Brilliant! A perfect Thursday puzzle. Loved the theme, the cluing, and the satisfying AHA when it came together. Especially liked Viking ships and X Boxes ! Well done, and congrats on the NYT debut. This is how it's done.
@CB agree! Very fun, clever and more challenging for me than a typical Thursday, which is a good thing.
@CB AHA! Yes, indeedy, this was a MIX of VIVID fill. Hope IM not II DIM to obdura et vive! Let's all remain CIVIL, kids.
Great puzzle. Had a lot of fun figuring out the theme entries. And, for me at least, an appropriate level of difficulty for a Thursday.
Well. There it is. A quintessential Thursday. Crafty theme, slippery and clever cluing, no-knows, all teaming up to create a riddle-fest. Totally Thursday, IMO, in difficulty level and trickiness. Marvelous concept! For me, cracking it brought a very satisfying aha. In the theme answers, I love how the marriage of Roman numerals and what they’re counting make legitimate words, so there’s no gibberish in the box. I liked seeing a clue that ended in “e.g.” – [Laudanum, e.g.] – echoing Tuesday’s terrific E.G. puzzle. I also liked the solving experience, a mix of quick-fill areas with brain-loving pesky ones. Most impressive for a debut, Yitzi. This was a wow. What the heck can you follow it up with? I can’t wait to see. Thank you for a puzzle that filled me with GRINs!
@Lewis, Looking at the puzzle again, I saw 42A as a possible themer. It could be interpreted as “ONE can say,” as well.
@Lewis I don't always agree with your positive takes but I sure do today! What a fine Thursday puzzle this was. Thoughtful and chewy and satisfying. Mildly fear inducing for a bit too (for me).
❤️ cryptics ❤️ nyt thursdays ❤️ this debut puzzle! Please make many more! The trickier and math-ier the better.
I had VAX for "shots" and spent forever on that SW corner. Gah. But what an excellent puzzle!
A very clever puzzle this one. Fun with ROMANNUMERALS and clever wordplay too. VIKINGSHIPS was the last themer I got, and my favorite of the bunch BYGUM.
@Marshall Walthew Your comment helped me solve the puzzle, thanks. I had BYGUd and dANGLES (I apparently am not familiar with the chiliagon)
"I plan to visit the Sistine Chapel." "Rome is where the art is!" ("I know! I've just got a good ceiling about it.")
@Mike “The pay on this restoration was low because there was a lot of overhead.”
@Mike nice … and technically correct “Italy has 61 listed sites, making it the state party with the most World Heritage Sites” <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_World_Heritage_Sites_in_Italy" target="_blank">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_World_Heritage_Sites_in_Italy</a>
@Mike Your puns are increasingly Doge-y!
@Mike You forgot the Cardinal rule of humor—no puns.
@Mike You are no less than a genius pun constructor.
@Mike You'll love it, but be prepared - the art is of biblical proportions!
@Mike I've just spent the afternoon planning our two weeks in Rome coming up next month! and then X days in Florence. So glad Italy is where the art is. We are counting the days until we go. I, II, III, IV, V, VI....
Unanimous denial from SCOTUS? IXNAY Using Roman numerals in the puzzle is an old trick, but I don't remember them being used in quite this way. Well done, Yitzi! BY GUM, it took me a while to unMANGLE the lower right corner. Love your Highland cow photo, Sam.
@Linda Jo Clever addition to the clue/entry pantheon!
The absolute and total best part of this crossword was - the lack of complaints, moans and protests about it. Thank goodness.
@Jane Wheelaghan We got a hard puzzle on a day that is supposed to challenge us. We only complain when there's a reason to complain. (I did vehemently object to Sam's calling this a rebus puzzle.)
I loved this puzzle! Fun play from start to finish.
I must have been on the same wavelength as the constructor because this one came together very smoothly for me. I always enjoy a good math or science theme, and this one did not disappoint! It was a nice touch that the entries still spelled legitimate words too. I appreciate that attention to detail – it makes the puzzle feel more creative / well thought out.
And the Times puzzle editor said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day a Thursday puzzle worthy of Thursday. Big shout out to Mr. Snow for (at least temporarily) restoring my faith in the quality here. And a big shout out to Sam for referencing Bartleby, my vote for the finest short story ever written. Ah, Sam! Ah, humanity!
@Matt I might want to have a long chat with you about the quality of "Bartleby", But I would prefer not to.
