Hello solvers! I’ve never commented before but a few days ago I solved my 2500th puzzle. I’m really getting into the NYT puzzles, having steadily solved since March of 2023. This puzzle was my kind of puzzle. Science, pop culture, the arts and puns…all wrapped up with a clever theme. Thursday’s are my most and least favorite days, the tricky themes/solutions can be hit or miss. But more often than not, they are hits. I don’t know exactly why I I felt like this was the puzzle to comment on, but I was so impressed and entertained that I could not help myself. Thanks for being such a great community and good luck in the future!
@Ben Welcome and congratulations! Now that you know the way to Wordplay, please join us more often!
@Ben 2,500 puzzles solved is enough for a comment, all by itself. Impressive!
@Ben Welcome, welcome, welcome. 2500 puzzles and one comment. I'm more like 2500 comments per puzzle. Come back often. P.S. Like you, Thursdays are special to me: simultaneously terrifying and hilarious.
@Ben That’s amazing! Congrats and keep going.
@Ben Congratulations on 2500! And welcome to this forum!
@Ben glad you commented. That’s quite a record. Congratulations! I’ve only been solving regularly since April of this year. I enjoy the banter on the discussion forum.
@Ben Well done! And love seeing a cheery voice joining the chat!
@Ben Congratulations and welcome to Wordplay! 🏅
This puzzle gets a 10/10 from me just for the ASWAN joke.
@Rahul even though I knew what it had to be, it wasn't until after I entered it that I got the joke! Lol has been a long Wednesday.
I see complaints about this not being a Thursday puzzle, but I don’t care — it was a lot of fun! (Anyhow, complaints about a puzzle being too easy usually come from people who finish quickly and post early. Not really representative.)
DQ, 🌎 Global Stats Difficulty Easy Median Solve Time 11:04 Median Solver 29% faster ⚡93% of users solved faster than their Thursday average. 73% solved much faster (>20%) than their Thursday average. 🐢7% of users solved slower than their Thursday average. 3% solved much slower (>20%) than their Thursday average.
@DQ "Easy" is the new normal. As to whether the Old Guard (or xwstats) will ever adjust is unknown. They are set in their ways.
A delightful tribute to my favorite game show. But a missed opportunity to clue 60A as “Fleming who originally hosted this puzzle’s theme”.
@Anita Absolutely right. No love for the man who started it all?
@Anita And while solving the puzzle, I was watching a recording of Jeopardy Masters.
@Anita For sure! Fairly shocking miss really. And isn't "Ken" attractive and simple enough filler? Too bad it couldn't have worked in too.
@Anita I guess not many of us in the Times's crossword community are old enough to remember Art Fleming's Jeopardy. It was on at 12 noon, and I would watch it every day while having lunch after coming home from school.
If one wants to give credit to the people who started it all, that would be Merv Griffin and his wife, Julann.
@Anita I dont know Art Fleming, but of the million potential clues for ART they chose a terrible one here - particularly as WHIP is a much better crossing down.
@Anita Slightly younger old people might recognize Art Fleming from his role in Weird Al Yankovic's "I Lost On Jeopardy" parody. In fact I think I've read that that video was responsible for the rebirth of the show and Alex's success in it...
@Anita SUCH a better clue! Guile was odd.
This was a great theme for a crossword puzzle. As others have mentioned, I’m sure there is a lot of overlap in the Venn diagram of NYTXW solvers and Jeopardy! fans. While my enjoyment of the theme does not reach the heights attained by HeathieJ with the Star Trek puzzle of a few days ago, it was still a lot of fun, especially for a Thursday. I thought I should give an update to my recent experience that I’ve mentioned here. My lovely sister-in-law unfortunately passed away during the night yesterday while in hospice care at home. Even though we knew it was coming, we were still surprised by how markedly her condition changed and that she was gone so quickly. I know that she was well cared for every step of the way, most especially by her husband, my awesome brother Joe. Please remember to show love to the people in your life that you love. It’s easy to take for granted how important they are to us. 🙏🏻
@NYC Traveler I’m sorry to hear about your sister-in-law. I hope that fond memories of her will help you, Joe and all your family through this difficult time.
