not a bad puzzle - just not on the same wavelength with the setter. Didn’t get the Or trick at any point and the clue’s didn’t spring to mind as they normally do. Little sad, but I’ll start again tomorrow. 133 to beat…
@Jason Better than my best streak by a good margin.
I guess Thursday gimmick hate is typical on this forum, but I really don’t get why there seems to be so much of it today. I’ve only been doing the puzzle for about 4 years, but I feel like I have seen several similarly themed puzzles, so the theme is neither novel nor obscure. The non-themed cluing was perhaps a little more difficult than average, and I agree that the revealer was a little vague, but once you got enough crosses to fill in a couple of the themers, it seemed pretty straightforward. And the theme was then very helpful at getting the rest since you immediately had the first 4 letters of each themer. I’m all for criticizing particular clues, crosswordese, green paint, too many proper nouns, pop culture references or obscure references, etc., but I didn’t see an abundance of that today. A few that were mentioned that I agree with, but overall and thematically, I thought this was a good puzzle 🤓
@Jeb Jones "...you immediately had the first 4 letters of each themer." Precisely. Knowing the theme gives you 16 squares without any uncertainty at all. That is a tremendous advantage to build on.
Sasson/Samlet?! Boo, hiss…
I'm not sure I understand how "Certain rehab docs" = OTS. The only "OT" I can think of is Occupational Therapist but they're not doctors.
@Me it’s possible to get a doctorate degree in Occupational Therapy— many schools offer these programs, and thus many Occupational Therapy Therapists may be doctors!
As a retired Occupational Therapist, I enjoyed seeing 34D!
@Ken I got the O, and my mind went to osteopaths, but their degree is generally D.O., not O.D. (which wouldn't do now, would it?) I couldn't come up with the other letter, so I moved on and it filled itself in on the cross without me noticing again. But now that you mention it, that brings up what seems to me a possible error: the clue said [Certain rehab docs]. As far as I know, OTS are not medical doctors or osteopaths. A few sites I looked at seems to corroborate. I'm sure some people become OTS and then become MDs, so they can be both at the same time, but that's a bit of a stretch for a crossword clue. Any OTS out there care to weigh in?
@Ken I once dated an OT. Otherwise that clue would have stumped me
@Ken that one stumped me... I haven't met a PhD OT, though I know they exist. But I guess since "certain" OTs have PhDs, it is accurate!
@Steve L Don't be so grumpy, doc! 😘🥰😍
@Ken I call foul on them being "docs." That's not how anyone refers to an OT. And many of them work in settings that aren't rehab (most I interact with are either in school settings or feeding clinics.) I felt this one was very lazily and confusingly clued.
Potential double Natick in the NE. I follow politics pretty closely, so NED was pretty much a gimme, but Red, Jed, and Ted are all common first names. The jeans in question ceased to exist by the time I was born. I've also never heard of a baby salmon called a SAMLET. I had hAMLET/hASSON when I completed the grid since I knew Hasson to be a real Hebrew word. Couldn't find any other mistakes, so I brute forced until I got the crossing right and my Gold Star
@Steven M. Sometimes you have to know which "LIL" rapper fits in the blank; sometimes you have to know the name of an 80s brand of jeans. Friday, it was MAMA CASS.
@Steven M A SMOLT is a juvenile stage of salmonid development, which was one of many, many wrong guesses that made this very difficult for me. More than double my average Thursday time. I think I’m becoming triggered by Simeon Seigel! A good and fair challenge, though.
Sheesh. Boarded the wrong airliner, for sure!
@Whoa Nellie, and my jet plane didn't quite get me to where I needed to go..
@Whoa Nellie And my jumbo jet was a *big* mistake.
@Whoa Nellie Adding to my bucket list: Party with Whoa Nellie!
@Whoa Nellie I usually fly on an airplane. Apparently I've been doing it wrong...
@Whoa Nellie Well, glad everyone seems to be onboard, after yesterday's switched RebusAir™ flight!
This was an IGIBIDGI for me (pronounced Idgy Bidgy). It stands for "I got it but I don't get it." I had to read Deb Amlen's explanation to get that there were four letters in each answer that read [X or Y] that made sense of the second part of the answer, and were the initials of the two parts of the clue. Really neat once it was explained to me! Also kicking myself because I think I could have gotten it with a bit more thought. Kudos to the author for caring about details such as, not repeating any letters, and trying not to have OR appear in any non-theme answers. I'm glad he didn't obsess over that. A friend once told me "You have to learn when 'good enough' is good enough" and I stubbornly replied "It's good enough when it's perfect" to which he replied, "Fine, then spend 50% of your time getting it to 99% and the other 50% of your time getting it to 1% if you want." Well when you put it that way...!!! I really enjoyed the sleight-of-hand clues (admit the worst, etc). Which of course I didn't get until I had at least half of the letters but these morsels gave me little bursts of dopamine when the penny dropped.
@Alexandra Dixon, There’s a quote attributed to Voltaire that I sometimes tell myself: “The perfect is the enemy of the good”
@Alexandra Dixon I feel you, but with a twist. As my father used to say: “I get it… but I don’t want it. Not hard to solve, but theme was too awkward for me.
Two ways to blame the puzzle for your own shortcomings: "Too clever by half". Mathematically, all that means is that the griper had only 2/3 the ability needed to figure out the trick. "Lazy constructor/construction/editing". Note you never see an actual constructor, like Lewis, Eric or Nancy say that. It says more about the commenter than the constructor or editor.
@Steve L I've never been as motivated to construct a puzzle - and... Wait for it... Comment on it Myself "Lazy constructor!!!!" For once the two irreconcilables would align, possibly bringing around a cosmic event. The best part? I have 3 weeks to do with as I please in July. So, who knows?! 😘
@Andrzej "Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it." Attributed to Goethe
@Steve L I never cease to be amazed at those commenters who call the constructors "lazy". I'm tempted to say, "This word you use, I do not think it means what you think it means." I have nothing but admiration for all constructors, and especially those whose efforts get published in the Times. They work hard and are deserving of our respect.
I caught onto the theme early on but was stymied by the NE corner. I realize SAMLET is sanctioned by Webster's, but as a 30-year resident of the PNW I can tell you no one but no one in these salmon-worshipping parts has ever heard of the term. Baby salmon are ALEVIN when they're hatched and FRY, SMOLT or FINGERLINGS as they develop. Other than failure to indicate what I can only assume is a legitimate British usage, it was a great puzzle.
A bit too twee for me…and no “investment” involved—investing makes one hope for a profitable outcome, not a trudge.
Haven't read the comments yet, but I'm guessing that some will object to pluralizing OR at 65A. Think of it as Operating RoomS, giving you the operating room to do the word play. Thought of some other choices, but cluing is a little dicey. Beehive/Genius Chemistry/Ecology Duke/King Foil/Epee F150/Diesel Granola/Peanuts Leprechauns/Elves Proton/Neutron Stay/Take-out Wit/Deviltry B OR G MIND C OR E SCIENCE D OR K ROYALS (not dissing any specific royals) F OR E ARMS F OR D TRUCKS G OR P BITS L OR E FOLK P OR N STAR S OR T ORDER W OR D PLAY Thanks, Simeon. What does Sam think of SAMLET?
Much too hard, with too obscure a theme. I made little progress on this one. Boo!