CRTH
NJ
34
Comments
0.272
Avg Sentiment
10
Positive
23
Neutral
1
Negative
NJ
I read the clue for 19A [Name shared by the singer of the #1 hit "Rock Me Gently" (1974) and the first Korean American elected to the U.S. Senate (2024)] and thought "No idea who either of them is". It wasn't until there were three letters from the crosses that it dawned on me...that's MY senator (and yes, I voted for him). D'oh!
"Enjoyed this!" "I hate Thursday puzzles." "Elegantly crafted…kudos!" "That ucksayed" "an enjoyable puzzle" "Did not enjoy" I do get a kick out of the Thursday whiplash effect - when consecutive comments are on either end of the "love it or hate it" spectrum. (I'm in the "loved it" camp.)
@Patrick J. You may be confusing Jane Grey with Jane Seymour, who was the third wife of Henry VIII. A queen consort would not be called a reigning queen. Lady Jane Grey was proclaimed Queen after the death of her cousin, Edward VI (the son and successor of Henry VIII). Her reign lasted only nine days as she was deposed in favor of Mary, the older daughter of Henry VIII.
Sailing, sailing, over the bounding MAIN; For many a stormy wind shall blow, ere Jack comes home again.
I filled in ABACUS for [Hardly anyone counts on this anymore] immediately, no crosses needed. My mom, who was born and grew up in China between the two world wars, brought her abacus with her when she came to the US in the late 1940's. I have childhood memories of how fast her fingers and the beads moved, and the clacking sounds that were an accompaniment. She tried to teach me, probably when I was in fifth or sixth grade; I could do addition and subtraction but only slowly, and never got the hang of multiplication. And then of course hand held calculators came along in the 70's, so that was the end of using the abacus.
BELLADONNA made me think of Beth March in "Little Women", so I did a search to check and at the top of the results was the AI Overview: 'In "Little Women," Beth March does not use or mention belladonna.' UM ACTUALLY... "I looked in Mother's book, and saw that it begins with headache, sore throat, and queer feelings like mine, so I did take some belladonna, and I feel better," said Beth." (Chapter 17) As it says in the fine print, "AI responses may include mistakes."
@jennie A puzzle isn't a "take it or leave it" proposition. The crossword editors work with constructors to improve their original submissions, and they can (and do) suggest alternative clues. It's the clueing that determine the difficulty of the puzzle - the existence of easy mode for Friday puzzles demonstrates that. If a difficult puzzle can be made easy by more straightforward clues, then the opposite is also true: an easier puzzle can be make harder with more subtle or trickier clues. It's up to the editors to determine what level of cluing is appropriate for a particular day of the week. Personally, I'm OK with an occasional easier puzzle - as long as it's only every now and then. It's the overall trend towards consistently easier puzzles in the second half of the week that I find disquieting. I like variety and definitely want challenging puzzles to be part of the mix. And that's up to the editors.
I got a kick out of the CONGEE - OATMEAL pairing because one of my favorite breakfasts is oatmeal prepared as a riff on congee. Low sodium chicken stock, minced garlic, a bit a ginger (usually ground ginger as I don't always have fresh), onion powder, sometimes a splash of mirin or rice vinegar. I use Quaker old fashioned (rolled) oats. Bring to a boil, cook additional 4 minutes (less for a chewier texture) then I slip in a raw egg to poach for another 4 minutes. Dish out the oatmeal saving the egg to go on top. Then black or white pepper and either a few drops of sesame oil, or a dab of gochujang or chili crisp, or a splash of Chinese vinegar or reduced sodium soy sauce. Yum. An alternative to the poached egg would be to beat the raw egg before adding it, the effect is something like egg drop soup. Every now and then, I garnish with Chinese pickled cucumbers (jiang gua) and/or a bit of pork floss (rou song), but those are extras; it's plenty tasty without.
I got a kick out of completing 44A, as this afternoon I voted in the NJ 11th Congressional District election.
I learned the [Jewish honorific] REB from "Fiddler on the Roof". From "If I were a Rich Man" The most important men in town would come to fawn on me! They would ask me to advise them, Like a Solomon the Wise. "If you please, Reb Tevye..." "Pardon me, Reb Tevye..." Posing problems that would cross a rabbi's eyes! And it won't make one bit of difference if I answer right or wrong. When you're rich, they think you really know!
HOSTS as the answer for [Armies] made me think of the phrase "And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly HOST praising God, and saying..." From the Gospel of Luke, but I really know it from "A Charlie Brown Christmas", and from Handel's "Messiah ". A Charlie Brown Christmas <a href="https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=bPhqMJpQsYQ&t=1m20s" target="_blank">https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=bPhqMJpQsYQ&t=1m20s</a> Messiah <a href="https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=GbicfvN4zFM&t=46m04s" target="_blank">https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=GbicfvN4zFM&t=46m04s</a>
Deb, Reading your columns on Thursdays and Fridays has been like hearing the voice of a crossword friend. Thanks for bringing your insight, humor and encouragement to Wordplay. You've made this corner of the puzzling world a warm and welcoming place. Wishing you all the best. XOXO
@Ken W. I agree that you either have or haven’t heard of ANNE (MEARA). But if you're looking for a name - anybody's name - with the letters A_NE, ANNE has to be the obvious first choice. How likely are the other options? ACNE? AONE? ARNE?
