To those who are encouraging Daniel Britt to keep trying and someday he will become a real crossword constructor, read the column and read his notes. He's been constructing for years and publishing puzzles for the past eight years in an "alt monthly." This Blowout Game may be a debut for the NY Times, but it was clear to me that he knows how to construct a solid puzzle. This one is a Tuesday, and is at a Tuesday level, but we don't often get such classy Tuesday puzzles. Thanking him would be more appropriate.
@dutchiris Thank you for this. This comment section is full of lovely people and lovely comments. But I'm often disappointed by the number of folks who seem to forget that crossword constructors are, like, actual human beings who put in a great deal of effort to make something purely for our entertainment and enjoyment.
@Salvo as always, my complaint is with the editors, not the constructors. This puzzle is great, but belongs in People, not NYT.
@dutchiris Huh, I didn't really see the negative ones. I thought this was about perfect for a Tuesday and a really pleasant solving experience. ____________________ Jesse Goldberg 8/28/2024 for Puzzle of the Decade (emu filler)
@dutchiris Good point. I hope my personal comment did not seem too condescending. To be honest though I thought the puzzle lacked the panache of a more experienced constructor—even for a Tuesday. But I’ll try to pay more attention to the constructor’s background in the future.
May it be a comfort to younger solvers that if you’re old enough to remember these shows you’re also old enough to have completely forgotten them.
Congratulations on your NYT debut, DB! An enjoyable puzzle after a stressful day. Lucky me, I’m old enough to remember the TV shows, movies and the RUBADUB nursery rhyme. IMDB sounding out to “I am DB” was pretty clever. Looking forward to your next one!
I would say that this a stately, no baloney puzzle, one with graceful clues that do not hand you the stars on a platter, but do make it possible to fill them in confidently from the crosses. I loved this puzzle, and I was impressed by the fresh cluing of the glue that held it together. This may be a debut for the NY Times, but Mr Britt clearly knows his chops. Thank you, Daniel. I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.
NYT crossword comments accurately reveal who you'd want to sit next to on an overseas flight.
@Daniel I’d probably opt for Eddie from Kentucky. (Speaking as someone who has put a lot time on JFK-AMS legs.) (Miss me some nieuwe haring this time of year, heard it is a good season ….)
I thought this was a fairly ho-hum theme until I reached the revealer, which made me laugh out loud. A clever Tuesday.
I thought this was a little tougher than the usual Tuesday, but all the more satisfying for it. Nice debut!
So for this 60-ish year old the names were all gimmes, but there’s multiple generations who will be saying Huh? Partridge Family? Designing Women? And isn’t Drew Barrymore a talk show host? And David Bowie was a movie star? Still I don’t like to dissuade debut constructors—congratulations, this was a solid grid, and keep expanding your horizons!
@SP I’ll give you designing women, but I’m barely 30 and the rest of those were gimmes for me! ET is a classic, and labyrinth is a cult classic. Partridge Family is probably more unknown for a lot of people, but I know it from boomer parents and also from That 70s Show.
@SP yeah don’t want to be that person but this was not fun for me. Well at least I got DAVID BOWIE and DREW BARRYMORE without looking up but the other two, I had no clue and it made this a slog even after figuring out the theme.
@SP I’m not a fan of movie clues. But, the theme was so cute I forgive the (rookie) constructor.
What a great debut. I loved it. Didn’t know all the names and of course the sporting term was behind me, but the crossings were kind. Chuckled at SMUT crossing NUDIE BAR. Fun fact. I tried to get into the cinema to see The Man Who Fell To Earth, as I was a huge Bowie fan, but was ejected despite a face full of make up and my most grown up outfit. I think I was 15 and the film was rated 18 here. Given that I looked younger than my age it was a fools errand. I had to carry ID with me well into my 20’s to be sure of getting served in a pub (legal age 18 UK).
I loved the sing-song answers KABUKI, EIEIO, NOGO, BLOOPS, RUBADUB, ABU, and maybe throw in IAGO. Was happy to have a long answer – DANNY BONADUCE – that I never heard of, to titillate my brain’s workout ethic. DANNY I could infer, but BONADUCE was all crosses. I love the backstory of how Daniel came up with this theme, a joke nascent in his head for a quarter century turned into a crossword. And how he persisted through multiple iterations to improve it. I liked seeing many answers that sound like other words: CIAO, SARI, KNEAD, GILD, DRE. And of course, I loved the “Hah!” that came out of me when I uncovered IMDB. Thus, much feel-good permeating the box today, a sweet gift. Thank you for this, Daniel, and WTG on your Times debut!
