About puzzles becoming easier.... Like a lot of us, I notice this. It puts a crimp the enjoyment. But as I watch newspapers across the country contracting, even folding, I’m thankful The Times can draw on its side enterprises to support the newsroom. Games has nearly 5 million subscribers, producing tens of millions of dollars in annual revenue. That supports a lot of reporters and a lot of reporting. One can imagine the pressure to drive these numbers up. Fortunately, we find ourselves in a golden age of the crossword. If I had to, I know I could find other good and challenging puzzles. But I know, too, that I wouldn't find another newspaper to match The Times.
@JLG Amen. I’d be lost without the Times.
@JLG Agree and amen to that. Thankfully, we still have journalism that allows for free speech - this forum included. The Times has stumbled upon, carefully planned, produced, whatever you'd like to call it, the golden calf that feeds their tribe. And so they adjust and trim, and homogenize their games so that everyone can enjoy a gold star. And so it goes, the world we live in. May not like it all the time, but it's what we have, and yes, I'm still very happy to be here, and able to complete a grid or two.
@JLG Nicely put. Hard crosswords are out there. The Newsday Saturday Stumper. Peter Gordon’s Fireball. Tim Croce’s Club 72. And probably others I can’t think of.
@JLG So let me get this straight. Because we value journalism, we can and should sacrifice the quality and history of the NYT crossword puzzle and pretend it's okay to watch it become TV Guide / USA Today level? And keep paying for it anyway? I don't think so. I subscribed to Games to play the most challenging and historic crossword puzzle in the country, and one I grew up with. It is nothing but sad to see this happen. Your argument would be equally valid if the Times were managing to supplement its income in any number of other ways - p__ography, food delivery, book sales, crypto scams, signed bibles, fake memorial coins... We owe no loyalty to those endeavors if we disagree with them. Feel free to donate money if you value the paper's existence more than what you're actually paying for. I don't want to pay or play something that has become a joke of its former self. Am I happy that Games has become a profit center to enable good journalism, sure. So why destroy the very thing that brought that value?
@JLG - I agree 100%. Although I am sad that so many of the late-week puzzles have become so easy over the past year or so, I will continue to support the NYT. Given that the most powerful government in the world is now clearly trying to destroy legitimate journalism, I have concluded this: even if I decided that the games were no longer worth the cost of the subscription, I would still continue to subscribe, just to continue my support of journalism.
@B I have another argument. I suspect that making the late week puzzles too easy may work against keeping the Times afloat in the long run. If the puzzles become easy enough that you can essentially learn the tricks in a year or two, I predict even the newer puzzlers will begin to feel bored and move on in about that time. Rather than a gradually increasing, dedicated community of solvers, the Times may end up with a much, smaller rolling community with an average stay of a couple of years.
@JLG True. But why can't we have both? The source of challenging brain benders that we used to have, as well as a source of impeccable, objective news reporting? Personally, I visit NYT puzzles less often. I literally never solve the crossword on Mon-Wed, rarely on Thurs, sometimes on Fri. I look forward to a challenge on Saturday but rarely get it these days. Solved today in 13:46 and it was completely a "meh" experience. If this were the norm, I would not repeat. I still rue the loss of the online Acrostic, another great brain exercise. Surely the editors see these comments (Will S.?) but the die seems to be cast.
I don’t think the Friday and Saturday puzzles are created solely to satisfy the limited number of solvers who complain that every Friday and Saturday puzzle is too easy. If these puzzles were made only for them to their desired level of difficulty, few others would find them satisfying after slogging their way through. I finished this one a little faster than usual, without any look-ups, but I had to work for and enjoyed the solve. Sorry if the elite solvers find that distressing - but there is a larger audience to consider.
@DQ I respect your opinion. But many of us have a higher respect for your own intelligence and that of most people who want to enjoy crossword puzzles. We know that early on traditional weekend puzzles will be a slog for many folks. Heck, sometimes they are still a slog for us. But we honestly believe that with patience and perseverance all those folks will get better, grow and learn, and eventually come to enjoy the challenges as much as we do. I hope that doesn’t sound patronizing but I mean it the opposite way. If people want easier puzzles then there are other days for that, and other avenues, and if in fact this is a necessary evil to sell subscriptions then we can accept that but it still should not be celebrated, and pushed back against. Because I do believe if we settle for less then there is no incentive to grow.
@DQ When a Polish guy who has never lived in the US find most puzzles at the NYT too easy, you know you have a problem 🤷🏽♂️
@DQ And you're mistaken, since Fridays and Saturdays are advertised by the Times itself as being hardest and the result of a gradual progression each week, by design. This puzzle barely passes muster as a Monday even in the worst of times. This dumbening isn't merely sad and disheartening, it's a breach of courtesy and contract.
@DQ I don’t know what the proportion of people who like hard vs easy puzzles is. I do know that the NYT ones used to be harder, and I mourn that loss. I’m hopeful that consistently commenting about it will inspire the editors to revert, or at least to add a second version of clues to reflect historical difficulty.
@DQ I agree. I solved it a little faster than usual but I appreciated the wordplay. Every Saturday doesn’t need to be a streak buster.
@DQ But why are they catering ONLY to the people who want an easier puzzle? Where are the puzzles for those of us who want a challenge?
@DQ Interesting new strain of populist commentary I’m suddenly seeing crop up — crosswords for the people! I mean, I guess I can appreciate the honesty (as opposed to debating the premise, i.e. gaslighting), but I just don’t get the mentality. The NYT crossword became the brand/institution it is in large part because of its reputation for tricky Thursdays and hard Saturdays, and those challenges have been a huge draw for many longtime subscribers. Why does *every* day of the week have to be beginner friendly?
