I didn’t know about WORLD GIRAFFE DAY, but am tickled to learn that it is celebrated on the longest day (or night) of the year, depending on which hemisphere you live in (June 21st). How delightfully appropriate. A fun and creative puzzle! Thanks, Hannah.
Yes! I successfully identified it’s a giraffe, not a tiger or an elephant which means I passed my cognitive test!!! Nothing I can’t do.
@Gregory Melahn Sir, we have never seen anyone do as well on this test as you.
I love the backstory, that Hannah has had a passion for giraffes for as long as she can remember, and decides to share it with us. But she wants to do it right, and for months throws herself into this puzzle, not satisfied until after having gone through 77 versions, getting the drawing just right, getting the grid and answer set to make that drawing happen – trust me, this was very difficult to do. But she doesn’t stop there. She brings zing into the grid with a dozen worthy debut answers, including some that raise the question, “How can these answers never have been in the Times puzzle before?” Answers such as BEAR WITNESS, FACT CHECK, COFFEE RUN, COMES EASY, and LEVEL WITH ME. Well, I like giraffes. They make me smile. I had fun filling in the grid, with enough sticking points in it to make my brain smile too. The giraffe in the grid is cute as can be, and everything about the puzzle and the story behind it has simply charmed me. What a treat, Hannah – thank you!
The sitcom set on the savanna used a giraffe track. (To proofread this joke, I hired okapi editor.)
@Mike I got nothing today. I was wondering what you would come up with.
@Mike The other day I went to Red Robin and got the Slider Towers. It was quite a tall order. (By the way, Mike, I love that you do these every day, and they make me smile.)
@Mike The other day I went to Red Robin and got the Slider Towers. It was quite a tall order. (By the way, Mike, I love that you do these every day, and they make me smile.)
@Mike Acacia forgot, they also eat acacia leaves. 😳🤭😬
@Mike It safarisier thing to add to this thread than to start it.
@Mike that was a pere aloe puns. You should nova better.
@Mike Instead of lion around groaning, you're giving Hemingway a pun for his moany.
I think the size of this puzzle should have had a "do not try this on your phone" warning. That. Was. Rough.
@V Absolutely agree! EENSY letters in boxes with practically microscopic numbers, and almost invisible circles. And of course, no zoom or magnify available in the app 😡 (Probably a bit more phone-friendly in a browser window, but why are we punished this way?)
@V I did it on my phone just fine
@V A big grid with small squares is the warning. Ultimately though I found that the grid actually displayed much better on my iphone than in a browser on my old (verging on ancient) laptop.
Giraffe fighting, as the puzzle says, is called “necking”, but family members never engage in it because they don’t want to harm the necks of kin.
@Lewis Mike from Munster's job is safe...
@Lewis Sooo appropriate for Dad’s day . Total groaner, and well-played.
@Lewis <a href="https://instantrimshot.com/index.php?sound=rimshot&play=true" target="_blank">https://instantrimshot.com/index.php?sound=rimshot&play=true</a>
@Lewis OMG what a great laugh!
This was in my wheelhouse and I loved it! One of my favorite memories during COVID was attending an online conference called “A Tall Order: Securing a Future for Giraffe in the Wild”, presented by the Giraffe Conservation Foundation. At the end of the meeting, we did a global speed chat in which we were put successively in groups of three for about ten minutes then automatically popped into a new group of three. It was a feel-good small-world moment. There were lots of technical difficulties with the chat (although the conference went off without a hitch), but I have fond memories of the people I met and how hard we tried to connect even when the sound cut out, seemingly randomly. Sometimes we would write on a piece of paper and hold it to the camera. I was impressed with the good work being done on behalf of giraffes and their habitat and the work being done by and for their human neighbors. It was a welcome reminder of the good in the world. I find that in so many spheres of my life when people with a shared passion get together, like here with you, my fellow cross-nerds. So, thank you for being your smart, funny selves. When I started following WordPlay many years ago, I enjoyed the intelligence, humor, and kindness of the people who posted. I felt we lost some of that or, more accurately, that it got drowned out a bit during COVID but I think, I hope, we are returning.
@Cindy Thank you. Connecting is why I so enjoy wordplay. I am now going to research giraffes. I’ve taken them for granted.
