Connie
Connecticut
122
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0.642
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Connecticut
Wow. Just wow. I thought this one would be a DNF and break my brain, but suddenly the wormhole theme kicked in and I could not believe that I finally figured it out. I had to wait for Caitlin to explain that each of the wormhole words is a kind of ‘worm.’ I am totally in awe. What started as a frustrating experience ended with a huge self back pat! Thank you, Dylan, for taking my brain on a wild ride through space and time ☺️
Hats off to Jeremy Newton for highlighting this groundbreaking tv show at a time when we need its messages more than ever. The original series aired in the mid-1960s when network tv would not tackle the themes of racism, sexism, and xenophobia in more “realistic” shows. Gene Roddenberry, and Rod Serling before him on The Twilight Zone, tackled those issues in creative ways and subtly taught viewers the importance of multiculturalism. Including a Russian navigator (Chekhov) at the height of the Cold War always struck me (an idealistic young adult at the time) as brilliant. Hope for a future of cooperation. Spock’s calm composure was a lesson for any child who was ever bullied for physical differences. In Nichelle Nichols (Uhura)’s NYT obituary I remember reading how she traveled the country learning how her character inspired young women and children of color to pursue careers in the sciences. This was an age when a sexist president (LBJ) signed an executive order trying to eliminate women from astronaut training programs. But that didn’t stop Sally Ride, who often referred to Star Trek as her childhood inspiration to pursue a career in space exploration. Fandom is one thing, but a tv show that accomplished so much cultural capital deserves all the love this puzzle brings. And it couldn’t come at a better time when the evils of racism, sexism, and xenophobia are stalking the halls of government in this country, while science and learning are being thrown under the bus.
Kudos to Kate! There is nothing better, in my book, than a puzzle that makes me chuckle every time I fill in a theme entry. Better than SEA AIR for whatever ails you. Hope to see more from you, Kate ☺️
Amazing construction. I can’t even imagine the brain power it took to come up with 11-letter anagrams like that! My first thought at 24A was that it had to be wrong. My kids are GENERATION X and *they* aren’t middle-aged … oh, wait, they actually are! How did that happen??
So. Much. Fun. Very happy to be a stone tablet solver for this one. Living in the NY metro area, I get my Sunday supplements delivered with the Saturday paper, so the Sunday puzzle is my Saturday morning ritual. It was a treat to suss out the bonus entries after everything was filled in - no automatic fill-in like y’all are complaining about. I love the endless creativity of NYT constructors, and Brandon never disappoints. Bravo!
What a fabulous collaboration! Congratulations to Zachary on this amazing achievement and to his erstwhile collaborator. I enjoyed this one immensely.
A brilliant puzzle that started my day with a huge smile. Thank you, Joe, and congratulations on an amazing debut! As Deb often says, we all have different wheelhouses. This lifelong English major, who is non-conversant in sports, math, rap, and most pop culture, had a delightful time solving today. Sorry for all who dislike poetry, but now I know how it feels to land solidly in your own wheelhouse. Giddyup, indeed!
Delightful, clever, and fun to solve. I had to read the column to catch the symbolism, never having been in a ski slope, but caught on early to the HILLs. Love the way each hill ends on the level. You can just picture those Olympic skiers swooshing to a stop 🛑 at the bottom.
@Steve C. - Stoat was a gimme for me as a children’s librarian. The villains in Kenneth Graham’s Wind in the Willows are the weasels and the stoats. It’s all about whatever your personal “wheelhouse” is. I have to google most sports and rap clues, but I also knew the Dr. Seuss clue right off the bat - Theodore Seuss Geisel’s family were German and that’s how he pronounced the middle name that he used for his pen name. He also wrote occasionally as “Theo LeSieg” (Geisel spelled backwards)
Well that puzzle certainly warmed this librarian’s heart. Thank you, Jared Cappel, for a midweek treat! And especially for your constructor’s note about the value of reading a finely constructed children’s book as an adult. Lois Lowry is, indeed, a master of the craft. Number the Stars is a brilliant account of the Danish Resistance for anyone who lives a good story, but The Giver is necessary reading today as we are racing headlong into a dystopian world with attempts to erase history. It’s a cautionary tale that should be required reading for everyone, young and old, before book banning empties our library shelves of all but the most innocuous. End of rant. Kudos to the puzzle.
@David Connell - Beautifully stated! I have finally stopped gnashing my teeth over the sports trivia and rap stars that trip me up in these puzzles and started to appreciate that Xwords are less about showing off what I already know than they are about finding out what I still have to learn. They provide us with a lifelong continuing liberal arts education … in the broadest sense of the term.
