If a chicken drives a car, it's poultry in motion. (But its vehicle is manual - it has a clutch!)
@Mike An escape like that is a real chicken coup. It flew the coop in a coupe.
Mike, No turkeys from you. (And we won't egg you on.)
@Mike When a rooster drives a shuttle, it's coq au van.
@Mike Poultry in motion!! Brilliant. Your jokes about chickens leave me in raptors!
Mike, “Any available officers: if you see a chicken driving a car, pullet over.”
OK, @Mike When is a CHICKEN like Superman? .... When it has its CAPON.
@Mike I know Mike thinks these puns impress the chicks, but we just don't give a cluck. (Will this survive the emus?)
@Mike If he sings along with a top 10 hit on the radio, does he Chanticleer winner?
@Mike Fowl play. Hen will it stop?
Who won the Super Bowl? my wife asked. Bad Bunny, I answered. It was true. Oh that's good, she said, and went back to sleep. I felt for the Patriots, though I rejoiced that they lost. If I were that quarterback, so youthful he still had acne, I wouldn't want to face an orca nonet with two in the backfield, it would be a lost cause. It was a no win situation for the Patriots; they had no offensive line to protect the dear boy. All coach Vrabel could do is wonder the sidelines with his clipboard in rags, giving a yell every now and then. It was a large order to fill. Had to say there were an awful lot of tech commercials pitching AI. Soon a bot will be in charge of all our brains. And I admit to being a tad uncomfortable with that future. If a self driving car stopped in a rainstorm and a robot offered me a ride, I'd just say no, I'm out. I'd take a gap year at that point, you'd find me in the seas, off-grid (but not THESE grids!)... yup, none of that AI for me (although it did help me use a VPN to watch the Australian Open, so OK I'm no orthodox luddite), but do we have to give up our independence to a rum bunch of tech billionaires who erase any creed or honor code they see in their quest to extract the last gold nugget from the earth, the last gem from your ear? All those celebs hawking stuff we don't need. What are Jost and Che doing touting online gambling?
@john ezra And how did you like the puzzle?
@john ezra "If I were that quarterback, so youthful he still had acne..." Drake Maye will probably be a great quarterback when he gets into his teen years.
@john ezra Bad Bunny put on an amazing show. And the ending was spectacular with every country in the Americas included. Color me impressed.
@john ezra What does this have to do with the puzzle? This isn't Facebook lol
For those who asked what this had to do with the puzzle... "All coach Vrabel could do is wonder [SIC] the sidelines with his CLIPBOARD in RAGS, giving a YELL every now and then. It was a LARGE ORDER to fill." Good one, @john ezra!
My five favorite original clues from last week (in order of appearance): 1. Ruler's length? (5) 2. Mistake "air" for "heir," say (3) 3. Case of emergency? (3)(4) 4. Crime ring, for short? (3) 5. Reds' fandom? (10) REIGN ERR ALL CAPS APB OENOPHILIA
My favorite encore clues from last week: [Not fair, in a way] (7) [More ideal?] (6) RAINING UTOPIA
Matthew mentioned in his notes that his grids often include a host of food-related entries, and yes – aside from the theme answers, there’s GRAVY, DIET, ICEES, ATE, GORGE and ORDER (as clued). This was a Monday made by a pro: • Only a few answers that newer solvers may not have run across before and all those are easily crossed. • All the longs are lovely – every theme answer plus the four long downs LOST CAUSE, DIVVIED UP, HONOR CODE, and CLIPBOARD. • The popping-fresh theme, with all its answers aside from GOALTENDER being NYT debuts. Plus, some sweet serendipities. YUM crossing RUM, the high-volume cross of LOL and YELL, the PuzzPair©️ of I'M OUT and SCAB, and even a rare-in-crosswords five-letter semordnilap (NONET). I also liked all the OR sounds – OAR, GORGE, ADORE, ORC, CLIPBOARD, and ORDER. I enjoyed guessing at the revealer, not to mention the feeling throughout that I was coursing through quality. Excellent one, Matthew, and thank you!
Much sprightlier clueing than the average Monday, I must say. Cheers, Mr. Stock and editors.
Today is my birthday! And I’m from St. Louis! On my 21st birthday, I took off work and went up the 15A just for fun. It’s brilliant up there. As a kid, I imagined careening down it like a slide. Now, I love being able to spot it from just about anywhere in the city. And bonus - it reminds me of my birthday! I love sharing food and tasty treats with my friends and family, too. Especially today. Thanks for a fun puzzle, Matthew!
