I really enjoyed this puzzle. Loved the Here be dragons, and Come to a bad end, etc. All just barrels of fun. It took me an hour, which after reading all the much shorter times posted tonight, brought up a chuckle. I'm just so darn happy to solve one of these glorious things that an hour for a Saturday is a thrill for me. Some times a Saturday takes a few days at least. I've been doing crosswords for many years, and I love them. But I'm not fast and have been known to go down a rabbit hole or two when I find a word that fascinates me or one I want to know more about. So, if there are any newbies out there, don't be discouraged by the quick players and the wunderkinds, this is a game for us slow poke, plod alongs as well. I'm almost 80 and have been cross wording for decades and still having fun. It's not a competition, thank goodness. It's a wonderful opportunity to keep learning, have a laugh or two, and to appreciate all the brilliant minds that construct these marvels. Y'all have a great Labor Day week end. ✌️
@Bonnie Ann What a wonderful, even eye-moistening, post! You made me think of something I thought a long time ago about golf. Why, if you like swinging and hitting the ball so much, do you strive to do it as few times as possible? There are of course good answers to that, but it still rings as slightly counter-intuitive. Same thing with time in a crossword. I come here to for the time of the puzzle solution, basically give myself permission to not think about any of the horrible things I can't fight off the rest of the day. Why should I want to rush through that? Another example: speed reading. I would love to be able to read John Updike at about ten words per minute, letting every sinuous sentence surprising me before it vanishes. I'm not a fast reader by any means, or even average speed, but there are times I wanted to slow down (or is it "slow up" re: an earlier puzzle).
@Bonnie Ann (et. al.) I'll join the chorus (daddy sings bass). Not at all interested in speed solving. Don't' really care at all about how long it takes me. Just enjoy working things out. Glad to be in good company. ...
@Bonnie Ann I enjoyed reading your comment (as always). As Steve L likes to say (more or less), solving quickly is just a natural thing for some of us. It’s hard to go slower than the pace that feels right to you. As long as someone is enjoying the time spent with a crossword, it doesn’t matter if it’s 10 minutes or two hours. I hope you have a great Labor Day weekend, too. More importantly, I hope that first cool weather comes to Central Texas sooner rather than later. I don’t at all miss those summers that last until October.
@Bonnie Ann This right here. We could be soulmates!
@Francis My father was an avid golfer. He played every Saturday morning at Brookside in Pasadena, which is the public course that becomes a parking lot whenever there is a football game in the Rose Bowl -- but no parking on the greens, just on the fairways. Anyway, he'd come home and I'd asked him how his game went. He'd usually say, "I got to hit the ball more than anyone else."
TIL "Legally Blonde" is supposed to be a pun on Legally Blind
@AS That was new to me too. Never really thought about it before.
@AS thank you! I stared at it for ages thinking “but that’s not a pun”. Not sure if I was too blind to see it or too blonde to get it.
@AS I think when Legally Blonde first came out, it was more clearly a pun of “legally blind.” Nowadays we’re so familiar with the movie (and its offspring) that we forget its punny origin.
@AS I didn’t know that, either. As a lawyer who can sometimes be a bit of an intellectual snob, I avoided Legally Blonde when it was released. A few years ago, we finally caught up on a number of classic 1990s romcoms and were surprised by how much we enjoyed Legally Blonde.
@AS Exactly what puzzled me most after finishing as well! I was looking at it for ages thinking "I get The Santa Clause, but Legally Blonde?? How is that a pun?!"
When I'm eating my glazed ring-shaped treat, donut disturb me. (Nothing will torus apart.)
@Mike Sometimes it rains in and sometimes it sprinkles. Either way, it can be a hole new world in sinkers, whether you nibbled orbit 'em.
@Mike Sorry, no Timbits come to mind today.
@Mike I hate it when people interrupt me while enjoying one of those. Nothing could be cruller.
Can someone explain the answer to "Heat setting, maybe"? Thank you!
@Kate F Sorry, "Heat setting, perhaps".
@Kate F Track meet, or swim meet is the setting. Divided into heats. I honestly came here for an explanation and found none so I was forced to think it over for a bit longer than I'm proud of.