@DQ How long have you been solving? What happens when, in five or ten more years, you yourself have progressed to the point where there's no challenge to even a Saturday puzzle?
@DQ The NYT puzzles used to be the gold standard. They were challenging and clever and drew from a massive pool of knowledge and vocabulary. You were pretty much guaranteed to learn something from them. There are plenty of easier crossword puzzles to do if none of that appeals to you. Leave this one alone
I've got a real big sweet tooth You'll soon know what I mean When I see confections I'm certain that ice cream With bananas so a-peeling I'll take all that I can get: And in just one split second I'll have a second split! (I wrote this in one fell scoop.)
@Mike You're such a sweetie, as we all agree What a tasty bit of fluff, so chocolaty! Now we've got a rhyme that's also punny What's up next, the Easter Bunny? (Well, I thought it was funny)
@Mike Great poem. I can't match it but... I'm a seven-month newbie And I hope you'll all agree That this Saturday puzzle Was not too twee.
@Mike I’m not averse To a bit of banana verse There’s certainly worse In this crazy universe But writing poems is not a snip For those who lack your penmanship And in this particular poetical trip I fear I’m heading for a banana slip And there i go… tumbled! Fumbled Rumbled Humbled by the wondrous humour of your almost daily delights. Keep ‘em coming!
@Mike Is this my first Attempt at verse? Alas...the inaugural Is naught but doggerel!
@Mike Today, you have graduated to be the poet laureate of the puzzle comments section of the NYT crosswords. Excelsior.
As a Nigerian who has never been to the USA, it is fascinating to see so many complaints about how "easy" this was for a Saturday puzzle when I was forced to turn to Google a number of times. Times constructors never seem to consider that their audience might not be entirely made up of persons versed in the esoteric provincial trivia they're so fond of cluing - such as the name of the junior Senator from Hawaii, the maker of a juice brand primarily found in US stores, or the direction of travel between US states (and thanks for the geography lessons, truly). I see some are bemoaning that the Saturday puzzle is now 'too easy' because the Times is chasing subscribers. If that is the case, I’m sure y'all would be glad to fork over $17,492,834.67 per month as your subscription if it keeps the rabble out. So, by all means, you may vent and rage, and bemoan that the Saturday puzzle has "gone woke", but consider that for so many of us, only the cost of replacing a phone prevents us from yeeting ours on a Saturday morning.
@MrB Interesting post. My main takeaway is that anyone who is not a native English speaker living in America, that tries US crossword puzzles, deserves a lot of respect. Only “Googling a number of times” is to finish a Saturday is awesome, whoever you are. I had zero idea so the senator was, as well. I am guessing 99.5% of Americans don’t know. Fortunately, it was my last square, and I knew it had to be a vowel, so I only had five guesses to solve. But. Here’s where I’d disagree with your post. The target audience for the NYTXW should not be a super smart person from Nigeria (ENE of Lagos). The standard for the crossword should be someone living in America, that would be familiar with American English wordplay and cultural trivia. It’s the NYT. Not the BBC world service. Again, it’s incredible to me, that you find this crossword ‘accessible’ as an intellectual hobby. But respectfully, I just don’t see how a ‘foreigner’ should think they should be the target audience for this crossword. “No shade”
@MrB I didn't know the senator's name, and I'm fairly well informed about politics. I don't think Sen. HIRONO has much of a national profile.
@MrB This isn't much of a defense of the puzzle in its current state. Yeah, America-specific clues in an American puzzle might be obscure for people who aren't from America. This would be true on a Monday or a Saturday. Not sure how that addresses the valid complaint that weekend puzzles have become insultingly easy in general
I was so confused about the COSSACK clue guys... so here are some facts about Cossacks from a Ukrainian history student. The origins of Cossacks likely stem from the desire of the south-eastern regions of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (which were just recently Rus' or "Kyivan Rus'") to differentiate themselves from other populations. And frankly, they were quite different, since not only did they have different laws (the Statutes of Lithuania), they also lived a drastically different life. The south-east of the Commonwealth was a dangerous place called "The Wild Steppe", as it was a constant target of Crimean ravaging campaigns. Because of this, the local nobility were experienced warriors, creating their own warrior community. And the community needed a name as well as a different identity from that of other nobility. The etymology of the word "cossack" is a debated one, so we won't go there. Cossacks thought of themselves as people of a different descent from the peasants and other nobility. So while the Polish nobility hailed themselves as "Sarmatians", the Cossacks coined the "Khazarian" roots. So you see, while Cossacks did not originate in russia, a series of agreements made them a part of the empire, with varying degrees of autonomy. With time, russia, as all empires do, absorbed and assimilated the Cossack identity. And that's why the "russian Cossacks" is a popular belief Hope it wasn't too hard to read. It's a peaceful afternoon in Kyiv. Have a great one!
@Anya Thanks for the important historical clarification, I had the same thought. In symbolic solidarity with Ukraine, I'm going to leave this entry blank and take the incomplete rather than perpetuate Russia's rewriting of history. 🇺🇦🇺🇸
@Anya It’s awesome how international our readers picks are today. Like 5 out of top 6. And it’s certainly not lost on anyone that someone from Ukraine noted a group that was ‘assimilated’ by Russia. Wonder how the editors feel about that one. In all seriousness
@Anya I think the human tendency towards tribalism may have driven our species to such success. I also wonder, now that we've become far too powerful, if that same tendency will drive us to extinction. I used to worry about the extinction of the human race. Now I'm more resigned to it, and maybe thinking it would be better for the planet as a whole. A very sad conclusion. But I just don't think we're mature enough to wield the power we wield.