@Cindy That was really a nice read, I'd call it a "lovely" read if I wasn't such a man's man. Go Giraffes!!! (Why aren't giraffes team mascots? Especially for basketball? I smell a conspiracy.)
@Cindy Thank you, @Laura and @Francis! I should have put this in my post: Big thanks to Hannah for the delight, the tribute, and the increased awareness of these wonderful animals! Here are a few links to the Giraffe Conservation Foundation. The second is the one that Hannah provided in her constructor notes. <a href="https://giraffeconservation.org" target="_blank">https://giraffeconservation.org</a>/ <a href="https://giraffeconservation.org/about" target="_blank">https://giraffeconservation.org/about</a>/ <a href="https://giraffeconservation.org/facts-about-giraffe/14-fascinating-facts-about-giraffe" target="_blank">https://giraffeconservation.org/facts-about-giraffe/14-fascinating-facts-about-giraffe</a>/
Sticking my neck out here, but perhaps the occasion could be marked by a Gospel choir singing “Oh Kappy Day” 🎶
Happy Father’s Day to all the dads out there! And to the folks who are grilling their dad a burger, or just hoping to get in a good phone call to catch up today. And especially to to those who didn’t get to keep their dad for nearly as long as they expected, and to those who wished to be a father, but carry the grief of it not being a reality. And if you didn’t get the dad you so deserved to have, I hope someone stepped in and made you feel loved and protected. I realized this morning that at 57, I am the age that my father was when he passed. How bizarre that he was just a man my age. Hug ‘em if you got ‘em.
@CCNY thank you. This is really lovely.
@CCNY I lost my father when he was 43 years old. His father died at age 47. So it was with some trepidation that I entered my fifth decade. Happily, I am now in my eighth decade and hopeful of getting to my tenth. While it’s not much of a sample size to prove anything, I have convinced myself that genetics can be overcome by a healthy lifestyle.
@CCNY @Strudel Dad I lost my father when he was 43, as well. Such an incredibly young age, looking back. I calculated the exact day I was the age my father was when he died. It was just inconceivable--still a vibrant young man. Working in coal mines, World War II, and a lifetime of smoking does take a toll. As the eldest son, he quit school after the eighth grade, probably as required by his parents, who were trying to feed five other children. WWII "saved" him from the Colorado coal mines. I think about that when I feel like I've had it tough. I recently calculated that my oldest grandson just turned the age I was when my father died. One thing about experiencing a death like that in an early age is that you really get a profound lesson in how drastically and how quickly and how irreversibly life can change. I try to remember that--one simply must not take the good times for granted. So, yes, CCNY, hug them (or, if your family is as undemonstrative as my family, then just think kind thoughts) if you got them, while you got them.
Overheard on the AM radio, Out West in 1974... My grid arrived, just this Saturday I tried to solve it in the usual way But there were OKAPI and LOCD today A meat-eating MINK? The heck you say. And while I was filling 'fore I knew it, I said an OATH or two I said "I'm gonna beat my best time, by ATAD!" "You know I wanna win so BAAED!" And the giraffe's in the middle, and he GETSLIT too! Might adust my screen for a good JAUNE HUE LEVELWITHME now, did'ja see one two? Ain't no LIMITS what Hannah can do! BEATSME how she's ABLE to! My streak hit 31 just the other day Was AGASP couple times, lost like an EMIGRE Can I FILA new grid with no FACTCHECK today? I got OFFROADED by some clues, but that's OK And. I BEHELD a, a FAKE HOARSE that never dimmed It said, "I'm the OKAPI within, yeah Them SPOTS TIEDOWN your win!" Happy Fathers Day to everyone who believes in supporting others. As Harry Foster Chapin sang, "Oh if a man tried To take his time on Earth And prove before he died What one man's life could be worth I wonder what would happen to this world"
@Whoa Nellie Had the absolutely pleasure of attending a Harry Chapln concert in college before he passed. He was amazing. Recognized the song immediately from the first line. What a great song to reminisce to on Father’s Day and what a great tribute to a performer who was taken from us all too soon…
@Whoa Nellie, you're the best.
@Whoa Nellie OMG that is incredible! Side-splittingly funny!
