TIL MOOT has two definitions that are completely opposite of each other: adjective 1. subject to debate, dispute, or uncertainty. "whether they had been successful or not was a moot point" 2. having little or no practical relevance, typically because the subject is too uncertain to allow a decision. "the whole matter is becoming increasingly moot" The example sentence from 1 would be completely incomprehensible without additional context
@Steven M. Surprised me, too. I knew only the second definition.
@Steven M. The OED gives the second usage as “North American….now the usual sense in North America.” All citations for this meaning are North American. Citations from both sides of the Atlantic are given for the first, but all recent (1990) are British. I have seen both.
@Steven M. I think we should table this discussion ;) (...Only because "table" has opposite meanings in American and British, so it's an excuse to be equally ambiguous as "moot". But I'm not saying which one I mean...)
@Steven M. So, is "moot" yet another contronym?
@Steven M. My feeling about the clue was “wow, that is not what moot means”
@Steven M. Interesting, because my understanding of “moot point” involves the second definition. I thought it meant something so irrelevant as to not be worthy of discussion. Or, as I’ve learned from watching TV, it also refers to a cow’s opinion. “It doesn’t matter. It’s moo.”
@Steven M. Definition 2 (now try not to get too upset here) is wrong. Something becomes moot because a change of circumstances means it is no longer relevant. It has nothing to do with uncertainty. Something may be perfectly certain and still become moot. Sense 1: Will the US have a civil war? There are arguments on both sides; it's a moot point. Sense 2: Did the Civil War transform the US transportation grid? What's done is done. Except to historians, it's a moot point.
I struggled with this clue because I've only heard "moot" in (kind of) the second sense. To me it refers to something that's irrelevant because some external factor has taken care of it or removed its significance. There's no debate or uncertainty, it's just not important any more. Arguing about whether to pack the factor 30 or factor 50 sunscreen for a day at the beach, but then you find the car won't start so you won't go to the beach at all. The sunscreen debate is is now moot, any reasons given during it are now moot points because the whole thing isn't happening anyway. And then you remember you live in Scotland so it was all just a dream, grab the umbrellas and wellies and go for a nice walk in the rain.
@Steven M. As I read this lengthy thread, I am reminded of Joey’s statement that a comment made by another “Friends” cast member was a “moo” point. When questioned, he explained that it was not worth discussing, like a cow’s opinion.
@Steven M. I think the definitions appear contradictory because people tend to read “moot” as qualifying the worthiness of the discussion, when the word simply refers to the multiplicity of viewpoints around a topic (whether or not it is worth discussing them). The first definition of moot seems to indicate something is worth discussing (it’s a moot point = it’s debatable) and definition 2 seems to indicate a debate is worthless (it’s a moot point = it makes no difference at this point). Definition 1 (the one we Americans are not used to) is the more traditional one; ‘moot’ evolved from words that referred to meetings or assemblies. Again, the whole point is that some matter remains unsettled. For some reason, we chose to give it the connotation that the debate goes on *after the relevance of the topic has passed* (which is not something carried from its etymology), but the core point, the commonality with the first definition, is that multiple viewpoints remain in contention.
@Steven M. I think this is another example of popular usage drifting away from the original definition because a second meaning was inferred from context. Usually it results in a broader definition that loses the precision of the original, but in this case it's almost unrelated.
@Steven M. Evan Edinger had a video recently about words and phrases that mean the opposite thing in the US and the UK. He covers table and moot. It's quite interesting! (I'm using quite as an American here.) <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4fQGz6CHP4w" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4fQGz6CHP4w</a>
@Steven M. Ask the lawyers about moot court.
@Steven M. It’s also used as a noun: a meeting for the administration of justice; I’ve only seen this in Tolkein— “Entmoot”, the meeting of the Ents.
@Steven M. Reminds me of an SNL sketch: <a href="https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x54vjte" target="_blank">https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x54vjte</a>
That book about birds is a nest seller! (I'm just raven about it.)
@Mike The hardcover price is robin the customer. (The paperback will be much cheeper.) *I know. Don't quit my jay job...
@Mike I saw a picture of a German truck with an ad for that book on the side! The caption said it was being driven on the Audubon by a man named Albert Ross.
@Mike oh, stop crowing! I can see you hawking it to gull-ible customers who never realize they’ve been conned-or, if they do, they feel some deep re-egret
@Mike Wasn't it written by Kylo Wren?
