S Godwin
Tucson, AZ
You know who should like this puzzle? Former White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus. Not only because of the EI combinations in both names, but also because... PRIEBUS rhymes with REBUS. Then again, he's probably prefers the Jumble.
Meh. Again, a puzzle that's too clever by half. And some of the clues are very poor. An earclip does not help with Bluetooth (it may help with a headset), and a slat is not part of a futon (though it might be part of a futon frame). Not enjoyable.
Editors - The answer key link goes to a puzzle from 2018.
I just happened to see this cartoon last night on the Me Cartoon channel. Or whatever it's called. Personally, I never found the roadrunner cartoons to be the best work from the studio, but they're ok. Nonethess, it was irksome to see that the required sound effect was "BEEP BEEP", when the sound is very clearly "MEEP MEEP"! :) Also, despite what's published by right-wing sources, there is no established group called "antifa". It's a boogie-man construct the right uses to scare its ranks. Might be best just to avoid using it in the future.
Caitlin - I don't think the alleyway in question is a bowling alley. It's an alley - the kind between buildings. Urban canyons. All those tall flat surfaces create spaces where sounds echo all around.
Fun puzzle! Anyone else enter NAIR for the hair removal product? :)
Too clever by half. The crossword equivalent of a puffy shirt - it calls attention to the constructor but is otherwise tiresome.
I like a little challenge, but this one turned into a slog. Not fun. I know, I'm a lightweight. I probably would have died half-way through the Bataan Death March, too.
Just came here to see if anyone else was unfamiliar with "Sydneysider". It's legit; I'd just never heard it before. And as an Arizona resident, I have to issue an "harrumph!" about the single star rating. But thanks for mentioning the saguaro!
This was a very enjoyable puzzle. As a relatively new solver, I'm beginning only now to see the tricks without needing to have them pointed out. About half way through this one, I caught on to Mr. Ayas' genius twists. Great fun!
Given the theme, a I figured 'Smashing oboes and clarinets' had to do with "winds", but my first answer was "Breaking winds".... which I thought was hilarious. And "gawp".... seriously, dude? Makes me want to re-read "The World According to Gark".
Terrible puzzle. I've been working with computers since the 1980s and never heard of cache evicts or eviction. Ludicrous clues and answers.
Ohhh. "Have At It". Got it. "You try!" would have to be used in a very different context for the answer to be what I first read.
Nice puzzle. Tough, but I didn't lose any hair. "That Tracks" and "Hate Watch" are both new terms to me, but the crosses helped. Well done.
Ah, yes! Yes, the true genius of the constructor is only revealed when you see how the last syllables of the surnames of the first 14 US Presidents are in direct opposition with the first syllables of the names of the last 18 British Prime Ministers. Brilliant! Also, when four copies of the completed puzzles are interlaced laterally, a message from the ancients will be revealed, but only to those who are worthy, who must engage transportation to the highest spot listed in 108D and deliver it to an alien deity of great substance (but little luminance) who will instantly destroy and rebuild the universe into its next evolutionary clambake. Oh, and 52A is N-A-U-G-H-T-Y-P-I-N-E. Ho-ho. What a clever pun. To each his/hers/their own, I guess.
@Rick The clue in the puzzle at 35A is ANYTAKERS or phonetically, NE TAKERS. The NE is taken from the first answer by the following answer. So FARGO took the NE from SEA NETTLE, which then becomes SEATTLE and FAR GONE. Does that help?
Tough enough for me, but still doable and fun! I was sure that the 1954 Nobel clue was about the polio vaccine, so that was quite intriguing. Nice job, Mr. Collins!
Good heavens. Talk about specialized information. What, you couldn't find a spot for "VP of Enid Rotary Removed after Bakery Incident"? :)
I kept trying to fit UA (Arizona) into three spaces for the Wildcats answer. Guess that was due to my locale. And why would one conference have two Wildcat teams? Sports - so mysterious.
I try to be kind and keep love in my heart. I do. But I confess that I have yet to cleanse myself of dark feelings for three things: The Taliban, Andy Samberg, and rebuses. Rebi? See? Even the name is just... confusing and hurtful. But there is still much to be thankful for on this day. Friends, family, tradition. I just hope the big parade is not pre-empted by Andy Samberg starring as "Rebus: Wacky Taliban Mime". Oh, that's right... four things. Mimes, too. :)
Not an easy one for me. Gasoline is a fuel, not a fuel source. And the proper term is antivenin, not antivenom. Finally, I guess themes like this are interesting and groovy after the fact, but little use for solving. Overall, meh.
I enjoyed it once I understood the scheme, thanks to the clue. FWIW, Frank Sinatra's no longer reads "The best is yet to come." It now reads "Sleep warm, poppa."
I'm glad to see I wasn't the only one who wrestled with this one. ENOLA just about did me in, only because I'm a pedantic and obstinate Sherlockian and hadn't yet heard of this latest ripoff of the masterwork. And TURNT? I weep both for the language and the fate of the world. Still don't understand REC, unless it's supposed to be an abbreviation for recommendation. Alternately fun and aggravating. Time to go back to bed.
Art Carney, Galentines, Human Cannonball -- no problem. But Katsu?? New one on me. And what the devil is a protective hairstyle? No idea what that is or what the answer means. Otherwise... cool!
The theme was fun, and a good puzzle over all. And for the most part, I found it moderately easy, but "Square one" tripped me up! I only finished the puzzle when I gave up and entered the D for the last cross. Thank you Mr. Aronow for including that one in your "tough clues" -- I was completely unable to read that clue as anything other than "the first step".
Here in AZ, we spell it Navajo. Combine that with "ACH" instead of "ICK", and that porn movie clue starts looking like "..APJAC". And I thought the NYT had made a move over to the... vulgar side of the vocabulary!
Yo-yos can't sleep in space... but you show a video of someone in the space station with a yo-yo spinning on the end of the string, which is normally what I'd call.... sleeping! I guess the difference is that gravity keeps the string taut here in earth while in space, the yo-yo-maestro has to keep the string taut manually. Seems like a mighty fine distinction to me, but... I'll allow it! :)
I was confused at first because I thought the answer to 1A was STDRESS - by reading 1D from bottom up made the combined answer "NEST DRESS" which is also a "loose-fitting garment". I saw the other numbers showing up (er...down), but it didn't click for a long time and I kept wondering what kind of theme would have one word going up and over and the others going over and down. Sigh. Finally sunk in. Very clever!
The clue they should have picked for the title was Slogged (through).
@Jennifer Yes, "oops" is what I entered because it is a single word as opposed to "uh oh".
I didn't realize that product placement was part of the NYT income stream. Makes sense, though. Times are tough.
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