@Pcraves Thank you! That was not where my mind was at all.
@Kate F I didn’t understand it myself.
@Kate ugh, because I don’t know 12th night & didn’t have many letters for SEBASTIAN, I was thinking of an oven and tried MEAT. When I got enough letters to figure out the character name and realized the third letter was E, because I didn’t get the clue I figured the first two letters must be wrong also. Finally guessed MEET and got the screen saying I had solved it so came here to find out why, so I also learned I live in the same town as the constructor. Interesting.
@Kate F That's one I hoped would be explained in "Tricky Clues". Oh well.
@Kate F For a good while, I was thinking "Heat setting in a car, so... feet."
A fairy tale beginning. Maddy’s been making puzzles for less than two years and she lands a Times Saturday. Bravo! Apt to have an outstanding set of first-time NYT answers in a debut puzzle. There are eight, including beauties ON THE BEAT NOT A GOOD IDEA, and HERE BE DRAGONS. I don’t remember ever hearing the latter but it’s so quirky and sounds so pitch-perfect, that I love it. It’s my favorite answer in the puzzle. That middle stack is popping with spark (two answer debuts and one once-before) – three abutting 13s with zero ugly crosses. Wow! I liked the mini-theme of titles, with SENOR, EMIRS, MAYOR, and a backward SRI. I loved [Heat setting, perhaps] for MEET – wordplay, direct clue, and opaque, all at the same time. Mwah! Congratulations, Maddy, and it’s clear to me that you’ve got the knack. I’m hoping for more … please? Thank you for a splendid outing!
As others have noted, this was on the easier side: At a little over 10 minutes, this was far and away my fastest Saturday (previous record was something like 15). But I’m not coming here to brag (others have and will continue to post much better times!) or complain (I’m happy for a break!). I’m coming here to say that the fill was excellent, and the constructor did a fantastic job. Staring at the finished puzzle, I really have to admire how it all fits together. The only difference between this and a “hard” Saturday solve is the lack of obfuscation around a handful of clues. If some of the longer entries (say RIDDLE ME THIS, COLD OPENS, HERE BE DRAGONS, COME TO A BAD END, NOT A GOOD IDEA) had been the result of misleading wordplay rather than clued directly, this could have easily taken double the time. Easy tweaks the editors could have pushed for if they wanted to; clearly, they wanted to be nice to us this week.
@Stephen This is such a lovely comment. Congrats on your PB.
@Stephen If I had solved this puzzle in a little over 10 minutes, I would be here to brag (even a humble brag would be warranted). It took me 24:10, slightly over my best Saturday time three years ago. I don't try for speed solving, and seldom remember to put the puzzle on pause when I'm off to do something else, but supper was done and I was under no pressure to stop, so I didn't until it was solved. Even so I think you must be very fast with touching or typing, whichever you do—either way I would count 15 minutes as a triumph. What you say about toughening up the clues is true, and once I remembered Occam's razor and stopped trying so hard, I found them much easier than most Saturdays past. The puzzle was a delight, and Maddy Ziegler is indeed a Queen for this day, so no need to rain on her parade, how ever lightly.
Pretty smooth sailing with only a few hiccups, and enjoyable fill. My only quibble is HEREBEDRAGONS. As Caitlin pointed out, this was phrase put at the end of maps (rarely, apparently) to warn of unknown dangers in unexplored territory. I can’t find any references real or fictional where it would have been used to actually warn knights away from anything (seems like it would have been more of an incentive). I think it’s a fantastic (both meanings intended) marquee entry, but if you are going to use it why not clue it in its historical context which would have been equally as puzzling and interesting and actually teach people something.
@SP I agree. I don’t see how that was a warning for nights.
@SP When I think about it, I agree that maps and sea charts came after the knight era. Most knights couldn't read, I don't think. But it's a fun clue and answer for a crossword. Harkens back to medieval myths.
