On xwordinfo.com, Jim Horne notes: My dictionary defines audacious as "debuting on a Friday with two triple-stacks." I quite agree. Nice one, Caroline. Glad you tried a themeless.
I propose we call the crossword the Mici, so I can say I have done the ‘Mini, Midi, Mici’
A stellar debut, chock full of spanners, misdirects, wordplay. Thoroughly entertaining!
Looks daunting with those long crosses, but just keep plugging along and it will all fall into place.
Hard doesn’t always mean slow. The best puzzles, in my mind, are the ones that give you a real workout. Challenging long entries and interesting fill. And somehow, you can still get through them in thirty minutes or less. You finish with that quiet feeling of self satisfaction. I think that’s the kind of puzzle that put Robyn Weintraub on many of our “favorite constructors” list. This was a great one.
@Striker I whole-heartedly agree. Very well said; better than I ever could!
@Striker. Well, just over an hour for me, but very enjoyable. Encouraging others who take longer to finish these, hang in there. My last word was APERCU crossing with TIC. TIL…..
@Striker Agreed! This one felt hard, but didn't take me long. A perfect fit for a Friday.
Congratulations to Caroline Hand on her fabulous debut! Can’t wait to see more of her work.
A good puzzle with some nice entries (looking at you APERCU) and some nice misdirections in the clues (bear up for URSA). As a reformed lawyer I loved suit material for TORT. Antediluvian for OLDASDIRT was worth a chuckle too. The bottom triple stack came fairly quickly for me, but the top stack was tougher. I wanted stonewashed or acid rinsed to pair with denim, and having madd instead of SADD, delayed me in spotting SACAGEWEADOLLAR.
@Marshall Walthew I had mADD too, and acidwashedDENIM. That area was the last to fall for me.
@Marshall Walthew I thought of OLDASDIRT when I had just the last few letters, but resisted putting it in for a pretty long time.
@Marshall Walthew TIL that acidwaShED has the same number of letters as DISTRESSED. I held onto that for far too long. SACAjAWEA finally made the penny drop.
@Marshall Walthew et al Yes, but the 1D clue says [at school]. As a member of my high school's inaugural SADD group (a.k.a. an excuse to hang out even more with my friends-!), this one was a super-fast gimme for me. And yes, that memory makes me feel OLD AS DIRT! (By contrast, I never remember the meaning of [Antediluvian], so that was one of the last to fall for me. And so it goes!)
Enjoyed seeing SACAGAWEA DOLLAR here. Lovely debut, thanks
Fabulous puzzle. Difficult in parts but slowly gives way...
Always like it when a puzzle puts up solid resistance and then slowly and grudgingly cedes ground. Anastasia Steele! Not really a match for Madame Bovary, Anna Karenina or Molly Bloom, but I did enjoy reading 50 Shades for the magnificent prose. For instance: "Desire pools dark and deadly in my groin." "My inner goddess is doing the merengue with some salsa moves." "My inner goddess sits in the lotus position looking serene except for the sly, self-congratulatory smile on her face." "My inner goddess jumps up and down with cheer-leading pom-poms shouting yes at me." "My inner goddess looks like someone snatched her ice cream." "Why is anyone the way they are? That's kind of hard to answer. Why do some people like cheese and other people hate it? Do you like cheese?" "Her eyes are brown, like bourbon, but flat." "Desire explodes like the Fourth of July throughout my body." "'You. Are. Mine,' he snarls, emphasizing each word." "A small moan escapes my mouth as my insides melt and unfurl." "'I do hope you're not overly fond of these p@nties.' He tears through them with his adept fingers, and they disintegrate in his hands." "He laughs and then is distracted by his BlackBerry, which must be on vibrate because it doesn't ring." "It feels like an eon has passed while I process all this, though in reality it is only a split second." "What's eating him? Oh, myself probably..."
@john ezra Wha.... wha.... Was the novel written as an exercise to guarantee a win in the Bulwer-Lytton contest?
@john ezra oh my... is it like that the whole way through? Or just occasionally?
@john ezra I find this old essay by Dave Barry absolutely hilarious- <a href="https://time.com/3030375/dave-barry-50-shades-of-grey" target="_blank">https://time.com/3030375/dave-barry-50-shades-of-grey</a>/
@john ezra For the true delirium of sex, stick with Molly Bloom. Joyce got it. This is just silly.
