"It may bring out the kid in you" was groan worthy but brilliant. Just brilliant. Clue of the week, month and year for me.
@Steve L - Got ya. C-sections won't bring out the kid in half the population. Someone else said "keep trying", but that won't work for most Steves.
@Rahul Q: Won't puns, also bring out the kid in you?
Worst Friday time for me in about 5 years. Just not on the same wavelength - I struggled mightily.
@Richard Do you get the email with the link to the 'easy mode' version? I consult these clues first when I'm stumped. I needed thirteen of these 'half-cheats', but no full cheats. And I no longer pay much attention to time, my typing is too poor, with too many typos. The gold star is good, whatever the time taken!
"You're the only tailor here who can fix this worn fabric?" "Frayed sew." ("Well, you're threader than nothing.")
@Mike Ahem! (In other words, you should draw a line and make cuts - some of your old material is looking a bit threadbare and needs to be finished off!)
@Mike Seams to me we'll have to pin you down on this one. I'm betting you'll be quilty as charged!
@Mike I'll give you credit for always coming up with something out of whole cloth, but you seem to have fallen into a pattern. Try to tailor you remarks -- fine tune them, rather than bobbin around.
@Mike A serge in responses! A flannel always think of something. Re puns, we have deep pockets.
One of these days, I will remember how to spell Ado Edebiri's name without looking it up.
@Michael Weiland Keep trying...
@Michael Weiland Hahaha seriously! I couldn't believe i got it wrong yet again. Always get those Es and I swapped
@Michael Weiland today I came up with Edeibri. I swear her name just refuses to stick in my brain and every time I think up a new and creative was to misspell it.
@Michael Weiland I always *almost* remember that name but always mix up a few letters... My head is a mess.
@Michael Weiland I came here to say the same thing. I'm getting closer every time though!
OMG yes, [It may bring out the kid in you] deserves every ounce of love it's gotten here; it's a simply world-class clue. And credit where credit is due -- this clue was debuted in 2007 (in the New York Sun) by Patrick Blindauer.
@Lewis Ah, thanks, so then the question is whether it was a re-use or independent invention.
Wow! What a great debut, and I can see some of the mentoring from Robyn Weintraub, this was a smooth but clever solve for me. I thought I was off to the races when LEAMICHELE, ROCKETSCIENCE, COMEHITHER, and HOLESINONE were practically gimmes to me (I don’t think they are particularly easy, except LEAMICHELE if you know her, just on the same wavelength). But then I got hung up with MANSPRAWLS instead of SPREADS and the NE corner, with IRKED instead of cross, no clue about MACS and Tahoe (ok now I get it), TOLL before TOOT and once again no clue about how to remember or spell AYOEDEBIRIs last name. (I’m sorry, she’s a great actress, the show is great, she is absolutely worthy of being in a crossword, and her first name is crossword gold, but we’ve had her full name 3 weeks ago, and again in April, and again now? Please, enough). Got there eventually with some help from FRAIDSO, and RIRI two days in a row (yay me! I even know how to pronounce Rihanna now). And finally, if there’s an award for crossword clue of the decade CESAREAN has got to be in the running. So thanks for a very fun solve that stretched me when I least expected it, and I look forward to more puzzles from you!
@SP BTW, I hope people know I’m just kidding about AYOEDEBIRI—the fact of the matter is, all three of these puzzles were probably submitted before any of them were published, and I certainly wouldn’t have withheld any of them just because they featured the same actress.
@SP Now when are we finally going to see another puzzle from Robyn?
This may be a NYT debut but this constructor has to have been published elsewhere, such a first class puzzle - a true work of ARE! Well done and thanks.
Someone made a typo when linking to this page. I had a real hard time getting here.
Overheard at the Greek costume party: “Come hither, Helen. I fear you look a bit flirtatious in those Cesarean cheat sheets, for there are holes in one.” Excellent Friday puzzle!
I loved this puzzle. Clever clues. Wonderful fill. A great way to start the weekend. A fantastic debut, Joyce! Thank you. Y’all have a fine Friday!
"It may bring out the kid in you" was amazing, the most delightful clue I can remember. I hope it's original. And I find that this puzzle is a from a first timer? Wow. I am NOT a fan of themeless, but this was a very good puzzle. Just chewy enough for me, and bursting with "fresh fill". Well done!
@B, I enjoyed that clue as well! Another favorite of mine is (Stock quote?), which solved to MOO.