@SP Knights fighting dragons is an ancient narrative. Seems like a Saturday level connection between clue and answer with a misdirection to the old maps usage. I got DRAGONS early but needed the crosses for HEREBE. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_George_and_the_Dragon" target="_blank">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_George_and_the_Dragon</a>
The long fills seemed so easy— but don't they always once they are in there? I finished much more quickly than anticipated, after I had a lot of nothing the first pass(es). But I reset my focus to offbeat, and I can't TELL you what a different it made. Thank you, Maddy, that was funl.
Congratulations on a fun NYT debut, Ms Ziegler! The KARATE LESSONS clue is wonderful — I don’t even mind that I tried KARATE claSseS first. And HERE BE DRAGONS is a wonderful phrase that my husband and I work into conversation whenever we can. Hope we see you back here soon.
@Eric Hougland You guys sound fun. I guessed at HERE BE DRAGONS but never thought of it as a set phrase, other than as a quaint manner of speech we recognize as belonging to a certain genre, like the pirates' "Arrgghhh". Knowing me, it's probably used in a movie or TV show I don't know.
@Teresa There’s a Wikipedia page on it! It’s a thing. Although it apparently never actually appeared on old maps (except a couple of globes from the 1500s) but it’s commonly used on recreations/maps meant to look like they’re from the Middle Ages, in media, and as a metaphorical phrase for danger. There’s a number of books/movies etc with the title (T)here Be Dragons (most/all using it in the metaphorical sense).
I'm at the airport ready to fly back home from holiday, so I'm disengaging vacation mode and going back to my daily routines, which include solving NYT puzzles. We're getting a puppy on Monday though so I might not have time to do anything else but care for him 🤣. It's a good thing today's grid was easy for a Saturday - I'm probably one rusty solver after three weeks off. I completed the puzzle without outside help but I don't get why "Fashion plate, maybe" solves to MODEL. Any help?
In the US it's common to say that someone who wears nice clothes is a "fashion plate" -- the clue was actually more literal than I expected.
@Andrzej Welcome back. Once you get the new pup it sounds like things will be picking up.
@Andrzej Our new puppy routinely butts into my puzzle time and tends to flop on my lap top. Expect slower finishing times and much laughter.
@Andrzej I hope you had a nice vacation. And congratulations on your new puppy! I hope he brings you much joy for many years.
Andrzej, Welcome almost home! See definition 2. <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fashionplate" target="_blank">https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fashionplate</a>
@Andrzej -- Missed you, sir. Welcome back!
@Andrzej -- Oh, and if you get a chance to do this week's Tuesday and Wednesday, they won't take you long AND they're both special... FWIW.
@Andrzej Welcome back from three weeks vacation! Have fun with your puppy. A MODEL wears fashions, and the person is sometimes called a fashion plate
I think you were right, Maddy; this was a fine Friday! I really wanted to COMETOnothing, but I was pleased to COMETOABADEND. Otherwise, no DRAGONS here, nor URBANDECAY. I'll take the MINIDONUTS, and I don't want to hear complaints about the BRANDNAME in the grid. I MEANIT.
@Barry Ancona HAVEASIP of my root beer, Barry! I’d light up a post-puzzle cigarette, too, but wouldn’t want to COMETOABADEND.
Smooth debut with a lot of character. Not as Saturday as some I've done but that's cool. Had Maya for Magi for a while. Loved Here Be Dragons but thought the clue could use some retooling; the one map that has that legend is ca. 1500, somewhat past the heyday of knighthood; more likely those who would consult such a map would be a mariner, a merchant, or a soldier. I kinda wish Sam Lyons, font of information on many things classical & medieval, would make an appearance and correct me on this, stop me from acting like a priggish pedant. Sam -- we miss you! Mini donuts, karate lessons, urban decay, magi, such a rich and varied word-set... I always understood Yom Tov to refer to a class of holidays, not a term for a singular holiday like Yom Kippur, but since there are some holiday days that are Yom Tov days (kind of like sabbath days but with some differences in allowable meal preparation), it's kosher and I'm splitting hairs...again...
@john ezra "yom tov" is much more likely to be heard in the ashkenazi diaspora universe than around here. in fact usually preceded by the redundant "good."
@john ezra Yes, that’s a warning for sailors, not knights. I guess the excuse is that it’s a joke, but then it should be marked with the ?. It’s certainly not “classic” in any sense.
