Loved this theme! And now… COMBUST: That company really flamed out. COMPROMISE: “Our customers may rest assured that their needs matter some fraction of ours.” COMPOSER: “Where shall we look to find the most irritating hold music.” COMPRESS: “Don’t let the public know that the CEO has to lie down with a cool cloth every afternoon.” COMPARABLE: One day, the tortoise and the hare decided to run a race to see which one had the better internet service. COMPOST: “Employees are hereby instructed to cease collecting coffee grounds and orange peels to take home.”
Perfect Wednesday puzzle.
Andrzej, how much do you weigh? I'm thinking of tossing Poles in the next Highlands tournament and hoping you'll be there. Also, how tall are you? Just in case there's Pole jumping there too. Sparge, eh? And cabers. Love it. My new two favorite words. A puzzle with a lot of energy and a rich cache of words. Well done. Very unusual that the only two instances of I DO CARE in the modern era are three days apart with very similar clues. Those who say I do care too often perhaps doth protest too much. What they are really saying, a la a certain fashion-savvy jacket-wearer (my wife calls her a "fashist") is "I don't care do u?"
@john ezra I saw a lot of cabers being tossed when I was attending the annual Highland Games at Ligonier many years ago. My Westinghouse colleague Paul Thompson and his wife Sara Jean always filled major roles in the proceedings. A quick search shows that the Games continue although the date for 2026 has been moved from the fall to July. The link includes the shocking sad news that Sara Jean passed away recently. <a href="https://www.ligonierhighlandgames.org/flowers-of-the-forest.html" target="_blank">https://www.ligonierhighlandgames.org/flowers-of-the-forest.html</a>
@john ezra I'm much smaller than a caber but I weigh more. And I'd be especially tough to get a grip on for the throw if you polished me.
@john ezra I'm told that after the competition, "adult entertainers" will be putting on a Pole dancing demonstration.
@john ezra i love everything about this thread. I will only add that your post sent me back to ngram viewer to compare SPARGE and CABER. They cross a surprising number of times, but in the last ten years SPARGE took quite a dive and ended up below CABER after dominance since the mid-1930s.
The optometrist set up his own URL in the link of an eye. (It's a good web sight.)
@Mike Optometry always lens itself to good jokes, although they tend to be a bit on the cornea side.
@Mike I guess he was able to get a good name for his site by using his contacts. (It took me a while to figure out how to frame my reply.)
Sunday 4/26/2026: “It’s truly important to me” = I DO CARE Wednesday 4/29/2026: “Actually, this matters to me a lot” = I DO CARE I haven’t jumped on to the “too easy” bandwagon because I get the reasons for appealing to a wider subscriber base. But if there is an anti-AI bandwagon, consider me on board. I know there are programs that help with fill, and I understand how they can be helpful, even necessary, sometimes. But when clone entries appear in such close proximity, the puzzles start to look more like robotic churn and less like individual works of art. Editing should avoid duplicates like these, and I don’t mean by slightly tweaking the clue. This has happened numerous times lately, and it’s disappointing. Because believe me, I DO CARE.
Heidi, Closely following duplicate answers were a "feature" of Shortz era crosswords, noted here and elsewhere, long before AI.
Isaac wrote: “17A. [Trait for a good waiter?] does not refer to someone employed in a restaurant, but rather to someone who is good at waiting around. The answer here is PATIENCE.” I think that even if the clue was intended to refer to people who are simply waiting around, it works fine for restaurant waiters as well, since customers can be very trying these days.
@Steve L Yes, in fact I had restaurant waiters in mind when I was doing the puzzle. It was only when I read today's blog that I realized the answer could refer to anyone who waits. Duh.
This was very well executed. It has a pitfall, which is that once you get the theme (which was obvious from the first entry) it has the potential to be too easy because not only can you fill in the COM automatically but it should be a big hint to all the theme fill. But, surprisingly, none of the theme answers were slam dunks for me despite this, and the constructor/editors wisely compensated by making the fill and clues around it more challenging than the usual Wednesday (SPARGE, METONYM and CABERS, among others). I also briefly had an image of Andrzej getting thrown by some Scotsmen on that last one, but I can actually thank some “Monkey Island” video game or another for remembering that one. You know you’ve been doing this for too long when you get ELOPERS on that clue with no crosses; and I almost got the “seed” clue the same way but I had INABRACKET before TOURNAMENT—close but no cigar. Also had feints before LUNGES and happy to see epee as a clue not an entry. Anyway a very entertaining Wednesday, thanks!
