Rebecca
Auckland, New Zealand
Here in NZ we have a few example these, mostly after the settlers added layers to the original Māori names. My favourite is Mount Maunganui, a seaside town. It translates into “Mount Big (nui) Mountain (maunga).
@Doug Absolutely- my crosses indicated that it was CHAI but I rejected it for a long time as it’s not a variety, just the Hindi word for “tea”
@Matt Yep- a lot of very USA specific clues today! In good news, I know slightly more about the USA than before I started the puzzle.
Fun crossword, thank you. I struggled a little with the SW corner, I’ve never heard of a BOCA BURGER & aren’t very familiar with Ben & Jerry’s (it’s a new arrival here), so having two brand names cross each other made me doubt my other answers. And I’d be ashamed of my music degree if I didn’t politely say that it’s very rare for the brass section to be called “horns” in an orchestra. I entered “brass” first and that also threw me off in that corner.
@Ash well, today has taken me twice as long as normal! Lots of Americanisms (which is fine, it’s a US publication ), and the long Johns confounded me. When it’s not a Thursday and there is something tricky in the grid, I always just assume it’s me getting it wrong rather than some sort of wordplay.
I’m surprised to be the first person to mention it, (or maybe they’re all in emu jail) but COXES are not necessarily captains of rowing crews. They might be default captains if there isn’t another one appointed but it’s not a given. I suppose they captain the boat in that they are responsible for steering it in the correct direction, but it’s quite normal for a crew to have a captain and a coxswain. (I guess this is a long way to say this clue tripped me up for quite a while!)
@Jamie Me too! Which is not a complaint about the puzzle, I find it fascinating that sometimes I just don’t click with them…
@Susan I was VERY surprised to see this clue for this word; enough people still use it in its original meaning (despite it being an outdated term in that context) for it to seem pretty insulting to be clued in this way.
@Chris I have never seen this version of “wrack” before, and it left me hugely confused. (Not to mention endlessly deleting words thinking they must be incorrect as surely “rack” wasn’t the answer.) I’m very surprised it made it through the editing process!
@Steph Z I am not a dancer, but this one ( I think it, or a variation) has come up relatively recently. Always makes me slightly grumpy!
@Helen Wright I absolutely agree about all the very USA - specific terms and brands in this one, it made it a real slog. Totally fine as obviously it’s the NY Times but it’s just not much fun for those of us who aren’t living there!
@G Yes! I am not a brand new newbie but relatively so, and I came to the column looking g for some assistance, as there were a few things I am just stumped by. (esp. as a non-American, some of the trivia or idiomatic answers will always escape me). It did feel a bit a disappointing not to have more clues available!
@Andrzej HONEYDO stumped me as well; I got it from crosses but looked at it a long time, thinking “surely there’s no way that’s a real thing?”. I hadn’t heard of a Honey-Do list before this puzzle and now I wish I still hadn’t!
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