He's ba-a-a-a-a-ck!! After lurking for a couple of years to focus on more positive things when Wordplay seemed to take on a mean tone, I was encouraged by our Central North Carolina WordPlay meet up lunch today at the O Henry grill in Greensboro! Jim, Maggie, CatPet, Liz, Becky, Leapy, David, and I were there swapping travel stories and fav's about puzzle solving. I brought people up to date of my 18 months of chemo (so far) and how I kept my streak alive while waiting in OR for surgery for a broken hip. The nurses thought I was nuts! today's rabbit hole: ROut vs ROMP. Maybe I'll de-lurk more now. Positive vibes to all!!!
Bob, I'm glad the gang got to see you, and got you to post! Please stay de-lurked. Regards, Barry
@Robert Michael Panoff - good to see you! I don't know if you saw my message months ago when you posted about your condition, but I'll repeat my recommendation here: You should check out Man Up to Cancer. (MUtC) Especially if you are going through this alone. We have local chapters, including a very active North Carolina chapter. <a href="https://manuptocancer.org" target="_blank">https://manuptocancer.org</a>/
@Robert Michael Panoff Glad to see you back and glad you're still with us! Hope things are going well and keep improving. I'll vote with Barry… please stay de-lurked.
Congratulation on your crossword, and many more to come. I didn't know any of the names except IAGO and AVON but I accept that, as a non-US solver, it happens. Another Shakespeare link - I've always remembered SERE from Macbeth, where old age is "The sere and yellow leaf." NUDIEBAR - A club where men drink in the nude? Amazing.
Who thought the changes to the stats pages were a good idea? The results distribution is now un-usable. The whole point is to be able to compare today’s time to the average and best times for the given day of the week. Please reconsider.
@Richard Williams Email the editors. <a href="mailto:Crosswordeditors@nytimes.com">Crosswordeditors@nytimes.com</a> I looked at mine and it has the wrong name and wrong start date, but all the stats seem correct. As an android app user on a phone before this I had no easy access to my stats.
@Richard Williams You can still go here for stats: <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/puzzles/stats" target="_blank">https://www.nytimes.com/puzzles/stats</a> I also have an android phone and have this site bookmarked. The new stats on the app seem okay, but I like to see the date of the fastest time so I still check the bookmark.
@Richard Williams I solve on the NYT Games app on my iPad and my stat page hasn’t changed. This is the 2nd comment I’ve seen since last week on the issue. Am I missing something or maybe you’re solving on a different app? Just curious.
@Richard Williams (Correcting my earlier post in an incorrect thread .) You can get to the stats by tapping on Me -> The Crossword, but then you have to select average, this week, or best individually, so I prefer Cathy‘s method. Thanks, Cathy.
@Richard Williams my biggest stat problem is that one day got wrongly recorded as way shorter than it actually took me, so I have an unreasonable and unbeatable personal "best" time saved.
@Richard Williams It’s a classic case of form over function.
@Richard Williams It looks to me like another change in the latest iOS version is that the app is now integrated with the iOS “Game Center”. I believe this is true because I am getting a Game Center welcome popup when I open the app. I had never seen this before.
@Cindy You're welcome, and thank you for the Seattle Library info. The passport sounds fun, and I just read that you can get free museum passes with your library card.
@Nate I have one of those, too. Somehow I got a 5:21 PB for a Saturday!! That's about the same as my PB for Monday! My Saturday average is closer to 39 minutes. I asked the tech crew about fixing it, but they said the only way was to reset my stats all back to zero and start over. I didn't want to do that, so I know I'll never never ever beat my Sat PB.
So good to see Alma given a fresh clue rather than Mahler's wife or mater's mate. Loved the lyricism of thin auric layer for gilding. Auric, what a great word. The MASS clue seemed a bit of a stretch but I got what was going on, variations on state abbreviations, but since there's a wealth of other ways to clue MASS I wondered why this clue? IMDB very cute. I knew it had to do with D-B but that didn't click. Sweet little surprise there at the end. I just came from reading some sports articles on The Athletic. In the comments the regulars insult each other and hurl curse words about with abandon -- and not much monitoring. It's pathetic. Not amusing in the least. Yet here, among people who love words and their magic, we are over-monitored to an extraordinary degree -- the emus are techy and the human editors nearly as intolerant. But the Athletic and Games are subscription services, but we are held to different standards. In the regular Times, some columns and articles have comments, not others. There's no guessing why. Some comments get delayed for hours before they appear, without any explanation, or never appear, especially if they are critical of the author's postulates. Others, like the ever-present "Socrates" get put up right away. It's all so cockeyed. Kind of funny isn't it?