I’ve been enjoying and smiling at your columns for a long time, Deb, but the image of Doris Day tapping you on the shoulder and asking if she was chopped liver - well, that was a whole new level of joy (as well as being the way I finally figured out that clue too). Thanks for the morning chuckle 🤭
@Bill - Love Wind, Sand, and Stars. Did you know that St. Exupery was in the U. S. to accept an award for that book when France fell to the Nazis. He couldn’t get home, so he stayed on Long Island and that is how The Little Prince came to be written here. Some years ago the Morgan Library in NYC had an exhibit that included the original manuscript. He did eventually get back to fly for the Allies but his plane was lost over the Mediterranean. The Morgan exhibit included his ID bracelet that was found in a fisherman’s net decades later. I cried when I saw it.
Nate, like many others I was moved by your experiences of the last year. I can hardly imagine what that turmoil must have been like. Your puzzle was a delight to solve, with the memories it brought up of elementary classes and teachers, “saying uncle,” tossing frisbees, hearing Elvis as a teenager, etc. Solving these puzzles has become more than mental exercise… it is all about our shared humanity. Thank you for being part of that. Best wishes on your continuing healing journey.
PS - As a bonus for you other Trekkies … I stumbled across a movie not long ago - Galaxy Quest - that is a brilliant satire on Star Trek fandom. The late great Alan Rickman plays the Spock-like character in a group of actors jaded by all the fan conventions they attend … and then there is a twist. Absolutely brilliant.
@TholosTB - Ditto. You said it so well!
Happy Birthday, Kevin! Loved your comments and the shout out to your mother. I love a puzzle with a sweet theme that reveals itself slowly to me in a very satisfying way. (Just ignore all those complainers … seems like a lot of the world is getting up in the wrong side of the bed these days 🤷♀️)
@Helen Wright - Your uncle’s story touched me deeply. I had a dear friend and colleague who died in the first decade of the AIDS epidemic in 1988, just shy of his 37th birthday. I knew the name of that drug immediately because that was all they had to offer him back then. I still miss him after all these years.
When the theme dawned on me, slowly, steadily, as a good theme should, I was just grinning from EAR to ear. Settlers of YuCatan was my giveaway and the bonus was that it took me back to the days when Catan was our favorite family game. So much to admire about your construction, Rena! Congratulations on your first Sunday, and here’s a hope there will be more to come.
Great column today and heartfelt constructor notes. All the best, Thomas Byrne, for your wife’s continued recovery. The NYT puzzle is a family affair for us too, and my son’s degree from MIT came in handy today when I filled in 14A easily. I was always amused by the nickname for their college ring - the “brass rat.”
@Mean Old Lady - No, the clue does not designate ‘granddaughter’ as written. Your mother’s daughter, if not yourself, is your sister. Ergo, her daughter is your niece. Clever clue, and extremely clever puzzle, despite your dislike.
This crunchy puzzle was great fun and sparked a memory for me. I had lived in Connecticut for a number of years before I understood - in one revelatory moment - why the UConn sports teams call themselves the Huskies!
No one seems to remember the finest US doll maker of them all - Madam Alexander, the go-to doll of the 1940s and 1950s. They had the sweetest faces and most sensible cloths. I remember being horrified when the anorexic Barbie was introduced and glad I had carefully preserved my own dolls so my daughter never had to own one of those ridiculous skinny monstrosities. Many happy memories of both of us sharing with friends and dressing the dolls for different activities. Mme Alexander also made dolls that tied in with classic books - Cinderella and Alice in Wonderland were two that I owned, thanks to an indulgent grandfather who liked to shop for toys at FAO Schwartz. I also have fond memories of the soft and huggable Raggedy Ann.
@Grant - And Tim, of course, is MIT spelled backwards 😉
Delightful Thursday! Loved the puzzle. Love the show. Many years ago the Jeopardy College Tournament was taped at nearby Yale and my (then) high school aged son and I were in the audience. Best part was Alex coming out before the show started and answering questions from the crowd. Also, when you watch a live taping you find out how often they sometimes stop the show to check an answer with the judges. Every now and then I catch a very slight hesitation where shows have been spliced together and realize that happens more than we know out here in the tv audience. I miss Alex, but really enjoying Ken’s tenure after watching his amazing run as a contestant back in the day.
Great Friday puzzle on a bittersweet day for the Wordplay column. Deb, thanks for always reminding us that a sense of humor and a sense of perspective are the most important attributes in any pursuit, especially this quirky hobby of ours. And that chocolate helps too, of course 😋 You have been a wonderful guide and fellow traveler. Best of everything as you face new adventures, wherever they may lead. xoxo
@Andrzej - so happy to read your post today. As a college English major (of many years ago) I relished every bit of this puzzle, while wondering if you were struggling with it after telling us earlier you had never heard of Frost. Bravo, you!!!
