People, I just have to say this: All the recent comments about how easy the puzzles are nowadays are getting a little tiresome. I've been solving for about 5 years, and of course I've gotten better. But I think that if I'd seen the number of "far too easy"/"not challenging at all"/"should have been a Monday puzzle" comments that I've been seeing lately, I would have been very discouraged back when I was lucky to solve a late-week puzzle at all. I don't care if you brag about your time--if that's your thing, go for it. But putting down the puzzles themselves as not worth your time leaves me cold. By all means, highlight the clues you found exceptionally hard, clever, or tricky. And those of you who are non-native English speakers always have my admiration; I like to hear about your experiences. Might I suggest to people whe are frustrated about the current crop of puzzles, maybe you should take a break, or find puzzles elsewhere that fit your skill level? Peace, love, and puzzles!
@Puzzled So instead of attempting to right a sinking ship by politely if futilely registering our displeasure, we should just abandon something we've liked and paid for, because the complaints might offend others' sensibilities? No. We were not making these complaints en masse a few months ago. (Some were.). Things have changed recently and for the worse. If you find the comments unpleasant, skip them. If new solvers deem us cranky whiners, that's perfectly fine too. Really. But just maybe a sudden shift in quality of the most famous crossword in history is worth noting...
@Puzzled @B I feel I'm exactly at the 50-yard-line in this dispute. I really can see and feel the tensions on both sides, and I think it has degraded a wondrous forum to some extent. Makes me sad. I wish I had a solution.
@Puzzled I think as with any online forum of any sort of social media, people need to manage themselves and their feelings and reactions. I'm not saying that's always easy. It's not! But Everyone out here has a right to say what they feel and experience within the boundaries of comment board decorum. I understand that it can be hard if you have a different experience that you want to celebrate and suddenly feel like the minority, but when I feel like that, I just skip over certain people or I read a first few lines and know no I don't want to read more. It's a crazy wild west world online and though I always hope to be respectful and kind in both on and offline communications, ultimately, we're responsible for ourselves and what we take in. And an understanding that We are all not in the same place. And while people may speak their mind out here about puzzles being too easy lately, I have never, ever, seen a single person, expert solver, all the way down to the slightly older newbies, who doesn't also also celebrate someone having their own victory. That is one thing I love about this community, I see it all the time, even if someone themselves wishes it wasn't so easy for them, they always celebrate others who had a victory.
@Puzzled I sense a correlation between the “easy” gang and the length of time they’ve been doing the NYT crossword. Nobody is saying “I’ve been doing this for ages and it’s getting harder”. Nobody is saying “i started last week and i can’t believe how easy it is”.
@Puzzled the first time I solved a Saturday puzzle without any lookups, I was super proud of myself. Then I went to the comments and saw that everyone else thought it was the easier Saturday ever. I survived! But when I solved a Saturday without lookups and the comments indicated it was a hard puzzle? Then I really felt like I had “made it.” Puzzle difficulty is a real thing. It doesn’t do anyone any favors to pretend like it’s not.
@Puzzled So, we're welcome to highlight the exceptionally hard, clever or tricky clues, but if we find clues that are too easy, especially a whole puzzle of them, we should keep quiet?
@Puzzled The thing is, the puzzles here used to fit my skill level. I used to be regularly challenged by late-week puzzles, and I used to have to actually work to figure out the trick on Thursdays. If I go back to older puzzles, I find that to still be the case, so it's not that I've gotten better at the puzzles. The puzzles are getting easier, and I'm not enjoying it. I will also note that the satisfaction of finally being able to solve a Saturday puzzle with no look-ups must be somewhat lessened by the knowledge that they are much easier now than they were in the past. It's like the grade inflation issue in colleges and universities: if they're handing out As to everyone, does it even really matter?
@Puzzled I agree in general, and parry a little - but overall lean in your direction. NYT Puzzles are a form of art - and like any good art, they are here to meet the recipient through various layers. We have all come for a challenging series of words and structures. But we also come for the wordplay, puns, multi-level interpolations of non-linear themes across highlighted sections, terrifying rebuses (don't you wish that was rebi?), word rarities, clever clues?, and in the greatest works - introductions of first appearances. To strike a note on all those layers and more (and please, add your own in the replies if I missed any) takes profound prowess, the likes of which set certain puzzles above all others. But for the rest, the merely "talented enough to get published in the NYT", general applause for hitting a few layers at once. So yes, sometimes, a layer that is sacrificed for the good of the puzzle. Recently, a few in a row have sacrificed some complexity. Since these things are scheduled far in advance - perhaps we should trust the editors that there will be a balance going forward between torture and wordplay. The joys are subtler and we must lean in. Enjoy for the sake of enjoying. Sometimes the "work" is in finding the treats, without such ado. Let's gather together and find them or, in the words of Sendak: "Let the rumpus start!"
