Deri
UWS
This delightful puzzle totally makes up for the Connections streak killer.
Dustin Hoffman's ad-libbed line (when he was almost hit by an IRL cab) in "Midnight Cowboy": Hey! I'm walkin' here!
A quick, and I hope polite, correction to Caitlyn about “The clue [Not being allowed to lick the spatula clean?] at 106-Across is also challenging. It solves to PUNISHMENT FOR A GLUTTON. That is pretty strict for tasting a little brownie batter that would have just gone down the drain.” This also had me thinking that it was a sloppy clue—at first. But then I realized that it’s NOT about being punished for tasting the batter. It’s that not being allowed the batter IS punishment (for some unknown transgression) for a glutton.
For some reason I had a hard time with the mini today. So the clue solved to “Don’t let the perfect be the enema of the good.” Frankly, I think it’s better than the real saying.
@Sam Lyons, agree completely. This was tough, I couldn't get a toehold, and then I really didn't think I would finish. After maybe a dozen shameless google queries, I got it. And enjoyed (almost) every minute of it.
@Andrzej. I’ve always thought that cabbage meaning money comes from the idea that cabbage is green and paperlike, as is US currency. PS: I always enjoy your good will and insights. I’m glad you’ve stuck around.
@DYT, same. And it was completely plausible in my (stubborn) mind that actes were part of the National Mall.
Anyone else absolutely positively sure it was OBAMA COACH?
@Steve L, I honestly thought it was a Seussian creature. Then remembered the Lorax.
@Rahul, Who remembers the 1970’s hit by the Motels, Only the Lonely? Well, 16-year-old me thought the line “Only the lonely get laid” was incredibly profound and insightful, and I patted myself on the back for understanding the implications. (It was YEARS later that I realized it was “can play.)
Hey iPad users: Instead of using the app, try solving through the NYT app. I find the interface easier, and its's def less buggy. Not only were the letters underlined, they were bold in today's clues. (But they have since been changed to putting in parens—I suspect to fix the app issues.) (I DO use the puzzle app for the Sunday puzzle, as the grid is too small in the NYT app.)
@Michael Weiland , BANG was also used in journalism to mean an exclamation point. (Yeah I guess I’m that old.)
@Andrzej, you’re right, it’s really a half pun. If it were a full pun, ALTERCATION would have the meaning / clue of something like [editing while on holiday] (which I almost never do). Still enjoyed the puzzle, though, maybe because it’s about a substantial part of my job!
@Amanda, not to mention the SNL character from, I’m guessing, 47 years ago.
@Shaleen, hah! My first time solving with TONS of lookups. Still enjoyed it!
@Steve L, agree with all, except for den. Not the same as family room at all, but more like a study or, in today’s parlance, a home office. Imagine Ward Cleaver in the 50s, coming home to June, Wally, and the Beaver and retiring to his den to read the evening newspaper. Fairly archaic and quaint these days. (My apologies to all Non-Americans and Americans under the age of 50 for the US-centric Boomer example, but it’s all I got.j
@Steve L , Indeed. Feature, not a bug.
@replay, along with NEXTDAYDELIVERY! Diverted me for quite awhile.
@Pcraves, my first stab was KILLIONTH (and PLONKED)
@Elyse, and DEAR SANTA next to SLEIGH!
@Francis, Twister! It dates back to the 60s. My son played it (unironically) in high school in the aughts, and looks like it’s still going strong.
@Ann, Did anyone else sing softly to themself as they filled this one in? 🎶 R E S, P EEE C T …
@Bob, I came here to say exactly that!
@Andrzej, I think you misunderstood TOTAL to mean wreck. It’s a verb, not a noun. To total a car means to be in an accident that TOTALly wrecks the car so it has to be scrapped.
@Rachel R., came here to say the same. Guess those days are long gone. Emus?
@Sue, yes, yes, yes! I’ve been waiting for someone to bring this up because it’s been driving me crazy. Sometimes the “show thread” (or whatever it is) is there (like with this post, yay!), but mostly not. Thought it was just me.
@Vincent, hah! I was THREE seconds away.
@john Ezra, what @SP said. I was thrown off as well because the first one I got was MOCKUMENTARY, so I was looking for more mashups of genres. Took awhile for me to understand that it’s just that the genre itself is bent.
@Aaron, me too. But I first had an H there. Was pretty sure the Gray Lady wasn’t loosening up THAT much…
@JJ (And those cognizant in the 70s): Oo la la!
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