@john ezra I knew there was a good reason I never read it!
@john ezra Heeeere, emus, emus, emus. Tchk-tchk-tchk. Lots of lovely emu kibble for you. No? Where are the emus when they were really needed? Why didn't they chow down on this piece of...'prose'?
@john ezra You deserve a medal for not only reading that abomination, but taking the time to catalog a few of its crimes against language.
@john ezra Why DO some people like cheese? 🤯 Truly profound. (Thank you for the laugh. 😂 If you want another, check out the video of Gilbert Gottfried reading an excerpt)
What a terrific week of puzzles so far! Today’s wide-ranging beauty, preceded by: ROLE REVERSALS Monday, to "e.g.," Tuesday, to BREAK DANCES Wednesday, to ROMAN NUMERALS Thursday Thank you, constructors and NYT team!
@Lewis top notch week for certain!
A very entertaining Friday that solved a bit faster than I thought it might. I think the idea of emulating Robyn Weintraub worked extremely well for you, as this was great for a first timer! The triple stacks were impressive, and I was fortunate enough to find enough crosses both top and bottom to figure them out fairly readily. I do have to admit that having a rival school in the Little Apple made that last spanner a gimme. The "school" association likewise made SADD the best option there. I liked the misdirects with URSA and TORT. I did have to depend on crosses a few other spots, but I finally got it all filled in correctly. Thanks, Caroline, and again, great debut!
I always love never-give-up backstories, so a success like this Friday themeless that’s well-liked (even by Rex Parker!), as a debut, after 20 years – 20 years! – of rejected submissions, well, that warms my heart and inspires my soul. Congratulations, Caroline! This puzzle led me through food and drink, architecture, the arts, myth, sports, and more. It pinged beauty in shorter answers such as ARPERÇU, TUREEN, and ARTFUL, and longer ones such as RUN INTERFERENCE, DISTRESSED DENIM, and OLD AS DIRT. It presented, for me, swooshy fill-in areas for the “Whee!”, as well as effortful ones for brain happification. And some lovely serendipities. A PuzzPair© of DRAFTS and FAN. REEL to cap off two appearances of JIG this week. STRESSED in the third spanner – our language’s longest common-word semordnilap. Simply a box lush with lovely. Thank you for making this, Caroline, and thank you for sticking to your vision.
I highly recommend the award-winning HBO comedy series, Somebody Somewhere, set in MANHATTAN KANSAS. It's a true gem.
@Bill in Yokohama ditto. loved that show, sadd to see it end. excellent friday puzzle. big hand, indeed.
@Bill in Yokohama Somebody, Somewhere is why I solved this clue! Highly recommend this show. Even my husband, who tends more toward action thrillers, was captured by its sweet honesty and characters.
I know people love to talk about how quickly they do they do these, but I’ve been doing these for 60 years and I like when they take a little bit longer because I have to think. Whata terrific debut. Look forward to many more.
Wow, 20 years! That’s dedication, and it paid off. This was a worthy Friday for anyone and certainly a fabulous debut. And finally I feel the cluing was pretty up to par for a Friday. Maybe fewer really ARTFUL misdirects than I might prefer, but mostly pretty solid and interesting entries and clues. I had to solve from the bottom up as the only spanner that came easily was RUNINTERFERENCE, especially after PRAM and MAUNA which were my first real footholds. I wasn’t really fooled by CESARIANS (except some confusion about the spelling) but I’m just not a drinker or a fashionista so even after I got PALEALE and DENIM I didn’t have the full entries; and once I got DOLLAR I knew SACAGAWEA if only I could have spelled it (yeah, JIRTHS?) So, Caroline, you should be really proud and thanks for showing everyone out there that persistence and patience will finally pay off!
@SP I have an idea for the constructor - how about attempting to includea cool 6 trivia-based spanners? Having only 3 out of the 6 be about proper names left a tiny window for people who don't know everything to solve the puzzle. Should such low standards really be acceptable?
This is the type of Friday / Saturday puzzle I've been waiting to return.
