Yet another Monday level puzzle 🤬 If you go back to the first week of June of 1982, then you’d see a *real* puzzle 🤬 When will Shortz stop kowtowing to Big Crossword and publish crosswords that are not humanly solvable 🤬 Oops! Pardon, today indeed is Monday puzzle. But enjoy the vignette of what the comment section has felt like recently ;-)
@Mishlev I think we've found an heir of Johnathon Swift! I just can not stop laughing. In spite of the fact I fear that this argument is tearing the forum apart, and my heart as well. I personally feel in the odd position of one whose opinion on the matter has drifted considerably in the last six months or so (I think--I'm old, don't rely too much on me.) Anyway, I love the way you've turned the controversy into Humor Undeniable. Seriously, you might want to find an agent.
@Mishlev This is why we need a downvote button next to the Recommend button. When chronic complainers take over the comments section, they'd see that their comments are getting tiresome.
@Mishlev This is the most miserable and petty commentariat (with a few exceptions) that I've ever encountered, but your comment made me laugh.
A very cool puzzle! How to lead the newbies through some possibly difficult fills with get-able crosses, and ones that were not dorky! This is a tall order for any day, and especially for a Monday. I was entertained from start to finish. Thank you, Hannah!! ❤️
My five favorite original clues from last week (in order of appearance): 1. Break down while studying? (7)(8) 2. Things made by toddlers and directors (6) 3. Free spirits? (8) 4. Setting for a landscape (6) 5. New Yorkie, say (3) REVERSE ENGINEER SCENES EXORCISE CANVAS PUP
My favorite encore clues from last week: [Big name in London] (3) [Docs that deal with sensitive information] (4) BEN NDAS
"Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not."
@HeathieJ Don't you just hate it when children's books accurately predict the future?
Thank you to the editors for not circling or shading ELOR. It's nice not to have the theme given away before even getting a chance to think about it. Overall a satisfying puzzle to start the week. Some good debut entries.
@Anita Baby steps, Anita, baby steps. Our voices are being heard. Power to the people!
The upstanding baker is my roll model. (He just loafs what he does.)
@Mike Always rises to the occasion and makes a lot of dough?
@Mike Dough we really knead these crusty old puns? At yeast give us something rye!
@Mike That's the breadth of your compositional skills? Why not rise to some floury language, at yeast?
@Mike When you go in to buy something, does he baguette?
I shouldn't have confidently entered CAREER for 34A.
@Elbridge Gerry A joke that refers back to another day! That's the stuff of good comedy.
@Elbridge Gerry It would have been absolutely stunning if that was the answer.
@Elbridge Gerry @Rachel R. Little known 'fact': "Careen" was originally "Karim" after the swift turns and manoeuvres of the great Karim-Abdul Jabbar. Following the attacks on the USA in Sept 2001 and the spread of anti-Islamic feeling, the spelling was changed to anglicise it into "careen" without any care for the possible confusion with "career". And so here we are.
Lovely writeup, Natan. In one short piece you wove in constructor insight, humor, beautiful turns of phrase, and references that complement the puzzle. Written clearly and infused with personality. Bravo, sir!
Was it a coincidence that U-S-A was followed immediately by U-S-B? I was really hoping the next answer would have been U-S-C. Another time perhaps.
@Sue I liked that, too! And USC would have been perfect as the third entry on that line with a different grid setup ☺️
@Sue. That alphabetic sequence could go on for quite a bit past USC… someday could power a whole puzzle!
Okay the Eric Clapton performance is great, but the true all-time-classic performance of While My Guitar Gently Weeps is in a different all-star tribute to George Harrison, at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, with an otherworldly Prince: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWRCooFKk3c" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWRCooFKk3c</a>
@Roger Oh, that link is pure gold...not gold, platinum...not platinum...the stuff that was in the briefcase in "Pulp Fiction". I will watch that link probably daily for the next month or so, then two or three times a week for another couple of months... I assume the young dark-haired kid is George Harrison's son? What a weird situation! A memorial to your *father* but surrounded by Rock Gods. Thanks so much!
@Roger Wow, been years since I viewed that one. Thx Roger!
@Roger Yes! I had that cued up and ready to post.
@Roger - OMG amazing. Perfection. I had never heard it before and now my day is transformed. Thank you!
@Roger Some play guitar, others define the meaning of playing guitar, but this…? From a different GALAXY! (And then he threw the guitar over his back, as if to say “that one’s done - no notes left in it”) Made my morning.
@Roger This is pure gold, but always makes me a little sad that we've lost so many really great artists over the years.
