I'm a newbie (six months) but today makes three days in a row with no lookups. So you 'll probably all say it's too easy!!!
@lucky13 We probably will, but that shouldn't dim your lights even a little bit. Even the very best solvers were at your stage at one point. And this sounds like Bee Ess, like something off a motivational poster, but it's true, I think: there's something noble about accepting a true challenge, whatever form that happens to take for you.
This was a pleasant enough Tuesday. It scored points with me by highlighting John McPhee, one of the most entertaining writers of non-fiction in English. McPhee had a great gift of finding the interesting in any subject, and the greater gift of being able to coax stories out of people he met from just about any walk of life. The book highlighted in the puzzle, Coming Into The Country, is a complex portrait of many aspects of life in Alaska. I’ve read it at least four times. Other books about the New Jersey Pine Barrens, life on a Hebridean island, Princeton basketball player, Bill Bradley, tectonic geology, oranges, and birch bark canoes, to name a few, are all great reads.
@Marshall Walthew I think I've read him without knowing it! I used to love to read those long, long New Yorker pieces, and I seem to remember a particularly interesting one about Bill Bradley. I think it was entitled "A Sense of Where You Are", because he says he needed that sense, both as a fine basketball player, but as a politician, too.
John McPhee has been a favorite of mine ever since buying "The Deltoid Pumpkin Seed" 50+ years ago in a Cape Cod bookstore. I've read nearly all of his work since.
Fun fact – McPhee, has taught non-fiction writing at Princeton for more than 50 years, and one of his students was David Remnick, editor-and-chief of The New Yorker, the magazine McPhee has long been associated with.
@Marshall Walthew What you said, and more! In his latest books, he is revealing the back stories of earlier books such as "Oranges" and his writing techniques. Like all his work, worth reading even if you think you have no conceivable interest in the spparent topic.
When actors receive a hand, they take a bow. That's just applause and effect. (I only post this for special ovations.)
@Mike "Special ovations"? I'm not going to stand for that.
Mike, When an actor really does poorly, they might end up looking like Mrs. or Mr. Tomatohead. (And if the crowd throws applesauce, that’s the opposite of on core.)
@Mike I heard the apple gave the best on core performance.
Great puzzle, perfect Tuesday strength, lovely theme, nicely. clued. No complaints, and no eulogies or dirges for the CDC. Daniel Day-Lewis / Daniel Dae Kim. I'll get it straight yet! I imagine (if there's a way of measuring this), that this grid has way more "AE" appearances than average, perhaps even an Olympic record: NAE NAE, AERIES, DAE, and RAE. Too bad Fannie Mae didn't make an appearance. Thinking back on previous commentaries from months back, particularly from prickly Glaswegians, regarding the use of the word "nae" in conversational Scottish, I predict that some day "Nae Nae" will be clued as [Said no Scotsman, emphatically, ever]. Sweet puzzle. It did indeed cheer me up.
@john ezra Also, did you not start the day with “Good morning Bae”?
@john ezra Just FYI - there have been 311 different answers that end in AE in various puzzles over time. Though a lot of the ones from the pre-Shortz era are... ...unusual, to say the least. ...
Nice to: • See LEG, EAR, and even CAN supporting the HAND theme, plus wannabe NEE in search of a K. • Have my brain engaged trying to come up with what the three theme answers had in common (with success!). • Have silliness in the grid (Hi, @M. Biggen!). First, MRS POTATO HEAD, who makes me smile inside-out. Second, FLAM, which by itself is fun to say and just looks goofy. Third and most-of-all, thumbs up for CLAP-O-METER! That's like something concocted by Jon Stewart for a bit. • Be reminded of John McPhee – sensitive, insightful, and master of language and mood. (Hi, @Marshall Walthew!) • Come across the PuzzPair©️ of SNORE and NOD. And so, Sarah and Amie, your puzzle was not simply fill-in-and-get-on-with-the-day. It had charm and personality. Thank you for making it!
@Lewis Your © symbol looks like it was handwritten and pasted into the comment. I was wondering how you did that, and why.
