Mishlev
VA
VA
Yet another Monday level puzzle 𤬠If you go back to the first week of June of 1982, then youād see a *real* puzzle 𤬠When will Shortz stop kowtowing to Big Crossword and publish crosswords that are not humanly solvable 𤬠Oops! Pardon, today indeed is Monday puzzle. But enjoy the vignette of what the comment section has felt like recently ;-)
All of these _āfinished in X timeā_ comments remind me of one particular classmate in college⦠Who would sit in the first row of the lecture hall and upon receipt of his graded exam audibly proclaim (with performative dismay) how close indeed the score was to being 100%. This was followed, without fail, by a furtive glance backwards to the rest of the class. I certainly donāt mean to imply the commenters herein are anywhere near as insufferable though ;-)
Perhaps the YENTA had me in a YSOM (Yiddish state of mind) because I confidently plopped down OY PAPI initially. Oy vey papi, indeed!
A fabulous puzzle focused on a letter that made a very late appearance to our current alphabet! In fact, ājā was simply considered a long āiā for most of its history and not a letter in its own right. Folks would most commonly add a bit of a flair to the final āiā when writing out Roman numerals to make the value easier to distinguish - think _āviiiā_ vs _āviijā_ Anyways, this state of affairs was around until the 19th century, which is why DC has no J street (straight from I to K we go!) All right, taking my Fact Boy hat off for the day.
Hopping in here with my two cents as a full-time contrarian (and part-time statistics nerd)⦠Iād love to see xwordinfo data over the aggregate (as well as the standard deviation of solve times of Fridays, or any day really) because us humans have a hell of a time reckoning with recency bias (as well as another dozen or so biases) when evaluating the difficulty of crosswords as of late. Anecdotes are great but overall I would to venture to say that a streak of easy-ish Fridays *has happened* in the past over the many decades of NYT and *will happen* again in the future. Letās cut the editors some slack and appreciate their creativity and hard work in tandem with the constructors!
The discussion concerning the relationship between ātakeā and āholdā reminds me of Seinfeldās quip at a car rental agency, upon discovering his reservation wasnāt honored: āYou know how to TAKE a reservation⦠you just donāt know how to HOLD a reservationā Iconic episode!
Itās fresh, itās clean, itās smooth⦠and yet it also was in *no way, shape, or form a Friday* JUSTSOWERECLEAR⦠ITSASNAP š«¤
Congratulations, Sam, on a year in the books! I always look forward to reading through your commentary on the puzzle at hand, as well as learning something new in the process.
Iād like to clarify a previous comment. Two things can be true at once: the fill was delightful and the puzzle was uncharacteristically easy _for its day_. Thatās not being dismissive or pretentious or unappreciative. For those of you completing your first Friday sans lookup, rock on. But this aināt how they used to make āem, in my humble opinion. Again, Fridays and Saturdays shouldnāt have to shatter your will to puzzle. They should _not_ feel like a large Mini or a Midi, either.
Unpopular opinion incoming: Let the haters hate, the gripers gripe and the kvetchers kvetch⦠but I for one thoroughly enjoyed this puzzle and tip my metaphorical hat to the constructor for this feat of cruciverbalism
A delightful midweek solve with a lovely geographic component to boot! I, for one, enjoyed traveling down one of the foremost waterways of the US while chewing on the clues. Kudos to the constructors!
As a software engineer, I absolutely loved the tech-centric theme here. As always, your mileage may vary ;-)
Putting on my Fact Boy hat⦠letās talk about LUNCH. Not too long ago (okay, at least a few centuries) lunch wasnāt a thing. People cringed at what was then a contrived shortening of āluncheonā. (Think riz for charisma) And āluncheonā exclusively referred to a slab or even a hunk of something (hopefully) edible. E.g. a luncheon of cheese or a luncheon of meat. _Finally_ the time we now dedicate to the meal that we call lunch was largely ignored. People had dinner much earlier and would end the day with supper.
Todayās puzzle hit the Goldilocks spot - not too hot, not too cold, _just right_. Now let me get a move on before the bears return!
A delightful romp through the colorful prevarications of the English language. No need to hedge my thanks to Kate for constructing such an enjoyable puzzle!