@B Someone posted much later that the clue was originally used in a Patrick Blindauer puzzle from --- . Can't remember the date unless I scroll way up.
@B I was impressed by that clue/entry, too, but was wondering if it was going to flop because of the bad connotations a C-section might have with some people. I think there's been some controversy about the use of Cesareans recently, hasn't there been?
More than just a fill-in: WHITE NOISE – as soon as I placed this answer down, I heard it as if it were actually being produced close to me. COME HITHER – Always loved this gorgeous phrase, haven’t thought about it in forever, and when it showed itself I glowed as I do when I run into an old friend. LEA MICHELE – Unfamiliar with this name; when I learned about her afterward and saw how wow-worthy she is, was grateful for the TIL, and I’ll remember her. Part of my learning was hearing her lovely voice here: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w7K-NtCoYIo&list=RDw7K-NtCoYIo&start_radio=1" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w7K-NtCoYIo&list=RDw7K-NtCoYIo&start_radio=1</a> . I also liked TIPTOED crossing SOFT, the rhyming and crossing IRAN and SARAN, and the onomatopoeic DING, TOOT, and HAHA. Most important of all was the overall feeling of loveliness in answer and clue, leaving me hopeful to experience more from you, Joyce, up the road. What a promising debut – thank you for this, and congratulations!
@lewis If you really want to hear and see her perform, she was in a TV Show called Glee and those musical performances on YouTube are fantastic. The TV show was about teenagers in a Glee Club in highschool.
@Lewis I've never gotten a COMEHITHER look. The closest I came was in high school, when I thought the gorgeous student English teacher was giving me a come hither look. Turns out she was just trying to let me know secretely that my zipper was down. I tell ya, I don't get no respect. No respect at all.
This wasn’t even fair. COMEHITHER isn’t flirtatious Knowing that Tahoe is a MACOSX version is inane trivia, and plenty of other clues that were not on my wavelength. GEMS, RAGA, and crossing AYO EDEBIRI whom I forfeit as soon as they appeared in this puzzle some time ago with RIRI was just 🫤 Not chewy, just silly. Thanks for the effort anyway
Ιασων, I guess the puzzle was not Greek to you.
@Ιασων <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/come-hither" target="_blank">https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/come-hither</a>
@Ιασων A come-hither look isn't flirtatious? But that's exactly what it means....
@Ιασων — I understand your mistake about come hither. Put quotes around it, and it’s a perfect substitution for flirtatious. The most famous type of phrase using those two words would be: She approached me with a “come-hither“ look in her eyes. // she approached me with a flirtatious look in her eyes. I went to grade school in Lexington, MA in the 60s, and while it was truly great for new math and less “America is always right“ history, they never taught us the traditional rules of grammar, but I suspect in this context “come hither“ is an adjective, or an adjective phrase?
I enjoyed the solve even though it was insanely hard for me in places, beyond not only Friday but Saturday levels. In the end I broke down and looked up INES, and I also had to do an alphabet run for the crossing of the sitar composition and prized people. I really liked many of the clues, the one for CESAREAN and RIB being prime examples. The misdirect for the one who was totally taken by Paris was great. I actually entered Emily first, but instantly had an epiphany and changed it to HELEN. Knowing common crossword entries of HORAS and RIRI was a great help. I also came up with many things that initially had me stumped, like COME HITHER. Personally unknowable arcana the like of LEA MICHELE were mercifully mostly revealed by crosses. The SW corner was what caused me most trouble. I didn't know INES and forgot DIANA. Also, I don't think of king or queen as a title, unlike Her or His Majesty, but it may simply be because I'm confusing "title" with "term of adress". Also, Polish has the word "tytuł", the equivalent of your "title", but apparently the meaning of the word is slightly different in both languages. To me, "królowa" (queen) is just a common noun. Now for a title: "Jadwiga z Bożej łaski królowa Polski, a także pani i dziedziczka ziem krakowskiej, sandomierskiej, sieradzkiej, łęczyckiej, kujawskiej i pomorskiej" ("Jadwiga, by the grace of God, Queen of Poland, as well as Lady and Heiress of the Lands of Kraków, Sandomierz, Sieradz, Łęczyca, Kujawy, and Pomerania").
