After a really challenging Friday (which took me about 24 hours of simmering on it), I enjoyed this puzzle a lot! Still quite a bit of resistance for me, but solvable. I understand the more seasoned crossword-ers may have found it to be easy, but I’m still pleased with myself. After about 2 years of solving, this is my first time achieving an 8 day streak… hoping to complete my first full week straight (Mon-Sun) of gold stars if I am lucky tomorrow! 🍀
@Maggie You should be pleased with yourself! Congrats!!!
@Maggie And proud of yourself you should feel. You're only competing with yourself and your past performance. I wrote that I thought it was fairly easy. Its fairly easy for me *at this point in my development*. I guarantee you I wouldn't have been able to even start this puzzle at one time.
Caitlin, thank you for the link about the last edition of the Momma comic strip. I didn't know that story, and I found it very moving.
@Brody Tacking my "thank you" to Caitlin on to yours, if that's all right. (You've already said what I wanted to say.)
@Brody After I followed the link and looked at the comic strip I wanted to start subscribing to the paper version of the local newspaper again. Perhaps I will.
@Brody Reminds me of all the tribute strips to Charles M. Schulz, when he died a few months shy of the fiftieth anniversary of "Peanuts".
Yesterday's puzzle ultimately defeated me after an hour long fight. I found today's grid even harder - having stared at it for 30 minutes I had typed in maybe 20 entries and that was that: further progress seemed impossible. So I checked the puzzle - almost everything I had entered was actually correct, which was my only (minor) victory today. Next I revealed my personal arcana, which allowed me to continue the solve, but only with further, occasional checks. This is what the grid looked like for me, in the end: <a href="https://imgur.com/a/F5UFbUt" target="_blank">https://imgur.com/a/F5UFbUt</a> Sometimes I am able to complete properly hard Saturday puzzles, but only under specific circumstances: when there aren't too many personal unknowns and when clues rely on misdirection rather than opaqueness. Today I knew almost none of the trivia and Americana - almost all of the names and things like HOME PLATE (as clued) and SENATE PAGES tripped me up big time. Then there were clues I'll describe as opaque for lack of a better word: ones I perceive not as intelligently misdirecting but simply only tenuously connected to their answers: "One might be cut off by an orchestra" and "Sure ... that's true ..." - to me that's the sort of clue that requires a load of crosses, but those are hard to get in a puzzle as difficult as this. I'm not complaining, mind you - obviously I am bound to fail many late-week puzzles at the NYT. I am just describing my process and my difficulties.
@Andrzej Being here in the U.S., which, well... No I won't expound on what it's like to be here these days..... 😭 but being here, SENATEPAGES came pretty easily to me, but I can agree with you on almost everything else. I did end up getting it somehow, miraculously, without any helps but at like 60% slower than average time. I enjoyed doing it, but at the same time it was kind of like pulling teeth, no, I assume that dentists enjoy pulling teeth, which is weird, but I think it was more like having my teeth pulled. I don't know what I'm saying anymore, but, like the last time I had to get a cavity filled, I got nitrous oxide and that was awesome, so I enjoyed doing it. 🤷♀️ Hars all around!
@Andrzej Yesterday's grid ultimately defeated me, too. I thought it was going to be a repeat with today's puzzle, but ultimately I pulled it out, after a very long multi-session. Unlike most here who loved this puzzle (and that's most people on most days), I did not appreciate all the slang and conversational phrases. IMEANYEAH is, to me, just a ridiculous phrase to put in a puzzle. SHOOKETH, too. And TEEHEEHEE was, well, I won't elaborate further.
After 2 hours and three minutes, I finally solved it with no help of any kind. Wonderfully difficult puzzle to start my day.
This puzzle was dressed to the nines, in a way, with 14 answers of that length. Many of them added personality to the box – I’LL SHUT UP, GUITALELE, SMART MOVE, PAPA BEAR, EMPTY SUIT. There are 20 longs, actually – answers of eight letters or more – extremely high for a 15x15, and Hanna’s grid-building chops show, as there’s hardly a whiff of junk to be found, IMO. This grid design, by the way, is a Times puzzle debut. I loved the SAW SHARK touching corners with the WHALES, and the symmetrical LIGHTEN UP and TEE HEE HEE. I adored GUITALELE, a word I’ve never seen or heard before, and which is so much fun to say. There was enough vagueness in the cluing to get my brain fully involved, and yet, as with all of Hannah’s puzzles, it had a lovely soft feel overall. And thus, I was charmed and delighted. This was a gift – thank you, Hannah!