I liked this one! I think my favorite clue was the one for MRSPOTATOHEAD. Imagine packing extra eyes. Made me laugh. John MCPHEE is a gifted author, a favorite among geologists. His first geology themed book that everyone I knew read was Basin and Range, about Nevada and Utah. My favorite, however, was Rising from the Plains. I read it while living in Wyoming, and its sense of place was extraordinary. At the center of the book is a geologist born in Wyoming. His life, and those of his ancestors, paints a vivid picture of this beautiful state.
@Nora But isn't it sad, in this day and age, that MR POTATO HEAD doesn't seem able to pack his own bags. [Oddly, I'm not sure whether I'm kidding or not.]
I'd like to thank Ms. Sinclair and Ms. Walker for this fine puzzle. Let's give them a big hand! Let's also, everybody, put our hands up in the air for Kool and the Gang and LADIES" NIGHT: <a href="https://youtu.be/iAH9tY7ehhk?si=w89fdSQBIxcPDeAb" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/iAH9tY7ehhk?si=w89fdSQBIxcPDeAb</a> (And I'd also like to take this opportunity to welcome back Art DECO. It's been a while since we've last seen ya...)
This was a breezy theme, I liked the varied versions of hand and especially loved MRSPOTATOHEAD, both the entry and the clue. TIL CLAPOMETER. I have flashbacks to Madge the Manicurist from the old Palmolive commercials who I guess didn’t fit (showing my age—“You’re soaking in it!”) I also learned about John McPhee—I love it when two stacked related clues pop up like that. I have great memories of ALVIN and the Chipmunks and Don’t Tell MAMA from Cabaret (also showing my age). On the flip side I have nothing against Taylor Swift but can we retire the ERA clues finally? I think we’ve beaten that horse one too many times.
@SP Beating the horse ("Walenie konia") is a Polish idiom for a man's solo ejacuIative performance - the most common among our 200 synonyms for it: <a href="https://bebzol.com/pl/200-okreslen-masturbacji.96649.html" target="_blank">https://bebzol.com/pl/200-okreslen-masturbacji.96649.html</a>
@SP I knew of a woman who owned a nail salon called You're Soaking In It! Hilarious to someone in our age bracket. I hope I'm not making you too old here. Note to non-native speakers: "beating (or flogging) a dead horse" is a common idiom meaning going over territory that has already been dealt with many times.
@SP "You're soaking in it!" I haven't thought of that commercial in years -- loved Madge! There should be a puzzle theme for some of those great ad chestnuts, but, alas, only those of us from a certain generation would likely get them.
I realky enjoyed Myq Kaplan's column today, and yesterday's was very good, too. So far he's my favorite of the Wordplay guest columnists. 👍
Nothing plodding about this one, just solid clues, with clever answers in the grid, and enough spice to make it interesting, the ideal Tuesday. The Clap-O-Meter needle would confirm that! Thank you, Sarah and Amie, for giving us such an entertaining puzzle.
If you’re me, any puzzle that features MRS POTATOHEAD and CLAPOMETER is a winner. Thanks Sarah and Amie! This was a fine Tuesday puzzle with a little extra sparkle. I’ve also enjoyed Myq’s columns. And somehow I feel like it’s more fun to say Mike when it’s spelled Myq. (No offense to all other Mikes regardless of spelling, especially not our resident punster Mike from Munster.)
Sarah and Amie, That's quite the photo on xwordinfo.com!
@Barry Ancona <a href="https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=2/10/2026" target="_blank">https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=2/10/2026</a>
@Barry Ancona Just trying to help others see the pic. (Dear Others, you have to click to expand the constructor notes.) I love how Sarah almost always, or maybe always, complements her puzzles with a delightful photo. She's a mixed-media artist. I'm a fan.
No angry eyes needed today. Now where did I put my extra pair of shoes!? Delightful.
A fine Tuesday, easy, but not too easy. A decent theme. I especially like the image of MRS. POTATO HEAD packing extra eyes for her husband. (Although shouldn't he be able to back his own bags at this point???) <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BBFqGHgCFiY" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BBFqGHgCFiY</a> No big surprises in the solve. But the cluing of the more traditional fill kept me on my toes.
@The X-Phile, you never know when you'll need your angry eyes! Thanks for the clip.
@The X-Phile I enjoyed that too; thanks for the clip!
