BRIER hasn't been a valid spelling for centuries. But since someone somewhere spelled it that way before, ILLALOWIT.
@Isa internet says it's still legit but I for sure was not familiar and it cost me the solve haha
@Isa Merriam-Webster has it. Of course, their idea of what constitutes English and mine are miles apart.
@Isa According to Google's ngram viewer, "brier patch" was still more common than "briar patch" as recently as 1920, and "brier patch" is still in use today even though it's outnumbered by "briar patch" by about a factor of 11. I'd say that makes it a minor but valid spelling.
@Isa Up the big hill from Conway, AR, to the north of I-40, lies the village of GreenBRIER. The whole reason for its existence is to refute your claim, so far as I can tell. (I passed through Greenbrier to get to a mountain orchard where they grew Loring peaches...The Best Peaches In The World.)
@Isa THANK YOU! I knew if I came here after an unsuccessful flyspecking session I would find my error. MADaIRA seemed a more reasonable alternate spelling than BRIER.
@Isa Canada's male curlers still play for the BRIER trophy. For a report on this year's play -- won, I'm proud to say, by Manitoba's team -- go here: <a href="https://www.sportsnet.ca/curling/article/2026-montanas-brier-scores-standings-and-schedule" target="_blank">https://www.sportsnet.ca/curling/article/2026-montanas-brier-scores-standings-and-schedule</a>/ Sgd., An ex-curler
@Isa - What's amazing to me is that this posting, which begins with a demonstrably false statement, is the highest-ranked comment today. Oh, how we have slipped!
I've been solving the Sunday Crossword for more than 50 years. I've enjoyed tricky themes and simple themes (and tolerated no themes). I've enjoyed fill clues of varying difficulty. I expect some Sundays to be easier, and some to be harder, and I'm fine with that. I thought today's theme was clever, and I thank Lance and John for creating the puzzle. I also thought it was, for lack of a better description, a Monday-level theme, and I found most of the fill clues to be Monday-level. To me, this was not the Sunday Crossword, it was a large Monday. YMMV.
@Barry Ancona I agree. I found myself wondering if they could govern two sets of clues, as they do for Fridays. I’m all for getting more people doing crosswords but not at the expense of a good challenge! Thank goodness I still have a way to go in the archive.
@Barry Ancona. For me, scaling my today’s time by the ratio of areas, today’s was about a Wednesday. I kinda enjoy the 2-hour Saturdays but they are a bit over the top. I can’t imagine doing any Sunday in 6 minutes though. My fingers are just too slow and fat. But you experienced solvers are amazing. I have good recall now for many of the more common crossword words like EPEE, ACELA, ORCA, TSAR, ALOE, etc, but the particulars in ASSIDI, ENDS not AIMS, etc, can get me still. Your experience is way beyond mine and very impressive. But I don’t think MUMBLERAPPERS, PARADIDDLE, and ROCCO are Monday level.
@Barry Ancona Thank you for posting the news about Bob Panoff--I haven't been reading Wordplay much recently, so I was glad that the information filtered down to me. Bob was a character, and I'm glad I had to opportunity to know him. The last few years, he gauged his health by how well and quickly he could solve a NYT crossword. Thanks again.
Barry Ancona, SLAM today’s puzzle difficulty? SOLVED LIKE A MONDAY NYT archives assessment? NOW YOU’RE TALKING
@Barry Ancona Might quibble on details, and will post after I've read comments, but in general agree. Solved in 20 minutes less than my Sunday average.
@Barry Ancona I have noted, but not commented, on the ongoing discussions about end-of-week puzzles being too easy. But it definitely seems to me to be an accelerating trend. Although I can't tell how much of it is that the puzzles are becoming easier, and how much of it is because I've been working the puzzles on and off siince the late 1970s, and have worked almost 4200 on this platform. But I am working my way back through the archives(I'm back to the pre-Trump, we never imagined we'd be here days of 2014), and it does seem to me that the older puzzles were more challenging, even given the dated cultural references.
After years of crosswords, I think I finally got the message. I need to take up fencing
My dad showed up this morning. To be fair, he is *always* sitting next to me as I solve peering over my shoulder and marveling like a proud papa does, cheering me on for being *far* more clever than I actually am. But today I heard him chuckle and say, “I eat my peas with honey. I’ve done it all my life. It may seem kind of funny, but it keeps them on the knife.” He found it hilarious, for the millionth time. So, that was cool.