@Puzzled Ok, fine... except... they HAVE been getting easier, to the point where I'm convinced it's a conscious effort by the editors. And that's a valid discussion in this forum. If it offends you, then perhaps take a break, visit some other puzzle discussion groups for a while, then come back refreshed. Peace & love!
I was CAREENing toward a personal best before a CAREER-limiting move on 109 across.
@Tony yes, I'm not understanding how "CAREER" is correct for 109A, not "CAREEN." 86D is "HAT TREES", right?
Need an ark built? I Noah guy! ("You do? It's a boat time!")
@Mike "It takes two to float my boat." "The deuce you say." Well, there's a pair o'ducks.
@Mike Be sure there's a bar, with a giraffe of wine and many horse diverse, or it's no sail.
@Mike yesterday's crossword: Dad joke?...puns
I understand the concerns of those who make a CAREER of complaining here, but I feel like it's CAREENing out of control, sometimes. I guess I'm complaining about complainers? 🤔 Catch-22 achieved. 😁
I absolutely loved it! Hard? Easy? Who cares? I'm in it for the fun. :>)
@MorningLight I agree wholeheartedly! I even get up early on a Sunday morning (or stay up late on a Saturday night) because I so look forward to Sunday's puzzle (just for the funof it!)
@MorningLight Agreed! And when I absolutely must have a difficult puzzle, I jump right into the app Archives, about 10 or 12 years ago (though I started solving with Mom in the 60s). Different constructors, different clues, different mindset, different movie and book history.... Fun for a change. Actually it made me wonder if we solvers have more history than the constructors. Greater time frame, more words and names.
Maybe all these folks who always complain about a puzzle being too easy should try making a crossword puzzle. Why can’t you just be happy that you solved it? I thought this was a fun, enjoyable Sunday puzzle.
@Sandy I did enjoy this puzzle. I appreciated the theme and the effort that went into it. I got some chuckles out of it. But many of us want to actually wrestle with a puzzle, you know, puzzle it out... And it used to be like that more often. And this is me, only like two and a half years in, seeing that they don't put up the same struggle they used to and I am swearing on a stack of New York times crossword puzzle books that I've not gotten that much better. Yes I've gotten some better, but not that much. The solving, it doesn't feel quite as good if it wasn't a bit of a tussle. And it probably was for very newcomers, and I can appreciate and understand that it can be frustrating for them to hear others say it was easy. Sometimes lately, though, it feels like when you're a kid and someone lets you win. Only you know they let you win. It takes the huzzah out of it. And oh how I love a good huzzah!! A pretty simple resolution for the NYT would be to provide two sets of clues. They do that on Fridays and though it would take a little more work for them, if they want the big money from tons of subscribers, it would be a smart thing to think about.
@Sandy I’m with you. There should be a separate forum for folks who want to complain about how easily they solved this puzzle or that other one.
@Jesse R. Here's an idea - let's just put critics before a firing squad. That will ensure they'll be silent forever. Isn't that more efficient than maintaining a getto for them?
@Sandy Why don't you just appreciate that we are still allowed the gentle art of expressing different opinions and experiences in written words.
@Sandy 💯💯💯 The whining is so annoying! It doesn't take any effort to find surprises, humor, ingenuity, and beauty in essentially every puzzle! Some are naturally more impressive than others, but there hasn't been a puzzle in recent memory that deserved a 'meh'. The only thing 'meh' is the sense of entitlement needed to actually write 'meh', like spraying graffiti on a work of art someone doesn't like. Also the purity police who get upset when a puzzle doesn't fit a mandatory difficulty specification per day of the week. 'Too easy for a Friday! This should have been a Wednesday!' There are so many ways to enjoy a puzzle.
@Sandy I hope constructors never look at the comments, because there’s no winning with this crowd. This puzzle was very enjoyable and each theme answer made me smile. Happy Sunday ☀️
@Sandy I do these puzzles for the sheer pleasure of it and solve time and difficulty don't enter into my reason for being here. There are many here though that have a much more competitive outlook and want to grapple with a puzzle, the harder the better. I get that, and would direct them to, for example, the Newsday Saturday Stumper. There may be other places to find them too – never bothered to look.
@Sandy Thankfully we have (relative) freedom of speech here, so that we can like a puzzle, complain about a puzzle, complain about complaining about a puzzle,... And, if you don't like someone's comment, you can keep scrolling.
@Sandy Maybe all the folks that complain there are no good movies try writing and producing and directing one? Or if the internet is too slow try engineering and implementing a network? Or if your flight is delayed try being an air traffic controller? I thought the criticisms of the puzzle are fair and informed.
