When the rabbit wanted pancakes, it said, "IHOP!" ("I'll come too!" the duck said. "Just put it on my bill.")
@Mike I’m DOWN with that. And I can see the puzzles as EIDER animal.
@Mike Interesting response from the duck - I thought she normally prefers Quacker Barrel?
@Mike I wanted to respond with a pun, but today I find myself flat-footed. Waddle I do now??
@Mike “That pun Bugs me.” “I know, Daffys so unfair.” (I just can't gWabbit)
@Mike What a loony idea, said the duck, syruptitiously.
Ok, faster than my average Wednesday, but what can I do when this puzzle has me written all over it. First,My actual name, though I don’t play soccer. Second, I marched in marching band with the CSU Ft Collins Ram bands for 4 years. 2 Holiday Bowls included. Love seeing my CSU clued for once!!! 3rd, grew up with a rabbit and a duck. Whoo Hoo! Loved this
@Megan it’s the best when the puzzle feels like it was just built for you! ☺️
@Megan I spend my summers in Fort Collins. Also marched in college (Cornell). My wife was in the first class of Computer Science majors at CSU.
@Megan I was pretty excited to see FoCo clued, too! Before France, I lived there for a long time. Owned a store in Old Town. On a somewhat related note, I was also feeling confident about the beer clue, because I do know my beer, but BUDICE? Oh OK, didn't know that one... I was staring at it for a second trying to parse it as one word.
@Megan. I was at University of Wyoming 82-88, dropped into Ft Collins for many Ram games, ate at Avogadros number, ramskellar, etc.
@Megan, Wow! This puzzle was tailor-made for you!
@Megan My cousin was a quarterback during his time at CSU so I knew that one for sure!
This has got to be one of the most clever puzzles EYE have ever seen here.
Having no way to draw the pattern in the app as I solved was a huge flaw of this puzzle. Basically I was solving blind. Also, having that single rebus in an area of the grid where almost all entries were trivia-based was what ultimately made me lose my gold star. I had to look up almost everything there: I have no idea what JVS are, I've never heard of Conservadox or JDATE (I suppose it's a dating app for J... ews?), I know SAKS (sort of) but not as clued, ditto DORITOS. As I was on a googling spree, anyway, I checked the late night host too... And spoiled the rebus for myself. I personally disliked it quite passionately, but I have a premonition this grid will win the Puzzle of the Year constest because it was "oh so cute" and "innovative". Btw, if being so bad and rudimentary that it can be interpreted many ways makes an image an optical illusion, all my drawings deserve the label 🤣
@Andrzej you can take a screenshot and draw the connecting lines that way
@Andrzej Read my comment below. It’s like I was channeling Andrzej. I feel like every puzzle I’m evaluating now it’s like WWAD (what would Andrzej do). Yes I liked it but your complaints are perfectly valid. And yes JDATE is a dating app for Jews. My brother met his second wife there, and it didn’t turn out well (there was a third).
@Andrzej I didn't know the names. Towards the bottom of the crossword I just started revealing. ENEWS, BIEB, BUDICE also PAAR, JVS. I found this frustrating.
@Andrzej The crossing of JDATE and JVS was a killer for any non-Yanks. There is an equivalent to Conservative Judaism in the UK, called Masorti Judaism - I was even barmitzvahed in the first such synagogue, But as the rabbi had had a huge fall out with the many orthodox Jewish organisation here, there was no way someone would label themselves as Conservadox.
@Steve L Thank you - that was a great, informative write-up 😃 I've heard the Orthodox designation before, and I'm familiar with Chasidism. The other terminology is new to me. I'll do my best to remember it 👍🏽 I know a couple of Polish Jews but they don't really discuss their religion.
@Andrzej here is the image to which the puzzle refers <a href="https://share.google/Wctl9GxV4C4tks3VM" target="_blank">https://share.google/Wctl9GxV4C4tks3VM</a>
Superb puzzle, topped only by the constructors' notes. Bravo! Thank you, Nicole and Brad!