Fun puzzle! Though as others have mentioned, it's difficult to see in digital form, even on my fairly large laptop screen. I had to look up what a CORN PIT was, as I've never heard of one. I grew up playing on my uncle's farm, and the "play area" was wherever the heck we wanted to play. It seems a CORN PIT is something found on those "farms" that are basically just amusement parks. On a real farm, you do not play in corn. People die that way.
"On a real farm, you do not play in corn. People die that way." Katie, I aired that PSA yesterday.
PSA: <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/shared/comment/4gujju?rsrc=cshare&smid=url-share" target="_blank">https://www.nytimes.com/shared/comment/4gujju?rsrc=cshare&smid=url-share</a>
@Katie I failed at GoeSLIT so I was trying to imagine a CORNPIe play area. Never occurred to me that someone would play in a CORNPIT. Too many people have died trying to get the corn to run out of the silo in our part of the world. Clueless clue
Banjo Nelson, It's a good thing a CORNPIT is not really a corn pit, but just a children's sandbox filled with shelled corn instead of sand. But you're not the only one concerned about the term. <a href="https://agupdate.com/agriview/news/crop/article_d54cef17-7f05-49df-8c86-17cf81497e63.html" target="_blank">https://agupdate.com/agriview/news/crop/article_d54cef17-7f05-49df-8c86-17cf81497e63.html</a>
@Katie I've worked on a farm, but did not grow up on one, so the CORN PIT as a play place was slightly bizarre to me. Petting zoo adjacent, I suppose. I do like a good corn maze, though.
I am reminded of scene from the movie Witness.
@Katie - I've never heard of a corn pit either. And it looks easy to suffocate in one. No thank you .
I’ve come to accept that anything goes in the NYT crosswords. I no longer get bent out of shape that I didn’t find it to my liking or too difficult or even quirky as today’s puzzle is. It’s a crossword puzzle and it was created by a talented person with great effort, detail and creativity. When I was at my job as a warehouse worker there wasn’t a forum to discuss my work for the day. Unfortunately in today’s world especially here, people can just say whatever they wish however hurtful it may be and hide behind the screen. Thank you for a challenging and quirky grid. Happy Giraffe 🦒 Day everyone
@Dan Collins wish you had been able to post this earlier; I think you would have gotten a lot of recs.
Great puzzle Hannah! The veterinarian's office I often drive by, had this on their sign last week: Why does a giraffe make such a good father? Because he's someone you can look up to! Yes, the jokes are always that bad (or worse), and yes, I always read them.
Gotta get this off my chest: First, my grandson’s sick so I can’t visit him for Father’s Day. Then, the one day of the year that should be dedicated to me and all my paternal efforts, it gets usurped in the crosswords by an oversized ruminant who does nothing but chomp on ACACIA leaves all day. The indignity of it all! Seriously, Hannah, this was a quality Sunday and I enjoyed it. Could see we were headed for a GIRAFFE early on, but wasn’t sure how we were going to get there. It’s too bad there was really no way to connect the dots before the animation at the end, at least on the phone. And I do love giraffes, so if anyone deserves a day after fathers (mothers have one already), they do. And dolphins. And koalas. And dogs. Learned that MINKs were semi aquatic—thought it would be the ORCA, although I guess they are totally aquatic. Two VERY minor, good natured nits: As a pediatrician I never called that MD a GYNO—just GYN (or maybe you could spell it GYNE). Sounds like a giraffe who mated with a rhino. If there are other doctors, or patients, who call that doc a GYNO I’d love to hear about it, I’ll stand corrected. Second—EONs aren’t really historical. That would be ERAs. Yes, geological time periods may be eons, but those would really be prehistoric. It’s a cute clue but I would have saved it for ERAS (we need to give Taylor Swift a rest anyway). One non nit: yeah, I know more than one ELK should be ELK. But we’ve seen it before, we’ll see it again, can we let it pass?
ELKS is a fine answer, but the clue should be [Lions cousins].
Doc, Re: GYNO I've always sounded out "ob/gyn" regardless of subspecialty, if any. They're all FACOG, right?
