I suspect the clue for ANTECEDENT could have been blank and the solving experience for 99% of us would have been no different than it was with the actual clue provided. That was firmly a "solve through the crosses then look at the blog to figure out what the heck it means" situation for me.
@Shrike Agreed. I mean I guess it ultimately makes sense but it took 5 minutes of hard staring at it and looking up the grammatical definition.
@Shrike You’re probably right, but it’s still a fantastic clue (even though it probably ought to be [Explicit subject for “her”?], which kinda gives it away.
@Shrike agreed . I still dont understand what it means.
@Shrike I didn’t mind this clue, but I would’ve loved [Logically, you can’t deny it!]
@Shrike I got the answer from the clue very quickly, with almost no boxes already filled. Clearly I'm an outlier.
@Shrike This right here is the comment I came looking for.
Minerva helped Hercules with his sixth labor. Athena helped Heracles.
@Jason L. Brown I'm so ashamed of myself for not spotting that! Kudos, Jason!
@Jason L. Brown Although, here’s a philosophical questiion. Heracles—whether or not he was called Hercules by the Romans—did his labors in Ancient Greece. So even if the Romans later called Athena, Minerva, when he did his labors he was helped by Athena. How’s that for tortuous logic?
@Jason L. Brown But who helped Testakles?
I’m going to keep banging this drum among, I hope, a sympathetic audience: the update to the way they visualize your statistics in the app is a step backward. The point was always to be able to compare your current time with your average and best times that day—not your relative times throughout the week. Now you have to toggle through the tabs and remember your average time to compare it to your current time. And the length of the bars is now your time that week in relation to the other days that week, which is not a meaningful comparison. It’s your time that day of the week compared to your solves on that day in other weeks. It looks better now, but the delivery of meaningful information is much worse.
Agreed. The bars are meaningless without a standard measurement.
@NewsNerd 100% agree. NYT change it back please!!
@NewsNerd please keep mentioning it! It is much worse now. I really wish a numbers nerd would take over coding that.
@NewsNerd I provided exactly the same feedback using the link provided in the new “me” section. The bars should all use the same scale so it’s easy to see relative differences. I also suggested that they can show this week, average, and best simultaneously in the new format. No need to have the toggles. Glad to see others agree so perhaps they’ll change it. Mark
@NewsNerd I just checked (I haven’t looked at the stats in some time) and I don’t even see a tab for the stats…
@NewsNerd, I concur. And somewhere in the changeover, my crossword streak was reset to a number that makes NO sense. I checked the archives to verify, and I've been robbed of around 100 puzzles. The only email I can find for help is for reporting bugs, and my plea hasn't produced any results. I'm sad!
@Susan E @James Morgan I don't play in the app but am wondering whether emailing <a href="mailto:NYTGames@nytimes.com">NYTGames@nytimes.com</a> would work for you as well? My streak was reset last Wednesday and I wrote them on the same day, but it was not fixed until this Wednesday. They apologized for being swamped.
@NewsNerd Aren’t our averages always changing, though?
I enjoyed the bottom two thirds of the puzzle, but it was just unbelievable how stumped I was by the top one third. I had conSUMES (in Polish "subsumpcja" is a word, but it's only used in a legal context, when analyzing whether a specific situation falls under a legal rule). I did not know the screenwriter - would you believe I've never even seen psycho? :D Ditto Les Mis and that 2024 film (I looked up all three of those cultural clues, in the end). I forgot what humdingers meant, again! Tt did not matter, anyway, since I was unfamiliar with CORKERS :D I tried "ere" and "oer" before looking up STEFANO gave me the F for OFT. I lacked crosses in the NE corner, so even though I know NOTRE is a French possessive, I had no idea it would be the answer. I don't speak French, I just understand bits of it, especially in writing. I'm not familiar with it enough to list multiple possessives. I suspected the Spanish may be ESO, but I looked it up to be sure (please remember conSUMES was wreaking havoc there for me). I seem to remember seeing SKOSH in these puzzles before, but it did not come to me today. Of course, my waking up at 00:30 after 2 hours of sleep probably played a part in my failure (with which I am OK, anyway). I came down with a nasty cold - I can't sleep with this stuffy nose. I read a book, I did an archived puzzle, I played some Civilization VII on my computer - waiting for 4:00 when the grid drops :D "Congressional record?" is my clue of the year so far :D
@Andrzej I had the opposite experience. The top half came easily for me and the bottom harder. It was a little hard to get a toehold but then the top filled in very quickly, but I had Dickens of a time with the bottom. I still think the clue ANTECEDENT is tortuous although ultimately fair. I also loved Congressional Record, although it really deserves three question marks, because even though “congress” has the sexual meaning, “congressional” never would. But it’s so much fun I’ll let it slide. Much more important how is Civ 7? I’m debating getting it but I’ve seen mixed reviews. I love all the others.