@SP Nobody tosses an Andrzej! (even if you may toss a pole) <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/lotr/comments/zlu5qe/in_this_scene_was_gimli_telling_aragorn_not_to" target="_blank">https://www.reddit.com/r/lotr/comments/zlu5qe/in_this_scene_was_gimli_telling_aragorn_not_to</a>/
@Andrzej Synchronicity? Was flipping channels on Sunday and ran into the last half hour or so of The Two Towers*, and in the battle scene Aragon and Gimli are trapped on a ledge and Gimli says to Aragon, Toss me. He has to to say it more than once because Aragon doesn't quite believe what he's heard. *Have not seen any of those movies in a very long time, and gosh they all look so young.
@Andrzej Finally opened your link only to find the exact scene I was describing. D'oh.
@SP hear hear brother from another mother almost across the board, including ELOPERS and feints.
Metonymy, metonymy, Please use it to refer to me, So indirect, allusively, Polite and subtle. Please feel free To show refinement when you see-- Not just a simple simile Or even a synecdoche But hear my plea. Metonymy! (But diphthongs remain my first love.)
@SBK in TO I can’t help thinking that diphthong lovers are people who like to move their vowels together (sorry!)
@SBK in TO Metonymy's not there? 🐈🐈⬛🐈🐈⬛🐈🐈⬛🐈🐈⬛🐈🐈⬛
Kitten heels are low heels, not high heels. They may be technically stillettos because they are small, narrow heels. But usually what are refered to as stilletto heels are several inches longer than kitten heels.
@jennie I was outraged at this, but if you google "stiletto kitten heel" you'll find them. Wikipedia and fashion websites both consider kitten heels a subset of stiletto, apparently! <a href="https://theconceptwardrobe.com/build-a-wardrobe/heels" target="_blank">https://theconceptwardrobe.com/build-a-wardrobe/heels</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kitten_heel" target="_blank">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kitten_heel</a>
@jennie I'm no fashist, but a quick search suggests that the defining feature of stiletto heels is tall, narrow, and often with metal reinforcement. Kittens seem to be defined as short stilettos--apparently a short non-stiletto is not a kitten. btw fashist, seen elsewhere in the comments, is my new favorite descriptor for Melania. okthxbai
Well, Joseph had me at SPARGE – it looks silly, is fun to say, and if you act like you know what you’re talking about, you can willy-nilly throw it into sentences. • “Stay away from that guy – he’s recovering from a nasty case of sparge.” • “… and that soupçon of sparge made the ravioli explode with flavor!” His theme was fun as well, as I tried to guess the theme answers from the clues. Mostly struggled, got a couple, and my brain’s workout ethic was well satisfied. Even more so from several areas of rub. Then there was some lovely cluing originality – the first “waiter” pun clue in all Crosslandia for PATIENCE, as well as the first “seeds” pun clue for TOURNAMENT. Plus, the original clue for ROAMING – [On a different network, say] – was a terrific misdirect for me. Joseph, I love how your puzzles entertain as well as provide riddles to crack. I had a grand time with this one. Thank you!
I think my post got eaten by emus. Trying again-- Let's do more! COMMODE: Standard company B$ COMMUTE: Stop spouting said company B$ COMPLAIN: Simplify COMBINATION: At our company we consider all fellow citizens to eschew hetero- and homosexuality in favor of just a single label that covers both (Ok the last one may be a stretch but I couldn't resist)
Nice Wednesday offering. Way to COMPRESS those themers! Thanks, Joseph.
Internet company's dorm room wall decor? COMPOSTER. Internet company's way of doing things? COMMODE. Internet company's fraternal cannibalistic retort? COMEATMEBRO. Thanks, you've been a great audience.
Easy peasy. 60 across is a wee mistake,, because a kitten heel is anti-stiletto. It is very short, with some thickness, and S- curved. Tall girls such as myself loved them as teens because we would not tower over our boy dates.
@Sceptical1 More of a clam knife than a stiletto, I think.
Looking back now it seems obvious, but during the solve I never even saw dot coming.
Was this the mother of all internet-based crossword puzzles? The dot comma?
@JohnWM It seems that sometimes dad jokes are inflicted not on the SON, but on innocent bystanders.
@JohnWM I thought Canadians were above this sort of thing!
