Delighted to enter PEACHYKEEN when I had barely stared the puzzle. This is going to be fun!, I thought, and it was. There were the usual grousers who thought it was too easy, and the usual groaners who thought it was too hard, and it all added up to right-in-the-middle. Perfect for a Wednesday. You nailed it, Jacob. Thank you.
@dutchiris . . . STARTED the puzzle . . . (sigh)
@dutchiris We went to Eagle Beach today in Aruba... Spent about 3 hours in the water overall. I made sure to take in as much extra salt water and sea air for you as I could!! 😎
Koan of the day: If a team leader holds an entire meeting that nobody can hear, was it still a waste of everyone's time?
@ad absurdum Not if they got their shopping done.
@ad absurdum Yes. Replace 'nobody can hear' with 'everybody can hear'. Answer is unchanged.
Are 38D ever announced in The Economist? It’s a weekly focusing on economics, business and politics. I would associate 38D more with publications such as WSJ, FT and Barron’s. 63A is what we call the smog from Indonesian forest fires that’s enveloping Singapore. Despite the befuddled state I’m in, I managed to solve the puzzle in a decent Wednesday time for me.
@ksp210 Sorry to hear about your smog. I experienced widespread fire smoke pretty close the summer. It's very unnerving. I felt kind of trapped. I hope it doesn't last too long.
@ksp210 If I remember right, IPOs are sometimes discussed in The Economist, but only insofar as they are newsworthy. I agree that it's an odd clue, although maybe technically correct if "announce" is defined very broadly. I would not associate the magazine with "announcing IPOs."
@ksp210 fellow haze sufferer from Singapore here - kinda funny that HAZE featured in not just one but two answers today.
@ksp210 IPOS and IRAS are always clued poorly in my opinion..... they just put any finance term in the clue and call it good enough.
Maya civilization is absolutely not bygone! There are anywhere from 5 to 12 million Maya people still alive today, and it's still very much is a civilization. It really is inexcusable that this slipped by the editors. Editors. Lots of people have this mistaken belief that the Maya civilization and the Maya people suddenly disappeared more than a thousand years ago, and that is very much false.
@Andrew I suppose you could make the case, and certainly Mayan culture and ethnicity still exist. But if you want to be literal and take “civilization” to mean “cities” and the associated social and political structures, it’s fair to say that those do not exist any longer.
@Andrew I think you're confusing civilizations with people. Certainly, there are still Greeks and Romans and Egyptians around, and they're living in civilized places, but you don't think of modern Greece, Rome or Egypt as the Greek, Roman and Egyptian civilizations.
@Andrew he's referring no doubt to the Maya of long ago not the descendants of the beautiful Maya culture. where do you get your numbers between 5 and 12 million? Its part of Mexico it's not saying Mayans don't exist. It is Mexico now!
@Andrew Wikipedia says when I asked "where is the maya civilization today?": "The Maya civilization has not vanished; millions of descendants of the ancient Maya continue to live in their ancestral homelands in Central America and southern Mexico." Kudos for not letting bygones be bygones.
@Andrew I agree; there's no way that the editors would clue GREEK as "Bygone European Civilization". For centuries after the Maya ceased to be the dominant indigenous group in Mesoamerica, they've persisted as a people with their own languages and cultural practices through the present day.
hilarious puzzle Jacob thanks for addressing public speaking microphones and the general horror they invoke universally. Bravo on a puzzle that speaks volumes (mic check) 5 stars
Hah! I remember being that person, new to Zoom, couldn’t be heard and had no idea how to fix it. Nor could I hear the others, and yes, the story ended with an OH FORGET IT. Now, mind you, I love wordplay, I live for it, and I love that most crossword themes involve it, but I also love the refreshing contrast that comes with a non-wordplay theme, as Jacob gave us today, when he graced us with a mini-story. A relatable one for many, too, I’m guessing, either from the perspective of one who wasn’t heard in a virtual meeting, or who experienced participants who couldn’t be heard. I also liked the good number of vague clues in the box today, such as [Hot stuff], [Tree with edible nuts], [Apartment option], [Look], [Dandy], and [Edit menu command]. That drew my brain in and got it doing the work it loves. So thank you for the memory that I look back on with a smile, Jacob, and for a splendid outing today!
I wanted to put in “Where’s Waldo” for the unseen title character…
@Aspergillosis Dear Mr. Fungi, I was thinking, invisible man.
Just a plain and fun Wednesday with no hiccups.
Fun puzzle, love the themed sequence. I've been the guy yapping away while on mute and also the guy whose face gets stuck onscreen in a ridiculous expression when the wifi lags.
