"Are you going to the beach?" "It's a shore thing!" (I kind of coasted with that one - a bit of pier pressure.)
@Mike That was a swell pun, and you are certainly entidalled to it. Surfs you well.
@mMike Be sure to wave when you get here! 🌻☮️
@Mike The puns aren't quite Bond-level today. You're a shell of your former self. Or maybe I'm just crabby this Monday morning.
@Mike This one boarders on genius. Be sure to aloe for the sun.
Crochet doesn’t use a needle, it uses hooks.
@Megan This. Literally the meaning of the word is "hook" in French - I'm surprised that anyone who knows the word "crochet" enough to include it in a crossword puzzle would make that mistake.
@Megan You are 100% correct, but... The clue says "Needle-working," not "needle" itself. Apparently, even though CROCHET uses a hook and not a needle, it can fall under the category of "needlework," according to some authorities: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Needlework" target="_blank">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Needlework</a> <a href="https://www.indooroutdoors.co.uk/blogs/news/different-types-of-needlework-sewing-crochet-and-knitting" target="_blank">https://www.indooroutdoors.co.uk/blogs/news/different-types-of-needlework-sewing-crochet-and-knitting</a> (Note the wiggle words "hooked needle.") Even Britannica agrees: <a href="https://kids.britannica.com/students/article/needlework/276047" target="_blank">https://kids.britannica.com/students/article/needlework/276047</a> Much like hot dogs, which are called dogs, but no actual dogs are harmed in their creation. The only quibble I see is that there shouldn't be a hyphen there; it makes it look more like it involves an actual needle.
@Megan et al It appears that Willa Angel has cast an Apple of Discord into the Monday scene. To the barricades!
CROCHET very specifically does not use a needle. Like. That's kind of its defining characteristic. C'MON now.
@Cas I was literally coming to make the exact same comment!
@Cas I came here to make my first ever comment to say the same thing!! I scratched my head thinking about embroidery, knitting, cross-stitch, sewing, and even tatting, because I thought it couldn’t be crochet seeing as that famously uses a hook… it’s a classic mistake from someone who doesn’t crochet/knit (if I had a pound for every time someone asked about my “crochet needle”..!), so very understandable, but I felt my inner crafter rise up with a “well ACTUALLY…” hahah.
@Cas et al There was already a lengthy thread about this. You all should check it out.
@Cas Third thread about this.
My five favorite clues from last week (in order of appearance): 1. Go for gold? (3) 2. Biblical second coming? (3) 3. Bugling game (3) 4. Result of bad service, maybe (2)(3) 5. Old yeller? (6) TAN EVE ELK AD OUT CODGER
My favorite encore clues from last week: [Things taken on a walk?] (5) [Precipitous?] (5)
The first line of the main post should read: "My five favorite original clues from last week" I'm sorry for the goof!
... and, goof #2! Just in case you didn't see @pezhead's reply, the answers to the encore clues are: STEPS RAINY
@Lewis My favorite clue-which-didn't-make-the-cut of the week: Library of congress? (4)(5) KAMA SUTRA
It's nice to be regaled with PELÉ in the grid two days in a row. Truly The King. In the 1958 World Cup where he debuted as a 17-year-old, he didn't just take Brazil to victory with his goals and assists; he wowed even the opposing teams's fans, the Swedes, on the opposing team's soil, Sweden. It was the final match, between Brazil and Sweden, and Pelé's beautiful plays and mesmerizing skill stunned them so much that they all cheered for him every time he touched the ball! After Brazil's victory 5 x 2, the King himself insisted on coming down the stairs from his seat to shake Pelé's hand. And the Swedish player who'd been marking him stated, after the game, that by goal #3 he was ready to stop marking Pelé and just applaud him. :-) (Side note: it also says a lot about Swedish sportsmanship.) Oh yes, the puzzle... despite the chilling theme, it's bound to warm many beginners to the NYT crosswords. Fresh, fun, with a bit of a bite but still Monday-esque. Thank you, Ms. Chen Miller!
