Cardiologists work at state-of-the-heart facilities. (But they're not vein about it.)
@Mike The scope of the job has lots of pressure, but it pulse in a lot for the bank. I'd like to say aorta know, but I'm really not a specialist.
Mike makes heart puns seem so easy - gee! (But when we ask him how, boy is ‘e cagey.)
A pretty grid, but completely lacking in resistance. Even the long answers were guessable without crosses. Pleasant enough, but disappointing for a Saturday. I’ll check back to see if SHAG and its clue inspire any controversy.
I thought the clue for SHAG was brilliant. Made me laugh out loud for real, not an easy feat for a curmudgeon. Agree on the ease of the puzzle. Very good puzzle but not enough bite for a Saturday for my taste.
217th appearance for SHAG. Only the second time it has been clued with today's meaning. The first: Fri Jan 12, 2024 25D "I don't kiss and tell. I ___ and brag, baby!": Austin Powers Hemant Mehta
Premature solving issues over here. That was just way too quick is all I'm saying.
@Charlie Perhaps not the performance your partner wants on Valentine's Day.
Took me 47 minutes to complete but to be fair, I was conducting the LA Phil in a performance of Sibelius No. 2 while solving tonight.
@Ace Whike shagging, too, maybe?
@Ace Dang. I'm picturing a phone in the left hand, a baton in the right.
@Ace nice HUMBLEBRAG ... wonder if that's been used yet?
Easiest Saturday of all time! Showing some love, I suppose.
Okay seriously NYT what is going on this week? Almost every single puzzle was Tuesday, gusting Wednesday at best, level of easy. Please don’t make this the norm.
No need to grid your loins, it's not that heart. Rock the Casbah. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJ9r8LMU9bQ" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJ9r8LMU9bQ</a>
Too easy, which is too common these days, and boring, which is somewhat less common. I did notice the grid art; it didn't do anything for me ... or for the puzzle. Oh well; perhaps we'll have a very tricky Sunday.
@Barry Ancona I've never understood the enthusiasm some puzzlers express for grid art. I couldn't care less about it. Just give me good words.
@Barry Ancona Agreed. Love the archive, those were the days. GTG. Ain’t no use to sit and wonder why, babe…
@Barry AnconaGlad to see a prominent commenter weighing in on the trend away from challenging puzzles, especially on the weekend. Maybe the editors will pay attention, but it seems the focus is to avoid turning off less experience solvers.
It seems many people are disappointed that this was an easy puzzle for a Saturday, but I enjoyed it. Lately Saturday puzzles have become like a research project for me as I've had to resort to looking so many things up, but not today. Happy Valentine's Day! 💖
How does SEXTAPE make it into the Tricky Clues discussion, but AGHA doesn’t? Oh, well. Many thanks for a gentle Saturday puzzle. Have a great Valentine’s Weekend!
@John I don't know why SEXTAPE was considered tricky, but AGHA isn't tricky. The clue is a straight definition. What it is, is obscure. Many people won't know it. But it can be looked up easily enough.
Two reasons: 1. Nothing tricky about the clue for AGHA. 2. Tricky Clues is rarely about tricky clues; it's a chance for columnist to riff on some clues and answers.
@John The "tricky" clues section has always seemed totally random to me.
@John Maybe AGHA is one of those if-you-know-you-know clues to crossword regulars, but my partner and I agreed that Turkish etymology wasn't exactly in our wheelhouse or something that could be organically noodled out!
This was just too easy. I've put off commenting on this for a while, but I've definitely noticed a trend of decreasing difficulty, especially on Saturdays. This is supposed to be the hardest day of the week, and this puzzle was not difficult at all. I used to look forward to the challenge, but now Saturday is like any other day of the week. The problem seems to lie in the cluing. Most of the clues were completely straightforward. Example: [Requirement of some dress codes] for SLEEVES. Not only is this easy, it's boring. This is Monday-level cluing on a Saturday puzzle. Please, please, PLEASE bring back the difficult Saturday puzzles.
@Katie Maybe they're not getting easier.. maybe you're just getting really good at them!