@The X-Phile Loved the clip. shouldn't he be able to back his own bags at this point??? I think he would pack for himself - if his gear (OK, extra parts) were actually going into a bag. It must be trickier to pack when the stuff has to go into an opening in your own back and you have to reach around without being able to see. IMO he probably helps her when SHE has to pack; they help each other. ;)
I know the puzzle freaks out about mentioning anything that's not current pop culture anymore but they still make Alvin and the Chipmunks movies. Doesn't really need the "old" hedge
@a I so wanted to be an "Alvin", but I think I was a Simon.
Jesus, that was a lot of trivia for a Tuesday. I barely made it without lookups. Way to kiII my enjoyment of a solve.
@Andrzej Why be so negative? Way to kill my enjoyment of reading the comments. I would think there would be a feeling of accomplishment in barely completing the puzzle without lookups. Accomplishing should bring enjoyment.
@Jim The comments have been so, so negative lately. We should treat our constructors with more grace. Especially for puzzles like these—fun, cute theme, challenging for some and a breeze for others. A perfect Tuesday IMO.
@Andrzej@Jim Because I don't enjoy puzzles packed full of trivia and barely accomplishing a *Tuesday* is no reason for enjoyment. @Ian When the only source of a challenge is the trivia, how is that good construction? In a crossword puzzle I enjoy misdirection rather than having to know abbreviations and names. If I wanted to do a pub quiz I'd be at a pub doing a quiz. You thought this was fun and the theme was cute. I didn't. My opinion is as valid as yours. It's really tiresome to keep hearing I should either feel different things or at least keep quiet about what I feel.
@Andrzej You’re right and you should say it. People act like someone personally insults their mother when you don’t adore a puzzle here and it’s weird. Oh no, someone’s precious comment-reading experience was interrupted with something they don’t agree with. Like grow up, people.
I think there's a definite split between US and non-US solvers on this one. For me the Southwest was Natick corner.
@Peter It goes without saying that in an American paper, with American editors and mostly American constructors, it might not be obvious during the production of any crossword what would hit international solvers differently. Literally nothing in this puzzle that gave you difficulty hit me as terribly difficult. Even the things that tripped me up momentarily, which I chronicled in an earlier post, didn't seem like big deals. But I realize that if I lived elsewhere, American brands and such might be troublesome.
@Peter Yes, I noticed that as I solved, the Americanism in McPhee, Alaska, Panera, NIH, Nexus . . . and "has up" for invites for a nightcap. I've had problems as an American solver when doing puzzles from Canada, Britain, Australia so I sympathize.
That was a sweet Tuesday, filled quickly, interesting stuff (TIL VOX is also a news site, I got it through VOX Pop). The specifically American answers will always slow me up (bakers, college names etc etc) but today the crossings were kind. A big HAND to the constructors. Maybe someday it will stop raining here, but not today. I read on the BBC that in my part of the world it’s rained every single day since the 1st January. We’re a wet Island yes, but this is taking the Mickey.
@Helen Wright oof here's wishing you sunshine soon!! Here in Ontario, we're hoping for something north of freezing - I KNOW there are snowdrops under that snowbank on our front lawn... But at least the cold days are sunny and bright...
@Helen Wright don't worry, as an American I'd never heard of that college in my life. Easy guess though, glad I got it
Usually I strictly follow the rules of my puzzle poem,’but today I took some liberties. The title is not from the puzzle and I added the word “again” at the end (not in the answers). But I was just in California over the weekend admiring Mt. Tamalpais and when “mountain” appeared in the across clues I decided to loosen the rules. <br> <br> tamalpais <br> <br> a/ here written in the mountain <br> in lines <br> some part of a journey <br> i’m packing for <br> d/ california <br> who once named me lover <br> your instrument paths <br> whistle the song of this land <br> and where daybreak hits <br> the hand splits <br> a/ over me again <br>
@Peter Valentine, or whoever knows: Forgive my ignorance, but what’s the purpose for the a/, etc., and the spacing? A few posters do this.