@Mike All these puns are hard to swallow.
Mike, So far, I’ve only read the forebird, and scanned the inducks.
Not that I think the revealer is a bad clue, but having your youngest child leave home doesn’t automatically make you an EMPTY NESTER. Having your **last** child leave home does.
@Steve L I'd argue that that does make it a bad clue.
I think it works if you consider this metaphor is for the birds. :)
@Steve L - Oh please, normally your youngest child IS the last child to leave home.
@Steve L Some boring rainy afternoon, read the story of Rachel and Leah in the bible book of Genesis and see how much family drama results from ignoring this principle. (Also, one of the few truly romantic moments in the Hebrew Bible.)
Steve, Funny how some people just skip over parts of a post. You did start with: "Not that I think the revealer is a bad clue..." I'm fine with the clue and answer too, but my younger child was not the last to leave.
@Steve L It says a metaphor for "a" parent, not "every" parent. I fail to see how anyone could fail to grasp the answer because of that wording.
@Steve L Although I probably should have made that a reply to Bill, not you.
Cute. But- as a *bona fide* empty-nester, I have a grand nit that I shall pick. First, sure- everyone is in the nest. Then, one goes off for about a month, calls asking for money to come back to the nest for a weekend and brings every single article of clothing he owns to wash. Returns a few weeks later for a week at Thanksgiving. Again, the laundry is his travel companion. What seems like three days later, he returns for a month to celebrate the holidays in the nest. His friends' nests don't have as much food, so they join him at his parents' nest. Repeat at February break, spring break, and the three months of summer. He leaves in August but with only 1/4 of the stuff he brought home. Demands nothing be tossed out! Repeat. For three more years. Second child ventures out of the nest during this time. He too, returns every other weekend. He too, leaves at least 3/4 of his stuff at home every August. Nest now needs an addition for the accumulated stuff. With a door. For the smell. Empty-nesters give up, put a sign in the yard, and get a nest in Tampa. Accuracy. Can't believe this puzz got past the editors...
@CCNY 🤣😆🤣😆🤣 Marvelissimo!
@CCNY Kids today, right? I mean, pshaw, I knew how to do my own laundry by the time I was 20… (…and my new roommate told me there’d been a laundromat on the top floor of our student housing highrise the whole time I’d been there.)
@CCNY my oldest only came home for holiday visits but never moved back home. He found a job near campus and stayed in his college town for all four years. My middle child is headed down the same path in the same college town. We just bought a vacation home there and we go to visit him instead 😂 It’s worked out nicely for us.
@CCNY That they want to come home AND bring friends is a big compliment to the home you created. Good luck during the transition — and after!
@CCNY et al... Our experience was that they come home only at the end of Freshman year. (We had very welcome help with taking the awfu kitchen down to the studs and the slab, so no complaints)! After than, though, it was REU's (research experience for undergraduates) or jobs, Both were at distant college/uni locations, too. Quite the amputation, IMHO.
@CCNY I, for one, wouldn't have it any other way!
I never tire of seeing the gorgeous creatures at my bird feeder, observing the drama as they interact, watching the parents nurture the young ones, and gawking at their amazing athleticism. So yes, I loved this theme, and loved it viscerally. I loved IN THE STICKS as a description of a bird in a nest. And then there were the echoes. MAMA and PAPA referring to both human and avian parents, underscoring the theme’s metaphor. NEEDY echoing IN THE STICKS, EASED describing OUT ON A LIMB, and finally, AROSE and EXULT perfectly accompanying FLYING HIGH. I liked the whole animal vibe in the box enhancing the theme, with the nipping puppy, the COYOTE, FOXy, URCHIN, GNAWing beaver, and ASPS, not to mention the animal king himself, NOAH. I also liked NEEDY crossing SEEDY, ALOHA over LEI, and AROSE evoking Gertrude Stein. Your puzzle, Miranda and Tracy, triggered a surfeit of happiness, and I left it feeling that this is going to be a very good day. Thank you!
@Lewis Your field notes were a joy to read! I liked the inclusion of PETAL, evoking pastel spring blooms. And TWEE, a good way to describe baby birds.
@B Don’t see anything amiss with either of these clues…
@B He/they is perfectly cromulent -- as a pronoun pair, it indicates that the person is okay with either masculine or gender-neutral pronouns.
A feeling of PANIC AROSE when a certain couple was caught on the KISSCAM doing something SEEDY last year.
