Jannicut

I need to explain my aversion to the (now quite dated in academic circles) term HERSTORY. Women - like men - are part of *history*. If we segregate women to their own "story" (or special offset box on the textbook page), we end up making them peripheral to the dominant tales we tell about the past. The story of the Nineteenth Amendment is not exclusively a story about women gaining the franchise; after all, at a basic level, it relied on the votes of male legislators to make it happen. It changed the makeup of the electorate as a whole. It reflected an evolution in ideas about citizenship. (It also enfranchised white women *far* more successfully than women of color.) (It's also true that the wordplay doesn't work grammatically, but that isn't my main concern. Additionally, the amendment as written didn't actually grant the vote to "women." Rather, it excluded "sex" as a criterion for limiting the franchise. Though given the historical moment, the effect was to grant the vote to [some] women, it was worded to apply broadly to everyone.) Paying attention to groups who have been traditionally overlooked in mainstream accounts of the past shouldn't just add other stories we can pay attention to or ignore as we choose; it should transform the stories we already have to make them more accurate because they have become more inclusive and therefore better reflective of their subjects. Sincerely, A Historian

Re 50A, Woodrow Wilson and Gordon Brown received PhDs almost a century apart (from Johns Hopkins and the University of Edinburgh, respectively). Both doctorates were in History. I wonder about referring to them as “honors,” though, as they were both earned degrees rather than honorary awards. I certainly wouldn’t argue that the PhD made either man a more effective leader, but I do think we’d be better off if politicians knew more about the past than is currently fashionable.

Now that’s a Saturday puzzle. When I saw it was by Sam Ezersky, I knew it would be. Persistence, patience, flexible thinking about misdirection, and (of course) working the crosses did the trick. Thanks, Sam.

This breezy and fun Tuesday was a delightful way to bring my gold star streak to 1500.

I took a break from this fun puzzle to see the aurora borealis from the front of my house! Absolutely stunning. And so amazing to have the northern lights come to me after so many years of wishing I could go to them. Then, when I came back inside, the southeast quadrant of the puzzle fell into place (though in black and white rather than green and purple). Quite a Friday night!

Please don’t bake with crisco (unless you’re baking for vegans or folks who don’t eat dairy). Butter will always taste better. Baked goods are treats. Don’t have them too often, but make them worth it when you do!

I apologize to everyone for this especially tricky Friday, designed entirely I’m sure to give me anxiety about hitting the streak benchmark of 2000! Persistence paid off, but slower than my average (which is not a problem, just unusual). I’ve kept this streak going somehow through pandemic, cardiac arrest, and a variety of other crises; I wasn’t going to let some fanciful wordplay do me in!

I was delighted by the inclusion of RUBBER in the theme set! I’ll take smiles anywhere I can find them, and that definitely made me smile. Thanks so much, David Rockow :)

Today, the day before the 80th anniversary of D-Day, is an apt time to have HEDGEROW in the puzzle. A fair amount of the territory inland of the Normandy landings was agricultural, including dairy country where the fields were separated by hedgerows. German soldiers used them as camouflage, hiding in them to snipe at the advancing Allied forces. The cows who lived in those fields, however, were not accustomed to having men in their hedgerows, and were quite curious about them. They tended to gather at the spots where the snipers were hidden, investigating. This was a great help to the Allied soldiers, as it tipped off both the presence and the location of the Germans. And that’s how the cows of Normandy supported the Allied cause in the Second World War.

One of the things I teach my students is actually how early we find the first reference to World War I / First World War. While it’s true that it didn’t stick until much later, the first usage I know of dates to London in the early 1920s. That soon after the Armistice, it obviously had nothing to do with the rise of Hitler or German rearmament (neither of which had happened yet). It wasn’t about the Treaty of Versailles, either. Rather, it was a label that was meant to shock, used by an American in Europe to comment on the fundamental changes of the postwar world. He wasn’t saying anything about anticipating any particular Second World War, just his confidence that there would be one of some kind, some time (and probably not that far in the future).

