Ace
LA
Took me 47 minutes to complete but to be fair, I was conducting the LA Phil in a performance of Sibelius No. 2 while solving tonight.
“Please like and subscribe” on YouTube videos is called BEGGING, and it’s insufferable.
Brutal for a Thursday. Also, the phrase is I’VE BEEN HAD.
@Steve Daniel I thought it actually is “oopsie daisy.” In any case I’ve never heard “upsa.”
Huh. I’ve gone my whole life apparently incorrectly using deplore as a synonym for despise.
Felt like a Friday puzzle till I stopped attempting the northwest section and saw the rest was a solid Tuesday. Then was able to come back to NW. But man was that a rough quadrant.
Some esoteric references for a Wednesday.
@Asher B. I sometimes find the theme of the puzzle ponderous or uninteresting, but Sondheim is one of the greatest composers and lyricists in American musical history, responsible for creating or contributing to twenty or so musical productions in NYC in a career spanning eight decades. A Pulitzer Prize winning genius, he also happened to be an avid puzzler and constructor of cryptic crosswords in his own right. In fact, he contributed the puzzle to the debut issue of New York Magazine in 1968, introducing cryptics to a wider audience. While you may be unaware of his work and legacy, or even uninterested, to me Sondheim is the amalgam of thee elements: music that is brilliant in its compositional construction and harmonic intention, married to deftly wrought lyrics dripping with an uncompromisingly playful use of language, and finally (maybe above all else) the quintessential spirit of New York itself. For my money, there’s no more apt, or better a theme for a NYT crossword puzzle than Stephen Sondheim.
Took me three hours and twenty nine minutes but I finally solved it by entering a rebus for every square with all 26 letters of the alphabet in each one.
Odd choice to make every single answer DOODYHEAD, but with 365 of these to publish a year I guess they can’t all be winners.
Brutal. Especially the northwest quadrant. Can someone explain to me how AMAT is a Latin “I” word? Amat translates as he/she/it loves, not I love. If constructor meant “L word” they should have used a capital L instead of a lower case which read to me as a capital i. Also, in 44 years of walking this earth I’ve never seen scheds spelled SKEDS.
@Grumpy so you’re mad that you didn’t see one of the most revered musicals in history by arguably the single greatest practitioner of the art form? Sunday and Sondheim aren’t exactly esoteric deep cuts, man. Rather the ranting about how you’re behind the curve and didn’t get it today, why not make a plan to see the musical instead. See what all the fuss has been about these past four decades. It’s one of the most widely programmed and revived shows on Broadway history.
As an added personal challenge I decided to attempt today’s puzzle whilst bound in a straitjacket and suspended upside down over the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge. I’ll spare details, but needless to say after 6 hours and an NYPD airlift across the Upper Bay, this wasn’t a personal best for me brahs.
@Grant well if we’re bringing out the big gun credentials, like that, I’ll have you know I made it all the way through Webelos, got my arrow of light, AND was the tagalong in my sister’s brownie troupe. I was also voted most improved swimmer at scout camp and my mommy said I tied the prettiest sheepshank knot that whole summer!
@Xword Junkie it’s a BBC sitcom from the late 70s-80s called “Absolutely Fabrizio,” about an Italian immigrant struggling to acclimatize to life in the UK. Horrible, virtually unwatchable series with its insistence on nonstop full-frontal male nudity and gratuitous unsimulated sex scenes, but the spinoff “Gertrude’s Gardens” was delightful. It focuses on Gertrude Garten, Fabrizio’s seemingly buttoned-up spinster landlady from the original series, and her misadventures tending to her gardening hobby/obsession of growing oblong fruits and veg. My favorite episode is the one where she enters a local contest to see who can grow the longest zucchini. Or the one where Gertrude’s favorite eggplant goes missing and she becomes hilariously frustrated. Classic stuff!
@Brian this is a common phenomenon I notice often. Every time it happens I think to myself that I should start a list of answers that keep coming up, and then I don’t. But apparently the only woodwind crossword constructors have ever heard of is the oboe, and if I see that answer one more time I’m going to buy one and learn to play it out of spite. I’m gonna hate-play the f out of that oboe.
@SP patiently and diplomatically stated. I was going to simply reply “oh please,” and roll my eyes.
