Scott
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Denver, CO
I don't envy whoever's job it is to determine which puzzles run on which days. You have to figure out if more people are going to complain that it's too hard, or more people are going to complain that it's too easy. Because either way, people are going to complain, apparently. I just like solving puzzles.
@Dave K. No pleasing some people, I guess.
@D It truly is interesting how few words can say so much about someone. As for hoping to never encounter certain people, the feeling is mutual. Yikes.
The seriousness with which some people take a word puzzle never fails to amuse me. Everyone seems to be able to find something new to complain about. I just enjoy putting the letters in the grid. Nice puzzle.
I am well familiar with the particularly pedantic or snobbish bent of many of the commenters here, but I thoroughly enjoyed this puzzle, and reading so many complaints was mystifying to me. I couldn't help but enjoy the irony, given 67A. I could just use that as my reply to all of them.
Interesting puzzle idea. First time I've ever seen that spelling for that particular Mediterranean dish. Would rather have seen LLCOOLJ or HEYMRDJ instead of the rapper with unfortunate political allies, but hey, that's the world we live in now.
@SP Been to Cincinnati a couple times, enjoyed my stay each time. Especially the chili. If someone doesn't like it, that's okay. It's okay to be wrong. 😉
I long for a parallel universe where the CEO of the car company was one-tenth as intelligent and decent as the man whose name his company uses. I'm just glad it was ELAN in the grid and not that idiot's name. Nice puzzle, quick and easy.
@Chris I would suggest that you look at the main theme answer to this puzzle (67A), and take it to heart.
Finally realizing the gimmick in this one, getting everything but the rebus, then the final aha...just a great puzzle. Thought to myself, some weird answers aside (LI'L OL' ME?), no one could dislike this excellent example of setting, right? Proved wrong again. The comment section is one tough mother.
These comments indicate a particularly...homogenous population here, who consider their lived experience fact. People named TRE exist, and I'd imagine at least one has used a STU to make music, in a genre that is perhaps less familiar to the commenters here. Hm. Good Saturday puzzle!
@JNLA The puzzle was hard for you, so it's a bad puzzle? Okay.
@Pagrisan Cheese and crackers, some people just want to be offended.
Clever cluing, interesting wordplay. Line of latitude? Switch positions? Bad lighting? That's what I come here for. Quick solve at 13:11, but I'm not complaining.
I liked the puzzle. I needed the blog to get the wordplay for each letter of QUIP, but that didn't affect my enjoyment. I detest April Fool's gags, but this didn't read like one. Then again, based on the other comments, I seem to approach these puzzles very differently. Paragraphs just to say...you didn't like it. Wild.
@Moira Are all blow-up dolls female? Or all buddies? Where's the sexism, exactly?
Good puzzle. Not sure why everyone's so reluctant to type six letters into a puzzle, nor why identifying which end of the political spectrum a group is on, by definition, is a problem. Being vilified by propagandists doesn't change anything. Fascism is as far from leftism as it is possible to be. Period. Go read Umberto Eco and come to terms with reality.
@a How about, "With 'wh-', something NYT commenters do more than they should."?
@Grizzly Hearts and Spades are also games. Catan is, at this point, I'd argue, a more well-known game than either of those.
@jf Just because you've never said it, doesn't mean that people don't say it.
@Nick Skill issue. Took me 16 minUTes. Sorry, I MIght be mORe chARitable, but hostILe comMEnts like yours get my daNDer up.
It always irks me when sake is referred to as rice wine. It is a fermented grain beverage, which makes it beer. Wine is made with fruit. I am aware of how the archaic liquor laws in the US designate it. I disagree. Great puzzle. Maybe I shouldn't be so surprised that MENOPAUSE has never been in one of these. I also love portmanteaus, so ANECDATA was a welcome inclusion.
@Charles All words are made up. That's how language works.
@Jonathan Thanks for sharing!
@Asky At one time, the word "hip" likely consternated some adults. Words and phrases are invented all the time. Language changes.