@john ezra Remember Auric Goldfinger? If there's another "actor theme" the name is Gert Fröbe.
@john ezra Just like life itself, I'm sure moderation systems are highly rigged. VIP posters and such. But I've often though like you, that of all the people on the internet, we should require the lightest moderating tactics.
@john ezra I, too, dislike the over-monitoring almost as much as I dislike the bias, but people will be people, and we pay a subscription fee for this “privilege.” As an occasional poster on this blog, I enjoy the more civil of discussions, but it only takes one boorish comment to sway this crowd of intellects into a downward spiral. Shouldn't it be the opposite? The optimist side of me believes the delay in the eventual release of comments from the NYT filtration system is tied to how busy the platform is at premium times of the day. It's quite possible that same platform that Wordplay engages is parsing through all NYT articles, and just chugs along. When it's too bogged down, it simply discards. I think maybe Socrates, Hepicurus, Archemedies, and even Mephistopheles hits it at just the right time of day or night(?)
Congrats, DB! I found this very enjoyable. I’ll be surprised if there aren’t a bunch of complaints about the long names, especially from overseas solvers who probably don’t know the Partridge Family from Duck Dynasty, but fortunately for me I knew them all. And I thought the revealer was cute. I’m also wondering why don’t see more instances of EIEIO. Seems like a constructor’s dream.
@Heidi as a Brit, the Partridge family was very popular back the day so I knew it was Danny but his surname took some remembering. Madmen is also popular, Also looking forward to visiting Stratford on Avon this weekend. Nice doable puzzle. Well done
@Heidi David Bowie is British. I thought this puzzle good. The crossings gettable so long names gettable.
@Heidi There were two theme clues where I hadn't heard of the individuals. However, the crossers were all solvable for native English speakers. (Acknowledging here, Andrzej's more unusual circumstances,) I did end up looking up those names in the Wordplay, but that was due to my not having thought through the crossers properly. It's when two rare proper nouns cross that naticks occur.
@Heidi EIEIO has been an answer in 74 puzzles, almost all of those in the Shortz era. Oh.. and just a side note - HEIDI has been an answer in 62 puzzles. ....
I got a nice little smile at the very end, as the names lit up and I entered the last answer, finally seeing the theme come together. Well done. I typically solve without any attention to the theme if I can help it. A really good theme will make itself invaluable in solving. But another fun kind of theme leaves you alone but then reveals itself with a sly twist at the end. This was the latter kind. Cool debut.
Those salon hairdryers of yesteryear must be reeeally slow… two days straight and those ladies’ hair still isn't dry? The “remove skin from” kind of gave me the heebie jeebies. Thank goodness it referred to fruit, I was thinking too much along the lines of the Criminal Minds series. (Apologies for the darkness). As a kid, I was fascinated by the movie Bridge on… Sir Alec Guinness was one of the all-time great actors, as are so many of the English. William Holden did a phenomenal supporting role and the whole story is great. Romp and pans, I don't use either in the way they're clued and I seldom hear them used, but now I know. I almost never hear or use the term nudie bar, except if I were Al Bundy. I would use the more popular term strip club. That is, just in a passing conversation, nothing more. Honest. I swear. SMUT, is what it is. The new oil, ain't that the truth. Keep rejecting those cookies, people. That's all I care to say about that subject. We all have our idiosyncrasies, this is one of mine. Debates over whether dogs go to heaven when they pass, it's of little consequence. Any member of the animal kingdom that brings us such joy, yet so much sorrow upon their passing, may just be a glimpse into heaven. I'm with you, @Andzrej!
@Jerry My brother loved that movie. But even more, he loved the theme music, and would NOT stop whistling it. So much, that I began to hate it, and eventually I had to appeal to my father to shut him down. Which he did, as the rest of the family was also suffering. My brother and I were always, and still are, best friends, which tells you how very much this affected me. It wasn't until the last decade or so that I could hear the music without flinching. I might even watch the movie.
@Jerry That was beautifully said. Thank you.
