I was moved to sadness by the included quotations today. First because all the speakers were murdered for their words and actions in hopes of a better world, and second because we seem to have lost this level of discourse and optimism for humanity. What have gained: AI generated cruel jokes, golden statues, and a UFC arena constructed on the grounds of the White House. Not our finest hour by a long shot.
@Chungclan I had the same emotional reaction when I realized all three speakers were assassinated, two of them when I was in high school.
@Chungclan On the other hand, we have not lost the common theme of older people complaining that things used to be better.
@Chungclan Oh come now, we have Access Hollywood! Surely an era-defining piece of oratory? I hope it will live as long in the memory as “I have a dream” and the other big numbers.
@Chungclan I recently watched Trevor Noah’s Netflix special, “In the Trenches.” It felt a bit more like a sermon than a comedy routine, but honestly in the very best way. He looks hard at questions central to the lives of those orators. I can’t recommend it enough.
@Chungclan fully empathize with your feelings I was uplifted they still are the basis of the freedoms we have - its a tacky phase in our history to be sure as far as White House style at the same time Wrestling is a beautiful sport hopefully the spectacle coming up will be Sporting. I would've preferred Lucha Libre wrestling or the hilarious WWF rather than people being bloodied but sad just like you the division they're causing between the Red White & Blue @glassjonespiano
Sam says: 23A. If you’re unfamiliar with the abbreviation for a university, it’s generally a good strategy to try something that ends in U (since so many schools’ initials do). But there are exceptions, and one of them is this [Univ. in Troy, N.Y.]: the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, or RPI. --- Except that today's clue, and others like it, are clearly signaling that the final letter is **not** going to be U. Univ. is short for university, and the U in any initialism also stands for university. That is a technical violation of the rule that no part of the answer should be in the question. For institutions that have that final U, the clue will always have "Sch." or, occasionally, "Coll." in it, but not "Univ." When "Univ." has been in the clue, you can be sure the school will be RPI, MIT or something other than the school's initials.
@Steve L It's exceptional how day after day you take the time to share of your knowledge in solving crosswords, teaching and reminding, and pointing out the nuances. I'd like to believe I speak on behalf of many when I say [Thank you, familiarly]: YOU ROCK!
@Steve L I appreciate your attenot to introducing some order into this mess, but basically, if it's not a U, it can be anything - that's what this looks like from my perspective. American school abbreviations are just letter salads. (MIT is the only non-U school I can remember, because it came up often enough in the nerdy stuff I used to read as a young man who should have been trying to get laid instead).
Immediately entered “mybirthday” for 8/28/1963 clue - pretty sure it wasn’t going to stick :0)
@Zaphod If I were more of a mathematician, and less of a lazy slob, I would try to approximate the number of living people out there whose exact birth date was one of these three dates. But it might be fun to guess, like guessing the number of beans in a jar. I think it may actually be as low as a couple hundred thousand across the globe? That's my gut feeling at the moment. If so, you are one special "Hitchhiker's Guide" character.
@Zaphod Emus may have eaten my first response... My totally un-calculated, visceral feeling is that there are probably not more than 200,000 to 300,000 people living today for whom one of these dates was a birthday. And that makes you one special "Hitchhiker's Guide" character!
[April 1, 2026] "We’re now totally independent of the Middle East." [February 28, 2026] "Israel and a free Iran will join hands" [June 9, 1954] "Have you no sense of decency, sir" [April 15, 2026] "Progressivism seeks to replace the basic premises of the Declaration of Independence" There are famous speeches. And then there are infamous speeches.
(Joseph Welch was not really delivering a speech, and what he said was not infamous in itself, but that day and that era will live in infamy, so it was an infamous moment I'd say).
@john ezra The last one was Justice Thomas, wasn't it? The guy on the non-politicized Supreme Court?