The sauna salesmen were full of hot air. (They got into heated arguments.)
@Mike Yeah, they could give those pool guys a whirl.
@Mike When I tried my first sauna, I said:"Not bad. It's only dry heat." When I started to leave, they said: "Go jump in the lake!"
@Mike They're known to get steamed when the sun also rises, but sooner or later, one of them throws in the towel and they take the plunge, harmonizing on Swede (add a line).
@Mike I prefer Japanese onsens to Scandinavian saunas because you can soak all day and i don’t like my baths too Finnish
Ha, I read 23A as “the very first one was WORN by a ventriloquist”. BELT? SASH? CAPE? WIRE?? Next wondered, for 2.5 seconds, how a ventriloquist would wear an EMMY.
@Cat Lady Margaret That’s how I read it too! I wrote MASK, perhaps he wore one to hide his moving lips. Not a very good ventriloquist, though.
@Cat Lady Margaret me as well! “Bow tie doesn’t fit…”
I think they switched Friday and Saturday this week.
Woot! Fun and tough… And I get it. Well I’m happy with my 24 minutes or so, they got it done in nine minutes. That’s OK. This was challenging on the right side. I did it with no help. That makes my night.
I've previously expressed a dislike for multiple-word answers that aren't actual phrases, but are just words that are often said together by some people in some situations. "I MEAN YEAH" is definitely one of those. They're clearly a necessity coming from American puzzles having so few blocks, and needing repetitive 3-/4-letter words, wacky proper nouns, abbreviations & acronyms, incomplete phrases, and these non-phrasal groups of words just to be able to fill the grid. I'm getting used to it the more I do American puzzles though, and I wouldn't use the word "dislike" anymore. In fact I'd probably call these filler categories "quirky" or even "charming" now. I've learned a lot about music (REO Speedwagon, the CBGB Club, ETTA James...), sport (BAMA, NATS, RBI...), American geography, schools, politics, food and more! Nice puzzle today, lots of super clueing.
@Alex Unlike you, I would definitely use the word "dislike." I MEAN YEAH is just plain annoying, IMHO.
Those of you who do not like multiple word answers will definitely not like the SW corner but 'I Mean Yeah', 'God Help Me', I liked it. I think Hannah Made The 'Smart Move'. It 'Talks Sense' to me. My favorite clue , though, was 'One might be felt' for game table. Also Caitlin, thanks for the fascinating link about Mell Lazarus and the final Momma comic strip!
@Jeff B MD I can't speak for everyone, but I don't recall very many people ever expressing a problem with multiple-word answers. I'm sure there are some, but people often object to the strangest things.
A real grown-up puzzle is a rarity these days and this one is much appreciated by this old-timer.
This one was tough for me because my mind kept latching on to certain scenarios and not budging – *earthquakes* for "this might be felt" and *unassembled* for "like much IKEA furniture" (and then trying to find synonyms that would fit.) The puzzle itself was great; it was my own mind that was fighting me. And so it was a funny solve, one of many duhs and ahas spoken out loud whenever I filled in an entry. Thank you, Hannah, for a fine Saturday puzzle! ............................. Today I'm not referencing the puzzle for a musical accompaniment. I'm straight up honoring Duncan Sheik who passed away. (With 6 degrees of separation, I'm sure there's something in the puzzle that would have something to do with his music...) Though he's famous for "Barely Breathing," I'm linking instead to my favorite song from that same album: <a href="https://youtu.be/Q-Fy5Lh4yME?is=YaXulYrK9oUK_VAT" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/Q-Fy5Lh4yME?is=YaXulYrK9oUK_VAT</a> (RIP)
@sotto voce Heh, for “this might be felt,” my mind went straight to—and stayed with till proven wrong by crosses—cowboy hats.
@sotto voce Well, Duncan never gave an OSCAR SPEECH, but I'm pretty sure he gave a SPEECH when he won a Tony for Spring Awakening. Here's the cast performing at the Tonys. <a href="https://youtu.be/NXXNy1MNzc8?si=l8XCwabd_IQ4o8ab" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/NXXNy1MNzc8?si=l8XCwabd_IQ4o8ab</a>
@sotto voce For some reason I confidently plugged in bowler hat for "This might be felt"... Are bowler hats typically felt, I have literally no idea, but it came immediately to my mind and I plunked it in. I was pretty sure it was OSCARwinner. And for the Ikea clue, all I could think of is very foul language and criminal behavior, which is all we have ever encountered with Ikea furniture. And that's after only ever putting together one piece of Ikea furniture. It was the worst nightmare of our entire lives and the truest sense of marital and familial strength. We didn't eat Swedish fish for years after that!! And we live in the land of lefse!!
