DP
DC
58
Comments
-0.271
Avg Sentiment
10
Positive
21
Neutral
27
Negative
DC
I'm a purist I guess. Not a fan of gimmicks, rebuses and the like. Using "-" is cheating in my opinion, now if those were actual clues that fit the theme then that would be a gimmick worthy of the effort and a serious flex by the creator. Even after solving it felt like being involuntarily subjected to someone else's gratuitous crossword fantasy. I'm sure it took a lot of work to concoct that contraption but it certainly gave me no pleasure. Sorry.
While I thought the italicized clues were clever I felt it was at the sacrifice of clues that were clunky, forced or awkward taking away any real enjoyment for me. ECOTEUR (ecotour), OUTGAS (heard of "off gas" never out gas). While it wasn't a horrible puzzle I am puzzled by so many high praises.
I'm tired of all the comments about the level of difficulty, what day of the week the puzzle seemed etc. Who cares?! This for me was a very clever, coherent puzzle that took me , and apparently many others, on an adventure which for me, ranged from happily cruising along to some slow downs then annoyance ending with a big "Eureka!" moment almost like cracking a safe (as others mentioned) or getting out of an escape room. How fun is that! I also learned a few things along the way. My favorite puzzle of the year so far. Bravo to the constructors!
I am going to buck the general trend and admit that I disliked this puzzle and agree with another poster that there were too many regionalisms including from across the pond where I have lived and traveled extensively. Also, multiple long answers where more than one appropriate answers may fit greatly detract from the enjoyment of solving the puzzle imho. It astounds me that every puzzle gets rave reviews when the law of averages (and reality) is that they cannot all be winners. I don't want to deny or diminish the thought and effort that goes into creating a puzzle but I am sure there are more people out there of a similar opinion but who don't want to comment or are concerned about being 'crosswordsplained' if they do. Some of the posters are clearly expert crossworders and try to be encouraging but some can be dismissive to any criticism of the puzzle and attribute it to ignorance or lack of intelligence rather than just accepting that there are other valid opinions and that some puzzles are just not that great for a significant minority (possibly a silent majority) of people. Thanks for letting me get that off my chest. [Stepping off my soapbox and resuming my crossword journey.]
Another slog not worth my time to finish. Awkward construction, as others mentioned, arcane trivia that serves no practical purpose other than to solve the puzzle and obtuse clues takes any joy away from doing such a puzzle for me. This has little to do with experience contrary to what the crossword illuminati espouse. When the most recommended comments are of similar ilk that says more about the puzzle than the commenter. We all pay for this subscription and when the majority that care to comment (or recommend that comment) are critical it cannot be taken as just newbies complaining. I take nothing away from the constructor's efforts and put this all on the editorial staff who seem to forget what their job entails. Not all puzzles can be winners and the editors would do well to listen to the readership as a whole.
@Anna I completely agree. I am a recently retired MD of 30+ years and practiced both in and outside of the US and I have never heard that term used to describe the iris. Ever. It is an archaic and shortened derivative of latin which means small open space or something similar and when used half a century or more ago was followed by a clarifier like mammae which no one but maybe a retired anatomist would use these days. While I did solve it with the crosses and overall I enjoyed the puzzle that was the one thing that stuck out like a sore thumb. What's maddening is that the clueing could've taken care of this and still be obscure. This is what the editors get paid for.
Definitely not on the same wavelength as the constructors. The theme was kind of fun but for me some of the clue/answers were a bit clunky. I've worked in many labs and never heard of SMOCK being used, only lab coat. A SMOCK for me is an art studio attire. YAPSAT is a much weaker synonym for harangues imho. One of a kind did not register ACE, there is more than one in a deck of cards and while top notch experts may be rare there's usually more than one. Finally, a walking bass line is very strongly associated with jazz and the blues but I have never heard it mentioned in the same breath as SKA. Again I appreciate the constructors efforts and I thought the theme was fun, the awkwardness was a real detraction for me.
Stevie Nicks "Edge of Seventeen": "Just like a white-winged dove Sings a song, sounds like she's singin'" Heard: "Just like a one-winged dove . . ." I was always puzzled by what happened to that bird. Lol
Did we actually make it through a week without ACAI as a clue answer?! Or maybe it just seems like it. Anyway, thank you for the fun puzzle and for not using ACAI! (And for having my MLB team in there!) Go Sox!
While not as horrendous as other Fridays this was still a drudge for me. Very disheartening when you know a decent amount of the clues and still can't solve without looking up a long list of esoteric trivia whose only real world application is to solve a crossword puzzle. I don't mind looking up and learning but a crossword for me is supposed to be engaging entertainment not a slog.
🤦♂️ I don't know why I keep blocking on this. I know this not the first puzzle to use this. Maybe this will lock it in now. Thanks!
Meh. Some tenuous clue/answers imho but maybe just not a good sync with constructor. ZESTA is closer to a saltineNot a lot of joy in this one for me today.