@Dave K. Never understood why they just didnt say they had a drink too many and were mugging for the camera. Bad look, but innocent.
Have none of you ever heard of moot court? Sheesh. And to those folks resisting pronoun pairings, this is a great opportunity to educate yourselves! Anyhoo, gotta love a juicy Tuesday that sparks some conflict.
Yes indeedy, "MOOT" is a contranym, or sorta: it can either mean "debatable" (the meaning that twee prescriptivists insist is the only correct one), or "not worthy of debate," which is the one that is more common for us North American dopes. The latter comes from a practice of law students of having "moot courts"--i.e. practice courts, in which the students would debate cases, the outcomes of which would have no legal or practical force. Also, the second meaning of "moot" dates back to at least 1830, so if we're dopes, we've been dopes for quite some time. Anyhoo, both these meanings come from an archaic noun "moot", which meant "meeting, assembly" (comparable to an archaic use of "thing," to mean much the same; or to "diet"--wouldn't it be great if called it the "Diet of Davos" [although there was only one worm in attendance.]) Tolkien lovers will recognize this in his coinage of "Entmoot." But here's my fun discovery for the day! The OED list another, probably unrelated, dialectical meaning of "moot," for a "stump of a tree." Now, Tolkien really couldn't do humor at all, but he was good at coming up with clever twists on language, and I wouldn't be surprised if he had this second meaning in mind as well when he coined with "entmoot." *** I really don't "get" "he/they," other than they are both (nominative) pronouns.
@Bill Singular/Plural: he/they, she/they, you/you, I/we
@Bill Fascinating info & shared w/ my teenage daughter. That same child has helped me see that people sometimes choose to be referenced using mixed pronouns. I prefer she/her, but another might prefer she/they. My guess is that some use it to show openness and acceptance & others are tiptoeing into gender fluidity
@Bill 😂 I loved your observation, "Now, Tolkien really couldn't do humor at all, but he was good at coming up with clever twists on language, and I wouldn't be surprised if he had this second meaning in mind as well when he coined with 'entmoot.'" You're the guy in High School English class I wanted to be because you noticed stuff like that.
@Bill. Really good summary. And the “practice” meaning of “moot” can sometimes go just a bit further as a verb. Practicing attorneys will sometimes “moot” their oral arguments in front other attorneys to prepare for oral arguments in significant matters, particularly appellate cases. It can be very helpful for one’s case.
Bit of pandemic attire? (Thinking) um... pj's is too short... (still thinking)...sweats is too long...MAcK? What's a mack with a "k" at the end? –Oh, heavens! MASK! Talk about feeling like a DOPE (though, to be honest, I think it's kinda nice that I forgot about the oppressive and remembered only the comfy.) Thank you, Miranda and Tracy. This was a joy to solve!
@sotto voce Having seen "Academic attire" so many times in clues, I misread the this one and confidently enter HOOD (until the crosses proved me wrong. DOH(P)!
@sotto voce I read the clue and immediately and confidently wrote in ROBE -- until the crosses didn't like any of it.
Until I read the comments I assumed HET HEY was a pronoun pair in some language like Danish. Thought it was a little advanced for a Tuesday.
@Bay Area Native Nope, sorry, but "jeg/mig/min" (I/me/my) or "I/jer/jeres" (You/yours plural) are actual Danish pronouns. Better yet, "jeg" og "mig" rhyme when pronounced :)
I expect 45A, ANYHOO, will be vigorously discussed. I had difficulty finding my error. I entered ANYwOO, because it seems to me that wETHEY is a better pronoun pairing than HETHEY. Or maybe I don't know what "pronoun pairing" means?
@Francis A person may use he/they pronouns to describe themselves. (He/)They wouldn’t use we/they.
@Francis A person who uses either masculine or gender neutral pronouns will list "he/they" as a pronoun set. It might be clearer as "he/him or they/their", because the more common pronoun pairs are subject/object, whereas "he/they" or "she/they" are subject/subject, but it's still common usage (for people who are bipronoun, a word I just made up)
@Francis we/they would be an appropriate pronoun pairing for a non-binary monarch
@Francis My first run was ANYway, then ANYHow, before ANYHOO finally made sense out of the crossings, but I've used all three terms in casual conversation.
@Francis I started with ANYway, but FaXY made no sense, nor did LyUNGED, so I had to pivot. “Piv-ott!!” I don’t know what’s up with me with all the Friends references tonight.