@john ezra @ Matt Or as we used to say when I was growing up: "Good Yuntiff"
@John It’s a classic warning for fictional knights
@john ezra I think the frequency of use in fiction as a warning for knights makes the clue fit.
Really struggled getting through this, thought I was dead but pushed through for a very rare, hint-less Saturday solve. And then, as always, come here to see everyone complaining about how easy it was. Crosswords will never not make me feel stupid. Thanks NYT.
Wow, I blew through that one in a hurry. Not that challenging or right in my wheelhouse. Can't decide which.
@John Can’t speak to your wheelhouse, but xwstats.com says the puzzle is Very Easy: 🌎 Global Stats Difficulty Very Easy Median Solve Time 12:04 Median Solver 36% faster ⚡96% of users solved faster than their Saturday average. 79% solved much faster (>20%) than their Saturday average. 🐢4% of users solved slower than their Saturday average. 2% solved much slower (>20%) than their Saturday average.
That's the second time I put in Sonoma when the answer had to be Sonora. I will never learn from my mistakes. Sonoma is nowhere close to Sonora.
@Jonathan That answer was easy for me, as my city is just on the other side of Mexico!
I was LOLing out loud when I got KARATELESSONS and MINIDONUTS. There were a number of other nice little clues as well. As a cartophile of sorts, I love old maps that say “here be monsters” so HEREBEDRAGONS resonated with me too. I had a glitch at the end. I had entered ers instead of ORS and no idea about the ESPN nickname so oche seemed as plausible as anything. It took me a minute or two to figure out my mistake, but not so long as to spoil my enjoyment of this fresh puzzle.
@Marshall Walthew I had the same error, but it took me 10 minutes to find it!
Would have finished so much quicker but I didn't get the music so another fifteen mins later, I realise it's COMETOABADEND, not CaMETOABADEND. I didn't help that I'd never heard of a HORA before 🫣 HEREBEDRAGONS - despite the explanation - was most unpleasant 🤣 I know some of y'all are tripping cos it's was more of a Friday crossword but there's nothing wrong with skipping leg day once in a while. Enjoy it. It's only a crossword. Calma! 😃
@Sebastian Those verb tenses are killers. It's so easy to not see those errors when inspecting because they are reasonable enough sounding answers, unless you really think about the clue.
@Sebastian - do the NYT crossword enough and HORA becomes automatic fill
@Sebastian I always enjoy seeing "y'all" being used by someone who's not from the American South. It's the second person plural that the English language sorely needs, and it makes me happy to see it get hijacked, especially by someone in London.
Genuinely thought the constructor was the young woman from Dance Moms and Sia’s former muse. Second ever sub 8 minute Saturday solve, so that’s exciting!
@Channing Congrats, and just ignore the 22A-hat comment above you.
@Channing May I ask, did you do the puzzle two weeks ago? Exactly two weeks before this one? Because it was a monster I couldn't even get started, and there were a lot of comments on how difficult it was. My question is did you get it, but it just took you longer, or did you just have to give up on it? What I'm trying to establish is whether there's a correlation between speed and percent "clean" completion. Do almost all speedy players complete (to their satisfaction) a higher percentage of puzzles than a slower player? I feel like I'm having trouble stating this question, which probably means I'm in low verbalization phase. Or something. Is it hot in here or is it just me?
Congratulations Maddy on your debut. An elegant puzzle. Loved KARATE LESSONS and HERE BE DRAGONS. I had HUH before HEH and MEAT before MEET. (A microwave heat setting?) I liked the clue for YACHT. When I saw Bahla fort I thought “wait a minute!, I know that place, I’ve been there. Where was it? Ah yes, nestled in the Jebel Akhdar range of Oman.” How sad, young lady, that you consider me old enough to be SPRY!
@Roger I’m 66. The SPRY clue, clever as it was, could easily have used 70 or 80 and worked as well. (No offense intended to my seniors.)
HereBeDragons is a remarkably fun answer; but even more enjoyable was Caitlyn's explanation. My childhood was bereft of dragons and the like so I appreciate this dive into dragondom.