Most people see phrases and take them at face value. Crossword creators see them, flash on a different take, and come up with a puzzle theme. What amazes me is that in the history of crosswords, in all the major venues, no constructor ever saw PART OF SPEECH and came up with this theme. Truly, it seems like such low hanging fruit. Props to Dario for snagging what all the other constructors over all the years missed – it’s a terrific theme idea. I smiled at the lovely dook ABORC. I smiled again when I saw the neighbors CAPOS and a backward STRAD, imagining the former being used on the latter. I also was grateful for being reminded at how elegant, memorable, and transformative language can be in a speech, sometimes never to be forgotten. So, the box bestowed a constellation of good feelings to me today. Thank you, Dario!
The clue for CHANGE is noncentsicle. Guess we better get used to it.
@Mike R I feel like this comment should be disputed, but I don't know what that word means.
@Mike R No kidding! I paid cash for a minor repair on my glasses yesterday; the charge was $3.19....but this created great anxiety for the person waiting on me. "Do you have some ChANGE? I hope you have some CHANGE!." I came up with a dime, a nickel, and two pennies along with three $1-bills. "Sold!" she cried, and handed me a receipt.
What an interesting theme! I tried my hand at combining some parts of speech: Ask not fear itself. We shall overcome on the beaches. Ain’t I a small step. No decency no more forever.
@Cat Lady Margaret Yeah I was hoping this would be combination of pieces of speeches which made some sort of sense when strung together. That would have been fun.
@Cat Lady Margaret -- May I add ICH BIN EIN HOUSE DIVIDED to the mix?
This seemed impossible for me for most of my solve. The dates meant nothing to me, and I realized with horror that on top of having a seemingly impenetrable theme, the grid was also peppered with trivia, including my most hated kind of it - brands. In the SE corner a term from bowling (which is not popular here at all) crossed with a brand (clues using some other brand, too, to add insult to injury), which in turn crossed with yet another brand, and that crossed with a character/title (ELL..a? ELL..e?) - given that TCBY exists, the name of an American brand can be anything... I felt dejected. There was no way for me to resolve this other than by guesses. It all worked out in the end but I can't say I enjoyed dealing with that section. In the end I realized the theme was about quotes from speeches, and the latter two I actually knew. The first themed entry was a mystery though, and the NW corner being trivia-heavy did not help, at all. Trying to recall ALDO almost gave me an aneurysm. I could picture the hard to find guy, but I could not for the life of me remember his name... I finally got it when I managed to eke out some crosses up there. So yeah, I struggled throughout the solve, but I managed to complete it without lookups or reveals (it was a close call though!), in the end. Now... And this I don't get at all! My solve time was about 66% of my Wednesday average 🤔 I suppose that means this must have been one of the easiest Wednesdays ever for my American friends.
@Andrzej The first themed entry was from the "Gettysburg Address". I've never know how well-known that is at various points on the globe. If I may be so presumptuous to consider me a part of your "American friends", I found it a more or less normal Wednesday, but obviously the quotes were all from Americans, so obviously harder on non-Americans, as is often the case.
On another note - I am a bit of a history buff, but I don't know any quotes from any Polish speeches. I wonder what that demonstrates - Poles' lesser focus on oratory, maybe? Or a different way of teaching history? There is some takeaway here, I just don't know what it might be 🤣
@Andrzej It was considered Easy on xwstats.com; 🌎 Global Stats Difficulty Easy Median Solve Time 7:40 Median Solver 20% faster ⚡86% of users solved faster than their Wednesday average. 51% solved much faster (>20%) than their Wednesday average. 🐢14% of users solved slower than their Wednesday average. 3% solved much slower (>20%) than their Wednesday average. My personal time was 16% faster than my Wed average.
