Andy
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Sometimes it's clear when a puzzle is designed for the author over the audience. The word pretentious comes to mind. In the "How to Solve the NYT Crosswords" article it says that only the clues are harder throughout the week, not the answers. That's definitely misleading for puzzles like this. Although I like the theme, I find too many answers obnoxiously esoteric. For instance, I've never heard of the Young Turk Revolution, Gintano jeans, a Jaguar XKES, the words longo and pate, or of PDQ Bach. Sure, now I have, that's true. And while I love learning from the puzzles, I can only stand so much at once. It makes sense that a puzzle like this level of trickery would have to rely on uncommon answers, but the dedication to fitting in the pangram certainly rendered it an overall unenjoyable process.
@S.H. Patterson On paper, yes. In my experience, the PTA creates favoritism amongst the children (athletes, performers, etc.) whose parents are active members. And it often excludes families of a lower income bracket, as meetings are often held during work or early evening hours, which favors a stay-at-home lifestyle. Not saying it's a rule, but PTAs are generally a privileged group.
What do you mean when you say that LOCOMOTIVE doesn't solve the clue "Crazy reason"? That was my favorite clue!
@N Merton It's common practice to remove and hold one's hat in hand when listening to the National Anthem.
@Andy Nevermind, I'm an idiot. Disregard this comment. :p
I completed the puzzle, but the theme did not click until I read the article. Clever, though.
My personal best for a Saturday! ~30 or so min. No, I'm not a quick solver, and that's okay with me :) I was initially thrown by Galentines Day but was lucky enough to score Ogallala from the cross clues. I've never come across the word doric to my memory, but alas, it's a welcomed word. And as someone visiting France for the first time this spring, I'm now delighted to learn about the Liore Valley!
I'm sorry but ALEC Guinness is decidedly not a tricky clue worth revealing. Even if you're not familiar with the actor, surely you've come across his name multiple times in the NYT crosswords.
Fun puzzle. I was able to get most of the themed answers from the cross clues without understanding the theme, so I had to turn to the column for "Hiking." Seems like it would be a tough theme to crack on one's own. Kudos to those that did!
Loved this puzzle! Had to google what "drop trou" meant and then felt as though I'd known the phrase my whole life.
@Dan You'll see that clue and answer a lot in the NYT xword.
I enjoyed the puzzle, but as someone who had never heard of JODHPURS, that clue left me baffled. Perhaps the clue of 37A: "Stick in a bucket?" didn't need the question mark because that encouraged me to make a less obvious choice. And 62A: "Apt surname for Scarlett" had me convinced it was ROSE until I finally wised up on the cross clues. So, overall, a great Thursday puzzle.
@Peter B Ugly?? It's beautiful.
A Tuesday tuffy for sure. A few too many proper nouns for this slow solver. LATH seems a bit esoteric, but it's always fun to learn a new word!
I would have liked the puzzle more had there been a clever hint to the theme in one of the clues. Glad others enjoyed it.
A 2.3 GPA is *not* a C plus. It's a C or C-
@mirle234 Tahoe is the latest OS update for Apple computers.
@Greg4734 Same. I also had no idea about the French port. Sometimes the specific geography clues can be frustrating, especially when you get the cross clues yet the word *still* seems incorrect.
@Hugh I could solve hard puzzles in that amount of time too if I looked up answers.
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