Wednesday comments opened about 9:30 a.m.
So here we are, on the morning of July 4, 9:41 AM EDT, and there is still no comment link for the July 4 puzzle.
Are comments just done, then?
1
The mini crossword for Jul 03rd suggests that the practice of maliciously placing another's private information online is 'doxing' -- I believe the more common spelling is 'doxxing'
One x is listed first here:
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dox
A one-X doxy is a floozy,
A two-X doxxy's much more newsy.
But it would seem
A wee bit rash
To write this up
Like Ogden Nash.
Maybe comments have a holiday on the Fourth, also.
Occam's razor.
The simplest solution to the problems with the commenting system?
No more comments! Brilliant.
4
It didn't take too long last night to get somebody to see that Column hadn't posted. I gather I should have waited up to follow up about the Comments not opening. It may take a bit longer this morning to get somebody's attention.
And BTW, Rich, while it did attract some totally OT snarky replies, I hope you will notice that your nod to Jimbo is the most reco'd post in "today's" comments -- and that doesn't include the "reco" replies from a number of us who can't access the reco button.
Thanks again.
Barry, I did notice and I meant to thank you and Deadline specifically for your very kind and supportive replies.
I would have reco'ed them were I able.
and Elke
8:50 pm PT- still no comment box for the HAPPY FOURTH (Wednesday) puzzle...
So, tried for the first time the Spelling Bee- did such a BANGUP JOB : got 31 words for 140 pts and am a certified GENIUS now....
think I found a new PASTTIME .
HAPPY FOURTH !
2
10:29 pm. ET -- Nice Wednesday puzzle. It would be nice to read what Deb has to say about it, and to be able to comment on it in the Wednesday comments.
3
Fe-E of Fe-EEEE...
2
Fun and easy, as a good Tuesday puzzle should be. I'm not as pleased with Spelling Bee today. I can't get my score over 103 and it's a million degrees in B'more (I don't have ac or a pool membership either!) so I guess I'm giving up for the night.
Welcome Christopher Adams. You created a lovely puzzle for a Tuesday. The theme was appropriate for this week of patriotism and our beloved baseball.
The baseball terms were nicely integrated with non theme words. I particularly liked CAUSTIC, GOODEGG, OLIO, TWANGS, and INCH.
This was a quick solve and a very pleasant one. I look forward to another Christopher Adams puzzle.
Have a safe and happy 4th of July, Y’all!
5
IT GUYS:
Please access and standardize on the "reply mode" used for the comments on the Sunday puzzle, which has sustained a thread with 16 replies, all appearing in chronological order.
Thank you,
Your customers
Barry, this seems also to apply to recent days’ comments, at least those still visible. (Can’t speak for those vanished, of course.)
I’m beginning to feel encouraged. But I want the rest of this month to follow suit.
Issues with the 4th portend not quite ready for prime time; I’ll start the clock again on the fifth.
My fastest Tuesday ever, by a lot! (My previous best was almost 3X my fastest Monday time.) Not at all a baseball fan, but had no trouble with the theme entries. Unknowns were TINA, (GOOD)EGG, LIN, SORRY (as clued), ARP, PEDRO, and ISSARAE, but got them on the crosses. Some clever clues, like for WOMB and DENT. (Did anyone else notice the two nearby "slope" entries CALC and BUNNY?)
To be honest, not sure how I feel about the patriotic theme or, for that matter, July 4 itself: not feeling particular patriotic these days ... Someone please offer a word of encouragement.
3
I'm giving up on replies (mostly) . At the point I posted my 'Sorry' reply to my music post below, there were four replies showing, all about the 'America (band)' song and two of them focused more on another song by the band, which I agree has some of the worst lyrics ever. I mentioned that the song I posted had nonsensical lyrics; I still think it's a pleasant melody. Most of all I just trying for some synchronicity in the selections (song/band). Still - sorry for getting snarky.
Anyway I had posted another link in a reply to that post which had also disappeared and which I realized after the fact was particularly appropriate in regard to Jimbo (thanks Bru) because he was a Yankee fan. And I also mentioned that it was particularly appropriate for this puzzle on this day, since George M. Cohan was actually 'born on the third of July.' And it's an all time favorite, so here it is again:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N8wxb-wwQnA
..