@Andrzej "The dates meant nothing to me" Many years ago, I visited Quito, Ecuador. That city has several roadways--main thoroughfares, no less--named after dates: Avenida Cinco de Junio, Avenida Seis de Diciembre, and several others. Presumably, important dates in South American history, but which nothing for me, save to confuse me. The American equivalent would be "Fourth of July Boulevard," but I can think of no city with such a street. (2nd attempt to post--did I forget to hit "submit"?)
it is almost unbelievable as a current early-twenty-something that american presidents used to give oratory like the kennedy inaugural address—in terms of their political and philosophical content certainly, but also just the quality and gravitas of the oratory itself. obama had his moments, but they were too young to really feel like *my* contemporaneous political context. so depressing that most all political speech these days is stupid, inelegant drivel (to say nothing of its moral content). anyways—tricky wednesday for me! i think largely because my appalling inability to remember dates w.r.t. historical detail (even the broad decadal strokes, often) left me reliant on the crosses to get close enough on the theme answers.
@charlie My favourite Kennedy speech is the "We choose to go to the moon" one. The sentiment of doing something not because it is easy but because it is hard is very powerful and inspiring for me. That flawed young commander-in-chief was definitely something special, even for the time.
@charlie I’m encouraged that someone of your generation can see the difference. Also that you do the NYT crossword! Perhaps there is hope for the future.
@charlie My intentions are honorable here, and you come across as well-spoken. Why no caps in your writings? You certainly use punctuation correctly.
ABORC derives, of course, from the Latin verb "aborcio, -ire," meaning "to orc away from." The opposite, "to orc towards," is "adorc," but only when given a fourth option. Three favorite RONDOs (spoiler alert--the theme comes back): Couperin (Hewitt): <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p8ATCh6sarM&list=RDp8ATCh6sarM&start_radio=1" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p8ATCh6sarM&list=RDp8ATCh6sarM&start_radio=1</a> Mozart (Uchida): <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lT6XneUFzXM&list=RDlT6XneUFzXM&start_radio=1" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lT6XneUFzXM&list=RDlT6XneUFzXM&start_radio=1</a> Hindemith (Gould): <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8JOkNxJflfY&list=RD8JOkNxJflfY&start_radio=1" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8JOkNxJflfY&list=RD8JOkNxJflfY&start_radio=1</a>
@Bill Thank goodness you took Latin and could share the declension with us lesser beings. It was adorbs.
Well I guess my comment was rejected due to the final word, which I tried to disguise, but apparently that was not enough. I'll try again: Maybe I'm being too picky, but FOUR SCORE AND SEVEN and ASK NOT WHAT are the beginnings of the famous quotes. You are prepared for what is to follow. Then we get to HAVE A DREAM instead of I HAVE A DREAM. That makes it sound like a quote you might see embroidered on a pillow like "live, love, laugh" or some other treacly nonsense. It just saps the grandeur from the quote. As for GOT A MATCH, the first thing that came to mind was something I overheard when someone jokingly said GOT A MATCH? to another person who was struggling with a large, heavy package. "Yeah, I got a match. Your face and my ay ess ess".
I enjoyed today's puzzle. Good theme, good fill. A bit on the easy side, but what are you going to do? But, I ended up feeling a little sad and pessimistic about the human race. Let me explain. It started with the perfectly amusing solve for ROBOT SUMO. I'd never heard the term before, but it was an easy get with the crosses. But it made me think: I've seen these "battling bot" competitions for years. It seems to me that shortly after humans (primarily male engineers) started making robots, they started creating competitions to see which ROBOT could smash, destroy, kill the other. I'm sad to admit that, at first, I found these competitions amusing. For me, they got old pretty fast. But what does it say about us humans???? And then I noticed that all three of the speakers of the inspirational PARTS OF SPEECH were assassinated by those who were inspired in a different way by these orations. If that doesn't make you feel a little sad.... Someone tell me something good about our species, please.
@The X-Phile Unlike robots, humans can feel empathy, as you just demonstrated.
@The X-Phile It's easy to feel sad about the human race these days, and certainly about our non-robot overlords and those who follow blindly. Still, we are the same species that also generated Abraham Lincoln, John F. Kennedy, and Martin Luther King Jr. Their spirits, hopes, aspirations, and very imperfectly human goodness live on. There are times it's harder to hear and see amidst all the buzziness, but the good fight does live on. Maybe spend some time dwelling a little bit on the inspirational people speaking out today. I mean, there are plenty, but of late, Stephen Colbert is kind of on fire.