@Jerry Yes a great movie. But interestingly, the book it's [loosely] based on has a completely different focus: on the sapper whose job is to blow up the bridge. We read far more about him than about the men in the POW camp. And in the end, after pages of turmoil, he only lightly damages the bridge and THAT is the central irony. I often feel that a movie doesn't live up to a book, but this is definitely an exception.
The crossing of DANNY B_NADUC_ and F_RE and _IEIO was impossible for me. Unknown name of an actor from a show I've never seen crossing an expression from a sport I know and care nothing about (I thought it would be FiRE, maybe), and some nonsense letter salad (is that from Old MacDonald had a farm? I've never thought how one would spell that bit). Yaaaay. I had to look up the name of the actor. I owe not being stumped by RUBADUB (which also crossed the actor's name...) to mishearing Rick's of Rick & Morty catchorase. To quote R&M Wiki: "Wubba Lubba dub-dub" is Rick's iconic catchphrase, frequently used in Season 1, and initially seems to be an expression of Rick's happiness or humor. However, as Birdperson later explains, in the Bird People's native language, it translates to: "I am in great pain, please help me." I generally found this puzzle tedious. Not what I needed today to cheer me up. Wubba Lubba dub-dub.
As usual, I'm special. I checked the comments to see I was the second person today who didn't like the grid. Wubba Lubba dub-dub.
@Andrzej Not responding was the hardest thing I've ever done on this board. I hope you'll forbear me this comment. Five four-legged family members in my family have passed in the last nine months. Being a pet owner is not easy. But it can the sign of a very human heart.
@Andrzej Do we really need to hear once again that you found a puzzle tedious because you didn't get some of the American cultural references? I find it amazing that you attempt a crossword puzzle from a foreign country at all, but also tiresome that you need to tell us about things you wouldn't be expected to know.
@Andrzej I was responding to your post which did not indicate anything about a loss. I was unaware of any loss you may have suffered and would never have never piled on if I had known you had suffered a tragedy. I am very sorry.
@Andrzej Oh my dear. I didn’t see your post yesterday when I assume you told us of Jorge’s passing. I’m so very sorry. People who don’t have pets will never understand the power of grief when a beloved family member dies. It doesn’t matter if they are two legged or four, the pain and loss are real. I’m so very sorry. I hope you can feel the arms wrapped around you from here. Treasure the happy times you shared. Remember what a good life you gave him, right to the end,
Andrzej, There are no words when you lose someone who was everything. You are in my thoughts. Sam
@Andrzej I fully understand the truth of your grief, and I find your openness in this forum very touching. My sympathy is partly based on having lost a number of dear doggies over the years. Even though this might sound insensitive now, I sincerely hope you will, in time, consider adopting a dog again. I’m convinced that the relationship between canines and humans is somehow unique and lends us an inexplicable consolation for the various terrors of existence.
@Andrzej I'm sorry about Jorge. I guessed it was about him when you said you were sad and stressed on Sunday. And I'm highly impressed that everyone respected your wishes yesterday and did not comment. I felt the same way when we lost two cats in one month, I needed to announce it but I did not want to discuss it just yet. In English-speaking countries, we often talk about our pets "crossing the rainbow bridge". It's become almost trite, but it does speak to our bond with our pets. Whatever you believe about heaven or afterlife or reincarnation or the continuance of spirit, it cannot be complete without including our dearest pets in some way. They are part of us. Run free, Jorge, free of pain and always in Andrzej' heart.
@Andrzej - I look forward to your posts every day for their insights, humor and perspective. And I echo others’ condolences. I mourned long and hard for a Sheltie I lost many years ago. He was called Taran, after a favorite book character. Only after he passed did I understand why it is so hard to let go of a dog. They give us absolutely unconditional love. And the emptiness they leave behind is enormous. Be comforted by your memories of Jorge and by the community here that understands and mourns with you.
@Andrzej Sending you so much love!!
Francis, Rachel, Times Rita, M. Biggen, Helen, Jim, Sam, Eric, Cherry, B, SP, Hobby Gardener, Linda Jo, Connie, HeathieJ I wrote something to thank you six or seven times but each time I felt the words fall flat and I deleted them. I'll keep it short and simple. Thank you. Your words spoke to me, and them and the connection I felt to you (and Fergus, and Taran) made a difference ❤️. You made a very sad man feel better.
@Andrzej So sorry for your loss. Having lost three of my own,I know that nothing anyone says will actually make you feel better, but keep on talking about him and crying as you need. It helps. And it does get easier 🙏.