@Roger OH. MY. GOD. Thank you thank you thank you!
The entry at 5D (SEE YOU NEVER) reminded me of this classic New Yorker cartoon by its cartoon editor back when it was published (Bob Mankoff): - <a href="https://www.wusf.org/2014-03-24/new-yorker-cartoon-editor-explores-what-makes-us-get-it" target="_blank">https://www.wusf.org/2014-03-24/new-yorker-cartoon-editor-explores-what-makes-us-get-it</a>
@RichardZ: same!! Do you use that line on your friends, as I do?
@RichardZ That cartoon is hilarious! I'm going to try that line the next time my wife asks me just WHEN am I going to finally get around to doing some unpleasant chore I've ignored for too long. I wonder if her eyes will be laughing WITH me, or throwing daggers AT me?
@RichardZ This one has always been up there with the classics. A favorite of mine (having nothing to do with this puzzle) is one of Barsotti's puppy cartoons. An auctioneer is high on a podium and at the bottom is a little puppy. The caption: "The bidding will start at eleven million dollars." I love Barsotti! <a href="https://www.cartoonstock.com/cartoonists/charlesbarsotti?srsltid=AfmBOoq32AGa4bGDrvn_tjo6I-1CtQdRHD38RUL53eTqDnDTocT1NVZZ" target="_blank">https://www.cartoonstock.com/cartoonists/charlesbarsotti?srsltid=AfmBOoq32AGa4bGDrvn_tjo6I-1CtQdRHD38RUL53eTqDnDTocT1NVZZ</a>
@RichardZ I sent that to an ex when he asked my if we could have lunch.
@RichardZ Not a computer in sight, a corded phone, and a suit pocket planner. Those were the days, my friend, those were the days.
Charming Monday! The different applications of the ROLE REVERSAL seemed fresh to me, I smiled at SEEYOUNEVER, and I learned a new word (ASADO) and a new artist (ALISON Beichdel) and all in 7 min or less, what more can you ask from a Monday? Welcome to the column Natan Last. I already plugged his wonderful book reviewing the history and ongoing cultural significance of crosswords, “Across the Universe” a couple weeks ago, but I’ll take the opportunity to plug it again, it’s a great read for any crossword lover.
@SP I'd be a bit surprised if you've never heard of "Fun House", the musical based on ALISON Bechdel's graphic novel, or the interesting if simplistic Bechdel Test.
SP, Not a new artist (at least to the crossword): Thu Dec 19, 2019 38A Alison ___, author of "Fun Home" Andy Kravis and Erik Agard Saw "Fun Home" on Broadway with the family.
2 results for FUNHOME from Modern Era puzzles: Fri May 15, 2020 36D 2015 winner of Best Musical Christopher Adams Thu Aug 31, 2017 70A Alison Bechdel memoir made into a hit 2015 Broadway musical Zachary Spitz 1 result for FUNHOME from Variety puzzles: Jun 16, 2019 Diagramless 9A 2015 musical based on an Alison Bechdel memoir Alex Eaton-Salners
I wonder if at any point during my solve ALISON and Rita had a conversation about something other than a man.
@Nick Nice pickup. I was wondering if anyone would credit Alison Bechdel for her innovation, the Bechdel Test. Albeit an impossibly low bar, at least it provides some base to assess whether a film contains any realistic representations of women. See here: <a href="https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/what-is-the-bechdel-test-75534" target="_blank">https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/what-is-the-bechdel-test-75534</a>/
Hit a personal record at 5:05. I know there's probably a million other users who have achieved a faster time, but for me it was a special moment.
@Fotis Congratulations!! Relish in your special moment!! ☺️
Nice puzzle but ugh Democrats are not the left.
@Mehitabel when the right moves far then what was right becomes the center and what was center becomes the left.
@Mehitabel hopefully we’ll get a “Republicans and fascists” clue next. Seems only fair.
@Mehitabel That's what I thought, but I suppose it's relative.
@Mehitabel [insert crying emoji]
Hannah, perhaps celebrate the publication of your puzzle with some QUICHELORRAINE...
LOBSTAH TRAP (sic) reminds me of a gripe I thought you people might have opinions on. Some of us are getting a “Nor’ Easter” (sic) now, and this term has always bugged me. Is it meant to capture the way a New Englander would say it? Because, no, if I say it in a Maine accent, it is “No’th Eastah”. What is the “Nor” doing there? I think it is an example of fakELORe, to use today’s theme!
CLM, Speaking of lobstah, I know it's a TRAP, but I've always called it a pot.
@Cat Lady Margaret It’s a very old term (I’m guessing 150-200 years at least) and people everywhere said a lot of things differently a long time ago.