@The X-Phile We can be tender. By which I mean not merely restraining our use of power to dominate but transforming its use into sheltering and caring for those among us who either do not have or refuse to use power to bend the world to their will.
Thought this puzzle wasn't close to being Wed-difficult. It certainly could have run on a Tuesday or perhaps even a Monday. But I applaud the theme: It's a lot more important to know famous historic speeches than Billboard top hits and a bunch of rappers. So I like the puzzle's scholarly chops even while wishing it had given me some more actual...puzzlement.
@Nancy Sometimes people are "in tune" with the constructor and see the meaning of the clues quickly. I was not so attuned today, though. 😱 I do agree with you about the theme, nice one.
@Nancy; you're a smart pants. I struggled but felt great that I got as much as I did.
As a regular cigar smoker, many, many times am I asked for lighter or ask to borrow one. I can't remember the last time I've asked or been asked GOTAMATCH. Heard those words in old movies more times in older movies, though. I seem to remember a challenge exchange with that exact phrase in a Bond movie
@Steven M. My first fill there was GOT A light.
@Steven M. Yeah I had GOTALIGHT first too and raised my eyebrows. Can’t remember the last time I’ve seen anyone with a matchbook. Feels like telephone booth territory to me. But then again I don’t smoke or hang out it bars.
@Steven M. I see books or boxes of matches all the time in restaurants and bars, branded with the name and perhaps the address and phone number of the establishment. We used to keep a collection in a tin in the bathroom until the real estate was needed for other things.
I wanted to write something serious and admiring of this puzzle, but I'm sorry, I can't stop laughing at @Yas's comment. Oh, that British dry wit I so love... (Here's the link: <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/shared/comment/4gcj2q?rsrc=cshare&smid=url-share" target="_blank">https://www.nytimes.com/shared/comment/4gcj2q?rsrc=cshare&smid=url-share</a>) And so, despite the fact that you threw history at us (the audacity, really now!) I want to thank you for a fine puzzle, Mr. Salvucci, and the harkening back to a time when there was still always a chance that a memorable (at least PART OF) SPEECH would be heard. Alas. To wrap it up, I'm turning the clock back to 1983, with The Police and a rare live video of "Tea in the SAHARA"... <a href="https://youtu.be/ZN32qR6Kh10?si=v2hU92hQiAdiSJIx" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/ZN32qR6Kh10?si=v2hU92hQiAdiSJIx</a>
@sotto voce I was in my late 20s when that song came out, so I hereby deem it relevant. (Big props to Yas for stirring the pot) Sting's fascination for the desert is well noted, and his later solo hit Desert Rose was one of my favorites. I was so smitten by the beautiful voice singing in Arabic, I wanted to meet that woman. Then, I was told that woman was Cheb Mami. Arghhhhh! Thanks for posting the "vid."
The way I heard it, "O sole mio" is actually the boast of a dyslexic Italian real estate magnate who has just transacted a huge deal in Norway; what he is trying to get out is "Oslo è mio."
Nice theme. I don’t know whether to feel nostalgically happy for the intelligent oratory of the past, or just more depressed for the current word salads of the present. Still, I enjoyed the grid, surprisingly easy for me given the specific US references. But then, I am a bit of a history/oratory buff. Still hot as Hades here. I’m having to hose the Alpaca’s feet with cold water several times a day. It’s the only way of cooling them down. Thank goodness they were shorn two weeks ago.
New constructor? Novel idea! Wonderful puzzle; I'm impressed. (Trying to supply punctuation for all the PARTS OF SPEECH...) This puzzle is (in addition to being unique) perfectly timed to remind us of inspiring leadership--moments when imperfect people spoke of uplifting vision... ANORAK is not "waterproof hooded pullover winter wear"?? Thank goodness for crossings; I'd never get it with *that* clue!