@Katie I 100% agree, and I wonder if there’s an incentive to it based on the presence of so many other games in the app… like, would paying subscribers be less likely to renew for a “challenging crosswords-only” app than for a “they’re always adding new brain teasers!” app? I’m trying to cut my phone time and one step has been to cut Wordle, the Mini, strands, Tiles etc and only do the Bee and Crossword each morning. And I’m realizing that I can achieve what I need to on those (get to at least Amazing, and gold star the puzzle) in about 20 minutes. It kinda makes me question the value…
@Katie A better clue might have been "Where to wear hearts." Still easy, but goes with the Valentine theme.
Well, like others, I smashed my personal best for a Saturday. Unlike others, my minutes weren’t measured in single digits, though the double digit minute count did begin with a one. I don’t know how people post those 4, 5 and 6 minute times. Even on a Monday where the answers come seamlessly, I can’t read and process the questions and type my responses that quick. Maybe the fact that I’m solving on my phone has something to do with it? Anyway, my hat’s off to those capable of the feat.
@Nick Definitely, using a phone rather than a desktop will slow you down. I don't know how long you've been solving, but you may feel differently about 4-6 minute solves in a few years.
Appreciate this puzzle… I suppose it wasn’t the hardest Saturday but better to spend more time with my wife on Valentine’s Day than spending an hour in a den struggling . Thank you to the creator !
@Getting Better What a great way to think of it!
How apt that my streak hit 69 on Valentine’s Day. Lol.
That was the fastest I've ever solved a Saturday puzzle. I know that my personal accomplishments are incredibly important to you, so I won't go on at length about the wildly clever strategies I employed in solving the puzzle. I know that you can't afford delay as you rush off to inform your friends and pets about the miracle that has been visited upon you all on this day. I do understand that you'll want to laud and praise me at great length, so I am leaving room for comments below. But please note that I cannot respond personally to every comment. I receive a great deal of correspondence and while yours has great merit, someone else will get the job. You know how that goes.
@Asher B. My immediate family, my dog Bella, and all my neighbors were very excited to hear about your accomplishment. I have printed your comment, framed it, and added it to my Crossword Hall of Fame shrine. Well done!
@Asher B. My elderly cat is very impressed. And NOTHING impresses Joe. Well done, you!
@Asher B. 😂 It is truly a privilege to be able to dwell in a place of such excellence! I feel as if I've gone to the Halls of my Fathers (and Mothers).
Random thoughts: • Plenty of answers I liked – PARACHUTE IN (as clued), SWIG, CASBAH, SACHETS, and SIMONE BILES because every image of her that pops in my head is beauty in motion. • I love the photo album corners in the grid design. • Trio of PuzzPairs© -- ICE SHEET and a backward AVALON, VAULT / SIMONE BILES, and LOOTS / SOMALI PIRATES. • Word ladder of SWIG / SWAG / SHAG. • Rare-in-crosswords five-letter semordnilap (LOOTS). • One reason I like David Karp, the constructor, is that his first 21 NYT submissions were rejected and he almost gave up, but his 22nd was accepted, and now he’s had six Times puzzles published. Inspiring! • LOL clue for SHAG. Clever wordplay clue – [Take on or take down] for TACKLE. And nice play on LINE in [Puts one’s money on the line] for TAKES A BET. So, plenty to like for me, for which I’m grateful. Thank you, David!
@Lewis I'd say it's a Word Footstool, not a Ladder; needs at least 4 words to qualify for the upgrade.
I try to not comment on difficulty levels but dang! This was by far a personal best for a Saturday, probably a Friday too, but I didn't look. And that's with keeping fee instead of ION for a bit, about a third of my completed answers suddenly disappearing and having to retype them, and having to find a zero that stood in for an O. Wow! Okay, I won't say anymore about that. Hmm, then what shall I say!? I can add a big hear hear to all the unhappy comments about the new comment section. Except I really don't like to complain, but I do think it's all valid. I don't understand making a comment section worse. There are so many ways it could've been made better. Oh dear, too much complaining. I do always enjoy a clue like "Takes badly" for loots. I think I've seen it clued that way before but I still like it. I liked SWAG and SWIG crossing. Ooh, I liked singing rock the CASBAH in my head. Oh, I shouldn't lie to you, I was singing it at the top of my lungs... Until my husband came in the room and gave me a strange look. Hee. GTG was totally new to me but filled completely in the crosses. I didn't even notice it until I was looking for that errant zero in the list view. However, I disliked entering SOMALIPIRATES because of things going on here and the way a certain someone has so wrongly denigrated Somalians. Not saying it shouldn't have been in here, it's an answer to a clue about a movie. It just brought me a moment of harsh reality. I prefer LOVE and PEACESIGNS. ✌️❤️🖖
Much too easy for a Saturday, but I guess to go with the Valentine's Day theme, there might not have been a lot of alternatives.