@Francis - ANYHOO is common enough, or at least it was when I was growing up.
@Francis I was a coward and waited for the crosses to do my thinking. Didn't get it until I saw it explained here. 🤦♀️
Francis, It’s the new PPP of crosswords. And I don’t mean 3 Pete’s :)
@Francis Until recently, the default pronoun for one person or a generic person was male: he/him. The plural form for more than one person was they/them. I think this is how the clue was intended to be interpreted.
@Francis I used to label scorecards for table games as we/they. That is what I thought of until it didn't work any longer.
I’m finding the world exceedingly cold right now so a reminder that spring will come is a balm. Also I like birds so much more than people.
Oh, this is so adorable. Perfect in-the-language themers. Perfect revealer. And the rest of the fill feels fresh and lively too -- from TOPSY TURVY to ROUGHHOUSE. Re TOPSY TURVY -- One of the most delightful -- and tuneful -- biopics ever made has that title. It's a behind-the-scenes look at the Gilbert and Sullivan collaboration and it's wonderful viewing. See if you can track it down if you've never seen it.
@Nancy Second that motion (picture). It was a great movie and full of fascinating inside stuff about G&S.
@Nancy TOPSY TURVY was the movie that totally turned me on to "The Mikado", and to Gilbert & Sullivan (even though I'd of course heard some of their more famous songs and liked them). It started me playing some of those Mikado pieces for Ballet class-- "So Please You, Sir, We Much Regret", "The Criminal Cried", "Tit Willow" and a few others. Just fabulous movie. (And operetta.)
I saw the bird theme but didn't notice the story until the revealer. Wonderful. I can even picture the emu soaring above the clouds. All this talk about "moot" when the meaning of debate is itself moot. I'm nonplussed. "Is there anything more beautiful than a beautiful, beautiful flamingo, flying across in front of a beautiful sunset, and he's carrying a beautiful rose in his beak, and also he's carrying a very beautiful painting with his feet, and also, you're drunk." -Jack Handey, "Deep Thoughts"
@ad abirdum You're nonplussed, but at least you still alive after whatever sub-zero outdoor activities you participated in over the weekend. You are valued.
@Bill As are you! I'll be walking my friend's dog a little later. She's a pitty mix who thinks she's a husky. Never gets cold. (If anyone's worried that she gets cold and doesn't know how to communicate it, believe me she won't budge when she doesn't want to.) And if I can tire her out, she gets super snuggly! Focusing on the good!
They really stretched with MOOT and SEEDY, whose meanings in common usage (in the US, at least) are much different than the clues given. Thankfully this was an easy puzzle, otherwise these would have rankled. ;)
@John I have no problem with SEEDY, that fit my usage of the word. But, like you, TIL that MOOT in its first definition means "debatable", almost the opposite of what how I've used it for decades, its second definition - "no point in debating". (Definitions paraphrased from Dictionary.com). A surprise to us both!
Pete, I'd like to believe I would have caught that artful stacking of 1A and 14A, but I'd only be kidding myself. What an eye!
@Sam Corbin, I assure you I would never have developed an eye — or an appreciation — for artful stacking were it not for you and Deb. (And I'm sure I'm not alone here.)
@Sam Corbinm where are you I miss you!
And the ark rested in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, upon the mountains [plural] *of* Ararat. (Genesis 8:4) Vulgate: Requievitque arca mense septimo, vigesimo septimo die mensis, super montes Armeniae (…upon the mountains of Armenia) …call together against her the *kingdoms* of Ararat, Minni, and Ashchenaz… (Jeremiah 51:27) Ararat is a mountainous kingdom, not a mountain.
@Fact Boy Whew, I'm glad you cleared that up.
@Fact Boy Google Mount Ararat . The Internet seems to think it's a mountain.
@Fact Boy Why include the Latin Vulgate? Might as well include Mandarin Chinese or Xhosa, for all it affects the discussion.
Fact Boy, As always, very interesting! Of course, the Bible was never really intended to provide exact answers to future crosswords, but is merely a guide, requiring interpretation and wisdom. For instance, holy writ also didn’t ever refer to Noah as a ‘captain’, even in jest or using air quotes. :)
@Fact Boy But a ship can't land on multiple mountains. It has to pick one, and that traditionallly has been called Ararat.
Apropos of nothing, the arrival of Crossplay may signal the end of any productive activity I might otherwise … oh someone played. Gotta go.
