Way too hard for me to finish, despite not being trivia-heavy. This is not a complaint, simply a fact. I'm leaving the grid 1/3 empty and moving on. Even with autocheck on I finally found myself unable to make any further progress - I refuse to pick random letters until something sticks, and I have no educated guesses left to try. The clues were not simply not on my wavelength - they seemed to have arrived from another time-space continuum altogether. I also did not understand many clues and/or answers. For example, I have no idea what a "full RIDE" may be. As is usually the case, none of my unknows are elaborated upon in the column, either, except for ANGELICA (one of my lookups today). Another lookup: KOOPATROOPA... Sigh. I've been a video gamer for almost 40 years now but I've never played a Nintendo game and I know next to nothing about them. That name looks so silly it borderline triggers me 🤣 (ditto the unfamiliar KABLOOEY). It does not help that KOOPA would be transcribed as kupa in Polish, and that means poop... Polish trivia time! In Warsaw folklore, the layer of golden eggs is a duck.
Of course others found the puzzle disappointingly easy... 🥲
@Andrzej We usually write it KERBLOOEY so I had to rely on the crosses, but I did like the word. I just went ahead and used the autocheck whenever I got stuck. I like the KOOPA meaning poop. My mom never called it that. She called it BEBA. Over here it is the goose that lays golden eggs. Meanwhile, I was struggling with GILD or GILDED but neither of them fit.
@Andrzej I didn't think it was easy by any means. I was maybe a bit under my Saturday time, but I had absolutely nothing to go on for several, including KOOPATROOPA. The only thing that saved me on that one was the internal rhyme. As is typical for Saturday, almost all of them were guesses, sometimes pretty wild. For example, 34D ["You made it!"] seemed open to all kinds of possibilities, and ATLAST wasn't one that occurred to me early. Game characters are almost always a complete mystery to me, so 1A also had to be forced out cross by cross. It was really a miracle I got this one.
@Francis A miracle, eh? Prayed to me for it, did you? 🤣
@Andrzej a full ride is used when you get a 100% scholarship to a school that pays for everything, including meals, dorm room, books, etc.
@Brady Rhodes Thanks! Coming from a country with free university, I was unfamiliar with the concept.
@Andrzej "Full RIDE" refers to a scholarship or grant that pays for all expenses, as in "Sally was not merely a great student; she got a full ride to Harvard!"
@Andrzej I found it pretty hard too. I've never come across the word KABLOOEY and don't know any Mario terminology or ANGELICA, I've never had sweet wine.
@Andrzej It was not easy for me at all. I started last night and filled in maybe 10 answers before putting away the puzzle. None if it was on my wavelength. This morning, it was still just as hard. I thought it would be one of those puzzles I have to work on in bits throughout the day, but somehow, slowly, slowly each section fell until it was done. And it was still technically morning!
@Andrzej This was a struggle for us (spouse and me) for the same reason you note: the clues are not on our wavelength. between the two of us, we managed to finish, but what a slog. An English word that is a synonym for "kupa" may have been spoken during the solving process!
@Andrzej Don't worry Andrzej! The Great Dumb Down continues...Saturday's puzzle historically had geography and other subjects deeper than obscure video game characters. Soon the puzzle will be dumbed down to 6-8th grade level. Everyone will get a trophy and we will all be soooo happy!
@replay Did you just find an oblique way to call me dumb? I mean, you're not wrong, but still...
@replay Did you just obliquely call me dubm? I mean, you're not wrong, but still...
@Andrzej "It does not help that KOOPA would be transcribed as kupa in Polish, and that means poop..." It may not help solve today's puzzle, Andrej, but your timely lament helps all of us enjoy it that much more 🤗
Sooooo... I handed my phone with the incomplete puzzle to my wife when I went for a quick shower. She filled the remainder of the grid without any issues in 6 minutes. "It was a bit strange", she said, probably to make me feel a little better. I don't deserve her.
Loved it. Perfect Saturday workout. Kablooey always reminds me of Calvin and Hobbes, my all-time favourite comic strip.