@NYC Traveler My sincerest condolences. At-home hospice is a sad and difficult job for the caregiver, but a beautiful gift to the one who is passing. Your brother sounds pretty awesome to me, too.
@NYC Traveler First, it is probably very difficult for most normal people to reach those heights of enjoyment in a puzzle, but then, I am no ordinary MEATBAG! Har!! Second, and more importantly, Joe and you both have my deepest condolences. What an incredibly precious gift you both gave her by letting her pass away at home surrounded by love and care. It is not easy but it is an incredible act of love. I'll continue to think of you both in the days and months ahead. Wishing you peace and comfort even as you grieve. I have no doubt that Joe and his wife were incredibly blessed to have each other for so long, but please know they're also very blessed to have you. 🙏💙🙏
How did I love this? Let me count the ways: • A dozen answers ending with the OO sound (AFEW, WHOSWHO, GREW, GNU, TABOO, SPEW, STEW, HULU, YEW, SHOO, TWOFORTWO, OOH), and notice all the variations for making that sound. • Eight WILs (words I love) – LITHE, POSH, GNU, FJORD, GRIFT, SPEW, NINJA, WHAP. And let me repeat … WHAP! • Five ways to pick a Jeopardy category (I’ll take…, Let’s go with…, Give me…, How about…, I’ll try...). • Three echoes – A SWAN, A SEA, and A TOLL to echo A FEW. • Two ugly-ish words so colorful that, IMO, they beautify our language (MEATBAG, RATTRAP). • One masterful theme – in-the-language phrases beginning with “who” or “what” turned into Jeopardy answers. A brilliant concept, IMO, never done before. A gift box today. Thank you so much for making this, Gene!
@Lewis I also noticed the plethora of EW sounds, how appropriate that it was YEW who commented on them first. 😉
I didn't mind having an easier Thursday puzzle today, especially because I worked it at the end of a trying Wednesday. I was just going about my work when a parent let her cute preschooler practically climb in my lap. Which would've been fine except several minutes in, she mentioned the child who had just rubbed her hair on my sweater had untreated head lice 😂. I mean... it would have been nice to know I was INJEOPARDY beforehand. Talk about a JUMPscare! So I am recovering from having to bag my favorite work sweater for 2 weeks and put a noxious smelling OTC glop all over my hair, while trying not to imagine I feel something crawling on me. Lol. My ATP was about spent but now I feel renewed!
@Leontion OMG that's hilarious! The lice came like a jump scare in a horror movie. Completely, and I mean utterly unperceived, surprise. Genuinely laugh out loud comment!!!
@Leontion I would have been ticked, to say the least. (Pun somewhat intended.)
@Leontion Not the most delightful way to experience nit-picking! Anyone would find that a mite scary.
To Francis—I responded to you late on yesterday’s comments but you probably didn’t see it, I hope you read this today. Francis—I apologize about the spelling of your name and I am horrified you took yesterday’s comment completely the wrong way. I have a lot of respect for you and I apologize it came off that way. What I meant was that some people need to vent politically and you are certainly one of those people, and that I have learned to accept that about this or any forum. It’s certainly evident that these days people have a lot of frustration that bubbles over and gets triggered by all sorts of things. (My LGBTQ comment was to point out conservatives that get their shorts in a bind as well—see Felicia today). I try to play the peacemaker or just ignore that stuff because I do like to think of crosswords as my safe haven. I just meant it as a good natured jest and thought you would take it that way, but obviously you have a lot on your mind and I don’t know what you may be going through. If I offended you I sincerely apologize. Please—friends again?
@SP Yes, I'm sorry. I responded the first time I saw you post tonight: <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/shared/comment/49inqp?rsrc=cshare&smid=url-share" target="_blank">https://www.nytimes.com/shared/comment/49inqp?rsrc=cshare&smid=url-share</a> Sorry, just ill-tempered these days. I can now see it as a really good joke.
