Floridaworder
Jacksonville, Florida
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Jacksonville, Florida
I enjoy a hard puzzle that take considerable thought (and kudos to those that were able to finish this one) but I did not enjoy this one. I did not enjoy the multitude of vague clueing with various possibilities for answers that didn’t clearly tie with the clueing. There is usually a satisfaction in realizing what the answer actually is and how it ties to the clue (and how if I had considered it longer I might have gotten it), but I did not get that feeling of satisfaction for many of the answer today. Just a “huh, who’d have thought of that.” But again, kudos to all of you that were able to get through this one without lookups. A big DNF for me today.
For everyone upset about the answer being “the Eagles” instead of “Eagles”, it’s true that the band’s name is “Eagles.” I’ve been to an Eagle’s concert. (One of the best concerts I’ve ever seen and I’m not much of an Eagles fan.) But I also would never say “I’ve seen Eagles in concert.” The band is often referred to as “the Eagles” even by their concert promoters, as opposed to, say, Aerosmith, which is not referred to by anyone as “the Aerosmith” as far as I know. The answer is fine.
My favorite kind of Saturday puzzle. Had hardly any fill on the first pass, then started slowly working my way through another pass, tried this, tried that, tried something else, eventually it came together without having to look anything up. Not too difficult, but not too easy either. A nice slow steady solve that required some creative thinking to get the fills. Lovely puzzle.
@Nancy we get it, we get it, you don’t watch TV. But even though I don’t watch cartoons, I don’t watch martial arts movies, I never saw the Frodo movies, I’m not Jewish, and I don’t know sports team mascots other than those very close to my home, I still completed this fun puzzle with no cheats and found it very entertaining.
Fantastic Friday puzzle, my favorite kind of cluing. Lots of white space after first pass with clever cluing that allowed for multiple answers, but as I filled in the puzzle I was able to correct my mistakes through the crosses I was more sure about and finally, voila, complete! Crunchy, chewy, sweet and salty, fun, fun, fun.
@Tracy I have finished many Saturdays with no look-ups but I also found this one to be impossible. I was not in sync with this constructor at all. Did not enjoy it, could not solve enough factual clues to provide something to work with in the riddle-like clues. Oh well, some days are just not your day, but I’m sure this puzzle clicked for some others and I learned some new facts today.
@Kelli I understand that a lot of the puzzles can be frustrating, but having been doing NYT crosswords for quite some time now (and still not nearly as long as many other regular commenters), I really enjoyed this one because even though there was a LOT of white space after the first couple of passes, I slowly was able to complete the fill without looking up answers because the crosses of the ones I could complete early on gave me enough to work with to suss out the rest. So for me, this puzzle is one of the most enjoyable I have completed lately. But I also don’t mind looking up answers when I get to a point where I simply can’t go any further. That strategy has improved my crossword solving ability immensely over time and the reward is I find myself having to do that a lot less often than when I first started doing crosswords, plus I learn a lot on different topics in the process.
@mcmax - Hyenas live in groups called clans, which I know from my background in wildlife ecology. In my world, in fact, this is common knowledge. This information is also widely available through a simple google search. I have never found a clue containing facts unknown to me “offensive.” If that were the case, I would have to consider much of this puzzle “offensive.” It was a very tough solve for me and required considerable help. No offense taken however.
Freddy Mercury was born in Africa, but he was born a British subject in a British protectorate, and perhaps that is why the constructor of the clue did not consider him “African-born”. Sade Adu was born in Nigeria to a Nigerian father and English mother so I assume she was a Nigerian citizen at birth. Whether the constructor of the clue realized that Sade performed at Live Aid as the band Sade and not as a solo artist is another question, as not all members of Sade are African-born. Regardless it’s a poorly written clue that appears to have been lifted straight out of Wikipedia without much thought. And yes, you-know-who, I realize this issue has been discussed but it’s Saturday and I’ve got a little time on my hands so I’m adding my two cents. Emus be darned.
@michael mccann yes, and if you are a taxonomist the difference might matter, but if you have ever cooked with morels you have seen them referred to as mushrooms countless times. The clue is fine.
