Sorry, but I must disagree with the crowd up in arms about the app not accepting “HOLE” - it doesn’t work with the across answers! “O” is a visual representation of the word, which is the whole (wO?) point. The editors don’t need anyone to cape for them but I’m surprised by the number of comments to that effect.
@Mos The NYT has a lot of new solvers, and they’re learning the ropes. But they like to object when they haven’t mastered all of them. People, if an entry doesn’t work in both directions, it’s not going to be accepted!
@Mos oh please. Have you never heard of a "classrholeholem"? /s
@Mos Hi, Mos. To rebut, we should get credit for solving the puzzle, not for spending an extra 10 minutes trying to figure out the format the editors expect us to use. In analogous puzzles it has been standard to accept O/HOLE (indicating O for across, HOLE for down).
Aww! Happy 17 years, Zhou and Kevin! 💕
Hey all! Re: The puzzle not accepting "HOLE" as a rebus answer. I asked the editors about this, and while that possibility was discussed, ultimately it was decided that only accepting an O resulted in a cleaner solution (rather than, say, NHOLEGGIN). The editors also wanted to spotlight that those O's are the *only* O's in the puzzle, a real feat of construction.
@Sean McGowan Thanks for jumping in! It's obvious to me it could have gone either way so endlessly arguing about it is pointless. Suggestion: go to the Reader Picks, vote Team O or Team Hole using the Recommend buttons, and move on.
@Sean McGowan Thank you. That greatly diminshes my irritation about the rebus. If those where the only "holes" in the puzzle, that's brilliant and would explain why no rebus is needed.
@Sean McGowan should have been rebus, for sure.
@Sean McGowan It makes much more sense this way. Great feat of construction!
@Sean McGowan But perhaps O/HOLE should have been accepted. Yes, that these were the only O's was noted earlier by at least one regular commenter. ;-)
@Sean McGowan thank you for clarifying! I sorta liked it in the rebus form myself.
@Sean McGowan Team "O" here. The cross clues make zero sense with the word "hole". What is a "classrholeholem"?
@Sean McGowan But even stranger was that I had O/HOLE and it said something was wrong. After double and triple checking, I finally got frustrated and did "check puzzle" - only to get the happy music. Does that make sense? NO! Fortunately I didn't have a long streak going - but still!
@Sean McGowan I definitely can appreciate that reasoning. And—it just didn’t feel consistent with past similar construction, where there have been clues and answers that made sense one direction, but not on the cross (at least visually). It was an easy enough fix, but I spent time going over the rest of the clues to make sure I didn’t have a different error before turning all the HOLES to O’s. It seems like a simple hole animation at the end would have preserved the integrity of the puzzle visually, while avoiding the confusion of an entry that seemed reasonably acceptable. And to be clear, this isn’t really a complaint. The puzzle was lovely.
@Sean McGowan thank you. I could not find my error.There was not one, I had used the rebus. Tried “hole”. Tried “o/hole”. Very frustrating to be sure.
It’s so impressive that there aren’t any other Os in the puzzle except for those in the themed entries. And I really like how CLASSROOM has the holes going in opposite directions. Well done, Zhou! K E Y LOCK
@Anita I didn’t even notice that! Wow, that ups the elegance of the theme even more!
Thumbs down for the digital edition not accepting HOLE or O/HOLE in the rebus spots.
@Thomas Yeah, I got all done, fly specked the puzzle and found one typo, and then... oh, c'mon... replaced HOLE with O in all those places, and I was really done. A fine puzzle, finished a few minutes faster than my Thursday average, but it was a little annoying that I had to go replace the perfectly good rebus entries after having wasted time entering them in the first place. (Not the puzzle constructors fault.)
@Thomas It’s not a standard rebus, as “hole” has no place at all in the across clues. It’s a visual joke, and typing the word “hole” misses the point of it.
@Thomas Me too. Spent an extra five mins flyspecking before trying it. Really frustrating.
@Thomas - "Hole" doesn't work with the crosses, so a "hole" rebus isn't the answer.