@Andrzej I think the distinctive thing about Polish to an American eye (not only that, a *mid-western* American eye) is the number of j's in your language. And y's. It gives it a distinctive look. And to my thinking a pretty cool one as well. I also like looking at Celtic and Gaelic (are they the same or distinct?) languages. The beautiful combinations of letters that rarely or never occur together in English, such as "ll" or "bh" and "dh". It gives the language such a wild and free look. Not as good as math, but pretty good. The puzzle only came to me by small degrees. I had things here and there, and occasionally an inspiration would come along and I'd get a little farther. ROCKETSCIENCE was a great boon to me. I was helped by the recent RIRI. I don't think I've ever heard a song by her or any of her colleagues, including Taytay. (I really hate those nicknames. Can you imagine if we called Jimmy Hendrix "Jiji", or Mark Knopfler, "Knopknop"). Excuse me, I'm going to have to go vomit a while.
@Andrzej As a long time fan of the movie, Casablanca, I kept trying to put Ilsa Lund's name in there.
@Andrzej "...and RIB being prime examples." I see what you did there!
i havent been doing this very long, but i cannot recall another puzzle whose constructors cluing wavelength was so subtly and perfectly out of phase with my own logic circuits as to cause nothing but stupid grins, smiling head shakes and internal exclamations of "huh!" from my delighted self over the course of 35 minutes or so. absolutely perfect start to my friday. thank you, ms keller.
TIL coquettish and COMEHITHER have the same number of letters
@Petrol I was helped by the fact that I couldn't remember how to spell "coquettish". I was trying to get to that dead end, but couldn't by fortunate ignorance.
Terribly obscure and impossibly hard. Did not enjoy this one bit.
@KMC What a coincidence! I've been described exactly the same way!
@KMC you can always subscribe to the easy mode newsletter linked in the wordplay column “Sign up for the Easy Mode newsletter. Get an easy version of one of the hardest crossword puzzles of the week, with clues by Christina Iverson, a puzzle editor. Get it sent to your inbox.” Or you can link to it here <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/newsletters" target="_blank">https://www.nytimes.com/newsletters</a>
@KMC Someone is cranky this morning. Try some EDIBLES maybe?
This beaut brought out the kid me. Spectacular debut.
@CCNY Congratulations on your NEO-NATE!
I think the nice way of saying what I want to say here is the constructor and I were "on another wavelength." Maybe even other planets, galaxies, etc. This was miserable for me. A total slog that BURIED me early on and I felt like I was fighting for my life with every letter I had to run through the alphabet. Many words and phrases that are not a part of my daily lexicon or that have been so deeply in the cabinets of my brain that the BEES have decided they could build a nest there. Again, just not on the same page with Ms Joyce. However, I really don't have many DINGs for this one. I thought it was a really tight, well-made puzzle. I personally didn't find the clues as intuitive as some others seem to have but I thought they were clever enough. To see that this is a debut makes it extra impressive. I guess if I could offer any critique, it would be that making two of the longest entries in the puzzle celebrity names (no matter how well-known you believe them to be, dear reader) is a choice -- good or bad, your call. I think it's a bad one. I'm still not sure I understand MACS. Alas. It's a Friday. I didn't solve it without a multitude of help. (Seriously, can we rework the "Tricky Clues" section to include some of the actual tricky clues? And hi, yes I know it's subjective. Save your comment.) Onto the weekend. Ta-ta!
@D the latest version of Mac OS (Apple’s operating system) is called “Tahoe”.
@D I agree with you. While I appreciate the construction, this one seemed foreign to me!
@D Ayo Edebiri is an Emmy winner on one of the most discussed TV shows of the last five years. Success with the puzzle requires some familiarity with pop culture.
@D Tip o' the hat to the image "so deeply ... cabinets of my brain ... bees ... build a nest"! (Sorry for not directly quoting your wordsmithery, but i wasn't able to copy text or remember fully.) Bravo/a/i!
Sputnik was a real gem in this one. But ARE takes the prize!! : )) Thanks.
@Molly in Wake Forest I had 'Arp' thinking I was clever, and then the light dawned.
(The normal link doesn't work.) I liked this puzzle a lot, since it made me feel smart. It felt very hard in some sense, yet I was able to guess a lot of clue answers without any letters, which made this hard puzzle proceed pretty quickly. At times this resembled riding a pogo stick down a steep hill in a thick fog. (It did not, however, smack of juggling three flaming battery-powered chainsaws while they are turned on — not at all.)