That was a fun puzzle. Really cool theme. Loved the aha moments of figuring out they were all DOTCOM + (Real answer to question) but with the COM also real words. Well done. A couple really tough areas. Like having SPARGE cross with SOPOR. SPARGE I've never heard of and SOPOR I've only heard of in like vocabulary quizzes for longer versions of the word so that was really hard to come up with. Also I originally had RAP AT instead of TAP AT which made it really tough to finally get TOURNAMENTS. And final square I got was because I had COMPOSES instead of COMPOSER and didn't know California resorts enough to realize DELMAS was wrong. Am I crazy or did we see I DO CARE with the exact same clue in the exact same spot less than a week ago?!
@Chris I had the exact same concern Monday (though my repeat word was OHARE). I did not realize AI was such a culprit until one responder explained it. In a vacuum I’m sure it’s fine, but for some regulars it can be jarring. Reminds me of a recent HBR article on AI Workslop. Not quite the same situation but it does illustrate a drawback. Makes me wonder if this could be a reason why the level of difficulty has decreased in past years.
@Chris I owe DEL MAR being a gimme to "Weeds" :D
@Chris "Sopor" was also, fittingly, a brand name for quaaludes. In recreational context, it was pronounced "soaper". Or so a friend told me.
Certainly not soporific. An excellent Wednesday puzzle. Thanks
Lemme sparge my cabers!
The bots kept this comment in limbo for almost 10 hours... And again I have no idea what triggered them.
@Andrzej Sometimes, but not always, a very short post will be held. Happens to me occasionally.
@Andrzej The emus are using AI, and they have "learned" that anything that isn't immediately obvious in its meaning is suspect. Gotta love the emus!
SPARGE was an unknown to this solver, who enjoys beer but prefers it when someone else does the brewing. But etymologically predictable--it comes from Latin "spargere,"="to sprinkle," which traditionalist Catholics might recognize from the chant "Asperges me," and "aspergillium," that little stick that the priest uses to shower the congregation with Holy Water--Fr. Bede would always make sure to get me particularly wet. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Apda_-W1gt8&list=RDApda_-W1gt8&start_radio=1" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Apda_-W1gt8&list=RDApda_-W1gt8&start_radio=1</a>
@Bill oh! I often go to Latin Mass - as soon as you mentioned it, I said (aloud) DUH!!! I fondly think of Fr. Bob, who uses a whisk broom rather than the pretty, silver stick, with a definite gleam in his eye. One time I was cantor, and was singing in front of the whole congregation when he doused me!
@Bill. And full on Christmas Eve for Episcopalians… marching through every aisle with a swinging smoking urn of incense, a sparger, priests in a miters and stoles, wielding big gold shepherd hooks, a conga line of acolytes, packed congregation singing hymns, choir too, organ blaring as midnight approached. One step short of someone climbing the pulpit and speaking in tongues. The ruling class of Oakland, California letting their hair down, although all in fancy dress, women and girls in hats adorned with poinsettias and that netting that covers the eyes. Didn’t experience that feeling again until The Who hit the climax of Tommy at Winterland in the 1970s.
@Bill Interesting insights on this thread... SPARGE is my new word, for which I anticipate few to no uses. I will keep it on the shelf next to SPUDGER (a tool I purloined from DHubby's work-table-- great little gadget). Methodists baptise with water by hand, and thereafter just say, "Remember thy baptism." Living at a Catholic establishment as we do, one learns (and appreciates) different worship practices. On Ash Wednesday, one could tell who had been at the early Mass, for instance, by how dark was the mark on their forehead.
@Bill Latinists and music lovers will also recognize "sparge" from the verse of the "Dies Irae" (from the Requiem Mass) "Tuba mirum spargens sonum," which is often set as a separate movement. Here, "spargens" is used in the sense of "scattering," or "spreading," but I can't help but to imagine the Last Trumpet *sprinkling* its wondrous sound. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6u1IkXesHMQ" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6u1IkXesHMQ</a> (Mr. Brevik, tell your buddy to buy a camera tripod--I'm getting dizzy!)
The puzzle was finished, all but the crossing of SPARGE and SOPOR. I was unfamiliar with the first and was worried about the second. I'm a big fan of torpor; that's what my little hummingbird friends do every night to rejuvenate their tiny, insatiable energetic bodies. But it didn't fit. So I typed in the S, preparing myself to be disappointed and boom -- I got the San Jose Strut and gold star. I was shocked, I tell you. Shocked.