@Andrzej I have thought about you all day and, of course, the times that I have been through that you are going through now. Saying good-bye to your closest friend, no matter how prepared you think you are, pierces the heart. The line between us and the animals we share our lives with ceases to exist when the bond is formed and we can love them as deeply as we love a child or a parent or sibling. I would believe in heaven if I could choose what it would be like, with everyone you ever cared for as young and beautiful as they were at their best, no one in pain, no one suffering, but a joyful reunion when you die. Think of that imaginary heaven and how glad you will be to be together again, and you may find some solace in that.
Think it would have been a hoot had DANIELBRITT been one of the thematic entries, with a cryptic clue like "It's his big day!" Congrats, D.B., on your debut. Very solid puzzle. I wonder if DELTABURKE and DANNYBONADUCE were a bit obscure to the younger folks here? In any case, these two entries seemed largely free of troublesome crosses---though I did have IRES instead of IRKS until I realized BUREE had to be BURKE. Fun Tuesday puzzle.
@Xword Junkie I should have included this link to support my first paragraph: <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1022745" target="_blank">https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1022745</a>/
@Xword Junkie IRE has mostly been clued as anger, wrath, fury, rage, and the like. Without the S, it has pretty much always been clued as a noun. With the S, it can be a verb of necessity, but the meaning is still angers, inflames, vexes, etc. IRK(S), on the other hand, is generally clued as a verb, with a less severe meaning: ticks off, rubs the wrong way, annoys, peeves, gets to, bugs, etc. Even though the two seem to be a kealoa, there's really very little overlap.
Helen Reddy, are you ready for this: Delta Burke, wearing flowers and a smirk Could it be you like a twerk to quirky rhymes? And did I hear some jerk he was a-wondrin' how to work Your name into a crossword in the Times? (I know Helen Reddy didn't write this or sing it first, but she am woman who had the most success with it.) (I hope it's clear I used "jerk" solely because it rhymes. I meant no insult to a fine new constructor!)
I've just experienced an example of why its important to check things before making a complaint about a supposed mistake in a clue. I was already to say that it is Stratford-UPON-Avon but have found out that even though that is the name of the town, the local government district it is in is Stratford-ON-Avon. So my nitpick falls.
@Peter Yeah I am surprised how often that still happens -- mistakenly reporting an alleged mistake when a quick check of the internet would have prevented it. I guess in the rush to show the world how smart you are or take to task the NYT, one can't be bothered to look it up.
Any puzzle with DAVID BOWIE is okay by me. And in honor of the recent 40th anniversary of Live Aid, here's his performance of Heroes from that day. <a href="https://youtu.be/dsnTZHQZzN4?si=myvpFVCcWNYZbDO2" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/dsnTZHQZzN4?si=myvpFVCcWNYZbDO2</a>
@Vaer Aah. Thanks for the memory.
@Helen Wright Here's an unlocked linked to an interview in the Times with Bob Geldof. <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/13/arts/music/live-aid-bob-geldof-anniversary.html?unlocked_article_code=1.Wk8.wv7M.CwB69VUwAKo0&smid=url-share" target="_blank">https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/13/arts/music/live-aid-bob-geldof-anniversary.html?unlocked_article_code=1.Wk8.wv7M.CwB69VUwAKo0&smid=url-share</a>
@Vaer Whoops. Wrong video. How did that happen?
Pretty easy, and only a couple of spots where I had to wait on crosses, The names came quickly, but then, I've been around for a while. I've always liked Jim Henson's work, one of which was Labyrinth, and DAVID BOWIE was appropriately EVIL as the Goblin King. And IMDB is one of my favorite tools on the web, as I'm not much of a movie watcher. Nice debut, DB, and Thanks!
Nice fill, good theme, slightly on the easy side. 8/10
Congratulations on your New York Times puzzle debut, Mr. Britt! Here's my Diary of a Crossword Fiend write-up: <a href="https://crosswordfiend.com/2025/07/14/tuesday-july-15-2025/#ny" target="_blank">https://crosswordfiend.com/2025/07/14/tuesday-july-15-2025/#ny</a>
Congrats on the debut DB and I liked your opening line that this is your *first* NYT published: now that's optimism. Deliberately ignored the revealer clue so had a nice chuckle when that filled in. Have a neighbor with the same initials and the car's vanity plate is IMDB.