@Anya Thanks so much for the history lesson. Just FYI, my first choice was "hussars."
I choose to believe I am simply getting better at the NYT crossword and it’s as difficult as it’s always been :)
@bayonetta there's always some spoilsport finding a silver lining 😎
Un-lurking because I need to have my say. I've done the NYT xword for several decades. While working I mostly ignored Thurs & Sat because I didn't have the time to figure them out. Now I'm retired I do the puzzle every day. I enjoy the solve & learning things that I didn't know. I have my favorite constructors & I am in awe of all you new puzzle creators, your brilliance, whimsy, & creativity. I'm grateful to Will Shortz & staff for the many years of guiding this cultural institution, & for the emphasis on diversity that has brought so much freshness the past few years. Until recently, I've enjoyed coming to the comments after completing, for the sense of camaraderie & to enjoy others' insights & observations. Lately, the comments are so full of complaints about the hard-easy level that I can no longer enjoy it. I don't care to have my sense of satisfaction or enjoyment of a theme killed by finding out that my experience was apparently stupid because I didn't think it was too easy. I wish that those of you who feel strongly about this would write directly to the puzzle team & let the rest of us enjoy the community that is now buried under the constant stream of complaints. OK, I've had my say & I'm out. It's Spring & I'm sure I can use the time back for more productive pursuits than reading complaints. I'll miss the fun comments that I used to enjoy from some regular commenters -- looking at you, Cat Lady Margaret & Mean Old Lady 🙂. Wishing you all the best. PNW out.
@Ginny I get your point about not wanting to have the puzzle experience ruined, but it is the comment section where people come to share their opinions on the puzzle. I know this isn’t your introduction to being online, and know that comment sections can often feel like they reflect mostly negative opinions. So if that’s something that will make the puzzle less enjoyable for you, maybe just do the puzzle and ignore the comments, or just understand that there will have to be some filtering on your end, where you figure out a way to ignore the negativity. Cheers!
@Ginny Very sorry to see you go. You make a ton of sense. Regardless of whether one is hungry for tougher puzzles, or one is enjoying the feeling of getting a full week of gold, I can understand the frustration of both sides. Because I see and feel both sides. It shouldn't be hard for each side to see the others' side, but we just can't. Certainly as a relatively new solver, I can feel that the weekends just aren't the tooth-and-nail battle, they used to be. They're not struggles that we feel proud of overcoming, but rather just another exercise in filling in answers that came to us immediately. On the other side, being relatively new, I remember when I first started getting Fridays and Saturdays, I was just over the moon a about my apparent increased puzzling ability. And it hurt to hear that it was all a mirage based on easier puzzles. Whether that is true or not (and I'm coming to believe it is true), it hurts to hear. I brought this idea up before, and I think it would be a kind of solution--that of the NYT publishing both their own edited clues, and the clues submitted by the constructor. Then the user would have the choice of going with editorial clues or original constructor clues.
Read what you like, skip what doesn't interest you. In the Wordplay comments, and anywhere else.
@Ginny "And let the rest of us enjoy the community that is buried under the complaints" I mean, I hear you that you don't enjoy reading complaints, and I get it, but who do you think the community is? Many of the people who are commenting on how easy the puzzle has gotten are some of our longest time, most experienced solvers. They are the foundation of this community even as it's grown and expanded to include more and more solvers at varying experiences. They are some of the ones who graciously taught me through this comment section many of the tricks of crosswording, which has improved my skill and ended up allowing me to be able to solve very difficult Fridays and Saturdays. Sure, very slowly, but still. And the solves were so satisfying! I appreciate being part of this community, the entire community... It shouldn't have to be us and them, at least not here. It's okay to skim over posts you don't like, and seek out MOL and CLM.
@Ginny Hi Ginny, My experience has been that most of the Saturday puzzles are at the easier level of the past 2-3 years. However once in a while, maybe once every two months give or take, NYTCWP goes old school on us and puts out a killer-diller like the good old Satur-days. You're liable to hit on one of those, and in my experience it is a feeling of stymied stultification, and for me at least, a multi-day endeavor. Hey I ain't proud, except when I am. X-D lolol
I have learned more about Mount Etna from the NYT crossword than I ever thought possible.
@Gee Pea LOL I actually went through a mythology phase as a kid but I did Roman rather than Greek, so I knew it as Vulcan's forge.
@Gee Pea But wait, there's more: "Etna wineries help make Sicily one of Italy’s most exciting and distinctive wine regions. The wineries nestled on Mount Etna, Europe’s largest and active volcano, yield characteristic volcanic wines." -- authenticfoodquest.com
Thank you everyone for the kind words! I'm blessed to see people enjoying my puzzle. It's interesting that it landed easier here. Some of my students said it took them hours and complained about its difficulty. I like to make clean puzzles that don't have old stuff like OLLAS, SNEE, etc., and I do think that when you combine that with the editor's direction towards easier clues, my puzzles come out easier than I originally pitched them at. For example, here are a few hard (or stretchy!) clues that didn't make the cut: [Boxing equipment at the gym?] for LOCKER [Like when there's a good point on both sides, perhaps?] for TIED [Parkour spin-off] for FREERUNNING Credit where it's due— [Block housing] and [Brady bunch?: Abbr.] were all the editors!