I found this very tough. I was one (embarrassing) square short of finishing the Saturday one (same as on Friday) but for this one I had to start Check Puzzle with less than half the grid filled after an hour. To anyone who thinks this was Monday level clueing, you’re just very good. This was, for me, way harder than Mon/Tue.
@Niall It did feel rather American to me as I solved. And has several clues relying on secondary meanings. I'd call it Wednesday level. But if you got the themers quickly, it would seem easier overall.
Fun puzzle! Interesting how many book titles here are movies that we know just as well, if not better. Seems the New Testament has been left out of all the fun here. But there's good stories in the 4 Gospels. For instance, Judas betraying Jesus. KISS ME DEADLY Or the magi visiting infant Jesus. THREE MEN AND A BABY* Or Mary Magdalen as a disciple of Jesus. THE HANDMAID'S TALE Or the ultimate story, the Resurrection. ALIVE! *the movie of this title was based on an old short story by Peter Kyne called "The Three Godfathers," so, not a book title!
On reflection, I'm even more impressed that the constructors were able to find themers that were precisely the right amount of letters to meet the symmetrical configuration of the grid, with A TALE OF TWO CITIES matching A PRINCE OF TIDES; DANGEROUS LIAISONS matching THE AGE OF INNOCENCE, a great spanner in WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE; and THE GREAT ESCAPE matching DEATH ON THE NILE. That's pretty tight. Also enjoyed ONE NO and ONE L (why is it that I thought it only applied to Harvard Law School?), and the rhyming pair of the Most Oh For God's Sake Words in the Puzzle, IRED and AFIRE. An elitist snob like myself is both ired and afire at the very idea of using such words. Which is to say I love 'em both like my own children!
@john ezra (two space entry) [Adam and Eve] INEVERPROMISED [With Adam and EVE clue] YOUAROSEGARDEN
@john ezra ooo these are GOOOOD! LOL. LOL. LOL.
I've never commented on the crossword but I do have some thoughts on the easy/hard debate. I've been doing the NY Times crossword sporadically for 30 years. Traditionally I would do Monday and Tuesday (sometimes) and spend the rest of the week on the Sunday from the magazine. It would literally take me all week to finish. Sometimes I wouldn't finish. Friday and Saturday I wouldn't bother with because I couldn't even fill in one answer. So a year ago I started doing the whole week and was surprised to see I could now finish a Friday and Saturday with look ups. That was fun. This week I finished Saturday in less than an hour with no look ups. Today, Sunday same. The crosswords have gotten easier. No doubt. Friday and Saturday should be very difficult (if not impossible) for the average person to finish without look ups. It's tradition. I absolutely understand the complaints. If the Monday or Tuesday became so easy that a second grader could do it, we would all be unhappy. And I'm most alarmed by the people who want everyone on this board to stop complaining That is the most enjoyable part about reading these comments. I would hate if every comment was just a feel good post. It would be so boring. And to all the people who do these puzzles and English is your second language, I'm in awe. Just my thoughts.
@From LA You know, it could just be that you’re getting better at doing crosswords after years of practice.
@From LA I second Rachel R's comment; crosswords are definitely something you get better at with practice.
Rachel R. and Seward Parker, (a) One does get better at crosswords with practice. (b) The NYT Crosswords are getting easier. (a) and (b) are not mutually exclusive.
@From LA, Pretty insightful comment for your first post. Or maybe I just appreciate your perspective on the puzzles as a longtime solver, albeit one who only solves occasionally, yet recognizes how the difficulty level has changed in the last year. Please feel free to comment more in the future. I look forward to what you have to say.
I agree that this was easier than a typical Sunday, but calling this Monday level difficulty is just absurd. We get quite a bit of mileage out of knowing certain book titles (or, let’s be honest, movies) and proper names, but without that knowledge I see plenty of crossings that would be tough. DANGEROUS LIAISONS crossing OPAH, ONEL, COSI, ERDŐS. THE GREAT ESCAPE crossing ED MCMAHON and ERTE. Some wordplay and intentionally vague clueing, especially for all the 3 letter fill along the sides. Did I find it on the easy side? Totally. I also happened to get the spanners pretty quickly, and knew a good bit of the crossing trivia without a thought (ex: I’ve long been proud to have an Erdős number of 3). But I can easily imagine solvers who would crush Monday - Wednesday still struggling plenty here, especially if they’re on the millennial side and don’t remember some of the theme clues. (Note: I am a millennial myself, and I only learned about Prince of Tides, Dangerous Liaisons, and Age of Innocence later in life as a cinephile — certainly not as any kind of cultural touchstone.)
@Stephen I am in this post. I was 50 mins in before I got any of the theme clues. Didn’t realise from the puzzle title that they would be real book titles, assumed it was some bible thing. Still got nowhere near finishing.
