AG
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Philly, PA
Found the puzzle challenging but fair and fun, and the three clues in the puzzle associated with Chinese culture (Sun Yatsen, John Woo, wood-ear mushrooms) made the puzzle easier, not harder, for me. (As well as Ito, the Japanese skater Midori.) I guess it is about simpatico with the constructor sometimes.
"Cava" seemed to bedevil some folks, but most happily a number of us have imbibed it. It's a fine, economical choice (as are many Spanish wines) if your local liquor store carries it.
I'm from the city. So a bit tough for me to get TPed as in TPing a house. That's suburban stuff. I suppose I still should have gotten it quicker with the help of SENATEPAGE, which was clever. A slow Tuesday time for me, but them's the breaks.
@Andrzej No offense, Andrzej, but speaking of spelling, got to be careful when typing "possible," unless you are referring to whether someone with prostate problems can properly transmit a beer.
As a former boxer, thought I was going to have to be s sourpuss on KOs being Rocky openings (more like closings), so was happily surprised by the clever "Yo"s. Thanks for the puzzle!
What a clever, satisfying puzzle! I was able to solve it though it took me longer to do-- (I didn't get the theme until very late.) Forgave myself for being so blind because I'm only starting to do the crossword again after many years and don't have much experience with such creative structures! Will think more out of the box next time I hope!!
I got "trouts" and don't really have a problem with it, but I think I would have phrased the question, "Flathead and brook are varieties," rather than use the word "these." That way I think the plural is more associated with varieties rather than a plural reference to the fish generally. Maybe I'm touched to think this quibble makes a difference but somehow it makes sense to me. Very tough but good puzzle.
I was cruising to a new Sunday record and enjoying the puzzle but didn't get the golden chimes. Was foiled by one A/I discrepancy. Kept looking at the puzzle thinking, "I can't see anything wrong with it." By the time I figured out what I had wrong I was well over my record time and even my average time and thoroughly frustrated. Oh, well, them's the breaks. Even if my answer was incorrect, I think a non-chemist like me could pardonably make this mistake as follows--- I have now learned thanks to today's puzzle that Ferrite (an iron compound) is in magnets and Ferrate (also an iron compound) is not in magnets. As for the cross, Yasar, though far less common than Yasir as an Arabic name for prosperity is nonetheless an Arabic man's name for prosperity. As stated by AI on a Google query--- Is "Yasar" Used as a Name in Arab Countries? • As a First Name: Using Yasar (يسار) as a given first name in Arab countries is rare compared to Yasir. When parents do choose it, it is typically for its secondary vocabulary meaning of "abundance, ease, prosperity, wealth" rather than "left-handed." • As a Last Name: It is much more common to find Yasar used as a family name (surname) across the Middle East. Apparently, Yasir/Yasar can also be spelled "Yasser" when transliterated, as in Yasser Arafat.
@Mary James Dean in a windbreaker. Your average politician in a blazer. Enough said, Ted.
Solved this very fine puzzle, but used way too much time, because I didn't crack the theme. (Actually neglected the title's clue while just accepting what seemed sure to be the entries.) My loss. It was a clever idea to close the c into a circle.
Had fun solving this puzzle, though it took me much longer than yesterday's, which I enjoyed more.
@Ruth Poley Five minutes off my fastest time also. I didn't find it unfair or the most difficult or obscure for a Saturday puzzle. Not saying it was easy for me, since Saturday puzzles can be a bear. But I got it in reasonable time. Would have been a record time if I hadn't had an incorrect fill blocking me for a while. Some are here complaining about French. For others of us, it's helpful. C'est la vie. Complaints about spanakopita? OK, so it's the NY Times crossword, right? A cultured New Yorker for sure knows spanakopita, so I would say back off of that complaint a bit. Some of us handle filo dough and make it for ourselves, in which case that clue was a breeze.
Proud to say that I finished this puzzle and kept my streak alive. Don't ask me my time, though, since I had some wrong fill blocking me here and there. Some of it was on my wavelength, but much of it wasn't. Still enjoyed it and found it challenging.
Solved the puzzle, though I found it quite difficult. Hardest for me was the Southeast. Won land? Wow. Maybe silly, but "Gold meddlers" felt like a play on gold medalists to me, so that's how I came by the answer. Also, coaches who turn average athletes into great ones are called "alchemists," though I don't know if such positive activity qualifies as "meddling." Perhaps no less than turning tin into gold is meddling.