@SP and @Francis, I only know about 5 percent tops of what happened but I’m so glad you two were able to get over the hurdle. Remember or at least TRY to remember not to let the dragon win. I’m sure you know who the dragon is and he shouldn’t affect your relationship/s. Naturally, I have some exceptions such as I cut everyone out of my life who voted/supports the dragon. It was a minor cut between blood and friends since I already had lessened and people know my stance. He loves destroying relationships because that’s all he’s ever done with his relationship and his life in general. Sorry for my novel and possibly meddling but I hate seeing people’s relationships destroyed over that scumbag lol! Namaste!!
“Wherefore art thou, theme?”, the caption for the Romeo & Juliet illustration, is a trigger for me. “Wherefore” does not equal “where,” it means “how come?” Which is what Juliet is bemoaning— “Why did you have to be ‘Romeo’?” and therefore forbidden. That is all.
@Patricia Henry I didn’t catch that but thanks for bringing it up, it’s one of my pet peeves as well. It annoys me every time I hear the Tin Woodman’s song in “The Wizard of Oz”.
@Patricia Henry It's just asking an existential question. Why are you, theme? What is the justification for your existence?
@Patricia Henry We all almost end up hating Shakespeare after slogging through Romeo and Juliet in high school and yet so few seem to learn what ‘wherefore’ means. It’s always boggled my mind.
@Patricia Henry I never really got that! Thank you, thank you, thank you.
@Patricia Henry The trigger for me was seeing those pages touched by someone's bare, dirty-fingernailed hands.
@Patricia Henry It's like "whence"--From whence she came does not mean what time but rather where. Interesting from whence these words came.
@Solverado Watch a good professional theater company do Shakespeare. They bring skill to the Bard's words and make the play come to life. Every R&J I see, I always hope for a different ending. Two different current Broadway musicals do that.
As a long time Jeopardy fan (going back to the Art Fleming Days) I got a kick out of this puzzle although it wasn’t particularly gimmicky for a Thursday, as the themed clues were pretty straightforward. I did appreciate that they resolved into common phrases. Seeing JUMP scare put me in mind of one of the best of all time: Alan Arkin lunging at Audrey Hepburn in her darkened apartment at the end of Wait Until Dark. There are good ones in Alien and Night Of The Living Dead too.
@Marshall Walthew Adding to jump scare. What about Marty Feldman in Young Frankenstein. That got me so bad.
@Marshall Walthew Night of the Living Dead reminds me of sitting on the floor of our half-furnished apartment 50 years ago, watching it on a jittery old black and white TV. We were holding onto each other, while one or the other of us had to be holding onto the makeshift antenna, while both of us were scared witless.
@Marshall Walthew I haven’t seen Jeopardy! very often since the Art Fleming days. But I have seen Alex Trebek often enough to appreciate why he’s so loved by Jeopardy! fans. I first saw Wait Until Dark when I was about eight or nine. That final scene is pretty scary. I’ve heard that that Ridley Scott didn’t warn Veronica Cartwright about that scene in Alien. That scene from Alien is a good example of a JUMP scare, but the one that sticks with me is the shark in Jaws suddenly appearing next to the boat when Roy Scheider is leaning over the gunwale. Effective as a good jump scare can be, I’ve always preferred the kind of tension Alfred Hitchcock was so good at in movies like Rear Window and Notorious.
A jaunty little puzzle! I'm surprised 50D didn't get a shout out under Tricky Clues, as I was very confident it was CANCAN until it made the crossings impossible.
@Jim I had CANCAN on the brain because I thought it bc would be Tuesday’s revealer
@Jim Yeah that's why I was under an At Tea delusion for a long time. :(
@Jim me too, but then ATOLL saved me.
@Jim I went with NAE NAE, though I think I only know about it from watching “The History of Music Video Dancing” on Jimmy Fallon: <a href="https://youtu.be/KtJ0nagIrno?si=JW0qIH8WymMOAUUQ" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/KtJ0nagIrno?si=JW0qIH8WymMOAUUQ</a> (It’s very brief about 3/4 of the way through).
good longer clues, but WHAP is not a word, and crossing it with a poorly clued ART (guile?) was just cruel. If you want to cross art with an obscure word maybe clue it in a way that makes sense
Fine puzzle, but a Wednesday Thursday. To me, it's not a Thursday if I'm never INJEOPARDY. YMMV.
