Erin
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Thanks to the crossword comment section posters for providing such a reliable daily dose of negativity and absolutely pointless complaining. And thanks to the constructor for giving everyone here something to complain about today. Ice rain, the horror! Really, I’m surprised so many people here continue to do the crossword daily. If something I did VOLUNTARILY caused me such IRE every day, I’d stop doing it. Half of our number should give it up or get a grip. Or maybe they’re just masochists. Either way, I never cease to be amazed by how many people get so bent out of shape by our daily puzzle.
The fact that so many complain about a puzzle like this is probably why the NYT is publishing easier puzzles these days. Yes, this was tricky and had trivia and difficult crosses. That's what makes it a good puzzle and not a gimme puzzle. Yes, if I hadn't lived in California for a couple years, I probably wouldn't have known there was a place called Pismo Beach. This kind of specificity, to me, is what makes a puzzle fun and interesting. I got stuck in NE corner and had to reveal a word. Who cares? I didn't see the animation. Who cares? This gave me a 30 minute brain workout and that's the whole joy of a puzzle.
Loved the theme! Just had never heard of like half the people in the clues so I kept thinking I was missing something. (That’s not a complaint, I’m happy to learn.)
Last weekend, I walked by an Aesop store. They have bottles of lotion outside you can sample, so I sampled some and thought, this is good stuff! I went in to inquire about the cost and probably buy it, but the employees were busy with other customers. When I got home, I looked up the cost. I was shocked—a 16 oz bottle of the lotion is $100. Yikes! Glad those employees were busy after all and I didn’t have to have the sticker shock in person.
Feature request: a separate complaints section. That way people who don’t want to read a bunch of grousing about a freakin’ puzzle that no one forced them to do in the first place could have a non grouchy section to enjoy.
It’s been a long time since we had such a satisfyingly difficult puzzle. Kudos, Sam, and thanks for the brain workout!
Seems like I may be in the minority today, but I LOVED this puzzle! Tickled my brain in the best way.
Oh, the old beta testing thing again. It’s incorrect to say beta versions are designed to reveal bugs. Bugs may be revealed during beta testing, but that’s different than saying software is *designed* to reveal bugs. Software is not intentionally designed to reveal bugs, it’s designed to work (and bugs are revealed during testing). Grumpery aside, I loved the puzzle!
This puzzle brought me more delight than any other I can think of. Bravo! Favorite part was that it prompted me to rewatch the Napoleon Dynamite scene about the scientists’ attempts to blow Nessie out of the water, leading through the Nessie Alliance to summon local Scottish wizards to cast a protective spell over the lake for all those who seek the peaceful existence of our underwater ally. Gold!
Talk, stop trying to make this puzzle something it’s not. These aren’t trying to be homonyms, just non-things. Nessee, Yedi, those aren’t homonyms (homonyms are words). But these? These aren’t words, they’re nonsense. That’s the point. Someone thought they saw Nessie? They didn’t, there is no Nessie. That’s why there’s a nonsense answer. They didn’t SEE Nessie. Nessie doesn’t exist. That’s why the answer isn’t Nessie, it’s intentionally *not Nessie.*
Best and most fun crossword puzzle I can remember ever doing. What a joy the whole way through. I was sad when it ended!
I like to think I’m an expert solver, but this one did me in. No way I would have finished this one without reveals. Not a complaint, but man, this was a toughie!
A perfect Thursday puzzle! My favorite puzzle of the year so far. Loooved the loopdeloops!
@Gretchen this seems pretty nitpicky. Seeing “Pulitzer” and AGE in the clue with a four letter answer pretty much points straight to AGEE.
Delightful Friday! I “wanted sweet message bearer” to be DOVE CHOCOLATE and “Come on ____” to be EILEEN. Had a good chuckle at CANNIBALS. Also delighted to see MELDS as my favorite card game is Canasta.
@Mean Old Lady I haven’t seen those ads but can vouch for the truth of that saying. I’m a recent—and blessedly temporary—transplant here (from coastal GA). There’s a new breakfast burrito and bagel chain that just opened on the first floor of my building. You want a bagel with cream cheese? It will cost you $14. (First, they require you to buy two bagels, minimum $3.50 each, and then they require you to buy 2 spreads—also minimum $3.50 each.) I feel like the whole thing must be either some kind of Candid Camera style joke or that I’ve walked into the set of Portlandia, but no, that’s their real prices, and evidently some people (no one I know!) pay them. I’m sure the bagels are delicious but I’ll never know—I’m sickened by the prices.
My favorite puzzle in a long time! Brilliant debut. So much fun!