@John H probably should have just increased the difficulty with the cluing. All pretty straightforward and trivial for a Saturday.
@John H Beyond the design there aren't any thematic answers other than "sextape" and "'lovetriangles" which seem likely to ruin the day. The cluing could have been much tougher making it more suitable for Saturday.
The red of the graphic was unpleasantly distracting during the solve. I would have preferred it turned red only upon completion, or not at all. Kasbah - with a K - was how the fortress was spelled when it featured in the popular video game Civilization V. Karib looked OK for the beer, too. However, when I did not get my gold star and I reviewed my grid, this was the only suspect square so I caught the mistake. It was not a nice square though. Having to flyspeck took my solve time out of Wednesday territory into Thursday, but it was still nowhere near Saturday. Valentine's arrived in Poland in the 1990s along with many other American imports. Imagine the gray, dirty and messy reality of Poland in its period of transformation, the people often angry and struggling to survive - with red plastic hearts and bows tacked on. Yeah, it was as horrible as it sounds. The relentless, gaudy pushing of it by the media and shops (and the NYT Games too, apparently) has always put me off it. Either you love someone and act on it every day or you don't - making a show of it on a single day because the TV tells you to (or rather FB these days?) seems so cheap and forced. My ex and I often made life miserable for each other - but she always insisted on celebrating Valentine's...
@Andrzej OMG! That sounds tricky. U ok?
@CornD I've been OK for some 20 years now, no worries. My wife is great and she cares about Valentine's as little as I do.
@Andrzej You can turn off graphics in the settings. I did. Uncheck "enable overlays".
@Teresa True. Knowing me I'd forget to turn them back on though and miss some key feature on a Thursday, say.
@Andrzej another day I’m glad that I play with overlays turned off. When I read your comment, I turned them on and was assaulted by that too-bright red heart ❤️ in my completed puzzle. On the other hand, for a split second after opening the empty black and white puzzle, I thought I saw The Grinch smiling back at me 😂.
@Andrzej Not only this puzzle, but the Spelling Bee gave me a Valentine's Badge when I hit Genius. I can't imagine what stupid purpose those badges serve, there or every other site that awards them. Fortunately, I didn't have to get distracted by that so-called heart, since I print the puzzle on my trusty B&W laser printer. I thought there might be some kind of art involved when I looked at the grid, but even seeing it in color on Rex Parker's blog didn't convince me that it was a heart.
@Andrzej I got lucky. Got married three days before Valentine's Day to someone who "doesn't believe in" greeting cards or such nonsense. And the marriage stuck. So it's just impossible to feign interest in a day of forced romance when we've *just* celebrated 31 years of feeling blessed to be together. With no cards, obvs...
@Andrzej I had a K first also, and for the same reason.
@Andrzej so ignoring Valentine’s for a moment, tell us: is everyone in Poland noshing on doughnuts for Carnival season? What is the festival food there?
@Kris H We gorge on donuts on Fat Thursday, which was this week. Our donuts are unlike yours - they are not torus-shaped but round. They are filled with jam, traditionally rose hip, fried in lard and lightly iced. A good Polish donut - pączek - is to die for. More on Wikipedia: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P%C4%85czki" target="_blank">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P%C4%85czki</a> Another popular thing is "faworki" - strips of dough, cut a bit lengthwise in the middle and twisted, fried in lard and sprinkled with icing sugar. Delicious. Apparently there is no Wikipedia article in English for them, so here's the Polish version: <a href="https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faworki" target="_blank">https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faworki</a>
C'mon man! Why not make an easy mode version for Thursday, Friday and Saturday and bring back some puzzling puzzles?