CLM, You are not alone. "For decades, Edgar Comee, of Brunswick, Maine, waged a determined battle against use of the term "nor'easter" by the press, which usage he considered "a pretentious and altogether lamentable affectation" and "the odious, even loathsome, practice of landlubbers who would be seen as salty as the sea itself". His efforts, which included mailing hundreds of postcards, were profiled, just before his death in 2005 at the age of 88, in The New Yorker." <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noreaster" target="_blank">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noreaster</a>
@Cat Lady Margaret I've known it as a nor'easter since I was quite young, east coast of Scotland, so maybe it crossed from one east coast to the other? My father wore a heavy, yellow oilskin coat that he called a 'sou'wester' (although it can also refer to the similar hat). The winds from the south-west bring rain.
@Cat Lady Margaret My husband, whose Maine roots go back for centuries, also hates this term! (I am more of a mutt and wasn’t born in Maine, although both of my parents were and many of our ancestors. Hubby and I are even very distant cousins.)
@Cat Lady Margaret I don't think "Nor'Easter" is meant to imitate the New England dialect, but comes to us from the "sailor's dialect" which is a variant of the "pirate's dialect" which is a variant of "West Country English" dialect. Arrrgh, matey! For the best parody of this dialect, check out the Sea Captain (Horatio McCallister) from the Simpsons. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-FfhlAYlLFI" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-FfhlAYlLFI</a>
Thanks for the replies, pals. I knew I could count on you! “Just right for a Monday”, heh.
@Cat Lady Margaret Had me a sweet lobstah roll up thatawawy a bunch of years ago. Best sammich evah!
@Cat Lady Margaret - You are correct. I consider "Nor'Easter" to be a twee affectation usually employed by urbanites trying to sound rusticated. The real old timers say "Nawtheastah" - my preferred spelling, but your “No’th Eastah” is also correct. I will now go dig out my copy of the excellent book "Northeaster" and copy down the explanation of why the author (a Mainer) refused to name it "Nor'Easter..." Back in a bit...
Continued my streak of 236 Mondays in a row after having deliberately ended my 55 day streak yesterday. As a non native English speaker not living in the US it ended up taking too much of my time and was not fun anymore. Now I know at least that I can take on a crossword any day of the week should I have the time. (Probably will continue my Tuesday and Wednesday streak too)
Nice enjoyable Monday - good level, fine clues, decent theme that was helpful to fill in some squares, not too many obscurities (for me). Happy camper here! Thanks Hannah!
Two days ago, we had the answer MYSTERY BOX, and that’s a mighty good term for a blank grid. Today’s mystery box brought me much pleasure: • Four theme answers with zing. • A revealer I tried to guess at after leaving it blank and not reading its clue. I flunked, but loved the trying. • Images popped in my mind as I filled answers in. I saw that EYELET, ANVIL, BABY BIB, and I VOTED sticker. I even flashed on a spectacular spiral GALAXY. • I heard snippets from “While My Guitar Gently Weeps”, a song I love. • I smiled at the Boggle-style OWL (beginning with the O in BACHELOR) near WOODSY. • More smiles came from ANVIL dropping down the grid, and the cross of SUN and HEAT UP. Your mystery box, Hannah, was a delight. Thank you so much for making it!
@Lewis So, how did you shoe-horn BABY in there with its BIB?
@Lewis Wasn't Woodsy Owl a spokes-bird for something? I remember the PSAs...
Really wish all the people jumping in the comments to point out errors in the puzzle would take 5 seconds first to look up whether they are actually right. Nonetheless, an enjoyable Monday, with a few smiles (lookin’ at you THE LORAX and DELOREAN). Thanks Hannah!
@Kirsten No worries. If they aren't, someone (including me) will jump in to set them straight.
Very nice. Achieved my goal of no look-ups for the second time and amazing time of 23 minutes (I thought I'd check just this once). Fortunately the crossers gave me OUTROS, ASADO, GRE, I VOTED and reminded me of the (to me) very odd BOOYAH. Which is how it should be.
@Jane Wheelaghan The GRE (Graduate Record Exam) is often required of those who aspire to go further after earning an undergraduate degree. I took it 5 years after getting my B.S. Ed. (And 9 years after my last college math course.) It was actually interesting (kind of a souped-up SAT.) From everything I've (casually) read about British education and university studies, it's quite different. I don't know about NOW, but for a long time, the USA attracted many foreign students seeking to pursue graduate studies.