@sotto voce I came here to say the same exactly!
This was a delight. I was really struggling with MEYERS, trying to smash the name into four letters. I felt a tremendous weight fall from my shoulders when I realized EYE made a ton of sense. I think it's pretty rare to have only a single rebus, isn't it? I like it a lot. I suspect there is a tsunami brewing, though, which will make curb my enthusiasm about the whole affair.
@Francis This link is available to non-subscribers: <a href="https://www.xwordinfo.com/Rebus" target="_blank">https://www.xwordinfo.com/Rebus</a> Second column is "Count". Looks like there are at least 2-3 every year for the past five. I didn't look farther back. I do remember one from 2020, but I won't spoil it here.
Anyone thinking that Europe is the home of the UK must have slept through 2016.
@Janet Politics aside the UK’s geographical home is Europe. Where else would it be?
@Janet It will take a few more thousand years to have the landmass exit out of Europe.
@Janet If England doesn't belong to Europe, what continent is it on now after leaving the EU? The EU is not the same as Europe, since Europe definitely existed before the EU did.
@Janet The 'R' on the end of the clue is crucial...
IMO, solvers who take crossword puzzles personally are tiresome. Sure, themes and grids might not be to your taste or liking, but the cleverness and thoughtfulness needed to create a puzzle like today’s is (are?) commendable, regardless of your personal feelings. Crosswords are meant to be brain exercises, asking us to think outside the box and expand our proverbial mental horizons. Authors/creators are not out to make *your* life in particular difficult. If you don’t like it, find another puzzle to try, or take the opportunity to learn from the grid for future solving (there are so many repeat clues/answers that I personally know nothing about, but because I’ve been solving for years, I know who Brian ___ (3 letters) is, and what kind of cheese starts with an “E” (4 letters)). All that to say, excellent puzzle today. Loved the AMBIGUOUSFIGURES and OPTICALILLUSION; one of my favorites and a really fun children’s book! Loved the clever use of a rebus for the EYE. 🐇🦆quack!
@kit Well said. I really appreciate comments that rationally point out issues, different points of view and mistakes. But the rants and hostility, why? Paraphrasing from something I read years ago, every time you open your mouth (or, I’ll add, put your fingers on a keyboard) you make a choice. You can express disagreement or criticism with civility and grace. Or you can tear someone down. The choice you make says a lot about you.
@kit. Great puzzle. Well done. Perfect spot for the rebus. Loved seeing Fort Collins, once the Mecca of Disc Golf, mentioned. The Wright Life is a must visit Disc Golf Store in Old Town. Agreed, it is unfortunate what has happened to the comments section lately; it is now full of complaints. It was once enjoyable to read the many puns and positive opinions and analyses by the super solvers. Now it just seems full of comments by people who apparently think the world waits for their negative vibes about how the crossword doesn't meet their approval. Might they learn a few things after a few more years?
Loved the puzzle and loved the constructors' comments.
Very enjoyable puzzle and a quick solve for me. I was glad the site connected the dots so I could see the RABBIT and the DUCK with minimal effort.
Fantastic puzzle and certainly a nominee for POY in the M-W category. Loved that eye...how it messed with you, got you looking for potential other rebuses, like one more eye, for instance. Kept you on your toes didnit? And the drawing at the end -- how I wished I was Barry Ancona who'd be drawing the line in by hand, whereas I was trying to trace it by eye (!) with absolutely no luck. So part of the pleasure of this puzzle is that it's meant to be done on the page and not the screen for best results. And it was super tough in parts, the SE especially kept tripping me up, but it all came up roses. What a ton of fun!
@john ezra I knew it was MEYER but figured I don’t watch TV as much and so MARS could be someone new. I thought about it, thinking A MASK as an answer was so lazy, especially since we already had AN I gift that, I had originally put AYE). I was able to visualize the drawing, and had to sit and think about what should be in that one square I knew was. Lo and behold, it was like putting a little googly eye on a toy!