@Justin And I'm not interested in it - I wish the animated eyesore at the top of my games app would go away 😢
@Justin I confess I have become a tad obsessed myself.
@Justin - I've started playing it, but I do wish it were playable on the web instead of in a separate app.
Anyhow, anywho, any...hoo? Throwing me for a loop here. Speaking as an empty nester, keep the nest warm, because they do fly back sometimes when the crosswinds are strong.
@mirle234 😀 Yeah, they sometimes do. I've repopulated my nest a couple of times, but I've been fortunate beyond merit, and it's been a pleasure both times. I loved having them with back with me. When, as you say, "the crosswinds are strong", one never knows when one may need to find a nest.
@mirle234 We moved nearer to one of our offspring, with an eye to "being watched-over." Then, right out of left field, cancer happened...not to one of us Oldies, but to our grown child. We were able to assist through surgeries and healing, do the driving some of the time, be a second set of ears, and act as listeners and comforters. So glad we could do that!
I found the fill quite challenging - I was not familiar with many of the idiomatic phrases and slangy words. My not being a native English speaker doesn't always hinder me much but today it did. It's fine, of course - it's bound to happen from time to time. At least I didn't need lookups. The theme did nothing for me, but that's normal - with the exception of Thursdays I prefer themeless grids. Warsaw's Tomb of the Unknown Soldier (Grób Nieznanego Żołnierza) is located in Marshal Józef Piłsudski square. It was created in the 1920s under the central arcade of Pałac Saski (The Saxon Palace, so named for Poland's 18th century Saxon dynasty), Warsaw's biggest, grandest historical building. The palace was completely destroyed in WW2. The Tomb survived though, and it's still there, with a ruined portion of the arcade over it. Recently work has begun on the reconstruction of the palace - as a pet project of the 2015-2023 autocratic government, it has rightly proved highly controversial and had been challenged in the courts. The thing is, Warsaw was virtually annihilated during the war, and while some of the iconic buildings and streets were reconstructed in the 1940s-1970s, we're OK with the rest being gone forever - we made peace with it and moved on, creating new spaces, looking forward rather than back. Bombastic projects don't sit well with many of us.
@Andrzej - Dzięki for the information on your soldier memorial. I agree there is a lot of idioms and cultural references in this puzzle.
@Andrzej I went there when I visited Warsaw in the early '90s! Not too long ago in these comments I told you a little about my visit back then and you said, "I've visited many places that I wouldn't want to live." In a recent column, Nicholas Kristof bemoaned the USA's falling in the ranks on the Social Progress Index, "...in terms of quality of life, the United States ranks 32nd out of 171 countries, behind Poland, Lithuania and Cyprus." I'll share a behind-the-paywall link to his story below and from there you can also click a link to see the SPI. It's interesting to compare Poland and the USA - in many categories (ones I find important) it indicates that your country is now the better place to live. Perhaps I should revisit and see the changes for myself! <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/14/opinion/america-quality-of-life.html?unlocked_article_code=1.HlA.bLNj.ZAFSzb6CRYBi&smid=url-share" target="_blank">https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/14/opinion/america-quality-of-life.html?unlocked_article_code=1.HlA.bLNj.ZAFSzb6CRYBi&smid=url-share</a>
@Andrzej Wow what a bizarre thread. I first found it challenging - making me rethink my native patriotism - and then it entirely derailed. As best as I can tell it was because you made one unremarkable observation about the name Cummings? That's it? Wow.
I’ll always prefer this definition of MOOT because it’s the one the Ents use in Entmoot. And, the trees don’t say anything unless it’s worth saying.
@Zac And anything they say will take. A. Very. Long. Time. To. Say.
Unless I'm missing some usage of it, stays are not a component of a corset at all...stays are a different garment. Can some fashion historian out there correct me if I'm wrong?
@Allison From a little look online you appear to be correct. STAYs are similar to corsets, but usually shorter, ending close to the bottom of the ribcage or the waist, where corsets often extended down to the hips. However the terms were sometimes used interchangeably. But one is not a component of the other.
@Allison I have already revealed myself not to be a fashion expert, but Webster's New World College Dictionary Fifth Edition, The Times's in-house dictionary, says that a "stay" can be either "a strip of stiffening material used in a corset, the collar of a shirt, etc." or "[Chiefly Brit.] a corset stiffened as with whalebone." So it seems to be *both* part of a corset *and* a different (albeit similar) garment.
