This took me 51 minutes and is probably the first Friday gold star. So as a counter to all the wonderful people who can do this in 8 minutes and want something harder, it was nice to have one that is achievable to people who are still in their first year. Someone said they needed to do very little pondering. Bully for them, I had plenty to ponder.
@M It took me 45 minutes, and involved quite a bit of pondering too. But I had to reveal 2 letters - the G of good and the L of STL. I'm still in my first year, just.
@M I think speed is over-rated when doing crosswords. I love to savor a puzzle and enjoy the wordplay. It's akin to taking a slow walk in the woods.
@M For my first couple of years I didn’t even try to solve Friday and Saturday. I just didn’t have the time. Congratulations on your gold star.
@M you are only ever competing with yourself! I try not to mention my time in the comments except to reference whether it was fast, or it took a while. Speed is relative to my own puzzling, and no one else's. I look at my time - but just as often I get up and walk away to do something with the puzzle open. Oops! Happy Gold Star! Celebrate!
@M Congrats on the 'gold star'. I'm a long time solver and I still have trouble with the Fridays and Saturdays (even Thursdays and Sundays, sometimes). You might find what I do on Fridays useful. I find the link in the NYT email to the Easy Mode version. When I can't figure out the 'official' clue, I see how it was clues in the easy version. I racked up eleven 'half cheats', but this is more satisfying than full cheats.
@LStott, @Mean Old Lady, @CindyM -- Amen!
@M - I never post my solve times on the full crossword because I'm competing only against myself.
You did great, @M! 🏅
@M I’ve been solving crosswords for 50 years I’m only in my second year of NYT crossword solving. I’ll take a blue star. I keep track of time only with myself. I’m thankful that WORDLE has no timer.
My tea puns are matcha do about nothing. (Please chai to laugh.)
@Mike 😄 Definitely using this on my kids!
@Mike You go on oolong! Brevity is the soul of wit.
I generally enjoyed the puzzle. All along it felt quite hard, like a proper Friday, so I was surprised when I solved it in Wednesday time. I thought there was not too much trivia (I got SAN ANTONIO with a few crosses, and in the end I remembered ANGI from previous puzzles) and I liked the clueing - I found it to be quite tricky but on my wavelength. That being said... Given both the RHiNE and the RHONE have sources in the Swiss Alps, I don't think it was fair to cross that i/O with a French word. I went for RHiNE first, and it was only my intuition that saved me from having to check the puzzle - I speak only a tiny bit of French and my vocabulary is very limited, but MIGNiN looked slightly off, so I looked up the French word for "dainty." It felt appropriate to enter CURRY as I was eating breakfast of a banana wrapped in yesterday's leftover naan 😄 Lucyfer the poodle puppy is doing great. It's fascinating to experience how different he is from what Jorge the lab was at this stage. Both labs and poodles are very intelligent, friendly dogs but their behavior is so completely unlike! Lucek is much calmer and gentler, and he enjoys hugs, which Jorge never did. You know that thing dogs do, tilting their head when they are trying to understand the world around them? Jorge did it all the time throughout his life, but Lucek doesn't do it, at all. He just looks intently at stuff, and listens.
@Andrzej I just finished and had to error hunt; changing RHiNE to RHONE got me my gold star
@Andrzej I’ve never found a way to save naan for tomorrow.
@Andrzej I guessed based on Filet Mignon
@Andrzej I think we need to talk more about what that banana's doing in the naan. I guess if it's not a garlic naan that might be acceptable. But surely if there's leftover naan, there's also leftover curry, which makes the best breakfast! And if there's no leftover curry, well that means you've got your ratios all wrong. So much to unpack.
@Andrzej As a long time dog owner Rand lover, it brings joy to my day to hear how your Lucek is adapting and growing. Thank you!
@Andrzej My poodle-ish pup didn’t bark or tilt her head until she was a bit older. Both are in full effect now that she’s a few years old. (I only enjoy one of those changes!) Regardless, she is a fantastic family member. Please keep sharing your updates. It helps fill my puppy craving
@Andrzej I spend a couple days a week with my friend's dog, SHE-RA, yes, really, and discovered a new way to make her tilt her head: meowing. "You speak Cat?!"