Sooo, we had a Wednesday on a Tuesday. And now a Thursday on a Wednesday?
7 men, 5 brand names. If I wanted trivia I'd go to a pub quiz.
@Daniel Funny, I count 11, if you include Esau, St. Elmo, Andrew Saks, and The Bieb. (Only one woman, btw--how sexist!) Didn't mind it, though
@Daniel Okay, go ahead. Have fun! Let us know how you did! Ignore all those guys who fact-checked your count.
I wasn’t too crazy about this one.
I'm apparently one of the few Americans who totally disliked this puzzle, for many of the reasons Andrjez cited. I did fill it all in without having to look up anything. I did connect all the circles. But the trivia was difficult for me. A beer that was discontinued in 2010? (I don't drink beer). The BIEB? ROADSTER? I haven't seen a car called that since I read the entire Nancy Drew mystery series when I was a child, and that was many decades ago. I, too, dislike non-linguistic gimmicks. I knew I'd be in a very small minority among my countrymen and women. But give me those words and smart clues. Also, having to connect the circles with a fine-point pen, without the end result gotten by those who solve online, didn't produce a very clear outline, so I had to look at xwordinfo's solution to see the clearer outline. Very tedious, especially solving in the middle of the night after getting both flu and covid vaccines late in the afternoon in the arm that does the writing!
@Times Rita Transoceanic hug: 🫂
@Times Rita I *never* get more than one injection at a time. Those covid boosters are killers. And how 'bout that Shingrix second dose? Whew! I thought the "Battle of the Sexes" was that tennis game with Bobby somebody and the woman whose name I won't recall until I hit Submit... But "sporty" kind of gave me ROADSTER (though I took it out at one point) and Steve CARELL generously helped out. In other words, I am sure you are off your game only due to the side effects of the vaccines and the sore arm. Feel better!
@Times Rita I had to do more lookups than any other pizzle, by easily 3x.
@Times Rita Mazda marketed the Miata as a ROADSTER, likewise the Honda S2000. I.E., rear wheel drive convertible.
@Times Rita There are still Tesla Roadsters being sold. (They are all sporty convertibles, standard.)
Is it a RABBIT or a DUCK? It’s hard to say ... OPTICAL ILLUSION It’s hard to say ... SORRY It’s hard to say ... SRIRACHA Back-to-back excellent puzzles!
@Anita WORCESTSRIRACHASHIRE might be a pain to say but it’s a joy on my tastebuds!!
Maybe I missed something said, but are we not impressed that the dots go alphabetically in order from A through N?
@APNerd Holy cow, you're right! If this was intentional, what a spectacular feat. If not, what a spectacular coincidence. Either way, how cool is that!
@APNerd if they didn't, the theme would be even more pointless because it would be completely impossible to figure out how the dots are supposed to be connected
@APNerd We are both impressed and entertained.
I had a great time solving this one, but am honestly shocked to not see more negativity in the comments. The single rebus, yes, but also for my money this was closer to a Friday in difficulty. YMMV!
@Stephen I'm suddenly curious whether I and O were accepted too. Along with I think accepting E (and no split answers between the crossings), that probably addresses most of the complaints about fighting the rebus UI.
This is the worst puzzle I've dealt with in my 5 or so months. Saturday levels of endless crossing trivia and proper names. One rhebus. The image was hard to visualise in app, and the cluing around it felt just irritating. Ambiguous figure? Could be a great fill but a terrible pairing with the clue. On top of the the grid was highly segmented. I hated this, found it was an unenjoyable slog, and a waste of a rhebus puzzle. And the clues were inaccurate in several places. Just bad.
@M I've been solving for five years and the single rebus tripped me up! I'll admit it wasn't exactly to my taste but after even just five years of solving I can really appreciate when a creator produces a fresh idea and shakes things up a bit. Crosswords should be fun, if a puzzle is annoying you just dive into the archive and solve something else. Maybe once you're a little bored of the same old grid, you'll find these curve balls more enjoyable!
