Cyndie

I’m waiting for one of the frequent commenters to chime in with something like, “COB is a perfectly acceptable answer for Thanksgiving detritus. It does not refer to an ear of corn, if is a recognized abbreviation for the parts of a turkey which are not generally eaten, the Caruncles (fleshy growths on the head and neck), the Offal and the Bones. Ergo, detritus. When you’re an experienced solver like me you’ll know that.” 🤪 Not trying to be snarky, I genuinely appreciate the information that the frequent commenters provide. But it’s kinda true, right?

400 comments! I shoulda gotten the jumbo size popcorn. Certainly I enjoy some puzzles more than others and this one didn’t quite hit the mark that I hope for on a Saturday. But I’m happy to say that I’ve never hated a puzzle or felt hostile toward the constructor or the editors.

Some days it feels like the universe is communicating with me through the puzzle. Today was one of those days. This Saturday there will be massive, organized expression of free speech across my home state. I and three of my friends will be participating, something none of us has done before. After registering, we received detailed information about what to expect. We can expect to be yelled at, cursed at, flipped the bird and even shoved or have our signs yanked from our hands. We are advised not to respond in kind. Thanks for reinforcing the message Alex. I promise to be on my best behavior! I needed the revealer to solve and thoroughly enjoyed it,

22A reminds me of a funny story. Some years ago when my son was 8 or 9, we came up with the idea of roasting some of his Easter peeps in the toaster oven to make s’mores. I advise against trying this. It turns out that the granulated sugar coating results in a relatively low ignition point and the tray of peeps exploded in flames within 5 or 10 seconds of being placed under the broiler. It also turns out that my husband has absolutely no sense of adventure when it comes to food experimentation.

Tough one! I got through it with no look ups but had to work for it. I learned a thing or two along the way. I encourage anyone feeling frustrated by a tough puzzle to try putting it down and going back five minutes later. It’s remarkable how often that works for me. Also, practice on the late week puzzles in the archives. I started solving here after retiring in July 2021 and I’ve solved (checks stats) 2847 puzzles. I don’t think I solved a late week puzzle without help for the first 6 months. Now I can solve Thursday through Saturday most of the time and it’s pretty darned satisfying.

What a delightful puzzle! So many clues and answers that made me smile. Took me almost an hour but, in my defense, I had to solve without the benefit of coffee because my 17 and a half year old puppy was asleep with her head on my leg and I couldn’t bear to disturb her.

I've been working through the 1997 archive and just completed the 8/2/1997 puzzle, which has a down spanner that solves to SPLITINFINITIVE. Coincidence? I think not. I was in elementary school when Star Trek aired but didn't watch it until years later because my heartless parents wouldn't let us watch television. In fact, I don't think we owned a TV until after the series ended. Anyway, I remember all the kids talked about it and I didn't know the word "trek" and thought it was Star Track. I'm not a trekkie but I am serious fan of this puzzle! OK, one more. Several years ago, my husband and I entered a cocktail contest and the ingredients had to include scotch. My husband came up with the name for our entry, Beam me up Scotty. We won!

Flying elephants, the sound of a dial-up modem, Parks and Recreation, silly food theme. Utterly delightful Tuesday solve from start to finish. The constructor’s comments were charming too. It got me thinking. Do I say EM-tee or EMP-tee? I think I say EMP-tee. Didn’t detract from my enjoyment, however. Off to jury duty.

Regarding 37A, I’m sure longtime solvers are very familiar with Margaret Farrar. Newer solvers may not be but her story is pretty fascinating and Wikipedia has an excellent article about her. It seems that early crosswords were kind of a mess. She was committed to improving the quality of crossword puzzles and compiled many of the guidelines about construction and format. And this was years before she became the first editor of the NYTXW. I don’t know if Mrs. Farrar came up with the rule prohibiting the use of the same word both in a clue and in its answer but I think she would approve of the breach here since this is a very fine puzzle.

Ooh. I found so much to love about this one. I’ve only had an APPLETINI once, at the Aurora ice bar above the arctic circle. After you finish your drink you take the cocktail glass outside and throw it on the ground. Apparently glasses made of ice are not dishwasher safe. My neighborhood is woefully lacking in both LESBIANBARs and ice bars. Heavy sigh.