I have accomplished the completion of this puzzle
What have you done with Eddie?!
@Eddie ♪♫♬ Is you is or is you ain't my Eddie? ♪♫♬ The way you're posting today makes me doubt!
@Eddie Oh yay welcome back Eddie! And good for you. I’m impressed.
A proper Saturday workout.
@Steve L wow! Considering it took me just over half my average Saturday time and it didn’t feel like I was on the constructor’s wavelength - for example, the Mario answers were not gimmes, though once I got enough letters I did realize that I had at least heard the names “Bowser” and “King Koopa” (though wasn’t sure of spelling) - I was sure I’d come here to find a chorus of “too easy”s. I guess you never know how other people’s solves will go.
@Steve L I'm with you. I struggled on this one.
In a parliamentary example of two countries separated by a common language, in British English “to TABLE a motion” means to present it for immediate consideration (ie. putting it on the table for all to see).
@WMY Thank you! I thought I was losing the plot.
@WMY I knew that would come up, the British v American meaning of tabling a topic. And in Canada, the British meaning is used.
I have spent no time TODATE in the Mario universe, but handy crosses let me say WEREDONE without going KABLOOEY. No CARPS from me. Thanks for the RIDE, Jesse.
"Look at how we're packaging these playing cards!" "Well, that seals the deal!" (These puns suit me just fine.)
@Mike Took the whole crew to get all decks on hand. Now they can leave the bridge and shuffle off to bed. Probably a little groggy.
@Mike Still up to your old tricks, I see.
@Mike As I've said diamond time again, Uno you Go straight to our Hearts, even after some Crazy Eight the trumps.
@Mike As I've said diamond time again, you go straight to our hearts, even if some crazy ate the trumps.
Well, Jesse, you had me at DAWDLED over KABLOOEY. At that point, you didn’t have to pad the goodies. But you did: • Crossing triple stacks with no ugly crosses, and with five of the six answers pulsing with verve. Wow! • Saturday-worthy clues taking a set of mostly commonly-known words, and hiding them in mystery. • A grid design free of scattershot black squares, lovely to look at, and first time ever in the Times. • The high-level skill to make an uber-low 66-worder – look at all those chunks o’ white! – so clean. And, Jesse, you have a chance to make crossword history. Only one constructor (Andrew Ries) has hit the cycle (a puzzle for every day of the week) in their first seven NYT puzzles, but none has done it with the seven days in order. Your first three puzzles are TH, FR, SA – Go for it! In any case, in just three puzzles you’ve shown you have The Knack, that ability to craft first class crosswords. Please don’t be a stranger, and thank you for a splendid outing today!
@Lewis Can't agree that SEALEDTHEDEAL and (especially) CAMERALENSES are "pulsing with verve".
@Lewis great comment. super thoughtful. 100% agree too.
Both 33D “Most likely to succeed?” = SOONEST and 40A “Crushing, in a way” = MOONY don’t make sense to me. I can sort of get that having a crush on someone means you are mooning over them, but it seems a stretch even for a Saturday. Maybe it’s generational or regional? So far, even though I’ve read a few ideas posted here (as of 12:47 am NY time), I can’t convince myself of anything to make sense of SOONEST. I’m U.S. born and have lived here almost my entire life. I pity our non-U.S. solvers on these clues. I enjoyed the Marioverse clues even though I know almost nothing about that game. They took me down a rabbit hole that led me to learn that a local Seattle-area guy was the inspiration for Mario and I’m pretty sure I went to school with his daughter!
@Cindy I don't understand SOONEST as clued either, and I abandoned the solve before I had the chance to be confused by MOONY 🤷
@Cindy Only after reading your comment did I understand 40A. Thanks for the explainer. I was at first thinking Nicholas Cage, Cher, the film Moonstruck and love. But, it's more a high school crush we sometimes get when younger.
@Cindy I’m thinking SOONEST must be related to succession? Most likely to succeed the current ? That’s the only way I can even begin to make sense of it
@Cindy Strong agree. Soonest makes no sense to me.