@Don H I think the adjective (and noun) SOPORific is much more common than the noun SOPOR, at least in English.
A Cryptic-style puzzle with no suffering -- otherwise known as Cryptic-lite. It was easy and breezy and I found it fun trying to guess the theme answers without crosses. Of course, for those of us who do actual Cryptics, we know that in those, ALL the answers are some sort of trick answer or wordplay answer and not just the themers. And that the large majority of tricks are a LOT harder than this one. Is this a good puzzle for a Wed? I've seen harder Wednesdays and I've seen easier ones, so I guess this is about right. I found it very enjoyable.
@Nancy "I've been better and I've been worse. Better is better."
Late to the party, having slept later after 9 nights on Pacific DST. Kitty is on my lap, beginning to relax after DHubby "rescued" her from the vet's boarding unit. Now for the laundry, unpacking, restocking the larder, and then triage on the mail. Clever puzzle theme (who thinks like this??) and fun solve...once I got over my first clue--the one about ____ Guofeng. Haven't we just seen NEMESIS? Some fresh vocab in this puzzle, which I welcome and celebrate! CABERS, SOPOR, METONYM! Not MERE bagatelles!
Liked "They usually get no reception" for ELOPERS. Seemed about right for a Wednesday, and the theme was solid enough.
Nifty little puzzle for a Wednesday. SPARGE sounds like a word Kramer would make up when playing Scrabble with Newman. Thanks for the fun!
@Peter C. As a (former) home-brewer, it took me an extra beat to come up with SPARGE but it is indeed a term for the hot water sprinkled over “MASHed” grains (mainly barley), to extract additional “WORT”. The mashed grains are held in the “LAUTER TUN” prior to SPARGing, and that vessel has a false bottom that allows the wort to pass through, while filtering out the spent grains. (And at this point we haven’t even added hops - much less the yeast required to convert the MALTOSE to alcohol) Ah yes, brewing and it’s resplendent jargon.
I had trouble in northeast with sparge and its crossings. I thought theme was fun.
"Not a problem!" from an internet company? COMMENDABLE
This was a clever theme with an even better execution. I don't think it would be too difficult to come up with a long list of COM- words, and only a little more difficult to come up with COM- words in which the second half of the word was also a word in its own right,... But it's extremely impressive to come up with so many COM- words where we don't notice the second half being a word, too, in which the meaning of the second word seems entirely unrelated to the meaning of the compound word. Impressive! COM+POST is my favorite example of this, with COM+PARABLE a close second. Is this enough to make up for the "outrage" of SPARGE? and its crossing with SOPOR? You can decide that for yourself. Excellent theme, Joseph Gangi! Thanks for a fine Wednesday puzzle!
@The X-Phile So, you’re disparaging SPARGE? I’m with you on that one.
@The X-Phile I was a home-brewer for a while so sparge was a gimme.
@Down_Home [To be read in an outraged voice]: I am a smart person, and I didn't know SPARGE, therefore it doesn't belong in a crossword puzzle! But, seriously folks, I'm always happy to learn a new word, and its connection with "aspergillum", which was noted elsewhere in the comments, makes for an excellent TIL. I also didn't know SOPOR, although I know SOPORific, so it wasn't too tricky.
@The X-Phile Given the use of OAST in previous puzzles, I think SPARGE is fair game
I learned three new words today! Sparge, metonym, and sopor. Here they are in a sentence: “As Libby woke from a sopor, she wondered if her deep sleep was the result of too much or too little sparging in last night’s brew or if she were just a mere mortal destined to use ‘metonym’ in a sentence for once in her life.”
I was certain “Pirates Booty” was ARSE [ARRRSE].
I don't know about everyone else, but this was rough for a Wednesday. I found myself going back and forth in 3 of the 4 corners. Nice little midweek challenge.
@UCCF I thought it was quite the challenge for a Wednesday, too. I generally DOOK with Wednesday, but this one put me to the test, put my nose to the grindstone, and my footses to the fire.
I really loved the theme, and it made the puzzle a breeze to complete, with all the COMs making for easy fill. A perfect example of how to make a relatively easy puzzle enjoyable.