Help! I need a chemist! In 9D, LYE is described as [an *aid* in making soap]. Now, my understanding is that soap, at its core, is a salt between a fatty acid, such as stearic, and an alkali ion, such as sodium or potassium. The sodium comes from lye [NaOH]. So in that sense, lye is an ingredient--a reagent--not an aid, which participates but doesn't join in--a solvent or catalyst. Of course, you could substitute the lye with something else, like potassium hydroxide, but that would be making pie crust with lard instead of butter. Old backpacker's tip: wanna clean out that dirty cook pot? Throw a little ash from the campfire in--the potash from the ash will cause saponification (How I love that word--Robyn, I miss you*!) with the fats in the pan, and grit from the ash will provide abrasive. In fact "pot ash"-->"potassium," which is why we call it that in English, unlike the "Kalium" of other, benighted, languages. *a dearly-missed friend, who was a high school science teacher, not Robyn Weintraub. But, Ms. Wientraub, if you're reading, please include SAPONIFICATION into a late-week grid!
@Bill love that tip! Headed for the woods tomorrow, useful timing 😄
@Bill For liquid soap, gather yourself some buckeyes (or horse chestnuts).
@Bill By whom is 'aid' defined as 'something that participates but doesn't join in'? I don't think that's a technical usage in chemistry. But I could be wrong.
@Bill Blew my mind when I learned that bagels are boiled in a LYE-and-water solution to get that nice crust. So wait, you have to wear goggles and gloves to make these, but they're safe to eat? I'll have to trust you, because I love bagels.
@Bill Excellent question! My view is that "aid" is not really a chemical term--what you're getting at with "participates in but does not join in" would be a catalyst. Catalysts are unaffected by the overall reaction, although they do play a part in making a reaction go faster at a given temperature. Enzymes are a particular class of catalysts that are made of protein. Almost every chemical reaction in a living system is modulated by an enzyme, and they can make a reaction happen millions of times faster than without the catalyst. A single enzyme molecule can produce millions of reaction products per second, like a super-fast machine splitting out product. In theory the entirety of the mass of catalyst added to a reaction can be isolated after the reaction, completely unchanged. In this case, I'd say that the lye, a strong base like NaOH or KOH (sodium or potassium hydroxides) reacts with an organic carboxylic acid, like oleic or stearic acids, neutralizing the acid *and* the base, resulting in an kind of salt with a Na+ or K+ ion, and an anion (negatively charged ion) that keeps everything electrically neutral. (It also works with calcium hydroxide and the other alkaline earth metals.) Aren't you glad you asked? You guys should really appreciate the character limit when eliciting a post from a former professor who can't say anything in less than a thousand characters.
@Bill In fewer words, you are exactly correct: the lye is a reactant, which is destroyed by the chemical reaction.
Crochet is NOT a needle working craft. Crochet is with a single hook. Knitting, needlepoint, embroidery, etc are crafts using needles.
@KarlieC Hooks and Needles — Episode 10: En garde!
I really liked the Midi today. Very nice use of color in the grid and bold in the clues to highlight an aspect that I would have missed entirely otherwise.
@Barney I liked the colours too! Am I overthinking the bold letters in the clues? Is it just that they're vowels?
@Barney Agreed! I finished and spent a minute or two trying to figure out why the grid had 4 different colors. Then I noticed that there was only one vowel used in each of those 4 sections AND a single i in the center without color. Pretty cool!
Great puzzle. Better than average grid for a Monday but a good mix of more interesting clues and some easy and fun ones for the newbies. I solved it in close to my personal best but never felt too boring. Great tight theme, too. Three different completely different interpretations of CHILLING and I can’t think of another. Only tongue in cheek themer I’d have loved to see was WALT DISNEY (according to urban legend). Love the LASIK clue today. Score one for team SODA over COLA today. Finally PELE two days in a row. For those wanting a followup to my comment yesterday, yes FC CIncinnati beat the San Jose Quake 4-2 and I saw an amazing goal: <a href="https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3d1V5eXtiA&ra" target="_blank">https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3d1V5eXtiA&ra</a>= Soccer/football is starting to grow on me.
@SP Beautiful goal! There's a reason Evander has been given the #10 jersey to wear. Pelé made the #10 famous with his 3 World Cup wins for Brazil. Since then, you'll notice that many clubs award the 10 jersey to their best/most creative players (e.g. Maradona, Messi, Zico, Mbappé, Zidane, Bellingham.)