@Andrzej I wonder if the moral majority is going to come after us for 25A, which, by the way, was clued around a terrific movie. Both the female stars, Aubrey Plaza and Maisy Stella were stellar, and the ending was a gut punch and an inspiration at the same time.
@Andrzej I’m always amazed at how well you do on these puzzles (no matter how bad you say you did!). I’ve done a little traveling in Europe (not to Poland, yet) and many churches are named something like Our Lady in whatever language that country uses. Although it took me a beat - I did come up with Notre. (Notre Dame - Our Lady) Hope you feel better soon!
@Andrzej I hope you feel better soon. Rest and drink plenty of fluids (but you’re already doing that, right?)
@Andrzej I did the same, ere and oer ere OFT.
That feeling when you find out your streak is unfortunately one more than you thought it was... I can swear that after completing yesterday's puzzle, my streak was at 3499. So I made a note--a literal note, on a Post-It--saying "STREAK", so I would remember to mention that I had just hit 3500 when i finished this puzzle. When I did, though, it told me I had a streak of 3501. How did that extra day get there? Anyway, I'm not sure that once you get into the thousands, the intermediary 500's matter that much anyway, but I will say this much...when I finish Dec. 17's puzzle, if all goes well, I will have hit 3653 in a row, which is actually 10 years (in a decade containing three leap years) straight. I looked in the Archive, and I apparently checked a letter on Dec. 17, 2015, a letter that I couldn't possibly not have known. I'd been mainly solving in the NYT interface for a year or so by then; previously I used the now-defunct Puzzazz, and Across Lite before that. David Connell started doing it in the NYT interface a few months before I did, and I assume he's still ahead of me by about 100 days. That means David should hit 10 years pretty soon. As for this puzzle, it was one where I really had to work for the gold star.
@Steve L, Congratulations, Steve! Looking forward to your next milestone in December, and DC’s as well!
@Steve L Amazing work! Congratulations on your streak.
@Steve L I'm just over 6 years behind you (1174) and very impressed. If I hadn't (a) failed to see how to fill in the answers on a non-standard puzzle, and (b) just plain forgotten to do it one day while I was still working, I could be at about 2700 by now. Hang in there and nail 10 years as an early Christmas present for yourself.
@Steve L I was not too far behind you, but I blew mine at 3138 after missing a day. I'm not upset, I had a goal of 3000, and I passed that. I'm actually a bit relieved and a lot of pressure is off. It also gives me a chance to switch over to a full subscription I was gifted, and that would have blown my streak anyway.
@Steve L I most recently sailed through 1000 and then spent a day cooking and cleaning for out-of-town guests and their kids. I mindlessly opened the Monday puzzle, having forgotten to complete Sunday’s, and “poof.” My prior 1000+ streak was foiled by the Friday after Thanksgiving when we also had a houseful. I’m sensing a pattern here!
@Steve L Congrats on the streak I know you don't like to/normally share solve times, but I'm curious what "really had to work" means - did this one take you longer than 20 minutes?
@Steve L David was at our Durham Wordplay brunch this week and we discussed his and your streak. I was somewhat proud of my streak when we started, but I didn’t even mention it after hearing how amazing are the streaks that you two have going. Congratulations to both of you!
