Said one abacus to the other, "You can count on me!" (No bead to worry!)
@Mike you are amazing coming up with apt non mots every night. Look forward to what you come up with
@Mike puns just make me number than I was before
@Mike You must be wired for puns. I have to rack my brains before something clicks.
@Mike Punsters line up now. Mike will call queue later.
@Mike How many people on this thread actually have an abacus? I reckon you can count them on the fingers of one hand. I just realized that an abacus is a digital calculator. And numbers are abacusswords. I guess the swear root of pun is pun!
@Mike Just LOOK at these atrocious responses you have evoked!! It gets worse and worse, and I am powerless to counter the flood you have caused.
Me seeing UNDIERUNS: I'm so glad my kids have outgrown the phase where I dread seeing those streaks in while preparing the laundry. Maybe someday they'll have to deal with my undie runs. Also, that's really kind of a gross clue/answer for the NYT crossword. Surprised they went with it. Am missing something ...spends way to much time thinking about it... Oh, wait. That's not at all what it means. Ha, it's actually kind of funny.
@Aaron, My first thought as well. So glad that I was wrong.
@Aaron 😅 That was my first thought, too. It wasn't till I came here that I got a much less unpleasant interpretation.
@Aaron Yes, I was relieved that Deb explained that one. I, too, was thinking of something much more unpleasant.
@Aaron Oh wow, I never thought of that. Thank you for the mental image - not!!!!
@Aaron I’m so glad I read the column before coming here because I, too, thought that was super gross and not appropriate for the crossword. Happy to be wrong, but it really can be read either way.
@Aaron It will be hard to unsee both meanings of this term today.
@Aaron I thought the same except to me i perceived it as hilarious and a nod to our humanity Sounds like some others here would rather wipe it from their memory….
@Aaron perhaps it's a variant descriptor for diarrhea. Un-de-runs?
@Aaron My first thought was of panty raids way back when.
GEE THANKS Rafael and Matthew. I loved your puzzle! Fun clues and nothing TACKy (no neaps, eras, oreos, or eons). If you ever need a recommendation, YOUCANCOUNTONME, When you have another puzzle, by all means, come WRITEBACK— (Everyone else loved it too—at least IASSUMESO).
@dutchiris Thank you for pointing this out, because somehow I missed it - there was no or close to none crosswordese fill in this grid. Nice!
UNDIERUN?? More of a mis-sprint than a mara-thong?
Fine puzzle, very fluid. Love wet nurse crossing arid -- that'll wean you pretty quick! You can count on me seemed eerily familiar. For those who can remember back that far, Sunday August 2nd had "You can always count on me." Or, as the wet nurse might say, "Wean on me." The more people say "You can count on me" the less I believe it. You've just received a john ezra SCAM ALERT. Love the cluing for STAYS. When she was in her early thirties, my wife was trying to collect on an old invoice from an English customer who was a bit of a toff. Her letters and phone messages left for him grew increasingly harsh and demanding (over some months). Finally, he wrote her an exasperated note (with cheque enclosed) accusing her of "wearing the whale-bone corset of the typical small businesswoman," which we both got a kick out of. And the toff has become a dear friend, even if he is the type who would indeed say, "You can always count on me," and never really mean it.
@john ezra I like that one can have a tiff with a toff and still end up with a bff
@john ezra I had to read your first paragraph aloud to DHubby; it made me crack up! Always like seeing your 'byline' in the Comments.
@john ezra A very dear old friend; all Eton and top hat, was wont to say when extremely cross about something that he would be writing to whomever ‘on a pretty stiff piece of card’. This would be accompanied by a very slightly raised eyebrow. A gentlemen of his generation would never stoop to actually displaying emotion. Nanny would have smacked that out of him whilst still in the nursery. They’re a different breed, the Toffs.
I started out slow and was afraid this one might get me. But it turns out the NW corner was the toughest part. The rest fell into place pretty easily, and I was able to circle back and do the beginning at the end.
@Maverator that’s exactly what happened to me.