@Cindy I think "Succeed" in this context means "that which comes next", as in a line of succession (or in the TV series "Succession").
@Cindy Glad to be in good company with people who felt SOONEST was suss. I still think successor=next=soonest is a bit of a stretch
It's so interesting the number of folks who found this puzzle breezy and beat their PBs. We're all so different! Here are some facts about my solve: 1) I finished this puzzle with zero lookups 2) It took me nearly 2 hours. 3) I did not know: BOWSER KOOPATROOPA KABLOOEY OCARINAS ANGELICA (Despite living in Northern California for most of my adult life, working for a wine company, and visiting Napa quite frequently) The Stars team The structure of the Hungarian language Dwarf bittern Actress Gillian Where the Shawshank Redemption took place Who presided at weddings in Greek mythology 4) I thought I was going to lose my streak on this one. 5) After spending about an hour on it last night and barely filling in 10 answers, I put it away and hoped my brain would be in a better space this morning. 6) It was not. 7) I persisted. 8) I despaired. 9) And persisted. 10) And despaired. 11) And so on 12) Until it was done! I am convinced of the following: 1) The brain is magic. 2) No human really understands how it works (or what consciousness even is). 3) The gods understand how it works, and will reward patience and perseverance with little nuggets of insight when we least expect it. 4) This is the only possible explanation. Favorite: Deer stalking aid? Least favorite: Most likely to succeed? Also, my linguist husband confirms that EONS is not a metaphor. I neither loved nor hated this puzzle. The one thing I know for sure is that I done did it.
@Beth in Greenbelt I find that persisting and succeeding is often its own reward. Congratulations!
@Beth in Greenbelt As far as your second group of points go, if you’re really interested, you might enjoy “The Stuff of Thought” by Steven Pinker and “Consciousness Explained” by Daniel Dennett.
@Beth in Greenbelt. Yeah, I'd call EONS an exaggeration.
Really struggled to connect with this one. The cluing just didn't do it for me.
Always a delight to get a tough Saturday with fun Fridayish clues like “Deer stalking aid?” and “They focus on subjects of interest.” Also, while I will defend crossword glue to the death, a puzzle virtually devoid of it, like this one, is a thing of beauty. Hope all are well. I miss this wonderful Wordplay community but find myself becoming peevish on here too often, and a peevish Puzzlemucker is not easy to live with. So I’ve been keeping some polite but bittersweet distance. Here’s my favorite song about DAISY CHAINS: <a href="https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Eg4yoCxqCCs" target="_blank">https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Eg4yoCxqCCs</a>
@Puzzlemucker Always so glad to "see" you! My forays here are also less frequent so am particularly delighted to see a familiar name from simpler times when I do. Also, I personally can happily tolerate a few peeves to get the joy of your input.
"...a peevish Puzzlemucker is not easy to live with." Or to say three times, quickly. Don't be quite the stranger, PM.
@Puzzlemucker -- SO good to see you, always makes my heart smile.
@Puzzlemucker Very nice link. Thanks for another good reason to enjoy this forum! ...
@Puzzlemucker Oh PM, I’ve missed you so. Wordplay is not the same without you.
@Puzzlemucker I see your peevish and raise you a howl! Same as with Sam it ain’t the same here without your benevolent bonhomie (and a poem or two). I’ve been reading Nicanor Parra lately — do you know him?
l had to work around not knowing anything about Mario or his universe, and that was tough -- two nonsensical answers (one long). Now that I know a couple of charcters from Mario, I'm gonna forget them ASAP.
Thank you to NYT puzzle makers. The more frustrating and taxing the better to keep my sanity from the insanity of reality right now.
No naticks. Challenging. No awkward fill or clues. Great puzzle.
You don’t want an ICEPOP to become SOUPY, best to consume it PRONTO.