@Blang As someone new to Friday and Saturday puzzles I don't have a good basis for comparison. I'm happy this one made the grade!
Congratulations, Caroline, on your admirable persistence and outstanding puzzle, crunchy yet doable and highly enjoyable. Thank you! Speakung of outstanding, here is the phenomenal funk bassist Marcus Miller laying down a BASS LINE in the studio: <a href="https://youtube.com/shorts/4kptIkmqZRg?si=t4_Jn6HIR2lA-7fI" target="_blank">https://youtube.com/shorts/4kptIkmqZRg?si=t4_Jn6HIR2lA-7fI</a> And here he is bringing down the house playing with D'Angelo (RIP), Eric Clapton, and David Sanborn: <a href="https://youtu.be/DMb8BhCXNs4?si=5K2DSMYS-Z6wKS1m" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/DMb8BhCXNs4?si=5K2DSMYS-Z6wKS1m</a>
@sotto voce So funky! Thank you.
@sotto voce I immediately tried to squeeze in slapbass before the crosses dictated otherwise. I took my sons to Marcus Miller at the Roxy in Buckhead (ATL) back when he was promoting his M2 album. One of the most incredible musicians I've seen, and the kids loved the show. Poogie Bell was on drums; another powerhouse artist. Several years later, we got to see Victor Wooten at Variety Playhouse in L5P (ATL). Equally incredible musician, although a little out there, musically speaking. Never did get to see Stanley Clark, though. We did see saxophonist Gerald Albright, though. Thanks for a great memory!
@John, Jerry, Jim, and NYC Traveler, Thank you for chiming in with appreciation for Marcus Miller's chops. For the record, let it be known that despite his artistic stature, he is truly a nice, down-to-earth, humble guy. He is a very great friend of a very great friend of mine, and I met him and lounged backstage with him when he played Portland with David Sanborn. –And then I danced the night away! (What can I say, this white girl has had funk and R&B coursing through her veins since adolescence!) :-)
Fully concur with the constructor notes- definitely in the Robyn Weintraub school of puzzle construction and there can be no greater compliment than that. I enjoyed the solve but do have one minor nit to pick with the editing- several clues/fill were rather US-centric (more than usual I felt) and I assume some overseas solvers may struggle with those.
@Rahul Robyn is one of my favorite constructors. She has never constructed a NYT crossword with one, let alone two, triple stacks.
@Rahul - Yes, US clues can be expected in a US puzzle. I am not touching a British or Asian English puzzle.
Congratulations on your debut, Caroline. You really did channel Robyn here and I enjoyed it. I started with acidwaShed DENIM before DISTRESSED. And I had Chicago Illinois before MANHATTAN KANSAS 😆 Loved the two triple stacks. As Jim Horne said, audacious!! This month has highlighted the jig and now the REEL. My daughter competed in Irish dance for eight years and these entries always bring me joy. <a href="https://youtu.be/WOz_bNVY7OA?si=ZnNKqdkHMLD8I3AU" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/WOz_bNVY7OA?si=ZnNKqdkHMLD8I3AU</a> Thank you, Caroline. I hope to see more from you.
@Jacqui J Very talented dance group, synchronized to perfection. Thanks for posting!
Enjoyed learning about SACAGAWEA, but as a Brit, no way I could have got her first letter without a look-up given 1-down. As your esteemed president would say, "SADD". (But I actually enjoyed this puzzle a lot).
@Tim Yep. And the first square is not where you want two naticks to cross, I solved the bottom two thirds but eventually looked at the article to get the answer to 1 across at which point the rest fell into place.
Congratulations on such a stellar debut, Caroline!! Color me impressed with your six spectacular spanners and such clever clues throughout the entire grid. I, for one, am thrilled that you persevered to reach the esteemed NYT acceptance club -- I hope we see more from you soon!
Loved it. Lots of big original fill with challenging vowel structures. Cheers
Extremely US centric which goes against the NYT games crew repeatedly stating that they want their games to have global appeal.
@Mo and to preempt the inevitable retort that it is a US paper. Google International New York Times and check out the puzzle section.
What a terrific constructor story! I just love the exuberance.