@CCNY I found it funny, too. But it's the first time for me.
@CCNY Your dad and a few others.
@CCNY Love this! And, funnily enough, when I googled the author, it turns out to be that famous mystery writer of 20A.
@CCNY "peas with honey" was the first thing that came to mind as I was solving that clue. In our home it was "it makes the PEAS taste funny". @Chungclan On today's bi-weekly zoom call with my five siblings I recalled the book of collected poems we had, and how when an elementary school teacher asked if any of us had a favorite poet I proudly answered "Yes! Anon." (accent on the A).
Wow, look at these themers: • The clues begin with an all-cap word. • Those initial words are *initial* words, initialisms made up of the answer’s first letters. • The rest of the clue defines the answer. Thus, BLONDE ON BLONDE is a “Dylan album”, GIVE OR TAKE is the meaning of “in the ballpark”, and so on. What a wild wordplay web each themer spins! I love wordplay and our quirky language, and this theme hit my happy button. As did the sing-song PARADIDDLE. And get this! – I noticed that the answer DAMON backward is NOMAD, went down a small rabbit hole and was reminded that the actor played a wandering spy in the “Bourne” franchise, then further found out that in 2023 he had NOMAD tattooed on his arm! Two original clues stood out to me – The very clever [Line of latitude?] for I’LL ALLOW IT, and the highly misdirecting [Dark green] for KALE. Lance and John, I imagine that you took great pleasure in coming up with these themers, and so did I in unpeeling them. Thank you!
@Lewis I always preferred Flamadiddles...
Well, no relief for those who hunger for a mind-bending Sunday puzzle. No real relief for me, either, as I had some pretty scary blanks for a long while in the final moments of my 45 minute solve, and was hoping others would have found it challenging, too. No relief for the families of the hundreds of thousands who starved to death or died of easily treatable diseases because of the Muskification of USAID. Hey, not our problem. AmIRite? Niels Bohr is one of my heroes, because the Bohr Hydrogen atom was the first "quantum mechanics" is could understand. Too bad the Bohr H atom was factually incorrect in terms of angular momentum, and a dead end model for future quantum investigation into atoms. On the other hand, all of physics runs into problems when we have three or more interacting bodies. Of course even two body problems are unsolvable if we include relativistic effects. And one body problems are also unsolvable if we consider self-energy. But we're good with zero-body problems, right? Nope. The zero-body problem is also unsolvable because we can't perfectly describe vacuum polarization. I think I've sown enough discord for the moment.
@Francis Is it still sowing if it's not something worth reaping?
@Francis You can’t sow discord if people have no idea what you’re talking about.
@Francis Hand up for having found it challenging like you, despite having gotten the gimmick. The fill tripped me up. Still, I enjoyed the solve. Thank you, Lance and John!
@Francis. Despite the discord - most current scientific advancement stem from Bohr's quantum model of the atom. In "Copenhagen," the excellent play about the meeting between the Jewish physicist Bohr and his former top student Heisenberg - then working to develop the atomic bomb for Germany in 1941 - there is one magical scene where they discuss the mysterious quantum atom in a very accessible manner. Highly recommend the movie, which is based on the Michael Frayn play.
@Francis the extent to which the one body problem is unsolvable depends on your take on the zero body problem…. And thus the logical order should be inverted 0, 1, 2, many 😀 No discord sown
@Francis The problem with the Bohr atomic model is that it is so darned easy to draw. Bohr himself quickly moved past it, along with the rest of the physics world. But a model that he used for less than a decade is still all over the place in textbooks (and everywhere else) a century later.
@Francis At least, we're no longer kidding ourselves that USAID is an existing, functioning institution. 😔
"You can't hurt me from over there." "Shuriken."
@ad absurdum The website code only allows me to "recommend" this comment once so I've come in here to recommend it again manually
@ad absurdum so by my count at 18:35 EDT you have 36 recs. ;)
It’s a game! Why people get so upset and feel like The Crossword needs to be custom-built according to their own ways of thinking and personal preferences is truly beyond me. Have some fun, will ya?
@Dfitz But I feel so smart when I know the football clue. Then they have to throw a tennis clue in there and I lose my mind...
"It's a game!" Dfitz, That's the problem. The Crossword is supposed to be a puzzle, not a game. In the Magazine, it still says "Puzzles" (Edited by Will Shortz) but Puzzles is now part of Games. It's not "custom-built" that some of us seek; we would like Games to let the Crossword go back to being a puzzle.
