A more fun clue-answer pair would be “Something a Möbius strip has only one of”= EDGE. Saying it lacks an END isn’t saying anything interesting, since lots of shapes and topological entities also have no “end”. This comment does have an end, and this is it.
@Cat Lady Margaret I think it has two edges but only one side.
@Cat Lady Margaret Yes exactly, any old loop has no end - as you say the twist (ha!) with a möbius strip is that has only one side (or edge)
@Cat Lady Margaret I think it simply lacks an end as opposed to a normal STRIP. Also, a Möbius strip is often metaphorically used for the concept of infinity; in other words, it has no END. One EDGE doesn't have quite the philosophical appeal.
@Cat Lady Margaret - I considered this to be a gentle form of misdirection, since everybody knows the Möbius strip has only one edge and side. I suspect most people didn't immediately think of "end" when they saw the clue.
Our wonderful guest columnist, Mr. Ufomadu, teaches today the magic trick of walking away "while solving this entertaining puzzle by Daniel Bodily or when confronting life’s sometimes less amusing puzzles." Do you know who else used to do this in real life? Albert Einstein. When confronted with a problem that he was having difficulty solving, he would go play the violin or go for a walk or go sailing. Many years ago, I read somewhere that he would sometimes drop everything and go to the movie theater (that one seems to be debatable.) Deb Amlen, on the other hand, walks away and has some chocolate. I do, too – have some chocolate, not go sailing. Well, sometimes I just go to sleep. It works! The only reason I didn't have to do this today is because it's been years since I've had to do it on a Tuesday, even a crunchy one. And today was crunchy. And perfect. Thank you, Mr. Bodily. You never disappoint! Signing off, I leave you with Sting and Sister Moon: <a href="https://youtu.be/4qF3ZkvUeWk?si=PM6TTrxDa0fDtTyq" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/4qF3ZkvUeWk?si=PM6TTrxDa0fDtTyq</a>
@sotto voce And Thomas Edison used to go fishing off his pier at his Fort Myers, Florida, home when he was stuck on a problem -- because no one bothers a person who is fishing, and he could let his mind wander. They say that he wouldn't bait his hook, either, because he didn't want to be pestered by the fish, either.
Very quick and nicely quirky. My mind was on other things until I hit the snags and and had to wake up. I especially liked the masks at home, and pictured a family of raccoons around the dinner table until a cross got me to the ballgame. The flurry of Js was fun and I started looking forward to those. Thank you, Daniel, you do a classy Tuesday puzzle.
A fabulous puzzle focused on a letter that made a very late appearance to our current alphabet! In fact, “j” was simply considered a long “i” for most of its history and not a letter in its own right. Folks would most commonly add a bit of a flair to the final “i” when writing out Roman numerals to make the value easier to distinguish - think _“viii”_ vs _“viij”_ Anyways, this state of affairs was around until the 19th century, which is why DC has no J street (straight from I to K we go!) All right, taking my Fact Boy hat off for the day.
@Mishlev I knew the first part of your post about j being a long i, but interesting about DC!
@Mishlev Wasn't that a U2 song? "Where the streets have no J."
@Mishlev Thanks, that helps explain Ioan as an equivalent of John. Interesting tier J came so late when there are so many variants of Jon Jean Jhon Jen Jennifer Jill Jonathan Jerry Jack etc. etc.
Fun puzzle with a witty theme. Very fun to see all those entries with J as the last letter, and the revealer as the bottom most across. JLO indeed. More Tuesdays like this please.
I was literally driving through the capital of North Macedonia when I got that clue!!
@CDub, Whoa! (Or woah) What are the chances?
I don't get the dislikes here. It took me a while, but "answers ending in J" is a perfectly clever theme, especially when coupled with the 72A revealer. By coincidence, at our book group meeting tonight (51 years and still going strong!) we're reading Burma Sahib by Paul Theroux, a novel based on George Orwell's time in the service of the BRITISHRAJ. When my son was at the University of Montana he played in an alt-bluegrass band called Baba Ganoush, so that had me for a little while. It's hard to think of 58A without a fond memory of Molly Ivins, whose belittling sobriquet for George W. Bush was SHRUB. Fun Tuesday! Thanks!
@Jack McCullough, A book club still going after 51 years! That is so amazing, and wonderful to hear about. Congratulations!
I'll let you decide on cause and effect but just sitting here noting "snarf" being in the crossword twice in recent times and the general worldwide breakdown of societal norms and institutions.