@Francis I agree. Dare I venture to add how easy on the eyes her photo is? I'm sorry, I'm a man, I notice these things. (Back into hiding.)
to paraphrase Joyce Kilmer: I think that I will never crack A puzzle lovely as a stack! Have I ever encountered one of these I don't like? I'm not sure I ever have -- and I certainly enjoyed this one. Every time I was about to fall into the abyss, the puzzle threw me a lifeline. Oh, was I happy to see some of the easy crosses. A happy accident. I had only the SUI for "adjoining in a way" and wrote in ENSUING. This was completely wrong. but it gave me two correct letters I didn't deserve and helped me get to ENSUITE -- a much better answer. Today I learned that there's a MANHATTAN, KANSAS. You'd think that we residents of the pure, the true and, I assume, the original Manhattan would know about the existence of this other one. And probably some of us do -- but I didn't. A lovely stack puzzle, Carol, that's wonderfully free of junky fill. Well done!
@Nancy I only ever knew about it because Ft. Riley (home of the Big Red One) is nearby. I spent a week there, one night!
@Nancy Thrilled to find my town in today’s puzzle! It’s a small college town in the Flint Hills of Kansas formed in the pre civil war era by the New England Emigrant Society to ensure Kansas became a free state. Lots of deep New England ties here.
Nancy, There is a state university in Manhattan, so it will be known to academics and to those who follow college sports.
Who knew I knew all that stuff? Well, I didn't, but when crosses kept turning up mistakes, I had no choice but to figure it out. From the top, when I was trying to figure out some bitcoin kind of answer and DOLLAR came muscling in, to the bottom, when another fill presumed to RUNINTEFERENCEf, I was starting to get TICked off. I thought maybe a nice DRAFT of AMERICANPALEALE might calm me down, but instead I had a lovely glass of strawberry Ensure. (Yes, it's come to that.) Neither my husband nor I could remember what APERCU meant, but I figured it must be right, since not a lot of English words end in U. (Oh right, that's not English.) You constructed a tough puzzle, Caroline, but no look-ups were necessary, which is the way a really well-made Thursday crossword should be. I loved it. Thank you, and I hope your next one will be another doozy.
Fantastic Friday Puzzle! A great big 👏 to the constructor’s resilience.
Good, tough Friday. Along with yesterday's fine offering, it feels as if the editors are trying to make up with us. It's working. :) Some of this was a little easy, and I did finish quite quickly, but I'd say Hard overall. Checking against XWStats... Hmm they have it as Average at this (relatively early) writing. 🤷♂️
@B Jfyi the xwstats difficulty classification is purely a function of aggregated stats, no opinions/judgment involved: <a href="https://xwstats.com/help#:~:text=How" target="_blank">https://xwstats.com/help#:~:text=How</a>%20are%20the%20puzzle%20difficulties%20calculated?
Welp, my previous attempt to link to the relevant section within the xwstats help page did not go well…but if you follow that link, the text I *tried* to directly link to was: “How are the puzzle difficulties calculated?”
As the column mentions the pre-software days of crossword construction, I'd like to ask the puzzle creators and professionals among us about how much computing has changed the game. Has the frequency of great puzzles skyrocketed? Compared to that stone age, does the ease of puzzle-making generally now blow the minds of old-timers? And particularly with the advent of AI, is creating a crossword puzzle today simply a matter of asking for one? There are a few creator names in these parts that are recognizable for consistently, outstandingly creative puzzles. How much (if at all) does that reflect mastery of software on top of pure talent?
@Jonathan As a constructor who never had to do it the old way, I can’t compare, nor can I give a rundown of how the masters do it (and I am definitely not one). I will say that most of the crossword creating applications have word lists which can be added to and maintained. Cruciverb.com has word lists that they constantly update and has been invaluable to me. But I know that constructors who are dedicated may add their own words and phrases as well. In addition, those word lists have some ratings for phrases or words that can be tweaked by the users, so good constructors may downgrade entries that they don’t want to use a lot to make sure their grids are cleaner. Finally, especially for themeless puzzles, good constructors usually find a few good fresh “seed” entries that they want in their puzzles and then use the software to work around those. That’s my 2 cents but as I said I am by no means the best user of these programs.