Not bad. I needed several lookups though to get crosses in places where my not quite being on the constructors' wavelength was hindering my solve: STOWE - I know of the author but have never read anything by her so the quote was unfamiliar. WONKA - I watch almost no movies, and I generally don't follow news on them; I googled what it was - a family musical! The horror! You can't get more un-Andrzej than that. TSARS - the only connection I saw between the names was them being Eastern Slavic, possibly Russian. It turned out my main problem here was how you transcribe Slavic names in English: Alexis I only know as a female name, and one without a Polish equivalent. As I googled Alexis today I learned it was the male name I know as Aleksy. CHANG - never heard of the author. STOAT - I'm not good with animal names in English; I wanted the answer to be Sable, but once it became obvious that was wrong I broke down and looked up the answer. I knew the word after all, but it just wouldn't come to me today on its own... I've never heard of an UNDIE RUN, but crosses gave it to me. I had no idea what it might mean. Thank you Deb for explaining it in the column. Now that I understand it, I don't like the clue, TBH. If an UNDIE RUN is akin to streaking, then walking fully clothed is akin to an UNDIE RUN. Isn't that a stretch? **My wife and I are going on holiday on Sunday. I probably won't be posting for 3 weeks: I'll be breaking my routines to properly rest.**
@Andrzej STOAT is one of those words I only know from the crossword puzzle. It used to be clued as "Ermine in winter" or something like that.
@Andrzej Really! Wonka is a pretty well known character from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and other more recent remakes. Maybe it’s an 80s kid thing.
@Andrzej - Enjoy your holidays, but be assured you will be missed. Looking forward to hearing about the new puppy when you return. 🐶
@Andrzej All your issues today are ones that us native Americans could easily have had as well. The one exception would be WONKA. I know the book (and Gene Wilder and Johnny Depp), but I didn't know that Paul Atreides (or was it Bob Dylan?) had played that part, too. I'd comment on UNDIE RUN, but I think we've all seen too much already!
@Andrzej I think Deb was a bit off in defining the UNDIE RUN, not that it matters. When I was in college, male students might make a dash to the women's dorms to grab UNDIES in what was then called a "Panty Raid." I think additional items are being grabbed as the prank has been renamed....
@Andrzej I didn't know the book in the clue for 43D, but Iris CHANG wrote "The Rape of Nanking," in which she recounts the atrocities committed by the Japanese Army in that city. Pretty strong stuff. (There was a beheading contest.)
@Andrzej Udanej podróży! (Hopefully google got that right 😬😬😅)
@Teresa I knew stoat, but I initially put sable since it was in thursday’s puzzle and they so often repeat words. Took awhile to sort that one out.
@Andrzej STOWE is Harriet Beecher Stowe, author of "Uncle Tom's Cabin", a very strong condemnation of slavery. It is credited (historians differ) with having tipped Northern sympathies more strongly into the abolitionist camp. President Lincoln reportedly called her something like "the lady who wrote the little book that started the big war" (I may have LITTLE in the wrong position).
Historical costumer here. Stays are NOT the support for a corset, they are a completely separate garment! (It's plural, like 'pants'.) You're thinking of bones or boning, which were once made of wood or whalebone and are now made of plastic or steel. Stays predate what we think of as corsets, which only showed up in the mid-1800s (and which were only ever used for the famous practice of waist-cinching and tight-lacing by a select few of high fashion elites, like the Kardashians of the day). Stays were worn for centuries before that, and contrary to modern popular misconception, most women liked them! General, they were stiffened with bone strips or lots of long, skinny reeds, like pick-up sticks bundled into long narrow pockets which gave the stays flexibility. They laced up the back, as they had a wide plate in the center front called a "busk", which helped the stays serve their primary function of creating smooth lines under dresses, showing off expensive fabrics and embroidered stomacher panels, and supporting the weight of many layers of skirts (necessary in the days before central heating). I can say from experience that they're also great back support for manual labor, great boob support for larger ladies, and because it's very difficult to do any waist cinching with them, they're very comfy. Think Renaissance Festival costumes and you're much closer!
@Calenlass I love posts like yours 😍 Thank you!
@Calenlass Tx. So let me put in a plug for the Donna Andrews novel, "Revenge of the Wrought Iron Flamingoes" , which inter alia makes the same points about stays. Takes place during a present-day re-enactment of the final battle of the American Revolution (Yorktown), complete with period costumes. Actually a plug for the entire series-- murder mysteries with a female protagonist who is a blacksmith. The obligatory womjep in each book, but she always rescues herself (albeit sometimes with a little help from persons and/or animals)
@Calenlass Thank you! I had bones before crosses taught me otherwise
It truly didn't occur to me that undieruns might be an athletic event. First and only thought was skidmark related. It seems I wasn't the only one to misunderstand the intended relationship between streaks and undergarments. 😅
@Scott You’re not the only one. Scroll down.
@Scott I was sooo glad to read the explanation— that was way too gross for the NYT!
@Scott 💯 my thinking… maybe because I have a boy child … or a dirty mind.
@ScottWell this is hard to unread...