@Boaz Moser Thank you for the puzzle and for confirming there actually is an "editor's direction towards easier clues". Up until now it has just been a lot of us readers surmising and ranting. We kind of figured the originals came in with better clues. I like the boxing one. I assume your student testers saw a different version? As presented I would have enjoyed your puzzle much more if it appeared earlier in the week. Thanks again for your work. Rest assured that the stress you see here is attributed to the editors and their corporate overlords, not the hard working and barely rewarded constructors.
@Boaz Moser I would love to have solved with your earlier clues! That argues for the recommendation by another commenter to have these provided with both original and edited clues. Maybe with some kind of estimation from our astute editors of which set is harder.
@Boaz Moser thank you so much for stopping by. The puzzle really was lovely. Your cut clues for LOCKER and TIED are so much more Saturday. Like others, I wish we had been given the opportunity to solve the puzzle your students solved.
@Boaz Moser thank you for today’s puzzle…however as “old stuff” (I began doing crosswords in the 1960s) speaking about vocabulary “old stuff” maybe consider not throwing the baby out with the bath water…evolution and tradition can coexist and bring great beauty to the past, present and future of language and word usage…there are many crossword words and words in literature no longer in general parlance but still they retain great beauty, meaning and the power to influence a considered and meaningful new usage. Well wishes in your future puzzle crafting.
@Boaz Moser very clever clues, indeed! Thanks for a nice ending to my Saturday.
@Boaz Moser I loved this puzzle. I solved it pretty quickly (for me) but the clues and fill were fun and fresh. My favorite was ARMOREDCARS. More please!
I love “hard” themeless puzzles, which have become a rare species in the NYT. I also want the NYT to continue to prosper financially, and I’m glad the crossword has become a source of reliable revenue. I don’t want massive newsroom cuts or, YE GODS, the paper being sold to a spineless oligarch. FWIW I’d pay a small premium to get “hard mode” Friday/Saturday puzzles. In the meanwhile, I will not decry the “go easier“ trend on the weekends nor I will begrudge others for lamenting the lack of sweat and accompanying smug that a “true Saturday” can bring. p.s. I know I don’t contribute much these days but JLG’s very thoughtful “most recommended” comment triggered some early-morning reflection about this topic, which of course is the most important issue in the world today! Peace to all you fine puzzle-lovers.
@Puzzlemucker Nice to see you here. Nice comment. I especially like your evocation of the sad state of affairs at the WaPo without mentioning it by name. (I have no such sense of restraint.)
@Puzzlemucker That’s a terrific idea! 💡 An option to play in hard mode like WORDLE has.
@Puzzlemucker @Eric Hougland I also like the evocation of the guy who's name rhymes with Gεff Hεzos. It's just horrifying, what billionaires are doing to this country.
This is unacceptable. This is a Saturday best for me, but I feel no sense of accomplishment. This was a Tuesday-level puzzle. I finished it more than half an hour faster than my average. Nearly every clue was straightforward: "Word with corn or cough," "Gym amenity," "Word with paper or humor," "Short-term workers." I am seriously considering canceling my subscription if this trend continues. I come here for a challenge, and if I'm not getting a challenge, then what am I paying for? I don't want to to complain. I try to go by the rule, "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all." And I appreciate how much work the constructors put into their puzzles. But this is really getting to me. I'm starting to not enjoy these puzzles.
@Katie I know you are a long time contributor and I can feel your frustration. No cap, with Friday’s (yesterday’s) puzzle, I purposely let the timer run so I wouldn’t get a PB logged into my stats. It’s such a weird experience the solvers are having nowadays. You want faster solve times as a proxy for increased puzzle solving ‘skill’. But at the same time, when the standard is so low, you feel cheated with your new PB. you competed in a marathon, but only had to run 8 miles to get your finisher medal
I had a bunch of mood swings with this puzzle. First I was very excited when I saw this grid, I love this style. Then I was disappointed by the NW which was very underwhelming. (ETCETERA? Really? And was BEOWULF a gimme for anyone else? What other classic poem would be in the British museum?) Then I got excited again by the NE which I thought was pretty decent. Then the bottom which had some fun moments and was about average for these days—but still easy for a classic Saturday—and the whole thing took 16 minutes, just a minute off yesterday which was an easy Friday. LOVED the TDS and XENA clues, I appreciate when folks take the time to create stellar clues for short tired entries. And I loved the clue for ARMOREDCARS but got it too quickly. I have a proposal—I wonder if we could make a convention to drop the question marks on Saturday clues with plays on words. ZENA was brilliant precisely because it didn’t have one, and luckily didn’t need it. But as soon as I saw doughy? I said, ok, has to have another meaning, ok, probably money, maybe an ATM machine? No, AR—ok, ARMORED CAR. And again, fundamentally, there are just too many gimmes sprinkled into a Saturday. “Have a nosh” SNACK, put up your ——, DUKES Very busy TIED—these are just not Saturday level clueing, by their own constructor standards if you read their submission guide. Figure out how to make those and others less obvious and you have a decent Saturday for sure even if the grid isn’t the most difficult on its own.
The answer to 1D and the clue to 35A bring to mind the classic Gary Larson cartoon of two polar bears breaking into an igloo with one saying, “Oh Hey. I just love these things, a crunchy outside with a chewy center."
@Paul Turner "Things that are tough on the outside and doughy on the inside?" Not quite.
@Paul Turner Is that the same Gary Larson as the crossword maker?
@Paul Turner I remember Hagar the Horrible saying the same thing about oysters.