@SP I've heard plenty of non medical people say GYNO, but I always firstly say obgyn. I am sorry that you can't visit your grandson and that he's sick! Hope he gets better soon! Also, I hope one day soon you'll get the recognition and adulation that you so richly deserve!! But, why share it with all those ne'r do wells out there!? Let's just have a World SP Day! 💃🕺🥳
@SP I agree EON doesn’t make sense as clued.
@SP Agreed on EON.I had ERA and finished without the congratulations message, so it took me some time to track down the mistake (fortunately the downs made no sense with ERA). So I came here to find this exact discussion. I don't love how the puzzle often treats them as interchangeable..
@SP - I bumped on the EON clue, too. And I agree about ELKS. (I also agree with Barry that cluing it to the fraternal order would be better. MINKs are definitely semiaquatic. But, to this marine biologist, ORCAS are neither semiaquatic or aquatic. They are marine. We reserve the term "aquatic" to refer to freshwater environments. Of course, I would squirm a bit if I saw ORCA clued this way in a puzzle, but I would probably conclude that it is OK for a crossword.
@SP I go to the gyno, ie I use that word to describe the visit as a patient, same with all my other childless female friends. Super common.
@SP Gyno, Ortho, Gastro. I use them all. Primary and Eye doc too. Fun puzzle! I didn’t understand the A to T then A instruction. I was trying to find an A near a T in a corner. Thanks to the column I get it now! Very clever!
@SP I lived in southwestern Montana for several years and the Paradise Valley ELK herd migrated through my property every year. One of my most thrilling memories is of watching them thundering right by my house in a light snow one grey December day. They were magnificent. They are ELK, thanks for the memory.
BIG DRAW #1: Strong contender for Giraffe Puzzle of the Year, ACESOUT the competition. BIG DRAW #2: Sure beats a Father's Day theme. Was the MANBAG a gift for me?
@Barry Ancona First you look at the murse. Apologies to J Geils.
@Barry Ancona A MANBAG for toting those tablets, sir!
The vertical puzzle may hold interesting challenges for many, but the online puzzle is too small for my impaired vision. A challenge that is a bridge too far.
@Elisabeth yeah the formatting is way off and annoying, I can see it but it's not fun to look at.
@Elisabeth Yes - hated the layout. A Sunday puzzle is generally difficult enough to see, but I generally can without having to zoom in, which I had to do on this one, making it difficult to navigate. I was too irritated to properly enjoy the theme, so I don't know whether I like the puzzle itself or not. Please don't do it again.
@Elisabeth I agree. The formatting was horrible on the eyes. Zooming wouldn't be so bad, if the puzzle would keep the level of zoom, but follow your cursor.
@Elisabeth I'm visually impaired, unfortunately. I took one look at the grid and knew it would be impossible for me. Are there any large print NYT crosswords available?
To Matt from Maine: Wanted to repeat and expand on my response to your earnest criticism from late Saturday, in case you didn’t see it: First, I was off base and snarky in my response to Patrick and apologize to him again; I was exasperated by some prior comments and piled on. Mea culpa. Second, I don’t often respond to folks who are simply expressing their own experience, or if I do it’s simply to contrast respectfully with my own. I do get annoyed by folks who disparage puzzles and constructors because they don’t conform to their own opinion of an ideal puzzle, especially when they imply that it’s a universal opinion when it isn’t. I respond appropriately and feel obligated to defend the constructor or editor. Regarding specific criticisms of clues or entries, I support or disagree with them as I see fit. If I feel someone is newer I may try to educate, and if that comes off as condescending sometimes I apologize, that’s not my intent. Finally, what I NEVER try to do is intimidate. If anyone has ever felt that way about my posts, I sincerely apologize. Anyone who’s been around here long enough knows that I vigorously defend everyone’s right to their opinion whether or not I disagree. I know I’m wordy and sometimes pedantic, but I hope that I have a lot to contribute here and overall that is my impression from the responses of others. I’ll continue to do that respectfully, fairly and reasonably. I do, however, appreciate your honest feedback and will take it to heart.
@SP You contribute a ton here!! And it's nice to have a constructor's perspective! ☺️
@SP “…a wordy pedantic…” You say that like it’s a bad thing. Where else are we going to go on a Saturday night?
