There is a mistake in the 17 Across clue. The first word of the clue, rather than Classic, should be Former.
@Barry Ancona Yes, obviously someone's not keeping up with the "alterations" being made at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
@Barry Ancona It's still called the Rose Garden, regardless of how much grass is there. An event held on the patio would still be scheduled at "The Rose Garden." See also: Madison Square Garden
@Barry Ancona The central area has been paved but it is still a place of special historical association. <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/classic" target="_blank">https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/classic</a> (3b)
@Barry Ancona These days I think "formerly" or "once" should be inserted into clues referring to any number of federal agencies. [Agency formerly concerned with pollution]: EPA.
@Barry Ancona Yes, it should renamed the Donald Trump Paved Patio. Ugh.
@Barry Ancona I knew if I opened the comments section that this would be here.
@Barry Ancona First thing that, sadly, came to mind. 🥀😞
@Barry Ancona That should be the worst of our worries. The grounds crew from Nationals Park could revert that area to lawn in a matter of hours. Correcting other things will take generations.
@pmom Are you suggesting today's answer waSBARROwed from yesterday's puzzle?
@Dave K. Grate pun, and my friends all say PETE'S A tough critic.
@pmom You can never have enough quality mall pizza.
@pmom Michael G Scott knew where to get NYC's best pizza.
I had no idea what the theme was about 🤷🏽♂️. Except for the unknown GOUP, which looks like a letter salad, the fill was enjoyable enough, if somewhat trivia-heavy - mostly because it evoked some nice memories. And no, I don't mean those related to creative usage of 🍆 and 🌮. PECAN nuts were completely unknown and unavailable in Poland until very recently - I began seeing them at shops some 10 years ago or so. However, I had tasted them first much earlier. By the mid-1990s my English was almost as good as it is now, but I needed to practice it as much as possible with a native speaker. I can't recall how it came to be, but my mother learned about Joey, the Scottish wife of Tom, a manager from the UK working on some project in Warsaw at the time. Life in Poland then was extremely cheap then for people making Western money, so Joey didn't have to work, even though she herself was a well educated professional. The pair rented a luxurious condo at a duplex in Warsaw's fancy Mokotów district, where Joey took care of her small kids, and offered native speaker English leessons. I loved our conversations - I can still remember her outrage at some of the Scots in "Braveheart" having Irish accents 🤣. Anyway... She once baked me pecan pie, to improve my cultural immersion. Wow! It was the best thing I had ever eeaten - I can still remember the taste, texture and smell 30 years later. So yeah, PECAN was a gimme.
Of course, I realised what GO UP was, in the end 😃
@Andrzej I haven't had a piece of pecan pie in decades. I really miss it.
@Andrzej I am quite surprised you liked it - awfully sweet for European tastes I would have thought. I also love pecans and always bring two large bags back when I visit the States.
@Andrzej My big question is, how were you taught to pronounce PECAN? (Southern cooks have strong feelings about this. Many states--especially Louisiana and Texas--have pecan ranches. We all consider ourselves experts.) The worst example of mistaken pronunciation is PEE-can. Enlightened folk say, "pih-CAHN." This Christmas I used Agave syrup instead of Karo (corn) syrup...no harm done, and a healthier pie, so... it's never too late to change, eh? I also add chopped pecans to tuna salad, It is the preferred nut for cinnamon buns/schnecken.
@Andrzej Love your story about Joey! What wonderful memories! It's not my most favorite, but I do enjoy a good pecan pie. Last summer, my boss had his annual summer party at his house on one of Minnesota's 10,000+ lakes and we all bring food to share. I had gotten a weird hankering for pecan pie, so I decided to get one from a nice local bakery to share, although I do bake a mean one. This way, I could have a piece and do away with the hankering, but not have to eat it all myself. (My husband isn't a fan of nuts in things. He's a nut purist.) Anyhow, turned out no one else at the party likes pecan pie. I was the only one who ate any and my boss handed it back to me at the end. 🤯 So guess who had to eat the whole pie herself?! I mean, it wasn't the worst thing that ever happened to me... 😋 Fortunately, it stays good in the freezer, so I froze it in pieces, so I didn't have to have it every day. It was an oddly happy, high-caloric problem to have. Yum!
Had to pause for a while to wonder what GOUP was. Until I realized it was a DOOK. Unfortunately, references to the ROSE GARDEN just make me sad. Then angry.