Yes, this was easy to fill in, but it was anything but a throwaway. Mondays rarely have clues that are not direct, yet I marked three today as terrific indirect clues, those for SNAIL, LASIK, and especially [“I am what I am,” aptly], for IAMB. I have a fondness for words ending in MB, and there's IAMB right under COMB in column one. It got me thinking about the origin of MB-enders, and I found out that the B used to be pronounced, but by the year 1300, people stopped saying it. Then NEBULA reminded me that I also have a fondness for words ending in ULA, such as SCAPULA, SPATULA, ARUGULA, and the most fabulous INCUNABULA! Furthermore, I liked the apt abutting of BLOOD and CHILLING, not to mention the apt cross of HURL and FLEW. Willa, your first four Times puzzles were Fridays, and today you branched out to the other end of the week, and showed your range. Brava! This was a standout Monday, and I had a great time with it. Thank you!
@Lewis I always liked the history behind the word "spatula." The short double-edged sword carried by the Roman infantry was refered to as a "spatha." I used to think that word specifically referred to that sword, but it actually just means "blade." "Ula" is a diminuative suffix in Latin. So a "spatula" is a small blade.
@Bruce Thanks for that nugget. And Caligula got his name "little boots" because his mommy used to dress him up in a little soldier suit, complete with caligae. And just to be pedantic, the infantry carried the gladius, while the cavalry carried the longer spatha.
LOVE LOVE this one my favorites are probably the LASIK, PELE, and IMHOME. it’s fun, witty, and light. perfect for a monday.
I fear crochet is done with a hook and not a needle for future puzzles 😅
@Annelise Well, we never know. There could be rogue crochet-folk out there plotting the revolution! I will keep my 5" tatting needly handy in case of need! (My tiny hook is just for assisting with picots and joins. No threat!)
What does it say about me that my first thought on [Stereotypical cry after "Honey …"] was IM LATE.
@Francis Ha! Well, at least it's not "Honey, I shrunk the kids!"
A lovely, breezy Monday, with some interesting fill. Yes, I did fall for ore before OAF. I was trying to work out if Mr Guthrie had a sister/son/daughter/brother etc, as I don’t actually know any of his songs. Buff before BULK got me too. Nice theme, though you’d never catch me watching any TRUE CRIME SHOW. Clearly this is a personal nit of mine, given their popularity, but I genuinely can’t see the pleasure in watching a programme that dissects someone’s worst hour, assuming the crime involves death or serious injury. Way too upsetting. Youngest son is currently rewatching Luther, a BBC police series with the gorgeous and talented Idris Elba (occasionally featured in the crossword). Now I could watch Mr Elba read the phone directory, but I cannot watch this prog; gruesome, vile and predominated by the ending of women. I seriously worry about the writer’s mental state. Yet it’s wildly popular. I have to leave the room. Too sensitive?
@Helen Wright Just sensitive enough. Every time I sit through the previews at the cinema I am repulsed and worried by our culture's preoccupation with violent murder.
@Helen Wright You have a treat in store! Listen to Arlo Guthrie's "Alice's Restaurant"--or better yet track down the video of the whole getting-arrested-for-littering story that uses the song.
@Helen Wright Arlo Guthrie, son of folk singing icon Woody Guthrie of "This Land Is Your Land" fame, was something of a one-hit wonder, and that hit was the train song "City of New Orleans." But he was also widely known for an 18-minute-long "song" called "Alice's Restaurant," which was a Vietnam War protest story song based on personal experience. Because the story is set at Thanksgiving, some classic rock stations have traditionally played it on Thanksgiving Day as a tradition. If you have 18 minutes, here's the song it all its glory: <a href="https://tinyurl.com/3v7p9mhv" target="_blank">https://tinyurl.com/3v7p9mhv</a>
24A I'm not usually this pedantic, but CROCHET is not a "needle-working craft". Crochet uses a hook, not a needle. Crochet literally means hook.
@Jenn Foley Episode 8...Will this ever end?
TIL the interesting fact about Nero, just after learning that the only tournaments Dear Leader has won were at his own golf courses. The others he played in had him at the bottom of the barrel. Coincidence???
@Times Rita----"Dear Leader" wins at golf because he plays alone! .... (True and not a joke.)
This puzzle gave me the chills.You know, that tingly feeling, like pins and hooks.
Nice Monday. And I like the TIL detail about Nero!
There’s nothing better than lounging in my recliner, eating a bowl of ice cream and watching a Netflix true crime documentary. The trifecta of CHILLING. A perfect puzzle for a rainy Monday like today.
Knitting is done with needles. Sewing is done with a needle. Crocheting is done with a hook.