@Steve L, kkSeattle, etc. All Y'all Wow. It has never occurred to me to keep such a record. For years I was solving in 'SyndicationLand' and reading Rex's blog. However, I was still working, and I usually skipped MTW (too easy)... but then I retired, we stopped taking the (Rag) newspaper, and I got a subscription. Once I was paying the enormous sum of $39.99, I did ALL the puzzles. Paper and Pen, of course. Just a week ago I was cleaning up my desk and ran across a print-out of my annual payment--dated 2009. (Don't judge me! We've only lived here 6 years!) Okay, I only cleaned up the desk because of a spill. Guilty, guilty, guilty. I still miss Manny Nosowsky, Charles M. Deber, Mac the Bird-photographer....well, you know. Hats off to The Record-keepers. I won't join you.
Forty years ago, I worked for a settlement company. My wife's boss dropped in to see him, bringing their three-year-old son with her. My boss introduced me to his wife and son, saying that his name was Shale. "Glad to meet you, Shale," I said. "That's a gneiss name."
Senior moment alert: "My wife's boss" should read "My boss's wife."
@Fact Boy Better to say that than to say that Shale becomes Schist under pressure.
@Fact Boy I'm not sure if this whole thing is a joke, or do you really name children Shale? I've also seen Clay and Brick used in US.
A really great Friday puzzle. Some CORKERS in the clues that sent me to the TREETOPS when I got them! IF YOU THINK I'M LAYING IT ON too THICK, well, THAT'S JUST TOO BAD. I absolutely loved it.
Today I Learned: that the word "SKOSH" originates from the Japanese word sukoshi (少し), which means "a little bit" or "a small amount". It entered the English language through American servicemen stationed in Japan after World War II. I had thought it was a Yiddish word. I used the word regularly when I was growing up on Long Island, but I don't think I've heard it all since I've been living in Kentucky. Is it regional? Are there many solvers who were unfamiliar with this word?
@The X-Phile Guess who else grew up on Long Island ...
@The X-Phile I also thought it was Yiddish. Interesting to know. Hear it occasionally in the Midwest, usually in regards the amount of cream cheese one wants on a bagel.
@The X-Phile Fun fact: rock paper scissors is also a Japanese import. Over there, it's called jan ken pon, which got anglicized as John Kempo around the turn of the 20th century. Somewhere along the line we changed it to rock paper scissors, though I grew up with rock paper scissors shoe. Don't ask me how the shoe fits in, I can't remember.
@The X-Phile This was me, 100%! I looked it up too and was surprised at the etymology. I was familiar with the word, enough to come up with it with just the first and last letters in place but it's not really a regularly used one in my world.
@The X-Phile I’ve never heard it outside the NYT crossword.
A comment on the good puzzle/bad puzzle debate: From the perspective of a non-American, there are ALWAYS clues I can’t understand, or that I have to swallow without complaining. So before criticizing, I suggest that solvers make allowances for the richness and diversity of the English language, and accept that a few headscratchers will have to be resolved from the crosses, and then explained by the Wordplay notes. (And pulled to pieces in the comments by all of us sore, sour solvers who haven’t yet had our morning coffee…) On that note, what the hell is a SKOSH?
@Petrol …no clue (SKOSH). That one’s new to me, too.
@Petrol I learned the word from previous appearances in the puzzle. According to MW: The word skosh comes from the Japanese word sukoshi, which is pronounced "skoh shee" and means "a tiny bit" or "a small amount." The Japanese word was shortened by U.S. servicemen stationed in Japan after World War II. Later, in the Korean War, a small soldier was often nicknamed Skosh. In civilian-speak, skosh can be used by itself as a noun or in the adverbial phrase "a skosh".
@Petrol Will you please move over? I need a skosh more room.
happy friday, everyone! i love a puzzle that seems as if i will never solve without a lookup, and then i do ~ and this was that! not frustrating, just challenging in the best possible way a fine friday puzzle
SEXTAPE has appeared as a clue in the modern era more than TREETOPS. I don't know how interesting that is, but there you go.
@Josh Just wait until we get the first puzzle that has both!
"Summons before congress" from the May 13, 2022 puzzle will forever be my favorite clue of all time, and primed me to confidently drop in 32D this evening. Fun puzzle all around!