@Dfitz Hard to understand your reasoning. Whether it’s a game or puzzle, games have rules and people have to come to some agreement and it’s going be based on somebody’s preferences and way of thinking. They added a time clock to pitching in baseball—that was someone’s preference. They moved the kickoff line in football—that was a someone’s way of thinking. Some like it and some don’t and people debate about it. If the standards in the NYT puzzle change then we can debate about that too. The only real difference was for the other examples the debate was public, the rule changes were clear, and the stakeholders had some say in. It. In this case it seems that the standards are slowly changing without any official announcement or considering the needs of long time subscribers. Maybe another publication or outlet needs to take up the mantle for the most elite and challenging crosswords. Not sure who has the resources for it besides the NYT though.
@Dfitz You're right. It's just a game. In the greater scheme of things, it doesn't matter very much. But, given the choice, wouldn't you rather have a good game? a puzzling puzzle? Once upon a time, we found them here. In a world where harmless pleasures are hard to find, some of us are mourning what seems to be the passing of this one. So, we'll take what pleasures we can find, but we'll continue to hope for better.
Random thoughts I wouldn't go as far as Barry in saying the cluing was Monday level. I'll say Tuesday, but my super power is trivia, so I'm not sure how much of an advantage that gave me. But I give myself a headslap for not getting ORCAS until the very end. Will we see @Andrzej? It's only half a Kugelman. But it's as if by invoking him three times ala Beetlejuice, Andrzej summoned him. Like Caitlin, GOT evokes Game of Thrones for me. The column's photo and caption cracked me up. Unlike Caitlin, as the daughter of a NY Giants fan of a certain era, knowing who Too Tall Jones was a gimme. That's all for me for now. Have some MADEIRA, m'dear.
@Vaer Oy, as a kid I never realized how creepy the Madeira song is. I just liked listening to the chorus.
@Vaer Yes, I too only knew that one line about Madeira, and the puzzle made me go look. Yikes! "Baby It's Cold Outside" times 100!
Well, you had me at HELENOFTROY in terms of fun factor! Look, I agree with Barry, Sundays ain’t what they used to be but I’m getting beyond expecting much more (I’m still going to harp on Thursdays and Saturdays). I’m going to be content with an engaging, clever, consistent theme—check, although more impressed by the ones whose acronym was more inherent— so not as wild about THE Big Game or GOT in the ballpark. Loved the rest though, and just going to brag I somehow got SNAKESONAPLANE immediately with no crosses, how weird is that? Yeah, a lot of easy answers but enough interesting accessory fill and clever clues to still amuse me. PARADIDDLE! MUMBLERAPPERS! (I don’t speak much Spanish but I imagine, regardless, Bad Bunny’s picture is in that encyclopedia entry). And clever clues for REV, NEWDO, even EPEE—so, check, check. Probably too many proper nouns for some but I think all gettable from crosses—my history teacher will be happy to know I got GHENT and TRENT pretty quickly. Overall a more than decent grid—so, check. No complaints then. I’ll be holding my breath for the occasional really scintillating Sunday like we got with Middlemarch and Roubdabouts, but in the meantime will be more than satisfied with a reasonably amusing Sunday like today.
Super easy for a Sunday. Finished in about 12 seconds with my eyes closed. Kinda difficult to tap Reveal Puzzle with one's eyes closed, but I did not give up! Pure muscle memory.
"Initial thoughts" after solve: there were some knotty areas and lively fill, that it seemed heavy with gaming terms (video & poker) giving it a certain bro-y middle school vibe, enhanced by boners, ninja star, Snakes on a Plane, etc. It made me wonder whether, in addition to a "leveling down" the difficulty that Barry and others have reported, the Times also seeks to gear their puzzles to what they perceive as the interests of Gen Z. I'm unapologetically semi-woke, which means MAIL ORDER BRIDES slightly irked me. I know all's fair in love and crosswords, but I find the term pejorative-adjacent: lots of those brides are victims of trafficking, of abuse, of being put into terrible situations, and the term reduces all their dignity, humanity and individuality to a dismissively commoditized status. I'm surely over-reacting, a common symptom of the semi-woke, but can't shake the feeling that, given a choice, I would prefer NOT to see the term in my Sunday solve. It did make me muse on whether Helen of Troy is a classical example of the complexities of being a trafficked bride in a foreign land. She was also highly commodified (valued in various ways for her beauty, her noble status, wealth, etc.), but some accounts say she was abducted, others that she and Paris eloped, so whether she had "agency" is up for debate. Ask Achilles: he knew what was AFOOT (!).