Constructing a crossword puzzle requires skill, imagination and smarts; submitting the puzzle to the NY Times requires patience and optimism; publication of the puzzle requires a willingness to suffer the slings and arrows of snarky solvers, who will pick it apart, denigrate your intelligence, and make cracks ranging from nitty to insulting. To the puzzle makers, who have the passion for crosswords that gives them the courage to go through all of this, THANK YOU. We depend on you to make puzzles for us, so please keep up the good work. To the hopeful creators who are trying their best to make good puzzles and see them in print, be brave. The critics take a lot for granted, but they will secretly love you too (or just pretend they will, despite all evidence to the contrary).
I hope I never see 32 down again.
This was tough and chewy - didn't feel like a Tuesday to me at all - and when I hit the revealer at the very end (I'm a dutifully top-down person) and all those columns unexpectedly lit up at once, I lit up with joy. Fun! I found a lot of this harder than usual and that's a good thing. I had no clue there even was a theme; I literally didn't see it coming. Great stuff. (Wow, and XWStats only has this one as Average. So much mileage to vary.)
Good work giving our friend the 'j' more gameplay than usual! Impressive
So many "J"s. That I noticed. But did I notice that they were all at the bottom of long Down entries? Of course not. So I was not expecting JLO and I let out a small chuckle when I saw her. Another very cute and nicely executed early week puzzle -- the second in a row. Does this portend good things for the entire week? Heaven forbid I speak too soon. We shall see. BTW, I made no attempt to spell BABAGHANOUJ once I knew that would be the answer. I let it come in on its own, which turned out to have been a wise decision. I would have ended it with an SH because that's how I say it. And who knows how many other spelling mistakes I would have also made? A breezy, enjoyable Tuesday with a most original theme and a great revealer.
While it’s true that a Mobius strip has no end, that’s true of any old loop, circle, or sphere. A Mobius strip is more fun than that—it has only one side and one edge.
@Rachel R. Thank you! This idea that a Mobius strip is distinguished by having no end has been turning up a lot in crossword clues and it misses the whole point.
@Rachel R. - I didn't see anything in the clue that indicated that the Möbius strip was the only shape that has no end.
I spent 10% of my solving time on the main part of the puzzle, and 90% trying to spell "babaghannouuouszh," which, as it turns out, is not the correct spelling.
I know difficulty standards are in the gutter now. But "51-Down without its first letter" is egregiously bad, even for the modern crossword
SCARF and SNARF get me every. dang. time.
Tiff, Yoga will help you resolve that.
@Tiff No matter how often I see it in the crossword, I refuse to believe in the word snarf. I categorically deny it entry into my personal lexicon. If I ever hear someone say it in real life, it will probably precipitate my demise.
Daniel chose my other favorite letter for his clever puzzle. Q is still my fave, but J is obviously a close second 😉 I knew BABA GHANOUJ was the answer to 17 down, but I never knew it could end in J 🤯 Our favorite restaurant in Wisconsin served some that was so good. Even my young kids (at the time) ate it! I really liked this theme and the execution was flawless. Well done, Daniel.
I found myself saying "I DUNNO" a few times. That's rare on a Tuesday. Made for a fun solve.
Even on a Tuesday, Mr. Bodily's deft hand is unmistakable. Good morning for the trees, with ASH and OAK, and the cereal grains, with OAT, RYE, and also ORZO, which is the Italian word for "barley." (Do Italian chefs get confused when a recipe says "add 100g orzo"?) (Michael Pollen once commented that the entire history of plant life on Earth was an epic battle between the trees and the grasses; with the grasses currently in the lead.) Rutherford Platt's *A Pocket Guide to the Trees* (1953) is perhaps the most lyrical field guide ever penned. From the entry on "White Ash": "The parts of ash are so finely wrought that, separated from the tree, each is a thing of beauty in itself. Put together, these artistic details build a tree that wins first prize in architecture. The trunk is utterly simple, lifting the tree upward out of the ground with the harmony of a temple column . . . In fact, ash wood is so tough and elastic that it makes the best paddles, as well as tennis rackets, hoe and rake handles, bows and arrows. Ash wood burns while still green because sap is inflammable." Reading this, why would you want to?
@Bill Thank you for alerting us to this lovely book.
I just love the construction of this puzzle, from the unusual theme requirement all the way down to placing the theme clue in the most appropriate place possible.
Interesting puzzle idea. First time I've ever seen that spelling for that particular Mediterranean dish. Would rather have seen LLCOOLJ or HEYMRDJ instead of the rapper with unfortunate political allies, but hey, that's the world we live in now.