@Paul Turner My first thought too. I remember it as two polar bears looking at an igloo not far away (with smoke, so you know there's someone in there). "Don't you just love those things...crunchy on the outside, chewy (and possibly warm?) on the inside."
I understand the complaints about easy puzzles — I too seem to be solving under my average time pretty much every day now, and while inexperienced solvers can focus on early days of the week (or the new midi), there’s nowhere for experienced solvers to go for a challenge except the archives. And god forbid you’ve been solving long enough to have already done them! What I will never understand is the people who want the puzzle to be less US-centric. It’s the New York Times! That would be like me complaining that BBC tv shows are all full of English accents. I have no doubt many clues are challenging for non-Americans, but that is because you are doing an American puzzle. 🤷🏻♀️
Easier than a lot of Saturdays, but some really nice clueing. I especially like the clues for ARMORED CAR, ENLIST and ROLES. Plus a couple of my favorite novels (Lord of the Rings and Dune)! Thanks, Mr. Moser!
Dang, another all-time best by far, two days in a row. I actually solved this one only about 25 seconds slower than the Friday. These times for me on a Friday and Saturday are absolutely unheard of. And that's with having odor before REEK and cutesy before DAINTY and lean-to before SHANTY. Some fun clues. I especially liked the clue for SLEUTH. I meant to be a sleuth when I grow up, but I guess I forgot. I'll use my little gray cells in other ways, so it's all good! I do have one question, though, why did the Ear, Nose, and Throat Doctors attack Isengard? I think I must have missed that episode of Star Wars.... Har!!
@HeathieJ The Ents in "The Lord of the Rings" were living trees who fought the evil Saruman of Isengard.
My kind of puzzle. Hardly a no-know, a storm of wordplay in the clues, and a sticky area I had to return to several times, yielding one of the great crossword moments – that inner combo of disbelief and woo-hoo at the realization that I’m finally going to fill it in. Then there are those solid bones, the central crossing triple-stacks. Look at those six answers – every one of them interesting. Not a LEADEN entry among them. Followed by the grid’s supporting cast – a gorgeous debut design inhabited by a super-low 66-word answer set, spotless, dust-free. Man, do you know how hard this is to put together? Lovely answers we know of but don’t often see in puzzles – BEOWULF, COSSACK. Lovely colloquials – I WANT OUT, TOOK THE L (both NYT debuts). World-class wordplay in [Things that are tough on the outside and doughy on the inside?] for ARMORED CARS. Even a dook (HIC)! Fun and beauty in the box today. Just a splendid outing. You nailed it, Boaz, and thank you!
@Lewis I'm with you, Lewis. Beautiful puzzle.
Now I want to hear from the other Lewis.
@Lewis @Barry Ancona Barry's right--I, too, want to hear from bizzaro Lewis as well.
TOOK THE L. Wouldn’t that make a good theme? You clue “interested in novel experiences” and the answer is “iterate”. Did we have one like this? I consulted xwordinfo, and found 2/16/23, which uses that revealer but is even trickier. I had forgotten that one! If I ever get to the end of the archive, my plan could be: just start over.
@Cat Lady Margaret What happens when one finishes the archive, I wonder? Does it unlock a secondary archive with the pre-Shortz puzzles?!
@Cat Lady Margaret There's an old GAMES Magazine (from the 80's I think) with a theme like that for a puzzle by Henry Hook called "Element 18".
Becky, xwordinfo.com, with help from some of the folks who post (and posted) here, created a pre-Shortz archive. Every puzzle. Try one or two, and then subscribe to help support the site.
Today's grid had me wondering if I was a crossword solver, or an unwilling participant in Wheel of Fortune. Of late, this forum has been peppered with insights concerning the change in the weekly degree of challenging fill that many enjoy. Yes, there are subscriber dollars to a) be made, and b) held. Seems to me that concessions have been made to encourage a wide range of solver abilities, with the common denominator being, "If they can't solve them, they won't pay to play!" Hence, a more gentle beast to tame. I hope this won't end in a, "NYT proudly presents a curated weekly batch of really chewy puzzles for you to (pay more) enjoy!" If shorter attention spans and desire for instant gratification require a vanilla puzzle in order to keep them lining up at the pay window, then perhaps this trend is not an anomaly. Please forgive me Boaz Moser - I'd really love to hear more of how your original submission matches what was published. You wrote, "Most of my puzzles are higher word counts, and so I had to get used to recalibrating my expectations for a tougher grid to fill." I wonder how much of that statement was due to the grid configuration vs the 'expectations for a tougher grid to fill' In fact, I would really love to know what constructors think of these facile fills. @Lewis was spot on earlier this week with his comments.
@Whoa Nellie From the point of view of pure UX, the optimum is a mix of high difficulty and low difficulty puzzles. (Dopamine (q.v.).) Thus someone like me, averaging 40 mins for a Saturday, is excited to knock one over in 13. If there’s a clever plan in place it’s probably that, though I suspect it’s just natural variation around a difficulty mean that’s slowly decreasing over time. (Saturdays from 2016 are genuinely much harder — there are months where I average well over an hour after eventually conceding things will have to be looked up.)
@Whoa Nellie @Lewis was indeed spot on earlier this week, but your synopsis here: Today's grid had me wondering if I was a crossword solver, or an unwilling participant in Wheel of Fortune. is the truth burn of the month.