@Mean Old Lady ?My clue for ANORAK was [All-powerful avatar in "Ready Player One"]; was it different in the print version? Now, I read "Ready Player One"--why? I have no idea, it's not my usual taste--and, while I don't remember all that much about it, I don't remember a character being, or having, an avatar called "Anorak."
and, @MOL, you are hardly a "lesser being" in my books!
@Bill I read the book, and cyberpunk is definitely my usual taste. Still, I had to refresh my memory - ANORAK was the AI representation of the game's (deceased) designer, and would therefore be "all-powerful." Also on my list of favorite words.
I owned and operated a small patisserie in Le Marais during the ‘60s and ‘70s called “MOI.” During that time I had a reputation for making some of the best macarons in Paris. On Sunday morning the lines would stretch down Rue des Rosiers for two hours before opening, and the macarons would be sold out in thirty minutes. One afternoon Alfred Hitchcock came in with a small group and asked for a bag of pistachio macarons. I regretfully told him we had run out for the day, and he shrugged his shoulders and very pleasantly said, “Not a problem, I’ll wait.” I then proceeded to make a fresh batch of pistachio macarons from scratch for Alfred Hitchcock, who spent the time chatting with his entourage and our staff. He was very kind and gave us a large gratuity for our service. But as he left, and I’ll never forget this as long as I live, he turned back and looked at me with the most horrifying scowl. The lights seemed to dim, and his eyes turned a bright shade of glowing red. He then opened his mouth and his voice had deepened into a resonant demonic growl as he said, “SHAVE THEM DOWN AND MAKE THEM SMOOTH!” At which point a swarm of wasps flew out of his mouth into the bakery. As we desperately swatted at them the last thing I saw was Hitchcock walking out the door, and suddenly a pair of leathery wings sprouted from his back, tearing through the fabric of his suit, as he clumsily loped into the air and flew away above the Parisian skyline, cackling.
@Ace I merely wish to know if you had any trouble filling in 5D?
@Ace I love your fantasy posts. They remind me of a book of Woody Allen short pieces that came out decades ago. I can't remember the name of the story, but it was written in that new age style of describing events with your famous friends--Gertrude Stein, Pablo Picasso, Alice B. Toklas, etc. Two or three times he'd end a section with something like. "...and then I began to talk to Ernest Hemingway and we had a few drinks and had a few laughs and we put on the gloves and he broke my nose."
Fun and inspiring. We shall overcome. Thanks, Dario.
I think the clue for SKY was pulled out of thin air! But nice puzzle. Enjoyed it.
@Kevin The verb "to sky" was (is?) quite standard in baseball. Meant to get out by hitting a fly ball caught by an outfielder. "He skied to center in the fourth and then popped to short in the NINTH."
@Kevin Huge 40 year baseball fan here. That one took me forever, and when I got it, I rolled my eyes. No one says, SKY. Fly? Yes. Pop? Yes. Sac Fly? Yes. Sky? No.
I enjoyed this puzzle but can I grumble about a “glen” being a “low-lying landform”? While having a low-lying component the term typically also refers to the hills/mountains either side. In my native Scotland the classic of the type might be Glen Coe which is less than half a mile wide at the bottom but bound by 3000 ft mountains either side which are considered part of the glen.
Not age friendly. Someone who is 25 was not alive in the years required to complete this puzzle.
@Yas Oh come on! Please tell me you are joking. You could have at least included a wink emoji.
@Yas Yeah, right? History is just soooo passé! 😄
@Yas 🙄 Nobody *hundred* and 25 years old was around when Lincoln gave his speech, but it's so famous that (even living in England), you must've recognized the quote! (C'mon man. If you're 25, then it's time to start thinking and acting like an adult).
@Yas There is a non-trivial chance that Yas is trolling the community with this comment.
@Yas - The three speeches referenced are all American speeches. If you are a Brit as per your address, that may be your problem. These speeches are not obscure at all in the US.
@Yas This is not so much a reply to you, as it is a plea to the heavens... Please let this be a joke!