Something about all those Js in this puzzle made me smile when I was looking at my completed grid. Thanks, Daniel, for a fun solve!
I love Baba Ganoush Baba Ghanoush Baba Ghanouj Baba Gannuj Baba Ghanoug Baba Ghannouj Baba Ganouj but I can't figure out how to spell it! Thank you for a FUN puzzle!
55D. Really? I know it's Tuesday, but c'mon ... really?
@Grumpy - Agree 55D is a lame clue. I don't think the constructor should prophet from such entries.
@Grumpy It's a name crossed with two names, and one of those cross is extremely difficult. The linked clue adds rigidness to the solve, I like the choice, personally.
@Grumpy Yes, and 43A and 66D are…debatable.
Finished the puzzle except for SNARF. Checked the Google ngram viewer for "snarf down" (doesn't exist) and the Google trends comparison to "scarf down" (not even close in popularity with "scarf down" being the winner). Who says this word... I should've been more into yoga
@Snarf disliker It’s a slang word for eating quickly and greedily. There are sandwich shops here called Snarf’s.
@Snarf disliker I too balked at this the first time it came up, but it is quite a frequent answer, much more so than scarf. You might need to snarf down a few more crosswords before you get used to it though.
@Snarf disliker We always said “snarf” when you laugh hard with food in your mouth and you spray it out your mouth and some of it goes up your nose. That last part is especially key. Good times. And “scarf” for eating quickly.
@Snarf disliker snarf was my mistake. I had scarf and it took me a bit to go back to the yoga down clue which I had filled in with the across.
@Snarf disliker I did the same thing on engram! It does exist, it's just in the tens of thousands of percentiles, super tiny. It's a shame that tile was crossed with a name, but after thinking about it for a while there wasn't much to be done in that part of the board. Sucks, but that's the rub.
Awesome puzzle, loved the letter variety (in fact I thought it was a pangram right up until the very end!) Trickiest answer for me was "Snarf", as being an Irish person (and not very interested in yoga) the first thought I had was "Scarf", as was the case in quite a few recent puzzles. I've made a scant few crosswords myself, mostly for fun, and sometimes I include the phrase ', but not that one' as an indicator to help smooth out ambiguity in tough clues crossed with names. I don't know if that's a setting faux pas, but I like the idea for rare words and phrases. (For example, cluing "Roti" as 'Indian flatbread, but not that one')
@Abby Carr I always remember "scarf" being used instead of snarf. But then I grew up in a state that calls creeks--"cricks" and pillows--"pellows".
Since the revealer was in it's proper place the thought crossed, "Boy, a lot of J's". Had fun with this one, thanks. Alas, due to the Emerald Ash Borer the US East Coast misses that species.
Pretty crunchy for a Tuesday. I have to say when I first spotted the theme I thought we were looking at a fishing angle? But JLO works too. Wish I could spell BABAGHANOUJ. I have a strong aversion to eggplant. Hit a bit of a three way Natick with NATE, DANA and NICKIMINAJ. Should have known the latter I suppose but was so sold on DORA or DARA I got convinced it was RICKI. My bad! Pretty decent grid considering the constraints and more interesting than the Tuesday norm. Well done.
@SP I enjoyed this puzzle too - found it fun with the J endings. I also was dismayed by the triple trivia name challenge! Yes, could be resolved by JTILE, but like our columnist, I tried to make a scrabble word out of "J--LE" which I filled in "JouLE" (lol!). This is my 2nd recent weird stutter on "Tile" related to Scrabble. I think because when I play (not often due to usually getting trounced!), I use an app, so no handling of actual tiles. I've come to think of them as just letters -no JTILE .
@SP, Love the idea of the J at the end of a Down answer representing a hook at the end of a line. A puzzle theme, perhaps? 🤔
Nice to see my first initial be the star of the show for a change. I did not have a problem with the puzzle other than waiting for the crosses on BABA GHANOUJ since there weren't enough spaces for the spelling I'm used to seeing. Thanks, Daniel, and hope you can take advantage of the peace and quiet to come up with some more puzzles for us!
Fun puzzle and a good workout. With my wife's common nicknames being "Doctor J" and one of our favorite dogs - "OJ" this should have been right up my alley. But just a lot of working the crosses and it all came together. Somewhat appropriate puzzle find today was a Thursday from November 25, 2010 by Bill Thompson. Some theme answers in that one: MALCOLMX LLCOOLJ SPECIALK GENERATIONZ AVENUEQ Here's that link: <a href="https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=11/25/2010&g=27&d=D" target="_blank">https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=11/25/2010&g=27&d=D</a> Might put another puzzle find in a reply. ...