@Andrzej Are Polish people aware of the steak we Americans (and the French?) call Filet MIGNON? It comes from (what we Americans call) the beef tenderloin. It's exceptionally tender, but not the most flavorful cut of beef. It's a fairly small steak, hence its sense of being "dainty". (A Google search tells me that the French use "Filet MIGNON" to refer to a cut from the pork tenderloin, not the beef.)
@Andrzej Many years ago, my husband and I got a female German Shepard puppy which we named Papagena. My husband had a speech impediment after an operation, and it was a name he could pronounce well, especially in the shortened form, Papa. After we‘d had her for a while, and she knew her name, I played the „Magic Flute“ Papageno/Papagena duet on the phonograph one day. She ran to the loudspeaker and tipped her head in that questioning way most charmingly.
@Andrzej if only English used the German spelling of Rhein there would be no confusion 😀
@Andrzej The slang for a canine head tilt used to be "baroo," but I don't think it's much in use anymore (?). I love it, though. This is a famous video of three adorable pugs barooing: <a href="https://youtu.be/9uuqXXT7VYo?si=yQvtNWiJqclMfwlq" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/9uuqXXT7VYo?si=yQvtNWiJqclMfwlq</a>
How to CURRY favor? Give us ANEW Friday puzzle that is engaging and fun to solve, and is no TRILLy too hard, which you did Joe Marquez. Thank you and take some LONG BOWS. Happy Birthday!
Update on crossword colossus Paolo Pasco’s second night on Jeopardy. Big win, coming back from being well behind in the opening half. He showed an impressive range of knowledge in the second half, and once again seemed superhuman in how quickly he saw the answers in a wordplay category. In two games, he’s now won more than $50,000. My wife commented on how likeable he is. He is doing crosswords proud. Go Paolo!
@Lewis It really adds to the fun to have Paolo on that show. Usually I do dinner prep during the 3:30 airing, but for Our Constructor I'm just watching every minute. I like that he is wise enough not to click in unless he's sure; it killed the guy to his right, who squandered a respectable score with repeated errors.
Happy birthday Mr. Marquez, charming puzzle with some nice echoes among the longer words. For me at my age, the first two entries that came to mind for an ailment the day after a loud concert were RING (as in a ringing in the ears) and PTSD. I also remember reading as a child in the 1972 Guiness Book of World Records that the world's loudest band was The Who. A measurement was given in decibels and it was also said that those standing proximate to the band when they were in full swing and Pete was whomping his guitar to death would probably suffer from some degree of permanent deafness. Even as a youngster, I found this claim to be a dubious one, as well as that The Who was indeed the world's loudest, and my doubts have only grown with age. But it's true that I have seen them live several times, and it's also true that I am growing deaf. The two might be related. Back to the puzzle. Case load - hah, good one! Interesting to find that San Antonio has the same number of letters as Los Angeles, my first pick. Guess if one is on estrogen for gender affirming reasons, one could be on either side of a couple's costume, but before I make a joke about that, I should learn what a couple's costume is. [reads a bit] OK, like Superman and Lois Lane, or Dorothy and the Wicked Witch, or Hansel and Gretel. Maybe me and the wife should dress up as Alright and Already. Or Filet and Mignon. Is the smart money on RACE in the NYSE?
@john ezra I was about to respond that the smart money would be on McClaren. Then I tried to find a stock symbol. That turned into quite a chore of following a chain of holding companies. For me, the trail ended at the Sovereign Wealth Fund of Bahrain. No guarantee that that's correct.
@john ezra I believe the band Deep Purple took that record away from The Who, but this was a few years after 1972. I saw both bands, and there was really no comparison...Deep Purple was just incredibly, painfully loud. I was accustomed to my ears ringing immediately after concerts, but they left me with ringing ears for several days. Just one entry in the long list titled "Stupid Things I Did in my Twenties." And now I have a constant reminder...two very high pitched tones, a different one for each ear. Discordant, of course, but fortunately not that loud. Yet.
@john ezra Pete Townsend has severe tinnitus and partial deafness as a result of playing in The Who. He has been quite vocal about it over the years.
@john ezra We reprised our Don the DON and his MOLL couple costumes here at the village Halloween contest , but lost to Raggedy Ann and Raggedly Andy (which were store-bought, prefab costumes! So unfair.)
@John ezra The Who played very loud, but the distinction for the loudest band goes to Spinal Tap whose amplifiers were all set at Eleven!