@Elena thanks for solving! Give STL a hug for me, I loved living there
@Elena Happy birthday, Elena! I hope you get to do something equally fun today.
A nice and breezy Monday; entertaining and very little glue, what more could you ask? Outdoor John made me smile, even though our ancient tractor is a Massey Ferguson. We’re getting a dozen Icelandic sheep this week. Not for keeps, just helping a friend with winter pasture, but it’ll be lovely looking out at field of fluffy white creatures for a few weeks. The Alpacas will be livid, as the field in question has lush grass, but the girls aren’t allowed in as they’d eat our baby woodland. Sorry girls, you’ll just have to glare over the fence at them.
@Helen Wright, I’m waiting for a crossword clued around your alpacas.
Wow. Lightning fast today. I blinked and it was over.
Hey columnist Myq: I'm also vegan, am also a child of professional string musicians, and also grew up dreading violin lessons! Were we separated at birth?? :-)
I’m just here to celebrate Señor GATO’s inclusion in the puzzle. Go Hawks!
@Sam Lyons, Yes!!! First thing I thought of when I filled it in. OLA, Señor GATO!
@Sam Lyons: I’ve been addressing Claudius as “mi gato bonito” and variations as I work my way through Duolingo Spanish. He tolerates my poor accent and poor grammar.
@CLM Es mi gato bonito, honey Don't you know that I'm lovin' you
Tho, today'th theme ith CHICKEN partth? [Thigh]
@Leapfinger also says: Anyone who grew up in hockey country first filled in GOALKEEPER. Anyone who lives near Tobacco Road knows GOALTENDER is strictly Basketball.
@Leapfinger Goalkeeper for soccer, goaltender for hockey, but commonly shortened to goalie. (I've played both sports.)
Finished in my PB for a Monday while watching the Superbowl. Appropriate theme, considering I had to wing it for supper.
[Be available on short notice] WAIT IN THE WINGS
@Lewis Can you make up a clue for fighting over the WISHBONE? Or the LIVER? (Hardly ever included these days...)
Nice Monday puzzle. Fairly smooth solve, and it wasn't until I was almost done that the theme finally dawned on me. That's always a nice touch. Puzzle find today - a Wednesday from December 7, 2016 by David Steinberg. Five answers with starred clues - each of them quite straightforwardly clued: FIXEDCOST LEFTHANDED CUTROSE SHOTPUT LOSTGROUND And then the... reveal: "Like either word in the answer to the five starred clues." PASTTENSE Here's that link: <a href="https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=12/7/2016&g=38&d=A" target="_blank">https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=12/7/2016&g=38&d=A</a> ...
@Rich in Atlanta Oh... and that led me to one more puzzle. A Saturday from July 22, 2000 by Joan Williamson. Theme clues and answers in that one: "Raid a southern garden?" STEALMAGNOLIAS "Walked through a campground?" PASSEDTENTS "Human resources department?" AHIREAUTHORITY Here's that link: <a href="https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=7/22/2000&g=34&d=A" target="_blank">https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=7/22/2000&g=34&d=A</a> I'm done. .....
A theme that elicits a genuinely amused smile. That's about as good as it gets on a Monday. I can't help but smile when I think of a fried STRIP of white meat being asked, "ARE YOU CHICKEN?" And responding, "Why, yes. Yes, I am. Can't you tell?" Yes, STRIPS and TENDERS are surely CHICKEN. But I'm not at all sure about some of the NUGGETS I've had. Thank the Deity for the dipping sauce. And no CHICKEN fingers??? I've spent too much time in my life looking for the "fingers" on chickens! Today's puzzle was easy, even for a Monday, but I'm happy to get a smile out of it.
You know, if you buy a whole CHICKEN and cut it up, none of the pieces are STRIPS, NUGGETS, or TENDERS. Just sayin'.... DHubby does most of the grocery shopping, and I pretty much hate when he buys CHICKEN pieces; BUTCHERED is the right word. Even Alton Brown (who cuts a chicken into 8 pieces, gets it wrong, IMHO. The breast should be in 3 pieces... and is he discarding the wings or back (2 pcs)? I notice a lot of recipes lately call for a "rotisserie chicken.' Srsly? Other than that...nice little Monday morsel. Last night I checked back and was very entertained by the MOONSHINE Comments. Barry Ancona found a photo of the fanciest still in the South! I'll see y'all in the funny papers.