@MOL I had plenty of foreign classmates in my MBA program, for which I had to take the GRE. Sadly, many of them were virtually held hostage by the sponsors of their H1-B visas. And that was when Clinton was the POTUS.
This puzzle was WAY too easy. I can't believe that out of all-- wait. It's a Monday? Carry on. :) (And well done!)
Enjoyable Monday puzzle. Pretty smooth solve and didn't tumble to the theme until I was almost done. That's always a nice touch. Puzzle find today - a Sunday from March 29, 1998 by Robert H. Wolfe with the title: "Two by thirteen." Pretty amazing feat of construction. Thirteen rebus squares in that one, each of them containing two consecutive letters of the alphabet. e.g. - AB CD EF GH.. etcetera. So - every letter of the alphabet was in one of the rebuses. Some answer examples: BO(YZ)NTHEHOOD (crossing) X(YZ)AFFAIR CHI(MN)EYSWEEP (crossing) LI(MN) NARRO(WX)ING (crossing) SHO(WX)RATEDFILMS LO(UV)RE crossing Y(OU)VE PE(OP)LE crossing H(OP)E A(CD)C crossing (CD)ROM Can't imagine what it would have taken to construct something like that. Here's the link: <a href="https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=3/29/1998&g=93&d=A" target="_blank">https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=3/29/1998&g=93&d=A</a> ....
I know it's Monday, but do we really have to put up with "Opposite of WNW" as a clue for ESE? 🙄 There are lots of "suffix for ..." clues that are Monday easy, but at least take a tiny bit of thought. Right up there on the lazy scale with the 'The number of this clue' clues that we sometimes see. 🧐
@Grumpy LOL I guess I didn’t see that one, I must have solved with crosses. Agree there are other ways to clue ESE even on a Monday.
@Grumpy Still better than the "Direction from Nowheresville to Obscuretown" type clues...
I really liked this one. Each theme answer felt unique from the others which I appreciated. Happy Monday, Crosslandia.
I rarely get emu-ed, but perhaps I should have said “I’LL SEE YOU IN AITCH EE DOUBLE HOCKEY STICKS” to indicate what I wished for 5D
[Psychotherapist?] ROLE REVERSAL ENGINEER
@ad absurdum [Ozempic?] BELLY ROLL REVERSAL
Thank you, Hannah, for a very fine Monday grid! I didn't best my RECORD, but it had just the right DEPTH for the start to the week. Natan, I also enjoyed your nice commentary comparing a puzzle to a constructor's personal mixtape -- Hannah's playlist was perfect and could have included The Mamas & the Papas chestnut, "Monday, Monday."🎶 The 30 mph north wind is rattling the windows right now as I look out at our blizzard conditions. Stay safe & warm, northeast friends! ❄️🫶🏼❄️
This Monday puzzle felt "very clean" (if you've seen "A Hard Day's Night," you would understand how apt this is for the puzzle), in the sense that the fill wasn't overly reliant on that crosswordese garbage. A lot of the fill felt very satisfying to put in, really. The theme was also cute, with the "ELOR" in each one. Not perfect, but definitely a 4/5 star Monday. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
A sprightly Monday puzzle. Georgia's voting sticker (41A) is not red, white & blue, it's a peach.
@Linda Jo Not sure if I'd go that far. It gets the job done, though.
@Linda Jo But neither does it say I VOTED.
Here's the back story to the Ga voting sticker. Ya see, Big Watercraft had to launch a campaign here regarding keeping one's bass boat properly moored to their dock. It did help eliminate the number of bass boats running amok in the fishing coves. Meanwhile, as nepotism runs in the South, the word had to git out for us'uns to vote. Under mounting pressure from Big Vote, Big Watercraft's brother-in-law, Big Sticker repurposed the popular "I Secured My Boat" sticker to become "I Secured My Vote."
What a sweet Monday puzzle. Love the theme; simple enough for Monday but not too obvious. Nice fill, not much glue, what’s not to love? My personal 5D is ‘don’t let the door hit you on the way out’, generally accompanied by a none emu friendly expletive. Don’t get on my bad side, I don’t play nice.
@Helen Wright, You can be Deceptively Mean Old Lady! 😄
@Helen Wright My new favorite is, "don't let it hit ya where the good Lord split ya."
Just wanted to hop on here to share that after a little over 4 years of solving, I finally got my first Monday puzzle in under 4 minutes! Previously my closest call was 4:06, but this time I breezed through the puzzle in just 3:50 without even really hurrying. I know that solve times and streaks aren't the best way to measure enjoyment, but it's nice to hit a silly little goal I've been getting nearer and nearer to over the past year or so. So thank you Hannah for this sweet Monday puzzle! Such a nicely flowing fill and a theme that I think has the perfect balance of being clever and not too obvious, while still being simple and easy to figure out, perfect for a Monday :-)
Nice grid. I let the reveal fill in from the crosses which was a nice punch line. Many thanks. Over 20" so far, heavy wet snow with significant drifting but the power has stayed on.