@M This is not near the level of a Saturday stumper, but still the waste of a rebus yes. I had imask even though I knew it should be Seth Meyers.
@M what clues were inaccurate? How does AMBIGUOUSFIGURE not pretty literally describe what appears? And above all else, how do people improve at a new hobby if they are not given the opportunity to try things that are a little above their current level?
All this talk of wasting rebuses is absurd. There are plenty to go around. If there is a really good rebus idea out there that never gets used, now that would be a waste!
@Barry Ancona At risk of reading too much into the choice of phrase, I have to object: as a game design principle, "puzzles" are very much NOT supposed to trip you up in the sense of inducing errors or failure. The audiences for those who want to overcome a challenge (agency) and those who want antagonism and competition (domination) are almost polar opposites.
Random thoughts: • Haven’t seen this illusion in a long time; didn’t remember it until it appeared and -- BOOM! -- elicited a huge smile. • Pair of DOOKS – LORES and STELMO. • The EYE was a happy surprise to figure out. • Fun fact: If you turn the grid 90° to the right, it’s also a rabbit. • I bet the most incredible moment for the constructors was when they discovered that theme answer DUCK’s C and D could be incorporated in the drawing. • The image is so blasted cute! How cute? It rivals this uber-cute grid: https: //www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=3/16/2022 (warning, this grid has the answers filled in). I came to the grid neutral, Nicole and Brad, and left it with a warm heart at learning you are father and daughter, not to mention aflutter with joy from the explosion of cuteness you created. What a lift – thank you both!
Here's that link to the uber-cute puzzle (don't know why it didn't lankily!): <a href="https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=3/16/2022" target="_blank">https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=3/16/2022</a> .
@Lewis I never did figure out how LORES fit, now I get it—I kept thinking it was pixilated not pixelated and originally put LOONY. Pixilated is a great word isn’t it?
BUD ICE is still sold... BUD DRY was discontinued in 2010 Are these type of clues fact checked?
@Anthony Napoli Maybe the editors don't want to have that particular search in their browser history? 🤣
@Anthony Napoli I saw that BUDICE would fit, but as a former shop owner, I knew it was still widely available. So, what then? The fun Belizean beer BELIKIN almost fits, BUDDRY has six characters but the crosses won't jibe... so much time spent on what turned out to be a careless error on the part of the cluemaker and the puzzle editor. Color me grumpy.
@Anthony Napoli I never drank either of those A-B products, so I would not have noted their absence or presence. Schrodinger's beer? I do expect a modicum of accuracy from the puzzle team, though.
@Anthony Napoli Agreed. Paging @Will Short!
@Anthony Napoli Bud Ice Lite was discontinued.
This was a really nicely done gimmick when it all came together, but alas, it exposed far too many gaps in my knowledge to get a gold star. I also couldn’t seem to find any real harmony between the clues and answers, so everything felt somewhat disconnected and almost like they were from two different puzzles, though this may have just been me having an off day. JVS/JDATE/DORITOS was a tough one for non-Superbowl watching Englishman, and I did not expect that lone Rebus so assumed there must be some other Late Night Seth! Very nice execution and a fun concept though. Oh and for those who didn’t enjoy this and may be in need of a chuckle at my expense: I lost a great amount of time because I got thrown off after putting in FROGS… I thought the R_BB_T I had at the bottom had to be RIBBIT, and therefore I was looking at an AMPHIBIANFIGURE - oops!
@Nathan I love RIBBIT! Bonus points for originality. That would be a great theme puzzle -- animals and their associated noises. Although again challenging for non-anglophones. Animals, like humans, speak differently in different countries.
Suggestion for the EMU: Place a block on all comments accusing the constructors of being "lazy." It's fine to not like a puzzle or a mechanism therein. But as soon as I see someone accuse the constructors of being "lazy" I know I am dealing with someone who has nothing intelligent to add to the conversation. I have never encountered an exception to this general rule.
