Ms. Billie M. Spaight
New York City
484
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0.126
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New York City
Will the editors please try to get rid of any answer that reads ICE? Every time I see that it makes my stomach turn. At first I thought it was not fair that we couldn't put the whole words in the rebi but then I saw the circled letters and it all made sense. Elegant construction.
ANKLE TAT and ATTACK AD clever, clever, very clever. Grateful to have a puzzle not asking me for celeb names.
Saw that message and I wondered if the constructor actually DID use a puzzle to come out to his parents. Kenneth, may you find the love of your life if you haven't already done so. And now you have come out to all of us who did your puzzle. HAPPY PRIDE MONTH!
Given today's political climate, I was happy to have a sanctuary puzzle with no ICE in it. The oreos and emus did get in. The triple trickery was fun. It was tough but I did enjoy myself.
@pedant O that is very judgemental. I am feminist to the core and have been since I was a little child. I chose to use my hubby's name because (1) I liked it better than my maiden name; (2) My maiden name was from my father who was NOT feminist, whereas my husband is feminist. The deal is that we get to choose.
More, more, more! This puzzle was innovative and fresh. NOSEHAIRS was delightfully disgusting! Made ORGASMS nearly ordinary. Clues were sparkly and, for the most part the answers just flowed. Unusual for a Saturday puzzle. So very enjoyable!
@Michael So do I, but many of the items were so iconic that even nonwatchers might pick them up. Do you want Latin and Greek instead? I never rode a bananaseat bicycle and I was never in a moshpit, but I sure have heard of both.
Nice breezy solve. Enjoyed every minute of it. One small tweak--ANTIFA is not a group. It is more of an idea.
Best clever clue and answer: 22 ACROSS.
OOPS--double-decker checker is a KING as in what happens when you reach the opposite end of the board and you say: "King me." Some clean expressions of pains could be: moan, groan, argh, bleh, yeek. When I broke my ankle in three places the first thing I said was: "I broke both of my feet." LOL.
Absolutely 100% DELIGHTFUL. When I saw the title, I was expecting things like Exodus or Revelations--weighty things like what were discussed in Saturday's Story program. I was so happy when the "books" turned out to be novels. I guess I could say this puzzle was novel. Thank you constructors for a marvelous puzzle. More, More, More, please.
HOLY CATS! A high-school JUNIOR. What an amazing puzzle!
I remember seeing the Ford Tells City Drop Dead headline. I was so furious. I remember doing a crossword puzzle (not in the Times) on April 1st and it drove me crazy. Each way the answers seemed easy but they did not cross with one another. So the next day I looked at the answers and I thought my brain took a hike. Everything looked so weird. Somehow, I looked at the date and realized that the puzzle was on April Fools Day--all the answers were backward! Finally, great stumper on 8 across. I swear I put in MNOP and that didn't cross with anything. LOL. Then I caught on. I loved it.
@John "The Beast" Aww but the actual answer was SOOOOO GOOD! I loved it. It made me think of Pete Buttigieg. If Mr. Schlossberg was on the cusp, I would say that 8 across put him over the line. That was the best one in the whole puzzle.
@Times Rita Glad to read it here. I was very happy to see Phil Ochs in the puzzle. And today we were gifted with Pete Seeger. Next should be Bob Dylan.
So glad that acceptance of this puzzle brought a lift of spirits to you, Nate. The puzzle was very enjoyable to solve. Best wishes for a better year in your new home.
Good for a Thursday. I want to put in a comment here about another NYT game. Connections. I have stopped playing it because it really has no logic and is only dependent on us guessing what's inside the mind of the constructor. It's fiendish and frustrating.
That "pride march" had me going in a queer direction. Excellent clue.
@HeathieJ O Lordy, the events in Minneapolis are terrifying and shocking. So sorry that the fear ICE has generated is even felt by you although you don't live in Minneapolis.
I'll admit that I didn't get them all, but this was a very refreshing puzzle. The viewpoint was delightfully skewed and so much fun to figure out. NB: The oreos are back. Second day in a row. Will the emus follow on?
I LOVED the trick! It gave 2 possibilities for getting the answer. Please, MORE, MORE, MORE puzzles with this trick. Even though I didn't get the entire puzzle, I had a grand time with this one. THANK YOU.
