Anonymous
Boston
44
Comments
0.673
Avg Sentiment
27
Positive
16
Neutral
1
Negative
Boston
Very fun Tuesday, and congrats on the début! At 19, naysayers might say you're too green but the proof is in the putting, err, pudding. Well done. I only recently started to read the Wordplay column somewhat regularly, and I hadn't realized just how much color they add to the crossword experience. I often learn new things (thank you for "soupçon", today), and between the anecdotes, insights, and constructor's notes, there's a depth and humanity that I've really come to appreciate. Thank you for that.
A fine crossword; I like the cut of your jib! This puzzle connected some etymological dots for me, which I really enjoyed. COMMA and EDITOR weren't as proper as I initially feared. I hade to come about a few times before getting MOCS and ONECOAT, but thankfully the crosses surfaced some helpful hints. Thanks for a fun Wednesday!
I was slow to finish this one (and admittedly looked a few things up). Thrown for a loop indeed. A fun and challenging Saturday, thank you. Re: Constructor Notes, it can be hard to know for sure how our words affect others, and harder still to predict it. I would hope anyone accidentally upset by something in a crossword would recognize that it's a risk inherent in publishing anything, and furthermore that it wasn't intentional. Personally, I found this crossword and these notes to be incredibly thoughtful and I am deeply, humbly appreciative of them. Thank you again.
Had a lot of fun with this one! Rebuses were clear without being too obvious, and each movie title mashup got a laugh out of me. I thought the clue for ACAI was especially clever. Clues I only kinda sorta knew the answer to had plenty of crossing words to help me out, which kept the puzzle flowing well. Thanks and nice work!
I was surprised by how much the "M" priming affected my ability to come up with words; no mere magic with that trick. Well done, I found this crossword quite enjoyable overall.
I really enjoyed this puzzle; it felt like walking through a private garden or museum, each entry something curated and meaningful. Taught me a few things, too. Thank you!
Whew, this one was a good challenge. The self-referential theme clues were fun and playful, and the unthemed clues were a good example of how to adjust difficulty with their wording: for instance, 10A, 53D, and 55D took me some time despite their answers being common 3- or 4-letter words. Thanks for the rewarding Thursday! in_andes_en_e? (Has an "Aha!" moment: SEESTHELIGHT)
One thing I like about themeless crosswords is the conceptual wiggle room for fitting long answers side-by-side; it was a joy to have four sets of 3x10, not to mention a couple of 15s, to boot! Somehow managed to solve this one quicker than usual but I enjoyed every minute of it. 22A got me good, initially guessing HOUSE. I also liked 25A and 35D, and 4D/24D were a funny pair as well. Thank you!
I quite liked this one, very well done!
Oddly enough, I thought this puzzle was pretty rad! Parts eluded me, demanding additional scans, but even then, it was invariably a good time. Here's to two angles on "solving": thanks for the fun!
Fun puzzle, fun column, thanks again for both!
I had a lot of fun with this one. I found myself looping around the puzzle itself, and as I went with the flow, so seemingly did the answers. Happy everything came together. Thanks!
So sorry for your loss, Gia. This puzzle was a fun solve and a lovely way to honor a fellow crossword enthusiast. Thank you, and here's to fond memories with wordplay, new and old.
I really liked this one! For me, there seemed to be a theme of playing with expectations, beyond the delightful question mark clues, too. Having paused before writing SHADE where SCENT was sought, I felt pretty certain with SOLACES for 43A, having 4 confirming crosses as bookends -- so much so that I ended up with DONUTCORES for 27D (maybe our neighbours North had a different name for them? this term makes more sense actually?) before ALOE set me back on track. 32D also gave me a surprising amount of trouble (who would find that clue tricky? I'd!). I might just be tired but I really had fun trying to figure out which clues I was overthinking and which of them I was underthinking. Nice work, and thanks!
"Like things that come easily to you, or, a hint to this puzzle's theme" ARESECONDNATURE
[This was great!] or [Geography: A] -> STATE CAPITAL Thanks for the fun!
@Madeline If you think about it, one list is enough, since Santa is accounting for all of us. Naughty [x]or nice.
@Victor Well-said, thank you. I found the clue a bit painful to read also. May we be patient with one another as we continue to grow and learn.
Charming, clever, and fun to solve. You gave words a chance to play the part they usually only get to point towards; thank you for all of it.
@Long time paid subscriber Thank you for saying this, I came here to write something similar. This was an enjoyable if tricky crossword, but I hope the editing staff might consider how hurtful it can be to have the answer to the clue "Uncool" be a word meaning "disabled". This is actually the second time in a month that they've had this clue/answer pair and it bothered me both times. If those letters must be used, why not reuse a different pattern and ask for an answer in French: lamé or l'âme. Or, maybe just make the clue "Unable to move or walk easily". There are ways to fit a crossword without reinforcing an association between injury/disability and "uncool". Intentional or not, our use of language matters, and I hope those of us who enjoy lighthearted wordplay will consider that.