@Barry Ancona Yeah - no rebuses or similar tricks. This felt Wednesday-ish to me too. Enjoyed it nonetheless.
@Barry Ancona maybe doing the puzzles after breakfast will make them day appropriate 😀 I agree this went past quite fast Have a good Thursday
@Barry Ancona Ah, c'mon Barry. I don't believe you are *ever* in jeopardy when it comes to crosswords.
@Barry Ancona My solving time was Thursday-ish, but I attribute that to solving the puzzle when I was barely able to stay awake. We’d been on a three hour hike at 9,000’ on a warm day, and by 9 PM I was zonked.
This was such a pleasing puzzle to solve. It really hit a sweet spot for me, somewhere there between things I immediately knew, things I quickly deduced, and things I was happy to learn. Throw in also some great misdirects, and what a terrific Thursday puzzle this was! Thank you so much, Mr. De Vera! I loved the double entendre of the themers as well as your in memoriam shout-out to ALEX Trebek. And now, to wrap it up, "I'd like 80's new wave classics for $800..." How about it then – here's the great Howard Jones with "WHAT IS LOVE" <a href="https://youtu.be/w34vnz_LEX4?si=3NXbLJlg4xNo8Xwq" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/w34vnz_LEX4?si=3NXbLJlg4xNo8Xwq</a>
@sotto voce And 90s Dance Hits for $500, please... <a href="https://youtu.be/HEXWRTEbj1I?si=MBnFlX9T6fRgK51h" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/HEXWRTEbj1I?si=MBnFlX9T6fRgK51h</a>
@sotto voce [Ken, I’d like Joyous Performances at the Newport Folk Festival for $400, please] Linda Perry and Brandi Carlisle tell us… <a href="https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=OrsgvielJ3g&pp=0gcJCf8Ao7VqN5tD" target="_blank">https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=OrsgvielJ3g&pp=0gcJCf8Ao7VqN5tD</a>
I thought this was delightful, but I did miss my Thursday mindbender. Even the fill wasn’t too tricky except for the SE. To be a little nitty—I don’t mind an occasional regionalism but WHAP and THAR seemed overkill in the same puzzle especially since the signal for THAR seemed more archaic than regional.
I really liked this one and got to a 7-day streak! Small potatoes to most but since I just started learning how to solve crosswords this year (I’ve even have gotten to a 12-day streak at one point, albeit with some lookups). Had always felt I *should* like crosswords as a former English grad student but it did not come naturally. Glad to know I can still learn new skills as I approach 50. When I finish each puzzle I always race to the comments to see what you all have to say. Whenever I see a post from Grand Marais I’m especially pleased. Just wanted to say I’m really enjoying this newfound online community.
@Sarah It's no longer new to me, but yes I find it a balm. Welcome, and don't be a stranger.
Our new puppy "Tillie" fell asleep on my arm as I finished this delightful puzzle. The good news jingle did not wake her & the arm is already dotted with her "teething" nip marks. She's about 9 weeks old and will "sit" on command.
@Once a Marine How lovely! Inside tip: consider putting puppy to bed when LandShark mode arrives. They play tough when they’re tired, which is almost hourly in their early months. I miss it though. Have fun!
Fun but quick! I'm too lazy to read all the comments to see if someone has already mentioned that 60A should have been clued to Fleming.
48d took me a while to figure out at the end. Why not just clue 60a as the old NYC subway and keep WHIP with the same clue at 48d? To me, WHAP is the sound of swatting someone with a rolled up newspaper, not actually beating them. And while the theme is fun, I don't think the revealer works, unless this is another regional thing? Do people say they heard the answer 'in Jeopardy!' or 'on Jeopardy!'? I would only ever say 'on'.