@john ezra I had a similar reaction to MAILORDERBRIDE. It wasn’t nearly as cringy as another one from the archives, [Unpopular child’s name] and the answer was ADOLF. Yikes. But sometimes I think, maybe being made to feel a little uncomfortable isn’t such a bad thing.
@john ezra Not only did Achilles know what was AFOOT, he was a LEG-END.
A thoroughly enjoyable Sunday. Yes, on the easier side but with enough misdirects to make it interesting. The HIT woman gave me my way in, SOAP made me chuckle, despite never having seen the film, only Samuel L Jackson’s none emu friendly memes. MOB was the one I had most difficulty with. The E in BRIER threw me for a while. I knew MADEIRA was right, so looked for another prickly plant that would fit. The dark green clue made me laugh. I went through every hue I could think of before realising it was the veg. Ditto 96A, another fun misdirect. All in all, while not being a major workout I still felt it was Sunday worthy. Not every weekend puzzle needs to melt the brain.
I was amazed at the list of great theme entries in the constructor notes. And yet they seem hard to come up with! Looked at the rest of the puzzle for inspiration… TB in cats? TOE BEANS MAD permission system? MOM AND DAD MR Johnson (my partner)? MUMBLE RAPPER {just kidding about the rapping, but the man has the mumbling down to an art.}
@Cat Lady Margaret I bet I can out-mumble Mr. Johnson. I've certainly been practicing long enough,
brier got me. thought madaira might be wrong but was pretty sure briar was right so didn't find the error quick and mostly quite easy to enter all squares but that one correctly. yet I did not complete the puzzle unaided so in that sense it was not easy at all. sundays usually feel like a bit of a slog, maybe due to solving on a small screen
@Adin One of the most deflating of the blue stars is one in which you whizzed through the whole thing, but could not see that that "C" should be a "K"
@Adin You're not alone. For me it was that + I thought the nickname was Chaz, and Zelena Gomez looked like a perfectly cromulent name to me.
Count me in the crowd getting stumped by BRIER instead of BRIAR, I didn't know the crossing answer MADEIRA vs MADAIRA so I finally had to look up the answers to track down my mistake. Oh well, it was fun aside from that - I always enjoy the puzzle themes that give you a little extra core for letters that will appear in the answers, even if they generally wind up on the easier end.
@Dave I was on the alert for that one. Recalled previous controversy, and reserved judgement.
Congratulations to Erik Agard, winner of the 2026 American Crossword Puzzle Tournament!
I'm reminded of an old joke: Amount of beauty required to launch 1 ship? 1 millihelen.
Treaty of GHENT and Council of TRENT? Nice historical pairing.
The theme was fun, but the fill was just. so. easy. Lots of gimmes, like "The game's _____" and "East of ____." It was missing the sort of clever cluing that makes a puzzle fun. Puzzles should be puzzling. This puzzle needed to LEVEL UP.
Regarding BRIER. Many of us who spend time in the woods are quite familiar with plants of the genus Smilax, which, per Wikipedia, "will grow as shrubs, forming dense impenetrable thickets. They will also grow over trees and other plants up to 10 m high, their hooked thorns allowing them to hang onto and scramble over branches." Members of this genus are commonly called "greenbriers", at least here in eastern North America. I go to great lengths to avoid these BRIER patches. (In the puzzle, I entered BRIAR, but switched immediately to BRIER when MADEIRA was required. No reason to complain about this element of the puzzle.)
@Xword Junkie I always go with BRIAR first...born and bred, just like Brer Rabbit! Home was on Briarcliff Road near the intersection with North Druid Hills Rd.....There was plenty of "doggy-briar" around, you can bet, along with poison ivy. My school was Briarcliff HS, 8-12th. BRIER ....humph, looks mighty...fancy.
Crossworders should have a convention here: <a href="https://www.greenbrier.com" target="_blank">https://www.greenbrier.com</a>/
@Xword Junkie Aha! We weren't sure which way the vowel would go til I checked the cross. I was surprised to see folks here so sure it would be an A-- but we're field ecologists and think about Smilax more often than briar patches of pastoral literature. I didn't realize the brier in greenbrier was a relict of older spelling.