PB. Less than 20% of my average time. I still enjoyed it. Just not for long.
I made out well with this one. After getting over the hump at 6-down, I could finally bang out some quick answers and lay down a fast time.
Hmmm… bit disappointed to be honest… I like a challenge on a Saturday and this just felt like a ‘fill in the boxes’ Wednesday… what am I gonna do for the next half hour? And the screw/nail clue was just crass and vulgar…
I finished this in 1.7% of my average Saturday time. Admittedly, this is partially because I’m still working on the technical glitch from years ago that still now has my average Saturday solve time at 622 minutes, but this was nevertheless still on par with my average Tuesday solve time.
@Andrew A 'technical glitch'! Setting your average solve time at 10:22:00 is a glitch only in the sense that WWI was a tiff. Every time I think of this -- despite my best intentions to sympathize -- I chortle. How long has this been going on?
If you think this was an easy Saturday puzzle, you're right: 🌎 Global Stats Difficulty Very Easy Median Solve Time 10:11 Median Solver 44% faster ⚡99% of users solved faster than their Saturday average. 90% solved much faster (>20%) than their Saturday average. 🐢1% of users solved slower than their Saturday average. 1% solved much slower (>20%) than their Saturday average. xwstats.com
good grid/fill. let's have some harder clues for the hardest puzzle of the week, please
The clue for SHAG was a bit of a surprise. SHAG was my initial thought but I thought the clue was a bit crass for NYT and my mind was, as usual, in the gutter. Glad to see I was wrong. 😁 SWIG and SWAG were fun as well. Regarding comments about CAPTAIN PHILLIPS not being a well known movie, I have to disagree. It was nominated for six Oscars, including Best Picture, and was quite a hit. But then again, maybe I’m just getting old.
@David Well I certainly knew it, and maybe it’s better known than I gave it credit for. I just thought being 13 years old it probably was challenging enough for a Saturday. But I could be wrong too.
@David I know the movie only from memes, but they feature a SOMALI PIRATE so I was golden today 🤣
@David I had no clue about CAPTAIN PHILLIPS, though I got the answer easily enough. But I was surprised to find that it was also a part of today's Connections, too, and also got that answer, since it was one of the four remaining words left.
Shag??? No! Just no! Ick! And on Valentine’s Day!
@Tim A lot of us in North America first encountered "shag" in the Austin Powers movies, and it doesn't carry the same shock value that it does to you. It's just something we associate with that character. I heard it used by Rod Stewart in a Terry Gross interview on NPR...It sailed right through, where most similar terms would have been censored. The clue was actually more shocking than the answer to my sensibilities.
@Tim I gather the effect is exactly the same. The two words in the clue hit this American ear poorly too. Coarse and arguably misogynistic.
@Tim et all Especially when it could have been clued as "long-haired rug" or some other misdirection referencing that bygone style.
My grandkids are coming over today. I haven't seen them since December, so I'm stoked! One of the things the little one (now 10 years old!) loves doing with me is my NY Times puzzles. I almost forgot, and started doing the Bee, but stopped after the pangram and two words. But the crossword? We love to do it and he learns about new (to him) words. How do I explain how "screw" and "nail" also mean "shag" ? Maybe we'll just bake cookies today. However, I did enjoy the puzzle, and am happy to say I don't think the puzzles are getting easier. I think I am becoming more adept at not giving up so easily. After my first read through, I have, maybe 3 or 5 answers filled in. Then I slow down and go through more carefully and have, usually, about ten. And so it builds. I know some of the Wordplay columnists have said similar things; that at first they don't fill in a lot of words, and that made me stop giving up so easily. My brain appreciates the company. Happy Valentines Day!
Marlene, (1) You are clearly getting better at solving ... and the puzzles are clearly getting easier. They are not mutually exclusive. (2) Your ten-year-old grandson has probably heard of sex. You can tell him the answer and clues are silly words for sex. (3) Enjoy the family visit!
Marlene, Trying again leaving a word out... (1) You are clearly getting better at solving ... and the puzzles are clearly getting easier. They are not mutually exclusive. (2) Your ten-year-old grandson has probably heard of S. You can tell him the 6D answer and clues are silly words for S. (3) Enjoy the family visit.