Dan, Why battery-powered? (I figure your location may give you some insider info on this :)
This was a solid puzzle. I struggled a bit in the SW because I know nothing about Anne of Green Gables and I didn’t know the Spanish writer either. So I just guessed INES for the latter, which helped me see COMEHITHER, and that pulled the whole corner together. I liked MANSPREADS, and I also liked that SARAN (clued as that’s a wrap) crossed RAPT.
@Marshall Walthew I knew INES from my studies many years ago; she lived in the 16th century, although there's no hint of that in the clue. (My studies were in the 20th century, though.) What I wasn't sure of was whether they were going for a final S or Z, even though the S is considered correct.
TIL 'akimbo' can also be used with legs. In my narrow world, arms akimbo always meant 'with the hands on the hips.' Consequently, (still in my narrow world) only a contortionist could stand with legs akimbo, placing their feet on their hips. Who knew?
@Pezhead Legs Akimbo was a famous fictional porn star name in my small childhood friend group. :) Like, really small.
@Pezhead The visuals of this have me absolutely cracking up!
@Pezhead I remember an old Firesign Theatre bit describing hieroglyphics: "It was a jackal-headed woman with her eyes akimbo". That cracked me up as a teenager.
I am so impressed that this is a debut! I struggled mightily with this — one of those where you get to the bottom on your first pass and see two words filled in, and you’re not that sure about one of them. It was tough, but with enough plugging away and making some good guesses, it gradually filled in and I finished about 4 mins under my average. Not bad. I feel better knowing that so many people had the same trouble that I did with “Tahoe runners”. I had to run the alphabet (ha!) for the second letter, not remembering how to spell 11D. Great debut, Joyce! It felt like a perfect Friday challenge. Well done!
@NYC Traveler I'm almost never impressed by anything, but this constructor's work did the trick. Nice!
CESAREAN was such a spectacular clue/answer, no one has bothered about he missing "A". I know, it's an alternate plural, but that's never stopped pitched battles before in this arena of blood.
@Francis Honestly, it bothered me too, but I was too in love with the clue to really care. Sigh.
@Francis I thought, "wouldn't it be wonky if the answer was 'pitocin' " but laughed and figured, no way the constructor went there....
@Francis I kind of resented the misspelling. One NEVER sees it spelt this way. I figure it was allowed in this puzzle as a FIRESTARTER.
@Francis Did we all notice that the blog pointer at the bottom told us to "See Section"? Well done!
@Francis Both spellings are appropriate, cleveland clinic has it spelled without the A <a href="https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/treatments/7246-cesarean-birth-c-section" target="_blank">https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/treatments/7246-cesarean-birth-c-section</a>
@Francis et al, I’m hoping that most everyone here is aware that “cesarean” has nothing to do with Caesar. The word is derived from the verb caedere, 'to cut', Julius Caesar was not born by C-section. While the practice existed in his time, it invariably resulted in the death of the mother. Caesar’s mother lived on for many years.
I was expecting to see a lot of complaints from the proper noun folk, but it's still early. Maybe they are late risers (or slower solvers). I knew the answers for both LEA MICHELE and AYO EDEBIRI, but had trouble spelling both of them. Thank God for the crosses. And will someone cry "Natick" over the crossing of DIANA and INES? (I don't think anything other than N will go in that square.) And I'll join the chorus and sing the praises of "It may bring out the kid in you", but it also made me cringe and cross by legs a bit. (Probably a good antidote to my normal MANSPREADing.) "What 'it's not,' they say" and "One in a cage" were also delightful. All in all, a fun puzzle.
@The X-Phile Eh, I thought DIANA/INES was fine, despite not knowing either of those. What letter other than “N” could possibly have worked there? “I was expecting to see a lot of complaints from the proper noun folk, but it's still early. Maybe they are late risers (or slower solvers).” Well, the Wordplay link in the app was broken until a few minutes ago, so there’s also that…
That explains so much! I'm a bee! (This is so much funnier expressed in dance.)
@ad absurdum Please do so, and provide the video online, please.
@Francis Google Flight of the Bumblebee dance.
@ad absurdum and five eyes!! Off to stare at some bee photos now with my mere pair of eyes ...
This pages link should be <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/20/crosswords/daily-puzzle-2025-11-21.html" target="_blank">https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/20/crosswords/daily-puzzle-2025-11-21.html</a> -- not 11-20.html .
@Michael Weiland I had to Google it! It's almost comical how I was thrown into a momentary total panic that the link was broken... being cut off from the hive mind was scary!!