Sally was selling sea shells by the seashore and saw a saw shark and sea snake shake a shad and seal and said "sheesh, so sad to see".
@Sal A Mander No wonder she was shooketh.
Those who cannot learn from RETCON are doomed to actually remember history. And I’m playing my tiny electric guiltalele for myself as charged. Nice puzzle.
And you just cannot make up facts like this: Google AI gave this in response to “what is retcon?”: >>A retcon, short for retroactive continuity, is a storytelling tool that changes, adds to, or ignores previously established facts in a fictional merriam-webster.<< True dat.
In terms of difficulty, they should have swapped Friday's and Saturday's puzzles.
This one was a toughie! I got the gold star in the end, after a nap. My time is quite long, but some of that is resting ny eyes with the puzzle open.
Culty? CULTY?? Even after I get it, it took a while to get it. Kudos to everyone who found the puzzle easy. The obscure sports figures stopped me in my tracks, and I struggled with some of the quirkier clues, but when I sorted things out and trusted my gut, (EAT, for instance, was a keeper), I loved it. Thank you, Hannah. Happy week-end to all.
@dutchiris Same all around!! Happy weekend!!
@dutchiris Even Merriam Webster doesn’t have CULTY yet so it’s gotta be pretty informal slang. But I kind of liked it. CULTY as charged.
Tomorrow, I look forward to TEEHEEHEEHEE!
Is it cheating when you think you’ve seen a saw shark before but you look it up to make sure it’s right? If not, this is the first Saturday I’ve done without cheating! Yay me!
@Liz Evans Definitely not cheating but I wonder if you've figured out if/where you'd seen it before. I sort of thought I might have seen SAW TOOTH SHARK somewhere but probably not. Just SAW TOOTH, sure (the mountain range) but that wasn't the answer.
Why are you asking us? It's your puzzle. If you consider look-ups cheating, you're cheating; if you don't, you aren't.
Liz Evans, You are hereby absolved of any guilt over cheating. Think of it as your saw shark redemption.
@Liz Evans For me, I would consider it a win with one look up. But it was a tough puzzle and just one look up is pretty darn good
I'm not always a fan of new slang coinages, but SHOOKETH is fun. Maybe I'll use it sometime. Wonder which ventriloquist won the first EMMY. Was it Edgar Bergen or Shari Lewis? (I think that was the name of the Lambchop lady.) Oh, wait -- and I think there was also a Kukla, Fran and Ollie person. Ah, yes. The ukitar/GUITALELE. Which of the two names will win out, do you think? At last. TEEHEE gets its final HEE back. It's been a while. I thought that there was a lot of colorful fill, what with I'LL SHUT UP; HOT AIR; OSCAR SPEECH and GOD HELP ME. I found this crunchy in places, easy in others. And I really appreciated the almost complete lack of names and bits of other arcane trivia. A very nice and entertaining Saturday.
Nancy, It was before I was watching television. Never heard of her. <a href="https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/383337-first-emmy-award-winner" target="_blank">https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/383337-first-emmy-award-winner</a>
@Nancy --- I had guessed Edgar Bergen when I filled in the answer, but if not him surely one of the other formidable options you mention ... None of the above, however! it's this lady: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shirley_Dinsdale" target="_blank">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shirley_Dinsdale</a>
This was a difficult one for me, particularly the southeast corner. I had never heard of a senate page and I don’t think I would have gotten an empty suit. Regardless, I had to use the auto check tool today. Despite losing an 18 day steaks today, I’m proud that I was able to complete 18 puzzles without having to look anything up. Here’s to the next 18.
@Logan The House and Senate both had young PAGES back in my day of paying attention to such. (One of our kids' classmates became a PAGE. Basically--a gofer/runner/assistant--but an honor of sorts and a learning experience. I wonder if the Computer Age has changed the need.