@Deb I'm waiting to see what MOL says about this, but A.I. spits out "Yes, crocheting is widely considered a form of needlework, as well as a fiber art or yarn craft. While traditional needlework uses straight sewing or embroidery needles, crochet uses a hooked needle (or crochet hook) to loop yarn into fabric."
@Deb Very true, but the umbrella term "needle-work" isn't incorrect; it's just imprecise.
@Deb Fourth thread on this vital issue.
Two really tight, clever, fun puzzles in a row. I feel a little like Roger Ebert: "I loved my time at the movies." Make that "with this puzzle" and those are my feelings exactly.
So, weren't we also HUSTLERS, those of us who were Disco dancing in 1975? <a href="https://youtu.be/SFzMs2SN--s?is=M3dzp3pqoJmOOr5k" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/SFzMs2SN--s?is=M3dzp3pqoJmOOr5k</a>
I'd like to share here the picture of an exquisite artwork (that's *not* CROCHET) by our talented MOL. In her own words: "Paul's Pet Parrot in Paradise" takes liberties with Gaugin's landscape. The 2014 challenge was to make a landscape with a bird and a tree. The photo is a little washed-out, but it's a piece best seen in person anyway. <a href="https://imgur.com/a/cmU8eD1" target="_blank">https://imgur.com/a/cmU8eD1</a>
@sotto voce --- Wow! Gorgeous, MOL! I love the colors! Standing O!
@sotto voce Wow!! That's beautiful! Major props, MOL!
@sotto voce I'm so grateful for your techie mastery and your kindness in sharing the piece! (Maybe I should have it hanging somewhere other than the closet... Wall space gets scarce.)
PB - loved it this week and after an easy Sunday too
Bravo to Ian Livengood for his Midi puzzle. Clever cluing and construction that I didn't clock until I finished and looked it over. Very nicely done.
@James B I’m probably being dense but I don’t understand the cleverness of the Midi. I solved it quickly and still don’t understand the use of color or why the vowels are bolded yet only in some of the words and not other (ie, BTS and SRS don’t have any vowels let alone a U). Can you help me out?
Monday easy, but the cluing seemed more interesting than usual. Nice use of three completely different meanings for the word CHILLING.
First time commenter here to say textile crafts have a long history of being demeaned simply for who is traditionally behind the work. Although it is true that crochet can fall under the needlework umbrella, I do think the clue was somewhat poorly thought out. I also think that there is a long standing notion that such work does not merit understanding primarily because it is something that is for the lesser folk. Therefore, those out there that voice their disappointment over this clue should not be immediately written off. The undercurrent of this discussion is something far deeper than terminology. If you think it's a joke, please reflect on and reconsider your position.
@Anna G. Welcome to the commentariat! But I'm a little confused who you feel is doing the demeaning. Many people have complained, rightfully, that a hook is not a needle; while many others--including at least one veteran needleworker--have admitted that, yes crochet could be included in needlework, at least on a Monday. But no one, I can see, has questioned the value or respectability of needlework, sensu strictu vel lato. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdz5kCaCRFM&list=RDpdz5kCaCRFM&start_radio=1" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdz5kCaCRFM&list=RDpdz5kCaCRFM&start_radio=1</a>
@Anna G. Welcome to the conversation! I think that as a new commenter, you may be misreading what might be happening here. To start, a commenter says that CROCHET is done with hooks, not needles. While this is true, and I don't dispute it, I realize that the NYT very rarely makes errors, and look for a reason to accept the clue. I do some research and find the following: 1. Several authorities consider CROCHET to fall into the category of needlework, despite the different implement used. 2. Some people refer to the hook used as a "hooked needle." As a result, I present this as evidence that despite what the original poster stated, the clue is acceptable. Certainly, for the use in a crossword, no one would be confused by this clue. As Bill said, I don't recall having seen anything demeaning the craft itself or the people involved in it.
@Anna G.p Episode 9. The Battle of Hooks and Needles drags on.
I was a full minute longer than my average - and I didn't think it was an overly difficult puzzle. So it must have been one that made me think, which is a good thing .. I'm not even upset with being over.
