Endall
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Washington, D.C.
Who are these people who do crosswords and get angry when they don't know a clue? You are invited to become more educated. The crosswords have already become far easier over the years. your not knowing something is not the fault of the puzzzle. It is totally possible to solve this without reading about it.leave blanks, keep an open mind and enjoy figuring it out. You don't need to know every single clue to solve. i assumed that people did these to be challenged and learn, not to prove the very limited knowledge they already have. If you thought a clue was hard, take it as an invitation to learn beyond what you know.
The comments here are wild to me. People noting "quite a few things I didn't know," as though that is something to be noted. First, we are sadly losing knowledge of anything not pop culture. We should know way more, and we should feel bad that we don't. Second, you're really, really not supposed to be able to easily fill in every clue with your "knowledge." It's supposed to require advanced knowledge, thinking, and over all, PUZZLING.
I loved it. Challenging but very doable. Took some thought and patience, as it should. Clever!
These answers are just full of way too many things that are the #1 things to come to mind. They don't require the cleverness and depth of knowledge that Saturdays used to have. See, for example, TATERTOTS. Or even ONEMOMENTPLEASE. They're just not Saturday answers. More puzzles with fewer easy cultural references, incredibly common phrases, and cheap slang! More knowledge and tricky thinking. I see all these comments celebrating fast solves--what's to celebrate?! I have my longest solve streak going. But I don't feel good about it--it's just been very easy.
Is it Tuesday? It must be Tuesday and a breezy one at that. Seriously friends. Go ahead in the archives and do this week's Friday from 2015. Then tell me these are not becoming exponentially easier.
@Barry Ancona yes to #1. If you don't want to puzzle over your puzzles, go do anything else. These are supposed to be tricky. There is no point to grids everyone can easily film in (sadly an increasing trend as well).
This puzzle was fun, good level of difficulty matching the day, and just remarkably created. Really fine moment in my day, to engage with a puzzle this thoughtul.
I mean this with no disrespect but am genuinely curious. Did Saturdays not used to be a lot harder?? I remember doing NYT books even ten years ago, and I would genuinely be stumped for even one clue on some Saturday puzzles? I fully expect to go through and not have anything easily come to mind. Here, you have very easy common clues (Lee with oscars; pop culture stuff; love languages, etc.) that require no real knowledge. If you exist and have done any crosswords before you're getting these. Not saying it was a bad puzzle, but I guess I am sad if this is now the standard for Saturday. Nothing wrong with requiring more of people and making puzzles that not everyone can get, which used to be Saturday for me!
@Reader I would encourage the NYT and ethical people everywhere to avoid using AI to generate anything. Including cutesy clues. Do not participate in the copyright infringement, intellectual property theft, and educational and environmental dmamage.
I truly miss the days when Saturday would have me stumped and I would have to come back to it throughout the day, possibly never solving it. Now it's a quarter of an hour Iater and I'm done. There is nothing wrong with harder clues and relying on specialized, non-contemporary, non-pop/slang knowledge. Learning and thinking are fun. To the archives, I suppose. Sigh.
@Ryan agree wholeheartedly. Longing for the days when puzzles catered to serious solvers. I delighted in being stumped. This is becoming sad.
@Andrzej there is, in fact, a lot wrong with pop culture and a world that valorizes it above all else. No problem with learning and not knowing. Problem when not knowing is presented as a complaint about the puzzle. A world that does not respect and encourage depth of knowledge because it is "busy" should be our greatest fear, our own contributions to it, our greatest shame. But I understand. I am not welcome.
This was a fun, challenging, excellent puzzle! I loved it. My favorite was TYPO. That had me stuck for a while. Thanks for a perfect Wednesday!!
@ I have to agree. Thursdays were often undoubtedly for me, 10-15 years ago. And yet every puzzle has scores of comments complaining how hard they are. Heck, even Mondays used to feel like something of an accomplishment. Now they don't take m more than ten minutes. It makes me sad. As you point out, there were ALWAYS plenty of easy crosswords for anyone. There was ONE NYT for those who enjoyed being challenged. I am not a great crossworder, but I enjoyed sitting with a puzzle I could only get three words on. I wish the NYT would not aim to be popular to people who just want ease and a false sense of ability.
@Tracy If born after 1980 and unwilling to learn prior history, maybe don't do crosswords, which should draw on historical knowledge that sometimes predates us all.
@Byron I don't understand spree either.
Very, very easy. In fact, not sure I've EVER encountered an easier nyt crossword. Good to give a young person a chance, but maybe should come with a disclaimer?
@JohnWM in all honesty, it is hard for me as an educator to keep my sense of humor about something that is actively threatening my students' literacy and ability to learn.
After a great Tuesdsy, this week has been a bit of a let down for me. Found this far, far too easy for a Friday with clues like "_____ incognita" which everyone can get without the ensuing explanation and the TEA KETTLE clue that went on with its explanation for a very obvious answer. Very little pondering, and some awkward phrasing, Like ON ESTROGEN and RAWEST.
@IZ yes but the ward is the one kept, not the state doing the keeping.
@Norwood thanks for this. Aside from going back to these older puzzles, which I will do, does anyone publish harder, more challenging puzzles currently?
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