Gotta share this John Ciardi poem: The thing about a shark is: teeth. One row above; one row beneath. Look closer; do you find It has another row behind? Look closer; here, I'll hold your hat. Is there another row behind that? Look in and...look out! Oh my. I'll never know now. Well, goodbye.
@RozzieGrandma So long and thanks for the hat. 😏
Enjoyed this. Some nice friction
Really enjoyable puzzle that took me awhile to get started, but which came together nicely. Lots of fun entries including OSCARSPEECH, GAMETABLE, and EMPTYSUIT. TIL that there’s a portmanteau instrument called a GUITALELE. I had also never encountered SHOOKETH. And although I’ve learned to fill in aro when called upon, it took me a minute to see that it was short for AROMANTIC — a classic example of me learning something in crossword land without actually understanding it. I was surprised to remember that Mell Lazarus drew MOMMA, but even more surprised to learn that he did so for 46 years. That was one of the funnies that I always skipped, along with Family Circus.
Once in a very long while, I am in complete sync with a themeless constructor. 14:04 woo hoo!
@Evan F I also kept thinking "ah yes, I get what's she's doing here!" - it doesn't happen often, but love it when it does.
@Evan F I never do this, but I'm proud to claim 13:52. Surprised myself 😯
I shared a wavelength with the constructor on this one, so I looked her up and she's an elder millennial from Minnesota! No wonder we clicked, loved this one.
Any puzzle starring the DAMES and Sidney LUMET is okay by me. And then there was Rod CAREW to greet us. Guess he crossed HOME PLATE more than a few times.Hope you Minnesotans appreciated his appearance. I did find today's puzzle a lot more fun to solve compared to yesterday's.
@Vaer Although technically a Brewers fan, being from the Milwaukee area, though I don't really follow anymore, I love Rod Carew!! I know him more from the bone marrow transplant world, in which I spent 20 years before being on ceremoniously dismissed suddenly at an ungodly hour of the morning... Don't worry that's just a little bit of dark humor about my bizarre and unexpected layoff, and subsequent eight months of severance etc, but Rod Carew is a rockstar in life as much as he is in baseball. I got to meet him a few times through that old gig. And one time my husband actually was able to meet him and shake his hand. He's not typically like this, but he was big time fanning over Rod Carew! It was adorable!! And Rod was as kind and friendly as could possibly be!! Good man!! Very good human!!
@Vaer - Enjoyed watching Rod Carew when the Twins came to Milwaukee. The Twins also played the White Sox in Milwaukee during the years between the Milw. Braves and the Milw. Brewers. So a gimme answer.
CULTY?? "Cultish" or "cult-like" perhaps, but CULTY is the NE portion of this grid crying for out for help. Felt similarly about SHOOKETH. Challenging, but perhaps not in a fully satisfying way. Solved it without assistance---took me about 40 minutes. GUITALELE and RETCON were new to me, and perhaps SAWSHARK was as well.
@Xword Junkie "crying out for help"
Wow, after the Friday puzzle that I finished up rather quickly and nicely faster than average, but which was deemed hard, this one really took me for a ride! It's a good thing I like rides! Ummmm, hmmm that sounds like something I might not have meant exactly, somehow, but I'm not going to worry about it. I had fun doing the puzzle, but it mopped the floor with me, man! But I got her done cleanly even if it did take 40 days and 40 nights.... Huzzah!! As usual, looking back, I'm not sure why it was so hard for me. I was awfully tired today after a busy work and social week, but I don't think that was it. I think it just was a toughie for me. And in the end, while I very much do not believe that anything that doesn't kill you makes you stronger, it was a fun one and I enjoyed the tussle. And I feel proud that I got through it, even if it was easy for others. Just like Gary Coleman and company taught me way back in the '80s, it takes different strokes to move the world.... Har! Whatchu talkin' about with Wiils!?
@HeathieJ Really? Am I that much of an outlier here? That is quite the bizarre inversion of the norm. I don't think I've ever found a puzzle easier than you. Maybe I'm having one last moment of crystalline clarity just before the lights go out.
“One might be felt” was a highlight for me. Had a nice laugh when I finally got it.
Anyone across the pond have FLATPACK for IKEA initially? My Anglophile side showing? BTW put me on team "Assembling IKEA stuff is fun". And I find the quality acceptable...we have 5 of their bookcases, two with glass doors, and they hold up well. Yes not Chippendale and I understand trading up but ... .