@Lewis - Cheering him on every night! It’s been such a treat to watch him from the moment he ran that anagram category on the first night. I’ll never forget the way Ken anagram’ed his name the next night - “Papa So Cool” 😎
Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant ‼️
@Helen Wright - On a memorably scary bus ride in a hilly part of Tuscany a few years back I heard a great story from our tour guide: A priest and a bus driver arrive at the Pearly Gates simultaneously. St. Peter ushers the bus driver through the Gates and points the priest in the other direction down below. “There must be a mistake,” says the priest. “I’ve spent my life doing good.” “No mistake,” replies the saintly gatekeeper. “We watch very closely what happens on Earth. When you preached on Sunday, half your congregation was asleep, but every time the bus driver took a group down the Amalfi Coast every single passenger was praying very hard.”
Loved it! And so much easier to do the old-fashioned way. Very grateful today for the paper that still appears in my driveway every morning. Also grateful for a recent theatre trip to London where I saw an amazing stage adaptation of My Neighbor Totoro, an answer that would have stymied me a month ago. Isn’t it fun how our ‘wheelhouses’ keep evolving?
Absolutely fabulous deBUT. Thank you, Timothy, for a fun solve. Today I realized I have become a true cruciverbalist when I entered answers for 57A and 67A with hardly a second thought. It used to take my brain a much longer time to make meaning out of those type of clues 🤣
@Andrzej - I look forward to your posts every day for their insights, humor and perspective. And I echo others’ condolences. I mourned long and hard for a Sheltie I lost many years ago. He was called Taran, after a favorite book character. Only after he passed did I understand why it is so hard to let go of a dog. They give us absolutely unconditional love. And the emptiness they leave behind is enormous. Be comforted by your memories of Jorge and by the community here that understands and mourns with you.
I first encountered Spoonerisms at a storytelling festival when an especially adept linguist told the story of “Rindercella and the Prandsom Hince.” My world has never been the same since. Thank you, Joel, that was a romp!
@Mean Old Lady - Here in CT, at least, we have many “rails to trails” pathways. Great for walking and/or biking without the hassle of motorized traffic. It’s been wonderful to watch these defunct rail lines transformed into nature paths. In New York City there is the delightful urban rail trail - The High Line - an elevated walkway created from an abandoned freight rail, now seeded with native plantings and providing a sweet escape from the scary streets. Rail trails are the best!
@Andrzej - Enjoy your holidays, but be assured you will be missed. Looking forward to hearing about the new puppy when you return. 🐶
@Revvv - Giddyup is necessary if you pulled the reins and made the horse stop in the first place.
@Katie - Amen, sister! I feel like making that comment nearly every day …
@Mean Old Lady - What a wonderful memory! Much appreciated by this ‘once upon a time’ children’s librarian 💕
@Elke - I was just about to say the same thing. I suspect it’s a generational thing. Anyone who grew up on 1950s and 60s TV westerns knows what a LARIAT is (didn’t all the cowboys have that looped rope hanging from their saddle horn?) And anyone who was in college in the 60s was familiar with PEP PILLS. I’ve also heard I GIVE in many contexts.
@Kenny B. - You are reminding me of why I stopped reading Rex Parker years ago.
@BJ - If your first name was Elwyn, you might choose to be known by your initials, too … or “Andy” as his friends called him.
@Chris - Um, that’s what Google is for. Look her up. Not as famous as the other Etta, perhaps, but just as viable.
@dk - Actually, he ‘drives’ a Firebolt, the Beemer of Broomsticks 😉
@Jane Wheelaghan - a librarian would never call it “cheating” … we call it “research” 😊
@Justin - my pet peeve is leaf blowers. Period. I miss the gentle sound of a lawn being raked.
@Andrzej - As a born and bred Yankee, I have almost as much trouble with the American sports lingo. Just not a fan of any of them. Give me a good book or trip to the theater any day. The difference is that here in the U.S. it’s hard to avoid hearing some of those names even if you’re paying no attention. They float around in the ether of news broadcasts, party conversations and all sorts of venues 🤷♀️
This was such a lovely solve - up, down, and all around the grid. Congratulations to Zhou Zhang on a great puzzle and sweet constructor notes. But I do hope your number of comments comes out close to even 😏
@SP - “Schmigadoon” is the KAT’s meow. You have a huge treat in store.
@CCNY - What lovely wordplay to celebrate Wordplay. Thanks for saying it so well for all of us 🎉