I’m in the thumbs-up crowd on this. I love puzzles that seem impenetrable at first and then somehow yield in below average time. While tons of spanners dazzle, and I certainly don’t object to them, grids like this one with many fresh mid-length entries seem a little underrepresented on Fridays and Saturdays, the days when tough clueing adds to the fun. Working the stair steps is especially enjoyable for those of us whose minds have had years to accumulate SAT words and odd trivia but need at least one letter most of the time to dig for them. So more of these, please.
Let's have more from this constrctor! Nice puzzle, hard at first and then less so, with fun, intelligent cluing and no junk. And just two random phrases, both of which solved to quite standard sayings, and only one comedian I didn't know 😊
Wow, I was not sure I was going to even do this puzzle, what a slow start. I fought my way to the last letter. And no look ups. I didn't understand some clues or have any idea what the answers were to many, but used common sense when it came to filling in words, what letters commonly go together etc, the same method I use with Wordle. Little by little it came together, yay!
@Lily Yay on you!!! Great going!
@HeathieJ Thanks so much, HeathieJ! I feel a little guilty about patting myself on the back, but it was such a delicious win. You've gotta embrace those little moments when they happen.
After several years of absence during law school, I have managed to reintroduce myself to my passion for crosswords as I am in the summer before my last year. At some point I had over a 1000 day streak but most of it was on paper! Today was my 33rd day and longest streak on the app but whew it was a toughie. I had to go to the blog for some clues. I feel good about it. I hope that I can maintain it during my last year of school despite the cognitive rigor.
@Monika Eckhart Good luck with your third year, the bar exam, and finding a job you enjoy. My antitrust professor used to ask who in the class was a second-year student and who was a thirdxyear. He’d tell the second-years that it wasn’t too late for dental school, but he’d tell the third-years they were in too deep.
@Monika Eckhart Third year, at least for me, involved a lot of things but "cognitive rigor" would not have even been on the list. Too many outside activities, too familiar with how law school worked, too much experience to worry too much about any course. As another commenter observed, the first year I WAS scared to death and the second year they DID work me to death. Any "cognitive rigor" I experienced in law school was long gone by the third year.
"Oww! Hon, it hurts when you shave me with a dull blade. Strop in the name of love!" Great puzzle. Lots of fun clues and entries. NASCAR RACE and MUD WRESTLE seem to me like a somewhat-related symmetrical Puzz Pair. I saw the original Director's Cut of the "Golden Girls" pilot, a much more explicit show than the one that eventually aired. The original characters were named Carrie, Charlotte, Miranda and Blanche. Oh, and the theme song was "Thank You For Being A Friend With Benefits".
A great, crunchy Friday. Gave me quite the workout, but without resorting to the usual suspects of sporting terms, product placements and tv stars. Uncovering words like SUBSUMES and ANTECEDENT was delicious, as was wracking my brain for the goddess. The closeness of the French/Spanish clues at 8 and 10D was nice, along with ETE of course. Dijon is a lovely city. TIL SKOSH. How do you pronounce that? Is it a long or short O? 34A; a sports name I actually know! Finally, how often would you expect to see the vile Quisling in a crossword? Just brilliant. More please.
@Helen Wright I’d always assumed SKOSH was pronounced with a short O, but the Japanese origin mentioned in the other thread made me question that. And it looks like it’s actually pronounced with a long O. I don’t think I have ever heard anyone say it. (In our house, the equivalent is my husband’s response when I ask him if I have put enough salt in the guacamole. He inevitably says “a wee bit more.”)
@Helen Wright Where I'm from, it was a "smidgen."
I thought this puzzle was GNEISS. There were a lot of general knowledge clues that I didn’t know, but plenty of good chewy clues that I could suss out to get started. I laughed out loud when I figured out that Congressional record was SEXTAPE. Those false capitals always give me pause, although come to think of it, we’ve had enough scandals over the years to make the answer more than just clever wordplay. MUDWRESTLE was fun too. I tried shines before ATONES, which made the NW harder than it needed to be.
For "Congressional record?" I initially had rEd TAPE, which seemed like a pretty good answer to me, although I didn't think it needed a "?". Of course, this left me wondering how you put a pin in a AdLE. Once I corrected rINCE to SINCE, I was able to see the error of my ways, "Congressional record?" is definitely my favorite clue in this puzzle.