I bet I'd enjoy the crossword a lot more if I stopped reading the comments
@Hugh clearly another case of too many cross words for crosswords
@Hugh, I'm slowly coming around to that point of view! So much criticism, and much of it borders on rude. Too hard, too easy, offense found where none exists. . . Obviously neither the editors nor the constructors can please everyone but it feels like things have gone off the rails. Generally speaking, I love my daily immersion in word nerd territory. Sometimes it's not exactly my cup of tea, and I do it and move on without feeling the need to castigate anyone for my lack of enjoyment. The fact that I don't like/enjoy a particular puzzle doesn't mean there is something wrong with it!
Really lovely to see the digitized Beowulf manuscript get a shout-out in the column—how to make a medievalist happy! (And also so important to show support for the British Library's fantastic online collections as they're slowly recovering from the devastating cyberattack in 2023.)
@Erika Gæð á wyrd swá hío scel." (Fate always goes as it must). I miss that walk from King's Cross to the library. For the rest of us, it's <a href="https://www.bl.uk" target="_blank">https://www.bl.uk</a>/
Sorry, couldn't resist. My first thought for "Digital provocateur" was UROLOGIST. 😏 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
@Ron I've had three prostate biopsies, one of them to remote areas that made my urologist squirm as he was telling me about the sampling targets. So more in agreement with your observation I could not be.
Where does the SECURITY LEAK to, I wonder? Do the people in the downstairs apartment have to clean up the mess made by all of that unwanted security? Will it ruin their couch and all their electronics? Does renters' insurance cover the damages?
@brasticstack I think they go back to the open arms of a love that's waiting there....
Always nice, when you’ve struggled with a puzzle, to find so many here bemoaning how easy it was. Thanks guys, way to make a woman feel good. I enjoyed this a lot, despite having acres of white space after the first couple of runs. Senators, juice brands etal natural unknowns, plus I had no idea why 31A solved to TDS. I’m assuming a sports thing. Highlights for me were 2D and 9D, though I’m ashamed to say I wrote orcs first, ignoring Isengard and assuming Helms Deep. Doh.
@Helen Wright Tom Brady is an American football player who scored many TDs (touchdowns)
@Helen Wright No idea about TDS either. The only Brady I know is the Bunch, and I didn't even watch that.
Was this puzzle too easy? I didn't think so. The isolated areas in the NE and SW had me wondering whether I was going to finish this puzzle successfully, a common Saturday feeling that is both frustrating and enjoyable for me. I was surprised at the end to see that I had solved faster than my average. Too many gimmes? Maybe. But I found myself saying "Thank you" to (almost) every one of them. (Not you, SPICE and SNACK.) I found this puzzle to be similar to yesterday's: perhaps a little on the easy side, but with enough fresh fill and misdirection to keep it interesting and enjoyable. So, thank you, Boaz Moser. And a special thank you to all things "doughy on the inside."
YEGODS, this one seemed hard, but I was surprised to finish below my usual time. Every time I hit a rough patch, enough easy ones cropped up to open up the puzzle. The NE did bedevil me for awhile, because I I tried odor for stink and had shears for big cuts. I might not have guessed STEAKS if I hadn’t switched to REEK. Block housing for IGLOOS was nice. I have a certain fondness for BEOWULF, as one of the characters, Princess Wealhtheow, bears an early version of my family name.
@Marshall Walthew Very similar solving experience. But, instead of BEOWULF, I was pleased by the clue for ETNA, since my family has always claimed to be descended from Hephaestus.
Twee !== (not equals) Dainty Twee might be a wannabe-dainty, but achieves the opposite.
@Anita To my (American) ear, DAINTY has similar negative connotations as "Twee". I'm guessing that things are different where you live. I should add that I almost never use "twee", which sounds British to my ear.
@Anita & @The X-Phile (sounds like a good name for a band) Dainty doesn't have negative connotations for me, and TWEE definitely does--not that it's a word I ever use, but I do know it when I hear it. Definitions and synonyms online are all over the place, but for me the good ones say it means excessively or affectedly dainty, delicate, cute, sentimental, or quaint.
Emued twice. How's this. This was extremely easy and extremely disappointing. A site beginning with "XW" lists almost 100% of people finding it Very Easy. The NYT should stop degrading their reputation this way.
@B I think it's pretty clear at this point that the NYT couldn't care less what we think..
I am certainly in the " puzzles are getting easier " camp . I do understand the need to keep this revenue engine going - but why not have one puzzle a week that is really tough ? I started doing some archive puzzles- whoa Nelly SO much harder . If you are up for the challenge go ahead and try Friday Jan 7,2000 . I will admit some of the trivia might have been more timely then . Today's puzzle a leisurely 16:28 over a cup of coffee . The Friday Jan 7 puzzle 52 minutes ! with one look up . Quite the difference . I do subscribe to Fireball crosswords and agree they are tough as well -but for me great fun.
@Cathy Parrish crosswords share with comedy a certain (uncertain?) degree of temporal constraint
@Cathy Parrish thanks for this. when someone recommends a puzzle I always bookmark it and usually solve it then and there. this one didn't disappoint. time was nearly 90 minutes but that also reflects stepping away to cook without pausing. And yes, it was way harder than most of the recent Fridays. very satisfying solve as i ripped out things I'd been sure of as other pennies dropped. Ended up with a total no-know at 20A/14D and had to run the alphabet. And I learned a new botanical term! ;)
Both yesterday and today my time was about 50% of my average for the day. *sigh* It's time to admit that all the folks saying the puzzles are being dumbed down aren't imagining it. I didn't like the idea of the alternate/easier clues for Fridays when it was announced, and I know some constructors bristled at it; however, I think therein lies the only solution that will result in Friday and Saturday puzzles that please most people and management. At least let the constructors write the alternate clues. And give us back a proper Fri/Sat challenge.
