Lois
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Brooklyn, NY
NYT: The clue for 12D was overly precise and arcane and wrong. Days of a Jewish calendar start the evening before, and the SEDER takes place on 15 Nisan, not before 15 Nisan. This clue may have come about from a misreading of a Jewish calendar, where the date appears for the daytime and not the evening before, but it's understood that the day begins at dusk the night before. Here's Wikipedia: "The Passover begins on the 15th day of the month of Nisan, which at present falls between March 26 and April 25 of the Gregorian calendar. ... The 15th day begins in the evening, after the 14th day, and the seder meal is eaten that evening."
The theme was a good one. But like Sam, I struggled. I appreciated that Ms. Maymudes wanted to share her enthusiasms with us. However, there was so much I hadn't heard of (Naomi Novik, but glad to read about her, skiboards, CSA, Tegan and Sara) or that's well known but not part of my world--Game of Thrones, Star Wars, sororities, bacon. Anyway, it all worked out in the end. Good Wednesday puzzle, but I wished for a little more to resonate--I guess I had that with most of the theme answers.
@Steve L I was going to allow for your circumstances in my comment, but I tend to get too complicated. Not everyone follows the traditions the same way. Some have special circumstances as in your case, and some are loose about the whole thing. However, if some start the seder before nightfall, that situation does not follow the prescriptive 12D, "Meal before the 15th of Nisan." The constructor or someone else got too fancy. (But I liked the puzzle, even though I flipped over this clue.) There are even more complications, because some actions on the 14th of Nisan are related to the holiday. However, very traditional Jews do not eat either leavened or unleavened bread on 14 Nisan at all (we get a little hungry). The Chabad organization suggests naps for children on the 14th so that they can stay up late--oh, that's easy, haha.
@Kosta in France When I can't finish a Friday crossword (as happened this time too), I wait for the Easy Mode by Christina Iverson in order to complete the puzzle. I enjoy working on the two versions together if it's a tough puzzle for me. If you're a subscriber, you can get that version by Googling "Easy Mode NYT" or some such wording at around 2 p.m. Friday France time. If by chance by that time you get last week's puzzle, adjust the number at the end of the link by adding 1 (today, I changed "79" to "80").
@Helen Wright "Ladies and Gents" would be a phrase used in a different context. Do you remember "Ladies and Germs"? I don't know what that's from, but Google says maybe Milton Berle.
@Esmerelda It's used a lot in the interesting mystery novel The Maid. The protagonist is fond of slightly old-fashioned expressions she learned from her grandmother.
@Alex KenKen happens to be a lovely puzzle offered by the Times. KenKens are offered online, but when I gave up my print subscription I was devastated to find that the online versions are not the same ones that are in the paper.
@KStandiford In many crosswords, you have to look for the clue that tells you what the whole thing is about. In this case, it was 7 down, which informed us to look for starred clues for the theme. Maybe they were hard for some people to see because they were down clues, while most theme answers in crosswords tend to be across clues.
@Melissa Yes, I was stuck on EYE for most of my solving time.
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