An enjoyable puzzle that was kind to us on a Thursday. But mostly I want to call out the charming constructor notes. What a delightful way to sum up 17 years of wedded bliss. Happy Anniversary Zhou and Kevin. We'll be waiting for puzzle #11.
Reasons to object to today’s puzzle (you may pick more than one if extremely sensitive) 1. Sesame allergy 2. Close relative drowned in an olive oil jar 3. Close relative was impaled by a TSAR 4. Close relative died after falling into an uncovered manhole/orchestra PIT 5. Apple allergy 6. Horror at the endorsement of Jon STEWART, who has failed to denounce trans rights 7. AWHELL has the word “hell” in it 8.PEERESS has the word “pee” in it 9. Too many EELs 10. Too easy/too hard/too hot/too cold/just right I’m kidding. I loved it!
@Petrol You forgot “‘GLAMPS’ is a made up word!” Calling someone by a PETNAME is demeaning to animals First two letters of FUSSY
@Petrol thank you for poking fun at the daily hell of the Crossword comments section!
700th solved puzzle 🎉
A beautiful reflection by the constructor in her comments! You have a way with words and numbers. Thank you for sharing this puzzle, and your wit, with us.
"How many spots did those moles dig up in your yard??" "Probably a hole number." ("How dare they burrow your things without asking!")
What a terrific and original idea for a theme. I could only find one puzzle from almost 20 years ago that played with the word “hole”. That puzzle had theme answers such as KITCHEN SINK and MICHAEL J FOX, with the reveal HOLE clued as a word that could follow the last word of the theme phrases. Today, Zhou goes two layers deeper. First, having the letter O represent “Hole”, and second, crossing that O with a word that starts with or follows “hole”. Brilliant! What may be hidden in all this cleverness is that Zhou is a superb technician, so cleanly executing a grid with five crossing theme answers – so constricting! – not to mention nixing any o’s in the grid outside of the theme answers. And, as a coda, she crafts a heart-melting constructor note. All this has thrown me into a happy-to-be-alive cloud. Ten puzzles into the Times, Zhou, you have already left a lasting mark. Thank you for a splendid outing today!
After reading all the comments and seeing so many people up in arms, upset, frustrated, and even angry about the rebus format, all I can say, with compassion and tenderness, is... "I'm sorry you didn't really figure out the puzzle and missed out on the veritable aha." It's not just about figuring out where the rebus goes. It's figuring out what the rebus is and how to enter it. I myself made the mistake of entering O/HOLE per the convention of using a slash when the rebus is a two-way one. Alas, it was wrong, *because I hadn't yet truly figured out what the puzzle was doing.* Knowing that rebuses accept also only the first letter, I changed it all to O's. But then you realize that that's not working both ways and it must always work both ways! Then maybe it hits you, like it hit me from out if the blue – omg, the O is the letter *and* the HOLE! This is the moment when the puzzle has truly been solved. Once the gimmick is understood, imho what follows is a fabulous "aha" moment, even awe, rather than an attack on the crossword not accepting O/HOLE or especially HOLE (which most definitely wouldn't have worked both ways.) Add to this the fact that there are no other O's in the rest of the grid (something I needed Sean to tell me) and it's surprising that the reaction would be anything but to marvel. Maybe another look at the puzzle, with a calm and open mind, will quiet the frustration and put a smile on everyone's faces?
@sotto voce Yes to everything! It is funny, being that I so rarely have any sort of complaint about puzzles, but I just didn't do most of this one... I love a good rebus puzzle, and a Zhou puzzle, but there is just something about the clues that reference other clues that just doesn't work for me. It must be like the people who had a hard time with the bolding of the Ms the other day. I had no problem with that but too many cross-referencing clues and I'm out. These types of clues might be the only thing that I would benefit from by solving on paper, but I'm not even sure if that's true. We all have our things. I did at least figure out the theme at PIEO before I decided to stop. Too bad for me, really, but alas, I'll have to settle for 99.99% perfection. Har!!