@john ezra These days the couples don't do "Dorothy and the Wicked Witch", but rather Glenda and ELPHABA (a name we solvers always need to keep in mind). Of course, if you have a pair of ruby slippers in your dress-up trunk, you need every excuse to use them!
@john ezra A big steak in the filet and mignon costumes, I hope. They would be rare.
@Bruce Loud really does cause deafness. My Dad was a dentist, and was deaf only at the pitch of his drill! The doctor audialogist was quite interested in Dad's hearing graph.
I’m so proud because I believe this is my first Friday puzzle ever solved without assistance 😊 I got a gold star! Maybe there was one other that I’ve since forgotten it was so long ago, but either way I’m happy. I finished it just shy of 2 mins over my PB, (14:02 vs 15:5something). I almost reached for the auto check when I was 2/3 through, with most of the left being completed and almost none of the right. I’m glad I stuck it out though and finally the northeast corner was the last big chunk to fall before a last couple of fills here and there. I was so pleased when there was no “almost there” message, I couldn’t believe it. Even on days I do fill the entire thing myself, there is rarely a time I don’t have to go back and fix at least one square! Maybe today was an especially easy Friday, but I will take the win.
@Lia Congrats! It was not especially easy at all. It certainly wasn't the hardest Friday puzzle ever, sure, but I thought many of the clues had a real end-of-the-week quality to them. The solve may have been quick, but I'd say it was the result of elegant construction rather than a low difficulty level as such.
@Lia Interesting, I got the right side but having trouble with the left side
@Lia I love that you almost hit check puzzle, when you were struggling But you solved in 15 minutes. LOL “It’s been 10 minutes on this Friday, and I haven’t finished it. Better hit check puzzle cause I’m drowning”. I wish this was my life. Also. Also nuts that this is your first unassisted solve. And you did it in 15 minutes. I think my first unassisted Friday or Saturday probably took 2 hours over 3 days. None of this make sense to me. But I love it for you. I’m jealous.
For the first 15 minutes it was impossible, the second 15 minutes it was difficult, the third 15 minutes doable, and when I was done, I decided it was easy. Consistency is the hobgoblin of my journey into crossword-tania. I’ve learned in the past year the pleasure of crosswording and acquired substantial respect for the talented constructors and solvers. I had losangeles before SANANTONIO and anarchy before ENTROPY. In another eon I drank Rhône overlooking the Rhône with my landlady whose tiny pet dog was named Mignon. I was so young it made me feel worldly, but now I cringe a bit at how callow I was. And remain. Crosswords can the chords of memory long forgotten.
Been puzzling about 4 months now and finally gold-starred my first Friday puzzle in 53 minutes. Been close a few times before but finally got one! Smart money has my Saturday gold star quite a ways off.
@Chris R. Great job. You might be surprised by how quickly the Saturday gold star arrives. A few months ago I was still skipping Thursday puzzles, but yesterday I gold starred in record time. You really do get better with practice, and it’s motivating to see the results.
@Chris R. Great job! I'm hoping to get my first gold star on a Saturday one of these days. Keep puzzling!
Happy birthday, Mr. Marquez! I enjoyed your puzzle, especially ALRIGHT ALREADY and SMART MONEY. Thanks!
Had to employ the Round Trip today, bailing the thorny NW, then working my way through the rest of the grid, only to return at the end with fresh eyes and a few additional crosses, to seal the deal. Amazing how fresh eyes and a few new crosses can convert stuckness into whoosh. Along the way, I: • Melted at lovely longs – ALRIGHT ALREADY / FOOD DESERT / ARE YOU GOOD / SMART MONEY / BEHEMOTH. • Said hi to two terms that only crossworders know – kealoa (ELUDE or EVADE?), and dook (ONE STROGEN). • Flashed on a memory of our dog Chester in a CONE. He left this mortal plane a couple of years ago but so many things trigger memories of him. Love you, buddy. • Smiled at the cross of EYRE and PYRE, as well as at the cross of CASA and a backward SALA, the former meaning “house” (in Italian and Spanish) and the latter meaning “room”. • Loved the feeling of completeness evoked by TERRA and OCEAN. Thus, a splendid outing, Joe. Happy birthday, and thank you so much for making this!