@SP I did see it. I just hadn't had a chance to respond as it had been only a few hours since you posted. Some people think certain puzzles are too easy, and others think the puzzles are too hard. That's inevitable. I have a lot of experience with submitting a different kind of product for the public, and one thing you learn almost immediately is that not everyone thinks you are as great at it as you and your friends do, and then most people learn to accept that, because pleasing everyone is impossible. (Some people don't like Vin Scully, for crying out loud, so why would everyone like Jack's puzzle?) I don't terribly mind the comments saying someone should never submit another puzzle. I have been told worse, and I've seen worse in the comments directed at people who criticize the constructors. I'm a little swayed because I follow sports, and it's harrowingly normal for players to get death threats or death wishes because they made an error, or because they scored 15 points and their over/under was 17.5. So saying a puzzle is awful and the constructor should retire is pretty tame -- which doesn't make it right or even acceptable, but like I said, I've seen much worse on this forum that went unchallenged.
@Matt I hear you. The only other thing I’d like to remind commentators is, there are no professional crossword puzzle constructors contributing to the New York Times. Yeah, they get paid a bit, but that’s not why they do it. They just do it for the fun, and the challenge, and because they really like the fact that they can give some enjoyment to solvers. They aren’t trying to prove how smart they are or to trick anyone. They aren’t professional athletes or sportscasters or movie producers or directors who make the big bucks and should be expected to take a lot of excrement if they aren’t exactly at the level people can expect. They have other jobs—doctors, engineers, housewives or house husbands, college students, sometimes even high school students. Yeah, the editors are professionals and should take more of the heat, but even then they are doing their best to put a good product out and keep the lights on. They are or have been constructors themselves. The way I see it, we are paying about a buck a week for this experience and I can’t think of anything else that has the enjoyment to cost ratio that high, in my life at least. So, give your opinion, positive or negative, I’ll continue to cajole the editors to make the puzzles harder and others continue to cajole them to make them easier if that’s your thing. But please be kind and remember this is all done out of pure joy of words and to add to our knowledge of the world and each other.
This was a truly wonderful puzzle, complete with wonderful cluing. Hannah did a very wonderful job and kudos to the editors Giraffes and flamingos are the reasons I love going to zoos! Please change the app back to the way it was! I had to bounce between the browser - after searching for the wordplay column- and this app to find the author’s name while typing the comment.
@Red Carpet I like my giraffes, no I don't own any giraffes I meant to say to my voice to text I like giraffes, but holy cow our place is filled with flamingos and owls!! Pillows and little statues and a giant thing attached to our garden balcony! I love flamingos so much that people get keep giving them to me as gifts. ings. Not real flamingos, to be clear. Not sure our apartment would allow that... 😏 Still, I haven't been flamingoed out yet! Maybe I should direct people to start doing giraffe th
@Red Carpet or at least make it optional
Sundays are my favorite puzzles (after genuinely tricky Thursdays). So I’m very disappointed that I couldn’t do this one. I’m especially disappointed since I learned this one had giraffes and animation. I love when there’s a bonus bit of visual fun at the end. And I like giraffes. I’m one of those nerds who got sucked into the whole internet sensation of April the Giraffe is giving birth live on camera! Any minute now! (It was pretty sweet to witness that baby’s wobbly first steps, actually.) So why couldn’t I solve? Because I couldn’t see the squares. On my IPad Mini, they measured 2mm x 2mm. (Literally. I measured.) That’s too small for me to crack a puzzle and get any enjoyment out of it. I just don’t want to squint that hard. And I can’t even imagine what it was like on a phone. Editors, please don’t do this again. Next time, just make a shorter giraffe.
@Heidi Amen, my friend!! I'm sure you read my account below and though I so appreciate the effort, it's just made it undoable for me. I already had a headache going into it, but it really did get worse trying to solve it. I totally get why they did it, but it's just too sad because there are so many of us who couldn't appreciate it just because of technical reasons. Still, solving digitally for me as far superior than solving on paper. I bought a puzzle book for my trip recently, and I absolutely hated it. I did like one and a third and basically I'm going to give it up on my buy nothing group. Solving on papers not for me. Today it might have been.
@Heidi haha yeah. I was holding the phone two inches from my nose.
@Heidi sorry if I'm missing something obvious, but why wouldn't you just zoom in (pinch gesture) to make it more readable?