@CB I’ve been the gal who THOUGHT she was on mute… but regrettably wasn’t! Oops! 😬
poem made from words in today’s puzzle… a/ the morning that carried me the small tree that carried me the name of everyone the triumphant glimpse this conversation that carried me that carried me d/ before a blood red a/ sea
@Bob If it bothers you, just keep scrolling.
@Peter Valentine I vote that you keep on doing this. I enjoy it.
An amusing puzzle that had me grinning with the themers and was satisfying on so many fronts. On the one hand, there was the always welcome comic relief. On the other, there was the relief of being reminded that I don't have to go through that in real life! Added to all that relief was the further satisfaction of what to me was a proper Wednesday, so a hearty thank you for that, Jacob! I leave you, of course, with the guitar WIZARD Clapton's mic turned on as he belts out the classic "LAYLA," first in its original arrangement (and with Phil Collins sitting in on drums)... <a href="https://youtu.be/f9myqi7VL9s?is=seM3FfIUUM1Jjyx5" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/f9myqi7VL9s?is=seM3FfIUUM1Jjyx5</a> ...as well as in its unplugged version for those who like things quieter: <a href="https://youtu.be/kseSoguuiCs?is=6o36H1I4XMBc1TXm" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/kseSoguuiCs?is=6o36H1I4XMBc1TXm</a>
@sotto voce And let's not leave out John Fahey's version for those who may have missed it: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KxkhJfsuMQs" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KxkhJfsuMQs</a>
@Sam. “Thou still unravished bride of quietness…” one of those lines just sticks in my memory. Have no idea, without looking it up, how the ode continues.
@Patrick J. "A thing of beauty is a joy forever?" Also stuck in my head without lookup.
@Patrick J. @lucky13 "Heard melodies are sweet, but those unheard Are sweeter; therefore, ye soft pipes, play on;" The whole poem is here: <a href="https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44477/ode-on-a-grecian-urn" target="_blank">https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44477/ode-on-a-grecian-urn</a>
Great meat and potatoes Wednesday. I enjoyed it.
I'm truly utterly furious that this puzzle is not on a Wednesday! It's too hard for Tuesday. Though it has a theme, it's not hard enough for Thursday! It needs to be on Wednesday!! Oh wait...
My goodness, this was a harder solve than I expected. Tried WAR for 36A...as usual, WAR was not helpful. Practically the last thing into the grid was 25D... I had PESTER before NETTLE As for 51D, I just completed an "element" rendition of "American Gothic"...(an 8 x 10" quilted piece highlighting just 3 parts/aspects of the painting.) I actually acquired and read a "biography" of the painting which was pretty interesting... The man in the painting was Grant Woods's dentist, and the woman was his sister. Trivia: Woods died at 51. 25A should have been "We caaaan't heeeeeearrrr youuuu!"
@Mean Old Lady I’d love to see that fabric art! Sounds interesting!
@Mean Old Lady I had NEEDLE for 25D and DEAD for 50D--meaning 50A, 57A, and 63A had me in a dAZE.
I think "their," the answer to 26D, is an adjective, not a pronoun. "Theirs" is a pronoun--it can take the place of a noun--but "their" cannot.
@Juanita I envy the cruciverbalists’ skill. I envy THEIR skill. It is 100 percent a possessive pronoun. It is taking the place of a noun in the possessive case.
Loved loved the humor aka “ the light at the end of the crossword tunnel!!! Imagine if our co-workers responded the way the brilliant answers to the clues did! Really enjoyable!! TY
For the record, the answer to 17A isn't "YEAH WHAT'S SO GOOD ABOUT IT?". I tried and tried, but it doesn't fit.
Andrew W, It didn't fit because you were muted.
Took me a bit longer than usual because I never had to worry about remote sessions. I always had to show up—you can't do some healthcare jobs very effectively if you're not there with the patient. Add the fact that I retired before zoom calls and presentations became a thing didn't help. My wife had to do some of that on a one-to-one basis during the pandemic, but it turned out to be somewhat difficult trying to teach something when the person you're teaching is blind, and she and the student had to meet in person at school. Still, other than the unfamiliarity with the lingo, it wasn't that difficult a puzzle. I just had to wait for more of the crosses in order to recognize what the answers might be. Thanks, Jacob,
Almost my fastest Wednesday ever. I blame too many Zoom meetings.
I enjoyed that theme a lot - I like when the theme is a narrative, however brief it might be. It's very evocative - we are able to imagine ourselves as a part of that "conversation", indeed many of us have been a part of such a conversation.