Neither fun or interesting for me. Some of picture clues were awkward and not really that clever imho and even stretched what I would call punny. Way too many Naticks with a lot of clues having reasonable same letter answers even with crosses. This is one where the constructor was trying too hard to be clever. Just because it has pictures doesn't make it fun. Glad to see this one in my rear view mirror.
This is the second puzzle I have seen this in. C'mon it's either Baa (see "Babe") or Moo (see "Old MacDonald . . ."). Unless the barnyard is in another country perhaps?🤔🤭
I appreciate the effort put in by the puzzle maker and I did like a couple clever clues but I agree with others that this was not praiseworthy, let alone enjoyable. Confusing clues with alternate name spellings, numerous obscure proper name clues and awkward syntax. I again put this on the Editors, not the maker. Where was the editing? This should not have made it to publication in this form. With some minor tweaking I think this would have been a really enjoyable challenge of a puzzle if only . . .
Now that was challengingly fun; both the theme and the fill! More? Yes please and thank you!
Meh. Still don't get and don't care to get the theme, even after reading the article, which I normally don't do. This wordplay was cute but did not find this cohesive and some of the cluing was a tad awkward or inaccurate in order to construct the puzzle to make the theme. Same with some obscure trivia, at least for me. I'm glad I ignored the gray squares from the get go. That said, who doesn't like a puzzle that has sloths and echidnas in it.
Can folks please read the comments before posting multiple, separate ones on the same topic? I'm tired of reading about people's self righteous defense of the Maya as it applies to today's puzzle. Others have nicely addressed these concerns and the conflation of "civilization" versus "culture". There is nothing wrong with the puzzle clue. The Maya culture is alive and well, the civilization as a centralized sovereign society/government is not.
Fun but challenging puzzle, even if I didn't really get the revealer until the end. Any puzzle that references Ren & Stimpy is ok by me! Thank you!
The NYT redeemed themselves today after yesterday's arcane slog. Kudos to the creator as well for putting it together. As others mentioned, this puzzle was challenging for all the right reasons. For me a perfect combination of some difficult trivia, wordplay and potentially useful information that with a reasonable amount of time, patience and maybe a look up or two kept one engaged and felt satisfying upon solving. Thank you again.
Another Saturday of gratuitous drudgery plied by the NYT. Awkward clueing as pointed out by others and borderline accurate answers along with pretty obscure trivia with naticks offering no relief. I have no problem with difficulty or even having to look up answers but this was another soulless offering with no real joy. Not the worst but near the bottom for sure for me. I think the editors could've done better.
Is it possible to get through a week where ACAI is not one of the answers? It's getting a little tired imho.
I guess I am in the minority again but found this one a huge slog. Admittedly some due to just being on a different wavelength than the constructor but also for having, imho, too much esoteric trivia and overly erudite clueing that is only helpful in solving crossword puzzles that was not helped by any crosses, at least for me. I will be happy if I never see a puzzle from this constructor again. At least it got some of the pretentious commenters who claim everything is too easy to quit whining for a day.
@Nancy J. I personally believe a puzzle should be able to stand on its own, that's why it's a puzzle. One should not have to have "instructions" to solve it. I don't necessarily mind gimmicks but I agree with others that there were stretches on a number of clues in order to make the gimmick work. That's where it starts to fail for me. As I have said before, not all can be winners in the (paying) public eye. This was not the worst puzzle this year but I personally didn't enjoy it.
@Alexandra I concur! I also think that expecting readers of an American newspaper to know an obscure German chocolate brand that also happens to have spelling close to a well known American chocolate brand is absurd imho. I have lived and traveled extensively in Europe and have not ever seen or heard of this brand among many other more common German brands with wider distribution.
@Anonymous while I don't mind doing archived puzzles for the sake of doing puzzles, I find the idea of doing them so I can learn more arcane and/or outdated trivia that has no practical application outside of solving crosswords a bit ridiculous for your average solver who wants to just do a puzzle for an enjoyable challenge. I think puzzles being distributed to paying customers should be reasonably current and/or topical (or at least not be crossed with equally obscure clues) with the time of publication. I could care less about outdated words like HET or older, lesser known Greek Actresses from a general knowledge standpoint or even for the sake of solving a puzzle. Just my opinion.
@Crevecoeur I believe the large amount of dissatisfaction is directed at the NYT and editors. Remember that we all pay a subscription so just like in real life, when someone is doing a poor job they are called out on it. It's the only real avenue of feedback a subscriber has.
While no where near as horrible as the last few days this one was meh with a number of proper names/useless trivia crossed with many answers that had multiple spellings and/or regional variations with a scant spattering of awkward cluing. It had some clever misdirects but just not inspiring for me. More of a plod than a slog as a whole. Could've been better, could've been worse but it was a puzzle. Thanks.
@Barry Ancona I agree with John's comment. I am fan of Roxy Music and have seen Bryan Ferry live and I I would not classify it as rock and roll if I am correct in assuming that is what "rocker" was referring to.
@momonjava I agree with you and other commenters. As an MD for over 30 years I have never heard AORTAL used. While not horrible this puzzle was very clunky.