I suspected that “most IKEA furniture” is not considered unNEEdED, but still gave it spin
This was a real fight! Loved it! Finally, a boss-level contest. I struggled, I took many wrong turns, i clung to a few rare gimmes (LAMA, LYME), i misread at least one clue (“worn” by a ventriloquist)… I slowly eked out a win. This SHOOKETH me out of my complacency! Brilliant puzzle!
@Petrol So interesting to see that many of us misread 'won' as 'worn'. Lured me into putting in 'mike' even though the long history of microphony made that seem quite improbable. But then ventriloquism is probably even older!
Thanks so much, Caitlin, for the link to the article about Lazarus's last Momma cartoon. What a great read! As for the puzzle, I happen to love when they're on the easy side, as this one was. Thank you, Hannah.
I love when I put that last letter in for a Saturday puzzle, and plink, Gold Star.
A solid Saturday for me. Not quite as difficult as yesterday’s masterpiece but definitely a decent challenge. I particularly liked OSCARSPEECH, GUITALELE and EMPTYSUIT. Preparing for Yom Kippur—a comfortable fast for those who do.
@SP......"Shana Tova." ... 🍎🍯.... And well over the fast.
@SP Thanks for good wishes for 5787. Have an easy fast and a meaningful day. May you be sealed for a good year.
Only my second true Saturday solve, but I’m definitely getting a lot better at these! Very satisfying. nAMES for DAMES got me stuck for a while :)
Great puzzle! It felt little scary hard at first but I clawed my way through. I actually laughed out loud at a couple of the answers - SHOOKETH, GAME TABLE. Well done!
I know nothing about bachelorette parties. So sashes are a common sight at one? Now I know. Good puzzle!
@David Wilcoxen Yeah, I have no idea what they do with sashes at a bachelorette party. Maybe I don't want to know 🤔
@David Wilcoxen I believe the bridal party wears sashes similar to those worn by beauty pageant contestants that indicate their status; bride, maid of honor, bridesmaid, etc.
One of my favorite puzzles so far this year. The clues were outstanding and the fill was top notch. Well done Hannah.
Too easy for a Saturday, but enjoyable nonetheless.
Really enjoyed this puzzle! So many fresh phrases and clever clues. The kind of puzzle where you get only a few words on the first pass, but keep going back and getting a few more until…viola! Now I’m on a search for more puzzles by this constructor!
@Karen Yes, so fun to suddenly realize, I’m going to solve this! No lookups! :)
That was a real workout. Thanks for a good Saturday.
Well, that was a nice challenge. I lost my gold star because I didn't know OLUO/GUITALELE and LUMET/RETCON and I didn't feel like monkey-typing 626 combinations. Or whatever the number is. Oh well. Saturdays are supposed to be hard. There's always football. Cheers, folks.
I thought I was having a lucky break with IPAD and AROMANTIC in the beginning and then it petered out very quickly. I found this way harder than Friday where I had some traction, though I didn't get close to finishing either, as is usual for me right now. Friday's fill had a lot more "ahh I see! I could have got that" vibe, and this Saturday feels very obscure to me in comparison. So many names and trivia. The long answers are great but they are out of reach for me because of the crosses. OSCARSPEECH is a nice fill with a clue that I had no clue about, but I can see it hitting the sweet spot for others. What is PAPABEARS?! Is it a cute nickname for dads? Is it supposed to be the fictional bear-fathers I see on wikipedia? GAMETABLE is felt as in you touch it when playing on it??
@N Singh Given your name, it's a shame you were not part of 'N Sync!
@N Singh Game (card) tables are often covered in felt.
@N Singh - Pool tables are covered in green felt fabric. Gambling tables are covered in felt.
Very pleasant and I LOVE the fill. It felt like a Wednesday though and I missed a 40-minute Saturday challenge. But seeing the comments just now it looks like all the references just happened to be made for me, heh. In any case, thank you, fun times were had!
Why would it be common for an eSCApe route to be cut off by an orchestra? I was imagining tripping over GUITALELEs and other instruments in my attempt to flee a dangerous situation, thinking if I get out alive, I'm going to make it my life mission to ensure that this never happens to anyone else. Oh, what? An OSCAR SPEECH? Never mind!
@Nancy J. I originally had OSCAR winner. Which is quite different from an OSCAR Mayer wiener.
Enjoyed it. Thought I was doing well but then the SE got me. Should have trusted my instincts but just couldn't get a foot in.