Gina D
Sacramento
May it be a comfort to younger solvers that if you’re old enough to remember these shows you’re also old enough to have completely forgotten them.
@Steve L And they had some cross words.
What food could better symbolize the American diet than a Double-Stuf Oreo, Chocolate covered? Double-Stuf, Chocolate Covered, deep fried.
I thought I was wo clever when I put down Relit, for putting a Pilot Back In Action. Alas.
A most enjoyable Friday from Abigail Martin. We Are really looking forward to future puzzles. Those long downs were intimidating but suss-able. And Street Food, Hot Cereal, and Carne Asada are among my favorite things, more Or Less. New Release? Bravo!
Encouraging your sheep to live it's best life, Soar Ewe. 16A
Whiskey Tango Foxtrot. 😉 Great fun.
@Steve L Brilliant and hilarious. You know satire is hitting the mark when self righteousness responds.
More Monday without being boring! Perfect amount of pushback. Loved it.
Amazing debut. A fresh voice and a unique solving experience.
@Steven M. I thought almost all of those things as I was solving and I don't feel mocked. I think it's hilarious.
@Lpr My first thought was, "CPAs are going to love this."
My thoughts are with Californians who suffered a heartbreaking loss of over 2 billion gallons of stored water when our federal government ordered a dam opened with the claim that the act would deliver water to fight fires in LA, though it would've been well know that the water couldn't possibly flow that far south due to intercepting lakes.
This puzzle brought to you by the Letter O.
Stuck with the puzzle to hear what E.B. White had to say and was, of course, rewarded. Now I’m inspired to comb through the New Yorker archives for more of his brilliance. Elixir of quietude. Beautiful.
@Nora Thank you. I can't be encumbered by the rest of the word.
Just think, with no chalk, kids miss the opportunity to go out and "clap the erasers" while surrounding themselves with a cloud of chalk dust." It was such a sweet break from rote learning and Dick seeing Spot run.
I loved it. How many people who love a daily crossword challenge probably watch Jeopardy and Wheel of fortune? Trivia and letter sussing. What a treat!
A Pall was cast on the Nudist Camp. Someone had crossed the Neutralized Zone. People shielding their eyes. Offense being taken. There he was, a fully clothed man wandering around looking like it was the most natural thing in the world.
So fresh and filled with now in the language vibes. You're goin' places Owen Bergstein.
Had no idea what I was doing. When I finally had enough letters that I thought the answer could be Roman Gods I was able to move ahead. It was like trying to sort things in a closet with the light off. I could hang letters in there that felt like they made sense.
Someone here said the puzzle brought to mind Robin Weintraub and I agree. A smooth solve with long answers that were fun and interesting. The Mexico and Schadenfreude clues, fun with a bow on top. Really enjoyed it.
@Arthurs If you work puzzles in the archive going many years back, you'll find that the difficulty level on any day of the week was much higher than now. Follow the money. The NYT wants as many subscribers as possible. They cut the paper into pieces and sell them individually. Games are revenue. Easier sells better than harder. So expecting that former level of difficulty is going to result in a lot of disappointment. It's been modified genetically for financial survival. Evolution, it'll get ya every time.
I could do without the snake picture.
@Reuben These were all gimmes for me so it may be an age thing, skewing toward older.
@Phil Agree on the informally or in brief thing especially Afts. End of the boat would've done. Also, I've talked to a few bees, and they aren't dazzled.
@Fraser It's actually left from colonial times when the main course only was served on wooden plates, from the French for 'in a tree.' It's true, honest.
@Jackson I think it did slant very old in a few places. Texas Tea would be known to Boomers from the theme show lyrics of a 1960s TV program. Br'er Rabbit would also be known to some Boomers. The NYT has used TV Mom in the past and Kojak and Friday were both from very old Cop shows, Kojak the '70s, briefly revived 20 years ago, Joe Friday from the '50s show Dragnet, revived for a few years in 1967. So TV Cop. Tomorrow may well slant very young with lots of pop culture.
@Puzzlemucker Wow that's good.
@Cat Lady Margaret That and the random sizing system that varies from store to store. And the fact that in SML sizing for things like athletic wear what used to be a medium or even a large is now a small.
@Striker Might again I point out that the puzzle is generally easier than it used to be?
What a refreshing, welcome change! No complaints of a puzzle too easy! Oh frabjous day!
@Brendan Yeah, lucky kids. There's something fishy about it I guess.
@Teresa I think I loved most candy bars as a kid but now they taste aggressively sweet. It’s me I’m sure.
@B Solving must be a more personal thing than I’ve realized. My experience with the two puzzles was the exact opposite of your’s.
@B, 17,48, 51, and 52 A’s. This is fascinating to me too. I don’t think the clues yesterday or today were so much clever as they were just challenging. Neither one gave me a really happy aha moment. I think it was the regular commenter Lewis who once said that some puzzles might just not be for you. That was yesterday for me.
Impressive sophistication and word play for a constructor of this age, reminiscent of David Steinberg.
@Mike You outdid yourself today. One verbal high jink above past entries.
If you’re bailing water out of a sinking ship, you're throwing it over board. Plans can be scuttled likewise. I’ve heard it used that way
@HeathieJ I'd imagine Lap Dances as sign language. You can talk about whatever comes up
@Andrzej You're playing the game Hide and Seek. You close your eyes and count to ten while everyone scrambles to hide. When you're done counting you yell, "Ready or not, here I come!
@Sean From Google, Antecedent example: "I saw her at the store." In this sentence, "her" is the object of the verb "saw" and refers back to a previously mentioned female. The hardest 3-letter word clue ever.
A Normal Erik Agard puzzle? No grid-spanning name of a Celeb from a foreign country, whose country I’ve never heard of? No wailing and gnashing of teeth from me? Oddly yes it is.