Hand up if you are among those who were chastised in English class for ALRIGHT instead of ALL RIGHT.... JANE before EYRE. OCEANOGRAPHY, not -OLOGY, for pete's sake. COUPLES COSTUME...hmm. There are quite a few COUPLES in the news these days. Plenty to choose from, eh? Do they get asked, "ARE YOU GOOD?" And answer, "Fifth" ?
@Mean Old Lady There are many words that have variations, such as oceanology. Just because I (and presumably you) have never heard them doesn’t make them unusable. And “-ology” is certainly a familiar suffix meaning “study.”
@Mean Old Lady - The highly regarded peer-reviewed journal, OCEANOLOGY, would like to have a word with you. <a href="https://link.springer.com/journal/11491" target="_blank">https://link.springer.com/journal/11491</a>
@Captain Quahog -- As soon as OCEANOLOGY filled in, you popped into my head.
@Mean Old Lady When I was studying oceanography — eons ago — OCEANOLOGY seemed to be the equivalent in Russian terminology.
ALRIGHT, ALREADY. TGI Friday. All hail the Super Handywoman and her tools, ANGI SHERA GEAR. Breezy puzzle, fresh fill. DAS ist gut. Thanks, Joe.
Fun Friday puzzle! In case anyone else also got tripped up / guessed wrong since it has the same number of letters in it, Los Angeles only has a ~47% Hispanic population
Alright already. Loved it. Worthy solving. Not sure if it matters whether it’s all right, already; or, alright already. Personally, I like the visual of alright already.
I thought it was ALRIGHT, ALRIGHT, ALRIGHT ALREADY.
@Joe Marquez I prefer themed puzzles to themeless ones, but I much prefer challenging puzzles to easy ones. So, Thursdays and Sundays are my favorite days of the week in Crosslandia. But I greatly prefer a puzzle that makes me think to one that fills in itself, so I'll take a Friday or Saturday over a Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday any day of the week. ...which thankfully is a possibility with access to the archives. In Crosslandia, any day can be a Thursday! Thanks for giving us such a nice gift on your birthday! I hope it's a great one for you. Many happy returns of the day!
A lot of birthdays being reported today. I suspect it’s due to New Year’s Eve celebrations. As for the puzzle … I don’t care if it’s themed or themeless. I just want it to be challenging, especially Thursday thru Saturday. This puzzle didn’t provide any challenge at all. Do better, NYT!
Nice puzzle. I got MIGNON through the crosses. Dainty is not the translation I would normally think of. I guess that's what it means when talking about steak?
@Esmerelda I would define MIGNON more as cute or adorable, but I suppose it’s close to dainty. Or not. Getable though.
Nothing is in a state of ENTROPY. Systems have a degree of entropy. Some high, some low. The clue is just plain wrong. The abuse of science terms — quantum comes to mind — can be infuriating. Otherwise a splendid puzzle.
@Ιασων where are all the anti-nit pickers today? when i object to inexactitudes like this (e.g. textbook example and paragon are not remotely the same) everyone chides me with comments like: verisimilitude, especially on the weekend, is close enough. or: dont be so stickly. grrrrr.
@Ιασων So if I understand you correctly, the entropy clue was out of order.
Ιασων, In thermodynamics, the clue doesn't make sense, as per definition 1. It doesn't make sense for def. 2 either. The clue relies on def. 3, not unusual late in the week. <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/entropy" target="_blank">https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/entropy</a>
@Ιασων On a Friday I think we have to expect a bit of wordplay, even on science clues. A system could be described as having a low chaotic state (low ENTROPY) or a high chaotic state (high ENTROPY). We are drawn to assume that the clue must mean a state that is actually chaotic, but that’s the misdirection intended. As a scientist by training I struggled to see through it, but I think it’s valid.
@Ιασων Thanks for that. I agree, but held off commenting because it isn’t my field of expertise, and it’s close enough because you can say the higher entropy you have the more chaos you have. But I think if we have science terms let’s use them precisely and educate people. I think it’s like temperature—the higher temperature you have, the hotter something is, but you’d never say temperature = “state of hotness”.
I do believe I have my very first 7-day gold streak!!! I'm still slow at Fridays. I probably stared at the NW corner for a solid 20 minutes, due in large part to my confidently wrong entry of ivESTROGEN. 🤦🏼♀️I did think an IV seemed like overkill. 😂
Great puzzle. Enjoyed every crunchy minute.
