Bill in Yokohama
Yokohama
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Yokohama
About as much fun as a root canal, without anesthesia
Today’s puzzle was brought to you by: ABC, Amtrak, Ajax, Kleenex, Netflix, Orajel, Paper Mate, Pepsi, Ruthless Records and SNL, with additional funding provided by Anthony Doerr, Charles Dolan, Elia, Howard Zinn, Laurence Olivier, the city of New York, and the Los Angeles Lakers.
Is it my jet lag, or was this Wednesday a bit tougher than others?
The SW took me as long as the rest of the puzzle, found that corner to be late-week difficulty.
This appears to be yet another puzzle where some people have complaints (as I did, see below) and others retort, gee, aren't puzzles supposed to be puzzling? I love being puzzled. I love word play and puns, love the AHA moments when I finally figure it out. Look at Lewis's weekly top 5 favorite clues/answers - always good examples of the trickery I'm here for. And I'd love it if every Monday were as tricky as the typical Robyn Weintraub Friday. But there's another kind of clue/answer - you either know it or don't (YEKIOD). A handful of YEKIODs, fine, if the crosses are kind I learn something new, hope to remember next time. But, for example, in today's puzzle, there's nothing tricky or puzzling about 48A, 33D or 49D - they're all YEKIODs. Crossing each other doesn't make this puzzle pleasantly trickier, it just requires brute force. I much prefer puzzling wordplay over brute force YEKIOD on any day of the week.
Hannah, I seem to be in the minority today but I had no issue with the theme clues/answers as written and overall found your puzzle enjoyable and an appropriate Thursday challenge.
Like bad carpentry, Mike's puns are unparalleled
Craziest coincidence ever, I hope someone enjoys this as much as I did. This morning I'm hanging with my friend Satoshi. We're discussing this story: <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/26/dining/japanese-american-new-years-recipes.html" target="_blank">https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/26/dining/japanese-american-new-years-recipes.html</a> I point out that words like "datemaki" and "kurikinton" have English explanations, but "dashi" doesn't, and maybe it has entered the lexicon like manga and anime have, and he says, "Recently in my online photography discussions I see many non-Japanese using the word BOKEH, do you know it?" And I'm like, no, and he explains it, and then later in the day I start the puzzle...
@Henry Su I thought IN IDLE was the most inelegant answer.
Wow, Monday and Tuesday both take me 20+ minutes?! Were these actually so much more challenging than usual, or is my brain still in Bantayan?!
This puzzle had the best cluing in quite some time my fav of the year?
Second attempt: I love rebus puzzles but this one didn't do anything for me because: 1) I got all the rebus squares and entered four letters (state abbreviations) without slashes. When I didn't get my gold star, I couldn't be bothered to search for typo, so I checked puzzle. One of the rebus squares was marked incorrect but the other three were fine. So a slash wasn't necessary, except once where it was? 2) The reason I couldn't be bothered to search for my typo is because overall the puzzle was just meh. Uninspired clueing throughout. Nothing about it "sparked joy."
Coat, dog, hat, heavy, notch, O’ the morning, secret, shelf, surgery, spin TOP TEN
Fun fact - spring and fall equinoxes are national holidays in Japan!
@Jared Interesting - those were two of my favorite clues today.
PSST - any upstate NYers WANT SOME good KARMA? If you're in Putnam County and see a SENIOR loading groceries into a Subaru with DAHLIAS tags, wish her a pleasant day and tell her you're a puzzle fan like her son in JAPAN
I'd like to know who, thought to run this Saturday puzzle on Wednesday
You might know him from songs like, MAMA Tried Or his pleas for fans to become organ donors, after his own ORGAN TRANSPLANT Or that he couldn't sing for years, due to VOCAL CORD injury. Rest in peace, Phil Lesh
Trickiest part of the puzzle for me was thinking 25A (Resolve) was a verb, answer SETTLE For a few minutes, tried to make a rebus S'UP MAN work in 25D When I finally got the center squared away, still no gold star... Finally got gold when I realized C3PO ends in PIO and it wasn't a hair NET that causes some head-scratching. Enjoyed this puzzle and figuring out the trick early helped with the solve.
I wanted the answer for "Evil spirits" to be ROTGUT
Fun coincidence for those solving on an Apple computer (not sure about PCs) - use the ESC key to enter a rebus!