TIL METONYM. I will probably forget it by Friday. And still trying to wrap my head around that a kitten heel is considered a form of STILETTO heel, just lower. 👠 Re the Midi When you finally find it, make sure Overlays are turned on. Re the Mini Boo Hiss, Joel, for the 1 Across clue.
Very creative theme. Well executed. Seemed Wednesday enough for me. “They usually get no reception”. Outstanding clue. Does lewis still do that clues off the week thing? I hope this makes it. Or maybe it’s just me. ONO. it’s been a minute. Don’t remember seeing HUA. But it’s something I will forget in 10 minutes. Thank you Joseph. Doing this puzzle was a great *internet company seeking shelter COMFORT. not *internet company that manufactures baseball equipment COMBAT.
@Weak Internet company with a great wine cellar COMPORT ...prone to tantrums COMFIT ...prepared for joint projects COMPACT
@Weak An internet company's... ...undertaking: commission ...repair: commend ...fee for frugal people: commiserate ...stack of paperwork: compile ...tutor: commentor
Uh oh. I actually thought I was working on a Friday. At first I thought it was a little too easy for a Friday, then I thought it was about right. Doesn't give me a lot of confidence going into the gauntlet of Thursday to Sunday. Plus I'm trying to do puzzles from 2003. Very humbling. Humiliating, even. I'll never brag about being able to do Friday/Saturday puzzles again.
@Francis In other news: <a href="https://imgur.com/a/etvr8co" target="_blank">https://imgur.com/a/etvr8co</a>
Today's poem made from words found in today's puzzle <br> <br> a/ a message from the internet: <br> <br> rinse your world with rose water <br> your strange pretty world <br> pick a windowpane <br> d/ little world people <br> the seeds of sleep say where… <br> for to be and to be me <br> this body this story <br> this might be the answer <br> a/ to see<br>
While catching up on the accumulated weekend work of the commentariat, I came across a late-posted delight: Whoa Nellie's transformation of Monday's grid contents into 'King Lear'. Go here to share her amazing accomplishment: <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/shared/comment/4fmnjd?rsrc=cshare&smid=url-share" target="_blank">https://www.nytimes.com/shared/comment/4fmnjd?rsrc=cshare&smid=url-share</a> Ms Nellie, I applaud you. This was wonderful.
TOURNAMENT and ELOPERS - so clever. Enjoyable crossword, with me getting help for a few, like NEMESIS (didn't watch Road Runner) and DELMAR. I found getting one theme clue a bit tricky - COMPRESS, also hadn't heard of PHOTODUMP (never used Instagram) or SOPOR although I guessed from soporific. As a Scot, CABERS was easy and as an ex-teacher interested in poetry, so was METONYM.
Just to say: CATS are quite sociable. They like to be near one or on one and they cuddle up with each other. The mini clue will incite the ire of cat lovers. On the other hand, the midi was clever and cute.
@SusanEM This really depends on the cat. My last cat hated everyone and everything, including me.
@SusanEM I agree. I did a double-take on that one. Cats are the cuddliest of cuddlers.
1A [People together trying to change the law] COMPETITION
@lucky13 Robotic comapny's flying mammal?
It felt a bit tougher while doing it, but I finished up a good bit faster than my average—surprisingly. Although I got the theme while I was solving, I don't think I really appreciated it until afterward. Not sure why, but when I saw a themer at 1A, I didn't want to deal with it yet, so I switched to downs... and then, REBEL than I am, I started going willy-nilly all over the place, which was fun, but not my norm. Guess I just wanted to shake things up a bit on this fine day. But when one changes their ways so intensely, you have to wonder how it will impact the universe... what will this kind of massive disturbance lead to? A tear in the fabric of space and time, perhaps, changing the entire course of world history?! Human sacrifice, cats and dogs living together, mass hysteria!?!? Oh my! I have come to RUE my rash decision and apologize if my reckless actions caused any lasting damage to you fine solvers, if you're even still out there.... I promise to stay the course from now on
@HeathieJ Well there was an interview at the American crossword puzzle tournament with the WSJ puzzles editor and he solves the NYT Crossword every day using only the downs!
@HeathieJ There is a cosmological theory called the "Big Rip", in which all matter from stars to us to atoms, are pulled apart by the gravitational force of the dark energy. Big Bang. Big Crunch. Big Rip. We don't do things halfway. And you probably kicked it all off. Thanks, Heathie!
Maybe they are listening? What a great throwback Wednesday! Fun Thursday-lite gimmick. Good misdirects. SPARGE?? Frabjous day!!