I'll join the chorus. Typical tough Friday for me, but ended up being an enjoyable workout with lots of nice 'aha' moments as I worked things out from the crosses. And a happy birthday to you, Mr. Marquez. Looking forward to more. And... an interesting puzzle find today. A Sunday from March 2, 1969 by Betty Leary with the title "Guess who." One thing that stands out is two 23 letter down answers paired on opposite sides of the puzzle. Those were... JACKBENIMBLEJACKBEQUICK NOPLAYMAKESJACKADULLBOY And another theme answer was: JACKINTHEBOX And there were more. Couldn't help but wonder if someone might ever make a puzzle with 'JACK' as the rebus and JACKINTHEBOX as the reveal. I'm done. ...
@Rich in Atlanta Can’t help but wonder if that someone could be you! It’s a great idea
Hi Rich, You may not have seen the last reply on a thread you started late yesterday... <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/shared/comment/4a74q0?rsrc=cshare&smid=url-share" target="_blank">https://www.nytimes.com/shared/comment/4a74q0?rsrc=cshare&smid=url-share</a>
Fun puzzle! I think my favorite clue was the one for OCEANOLOGY. I'm getting over a bit of a RASP myself. I got hit with something super unpleasant this week, a cough and a dangerously high fever. Instead of going to the hospital I decided to take some NyQuil and watch The Wizard of Oz. (This treatment has not been approved by the FDA.)
@Katie Nyquil and Oz sounds good. Hope it's not covid, the latest variant apparently is bad in the sore throat and cough department. My elderly neighbor recently spent a week in the hospital after first thinking she had laryngitis.
For shame, for shame! It's "all right", not "alright"!
@Wes I cannot resist the opportunity to respond with a pun. Are you saying this is not “all right?”
@Wes I disagree in this case. It's a casual, spoken expression. It could be either spelling. Really doesn't matter here. <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/grammar/all-right-or-alright-which-is-correct" target="_blank">https://www.merriam-webster.com/grammar/all-right-or-alright-which-is-correct</a>
@Wes. See also the first post in this column.
@Wes Agreed! I was corrected about this long ago and never forgot it. However, for a crossword puzzle I'm willing to accept the informal (substandard) spelling.
I always try to solve the regular Friday puzzle before resorting to the Easy Mode one, and today I finally managed to finish it without ever attempting the Easy Mode, in under 30 minutes, no less! I felt today's puzzle was a bit easier than the usual Friday ones, by the way
That was fun! I couldn’t figure out why so many Spanish speakers were in Ohio … until I didn’t.
My favorite clue was "____dolce____" because at first I was thinking, "How will I ever get that?" But all it took was the initial C and the entire phrase and its translation fell into place. And now I know something new.
I sped through this one and thoroughly enjoyed it, even if it did feel more Wednesday level to me. I thought perhaps it was just that so many answers were part of my own experience, but it seems others found it breezy as well. I Googled, "OCEANOLOGY vs Oceanography," after finishing because I've never heard that term before and thought maybe the two words had different meanings. Nope. They're just synonyms. <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oceanography" target="_blank">https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oceanography</a> I've had a RASPy voice after attending sportsball games in high school and college, but not so much after concerts. I guess I don't scream enough, but I do have some pretty annoying tinnitus from years of eschewing ear plugs. Speaking of which, here's the exquisite noise that's been playing in my head since filling in 5D ENTROPY from a band that has contributed significantly to my hearing problems over the years. Anyone else? @Helen Wright? <a href="https://youtu.be/EF_xdvn52As?si=ZVh--oI_y1E4f15q" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/EF_xdvn52As?si=ZVh--oI_y1E4f15q</a>
I started out studying oceanography in school (eventually switched majors). Never heard of OCEANOLOGY before today.
I think the puzzles have been just right for the day so far this week, and this one is as well. Well done, Joe, and Happy Birthday.
Quite surprised to get the happy music as I found this pretty tough, plus my head is full of cotton wool; the current virus I’m fighting is really vicious. I even took a Covid test as I felt so ill. Nope, just the common or garden variety of virus. It was a game of two halves for me; the right hand grid filled reasonably swiftly, but the rest was a sea of blanks with the odd letter. I doubted CURRY as it’s rather sniffily termed an English dish amongst my Indian/Pakistani friends. As @Jane Wheelaghan points out, it’s just a kettle chaps. For the making of tea, yes, but so many other things besides. Currently in use to top up my steam inhaler as I try to unblock my sinuses. Such a good look.