Good day to be a Nintendo fan. BOWSER and KOOPATROOPA were nice gimmes, and OCARINAS I never would have gotten without knowing the Zelda game. Breezy 18 minute solve. Really the only thing that slowed me down was taking way too long to correct RuCKus to RACKET. And I so wanted 18D to by Yoshino. All I had was the second letter being an O, I didn't even check the length before typing it in
@Steven M. Funny, the Nintendo stuff was almost my undoing.
@Steven M. The Mario references were hopeless for me (I at least eventually guessed that the second one was going to rhyme), but as a musician I got OCARINAS fairly readily - 'wind' puns for the crossword-friendly word OBOE are also fairly common. And took me a while to correct RuCKus as well.
@Steven M. I suspect the dividing line on knowledge from the original NES games is around 55 years old (I'm 51). I sympathize with those that are older, since those 2 would be hard to get without direct knowledge of the games.
@Steven M. I don't play video games and hate sports. It's a wonder I can get through any of these things. :)
@B I'm a gamer (but I've never used a Nintendo system), and apparently I follow the wrong disciplines to help me with most sporting crossword entries (figure skating and climbing). 🤷
It really is a good deer-stalking aid!(In case you were wondering why Prancer ain't prancin no more.) Hee hee. I sleigh me.
@ad absurdum Sorry if that's too dark. I really shouldn't read the news before I come here. Puts me in some kind of mood.
@ad absurdum My first thought was doe urine, which you can buy at Cabela's and other fine stores. (You spray it on your boots.)
Puzzles like this are why I keep coming back. What a satisfying solve!
OCARINAS was a nice and assumed intentional tie-in to the Nintendo ecosystem, even if it isn’t from the Mario universe with the cross of BOWSER.. For those not aware, 1998’s The Legend of Zelda; The Ocarina for the Nintendo 64 console is considered by many to be the best game in the nearly 40 year-old Zelda franchise. In fact, to this day OOT (as it is known) is still in the conversation for the best video game of all time across all genres, franchises, and consoles. Humming Epona’s Song in my head right now. It will be with me well into the morning.
Arrgh mateys! A fine puzzle. For indeed it were a hearty mystery in need o' solvin'! But solve it I did. Me pencil working like a cutlass through a boarding party. I ain't had that much fun since my last keel haulin'! Arrgh!
Tough and chewy...a perfect Saturday challenger
Moderately scary for me. I don't play video games and at least one here was a deep cut. Never heard of California Angelica. I had trouble in most of the quadrants, except lower right. Enjoyed seeing Kablooey though. Reminds me of Spaceman Spiff and the Gooey Kablooey. Deer stalking aid was a pretty poor clue.
@B Hamster Huey and the Gooey Kablooie. My apologies.
@B I loved deer stalking aid, once I got the answer.
Excellent Saturday outing, thank you Jesse G. And I am here to attest that yes you can complete this puzzle without knowing anything about the Mario universe. Because I did and I don't.
I had coP for “it can keep the beat” and I thought that was clever but I was cleverly wrong.
@carrielewis Clever, but I don't imagine they would clue a person as "it".
@carrielewis Yes, and I had toteMS for "many faces" clue, I was also cleverly wrong ;)
A great, chewy Saturday. Enough to make my brain sweat, but not impossible. Knowing nothing about Mario; my kids were never into it, held me up a while, but the crosses slowly got me there. I took a punt on KABLOOEY once I had LOOEY. Delighted to find it was correct. There are a few clues/answers that I didn’t quite understand (MOONY, TOUR DE FORCE, SOONEST), but they’ve been discussed in earlier posts, so I’m a little wiser now. It’s horrendously humid today. If any of you are watching the Glastonbury festival later, you’ll see. I expect they’ll be turning the hoses on the crowd come mid afternoon to cool them down. It’s going to be a sweat box in the Hall for the village barn dance tonight (slightly different tunes to Glasto!) I’ll be a gin soaked puddle by the end as I’m manning the bar.
@Helen Wright Sorry about the weather—we had that earlier this week—brutal. Hang in, relief is on the way!