@Stephen Fascinating, I'm in the generation below you and referenced The Age of Innocence only yesterday. I can't speak to the film, but I'd say the novel is definitely a cultural touchstone. And while Dangerous Liaisons is a film I've never seen and don't really know the plot of, the title is still enough in the zeitgeist that it was an easy cross for me. I've never heard of The Prince of Tides before today, though. That one gave me trouble.
@Stephen I notice that everone else has carefully _not_ asked but I need to know about your Erdős number. How are you connected to him?
Oh, that’s a fun theme. The concept alone – coming up with book titles that describe biblical events – is a fun game to me. Guessing the theme answers from their clues with as few crosses as possible, I got a kick out of that. It kept me in a good mood from start to finish. The freshness of the theme idea was matched by the freshness of its answers. Four of those seven book titles are NYT answer debuts. How can WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE never have appeared in a Times puzzle? But it hasn’t until today! Of the remaining three answers, one has appeared only once before, and two twice. That’s serious pop in the box. That makes a puzzle fun too. My heart warms at the backstory – two long-time co-workers and crossword solvers decide during covid to try making puzzles, and now they’ve had three in the Times. Their first, by the way, a Sunday (9/17/23), was also a fun game. I had a sweet time playing your game today, Jill and Michelle. Thank you!
@Lewis My grandfather's original surname before he changed it was Sendak. I wondered if we were related to Maurice, but by the time I got around to genealogy, he had already passed.
I think I have a solution to the easy/difficult problem! It's not really my idea--it's from a short story by Kurt Vonnegut, "Harrison Bergeron". In it, people are handicapped so that nobody is any better than anyone else at anything. Diana Moon Glampers is the Handicapper General. Really smart people wear headphones that periodically produces a loud, distracting noise to break up any smart thoughts that the wearer might be forming. So all we have to do is get a similar device to wear when solving a puzzle. The better solver you are, the louder, more frequent, and more annoying the noise is. You're welcome in advance.
@Francis there was a now defunct newspaper called the European that ran the same weekend puzzle with two sets of clues. One set cryptic and one not. Purists could stay in their lane but one benefit was that one could decipher cryptic clues and move on.
@Francis O Lordy!
@Francis Now I have o go back and re-read some Vonnegut. That sounds like an episode of the dystopian series "Black Mirror." EEESH!
@John yes, that held me up for a long time. I don't understand it.
@John Yes, CAREER. <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/career" target="_blank">https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/career</a>
@John Yes, they are both legitimate answers to that clue. Sondheim actually uses “career” with its two meanings in “I’m Still Here” in the same line: “Then you career from career to career.”
@John "Career" is the older term, meaning to move at full speed especially in an out-of-control way. From the French "carrière", meaning "racecourse". "Careen" is originally a nautical term, which used to mean to turn a ship on its side for cleaning or repairs - or to sway/lurch from side to side (like a ship). But especially in North America, "careen" and "career" are now used interchangeably, though many style manuals insist on "career". Outside North America, "career" is more common, though both usages still exist. Also adding confusion is "carom", meaning to bounce or rebound (originally from billiards) which many now mix up with "careen" when referring to bouncing motion (e.g. "The skater lost control and careened off the boards").
[Jesus’s sermon] GO TELL IT ON THE MOUNTAIN
@Lewis [Jonah and the Whate] MOBY DICK
One reason I posted my personal solve saga was to illustrate what I suspect was a more traditional learning curve for NYT XW. The advantage of a learning curve that long was that it started off fun and continued being fun even after many years of solving. A shorter learning curve can mean fun for awhile, then a ceiling effect where all the tricks and strategies have been learned. That's what happened with me with Wordle. For two years it was fun, then I had the tricks and it was no challenge, so I stopped. It is hurtful when we are grieving the watering down of a long tradition to be told we are humble-bragging and should go elsewhere. Maybe those who feel that way truly don't understand what has been lost. How can you if you never experienced it? When the NYT crossword clues become like all the others out there, there will be nowhere to go. There has been a flavor to the misdirects, a particular kind of cleverness to the clues found no where else, emerging from wonderful interactions between constructors and editors. Cryptics are hard but don't have this flavor. Saturday Stumpers are hard but I don't laugh as I do them. It's the character, the layered surprises, that I, at least, love when they are allowed to appear and grieve their rarity. The constructors and editors are brilliant and dedicated. And I want the NYT to have income! I wrote before they established the paywall asking them to establish one, and I subscribed the day it appeared. Peace out.
Shouldn't 109Across "rush uncontrolledly" be CAREEN, not CAREER?
My stream is almost to a thousand, and this is the first error I've seen.
@Robin "As a verb, career (past tense: careered) means to move rapidly and in an uncontrolled or reckless manner, often used to describe a vehicle losing control. It originates from the 16th-century, referring to a horse galloping at full speed."