@Matt I so loved Bartleby on first reading that I immediately decided to become a scrivener. Nearly made it too! Truly a great story.
I never comment, but thought I should make an exception for a great Thursday. Slower than usual for me, but very enjoyable!
Terrific debut, Yitzi! Not only was the theme fun, but there was some great cluing as well, especially [Like cats and dogs] for PLURAL, [Stall, e.g,] for GAIN TIME and [Like a plane, informally] for TWO D. I hope to see you back again and again.
@Nancy J. PLURAL was my absolute favourite in this grid. I was thinking pets, tame, domestic, food bowls, antagonists, rainfall, and what do I get after some crosses!? None of the above.
I just came here to praise VI KINGSHIPS and LI ABILITIES, and found in the column that this is a debut puzzle. Very auspicious debut, and I hope to see more! Maybe we’ll also find out what those four dozen other superpowers are 😉
@GRS Reading that clue the first time reminded me of Silver Age Superman arcs whence he'd gain a new power to fit the plot! The funniest (and weirdest) was shooting out tiny new Supermen from his hands. (hats off to Elliott Kalan for mentioning this on a recent podcast)
Loved this puzzle. My only hangup was with "CHILIAGON." I pictured a food truck serving Tex-Max fare: a "chiliwagon." Turns out it's a thousand-sided polygon. Because it is visually indistinguishable from a circle, philosophers like Descartes used it to argue that imagination and pure intellect are distinct.
@John Nice Descartes reference! It's impossible to "imagine" a chiliagon. Could you picture the difference between a 1,000-sided figure and one with 1,001 sides? But you can "think" the difference clearly. Hence, the two faculties are distinct. Q.E.D.
Great puzzle, like the added touch of Mercury/Hermes. And very clever with the roti vs rice dilemma. Putting this one on my POY list for sure! And Yitzi Snow, what a great name. Like a character in a Philip Roth novel. So cool. Yeah, I looked up chiliagon to see what it looked like, and weirdly, all the chiliagons I came across looked like straight-up circles !(probably up close it would look like a bike gear) And I also like the druggy trinity of opiates, aptly leading to a droopy repose. Also to match word lengths in the themers (which were all placed symmetrically), that takes some real craft. Word of the Month: JIG
@john ezra, I had no idea what a chiliagon was, but I was able to figure it out knowing that the resulting answer had to be a real word. I figured it was either M or D, since I already had _ANGLES. I love learning new things in the crossword!
@john ezra To your point: When I design something round to be 3D printed, since every surface is approximated with triangles and therefore can’t be perfectly round, 96 sides is my "sweet spot" for being round enough.
@john ezra my daughter was an Irish dancer, so JIG always makes me smile. So I must have smiled a lot this month 😆
Alternate clue for 35A [L and M, but not N]
@Anita Woah! That would cause a tsunami of comments!
@Anita Brilliant!
@Anita Nice one. Might have cost me more time, though, and I was already slightly slower than average.
@Anita That would have made me try to fit cigarettes in some way. Quite the misdirect!
Thu Jun 25, 2015 49D Like M, L or XL, but not S David Poole
For today's Midi Puzzle's theme, I am reminded of one of my favourite neurodivergence puns, that never fails to make me chuckle and reminds me I am more than just my disability: "Call me Roy G. Biv, because I am visibly on the spectrum." 🌈
@Anna Mic drop, gnaedige Frau!
@Anna 😂😂😂 I think maybe the whole point of human race is to further the concept of humor in a very, very young cosmos.
51A being LIABILITIES is pretty neat. Lovely Thursday.
@Wade H I didn’t catch that! Very nice!
@Wade H Also pretty cool was the misdirect (for me) of the other LI in the answer.
Reminds me of this lovely Brian Bilston poem I just saw: The Day We Argued About Roman Numerals Even now in my mind, that row remains VIVID – I tried to stay CIVIL but you ended up LIVID.
Ah, so there's a MIDI crossword now. Does this mean I need to plug in my digital piano and play notes instead of pressing my laptop keyboard to solve it?
@Zachary No, but you have to wear your dress to your knees.