@Phil I am an MD and I agree but to be fair a little license like this is more than acceptable for the sake of puzzle construction imho.
Meh. Unlike most I didn't find this puzzle satisfying or interesting. A little too gimmicky for me and some awkward clue phrasing and horrible puns. This is coming from someone who enjoys both Dad jokes and eye rolling puns. To each their own I suppose. At least it wasn't the dumpster fire from the day before.
@Vaer it is actually the NATO Phonetic Alphabet even though "A" is spelled "alfa" per NATO. <a href="https://www.nato.int/en/about-us/nato-history/history-by-theme/symbols-of-nato/nato-phonetic-alphabet" target="_blank">https://www.nato.int/en/about-us/nato-history/history-by-theme/symbols-of-nato/nato-phonetic-alphabet</a> However, having spent a career in the military including stints with other NATO militaries, in practice I have seen "A" spelled as "alpha" as well. Officially it is "alfa" per NATO though.
While I thank the constructors for both yesterday's and today's puzzles I personally just found them meh. Both solvable in usual time but I found the clueing awkward in some places and the puzzles not that inspiring for me. Most likely a case of different wavelengths but there were a few answers that will only ever going to be useful in solving a crossword and little else but little to no Naticks helped ease the pain.
@Brooks same for me and Lansdowne St is on the other side of The Monster so I was thinking "In the street/road" or something because that's where a real monster home run would land lol
Having had a number of ambulance rides as a care provider I can tell you it can be a high risk endeavor because traffic at intersections is unpredictable and the experience of the ambulance driver also plays a role. I was in one that almost flipped because the young eager EMT was driving too fast for the urgency required and his lack of experience. Thankfully it stayed upright and he got the ambulance back on track without incident and the patient was brought in without issue. That EMT learned quickly the mantra: "Slow is smooth and smooth is fast."
@Nancy J. that was a good explanation. It also involves placing the board further back on the wave and at an angle to the wave so the wave acts as a fulcrum i.e. like a seesaw balanced with unequal weight on each side. Regardless it still looks like gravity defying magic!
Wow, back-to-back winner puzzles with incremental difficulty and enjoyment! Thanks!
@Nat Concur! Not to mention that many of the clues had multiple answers of the same length with overlapping letters. The theme was kind of fun but seemed to once again come at the expense of something else.
@Barry Ancona No. It was just not a good puzzle for reasons already well elaborated elsewhere in the comments but putting it on Tuesday only highlighted that even more.
@Andrzej interesting in that opposite to most others comments I found this week's Bee difficulty on par with other weeks, maybe even a tad easier. As my family often points out, my brain just might work differently though. Lol
@Brian Coffey I initially had BOWSAW which has very course teeth as well.
@Tim They also have the ability to climb ladders as attested to by a number of firsthand accounts of friends and family members. My brother-in-law was working on a roof of a home with one and was totally gobsmacked to suddenly find the dog sitting next to him on the roof and the ladder was the only possible way it got there!
Could someone explain to me SRO for "Theater hit's inits." ? I was really at a loss on this one and it was the crux for me in solving the puzzle. Apologies if this was already asked. Thanks
@John What about fanny packs? As an American living in Pompey I was quickly but politely corrected by my flustered co-worker. Never made that mistake again. Lol
@JNLA I absolutely agree that this puzzle had way too much obscure trivia and almost gratuitously difficult solves for clues that still had less common/challenging answers of the same length. I don't mind learning but I don't do the nyt crossword to primarily educate myself, for me it's a form of engaging entertainment. When I find myself needing to look up almost half the clues for information whose practical application is only to solve a crossword puzzle, it becomes a slog; as was today's for me. That said, I absolutely disagree with the puzzle maker being lazy. The act of making any puzzle (crossword or otherwise) requires time, patience and ingenuity. I feel your frustration, I had it too (including STU), but using dismissive words like "lazy" without any real substantive feedback is not fair to the puzzle maker or nyt puzzle editors and just sounds like sour grapes as pointed out by others; and realize this is coming from someone who empathizes with you.
@Steve L I disagree with your sweeping generalizations. Maybe you all are just in the minority with regard to liking this puzzle as attested to by the comments recommended most, which were negative. No doubt this because your's and other's skill levels are probably in the top 5% and so can appreciate cleverness and brilliance where most only find frustration and tedium. This is supposed to be stimulating entertainment but for the majority of people puzzles like these are the equivalent of an amateur club tennis player competing against a top ranked pro who shows no mercy i.e. not fun and downright humiliating. Who wants to pay for that experience? I think most want to be challenged but not demoralized. I would argue that those seeking this level of challenge/difficulty look to other places where they are among peers. This is a publication for the general paying public of all levels and backgrounds and the varying of difficulty should be considered accordingly. While I appreciate the makers efforts, as I know a lot of work goes into these, but there has to be some boundaries. I would argue that they were exceeded for a significant majority of puzzlers today with far too many naticks, awkward cluing and an embedded hint for associated answers that appear to have gone over most of our heads. Not all NYT puzzles can be winners and I think once again the editors missed the mark.