Great puzzle! I'm just about OLD AS DIRT, but enjoyed dredging brain for rarely-used-by-me words (APERÇU) and puzzling out the modern long entries (Ale and 50 Shades not in my bailiwick). Hoping to see more of your puzzles, Ms Hand.
having a mandela effect moment. i could have sworn as kids we learned it as SACAJAWEA... anyone else?
jf, Both spellings have been around forever. Here's just one "j" cite: <a href="https://parks.wa.gov/find-parks/state-parks/sacajawea-historical-state-park" target="_blank">https://parks.wa.gov/find-parks/state-parks/sacajawea-historical-state-park</a>
N.B. I chose G so 5D wouldn't be jIRTH.
@jf SacaJawea may be the more correct spelling, partly depending on which tribe is claiming her, but SacaGawea is the spelling always used for the coin. SaKaKawea is another spelling alternative. <a href="https://www.historynewsnetwork.org/article/is-it-sacajawea-or-sacagawea#:~:text=According" target="_blank">https://www.historynewsnetwork.org/article/is-it-sacajawea-or-sacagawea#:~:text=According</a>%20to%20her%20husband%2C%20her,a%20Shoshone%20word%20for%20%22Boat%2DLauncher.
Linda Jo, I read the OP as questioning memory, not the puzzle entry.
@jf Sadly, I remember the G thanks to Ben Stiller's character butchering her name in Night at the Museum.
I don't usually deal very well with stacks but these worked for me today. The ANASTASIA STEELE is the only one that took a while. However, I spelled APERCU as APERGU and had PIG instead of TIC. That took a while to sort out as everything seemed to fit initially. I had fun with this though. Loved OLD AS DIRT!
The week's not done but I've almost entirely forgiven the editors for last week. Very strong debut and very Weintraubian. Now make more! (Kidding not kidding.) APERCU: last to fall and with an alphabet vowel run for the U. Never heard of it and hope it's not destined to be an ORA for me.
@Matt the C of APERCU was the last to fill for me 😆
@Matt How was this Weintraubian? There was very little misdirection and my only challenges had to do with the (overabundance of) trivia.
@Matt I wonder if someone will check APERÇU's appearances. I'm sure it had a fine career in the 1950s; it's got a martini-ish, faux-sophisticated feel to it that makes me think of high heels in the office and BBD&O. 'Mad Men', anyone?
@Matt It is certainly a nice compliment, but it never occurred to me to compare today's puzzle to a Weintraub, though hers often run on Friday.
I don't think I've ever stared at so many entries where I had all but one letter and simply could not get that last letter, e.g. TI? for [Jerk]. Just couldn't quite close it out cleanly because I was thinking it was SAgAGAWEA. Once I checked the spelling, life got a lot easier. I for one felt quite challenged, even though I seemed to be in the zone for a while.
@Francis --- I bet we could get quite a list going of different ways to spell SACAGAWEA. Mine was SACAjAWEA. That paired nicely with my errnoeous ANiSTASIA. After ironing those out I was left with APER?U / TI? which fell quickly thanks to C's position early in the alphabet.
@Francis My goof way thinking it was SACAjAWEA. ( Got a *solid* chuckle from your reply yesterday.)
Graph paper and just flipping through a tome, haha. I remember those days. Our careers have tracked oppositely; I had some early success and now haven’t appeared in over 15 years. Ah well. A little ‘Nosowsky-esque’ also, I’d say. Bravo!
Whew. And Wow! Typical long Friday workout for me, but ended up being a quite enjoyable solve. And... this was one really impressive of construction. Making those grid-spanning triple stacks top and bottom has to be extremely difficult, and.. of all those answers - Two appearing for the first time. Two others that only appeared once before. One other that only appeared twice before, and.. one with 4 previous appearances and that was... SACAGAWEADOLLAR And all of those appearances were in the last 16 years. Wow. Just wow. Oh.. and my puzzle find. I'll put that in a reply. ...
@Rich in Atlanta As threatened: A Sunday from February 6, 2005 by Joel Kaplow with the title "What a picture is worth." Don't recall seeing another one quite like this. Some theme clues and answers: "10 cents" ROOSEVELT "$5000" MADISON "$100" FRANKLIN "25 cents or $1" WASHINGTON "$1" EISENHOWER "$1" SACAGAWEA "$20" JACKSON "$50" GRANT "$10" HAMILTON "50 cents" KENNEDY And there were more. Here's that link: <a href="https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=2/6/2005&g=116&d=A" target="_blank">https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=2/6/2005&g=116&d=A</a> ....