For 31D [They glisten in a classic Irving Berlin tune], I started singing in my head "Sleigh bells ring, are you listening? In the lane, snow is glistening..." Oops, wrong song. Had to start over. "I'm dreaming of a white Christmas..." (And yes, I know Irving Berlin didn't write "Winter Wonderland")
OILPAN made me think of my first car, an '82 Honda Civic. My brother taught me how to change the oil myself. It was easy because I could raise the hood, lean in and put my hand on the oil filter. Those were simpler days....not saying better or worse, just simpler. (BTW, it was a stick shift with a TACH.)
@Andrzej Sure, that's what I do now. But back then I had my first real job and wasn't earning much, so I could save a few $ by doing it myself. And I got a certain amount of satisfaction from being ABLE to do it as a girl (way back then, working on cars was still perceived as mostly a guy thing.) For a while I had 4 snow tires and changed them myself twice a year. Got pretty good at it. Now if I get a flat, I call roadside assistance. But when I said things were simpler, I guess I really meant that car engines were simpler. Not necessarily better, but definitely simpler.
@Ms. Billie M. Spaight You aren't taking into account the blended families. It's a logic puzzle: prior to their marriage to each other, Dad had two children and Mom had one child. So Kevin D was their first child *together*, Dad's third, Mom's second, and their fourth overall.
HAZE from wildfires can be dense enough to be a driving hazard.
“And hast thou slain the Jabberwock? Come to my arms, my beamish boy! O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!” He chortled in his joy. (the slithy toves gyre and gimble)
Guess this was in my wheelhouse. Smooth solve, but I was surprised to finish and find my time was over 2 minutes faster than my Monday average. I did get and enjoy the theme, but not until I got to AO.
@john ezra I interpreted "offering" to mean that the sommelier selected the house wine rather than recommended it.
While I'm enjoying the many tributes to Deb Amlen - my favorite Wordplay columnist - my first reaction was a panicked "Wait, is this her last column? NO!" So I checked, and happily the answer really IS "No"; we have two more weeks to savor her wit, warmth, enthusiasm, and encouragement. Phew!
@Cat Lady Margaret At least babka has Spelling Bee.
@R.J. Smith When there's an answer I don't know, I get more satisfaction from solving using the crosses, rather than, say, looking it up and then complaining about it.
When I filled in SLYBOOTS, my reaction was more "Hmm, OK feels vaguely familiar" rather than "What the heck is that?" After reading a bunch of comments singling out SLYBOOTS as an unknown, I questioned my reaction. Out the the depths of my brain, my far distant 6 year old self came up with BOSSYBOOTS. I spent a couple of childhood years in the UK over 50 years ago, and the "boots" usage must have stuck from back then.
@Scott I was at the ballet last week, where someone sitting near me shouted "BRAVO" for the man finishing his solo variation, "BRAVA" for the woman when she finished hers, and "BRAVI" when they took their bows together at the end of the pas de deux.
Link to today's Midi puzzle: <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/crosswords/game/paid/midi-07-25-25" target="_blank">https://www.nytimes.com/crosswords/game/paid/midi-07-25-25</a> You can access the previous Midis by changing the date in the URL. I struggled a bit with the anagram of the green letters (only two vowels!) but finally came up with the two word phrase. Thanks to John S, I was able to use the result as a discount code at the NYTimes store (No space between the two words.)
@Hope Levav The solution to the Midi's green box letters anagram can be used as a discount code at the NYTimes Store. However according to a post by Jill a few hours ago, the promo has reached its limit. See my earlier post; scroll up to see the the text of Monday's email from John S. <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/24/crosswords/daily-puzzle-2025-07-25.html#permid=143795775" target="_blank">https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/24/crosswords/daily-puzzle-2025-07-25.html#permid=143795775</a>
@Bill I clicked on the link and was shocked - in the best possible way - to encounter the Roches. I very possibly was at that concert, as I saw them at McCarter two or three times. Had no idea there was video, so thanks!
@CaptainQuahog "No purchase necessary to enter. Open to legal residents of the 50 states and Washington, D.C. who are at least 18 years of age, while supplies last. " That's pretty standard contest verbiage. It refers to "chance to win $25 off". No purchase needed to enter the contest to win a $25 credit. Only solving the puzzles and the anagram. There is no place to enter the solution other than the discount code field in the NYTimes Store. You just have to be satisfied with coming up with the solution.
Other treats traditionally served with milk - for me that would be brownies, or any rich / dense chocolate cake such as devil's food cake, flourless cho1colate cake, etc. My sister-in-law makes a chocolate whiskey cake every year during the holidays. Ingredients include cocoa powder, Irish whiskey, strong coffee, and mini chocolate chips, along with butter, flour, sugar, eggs, and baking soda. Also sea salt, ground cloves and black pepper(!) Moist, dense, and delicious. And always accompanied by a glass of milk. Recipe at NYTimes Cooking <a href="https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1014419-chocolate-whiskey-cake" target="_blank">https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1014419-chocolate-whiskey-cake</a>
@Bob Lady Jane Grey is known as the "nine days queen"; I stopped my explanation at the end of her reign when she was deposed. In fact she was not beheaded immediately, so no, "deposed" doesn't mean "had her head cut off." Her actual execution came several months later, after her father had been involved in a separate plot against Queen Mary.
@The X-Phile Loved the clip. shouldn't he be able to back his own bags at this point??? I think he would pack for himself - if his gear (OK, extra parts) were actually going into a bag. It must be trickier to pack when the stuff has to go into an opening in your own back and you have to reach around without being able to see. IMO he probably helps her when SHE has to pack; they help each other. ;)
@Katie SENS is an abbreviation for Senators. A group of 100 in the District of Columbia. [D.C. 100: Abbr.]
All 34 comments loaded