@Barry My BIL has a conference at the Greenbrier next week. And we could have that meetup in the "secret" underground bunker.
At least for me, the quote in 19A (with answer AFOOT) is associated with Sherlock Holmes. Checking XWord Info, it's been clued with a reference to the detective six times since Will Shortz took over as editor. Today's clue is the first to refer to its appearance in the Shakespeare play.
I spent this whole puzzle in déjà vu thinking where did I just see that... GHENT, STENT, and TRENT EPEE, EDIE, IDED, and IDIG ASTER and ESTER ARARAT on top of STRAT PITBOSS and PITAS sharing the P, just up from KEEPITDOWN ONIT, FIXIT, ILLALLOWIT AOL, OLA, ALOE, and ANON FIDE and FIE Initialisms were cute, but were hit or miss. HOT, GOT, BOB, and KID yes. THE marginal. SOAP not so much. Was fast ... up until flyspecking BRIAR / BRIER that oh so Naticky crossed a Portuguese wine.
I adored the theme, which felt completely fresh and was very imaginative. All of the themers were interesting and well-chosen -- and some seemed especially inspired. HELEN OF TROY for the HOT woman (she must have been pretty darned hot, right?) was a real find. But MAIL ORDER BRIDES for MOB bosses may be even better. What fun this was to solve -- and the only thing I can think of that would have been more fun would be to have brainstormed it. Also, note how lively the cluing is. Interesting ways to clue ANON; PEAS, COOKS and NEW DO, for example. "Fresh cut" for NEW DO stumped me completely until I pretty much had every cross. This will go on my running list for Sunday POY -- though I'm pretty sure there was a Sunday that I liked even more. Being me, though, I don't remember what it was. Why do you think I keep a running list? Anyway, great job, Lance and John. I really enjoyed this.
When I thought I had finished this I realized I had a BONER, I stared at it for ages but whatever I tried it wouldn't fit. One of the reason I like Sundays is that I don't try to beat a particular time so there is no rush and I was able to just play with different combinations until it all came together. Very enjoyable crossword, even for those across the pond.
I usually tend to read all comments, replying along the way, until i get through them all and then I give my comments if I have anything to add. By now the Monday puzzle has been out for 50 minutes, so I don't know if anyone will see this. I may need to rethink my model. I thought the theme was pretty fun. I caught on with BLONDE ON BLONDE, and circled back to pick up the others. But I did think a lot of the other fill and especially the clueing was far too easy for a Sunday. Not all of it, but a lot. And I agree that the responsibility lies with the editors, not the constructors. And I agree with those who suggest that the editors have likely been pressured by management to make things easier to increase revenue. And I lament our loss. At this point I pretty much breeze through M-W, so I really look forward to Thu-Sun. I never hate the puzzles, but I find myself disappointed of late.
Lovely that the initial word of all the theme answers is actually the *initial* word.
@Barry -- Oh, thanks! This made no sense! I should have said that it was lovely that the initial (first) word of all the theme CLUES is actually the "initial" word (the all-cap word that's made up of initials). A goof supreme, and I'm no stranger to making them!
@Barry -- Thank you, as this made no sense at all! It should have read: Lovely that the initial word of all the theme CLUES is actually the *initial* word.
Read you five by now, Lewis. Question, though: If not for what you call "lovely," is there actually a theme?
Clever cluing, interesting wordplay. Line of latitude? Switch positions? Bad lighting? That's what I come here for. Quick solve at 13:11, but I'm not complaining.
@Scott This is the sixth time that [Bad lighting] has been a clue for ARSON; [Switch positions] for ON/OFF has been used before, although the similar [Switch words] has been used more often. [Lines of latitude ?]. I’LL ALLOW IT. That’s a new one. If you solved this one in 13:11, you should be experienced enough to have seen the first two before.
I liked this one. Clever quirky theme, and interesting fill. Regarding AFOOT, I associate it with Leonard Cohen -- as in "God is alive, magic is afoot". A day after his death was announced in November 2016, someone made a sign with those words and placed it among the many flowers left in front of his home in Little Portugal, in Montreal. Comforting words for a dark time.
Yesterday I complained that there were a few too many gimmes (for me) in a Saturday puzzle. @Andrzej challenged me on it, and I (foolishly) listed them. If I were to list the gimmes in today's puzzle, I'd be typing until tomorrow's puzzle drops. "Now I long for yesterday."