@Remy SOWING machines had me thinking of pigs making piglets. Pool gear made me look at swimming pools. Green dispensaries made me think of POT shops. Those misdirections were very clever.
@Nathanial Hornblower O but you miss the point of the puzzle. It's NOT theology!!!! LOL. I cringed a bit myself because I thought it would be the whole Bible, but it's NOT. I recommend that you solve just one of the books and you will be laughing.
O that make like a hot dog one really got me. My mind stayed on frankfurters until almost the end. PANT, PANT....
This puzzle was so clever. I can believe that it took a long time to construct. Kudos for that. I didn't get it all, but I enjoyed it very much. Thank you.
13!!! OMG, do we have another Pete Buttigieg here? This kid's a genius. I loved this puzzle. It was so much fun to ace it. But I thought that a full-grown adult made it. Thanks for publishing it for our enjoyment. Kudos to the constructor.
Puzzle drove me crazy but once I figured out the trick, I was tickled pink. It was CHEEKY in the best possible way. So, Constructor, you are NTA.
I must be entering my second childhood at age 76 because, as I was solving this puzzle, I thought, "at last a constructor with my consciousness." Indeed, there was so much in the fill that came straight out of my culture back in the '60s. Whatever, thanks for a nice Monday morning romp through my nostagia.
Ouch, SAY IT, DON'T SPRAY IT gave me a bit of a wrench. I heard that in the 1950s! I know, I know, it's gross to be spat upon, but in defense of the spitters, I must say that they can't help it.
@Trish AMEN! And whyever do folks care what day the puzzle is on or whether it is easy or hard? It's a puzzle that boggles my mind. A puzzle is a puzzle. I just do them. Probably slower than most folks here.
Loved the trick. It made solving so much fun. More of these kinds of puzzles, please.
@Poopoo Head Don't feel bad. I am an American and I never failed history courses but ouch.
Very playful. I had fun.
@Josh NO KINGS NO KINGS NO KINGS NO KINGS NO KINGS NO KINGS NO KINGS
Simply LOVED the ASTERISKS [going in for cursing]. Delightful
@Petrol That university existed before MUSKrat.
@Mental State O go hop on a kangaroo, mate. This one was for US in the U.S. in honor of our 250th year of existence. I had to use the autofiller for some of these but I didn't care. It was a very clever use of rebi. Now if I could only get the count of squares up to 13, I'll feel happy. The puzzle is done. I also checked the answer key and I still can't find 13 squares with rebi in them.
@SP These are GOOD!
@FR Kern Do we ever!!!
Delightful solve on so many levels. I didn't see the Rebus but got the whole puzzle anyway. Reading the commentary brought me into the other levels. Well-done, well done. A perfect Thursday for thirsty puzzlers.
One can also WOLF down food.
The clue for 72 across is so clever and it was fun to solve. Kudos. Re the Aussie critters--the abbreviation indicator in the clue is the word "Aussie."
Man, Mr. Tambourine Better, I Shoulda Known A'Changin, the Times They Are Any More, I Ain't Marchin Have fun at it.
@dutchiris Sigh. First it was Pluto. Now it's the penny that dropped
@Sam Corbin The bees were the best ones! I love that clue and answer. I really was looking for HOMINID or something similar.
Very unusual and amusing. Great puzzle.
OK get out your covfefe and hamdergers. Sorry to be political, but here's my Presidential Mad Lib. At the gazebo the President aired the QR Code and segued the tree ring before beginning his speech. “Junebugs and orcas” he began. “Foes are in pen and I’m here to relay something about it. Are you Karens gonna bark me or am I gonna have to pike you in my sniff test? It’s your Macs: you can either be a Fern or a Dana! And if you so to say then dare me.” At the end of his speech, the deb who had been listening eyed up the President and decided to usurp the crazed Nas.
When I typed in RASPUTIN I realized that PUTIN was part of that name. Weird.
I didn't get them all, but this puzzle was delightful. I kept thinking that the revealer was "accents" and then nothing fit there. I kept trying to figure out where an accent would go in each of the words with the Us in them. What a merry romp I had around that puzzle! Would love to carry it in my Us.
@Sam Corbin Doonesbury was very topical and political. The trick was to be current on whatever was going on in the politiverse. I'm sure the comic would have featured people drinking covfefe and eating hamdergers at some point.