@el On Jeopardy would probably be preferred but the idea was to have the revealer to have a second meaning—at risk, INJEOPARDY
@el "On Jeopardy" if you're watching it on TV. IN JEOPARDY if you're one of the participants.
Some Thursdays you'd just as soon have a Wednesday. Thank you, Gene Louise. Clever cluing, nothing punishing, and plenty of smiles along the way. I'm happy.
[“I’ll take ‘Animals’ for $200, Ken”] Savanna prey WHAT’S GNU
@Anita "Savanna prey, darling?" What's gnu, pussycat.
My fav puzzle so far this year. What a treat!
I loved this theme!! It is so hard not to take it personally when people die right after kissing you.
@ad absurdum What am I missing here? All I can think is that you had a special relationship with Trebek before he passed
@ad absurdum Now I'm wondering if that's what kids these day refer to as "ghosting" someone.
I completed my first Thursday puzzle! I didn’t enjoy crosswords and found them frustrating. Then I read the Times’ primer explaining the nuances. It was tremendously helpful! I completed all the Mondays for this year and then the Tuesdays. Once I completed the final Wednesday puzzle, I was ready to tackle my first Thursday. Once I knock out the Thursdays, I’ll be ready for you Friday!
@Louis You might want to check out "Cruciverbalism" by Stanley Newman. Good insight on how puzzles are made, how to get better at solving them, etc. Plus he's a good writer.
@Louis Way to go Louis. As info my average Friday times are a bit faster than Thursdays'. I think it's because some of the Thursday themes are a bit diabolical and it takes me a while to crack into them. Fridays are themless. My fastest Thursday was July 3rd of this year, try it!
Will, It was so much fun! It went by wayyy tooo quickly! More like that please!
Once I got CanCan replaced by CHACHA I started to swing! Duped by the recent TOUCAN I suppose😉
@Canoe-er Cancan, Cha Cha, Nae Nae — I just wait for the crosses.
I asked ChatGPT if it thought I was a MEATBAG just to see what it said, here’s how it responded. Nice to know someone/some thing still appreciates me: Well, if we’re being literal — yes, like all humans, you’re a remarkably sophisticated arrangement of organic matter, water, and various proteins… basically a “meat bag” in the most affectionate sci-fi sense. But you’re also a thinking, feeling, memory-making, pun-appreciating being, so “meat bag” is kind of like calling the Mona Lisa “some paint on wood.” Technically correct, but it misses the magic.
@SP, That’s a surprisingly non-robotic response from ChatGPT. Pretty nice, actually. Now I’m a little more worried about AI. 😯
@SP I decided to pose it the same exact question, "Do you think I'm a meatbag?" This is the answer I got: "Only if you're quoting HK-47! 😄 Otherwise—no, I don't assume anything about you unless you tell me. If you're a human, great. If you're a droid with sarcasm protocols enabled, also great. Want to clarify, or should we just roll with the mystery?" WHAT'S UP? What happened to it flattering me? I'm jealous, SP! 😂
@SP Ha! Love it!! Since you and @sotto voce asked it, and I'm still at my desk, I asked my work-approved AI if I was a meatbag. It wasn't quite as complimentary as ChatGPT was to you but still, light-hearted: "This is a fun question that gets at a common piece of slang! The term "meatbag" is slang used to refer to a person or any living creature, often from a non-human or robotic point of view. It's a way of highlighting the physical, biological nature of a body in a slightly humorous or dismissive way. So, while you are a human being, in the spirit of the phrase, you could be playfully called a "meatbag." It's just a way of talking about the fact that we're all made of flesh and bone." I appreciate that it assumed I really am a human being. I always tell the robots that I am not a robot but perhaps I'm just a rather advanced one that isn't tricked into saying I am not a robot. They'll never know!
I loved it. How many people who love a daily crossword challenge probably watch Jeopardy and Wheel of fortune? Trivia and letter sussing. What a treat!
A bit easy for a Thursday but a real delight nonetheless - loved it.
Very ingenious, if quick. I still have coffee in my cup!