@Mean Old Lady That's incorrect. The tender(loin) is the strip of white meat located directly under the breast. A strip is (or may be) slices of breast meat.
@Mean Old Lady I would say that STRIPs are whole pieces of chicken, while TENDERs are formed from smaller pieces compressed together, like NUGGETs. My preference is for cutlets.
At the supermarket, you have your choice of CHICKEN Broth and CHICKEN Stock. Today, the NYT xwp provided us the more flavorful option. As often touted, this helping of CHICKEN Soup is better than Penicillin. Minimal advance notice required to come over for a bowlful with matzoh balls, which I pep up with ginger and sesame oil. As Oliver GOLDNUGGETsmith has written: She soups to conquer
@Leapfinger This thing about chicken soup being a cure-all has not crossed the Atlantic. I've made all sorts of soup all my life, most often with lentils or split peas, but not chicken soup. I wonder where the idea came from?
I'm still trying to do a Monday without any help, but no, not yet. Not that I thought it was that difficult, just got stuck a couple of times. I just couldn't get LAS VEGAS STRIP even with a few crossers. Having "divided up" didn't help. Having "keeper" didn't help either. I know of the TORAH but assumed that the scroll must be something especially for the ceremony so didn't try it until later. I don't associate tender or strip with chicken (I have heard of nuggets but not eaten one fortunately). Maybe next week.
@Jane Wheelaghan I found the almost equivalent "DIVided" and "DIVVIed" particularly treacherous. As for TORAH: a very wide-ranging word. It can mean the actual scroll, but also the pentateuch (in whatever format), or even more broadly the general idea of "teachings". (It is cognate with both "parent" and "teacher" in Hebrew.)
I solved this one 18% faster than my Monday average in between plays of the Super Bowl (and with a house full of guests). I was sitting in a corner, so no one knew what I was doing on my phone (as most of them had their phones out for various reasons as well). I did stop the timer by turning the screen off when I was watching plays and not solving. But the tendency to produce very easy puzzles continues.
@Steve L I typically start working on a Monday puzzle as soon as it is out at 6 PM ET. But today was Superbowl. So I started on it after the post game. But yes, it was easier than most Monday puzzles.
Just wondering: Do the chicken sexers we learned about a few puzzles back start out their first few months with this easier question?
The theme in 55A took me back to Michael J. Fox playing Marty McFly in the “Back To The Future” trilogy, who would always react strongly when anybody called him “chicken”: <a href="https://tinyurl.com/2t7vzn5n" target="_blank">https://tinyurl.com/2t7vzn5n</a>
My previous Monday best was 2:26. 2:25 today, baby!
@Thad Your wife/husband/partner must be overjoyed.
@Thad I finished about as fast as I could type in this thing at just over 4 minutes. Are you using a phone or a physical keyboard?
I have a confession. The answer GAP YEAR really annoys me. It reeks of privilege and wealth. No offense if you took a gap year, but I had to get on with it because only by getting on with it as quickly as possible was I able to survive the cost, both real costs and opportunity costs, was by getting through my education as quickly as possible. I wish I'd had the luxury of spending a year touring Europe. Yes, I'm envious.
@Francis I, too, was envious after high school of all my well-off friends who did gap years. I comforted myself with the disparaging thought that I would get a temporal leg up on all of them when I eventually succeeded in my chosen career. Ludicrously sour grapes, of course.
@Francis Dunno about the US but over here a gap year often is not a sign of wealth - on the contrary, students in the worst situation are often forced to take it. Most of our courses are divided into tiers - tier I is a bachelor's course, and takes 3 years, while tier II is a 2-year master's course. Some students fail to graduate from tier I in time to be able to register and qualify for tier II. They have no choice but to either abandon university or try to qualify for tier II the following year. They get a gap year, of sorts, but not because they want to. Most of our universities are in big cities, which - especially Warsaw - are much more expansive than anywhere else. Many students study for free (the right to a state-provided higher education is enshrined in the constitution), but they have to survive in the cities, with their high rents and expensive food. Most of them need to work to be able to do that. However, they're young and only able to work part time, so they don't earn as much as they need to survive, let alone thrive. Thus, some take a year off between tier I and tier II to get more full time experience or simply earn more to last the following two years of tier II. Not all "gap years" are a sign of privilege. Also, not all well-off people are douches.
@Francis I spent four GAP YEARs in the Army between HS and university, which meant I didn't have student loan debt, I didn't have to live in a dorm, and I could legally drink. I am firmly convinced that 17 year old me would have done terribly as a freshman. I recommend the experience.