@Robin It's actually one of the definitions of CAREER. It's a second or third level definition of it, and this puzzle is the first I knew of it, but it is valid and not a mistake.
@Robin career is correct! I have definitely seen it used but not often. Never really thought about the fact there were two similar words, so I am glad to have that brought out. I got curious to see if they had a similar etymology-- nope! And career was first. If you're interested in more, I found this <a href="https://grammarphobia.com/blog/2019/06/career-careen.html" target="_blank">https://grammarphobia.com/blog/2019/06/career-careen.html</a>
@Robin. Just to add to this. For me to CAREEn is to roll a boat on its side, seldom if ever [rush uncontrollably]. And CAREER has always had its two meanings. Could be that we’re back in regional variations.
It was the best of puzzles, it was the worst of puzzles …. Or was it a far, far better thing that I [did] than I have ever done. I loved the really well done literary/biblical theme: very clever. Just kidding about it being the worst of puzzles. Although it was mostly straightforward, when I would have preferred more twists, I enjoyed every minute of it.
Why did Constantinople get the works? That's nobody's business but the Turks'.
@Grant Frankly, I'm disappointed that you hadn't referenced Dangerous Liaisons, knowing your pop music savvy.😁 I guess I'll help you out. <a href="https://youtu.be/R7EYYL4Q0Ao" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/R7EYYL4Q0Ao</a>
@Jerry Haha no, just '80s pop. I was actually thinking of "Cruel Intentions," which was an adaptation of the original story. Ryan Phillippe is a local lad - a girl I know dated him in high school.
This definition of CAREER always brings me back to my initial confusion when I first heard the Sondheim song "I'm Still Here" from Follies. "First you're another Sloe-eyed vamp, Then someone's mother, Then you're camp. Then you CAREER from career To career. I'm almost through my memoirs. And I'm here."
@Gregg I bet that's where a lot of people learned it. Had it been a different lyricist I'd have thought it a mistake, but from him... I also know strop thanks to him.
Many experienced solvers - and even moderately exprienced ones, like me - disagree with the editors' decision to make the puzzles way too easy. We would like them to be harder again. It's really not OK when a Pole solves most *American* crossword puzzles without (almost) any issues. Now, if you want things to change, do you keep quiet about it? Or do you speak up? I know, right? I'll keep solving these puzzles for now, but I think I'll stop commenting and reading the comments: being told day after day to can it, or seeing other critics being told to keep quiet and take it, is getting old.
@Andrzej Please don't. Just access your inner t -roll, isn't that what you say about yourself...!? I'm pretty sure that's it. Forgive me if I'm wrong, but we need your inner tr- oll!! I know I communicate in ways which may be too Minnesota nice, but all kinds are needed. And while I might not feel the same about the crossword puzzle as I do about the occupation happening in my state right now, and in other states right now, (obviously, I definitely don't), it does still matter. We are paying customers, after all. I haven't been doing this nearly long enough to have improved this much. If it's obvious even to simple old me, it's got to be true!
@Andrzej It rejected my first effort for the t word 🙄
@Andrzej Really, this is NOT a civil rights issue. We are not doing Niemoller here. It's just a doggone puzzle. Go out and buy yourself a book of hard puzzles; that will solve your problem. Meanwhile the rest of us are enjoying the puzzles more and more and more. Rather than being elitist, the puzzles are here for more folks to enjoy them.
@Ms Billie Why don't you get yourself a book of kid's puzzles instead and let us who want our grids to be more than exercises in typing enjoy what are supposed to be your country's best crosswords?
@Andrzej wow this was a REALLY hard Sunday for me.
@Andrzej please continue to speak up. It’s all fine. Reading posts and the replies is a voluntary activity. No one has to read and no reply is worth more than the original post. There is no validation to be found here. Some exchanges are worthwhile and others not. I find coming here for witty comments and pedantic arguments is entertaining. And your contributions are very much appreciated.
@Andrzej I am honestly feeling the same way, I am getting tired of complaining as well. But keep speaking up I feel like we are more in synch lately than not. And I personally will shut up when the NYT finally prints an article that clearly states, yes, everyone, we are making the puzzles easier and more accessible to attract a bigger audience and increase subscriptions. Then at least I know where I stand.
@Andrzej I am sorry you are being treated so poorly here. I love your comments and always find value in hearing a different perspective. Don't go!