@heathieJ I don't love cross-referenced clues either. I was able to solve this one by ignoring that and just working the clues for the crossing words. I found them easy enough to get, because those clues were pretty easy for me, and knowing you from your comments, I think they'd be not that difficult for you either. And at a certain point a little Wheel of Fortune application helps.
@sotto voce Thank you for this. The angry, petulant responses today and yesterday I find rather depressing, not to mention some seem quite immature. I once taught a little (age 6) refugee boy from Zaire who spoke French and no English. His first English phrase as he ran in from the playground? "Ce n'est pas fair!"
Really, you need the O and not the word? Boo.
@David Johnson N[HOLE]GGIN CLASSR[HOLE][HOLE]M P[HOLE]KERGAME I can easily see why you would have suspected a rebus might be involved here…but I don’t understand the argument that the above answers should have been accepted.
Some people are always asking for "real, old fashioned" rebuses and not squished letters, and then a "real, old fashioned" rebus comes along and some people don't seem to recognize it. It's the letter O in one direction, it's an image of a hole in the other direction. Fine construction and delightful constructor notes from Zhou Zhang; too easy cluing presumably from the editors.
@Barry Ancona I'm not reading others complaining it's "too easy". I needed nine cheats, seems rather standard Thursday difficulty. Very cool trick, though.
@Barry Ancona The Times has inserted puzzles with varying difficulty to make them accessible for newer solvers for some time now. "Too easy" does not apply any more.
Beautiful constructor notes, Zhou! About the number 17, you write, "What matters most is what you do when things aren’t tidy or beautiful or perfect (17)." Please allow me to counter that view of 17 being a messy and imperfect number by telling you about Hexagram 17 of the I Ching, the hexagram of Leading and Following. It speaks of supreme success in any relationship where leadership is undertaken by serving, requiring only that both parties bring to Leading and Following the qualities of sincerity, thoughtfulness, and enthusiasm. A Happy and Healthy 17th anniversary to you and Kevin! May you keep choosing each other for all the years to come.
@sotto voce I think I saw somewhere that when people are asked to pick a number between 1 and 20, 17 is picked more than 5% of time. Seven and 17 have a kind of mystic to them, though 17 seems even stranger.
@sotto voce Nice. On the other hand, there’s Janis Ian, cheating herself at solitaire, At 17: <a href="https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=00ggHY9tWd8&list=RD00ggHY9tWd8&start_radio=1&pp=oAcB0gcJCRoMAYcqIYzv" target="_blank">https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=00ggHY9tWd8&list=RD00ggHY9tWd8&start_radio=1&pp=oAcB0gcJCRoMAYcqIYzv</a>
A haiku for Zhou and Kevin's 17th: To express oneself In seventeen syllables Is very diffic Congrats! (Also: fun puzzle, thanks!)
Ooh my word, that was some kind of Zhou Zhang zip! Makes a gal want to jump up and sing. You've got to have an ace in the hole A little Ingrid that grid builders know Constructing is a gamble, a game they all play But they load up CrossFire, and then they get paid! You've got to learn to SpreadTheWord right If you expect to win in life Don't put it all on OneLook for just one roll You've got to have an ace in the hole You see that's Will sitting at his desk He’s checking every word for his "interesting?" test If your theme ain't tight, and your filler is old He’ll throw your submission right into the cold! Well, you live six months awaiting on your mail Hoping for acceptance, but it's another epic fail Ole Will writes back saying, "Sorry to be blunt, But your grid has too much crosswordese, and that old dog don't hunt!" Yes, you've got to have an ace in the hole!
@Whoa Nellie PS - congratulations to happy pairs everywhere! XO
Well, that was a cute one. Again, what’s with all the complaining? The ROAD to HELL is paved with cries of ‘too easy’ ‘too hard’ ‘hate rebuses’ ‘love rebuses’. Yikes. What lovely constructor notes. I hear you; 46 years in with the same bloke. Not always easy, not always fun, but always worth hanging in there. May you be blessed with as many years together as you want.