I can only assume it's because I saw Rent this weekend that I was so convinced of GOT A LIGHT 🕯️ that I backspaced on my Walk off inning answer
Hopefully I was the only solver that wondered what a borc was. As for moles, some weeks ago I was pulling the neighbor's weeds pushing through my fence when a mole popped out of a mass of weed foliage, scurried past my feet, leaped up, liked a diver bouncing off an diving board, and vanished into the soil as if it water. Just amazing, moles are.
I liked the theme of today's puzzle. First I was trying to look for the common name of the speech, before figuring out ASK NOT WHAT. A few areas I thought for sure I had the right answer and slowed me down. Like VOWS instead of IDOS for the wedding exchange. I enjoyed answers like KNAVE and ROBOT SUMO, I like it when there's just fun answers. Really MODERN crossed with MIO and RPI was the toughest spot for me. And RONDO crossed with ANORAK. If you're going to have answers you need to have seen a specific movie to know, I'd usually expect them to be either much more popular movies or ones with more artistic merit.
@Chris this is not a recommendation, but the book was a huge bestseller, hitting #1 on the NYT list and remaining on it for over 100 weeks (according to Google). While the book is problematic, if you were a nerdy teenager in the 80s, you will likely enjoy the nostalgia 🤓
LOVED it!!! I say this all the time, but I love when the theme actually helps you solve the puzzle. A theme is useless. If it only makes sense after the entire grid is complete. I will say I struggled mightily in the NW corner because I am far from PERFECT and IDEAL was eluding me… Rating: 9/10
I always wanted to go to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, because the name sounded so cool. And it was only a 3-hour drive to our cabin in the Adirondacks. Sadly, my math grades indicated another direction. I reflexively entered GO Army at 29D, and it pained me to change it to NAVY. That should tell you what 'another direction' was.
Today's poem made from words found in today's puzzle <br> a/ find the hard to find things things lost in the air a flag… a lentil find d/ the way every day every nickel say the word banana banana banana a/ and go on go and ask who or ask what ask all of it… ask the sky
@Peter Valentine, you're my valentine today. great work there.
Sometimes I wish I could have new ANO, given the 'roid issues that come with age. Would be friends greet me with "Feliz ANO Novo," were this to come to pass? Roid rage -- I have it!
@Captain Quahog I actually went and looked this one up after the solve; the phrase is in Portuguese, so no tilde needed. Spanish would have been "feliz año nuevo".
@Captain Quahog Funny!...except that Feliz ANO novo is Portuguese and ANO really does mean "year" with no alternative as in the Spanish Feliz AÑO Nuevo, so it doesn't land the same. (There is no Ñ letter in Portuguese.) The spelling for the alternative, in Portuguese, is the same as in English, though pronounced UH-nooj (same pronunciation as ANOs, "years" in Portuguese.) Just make sure your friends greet you with Feliz ANO *Nuevo* for a good laugh. ;-)
@Captain Quahog We're counting on you to defeat Susan Collins. Taper the dose when you can.
Bonbons are chocolaty only *sometimes*.
I truly hate to nit-pick, nevertheless I cringe at the solve to clue 49A which is clued "Hit way up in the air, as a baseball." I am a long time baseball fan and I have never said, thought or heard that word when the ball is "hit way up in the air." I am trying to imagine a stadium full of people saying that in unison as the batter hits a popper to the outfield. Also, I do believe that's a photograph of a tardigrade and I don't see how that relates to this puzzle either.
@Jennene It's a mole. Play-by-play announcers say it. "McCutcheon skies one to deep left field..."
Brilliant, loved it! Part of speech... nicely done, and kind of a bonus for a Wednesday!
Like Sam, figuring out the revealer 'Parts of Speech ' after getting a couple of the theme answers made me smile.😊. Also amused by the concept of Robot Sumo. Thanks for a nice start to my day.
@Jeff unlike Sam, I did not laugh so quickly. “Part of speech” sounds awkward. Those words are really parts of a speech or a part of a speech. I would never describe “Have a dream” as part of speech. Some may disagree.