@Allison A stay is a thin, flat strip of metal which helped the corset keep its shape. In modern usage, some men’s dress shirts have collar stays.
@Allison There are 18th century garments that are called stays, typically an entirely different silhouette than what you’re used to seeing in a corset, but relatively similar in the construction method. I wear stays for a 1721 impression and the link between that and an 1860s corset is what most in my circle would refer to as boning (since whalebone was the stiffener of choice - and imitation whalebone just went in the civil war corset I made!) I had BONE sitting in there for quite a while. This was actually the first I’ve heard of the actual stiffening strip being referred to as a STAY, what a fun tidbit to take away!
Great Tuesday puzzle. Made me work for the happy music!
We are in the midst of completing the application process for our youngest to study abroad for a semester of her junior year of high school. So we will temporarily be EMPTY NESTERS for 6 months. Then she’ll be back for a year before setting off for college to parts unknown. We had three kids spaced fairly far apart. At one point we had two exchange students with us and all three of ours at home. That was quite the experience. As our boys left the nest, we kept hosting exchange students because the house felt empty. Our most recent one just returned home a few days ago back to Milan in Italy. I think she may have been our last, but you never know. We have enjoyed visiting them in their home countries over the years. Has anyone else hosted exchange students? Thank you, Miranda and Tracy, for the chewy challenge this Tuesday!!
@Jacqui J Polish doesn't even have a term for an EMPTY NESTER. I wonder if this might be because we generally live in apartments rather than detached houses - usually parents can't wait for their children to move out, so they can finally have some space for themselves. My wife has 3 siblings, and for years the family of 6 lived in a two bedroom, 60 square meter condo - the parents had to sleep on a sofa in the living room for decades. Also, hosting exchange students is not a thing here, not really. It happens, but much more rarely than in the US, I think. People prefer to rent rooms rather than host anybody else than friends and family.
@Jacqui J Goodness! Exchange students /and/ travelling athletes. You are exceptional.
@Jacqui J I know that many people have wonderful experiences hosting exchange students, and that's why I and my then-husband decided to do it. We chose a high school student from Chile, and thought she'd possibly be like an older sister to our only child. First, she lied on the application, which was actually written by her mother. She was supposed to speak English, but knew not a word. That wasn't a big deal, because both of us spoke Spanish, though our daughter didn't. She said she was an artist, but that was her mother. Many other negatives, but worst of all, she turned out to be a rabid antisemite, which didn't go over well in our Jewish household. I even ended up later speaking on a talk show which was investigating the company that placed these students. I had forgotten about that until writing this now! Fortunately, we got her removed from our house, but it was a very trying experience that I was hoping to love. Despite that experience, I still think it's terrific if it works out.
I never did get the nest I dreamed of with my husband, but the theme was still cute. And I am grateful for the literal nest that appears a few times on our garden balcony and the little birdies that populate it... I always feel a little bitter sweet when that nest becomes empty. I'm also so grateful that there are a few other close people's little birds that I've had the wonderful opportunity to know, help with , and watch grow. Involuntary childlessness is the deepest sorrow in my life but there is always joy to be found and so very much to be grateful for. Always. Oh yes, the puzzle! Count me in on the MOOT confusion. I had no idea that was a sort of contronym. The things we learn!! I did have a little bit of a tangle down in that area because I just couldn't believe it would be MOOT and I had entered HETHEm instead of THEY. But I was able to untangle it when I realized it was probably a Y. Although, the other problem was that I didn't know anything about corsets or their components, so that was some guesswork. Anyhow, a very enjoyable puzzle. ☺️
@HeathieJ, Even when we don’t say so, we’re always thinking of you 🩷.
The Grand Ole Opry clue made me laugh. “Oh this little thing? We built it last year, 500 sq ft. It’s our town’s Tiny New Opry.”
@Cat Lady Margaret Standing room only, no doubt.
I believe baleen (an excellent spelling bee word) was originally the main material for corset stays.)
@Nancy Niemczyk The whalebone was replaced over time with thin strips of steel and eventually plastic. Apparently, it was even more uncomfortable than it sounds.
Since the theme relates to birds and nests, I thought ROUGH HOUSE was a nice inclusion.
Least favorite puzzle of 2026 so far. Poor clues in a lot of places.
@Brett Don't worry, it's only the end of January, so you have eleven months in which to have less favorite puzzles. Something to look forward to!