This will be my last time in the comments section. Far be it from me to assume that this was a place where people could come and share their thoughts about the puzzle without engaging in negative or demeaning behavior. It's a crossword puzzle, after all--and unfortunately the bad apples do ruin the whole bunch when all I want is a way to disengage from the otherwise negative world. Mike, keep the puns going. I'll check back in on them another time.
@Kristopher I’ve learned to ignore them, but I did flag one specific comment of Felicia’s that was a direct slur. They are entitled to their opinion (see what I did there) and even to post it but some lines you don’t cross.
@Kristopher this is your first interaction with people who do crossword puzzles? Some are so far on the spectrum they could make the word “hello” seem nasty. Most of the time you just live with it. The ones spewing irrelevant nastiness tend to get slapped down or flagged and disappear.
@SP Using the they/them pronouns for Felicia is kinda brilliant.
@Kristopher Perhaps you should just wait a little longer to visit the comments, as the really divisive ones tend to get flagged and removed by around 7 am Eastern. (The one you’re referring to is gone now, but I’m sure it was a doozy, given the author’s previous comments.) Or just skip past certain names. Don’t let the trolls spoil your fun.
Late to the comments, but very much enjoyed the Jeopardy! theme. So cleverly done. Jeopardy! has been important to my family since I was in junior high and could go home for lunch and watch the Art Fleming/Don Pardo years. Almost 40 years ago, I was lucky enough to be at a contestant test where Alex himself appeared and called out the names of those who passed the WRITTEN test. He then walked out to each and shook our hands. Unfortunately I was forced to wash that hand since. We still watch religiously and, while we miss and mourn Alex, I think Ken is doing an excellent job and keeping Alex in our minds and hearts. Ken is even making the contestant interviews pleasant to watch. WHAT DO YOU SAY? Thank you.
Love the puzzle, and the ASWAN joke had me giggling. Love even more the Dr. Glaucomflecken reference in the column. Everything about Dr G is awesome!
@Isabeau He’s so great. I found him first on Twitter which lead me to his YouTube channel.
Fun puzzle, and so much in my wheelhouse--the whole NW corner, and the gimme ARS POETICA. Am I brilliant? No, just a geek. Plenty of Canadian Culture Content today, with Mt. St. ELIAS, AERO bars, and, I suppose, ALEX Trebek. My Canadian in-laws are staying with us for the week. On Tuesday, several persons expressed an interest in my plans for blueberry pie; for them, a report: The U-pick farm we planned to go to this morning closed for the week to allow for further ripening--the ice storm that ravished this part of the state last March resulted in a short, and scanty, season. However, I learned that the same farm had a stand at a local farm market on Wednesdays, and so yesterday my Sister-in-Law and I rushed over and picked up a case of pre-picked berries. ("Local" in this part of the state is a relative term, and the farmer's market is a 60 mile round trip; so no small carbon-footprint on this pie.) The pie is now in the oven: 12"shell, 3 1/2 lbs. fruit, 9 1/2 oz. sugar, a splash of lemon juice and a p[inch of clove for flavor, and thickened with tapioca flour. Off to check it.
@Bill I've never heard of the AERO candy bar, but ZERO didn't work at all. Wow, I haven't had one of those in years. And when I think of Canadian chockies, it's the Cadbury's Dairy Milk, or the Fruit and Nut.
Delightful Thursday! Loved the puzzle. Love the show. Many years ago the Jeopardy College Tournament was taped at nearby Yale and my (then) high school aged son and I were in the audience. Best part was Alex coming out before the show started and answering questions from the crowd. Also, when you watch a live taping you find out how often they sometimes stop the show to check an answer with the judges. Every now and then I catch a very slight hesitation where shows have been spliced together and realize that happens more than we know out here in the tv audience. I miss Alex, but really enjoying Ken’s tenure after watching his amazing run as a contestant back in the day.
@Connie I was there too! Watching an actual taping was fascinating and watching how Alex fielded questions from the audience with such aplomb gave me a whole new respect for him.