I put in rebuses as O/HOLE as this is the protocol for when the acrosses and downs have different entries in the same square. Only when it wasn’t accepted did it dawn on me. Ooooooh, the O *is* the hole! Brilliant! I love Zhou's puzzles but was worried when most of the grid was still blank on first pass. Then SUR crossing URSA came along and broke the whole thing open. The SW quadrant was a mess, starting with POKER GAME which I thought might be hiKE RoutE. Nothing was making sense. PATINA had to come from the crosses because my wok is not copper, so I could never have imagined a wok with patina on it. And for the docent's badge, I had to laugh when uSe ME was what came to me (probably because earlier I'd been listening to Bill Withers... <a href="https://youtu.be/siLnYWszM50?is=5JDJr7DeuPrd8wha" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/siLnYWszM50?is=5JDJr7DeuPrd8wha</a>) Yet another fabulous puzzle, Zhou, with special kudos for having no other O's in the whole grid other than the rebuses. Phenomenal. Thank you!
@sotto voce Patinas are not restricted to copper.
A coworker with anger issues once told me to shut my pie hole. Very bad, no good day. I’d rather fall into a man hole, or get my finger stuck in a hole punch, or get dealt lousy hole cards, or spill my coffee all over my belongings in my cubby hole. In other news, my brain piped up with MOLT for what dogs do in the spring. Har, to quote our Heathie.
@Cat Lady Margaret Are they bird dogs?
@Cat Lady Margaret I love the phrase shut your pie hole, but I only say it in jest to friends. It's so vulgar. French has a terrific version: ferme ta boîte à camembert. Shut your camembert box. Of course it's about cheese!
B L W A O C R K M C O S M O S
@Lewis Nice! Just learned about hypothetical white holes, so especially loved it! Here's one: B L O W O R C A
@Lewis __F __O __X FRONT
@Lewis love this! _______D _______O _______N _______U _______T BAKESHOP
@Lewis RABBITO OINTHEMUD OINONE and?? THEWOENCHILADA
@Lewis Okay, I'll play, with Dante's... H E L L INFERNO
Great comments, Zhou! 49 rejections for my favorite constructor? I don’t feel so bad anymore. Folks, this should give you an idea just how competitive these submissions are, how so many factors go into acceptance, and for new constructors, please don’t get discouraged and keep plugging away! So many of us had a lot of rejections before our first published puzzle, and still do, and you never quite know what will work and what won’t, Loved the elegance of this theme, and the two bonus themers crossing CLASSROOM. Loved the EPICFAIL and GLAMPS entries, and the clue for POKERGAME. I’m trying so hard not to keep harping on the challenge level, but it’s really glaring when you have a really clever constructor and can compare to earlier puzzles. I’d be shocked if most of these were Zhou’s clues (sounds like a kid’s program?) based on her previous penchant for twistiness and misdirection, or maybe constructors are just starting to see the writing on the wall. Really felt that most were straightforward Monday or Tuesday level and I don’t think the theme warranted it. I have another puzzle posted in Crosshare today if anyone wants to try it. Thanks! <a href="https://crosshare.org/crosswords/gU4P4Kk5EauVI4FNZof2/best-case-scenario" target="_blank">https://crosshare.org/crosswords/gU4P4Kk5EauVI4FNZof2/best-case-scenario</a>
@SP It took me 30 minutes to fill about half of the puzzle. Then I missclicked something in my browser and lost all the progress I had made. I don't have it in me to give it another go. As always, I found the grid incredibly challenging but somewhat doable, and on the verge of being enjoyable. By the time I reset my progress accidentally, I had filled two themed circles but I still did not understand the theme, and I had not yet typed in the "revealers" (they were among the most puzzling entries in the whole puzzle, for me). I think you made another typo: there's a full stop rather than a comma in the "tipping" clue.
@SP Still working on the first one, but 3/4 finished. Have downloaded this one.