In my first comment, I wanted to show appreciation for what I liked most about the puzzle. Now for the other side. I suspect that making the late week puzzles too easy may work against keeping the Times afloat in the long run. If the puzzles become easy enough that you can essentially learn the tricks in a year or two, I predict even the newer puzzlers will begin to feel bored and move on in about that time. Rather than a gradually increasing, dedicated community of solvers, the Times may end up with a much, smaller rolling community with an average stay of a couple of years.
@Lynn Agreed. My own view is that NYT management is basically taking an extractive approach with the “NYT Crossword” product/brand that Shortz and co. built up over the preceding decades, presumably pressuring the crossword team to maximize “engagement” (something that should be *very* easy to directly measure on their side) in the near term. But in the long term, I suspect they’ll do a lot of damage to that very brand, by changing the product to a degree where the reputation they cashed in on (e.g. tricky Thursdays and hard Saturdays) no longer really applies…and at that point, newer folks won’t see any reason to feel excited about solving “a Saturday” without assistance, and worse still, any number of would-be enthusiasts will drop off after a year or two of solving, without a regular supply of more challenging, interesting puzzles to grow into.
Top right corner hurt, probably added about 2 minutes to my time. Otherwise, the puzzle was pretty easy. Way below my average.
@Dave K. Ditto. For some reason, the lower left got me a little bit too. A brain cramp prevented me from remembering how to spell cossack.
It took me too long to get past odor for REEK.
To correct the otherwise cool and hot columnist: IGLOOS are not built with ice blocks. Instead, snow has air pockets that make it work as an insulator. Ice: freezing; snow: warm and cozy.
@Karri An igloo is made of blocks of snow.
@Karri I wanted that answer to be TOYBOX.
NanuNanu, Karri is correcting the columnist, who referred to "blocks of ice," not suggesting there is anything wrong with the puzzle clue [Block housing].
The NYT is spending a lot of money and time developing new games to attract more subscribers. They need the revenue source to support the news, and I understand that. What I can't understand is the utter disregard for experienced solvers. Is there a reason they can't at least provide an additional puzzle on Thursday, Friday and Saturday that would be somewhat challenging? Maybe that's already in the works, and if it is, they should tell us about it. It might calm down the complaints if we knew this situation is just temporary.
@Nancy J. I believe they already offer "easy clues" for newer solvers, so why this dumbing down of ALL the puzzles is happening is just maddening.
@Nancy J. I mean, isn't the Midi supposed to be easier? Why can't the Midi be the easy puzzle, and this the hard one? I honestly can't justify spending so much money on something I'm not enjoying. I've been cutting subscriptions lately, and this one might be next on my list.
Followed yesterday’s Friday PB (7:47) with today’s Saturday PB (8:14) — which I assume means some 75% of the comments section will be complaining about the puzzles being too easy. Some weekends I’d wish for a harder solve, but coming off a particularly stressful week, I’m thankful for the quick win and mini confidence boost. Thanks editors!
I'm solving Fridays and Saturdays in record times every week. So I asked AI to see if NYT crossword puzzles are getting easier. This is what I got back: "Evidence suggests that yes, New York Times crosswords have generally become easier over the last several years. Long-time solvers and data from the archives indicate a "Great Easing," particularly in the following way: Accessibility: The NYT has shifted toward making puzzles more approachable to grow its subscriber base, especially following the 'Wordle boom.'" In other words they are catering to the masses by lowering the bar in order to maximize revenue, thereby further contributing to the dumbing down of literally everything. Talk about circling the drain. Where does it end?
@LJADZ Ironically, some of us believe turning to AI for answers is contributing to “the dumbing down of everything” far more aggressively than a crossword ever could.
@LJADZ Don’t worry, if you keep relying on large language models to do your thinking, I’m sure crossword puzzles will eventually get difficult for you again!
LJADZ, I agree with your position, but please note that "AI" is summarizing Wordplay comments, so it's hardly an independent analysis.
@LJADZ if "easier" means removing the pre Shortz tendency towards Naticks and obscure crosswordese like ETUI then who would complain? Is the complaint of "easier" crosswords limited to Shortz himself? Many people as they get more proficient find puzzles easier and then eventually they hit a plateau and complain that puzzles aren't hard enough.
@LJADZ you are not wrong…also hard to have a differing opinion from the comment section “masses” without getting policed and/or trolled here in the comment section. There were some very creative clues in today’s puzzle but they were lessened by clunky fill with poor cluing. Have a great weekend and here’s hoping for a more elegant puzzle tomorrow…hope springs eternal?
@LJADZ an LLM is just spitting back content that has been added to its training data, like…this blog and the comments section. So if commenters are saying “these are getting easier,” the LLM is going to parrot that sentiment. There is no real analysis happening.
As a palate cleanser / eye bleaching, I highly recommend today's free LA Times puzzle by Kyle Dolan. Very hard for me, chewy, circuitous, and yet ultimately doable. (Also themeless.) This was the polar opposite of today's NYT, everything we have come to expect out of this Times's Saturdays but that has been purposely reduced to child level here as of late. This is not the first time we've seen this same contrast either.
@B I actually thought the Midi was pretty easy today too. It took a sec to get the theme but still surprised me.
B, Thanks for suggesting the LAT puzzle. Nice one.