@CaptainQuahog Good idea, although conceivably "lazy" will appear in a clue or answer one day, and comments about it would then be quashed. It takes only about a million hours to complete an accepted puzzle, often with at least one set of revisions. "Lazy" is not the word! Also..."criticize the action, not the actor." There is no need to insult the constructors who work hard to amuse us. If anything, insult the editors who accepted the puzzle. Or just let it be.
@CaptainQuahog Agree 110% (check my math). Describing a constructor as "lazy" is in itself a comment that sounds lazy. Also strongly agree with @Behind a Book : "criticize the action, not the actor".
Agree. Constructors are not lazy and those comments have no merit at all. None. They just breed contempt. The irony of filtering out comments that don’t suit you (collectively) creates the same “sad state of affairs “ that gets criticized almost daily on this board. Then you’re no different than the system you (collectively) criticize.
Fun puzzle with hilarious constructor comments — and let me give a shout-out to a great Mini today, which was unusually clever. Good job!
Wow. Even leaving the incredible trick aside, this was such a gratifying solve. If there’s a puzzle of the year thing going on, I hope this is at least a finalist.
I really have to learn to trust myself when my brain is telling me that something seems off. I am a fan of Seth Meyers, plus I remember that specific clue from a previous puzzle. (AND I often sleep with a sleep mask!) And yet, I fought the urge to use a rebus because it seemed to strange for there to only be one rebus answer in the whole puzzle Well, lesson Learned!
@JessieSquirrel Yeah, I think that's the key to rebuses, sensing that something is off. Now my Rebus Alert is more finely tuned, but I too resisted it, because it was the only one. I thought, well, I'm not up on late night anything, so maybe it's not MEYERS?? Then I got the joke. Cool.
@JessieSquirrel Yeah, you really captured my experience, too. There hadn't been the tiniest sniff of a rebus, and yet I knew exactly who Seth Meyers is, and I could not resolve that conflict. It was brilliant. I wonder how many the rebus was the final entry. It was for me.
Seems like breaking decorum to put in a single rebus with no indication.
@Kelly White On a Wednesday, no less. With a proper name opposite “eye mask” A mask honestly works better
@Kelly White I liked the single revise, but agree very tricky for a Wednesday
@Kelly White The rebus is the eye of the duck/rabbit. It's part of the actual optical illusion. It's not random.
@Kelly White Hard agree, especially because the rest of the circled squares had a different theme. A "gotcha" puzzle.
All that comes to mind is: <a href="https://tinyurl.com/4rpss9ub" target="_blank">https://tinyurl.com/4rpss9ub</a>
Ha! I put the eye in last, and bam! Music and drawings.
So far only positive comments, which is great, because I also liked it with some reservations (which some nay-sayers will be bringing up later, no doubt, with some fairness.) First, the negatives—this is a puzzle that would be more fun on paper than on the app, because you can only realistically see the image at the end. Second, if you don’t know Seth MEYERS you may not get the lone rebus from just —MASK, I think that should have been a little more explicit to be completely fair. Third the theme constraints made this a little tricky for a Wednesday, especially the middle east with the rebus (who knew the Middle East could be problematic?) That said, this was a tour de force in terms of difficulty, with four revealers (two spanners) and a connect the dots to create some really clever grid art, not to mention the rebus. Don’t know which of these two conceived of this but it’s brilliant and to my mind all the negatives are forgiven and absolutely worth it. A few clue comments; Never heard of “conservadox” and I’m Jewish, but it’s a great descriptor and I’m going to use it. Don’t care for SRIRACHA but my son swears by it—officially thanking him because I wouldn’t know it otherwise. Don’t watch Seth MEYERS on TV but had the opportunity to watch his show live in New York recently, it was great fun and he is very talented. Last I had OPTICAL ILLUSION and D-CK for “what seem people think this image represents”. Not seeing the picture yet, U was not the first vowel to come to mind.
@SP There is that illusion where you start drawing what obviously will be a d_ick but it ends up as a cat. As for the puzzle, I share all your negative and none of the positive feedback 🤷🏽
@SP 😂 That would have been another first for the New York Times Games Department.