@Scott It wasn't much of a stretch.
This was a very doable puzzle for me, under my average time and I didn't have to look up anything. I'm normally not a fan of random phrase clues and answers (unless it serves a theme), but it didn't bother me too much in this crossword. There were some clever clues and funny answers. I didn't know UNDIE RUNS were a thing! 😂 PS- I don't always comment but I try to read as many comments as I can every day. The community members here are rare group, so clever and (mostly) supportive. 👏
@Janine Many of us cast beseeching looks your way these days... I know Canada has its problems, but Geez Louise...at least your leadership doesn't make you cringe. Please stop by often!
@Janine what do they call UNDIE RUNS, up there north of the border? Hoser stripes??
21 minutes, and had to come back to it after watching a movie. Got really tripped up in the NW because I wanted 3D to be EIGHT way too badly
@Steven M.i had EIGHT for so long. And felt so pleased about myself. Just like I did the other day with DAD JOKE
@Steven M. same, doh. Spent way too much time staring at that.
Pleased to make an appearance in the clues today ;)
@Alexis Congrats 🤣 That's not likely to ever happen to me 🤪
@Alexis I actually share the name a a fairly famous person, and she'll occasionally show up in the puzzle. I'm always unreasonably excited. That said, there are about fifteen billion Katies, Kathys, Kates, and Katherines out there, and it gets a little tiresome. There were three of us in my grade in high school, out of a class of 60.
Fast but fun. I like the clue for CUSS WORDS. Not because it's particularly tricky, but because it gives me an excuse to use the word "grawlix" (which I have just learned is also called an "obscenicon"). And the factoid about PANDAs was fun to learn. Thanks, gents.
@Eric Hougland Arguably relatedly, both polar bears and zebras have entirely black skin. The bears have transparent fur that channels light. The zebras have black and white/pigmentless fur. Or something like that.
You say BAR TRIVIA. I say pub quiz. Both involve enormous amounts of gin (I suspect). A good Friday puzzle; chewy but doable.
Helen, We say "pub quiz" too (when there are fewer squares).
@Helen Wright They certainly do if I'm there!! 🍸🍸
As someone who has been doing crosswords for a number of years now I like to boast about how crosswording has made my mind more flexible, able to imagine different possibilities when the first answer doesn’t seem to work. And then I fill in “eight” in answer to a clue about the planets and stubbornly cling to it even though I can’t fill anything else around it. Sigh. Perhaps one day I will learn. And to all of you who thought undie runs were unfortunate remainders left in underwear: thanks for the visual.
@Karen I’ve been doing the NYT Thursday - Saturday crosswords since I retired 9 years ago, and I left eighT in for 3D almost until the end, too. But what I for one have learned over the years is that if almost everything around it is working except 1 answer, I’m okay with erasing that answer even if it seems to be 100% on the money. So that’s how I got from eight
@Karen I had eight for a long time, too. You mean they're not... ✌️
I stared at BESTRONG for a long, long time.
@Swift What, you don't have a rong you like best?
I don’t know what it says about me that I confidently plonked in nuDIE RUN for 55A and needed crosses to add on basic articles of clothing. Very smooth sailing otherwise. The clueing was a little bit less straightforward than recent Fridays, however, which was very welcome and made for a more interesting solve. BESTRONG is what I believe used to be called a dook.
@Solverado Second reference here to DOOK. I'm unfamiliar with this idiom? acronym? What is this? Possibly thinking-impaired due to being steamed on the half-shell for days...
@Solverado Me too for starting with NUDE there. Too bad it was wrong IMO
This was fun. First pass while taking the dog out I was sweating like “where am I going to start?” Then YOUCANCOUNTONME seemed like a no brainer that happened to fit, and it was an all downhill PR Friday for me. Funny how that works sometimes when you don’t see it right away. Nice puzzle. Congrats as always to the constructors.
This could not be any closer to what should be expected in a Friday grid. Perfect difficulty, diverse, and well-balanced.