Oh, and one more puzzle find - a quite remarkable one. A Sunday from January 18, 1998 by Ed Early and Bob Klahn with the title: "Prophecy." Theme answers in that one (in order): IHAVEADREAMTHATONEDAYON THEREDHILLSOFGEORGIATHE SONSOFFORMERSLAVESAND THESONSOF FORMERSLAVEOWNERSWILL BEABLETOSITDOWNTOGETHER ATTHETABLEOFROTHERHOOD Wow. Here's that link: <a href="https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=1/18/1998&h=25a" target="_blank">https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=1/18/1998&h=25a</a> .....
Nice one. Not being able to immediately remember SKY and MAGE (pop and sAGE) made that section chewy. Many thanks.
The consummate soundtrack for today's puzzle: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rwn8hIyiHvI" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rwn8hIyiHvI</a>
@Steve L Okay, but Living Colour is more my speed. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xxgRUyzgs0" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xxgRUyzgs0</a>
@Steve L Very good catch! Was this your plan, Dario, or happy happenstance?
This is awesome, you guys are spoiling us! Not long ago, only Thursday and Sunday had themes. I think it's fantastic to have a fun theme like this on a Wednesday but be careful - before long we'll all feel entitled to have groundbreaking themes every day lol. (That said, I'd still vote to keep Friday and Saturday theme-free. And so challenging that I need to activate cobwebbed synapses before I even get the 50% complete badge).
@CB Huh? I’m all the way back to 2016 and since that time ay least all days but Friday and Saturday had themes (there was the occasional themeless Wednesday). How far back is “not far back”?
The middle letter in 19D and 23A got me. Had to just toss in random letters til I got it. :/
Nice job Dario! Fun Wednesday puzzle!
The crossword needs to get it together. Bullfighting yesterday and veal today? These industries are horrifically cruel. For anyone who doesn’t know, baby male cows are separated from their mothers at birth and killed because they are seen as “waste products” of the dairy industry. Supporting these abusive industries does not make the world a better place.
@Johnathan There’s no such thing as a baby male cow.
@Johnathan So, should I not be drinking milk or eating meat? Might have to change my lunch plans.
@Johnathan Sorry but comments like this get me steamed. It’s fine to make your point about the industries, but to imply that we should expunge words out of a crossword is intolerable and smacks of censorship. So then another person who’s a complete vegetarian decides all words related to meat should be removed. And somebody else who thinks boxing or wrestling is barbaric gets rid of those words. Or maybe someone says football is terrible because it causes concussions so all football terms should be removed because we don’t want to promote it. Where will it end? Are you the sole arbiter? Am I? Words are words. When you write your crosswords you are free to leave off terms or people you find offensive. When I write mine I will leave off what I want (and often do). But unless it’s a racial slur or an off-color term that is generally considered out of the bounds of propriety, we should be respectful of our vocabulary and recognize that some of our opinions are our own.
@Johnathan Virtue signaling right on schedule.
@Johnathan “baby male cow” 😂 Seriously? And surely you know pigs are slaughtered younger than veal? Hope you’re not eating octopus either. Or drinking almond milk, it’s one of the biggest wastes of water on the planet.
@Johnathan I'll take a PETA/VEGAN rant over politics any day of the week. 😛 Keep up the fight! 🥩🐄
@Johnathan Olé! It is silly to suggest that the crosswords should be censored to eliminate words that someone (anyone!) might find offensive. And it's this kind of silly, knee-jerk cancelling that leads to orange people being elected to higher office. And this isn't the place for you to get on your Vegan soapbox. You can, of course. "It's a free nation," as some have naively stated. But I'd suggest to you that your making more enemies to your cause than converts. Perhaps you should suggest that people go watch the movie "Sheep Detectives". If sheep can solve murder mysteries, we really shouldn't eat them, the movie tells us.
this guy again? It is not the function or duty of the NYT crossword puzzle to reflect your* personal ethical preferences. Stuff that exists is fair game to be mentioned. Deal. * for all values of 'you'
@Johnathan What do you have to say about the fetal pig I dissected in Zoology my Freshman year? (She even had hairs on her chinny-chin-chin.) Or the earthworm, frog, and fish in HS Bio? Life forms (plants, animals, molds, fungi) are often bred/allowed to grow only for useful purposes--as food, in many cases. I guess I just think we're no different from/worse than other life-forms.