@The X-Phile Yes, I also was wondering about places to put a pin, that X was my last letter to fill in.
For 31D [They glisten in a classic Irving Berlin tune], I started singing in my head "Sleigh bells ring, are you listening? In the lane, snow is glistening..." Oops, wrong song. Had to start over. "I'm dreaming of a white Christmas..." (And yes, I know Irving Berlin didn't write "Winter Wonderland")
@CRTH, Same here! Took me a while to come up with TREETOPS.
I came so close to resorting to a lookup, but persevered and eventually got it. Figuring out SEXTAPE was key. I'll join Deb in giving that CORKER a standing ovation. Being a language teacher, I had a good chuckle when ANTECEDENT finally clicked. I also like STROP crossing with PARER, and EDGES on the edge. All in all it, was a FRESH Friday with much to ENJOY.
Sadly, even after reading the column, I still don't get ANTECEDENT. I was never good at all the fancy words for grammar. What even is pluperfect? Don't try to tell me that is a thing. Anyway, this was a fantastic puzzle! MUD WRESTLE, THAT'S JUST TOO BAD, LAYING IT ON THICK. It was a bit on the difficult end for me; I needed to INGEST almost a whole bucket of coffee to solve it. Maybe once I've finished the coffee I will understand ANTECEDENT? I'm NOT SURE...
Katie, On xwordinfo.com... Jim Horne notes: In grammar, an antecedent is the noun or noun phrase that a pronoun refers back to. The clue "Explicit subject for her?" uses "explicit" to hint that the subject is clearly stated. "For her" points to a pronoun, and the antecedent is the grammatical term for the noun that "her" refers to. Thus, ANTECEDENT is the perfect answer—it's the explicit subject that 'her' refers to.
@Katie An ANTECEDENT is a word that explicitly names who or what you’re talking about, as it relates to a pronoun that appears later on. So if you say “Mary came by with her boyfriend,” Mary is the ANTECEDENT to “her”. Without an ANTECEDENT, no one would know who “her” referred to. Mary is also the subject of the sentence, as it tells who we are talking about. So as an ANTECEDENT, it’s an [Explicit subject for her]. The pluperfect is simply the verb form with “had.” Such as “she had spoken” or “we had eaten.”
Bart, If there is an explicit subject, it is an ANTECEDENT.
@Katie In the sentence "Bob called Alice and thanked her," the word "her" only has meaning due to the presence of the antecedent, "Alice," the "explicit subject" the clue is talking about.
OOOoooEEeeee! (Do you know how many synonyms for 'Humdinger' there are out there???) I had 46A in place almost at once (I like to start at the bottom) and took most of it back out because I couldn't confirm with any of the crosses! Are we going to have another Discussion about 37D? Is 29A really a word? And is 42D really a name? Andy Borowitz held a vote recently--choosing the biggest Quisling! I can't say why he had that guy in mind. (No, really. It's off limits.) Sleigh bells ring! Are you listenin'? Given the heat wave and the 96% humidity, that's just cruel, you guys. (We don't blame YOU, Kelly Morenus; thanks for the Very Friday Puzzle.)
@Mean Old Lady P.S. I wanted TOMATO HORN WORM in the worst way....for 39D. Missed opportunity!
Doozies before CORKERS until dissuaded by NASCAR RACE. A proper Friday, in my view.
@Vaer same here. I also had bIG for a certain fraternity guy before SIG. And skiER before LUGER. The crosses fixed them up easily.
@Vaer "Watch out for that first step. It's a corker!"
@Vaer -- Dissenting opinion here, Vaer-ever your are. Considering the MUDWRESTLE, SOURMASH and SEXTAPE, I wouldn't call this venture 'proper' on any day of the week.
GNEISS seemed obscure -- but then came today's Wordle. Dang. We solve to learn.
@LBG My first thought about today's Wordle was that it would break a lot of streaks. I only guessed it because it was the 1st word I could find from the letters that I had available. I was not 100% sure it was a word but I decided to try it and was thrilled when it was the answer.
@LBG I know that there was a slow loris in a children's book, possible British, maybe with other animal characters, many years ago, not by Alexis Deacon. If anyone has a similar memory, please let me know...