GIVE ME A HAND sort of reminded me of a funny scene from the movie Arthur with Dudley Moore. His dinner partner asks if Arthur would take her hand. His response is priceless 😂 <a href="https://youtu.be/fojX7Ip4jSs?si=snsKltodRZDsthdp" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/fojX7Ip4jSs?si=snsKltodRZDsthdp</a> I love when a puzzle takes me way back. I was all of 11 years old when that movie came out and that line has stuck with me to this day. Thank you, Sarah and Amie for that trip down memory lane.
@Jacqui J Too funny! I had no recollection of this. Thanks for posting!
@Jacqui J Oh, that was Jill Eikenberry...I loved her in L.A. Law!
Starting out, 1A could have been ZIP, but a quick look at 1D made me realize it had to be VIM. For 17A, I briefly had POwER PLAYER, until I realized that 3D MAwE... didn't look right. I had the EI of 21A and still didn't realize it was EILISH, but a few more crosses made that obvious. I sailed through to the bottom. I didn't know MCPHEE, but the crosses filled it in. I managed, despite doing the lower third almost completely via Across answers, not to notice ST. LEO there, but if I hadn't gotten it entirely via the crosses, the words "Catholic" and "lion" in the clue make it a gimme, even if I'd never heard of the place. Overall, another easy puzzle; completed it 10.8% faster than my Tuesday average. Some nitlets, though: Again, the formal name is PANERA Bread. Yes, I know, even their own commercials call it just PANERA, but it still is an (Informal) usage. And isn't it more of a fast casual restaurant than a bakery chain? (Yes, I know you can buy a bag of baked goods to go.) Also, NEE means "born," not just [Formerly named]. You can't say "Jacqueline Onassis, NEE Kennedy," only "NEE Bouvier." (Yes, Simpsons fans, that's where Marge's maiden name comes from.) Neither of these things make their clues wrong, just a little askew. Please don't tell me the clue's fine. I had no trouble with either, but I think that if there's no deliberate misdirection, clues should be accurate.
@Steve L If [Bird] can be an accurate clue for EAGLE, then [Formerly known as] can be an accurate clue for NEE. “Bird” is a more general term than “Eagle”, and “formerly known as” is a more general term than “nee”. The link between clue and answer is never a two-way guarantee of equivalence.
@Steve L The clue for NEE is fine. <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/n%C3%A9e" target="_blank">https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/n%C3%A9e</a> meaning #2
@Steve L The clue is fine. (Couldn't help myself.)
An unpopular character who might ask “give me a hand” is the PHLEBOTOMIST. Most people would probably rather hang out with MRS POTATO HEAD!
@Cat Lady Margaret If a phlebotomist is asking for your hand, it usually means 1) they want to marry you; 2) that you have no other usable veins; or 3) you have *one* other usable vein, but they can't use it because the doctor can't poke anything else.
Tuesdays are just right, not hard but not too easy. Is there really such a thing as a clap-o-meter? My sleep-o-meter says I should have stayed in bed another hour, but you know how it is. At least I have enough brain cells for a Tuesday puzzle. We'll see about Wednesday tomorrow.
mirle234, Yes. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clap-o-meter" target="_blank">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clap-o-meter</a>
I have been an "often" READER of "The New Yorker" --even quite old issues are very readable and often arresting--but I didn't know John's surname, and it took until I had _CPHE_ for me to fill that in, as I never saw "Cabaret", didn't know the book, and had been slow to accept CLAP-O-METER. (Srsly?) However, cool theme, and despite more names than are desirable, a steady solve. On with the day! I oughtn't to brag, but I have a loaf of bread rising and 50% of the quilting done on a donation quilt. (The Jax guild finished over 200 last year, so the goal post has been moved up.) It got up to 68 yesterday; the Japanese magnolias on the campus are about to bloom...given the date, I suspect they are doomed. (Cue "Dead March.") sigh
@Mean Old Lady It has never even occurred to me to read The New Yorker, because I don't live there, and have little interest in what people who do live there are talking about. Putting that qualifier in a clue for John McPhee is a thoughtcrime. My hyacinths are usually the ones to come out too soon, followed by the daffodils.
@Mean Old Lady I have the same fear for the saucer magnolia in my yard. I had a beautiful bloom last year after two years of false springs followed by freezes. I had the opposite experience with the theme, though: One of the few puzzles with names I knew!
