David Ramos
Mexico
I needed my mom’s help with this one. We’ve done every crossword in December! I know it’s nothing compared to some solvers here, and it took us over an hour, but we had fun doing it. What’s better than quality time with loved ones during the holidays?
So glad I found my crossword hobby this year, and this new quirky community. Merry Christmas to all.
Love doing crosswords with my mom again, glad she’s doing better. No way I knew about Phil OCHS, but there’s no way she’s heard of YEETED either. We looked it up on UrbanDictionary, and I don’t think it helped.
Normally my mom helps me with the crosswords, but she has been indisposed with the flu; hospitalized, as so many others are right now. But as I was stuck on a [Dance step also known as a backslide], I asked her nurse and they knew the answer without missing a beat. I can’t do these without you just yet. You’re getting better, but you’re not over the hump quite yet. Hang in there for me. Happy New Year, stay safe everyone.
Today I learned that ACIDWASHED and DISTRESSED have the same number of letters.
Excuse my Italian, I thought it was SCUSi!
Fun, but too easy for a Thursday. Was over too soon.
@Deb Amlen I recently found this hobby thanks in no small part to your insights, ushering me into this incredible community of crossword fanatics with grace and humor. It’s always fun (and sometimes vindicating) to read your take on the tricky clues.
I’ve watched a lot of cooking videos from Italia Squisita, so ‘sapidita’ was somewhat familiar to me. It was still the last clue I filled in though. Very fun puzzle and a decent challenge for a Friday.
I finished every crossword in December only to be humbled by this monster of a Sunday. No Idea who Red the firefighter is/was, and I clearly need to up my bandage game. Grrrr…
This one had me staring at my screen for a solid half an hour before the theme finally clicked. Cute gimmick. Glad I’m free from academia, that’s for sure.
@Cat Lady Margaret Traffic jam theory ftw And also public transit. And mixed use neighborhoods.
The crosses of OENOPHILIA with GPSWATCH and PLOPART broke my 32 day streak. So mad. Nice puzzle though. Still have more mundane things to memorize before I become a crossword master.
Hope I don’t start a row, but I wasn’t a huge fan of this one. My mom and I didn’t understand the themed entries until we read the column. I would say it had an unpleasant bouquet, but a smooth finish.
I guess I don’t play enough Monopoly, this one had me stumped. I tried basically every letter for 56A, and I screamed when I got it! Very tough puzzle for me, but a fun rebus nonetheless.
54D has me stumped. Carry on? Carry what?
This one took my mom and me just shy of four hours to finish. No hints or googling, just staring blankly into the void that were the empty squares. Pretty proud tbh
That’s all well and good, but the answer to 65a [Words after “ding, ding, ding”] only has one word. Could have used a better clue imo.
Reminds me of an old joke: What did the Dalai Lama say to the hit dog vendor?
My mom and I rather liked this theme, and we both enjoy a nice Scrabble game. The [Mark’s successor] clue was fun, but some other clue/answer combos were a bit frustrating.
Was so distracted by the diminutive possessive and the leafy green, I didn’t notice that ADnS didn’t rhyme with “pads.”
A fun way to pass the time while snowed in. Stay safe everyone.
Yesterday took me maybe 3x as long as today. Are rebuses allowed on Wednesday?
I tried memorizing the Greek alphabet a little while ago because I thought it would help with something like this. Turns out it wasn’t as useful for this one as I had hoped. Oh well, maybe I’ll try the NATO alphabet next. What random things have you memorized for the sake of crosswords?
Glad my mom knew what BITUMEN was cause I sure didn’t!
I needed too many hints. Need to keep trying. Still new.
I really struggled with this one, to be sure. I had to ask my mom for help on the Joseph Conrad novel. I would expect 24A to be a clue in a puzzle by actor Will Smith, but not Nick Offerman. I have a small gripe, which is that part of the answer in 49D appears as a word in another clue. I found this a bit out of character for a NYT cross. Usually each key word is used only once. I hope this was just an oversight.
@David Ramos Whoops, “hot dog vendor”
@Judy I thought it might be cAT, mostly because of a scene from Goldeneye. Valentin Dmitrovitch Zukovsky: James Bond. Charming, sophisticated secret agent. Shaken, but not stirred. [Zukovsky and his men laugh] James Bond: I see you haven't lost your delicate sense of humour, Valentin. [nods toward the stage] James Bond: Or your need for an audience. Who's strangling the cat? Valentin Dmitrovitch Zukovsky: [looks towards the stage] Strangling a cat? [Zukovsky looks over at Irina, who singing out of tune, then takes out his gun and shoots right between Bond's legs] Valentin Dmitrovitch Zukovsky: That is Irina, my mistress. James Bond: Very talented girl. Tell her to go. [Zukovsky looks to the stage] Valentin Dmitrovitch Zukovsky: Irina, take a hike
What the heck is a NERT?
@Daniel I feel vindicated! iSOTERIC looks enough like a word to me, so I didn’t even think to look there.
@Nick if you look up blackpenredpen on YouTube, he has lots of insightful videos on the subject.
@Marc same with Frosty the Snowman, no? I wonder what other holidays are strictly secular.
@Rob Farr it was capitalized in a prior puzzle not too long ago. Hmmm.
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