I only met Donny Pleasance twice, but they were both memorable occasions. The first time I was walking into Musso & Frank in the mid ‘70s and he was walking out. We sort of bumped into each other and I (rather wittily, I thought) remarked, “pardon me, Mr. Blofeld,” in my very best Elaine Stritch impression. He sort of looked back and reeled, before bending over and violently losing his lunch into the ashtray by the valet stand. The second time was years later in Gstaad, I was coming off the ski lift with my publicist’s wife when I spotted Don, just preparing to launch down the slope. I snuck up behind him and, in my very best Ludwig-van-Beethoven-doing-a-velociraptor impression, shrieked, “SPECTRE!” He sort of looked back at me, then wobbled a bit, before clumsily careening down the mountainside, leaving a trail of technicolor disgorgement in his wake. Strictly speaking, there was a third occasion as well, involving my spot-on Mary Todd Lincoln impression and a subsequent loudspeaker announcement canceling the rest of the evening’s festivities on account of a Mr. Pleasance having been taken rather suddenly and violently ill, but I don’t count that time because I had just had my eyeballs tattooed and actually thought I was talking to Empress Wu Zetian at the time.
One of my first gigs out of florist’s college was operating the Zamboni at the local ICE ARENA in Tallahassee. Then home to the Tiger Sharks, I would drive the ‘Boni out onto the ice between the periods and make it smooth and supple. I’d wet it down and make it real slick. Now, anyone familiar with hockey knows that the fans tend to get a little rowdy, especially later in the game after a few pitchers from the ol’ ALE TAP, and it wasn’t uncommon for them to hurl various items onto the ice in my general direction, such as empty beer cups, garments of clothing, small odd-toed ungulates, things of that nature, my brothers. Well, one game the crowd was particularly ornery and restless and somebody threw an actual Zamboni out onto the ice. A second Zamboni right onto the rink. I had my headphones on and was rocking out to my favorite cassette tape, “Phil Collins Plays Stravinsky’s Greatest Hits,” not having noticed the massive obstruction directly ahead, and crashed right into it. I was thrown clear onto the ice, and my rogue Zamboni (now ghost-riding full speed ahead with no driver), ran right over my left leg, shellacking it to a shiny, icy finish. Well, that was decades ago, but it’s why they still call me “Smooth Foot Rogers” down in the Panhandle, brahs.
I love a Saturday puzzle that makes me feel smart. Unrelated to today, but what is the general feeling about using the help functions among solvers? I think using the “reveal” function is a definite no-no if you want to consider having solved the puzzle (as is looking up a clue online, or googling something within the clue), but I think using the “check” function occasionally is..sort of okay? It doesn’t give answers but it helps move things along and avoids getting stuck forever because of a wrong square. I’m at a point in my solving where I generally solve through weds (sometimes Thurs) with no help. But Thurs on I tend to use the “check” assist as needed. Curious what others think about these aids.
@Justin Now, what I wouldn’t give for a holocaust cloak. Wait, where did you get that? Ahh Meewakoo Mahxeth. Eee fee so naaah he said I koo keep it.
Is there a name for the phenomenon where the same answer appears in puzzles during the same week, or relative period of time? ADRATE appears today and Monday this week, but I haven’t seen it in other puzzles. Is this a pure coincidence, since the constructors are different people and likely not working together, or intentional? Does the editor have something to do with it? I notice it from time to time (I actually noticed it a lot more frequently when I began doing puzzles regularly a few years ago) and it always jumps out at me. Sometimes it’s just a common enough crossword answer that it seems unremarkable, but when it happens with answers like ADRATE it seems more intentional.
I grew up in Punxsutawney and I can tell you first hand that the groundhog is actually a dude named Gooch Johnson wearing a gopher suit. He’s been doing it for years and it never ceases to amuse me that the whole world believes he’s actually a groundhog. Also of note, I was living in Punx when they shot the film and I have a brief cameo in one scene. I play the groundhog and my name is a Gooch Johnson brah
Never heard of taking down a campsite referred to as “breaking camp.” Clear answer to “something to make or break” is CASE, and held me up for nearly 30 min as a result. I wonder when something like occurs, is the constructor deliberately being tricky with the solver knowing they will initially assume CASE, and then have to backtrack, or is it just a coincidence or lazy/thoughtless clueing? Hoping the former, but it always feels like the latter especially when muttering profanities after 20 plus minutes of head scratching. It’s a weird thing with these puzzles, there can be such a fine line between fun/clever/tricky and downright annoying. And of course others may have not considered CASE for this clue as their first guess (though I’d find that nearly impossible to believe).