I generally dislike musicals, but I did like "Holiday INN" for some reason. Irving Berlin notably stayed away from traditional holiday music and wrote his own, so he could collect royalties on the off chance that they became popular. He knocked it out of the park with "White Christmas," which also won the Oscar for Best Original Song.
@Grant Yeah, you can't argue against the influence of "White Christmas".
@Grant It gets replayed less often than the remake called simply "White Christmas" with an excellent cast including Rosemary Clooney and Danny Kaye. The original may be 'cancelled' due to some really racist content. I would mourn the loss of the overall film.
So if you’re of an age whereby you’ve watched Toy Story and ALVIN and the chipmunks with your kids, know some Latin and Hesiod’s theogony, have read comics in a paper, read the New Yorker, are aware of anthropology, know the most eastern and western state and the one that would be wrong to guess for eastern, made model aeroplanes, and Billie EILISH then this was a breeze. Thanks to the setters and the editors
@Ιασων I found it a breeze and I didn't know half those things. I used my head.
@Ιασων Do you actually say "ANTHRO"? Does anybody? (Please say it ain't so!) I had forgotten that was in there when I praised the puzzle. Oh, well. I never watched any chipmunk movies, but I love "Toy Story"--a big departure for me, because as a rule I just don't care for modern cartoon-movies. I didn't recall a scene with MRS P-Head, but it wasn't difficult to guess. I am surprised to learn that real POTATOes were once used (sacrificed) to the "game," Playing with/wasting food..... inconceiveable during a childhood in which hunger played a part. For once I applaud plastic!
This off topic, but I thought it was way too hilarious not to share as widely as possible. You know, right, that Bad Bunny is a nepo baby? His father was Bugs.
@Francis I just read that some Ma Ga congressman wants a congressional investigation into the halftime show for reasons of lewdness, indecency and smutty lyrics. Gotta laugh at that one. I guess he never listened to Kid Rock. I never did either, just read them online.
@Francis <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2026/feb/10/jon-stewart-bad-bunny-super-bowl?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other" target="_blank">https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2026/feb/10/jon-stewart-bad-bunny-super-bowl?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other</a>
One more puzzle find. One of the most unusual I've ever encountered. A Sunday from December 10, 1995 by Jim Page with the title "Clueless." And that described the theme answers in that one. They did not have any worded clues. Here they are: 21a: GAMBLERSCARDGAME 50a: STATECAPITALS 77a: TVSUNSETSTRIP 112a: FIFTYSIXTIMESTWO 13d: ROMANXIII 76d: TROMBONES Here's that link: <a href="https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=12/10/1995&g=77&d=A" target="_blank">https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=12/10/1995&g=77&d=A</a> ....
@Rich in Atlanta Oh... and will just note that at the moment my age is... trombones. And later this year it will become... Sunset Strip. ....
I’m managing to keep my streak while traveling through Australia.
@Michael Hendler great job! I blew mine just by being busy on Saturday. LOL
As someone has mentioned, it's the little initialisms that are most frustrating for the non-local solvers - ABA, HSN, NIH. Otherwise, very pleasant.
@Jane Wheelaghan QVC (Quality, Value, Convenience ) and HSN (Home Shopping Network) are cable television shopping channels, if that helps you remember them. ABA is American Bar Association, of course, and NIH is National Institutes of Health.
There’s the rub? My silent tactic reliably works for me every time. And you’re welcome to some, none or all of it. ‘Tis simple; put down the ducky (the x-w puzz) and go get that 2nd cup. And when you return from the urn to the solving, if still in a cruciverbial quandary, just rinse and repeat. Get what I’m sayin,? Yer Welcome, Bru
@brutus Once I Google Translated that to Boomer... yeah, that's right!
Thanks for a swell Tuesday grid, Sarah and Amie! I enjoyed seeing MAKEOVER and GETSINSHAPE crossing with IMAGE!
I highly recommend the documentary movie, Don't Stop Believin': Everyman's Journey It's the story of Arnel Pineda joining the band Journey (wordplay photo) Here's the trailer: <a href="https://youtu.be/yKv93LcfLOI?si=P7BCgAxw4KHy5UNw" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/yKv93LcfLOI?si=P7BCgAxw4KHy5UNw</a>
Nice theme today, fortunately for me my love for Toy Story gave me 37A immediately, which in turn helped a lot with getting the theme. On the other hand I struggled with the SW corner, being unfamiliar with QVC, HSN or MCPHEE, I had to make a few guesses there.