@Marlene George Will (once a hero of mine) wrote that kids should learn about 6D when they're still young enough to response, "Ew, why would anyone want to do that?" I honestly think before they reach that stage random exposures like in a crossword probably don't land very hard.
A sign that I need stronger coffee: staring for the longest time at the word "notok" and wondering what language that's in.
Good puzzle, a lot of tough areas though faster than average for a Saturday (And I don't get the majority of Saturdays). The east area was the tough area for me. First seeing the Norse tree clue and thinking "How is that not Yggdrasil?" with no idea what kind of tree it was supposed to be. And that in the same square as LEA/AGHA which is a huge Natick for me. Also I was sure for a while Faculty was STAFF but equally sure the crossing clue was DINING so got really confused there. Then I had SACHELS instead of SACHETS and wondered for a while what the hell SPALS were. And had no idea what a CASBAH was so thank God for the Clash putting the word in my brain. But most of the puzzle was a pleasure to solve and got a nice immature giggle seeing SEX TAPE right in the center of the heart.
@Chris For me, it was the classic 'Midnight at the Casbah' by Maria Muldaur. Ah, one of the joys of getting older - 'Midnight at the Oasis'.
@Chris Glad to see I wasn't the only one that thought of Joe Strummer and Mick Jones on the African fortress clue. That song was pretty ubiquitous on the radio in my youth. Surprised it didn't make it into the mentions in the Tricky Clues talk, even more surprised how deep I had to go in the comments to find someone who was simpatico on the reference. Cheers from your northern neighbor!
Swift and sweet, and no complaints. One for faint of heart, the newby, to foster confidence and make them see how much fun it is to figure out clues and watch them click, with the bonus of a seasonal heart to look at while they're solving. Thank you, David!
@dutchiris I'm not asking even remotely snarkily: When you dislike a puzzle do you simply refrain from commenting on how you felt about it? I cannot recall ever reading a cross word (pun intended) from you about a grid. Am I mistaken?
@Matt I once did a horribly clued Saturday puzzle from the Archive. Can you imagine my surprise when I saw a negative comment from dutchiris on the board?
I don't mean to brag, but I totally 6-downed this puzzle. Oh, MY!
I enjoyed this; and to answer your question, David, I appreciated the grid art and thought it added rather than detracted from the experience. I did wish there were a few more Valentine adjacent fills than just SEXTAPES and LOVETRIANGLE but that’s a big ask for a themeless, I know. Like Barry and others I’m going to continue bemoan the less than challenging clueing for many entries, although unlike him I found most of the longer entries interesting and engaging. SOMALIPIRATES was a gimme for me, but it’s not such a well known movie and the title gave nothing away, so I don’t think that was unworthy of a Saturday, and I enjoyed the clues for SANTAPHOTOS, REMOTEWORKERS and even SERIALNUMBERS since I had to work out whether “figures” were mathematical or human. Maybe LOVETRIANGLES as a marquee entry could have had a more sparkling clue but overall I can’t complain. I will note in one of those fortuitous crossword coincidences, Andrzej recommended Tainted Grail: the Fall of AVALON as a video game just yesterday; I’m not going to say I wouldn’t have gotten this clue fairly easily in any case, but the prompt made it even quicker so thanks Andrzej!!!
@SP A postive callout, to me? Ye gods! Thanks!
The brain is amazing when you let it be. 40yrs ago in highschool, I noticed a large format book in the fantasy section at the BookStop (remember book stores?), with someone pointing a sword in the sky, titled "Avalon". I never bought it because it was too expensive but the image just popped into my head this morning to help me with that clue. Crazy. Cheers yall.
@Joe To the contrary, thank goodness, bookstores are back! Barnes and Noble opening more stores after shrinking for some time. One is opening near me. Long live literacy!
just got my first Saturday puzzle ever. No cheating, no looking up, no help from the wife. Epic!
PB. 4:54. Way too easy for a Saturday.
I only look at my times to see whether my inner experience on the slog-romp scale accords with the objective passage of time. I did this in 12 minutes. And it felt like 12 minutes. And it irritates me. Because when I checked this morning it's supposed to be Saturday.