Much more like a Friday than a Saturday for me. This week was a strange one for me: I had almost the same time for Wednesday (worse than usual), Thursday (a bit better than usual) and today (significantly better than my usual Saturday time).
@Bill My experience is similar: Wednesday X:09 Thursday X:12 Friday X:17 Saturday X:50 I can’t remember the last time something like that happened.
Okay this puzzle was very good but was way, way, way too easy for a Saturday. There’s nothing wrong with a fun, easy, well-constructed themeless. But not in the Saturday NYT. This is the fault of the editor, not the constructor.
@Christy S this was actually so hard for me, haha!
No junk fill! And the cluing is really good. I solve for fun, not time, and this one hit my Saturday sweet spot. Well done Maddy!
Finished in short order, then spent 10 minutes trying to find my error. Similar to yesterday's, it came down to a single clue that eventually--but then quite suddenly--transformed itself as I stared at it. I'm apparently not the only one who was thinking microwave settings before athletic events. I'm reminded of a cat who once owned me, who learned that if she stared at a door long enough, it would change from closed to open. I'm learning to work similar magic by staring at clues. If nothing happens, it just means I haven't stared long enough.
@Lynn 😂 I WISH my cats only stared, but they also yell. Usually when I'm starting a work call, of course. It always works, and the door magically opens. Perhaps we should also try meowing at the clues?
Congratulations on your NYT debut, counselor! Loved the fresh fill.
His KARATE LESSONS had COME TO A BAD END because HERE BE DRAGONS and they're not here for the MINI DONUTS
Congratulations on a great debut with very satisfying longer fill. I always appreciate links to the constructor's portfolios/websites so thanks for that Caitlin.
[Heat setting, perhaps] and [Kick starter program?] the favorites.
Solved in just under 13 minutes, nearly half my usual solving time for a Saturday. Very nice fill, as others have appreciated, but the clues need some work. Just a little too straightforward. That's ok. I'm sure this constructor will offer us some brain twisters in the future.
Did anyone else wonder if the crossword constructor was the young dancer from SIA's videos? <a href="https://youtu.be/2vjPBrBU-TM?si=ovcWU9z3JgAJ5VPV" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/2vjPBrBU-TM?si=ovcWU9z3JgAJ5VPV</a> They're not the same Maddie/Maddy Ziegler, but I guess it would have been fitting since Sia appears so often in NYT crossword puzzles.
This Saturday was so fun and my personal best time at 6:31! The fill definitely made me laugh.
@Syd Were you excited to see your homophonic doppelgänger in the puzzle? 😀✨
@Syd All I can say is wow! Took me more time than that to get my first entry 🤷♀️ This one, though not really hard, took a bit of thought and a couple of googles to get through.
Really enjoyed it. Surprisingly easy for a Saturday. Solved in under 20 min, a PB for me (I´ve been solving for a couple of years but I´m half non-anglo and tend to miss out on a lot of references) but the fill was SO good. I came up with a theme and want to try my hand at constructing and submitting and when I see fill like this in a debut it´s honestly intimidating, heh. Congrats!
I solve on my phone, so the letters are tiny. For 6 across, I saw the "ri" as the letter "n," which elicited a "been there, done that" response. I remember, in particular, an evening that a friend and I spent lying on our backs on top of an ancient mound in Alabama, when I watched the stars circle around Van Gogh style. Solved this one via my wits and knowledge alone, so I'm here to get my self esteem pruned back by a few anticipated "Wednesday level" complaints.
I know I'm supposed to want a more difficult puzzle on a Saturday but I didn't today. This was fun. I thought "grams," heat setting" and "way out" were all pretty clever. A lot of fresh, fun word play in this puzzle.
Um...how is this puzzle "torrid"?? I enjoyed the solve, especially noting RIDDLE ME THIS (quite old-fashioned, really) and HERE BE DRAGONS (even older.) I will say, though, that this is not the usual Saturday Toughie. I got 30A off the C (with no other crossings at the time) and the only AHA Moment was when KARAT turned into KARATE! Nonetheless...congrats to Maddy and earnest wishes for her bringing us more!