@Unmoored GOUP made me want to THROWUP. But I choked it back and continued on. Actually, it was my final solve.
17A is not a rose garden. It’s a monstrosity.
My five favorite original clues from last week (in order of appearance): 1. She's out there! (7)(3) 2. Out of joint? (4) 3. Means of closing up a vent (3)(4) 4. Child support (8)(7) 5. It'll never fly! (3) LES BIAN BAR (altered to get by emus) FREE END RANT SECURITY BLANKET PIG
@Lewis I loved SECURITY BLANKET! My fave was [Canning package?] (9) SEVERANCE (though it’s certainly not enjoyable if you’re the one being canned!
My favorite encore clues from last week: [Sporting flats, say] (4) [It may wind up on the top of ones head] (6) SHOD TURBAN
@Lewis As I mentioned in the comments that day [Digital applications?]=PRESS-ON NAILS was very clever wordplay, if not technically a debut clue.
What Rose Garden?
@CarolinaJessamine They paved paradise and put up a parking lot.
@CarolinaJessamine Just on a point of clarity, there are no plans to tear up the Rose Garden, which stands adjacent to the *west* wing of the White House . . . yet.
If you look at pictures you'll notice the central grass area was converted to concrete. There are still plenty of roses. I'm not saying it was an improvement but it's not the disaster a lot of you seem to think it is.
MOW THE ROSE GARDEN? SNOUTS CARESS CEOS (BLEEPED). SCREAM! ERGO, ENNUI.
I thought this might be a no-look-up no-reveal day but no, the Pete's got me. From last night's Burns Supper: Then let us pray, that come it may, (As come it will for a' that,) That Sense and Worth, o'er all the earth, Shall bear the gree, an a' that. (take the prize) For a' that, an a' that, It's comin' yet for a' that, That Man to Man, the world o'er Shall brothers be for a' that.
@Jane Wheelaghan :-) Made my annual batch of shortbread yesterday morning. It came out quite good! And, about a week ago, heard a wonderful concert by Les Délices, a chamber group which specializes in music of the French baroque, but in this case was all settings and recitations of poems by Burns, including "For a' that."
Clever idea for a theme, riffing off THREEPEATS. Never been done before. Always sweet to run across words I like: DEMURS, SNOUTS, ENNUI, SEGUE, and CHERUB. No to mention the lovely dook GOUP. TIL: That THREEPEAT is a registered trademark by basketball coach Pat Riley. Not intended I’m sure, but a lovely serendipity: Echoing the threepeat theme is a trio of three-letter palindromes (EVE, TUT, SIS). This was an excellent intro to crossword themes for new solvers, many who come to Crosslandia never having learned that puzzles CAN have themes. High quality and most enjoyable for me, Erica. Thank you!
I can’t recall seeing SBARRO, SERVER, or NEGLECT(S) in a puzzle particularly recently, but here they are twice in a row. (I mean, I didn’t look up when they last appeared. so I could be wrong.)
@abelsey (ok, xwordinfo tells me SBARRO was April 2025, SERVER was October 2025, and NEGLECT was 2021 (NEGLECTS yesterday, and 2019), if anyone else is interested.)
@abelsey I only know of it from endless transits through LAX on the way to YYZ from down under. And helpfully it appeared yesterday.
@abelsey Hmm...a triple repeat. Might that be an alternate meaning of...THREEPEAT? (Or should we be on the alert for those words in tomorrow's puzzle, too?)
This theme was completely lost on me. I was stumped by THREEPEAT and can only assume the starts of the three clues are names I should recognize. I didn’t. Not my favourite Monday puzzle.
Petrol, You might know Pete BEST, a.k.a the 5th Beatle. You get a pass -- if not a visa -- for not knowing Pete the baseball star or Pete the former SNL cast member.
@Petrol - They are two American cultural references and Brit cultural reference. Pete Rose was a baseball player disgraced for betting on his own team. Pete Davidson is a current comedy star. Pete Best was the drummer for the Beatles before Ringo Starr.
@Petrol The theme was as ungettable for a non-USonian as it gets.