That was a scary grid to look at at first but it all came together smoothly, very nice construction and impressive stacking of those long answers. I initially had "EFS" for Standoff's conclusion, though I guess "EFFS" would be proper spelling to make that answer work. I'd also started with PTS for the Carton amts, and had to scour the finished puzzle for my error to discover that of course IPTESTS aren't a thing, at least not as a measure of brightness. Mind your Ps and Qs!
Nice work! I didn’t know what a TUREEN was until today. That’s what’s fun about crosswords — sometimes, you get to learn!
@Andrés the faster I get, the less time I get to spend doing something I enjoy!
@Andrés Ah, the dying art of 'setting a nice table'. When I moved into my very first apartment, the first thing I got was a sofa-bed. The next? A nice set of china. (Marlina by Aynsley, for those who care.) A rudimentary 40-pc. set -- 8 5-piece settings, no soup bowls. But my mother's fancy set was extensive -- over 125 pieces, I think. Fruit nappies, cream soup and stand, twelve settings plus serving pieces! And every fall, we made a regular trek to the warehouse sale by Wm. Ashley & Co., held in the distant exurbs of Toronto, to hunt for missing pieces, replaces losses to breakage, and just look for "nice things".
@Andrés: the mock turtle sings this to Alice (and you can find song settings): Beautiful Soup, so rich and green, Waiting in a hot tureen! Who for such dainties would not stoop? Soup of the evening, beautiful Soup! Soup of the evening, beautiful Soup! Beau – ootiful Soo – oop! Beau – ootiful Soo – oop! Soo – oop of the e – e – evening, Beautiful, beautiful Soup! Beautiful Soup! Who cares for fish, Game, or any other dish? Who would not give all else for two Pennyworth only of beautiful Soup? Pennyworth only of beautiful Soup? Beau – ootiful Soo – oop! Beau – ootiful Soo – oop! Soo – oop of the e – e – evening, Beautiful, beautiful Soup!
@Andrés Did anyone else have Trivet? I have a few of those, for serving things in hot casserole dishes.
My first pass was a first-class disaster, beginning with 16A as HAZYLITTLETHING (the brewery's strong IPA) and ending with my confident entry for 58A CHICAGOILLINOIS. I was so chuffed at my brilliance in nailing the long crosses so knowingly. In the end, there were a few I just never would have known, and I agonized over the spelling of a c-section, insisting on spelling Caesar's name correctly. On to Saturday.
@Don H - Their "strong" IPA is Atomic Torpedo. Hazy is more of a New England (read: fruit juice) "IPA" (Not a fan of New England IPAs -- I consider them an oxymoron, right up there with British cuisine and French humility.)
@Don H I plunked down PALE ALE immediately, because that's most of their product line. Took a while for AMERICAN to fill in, as I don't think I've had that one. I'm pretty loyal to my local brewery, Dogfish Head, but I do like the Torpedo.
@Grant I always like the Dogfish product. Recently, my favorite was Citrus Squall, but down here, those are seldom in stock. My neighbor drinks the Sierra Nevadas like they're water. I'll take a free one from him, but the taste is not to my liking. I gravitate towards the Voodoo Ranger Fruit Force, 9.5ABV. Easier to stomach, hard to put down. More readily available than Dogfish.
Congrats on the debut! I found the bottom half very easy, due to a number of instances of too direct cluing (an ongoing issue in late-week puzzles). The top spanners took longer, but the real puzzlers for me were the adjacent verticals TORT, ENSUITE and APERCU. Once I realized that "Jerk" was not TUG, I simply forced myself to accept that ENSUITE is word and filled in TIC. This gave me APERCU, which for me was another unknown. In any case, a fine Friday workout. Got to this one late, but had it solved without help in about thirty minutes. Hope to see more from this constructor. Thanks!
"...I simply forced myself to accept that ENSUITE is word..." Xword Junkie, Two words, actually. <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ensuite" target="_blank">https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ensuite</a>