@John Carson Whoof! I hope you're cozy at home.
So nice to read so many positive comments for a change. I was about ready to quit reading the comments page,
@Marcia Fidler You will rarely see a complaint about Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday being too easy. They're supposed to be straightforward. Every once in a while, some people find them too difficult for the day, and will point that out. The real complaints come in when Thursday, Friday and Saturday puzzles are not challenging, or when they are appropriately challenging. Experienced solvers will object to the former, while a subset of newer ones will not like the latter. Some newer solvers appreciate that they are not quite ready to succeed, and know that they will have to work to get there.
Excellent Monday, including a theme, thanks Hannah!
Clever theme! (Maybe it’s just me ) but I have never heard of OUTROS before. Thankfully it was my only option.
I admit to not catching the ROLE REVERSAL in the theme answers. I did enjoy the USA vs USB (Is that Canada after the Olympic Hockey? I jest) Definitely a breezy fun Monday
Another clever early week puzzle, thank you!
Great puzzle to start the week! Simple, but clever. Here's hoping for some real challenges come Thursday!
Liked everything about this one. Lovely way to start the week.
Achieved my all-time personal best today with 3:30! Lovely puzzle, everything just fell into place and I got most of the across entries on the first run, which made the down entries very easy with so much already filled in. One of those runs where I didn’t even notice the theme until after completion - I enjoyed the theme though once I saw it. As a Beatles zealot I knew the crossword gods were on my side early with the lovely George reference at 15A - WEEPS intersecting LSD was tasteful too, even if the boys had moved onto other sources of inspiration by 1968 (looking at you Maharishi). Thanks Hannah for a great puzzle!
For those of you looking for more of a challenge on this snowy morning in the Northeast, try this Brooke Husic gem from today's New Yorker: <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/puzzles-and-games-dept/crossword/2026/02/23" target="_blank">https://www.newyorker.com/puzzles-and-games-dept/crossword/2026/02/23</a>
Did it earlier this morning. That was a nice one!
@Steve L Good one! Now, I (im)patiently await the arrival of BEQ's themelesss Monday.
@Steve L Just completed. Needed a lookup in the NW which broke the logjam. Three unknowns there.
Steve L, Although I found this over-all significantly easier than the Newsday puzzle I reference in my reply to Nancy (though still a challenge compared to any here these days), in the end I didn’t finish the NE cleanly due to lack of knowledge and impatience. The Ace and the wine had me struggling to see the plane engine. After a couple of double-wrong guesses, and blanking on the (now obvious) correct engine answer, I asked for a hint. Duh.
Puzzle filled in VERY quickly, so I had 37A's Reveal early on....but instead chose not to use the giant hint, which kind of kicked in the instant you saw an E... I do not quite get 22A. Is this a new usage or something. I almost never watch a YouTube video unless it's Stephen Colbert or John Stewart...maybe even Jay Leno...with political commentary. You know--a form of psychotherapy. 54D was the only new thing under the sun... Nice start to the day! Shortly I'll be off to the guild meeting: Quilters, Ahoy!
MOL. 22A has only been around (in print anyway) since 1967. <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/outro" target="_blank">https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/outro</a>
@Mean Old Lady Roughly 150 years ago, when I was a radio disk jockey, we'd note the intro and outro times of the songs we aired. If the intro -- the instrumental before the lyrics began -- was 14 seconds, we'd have that much time to say incredibly witty things and not tred atop the singer. The outro was also important, as if it was a fade, we could cut the song short and start the commercial break early. Timing was everything.
@Don H Would you talk over the OUTRO to "Layla" by Derek and the Dominos, or was that considered sacred ground?
Absolutely loved this crossword! Although it was a bit tough, I pushed through and finished in an impressive 17 minutes and 55 seconds. What a rush!
This was one of the easiest Monday crosswords that I have filled in. Normally I have to look at the answer key to figure out an answer. I spelled one entry wrong which threw me off for about 30 seconds. The bits of trivia were exciting to solve. Who knew that there is a Guinness record for assembling a Mr. Potato Head?! Overall this was an extremely fun crossword to do.
OUTROS was a new one for me, but I couldn't find any other solution so I decided it was legit. Overall, a nice puzzle, although I didn't get the theme until I checked the column.