This is my third attempt to post this comment -- and I think I've figured out what the algorithm didn't like. I changed one G-word to another G-word. I wouldn't have bothered and I wouldn't care, except that I wanted the constructor to see my original rave: "Puzzles like this are why Thursday is my favorite puzzle day of the week. This one will be added to my Puzzle of the Year list. Do you have any idea how hard it is to come up with theme answers this good and this original? I do -- because I had the exact same theme idea sometime within the past year. After spending quite a bit of time trying to dream up theme answers that were interesting without being complete gibberish I decided to abandon the idea and come up with something else. I never dreamed it could be made to work this well. VI (6) KINGSHIPS is the real highlight, of course. I didn't see it at first; I kept wondering why on earth VIKING SHIPS was going to be the answer to this clue. I certainly didn't want it to be. And then, boom, it hit me. Hats off, Yitzi! This is so original and so well-executed. I'm really impressed."
Nancy, Getting comments accepted is sometimes harder than getting puzzles accepted. Glad your third try (at the former) made it.
@Nancy And this coming from an already-published NYTXD constructor is high praise indeed! I'm glad you persevered with the comment!
As a non-US solver, I always struggle with how the clues 'dagnabbit', and 'bah', are used for any kind of backwater colloquialisms. Surely there are better clues to be had.
@Hitch i know know fie from shakespeare. bygum I've never heard before
@Hitch Yeah, I can't help but agree that it's more of a struggle for those outside of the last 50 years of USA emergence. That's why I am in awe of those from outside the US that are so successful with these puzzles. I, as a born and bred citizen, am in awe.
@Hitch "Bah, humbug!" is from Dickens, but I think no one really says "bah" any more. "Dagnabbit" is a softened form of "damn it" for those who don't approve of swearing, but that too belongs in the category you so aptly identified, backwater colloquialisms. "By gum" is to me not at all its equivalent but is rather an intensifier. Also found in such places as 19th-century kid lit, e.g. Tom Sawyer. I'm not sure I read it there but it would have fit, by gum. Agreed, there are better clues, but then one needs fill ...
@Hitch, “Backwater colloquialisms”? Now, just a gol’ durned minute, there, podnuh. Them’s fightin’ words whur I come from, by jiminy. 😄
Congratulations, Yitzi! This was a special puzzle, beautifully constructed, and you managed the impossible by generating overwhelming praise and support from the majority of commenters. I sometimes hesitate to enter the forum after a tricky puzzle when I expect the drama department to be taking the stage, but it’s a joy to see that today’s excellent debut hit the sweet spot. And I am unanimous in that!
I thought today's puzzle was fun! Something different and clever. Dreams and liabilities were great. Kudos to the creator on their debut. Well done!
This puzzle made me smile. I loved it.
Fun puzzle! I liked how the theme answers were still valid words that had nothing to do with the clue; it was actually helpful even though I forgot a bit of roman numeration. Like "X"boxes made more sense than "V"boxes.
I for one, think this puzzle was excellent! Congratulations on your debut, Yitzi, and please come back soon.
One of the most entertaining mind-bending challenges of my experience with NYT Thursday puzzles. It often made me smile at how ingenious and maddening a solution could be. Congratulations on a wonderful debut offering.
I can see the antinumerists possibly having objections but I found it to be a very nice puzzle. 👍😀 The calories clue was clunky — amount of an energy unit — 🫤 A little bit of mental arithmetic, a little bit of knowledge about units, and TWOD for plane elicited a smile. Thanks to the setter and congratulations on an excellent debut.
Great debut, Yitzi! Just terrific. I love to see new constructors, because you are our hope for future puzzles. Even accounting for my sentimental affections for debuts, this was just terrific. I felt pleasantly engaged the whole time. Two thumbs, WAY up! I am so hoping you'll be willing to do hundreds of hours of work for virtually no pay per hour, in order to make me happy for 40 minutes. After that last paragraph, I'm not feeling so good about myself right now, at this moment.
@Francis MINNESOTAGUILT
@Francis The number might be different but I think that little wish is shared by an awful lot of us grateful (if occasionally cranky) consumers. Well said.
Amazing! The moment when it clicked (for me, VIKINGSHIPS) was magic. Congrats!
I agree with everyone today-a fun, challenging, clever puzzle. One quibble. Isn't "dagnabbit" an expression of irritation, while "by gum" is one more of resolve or determination?
Teddy, I didn’t notice it while solving, but I agree with you, that is definitely how the two expressions lean in my mind. Nice catch.
@Teddy I agree they are often used differently, but they can both be used for emphasis or surprise, so it works for me.