Can we stop using Ayo Edebiri as an answer!?!?! At least once a month she comes up. I know who she is, I even like the show. Do I have the head space to remember how to spell her vowel driven name? Short answer is no. It’s not clever, it’s lazy cluing.
@Hanna So I made the same point—jokingly—very early on, but it’s NOT lazy construction. The full clue has come up 3 times since April. The average time from submission to print is probably over a year. So all three constructors probably thought they were debuting her full name (and the last two were probably disappointed they got scooped by the first).
@Hanna I wrote a reply that has been detained for questioning by the emus, and doubt that it will ever get through. Please, I beg of you, don't accuse the constructors or cluers of laziness. You can't imagine how many teeth you set on edge around here with that kind of accusation. Furthermore, it's dead wrong.
@Hanna Although sure, it's helpful, you don't have to totally remember how to spell her name. I actually actively dislike the show, though she's great in it, but the first time I encountered her name in a puzzle, I was completely at sea... The crosses got me there.... And by now I mostly knew it right off the bat, though I got the R wrong the first time, but again the SARAN crossing corrected me. In any case, her name is fair game, and I doubt it's going anywhere. I just hope to see her in something other than that particular show, which in no way do I see how it's considered a comedy.... That show should come with a chill pill, if you ask me. 😏
@Hanna I agree with Hanna’s point. It might not be cluing, but my interest in a puzzle creator’s skill in working with AYOEDEBIRI doesn’t extend beyond one time in a couple of months. I’m actually a huge fan of Edebiri and think she is one of the greatest actors of our time, but I’m not writing her name out in fan letters and remembering how to spell it, and I’m not a huge fan of “oh, am I getting the vowels right here?” in an otherwise brutal corner of a crossword puzzle, yet again. Don’t NOT use it as an entry, but space it out a bit, will ya?
@Hanna Look at the bright side, there was no TayTay, or a RiRi. Soon there'll be an AyAy. 😎
@Jerry Wait, there actually was a RiRi, no?
gonna try again since emus seem to have grazed my first attempt... what a delightful happenstance when the constructor and i are just sufficiently and happily logically and word-playfully out of phase that virtually the entire puzzle fills me with st-pid grins, smiley head shaking and internal "dannng!"s. and a debut, no less. thanks for a fine friday jaunt, ms keller.
@Matt your original comment showed up immediately 😉 Today’s comment thread is super glitchy!!
Quite tricky indeed! I couldn't work out CESAREAN at first because I'm so used to seeing CAESAREAN, excellent clue. MACS I would never have got, even though I'm using one. Wondered about a Tahoe marathon. Things to keep remembering - SARAN for cling film, HORAS, DING. AYO and RIRI now in memory bank. New things I've learnt - HITS UP ON, GILA, ONI, INES, EBLAST, and EDIBLES = GUMMIES - does that mean vitamins? Faint memory of seeing this somewhere. Do I need to know Fanny Brice and LEA MICHELLE? Excellent crossword.
@Jane Wheelaghan Children's gummies are vitamins. Adult gummies are more likely cannabis-derived medications. My late mother-in-law, whom we lost a few months ago at 93, took them to keep from waking up multiple times at night. Sometimes, she took chocolates. She also took a smaller dose in the morning to calm her nerves. They apparently worked quite well.
@Jane Wheelaghan Yes, vitamins come in gummy form for adults, but I think edibles refers to edible forms of marijuana, and now legal in many states in the US.
@Jane Wheelaghan EDIBLES are edible THC. You don’t “have to” know anyone, but LEA MICHELLE is quite the talent. I wish she got half the buzz of Rachel Ziegler because I think she has twice the talent and class.
@B LEA's name on Glee was Rachel Berry. Rachel Zegler was Maria in the recent West Side Story movie.
@Jane Wheelaghan Fanny Brice was "Funny Girl". Broadway show and movie with Barbra Streisand
@Francine - Yes, I put Streisand in first, but it was one letter short. So I updated it to Lea Michele.
CESARIAN is getting a lot of well-deserved plaudits. But I think MANSPREADING deserves some love, as well.
@Francis it’s always the guy sitting next to me on the plane… Quite the flex, taking up space in two seats 🤣
@Francis @Jacqui J I was very glad when I learned the term MANSPREADING several years ago. It actually made me mind how I sit on public transport. I think these days I'm a better fellow passenger than I used to be. Similarly, learning MANSPLAINING encouraged me to think how exactly I talk to people, man and women alike. As an academic I had a tendency to be slightly preachy and haughty, which is a horrible trait.