The explanation for ANTECEDENT left me confused. I guess I no learnt grammar too good.
I made a post yesterday - with considerable thought - that explained my rationale for generally favoring constructors (and by extension, the editors) when a puzzle is 'hard'. I stand by that. The southeast in this puzzle, though - yikes. After I finished I stared at GNEISS / ANTECEDENT / CENAC / LUGER / GEE / TADAS and just had to laugh - I'm not sure that's an entirely fair set of clues. STEFANO and SKOSH - man, if you had either at hand, hats off to you. I solved around my average time but it *felt* way longer.
@Withnail I agree. I solved around 3.5 minutes under my average, but it did feel longer...especially after my speedy start, that slowed to a crawl after a few passes.
@Withnail SKOSH is one of my favorite words. Reminds me of my early construction working days with the old hands. The last time it appeared in a NYT puzzle I referenced its two word synonym. I’ll refrain today
Tale of Two Puzzles for me today, breezed through the top but the bottom gave me fits—thank God for White Christmas at least. Still I loved it. Had SCOCH before SCOSH and wondered whether it was a movie about a young kid who could afford central air—“My Old ACs”. For the record, my coming of age movie is titled “My Old Abs”.
Nice! Approachable, enjoyable, and non-frustrating Thursday and Friday puzzles this week :)
This was a very tough one for me, even after a cup of coffee. I got my gold star but it should really be bronze. I had to do a little research, twice, after getting hopelessly stuck. For me, this was a Saturday plus puzzle but a fun little chew before sunrise nonetheless.
TIL, one of most-used words is not spelled SkOcH. Might be why autocorrect hates when I text it. This puzzle was brilliant. And I got a blissful nine hours of sleep. Today is gonna be smashingly good. Diner breakfast? California Benny? Indubitably!
@CCNY TIL SKOSH comes from Japanese. I had thought it was Yiddish.
Friday's gonna Friday...i'm talkin to you, SE corner! Now, back to Wordle which makes no sense today....
@Norwood Think ZOO. One of my April the First pranks was a message to "Call S. (Five letter word)" with a phone number that turned out to be the Cincinnati Zoological Park and Botanical Garden. (I lived near enough to hear the elephants trumpeting every morning, which is really a fun way to wake up...) BTW, there's a neighborhood called Norwood in the city....
@Norwood 🐙🐙🐙Very minor Wordle spoiler below. I don't hint at the word itself though🐙🐙🐙 Today was the second time in my Wordle history that I did not understand the word. I finished the puzzle though, by brute force, sort of, after getting lucky with 4 of the 5 letters early.
@Andrzej I came here to see if there was a thread on the ^$&#* wordle!!!
@Mean Old Lady Visits to our Zoo was key for me with the Wordle also.
Wow, Kelly! Thanks for a great Friday puzzle. That gold star felt well-earned. Congressional record? Hahaha!
@Amy - Maybe my favorite clue of all time. Barry Ancona seems to have some sort of archive database; I wonder if he can tell us whether this is the first time for this one.
Jeff Z, "My" database is xwordinfo.com, which Joe just accessed. I urge everyone to use it and support it.
Just loved this one in every way. More Morenus!
The clue for ANTECEDENT made me groan. The clue for SEXTAPE made me howl. Well done!
I don't have a whole lot to say today, unusual for me, but I really liked this one. I always love a fun theme (and yesterday's sure was a CORKER!) but I've really come around on sparkly feeling themeless ones too. This was definitely a themeless humdinger, especially when they give a struggle, as this did. Really enjoyable!! ☺️ GNEISS was new to me but after doublechecking all my crosses, it just had to be. STROP came to me magically from the recesses of my brain's crossword memory files, as it's not a word I've known outside of the crossword, so yay—still got a few gray cells still clicking together in my ongoing exhausted state. On the down side, my files also gave me reOS instead of GTOS but that wasn't too hard for me to rip out since I only know they are three-letter fancy cars that mean nothing else to me, so when it didn't serve the crosses, I couldn't fight this feeling that it was time for me to fly. Time for me to fly!!! I digress. Good puzzle! Really loved the long entries! Felt very FRESH! Now, ONEDAYMORE and I can sleep as late as I need to!! Oh, lookie there, I found things to say. Color me unsurprised at myself. Har!! Cheers to the weekend!!