@Andrzej Oh stop it, you're never gonna be able to stop yourself from commenting or even reading the comments! :D
TIL that CAREER is a verb. Or: TIRBIGOAIFTATT (Today I Relearned Because I'm Getting Old And I Forget Things All The Time)
I see we're back to "[Feline pet that meows] -->CAT"-easy again. Early reports on xwstats.com say: 🌎 Global Stats Difficulty Very Easy Median Solve Time 12:57 Median Solver 33% faster ⚡89% of users solved faster than their Sunday average. 67% solved much faster (>20%) than their Sunday average. 🐢11% of users solved slower than their Sunday average. 0% solved much slower (>20%) than their Sunday average. My experience was similar. My solve was my fourth-fastest Sunday solve ever, 45.3% faster than my Sunday average. It was about 2/3 the time of the Saturday solve. Newbies might not get the same sense of simplicity as longtime solvers, but the clues and answers were the kind you see all the time, with no challenge to them: Mel OTT, shoofly PIES, RBIS for diamond stats, COSI Fan Tutte. I could keep listing them, but I'd run out of characters. The theme answers were cute but easily gettable. I guess we get one solidly difficult puzzle a week now. Sorry to all the newbies who are happy to get it (the puzzle), but don't get it (the problem). In a couple of years, when you're really good, you'll wish the puzzles had a little more bite. On the other hand, if I find myself short on time, it's good that the puzzles don't take long anymore.
@Steve L I’m currently closing in on a 400 day streak of gold puzzles. My previous high before this streak was 52. As much as I’d love to think I’m that much better than I was, I have to agree. The puzzles (in particular Friday through Sunday) have definitely gotten easier.
@Steve L Although your time would be faster than mine, even I had the same relative experience as you. Fourth-fasted Sunday, and 43% faster. I'm certainly not a long timer and certainly not really good. Perhaps not a newbie anymore, but I do see the difference.
@Steve L My experience was virtually identical. It was my 3rd fastest since I started tracking 8 years ago. And about 40% faster than average. I was a little miffed at the end. It just seemed like a bit of a waste of (a very little) time.
@Steve L It's now moved up to Easy, 84% solved faster. Personally I found it significantly more difficult and interesting than yesterday, which was rated Hard. Still finished in very quick time though. 🤷♂️ I think we can agree something ominous happened when the year changed.
@Steve L I really like your penultimate paragraph ("Sorry to all the newbies..."). I appreciate the recognition that newbies are not going to see it the way you do. And, for the record, I'm getting more and more into your (and Barry's, and others' camp)--I'm disappointed when a Sunday takes me less that 30 minutes. I may in fact be moving in the direction you indicated in that paragraph.
@Steve L It would be a useful exercise if someone compiled the available XWStats into a graph showing difficulty over the last year. It should only take a few minutes, but I'm not a subscriber and don't really feel like it. I'd like to know if the change is as stark and recent as I and others feel it is. I'm mostly a newbie myself, hanging on to a streak since I started a few years ago.
@Steve L Oh wow, XWStats now has it as Average, 80% solved faster. That tracks much better than my own impression of this one....
If ever there were a puzzle tailor-made for me, an English professor and preacher's daughter, this it! 🤓
It turns out 109A is correct as "career". I won't forget it (so it'll probably never be used again).
It was DONNE on the fast side for me, but I did think it was fun to do... Thought it was a clever idea for a theme and I got a kick out of each of the theme answers. I knew most of them almost instantly, but my non-constructor brain probably wouldn't ever have thought them up like our conductors did. I appreciate that lot, and wish I could come up with some more. I might if I gave it some thought but it's so cool how constructors, and many out here, can seemingly so easily come up with fun connections. Respect! That said, some twists and turns and misdirects would have added to the fun. I occasionally misdirected myself by thinking I was being misdirected, such as "Blue material" solving to DENIM instead of somethin X related. Har! The clue for 86D was fun "Where boaters hang with bowlers." Also amusing, but only to this silly rabbit, was that I immediately thought of (but didn't write) pickly for the answer to 12A "Like pickles, but not cucumbers" Hee!! Thankfully, it didn't put me in a pickle. Oh, but truly, how I love pickles! I'm solidly a dill girl and my husband is a sweet man (in every way possible), but there was one pickle we found at a flea market that we miraculously both really liked. For years, we stocked up every time. It was a horseradish pickle made by a local guy. It was a bit sweet on the front with a horseradish kick at the end. It was perfectly balanced for us. We haven't been able to have them since before Covid and can't find anything close.
Clever and funny. Maybe a little easy, but as Rick might have said to ILSA, we'll always have yesterday. Speaking of the Bible, funniest part of the solve was instinctively typing inre instead of INRI -- too many years of office memos taking their toll.
@LBG LOL I misread the beginning of your post as Rick saying Ilsa was maybe a little easy.
Honestly, I am in awe of puzzles like this. The excellent theme answers and the way they were clued is just amazingly creative. And that's just the themers; the rest of the fill is loads of fun and frequently head scratching. Great job Jill and Michelle – ya done good!
The way I look at the "great debate" here is that every puzzle is a gift - form the constructor and the editors to we poor solvers. We may not always like the gifts we are given, but how ungrateful to disparage those who would offer us their gift. A big Thank You to all the puzzle constructors!