@Norbr. With you there. Sometimes it’s the little American references that get us, but cannot reasonably complain.
I might have scraped through a Wednesday level with that collection of trivia, but any harder day and I've have been utterly goosed. After my first run through the grid looked like some of my late-week efforts. Partially generally awkward trivia, partially because it's an American newspaper.
@Niall Look, anyone not in the US is courageous to even attempt the NYT XW, with all its US trivia and colloquialisms. Congratulations, no matter your finishing time.
@Niall Seconding @Joe I only say it one time out of a million that I think it, but I truly admire the courage of someone not raised in the USA approaching this puzzle.
@Niall Be careful when describing yourself as 'goosed'. In the immortal words of Inigo Montoya, I do not think that word means what you think it means (around here.)
Loved the puzzle - perfectly Tuesdayish. I’m also really enjoying Myk’s columns. Please keep them coming! Happy day solver community! As they say in the socials - I’m here for the comments. XW people are so witty & clever!
@CeCe, and other misspellers: The correct spelling is Myq Think of the old GEICO commercial. "Hey, MyqMyqMyqMyqMyq. Guess what day it is." That didn't help a bit, did it.
I had to read, "Coming Into the Country" for a civics requirement to graduate from college. Along with "Giants in the Earth" and Aldo Leopold. It was such a great class! Thank you John Dizikes! I laughed out loud at this answer. I thought this puzzle was fun.
I don't know if it was just me, but this was too literal (even for a Tuesday) and joyless. Thanks anyway
1:35 over my personal best. 4:45 under my average. Nifty little puzzle. Nice mixture of music ERAs from Cabaret to Phantom and ALVIN to EILISH. Answers like NAENAE and MCPHEE were easily filled in with crosses.
I called out to my wife as I confidently filled in UPDIKE at 44-Down. We're from Updike's home town of Shillington. I guess the precise wording of the clue should have made it clear that entry was wrong: Updike wrote only briefly "for" the New Yorker, although he appeared frequently "in" it.
@Gary K From a former resident of Brewer, that was my first thought too but the crosses did not support. I worked with a Shillington* contemporary of Updike who said he was not very popular with the neighbors because they recognized themselves in his novels. *Can't remember the name he used for Shillington.
@Gary K In my humble opinion, his 1960 essay for the New Yorker on Ted Williams's final game at Fenway is the finest thing ever written in the English language on the subject of sport. Should be findable online for anyone interested.
@Gary K @all I am very grateful for any little bits of information about John Updike. He was a writer so hypnotizing that the readers began to believe that they, too, could write like this. When I (re)read his work, I find my internal dialogue as I went through my day took on a Updikean tone, until I tried to actually resolve it into words, and then it fell apart. Updike and Vonnegut. So influential.
Body part that may have a ring or a stud? Wow, there are so many (so I've been told). Thankfully, being only 3 letters did kind of narrow it down... lip, came to mind for me. The Korean girl at the local WalMart Vision Center sports a vast display of rings and studs, in addition to her tats. And those are just the ones we can see.
@Jerry Bravo! That sounds like the opening script scene description of a killer Tarantino movie!
Clunky theme, milquetoast cluing, some natick areas. Overall a fine Tuesday though not without issue. Have a good one.
That was a lot of fun! It somehow felt slightly tougher than usual for a Tuesday, but it was worth it for the fun theme! I also enjoyed Myq's commentary and look forward to more!
Well that was fast - no resistance at all. I was a little concerned when I saw the choppiness of the grid that it would be a festival of crosswordese.
@Julia "No resistance at all". Maybe we should name those "Superconductor" puzzles.
great puzzle - is there a way they could change to a visual celebration at the end of the solve instead of the unmastered sound jingle that blows up in our earbuds when we are listening to music or other things while we solve - nobody just sits and solves the puzzle we are listening to music or even chatting with people my earbuds beg thee - stop this pavlovian madness just make it a visual kudos grazie mille' <a href="https://linktr.ee/glassjonespiano" target="_blank">https://linktr.ee/glassjonespiano</a>
@acjones Puzzle settings, Play music when solved. I'm thinking you might want that off. "No one"? I solve in quiet solitude, typically on my sofa with coffee.