@Matt I did it in 19 minutes (with two more to catch one wrong square), which is Wednesday time. The NYT did not nail this Saturday, did they? They... shagged up?
Huh, I'm surprised to find myself the only one looking in a puzzled manner at CUSH - I've never heard the word before, and CUSHY would have been a fine answer for the clue.
@Andrew F I’m with you. Cushy definitely, CUSH not so much.
@Andrew F I and my friends definitely used it in the 70s. Also "anticush".
I'm getting ready to take Springerle cookies to friends in our "neighborhood"... they're meant to be a Christmas cookie, but I have a pretty heart=shaped mold with roses and two birds...so I make these ahead and freeze them. Today I get to bestow them upon The Chosen. I love the anise flavor myself... They'll take away the taste(less) puzzle clue/entry. Sorry I can't send you folks a cookie!
I guess the message is “get done solvin’ and get started lovin’”?
Curses, the one time I remember to correct ECG to EKG for the US, they switch it up on me.
@Matthew O We use both in the US. EKG is the more well known outside of medical practice, though.
Oh no! Are nested comments now turned on permanently? This is disastrous for reading the forum, let alone participating. Did the editors ignore all of our previous complaints? No one likes this! (Sorry if this has been discussed to death; I've not been by for a week or so. Puzzles have been unremarkable.)
@B I have no problem with it. The people who post too much are afraid their comments won't get read.
Nothing wrong with the puzzle. Nits to pick? I have none. It is charming. Downright delightful, as some I'm *certain* have said already. But... with the backlog of Friday and Saturday themeless building up to two years, -and the *most* difficult to get published- couldn't this have waited til 2028 when it falls on a Monday? With such a long queue of stumpers could we maybe, get say, a bonus puzzle like this to enjoy after we pore over a solid Saturday?
After confidently putting in EKG for the "Heart test" (Didn't we have that fairly recently?), I was stuck at the end of my solve, wondering what might be "Totally awesome!" and fit into E?IK. Since it was going to be slang, it could be anything. (Kids these days!) Perhaps there's some dude ErIK who has re-defined the contemporary sense of what's "rad" or "on fleek"? That, plus not knowing the "Texter's ta-ta" had me scratching my head for a few minutes. (Plus thinking that the "December takes" must somehow involve SANTA's HOhOs.) Never fear, X-Phile fans! I got it sorted out in the end. Beautiful grid! Fun puzzle!
I'm glad the editors went with the holiday touch - so what if it wasn't the most difficult Saturday. Happy Valentine's Day...and Happy National Singles Awareness Day, as I like to call it. (My cynicism won't stop me from buying some extra special chocolate to have with a nice Cabernet later on. I'm a big fan of self-pampering!) For now, it's time to get back to the Saturday cleaning! ❤️
@Amy Our daughter is single, too. The love of her life (his name is Carter) ....is a horse. We are fine with that, and wish Singles everywhere (of whatever gender) a lovely day. Possibly with a treat!
I don’t get all the pearl clutching over words like “shag” and “nail”. Are we not all adults here? They’re just words, after all. I actually like “shag”. It makes the act sound more fun, somehow. Also: I am getting really tired of having to hit the Replies button over and over. Hint to NYT programmers: something that makes the end user take extra steps to achieve the same result is never going to be a popular change. Here’s what 45A left in my head (and I’m not complaining): <a href="https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=f6NSkSzoufY" target="_blank">https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=f6NSkSzoufY</a>
@Heidi I'm with you on all of that 👍🏽
@Heidi Your mistake is assuming that popularity matters. Is the revision forcing you to remain on the comments page longer? Victory for the NYT. The longer eyeballs stay on the page, the more ad revenue. Me, I'm about done here. Lots of outlets for better quality puzzles without all this to wade through. It's the commentariat that has made me enjoy this site. If l don't appear here for a while, draw your own conclusions. If so, so long and thanks for all the fish.
@Mu It is, with the right person.
@Mu, Why does this not have 1000 recommends?
@Mu @NYC Traveler Didn't they give you a "1000-Recommends" button? I had heard that it was a part of the new system.