It's amazing how letting a stuck puzzle simmer overnight helps. I wasn't having any luck with the NW corner and decided to retire for the evening. The next morning I was able to come up with Ms. Michele's first name LEA, tried SLY for 19A which got me DEAL for 2D which got me MANY for 3D, which got me ADMIT for 1A, which got me ALMS for 1D, and lastly MAN for ___SPREAD at 17A. For a puzzle for which I only got one answer on first pass, I was happy to finish just a little slower (4%) than average.
@Jim The sub-conscious mind is an amazing thing!
I love that it was difficult mainly because I actually finished it with zero help whatsoever. I couldn’t care less that it was 46 minutes. The southwest and the northeast both had me. I went out for some Chocolate Shoppe ice cream, came home and figured out that I had GEtS instead of GEMS… that quickly solved the southwest because then I immediately got COMEHITHER. Ten seconds later, an inspiration gave me METRIC. The northeast fell just as quickly. Who knew that the best ice cream in the world would have such an effect? As their slogan goes “if you want healthy, eat carrots!“. As high of a butterfat content as any superpremium ice cream. I had a double scoop of Zanzibar chocolate, which has actual dark chocolate in it and what they label as “This $&@! Just Got Serious”. Great day. I told my wife, this might be the one that just totally gets me. She told me “don’t worry, honey, you’ll get it.”
Jake, You are in good company. Deb Amlen, our esteemed and now retiring senior Wordplay columnist, is a big fan of solving with ice cream. Or chocolate. Or both.
ROCKET SCIENCE and SPUTNIK, nice. And we had YURI the other day.
My usual late puzzle find. A Thursday from October 20, 2016 by Alan Arbesfeld. Four 15 letter theme answers. "Supposedly, some Australian birds can participate in the America's Cup," palindromically EMUSSAILIASSUME "Peter the Great, Mother Teresa and Bob Marley, palindromically" ATSARANUNARASTA "My concealment of that footwear was so unfortunate," palindromically TOOBADIHIDABOOT "That tropical entry could not have captured first place in the fruit competition, palindromically" NOWAYAPAPAYAWON Don't recall another one like that. Must have been quite a workout to find four 15 letter strings that work as palindromes. Here's the link: <a href="https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=10/20/2016&g=27&d=A" target="_blank">https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=10/20/2016&g=27&d=A</a> ...
My first run through had the much, much better answer to the clue "It may bring out the kid in you": GOATMILK. If I were Don Draper, I could turn that catch phrase into $$$millions for the world's goat farmers. Call me if you need help with YOUR ad campaign.
Am I the only one who feels like CESARIAN is missing a letter? Took so long to think of a word that starts "CES..."
@BamBam Retired L&D nurse here; the accepted spelling used to be Caesarean because of how Caesar is spelled, and that is how I continue to spell it. Somehow, Cesarean became the common spelling in the US (it is still spelled correctly in Britain), and I hate that.
Wow, hard in a good way! Only two lookups; just pass after pass and sifting down through the brain layers till something showed up. Loved learning that bees have 5 eyes. Add that to the fact we learned a few months ago, that some scallops have 200 eyes. In my next life i shall become a veterinary ophthalmologist!
Great puzzle. Still laughing over 9-Down. Like the procedure, did not see that coming.
@Lori Two weeks before her due date, our daughter wriggled around and put her little bottom where her head belonged...and wouldn't budge. C-section. So, when we were expecting #2, I searched all over the Bay Area for an obstetrician who would consider a VBAC (normal childbirth instead of automatic C-section.)Yay! And it turned out our son was over 10 lbs, so.... (He stayed big, too.)
@Lori I tried FORCEPS, but they were a little too short for the procedure
Congratulations on your very impressive debut, Ms. Keller, Thank you for for this tight and fun puzzle, and please count me in amongst those who are applauding the CESAREAN clue!
This was the perfect Friday! Had next to nothing on the first pass and then somehow it all fell into place beautifully. Loved the clueing... As a c-section mama the one for CESAREAN had me laughing out loud! The kid in me did not want to leave. I was in the hospital for two days (I was past due and fluid levels low) while they tried to induce labor. But no, we needed that CESAREAN to bring her out! 😂
"One in a cage" is now one of my favorite clues ("Handful on the farm" being the other).