Not a great puzzle for a 25 year old that doesn't own a television LOL
@Emma Do we even need a TV any longer? Seems that almost all our devices can now be used to waste time. But you are right. This did rely on a lot of answers that a boomer (sigh) like myself might know.
Nice Debut, D.B.! Hope to see more from you!
Nice puzz. 15A reminded me of the always apt Gil Scott-Heron spoken word “Work for Peace.” The military and the monetary Get together whenever they think it’s necessary They turn our brothers and sisters into mercenaries They are turning the planet into a cemetary Use the media as intermediaries They are determined to keep the citizens secondary <a href="https://youtu.be/IgZDDW-NXDE" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/IgZDDW-NXDE</a>
@Charles Nelson Reilly I always misspell cemetery. Thanks a lot Stephen King!
Loved this puzzle. Very clever to be able to work all those DB names in! Thanks and keep ‘em coming. Everyone have a nice day!
Ahh! Finally trivia I know! A fun Tuesday puzzle for me! Thank you and I hope we see more DB!
Knowing this comment section, I'm sure it's already come up, but in case it hasn't: The new design for the stats area of the iPhone app is nice. But honestly, one of the best bits about the old version was the ability to see average/best/current scores side-by-side, which provided a quick visual way to compare the current week's times to the average. Not only are they no longer side-by-side, but the interface changes the scale for each chart, so I can't even hold the length of one chart in my memory and switch to the other, because the scale changes. It looks slick, but it makes the information far less useful. I hope they consider adjusting it so that the aesthetics don't undermine the usefulness.
@Salvo I've seen a lot of comments recently about the new stats area. Mine looks the same. I solve on an iPhone.
Very easy until the SE corner. What the heck is greenhorn? House of (blank)? Shakespearean conspirator? “Later”!? A basic cable show winning an Emmy for drama? I had no knowledge of the constellation resembling the instrument or the word for “dry as the Sonoran desert.” So weird. My whole grid was filled except that section which was wicked hard. I wish those clues were spread out better bc that seems to all be very specific knowledge. At least for me (age 47). I did get IMDB though. Cute reveal. Love the double meaning there!
Gen X: Monday Millennial: Tuesday Boomer: Wednesday Gen Z: basically a Thursday 😂
this puzzle was nearly impossible for anyone under 35
@Ana Oh come now it wasn’t that bad. I knew Bowie off the bat and Barrymore filled in pretty quickly with some crosses. I’ve heard the name Bonaduce before…somewhere. Burke was a toughie, I’ll admit, but I got there eventually, despite being born in ‘92 and watching very little TV. Harder than the average Tuesday, for sure, but far from impossible.
@Ana That's why there are solvable down clues! :)
@Ana hey don’t leave me out! I’m 40 and I’ve never heard of 2 of the 4 DBs
I got a real boost from this one when I read the clue for "Designing Women". I've never seen the show, as it came out in a period in which I watched virtually no TV. But I do remember talking about it with someone once, and she was listing off the actors. Only one of them caught my attention: Delta Burke. I don't know why she stuck in my mind, but she did, and I thought when I saw the puzzle "Geez, the only one I know is Delta Burke." So I was on my way to getting my streak up to a big two. (That's a numerical value "2".
I enjoyed it. Easy but entertaining. Quite the ROMP. The revealer made me groan, but in a good way.
I am under 35 and found this puzzle impossible. I hope some of the older solvers had fun today, but I had absolutely no idea any of the celebrities and ended up just googling for answers. David Bowie is the only one I have even heard of.
@Dakota DREW BARRYMORE is on TV daily right now. And isn't "E.T." a classic movie? I might sympathize more with you about the other two, but the olds feel the same when there are rappers and current reality stars in the puzzle.
Dakota, As I just asked cameron, "Which of the proper names that you did not know from the clues could you not fill from crosses?" I can see the puzzle being harder, but not impossible, if you didn't know most of the people.
@Dakota I'm Over 75 and I dredged DREW BARRYMORE up out of my "older solver" brain ("50 First Dates" and "E.T." Ring any bells for you?) ...and I have at least a vague idea of who DELTA BURKE is (was?).....as well as DAVID BOWIE (yawn) --and I was mystified by DANNY BONADUCE (Who??)--but all were totally gettable via the crosses (and for me, totally forgettable, too.) If you couldn't 'get' this puzzle, then you didn't even try. TSK.