@SP I thought of "conservadox" as an argument where the arguer must believe in two contradictory concepts.
@SP I agree! I found the theme very cute and enjoyed the puzzle overall but got stuck on that EYE rebus square. Finally just ran the alphabet on M_RS and got the happy music when I hit E. So I solved it without figuring out the rebus at all, which was a little disatisfying. I feel like the puzzle would have been perfect without that additional unnecessary (IMO) quirk!
@SP Conservadox is when you drive your car to Shabbos services, but you don't park in the synagogue parking lot. Conservadox is when you keep kosher at home, but go to a regular restaurant and order fish. Hope this helps!
@SP Both of my maternal uncles were Rabbis. One was Conservadox and the other was, my word, Conservaform. So that's how I knew that answer. And the Conservadox's daughters also married rabbis, one Conservadox and the just plain Conservative. But they're all liberals!
@SP DECK! You thought of a DECK of cards, right? Or a DOCK, where you went fishing! Aha!
I found this puzzle extremely irritating. "ONE" rebus on a Wednesday? The whole picture thing was weird. Also, too many OBSCURE clues. Enough said :(
There can be no peace until they renounce their Rabbit God and accept our Duck God! <a href="https://condenaststore.com/featured/an-army-lines-up-for-battle-paul-noth.html" target="_blank">https://condenaststore.com/featured/an-army-lines-up-for-battle-paul-noth.html</a>
@Gary Wonderful! How did you find it??!!
@Gary you're not the first, but it is a good one.
There are so very many things I love about this amazing puzzle that I don’t know where to begin. The father/daughter constructors, the clever theme, the single rebus . . . Just joyful 😊 I’m a big Seth Meyers fan, and it took me quite some time to see what was going on with that one rebus. I hope these two will be bringing us more terrific puzzles, either as a team or solo. Can’t wait! 🤩👏🏻👏🏻
A single rebus, an alphabet string, a line drawing. Can we shove a few more gimmicks into a puzzle? Sometimes I just don’t get all the fuss. But that’s why there are 7 puzzles per week. Sometimes you feel like a nut and sometimes you don’t. I didn’t feel it today.
The NYT crossword comments section reminds me of traipsing through the woods behind my house as a kid. Back then, I would also lift up rocks to see what lived under them. It's fine to not be familiar with extremely common knowledge like late night hosts (I myself solved PAAR on crosses) or classic optical illusions, but don't pretend your own perspective is the default if you're not willing to get out more.
Huh. A lot of complaints about the single rebus. My thought process was something like: “I’m pretty sure the name is Meyers and I’ve got the M in the beginning…but wha? Wait, EYE mask, mEYErs- w00t! it’s a rebus.” And then the other confusing theme answers made sense and then the puzzling puzzle made sense. Good show!
Brad and Nicole, don’t take the detractors too much to heart - your puzzle was fun and clever and breezy and you two are as cute as baby rabbitducks. Keep up the good work!
Well THAT was cool. Made a rather rotten day a bit better at the end.
I took to this like a rabbit to water, bravo!
This was cute and imaginative, and like others I appreciated the lone rebus. I’ll take it a step further and say I’d enjoy constructors throwing in totally random rebus squares occasionally, apropos of nothing.
I did this puz last night, thinking it was Tuesday’s—whoops. I was going to post right then, to proclaim my love for this puzzle and to for once be in conversation with the first commenters (you know who you are!). But alas, it was late and my word-tap had run dry. Next time. Anyway: what a treat! A solitary rebus must be a hard sell, but in context it made sense—not that it didn’t take me a minute to catch on. I appreciated that the down and ACR cluing over the rebus were so accessible. And such an adorable set of constructor notes! My own daughter just left for college; I miss her all the time and can only hope that one day we will enjoy such a fun and productive relationship as Brad and Nicole Wiegmann clearly do. Well done, you two!