Typical tough Friday for me, with a couple of complete unknowns (looking at you AYOEDEBIRI), but ended up being an enjoyable long workout. One puzzle find today - a Sunday from April 23, 1978 by Bert Rosenfield with the title: "Shakespeare on sports" I'll just give you a couple of theme answers without the clues. Probably not hard to guess: OMONSTROUSFAULT GENTLEPUCKCOMEHITHER LETMECLUTCHTHEE GIVEMETHEIRON YOUDIDBIDMESTEAL Here's that link: <a href="https://www.xwordinfo.com/PS?date=4/23/1978&g=29&d=A" target="_blank">https://www.xwordinfo.com/PS?date=4/23/1978&g=29&d=A</a> ...
@Rich in Atlanta I love GENTLE PUCK COME HITHER in this context!
If I ever watched The Bear or Wicked I'd shave 10 minutes off my average. Who knew Rihana would get a back-to-back.
@joepb Yeah, "The Bear" is on a subscription channel that we don't have... I have GOT to memorize that name!!
Trash puzzle with too many proper nouns and zero creativity
@Thomas And yet it was still thousands of times more entertaining than your snarky post. I know, I know, you have the right to complain about a puzzle all you want. But I have the right to complain about your complaint all I want. Your turn.
I was just not on this constructor’s wavelength even a little bit. The “what “it’s not”, they say” is the sort of clue I absolutely despise. It’s lazy, unclever, and way too vague. I find the debut puzzle for a constructor is usually one I do not like at all. I think it takes some practice. I debated just skipping this puzzle altogether about halfway through.
@Jonathan “I think it takes some practice.” Prescription: a hefty dose of thine own medicine! That, or you can just keep posting lazy, unclever, vague comments about puzzles that are too challenging for you (and yes, in spite of your defense mechanism of attempting to flip the script and blame the puzzle, that is exactly what is going on here).
@Jonathan your comment prompted me to wonder how else to clue ROCKET SCIENCE at a Friday level. [Titans’ creator]?
@Jonathan By contrast, that was one of my favorite clues! In a puzzle that felt totally on my wavelength during the solve. It's clever, and the delicious "penny drop" when its specificity clicked was worth the price of admission. Your first sentence was fine – we all have puzzles we don't enjoy – but why did you feel the need to ruin it with the rest? I don't think I'll ever understand comments that proclaim "laziness" on the part of the puzzle creators.
@Jonathan - I disagree. It was a fine Friday clue, one of my favorites in this puzzle. I also liked [Tahoe runner] a lot, even though the answer completely eluded me until I filled in the crosses. Devilishly clever, I thought.
@Jonathanq — Funny ... I loved that clue, and it made me laugh out loud. I don’t see how you get lazy from that, but to each own!
A lot on my mind and just hopped through the across clues, dropping in whatever seemed like even a maybe, went for the downs and found the not possibles (had to put some of them back), and after the second run-through, the puzzle was in doable shape,. Finished it with no look-ups in under average for a Friday. All that said, the clues were super witty and fun and the puzzle was a winner, an absolute delight. Thank you, Joyce. Puzzles like this one give us a run for our money and lift our spirits, A tough puzzle with so many GEMS made my day. More please! (Embarrassing note: I work puzzles on a MacBook Pro and my last fill was the A in the 'Tahoe runner" clue. Still couldn't figure it out, and thought maybe it had something to do with trucks. Duh.)
@dutchiris Me, too. Tahoe? Does Chevy make an SUV called Tahoe? I don't use a Mac but now I know that the Apple company uses California place names. How about Weed or Death Valley? Happy Camp? Berzerkley!
I thought this was delightful!! I was with the median about 20% slower than average, but it was fun all the way through!! Fell for several misdirects, but was able to work them all out. Huzzah! At first I had a whole lot of nada, but the few gimmes I had on the first round, like EYRE and AYOEDEBIsI (easily corrected with SARAN) were very helpful. I built out from that section and finally ended with the C in CESARIAN... And a good laugh at that one! ROCKETSCIENCE AND HEARTSTOPPING we're also big helps that I found very accessible. As soon as I realized it's not "It's not" what you know but... Rocket science was the only thing that made sense. Anyhow, lots of fun clues and answers and just felt very fresh and delightful to me! It's been a real long work week and this was the perfect way to top it off!
@HeathieJ I felt the same - fresh and delightful! It took me longer than usual also, but I enjoyed it and look forward to more from this constructor.