2
The many faces of Jimmy Cagney -- just delightful, and worth every bit of the trouble you took to bring it back to us.
TY
2
Got a chuckle out of 45A wondering how it was going to be justified in the commentary since it would necessarily involve north of our border patriotism. Apparently it provoked a fair amount of discussion.
Given that our anagram leader has not been very nice — I for one would be willing to include our northern neighbor as a patriotic partner, so there.
2
ISSA RAE is a hella lot more than a “costar.” Will, are you listening?
4
puts the word in Xwordgirl
1
Another debut! Congratulations, Christopher, and welcome to the constructors' stable (or bullpen).
I got all of it despite my alleregy to baseball. Some stuff is really pervasive. I'm just glad it was well-known teams (well, two out of three for me), and not a whole buncha players' (nick)names, clued with their stats, or the names of the ballparks for specific teams, and all that esoteric stuff I frequently trip over. (Okay, I did trip over PEDRO.)
Today my no-knows were TINA and her TV show and ISSA RAE and her TV show.
Happy Fourth of July to all who have parties and stuff, and good luck to those of us who hunker down in A/C and, with luck, quiet solitude.
2
Any other Bob’s Burgers fans notice the inclusion of TINA and the phrase “bumper to bumper”? Hilarious nod to the show.
Great pre-holiday puzzle, chock a block with theme fill! I loved the Red, White and Blue coupled with the National Pastime. The constructor even managed to fit in a reference to Apple Pie!
Talk about CAUSTIC DOMAINS! Nothing MINOR Leadue about this Tuesday gem.
Nice touch to extend the theme with a score TIED at ONE AL[L}. Raise your hand if you noticed FLEX over by DELToid. Always fun when they have to chase someone's pet off the diamond, and today it's a WOMB at centerfield.
Just for kicks, LETS SEE what you can EXPOS before you're EJECTED from the stands.
Welcome to the NYT roster, ChrisAdams, and I appreciated your tossing the ex-Montreal EXPOS our way.
5
Apparently, 49A was clued differently in the paper and in the e-versions. In the paper, it was “TSA ___(check mark)”. In the e-versions, it was “___-K (tot’s class)”. I assume that’s because they couldn’t reproduce the check mark, just as I couldn’t. But really, couldn’t they just have said “check”, since that’s what the TSA web address uses?
2
off the crossword topic, on to spelling bee--NACELLE is a word, guys
2
Spelling Bee seems to be winging it....
So is the non-esoteric CANNA, of which there are several in my yard.
https://goo.gl/images/Xcbp8D
When it comes to lilies, they allow...erm, another very similar, but not CANNA. Go figure.
The other day they disallowed HARRIDAN, which made me feel like one.
3
..and I tried every possible (mis)spelling of NACELLE!
Toronto is a part of our national pasttime, so it's a good clue. Thank you, Toronto, for not hating us, yet.
7
A rookie NYT XWP constructor can touch 'em all with his debut. I am happy to report that this one landed squarely on the sweet spot.Nice pitch Christopher; thanks...I do have some breaking news from the "What Was I Thinking Department?. I had to strike out American PASTIME and needed to strike out the faux pas in lieu of NATIONAL. All those ALers adorning the grid must have scrubbed my brain cells clean for the moment...Meatloaf follows the E Streeters with a twofer dedicated, as RiA already has, to this year's numero uno Yankee fan, Jimbo.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7N7gQz_SKuM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7MHSI_Z1MWw
You could look it up. Well you do not have to, I did the legwork for y'all! DelMarVan George Thorogood's a Met fan. It sounds like he had those hope springs eternal Metsies sized up accurately in '09. Nothing's changed in almost a decade.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Qe-FuQwuh0
Play Ball!,
Bru
6
really? 250 years ago is our measure? Then Chicago would not be allowed either ... please, in a year in which the President of the USA has declared Canada a national security threat, I'm all for friendship and solidarity in the Land of Crossword. It is good, and patriotic, too
11
One does not expect sophistication from a Tuesday puzzle, but one does expect accuracy. To include the Toronto Blue Jays as a theme answer in a puzzle whose theme is American patriotism is a solecism. It is all the more egregious because this is a July 4 puzzle and, during the American Revolution, Canada and the American Colonies were at war. Both during the Revolution and in the aftermath, Canada was a haven for Loyalists. In this context, "patriot" and "loyalist" are direct antonyms, yet each of the theme clues included the word "patriotic". No good.
