When I'm on fall break, leaf me alone. (That joke is acorn-y one.)
@Mike Just when we need them to fight the drop in temperature, they turn yellow. School's open. The School of Hard Equi-nox.
@Mike Which part of you did your fall break? (You should clean it and apply some branch dressing.)
@Mike I autumn make a comment that rakes you over the coals for those.
@Mike We are going to hold off on applying a Spoonerism to your opening line.
@Mike Acorny yes, but not really treesonous.
My five favorite original clues from last week (in order of appearance): 1. Getaway where guests are out of fashion? (6)(4) 2. When ties get untied, for short (4) 3. Bold choice, perhaps? (8) 4. One who tries to make a good impression (7) 5. Nothing needs to be said to do it (3) NUDIST CAMP INOT TYPEFACE DENTIST HUM
My favorite encore clues from last week: [Traffic director] (4) [Sound from a chicken] (3) CONE EEK
INOT had me confused for a moment; I was wondering if untying ties is something that's practiced in occupational therapy...
Am I the only one who found this quite hard and not very interesting? Apparently, but I'm used to being the odd man out around these parts 🤣. I solved the puzzle, but in Tuesday time, and I found neither the clueing nor the theme special. It was OK, but I really can't see why many posters before me professed their love for this grid. I enjoyed seeing ACDC though. "Highway to Hell" is a likely candidate for music at my funeral 🤣. Lucyfer the poodle puppy does something new and cute every day. Last night he played with his own reflection in the terrace window 😍. He's also very calm and brave for a puppy. The day before last we took him to Warsaw's Wisła (Vistula) waterfront, one of the city's most crowded places, teeming with locals and tourists alike. Lucek didn't seem stressed at all. He took in all the sights, sounds and smells, and it looked like he enjoyed it. 🙂
@Andrzej I thought it was cute enough but I did feel like the odd person out yesterday, on Sunday's puzzle. Not a huge fan, but also, that's okay. Strangely, I never mind feeling like the odd person out. Or the odd person in either. It all works for me!! Curious though, since you're a self-proclaimed atheist, why on earth would highway to hell be played at your funeral? If there is no heaven, I assume there is no hell..... Sorry, maybe I shouldn't comment when I'm on my second martini and it's a little too late at night! 😂 But I know you're good with all the things!! Which is one of the many things that's awesome about you!!
@Andrzej "I enjoyed seeing ACDC though. "Highway to Hell" is a likely candidate for music at my funeral 🤣." This from a guy who names his dog Lucyfer. :)
@Andrzej Please don't be mad, but I already slipped your funeral deejay 100 złotych to play "Candle in the Wind".
Emus ate my reply to all of you 🫤
@Andrzej For me, it was slower than my usual Monday time, so yes. On a few, I needed a several crosses to complete them.
I’m going to take a stand and say the revealer takes the cake. For a Monday I had a hard time figuring it out. Take a number if you did too. I initially thought the letters IM were removed (i.e. “taken”) from the answers. But of course I couldn’t make any sense of that. I had to take a break before I finally understood the theme. Margaret, take a bow.
Vaer: sotto voce appreciates your concern. She sends her love wants you (and anyone else who’s concerned about her) to know that she’s OK. She just needs a little break from Wordplay and hopes to be back here soon. Thanks for asking after her.
20A was a little misleading for me. All my prayers end in "or else."
A very pleasant puzzle for a very pleasant (lazy) Sunday! Cute theme! I also especially liked ARFS at 31 across, for pound sounds. And I'm also very excited to say that I will be going to hear Stacey ABRAMS speak later this week for MPR's Talking Volumes show.
@HeathieJ Yay! Love that lady!
SECOND CHANCE TOLL CALL FLIGHT RISK
@Lewis: OVER LOOK BATH TIME CARD STOCK ok, y’all, keep it going!
Can we point out how amazing this is for a Monday? It really takes the cake.
Peter, I gather you found the theme...