Who has time for "Tbsp." (or "tsp.")? It's "T." and "t." (periods optional), as in "Season with 1 T. lemon juice and 1/2 t. cumin," from my recipe for Fusion Baba Ganoush Fajitas, which I will gladly share with one and all, by phone message. Hi Peter! For the difference between coincidence and irony, Weird Al is here to educate you: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Gv0H-vPoDc&list=RD8Gv0H-vPoDc&start_radio=1" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Gv0H-vPoDc&list=RD8Gv0H-vPoDc&start_radio=1</a> (salient point at 2:42, with a very clever visual IYKYK--don't blink or you'll miss it!)
@Bill I agree...most cooks have long ago used short-cuts...but there was that time that DHubby made the dressing for slaw, and used TBSPs rather than tsps. Inedible, but he was too stubborn to admit it, and ate a large helping. Heartburn City.
@Bill Thank you for reminding me this earworm existed. It has been years since I thought of this "Weird Al" parody, and I did not remember that it included the coincidence-vs.-irony reference. It's (not Its) brilliant.
@Bill That Weird Al tune is fantastic ! I loved every second. Sort of racy in places, too.
@Bill Thank you, that was a fun video. I'd never heard that one before. Weird Al is a cunning linguist!
@Bill Thank you for the “Weird Al” Yankovic link. I had never heard (or seen) that one. What a hoot!
(third try) THREEACT – “Hah!”, “Wow!”, and “Good for me!” after cracking a terrific wordplay clue. See also THREEJOICE. THREEGRET – Really rue a mistake you made in solving. THREESPECT – High esteem toward a particular constructor. THREEVISE – Three times in a puzzle, throw in wrong answers, then eventually threemove them.
@Lewis Ha. Ha. Ha. THREELIEF in all this snow!
This felt like the easiest Monday puzzle I’ve ever solved, but it could also be that I’m finally getting better at this! Also RIP ROSE GARDEN.
Rose Garden clue maybe should reflect past tense aspect.
My solving time today GOUPed slightly because of a typo. Happy brand new week, everyone.
Did we really need to be reminded of grandeur lost with the first theme answer? I know it has already been commented on, but it still struck a raw nerve. Is there a category easier than a Monday puzzle? This was one of the easiest in memory. Though I never heard of Davidson College, and Pete was on SNL long after I stopped watching it, that was simple to get from the crosses. And SBARRO two days in a row? SBARRO pizza isn't worth one day. Although I shouldn't talk, since I live in a pizza desert, along with bagels, and pastrami, and so much else to yearn for.
@Times Rita "Did we really need to be reminded of grandeur lost with the first theme answer? I know it has already been commented on, but it still struck a raw nerve." ???????
@Times Rita I had the same reaction. I think I even physically cringed.
@Times Rita Petey was a big disappointment, ultimately. So sad.
@Times Rita Re the Rose Garden, from Wikipedia: "The White House Rose Garden was established in 1913 by Ellen Louise Axson Wilson, wife of Woodrow Wilson, and designed by landscape architect George Burnap.[3][4] In 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt commissioned Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. to redesign the garden, and he installed cast iron furniture pieces.[5]" Olmstead was also the architect of Central Park. The Rose Garden was then updated during the Kennedy administration. AND THEN: "First Lady Melania Trump commissioned an August 2020 renovation of the garden by Oehme, van Sweden and Perry Guillot. In the flower beds, white and pale pink rose bushes are intermixed with seasonal bulbs and annuals, including the Pope John Paul II Rose in honor of the first time a pope visited the White House in 1979. A new limestone walk, 36 inches (91 cm) wide to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act, was laid around the borders of the garden." There you go.
I was familiar with the use of aubergines and peaches in the composition of a 67A, but TIL that tacos are employed. (Yes, I can infer the meaning.) I suppose the limited availability of Mexican cuisine in my country of residence must’ve played a role in my ignorance.
I suspect Mr. Blair brought up the irony definition controversy just to guarantee an extra busy comments section for his first Word Play. Wouldn't it be ironic if turned out people were tired of the debate and skipped comments today? (Answer: yes.) PS I really liked Pete's first Word Play.
@MC I'm glad you enjoyed the column. Thank you for reading. But I assure you that I was not *just* trying to guarantee an extra busy comment section today. (That was, at most, 50% of my motive.)
@MC I found the column a bit too self-referential, but that's not a cardinal sin. But his favorite game is Connections? O spare me--that game drives me crazy. It's really all about getting into the head of the creator of the game--not necessarily what is correct.