@Ragland That's a fine and kind outlook; but it also serves to diminish and perhaps censor honest critique. If I find a puzzle or a clue problematic and say so, I don't think that makes me an ingrate. It's a puzzle discussion column. Must we only sing hosannas to remain decent human beings? Are only sunrises acceptable and never twilight? Seems a rather limiting, not to say obsequious puzzle worldview.
@Ragland Gifts don't require payment.
Absolutely 100% DELIGHTFUL. When I saw the title, I was expecting things like Exodus or Revelations--weighty things like what were discussed in Saturday's Story program. I was so happy when the "books" turned out to be novels. I guess I could say this puzzle was novel. Thank you constructors for a marvelous puzzle. More, More, More, please.
Popular request at the biblical wedding feast where water was turned into whiskey MIRACLE ON ICE
@Lewis C'mon.... ICE? Not oft-seen in that part of the world.
@Lewis speaking of which, congrats to the US Men's Hockey team for their first gold since the aforementioned miracle on ice in 1980.
[Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego] SOMELIKEITHOT Fun guessing the themers.
@John Carson That, too, is wrong... funny as heck, but just... wrong😂
Ha! I see that I followed Nancy's lead and was thinking movies, not books. Must have been the "Tidal" action affecting my brain. I did check: ""Some Like It Hot" was not based on a book, but rather on a 1951 German film called Fanfaren der Liebe (Fanfares of Love). Billy Wilder and I.A.L. Diamond adapted this earlier film, which itself was based on a story by Robert Thoeren and Michael Logan, and transformed it into the iconic 1959 American comedy." Regarding the East Coast storm: As Redd Fox would say, "This is the big one Elizabeth!".
@John Carson A friend at my evangelical church said “Shadrach, Meshach, and To Bed We Go. Scandalized our 14 year old class.
Jerry and Francis, thanks for your posts on my comment. Good stuff. What this forum should be all about (even if a little off topic). PS: I'm posting this "up top" to my original so it is not buried. Update: White out conditions with power blinking off and on. More fun to ensue.
Wonderful Sunday - thank you.
I really enjoyed this puzzle!! My knowledge base is such a glut of science and technical data that I was proud to have caught on to this literary/biblical themed puzzle given it was so out of my wheelhouse. I thought I was finding it to be a tricky solve and was surprised to have come in 20% faster than my Sunday average, with no lookups! I’ve been doing these for a bit over a year now, so I guess I’ve learned a thing or two along the way. Thanks Jill and Michelle for the satisfying frontal cortex workout!
Such a delightful puzzle! The theme clues and entries were so clever. As a former English teacher, this one checked all the boxes for me. Thank you, and I look forward to the next one if you choose to make another!
When I got Sodom and Gomorrah, I broke out laughing. This was a really fun puzzle for me today. It was a great way to end a not so great weekend.
I had trouble logging until I realised that my subscription had expired and it was time to use the gift that had recently been sent to me. So it's my first anniversary here. When I started, I was taking over 2 hours to do Sundays with lots of look-ups. Today I dropped it below 70 minutes. The average of my averages for the seven days is 37:10 When I started I was taking over an hour for Wednesday's onwards. Wednesday's now average under half an hour and even my Saturday average is now at 45:01. I used to need look ups for every day and I now do nearly every Monday and Tuesday without look-ups or needing the checker. Although I'm not setting daily records very often nowadays, I still beat my daily average every day of most weeks. I've also worked backwards to late September 2023 in the archives. By this time next year, I hope to be doing most Wednesdays and Thursdays without look ups. I expect my overall average to be substantially under 30 minutes and my Sunday one substantially under an hour. I don't think I'll have reached the stage of complaining that most crosswords are far too easy. But I'll be approaching a five year gap between the current and the archive crosswords I would be doing and so can start to judge if there was a change in difficulty the last few years.
Pip, you’re in the crossword again! When I saw the title I was worried the theme would be way out of my ken. Not so! Breezy solve and themers were cute. Didn’t know The Great Escape was a novel. Go Gunners! I still believe! Let’s LICK Tottenham!
@Becky Maybe we'll see Miss Havisham soon.
@Becky The book "The Great Escape" is non-fiction. But according to Wikipedia the movie based on the book "depicts a heavily fictionalized version of the mass escape by British Commonwealth prisoners of war from German POW camp Stalag Luft III in World War II"
I enjoyed this. Maybe a little fast / easy but enough to chew on to make it worthwhile. There was fun to be had. The baselines have been jostled around so much here I really can't judge anymore. I can just say I liked this puzzle well enough and congratulations to the construction pals.