Those lines made me laugh out loud. Great puzzle. Solved it in half the time of my Thursday average. But instead of kvetching, I will use the extra time to solve another puzzle. Yay!
Great puzzle. Theme answers made me roll my eyes in the best way. Dadvertising indeed. One thing, though. REIKI might be a discipline, and Japanese, but it doesn't heal anything. It's literal hand-waving.
@Jeff I can't speak for my fellow solvers, but it took me 16 minutes and I didn't look anything up. I don't really mean to flex or anything, I'm just pointing out that it is possible.
Made me mighty mad that I might make a mess of this mishegoss. Luckily, the cluing, as tortured by the self-imposed alliteration as it was, did its job. I could see how someone who likes their clues as straightforward as possible would not like this. But setting like this takes some talent, which I appreciate.
@Ned S I wish I had the time to write several pedantic paragraphs disagreeing with a crossword puzzle setter.
Good puzzle, neat theme. For all you who come here to comment on how the puzzles are getting easier - have you considered that maybe they're not, and you're just getting better at solving them? I don't know if it's true, but it's what I'm gonna go with.
@Donna My mom said she loved this puzzle. Different strokes, I guess. Happy Mother's Day.
@Grant How about, "Fee for a Tesla or Rivian"? E(VT)AX
@Xword Junkie Please stop using AI to "research". The hallucinating plagiarism machine isn't a reliable source of truth.
@Bruce The EVOO abbreviation doesn't irk me. What irks me (or did, I haven't watched her in some time) is when Rachael Ray would say it, then say the full term anyway, completely obviating the abbreviation. One or the other, Rachael.
Great puzzle! Like other commenters, when I saw the grid art, my mind went to "eyes" rather than a Roman numeral. But as soon as I had "FREDDYSR..." I knew where I was headed. Love the grid art tie-in! I've only seen two of the films, but I knew the titles. And with so much of the puzzle in those answers, the rest came together very quickly.
@Asher B. Crosswords are puzzles. They don't have "integrity". They have solutions. This puzzle's solution was coherent and consistent. Too many people here equate "I didn't get it" with "that was a bad puzzle". No improvements are needed. What's needed is perspective.
@Robin Fascism is right-wing, by definition. Not sure what else to call its opponents but left-wing. Accurately describing things isn't partisan.
@p j fin Not sure how often you come here, but pearl-clutching is not exactly rare. I agree with you, it's an accurate clue.
@Ben I can't wait to see the puzzle you construct to blow all our minds with. Seeing as how easy it is.
I liked this puzzle. Short and sweet. Thought I might be looking for answers with multiple double letters when COLLEGE ROOMMATE and CIA ASSET popped up, but I guess there was no real theme. I also applaud ERADICATE for "completely destroy" instead of the all-too-common (and incorrect) "decimate". But I've made peace with that redefinition. Sigh.
@Cheyenne Language changes. And you'll drive yourself crazy correcting common usage. That is all.
Me, finishing this bear of a grid: "Welp, everyone complaining about how easy the puzzles are these days ought to be really pleased with this one." Ha! Should have known.
@Nadine I'm with you, but judging from some of these comments, it's like this puzzle ruined their childhood.
@Gareth Yes, it's a suffix. "caffe-" meaning "of coffee" and "-ine" being a common chemical suffix denoting an alkaloid substance. Which caffeine is.
@Eric And the singular of "biceps" is "biceps" but no one uses it that way.
@S Godwin Maybe the constructor has an accent that has Lon pronounced "lawn"? Except he seems to be from Minnesota, not New Yawk.
@Xword Junkie I've never heard anyone say "di-a-mond", but then again, since I say "dy-mond" whether I'm speaking quickly or not, I'm probably biased. Is it an American thing?
@Greg Chavez I don't think the setter aimed to make the puzzle that much harder, though that does seem to be the result of the theme. A bit harsh on the rest, though as your opinion, I can just...dismiss it.
@Thomas Is this a feature of some form of neurodiversity? I have my own hangups in terms of typesetting, but the bold M's didn't tweak anything unpleasant in my brain. You're definitely not alone, though.