Tell me more about this so-called "Rose Garden".
@Keith It is a relic from the past. Sanity, manners, fair play, kindness, etc are also relics from that same past
Peter. we need you to re peat, three peat, again and again writing these columns.
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Fun puzzle, though I spent a while pondering what "goup" meant, and whether the ou sounded like "goop" or "gout." But anyway! In the midst the tragedies of our time, is it wrong to cry for a lost rose? Not if we're still human.
Ah, I should have had DAVIDSON COLLEGE right away. It's less than a mile from my house! But we have a bit of an inferiority complex here and I thought "No way that's making the NYT crossword puzzle"!
This takes me waaaaay back. When I was a kid, my parents had a ton of COMEDY ALBUMS that they would listen to every weekend with friends. I remember listening to Flip Wilson, Richard Pryor, Steve Martin, Bill Cosby, and Cheech & Chong. I was too young to know what they were talking about, but laughed when the adults laughed 😆 I haven’t thought about this in ~50 years. I also remember when the Lakers tried to THREEPEAT in the 80’ having grown up in Los Angeles and when they finally achieved it in 2002 under Phil Jackson who accomplished this impressive feat three times in his career as a coach! Thank you, Erica, for this fantastic trip down memory lane.
@Jacqui J, I grew up listening to COMEDY ALBUMS as well — the musically talented Smothers Brothers and Homer and Jethro (no SERIAL COMMA!), and my idol, the comedic genius Jonathan Winters. I had whole sides of his albums memorized when I was 10.
THREEACT – “Hah!”, “Wow!”, and “Good for me!” after cracking a terrific wordplay clue. See also THREEJOICE. THREEGRET – Really rue a dumb mistake you made in solving. THREESPECT – High esteem toward a particular constructor. THREEVISE – A trio of times in a puzzle, throw in wrong answers, then eventually threemove them.
Good Monday. Needed the crosses for a number of answers but that just made for an enjoyable workout. And had to stop and ponder once I worked out the reveal to catch on. No big deal. And - puzzle find today. This one was just a bit different. A Wednesday from April 25, 2012 by Peter Wentz. Seven asterisked clues in that one and the answers were: ACMILAN RCCOLAS DCCOMICS WCFIELDS ACCOUNT JCPENNEY MCHAMMER And the 'reveal': SEVENCS I'm done. ....
A rare "no look-ups" puzzle for me. Fifteen minutes, pretty smooth flow.
Very late, but reading through the comments, and feeling that I am not alone in my "rose garden" thoughts, nor my general sense of horror and despair. I deeply hope that the Minnesotans among us feel supported. Also hope that all reading this who were affected by the weekend storm are safe, and at least have their power back. Here in CT, I shoveled 18", and am keeping my coal stove running through this cold week. (Secondary heat source, but welcome when needed.) Stay warm, friends!
@Amy It's felt and so very appreciated. This is a mostly extremely warm and safe haven in the midst of nothing but horror and doom. 🩵🦆💙 (No loon emojis, so had to settle for a duck.) And yikes - that's a lot of snow to shovel!! Hope you aren't too achy!
Wow. I might technically be COSPLAYing right now, in my pajamas that look like a Starfleet uniform, but I did not get that until the very end, on crosses, and still failed to parse it. (My brain: "What's cōs play?") The problem is, I've been going to fan conventions for decades, and have seen cosplay at all of them, so "modern" had me thinking video games. Whether any of this is ironic is left as an exercise to the reader.
@BenHead I didn’t understand this clue and answer at all until I read your post. So, thanks! :)
@BenHead A college buddy and his girlfriend would COS play as Wolverine and Psylocke, and they were perfect. That was in the '90s, so I guess it depends on your definition of "modern."
Any puzzle that begins with a slice of PECAN pie is fine by me. My mother bakes one for me every Thanksgiving, because I can't stand pumpkin pie. (I think it's the allspice that gets me. On the downside, I can't see SBARRO without thinking of the terror attack in Jerusalem, and that was 25 years ago. I certainly don't think of quality pizza, but they're definitely a food court fixture. Well the sun is shining, I've had my coffee, so it's time to shovel some snow. HOA crew did a lackluster job of plowing the streets, though, so there might be some swearing.
@Grant Yes, I grew up in a Sbarro-free zone in Canada and had never heard of the chain until the Jerusalem terror attack. I actually was in Israel the next year and followed the standard fear-reduction rule: never tell your family where you're going, only where you've been.