I'M quite TAKEN with your CALM approach to cluing. Perfect for a Sunday afternoon—I could almost hear the WAY a COW LOWeS in the evening on a FARM when the TEAM rounds up the TEEMing herd and says AMEN to the day. You gave us a lovely puzzle, not TUTU hard, and not too easy. Thank you! (No need to CURTSY, I'll do that.) I'd include a link to Whitman's poem "When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd," but I don't like it very much. (Was that a NASTY comment?)
Loved this one!! A fun one! In the South, we “take a powder” for a headache by taking a BC Powder - a crushed up pain killer. If we say, “I need to take a powder.” it usually means we have a headache. Happy new solving week, everyone! I hope this puzzle made no one say, “I need to take a powder!” Thanks, Margaret!
I saw "A Chorus Line" about ten years ago and one woman was conspicuously taken aback by the vulgar language(and I don't mean American English). Every single person from the orchestra to the balcony took notice. In the second act when one character sang about his alternative lifestyle, she took offense, exception and umbrage. She wasn't gonna take it anymore. She took flight, took her leave, took a hike. True story, take my word for it. (Today's column photo was clearly taken from "A Chorus Line".) So I rate this puzzle Dance: 10 Looks: 3
@ad absurdum Clearly, the cast is taking center stage for that number. (One?)
@ad absurdum - One of my favorite musicals. I listened to the original cast album many times in the late 70s and 80s, and was rehearsal pianist for a student production at Northwestern back in '89. A couple years ago I saw a San Francisco production and it was just as great as I'd remembered.
@Grant I believe so. Bittersweet. We've spent the whole show getting to know the individual auditioners only for the "winners" to be indistinguishable from each other. @Pax So cool! Hope you're still playing.
NYT crossword constructor Paolo Pasco on Jeopardy on 9/10 Wednesday
I love that this puzzle starts at 1A with CALM. My first thought at the finish was how lovely the fill-in felt, and “calm” is the perfect description. It felt as if I were in an easy chair. Ahhh... Calm but not boring, mind you, no, there were interesting things – the fun theme and confirming that it worked by checking out each word in the theme answers, lovely answers like LILAC, CURTSY, ROIL, and DAB, and that nailed-it revealer of I’M TAKEN. Lovely to see the symmetrical palindromes EVE and AHA. Lovely to see the theme echo of answers in the grid that can be taken: PLEA, CURTSY, and MED. NUMBER spurred other words ending with the er-sound that can be taken: GANDER, LETTER, PICTURE. Fun afterward to meta the theme: FALL BREAK – take a vacation. SEAT NUMBER – take a chair. CAKE STAND – take a bite. POWDER PUFF – take a moment. Anyway, I left the grid feeling peaceful and happy, and how sweet is that? Take a listen, please, Margaret – thank you!
Nice start to the week. Count me as another one who was oblivious to the theme. My biggest hangup was 47D; I had trouble figuring out wat kind of [attache] they were talking about. Also, a slight quibble with 15D. I think the natural words are either POPtop or pullTAB, but not the credited response. Thanks for the reminder of happier days in 36A.
@Jack McCullough As well as 63D, if it exists at all by then end of this administration.
Jack, "Natural words" to date in the Crossword: 7 POPTAB 6 POPTOP 8 PULLTAB
@Jack McCullough - totally agree about poptab. Never heard that one. Though my wife has, so guess we’re wrong.
For a Monday puzzle, this takes the CAKE! I often love a challenge but sometimes it’s nice to take a breath and ease into a new week. Was enjoying the fresh clueing…. And then I was swept away by aha of the revealer! Who knew so many phrases include “take a ____”, and then that putting two of them together would also form phrases? Quite the feat!!
HeathieJ: I just saw your comment about your broken freezer. Eeew. My husband's cousin's wife once left a raw chicken in the back of her car for a day or so. In Austin in the summer.
