Lavinia
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A fair bit of trivia I’d never heard of, so I found this one challenging (I'm sort of a beginner)! I stuck with it and to my surprise I only had to guess one letter and look up bocce. In a way, when you don’t know the trivia, parts of the puzzle become a bit non-deterministic — more about imagination than logic. Once I'd worked out a couple of the shaded answers I imagined that the INDIGO GIRLS and a TV show called Girls probably existed ... which also made the number i clue feel oddly appropriate. Maybe there's value in challenging (/stressing out?) the brain in this way too 🤷♀️
I am almost always NAPTRAPPED while solving the daily crossword! And hoping for no poo-poo platters!
Loved the idea behind this puzzle! It was challenging for me and I spoiled it a bit around the rebus part... But it was fun and I can appreciate that it can bring a lot of joy to someone better at the specific trivia. I also loved the constructor notes - short and to the point - denoting confidence and offering a glimpse into what must be a most fun father-daughter relationship! Very kind of them to put some of that into the world for us ❤️
@HeathieJ - that is horrible! All the best to you and your family!
I hate to say this about a puzzle that contains OLIVE GROVE and ARBOR (although the latter is presented in a negative light) which I consider to be lovely entries... but I felt like while most puzzles are built for solvers, for this one the existence of solvers was used to justify meeting a very challenging set of requirements. Maybe I'm just bitter because Saturday crosswords are too difficult for me 😅🤷♀️
This one went v well for me! Fun puzzle.
@Francis I googled Elia - CL's pen name
I know I need to get over it (WAH WAH WAH) but I really dislike the clue "On a regular basis" for OFTEN. :S Fun puzzle though 😃
DOUBLE CROSS and double stack of TWOs in NE corner! With TO serving as a hinge.
@Vaer lol at "the new guy" 😅 In all fairness he would maybe find it refreshing to be the new guy.
I learned a few words from today's crossword so thank you for that, constructor! I also found the clue "big name in water filters" so comically boring I laughed out loud. 🫣😄
Whoa, that was a difficult puzzle for me! Lots of thought provoking clues. Also a lot to indicate the constructor might play bridge? Bid, king, queen, aces, clubs, deal, hearts, even cheats (for the less pleasing to think about side of the game)!
I found the 90 degree rotation very pleasing - lovely left brain soother. Also good chance for me to practice choosing MINOR over major. (Which I had trouble with yesterday)
This puzzle felt like it filled itself :) Very welcome boost for the week! Did anyone solve "Arena for a drag race? (5,6)" from yesterday's Constructor Notes? What an amazing crossword that one was too - beautiful!
No better reminder of the perils of sugar than being asked to look at a hot fudge sundae as a treat! Solid crossword workout to burn it all off.
Oh dear, LAME for Uncool definitely not Karen Catlin approved!
@Barry Ancona and @BogdanR please fight it out :) because I'm looking to be convinced of one of the options! It looks to me that: BogdanR takes may to mean in some cases Cesareans will bring out a kid. Therefore to him the clue is imperfect. It would be good to have an on/gyn's input - are there cases when a baby is born naturally even though the doctors are in the middle of a Cesarean? Barry Ancona takes it to mean Cesareans are one way to bring a kid out. Therefore the clue is correct.
@spurious that's not what you want from an activity that's meant to be fun! What was wrong with this puzzle?
For me today's crossword was easier than the other Thursdays I've experienced (no archives, just solving most weeks over the past months and I'm still a beginner). I had a look at xwstats (via reddit, where a lot of people call the puzzle very easy for a Thu) and the below are the highlights of what I found. Presumably the stats will change as more people solve and maybe most of the better solvers solve early... Maybe. Estimated Difficulty: 🟢 Very Easy 🟢 • 99% of users solved faster than their Thursday average • 95% of users solved much faster (>20%) than their Thursday average Some notes: - there will always be top and bottom 1% puzzles in terms of difficulty. Today was one of them. They don't happen often :) - it would be interesting to find out how the distributions of difficulty for the different days of the week overlap. Back into subjective territory, but how much they overlap could be a measure of how well the editors assign them to the day of the week
"Bummer at a casino game" was my favourite clue. Fun puzzle throughout though!
The streets — and the comments section — are broader than I’d allowed for. I’ll take my place quietly off to one side, cheesecake in hand, until the next cue.
@ad absurdum Yh it's like leading with the punchline before the setup
@M - given the theme they kinda had to be italics
@Justin - I thought OBLIQUE at first too but it didn't fit and I eventually got DOTTED
I stubbornly tried to fit G Major în even though it seemed unlikely for various crosses. Other than that it was a smooth, enjoyable ride.
@Mo and what is memory in computer science?
@Diana agreed. Particularly in a foreign language themed puzzle!
@Francis - you might already have thought of this, but have you ever tried reformer Pilates (so the one that uses the bed rather than mat only)? It’s often recommended during recovery from injuries because you can focus on specific muscle groups without aggravating your back.
@Jane Wheelaghan - gimme and Natick 🤮
@The X-Phile - so what you're saying is that B sharp isn't really C
@Francis :) :) ..or in base 2
@Francis looks legit to me. Anxious of course solves to TWodge - from that time Terrence was presented with a wodge of academic proof
@Mean Old Lady oh I was intimating that perhaps one day sources of lines will be treated as singular in English.
@Lewis - thank you, I'm glad someone is paying attention to these things! I found the puzzle more alliterative than usual partly because of the many EEs and SSes and LL. Speaking of LLs - how many doubles did the square of 4 Ls at the bottom count as? And how about AAA?
@Carrie - maybe ehow was set up by the NYT to help out constructors!!
@Ace - Phaha, I have no idea if you are hinting at something in particular or not but I enjoyed your post and loved that you continued it with a comment :)
@Heidi I also thought that Q was Qt!
A VENUE? Including an article seems an unusual route to take… and I spent quite a while wondering if I’d gone down the wrong path with my Acrosses, checking every possible way. If this is now accepted in crosswords, I do worry about the general direction things are going!!
@Jane Wheelaghan I have actually, albeit not often.
I wonder if "means of transport" started off as a cause of head scratching for crossword solvers.
@Mean Old Lady and @Grant - I too read the New Yorker despite not even living on the same continent. I find it well written and interesting. @Mean Old Lady - what kind of bread? I make rye bread once or twice a week. Tomorrow's the next one - can't wait for the lovely cosy smell!
@Francis - did it make you think of Vaya Con Dios and "Nah Neh Nah"?
@Sam Corbin - I've just updated my app and I can't see a Midi anywhere
@Mean Old Lady I asked ChatGPT - Irwin Shaw, The Dry Rock
@Bethany a Friday record?? What is your overall record?
@Cat Lady Margaret Haha perhaps as: Property of social media message from youngest Bennet girl to space observatory And Loving, to a poet from the East coast of Italy (I had to google what IXO could possibly be and the space observatory turned up)
@Jerry with TONEDOWN so close I really should've known better!
@Mick I agree with the principle you stated (and I like its brevity) but I was hoping that Barry would show us why his interpretation of the clue is correct