@Sophia I think you're missing Shrike's point/joke that the TSA makes traveling so unpleasant (at least that's how I read it)
My fastest Sunday this year!
@coloradoz Starbucks barista asked his name, dude said, "Marc with a C" When he picked up his coffee it said, "Cark"
I found this twice as enjoyable as a usual Thursday - because it gave me two AHA! moments. First when I figured out that the black squares before the ー clues concealed a LIE, and again when I figured out that I was wrong. I beLIEve Rena has a bright future in crossword construction!
After reading thru the comments, two big surprises; 1) all the talk about 15A - BEEMER was my first gimme of the puzzle, I'd never think to spell it any other way 2) I'm the first to mention BOBO?! It's definitely BOZO!! Bozo the Clown! That probably cost me my new Wednesday best time
Two surprises after going through the comments: 1) The amount and intensity of the vitriol. 2) That most of the displeasure was not, "Cute, but WAY too easy for a Thursday."
@Steve Where I grew up, it was a blooper. "... hits a little blooper over the shortstop that'll drop in for a hit!"
Start of an '80s drug epidemic? DAWN OF CRACK After Oliver asks for more? FATE OF TWIST People's Choice Award winner's discarded trophy? LITTER OF THE PICK What the convict felt when sentenced? GRAVITY OF LAW Nicholson's testimony in A Few Good Men? TRUTH OF COLONEL The Gilded Age, to those espousing a simpler life? TIME OF WASTE Car on cinder blocks in Adonis's driveway? JUNK OF HUNK Granary on your regular jogging route? MILL OF THE RUN Hippie's brain? MIND OF PEACE The moment of shaving mishap? TIME OF NICK Universal big crunch? DEATH OF TIME
@Rahul From Sunday, this week per xwstats: Very Hard Average Hard Hard Average Very Hard Hard I agree, it's been a good week, and hopefully because our voices are being heard!
A very pleasant challenge that felt/solved like 5 puzzles; NE followed by SW, then center, SE and finally NW corner.
@Michael B. I was similarly confused by 2D - what does a ski jump have to do with a CAT CHAIR? Shouldn't the clue be, "Your lap, perhaps?"
Always pleasantly surprised when a Tuesday makes me sweat a little. The more difficult than "normal" Tuesday is much, much preferred to the Friday or Saturday I can finish in "Tuesday" time.
@Steve I think you've got the wrong appendage.
I felt so confident and smart when I immediately thought 52A was about Captain Cook and Easter Island, YETI was way off.
@Mike Did you try reverse engineering?
@Dave K. If I were your editor I'd suggest rewriting your first sentence thus: "So annoyed with myself for not knowing the word sachet, and for not seeing that "row" also means quarrel."
Let's try this again: @Kyle: Think tennis @Steve L: Dude (@emu: pretty please?)
"Pharmacy brand" had me thinking generic, like Walgreens, not Gillette
Lots of very clever clues throughout, made up for the fiendish SW corner, where I found the crossing of a pre-Jennings Jeopardy host, and a Pinocchio character, with a national motto (of any country), to be rather Naticky
Oh, what a delight! A surprise Wednesday rebus, But over too soon!
@Alex Couldn't you have chosen a different example?!
Sure made me think a lot more than any puzzle in recent memory, and I appreciated that. Also nice that (for me) figuring out the theme actually aided in solving. Quite enjoyable.
It must be some puzz, for Eddie to go beyond his normal 5 words!
TONI INOT Is kinda cool
Must say, I'm surprised at the backlash to 30A. In casual conversation (at least mine), 'VE is often omitted. "You been sitting on that sofa for a while!" "Yeah, I been stuck on this puzzle for an hour!" I can easily come up with a dozen more examples.
Crossing three sports answers in the SE is a Natick for me. (But I'm sure Barry will tell me why I'm wrong.)
I thought we might have a Friday rebus when I couldn't fit HOUR IN LINE in 54A TIL QDOBA but the crosses made it easy, even if it didn't look right.
@Jacob Black You misspelled "different"
Barry, here's my list: Bibb crossing Bitte Team Coco crossing Ellie and Smew Oday crossing Skye Ararat crossing Uhuru and Tardis All the above (but especially the last, which required a double consonant run beginning with BB and not ending until RT) resulted in a 20+ minute Monday!