@Eric Hougland Eeeew is right on!! Wonder how long it took them to clean and air the car out... It took us a while and we had more space than in a car. Yikes! It's been like... 16 or 17 years now but it still lingers in my memory so vividly. Fun thing about it though is that I'm now the undisputed champ of smelling icky things. Not sure I really want that title, but occasionally, I'll be like, "Eeew, what's that smell?" and he'll be like, "What smell?" and I'll be like, "There's a smell. Remember the turkey, man—THE TURKEY!!" See, I smelled it the second I got out of the car in our attached garage... and it got worse and worse as we approached and went in the door. He couldn't smell it until he was down the stairs and nearly to the laundry room, where the freezer lived and died—no longer cold—but definitely alone... I could not believe he couldn't smell it when I couldn't stand to be in the house. Lucky guy, though, I guess... just hope he doesn't miss out on any deadly odors without me there to guide his way. Har!
@Eric Hougland Yum. I just had a large serving of chicken broth (clear liquids all day) and now I'm really sorry about that. I can smell it from here. It's too bad they're not on the coast; spoiled chicken is the best bait for your crab trap!
I see the asterisks, but shouldn't the revealer and theme entries be yellow-highlighted when selected? They weren't for me.
@Mr Dave Sometimes they are, sometimes they aren't. I honestly don't know why sometimes they are or sometimes they aren't. I prefer when they are come up personally...
Great Monday I am always impressed by clues where both the beginning and end fit the theme. Minor nit, you can only take THE cake whereas you take A powder, A puff, etc. But a minor inconsistency in an otherwise excellent theme and well constructed puzzle.
@SP But both are TAKEN... think again.
Easy breezy Monday 😊 I had POPTop before POPTAB, but easily corrected on the crosses. Thank you, Margaret, for your TAKE on this one. Nice start to the week.
@Jacqui J I already had the B in place, but I did think TOP was more accurate in so far as common usage. TAB is for typing!
I've been having trouble the last few days viewing the whole puzzle on my laptop due to a NYT banner advertising some family subscription at the top that won't go away, forcing me to scroll back & forth, up & down to do the puzzle. Very annoying. Please help.
@jp inframan Send a complaint to <a href="mailto:NYTGames@nytimes.com">NYTGames@nytimes.com</a>
@jp inframan If you solve in Firefox, install uBlock Origin. Make sure you get the real one, from author Raymond Hill. It will have like 5,000 ratings. When it's installed, you can right-click on the banner and select "block element." I use this to block those obnoxious banners whenever they pop up. And if for some reason you want to keep seeing regular ads here, you can turn off the ad blocker function for this site.
@jp inframan on the occasion where something doesn’t fit on the screen where it really needs to I’ll set the browser size resolution to 90%.
I painted myself into some silly corners with wild guesses on this one. Not as smooth as my usual Monday, but in a nice way. I guess I had to create obstacles for myself to get my brain cracking this morning!
Meh. I'M not TAKEN with this puzzle. But at least it has its own NIT built in.
Thanks, Margaret Seikel, for a zippy and delightful Monday puzzle. I had a very busy weekend so it was only this morning I started on the big Sunday puzzle. I finally finished that (after a break for my daily walk) and got to today’s. There’s always a pretty big difference between the Sunday and Monday puzzles, and doing them back to back made it more pronounced. I enjoyed both of them and I’m so grateful to have all the NYT puzzles and all the clever constructors and editors who bring them to us. And I always enjoy your comments too, Sam.
Easy Monday puzzle. Until I spelled teem with an A. Ah well
If you raced through this one, why not try a slightly harder Margaret Seikel puzzle? <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/crosswords/game/daily/2023/05/09" target="_blank">https://www.nytimes.com/crosswords/game/daily/2023/05/09</a>
@Barry Ancona A first for me. I thought, sure, I'd like to do another one. Clicked on your, and I had already done it. It doesn't feel like over a year since I started all this.
Fun and easy puzzle today, 19 seconds shy of my PB. I didn't understand the theme until reading this column but wasn't necessary to get the answers.