Gitchie, gitchie, ya-ya, da-da. Thanks for the morning earworm, Ikechukwu! I also went awry with EXTRAS, wound up just below my average time. And thanks Daniel, for the excellent Tuesday!
Constructors have a lot of license with some words. There could be a new rendition of Let's Call The Whole Thing Off that would go something like: "You spell Khadafy and I spell Gaddafi" "You spell hummus and I spell hoummos" Then you get to "babaganoush", and things really start to open up.
What you get when you try to force a theme on a Tuesday. Ghanouj is extremely rare as a spelling, radio DJs haven’t played a 45 in a decade or three, and fresh OJ is still an abbreviation. And a three way Natick for good measure. Kudos for still making it work at a Tuesday difficulty level, but it certainly felt a bit contrived.
@Rachel yep the crossings made it work out but my initial fill had "retro DJ" and "babaghanous" instead. "J tile" was easy to fill in the end but my mind was already calculating potential 8 point words instead and I was mildly disappointed. That said, still a normal satisfying solve, just with a slightly bitter aftertaste!
@Rachel - "Hey, Mr DJ, when you gonna spin it?" Fun puzzle!
@Rachel Community radio DJs probably play more vinyl now than they did a few decades ago.
@Rachel Strong agree on all. A triple Natick? C’mon.
@Rachel "Extremely rare"? No. I've seen it spelled ghanouj plenty of times, in restaurants and cookbooks. Also ganouj. I was trying (unsuccessfully) to solve with only the across clues, and that was the first theme answer I got. I liked the theme, simply because ending entries with a J is thinking outside the box. I mean how many puzzles have you seen with SASS filling in the last across row?
Wow, that's tough for a Tuesday puzzle. This one really did some Bodily harm to my average time.
I sCarfed down my breakfast this morning, but, apparently, I should have SNARFed it down . . . Happy Tuesday, everyone -- an warmer treat of a day in these parts today!😎
SCARF/SNARF is fast-becoming a kealoa for me. Must remember not to fill it in too quickly, or else I'll doom myself to hunting down one incorrect letter when the puzzle is finished (like I did today). I really liked the clue for 23A.
Nobody spells baba ganoush that way !
@Sarfraz In cookbooks, I've see ghanouj, ghanoush, ganoush, ganouj. And those are just the ones I can remember offhand.
Sarfraz, As Nancy J. notes, English has many ways to spell بابا غنوج Just pronounce it properly, please.
Having never hear of our columnist for the past two days, Ikechukwu Ufomadu, I strolled over to YouTube and watched a few of his videos. His comedy is an acquired taste to be sure, but he had me giggling. I recommend taking a gander.
Anyone else have IOwA as something I can stand for? I was thinking of the word IOTA meaning "tiny amount," rather than the Greek character. I don't watch a lot of TV, so wBS sounded like a plausible TV network. Took a while for me to sort that out, but the streak lives on!
@Dave Munger I had Iowa and had to correct myself after getting the “keep trying” message.
@Dave MungerI had Iowa for the longest time as well.
Does anyone really use ESPY in conversation, aside from discussing crossword puzzles?
@Joe It would be pretty easy to come up with a list of a few dozen words that are only seen in crossword puzzles.
@Joe Sure. You have to lean forward, shade your eyes with one hand, and place the other hand on your hip when you use it, though.
@Joe Only when discussing sports awards.
Having just watched Amazon Prime’s excellent 4-part series Soul Power on the American Basketball Association, I initially had 72A as DrJ (though it turns out he was actually born in East Meadow, NY). Guess that would’ve been too much of a slam DUNK.
An easy puzzle until it wasn’t. Sometimes there’s just stuff you don’t know, but it’s the constructors job to guide the solver through the smoke with adept cluing, which was sadly absent here. Not a very fun puzzle unfortunately. And hey @NYT, let’s please not include right-wing grifters who turn on their supporters for personal gain, how about that?
I would not have known the particular spelling of GHANOUJ were it not for the Rutgers grease trucks!
One more answer history search, inspired by this puzzle's theme. Wondered how many answers there might be that have 3 (or more) J's in them. Well.... ...in the history of these puzzles, exactly two. DJJAZZYJEFF and JJONAHJAMESON And that's it. ....