@Mean Old Lady I'm guessing "HEAT" = Torrid
I am surprised to see so many "this was easy"comments. I really struggled on the left half of the puzzle. I kept thinking it would be "beware dragons". Also, cereal bars didn't come naturally to me, nor did Karate (soccer was on the brain). Came in right at my average for a Saturday, which is a slow 1 hour.
Can someone tell me what 27 across means? I’m totally clueless. Why is that word a heat setting?
@Adnil Think of track or swim meets which are a collection of heats. Hence, a setting for heat(s).
@Adnil Heat as in a swim meet or track meet. Each heat has a certain level of athlete.
@Adnil Yeah, that one puzzled me also - I’m definitely not a fan of that clue!
I've been trying my hand at puzzle construction for some time now. I have to admit that Ms. Ziegler is faring better than I, for now. However, I'm a much better dancer.
@Asher B. I couldn't create a crossword to save my life, but I am a terrible dancer.
@Asher B. This is funny, with one teensy caveat: the constructor is not the dancer. Maddy Ziegler, the constructor, is an attorney (per her notes). Maddie Ziegler is the dancer. The councidence is pretty amazing because it's not such a common name.
@Asher B. I’ve had a few puzzles published, but it’s been a while since I’ve tried constructing anything. I’m lousy at coming up with workable themes. My themeless grids start out fine, but I inevitably get stuck with an answer or two that just kills the puzzle. (Unfortunately, you can’t just say “This answer is really bad” and find something better because the bad answer might be holding your grid together.) Ms Ziegler’s success might be the inspiration I need to get back to constructing. Good luck with your efforts!
I got a PB today by three seconds over my previous one. I’ve been solving so long - over 3400 puzzles since using the app - that PBs are very rare for me any more. I don’t usually pay much attention to times, other than on Sundays, but this one zipped by so fast for me that I had to look. I enjoyed the snappy fill! This puzzle put a sweet cap on a fun day. Thank you, Ms. Ziegler!
@Cindy What's a PB? Without &J?
@Cindy Here’s one crossnerd :) term that crops up occasionally and may be new to you: “dook”. It’s when the parsing of the fill gives one pause as in “what the heck is a dook?”, when it is meant to be read as “do OK”. HANDYNASTY has caused some confusion until parsed as HAN DYNASTY.
@Cindy Congratulations on your PB (“Personal Best”)! (Yes, I’m poking a little fun at Rachel Ray and her use of EVOO.) The NYT Games app says I have solved 8,565 puzzles to date. I solved a few hundred on paper, so maybe 10,000 NYT puzzles in all? Like you, I rarely get a new PB anymore. I think I’ve had one this year. It’s fun when that happens, even if you’re not trying to set a new record.
Fast and fresh. Good Wednesday themeless.
[What no proctologist wants to do] Is it just me or did Caitlin make a kinda libellous claim about Benjamin Franklin DeCosta? "The Hora! The Hora!" "Yeah, yeah, after the ceremony, Kurtz." COME TO A BAD END
I find it interesting that the clues that are listed as tricky in the column are usually ones I did not find particularly tricky. It is usually others that trip me up. Like, how does "Meet" relate to the clue "Heat setting, perhaps", or clues about obscure authors/actors/screenwriters, etc, or that require specific knowledge of games or shows that only those that played or watched them would have.
@Homey16 a meet is a track and field competition. There are heats to get to the finals.
@Homey16 random authors and also a lot of religious references... I didn't grow up any religion and I'm not in a very Jewish area so soooooo many references go over my head!
@Homey16 in addition to track meets are swim meets that also have heats 😁
I loved many of today's entries, but my favorite was 52A. Almost inevitably, when I tell someone that I have a master's degree in ETHNOmusicology, they'll ask "what's that?" When I explain, their response is generally some variation of "oh, that sounds really interesting!"