@Heidi at al. You all do realize, don’t you, that you can pinch out and enlarge the area you’re working on?
So many people had problems doing this puzzle online due to the format and tiny print --- this was a GIRAFFE GAFFE
Contender for puzzle of the year. Super well thought out, lots of great clues without needing a lot of arcane trivia. Showed up on my app just fine.
I liked it! 🧡🤎 I would happily take a whole year of Sunday animal-themed puzzles!
…and then a cute giraffe appeared! I’m *such* a sucker for an extra, animated present. The Chinese describe it- Tóng xīn wèi min, “the child's heart is not yet extinguished." I feel that’s a part of what brings many of us to this space. We’re playing. Our toys are words. Writing that makes me smile. I love this playground.
In college I decided to draw a giraffe every day for a year, and ended up getting really into giraffes. WORLD GIRAFFE DAY is on my calendar every year and I was delighted to see that it was featured in today’s puzzle, and also that I could instantly fill in the revealer! Thanks for the amazing puzzle, Hannah :)
Hey all--the Durham Wordplay group is getting together for brunch next Saturday June 27--if you're in the area and interested, let me know at crosswordgrrl at gmail. We'll raise a glass or two in memory of Bob Panoff. I enjoyed gradually figuring out what the theme of this puzzle was and now I know about World Giraffe Day. The animation at the end was cute, but came on before I had a chance to see what connecting the dots would give me.
Liz B, Have a great time at brunch. I'll raise a glass to Bob here.
35 down: Qtips do NOT go in ears 🫣
@Samantha Umm, I might have broken that rule.
@Samantha Don’t go, or shouldn’t go?
@Samantha Oh yes they do. Which is why I'm always having to retrieve them from people's ears when they break off or the cotton end is left behind. Now...SHOULD they? This is a different question.
@Samantha Pediatricians’s perspective: ok to clean the outside; don’t stick it inside the ear canal.
"Maybe you're a zoological Sherlock Holmes" Why, yes. Yes I am. Taught vertebrate zoology for years, and knew all the themers instantly. I also knew the color of coot eyes the other day and POTOROO whenever that was. Yep. Smells pretty bad in my wheelhouse, but occasionally it pays off with a Sunday PB. (I know you Spelling Beeists knew ACACIA...)
@Charles Peterson - Hello, fellow zoologist! Invertebrate zoologist here, so we have the entire animal kingdom covered. I am pretty sure we know people in common. I was active in a few divisions of SICB before I retired -- mostly DCPB, which sounds like your preferred division. (And active in ASZ before it became SICB).
Happy Father's Day to the dad who loved all kinds of word games and always let us kids "help" with the NYT Sunday crossword.
So many people have written in to complain about the puzzle's unreadability. To me this is a bit weird. It's perfectly readable on a normal laptop, as well, of course, as in news print. Are they complaining about its appearance on a phone-size screen? This is a large-scale Sunday puzzle! Phones have other primary uses—their suitability for crosswords is iffy at best.
@mmm I only ever solve on my phone. It looked super weird and I don't know if it's a my phone issue or what but I had a very hard time tapping on the grid. No matter how many times I tapped, it would select the wrong grid. I've done hundreds of Sunday puzzles from the archives on my phone and I never had any issue.
@mmm People's systems, devices, setups, and eyes all vary, so I think it's good to believe people when they say it was much more difficult for them because of the grid being as it was. I tried first on my phone and then on my laptop and both were so frustrating in different ways, that I just decided to stop doing the puzzle. I just waited until I knew what it was all about. Then I skipped the fill. I could have finished, but it was not a comfortable or pleasant solving experience because of the technical issues. Since I don't care about streaks and no one is paying me to do puzzles, this was fine. 😏 And I'm not mad at all that they made the puzzle like this. It brought a lot of joy to a lot of people and I think that's awesome!
@mmm It is not readable enough for solving on my Windows screen (bigger than a laptop) unless I switch to full screen. I was going to skip it until I got a good night's sleep and remembered my full screen button. On my system when I make the page say 90% or 110% size, it affects the right screen tex where the clues are, not the grid. So I cannot use my normal tricks to try to deciper hard to read characters (there are none in this puzzle).