(I meant @SP's puzzle above btw; today's NYT grid was about 4 times easier)
@SP Another very fun puzzle that I’d be happy to see as an NYT Thursday. This one was *a lot* easier for me than “Standing Room Only”, but I really enjoyed the theme.
Wow. That puzzle was NOTHING compared to those constructor notes. Don’t really even have anything to say about the puzzle. But thank goodness Zhou racked up 49 and not just 48 rejections. It made the story much more poetic. Though something tells me she could craft an amazing story out of 48 or 26 or 52. I don’t even remember doing the puzzle, after reading those notes.
@Weak. With a bit of effort, it would seem, that almost any number can be made “interesting”. 1729, for example, is the smallest number that can be written in two different ways as the sum of two cubes (in memoriam Ramanujan). But eventually, it appears that we would reach a number that cannot be made interesting. However, isn’t being “the smallest non interesting number” in itself something interesting about that number? (I apologise to the no-math participants in this forum)
On Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday I can appreciate the constraints constructors put on themselves. I don't expect to work hard, so I focus on what the constructor has accomplished. But now it's Thursday and it's my turn to be challenged. The trick was easily sussed out, the cluing was extremely straight forward and it left me feeling let down. I usually like Zhou Zhang's puzzles, and if this ran on a Tuesday, I would be singing it's praises. It's just disappointing to see what's happening to what used to be my second favorite day of the crossword week.
@Nancy J. I'm glad I'm not as smart as you, for I am more easily amazed and no doubt experience much less disappointment! Maybe the Saturday puzzle will be "evil" enough for you?
To be fair to folks who were frustrated about not having their rebus work, we do see two way rebuses sometimes (separated by /) so having HOLE/O as a solution (or either) would not have been out of the realm of possibility and might have been a nice alternative for the editors to consider. Honestly, it never crossed my mind since I thought the O worked fine as a visual representation of HOLE both ways. But I don’t think anyone is way off base for considering it.
@SP That’s fair. But lots of commenters seem to be arguing that HOLE should have been accepted…and IMO *that* is way off base.
@SP If anything, only O/HOLE should have been accepted. According to the standard convention for rebus squares, HOLE/O is wrong everywhere today. In each case, the O is part of the horizontal entry and the HOLE is part of the vertical.
Oy moly, CNY. Constructor Notes of the Year.
I can't believe I ate that hole thing. (You ate it, Ralph.) <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFKifpMtlNs" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFKifpMtlNs</a> Fun puzzle.
@Linda Jo Ha! My ex-father-in-law was the mAdman resposible for that one.
So recently we've had a fair number of puzzles where the theme does not facilitate the solve , and is even an afterthought that you discover reading Wordplay . I LOVED this puzzle because you really needed the AHA moment to solve the puzzle . Wonderful and fun . Happy 17th Zhou and Kevin !
Why wasn’t there a hint that these “holes” existed either in a clue or the puzzle’s title? It’s always nice to know when there’s a little clever trickery with the answers coming my way. It makes for a little added adventure in the anticipation of the discovery. I play in the iOS app. Am I missing something or did the constructor and editor just decide against such a disclosure?
@bigdippertiger Great question! Only Sunday puzzles get titles, which often do provide a hint at a puzzle's theme. While many Thursday puzzles have a theme revealer, or a clue-answer pair that hints at the trickery, not all of them do (like this one!). I understand wanting a disclosure, but many solvers prefer the mystery. Still, the best way to anticipate a tricky crossword is to look at the calendar. Thursday is almost always the day of the week for unconventional puzzles that use rebuses, twists or other curveballs to keep solvers on their toes.
Fun puzzle today, though I got a little stuck in the SW since I don’t usually eat steak, errantly entered poet for the MUSEs, and kept entering and deleting ASKME because I was convinced the lock key was alt lock instead of NUM lock. I probably should have walked away and returned to it later, but I didn’t have the patience and skimmed the column to help me sort out some of the answers there. Congratulations, Zhou, on 17 years of marriage!! I am a big numbers person too and loved your constructor notes. I agree about how special an “off” year like 17 is—my spouse and I just celebrated 17 yrs a few months ago and yes, the untidy times add up and matter so much. I wish you and Kevin many many more years of creating memories (and puzzles) together in both the perfect and imperfect times!
