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Reading the comments has made me realize the Venn diagram between gamers and NYT crossword commenters isn't very large. For those complaining, Mario is one of the most recognizable video game characters of all time and stars in the best-selling video game franchise in the world. Arguably, more people know about Mario than the American regionalisms, specific sports knowledge, and 80s-era television shows that sometimes (or often) appear. You don't need to be a gamer to know about Princess Peach, for example. And for the rest, there are crosses, just like I was expected to use in order to find CHACHI, a reference to a show that ran for two seasons several years before I was born. There seems to be this pervasive idea among the (frankly) older population that video games are still a deeply niche and geeky thing. The video game industry generated $187 BILLION dollars in revenue in 2024, making it more profitable than film. Mario has starred in hundreds of games since he was introduced as a character more than 40 years ago. None of this is niche to the population at large.
I’m nearing the end of my first solving year, and this puzzle really opened my eyes to how far I’ve come. I was worried at first when I realized there wasn’t an explainer clue but then EIGHT popped out at me. That combined with the title did the trick! It still took several more crosses and a confused googling of TTDRESS before I got the rest of the gimmick but get there I did. Though I’m still not beyond needing a little Google to get me through, I was nowhere near being able to complete a Sunday puzzle without autocheck a year ago. To small victories and big improvements!
As a regular MEGACON attendee (who just returned from it last weekend), I never expected to see my yearly pilgrimage show up in the vaunted NYT crossword! In fact, I needed almost all the crosses before my brain clicked and shouted, “Megacon! Wait, MY Megacon? Surely not.” It wasn’t until I read the Wordplay article that I indeed knew my little con had graduated to nationwide fame (something I should’ve realized when it became the second largest fan convention in North America). 谢谢 for a fun, crunchy crossword!
@Linda “420” is most certainly part of the popular consciousness, even for those (like myself) who are outside of “weed culture.” The term has been around since the 90s and has been made even more popular with deregulation successes and attempts. I can understand being unfamiliar with the term if you aren’t hooked into meme and pop culture, but it’s not knowledge just limited to “the stoners” these days. Besides, isn’t the NYT crossword also about broadening our cultural horizons? I certainly know far more about sports now than I ever needed (or wanted) to know. And now you know why people seem to cheekily say “420 Blaze It” on April 20th every year!
@Willing to try I don’t see any problem with “ends” as an answer for that particular clue. The clue is plural, so “heel” wouldn’t work. Though I will admit my initial instinct was to enter my personal favorite: “butt.” No one wants to eat bread butts.
The SW corner stymied me for quite awhile until I noticed I had miscounted the number of c’s and r’s in MOROCCO. I felt like a real DODO when I realized my error!
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