@Helen Wright "Well, you get down the fiddle and you get down the bow, Kick off your shoes, and th'ow 'em on the floo'..." <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yljf4Lpj7CI" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yljf4Lpj7CI</a> Your "country barn dance" sounds a lot like a Louisiana Saturday Night. Who knew? Actually, the roots of American country music is an amalgam of many influences, including the British and Celtic fiddle tunes brought over by the original settlers. I wonder how close your barn dances are to American ones. (I've never been to one, never having lived in a truly agricultural part of the country.) The longest-running radio show in US history, the Grand Ole Opry, a live country-music performance show originating in Nashville, was originally called the WSM Barn Dance. It began in November of 1925, so it's about to have its 100th birthday. In the country music industry, it is considered a top honor to be a member of the Grand Ole Opry. I hope your barn dance is just as successful. (By the way, you also are staffing the bar, working the bar and tending the bar. In case you'd rather not be "manning" the bar.)
Great puzzle, Jesse! A bit scary last night when I was stuck with only a few guesses and spooked by Mario. (Video games are to me what Broadway musicals are to Andrzej, i.e., kryptonite.) When I waded back in at 5am somehow it was suddenly solvable. Whew! Looking forward to the one coming soon. I think. Seeing a post from the legendary and lately elusive Puzzlemucker made this a special day indeed.
@M. Biggen I was interrupted for a few miinutes after declaring myself stumped....and suddenly almost everything filledin! I had COME IN and AT LAST in the margin, and getting that filled was a huge help.
"Deer stalking aid?" might be the funniest clue I've ever seen. Well done.
An annoying misspelling! How did this get past the editors? It's not KABLOOEY; it's KABLOOie! As in "Hamster Huey and the Gooey KABLOOie" of Calvin and Hobbes fame. <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/calvinandhobbes/comments/1bi6ok7/i_want_hamster_huey" target="_blank">https://www.reddit.com/r/calvinandhobbes/comments/1bi6ok7/i_want_hamster_huey</a>/ I hope no one is going to suggest that Bill Watterson has been leading me astray all these years!
I appreciate your report of the variant, but the first cite of KABLOOEY is in 1914, somewhat before the Calvin and Hobbes era. I knew and used the word 70 years ago. <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/kablooey" target="_blank">https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/kablooey</a>
@The X-Phile Thank you for this. I misremembered it as a Spaceman Spiff and the Gooey Kablooie. Hamster Huey is of course much, much, much better.
@The X-Phile Maybe Jesse Guzman was in the transmogrifier with his crossword grid . . . that might explain SOONEST! HEEHEE
Love today's photo. That would have been something to see.
Whew. Typical tough Saturday workout for me, and had to look up some things, but ended up being an enjoyable workout. Lots of nice 'aha' moments when I finally had enough crosses for something to dawn on me. And... the app finally let me actually log in to solve it so I'm back on a one day streak. And... one of my all time favorite songs at 31d. That will probably be stuck in my head (enjoyably) for quite a while. Puzzle find today was a fairly recent one, but of course I didn't remember it. I'll put that in a reply. ...
@Rich in Atlanta As promised - a Tuesday from February 7, 2023 by Ellen Leuschner. This one was all in the clues. Don't recall seeing another quite like this. Here are the theme clues and answers: "Buchanan-Duck-Duke" DAISYCHAIN "Paris Métro-BART-London Underground" SUBWAYSERIES "Fender-Gibson-Yamaha" GUITARSTRING "Silverado-Ram-Tundra" PICKUPLINE Here's the Xword Info link: <a href="https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=2/7/2023&g=18&d=A" target="_blank">https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=2/7/2023&g=18&d=A</a> I'm done. .....
@Rich in Atlanta Yay! Glad you got back into the app.
Well, Saturday NYT puzzles are supposed to be murky, dubious, and force people to expand the brains associations between words. And you’ve done that. Well done.
How is SOONEST the “Most likely to succeed”?
@Me Succeed, as in be the next in line. The soonest to come along. Lots of commenters thought this clue/answer to be too much of a stretch. Didn't bother me, though it apparently bothered Me!