Well, I was a little put out that I took the time to enter HOLE in 5 different places only to have to flyspeck for errors and then finally change all of them to Os. And then at the end I was really hoping for some kind of hole filling in animation so I was disappointed about that. But then I read the constructor note and that just gets a big Awww! So I guess all I really have to say is happy anniversary. (And next time a little animation would be fun 😊)
I knew SUR from the title of the old, popular French song "Sur le pont d’Avignon", "On The bridge at Avignon". The historic city of Avignon, a UNESCO world heritage site, lies on the Rhone. An impressive stone bridge was built there in the 13th century. Repeated flood damage led to the bridge being abandoned centuries ago and today only 4 of the original 22 arches remain. The last time my wife and I went there and visited the bridge, we overheard a disappointed, American tourist whine: "And they didn't finish it, either!" The Gothic, papal castle at Avignon in Provance is among Europe's most impressive sights, one to rival anything out of fantasy, and I visited it several times over the years. See for yourself: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palais_des_Papes" target="_blank">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palais_des_Papes</a>
@Andrzej I love living in Provence ! Here's a bit of trivia for you. There are those that argue that back in the day, the dancing at festivals took place on the banks and islands of the river, thus under the bridge and not on it. "Sous le pont" rather than sur. So there's your conversation starter for apéros on your next visit. It's also great French pronunciation practice. Santé !
@Andrzej I learned that song in third or fourth grade, but the teacher never gave us the translation, which I figured out even before I started learning French in high school. But I never knew that the bridge was never finished, so thanks for filling my trivia gap!
@Andrzej "The last time my wife and I went there and visited the bridge, we overheard a disappointed, American tourist whine: "And they didn't finish it, either!" That was me. Jokes on you.
What a charming puzzle. No holes barred? Almost as charming as the constructor's note.
Finally! A Thursday where I understood the theme.
@Thad Congratulations! That's a great feeling that will start to come more often now that you're catching on to the Thursday tricks.
Lovely constructor notes - Happy anniversary!
I am a huge fan of Zhou Zhang's puzzles, but I absolutely loathe clues that reference other clue pairs. I can only handle one per puzzle. Specially when I'm upset about other life things, as I mentioned a couple days ago The recent puzzle that I think pretty much had every single one reference another, I didn't bother to finish, and I'm sorry to say I didn't finish this one either. She is awesome. She and Kevin are awesome together, but this just a feature that I do not enjoy... not caring about streaks , I don't have to bother. Looking forward to her next puzzle and/or her and Kevin's next joint puzzle. 🖖
@HeathieJ I get you! Clue pairs are among my least favorite puzzle features, too, and being able to skip a puzzle, rather than force yourself to solve (because... You have a streak maybe? As if it's worth anything...), is an important skill 🤜🏾🤛🏾
@HeathieJ I love those multiple references. They are fun.
Fun! And I agree that "HOLE" should not be accepted as a rebus fill. Did anyone try the hole emoji 🕳️? The SW corner had me nice and puzzled for a while until I quit trying to use "MEDIUM" as the steak option. "Industry" kept me in suspense for a stretch while I tried to remember the state. Four letters... Ohio? Iowa? How satisfying to recall The Beehive State! Another gem from Zhou Zhang! With a lovely note, congratulations to her and hers
Now they know how many holes it takes to fill the Albert Hall.
Took me forever to find my “mistake” on the digital version - only to realize it was using Rebus “HOLE” and not just “O.” Come on, NYT. You complain about how much we complain about Rebus puzzles, but half the time it’s due to your own software ruining the solve.
