Matt
Maine
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Maine
After seeing frequent "tsk, tsk" comments about how people "should" know the name of a politician from the 1960s or some other trivia, it's very amusing to see so many people bent out of shape about a puzzle centered around a video game that came out 41 years ago, just because they're not familiar with it.
Giving it a shot: Smother ---> SIERRAMADRE
Wednesday: "It's too difficult!" the commenters cried. Thursday: "It's too easy!" the commenters cried. What will Friday bring? A. "Too easy" B. "Too hard" C. They'll like the puzzle, but find something else to complain about.
Very convoluted for a Tuesday puzzle. When I read that the maker had done mostly Saturdays, it made more sense.
I was ready to reveal the whole thing after going through all the across clues and still having a blank grid. Glad I stuck with it.
@Barry Ancona The frequent condescension on here directed at people for not liking a puzzle is very strange.
Jeremy -- congrats on your debut and being able to share one of your passions in a puzzle. Looking forward to more puzzles from you!
@JBW I wish I could recommend this more than once. It's a great reminder of how the puzzles aren't meant to be for a certain narrow segment of the population. I also loved the genuine joy that came through in the constructor's notes.
@Mike I need to come up with a pun soon. I don't want to be playing ketchup on this one.
The first time I get the double play of finishing the puzzle much quicker than my average and the early comments being complimentary. Not a comment that is insightful or doing anything for others, but I am going to enjoy the moment.
I totally loved this puzzle. So sorry about Isa -- they sound like such a great friend and a special human being.
@zhousephine What a wonderful cause! All of our pets are from shelters. They've brought so much to our lives. ❤️
Love, love that this puzzle has more modern references. I would much rather see those than something like OLEO. (And I do realize that WU-TANG CLAN was formed in 1992. It's still more modern than OLEO.)
@redweather Can you show us on the doll where the phrase hurt you?
@Jeff There is definitely a subset of this forum that loves posting the same things every day (The puzzle is too easy, they have greater skills than other people, snarky or condescending comments whenever someone criticizes the constructors, etc.)
@Agnes Depends on who is defining "general audience."
@Francisco I wonder whether it's regional? M-W says, "The use of panino as a singular form in English has become relatively uncommon as panini has become established as the usual singular."
Enjoyable puzzle. The themes made me smile.
@Anna Rush to the comments section to post your solve time, apparently.
Someone commented yesterday that these puzzles became easier post-pandemic. I looked at some different puzzles and it was striking to see the difference in the comments section from the ones I saw in 2021 -- a nice, friendly vibe; minimal bragging and overexplaining; people seeming genuinely happy when they were able to beat their best solve time for that day. I'm sure you can figure out why this vibe has changed.
@DLawter Nathan Chasing Horse was in DANCESWITHWOLVES, and he's in jail for SA. Christian Bale was in THEDARKKNIGHT. He allegedly assaulted his mother and sister. And ASHOTINTHEDARK? Really? It is necessary for us to be reminded of guns while we're trying to do a crossword puzzle? I am most distressed about IOWA. There are many murders and other crimes in I--- every year. I don't feel we should be subjected to thinking about that.
@Asher B. I would imagine it was more true when he wrote it in 1823 than it is now.
@EmptyJ So wait. It triggered you to see his name, and your response was to post his name again?
Has anyone else noticed that some of the people who use terms like "Great Easening" are now complaining that this puzzle was too difficult because it doesn't line up with what they know? 😄
@Julia As soon as I read the clue, I knew someone would be offended by it.
@Mike The other day I went to Red Robin and got the Slider Towers. It was quite a tall order. (By the way, Mike, I love that you do these every day, and they make me smile.)
@APNerd Ma'am, this is a crossword comments section.
@Hitch Today was definitely on the easier side, but very recently you were complaining every day that the puzzles were too difficult because they had too many American terms.
@Steve L Several people commented before you did that they enjoyed the puzzle despite never having played the game.
Oh Francis, we've been through this before, I think. Your shtick (when not accusing people of targeting you when your posts are deleted) is to claim ignorance. We get it; you've never seen a condescending post, the people you share threads with regularly are super-nice, when they say, "This puzzle was child's play. I have no idea what you're complaining about," that's just them trying to help, all the other people who pointed these things out are just imagining them, etc. I stopped taking those posts seriously a while ago, but keep on trollin'.