Fun Monday puzzle. A bit on the slow side for me but once I caught on to the theme it all fell together. That's always a nice touch. A perhaps appropriate puzzle find today. I imagine most of us may have done this one, but I had completely forgotten it. Anyway - a Thursday from August 3, 2023 by Simeon Siegel. The reveal clue and answer in that one was; "Get some rest … or what to do with the end of the previous answer to solve each starred clue :" TAKEFIVE Not easy to describe this one, but here are some pairs of across answers with the clue to the second answer: 13a: ASSIGNOR 15A: "*Complete fools." AMUSES So the implied answer to 15a with taking five from the previous answer would be: IGNORAMUSES A couple of other examples with the paired across clues and then the implied answers: FOREVER / BERATES REVERBERATES SHINDIG/NATION INDIGNATION STRAPS/HOOTERS TRAPSHOOTERS Here's the Xword Info link: <a href="https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=8/3/2023&g=63&d=A" target="_blank">https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=8/3/2023&g=63&d=A</a> I'm done. ...
In today’s puzzle, 34 down hint is “Hit on a vape pen” and the answer is DAB however this is inaccurate. Dabs are taken on rigs, not on vape pens. As an avid consumer, this really irked me.
@JRinMA - Ancient old me thought DABS were taken on dance floors.
@JRinMA I looked up "dabbing" on image search and saw a lot of smoking, among other things.
@JRinMA A lil dab'll do ya. Excitingly clean, disturbingly healthy. Brylcreem.
Pleasantly tricky for a Monday - not tough overall, but a lot more skipping clues and circling back around than I'm used to for starting things off. It was a nice way to get my brain in gear for the week.
Huzzah! Today was a personal best. I didn’t understand the theme until I read the Wordplay, but no matter.
I am wondering if there is anyone, having solved enough puzzles for a good statistical sample, whose weekday solving times graph does not look like a set of stairs. Mine look like a normal set of stairs.
@Michael Hendler I’m perpetually annoyed with stairs that lack rhythm — those where one tread is a single step and the next takes two to cross. (I see this mostly in outdoor steps.) With the NYT new way of graphing solving times (the horizontal bars), my average times look like the type of staircase that would irk me. The progression is steady from Monday through Wednesday and uneven the rest of the week.
@Michael Hendler mine looks like stairs….but that includes all of the archive…and by the nature of it being non Will Shortz and not involved in any steaks I would come back to them and do them randomly. Which pushed my averages much higher than my typical for the puzzles in the streak.
@Michael Hendler You'd break your neck on my "stairs." The jump from Monday to Tuesday is barely noticeable (22 seconds), Tues to Wed considerably more (1:04), Wed to Thurs a giant one (3:32), another minuscule jump to Fri (21 seconds), a hefty one to Sat (3:51), and of course a big one from Sat to Sun (4:48). On the other hand, this past Sat took me a few minutes longer than Sun did.
@Michael Ender This is a very interesting idea - I've solved a guesstimated ~2500 puzzles, and my times follow an increasing curve through the week with one weird exception. Mon-Fri step up from 5 to 13 minutes, Saturday's up to 16, then Sunday jumps to 26. Except for Thursday, which bucks the trend and is almost 90 seconds faster than Wednesday. Now I'm baffled by this, maybe I've subconsciously biased towards Thursday puzzles in the archives as I've gotten better at solving?
@Michael Hendler - I've solved 1238 puzzles to date, and my Thursday average is currently the highest/worst of the weekdays. Other than that, my stairs go up normally from Monday to Sunday, though Saturday and Sunday are nearly equal at the moment.
Solving the clues felt like a Monday puzzle. Understanding the theme felt like a Thursday puzzle.
Nice Monday puzzle. I like that the "TAKE" worked with both halves of the themed answer. A mild NIT on the use of both "TAKE a ___" and "TAKE the ___" But no biggy. But I was thinking about the phrase "I'M TAKEN" as a "polite rejection at a dance." It's hard to imagine a man uttering that line (except jokingly). And it's hard to imagine a (modern) woman saying that either. Would *anyone* want to think of themself as "TAKEN"? This is more an inquiry into contemporary usage than a criticism of the puzzle. I think the theme is just fine.