My speediest Monday yet recorded 🙂
This is the first time I can remember THE being an answer in all my years.
@Ben From xword.com, it looks like it has appeared at least twice a year for quite a while. Average of roughly four times a year, I'd say.
@Ben I know I've seen it before, sometimes as thé (French for tea).
My idiot moment of the day: "Goup? That's not a word... I think... maybe it's cool new slang." Got stuck on that for sooooo long.
I believe this way my fastest solve so far.
Pete Rose’s brilliant career ensures that when we think of the Rose Garden today we will only think of excellence and honesty. Found today’s puzzle too easy? Here’s your hat-trick, what’s your hurry?
One more puzzle find. A Sunday from March 2, 2003 by Brendan Emmett Quigley with the title: "Stop me if you've heard this one." Theme answers: WHYDIDTHECHICKENCROSS WHATDOYOUCALLABLONDE APRIESTARABBIANDAMONK HOWMANYLAWYERSDOESIT THREEGUYSWALKINTOABAR Here's that link: <a href="https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=3/2/2003&g=104&d=A" target="_blank">https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=3/2/2003&g=104&d=A</a> ...
Oohhh - and one more puzzle find. One of the most amazing I've ever seen. A Sunday from February 9, 1975 by William Lutwiniak with the title "Companions." Five 23 letter grid-spanning theme answers. Those answers and their clues: "Bears" GRIZZLYKODIAKANDCHICAGO "Eagles" PHILADELPHIAANDAMERICAN "Cards" STLOUISPOSTALANDPLAYING "Saints" NEWORLEANSJAMESANDPETER "Patriots" NEWENGLANDANDPAULREVERE Here's that link: <a href="https://www.xwordinfo.com/PS?date=2/9/1975&g=114&d=A" target="_blank">https://www.xwordinfo.com/PS?date=2/9/1975&g=114&d=A</a> ....
FYI: I once had an ESL student from Guadalajara, Mexico, which is nicknamed "The City of Roses." We visited a rose garden in California. She grabbed s small branch from a rose bush and stuck it in the ground. She said a new rose bush would grow. I've tried it over and over and it works!! Let a thousand rose gardens bloom. I also watched a video the other day which taught me how to grow a rose plant in a potato: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IWFPSrFQZ_Y" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IWFPSrFQZ_Y</a>
@lucky13 P.S. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWcYoxBwJgU" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWcYoxBwJgU</a>
46 Across broke my brain for a bit, because my old brain saw “North Carolina SNL connection” and I was stuck on Robin Duke. 🤦🏻♂️
Peter Blair, I find it ironic -- in the NYT Style-approved sense, of course --that copy-editing of the Wordplay columns is performed by the Flexible Editing desk.
P.S. A copy editor should have edited your bio; I trust the Flexible Editing desk copy-edits quite a bit more than just the Wordplay columns.
@Barry Ancona, “Flexible Editing” reminds me of “creative accounting”. Seemingly a contradiction of terms. Or am I being too ironic?
@Barry Ancona Need any help with that soapbox? 😋
Vertex and Digits were my favourite NYT games back then :(
I solved this one all on the crosses. A small win, but much needed after a difficult weekend. Hopefully things will only GO UP from here!
[[Writing implement] [jazz musician]] FOUNTAIN PEN Tiger Rag: <a href="https://youtu.be/a_qOmDVWu_g?si=-QEXaT6cst-fHrmV" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/a_qOmDVWu_g?si=-QEXaT6cst-fHrmV</a>
@Nancy J.Thanks for that cascade of brilliance and happiness!
When will I figure out a 4 letter brother or son in the Bible is ESAU! Such great letters he had. 🤣
@Cynical Cat Couldn't help but think of an old line: "She saw esau by the seesaw." But then I went and did an answer history search and.. the last theme answer in a Sunday from June 12, 1994 by Frances Hansen was... SINCESHESAWESAUSEESAW (21 letters) Here's that link: <a href="https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=6/12/1994&g=106&d=A" target="_blank">https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=6/12/1994&g=106&d=A</a> ...
Absolutely brilliant. Solved it under 45 minutes thanks to my girlfriend. She is 2 years older than me, so she's way smarter for at least six months, after which she becomes 1 year smarter.