This is my favorite type of puzzle: one that I initially despair of solving—that nevertheless comes in below my average time for its day of the week. I remembered enough of the Marioverse from my kids’ involvement back in the day to get BOWSER immediately, but after that it seemed that I stared blankly at an empty grid for quite some time before making any progress. But I persevered and managed to get to the music! I, however, only got SOONEST through crosses, and like others here, could not make sense of the clue; I still think this was not so much cleverly deceptive as unpleasantly stretchy. MOONY, however, I thought was perfect Saturday misdirection, although its meaning did at first elude me!
@Darcey O’D ATLAST! You've skillfully reported this Saturday solve!
@Darcey O’D BOWSER reminded me of Sha Na Na 😎
Ahh, a Saturday puzzle to sink my teeth into. The feeling of thinking "Uh oh, I might not get this one." and then teasing it out is what I'm here for. Thanks, Jesse. [Most likely to succeed?] for SOONEST and [Deer stalking aid] for SANTA TRACKER were groaners in the best possible way. Solvers around my age may be familiar with the OCARINA from The Troggs "Wild Thing": <a href="https://youtu.be/e6uXWcWtO7I?si=9G5f6SFItbMnsJcT" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/e6uXWcWtO7I?si=9G5f6SFItbMnsJcT</a>
@Nancy J. Thank you for that link! It brought back 8th grade in a sudden rush. And even after hearing that song a million times (and even playing and singing it a few) I can’t recall ever actually seeing the Troggs on TV. I’m another fan of the puzzle. It seemed impenetrable at first, but my wild guesses all turned out to be right (it happens sometimes) so I finished under my average time and with no lookups. I hate Mario, though, and resent the space in my brain occupied by its character names because of their constant crossword use. Give us more Jane Austen, less Nintendo.
@Nancy J. Wow, I never knew there was an OCARINA in that song! Also, the guy playing the OCARINA while staring directly into the camera is great. He's got Ron Burgundy jazz flute vibes.
Just looking at comments, I see two entries that people don’t particularly like. My thinking is that the time that is most likely to succeed (in the sense of “follow on from”) this moment is the next moment (which is the SOONEST). Maybe? It made sense to me while I was filling it in, in any case. And if you’re crushing on someone, you will be MOONY. Anyway this was very near a PB solve time for me; I was absolutely on this constructor’s wavelength (but I accept that I’m pretty weird).
@abelsey I get both clues. I find MOONY to be perfectly fine, albeit pitched to a Saturday level. SOONEST, as I said, I got, but I find it a little stretchy. I was the one who explained it to someone else earlier, so it's not that I think it's wrong, outright, but it does stretch the concept of misdirection to its limits.
Well, um… Yesterday I requested more of a challenge, after shoving a late-week brain into my head, so the solve would be arduous and ultimately, satisfying. KABLOOEY! Not the correct usage of that word, but I don’t care. I’ll keep this one short cuz I gotta pick the grit and gravel from my teeth. Then send a tacit text to my kids thanking them for the *three* letters I got today from their D and D phase (as though that ever really ends) and reprimanding them for skipping the *entire* flippin’ Mario world. Kids are so selfish. Thank you Jesse! I will happily await the next! Happy weekend all!
For those who might enjoy it, the Globe and Mail has published their giant Canada Day crossword. Subscribers only, but you can subscribe for a week for cheap. It’s a good chance to brush up on your Canadian content! (I’m not affiliated but look forward to this puzzle all year.)
So....Jesse Guzman goes up on the board after today's TOUR DE FORCE. (I still don't get the clue; aren't 5 stars rather better?) Not having a clue about Mario's foe or its sidekick left me in a serious fix when it came to this solve. The number of gimmes was minuscule! BISTROS, KEEL, TABLE, and MAINE. RENO and RELIC teamed up with HERA, and then that little line dried up. DAISY CROWN or CHAIN? I am likely one of the few here who has actually owned and played an OCARINA...but don't go looking for it at the symphony. It kind of belongs in the kazoo family, being a bit of a whimsical toy instrument. How is MOONY crushing? How is DAWDLing (which does cost one time and tries the patience of others) related to "Kill[ing] time"(which is a deliberate use of excess time, and not necessarily wasteful)? EONS would be hyperbole, not a metaphor. Off to find the darts...