@Johnathan This is like an episode of “surrounded” on jubilee 🤣. I am enjoying the conversations thus far though, and I will be happy to engage thoughtfully with you all. Blessings to everyone on this fine day 🫶.
@Johnathan Most of what I'd really like to say in response to your comment would not be allowed here. So, I'll leave this purely on a puzzle-lover level: If you are a Spelling Bee player, what do you do when an obvious word comes to mind that's on your personal list of evil words? If you self-censor, your score must suffer greatly.
@Johnathan First of all, I truly appreciate that you stick around and engage in the comments that are mostly opposed to your own. I share some of your concerns, though admittedly, not as passionately. There are other subjects of cruelty and injustice that I am more passionate about. It takes all kinds. I work somewhere where they are trying hard to make these industries more humane and more sustainable (well, not bullfighting, we're not involved in that... 😬), so I see a couple different sides of it. I am not a scientist or researcher, however, so, I certainly can't go into great detail. Not because it's top secret, but because I'm not smart enough in that way. Har! Either way, I don't think their inclusion in a crossword puzzle is supporting the industries. In fact, it's given you an opportunity to share your thoughts out on this forum, no matter how well it's received. Crosswords make us think and feel and remember. Those are all good things. And anything that brings respectful conversation about is a good thing, at least in my book.
@Johnathan Just to be clear, Johnathon, I think I would not have had an issue and would not have commented if you had just left out “the crossword needs to get it together”. I have no issue, and commend you even, for taking a stand on something you feel passionate about. But the first sentence was what got me, it just suggests that you think crosswords should eliminate those words or references altogether.
A very important part of an important speech is YOUR EARS. Fun puzzle, from which we have nothing to fear.
Correction: 29D answer should be Dream On, Navy 😋 Response from one smoker to another "Not since Superman." Response for "Got an extra cigarette?" "Nope, they only come 20 in a pack" "Last time I checked my 1040, you weren't on it."
@Jerry "GOT A MATCH?" "No, but I got a lighter." "How am I supposed to pick my teeth with a lighter?" - Henny Youngman
Got 1A immediately, but I wondered how our British folks will react, as it's "Where's Wally" on the other side of the pond. The quotes quickly became pretty obvious, even if the dates didn't bring the speeches to mind since I did this at midnight. It was nice to have MAGE crossing ANORAK. I wasn't familiar with ROBOT SUMO, as the only contest I've seen is BattleBots. Thanks, Dario!
@JayTee ROBOT Wars was the original British version, but I already had the U filled in.
Very sweet Wednesday. Grazie, Dario!
I’m learning so much about osso bucco lately
And one more puzzle. A Sunday from December 12, 2004 by Lee Glickstein and Nancy Salomon with the title "Years on End." I don't need to give the clues - here are some of the answers: WHATAMESSAGE NAVYYARDAGE POPUPADAGE HITCHINGPOSTAGE CHECKTHISOUTAGE HOTFOOTAGE BUMSTEERAGE HOOVERDAMAGE Here's that link: <a href="https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=12/12/2004&h=112a" target="_blank">https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=12/12/2004&h=112a</a> ....
Well, with the Monday holiday, today feels a bit like a Tuesday. And this was a decent Tuesday puzzle, thematically and otherwise, but not really a Wednesday offering. Enjoyed it well enough, and WALDO/ALDO was a cute feature/bug.
@Xword Junkie Glad to see someone agrees with me, but looks like we are in the minority today, which is OK. : )
I can take or leave themes but these were good ones. And the puzzle has a whole bunch of multi word answers, which is harder for the constructor to do and more fun for the solver (well, me anyway). Very good job Dario.