This puzzle wasn’t overly difficult but it was not a fast solve for me. I had to rely on many of the crosses to suss out the answers, but I love it when the crosses make solving without outside help possible. Very enjoyable Sunday puzzle that lasted through my second up of coffee.
Adding in to the cut tree versus fake tree debate: cut trees are a renewable resource and tree farms themselves provide many benefits (social and environmental). Think of all the live trees that exist as a result of cut tree purchases! Plus the cut trees can be recycled in many ways after Christmas (firewood, wood chips, mulch) or composted. Fake trees are often produced overseas and then used for only 2-3 years before winding up in a landfill where they basically will “live” forever. Using a fake tree for at least 10-15 years might (that’s “might”) be better in terms of environmental costs in the long run, but few are made well enough to last that long.
@Mike I don’t think this puzzle involved a rebus or numeric “trick.” When you see the clue “-“, the answer to that clue is usually part of the adjoining answer. I solved on iPad app by entering the number spelled out for the answer to the “-“ clues, and then read that as part of the answer for the across clue. For example, 1 across answer is filled in as TTDRESS, 1 down answer is filled in as TEN, then if you read 1 down and then 1 across together, you get TENTDRESS. No rebus or numeric entry is required.
Fun puzzle, very satisfying to suss out the answers and lots of “aha” moments for me. After yesterday’s epic failure, I needed this one!
Regarding the Venn diagram clue, I am always amazed at the number of pedantic comments that will spew forth regarding a clue that most everyone solved correctly. A clue is just that, a clue. Not a perfect definition. But how nice that we have so many experts who can show the rest of us where the constructor got it wrong. I thoroughly enjoyed this Monday puzzle. Clever theme with solid cluing and a few tricks and imperfections here and there to keep the commentary juicy.
Perfect Wednesday puzzle! Loved the theme - clever word play, nice clueing, fast but not too fast of a solve, well placed crosses to take you to the finish. Thank you!
I’ve always thought of the five senses as being taste, hearing, sight, smell, and TOUCH. But no complaint here, FEEL works just fine. Even if a tad easy for a Wednesday, it was a fun puzzle overall with a clever theme.
Bested my Thursday average by 22 minutes on this one, it all came together quickly because I solved the revealer early on. Yesterday’s puzzle was not in my wheelhouse at all, so it was nice to have a smooth solve today. Now I can get back to watching the weather channel.
Clever theme and well clued. Enjoyed this one!
Finished in less than 30 minutes but it did not solve like a quick puzzle. I had to make several passes through the clues before it started to come together. Love this kind of puzzle, once you get going you can piece it together but it does take time to get going. Fun Friday!
@Michael Muscato I don’t follow women’s sports (or any sports at all actually) and I knew all of these women; I do watch the news.
@D I didn’t enter a rebus in any squares, just the letter “U”.
@SP opposite feeling here about 33 across. Did the crossword over the breakfast table this morning and upon reading the clue immediately put on one of my favorite Quiet Riot songs from my middle school days (didn’t know until today that it was a cover). As a result I and the family started the day with more pep in our step than any breakfast has ever given us. To each his own, I loved it!
@Jim agreed! Once I figured out the countdown it made completing the puzzle much easier for me and I enjoyed plugging away at it until I got there.
@Renegator haha that spelling tripped me up too, but when I completed the fill and didn’t get the music I knew that’s where my error had to be. I didn’t know what the inscribed Viking monument was so I assumed I messed up there. I changed the shared letter and voila! For once I was able to find a one letter error without turning on the auto check (I don’t usually have the patience to find it otherwise).
Finished almost twice as fast as my average for a Monday which is what happens when I am able to solve every clue correctly on first pass (rare!). Enjoyable and cute theme, but the theme was not necessary for the solve and overall the puzzle could have used a little more grit in my opinion, but sometimes what seems easy to others is not to me, and vice versa. Anyway, it’s nice to get a quick start to the day and I appreciate the construction.
@Hunter funny! I kept thinking of card pyramids we built as kids but could not make card artists fit; I forgot about college and the beer can pyramids (memory of those probably foggy due to the number of beers consumed before building them!). It was one of the last words to complete for me.
@Allen Neutering is the removal of reproductive organs in males and females (Oxford dictionary does not disagree). Males and females are neutered, males through castration and females through spaying.