I've never seen that spelling of a prickly bush before. Only took a stab at correcting it when I realized the Portuguese wine was misspelled.
@Matthew S. Yes, I had to flyspeck for a while because I was unfamiliar with this (horrible) alternate spelling.
@Matthew S. Thank you! Reading this comment fixed my one wrong square.
VIP- Very Interesting Puzzle. Loved this puzzle a lot. Very refreshing!
Easy? Well, easy when you know how! It was hard until i got the gimmick. Then it fell into place. But at first it was “huh”? A worthy and excellent Sunday, in my view.
"It was hard until i got the gimmick." Did you read the puzzle title?
An issue that concerns me is that if we have long stretches of easy puzzles, then when a nice chewy one does come along, newer puzzlers are faced with letting go of long streaks. I could imagine that would be very anti-motivating. Back around 2017, after several years of solving, I didn't expect to be able to maintain a streak, and so when I couldn't get a puzzle, it was an engrossing learning experience rather than being devastating.
@Lynn I think it's always been that way. I've gradually built skills over the years, and my longest streaks have grown as well. I used to be very happy with a streak that lasted longer than a week. Now my streaks reach into the hundreds. Someday I'll hit a dead end, and then it's time for a new streak....
@Lynn Great point. This whole streak then seems to be a marketing strategy—think Duolingo for example—but I think it’s only a short term fix. At some point you break your streak and then you say, ok, so what’s the point. I’d be delighted if that went away, but I know it’s a big deal for a lot of people. Honestly same with keeping track of your times, I think. It doesn’t allow people to savor puzzles and clues. I wish there were better strategies for motivating people than statistics, especially for crosswords that have so many variables and subjective elements.
@Dave Munger Yes, your experience is like mine. We were accustomed to getting our streaks broken regularly with difficult puzzles. I think for folks who've been solving for only a year or so, their expectations have probably been set differently than if there had there been a traditionally difficult NYT puzzle every week or two.
@SP I agree, I think it's a short term fix. I hope it was because the long term effect wasn't anticipated rather than that they didn't care.
Alternate cluing for 78D: What your heart may do as you contemplate the direction in which the New York Times crossword puzzles are heading I suppose some of you will object to the length of the clue. Give it a few more months.
I thought this was really fun. A decent Sunday effort, plus the theme was clever. Snakes On A Plane and Mail-Order Bride made me laugh out loud. Also had BRIaR, but I'm familiar with Madeira, more as a location than a wine. And the BOB clue was super clever, imo. Above all, I liked the clever coincidences that they found with the theme clues.
Things I liked about today's puzzle: The clue "Line of latitude" for I'LL ALLOW IT. "Dad's deflection" for ASK MOM. Anything else? Yes! Best was the photo accompanying today's Wordplay column. It really made me think. "What is the Kansas City mascot doing wrestling a bunch of cosplaying Ren-Fairers? Wait. That chair! It's Game of Thrones!" I GOT it! GoT in the ballpark!!!
@The X-Phile It took me a minute or ten to parse out I'LL ALLOW IT - probably because it's a Down entry - but that W would not come to me. Oh duh, LOW cut, like a blouse. Sheesh!
Once you cotton on to the trick, it's all over....not that I didn't enjoy some of the clever clues! I would have liked Ed Jones's nickname to be SHORTY, but the space was too long. Missed opportunity, there, guys. "Trading card error" for MISCUT? Hardly the stuff of tragedy! A mistake using one's rotary cutter on fabric that cost over $12/yard-- now, THAT is serious.
@Mean Old Lady I can still here my grandmother engaging in some serious Methodist swearing over that one.
@Mean Old Lady Hmm, I replied with an example of my grandmother's Methodist swearing, but apparently even her substitutions for Biblical oaths were not allowed.
@Mean Old Lady Who is Shorty Jones, please? Couldn't find him on the internet, unless he's that 1900s Pennsylvania gangster. I do know of Smarty Jones, the race horse.
“Hells Corner” the F-Sat-Sun of last weekend had me thinking there was an uptick in difficulty, if only temporarily. But this week, all 7 days were well below average times . Not a criticism just an observation. That being said, I can’t imagine the time it takes to construct a puzzle. I’m just grateful to get one loaded on the app every day.