@acjones How do you know this about *nobody*? It would drive me batty to try to work a puzzle with music playing.
@acjones Do you know how to mute your computer? If not, if you tell me what you solve on, I can try to google how to control the sound.
@acjones I have the jingle turned off, and I definitely just sit and solve the puzzle (usually alone, in silence, with coffee or something stronger, depending on the time of day).
@acjones I always do the puzzle well before dawn, in a silent house, with a 16-ounce mug of coffee and a croissant. And if I don't hear the music when I finish (always my fault for messing with the phone settings, but still) I feel a little cheated.
@acjones Solve alone on my couch for years. Classical music on the radio. Happy music plays, but *very* quietly. If hubby hears it. he says, "You done did it, Darlin'!" Just turn it down (or off) in your settings.
@acjones Another “no one” here. I solve in low light with a cup of coffee and no more sound than a crackling fire. And I’ve long since turned off the congrats music.
@acjones - That’s so funny. I live for that game show ending!
@acjones I usually solve on a desktop. No music playing in the background; it would be distracting. The little jingle is allowed to play at the end. It doesn't bother me at all. However, on my phone and iPad, I have it unchecked in the Settings. There are times when I don't necessarily want it broadcast that I've been doing a crossword puzzle when I'm using a mobile device. It's your choice. Use the settings, Luke.
@acjones I'll add to the queue. I solve on my iMac in the quiet of early morning. With my coffee, sometimes my toast. I keep the volume on my computer turned low, but I like getting the little jingle when I've successfully solved the puzzle.
Many people thought Sunday was too easy; if you want to try a fun (IMO) and more challenging Sunday, I recommend March 12, 1995 (I'm working my way thru the archives). It's a puzzle celebrating the 50,000th issue of the NYT and many long answers are NYT headlines, clued by their dates. It's like a crossword puzzle + a history quiz. I didn't "get gold" but I was able to get all the headline answers (but one) after a few crosses. It was fun because sometimes I knew what the headline was referring to (e.g., July 21, 1969 or, Oct. 30, 1929, or April 16, 1912) but still needed crosses to answer, and others I had no idea but was able to get after some crosses (e.g., July 1, 1958 or, Dec. 6, 1933)
Bill in Yokohama, I remembered doing that one not too long ago. Looking back, my blue solve was similar to yours. I’m finding 1995 puzzles brutal for general difficulty, maybe getting 2-3 golds per week, and Sat-Sun often upwards of four reveals (squares, or words when I’m lazy).
Clever. Mcphee and HSN was definitely brutal
Mr. Lehrer, registering high on the Copenhagen Clap-o-meter: <a href="https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=I9C2v1oLXQo&list=RDI9C2v1oLXQo&start_radio=1&pp=ygUjdG9tIGxlaHJlciBpIGhvbGQgeW91ciBoYW5kIGluIG1pbmWgBwE" target="_blank">https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=I9C2v1oLXQo&list=RDI9C2v1oLXQo&start_radio=1&pp=ygUjdG9tIGxlaHJlciBpIGhvbGQgeW91ciBoYW5kIGluIG1pbmWgBwE</a>%3D
@Bill That song is absolutely hilarious.
Bill, My grandmother was a big Tom Lehrer fan.
@Bill big Tom Lehrer fan here! My parents played his records all the time and I can sing some of them from memory. Thanks for the link!
@Bill For anyone who's interested, Tom posted all his music and lyrics online in 2022 with no copyright protection. They are all free for use by anyone and can be found at: <a href="https://tomlehrersongs.com" target="_blank">https://tomlehrersongs.com</a> His statement ends thusly: "In short, I no longer retain any rights to any of my songs. So help yourselves, and don’t send me any money. NOTICE: THIS WEBSITE WILL BE SHUT DOWN AT SOME DATE IN THE NOT TOO DISTANT FUTURE, SO IF YOU WANT TO DOWNLOAD ANYTHING, DON’T WAIT TOO LONG. Tom Lehrer November 26, 2022