@The X-Phile You raise an interesting point. I've always thought of this as a careless or elided way of saying "That slot with me is taken." To borrow an even older idiom, that line on my dance card is filled.
After solving I like to review the grid and take in the answers. Several made me smile today. I love lemon AIOLI with French Fries. If you haven't tried it, you are missing out. I miss 36A and 43D, class acts. In my barre class we do one legged CURTSY squats until our bums ache! Nice saucy Monday. Speaking of ADRATEs, does it seem like a good marketing strategy to force subscribers to block ads in order to see the whole puzzle grid and clues? No issues on my tablet, just the laptop. Still annoying.
@Cyndie Lemon aioli with French fries sounds deadly. Thanks for the suggestion.
@Cyndie I recently had a dill pickle aioli with fries... I know it depends if you like pickles or not, but it was deeee-licious!!
As good as I have gotten at crosswords, I don't think I will ever be clever enough to come up with cool themes like this one! Loved it. Bravo!
Good fun theme. Many thanks. [Seize an unexpected opportunity?] CHANCESHOT
Fun Monday! Thought the reveal of the theme was fun, and I liked that you had to think about it a bit more than you would a typical theme to get the eventual joke. For a while I thought it was going to be based around classic American high school experiences (Powder Puff Football, Homecoming Dance, Assigned Seating) but I liked the twist chosen here better. Was a bit frustrated with ALL, ROIL, and ARFS being paired, as I felt the cluing for all three of these was quite weak. C'est la vie - overall a fun puzzle!
Are you taking the Mickey? A themeless Monday puzzle? Take a memo: always read the clues all the way through. Yes, I found the revealer, eventually. Take a bow, Ms Seikel.
Re: take a powder, meaning to take off, it appears to have originated as the phrase "take a run-out powder" which was early 1900s slang. The phrase implied taking a powder (medicine) that made a person run fast or run away. Like a "run-away powder". Looks like it started as baseball or boxing slang then entered hobo vernacular then general usage in films and Broadway. <a href="https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/156736/why-does-to-take-a-powder-mean-to-run-away-or-to-leave" target="_blank">https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/156736/why-does-to-take-a-powder-mean-to-run-away-or-to-leave</a>
@NYC Traveler, Thanks for pointing me to the Strands puzzle today!! I only do Strands occasionally, and most likely would not have today, so I really appreciate it!! But how strange... I don't understand how you knew that I like Star Trek so much!? You must be some kind of genius wizard!! 😆🖖
@HeathieJ, 😂😂😂 A little bird told me. Or maybe it was a not-so-subtle hint from what you had to say on the themed puzzle from a few weeks ago … Just getting back from the memorial service for my sister-in-law in Houston. A lot of sadness, of course, but there is something to be said about being together with all of your family from all over the country. One 16 yo nephew that I hadn’t seen since he was a baby, and his 13 yo sister whom I had never seen! There was so much love and support there and a genuine liking of everyone there. I realize more and more how vitally important community is. It’s certainly strengthened the bond between me and both of my brothers. So sorry to hear about your pain issues. It’s got to be very frustrating. It’s not like a broken arm or leg that everyone can immediately see and sympathize with and voluntarily offer some THC. I do hope that you will have some kind of relief soon. Glad to be the one to let you know about Strands today 😊! Have fun!
@HeathieJ I’m glad NYC Traveler told you about today’s Strands. I don’t usually play it, but today’s Gameplay newsletter mentioned it, so I had to play. (We’ve seen virtually all the live-action Star Trek shows and some of the animated ones.) There were two words I didn’t recognize. I looked them up later and they seemed a bit obscure in that context.
Well, I had giants instead of GREATS and I stand by the opinion that it would have been a fun literal pun (with an “?” of course)! I chuckled a bit as I confidently entered the wrong word, thinking to myself that this was my favorite entry so far. Well duh!
@Lolo, The clue made me think that FARMER would be a good answer, with a little work. The old joke is that a farmer is “a man outstanding in his field”.
A revealer has to “reveal” to work. “Take a number” and “take a seat”, ok. But “take a puff” is a stretch and “take a powder”?! Sorry. No.