@Helen Wright Are you sure it's a virus? I thought I was coming down with one in July but I felt so much worse than usual that I actually went to the doctor. It turned out it was a bacterial infection.
@Helen Wright I love your comments, Helen. Keep them coming! And get well soon!
@Helen Wright They swabbed my throat and the results were in after 5 minutes. Surely there must be the same option in the UK?
@Helen Wright I believe korma is a CURRY even though it didn't originate in South Asia -- though I also know there is a whole other level of sniffiness about these things in your neck of the woods compared to mine! At any rate, a good curry could go a long way to making you feel better (if you even see this very late post!). And do please feel better!!
Coral snakes are drop-dead gorgeous. I am often amazed at how perfectly beautiful many animals are while humans’ physical appearance leaves much to be desired, especially in our natural, unadorned state. Of all the animals in my house (dogs, birds, fishes…) I am the ugliest of them all and that’s no false modesty.
@Remy Just remember: Red and yellow, kill a fellow, Red and black, friend of Jack.
Just came to see people getting fussy over the usage of ALRIGHT and was certainly not disappointed. Stay pedantic my friends! (For what it’s worth, I enjoyed the puzzle but was a bit taken aback by that particular entry)
Happy birthday, Joe Marquez, and thank you for the fun puzzle. :)
Today is my birthday as well, and this was a lovely Friday crossword to receive!
@Alana, Happy Birthday to you!
@Alana Happiest of Birthdays, Alana!
Happy Birthday Joe! Thank you for the gift. I was pretty pleased with myself for guessing SAN ANTONIO with only the N of saN. I’ve never been there but I hear it’s nice. I knew it must be a southern city and none of California’s cities are majority Hispanic. None of Arizona’s fit, there aren’t many people on New Mexico so it must be in Texas near the border and probably begins with SAN.
I knew there had to be an interesting origin story behind the ICEE being created at a Dairy Queen, and there is. One day in Kansas, the soda machine broke down, and the owner of the DQ (Omar Knedlik) put bottles of soda in his freezer, and sold them that way. Customers liked the "slushy" result. Omar was quite the tinkerer, and fashioned the first ICEE machine out of a soft-serve dispenser and an automobile air conditioner unit. I guess corporate lawyers weren't as keen as they are now, because Mr Knedlik was able to patent it for himself, and the rest is history. There's a bar in suburban Maryland that has a bank of ICEE-type machines with assorted coladas,margaritas, and daiquiris, but I can't remember the name of it. Might have been in Gaithersburg.
@Grant. daiquiri deck bars. In Bradenton, FL
Weird solve for me. I thought I struggled with it. Meaning I felt like I should have solved it more quickly. Like after I figured out the answers, they seemed very obvious. But after the gold, I see the time was well below my average. Then thought. Maybe this was actually considered hard and I did better than I thought. Nope. As of 9:13 pacific. Xwordstats says EASY 87% of users solved faster than their Friday average. 60% solved much faster (>20%) than their Friday average. In any case. Nice puzzle. No junk. Liked the EYRE/PYRE cross.
@Weak im right with you. first pass: dang, this is gonna be a rough one. then the mid- and south-western bits fell into place and the rest just rolled to take me in under average. happy birthday, builder.
With a healthy helping of worldwide languages clue/answers in this smooth treat I can only say: !Feliz Cumpleaños! to our constructor.
27:44, 27:11 faster than my average. Good week this for me. Enjoyed “Heartfelt exchanges?”. Thought it was ODES first. Was so sure it was INFLUENCER that I deleted CURRY, ALAS, and ALRIGHT to make it fit. Eventually couldn’t work that, put everything back and figured out the answer. Nice one. INFLUENCER I’m sure has had a debut, anyone confirm? For the emotions clue first went through HONEST and thought HALP sounded like an ailment. Then switched to BASEST to get meaningless BASP and SEAR. Finally got the solve with RAWEST. Nice! Really enjoy these passages of having to figure it out more than getting it outright. I feel like I’m hearing the words from the protagonist from anime who says something like “If you want to enjoy martial arts then it’s better to not become stronger than you are now”. The otakus will understand. AREYOUGOOD is every Mom’s daily morning check-in line with their first semester college kid, I think. Fun puzzle. Kudos!
@VA I'm old - lol I didn't even consider influencer! But maybe that's because I already had ULT before I looked at the clue for 25D.