2
Not that I was in need of a reason to watch and hope that my Mets get the upper hand as they face off with our friendly rivals North of the Border today and tom’w but your post has inspired these thoughts. LETS GO METS! I am anxious to see if the Jays will be donning the celebratory, patriotic red white and blue that the rest of MLB teams will be decked out in for the Fourth.
3
And which MLB team should he have used instead with Blue in their name? I'll wait...
3
So remember the Rolling Stones? You can't always get what you want. Sometimes, it's better to give up than to force something.
Another debut, and another nice puzzle! Got a big week going here!
Aside from CENACLE and CANNA being unacceptable to the Bee (more than 30 words and I'm still not a Genius? Tough crowd!) I'm having a good day so far....
1
Omitting CENACLE while admitting CABALA (spoiler) verges on religious persecution!
I CAN understand CANNA. Other than its usage as a slang contraction, it's other usage is in keeping with the very limited vocabulary of plants and animals.
Notwithstanding, I was devastated that NACELLE was unacceptable. This is a word I learned as a 7-year old boy, building polystyrene "Airfix" model aircraft. 53 years may have passed, but I still remember meeting it for the first time and thinking what a cool word it was.
I presume the word-list is computer-generated, but there are still a very large number of repeat-letter combinations to be tested, one obvious limit being the longest word in the dictionary. And then letter sets must have a "manageable" number of words - not too large, not too small, not too obscure (last Saturday excepted); and avoid the possibility of racist, offensive and "toilet" words. That does not excuse the choice of dictionary, but there may be bugs in the algorithm. Maybe some combinations – such as "6 letter words with 2 Cs and 2 As", e.g., CLOACA, are not searched in order to save time. Maybe CLENACLE suffers a similar fate; and NACELLE is nearly an anagram. Or maybe the BEE does not like CEEs...
P.S. I got to GENIUS at 27 words. Try a few word combinations when all else fails – if you are able, and you'll be back in no time..... (hint, hint).
1
I'm striving for my first Queen Bee. I was at 36 words and 180 points, and with NC's help I am now at 37 and 186. If my math is correct, I just need 11 more points for Queen Bee!
If CANNA is disallowed because it's a slang contraction, why was DUNNO acceptable?
And once you've found CLOACA, you've also found CLAACAL.
Once I filled in BOSTON REDSOX I immediately knew that CHICAGOWHITESOX and TORONTOBLUEJAYS would follow making this one super easy to solve. That along with the fact that Christopher offered us an extremely well made, clean grid. Congratulations on your NYT debut! And thanks for celebrating the RED, WHITE and BLUE!
Now if only the CINCINNATI REDS weren't a 14 ...
2
Still missing The Big Red Machine....and still noticing the Cleveland Indians breaking hearts...
But I guess the Boston team deserved First Place...
Hand up here for still missing the Big Red Machine, and Marty Brennaman's game-ending call "and this one belongs to the Reds!"
I thought this was a fun solve with some great Tuesday clues. All the baseball references were fine by me. I've attended games at 21 of the 30 active MLB teams' ballparks, and seeing EXPOS here brought back memories of seeing them in person... you know, along with ~1,100 other people who would still attend their games near the end.
I think it's perfectly fine to give Canada a 'patriotic' shout-out given recent events. Canada, you are still loved!
10
"Canada, you are still loved!"
Amen.
Please stick with us.
2
Not sure why you'd have a Canadian team in a July 4th puzzle. Especially since there is no blue in the Canadian flag, which might annoy Canadians out there. But it was fun anyway.
Cute theme, but it was painfully easy for a Wednesday.
I look forward to the progression of the week and the challenges in the puzzles.