All right, slight nerd moment - I caught onto the theme immediately (for MOTHER EARTH) but thatās all thanks to Asimov. Yes, _that_ Isaac Asimov, of the I, Robot fame. In addition to being a prolific author of science fiction he frequently ventured into other realms, such as a fascinating primer on the etymology of Greek words that came from myths. While it is intended for kids, I would recommend *Words from the Myths* for all ages. And while youāre at it, Asimovās *Treasury of Humor* is also a must read. And who knows, it too could help with a crossword in the not-so-distant future ;-)
My forecast for the commentary surrounding this (highly accessible) puzzle? Cloudy, with a strong chance of _But if only LOSAES and BRAINA were actual words!_ Ciao for now.
Fantastic puzzle with crisp execution! Hats off to the constructor. Now I eagerly await the commentary of the anti Thursday / Sunday crossword purist coalition ;-)
To me, late week crosswords are one of the strongest reasons to *not* make complex decisions late at night. Why? At midnight, my neurons are firing at least 50% slower than during the next morning. This is a scientific fact. Point in case, I started this gem and AMBLED about with an unsteady gait, making little to no progress. I peacefully closed the app after hitting (and acknowledging) the mental wall. Cut to this morning, and the veil had been lifted! The puzzle fell with hardly an iota of resistance (is that one ohm, or two?) In summary: when it comes to crosswords, or any other cognitive task, *sleep on it*!
Smooth puzzle, but now Iāve got quite a hankering for a late night snack.
Confidently plopped down DATING APP for 53A which made uncovering the true answer all the more satisfying. Alternatively, oneās height could be stretched on one of those Inquisition era devices but Iām more than glad that that route was not taken. Maybe next time Procrustes will have his chance to shine⦠Anyways, kudos to Mr Aaronson on a crisp puzzle with sparkling fill!
A while back (not too long ago but Iāve never been good with time) this grid design elicited a comment likening the shape to a swastika. As a member of the tribe and (aspiring) reasonable person I found the comparison ridiculous and I only bring it up now to lightly paraphrase the words of a famous psychologist and fellow member: _āSometimes a puzzle is just a puzzleā_ Let us appreciate the construction for what it is while acknowledging the limits of the art form. Who are you? Who am I? Am I rambling now? Perhaps, but itās late and I will begrudgingly join the dark side and admit the puzzles have indeed (maybe just maybe) gotten easier. Oh well, to the first week of June of 1982 I go!
A delightful brain twister of a puzzle, made all the better by the fact that the authorās last name (loosely) translates to one who teases, pesters, or torments in Russian! Kudos to you, Sara, as I hope to see your name in the bylines once more.
Iāll be honest, confidently plopping in ASPERSE for 60A occupied more time to resolve than Iād like to admit⦠(at one point I was even rationalizing how Tempe, AZ could be a potential locale for one facing indecision at 42D). Ah, the unparalleled curiosity that is the brain. Far from accursed, this puzzle was a real peach to solve and a delightful way to kick off the Sunday!
Yet again, a testament to the power of a good nights rest⦠Gave this puzzle a go (as is my wont) shortly before bedtime and trudged through a handful of clues. After a few minutes I _peacefully_ closed my iPad and fell asleep (Iāve had to learn how to do this). Fast forward to _this_ morning, post coffee and chocolate, I cracked open the iPad, tore through the rest of the puzzle, got lucky with ADESTE, (member of the Hebraic persuasion over here) and heard that sweet, sweet melody.
Clarifying 50/50, is the answer ONE because we should interpret the clue as ā50 divided by 50ā?
This puzzle seemed especially smooth for those of a technical bent, what with the Java coding, URL visiting, Apple CPUing (not a gerund but bear with me here) aplenty.
Is that _Friday_ enough for ya?! Was in for a wild ride when I put in NUDE SCULPTOR for EROTIC ARTIST, but the chewiness of the solve is all a part of the fun. More of this, please!
Could someone help elucidate the clue for OCEAN?
Could some clarify the clue for 67D [Thunder shower?] I got it from the crossing but ESPN as the answer still escapes meā¦
@T Think of what you might apprehensively do with your TOE at a swimming pool, before getting in ;)
@Jamie In my opinion comments like these smell faintly of self congratulation š but I commend you nonetheless!
Could someone edify me on 2D? Canāt seem to grasp the nature of āTOLETāā¦
Love the scrabble callout! But Iāll also mention that standard rules exclude proper nouns, so that move would be for naught ;-) Given that you *do* have those letters though, ATONIES would be fair game, so enjoy that 50 point bingo! Anyways, now itās time to go play some scrabbleā¦
Pardon, but could someone explain SOMETHING BOLD? Specifically, which letter ought to be removed and why š¤
@NYC Traveler I saw that and thought the same thing! I might give it a look but Iāll be honest, woogles.io is going to be tough to beatā¦
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