@Mean Old Lady Just checked xwordinfo for a picture. Are you KIDding?
@Mean Old Lady today's slang (with an old love of mine) I'm moony over Mick Jagger = I'm crushing on Mick Jagger.
@Mean Old Lady Doing the nyts xword was killing time for me today.
I'm reminded of one of the classiest and most eloquent of Jeopardy! champions, Sam Buttrey, who jokingly said to Alex, “I'll take stuff only old guys know for 400,” during a quarter final round. This puzzle spoke to me as very generational, with a few familiar hints that we RELICS find satisfying. (Tai Chi, Bill Withers, Hera and especially kelly). The 18 Hungarian cases sent me on a quest and the results boggled my mind. I cannot even imagine what swims around in the mind of a linguistics major. I see enough music theory, algebra and beach scenes in my head to where I forget where I am. So many of the constructors are young, I often wonder how many young people find solace in solving a good crossword puzzle. It must be difficult for them to relax with a crossword puzzle, with a career, a family, and all the distractions thrown at them.
@Jerry “ I often wonder how many young people find solace in solving a good crossword puzzle.” What an exceptionally weird take
@Calypso It feels like you might be taking offense at the comment. The OG poster can speak for themself, but I find it helpful in keeping my own peace to assume good intent. I read that comment as a compassionate one, having a question answered by the seeming rise of young crossword puzzle makers. Instead of division, crossword puzzles offer insight into other ways of thinking and a multi-generational community. We don’t all have children or jobs, but we all have families that distract us (if only from neglect) and we all have tasks to occupy us (if only thinking about what we are not doing).
@Jerry At 51 I don't consider myself "young" by any definition. Mario games are something I played when I was a kid, and something I've played with my kids. While they're not as old as Shakespeare, I think they've been around long enough to be considered at least multigenerational and part of popular culture. Me, I know nothing about baseball or NFL, but accept these as part of the challenge of a crossword. I try to get them on crosses, but don't feel bad if I have to Google them. (Incidentally, the Bill Withers, Tai Chi and Greek gods clue have me no problems either.)
This was a toughie! But tough in exactly the way I like a Saturday puzzle to be - minimal trivia, maximum pondering and penciling in. Looking forward to the next one Jesse!
Like Caitlin and many other commenters, I associate 80s hair bands with power ballads. I am informed by my 27yo daughter that this is a generational thing: when I read her the clue, she immediately said, “CELENE Dion.” Which led to a fun round of playing power ballads at each other.
I love a puzzle that takes me from despair to hope to triumph.
That was a very satisfying, tough slog. Finished just above my average. Totally worth it. Didn't look anything up. This is why I subscribe. Thanks!
I have to say I’m a little disappointed. Too straightforward for my taste for a Saturday, despite the fact that I needed most of the crosses for the Mario Brothers characters. I think I was 7 when the game came out? I know this is supposed to be the kind of stuff that you remember 40 years later (my husband does), but I just don’t. DAISY CHAINS made me smile. We went to a midsummer’s eve celebration last week and had a great time. Both of us got rather elaborate versions of daisy chain wreaths for our heads and, yes, we did dance around the bonfire. When in Rome, etc. Have a good weekend, everyone.
@Sam Lyons I wasn't disappointed as much as I was simply surprised by how easy this was for a Saturday puzzle — I set a new personal Saturday best of 6:15, which I wasn't expecting at all.