@Brett I’ve occasionally uncovered a poor clue here and there (and by that I mean inaccurate, not hard or tricky), but never found them “all over the place.” I will cop to thinking more of the clues were bad when I was less experienced. Consider that maybe it’s not the puzzle. Read the comments and find out why MOOT is clued correctly, why STAYS are both a part of a corset as well as an alternate to one, and whatever else you feel was “poor.”
As an EMPTY NESTER, I can attest to some heart-ache. What really helped was going back to work (I'm a special education teacher)...it was delightful to be back in a classroom, devising lessons and activities, interacting with the kids and staff, and witnessing growth and development. It eased me into retirement. I thought FOX, not COYOTE. Have lived IN THE STICKS, and often I've been OUT ON A LIMB. No choice, often!
@Mean Old Lady Readers of Tony Hillerman mysteries will know that Coyote is the trickster...but I didn't know the cartoon FOXes, Tod and Swiper, because I don't have children.
Today broke my previous streak record coming in at 24! Finished in 2/3 of my average. I share this with you fellow puzzlers because who else would even care? Have a good birdwatching day all
@Mary Well done! I think the birds watch me more often than visa versa, these days, but thank you.
@Mary May all your birds pause on a convenient branch and display interesting behaviours for you.
We managed to be EMPTY NESTERS for a whole year, before the youngest fled back due to ridiculous rent charges. A sweet Tuesday puzzle. Don’t understand the hoo-hah over the pronoun clue, but whatever. ANYHOO, we’re currently housebound in the aftermath of Storm Chandra. Our area was the epicentre of the downpour, all roads are under water. Even my poor Alpacas lean to is awash. The girls are quite disgruntled. Having swept them out and replenished with dry hay, there’s nothing for it but a marathon session with my latest obsession, Crossplay.
@Helen Wright For some reason this has taken about 7 hours to appear. 🤷♀️
@Helen Wright Goodness! We've been so engaged with our own climate ogre, I hadn't seen Word One about Chandra. She sounds frightful. Will your house survive? Are you still able to stay there? As for the alpacas: based on what you've reported about previous alpaca episodes, I'm afraid to imagine a disgruntled one. Take care.
Very cute theme but today's fun are the MOOT discussions. Ain't English Grand! Gratitude.
Nice Tuesday puzzle. Typical slow start for me, but finally tumbling to the theme was the big turning point and that's always a nice touch. Kind of a cute puzzle find today. A Thursday from April 8, 1993 by Stanley B. Whitten. Four answers in that one: SUNYATSEN WARRENMOON EARTHAKITT BARTSTARR And... a Tuesday from February 21, 2006 by Lisa Wiseman. Theme answers in that one - in order: EIGHTDAYSAWEEK ONCEINABLUEMOON TWELFTHOFNEVER That's it. ...
Terrific Tuesday! Like Ms Bennett, I appreciate when the themed answers tell a story. This story was a bit poignant. For the birds, that is. When we were parents of teenagers who left for college, we celebrated our empty nest every day!
@Chungclan POIGNANT for me too, as I have a bluebird nesting box in my back yard. Every Spring I watch as they build their nest, and then feed the hatchlings, and then one day, they're gone. That's usually a sad day, but they've been coming back every year for a while now.
I wasn't a big fan of today's cluing. Especially in the bottom/right corner. ANYHOO instead of ANYWAY when it was crossing HE/THEM which made more sense as WE/THEM. And then the MOOT point, MOOT doesn't mean 'Debatable', it means 'Irrelevant to the issue'. If you were going to do ANYHOO instead of ANYWAY there should have been some kind of 'Folksily' tip in the clue. The main theme was fine but there were just lots of really awkwardly phrased and some even inaccurate clues.
@Chris If you look up MOOT in the dictionary the first definition is "subject to debate". In the middle ages moots were assemblies for debate.
Chris, The tip for ANYHOO was that the clue was in quotes, meaning "expect the answer to be a spoken expression."
@Chris Totally agreed. NOT Tuesday-level cluing at all, which is fine but annoying. MOOT usage I was not previously familiar with. Now I know I guess. HETHEY is indeed a pair of of pronouns, but completely nonstandard in today’s pronoun conventional usage. All of which could have been easily corrected by using a more standard clue for STAY. Not enjoyable.
Delightful! Thank you, Miranda and Tracy.
