Roy
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New York
Puzzle setter asks us to swallow alop.
With respect to the distinguished constructor, Pan-Arabism and nationalism are usually contrasted, the former denoting a supposed sense of kinship transcending national identity, the latter an allegiance to the particular country of one's birth. Otherwise, typically excellent puzzle.
This is a good puzzle, but substantially harder than a typical Tuesday offering. Some of us do this as a time trial, so we appreciate the consistency in the level of difficulty. Agree on the question concerning boldface; am I missing something?
Good puzzle, but yes, by a reasonable standard, Ares is not in the Marvel Universe.
I think puzzles with two constructors have a tendency to overdo it with arcana and seldom-used phrases, but that's just my personal taste.
Puzzles testing a solver's cultural IQ ought to be exacting in their clues. Edward Said, whom I saw lecture on Adorno and Lampedusa, was a professor of English and Comparative Literature at Columbia, not Arab studies. In fact, he had to work on his Arabic language skills as an adult, and that weakness resulted in scholarly work that was often slipshod when it ventured into actual Arab studies. Several books have been written on Said's historical errors, such as Robert Irwin's For Lust of Knowing.
Unusually, I didn't finish. I try to work through clues I don't know, but if it's a cluster, I end up getting bored. In this case, raiders, natty ice, and even Reeses, which I had to guess, and I have kids. Didn't like.
Another good challenging puzzle. Two in a row.
'Too long didn't read' is a strange theme for a New York Times Crossword puzzle and its audience.
Elegant if not incredibly challenging for a Friday.
A fairly quick solve without feeling easy.
Boole formalized the logic that bears his name, which decades later was employed for use in logic gates in computational devices.
Don't love non-standard spelling. It used to be indicated in the clue.
The Saturday is supposed to be the most challenging puzzle of the week. So why put a photo of Dolly Parton next to it when her name is the answer to one of the clues? It's not fair to the constructor, or to the people trying to solve it. Why does this keep happening?
Thought it was on the more challenging side, which is generally the case with two constructors. But nothing unfair, and enjoyable.
'Ushes' is new to me, and apparently to spell-check as well.
It's a fine puzzle, but not consistent with the typical level of difficulty offered by a Tuesday puzzle.
I would suggest that the regular inclusion of clues involving marijuana, probably done at the behest of editors who have been instructed to pander to the supposed taste of the demographic that the paper's owners believe constitutes their primary audience, is both unnecessary and degrading. Unnecessary because habitual solvers will always prefer a clever construction to allusions to some supposedly trendy cultural signifier; degrading because it assumes a drug is a generational touchstone. Marijuana smokers, at least under the influence, are boring and stupid. Is that who NYT's publishers think their audience is? And why assume that of crossword solvers, of all people? Aren't people who love sophisticated wordplay apt to be of keen wit, who relish an intellectual challenge and a sophisticated palette of references from across a spectrum of human knowledge?
Good Monday puzzle. Some of us do these as time trials, so we appreciate the ascending order of difficulty through the week.
Elegantly put together. Agassi's father was from Iran, of Armenian heritage.
I guess I didn't think of the Nez Perce as Pacific Northwest either, but a good puzzle.
Nice level of difficulty, nothing grimace inducing, well done.
Good, challenging Friday. Broke a light sweat.
@Barry Ancona Barry, it's addressed to the crossword because the clue is not accurate. He was a professor of English and Comparative Literature, and in fact that is what his work is about. He also became known as a champion of the Palestinian cause, in much the same way that Noam Chomsky, a professor of linguistics, became known as a champion of various left-wing causes. Chomsky's field is linguistics.
@Shawn it’s an offhand witticism. I don’t use spellcheck as a reference. ‘Ushes’ is a stretch as a plausible crossword answer, even as a space filler.
Typically pretentious New Yorker style puzzle from a New Yorker constructor.
A hard puzzle, but well-constructed.
@Barry Ancona What I wrote is factual. If that is disturbing to some people, there's nothing I can do about it.
@Roy And from the usage department, and on behalf of rowers and former rowers, 'crew team' is redundant; it's a crew, which ought to make intuitive sense.
I find two-constructor puzzles tend to have too many specialized answers.
I don't generally like clues about inventions of men who beat women, but whatever.
The corner I was stuck on was the corner with the slang I've never heard--"spit game." Is it a phrase Michael Lieberman uses?
This puzzle is a good example of why I'm moving over to the British cryptics.
@Fact Boy Sturluson also being the presumptive author of several sagas.
@PuzzleDog A Bob Marley reference would be preferable to embarrassing attempts to appeal to the kids by invoking au courant slang for marijuana. It's the editorial equivalent of a midlife crisis. No one needs to see mom and dad trying to get into the nightclub.
Cram in. Fun in tight spaces. Fists. Truly a John Waters puzzle.
I really wish the layout didn't feature obtrusive photos that provide hints to the puzzle.
Honest question: is there a policy encouraging the insertion of marijuana references in the puzzle? It seemed as if there was, then it faded, now it's back. Do you think this is alluring to younger solvers of crosswords?
@Susan Berg Yes, me too. My first instinct was Armenian.
An enjoyable puzzle. But Saturday being the most challenging, why feature a set list in a photo, when it is the answer to a clue? I don't get it.
I thought the clues were strange.