Ken
South Miami, FL USA
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South Miami, FL USA
For me the experience of doing the NYTCP is that of tiptoeing on a narrow edge, with self doubt on one side and the sheer joy of discovery on the other.
@RozzieGrandma Hi Rozzie! One thing I'm learning is, for end of week, Fri. and Sat., the clues can be so arcane or of such a narrow context, that it's better to try fitting different words in to the grid, rather than struggling to answer the riddle that any particularly difficult clue poses. Once the grid fits w legitimate English language words, I can have a backwards 'aha' moment, and enjoy how ridiculously narrow was that clue for the word that fitteded there. Happy Mother's Day! Ken Henschel in South Miami, FL USA
If I've solved the puzzle except for one letter, then I just start with 'A' and enter each letter alphabetically until it's solved. However, if I don't know 2 letters, then essentially the total possible number of solutions is 676, or 26 x 26. Mostly then, if I have solved all but 2 squares, it's time to declare 'near-complete victory', move on, and do something more fun and useful with my time. Being off by 2 or a few letters cures me from any addiction to crossword puzzlizing. Person smart, puzzle dumb. After all, have you ever heard a puzzle speak out loud? Toldjya, crossword puzzles are dumb. Ken Henschel
I've never seen a CWP where symbols are oriented so as to resemble the letters the take the place of. Nice idea. Otherwise a very straightforward puzzle today.
@acjones The entries and clues that I'm not familiar with in the puzzle are an important source for me to learn about current pop culture. At the age of 60, coming back to the NYTCP after a 20 y hiatus, many old standard entries are gone. No more 'olio podrido', or 'rara avis'. I enjoy googling and 'wikipedia-izing' the entrries that I wasn't familiar with after completing the puzzle. It's a portal for me to get jiggy wid' it Bro.
@Ginny Hi Ginny, My experience has been that most of the Saturday puzzles are at the easier level of the past 2-3 years. However once in a while, maybe once every two months give or take, NYTCWP goes old school on us and puts out a killer-diller like the good old Satur-days. You're liable to hit on one of those, and in my experience it is a feeling of stymied stultification, and for me at least, a multi-day endeavor. Hey I ain't proud, except when I am. X-D lolol
@Barry Ancona This clue does not hold water. If you add an 'N' to the word one at its beginning then you have 'None'. That would give you 'an en' as John StL said. But 'Not a one' doesn't work exclusively for the clue as written. If it is not a one it doesn't have to be zero! A two is also 'not a one', so is a seven, or a twenty seven. Just because it is not a one doesn't require it be zero. I solved it be entering every letter in alphabetical order til the 'T' gave me the Congratulations jingle, as I'd completed the entire rest of the puzzle. He presents the clue as a math-analysis statement. But he means instead the colloquial expression 'Not a one'. So for that usage the clue should be presented more like this: '___ _ one', i.e. none. Ken Henschel
In general the NYT Crossword just is not as hard as it used to be. If you have a subscription, go back in the Crossword Archives 10 years and try a puzzle from the 2010s or earlier. I've been trying Saturday puzzles from 2006. They are MUCH harder than the current rendition. The clues have more misdirection, ambiguity, obscurity. As for this puzzle, a person or their behavior is 'turnt' (energetic, buzzed due to substance use.) A wild party is not 'turnt'. It is as wrong as saying that a wild party is drunk. No. A PERSON at a wild party is drunk. The party itself is not drunk. Ken Henschel, Miami, FL USA
Today I got a Saturday solve time of 30 minutes. It's just that I step away when I'm stuck and come back to it later, because I ain't into squeezing my brain any harder when I'm at an impasse. I prefer to return and enjoy afresh, by which I savor the cunning of the clues all the more. Not all clues are clever though. "Brady bunch: abbr." doesn't really work: football commentary rarely if ever mentions TDs passes by the 'bunch'. In an earlier era the Washington Professional Gridiron Organization had these lyrics to their song: 'Run or pass and score, we want heap more.' Alas it was deemed an insensitivity and the lyric was changed to 'Run or pass and score, we want a lot more.' It is true though that Mr. Brady has the career record, and no one is about to surpass him any time soon. But that's a lot more than a 'bunch.' That'd be more of a 'heap', at least for an ol' Skins fan.
@replay dude you crack me up X-D X-D :-D :-D
@Grant Far more Cossacks fought for the Soviet Union than changed sides to fight for hidler's horde in WWII.
@Sam I had only gotten those square via filling in the across words. Now I see!!! Thank you Sam :-D
@Jim Congratulations. No doubt about it, you're a genius.
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