Perfect Friday grid for me. Slight misdirects that unraveled with the crosses. I had nYlon before LYCRA. I knew nylon didn’t sound right, so immediately tried the crosses. 3D OCTET fixed my answer right away. I also thought 6A could be some sort of hiking staff or TrekPOLE, but I left out the first four letters and just kept in POLE until I tried the crosses. I had cry before FAT and BAgTRIVIA fixed to BAR was my final fix. I had only the ending ME for 34A and confidently filled in YOU CAN COUNT ON. Was especially proud of that guess ☺️ All in all, I loved this start to my Friday. Thank you, Rafael and Matthew. More like this one please! Happy Friday everyone! 🤩
This one caused me great difficulty. I was poking around with only a few stray answers and thinking I might have to sleep on it, when I hit on YOUCANCOUNTONME. That opened up most of the puzzle, except for the stubborn NW corner. I couldn’t come up with STOWE, and instead fixated on Scott, as in Sir Walter, which led me to think the grocery pricing term was tare, and I was not up on my microscope parts. I did get there eventually. I also wanted stick around a campsite to be kindling, but didn’t cling to that one too long TIL that a nutrix is a WETNURSE and encountered the term UNDIERUNS for the first (and hopefully last) time. Very satisfying Friday exercise.
@Marshall Walthew Speaking of microscopic parts and undieruns, anyone see the first episode of the new "South Park" season?
@Marshall Walthew I assume we all appreciated the appearance of 41A along with 23D. Very tidy, gentlemen.
@Marshall Walthew After reading the clue for 16A, I was just relieved it wasn’t EYELENS again…
Cheez Louise, all this fuss about UNDIE RUNS? It's not what some of you think. It's just a wholesome activity that has taken place on college campuses since at least 2001. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Undie_Run" target="_blank">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Undie_Run</a> I hadn't heard of them either, but it's exactly what I imagined it would be.
@Nancy J. After seeing the photo in the link you posted, I think pretty much every spring/summer marathon could be classified as an Undie Run now--that's pretty much what people wear when they're running these days.
Re 34A (YOU CAN COUNT ON ME) - this was also the title of a wonderful movie released in 2000 starring Laura Linney, Mark Ruffalo, and Matthew Broderick. It was nominated for two Academy Awards. The plot revolves around a brother and sister who have taken very different paths in life struggling toward reconciliation.
@RichardZ Anything with Laura Linney in it is a great movie.
Fine for a Friday I felt. It gave me a little trouble in the corners but not too much. Not in love with undie runs but I'll accept that it might exist. Cromulent.
@B It all depends on who's running though, doesn't it?
My usual approach is a top-down solve. My first pass resulted in a mostly unsolved grid. Rethinking the clues, my solving was bottom to top with the NE corner taking some time to resolve. TGIF!
In my day, PANTY RAIDS were the "Pre-streaking Prank." I am guessing UNDIE RUNS involved more sorts of lingerie. (No, Deb; I'm betting that the owners of the UNDIEs aren't the ones RUNning around.) Does that count as a CO-ED SPORT? The novelist was hard to guess. It sounded rather like TWAIN, and the date was a slim possibility...but I needed 5 letters, and the other writers I came up with wouldn't fit... until the W appeared. I BAKE cookies on a SHEET PAN, but I *MAKE* them in a mixing bowl (and in some cases) roll them out on a clean counter-top. Held off on 6A...just put in the POLE and waited for a crossing letter. FLAG seemed unlikely. Nice challenge.
@Mean Old Lady I thought a "stick around camp" should have a marshmallow on it. Oh right, a TENT POLE. I wonder if the Army still uses pup tents? In my day, you were issued half a tent and one pole, and you had to buddy up with someone to make a complete tent. And they were made of canvas, so also heavy. I don't think I ever used one after Basic.
MOL — The owners of the undies *are* the ones running around.
I loved this puzzle, fell into place nicely and everything was on my wavelength. But then, I participated in an UNDIE RUN back in 2006! It’s tradition at my alma mater to do so during the first proper rain of the year. My campus was situated in a redwood forest so this was a more precarious situation than you might expect.
@Diana Fellow Banana Slug?? 2006 was my freshman year! I was far too shy to participate in First Rain, I now regret to say
I pretty confidently put in FIREWOOD for [stick around camp?] and was sad when it became apparent that it was definitely wrong. Ah well! Nice puzzle, thanks!
I was very proud of myself for getting TENTPOLE and BARTRIVIA on my first RUN through!! The rest of the puzzle practically filled itself in, until I came back up to the north west corner and to a screeching halt. But don't worry, I didn't throw in the TROWEL! Looking back at it, I don't know why that little corner seemed so hard! 🤔 I so love to be on or in the water, and when I briefly thought sailing techniques might solve to TACoS, I thought I might need to learn how to sail!! Taco bout some real motivation to learn a new hobby!! ⛵🌮😍
Just completed a Saturday puzzle from the archive. 6000 puzzles solved 750 current streak 750 longest streak.
@D M Mojo That's one more than yesterday! 6000 puzzles is a pretty amazing solve history.