@Dakota I'm a boomer and David Bowie and Drew Barrymore were the only ones that I have even heard of. I had to work around the others, shows that were on in my time but I did not bother to watch (except for Mad Men). Suffix for a verb? Don't even get me started!
@Dakota I'm only 37 and I had no problem. The solution is to widen your horizons. Watching older movies and TV, reading older books, listening to older music, all of these can help you be a better solver. Please start by watching E.T.
@Dakota oh please. I am 35 and was able to fill the whole puzzle easily despite having no idea the two top names
@Dakota I am approaching nearly twice your age, and I find many NYT puzzles impossible. I applaud anyone in your generation who takes the time to solve puzzles, amid the myriad of electronic distractions. There's nothing wrong with lookups.
@Dakota, I'm 65, and have limited knowledge of rap music, even though it's been popular for a large swath of my adult life. I don't really care for it. But I've picked up a few names over the years, and I can usually get them from crosses. I wasn't alive in the 40s or 50s, but I know actors and musicians from those decades from my parents; did your parents not expose you to the trendy/popular arts of their youth?
@Dakota I'm 42, I've never seen anything with Delta Burke or Danny Bonaduce but I have heard the names before and as I got half the crossword clues I found it obvious it was forming their names. And anyway, I'm sure you'd do better than me on a puzzle themed on current pop stars, do you only consider a puzzle fair if it focuses on your own areas of expertise?
@Dakota II am 90 and the people you are complaining about were never exactly household names for me, but I know who David Bowie was, who Drew Barrymore is—no idea about Delta Burke and Danny whats-his-name, but all of them were easy to fill from the crosses. I never hesitate to do a look-up when I am hopelessly stuck, but it wasn't necessary for me this time. With a little a little more time spent on the crosses, it wouldn't have been necessary for you either.
i dont think proper name themed puzzles are very fair
cameron, I had no idea who played the middle son on "The Partridge Family," but I was able to fill every letter of that answer from crosses. That seemed fair. Which of the proper names that you did not know from the clues could you not fill from crosses?
@cameron The method I use when there's a name I don't know is this: "That's a name!" I wait until I have a couple of crosses, and then I try to think of what name might fit in. For instance, I might have had D___Y, so I could take a stab and put DANNY in there. That's a name! If I'm asked to enter the name of a Korean person, and all I have is _I_, I can pretty much be sure it's KIM, can't I? That's a name! If it's a common name that fits, it's often the correct one. It works a lot of the time, unless it's a name from some language/ethnicity I'm unfamiliar with. Or if they have a weird name like DELTA. But BURKE is highly guessable if you have a couple of crosses. And, as always, if you widen your horizons, you'll find these problems largely fade. Watch more TV, read more books, listen to more music. Get into something you normally wouldn't. The crossword will become much easier.
cameron, I fully respect your position that you do not enjoy proper name themed puzzles. I hope you will acknowledge that they are fair even if you don't like them. Regards.
@cameron, so a topic you have limited knowledge of is unfair? That's an interesting take. My knowledge of sports is fairly limited, but I don't view a puzzle with a sports theme as unfair; I see it as a challenge. I use the crosses and plug away at it.
I have only one complaint - the trivia cross of the Partridge Family and golf makes me feel like I may as well be from SATURN, I simply had to guess there. (I also didn't know DELTA BURKE, but crossings happily got me there.) But the theme is so charming that I can't be mad. It's always nice to see some truly original wordplay!
In honor of beloved pets we've lost, am changing my avatar to Fergus. (Formerly "Jim Nc", now "Jim Carrboro NC")
Took me 25 mins (way over average!!)….I am also under 30 years old. No complaints! My issue was with GILD/DATA….I mistakenly had OTToWA for far too long and that threw me off! Spent 10 minutes trying to figure out my mistake.
This was such a fun theme and I liked how it tied to the author’s name. Congrats on the debut! My trivia skills aren’t as sharp as my word play skills, so it took me longer to solve than my average Tuesday time. But it’s always good to improve the knowledge base.
What? Here's a DB puzzle and we haven't yet had a Do Better comment? Et tu emu.
As it happened, the first DB I came to was the Partridge Family, and it struck me funny that it rolled right out. Yes - there it is, taking up space in my brain!
I don’t know if this is good or bad, but DANNYBONADUCE was a gimme for me.
@Joe P Same here. He’s three months younger than I am, so it was easy for me to identify with his character on that show (which I watched too much of).