Nice Wednesday puzzle. Typical slow start for me, but worked things out from the crosses. Was interesting to see that the only debut answers in this one were the three theme answers. Hmmm.... And of course my puzzle find today. A Wednesday from July 7, 2010 by Will Nediger. The clues for the theme answers were all forms of "Command to a _____ composer...", with "French", "Hungarian," "German" and "Austrian" filling in that blank and those ended with varieties of: "at an intersection" BIZETSIGNAL "at the piano" PLAYLISZT "on a baseball diamond" THROWBACH "on a scavenger hunt" HAYDNGOSEEK Here's that link: <a href="https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=7/7/2010&h=29d" target="_blank">https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=7/7/2010&h=29d</a> ....
Fun puzzle and cute theme. I'm sure it has been mentioned below but the most annoying thing on a Zoom are people who should mute but don't. "Please don't dominate the rap Jack . . . "
@John Carson "... If you've got nothing new to say" Amen
The Maya are far from a "bygone civilization". Mayans live now in many parts of Mesoamerica, and the continuities from the past into present Mayan culture are obvious. More are being documented all the time. I believe it was an article in this very publication (NYT) where I read that anthropology scholars are reconsidering the racist assumptions of past scholars who assumed anything as complex as Mayan culture couldn't be connected to the current day Mayans they met and disdained. They were wrong. Please don't add to the idea that Mayan civilization is a "bygone" phenomenon.
Puzzle of the year for me. The clueing was so fantastic and fun. I could take or leave the theme as I’m more of a theme less puzzler. I tip my cap to you Jacob! Thank you so much for the creativity and thought put into it. If I may put my kudos into perspective, this was my 3748th online crossword solve and it belongs in my top 10.
I laughed when I got to the punchline at 58A. I laughed even harder when I reviewed the puzzle late this afternoon. All I'm saying is, it keeps getting funnier. Well done!
Cmon now, this puzzle wasn't fair to run while I'm on vacation and trying very hard not to think about work things... 😏 Don't worry, I filled it out while sitting on our balcony listening to the waves as we head to Curaçao. Other than some sunburn today, even though we applied then reapplied sunscreen four times total, I have zero complaints to offer. A nice puzzle and definitely a relatable theme. Of course, anytime I'm caught without my mic on trying to speak, once I get it on I crack a predictable joke of, "Well, gee, it's only been six and a half years since we all went to zoom, you can't expect me to remember silly things like mute and mic, can you!?" Wonder what the over under will be on calling out ELS at 54A. Har!
I needed the revealer today to put this all together. I've never been a part of this type of call, so even when I had the answers, I was looking for something else. When I first read OH FORGET IT, I thought it was telling me to eliminate IT from the other answers, as in FORGET "IT". When I caught on, I groaned. I'm feeling a little dense right now. Good one, Jacob!
I thought this was a very Wednesday Wednesday. Not too easy, not too hard. Fortunately, Zoom has never been part of my working life, but as someone who has attempted video chat with elderly parents, I can definitely relate to the theme.
I am always a bit annoyed when clues for INCA and MAYA refer to “ancient civilizations” — since they are also contemporary people, the same way that OTOE, CREE, and UTES (other Indigenous crossword regulars, but north of the border!) are. But “bygone” (1D) is both inaccurate and offensive. Contemporary Indigenous Maya people live today in southern Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, as well as large diaspora communities in the US and Canada. They make up a significant portion of the population of Guatemala, they speak around 30 different languages, and their cultures have survived despite centuries of colonial violence. I hope the editors can do a better job of not contributing to this erasure by using “ancient” and “bygone” cultures for contemporary people — in an otherwise enjoyable puzzle!
@Jessica Civilization, or people? I'm pretty sure Will Shortz et al know that there are still Maya people in Mesoamerica. But as I've said in an earlier thread, you're conflating "people" with "civilization." The latter is one developed by the people of that civilization who make up a majority, even a monoculture. The current admixture of indigenous people, mestizos, people of African descent, and those of European descent is quite different, and cannot be called a "MAYA civilization." It is a civilization in which many of the inhabitants descend from when the MAYA had their own civilization, but it is not the MAYA civilization. This does not erase people any more than modern Romans, Greeks and Egyptians are erased because the Roman, Greek and Egyptian civilizations are gone.