Impressive debut. Well thought out and executed theme. 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼 I figured out the revealer right away which helped me solve each themer. Impressed that LIABILITIES was 51A. This brought up a funny memory. Some friends and I took our boys to see Disney’s Hercules when it came out. At one point the “trapped kids” say to call IX-I-I. I was the only one laughing. I had to explain to my friends that it meant call 9-1-1 🤦🏼♀️. Here’s the clip: <a href="https://youtu.be/0teQe1BYBpM?si=2JOI0cuc8IQB_YwF" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/0teQe1BYBpM?si=2JOI0cuc8IQB_YwF</a> Thank you, Yitzi. I look forward to seeing more of your work!!
@Jacqui J I also realized that Aardvark and ANTEATER are the same length 🤣
@Jacqui J, I always loved the jokes in the Disney movies that were aimed at the adults (parents, usually) in the audience. Something for everyone!
Great puzzle! I have no idea who it was that (at least half a century ago) taught me the mnemonic "Little Cats Drink Milk" for the Roman numerals for 50/100/500/1000 -- but whoever you were, thank you!
@VBDC This cute little phrase will come in handy for me. Thank you!
Fantastic puzzle! Made my brain hurt in the best possible way. Loved the AHA moment when the theme came together. I stared at MANGLES (the first theme entry i got with crosses) for the longest time before it clicked. And then the others fell into place beautifully. VIKINGSHIPS and LIABILITIES made me laugh :) One of the most satisfyingly crunchy Thursday themes in a while!
This was the hardest and most clever Thursday I've done in ages. It killed my time stats but I loved it. So well done!
One of the toughest, yet most beautiful Thursday puzzles in ages. Learnt two new things - "BY GUM" and "chiliagon" today (had to look it up). The 250,000 sheets clue took a while to register.
Very clever! And happy to see a large comment section where most of the comments are praise for once :-)
Clever, fun, not too easy. Thanks. 😊
Congratulations on an artful and clever debut. It is so satisfying to see an innovative theme executed thoughtfully into a Thursday-like motif. The landmines were there and the fun (as always on a Thurs.) was to expose them without losing a leg! So intuitive and universally literary to juxtapose Dickens’ “bah” with Shakespeare’s FIE. Loved it!
Wait, wait, I got one: [1/2 a ton -1] IMPOUNDS
@lucky13 Assuming you're joking and in any event it's still pretty clever. But assuming you're not - and for the readers who don't know you are - this number would actually be: CMXCIX.
Wonderful puzzle, so clever and satisfying. All the theme material was excellent, but there was something particularly excellent about VIKINGSHIPS and its clue. Thanks Yitzi, looking forward to more from you!
As someone whose brain refuses to see most numbers, ROMAN NUMERALS was a complete non starter for me. I did something for the first time today; I pressed reveal after battling through around half the grid. It just wasn’t worth the frustration to carry on. Now, this is a purely personal reaction. I’m impressed with both the constructor and those of you who enjoyed it. Sadly for me, anything maths based triggers pretty unpleasant memories of school days and teachers who should never have been let loose on children, so I’ll toddle off to Wordle and other word based puzzles and see you all another day.
@Helen Wright I really, truly, wish I had an answer for the past horrors of the teaching of math(s). I've never understood why it should be so hard. But then, I think that a truly great teacher is worth a dozen Newtons or Einsteins, and should be compensated appropriately. Instead of being despised as NEA robots or DEI hires.
@Helen Wright Sorry you didn’t enjoy it but I don’t understand what was math-related about it.
@Helen Wright Totally understandable – we all have our strengths and weaknesses.
So Snow is a first timer and may not realize just how unusually positive the response to their puzzle is. I'd guesstimate that not even 1/10 comments are remotely negative. For a "Very Hard" puzzle that's quite an accomplishment! Well done. The pleasure of the puzzle outweighed my mild dismay at yet another unneeded futzing-with of the web site. Instead of the nice, bright, clear stars and microgrids, the Archive page is now a mess of shaded browns and pointlessly pre-filled future date grids. Boo. So much change for the worse (8-click-deep nested comments) and so little for the better - no edit button, no posting history, no intelligent filters, no search, etc., etc.
@B It’s probably because the puzzle was hard that there are so few negative comments.
@B Ugh, I haven't looked at the archive in a while, and now you have me dreading it! "yet another unneeded futzing-with of the web site" perfectly describes my feeling about the adjustments to the Games main page made to accommodate the Midi — which in itself seems a bit of an unnecessary addition when there are more pressing issues to solve, as you noted.
Now THAT is a Thursday! I had a big grin on my face the whole time I was solving. Congrats on an excellent debut!
Really liked the theme. And nice to see the Midi make a reappearance!