Rebecca
Auckland, New Zealand
21
Comments
-0.479
Avg Sentiment
4
Positive
3
Neutral
14
Negative
Auckland, New Zealand
So, haka was a pretty easy for one for me:) And happy to see it clued correctly as a ceremonial dance rather than how it’s commonly referred to as a war dance. Haka are used in all sorts of situations, and can be highly emotional - I’ve seen them at funerals & other charged situations and they are absolutely spine tingling. Highly recommend looking up the song “Poi E”, which combines kapa haka with some early ‘80s breakdancing
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.
I was taken aback (not in a good way) by the clue for 20 across; here in NZ referring to Māori as “native” would be considered extremely old fashioned at best, but more likely quite offensive. For quite a while I had the word “kauri” in there, referring to one of our most magnificent native trees, although I knew really it was unlike to be that. Here the term “native” is associated with flora and fauna rather than people. It’s disappointing that no one took the two minutes to search this and amend it - even adding “native peoples”would have been much better.
@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!)
@Manhattan Me too! I used to enjoy reading & commenting, but for a while now it’s just felt like they’ve all too often been an opportunity for some people to lord it over others. It’s not a great feeling.
@Andrzej Sometimes it’s quite hard to feel welcome, which is odd when the publishers of the NY Times seem to be determinedly courting subscribers in the rest of the world. (A few weeks ago when I pointed out the answer to a New Zealand clue was relatively offensive here, I was basically told I was wrong. It reminded me why I don’t often venture into the comments!)
@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!
@Barry Ancona Trying my reply again as the first reply did not make it through. I was simply making a point that it would not hurt anyone for a simple, 2 minute check to be made on whether a term is offensive or not, no matter where in the world the publication is based.
@Elaine Yes! This clue really threw me off. I kept looking at for a long time, wondering if a Thursday - style answer had crept in.
@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!
@Barry Ancona I knew someone would be along to point out my stupidity sooner or later! I’m perfectly well aware that different cultures ascribe different meanings to words. I’m saying that a very brief search would have avoided including the use of a phrase that is considered pretty offensive to many people, no matter what publication it appears in.
@Anonymous No, it was one where a phrase that is common in the USA was used to refer to Māori people. I just pointed out that it would have taken two minutes to check that, and inserting one modifying word in the clue would have turned it from offensive to fine.
All 21 comments loaded