This felt a bit like something you'd find in TV Guide (does that still exist?).
1
"...painfully easy for a Wednesday."
Definitely more of a Monday/Tuesday puzzle.
You two have me checking my calendar. It's Tuesday in Cincinnati!
Agree that this was too easy - I love a baseball themed puzzle as much as the next Reds fan, but would have liked a bit more to chew on in the cluing.
2
Maybe because it's TUESDAY???
1
As threatened: Some music in memory of Jimbo, though I doubt he would have picked any of these.
First, a pretty song called 'America' by Simon and Garfunkel. Yeah, I'm still looking too:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9zQae4Ji2vs
Next a pretty song by a band called 'America' with lyrics that make almost no sense whatsoever:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpnFINzMVPo
And lastly, what I regard as the most stirring patriotic moment in any movie ever. And it's about a country with a RED, WHITE and BLUE flag. It just doesn't happen to be 'America':
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HM-E2H1ChJM
Have a happy third, everyone.
13
He might not have selected those three, Rich, but *your* fine selections, and your intros to them, are very much in the spirit of Jimbo's posts, and I thank you for that.
2
What the heck - one more. This one especially appropriate since George M. Cohan was actually born on the 3rd of July, despite rumors to the contrary. Plus it gets a New York American League team into the mix:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N8wxb-wwQnA
..
America may be one of the worst bands ever. I could never stand "Horse with no name" and now you've found another equally awful America song.
Apple-pie order. Never hear s the idiom before though I guess I encountered it in “Heart of Darkness.” Agree that it was an easy puzzle but that’s ok.
Like suejean, I thought this may have been the easiest Times puzzle I've ever solved. I wasn't going for speed today but this was still close to a record time; I just filled in every section from top to bottom without ever leaving anything behind. I don't recall that ever happening before. Nice clean puzzle and a good theme.
I'll use TORONTO as an excuse for this: I have a Facebook friend from Canada and he posts a lot of hilarious things about Canadians. One of my favorites is this that he posted yesterday:
If a Canadian falls in the forest and there's no one around, does he still apologize?
I still miss Jimbo every day and wonder what songs he might have posted. So I'm going to make a separate post today with some music.
4
Amen re Jimbo.
Forgot to mention in a reply to suejean, and now WP won't let me post another reply on that thread.
There is a timer in AL if you want one. Got AL and click on options. Depending on the version, you should find it and how to turn it on/off. There's also some sort of scoring option, but I'm not sure what it is. No streaks thingy that I know of.
Thank you Queen Bee for eschewing clotburs this week. But . . . no cankle? *gasp*
4
Anyone notice the black squares are in the shape of a baseball diamond in the middle ? Right there - Home , first , second and third :) Batter up !
2
Tidy theme: RED, WHITE, and BLUE, our national colors, coming from our NATIONAL PASTIME. Clean grid. Coming on Independence Day eve to whet our appetites. Tuesdayish theme. Felt like a grand slam to me as an early week puzzle. Good one, Chris!
4
Solving on Across Lite doesn't time the solver, but if it did this would be my fastest ever solve, pretty much as fast as I could tap in the letters on my iPad, so fun, but over too soon.
I've often wondered if some Americans think ours is the only red, white and blue flag and was going to check and see how many as David and Alan did. It is hard to get an exact answer, but a lot.
The term Americans usually means people from the United States rather that the other countries of North and South America, I suppose because United Statesians doesn't exactly trip off the tongue.
Another fun debut puzzle, although I think Monday and Tuesday could have been swapped.
4
In Spanish, the precise term for American is estadounidense.
1
I guess we could be called USers. Seems appropriate these days in more ways than one. ;-(
4
I never knew that, Steve, interesting.
David, I don't think that is going to catch on, a pity.
Thank you Mr. Adams. After David Robertson, your first NYT outing was a real relief.
2
A timely puzzle in many ways. I had just finished watching the Red Sox/Nationals game and whizzed through this one. A perfect launch angle into the bleachers.
Fast, fun, breezy puzzle. I liked it, despite not being much of a baseball fan (or any at all).