This one had everything I love: clever wordplay, secondary clues (the circled letters), an unexpected twist (the lone rebus), and end-of-puzzle animation. It was also a relatively easy solve for me, as much of the trivia was right in my wheelhouse. Seeing the pattern of the circled letters helped in filling out the rest. Although it’s funny that the rebus was an eye, because my eye could not foresee the image, no matter how many times I traced it with my finger! In the end, I felt like that rabducken was eyeing me with scorn. Cute, and fun. What more could you ask for?
To me this answers the question: what is the crossword version of a dad joke? I enjoyed the creativity. It was just weird enough without being inaccessible. Love that this was a father-daughter team. From their constructor comments I can tell that they enjoy themselves and each other enough that hopefully they’ll be immune to the wet blankets in the comment section.
Tricky! I'm all good with it though. I figure if my mind can deal with: One rebus, on a Wednesday! A figure I can't draw on my phone! Singers and authors and movies I've never heard of, oh my! (Yes I've heard of said singer, but I was stuck on the nickname foreeever). Anyway, if I can get the Gold Star after all that, and I did lol, then I'm still in the game. Yay!
Squee! Fun puzzle and the animation made me smile. Wonderful puzzle, whether you find it just ducky or a bit hare-raising.
RABBIT v DUCK reminded me of the How I Met Your Mother episode… <a href="https://youtu.be/6W7yhe1i-sQ?si=9GnBH_HTSR5H0Rcc" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/6W7yhe1i-sQ?si=9GnBH_HTSR5H0Rcc</a> Congratulations on your debut, Nicole. What a treat to construct with your dad. I hope to collaborate with at least one of my three kids someday on a puzzle. One can hope 🤞🏼 Happy Wednesday!
@Jacqui J Wow. Steve made my day with the first link he posted but you made my day double, this was hysterical.
Pleasantly surprised by the positivity in the comments. Was expecting this to be quite polarizing -- almost a Rorschach Test for those who love gimmicks and those who hate them :)
@Tim Sneath Well, I like gimmicks in NYT puzzles, generally, but I disliked this one. Call me crazy but I think gimmicks in a cross*word* puzzle should be word-based 🤷🏽. Also, the interface of the app not allowing me to actually draw the picture as I was solving added an additional level of difficulty. It hardly seems fair to base a puzzle on a feature that the app doesn't support. However, I'm almost alone in thinking this, apparently.
@Tim Sneath Going through the comments now. Amazed at the positivity.
@Andrzej The clue for 17 across says to connect the letters in the circles alphabetically, so I don't know how you could do that without finishing the puzzle or at least the answers with circles in them.
@Tim Sneath Perhaps it’s because many commenters expressed so much negativity on Sunday that they have run out! (To be fair, Sunday’s was tough and different, and to have this on a Wednesday as opposed to a Thursday was a delight to me at least)
The themed clues literally invited me to draw the clued thing as the grid steadily filled up 🤷🏽. Said fill was quite hard for me today with its heavy trivia content, so being able to get the gimmick from its graphic, even partially revealed, would have been nice. Ultimately I didn't like the puzzle largely for my most common reason - the fill was esoteric for me because I'm not American. The rebus square is the best example: that whole area was trivia-based, and impossible for me to solve without lookups. Not seeing the graphic at this stage, I stared at M_RS/_MASK, I just kept shrugging. Seeing the graphic might have allowed me to realize it was an EYE. (I've worn a sleep mask but had no idea what it's called). Of course, my not knowing American trivia is not the puzzle's fault but mine, but that doesn't mean I have to feel good about it. Plus I really don't care about non-linguistic gimmicks. I solve these puzzles because I like words and smart clues. Infantile drawings are not my thing 🤷🏽
@Tim Sneath I like gimmicks but hated this. So might not be about that exactly.
@Tim Sneath I generally like gimmicks, I tolerate rebuses, and I'm American. I didn't like this puzzle at all. The heavy consistent focus on a drawing that wasn't a drawing was dreary and off-putting. I'm not as strongly anti-image as Andrzej, but this was hardly an image! A poor construction overall. (The non-theme cluing was fine.)