Enjoyed having to puzzle out the clues, had to try many possible answers for some that occasionally revealed a correct cross that let me know I was on the right track. Could not finish the southwest corner but had I seen “do to a t” instead of “doto at” it would have been possible. My bad on that one. Fun puzzle.
@Nora Quartz countertops are not 100% quartz, they contain polymers and resins combined with crushed quartz to create slabs with a uniform appearance. Quartzite countertops are cut from natural stone. Perhaps the manufacturing process and additional materials added to quartz countertops do make them, in fact, softer. I’ve had both and haven’t noticed a difference in hardness or durability,, but I much prefer the natural look of quartzite countertops as opposed to the manufactured look of quartz countertops.
Love this kind of puzzle. Didn’t have much fill after first pass and there were so many long entries I thought I wouldn’t be able to do this one without help. But kept plugging away bit by bit and finally had my “aha” moments with the long ones, which allowed me to fill in the rest. Very fun, nice work creating this!
Easy Saturday puzzle, nice to get a record time and it was a fun solve, but it went by too fast.
@Tom R shaking with ice causes tiny ice crystals that melt fast and thus weaken the drink, and shaking makes a drink colder than stirring does. It’s a matter of preference.
@Karen having never had or seen a McGriddles, I didn’t question it without the ‘s” on the end (and solved it from the crosses) but couldn’t help but look it up after reading your comment and you are correct! McDonald’s refers to McGriddles in the singular form on its website, e.g., “The Bacon, Egg, & Cheese McGriddles is 430 calories.” (Yikes!) Good catch but probably however people might say it in modern vernacular is acceptable. Very fun puzzle, love when I need the crosses to solve a Monday or Tuesday puzzle.
@Asher Kyle Ren comes up often it seems, so you’ll know it next time (or after 3 or 4 times like it took me to remember). Agree the crosses were well placed to help with trickier clues but not total “gimmies.”
One of those puzzles that took several passes to get it going, had to walk away and come back a couple of times, but was able to get through it without any outside help. Glad I stuck with it, very satisfying solve!
@Miranda Croft if the wheels didn’t spin when you completed puzzle, check to see if you have selected “show overlays” in your app puzzle settings.
Like others earlier in the comments, I’ve been pondering the “may produce smiles” in clue for 45D. Perhaps because porcelain veneers are similar to ceramic tiles? (And often unfortunately look like a row of perfectly placed tiles?)
@Ged Not sure how 28D could be considered poorly clued. Wash is a word commonly used in the western United States to refer to a dry stream bed.
@Deanosaur I dine at several restaurants that have a “secret menu” with special menu selections or, more often, variations on regular menu selections, that only those in the know can order. One is an Italian restaurant with entrees not on the regular menu that you can order, but only if you know to ask the waiter for the off menu entree list. Doesn’t mean the regular menu doesn’t have entrees listed as well. It’s just a little something to make the locals feel special.
@Puzzledog Pangolins are bipedal
@Tim dogs are often transported in crates as well, I suspect that’s why we call a crate a crate, because it is (usually) portable. Dogs are sometimes transported in crates as “cargo” on planes as well, though I hope never to transport my dogs that way. But they travel in crates in the car for their safety and comfort.
@Andrzej agreed, sometimes the intellectual snobbery on this forum can be too much.
@Matt There are many different types of logical fallacies and the “slippery slope” is one of them.
@Neal while the chosen form tripped me up today (as did many of the clues today), there are several plural forms of octopus. Tricky and fun puzzle for a Tuesday!
@Gil Hivens not an easy puzzle but I found it solvable without look-ups, and this was one of the easy clues for me, I think you missed that it had a questions mark at the end of the clue.
@StevenR i got the word from crosses but rolled my eyes at “samesies”, seems made up for a crossword fill instead of word that anyone actually uses.
@Joshua - exactly! Anyone who has been through today’s competitive college application process knows you gotta have your “safety schools.”
@nicki The answer is actually “an i.” Add the “i” to dresser and you get dressier.
@BobSolo sui generis is used in legal brief writing or oral argument to state that the facts at hand are unique and/or presented to the court for the first time. I doubt many people have heard or seen it used outside those circumstances.