Sorry, it was an ok puzzle but I’m not understanding others’ seeming awe about the constructor and the construction. Words like “brilliance” “marvel” and “impressive” to describe this grid aren’t landing with me.
MIEN and METE on a Tuesday? Nah, this is Wednesday plus material.
The best clue they could come up with for STRAPS is things found on a golf bag? Really? There’s lazy and then there’s just phbbblbbbtt…
Totally fine Halloween puzzle but I really don’t get why we have to all be put through the forced woke agenda of spelling out the latest “best practice” ogre and demon pronouns. We get it, it’s a changing underworld and language is an evolving construct. But can we please check the politi-ghoul agenda at the crypt, and just stick to regular undead clueing please?
@Chris “starter” refers to starting pitcher on a baseball team. In baseball the “bread” (salaries) they earn are based on “home” plate, or more specifically how many strikeouts they can pitch to prevent members of the opposite team from scoring runs by crossing home plate. Ergo the “starter” results in “homemade bread” I.e. the starting pitcher does his job and earns his salary. Super simple clue brah
We lost something culturally special with the passing of album liner notes. Reading personal insight on the music while listening was a wonderful ritual that gave engaging perspective, and often some interesting behind the scenes insider info. For example, I never knew the piano at Abbey Road was so incurably out of tune that Lennon had to perform the vocal on “Imagine” while submerged in a tank of tomato aspic to get the pitches to match. Or that the drum intro on “50 Ways To Leave Your Lover” was actually Richard Nixon shaking his jowls into an SM57. Often what we think of a song on the radio can be tempered dramatically by learning more about the artistic intentions of the songwriter. For example, without the pithy and erudite revelations found in Andre The Giant’s liner notes for Joni Mitchell’s magnum opus “Ladies of the Canyon,” I would have never known that “Big Yellow Taxi” was not a metaphorical comment on the civilizational destruction of natural beauty, but rather a cry for help from desperate woman in the depths of a toxic obsession with livery cabs. Or that Stravinsky’s “Rite of Spring” was really about a colonoscopy gone wrong.
I had the first two theme clues solved and assumed the theme was about Vegas/gambling, so when I got to the revealer I felt confident the answer was DOYOUFEELLUCKY. Only problem was it’s one letter too long for the boxes. So I printed out the puzzle and drew an additional box at the end. Worked like a charm brah.
@Byron oranges do not contain pits or stones, you’re thinking of tarantulas. Rather in this case, PITH is a reference to William III of Orange, seventeenth century sovereign Prince and later King of England, alongside his wife Queen Mary “The Deuce,” (who herself later had a steamship and a line of Micro Machines named after her). William was known for his terse, forcefully expressive or PITHY statements, like the time Louis XIV asked him to pass the salt and ol’ Billy replied, “Nah brah, get that shizz yourself,” which may or may not have resulted in some small war between England and France. Hope this helps brah.
@Tom Steele I do. That is indeed the puzzle’s theme. Sorry, I’m still waiting to understand why that’s so remarkable. I’m not a constructor, so perhaps I’m glossing over something that is uniquely difficult from that point of view(?), but there are only 117 words or word couplets in this puzzle’s answers. Given the breadth of the English language’s vocabulary, and given that no longer phrases were even attempted, this doesn’t strike me as a particularly impressive feat. It’s more cute than anything. Had the constructor managed to include a few longer phrases as answers while still limiting each to only a single L, then yes, I’d concede that would seem more impressive, to me. Nevertheless I’ll bow to the majority opinion here and assume that you all would not be commenting on how amazing it is if it weren’t so.
@Bill I only know of that word because I had three bands in college all called anapodoton. All three were solo acts, just me, and I came up with the names of each of the bands, though I had never heard the word before and didn’t know what it meant. To date I’ve never heard the word and I still don’t know what it means. Hope this helps.