@Solaris I just used “O” and it was fine 🤷🏻♂️
So here’s my dilemma: when you finish a Thursday puzzle and are disappointed because it didn’t quite live up to that day’s standards, but then you find out it was constructed by one of your very favorite puzzle makers… do you reassess your view of the puzzle, or your opinion of the puzzle maker? Neither. You just assume that Zhou, a very awesome and clever constructor, intended this puzzle for another day. There was nothing wrong with it. In fact, I enjoyed it. It was just very nearly an across-only solve for me, and I had no trouble figuring out the “trick”. But… maybe that just means I’m on Zhou Zhang’s wavelength! Not a bad place to be, actually.
@Heidi My guess: they did intend it for a Thursday, but the editors dumbed down the clueing substantially.
I also dutifully placed 'hole' in all the rebus squares only to get rebuffed. Had to go back to fix them all to get my musical celebration! I loved the constructors ode to their anniversary. We are 36 years and what lovely number 36 is with it's beautiful curves and divisibility by 2,3 and 6. Next year is 37, the 12th prime number which has good feel to it!😍
This puzzle was far too easy for a Thursday. It put up no resistance whatsoever. No disrespect to Zhou Zhang, as this was a well-crafted puzzle with interesting entries. She is an excellent constructor, and she deserves better than to have her work dumbed down to appease people who do not want a challenge. The Great Easening is an insult not just to experienced solvers, but to constructors as well.
@Katie It appears to have offered substantial resistance for folks who were dead-set on utilizing ye olde “rebus” button…
@Katie My mileage varied from yours.
@Katie As they say, “Speak for yourself.” I was enjoying the puzzle but had to go to the column for some help. I found quite a bit of resistance but kept at it and finally finished. Your comment felt condescending to those of us who don’t breeze through every crossword, setting daily records, but you do you.
Sat wondering what was wrong with my puzzle for a while before removing all my HOLE entries, leaving just the Os. A smooth and enjoyable puzzle, paired with a very touching Constructor Notes!
I liked the heck outa this one. Great job Zhou.
I caught on quicker than usual, and zoomed to a new personal best.
Fun theme today, though a bit light a theme for a Thursday. Once I got NOGGIN, the crossing clues said PIEO, I started at it for 30 seconds and said "oooooohhhhh" and then getting the rest were easy. Most of the puzzle I thought was well clued and fun. The southwest corner though was a bit Naticky. I had ARTIS-- and was thinking ARTISAN, and ARTISTE felt a little overly cute. Then I'm not sure how you expect 90% of people to know what PATINA means, what the names of Muses are or to think of ASKME. Also crossing END CUT which is more reasonable but like 20th on the list of steak words you'd think of. That particular corner was weak, but the rest of the puzzle was good. I hadn't heard the term GLAMPS but it made sense as a modern word-mushing. EPIC FAIL, also fun clue.
@Chris I think you may be the same person who said yesterday that "Nobody knows where Bath is," and other assorted broad statements. I'll bet 90% of people who do these puzzles know what PATINA means, know that at least one of those two (Clio) is a MUSE, and have been to enough museums to think of ASK ME. That particular corner wasn't weak. It was tougher, and this is a Thursday puzzle. IMO, the rest of the puzzle was weak - for a Thursday.
Important things first—Happy Anniversary! Loved the constructor notes. There's a different note worth reading at xwordinfo.com on the puzzle page. Took a little thinking, but the penny finally dropped and the 'aha' moment occurred. Thought about whether a rebus was necessary, and decided against it, as the O would serve just fine as a hole, although it would have been nice if the NYTG crew could have added some graphics for after the finish. My other complaint (of sorts) is that it was over too quickly, but it was definitely fun, and just tricky enough for a Thursday. Thanks, Zhou!
It’s late. I’m tired. As a result, I didn’t overthink it and finished with a better than average time. Made me smile.
I loved this, but I initially solved it entering the rebus as HOLE instead of simply entering O - and this showed up as incorrect. Not sure if this is a bug or intentional, but I feel like the rebus should have been accepted as well as just ‘O’! Either way a very fun puzzle though :)