Excellent Saturday puzzle that for me was by far the hardest in months. At the end I could not at first figure out why MOONY should be "Crushing, in a way" and waffled over that for too long until the penny dropped. Loved the profusion of different words like IDYLLS, SARONG, ASTERISK, ANGELICA (which I hadn't heard of despite spending many years in California), and especially KABLOOEY. Thought the clues for SANTA TRACKER and CAMERA LENSES, among others, were terrific. Had a big Doh! moment after seeing the clue "Record qualifier" and thinking "What word(s) could mean asterisk?" until the light finally dawned. I could have done without *two* clues about the same obscure-to-me Marioverse (BOWSER could be clued as a traditional dog's name). But all in all, it's a great feeling when a puzzle seems nigh-impossible at first and then fingerhold by fingerhold and toehold by toehold becomes possible. The longer it takes, the more fun I have! One of my favorite Saturday puzzles in a long time.
PS I also wonder a bit about the clue "Receiver of a four-star review" for TOUR DE FORCE. A tour de force refers to a single feat that is deemed superb, and it's not so easy to think of what kind of feat might be "reviewed". I suppose this might apply to a musical performance, but I'm not sure what else.
Our polymath may be interested in the first "recent example" cited herein (if the link works): <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tourdeforce" target="_blank">https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tourdeforce</a>
Characters and terms related to Mario games are among many categories that have entered crossword language as something "everybody knows" . . . as history, literature, and music once did. Like many other puzzle fans, I have never played a video game and probably never will. Nor have I ever watched an episode of The Simpsons, but crossword constructors are clearly fans. Over the years, crosswords have taught me the names of the family, a friend, a neighbor, the owner of a favorite bar, and the owner of a shop. Yay? Less frequently seen, but sometimes, and also out of my personal experience: the kids in "South Park." Someone could write a dissertation on how far we have fallen.
@Marcia I really dislike this sort of attitude. I have a doctorate in law from Poland's best law school. My parents were both professors. I read, I travel, I study history for fun. I am a gamer. I enjoy the Simpsons. South Park is pure genius. Your post says more about you than it does about me.
@Marcia my friend! Gaming is part of the culture. It is important to people. It builds community. It is ok not to like it for yourself. But the collective we does not rise and fall on your limited viewpoints.
@Marcia---Marcia, Marcia, Marcia---(sigh)
@Marcia If only we could post memes here. "Old Man shouts at cloud" (from the Simpsons, no less) seems very appropriate!
@Pua Iki Are you trolling? Or do you simply not understand the concept of a *comment* board? You may want to look up the word "discourse" - just make sure you do that in a paper dictionary, so it's 19th century enough for you. Also, think on the fact you too used the quite unambiguously named "reply" button.
@Marcia When you start to whine about 'kids these days' and the end of it all, try to take comfort in the fact that the end is coming for you but the world will go on just fine without you.
There was a clue and answer about a radio program in the very first NYT XWP, 2/15/1942. Nothing new here.
@Marcia I stepped in this particular pile of poop a month or so again. I'm not a gamer. Games really developed too late to draw me in. I was already in grad school, and had other things to do, and no money to spend on them. But when I stepped in this, I realized that gaming has changed quite a bit since the more toxic man-o-sphere, Gamers gate type stuff happened.
@Marcia Someone could write a dissertation on how high we have risen, and how broad our horizons have become. I get it, video games, the Simpsons, and South Park are not in my wheelhouse either. But they are in the zeitgeist, and I had no problems with today's puzzle. What I didn't know stone cold, was suggested by the crossers.
This was a somewhat unique solving experience for me. There were more that the usual number of factoids which are not in my wheelhouse, yet all were gettable via crosses and none intersected (therefore no dreaded naticks). Ended up well below average time but it felt challenging throughout. I just love my Saturday morning coffee and NYT Games. I look forward to it all week.
What a pleasant solve for a rainy Saturday morning! It wasn’t that hard but still gave me a good workout in places. I was delighted to see 1A and 16A, they took me right back to childhood. I got 1A immediately, but had to rattle the old brain for a while to remember 16A. I love finding out the odd bits and bobs of information my brain has retained, like in this case the real name of the turtle guys. A word I’ve definitely not used in decades.