As a fella who up until recently had a side gig as a tour guide at the 3rd largest craft brewery in MN, unlike most commenters here today, sparge was an easy one for me. :-) I had never heard of caber though. Fun puzzle, and even with knowing the “com” start to the theme material, some of them were a little tough!
What a great puzzle with great fill. Not a college nickname to be seen. North East was a thing of beauty. ELOPER clue was perfect next to ROAMING. Off to use SPARGE in a conversation.....
Whew. And Wow. Really slow start for me and was appropriately puzzled for a good long time. Finally working out the reveal and catching on to the trick was just a great 'aha' moment. Still a good workout filling in the rest but ended up being an enjoyable solve. And... appropriate puzzle find today. A Thursday from November 19, 2020 by Derek J. Angell. All of the theme answers referenced the answer at 55-across. Clue and answer for that: *"It debuted on 1/6/1975" WHLFRTN And some other theme answers (straightforwardly clued): *"Creator of 55-across" MRVGRFFN *"Co-host of 55-across" VNNWHT *"Co-host of 55-across" PTSJK *"Bad place to land on 55-across" BNKRPT And then... 13 down. "What you might cry when trying to answer the six starred clues? CANIBUYAVOWEL Here's that link: <a href="https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=11/19/2020&g=32&d=D" target="_blank">https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=11/19/2020&g=32&d=D</a> ....
@Rich in Atlanta Sounds like a fun puzzle but I never understand why a commenter who wants us to try a puzzle tells all the fun answers. It's like a book reviewer who reveals "who dun it." Or a moviegoer sitting behind you who says what's happening next. I'm flabbergasted. By the way, I love Wheel of Fortune. That would be my go-to game, I think, if I could ever picture myself as a TV contestant. I wish they had a way for us at home to play along online. The first at-home viewer with the right answer wins a prize!! It would work for Jeopardy or Who Wants To Be a Millionaire also! Even The Price is Right.
Tough NE corner. Sparge? And what isn't in shepherd's pie? Otherwise, a pretty breezy Wednesday, done before the coffee got cold. Good workout before the dreaded Thursday.
@mirle234 "And what isn't in shepherd's pie?" Even better if you get it from Mrs. Lovett's: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNfRJAjzTNg" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNfRJAjzTNg</a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6u1IkXesHMQ" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6u1IkXesHMQ</a> (salient line Part II, 2:29)
@mirle234 Long ago my Beloved Husband's home brewing obsession went from kit-based to whole grain (and ultimately to a business, but that's a long story). Lots of fun vocab added to our household lexicon. SPARGE was the first answer I filled in this morning
@mirle234 - To me, SPARGE means to bubble a gas through a liquid. I would often have to deoxygenate seawater and other solutions and I did so by SPARGing with pure nitrogen. I would also do the opposite: oxygenate a solution by SPARGing with air or pure oxygen. I did not know this other meaning of SPARGE, but I got it easily from the crosses. I *love it* when I learn stuff I didn't already know from a crossword!
The quotation marks around "Wall Street" had me convinced it referred to the Michael Douglas movie. Excellent Wednesday theme; six themers, and not a clunker in the bunch.
Fun Fact: the Dutch built a wooden palisade there to keep out the British and the Mohawks. When New Amsterdam became New York, the British tore down the wall, but the name stuck. (I don't remember what kind of "nym" that would be.)
Ooh, ooh, it's an eponym, right? That was bugging me all morning.
I hate it when I get too sure of myself and insist that my (wrong) answer is correct. My example from today: 33D, clued as "___ at 'em!". I was sure that it was UPAND.
This had so many words I'd never heard of before but it wasn't tedious or frustrating at all, and the theme was so well constructed. What a delightful puzzle! I also got 17 seconds on the mini today...PR is 16 and I never expected to get close to that again. I do usually think of kitten heels as being chunky so I was stunned when I searched them and saw so many narrow kitten heels...apparently they were developed as a more modest style of stiletto for younger teen girls. Learn something new every day.
@Joanie I think of kitten heels as narrow and short, as distinct from tall stilettos.
So many themers! That was cool. And the DOT being the last to fall in the SE, is *perfection* for a left-to-right, top to bottom solver. Like me! I was finding it a *wee* stretchy to assume “the internet” could be simply shortened to COM, but ( ploop! ) there it was waiting for me! Happy hump day all!