Bill
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Minnesota
I didn’t know Bush senior and Carter both had perms. The formal Bush and the humble Carter, who would have guessed. And then of course I rethunk it. Had a good laugh.
Took a bit of time but I got it. Nice play on words in some of the clues. After about 5 years of solving, I can say it’s finally become rare that I need to look anything up to solve a puzzle, even on the tough days. I’ve come a long way since those first weeks of solving when I’d never get a Thursday-Sunday puzzle without look ups. So if you are new at this, just keep plugging away.
This was under my Saturday average. Anytime I can get wed-sat with no look ups is a good week for me. If you are new at this, stick with it. The more you do the smarter you feel. I’m still in awe of frequent commentators here who pull off these puzzles in a quarter the time it takes me, but then I remember I get more fun time than they do. Fun puzzle.
Challenging Saturday for me, but got it with no look-ups. A nice diversion from the news, but feeling like the world is turning upside down for real, and I’m ready to march.
Used to be not long ago I could never come close to solving a Sunday puzzle. Now it’s just how fast can I do it. So if you are new and still struggling, hang in there.
@Chris. Yeah, me too. I too had TAT and TIRED, took forever to find the pesky error.
I coach the Southwest High School math team, and we won the Minneapolis district last week, so going to the state tourney next month, go SW!
I thought this was hard enough for a Friday. I guess I’m pretty slow compared to many, but I also suspect I’m faster than many, and probably most mortals couldn’t solve this without lookups, which I didn’t need. So hang in there those who couldn’t solve it or took longer. TIL KESHA.
Started slow, but suddenly came together. I’m getting better at these.
@Shrike. I recommended your comment because I solved quite quickly as well, but then I went back and realized the puzzle was very clever, and cleverness wasn’t necessarily meant to help solve the puzzle. But very clever, probably very difficult to construct, and appropriate for earth day. I will say Reduce highly preferred over the other options.
My dad just passed last year. So sorry Deb. But we are still living, and so wanted you to know I let out a loud Whoop! that scared my wife (don’t ever do that again!) when I finished this puzzle with no look ups. Perfect puzzle level for me, so crafty, thanks!
Just a really good puzzle. Challenging for me, but got it no lookups.
Very satisfying crossword. Loved “Takes in the trash”!
@Amy. And to all, appreciate the love and support!
@Ken W. No biggy. The first letter I tried was “t” because it sounded perfectly Italian. Never heard of TAIO, learned something. The rest of the puzzle was nice and clean, good Thursday trick.
@Striker. Well, just over an hour for me, but very enjoyable. Encouraging others who take longer to finish these, hang in there. My last word was APERCU crossing with TIC. TIL…..
@Jon. No one cares, it’s true. I’m at 362, 3 more for a year. Do I quit today, in 3 days, in 3000 days? But I get it, or I wouldn’t admit I know my own streak. So if it means anything, I’ll say I care. Keep your own count, we’ll ignore the miss. It was an easy Tuesday for gosh sakes. In solidarity, I’ll skip tomorrow. Okay, maybe not.
Really fun. My first word, STATE, for Chihuahua, e.g. Then EWE, then RANLOW, which I got with nothing but a W. Built around that. Got it pretty quickly for me for a Saturday. Couldn’t get much of a foothold yesterday, this one made up for it.
@DocP Makes me think of the silly human trap where people fly a lot just for the frequent flyer status, where you get unbelievable perks like getting on the plane 2 minutes sooner (so you can be cramped even longer) and getting 2 more inches in leg room (okay, some people are long, so glad I’m not for plane’s sake). I’m sure someone has done a master’s thesis in psychology (or marketing) on “how humans get trapped in manufactured (and meaningless) status symbols”.
@john ezra. Laughing very hard, thanks.
Too much complaining. Yeah, NYT can do better, but the puzzle was quite solvable without the underlined letters, and I don’t think the underlines would have helped me solve it any faster. They were just a very clever addition to discover after the fact. Nice puzzle!
Not my fastest Wednesday, but close. STRIPPOKER? YEAHNO. Well …….
I dated a woman in Toronto years ago, and she said “have a bird”. A bird? I said “ you mean a cow?” And she laughed and asked how anyone could possibly have a cow! Any Canadians want to chime in?
Very enjoyable and clever puzzle. Who didn’t laugh at TURTLESHELL?
After 1900 solves, personal best time for a Saturday. I guessed correctly on a few long ones with little to no fill, sped things up.
My fastest Thursday ever! Very fun. Laughed at INATUB!
My favorite in a long time. So many audible “ohs” or “hah”s coming from me. Hard but doable. Fell together nicely, very fun.
Got it, no lookups, so satisfying.
@Bill. By the way, took me 67 minutes.
This one was/felt different. I liked it.
Just very happy I got this one without lookups, though it took a while.
Quick Thursday, but fun and new.
@Steve L. The K in Nikki my last correction. Voila.
Very clever the way this was constructed, with those long entries. Clues were good too.
Took me 45 minutes to find my mistake, BELLE, not BELLA. Ugh.
TRANSAM made me smile. I remember some of the rich kids who drove Transams to high school. They were beautiful. 6.6L it said on the hood. Sitting next to CJ5’s with lift kits, giant mud tires, and KC lights. I drove a big mercury station wagon to school sometimes. Don’t laugh, it had a very beefy 390cu engine.
@Francis. More roundabouts please.
@Bill in Yokohama. I learned 3 new names. And the Queen of Hawaii I knew, but golly wouldn’t be able to spell the name without crosses.
I really enjoyed this one. It didn’t come easy, but eventually fell together. That area with IOTAS came last. Learned what MEWS are.
@Kris T. I was waiting for this. I moved to Minnesota 27 years ago, after living all over the country. Only in Minnesota is it Duck Duck Gray Duck. It’s wrong, of course. There is much ado about it here when young kids get weird looks from non minnesotans when they utter duck duck gray duck instead of duck duck goose. The NYT will surely get an earful on this one.
@p j fin. Under 10 is my goal for Mondays.
Really fun puzzle. Thought I wasn’t going to get there, and yet it came BYGUM.
Our 16 year old son is a slalom skier and mountain lover who craves the double blacks. His parents, not as agile, lean toward Nordic. He’ll appreciate this puzzle when I show him.
@Pat Engel. Two is II in Roman numerals, or Aye aye captain. Four is IV, or Ivy League, Forty is XL, or Excel sheets, hundred is C, or Sea Legs.
That was a slog, but did it no look ups! One little letter at a time, clues made you think outside the BOXfish.
@Heidi. I was tempted to learn quite a bit today, but after a terribly long slog, was able to avoid it. (And I mean long). Odd to be proud of not learning at all.
@replay An HVAC crossword indeed.
I got it, no look ups, but a bear. A fun one. Took forever. I pulled OPAH out of my memory somewhere, kept it going. Top left area took the longest.
NE Corner was a where I flounced a while.