@VA I had GUARANTEES for 12D (just ONE correct letter...a lot of work with my FriXion pen eraser!
@VA -- INFLUENCER has appeared twice in the Times puzzle, twice in the New Yorker, and that's it in the major crossword outlets.
@Amy - I didn’t have the T in ULT. Sports teams trivia (wow! so many plurals) are the bane of my xword solving experience. @Mean Old Lady - Guaranteed bets from experts, now wouldn’t that be nice! @Lewis - Thanks for checking, such a era-relevant word when compared to CULTLEADER
Good morning. This zipped along for me. Not a PB, but I'll take it. Just need to say, I really LOVE doing the Pips puzzle. It's a nice, quick exercise for that part of my brain. Where would I post so that NYT actually gets that message?
Happy Birthday Joe Marquez. I enjoyed your puzzle. The most creative thing your frends and family can do would be to take the puzzle page and wrap your gifts in it--solved or unsolved. Thanks for sharing your creative construction with us.
A fun Friday with lots of fresh fill!
Darn it! I had to look up one answer (BTS ARMY) and as soon as I saw it, I remembered I already knew this. Gah! Oh well, still a really fun Friday fill though.
Going to have to get better reading glasses. I thought the clue to 48A was "....changed to 'Y." Ran the alphabet to get the right letter, then read Deb's column - "changed to R" makes much more sense. I had been on Merriam-Webster trying to figure out how BAN and BAY were synonyms.
idk about anyone else, but i still do not want to accept “alright” as proper english yes, i know the language evolves, but still, please allow another L and a space thank you for your consideration in this matter happy friday, everyone!
@artlifeI I had the exact same reaction. Seems too sloppy/lazy a clue/answer. Just my opinion.
@artlife I love the politeness of your comment.
@artlife 8th English teacher drilled this into us daily. “‘Alright’ is not a word!”
I enjoyed this puzzle plenty, and solved it pretty fast for a Friday. My only kvetch is that the spelling of "all right" as ALRIGHT is British, and very specifically not American. If we're going to get a British spelling variant, we deserve a tag that suggests this.
Dan, M-W seems to think it's American... <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/alright" target="_blank">https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/alright</a>
@Dan This spelling is plenty common in the US, especially with millennials and younger—I would say the majority of them use it now.
@Dan what I would reply with is that on this one, Americans don’t know the difference between all right and alright. So Americans may have one version technically according to the linguists…we have two from a practical point of view.
@Dan ALRIGHT is entirely American, odd that you think otherwise. Especially with a phrase like "alright already", I don't think I've ever seen it as "all right already".
@Dan It's often A'IGHT around these parts
@Dan Jane eyre was included as a clue and answer, I think the message was there to think closer to the GMT than the EDT.
@Dan. Funnily I can remember from about sixty years ago seeing this same discussion in the Sydney Morning Herald
Confidential to Deb: It's TEAKETTLES, as one word.
@Dan - Matthew McConaughy would like a word (or three).
Nice puzzle Joe. That NW corner gave me fits.
Happy birthday, Joe. 🥳🎉I enjoyed the solve. I also fell into the trap of Los Angeles instead of SAN ANTONIO. My husband and I always do a COUPLE’S COSTUME for Halloween. Last year we were Sheldon Cooper and Amy Farrah Fowler as well as Rip Wheeler and Beth Dutton. Still trying to figure out what we will be this year. I’m open to suggestions.
@Jacqui J My husband and I were a couple of Jedi one year, but that's not really what COUPLES COSTUME means, is it?
@Jacqui J Conjoined twins?
@Jacqui J Pandora and The Box? The Hen and The Egg? The Pea and The Mattress? Androcles and The Lion? Mary and The Little Lamb? Icarus and The Sun? Bonnie and Clyde? My DHubby and I went to our son's Masquerade Wedding (on Halloween) as Don the DON and His MOLL (gangster suit for him and for me flapper dress...plus sparkly heels.) You're Welcome.
@Jacqui J Mute Melania and the Current US Ruler (or, as I think of him, the CUR). Of course, one of you would have to take a vow of silence for the evening.
Happy Birthday! And you gave US a present! Thank you! Felt like this was easier than most Fridays, but it still was a bit of a struggle at times. But when I didn't know something, I found enough crosses to help me figure it out.