Need some help from the NYT Crossword Community-- I took up doing the NY Times puzzle some months ago and have completed 109 puzzles. Today, when I had looked the puzzle over and was satisfied my choice for the last letter was correct, heard the precious ditty, and received the gold star, I discovered that for the third time in the last month or so, I had exactly tied my best time to date for that day of the week. To the second. Not a second faster or slower, but the exact minute and second. This seemed highly unlikely to me to occur three times out of roughly 110 puzzles. I was wondering what the chances were to have that occur three times? AI says that the raw probability was somewhere around 1 in 500,000 to 1,000,000, but there were some quirks of the program that could make it somewhat less unlikely, none of which made much sense to me. Wondering whether fellow puzzle enthusiasts have also experienced this, and if so, how often.
@Ken S At my high school, an all-boys school, they wouldn't just pants somebody in the sense of suddenly pulling them down. They would get a freshman, completely "pants" him, and then take the pants and give them to a girl he would have to find in front of a nearby all-girls high school and beg her to return the pants to him.
@Kate Far from being a horticulturist, but the current homeowner of a historic garden and avid gardener, I felt a bit sheepish in not getting "true leaves" right away. Somehow just assumed it would be a harder Greek/Latin word in the nature of "cotyledon" (which I am familiar with). That was foolish of me to assume I didn't know the answer. Go with what you know!
@Matt H Judging by the comments, today was an easy Saturday for most of us, but that's still an impressive time. Maybe you are giving up on the other Saturdays too easily? Or your Saturday is (understandably) too precious to spend a couple hours on a puzzle that you finally crack?
@Lynn It's a nice vegetable to grow in the garden. A beautiful plant with distinctive leaves, lovely yellow flowers, and a stem that becomes woody like a young sapling. I cook my homegrown okra sliced crosswise and lightly cooked in olive oil until a tinge browned and a bit sticky. Just a sprinkle of salt is all it needs.
@ACE! Quick Google search says that there is indeed an Electrical Engineering program there, which isn't surprising.
Didn't get the trick, but still finished in record time. Rather than feeling accomplishment, I feel dense for not getting it! Oh, well, maybe next time! Only one small quibble, which may or may not be worthy of considering---a comet ball is a thing (toy), so that one solved conventionally, without the assistance of the trick?
@Jonathan I wasn't defeated by the puzzle, but it took me roughly twice my record time for a Saturday. To me it was challenging but ultimately fair. Yes, I would agree that the well-worn phrase known to all is "Are we there yet?" "True leaves," however, is not obscure or a stretch at all to what some of us would consider "real" gardeners, meaning those who mostly or always start annual crops from seeds (rather than buying already developed tomato, pepper, etc. plants). I like to grow okra--good luck finding that as a plant to purchase! "True leaves" is important, even essential, knowledge for a "real" gardener to have. So that one, I think, was not as arcane or unfair as it might seem to some.
Yes, sadly, horse chestnuts (buckeyes) are toxic to humans. And while they are also toxic to horses, they keep the squirrels fat. Hot pepper in the suet keeps the squirrels away. Yet the birds don't mind it at all.
@Disgusted in America In the words of the great John McEnroe, when told to play on in the rain at Wimbledon, "You cannot be serious!!"
@Barry Ancona No, you are completely wrong about how I asked AI. And the AI answer took into consideration all of the factors that you are assuming it did not.
You made a lot of assumptions that are not correct. I asked AI the right question and framed it properly. Its answer showed that it understood the relevant factors. There was nothing wrong with how I asked it.
@Peter Thanks Peter--you have revealed why this happened. I did not realize that today's time had replaced the previous record, at least in the most recent instance. The way the information was presented misled me. Seems to me that if the system congratulates you for your streaks of days in a row, etc., it could perhaps be a little more clear that you have just set a new record for yourself. I did have times that were very close to that time, so when it happened the first time, it didn't seem that odd. But for it to have happened several times, well . . . now I know.
@Elbridge Gerry Yes, I also considered rugs!
@Kate Tani My mental response was along similar lines when I solved that one, but you have put it so aptly!
@JustinNM You are missing my point. I am simply saying that in the process of solving the puzzle, one could answer that clue without need of the theme. It is unlike the others in that a comet ball, a toy, is in itself a legitimate item. Comet ball stands out in the following list for being a potential answer in itself. The rest do not. That's all I'm saying. COMET BALL SURE GUARANTEED MATCHES STARTERS DRAGONS BREATHERS PUT UNDER LAMBASTED CEASE TRUCE HEARTH PLACE
@Barry Ancona Yeah, well, Barry, I'm fairly new to solving on a regular basis and occasionally commenting, so I just made an observation, not some major criticism. I enjoyed the puzzle. I notice you comment and hold yourself out as an authority most every day. I don't think your comment adds much to the discussion here, though.
@Jonathan No, Jonathan, you can only complain about what Barry Ancona, the ultimate arbiter, says you can complain about. Them's the rules on this here comment board!
Nor "Old Bob," who was a bay.
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