Brucefi
MN
GOODOH notwithstanding, a great puzzle. Loved the two way dashed clues filled. Was looking for the trick to make GOODOH become ‘Good Show’, but not complaining - it takes too much talent to produce all the Sunday puzzles. Good Show!
@john ezra Again, the joy of these puzzles - you can get a solution without getting all the nuances of the clues - but then when the light bulb goes on, there’s a moment of ‘why didn’t I see that’ but also ‘Wow, that’s really cool’.
@Francis I loved all the theme answers. Witty, but all totally relevant to the genius behind them. Who was James Audubon, if not the BIRD BRAIN of his generation. Puzzle was great - challenging but never boring. Finished right on my average - right where I like to be.
@Francis Same generation here. Same recollections and why I love NYT Sunday Xwords. Every puzzle brings back memories like coming alive to politics and public affairs (remember Adlai Stevenson in UN during televised Cuban Missile debate in 1962?) but also providing a smorgasbord of ancient and contemporary knowledge every week to constantly expand horizons. It doesn’t get more rewarding than a good puzzle.
Sweet puzzle. Well crafted Sunday effort. After first pass on the across clues, I was worried not finding anything confirming what I expected (wrongly) for a coffee (or beverage) topic in the themed clues. But the down clues filled in nicely and quickly revealed the solution to the theme (seen it multiple times in past puzzles) - dead giveaway was the Gaia clue. As always, a little patience prevails and resulted in 25% faster than average solve. Enjoy.
@Craig Nevill-Manning I like to think the constructors do this on purpose to increase solving difficulty. If so, kudos for truly creative clueing! If not, then chalk it up to the amazing world of coincidences. In either case, it’s what makes NYT puzzles so interesting but also tend to keep my average Sunday solving time from appreciably improving over many years.
Fun puzzle and even beat my average while watching UConn impress.
@Barry Ancona I concur that it started real easy, but got a fair bit tougher as one progressed. Finished it 20% faster than my normal Sunday. Started this response primarily out of curiosity as to what the M in Your Mxxx May Vary meant but got it before I finished opening sentence (DOH) - I’m slower than most normal human beings, but get to the end eventually! Thanks for all your great insights every week.
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