@Katie You're being rude for the sake of being rude here. He didn't criticize the puzzle AT you.
@Hitch You make a version of this comment several times a week. Not sure what you're expecting at this point.
@Tom "Recurring characters" -- so you are using only letters from the clue in the answer.
@D It's only telling if they are also allowing any comments that are openly supportive of the opposite side. I definitely come down on the side of, "Having one of her works as an answer isn't an endorsement or promotion, and this isn't the place for that kind of debate."
@Nancy J. Or people could stop posting the same comments every day. That would change things too.
It seems like everybody who was complaining about the puzzles being too easy absolutely love this one. For me, it's a waste of time when I get the impression that the constructor is trying to show how clever he or she is, rather than create a clever clue.
So I wrote a long response to someone but it got nuked. Hopefully, this one goes through. A suggestion to one person, but I feel it is good for everyone: If someone asks you to leave them alone, online or in real life, please just do it. Don't send them messages through other people, because it's not funny; it's just creepy. Just respect people's boundaries, okay? If you have NO idea what I am talking about, no, I am not going to explain. I have no doubt that the person I am writing this to will read and probably respond to this post, either directly or indirectly.
@Times Rita You know......you don't HAVE to do the puzzle.
@Scott Sigman Letting a crossword puzzle ruin your morning because the theme is something you don't like is certainly a choice.
@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?
This was something I found interesting: There were a few clues today (22A, 39A, 45A, 47A) that would likely be easier for a child of the 80s as opposed to a child of the 60s. There's been discussion pretty much daily about the puzzles getting easier. I haven't seen anyone say that today, but I had a personal best by nearly a minute. It just happened to hit my wheelhouse. But I always wonder if "easening" is subjective and skewed by the data, because the clues were easier for me, but that doesn't necessarily make today's puzzle generally easier for the solvers overall.
I'm surprised people are saying that "Hub" is not a nickname for Boston. One of the most famous pieces of sportswriting ever is John Updike's "Hub Fans Bid Kid Adieu." There's also the joke that if Neil Armstrong had been from Boston, the Boston Globe headline would have read, "HUB MAN WALKS ON MOON".
@Dr. OutreAmour Skeleton is an Olympic event that is similar to bobsledding.
@Cliff Exactly. It's all about them feeling superior, and they don't know what to do when that bubble is burst.
@Steve Norquist Why did you use your free time to willingly do something that you hate and has no benefit to anyone else?
@Mean Old Lady "Video games --for many--never had any appeal." You mean just like cheese?
@Lauren "Suffer" seems a bit extreme.
@Selective Walrus If it makes you feel better, I looked at Beautymark, thought of Bea Arthur, and said, "What kind of name is Uty?"
@Gavin I thought someone had a great point recently when they said that if someone finds the puzzles are too easy, they can try to solve using only the across clues. But it's always easier to suggest that someone else do something different, than to do something different yourself. I see the "too easy" complaints all the time, and it comes across like the "No True Scotsman" fallacy -- i.e. "no *true* puzzle solver would enjoy this puzzle, or find it challenging." But I doubt the people making these comments are considering anyone past their own noses. It also comes across like gatekeeping, because new people proud of themselves for their best Thursday time or whatever get welcomed in the comments with "this puzzle basically filled itself" or other comments suggesting that anyone over the age of 2 could complete the puzzle in 5 minutes. Gatekeeping is pretty popular among the most condescending in this space, though.
It's also worth pointing out that one of the people posting about how incredibly easy it was is the same person who was constantly complaining about how there was too much they didn't know, then flounced and left the comments in a huff for a few days after being called out for posting the same thing every day. That was less than two weeks ago, and now they're posting about how easy it is. True story. So keep that in mind when you read these comments about how easy they found it. There are also a few people who have decreed that there is a very narrow way you can speak negatively about a puzzle, and almost immediately challenge anyone who criticizes the puzzle in a different way. Whole lotta gatekeeping goin' on. :)