Quite a few nations and other localities have red, white, and blue flags, including US, UK, France, Russia, etc. etc. See:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_flags_by_color_combination#White,_...
(Bracing for the usual discussions about battery terminals and furs. But the Spanish tilde-N is not an issue today, since the entry is ENERO, and the clue includes the tilde.)
Once upon a time in the early days of television, there was a Saturday morning children's show called Andy's Gang (starring Andy Devine) with the catch phrase, "Pluck your magic TWANGer, Froggy!" Here's a sample featuring Vito Scotti as Pasta Fazooli. (Old-fashioned kids' show foolishness, which I'm just old enough to remember.):
https://youtu.be/H35odPm7b3w
3
I remember Andy's Gang fondly but not clearly. I do remember "Pluck your magic TWANGer, Froggy!" though. My wife once appeared in a summer stock production starring Andy Devine when she was in HS.
1
My father once went skeet shooting with Andy Devine.
I’m unfamiliar with the phrase “sorry not sorry”. What does it mean?
Sounded vaguely familiar to me but I’m guessing it means “I’m sorry to say that I’m not sorry” about something?
it's what you say when you are insincere about apologizing
3
It's what you say if you are young.
The colors of Canada are red and white. The colors of the Toronto Blue Jays are blue, white, and red. How is this patriotic?
3
I assume because the team plays in the American League, they are referring to the colors in our flag. Each team clue had one color of the flag in its name - red, white and blue.
3
I assumed it was because the crossword constructor/editor defined "patriotic" as American patriotic, even when the team displaying the colors is not American. That the Blue Jays are in the American League is a stretch in interpretation.
Moreover, while the closest thing to a Canadian national bird is a Jay, it is gray, not blue.
ECLAT crossed with LIN was hard for me. I didn't know either.
2
OK. It happens. Do you now know them both?
2
Yeah, me too. That L was my last entry, and it was a guess.
2
Same here. MAYA ZIN seemed reasonable but ECZAT sounded more like Klingon than English so I went with L for the win.
1
Results for flags which include red, white, and blue _only_
at the Flag Identifier website:
http://www.flagid.org/found.asp?qa=0010000&ci=r,b,w
1
Very disappointed that my link doesn't work correctly (it links to all flags with red, white, blue, and any other colors...even though the narrow search red, white, AND blue ONLY results in exactly the same url. Can't understand that one.
Anyway, if interested, click on "Combined identification", then click on red, white, blue, and check the box for "these colors only" and you will get the 98 flags that are "red, white and blue" and nothing else.
The Flag Identifier website is a great resource because it includes city and state flags, historical and contemporary flags, all in one database.
1
I did that last night, David, and further narrowed it to the "shades" of red and blue closest to those on Old Glory. Got the count down to 36!
1
I tried that and got the 36 flags, but the USA flag was not in the group. I finally got us by going dark red, dark blue, and white, which comes up with 21 flags. They include 3 American (48, 49, and 50 stars), and 3 U.K. Of the 21, the flag of Nepal is the only one not from the United States or the British empire.
http://www.flagid.org/found.asp?qa=0010000&ci=w&ch=10,4
This was a fun puzzle to complete while watching the World Cup replay from earlier today. My two favorite sports at the same time! Great first puzzle!
1
This was breezy and fun! I saw BOSTON REDSOX immediately (well, when I got to the fourth line) and had an inkling for the theme and the rest. It was fun to see it fill in. Nice NYT debut! And all the other baseball-related clues and answers were good.
7
BLUE JAYS. of course.
1
Does anyone feel bothered, given the theme, that the TORONTO BLIE JAYS are a Canadian team?
10
I had the same thought. I enjoyed the puzzle, but that felt a bit off...
4
It’s the only AL team with BLUE in its name.
I found it strange as well, especially the day after Canada Day.
My favorite clues from last week:
1. Ones going down the tubes? (3)
2. Middle of a dash? (8)
3. Memorable line (4)
4. Bar food? (7)
5. Nerd's epithet for the president? (7)
OVA
ODOMETER
SCAR
GRANOLA
ANAGRAM
4
Ah, yes. Those were all goodies.
1
I love your weekly roundup, Lewis.
Thanks.
2