Marie

@Andrzej I was fully expecting you to have attached a photo of your dog wearing the cap. I'm ever so slightly disappointed.

@Gareth The irony is that Etsy is becoming less of a crafter's place and more of an AI scams and dropshippers one. So if you do end up wanting to buy something there because of the crosswords' influence, be really careful. Even the reviews can't be trusted anymore.

@Andrzej I'll be honest, these days I read the crossword comments mostly to check whether you have posted a photo of your dog. Thank you for bringing us a bit of joy!

@Andrzej The easy-mode clue was "French relative of whist". I didn't find it a much easier clue than the original, and I'm French.

@Andrzej Nope, moving back to France from the German speaking part of Switzerland. To be fair though, the job market has been horrendous since the whole Credit Suisse debacle. I wouldn't judge anyone making the choice to repat to the US, unemployment benefits only cover 1.5-2 years and as foreigners we are not eligible for social help even after 10+ years living here.

@OboeSteph Thank you, I got a few of hours of sleep here and there as long as I was holding his hand (very cute I have to admit). It will be a slow Sunday and that's okay.

@Steve L In 2012 they removed the option Mademoiselle from every official documents/forms as it was considered discriminatory and unnecessary (since men didn't have an equivalent). The term slowly faded out in everyday discussions and now it's mostly used by people being patronising to women. In theory I would need to be referred to as Mademoiselle as I'm not married, although I have 2 kids and I have been living with my partner for a while. It just doesn't fit the reality of today's families.

@Andrzej I think a lot of expats are feeling desperate right now and find the idea of moving back to their families in the US is comforting. In expat groups you would find on a daily basis people asking if it would be so bad to repat. My partner is non-EU and this move is hard, there are tons of barriers everywhere and after all these years in Switzerland I would understand if he gave up on expatriation.

@Michael Weiland She didn't, but pretty sure it was the first clue in the Mini "Politician whose name sounds like 1-Down (and not like a dance!)"

@Lou Scheffer I feel like it can be acceptable sometimes, but certainly not on a Monday with a movie which made "only" $11M on box office almost 20 years ago.

@Andrzej As I was filling up the grid, I was thinking you and me would not be on the same wavelength as Nick Offerman for this puzzle. It's somewhat comforting to see that I was right. Thank you for the photo of your puppy, it is always appreciated!

@Rich in Atlanta If you want to try the grid with different clues, Friday puzzles have a second edition with easier clues. <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/crosswords/game/paid/easy-mode-70" target="_blank">https://www.nytimes.com/crosswords/game/paid/easy-mode-70</a> I like to first do the easy mode version, then try the original version a few days later to see if I can figure out the more difficult clues.

@HeathieJ I thought about intestines so you're not alone!

@Beth It could also simply be an issue of his comments not going through the emu for a few days in a row, which combined with people grunts made him decide to stop. I don't know if he posts anywhere else but I can imagine that one account posting the same comment every day would be considered spam by a moderation tool. His last comment would have been accepted by the tool because he wrote more than 5 words.

@Joanne I highly recommend Nodes as a replacement of Vertex, there is an app and a Web version that should be easy to find if you search for "nodes game".

@Andrzej I love Hayao Miyazaki's work so my reply will be biased. I think there is something for everyone in his work, I remember my brother (then 17 or 18 years old) being stopped in his tracks when I was watching Spirited Away and joining me, even though he was always more a Fast and Furious kind of guy. (and I hate bad frame rates in video games)

@Johnny Boy They do, I received the email as normal. You can always use previous week's link and add one to the number. This is this week's : <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/crosswords/game/paid/easy-mode-143" target="_blank">https://www.nytimes.com/crosswords/game/paid/easy-mode-143</a>

@Doug A love language would be how you show your affection to your loved ones. There are 5 : words of affirmation, gift giving, quality time, physical touch and acts of service. While I'm sure there is some truth in the theories around it, they sort of became an excuse as to why some relationships wouldn't work (ie "I need words of affirmation but their love language is physical touch so we're not compatible")

@Dave No problem! It's a shame they're not promoting it more, I can't remember how I came across it. From the above link, you can change the number at the end and go through all of them, although it's worth noting it only works via browser (not accessible through the NYT Games app). There is also a newsletter where they explain how to solve harder crosswords, how these are built... <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/newsletters/easy-mode" target="_blank">https://www.nytimes.com/newsletters/easy-mode</a>

@Steve L I'll speak for myself (and probably a bunch of other non-American) : in my country (not Switzerland but a G8 country), Star Trek The Next Generation was broadcasted on cable TV from 1996 onwards, and on free TV between 2005 and 2007. That's 20 years after it was produced, so everything felt already old and had mediocre dubbing. Even though I enjoy things considered "geeky", neither me nor my nerdier friends were watching it. Now it feels complicated to start, just like everything with an extended universe (Star Wars and Marvel are similarly overwhelming for newcomers). Where to begin : chronologically from when it was released or from the story perspective, with a focus on the series or the movies and so on. In the end my only exposure to Star Trek has been through the USS Callister episodes of Black Mirror, which I enjoyed but it was clear I was missing some references.

@John If you go to the Crosswords Archive (regardless of the app or website I believe), there should be one tab for the regular Crosswords, one tab for the Mini and one for the Bonus. Hope that helps!

@Andrzej I think it's a relatively common topic in new mom groups, as people like to have a something with the birthstone or birthflower of their baby. Personally I can only remember "Opal" as it is a frequent crossword clue.

@Andrzej In the last few weeks I've found Wednesdays to be easier than Tuesdays (and sometimes even Mondays) as they rely less on brand names we may have never heard of in Europe and have less natick crossings.

@Mean Old Lady I'm not in the US but when I was bringing embroidery/sashiko projects with me during international flights, I remember only scissors bigger than a certain size are a problem. Needles, hooks and small scissors can be carried normally.

@Alex I would argue that I never produced art when I was copying existing images. I don't know how to properly explain it (blame it on the aforementioned insomnia) but there is an aspect of intent behind art, and AI can't have actual intent. I'd say similarly, when Temu is copying of small designers, are they producing fashion or soulless, intentless version of a human craft? That being said, if you like video games, Detroit Become Human could be an interesting play. It was released in 2018 but I feel like our discussion fits into the theme.

@Andrzej That was the first game I played with my partner, it was a great way to get to know each other at the ethics level,. There is unfortunately a real lack of risk taken by devs/publishers, quite similar to the movie industry. Last game I played was the last Life is Strange, it was disappointing to see how even a franchise that was groundbreaking when it started is now just doing fan service.

@Patrick It is a video genre that got quite popular 10-15 years ago on YouTube, less so today as a lot of the good content is lost in the middle of mediocre or lewd videos. It is quite helpful to me when dealing with insomnia or racing thoughts.