I am not usually (as in hardly ever or maybe even never) an early commenter. For me A Take of Two Cities was my first theme answer and that gave me the clue I needed to continue. I usually have get dragged into the theme entries kicking and screaming with cross entries but this puzzle it was the other way around. Fun was had.
wonderful puzzle never look at comments until after solve 'careen' had me stuck for 5 minutes was the wrong clue put in by accident? Loved the alliterations to classic novels well done!
@acjones not alliteration - alluding to - wordplay - awesome puzzle!
@acjones I had the exact same problem. Finally just switched “hattnees” whatever that is to “hat trees” and puzzle was solved.
Don’t eat from the tree of knowledge! GARDENINGFORDUMMIES
I'm having trouble with the rebus. How're y'all fitting Captain Quahog into 77D?
@Linda Jo - Oh, I gave that one a long side-eye with my non-existent eyeball when I saw the clue... But I'm OK with the answer as written. I like clammy places!
I enjoyed the themers. A lot of you probably remember the midnight lines around the block for each new episode of Star Wars. Or the week-long parties outside bookstores for the newest Harry Potter. But I've never seen anything like the unruly mobs that showed up when they released the sequel to The Old Testament.
People writing about the relative ease of puzzles are not just complaining. They are hoping that editors will finally hear what they have to say. Having done the NYT crosswords for decades, something has fundamentally changed over the past few years. There used to be a reliable progression of difficulty through Saturday, and certain gimmicks on certain days. Sunday was special - not necessarily the hardest puzzle of the week, but always challenging and with a clever theme. I would get a cup of coffee, settle in, and anticipate a cozy Sunday morning working on the crossword for an hour or so. This is not the case any more. Mondays can be Thursdays, Fridays can be Mondays, etc. There is no anticipation of increasing difficulty, and Sundays can just be "meh," buzzed through in a few minutes (like today). I do not write this to extol my puzzle-solving skills (which are not great), or demean others. But there is no sense that the NYT Crossword is actually a thing any more. It's just another puzzle to take or leave. And it's not about the puzzle writers, to whom I am grateful. It's about the editing. There are ways to determine relative difficulty (accounting for potential biases, cultural differences, etc.). There are ways to gauge clues and answers. The question is whether the NYT has intentionally shifted to a different type of crossword. If so, please just tell us. If not, please finally hear what we are trying to say and edit. Thanks for considering.
@Shauron One factor is the seeming preference for new constructors who by definition are inexperienced. The editors don't appear to insist on historical standards. Let's hope we get more puzzles from people who know not only the craft but the tradition and the audience.
I didn’t find it too easy. I’m not as good as some of you folks. But I did know this meaning of. CAREER and filled it in immediately. Different strokes.
Bravo to the puzzlers! The clues (especially the "Noah's Ark") gave me and my wife good laughs. And since they were lengthy and filled up many squares we broke our own time record, recording 24 minutes and change.
Loved the theme answers ('Death on the Nile' in particular!)
Sigh. Totally uninspiring Sunday AGAIN. Is it just me? Very very very loose theme. None of them really felt closely related to the Biblical books in an intrinsic way except maybe DEATHONTHENILE. None of them made me crack a smile or think “what an unusual clever connection”. I’m sorry just, no. And maybe the puzzle could still have been enjoyable with some interesting additional entries or clever clues. But no, nothing. Maybe a half hearted effort with HATTREES but really who didn’t see that coming a mile away? How depressing I just feel like I’m going through the motions with this puzzle. And I hate being negative like this, it’s really not my nature, but objectively it is what it is.
@SP I doubt it's just you. However, I do think the theme answers were nicely related to the Biblical books, and they did get a smile from me.... but not a sense of aha! I did it! I figured it out! That sense of accomplishment that one is wont to experience. They flowed right out of me to the degree, I went and filled most of them out with five or fewer crossings. All I needed as AT to complete ATALEOFTWOCITIES and I was off to the chariot races. DANGEROUSLIAISONS is the only one that took a wee bit longer.
@SP I seem to be contrarian this week. Again the XWStats to date agree with you, calling this Easy. But I found it a much more interesting challenge than yesterday, which both you and they deemed Hard. Our collective and mutual standards have been forcibly lowered so much lately I don't even know what to make of things. There was a lot of fill-the-blanks-as-fast-as-you-can-type here, yes, but less so than has become the custom here in the last 2 months. I thought it was okay. 🤷♂️
Career and not careen? Shame.
@Tom You didn't have to scroll too far down to find out that it's not a shame at all. It's just a thing that you and others of us didn't know before. No shame in that, really, but it's usually better too check first. Trying very hard to not say check yourself before you wreck yourself... Oops, I guess I failed! 😏 <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/shared/comment/4e5195?rsrc=cshare&smid=url-share" target="_blank">https://www.nytimes.com/shared/comment/4e5195?rsrc=cshare&smid=url-share</a>
@Tom CAREER was a gimme for fans of Sondheim's work and those who enjoy cabaret performances.