I don't rush through puzzles, I try to relax, and sometimes I'm doing something else at the same time. Nevertheless, this was definitely on the easier side, although I got hung up on BRIaR instead of BRIER and also on some of the TV/movie characters, as I'm not a watcher, but I managed to get the answers from the crossings. A faster time than usual, but not near my fastest. It was a lot of fun, though the trick was found with HELEN OF TROY, but there was still some resistance with some of the theme answers. I was surprised to come up with SoaP as quickly as I did. Thanks, Lance and John!
<a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/brier" target="_blank">https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/brier</a>
@pmom Agreed. This repeated misspelling that has worked its way into the dictionary was not my favorite. I put it in the same category as educated people using the pronunciation “processEEZ”: Correct now only because it’s been misused so much during my lifetime, but shouldn’t rhyme with indices.
It's a pleasure to solve a moderately challenging puzzle like today's, and learning something I didn't know before is icing on the cake. Until today I would have sworn that PARADIDDLE was a word invented by Dave Brubeck back in the cool 1960s. His song "Paradiddle Joe", performed here by the Brubeck Quartet with soloist Carmen McRae, concludes with the question answered in the clue to 74 Down. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xf2NzwN93hU" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xf2NzwN93hU</a>
@Fidelio I can remember our HS band director calling out, "Elevator, elevator, pumpkin, pumpkin," to the percussion section.
@Fidelio The paradiddle rudiment far predates "Take Five." Check out The Company of Fifers and Drummers.
agreed, fairly easy...tuesday/wednesday-ish..but a pleasant (albeit brief) meditation on a quiet rainy sunday morning nevertheless.
Struggled with 112A. Finally got it and realized I am wearing their jersey! Is there a term for when a clue to an answer is staring you in the face?
@DIVAS IVLIVS “Gob-smacked” comes to my mind (even if it means something entirely different).
I don't usually complain about easiness, but thay was too easy. It felt like being on autopilot. It was the fastest I've understood a Sunday or Thursday theme in a long time. Having the initials made the theme fill very straightforward. It was clever, just better on another day. My only problem in solving was BRIER. MADAIRA looked wrong, but so did BRIER. I see now it's a secondary spelling.
@Paul I thought it was extremely difficult
Today's poem made from words found in today's puzzle (a/across clues ; d/down clues; a/ answers) <br> <br> a/ little can be written of time’s children <br> d/ of the disappearing disappearing <br> a cat’s paw bath <br> a/ a soak <br> a laugh<br>
Under 8 minutes on a Sunday for the first time in years. That said, it was enjoyable (I love the theme). Could have just been a skosh harder.
Cute premise. Very easy. I enjoyed seeing the constructors' rejected clues!
Well... not all that easy for me of course, but managed to work it out. An enjoyable solve and a cute theme. And of course my puzzle find today. A Sunday from June 20, 2004 by Manny Nosowsky with the title "Pack of 20." Some theme answers: DANRATHER MOUNTARARAT DIXIECRATS FORATIME UNGRATEFUL ILLITERATES FRATERNITYHOUSE SPOILEDBRAT STRATAGEM And a bunch of others. And the 'reveal': "Leader of the pack hidden in this puzzle?" THEPIEDPIPEROFHAMELIN And yes, there were 20 RATs in the puzzle. Here's that link: <a href="https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=6/20/2004&g=29&d=A" target="_blank">https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=6/20/2004&g=29&d=A</a> ....
@Rich in Atlanta Oh, and one more puzzle find. This one rather surprising. A Sunday from February 13, 1977 by Elmer Toro with the title "Forgettable people." One list of theme answers: THESHERIFFOFNOTTINGHAM THEBELLMANOFLONDON THETHIEFOFBAGHDAD THEBARBEROFSEVILLE THEMAYOROFCASTERBRIDGE And what was quite surprising to me is that all of those answers were making their one and only appearance in any puzzle. And... four other answers that only ever appeared in ONE other puzzle: THEMERCHANTOFVENICE THEMASTEROFBALLANTRAE THEPIEDPIPEROFHAMELIN THEVICAROFWAKEFIELD There must be something I'm not understanding. Just really surprised by all of that. Here's that link: <a href="https://www.xwordinfo.com/PS?date=2/13/1977&g=90&d=A" target="_blank">https://www.xwordinfo.com/PS?date=2/13/1977&g=90&d=A</a> ....