@B Took me longer than today's NYT, but not as long as the ones from ten years ago that I mentioned in an earlier thread. Well, actually, just about the same time as one of them.
@B et al, I found this puzzle pretty crunchy, as well. The grid design made it harder to get a toehold, what with the grid being split up into three different sections. Some of the references were pretty hard, but a lot came surprisingly easy to me. All told, it only took me a few minutes longer than today’s NYT puzzle. JUSTTOBECLEAR, today’s was well under my average. My earlier comment from last night that it was a “Saturday puzzle” was only to point out that I had to give some serious thought to a lot of the clues, and was not a reflection of my solving time. It was a nice change to have a challenge. My apologies for any confusion.
@B Thanks for the rec — that was a fun one! I keep forgetting about the LAT.
@B thank you! that's the puzzle i needed today.
The solution to "Amazon affiliate" really stumped me for the longest time. And I audibly groaned when I finally got the pun. Terrible, terrible. Outstanding.
@Sam I had only gotten those square via filling in the across words. Now I see!!! Thank you Sam :-D
As I was falling asleep last night, I remembered another joke apropos of yesterday's puzzle: They say, "Jesus is the answer," but what is the question? "Who is Felipe and Matty ALOU's younger brother?"
Easy Friday clues in a newsletter and adding the Midi wasn't enough? Do we need to have two sets of clues for Friday and Saturday puzzles? The clues in the newspaper (and online) would be challenging; an on-line only version would be easy. Digital solvers could do either one, or both. Can't we have our cake and let The Times eat too?
I finished this quickly, but I was really hoping that today’s solve was me being on the ‘wavelength’. But I guess I was wrong, I love that I am a sub 15 minute late week solver, on a phone no less (at least for this week). But my sense of smartitude / puzzle solving smugness just isn’t there. like I really didn’t earn it. Like I entered the Tour de France with an e-bike.
@Weak It suckers me in too sometimes, thinking wow maybe I've gotten really good at these. That's why I've taken to doing reality checks against the comments and XWStats. Very nearly always, if I found it simple everyone else did too. That wasn't really necessary today. This was a farce of a Saturday.
I have no complaints about the puzzle itself. Nicely designed, with some clever and entertaining clueing. But I solved it in 1/3 of my Saturday average, so for me it fell almost exactly halfway between a Tuesday and a Wednesday puzzle. As others have pointed out, it seems the NYT is greatly reducing the barrier to entry. But it will pay the price in loss of loyalty. There’s a reason that top ski areas include black diamond runs, even though many of their customers will never master them.
Okay, so this one wasn't a brain cell crusher, but it was entertaining, and that counts for a lot. There were some clever clues I had to think about, and some slang ,which I seldom know (I felt really cocky when I wrote in "sucked it," thinking it would be fine without the "up," but no, it was TOOKTHEL. Who knew?). I figured out that with only three squares, it wasn't the TV family, which I never saw anyway, so maybe.... then got that it was Tom. It was pretty much like that for the whole puzzle. I had to think about it, was amused by it, and admired the off-center clues that were witty, and while I love feeling like Xena, the Warrior Princess when I tackle a really tough puzzle, this was okay with me. Just as there are newbies who are slowly getting the hang of it and feel defeated by one of those, the old pros are going to have to accept that the Times is looking for the sweet spot to pay the rent.
Sigh. I was hopeful about a resurgence in puzzles given the nice one on March 7, but alas. This was way too easy for a Saturday. There were some cute clues. Lovely Wednesday. Editors, please. Please give us actual Saturday puzzles. 😭
Caitlin’s comment on 55A TOOK THE L being something a Chicago commuter might do has a fun local twist. If you take the Red Line past Wrigley Field the morning after a game you will see an L flag to let you know the Cubbies took the L or a W flying to let you know they won. It is a tradition from a less connected age.
I don't know if I should be proud or ashamed that I have absorbed slang such as YEET, TAKE THE L, and (CHIL)LAX...... On the other hand, I knew where Vulcan worked, I admire Mazie HIRONO, and I've read BEOWULF (with a degree of sympathy for Grendel.) I have never, will never, read LOTR, so I blamed the ORCS at 9D. Ugh on the SWEET AND SOUR, which I think is somewhat Fake-Chinese. Anyone else have LEANTO before SHANTY? And "Twee" is more *overly* DAINTY and affected; it is NOT a compliment! I guess that does it... See you guys in the funny papers....
MOL, SWEET AND SOUR covers a lot of geographic and gastronomic territory. It isn't "fake," but I can't vouch for the authenticity of what you might be served in Mississippi (in any cuisine). <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweet_and_sour" target="_blank">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweet_and_sour</a>
Just taking a moment to celebrate a streak of 50. I started a few years ago with Mondays and Tuesdays, added in Wednesdays and Thursdays as time went on. I tinkered a bit with Fridays last year, and then decided to go for a streak in January. I did all the January puzzles, but didn't finish one of them in time and messed up the streak. Anyway, I'm here now. And I've been seeing all the scuttlebutt about Saturdays being too easy these days, so my question is, how far back in the archives do I go to test my chops? Also, WOHOO! On my streak. I'm still proud.
Five years should do it. Ten would be more fun (IMO).
@MamaIshtari I’m working my way back, now at March 2010, and puzzles are quite chewy/impossible without google hints etc
@MamaIshtari I started at what was the earliest available on the app at the time. (I think it was partway through 1993) I only work on them when I feel like it so I have only worked through 3-4 years (over about 10). Doing old crosswords won’t affect your streak, but it does impact your average times. (I don’t know how much you care about times.)