@Ant "Take a powder" is American slang. It's dated, yes, but if you're at all a fan of American film noir or other American movies from that era you've probably run into it. It's weird enough that once you've heard it used it sticks with you forever. Both my Millennial sons watched a lot of movies from the 1930s and 1940s with me when they were growing up. They probably know what it means.
@Ant I've been to many parties in the past when something was passed to me with the exhortation "Here, take a puff." Or a drag. Or a hit...
Is "take a puff" really a stretch in Oz? It isn't here.
@Ant You just haven't seen enough old movies with gangsters in 'em.
A couple of late puzzle finds, initially inspired by wondering about something like 'THETHECHECKMAIL' ("the check is in the mail). Well - nope, that's never been done, but that has been an answer, and that lead me in a roundabout way to some others. First - a Sunday from October 2, 2016 by Zhouqin Burnikel with the title "Paper Jam" Several rebuses in that one . Some examples: FREEDOMOFTHE(press) / crossing DE(press) RE(news) crossing / HUEYLEWISANDTHE(news) WHATINTHE(world) crossing / SMALL(world) BEHINDTHE(times) crossing / AT(times) JUSTFORTHE(record) crossing / PRISON(record) And there were more. Here's that link: <a href="https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=10/2/2016&g=38&d=D" target="_blank">https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=10/2/2016&g=38&d=D</a> ....
@Rich in Atlanta And then: A Monday from March 22, 2022 by Peter Gordon. The three theme clues and answers: "Emergency situation that an Egyptian goddess experiences?" CRISISISISISIN "Fruit that grandma dubbed?" BANANANANANAMED "Ornate clone of designer Chanel?" ROCOCOCOCOCOPY Here's that link: <a href="https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=3/11/2002&g=20&d=A" target="_blank">https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=3/11/2002&g=20&d=A</a> I'm done. ....
Take a bow, Margaret. Lovely Monday puzzle!
Feedback on the new Pips game: Today I did the easy puzzle in 38 seconds, the medium in 42 seconds, and I gave up on the hard one after 35 minutes of trying. Consider making the medium puzzle closer to halfway between easy and hard? Enjoying it.
@MmmmHmm Interesting. I also finished the easy in under a minute. The medium took me 2:30, and the hard was quite difficult for me at 16 minutes. However, I enjoy the challenge of the hard level. I mostly find the hard to be 5 minutes.
@MmmmHmm I originally did them in the early morning and got around the same for easy and medium. After spending 10 minutes struggling with the hard puzzle, I shut it down and came back about 5 hours later. I completed in <3 minutes.
And... one more puzzle find. By Peter Gordon from 2016. Four 15 letter theme answers from top to bottom. Here those are: DUETOBUDGETCUTS THENEWYORKTIMES CROSSWORDPUZZLE WILLENDTOMORROW And the date of that puzzle? April 1. Here's that link: <a href="https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=4/1/2016&g=34&d=A" target="_blank">https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=4/1/2016&g=34&d=A</a> ...
@Rich in Atlanta -- Hah! I remember that one!
Got the whole puzzle in 10:26 without knowing what the theme is!! Seriously, I still don’t know the theme 😅
Peter, Maybe reread the 39A clue? Seriously!
Isn't the observatory on Mauna Kea and not Mauna Loa?
@TMC <a href="https://gml.noaa.gov/obop/mlo" target="_blank">https://gml.noaa.gov/obop/mlo</a>/
@TMC This may be the only way to clue the mountain that's not a kealoa.
@TMC This got me, too! Really gummed up that section as I tried allowing KIA instead of KEA to get RILE in, and of course that didn't help either.
@TMC - there are observatories on both. Maura Loa has been cut off by lava flows the past 2 years and is unreachable. Scientists access it remotely. Mauna Kea is worth a visit. I’ve been up twice but each time the weather has kept me from the top. Still worth it, IMHO. I also can never keep them straight. Whenever I see either referenced in a crossword, I enter the —a and wait for the crosses to clarify which Mauna!