@mmm I had trouble on my iPAD with a 10” screen. The clues were readable but it was nearly impossible to discern the circled letters.
@mmm I do them on my iPad and it was a little bit small for me too
Took me some time. Had no idea that "long-neck" has its world-day on June 21, so very educational. Oodles of fun, great x-word; brava to the constructor !
This was a fun puzzle and some of the clues gave me a good laugh. The animation at the end was an extra treat. And who doesn’t love giraffes! Great Sunday!
This puzzle was so clever. I can believe that it took a long time to construct. Kudos for that. I didn't get it all, but I enjoyed it very much. Thank you.
Eds - I’m a no vote on future grids in this aspect ratio, at least electronically. On a phone, the taller grid renders smaller so it fits, but it’s too small to read and then I find it odd to have to scroll around with part of the grid off-screen. This also hampers solving when one has to look in another part of the grid to see a clue referral.
For anyone who thinks the Apple assistant is a Digital know-it-all, just google "Larry David Siri scene." Sticking my neck out here, but what a fun puzzle!
@The Whip For the Google-challenged, here's the link, but keep the volume low, it's Sunday morning and there are kids in the house. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTefnhbg0Ig" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTefnhbg0Ig</a>
Yet another challenging but stellar Fri-Sat-Sun combo - looks like we've already had a few of those this year. Also today's was definitely the cutest end of puzzle animation of all time. Great work by the tech team.
This was a dandy puzzle! Big, tall fun! And that makes it all the more devastating to me that so many people couldn't make it readable. Kind of tragic, for such a engrossing puzzle to only get to part of what I'm sure would be an appreciative audience. I didn't even notice the grid dimension, because about the first thing I do is expand the screen (I use a laptop) so I can read sections better. So most of the time it's like looking through a magnifying glass at a subsection of the puzzle. But never the whole puzzle. But I did notice that about the time I thought I had gotten down to where I thought the end of a Sunday should be, there was a whole lot more puzzle. And I was puzzled by that. It was only after I resized the page, that I saw the puzzle was so tall. I actually thought my computer had weirded out and was mis-presenting the puzzle. LOLed when I realized my mistake. The last three days have been exhausting and exhilarating. I'm proud to have gone 2 of 3 (with some flyspecking). Most of the time I don't really think too much about Mondays. I'm really looking forward to one this week. I'm really tired.
What a nice puzzle for World Giraffe Day. Long live the giraffes. In case you missed it in the news, Nashville Zoo is fighting to keep a huge data center from being built on their doorstep. It's a wonderful zoo - beautifully landscaped, lovely variety of animals, great programs. Here's the link to the petition online. PLEASE SIGN IF YOU'VE A MIND TO. <a href="https://www.change.org/p/nashville-zoo-says-no-to-proposed-data-center" target="_blank">https://www.change.org/p/nashville-zoo-says-no-to-proposed-data-center</a>
@Amy ps oops on the capslock. That looks so aggressive.
Re: 117A If you're actually on a farm or other ag business, stay out of the shelled corn if you value you life. The CORNPIT in question is for the kiddies. <a href="https://www.utahfarmbureau.org/Article/Corn-Pit" target="_blank">https://www.utahfarmbureau.org/Article/Corn-Pit</a>
@Barry Ancona Don't play with (in) your food.
@Barry Ancona, TIL CORNPIT
Loved this puzzle and the surprise at the end!
This was a fun puzzle! Loved the special effect at the end. Happy Sunday, y’all!
Anyone else have difficulty seeing the circled letters in the digital version?
A joyous Litha to all who celebrate...in their COVENs. I can't imagine solving this one on a phone - I had a hard enough time reading the tiny letters on my laptop. Indeed, I was terribly afraid of having a typo somewhere, as I would never be able to find it. Uh oh, AXIS or AXES? Thanks be to GANESHA (Remover of Obstacles) I made it through in one pass. Figured out the theme with OKAPI, as the relationship to the GIRAFFE is a well-worn clue. Did not detract from my enjoyment, and the graphics were nice.
WENT IPO isn't how the action is phrased. It isn't even correct grammar.