@HeathieJ My husband went through a brief phase of trying to shave with a straight razor. (No, I don’t know why.) For some reason, the STROP lived in our bathroom closet for years after the razor departed.
@HeathieJ. I hated that clue, no car that comes from a factory is a Hot Rod. By definition a hot rod is a completely modified assembly from a variety of cars. The Pontiac GTO was the antithesis of a hot rod.
@HeathieJ -- Another STROP story, unrelated to husbands' (or other's) shaving. Some of us Really Old Puzzlers have at one time made our very own specimen slides of preserved stuff mounted in paraffin blocks, that were then cut into microns-thick slices for examination. Kind of the way computers present slices of a CAT scan, only with real objects. And each time we used it, we would STROP the microtome blade to hone a perfect edge.
At one point, when it seemed they might LAY IT ON TOO THICK, I thought SPARE ME...but when I realized they were only LAYING IT ON THICK, I could change that to SPARE US which was GNEISS because not so much is at STAKE when you aren't alone taking the brunt of the THICK-LAYING. Got that? There's some fairly subtle shadings in that PALETTE/ PALate/PALlet that not every AXLE ought'll ENJOY. Excuse pls the preceding, I may have had MORE of the SOURMASH than necessary. All I know is, I filled in that 6D with not a SKOSH of hesitation. Also came to mind that 12Down could easily have been a TRACTOR, if only that SIG frat guy hHad been a SCIentist. I'm sure AT ONE time or another, some rando TRACTOR was felt to be DISLOYAL by someone near and Deere. Have to say, partly INGEST but morely not, that this had some downright DEATHless fill. And aside from the INTEReSt generated by SEXTAPE and MUDWRESTLE, I'm pure glad that LUGER is no firearm. A very good Friday, Kelly Morenus; I stand to saLUTE.
@Leapfinger PALETTE is for painting. Palate is for tasting. Pallet is for stacking.
@Leapfinger gneiss work, pal…ete going well?
Failed this one likes usually but I enjoy failing these hard ones that still feel fair. Well done!
@Kevin lol! i see what you did there. congrats. i was shocked to have sped through in 41:45.
lots of names today! JOSEPH STEFANO, JESSE OWENS, ITO MIDORI, WYATT CENAC, IRA THE JAIRITE (yall know how much I love proper names in a puzzle) And ANTECEDENT sounds like we are speaking in riddles because what is going on there. GNEISS is also a new one for me. I had geodes there for the longest time. happy Friday everyone!
@cameron Of the above 5 names I was only familiar with 2 of them- Jesse Owens and Ito Midori- but completed the puzzle based on other intersecting clues. I'm pretty sure that would be the case for most people.
Good fill with some nice clues and a few tricky sections. 8/10
32D was depressing and absolutely accurate. It also used to be a matter for shame and resignation. Now it's something we just shrug off.
@Francis I think the clue was referring to the non-government meaning of "congress," but it works both ways.
@Francis. Sadly we are in precisely this situation with the NSW Parliament. We have member accused of making SEXTAPES in his office
What a fun puzzle. I don't know if the constructor's notes were implying that answers like "atones" and "enjoy" are dull, but to me it was a relief to have some easily recognizable answers among the more unique stuff. "Certain frat guy, informally" was funny to me, because nicknames seem to come with the territory (of frat culture) so the answer could have been essentially anything. You could have told me that a certain frat guy was informally known as GTO, or TTF, and I wouldn't have reason to doubt it. It was Sig! Which is probably short for sigma. Which is probably short for sigma followed by two other letters. Which...well are those letters short for anything?
I enjoyed this puzzle. Thanks for explaining antecedent. The only thing I could think of is aunt-something.
@jennie Pretty tricky! I hate when authors don't make the ANTECEDENTs clear in dialogue and also in narrative. It's sloppy! But publishers have done away with copy editors who hone prose....
SPARE US. I'm NOT SURE I can stand even ONE DAY MORE, he's LAYING IT ON THICK. THAT'S JUST TOO BAD. ---dialog from the SEcksTAPE SCENES