I know there are other fans of Vertex in this community and I just wanted to say how sorry I am that the NYT has decided to discontinue it. It wasn’t a good sign when it never had its own button in the redesign of the Games app, which I can imagine didn’t help its numbers and therefore hastened its demise. The last Vertex puzzle will appear August 29, sadly. I find them soothing and they use my brain in a quite different way from the NYT puzzles. They are also often very clever and produce their own kind of “aha!” moment when the whole picture comes into view (as I solve on my phone, I never see the entirety until the end). Many thanks to all the designers and especially Burgess Voshell. Your work will be missed on a daily basis.

Given that this column appeared in the wee hours, by an author who doesn’t usually write about Friday puzzles, and with a hastier feel than we are used to seeing from Sam Corbin, I just want to say that I hope that Deb Amlen is all right.

Well, I guess we can feel good about our crossword skills if we managed to solve the puzzle despite missing essential information for the theme clues? Sadly, though, it meant missing out on Deb’s endorphin-boosting smiles.

I thought the “goofy clue for 37-across” was worth the price of admission all by itself, and was glad to learn it had survived so many iterations and changes. Fun and elegant puzzle that absolutely picked up steam as it went. Thank you Julian Xaio and please keep constructing!

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening is certainly still read and taught in New England, as my kids can confirm. It’s also often sung - it’s one of the seven Frost poems the great choral composer Randall Thompson used in his Frostiana. In fact, I have a hard time remembering it any other way than through the alto line! Even though I know it by heart, I can’t really recite it, because the music is so connected to the words for me.

What, no Bananagrams? That’s a favorite in our family.

I think for the first time ever, my longest solve time of the week (so far) was … Wednesday. Maybe it’s good for us to have our expectations unsettled!

It’s not grammatical, but: C# : SPOTWALDO

Before he was the NBA Rookie of the Year in 2004-2005, the amazing Emeka Okafor was MVP of the 2004 NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship. Before he played professionally for Charlotte, he played his college ball in Storrs CT, basketball capital of the world. (That was the second basketball national championship for the UConn men; they now have six, including the last two. The UConn women have an astounding eleven championships.) Go Huskies!

Reading the accounts of those folks with personal experience with former numb-ers, I was struck by something: Not only has ETHER gone out of style - so have tonsillectomies. And thank goodness in both cases. Wouldn’t want to have to put a gas mask on an emu.

One day in high school I was over at the house of a friend whose charming and sophisticated mother was not a native English speaker. She walked into the room and announced, with great aplomb, “Girls, I am so hungry I could eat a cow!” In the moment, it felt like the funniest thing ever. Still a memory that makes me smile.

What, no Bananagrams? That’s a favorite in our family. Emus should spend more time playing games and less time blocking short comments!

Vague or general clues to familiar kinds of answers meant a slow start turned into a fast finish. Once I found a few toeholds, the crosses cascaded into quick completion.

@ Caitlin : For COXES to face the rowers, they have to sit in the stern, not the bow, because the oarspeople are facing backwards themselves. And that’s exactly where they usually are. They can still be regatta leaders I guess because they steer, but if they were both facing the rowers and in the bow they wouldn’t be able to see where they were going because they’d be facing where they’d come from instead. I’m with you on 007’s gun. I managed the name of the company with a few crosses to prompt me, but the specific model required every cross and wasn’t going to come any other way. Not my wheelhouse, and I’m ok with that.

I didn’t have any personal bests this week (I’ve solved too many puzzles for that to happen very often), but I’m guessing that my combined time for all the weekday puzzles was the lowest it’s ever been. I don’t know of any easy way to check that, but this week’s puzzles have flown by. Fun but fast, every day!

The song for this puzzle is surely The Edison Museum by They Might Be Giants. Wonderful for both adults and kids! <a href="https://youtube.com/watch?v=HQgAIKf0tIc&si=jqZlq96vCNX3yoGq" target="_blank">https://youtube.com/watch?v=HQgAIKf0tIc&si=jqZlq96vCNX3yoGq</a> Do emus confuse Menlo Park NJ and Menlo Park CA?

I live in the heart of UCONN territory, and have encountered that very confusion before! Thanks for 99D from the basketball capital of the world.