For some reason today the NYT website doesn’t think I have a full access description. I can sign on through the iPhone app and see that I have a paid up full access subscription so it’s on NYT end. You know what’s more annoying than not being able to access the website? Having a customer service bot tell you that it understands your frustration. Finally got through to a human and was told techs are working on it and I should try again in a few hours. I thoroughly enjoyed this silly theme. But I’m a sucker for lame humor that knows it’s lame.

I knew this puzzle and I were going to get along as soon as I saw the puppy dog face in the grid! Reminded me of my sweet Maxine who we said goodbye to around this time last year at 17 years and 5 months. I miss her everyday. This was definitely in my wheelhouse and brought to mind many things I love, in addition to Maxine. My husband and I hiked all 5 Utah NPs in May, hitting most of the major trails. The Narrows at Zion is the one place where we hired guides and rented WADErS, which allowed us to make it to where you can’t go farther without a permit. Every one of the parks is stunning and should not be missed. Sad/angry for the staff who are not getting paid, the public who can’t enjoy these treasures and the local economies suffering during the shutdown. I practice yoga daily so ONELEG was a gimme. At the studio where I took ceramics we just called it the WHEEL, but POTTERYWHEEL also sounds right to me. Cold SAKE is delicious but I favor ice cold beer with sushi. I lived and worked in SILICONVALLEY for 20 years, including San Francisco where Rafa lives and works, so maybe that’s why so much of this resonated with me (even though I am at least twice his age!). Lovely way to enjoy my coffee today. Thanks Rafa!

I sometimes have to come to Wordplay to understand the trick after solving and thought I would have to this time. I kept staring at the clue for CLOUDYSKIES and how SPEECHTOTEXT would relate and then it hit me. Got the others quickly. Needed to read the comments to understand how the EIFFELTOWER is rod-shaped (divining). Thank you to those who figured it out! My husband’s ortho surgeon’s name is Orisek and the voicemail translator makes it into something I probably can’t put in writing here. Very clever and enjoyable! Thanks Damon!

In the early nineties I worked for a government agency represented by a white collar union. I was elected to represent our bargaining unit in contract negotiations twice. To me, it was never a matter of union: good/management: bad. We were representing the interests of different parties. Our side was fighting tooth and nail to maintain benefits that, even then, almost no one in the private sector enjoyed: retirement after 20 years of service and free health, vision and dental insurance for life for ourselves and families. Management was adamant that the cost was unsustainable without tax increases, which was a dealbreaker from their perspective. When I first learned about the dispute I read what I could find with the idea that I would suspend my account for the duration. But based on what I found, I can’t say that I understand enough to form an opinion. Frankly, if one doesn’t have a seat at the table, it’s pretty difficult to really understand what the stakes are. I completely respect the decisions others have made to support the guild. I just don’t feel anyone should feel pressured to take a side without understanding the issues. I’ve paid for my subscription and these games have gotten me through a lot over the past few years. That being said, if I can find more clear information I will reconsider.

Brilliant! I can’t remember when I’ve confidently filled in so many wrong answers. I had gATHerS instead of FATHOMS, ELlen instead of ELSIE, nab for BAG, peanutS instead of OATBARS. And probably a few others. A long solve but very enjoyable. Regarding 1A, unless one is of a culture or extremely familiar with it, it seems like a good idea to avoid a reference that might be interpreted as disrespectful to that culture. I’m hopeful that the editors did a little research prior to publication.

Deb, I’ll miss your quirky wit and light. One of my favorite poems by Judith Viorst sums up my wish for you. <a href="https://face.wordpress.com/2005/09/21/the-sweetest-of-nights-and-the-finest-of-days" target="_blank">https://face.wordpress.com/2005/09/21/the-sweetest-of-nights-and-the-finest-of-days</a>/

Late to the party but have to say that I was beyond thrilled to have made it through this with just one lookup. Tough but so much fun clueing. DOGNAP for the win! Anyhoo, a very satisfying solve for this girl. Also, while I recognize that the glamorous lifestyle and big bucks that go along with being a puzzle editor should be reward enough, I hope the editors know that the work they do is appreciated. Get well Will!

Now that’s what I call a puzzle. I haven’t had to look anything up for a while but had to twice today. I could not work out the last letter in the crossing of LEO and SANRIO (Lee? Lew? Len?) and needed the Jason Mraz song to figure out the rebus. Double my Thursday average. Loved it!