As someone who does the puzzle pretty much 100% of the time right after breakfast, I really do have a "breakfast test". Unlike other solvers who use the term loosely to describe pretty much anything they dislike and don't want to see in a puzzle -- things like NERO today and our own would-be emperor who sounds just like him as far as delusional braggadocio is concerned-- my breakfast test is extremely literal: i.e. things that are unappetizing and distasteful. So that I really could have done without the two bodily function clues at 14A and 16A. They both could have been clued inoffensively and they both should have been in my opinion. Other than that, a nice early week grid with no crosswordese and no names. Re ESTATE SALE, I leave you with the sign on the door of a shop that was in a cartoon I once saw, probably The New Yorker. Sign: WE BUY OLD FURNITURE WE SELL ANTIQUES
@Nancy I certainly support your right to comment/protest... and a diaper pail at the breakfast table is a bit tacky. On the other hand, I'd really question the choice of clue...a PUMP can be a shoe, a mechanical device used in a number of applications, or a gesture with a closed fist....but maybe they just wanted some novelty. I promise that interrupted nursing can be agonizing, so a PUMP might also be a godsend. [shrug]
@Nancy Babies need to nurse. Moms who are breastfeeding sometimes have to use pumps. A lactation room allows them to do so in private. How can that possibly be seen as nauseating or offensive?
@Nancy I can't get on board with you. Moms feeding their babies and diapers smelling are "offensive," but bringing in politics when people just want to talk about crosswords is fine? And if the ones you mention are offensive, where does it end? I don't like it when people YELL -- do we need to take that out too? And PETER can be slang for a part of the male anatomy -- do we *really* need to subject people to this? And gosh, what about the poor people who don't want to think about BLOOD? Don't they matter too?
Apologies in advance to the men reading here but I initially thought a man wrote this comment because who else would find diapers and breast-feeding unappetizing, distasteful, and offensive? Maybe the odor part is unappetizing but still a stretch IMO.
@Nancy yeah you really have to get over yourself on that one, absolutely nothing “offensive” about pumping to feed a baby
@Nancy I get it, Nancy, we know you didn’t mean anything by it but it might be a comment you wish you could withdraw. As a man I never pumped, but I’m a pediatrician and most of the time it’s painless and might even have less discomfort than nursing. Many women sometimes prefer it over nursing. In any case it doesn’t seem offensive in any way to me (even from a breakfast test perspective) and I’d like as a society to promote it. As for the diaper pail, yeah, as a pediatrician I’m pretty inured to that and find it less distasteful than the more ubiquitous gym locker room clue for it, but I see your point. So I know you meant the comment to be very innocuous but you will get a lot of push-back, I’m afraid it’s going to be a bit of a bust for you!
@Nancy----You can do the crossword later on in your day and not after eating.
Despite being an (aging) gym-bunny, I had difficulty making the leap between [Swoleness] to BULK--the difference between abstract vs. concrete--"bulkiness" vs. "bulk." But I wish the haters would stop dissing "swole"--what a wonderful word, one which displays the true vitality of the English language! Among the various dictionaries I regularly consult, the OED only lists "swole" as an archaic variant past form of "to swell.' Same with the University of Michigan's Middle English Compendium (because everyone in A2 speaks like Chaucer--trust me, I've been there.) "Swole" had made it into M-W online, with a few citations, as well as Green's Dictionary of Slang. But no "swoleness" in either. No, for "swoleness," one must turn to the Urban Dictionary: "the state of being swole, ripped buff." The Urban dictionary includes other derivations, including "swolefest," "swolesesh," and even "Swoleversary": "The annual recurrence of a date marking when you decided to stop being a little b and started hitting the gym and changed your life in a positive manner. And got swole as f.: 'Dave: Yo Steve! Looking pretty swole bro!' 'Steve: Thanks bro, yesterday was my Swoleversary! I can't believe I've been lifting for 3 years already!' Curiously, even the Urban Dictionary misses "swolfie": taking a picture of one's self at the gym, while totally pumped, to then share on social media. (Been there, done that.) <a href="https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=swoleness" target="_blank">https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=swoleness</a>
@Bill 💪 Fun to learn the origins - but I’ve liked SWOLE since I first saw it, it just sounds so apt for what it is, I always picture someone bulked up and showing off (just a bit)
@Bill You quoted: ""Swoleversary": "The annual recurrence of a date marking when you decided to stop being a little b and started hitting the gym and changed your life in a positive manner. And got swole as f.: " Did you stop to consider how foully misogynistic and disgusting that is? I realise you're just quoting but this is offensive. I don't flag posts but perhaps you might respond on this issue.