Second appearance of YOUCANCOUNTONME in a short period of time. It’s an amazing 2000 film starring Laura Linney, Mark Ruffalo, and Matthew Broderick. I hope to see it clued as such one day. Kinda like the thrill I get when forgotten jazz great Etta Jones is the clue for ETTA rather than Etta James. Her “Don’t Go to Strangers” is a superb place to start. And her late-career “I’ll Be Seeing You” is one of the song’s greatest recordings.
@John N You are comment twins with RichardZ 🙂
@John N @RichardZ I didn't remember that movie offhand, but now that you've mentioned it, I remember that it was quite good. Laura Linney has been a favorite of mine since the first time I saw her.
@John N thanks. Etta at <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBLaJtXbpRg" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBLaJtXbpRg</a>
I liked it a lot. A few gimmes to give me a toe hold but enough sticky spots to make it interesting. I was wondering how I got YOUCANCOUNTONME so quickly, but as someone else pointed out maybe it was lingering in my head from Dr. McCoy’s quote from Sunday’s puzzle.
first friday ever in under 15. am i getting better? are puzzles getting too easy? do bears bear? do bees be(e)? (bu)zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...
Wow a Friday I actually enjoyed. Very little niche trivia. Thanks!
I love it on a Friday when Clue 1 is a gimme, and a wonderful person as well.
Glad others enjoyed it. This was one of those puzzles where the constructor and I were miles apart. That happens. I kept plugging away well past my average Friday time, with my enjoyment level waning by the minute. When I realized 55A was UNDIERUNS, I sighed, closed the app and just went on with my day.
@Dan That sounds like my yesterday. Yesterday took over twice as long as my average Thursday and I felt thoroughly defeated, even after beating it.
Just right for a Friday! Took me 45 minutes tho 😂 so I’m def not boasting about my solve time, but I enjoyed the challenge.
@CLN I would never reveal my very long solve times for the late week puzzles, I would be banished from the comments, lol! Good job, I could only hope to do the Thursday to Saturday puzzles in 45 minutes. (And at times Wednesday!) Today's was really tough, it took me forever to get rolling. The fills were slow, I wasn't hopeful, but got there in the end, with no peeking. Grateful for small wins and simple pleasures!
@CLN Yes! That happens to me too! It is amazing how your mind is working it out in the background and ah ha! something clicks when you go back to it.
As a recent grad from UCLA, UNDIERUN was almost a gimme! Surprised to read the comments today but it shows solvers are of all ages.
Who’s planning to use UNDIE RUNS on their next occasion of BAR TRIVIA? Related question, using Deb’s observation: who here self-identifies as a shy person and would perform an undie run?!
@CaI I would. 👋 I'd have been more willing back when I had the physique of a runner, but even now I think I would, because the older you get, the less you care about such things. I could never have streaked though--too great a danger of getting tangled up and falling. Take that emus.
@Cat Lady Margaret I wondered the same thing when I read Deb's comment on the subject of undie runs.
Bar Trivia was a new one for me. In the UK they are quiz nights. Is an undie run a real thing ?? lol. Nice puzzle
@Ian Hookham probably the most well-known UNDIE RUN is Cupid's, for charity.
Well, not at all an easy one for me, and had to look some things up. But managed to work through it. Nine debut answers in this one, but most of them quite familiar words or phrases. Surprised to see that. My puzzle find today - an unusual one. A Sunday from September 4, 2011 by Dana Delany and Matt Ginsberg with the title "That's Disgusting!" (and I don't at all understand that title). Anyway- all of the theme answers had exactly the same 'trick' or pattern. A couple of clue/answer examples: "Prank involving a hammer and nails?" CARPENTERANTIC "Vacation spot that's crazily busy?" THEISLEOFMANIC And some other theme answers: CLASSICACTIONSUIT RUSTICBUCKETS FINETUNIC ORIGINALCYNIC TOPICOFTHEMORNING And there were quite a few others. Here's the link: <a href="https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=9/4/2011&g=98&d=A" target="_blank">https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=9/4/2011&g=98&d=A</a> See you tomorrow. ...
@Rich in Atlanta I imagine the title is alluding to the addition of an “ick” sound to the theme answers!
Enjoyable puzzle -- warts and all!
It was a great puzzle albeit difficult. The northeast got the best of me. There as certain clues that you think that you can never get. Even if given unlimited time. The TENTPOLE was one of those for me.
For 6A, I went with TENTPOLE almost immediately, though slightly nervously, and that helped gain an early foothold as much of the rest of the puzzle answers were slow coming. Solid Friday fare.