@Francis Most of the people I know use the Gap Year after undergrad to go to work and earn money or get work experience to go on to grad school. There is a wonderful organization called City Year which recruits Gap Year young people to work as aids in classrooms where students need more help.
A pleasant solve indeed. [Outdoor John?] evokes the thought of that experience on sub-zero mornings, yikes! Playing with the themers . . . ["Did you hear the only 'gentlemen's' club closed?] LASTVEGASSTRIP [Actor Elliot's favorite joke?] GOULDNUGGET [Just. Melt.] GO ALL TENDER ["C'mon, you can do it!"] DARE YOU, CHICKEN
After almost a year of crosswording finally got my first sub-5 minute solve this morning. A big thank you to all the columnists, commenters, and most of all the setters who made this day possible. Folks like you all with a passion for language and the written word are an invaluable asset to humanity. On to sub-4!
@MountainGoose feels good don't it? What was your time?
Not much to say about today’s puzzle—standard Monday fair, nice theme that I didn’t figure out until the revealer. I will say I quite enjoyed Miq’s commentary, engaging and colorful, I hope you come back. Like Miq I started with IOTA, and not that it’s worth nitpicking on a Monday but really “THE slightest bit” is specific, which could be IOTA, whereas ATAD is general and obviously one can have a slight-er bit than A TAD. Again, not that anyone cares on a Monday with obvious crosses, but I bet it did mess up some folks’ attempts to see how far they could get on acrosses only.
@SP I entered A TAD right off the bat. I probably should have gone with iota, but it didn’t occur to me 🤷🏼♀️🤦🏼♀️
@SP Iota here too. Not surprised to have to go back and change it, but also felt slightly disgruntled, because ATAD was not really slight enough.
@SP What was nice about the theme? The convoluted, awkwardly worded revealer? Or maybe the random phrases that happened to include names for chicken products? And if not that then perhaps how the theme was completely immaterial to the solve because it was so easy my dog could probably do it?
Another trip down memory lane when I read the clue for 28A "Body part that can serve as a pencil holder." As a very small child, there were really no stores like the supermarkets of today. Rather, they were the equivalent of the neighborhood bodega. I use to love to go around the corner to Harry's grocery. Mom would bring the items up to the register, and he'd whip that pencil from his ear and write down the cost of each on the brown paper bag, then add them up at lightning speed. He was much faster than his old cash register, and he never made a mistake. Contrast with today's clerks, who can't make change for a dollar even when the amount is staring them in the face.
@Times Rita -- You did better than I. My immediate mental image when crosses filled in was of the EAR doubling as a pencil sharpener [ouch]
@Times Rita Back in the 70's, on Vine St. in Cincinnati, there was a shop--Bolte's Tea and ? Dry Goods?? (blanking)-- and a couple of old guys running it who waited on you. I used to buy rice (they measured it out by the pound) and OMG wonderful Michigan Yellow-eyed Beans (which I cannot find anywhere nowadays.) It was very close to Findlay Market, so convenient for a Saturday morning shopping run. Sigh.
Really interesting Monday. I breezed through it, but then it turned out that several of my "obvious" answers were wrong and I had to pay closer attention.
Chicken - growing up my mother made only broiled legs & thighs. I HATED chicken! Age 16: Went to a boyfriend's house for dinner, and, oh no- chicken! It was delicious. I said "I've never had chicken this shape before. What do you call it?" "Ummm breast." True story.
@Amy I love thighs, and am grateful that breast meat is considered the premium part. I save a lot at the supermarket and at takeout chicken joints as a result.
What a breeze! Got my best Monday time ever (3:33).
One more rather amazing puzzle find. A Sunday from May 12, 2013 by David J. Kahn with the title "Simply put." The across theme answers: POTENTIALCONSEQUENCES OFAPLANORDECISIONONE CANNOTREVERSESHOULDBE HEEDEDPRIORTOTHETIME ANACTIONISEFFECTUATED And then one more theme answer down the middle of the puzzle: "This puzzle's long-winded advice, simply put." LOOKBEFOREYOULEAP Here's that link: <a href="https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=5/12/2013&g=24&d=D" target="_blank">https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=5/12/2013&g=24&d=D</a> ...
My favorite Gordon Ramsay meme: "Why did the chicken cross the road? Because it was (expletive) RAW!"