A fledgling collaboration, eh? Thanks, Miranda and Tracy. A good progression theme. But who the heck are Mr. Tod and Swiper? (41D) I can't even tell what genre they're from. Mr. Tod sounds like Victorian Britain melodrama. Swiper sounds like a sci-fi warrior robot.
@Linda Jo I don’t know Mr. Tod, but Swiper is the fox in the children cartoon Dora
@Linda Jo Yes, exactly who Mr Tod is! See the delightful "The Tale of Mr Tod" by Beatrix Potter to learn about the villainous nature of the titular character and his sidekick, the badger Tommy Brock.. As far as Swiper is concerned, he is much more a 21st century invention in Dora the Explorer, famous for evoking the tagline "Swiper, no swiping!" Both characters are, of course, foxes...
This was quite enjoyable. The cluing and answers felt mostly fresh and intuitive. For editors and constructors, we can leave out clues like 18A’s Heaps solving as LOTS. It doesn’t present an interesting or fun challenge when this kind of clue is recycled to be LOTS/TONS/ALOT etc. The theme of this puzzle was adorable and made me happy. It wasn’t needed to solve the puzzle but definitely helped, which is exactly what a theme should do, in my opinion. Kudos for that! 🐣 Happy Tuesday!
welp, good reminder that you're never immune from having a streak busted by a Tuesday puzzle. although i do think "HETHEY" was questionable fill + clued extremely poorly, since most pronoun pairs are provided in the standard/possessive format, or whatever the proper term for those pronoun types are (she/her, they/them, etc.) and knowing nothing about corsets, my flyspecking was futile.
@Tim You have indeed focussed in on the trouble spot, the spot that was the unearned fortunate end of my flyspecking. See below for further wailing and gnashing of teeth 👇.
@Tim well I understand. My streak busted long ago on a Monday! But I was among the lucky and today I broke my streak record! I now have a streak of 24!
@Tim so it turns out a lot of people here needed to update their knowledge base -- it might come in handy in real life if you are at a meeting or social event and you'll be glad you worked this puzzle! This is the norm and has been for yrs. You only say she/her if using a single type of pronoun or a neo pronoun where someone might not know the additional words. English speakers know that him goes with he and them with they, so it's not the convention to list all 4 words when a person uses multiple pronouns.
I did not like this puzzle - or more accurately, the SW corner, which felt more Friday-level. The only answer I had in that corner was NOAH (59A). [Winds up] (54D), [Debatable] (55D), and [Doofus] (63A) all seemed too vague for a Tuesday, especially all in one section, and the [Possible pronoun pairing] (46D) seems too tricky for a Tuesday. I had “Dada” for 56D, so nothing was working there. I got the theme answers pretty quickly, but for some reason, I just could not come up with EMPTY NESTER (54A), but I’m also not a parent. Ruined my Tuesday streak. ☹️
My youngest is leaving for college in the fall. My pet names for her are “Little Bird” or “Birdie”. So thinking about that little bird and my imminent transition to being an empty nester brought a tear to my eye. First time the NYT Crossword had made me cry.
As a soon to be EMPTYNESTER I felt seen. Fun puzzle! :-)
At 13D I thought "ASPS have horns? There are snakes with horns??" So I looked it up. At least according to the internet (so it must be true), asps do not have horns. There is a related horned viper, however, that does have horns. Pretty scary looking snake. So the "horned viper" is a horned viper. <a href="https://a-z-animals.com/animals/asp" target="_blank">https://a-z-animals.com/animals/asp</a>/ Where are our herpetologists?
@Nora Cover photo in Wordplay is Denver, in case anyone wonders.
@Nora If true, disappointing. I was recasting my whole image of Cleo's death scene.
@Nora <a href="https://www.snakesandlizards.com/identification/horned-asp-cerastes-cerastes-cerastes" target="_blank">https://www.snakesandlizards.com/identification/horned-asp-cerastes-cerastes-cerastes</a>/
Thank you, thank you for the "correct" definition of moot. In my lifetime it has changed from meaning debatable to meaning not debatable. I know Mr. McWhirter would say that is because English is a living language, but it still annoys me. (And John McWhirter is still my favorite language person.)
@Gill - The OED shows usage of MOOT to mean not worthy of debate going back to 1831, so you must be very old, indeed!
There is mooted here about 55D. I feel that the clue is easiest to understand if you treat “debatable” not as worthy of debate but in its dismissive form.