Very fun, great job with this one!
@Melissa M After yesterday's crossword, all I could think about was a ships' crew on rough seas! A wonderfully diverse combination of words.
I should add that I enjoyed this one! It hadn't occurred to me while solving, but I appreciate the constructor's effort to include clues/answers from complementary timescales. Thanks for a puzzle that considers the wide variety in what might come easily to us.
Made some early guesses with SETTO and UKE in the northern section, which lead to an area resembling no well-known text at one point. Projections looked rough until 22A finally helped me realize what the HESS was going on, and with a sliver of hope from getting the theme, I eventually bounded across the finish line. Like others, my fill for 36A was off by 90°, and I'll also state that I TRIed a wrong guess for 44A. Thanks for the fun, and happy mapping!
@Wyra I agree that most people casually using "lame" are probably not thinking about disability at all, and I'm happy you were not offended. Why does "lame" mean "uncool", anyway? The more I think about it, the more it feels wrong. Others may not care, and I can't make them, but I can still hope that they might consider someone who does.
@Andrzej I appreciate your often interesting and informative comments here, so here's my attempt at explaining that clue: in baseball, a team scores by having players advance through all the bases (from home base to first base, to second, to third, and finally back home) -- a "single" is a hit that results in the hitter advancing by one base, a "double" by two, a "triple" by three. Thus, they are in the category of a "base hit".
Just a delight to solve, all the way through. 75A indeed. Brilliant work, thank you!
@Lewis Someone close to me once called this "reader's ear", and, as embarrassing as it can be, it's a badge of honor for those who learn from what they read, and share what they learn.
@Andrzej Yes, although specifically the hitter's advancement to a base and safely staying there. A hit resulting in the hitter being called out is still a "hit", but they didn't end up safely on a base. A hit resulting in the hitter advancing all the way to home base is a "home run". So, "base hit" is a useful term for the possibilities in between. Other players besides the hitter may/may not advance in each case, according to other rules.
@J-J Cote Not that puzzle, but I did get one I eventually realized I had already done once before, not sure which date. Strange.
@Jason The other comments explain it well, but I've found the best way to accept such words is for one to make a few crosswords themself. Hard to see them in the same light afterward. Still, as frequent solver myself, I notice this repetion too. Whether practically or culturally, these words are just part of the cruciverbalists' argot.
@Katie If it turns out that this was, in fact, a Thursday puzzle, would it be possible that maybe you did earn your personal best? "Easy is in the eye of the beholder", as they say. If solving per se is no longer a hurdle, and solving for time is a breeze, I'd say you're more than prepared to try your hand at constructing, a challenging puzzle of its own. I'll admit that allowing oneself to enjoy ones successes is often easier said than done, but that, too, is a puzzle worth solving.
"That that that is here is that that that that that that was there was". This puzzle and column are brilliant, thanks both of you for the laughs and for many (much?) more.
'"That 'That that that is here is that that that that that that was there was.' that was 'That that that is coming here is that that that that that that was there was.' is "This this that this this this this is was that that that that that was.', said differently,", said Differently differently, "is funny to me."' is funny to me.
Oops, that double quote directly following "is" should be a single quote.
@SBK in TO Gems like this are why I read the comments, thank you.
@SBK in TO Game night takes the role of a mountain, the playing our hiking party, and chaos a chasm. The hiking party ascended to the peak of the mountain and then descended into chaos, from which it may never recover. Maybe we disagree on whether one may ascend/descend game night, but I think with the right boots they could. I might still be missing something but that makes sense to me.
@Laura V I understand it intuitively better than I understand it grammatically, but I think the -er is meant to indicate an agentive reading (something that bends and is also tender) instead of an instrumental reading (something that bends tender, like a folding wallet, maybe). This wikipedia article helped me think through it: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nominalization#Examples" target="_blank">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nominalization#Examples</a> . A direction in place of a misdirection, perhaps.
@D Aside from the fabric-related meaning, iron has figurative nautical meaning: "in irons" is a way of expressing "shackled", a mechanism for preventing movement; for a sailboat, it describes having the bow facing directly into the wind, which will almost certainly cause it to stall. Not sure if the constructor was making this allusion, but to me NOIRON suggests a wish for smooth sailing.
@Steve L You're right, I misremembered the nuance to "hit" by itself. Thank you for clarifying.
@SBK in TO If you consider "family game night" as a figuratively descendible object, this sentence seems to check out. It makes as much sense as "Playing 'SUMMIT' to win the Scrabble game was the peak of family game night", in my opinion, despite not having physically climbed anything. The playing itself traverses something with highs and lows ("family game night") to a too-low place ("a chaos"), and the playing ("it") may never recover. The subject/object disagreement you're describing assumes an implied "One" at the start of the sentence, I think.
Very fun solve, hear hear. Seems that tuning in to WXYZ was right because I felt like I was on the same wavelength and reading you 5 by 5, err, 15x15. Thanks!
All 44 comments loaded