Oh, I've been to the Bahla Fort. Good news: one day away from my first ever Golden Month. Bad news: tomorrow is Sunday. Easy 12 minute solve
@Steven M. You solved this in 12 minutes, but you think you might not get a gold star because it's a Sunday? That brings a question to my mind that I've never really thought about before: how frequently do you fast solvers (12 for a Saturday, any Saturday, seems really fast to me) fail to get a gold? I've always assumed that someone who could do a puzzle like this in 12 minutes could easily at least finish any puzzle of the week, ignoring time. But is that true? Are slowpokes like me getting the same solve percentage, just multiple times more slowly?
@Steven M., I actually find Saturdays significantly harder than Sundays. Sundays take me longer because of the grid size, but the elaborate themes tend to make the solving easier.
My eighth sub 2 minute Saturday solve, so exciting!
I had a cat on my chest and fumbled in at 22 minutes. I swear I have to re-enter everything twice. The app, though convenient, is definitely not a way to solve a puzzle quickly.
@Kanye in the words of john mcenroe: you cant be serious! i cant even read the clues or solve the mini in under 2 minutes.
@Kanye Sorry, but I really have to question your time. It sounded so incredible to me, so I just timed myself filling in the grid, *having already done the puzzle and knowing all answers in advance* : 1:38
@Kanye for the mini, right? Right?!
@Kanye Your sarcasm may not be clear enough for all to see. Maybe add a wink emoji next time 😜
Others have already mentioned wondering for a moment whether the constructor could be the dancer and actress who worked with Sia, but that’s Maddie Ziegler. I have found myself glancing at the byline ever since the surprise of seeing Natasha Lyonne’s name at the top of a NYT crossword. That was April 2, 2019, for anyone interested. (I don’t know how to link to a particular puzzle.)
@Paul Turner This has the completed grid, so beware of spoilers! <a href="https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=4/2/2019" target="_blank">https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=4/2/2019</a> I don’t know when I started paying attention to constructor bylines — decades ago, possibly when “Brendan Emmett Quigley” caught my eye. (I have a facility for remembering unusual names that serves me well in crossword puzzle solving.) So the byline is the first thing I notice about a puzzle. When I started on this one last night, I commented to my husband (who could care, Les) that I didn’t recognize Maddy Ziegler’s name. But I hope I will remember it, because this was such a fun puzzle.
Started this last night after a long day and shut it because I wasn’t making much progress. This morning after my usual chores (dog out and fed, cat input and output taken care of, bird feeders filled and out in the yard), and fueled by a cup of coffee, the puzzle clicked into place and I ended up solving it around 30% under my average time. This morning, clues that flummoxed me last night just seemed delightfully clever: “Little dippers” for MINI DONUTS; “Kick-starter program” for KARATE LESSONS; “Heat setting” for MEET. Congratulations to Maddy Ziegler for a first-rate puzzle.
Wow. Saturday was 1 minute slower than Monday. Friday was 5 minutes longer than Thursday and Saturday combined. Wanted to think I was ‘smart’. But I knew this would be considered very easy per that xword stat site. Just did Friday and Saturday. Not jewish. And these last two days have been hurting my solves. Yesterday. I was sure it was beth instead of BNAI. and i would never gotten HORA without three crosses. My favorite hangup was putting saxophone was “violas twin brother”. because I had the opening S. I figured brother was some musical interpretation of a classical piece called “twelfth night”. Anyway. Very breezy after struggling with Friday just before.
@Weak I'm not Jewish either, but we learned "Oh Hanukkah" in grade school, and HORA rhymes with menorah. I didn't know the other Jewish holiday, but YOM Kippur is the day of eating sardines. Saxophone is hilarious.
@Weak YOM is Hebrew for Day… as in Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement Yom Tov is a holy (good, significant) day
Seems there have been a lot of Jewish based clues (more than usual). I get it gives some unique "words" that a creator can utilize but it's unfortunate that instead of going the Spanish hora option, they doubled up on the Jewish culture/religion in this puzzle.
A Saturday record for me in a steady back-and-forth manner and a thoroughly enjoyable solve. I was really puzzled by MEET, which is pretty funny because I used to run track. In my defense, I was a middle distance runner so we didn't have heats, but still.
@Eric Oooh thank you, was puzzled by that one
@Eric We got it, but didn't understand it. Thank you commenters ;)