@Bill When I stubbed my toe and fell, my knee SWOLE up like a balloon. After I limped home two ice packs and x-srtTRENGTH TYLENOL oops were necessary. Other kind of swole....
So much banter. So much nitpicking. Must we parse every word. A jacket/coat, a hook/needle, swole/bulk. I believe yesterday the hoo-ha was the rhyming of sari/sorry The list goes on and on throughout the week. Gosh, this was flat out a fun Monday puzzle. Bravo to the construction crew. In addition, the MIDI was quite clever as well.
@DC I think you miss the point of this column--it's not so much nit-picking as nit-hooking. And, it's fun. It doesn't mean we didn't enjoy the puzzle, it's just a way to keep the enjoyment coming. I'm sari you felt that way.
@Dan Collins Word nerds gonna nerd. As for the foofaraw du jour, I would bet money that crochet started with needles, and some clever Jenny got the idea to cut notches in hers, and the hook was born. That's why we study cultural anthropology. Whatever, I still enjoy the lovely Afghan that my ex made for me.
@Dan Collins Practically all of us think this (like almost all others) is a great puzzle. How boring would this space be if that's all we said in the comments?
@Dan Collins Don’t mistake curiosity or education for nitpicking. Nobody is really complaining about the clue’s utility, per se, just wanting to educate people about needles vs hooks which I found very interesting and informative. Yesterday I brought up sorry/sari mainly to see whether people did pronounce it the same; many don’t but my daughter in law from Arizona says she pronounces it exactly the same way. So I wasn’t even nitpicking, just asking for interest’s sake. Either way I found it a fun clue.
Boa constrictor, say . . . . . . . DRESSCODE
I'll put in a good word for Mr. Guthrie. Probably a no-brainer to most here on the "Group W" bench...
@Call Me Al have you been littering
Nice Monday puzzle. A bit on the slow side for me, but just made for an enjoyable workout. And... must confess that I wasn't catching on to the theme until I was almost done and stopped and pondered. And puzzle find today. A Thursday from August 11, 2016 by Timothy Polin. Don't recall another one like this. The clue for each of the theme answers was: "(See circled letters)" And - some examples, with the circled letters in parentheses: (C)ONFIS(C)ATE (So... implication was "sieze") LIF(E)OFRIL(E)Y ("ease") (G)OOD(G)OLLY FLIR(T)WI(T)H SCRUT(I)N(I)ZES R(U)NTHRO(U)GH Here's that link: <a href="https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=8/11/2016&h=57a" target="_blank">https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=8/11/2016&h=57a</a> ....
Will this help--or make things worse? From Wikipedia: "Needlework refers to decorative sewing and other textile handicrafts that involve the use of a needle.[1] Needlework may also include related textile crafts like crochet (which uses a hook), or tatting, (which uses a shuttle)."
@lucky13 In the very first thread--not to be confused with yarn--about the subject, I linked to the article (without putting the text directly into my comment). But I did explain the gist of it leading into the link. So assumedly, anyone who has been following the comments should have seen that.
Can we get a shoutout for the midi? I knew something was up with it but didn’t get it til I read the title. Nice!
Did anyone try the “Across clues only“ challenge today? I had a couple of misfires (“neat” instead of MALT, “bleu” instead of RARE, “bill” instead of COST) but after sorting them out I finished it in 15:43, which in my view makes it a great Monday puzzle!
@Petrol Yup. Someone commented on doing this a few weeks ago. Something I'd never considered doing before. I done Across-Only ever since. 17:18 for me. (I misfired on with "neat" as well. And first stab at 1A was "dues".)
@Petrol how does that work? Are you allowed to guess the down words based on the letters you have filled in? I guess you would have to, otherwise you only hope is knowing all the answers….
@Petrol Only horizontals for me as well. Took 16:16. A lot of fun.
@Petrol I always do Mondays on Downs-only. I admit it's probably ATAD easier than Across-only because it's easier to recognize incomplete acrosses than downs. Yes certainly either way you can fill in the others from the partials. And unless the puzzle was a solid grid of white, you'd have to, right? There have been a few Minis that achieved solid white (any Midis?) but never a 15 by 15 as far as I know.