I had the first two theme clues solved and assumed the theme was about Vegas/gambling, so when I got to the revealer I felt confident the answer was DOYOUFEELLUCKY. Only problem was it’s one letter too long for the boxes. So I printed out the puzzle and drew an additional box at the end. Worked like a charm brah.
Monday PB Quick and breezy. My only niggle was the torturous phrasing in the clue for the revealer.
A good one for the “across clues only” club. I managed it in 15:17 without looking at any down clues. (This is purely for us value-for-money masochists who enjoy the tantalizing tip-of-the-tongue torture that comes from a clue that makes you say “I know this… I know this!” And you have to really work at it. You’ll find no 2 minute records here!)
Welcome, Myq, and thank you for helping me reframe Mondays -- I enjoyed your commentary! OH HI, Matthew, and thank you for a nice way to EASE into the week. I was 11 seconds off of my personal best, but blame it on still licking my wounds from a brutal Patriots loss last night. Thankfully, I was AWED by Bad Bunny's spectacular half-time show! Happy Monday, everyone!
@Kelly H I muted the halftime show, but I saw that Bad Bunny carried a football for more yards than the Patriots did.
Definitely a nice way to ease into the week. I too started off with a confident IOTA, until spotting ANGLO and TORAH. Very cute theme, even for this (mostly) vegan too ;) I also liked the nudge to share more joy with the special people in our lives- a beautiful reminder.
Are the emus afraid of other birds? I tried to reply to Mike mentioning one.
I guess they are. I also said we didn't egg him on.
Welcome to Wordplay, Myq. Your column was entertaining. Quick solve while watching our team flounder in the game 🤦🏼♀️ We even changed our jerseys after halftime, and they finally scored 🤣 Anyhoo, we did have CHICKEN wings in our spread today for the SB party we are hosting. Thank you for the nice distraction, Matthew. It was much needed tonight 😉
Here's a clue to honor the most delicious dinner I had today from my local DoorDash: [Creepy film from1971] ACLOCKWORKORANGE Get it? It comes with rice.
To my Patriot fan friends... The Seattle defense was just too powerful for your young quarterback. But I'm guessing this is just the start of what he and his team are going to end up doing. I'd trade New England's football outlook for Minnesota's any time.
@Francis Insofar as I was rooting at all, I was pro Seattle. Not because I know Thing 1 about football, but because the Mariners were such great opponents last summer and their fans were so supportive during the Woeld Series, even after their team lost the AL series to my Blue Jays. So I'm happy to see that their city has a championship team to celebrate this year.
@Francis Insofar as I was rooting at all, I was pro Seattle. Not because I know Thing 1 about football, but because the Mariners were such great opponents last summer and their fans were so supportive during the World Series, even after their team lost the AL series to my Blue Jays. So I'm happy to see that their city has a championship team to celebrate this year.
Felt a bit undeservedly smug for having learned NONET 🎸🎺🎷🎻🪗🎹🪇🪘 recently when it was a “Quantfiers” theme word for Wordle.
@NESB is Still thinking My favourite xwp-learned bit (also nine-based), is ENNEAD, which was clued to those little 3x3 corners found in many grids.
[Answer to the question “Are you chicken, goal tender?” by a ten-year-old who has forgotten to bring his end-of-47A to the rink.] ATAD .
Nice! A little tougher than a typical Monday puzzle but a lot of fun.
Until I caught on to the theme I had GOLDBUDGET instead of GOLDNUGGET. Honestly think except for the theme both would work.Nice to see PUEBLO instead of the standard utes or hopi. Wanted GOURD instead of GRAVY. Nice puzzle. 3:43 under my average. Timing was nice, just finished watching Team USA win gold in the Team figure skating competition. Like that the medal ceremony was immediately after this year.
Finished this while watching the Pooper Bowl! Nice puzzle, too! :)
I feel like I should have outgrown the appeal of a nice crispy -CHICKEN -TENDER by now, but I definitely have not. (I don’t know the difference between a -TENDER and a -STRIP. I could take or leave a -NUGGET) A breezy solve on a frigid morning. Solving soundtrack: Phil Cook’s Appalachia Borealis
@Shelby So glad you wrote in. I was feeling guilty about liking chicken objects. Granted, I buy mine retail in a deli and not at a fast food outlet, so they're slightly less industrial. (And how right it is to refer to those places as "outlets", rather than restaurants.) But I'm a fan of crunchiness in all its forms: grid fill, fried chicken bits, veggies.