riled
massachusetts
Thank you Amie for a clever and fun puzzle. It was thoroughly enjoyable, and my hat is off to you for the effort. The whinging in the crossword comments section has become tiresome. If one is so inclined, fault can be found in almost anything. Try to enjoy the ride and variety, open the mind, and try to appreciate the time and effort required to construct the puzzles.
Manicured lawns, aka ecological deserts, are the true eyesores, not un-mowed lawns. Note to the editors. You insist we learn the terms and ways of seemingly every social issue under the sun. You might do the same with matters pertaining to the environment, ecology, and natural history. You know, help change the world for the better, maybe save a few species too.
Mr Schiff, fantastic construction and a clever puzzle that I found an enjoyable distraction from the nerve-wracking news. Thanks for your effort.
One of the funnest, most aggravating, fairest puzzles in a long, long time. This puzzle felt like one of those from back in the old days of 30 to 40 years ago where solving the answer to the theme clue was not an option, but mandatory in order complete the puzzle. Thank you Mr. Goldberg for this gem. Encore.
It is tough to say adios to a regular, dependable friend, even one you never actually met. Thank you very much for your inimitable style and guidance Deb. Hope the new year is full of new fun for you. Wishing you fair winds and following seas. Great puzzle today, a real treat.
Fantastic wordplay Ms Hoody. I had little more than JDS after my first pass through. Very challenging, but fair. Thank you for an amusing Saturday puzzle.
Congratulations on a fine debut, Kit!
Well done Mr. McDermott on a fine, fun, and festive puzzle. Thank you. Merry Christmas and Happy, Healthy New Year to all.
Aww Deb, I wish you luck in your new adventures upon your retirement, which will come way too quickly for me and probably way too slowly for you. You are by far my favorite Wordplay Master at The Times, and your loss from these pages will hurt tremendously. Ouch. I'll try to be more gracious and less selfish when we get close to D-Day. But, in the meantime I'll try to roll with the punches. Eye roll. "Your Direction" by Goose will substitute nicely "The Wheels on the Bus" real quickly. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LoJVGpmuwm0&list=RDLoJVGpmuwm0&start_radio=1" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LoJVGpmuwm0&list=RDLoJVGpmuwm0&start_radio=1</a>
Mr. Liebeskind, thank you for a perfect puzzle this Thanksgiving. I agree with Barry Ancona, the "one" was a great diversion.
Mr. Rooney, congratulations on a your fine debut, and thank you for a clever and enjoyable Sunday puzzle.
Congratulations Mr. Zhou on a terrific debut. Excellent wordplay made this a challenging yet fun puzzle. I'm looking forward to more puzzles from you. The Number discovered in the 1500s had me scratching my head for a long time. Well done.
@David Connell What a remarkable person Professor Chittum must have been. Your appreciation of Ella Dershowitz starting with nothing but a blank page is thanks to his effectiveness as a teacher I would assume. Thank you for the link to his obituary.
Please forgive me for this off topic, but is anyone else having daily problems accessing the crossword? I keep getting the message that "Our site is playing games with us. Please try again later or refresh the page." And I go around in circles trying to get to the sword.....It is incredibly annoying. The puzzle today was fun, thank thee, Mr. Levav.
@RIch Garella Thanks for the laugh.
Thank you for sharing those beautiful sentiments about your Dad, Deb. You brought a smile to my face as I recalled my mom doing the crossword regularly and asking me for help occasionally. I'm very sorry for your loss, but very happy you have great memories and the all important reconciliation to appreciate in times when you feel low. Peace.
@Lorel Best comment of the bunch.
@Frank. You are NOT alone, I'm there with you.
Could someone please explain how NOFEE is "Landlord pays broker" at 30D?
Terrific, clever puzzle, thank you Mr. Hartstein and Mr. Deshong. For some reason the northeast corner stymied me for over eight minutes. Mr. Hartstein, I think it's safe to say you've got a good future ahead of you, in physics puzzles or crossword puzzles. Good luck.
That was a fun puzzle. [Dude who might be in a row], I'd never hear such things if not for these crosswords. Thanks for another good one.
@Steve L Well put. The comments after yesterday's clever puzzle were a real turnoff. Maybe The NYT could have two sections of comments, one section for the complainers and one section for those who appreciate the effort put into crafting the puzzle.
@kit. Great puzzle. Well done. Perfect spot for the rebus. Loved seeing Fort Collins, once the Mecca of Disc Golf, mentioned. The Wright Life is a must visit Disc Golf Store in Old Town. Agreed, it is unfortunate what has happened to the comments section lately; it is now full of complaints. It was once enjoyable to read the many puns and positive opinions and analyses by the super solvers. Now it just seems full of comments by people who apparently think the world waits for their negative vibes about how the crossword doesn't meet their approval. Might they learn a few things after a few more years?
This was a very tough one for me, 16 minutes over my average. Still can't figure out how an emery board is a digital file, or how the period that begins on July 23 is Leo.
What a terrific puzzle. It must have been very hard to construct, well done! I thought all the clues were fair, but I really struggled to understand the NYAD / APT connection. So thank you Deb for the explanation, and to the team for the loads of information and help all year long. Deb, how do you know how many times a word has appeared as an answer in NYT crosswords? Is there a database accessible to the public?
@Sarah That is Natick, with a "c", thank you. My birthplace, I'll have you know.
Ms Goldstein and Mr. Wagner, that was one of the funnest puzzles I've done in a long time. It reminded me of the clever puzzles from many years ago. That's meant as a compliment. Thank you.
@Darren "Somehow, I did manage to complete the puzzle without lookups but only with a lot of trial and error. " That IMHO is exactly what makes The NYT Crossword so much fun.
Does anyone know why the Puzzle Week ends on Sunday instead of beginning on Sunday, as related to the Statistics page? Wouldn't beginning the puzzle week on Sunday make much more sense since it is considered the first day of the week in the US and it is usually the most time consuming puzzle? One would be more likely to see a whole week's worth of puzzle stats (Sunday to Saturday), eliminating the current practice of switching over for the week on Sunday afternoon when some, including this person, are just sitting down to solve the Sunday.
@Neil Actually there are frequently words from Spanish, German, French, Portuguese, and Italian. I find them challenging and fun most of the time, and consider them part of the routine when solving NYT Crosswords. But I aLso understand how they could be frustrating to people unfamiliar with other languages.
I liked the references to two Norwegians.
Mr. Woodford, congratulations on a fantastic debut puzzle. Your wordplay was superb and caused my brain to hurt. I think you've got us Yanks at a severe disadvantage because of your British roots. I had the pleasure of spending a few years deciphering newspaper headlines and article titles when I lived in a member nation of the British Commonwealth. Towards the end of my stay I could almost decipher them. Looking forward to more of your challenges. Good Luck.
Congratulations on your debut Mr. Hall, a fun one to solve. I must admit I never heard of HOLLA before. Is it more common in one area of the country than in others?
@sunny617 Thank you very much. I'm feeling dense that I couldn't decipher those clues for some reason, even after a break.
@B Thank you. Oddly, I’d cleared it two weeks ago for the first time in over a year. The problems began after that!? Following your suggestion today seems to have fixed it.
@Andrzej. Thank you for that. It's a treat to read your entries. BTW, how is your name pronounced?
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