Some nice entries compensated for what seemed to be a very minimal theme. Especially liked CROCHET, NEBULA and RUNTHROUGH. Only used the horizontal clues today, and needed a bit of time to come up with CHILLING, but everything fell into place without errors. Took me 16:16---maybe I'm getting better at this type of solving. "Surgery that leaves the patient looking better?" for LASIK was cute.
@Xword Junkie I did almost all of the puzzle with across clues, but had to cheat a bit to get 1A and 10A, as there were so many alternative answers. Yard? Plot? Farm? SNAIL in a "mobile home" gave me a chuckle.
For some reason I thought "horses' hangout" was STALLS and spent too long trying to figure out what a BEACHLUM was. Clearly I needed more coffee. This was a pleasing Monday puzzle, imo.
@Jason Hangout is singular. Stalls is plural.
Pele will live on to eternity in crossword puzzles.
Yes, it's true. You don't crochet with a needle. You do, however, use a tapestry needle to sew your pieces together. So (not sew) they screwed up on one clue on this otherwise perfectly Monday puzzle. I'm a crocheter. (Crochet-er? Team crochet? I can't knit, I drop too many stitches.) So I get annoyed too. But so what? It's Monday, the answer fills in rapidly with the crosses. This is a ten-minute or under puzzle for most. You're not paying by the clue. No need to sound like you've been cheated. I enjoyed this puzzle thoroughly. Quick and easy, and off to the rest of my day. (For the record, I get more annoyed when I see "a lot" used as a clue for anything except real estate. So I can be just as picky. But I keep it to myself.)
@Marlene Just stopping by to say, your name is also my middle name - I rarely encounter it anywhere outside of Dietrich. I think it’s a lovey name, and I’ve always enjoyed its rarity. I hope you do too, cheers 🤗
@Marlene Episode 7 in Needle vs Hook ...
poem made from words in today’s puzzle a/ is the king still king when all might and force of the thing leaves the lungs the instrument played and paid for d/ or the world got bigger or the opportunity went by or you won! and you cry, i won! to the perky-eared horses who bite the a/ snow
great puzzle and my fastest time ever!
The clue for 24 across is wrong. Crocheting uses hooks, not needles. In fact the word come from the French word for hook.
Today's episode of "Things I Worry About Before The Coffee Kicks In." Why does the word guesstimate, 54A clue, even exist ? It's one of those fingernail-on-chalkboard words for me, along with fridge and veggie. At least with those words, one can "chalk" it up to lingual laziness. Fair enough. An estimate implies calculation is involved and a guess is more random. If it's the random quality you're going for, just say guess. (Coffee kicking in). . .OK, you can't use "estimates" because that's the E of ETA. I get it. Off for my second cup. The word still bothers me, though. ;-P
@Jim I like the portmanteau. It implies the estimate is less informed than a reasonably informed approximation yet somewhat more informed than a random guess. Rather descriptive, I'd say.
@Jim Of course, that just means that using a portmanteau of "estimate" is kind of stretching the "no using a word in the answer in the clue" rule.
@Jim "Fridge" and "veggie" bother you? How about "decal" and "recap"? Shortening words to form new words with the exact same meaning is a common feature of English: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_English_abbreviations_made_by_shortening_words" target="_blank">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_English_abbreviations_made_by_shortening_words</a> Inveighing against shortened words is like inveighing against English itself!
@Jim There have been many times when I'd ask a workman for an estimate of the cost of a repair or other service job, and they'd reply that they couldn't tell without seeing the actual work that needed to be done. Then I'd ask for a ballpark figure, which is no different from a guesstimate. The former is an idiom and the latter is a portmanteau, but they are both informal estimates based on conjecture.
@Jim I'm afraid you're likely to hate this, but it's what you made me think of and it makes me smile, so here you go! <a href="https://youtu.be/3mQoI_a_toU?si=ATSIBpBeioFACTve" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/3mQoI_a_toU?si=ATSIBpBeioFACTve</a>
@Jim Okay, okay. But CMON, there are levels of portmanteaux, n'est-ce-pas ? Some are clever. Some are useful. But, some are just too contrived. Too cute. Eye-roll fodder. In my mind, useful portmanteaux: Smog. Internet. Email. And IMO, annoying ones include bromance, glamping, SPORK --omg don't even get me started on that one. . . and guesstimate. And while I have your attention, get off my lawn ! #geezer
We had a good time with this puzzle, especially since Oaty's alter ego made an appearance.