As Kublai Kahn’s sous-chef I can say with some authority that one either MINCES or CHOPS, but not both. They are two distinct preparations. DICING on the other hand is best left to the saucier. Also, being INTO something is not nearly as intense as being OBSESSED with something. I know this firsthand as I used to be only INTO doing unsolicited Ethel Merman impressions for complete strangers on late night subway rides while wearing my Kublai Kahn mask, but now I’m OBSESSED with it.
I got hung up on ASTRONOMER because I’ve never heard that world until today. I had ASTROLOGER because that is the only science that accurately describes the heavens. Interestingly, the first time Galileo observed Sagittarius he is reported to have yelled in a high squeaky voice, “Oooh! Ooooooh! Yummykins!!”
I’m never clear on this. Is it cheating to read the column and the constructor’s notes and gleaning some answers, or is it considered an acceptable and expected part of the solve process? I never go to the column until I’ve filled everything I can, and often there is no help in the tricky clues as those tend to be answers I solved on my own, but in today’s puzzle I grabbed three answers from the column. Also, unrelated, but is it considered cheating to use store bought hot fudge sauce in a traditional bolognese?
I guess 15 years is long enough to do anything, but this seems like the best gig in the world, and something you could do into your 80s if you wanted to. But maybe I don’t comprehend the behind the scenes stresses of it? Just seems like a dream gig. Do the crossword, write an amusing column about it, go to dinner!
This was the roughest Wednesday I’ve seen in a while. Ended up scanning it into my constructor software, removing all clues and boxes, and creating my own grid from scratch. Only way I could get through it brahs
@Eric I don’t see COT as being a response to “sleep on it.” It is simply something one might sleep in. Other answers in the vein could be BED or PILLOW, etc. No quotes or punctuation required.
@Nancy your getting older and the puzzles are getting younger. What can you do?
@Charles so you’re zealously touting your own ageism as the reason you failed to solve the puzzle? Some of those expressions may be outdated but they’re universally known by most educated people of all ages.
@Margot Any other Japanese word and I’d agree with you for a Monday, but HAI is common knowledge. I knew that one when I was a kid. I’ve learned that just because I don’t know an answer doesn’t make it particularly difficult, it simply means that I didn’t know that answer. I found this a perfectly breezy Monday puzzle, got through 6 min faster than my usual Monday times, and no lookups or help. Tomorrow I might choke on the puzzle and you might fly through it. Go figure.
This one stumped me flat out for about three hours until I finally took off the blindfold I was wearing. After that I solved it in just under 14 min. Must be a glitch in my app though, I never got the congratulations screen with the jazz piano music, despite my solving all clues and filling each square in with the correct rebus answer MICKEY ROONEY.
This puzzle reminds me of the time I worked as a clown for Ringling Brothers and the stunt I performed each night involved jumping spread eagle over a four foot tall open flame and my nickname at the time was Smooth Sack Rogers.
Sorry, but I only did the Sunday puzzle just now and the comments for it are already closed, so I’m posting this here. Yes, over 1000 comments mostly hating that diabolical thing, and you can add me to the fold. But rather than ranting ad nauseam which I feel most inclined to do, I simply want to ask, what on earth is the point of a double rebus crossword puzzle? This was my first exposure to one and it seems to me to negate the point/concept of the crossword puzzle entirely—that being that the two words cross each other with common letters. The point of this of course is that in addition to simply answering a trivia question, or solving a cryptic clue, you’re expected to utilize this intersection of commonality as PART of the solving process. In the case of the double rebus however, or at least Amie Walker’s double rebus, the two words do not contain common letters, so at that point you might as well just have two random questions on separate lines, or separate pieces of paper for that matter, as they share no crossing connection and therefore fail to meet the basic requirement of the crossword puzzle format.
About 90% of today’s mmmmPluzzle was easier than most Mondays, but I spent 3hrs and 37 sec on OREOCOOKIE, because I thought RIAL was spelled with a Y. Go fygure, brahs. Go fyg.
NW and W were brutal for me. Also, unrelated, but I got a new tattoo of Nico Nolte on my neck last night brahs.
@Karen ADIN and ADUE were a cinch because I’m a three-time grand slam-winning orchestral composer, but GUNLAP? Please..