Excellent puzzle! I loved the theme answers, just my kind of dorky humor. I worked as a cocktail server part-time during my last year of college and I don’t think I ever heard the term ZEST for the lemon peel garnish, always a lemon twist. I think ZEST is the shavings, not the intact peel. Craving a big bowl of steamer clams, with lots of fresh sourdough to sop up all buttery garlicky herby broth.

Deb, my heart goes out to you. Sending warm fuzzies.

I was so certain that 46A was NOd instead of NOM that I didn’t check the crosses, which would have alerted me that NAdE is not a [Handle]. Even with that it seemed to go fast. The theme was silly in a good way and I especially giggled at RIGHTONTIME. I’ll take a little lame humor in my crossword any day.

A few years ago, my sister adopted a failed guide dog. If you met her you would understand. Her name is Loopy. I'll just leave it at that. I recommend checking out Professor Byl's comments on Xwordinfo, which are different that her comments here. I do wish they'd kept her clue for 1A ["I'm just a ___" ("Schoolhouse Rock!" song)]. Way more fun than [Unwanted piece of mail]!

I caught on to the theme right away, which is not at all typical for me. Found it clever but much of the cluing seemed too straightforward for Thursday. As I filled in the top half, I kept having thoughts like, ‘[Dressing choice] can’t really be as obvious as RANCH.’ Speaking of languages, while traveling, my husband and I make a point to learn to say yes, no, hello, goodbye, please, thank you, bathroom, wine…the essentials, in the local language. Our Basque guide, Jon, taught us a few words in Basque (Euskara). We found it fascinating that Euskara has absolutely no relationship to any other language. According to Jon, no one knows why. My favorite word, and one that Jon insisted that we shout whenever we like something, is ekaragarria, which roughly translates to awesome.

That was absolutely spectacular. My favorite puzzles have me thinking I’ll won’t be able to complete without help after the first pass. But ever so slowly I find an answer here or there until it all comes together. Crosswords make me realize how much information the brain stores but just needs a bit of time to locate. And since you asked, my second favorites are those with gimmicks or tricks but I also love a quick easy solve, especially if it has corny humor. What kind are your favorites?

Quite clever and enjoyable, if a tad easy for Thursday. Got the theme without coming to Wordplay, which is not always the case for me (I’m looking at you “all signs point to “yes’”!). I’ll pass on the seafood flavored DORITOs, thanks. I get the tractor in Ohio but can’t see the flag in the grid. Looking forward to shavasana (aka corpse pose) at yoga in the park this morning. Wishing all a good Fourth!

This ticked all the boxes for me, plenty of clever misdirection, stellar fill, and the theme clues really cracked me up. Thank you Mr. Bank! Interesting factoid I recently learned. The R E Olds Car Company, aka REO, was sometimes written in all caps and sometimes with just the R in uppercase. But it was always pronounced as a single word, like rio, not AR EE OH. Maybe that is common knowledge but it was news to me!

I guess I’m in the minority but I entered GAWP without hesitation. I kinda wish it had been GAWk because I’d love to see the clue for TOE LOOkS, hopefully something involving foot fetishes. All around great puzzle!

This was the easiest Friday in memory. Although I didn't know NIKKI or FAKIE, K seemed like the most likely letter to go in the center. I'm trying to figure out why my completion rate never gets to 100%. It's been 99.9% for as long as I can remember. I have completed 3432 puzzles and .1% of 3432 is 3.43. Shouldn't it round to 100% at some point? Or is my math that bad?

For 44 down, I went through the list of Late Show band leaders. Doc Severinson? Kevin Eubanks? At least Questlove had the right number of letters. Even with several crosses I had a hard time coming up with TOSCANINI because I had never imagined NBC had an actual symphony orchestra. Definitely a fun puzzle. The column says "But Mr. Ford definitely blamed it for costing him the presidential nomination in 1976." I am pretty sure Ford won the Republican presidential nomination but lost the election.

I figured out the trick without difficulty but still found it very fun and clever. I got a kick out of the two step process of first getting the words and then coming up with the answer, BOGO puzzle! I just had to come to the comments in order to parse 22A. I got Bilbo's O but could not figure out what the heck THE ONERING was. Sunday grids can be a chore if the fill is so-co but this was shiny and smart on an unusually gray, damp April day in NoCal.

DACA, ACA. I miss that guy. TIL it’s not THETIMEISRIghT. No KALE SALAD for me, thanks. I’ll take the HASH or maybe the STEW. Nice one, Adam!