And one more puzzle find. A Sunday from December 3, 1972 by Elmer Toro with the title: "Wild Life." Some theme answers in that one, all of them making their first and only appearance (much to my surprise): TIGERTIGERBURNINGBRIGHT EYEOFNEWTANDTOEOFFROG ANDLETSLIPTHEDOGSOFWAR WHEREEAGLESDARENOTPERCH QUOTHTHERAVENNEVERMORE SAIDTHESPIDERTOTHEFLY ANDWHETHERPIGSHAVEWINGS Here's that link: <a href="https://www.xwordinfo.com/PS?date=12/3/1972&h=60a" target="_blank">https://www.xwordinfo.com/PS?date=12/3/1972&h=60a</a> ....
Pretty sure I trotted out the cat filter last time zoom was in the puzzle. But it’s just so good - captures that moment so well. So here it is again. <a href="https://youtu.be/j3M_Ki5U3TE" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/j3M_Ki5U3TE</a>
@Cat Lady Margaret Omg that was so cute!
Way to go Jacob – good one!
Fun puzzle with some crunch! I still use Zoom regularly for work so even 6 years after Covid, this is still apt.
I thought this puzzle was PEACHYKEEN. I got all three theme answers before seeing the revealer and was unsure what I was missing that dictated that all the responses reflect an inability to hear the speaker. And then, voila, the revealer supplied the missing element that made the answers something other than random choices. I liked that, but I might have hated it if the answers hadn’t been easily deduced from a few crosses.
Hmmm…Ok, I guess, but why the editors put this theme on a Wednesday instead of Monday or Tuesday I surely don’t know, especially after yesterday’s. Let’s see, homophones or potential homophones seemed to be a secondary theme, we had SECTS/SEX and STU/STEW, was looking for RODE, PEAK, and PAIN ( as well as the less likely HAYES and BERRY.) I’m glad the constructor did qualify WIZARDOFOZ because he was prominent in many other books. And, OK, I suppose he was behind the curtain for most of the first book but it still seems that such a lovely and unusual entry with two Z’s deserved a more interesting or noteworthy clue. For the record, yes, I do say PEACHYKEEN all the time, or at least PEACHY. I had to look up in what games ACES are wild. I’ve heard the phrase but never played one. That’s about all I have to say. Nothing terribly negative about today’s “puzzle” but nothing really grabbed me.
@SP Why not put this theme on a Wednesday? Especially since the puzzle itself best matched Wednesday difficulty.
Immediate flashbacks to 2020 Zooms, which at first was dreadful, but I realized I can laugh about it now so thanks Jacob!
DELL versus DALE was the source of momentary delay to reaching that sweet NYT serenade. (Can’t forget about glens and vales either) How many words do we need to refer to a valley? _More_
@Mishlev Same here. This seemed a little tougher than most Wednesday crosswords.
Loved every single bit of this baby. I’m still smiling.
Final word on 1D: The Mayans Motorcycle Club is a real outlaw MC, not just made up for "Sons of Anarchy." I never had to deal with Zoom meetings, because I worked in a warehouse. Hard to load a truck remotely...but they're working on that. That didn't stop me from getting the theme, and having a bit of a laugh.
I had a lot of fun with this puzzle. The conversation clues had me chuckling after a tough work day. Thanks, Jacob!
Jim Horne's only comment on xwordinfo.com was "Relatable theme." I had the opposite reaction. I retired in 2016, but continued to do some work for the school I last worked at for several years. When the pandemic hit, remote work was not ready for prime time, but it had to done anyway, with Zoom, Google Teams, etc. being used extensively. I only had a few involvements with these remote meetings, and rarely with large groups, so I didn't experience these issues as much as many others did. And then, I was "encouraged" to come back in again, and I realized that it wasn't cost-effective anymore. My commute had become two hours a day for typically four or five hours at work. So I stopped working altogether. And I don't miss it. And I can't really relate to the theme, although it was a fine one, and I'm sure loads of other people can.
I nominate 32A for Clue Of The Year. 👏
Took 25% less time than average. Usually solve on my phone, but today used my PC. I moved more briskly through each clue than I normally do; if the answer wasn't instantaneous, I moved on. After one pass through the acrosses, I only had four answers filled. First impression was I might not beat my average, but I continued with the strategy, not stopping on any clue that did not come immediately. After repeating this strategy for a few cycles, I finally had some pretty good footholds and was able to wrap up the rest of the puzzle pretty quickly. I enjoyed the theme answers -- they weren't a breeze, and found them humorous once I went back and reviewed them all at once.
LAYLA:Best song ever written for Air Guitar! PeachyKeen Wednesday puzzle. Funny, I was on a Zoom class yesterday and we were still dealing with mic and mute issues! And glad I wasn't the only having trouble with 26D, not regarding THEIR as a pronoun.