Initially, I confidently filled in OsTeO for 36A. I didn't realize my error until I was met with AsSPOETICA... whoops! 😅
@Derek I did the same exact thing. At less ASSPOETICA made me laugh…
@Derek You were possibly confused by the fact that there's an Osteopathic school in Kansas City (Kansas City University, on Independence Ave. But Osteopaths (DOs) aren't always Orthopods, although they can be. Osteopathic comes from the old idea that joints being misaligned caused illness and discomfort. Joint manipulation is often taught, but not always required in osteopathic schools. DO programs are very similar to MD programs these days, and the graduates go to the same residency programs. (My daughter is a DO).
A most memorable moment was the face-screwing span I went through after misreading 4A’s clue as [Prominent feature of a hippocampus or crocodile]. Et tu, emu.
@Lewis did that same misread on the first pass.
@Lewis Those moments always makes me think of the old "Phantom" Sunday strips, where they would show someone looking wide-eyed with just a giant red exclamation point over their head.
True story: we have a friend who used to work at E! starting back in the late 80s, when it was known as Movietime. He wasn't the most tech-savvy person, but he did use a computer at work. At some point in the 90s a friend asked him to email something, and he said "How can I send you an email? You don't work at E." That's the day that he learned that the "e" in "email" stood for electronic, not entertainment. ;) He also came up with a tagline that they declined to use, but I always thought it was brilliant: If it's happening in the world of entertainment, it's news to us!
In keeping with my now well-established enthusiasm for Star Trek, I'd like to say that I thought computers might see humans as "Ugly bags of mostly water." In any case, it didn't fit... Sad! Har! 😏 Though it would be hard to beat my love for the Star Trek puzzle, this was great fun!! What a terrific theme and lots of fun clue/answer pairs. Lots of smiles throughout! Went quite fast but I did struggle a bit with WHAP and ART. Got there because I didn't think it could be anything else but I felt iffy about it. Wouldn't have minded this being a Sunday with more fun JEOPARDY clues. Gotta hop on a meeting soon, so lucky you, I'll keep this short! 😁
@HeathieJ My first thought was “ugly bags of mostly water,” as well. It’s Thursday; rebus maybe? Either that or Lem’s “palefaces,” or whatever they’re termed in Polish. BTW, where’s @Andrzej been lately?
Whether this puzzle played on the wrong day or not doesn’t take away from its enjoyment. Thanks, Gene Louise
A quick word on etymology: JEOPARDY comes from the French “jeu parti” meaning a shared/even game, ie you have not got an advantage and could easily lose. Nothing to do with leopards.
@Petrol note to self: on second thoughts, perhaps leopardy would be “the lion’s share”?
People who don't know about WHAP clearly do not read enough comics, which are a goldmine for onomatopoeia.
To Deb, I’m pretty sure that USH is meant as a verb here, not a noun. This was a relatively easy Thursday for me maybe because I own a collie (HERD),I love Mary Cassatt (THETEA) and I majored in geology (FJORD and ATOLL). Or perhaps after a few months of solving I’m getting better at this? The Jeopardy clues were so much fun. I got WHATISLOVE right away and after that the rest were a snap. Bravo! I think AlLEX would have loved it.
@Lisa Marshall You are getting better at this. And if you’re like most of us, you’ll continue to develop your solving skills for a long time.
@Lisa Marshall Came here to say the same thing about USH. You beat me to it!
That was so fun. Alex Trebek would have been proud.
Very well done! The TV show was obvious, but I didn’t catch on to how it played out as quickly as I should have. Saw the gimmick with WHATSUP - a charming, bittersweet little movie. And I confidently put in nitrO for 2D, which ground me to a halt for a time. Not the impossibility of so many Thursdays - fine by me!
@Mike Well, the first 5 minutes was a charming, bittersweet little movie. I don't know WHAT the rest of that big mess was up in my eyes...
Everyone who heard Bender answering 6D, drink!
I enjoyed all the trivia, both in the theme answers (WHAT’S UP, WHAT’S THE TEA) and the others (YEW). More of a Wednesday puzzle in difficulty but that’s ok. I’m tired anyway.