Well, I’ve done it again: gotten in bed on Saturday night excited to do the Saturday crossword puzzle, finished it, only to find it I’ve done the Sunday instead. I get foiled by this more often than I like to admit.
Sooo fun! Easily best of year so far!
This is the best Tuesday puzzle I’ve ever had the pleasure of doing. What fun!
@Teresa I’m with you! I don’t understand the grousing about this one. It’s my favorite puzzle in recent memory. I loved the historical and literary references.
@Nancy totally agree, this might be my favorite puzzle all year. I’m totally baffled by the number of people who don’t get the joke here—this puzzle is brilliant!
@john ezra My favorite puzzle of the year: Wednesday, August 28 by Jesse Goldberg. This puzzle tickled my funny bone in the best way possible. The theme clue/answer combos were whimsical, cheeky, even downright silly at times. Some favorites: “They pu- - - - - - - uff” = SHOVERS. ‘ “Star Tre-” - - - - - - ot heard on the original series’ = KLINGON. (Not part of the theme but I also loved “Going places?” = JOHNS.) So much of the crosswordverse takes itself SO seriously. This puzzle was delightfully refreshing in its playfulness and I laughed to myself the whole way through. To confirm this was my favorite of the year, I cleared it out and did it again and enjoyed it just as much the second time around.
@Cat Lady Margaret Or, if you’re Napoleon Dynamite, and correctly read it as plural, it could be TOTS.
Perfection in a puzzle! Chef’s kiss to the constructor.
LOVE this puzzle! Fun and challenging. Delightful fill. Great job, Kevin!
@Ray Purchase AGEE is a pretty regular answer in the NYT Crosswords, so might be a good one to remember for the future (and by future I mean probably next month).
I have no idea why this was a puzzle was evidently so funny, and am sad to miss out on the humor! I’m assuming you have to know that movie (or scene) to get the humor—that or this puzzle just went way over my head. (I also found it much harder than a usual Wednesday.) Fwiw (nothing), here’s the word I personally find off putting: “frosh.” *cringes*
@Andrzej The way I read it, SBK wasn't trying to persuade anyone math is beautiful or whatever. SBK was imparting *information about the content of a podcast episode.* Your ire was misplaced. If you just had to get this grievance out of your system, it should have been directed at the podcast interviee, not SBK. On another note: your comments here grate on my nerves every single day for my own personal (psychological) reasons, but I've never asked you to withhold them because they bother me. Just saying.
@Jim nailed it. There’s a word for what you’re describing: mansplaining.
@Mean Old Lady I always love your comments. Just had to reply that I didn’t see them as misspellings. It’s a play on the fact that when the person thinks you see Nessie, it’s not actually Nessie (there is no Nessie) but something that *looks like/sounds like Nessie.”
@Jez When did I say anything about not having fun? I have lots of fun with the crossword every day and like I said, loved this one. Your comment is condescending and preachy and made an incorrect assumption (is it pedantic of me to say that?). It’s not pedantic to say something is incorrect.
@Linda Jo I usually stop at Indigo Shanty when I’m in Brunswick, but I’ll have to try out Movable Feast next time. :)
I loved this puzzle, but I can’t figure out SUMTO. I can see “sum” for “total” but “sum to” feels…weird. What am I not getting here?
@Lewis 100% agreed! I had more fun doing this puzzle than any in recent memory. Such fresh fill. I felt like the personality of the constructor (who I imagine from the fill to be well read, whimsical, and a silly goose) shone through this puzzle -- and that's my favorite kind of puzzle. Hats off, Kelvin! Looking forward to more!
@Michelle Kim Agreed, this is a best of the year for me. Icing on the cake was the Napoleon Dynamite reference (Nessie, “our underwater ally” anyone?”). The comments section today revealed how humorless so many solvers in our evidently are!
@Eric Hougland Oh, ok. I had no idea, until today, this was a thing. Of course I’d heard people say over the course of the year about puzzles, “this one for puzzle of the year!” but I didn’t know there was an organized effort to actually award said prize.
@B I see what you’re saying, but I have to disagree: it drives *me* crazy when people state their opinions as if they’re facts.
@Jean Grammatical correctness ain’t a concern when it comes to southern slang.
@Jim in Forest Hills some of the developers on my team code in REACT too - not sure if constructor knew that was also a programming language but it fit in with the slightly techy theme here.
@Hanson Seeing your post just reminded me of a dream I had last night where I sang MMMBop at karaoke.
@Andrzej I'm so sorry to your enjoyment was spoiled. Sounds like it was a really tough day. I really hope you can get through this hardship. Thank you so much for sharing.