The grammar issue was raised in the Wordplay comments for the April 9 crossword: <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/shared/comment/4f9a0n?rsrc=cshare&smid=url-share" target="_blank">https://www.nytimes.com/shared/comment/4f9a0n?rsrc=cshare&smid=url-share</a>
And the phrasing was questioned last year. It may not be heard on Wall Street, but it is heard on Eighth Avenue. <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/shared/comment/460vma?rsrc=cshare&smid=url-share" target="_blank">https://www.nytimes.com/shared/comment/460vma?rsrc=cshare&smid=url-share</a>
@Dc May be heard that way in some places but in a career as a securities lawyer, I can safely say that I never heard it used that way. Ever. And I did my share of IPOs.
@Dc I also worked on Wall Street and saw plenty of IPOs and, to be clear, the expression is WENT PUBLIC, not WENT IPO, ugh! I never heard it on Eighth Avenue or any other NYC Avenue either.
Tough but fun puzzle. Lots of esoteric facts. I understand the need for the shape of the grid. But those of us of “a certain age” and solve on line struggled with the tiny squares and small font clues. It was easier to unlock the screen of my iPad and turn it 90 degrees. Made the grid and clues a little larger. Just saying…..
Fun theme! Loved the animation at the end. Had to ponder a bit before remembering the starchy plant root used in Asian cooking - don't particularly like it myself! TIL that 2*pi was its own labeled mathematical constant (we physicists use TAU for a variety of other quantities such as time constants, torque, can't waste it on an existing perfectly good label, pi).
I’ve been an electrical engineer a very long time. I’ve got an MS in electrical engineering. I’ve never heard of tau being used for 2 x pi. In fact, tau is used as a time variable in many equations. I don’t think it’s uncommon to use 2 x pi x tau in an equation. I’m not saying tau being used as 2 x pi is wrong. It’s just foreign to me.
It is used as clued in mathematics and [obviously!] not in electrical engineering.
@Agent86 I had the same reaction. Been an engineer my whole life and took many classes that used pi (and 2*pi), never once saw this represented as tau.
@Agent86 --- There's a whole movement out there, maybe slightly tongue-in-cheek --- or not --- advocating the use of tau over pi. If you want to go down the tauist rabbit hole, check out <a href="https://www.tauday.com/tau-manifesto" target="_blank">https://www.tauday.com/tau-manifesto</a>
Agent86 — TAU was first defined to equal 2𝛑 by someone in 2010, hoping it would catch on, but it hasn't. Virtually no one in mathematics uses 𝛕 that way.
@Agent86 I have graduate degrees in both mathematics and in statistics. The only place I have seen anything about this "movement" to rewrite formulas that use the constant π with equivalent formulas using the constant τ defined as 2 × π is in another Times crossword a month or so ago. When I look around to find out about it, it appears that the people advocating this change are physicists rather than mathematicians. I think that it is extremely unlikely that such a notational change would ever be made across the board. The expense and confusion associated with making the change would be prohibitive. There are other uses of τ for statistics, constants, or variables in widely varying fields that rely on mathematics. These would need to be changed. In order to incorporate the variety of backgrounds of students in foundational mathematics courses, the educational materials for them would need to be rewritten incorporating both notational systems. There are also places that use π rather than 2 × π. This is especially obvious in some of the most basic formulas concerning properties of circles, including the relationship between the circumference and the diameter of a circle C = π × d, and the formula for the area of a circle A = π × r². These all indicate to me that the clue/answer combination called for in this situation don't refer to a change that is commonly accepted as happening. IMHO, this causes the cluing to seem like another example of crossword-ese. 🏵️
Off topic. I have often come here for help and fun when I got stuck. I could open from the puzzle on a new page and easily swipe back. Recently, this area when open replaces the puzzle page. I have to go out and reopen puzzle page. I have tried numerous tricks but cannot get both open at the same time. If it’s just me, I’ll adjust. If others are experiencing the same, I’ll write to te h folks. PS our zoo just lost a long-beloved giraffe that my children and grandchildren have adored. Sad
@Linda - Nowadays you have to open the Wordplay column separately from either the main NYT app or from Google. It's a nuisance. But then you can keep both pages open. Who knows why the NYT changed how their Wordplay page worked.
Best ever clue for NOUN!! And great fun all round - we're all stock over here watching the giraffe draw itself again... Happy World Giraffe Day, Hannah and all!