Re Mini: THRUM??
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1
I enjoyed today's puzzle, but two clues did not sound good to my ear: "Type of bargain" for PLEA was one. In the phrase "plea bargain," plea is indeed used as an adjective, but that doesn't make it one. In that usage it's called an attributive noun, but it doesn't stand on its own as an adjective. The other clue was "Easily" for BY A LONG SHOT. The phrase "by a long shot" is almost always used after the word "not" — and that phrase does *not* mean "not easily." It means hardly at all, quite different.
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@polymath
Regarding your first nit: This use of attributive nouns in this kind of clue is a convention found frequently in crosswords, and as such, it isn't likely to disappear any time soon. Some would call it wordplay and welcome it. Others may not like it much, but either way, it's not going anywhere any time soon. Not by a long shot.
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You may be right, but that won't make such clues sound good to me.
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@polymath - type of change...
chump
type of Sam...
Uncle
type of heart...
purple
It's called
word play...
jus' sayin'
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I've noticed I can no longer print a puzzle. Why? Is it because I haven't subscribed to the Crossword? I subscribe to the newspaper. Isn't that enough?
Louise,
Yes, it is enough. Be sure you're logged in.
@Louise
If that doesn't work, check out
https://help.nytimes.com/hc/en-us
and use the chat feature to ask for help. If you find it's not helping ask the chat person for a manager type.
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I always log in.
So I’ve never heard of et alia before. I see/use et al all the time. So I assumed it was related. You’re telling me using a wacky Latin term like et alia needed to be shortened to et al?
Also, apparently, it’s et al. (with a period)
I don’t know why this bothers me. I can handle that “they’re” only eliminates the “a” (and doesn’t save any characters) but abbrevating et alia. Weak...
Newbie,
Do you approve of shortening et cetera to etc.?
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@Barry Ancona
I wish I could give this 100 recos! 😅
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@Barry Ancona
1 letter to save 5. Yes i approve
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Neat!
I'd like to see a bagpipe - xylophone duet. (Umm ... I mean, hear one...)
I have a quibble re 9D: "brushing up on" can also be the same as learning something for the first time.
"Do you know XYZPDQ?"
"No, I'll have to brush up on it."
Also, shouldn't the 39D answer be preceded by EN?
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@Dr W
Regarding your 9D quibble:
First of all, even if BRUSH UP had the two meanings, the clue passes muster, since it doesn't have to encompass all the meanings of an entry.
But secondly, and more importantly, I don't think you'll find dictionary support for "learning for the first time." This, I think, is something you learned incorrectly the first time.
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@Dr W No, you really can't brush up on something you're learning for the first time.
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/brush-up-on-sth
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/brush%20up
There is no 39D. Do you mean 39A?
I wonder if the bagpipes would drown our the xylophone.
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@Stephanie
Groan. Yes, 39A. TYVM.
Xylophones come in different sizes, so that would depend.
I've been using "brush up" in that initial sense for a long time and this forum represents the first time I've been corrected. Perhaps using it in a conversation is somehow allowable.
I'm often CURIOUS as to why people BUY certain things
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I knew it couldn’t possibly be correct, but it was fun leaving 32D as GOBATSH*T for a while
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@Joseph
Well, I had GO BONKERS first, which I suppose is no better, just cleaner, than your guess.
@Steve L
Hand up for GO BONKERS.
@Andrew - Moi aussi. But not for long.
I will precede my comments by saying this was a generally well-constructed puzzle and I enjoyed it very much.
But I'm curious to know why the clue to 17 A has "maybe" at the end. Interested in experimenting sexually is PRECISELY what BICURIOUS means. It is a 1990s portmanteau of Bisexual and Curious and it means just that – a (hitherto) heterosexual person interested in having a homosexual experience. There's no two ways about it!!
I also noted the odd cluing for "By a long shot" - see my response to @Norman. Easily? "Not Not (sic) by a long shot"!!
And I did sneer (briefly) at the Trumpian allusion for the 2nd theme clue.
Finally, I wondered whether DEVIL (clue) and EVIL (answer) were derived from the same root, which would have been slightly naughty. But their etymologies seem to be quite distinct, and it is their related meanings that might have led to the convergence of their current spellings.
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NICE CUPPA,
Re: maybe
There are other types of sexual experimentation in which one might be interested; "maybe" avoids constraints (as it were).
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@NICE CUPPA
What about the Trumpian allusion at 46D?
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@Andrew
You mean the thing you do on a merry-go-round?
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Name one IRS form that starts with a Line A!
@Vinny
The W-2. It's already been discussed.
@Steve L
Actually the W-2 has a "Box A" not a Line A. However, Form 703 has a LINE A.
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@ColoradoZ
Even moreso, the torso has a LINEA alba.
There's a cheeky one, too...
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I didn't know the 'N Sync hit. As a Canadian of a certain age, I would have much preferred the revealer to be I'S THE B'Y.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pK8Lj1O5kXY
Here are my own lyrics:
I's the b'y that builds the grid
And I's the b'y that solves 'er.
I's the b'y that Googles the clues
And no one is the wiser.
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@Andrew
Thanks for picking one with lyrics!!
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@Andrew LOL At least your version doesn't have any maggots!
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@Stephanie
I have it on good authority* that maggots are a good source of protein and healthy fats, with only the unfortunate quality of wandering off one's plate.
*as per Liza
Does BY A LONG SHOT mean “easily”? I always thought it meant the opposite. A “long shot” is something unlikely to succeed (i.e., with “long“ odds), so “by a long shot” would be “despite great odds”, like a Hail Mary pass or a winning lottery number. “Not by a long shot” would then mean “not even with a lot of luck.” If I’m wrong, I’d love to know! :-)
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@RESistant
I absolutely agree with you. I can only guess that since "Not by a long shot" means, as you say "not even with a lot of luck", that someone has concluded that "By a long shot" means the opposite of "Not by a long shot", i.e., "Not Not by a long shot", which could mean "easily", I suppose. But I cannot find any evidence of such a usage.
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@NICE CUPPA
This is easily the best book I have ever read.
This is the best book I have ever read BY A LONG SHOT.
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@Andrew
This is the best remark .....
Hi, Gabrielle and Jakob! After this wonderful debut, one thing you won't be hearing from me, and most likely Wordplay solvers, is BYE BYE BYE.
What an interesting, intriguing Tuesday solve!
Congratulations on your debut you two, happy B-Day, Gabrielle and to both, celebrate today!
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Can't speak to constructing best practices, but if my (generally) beloved husband attempts to co-solve, he gets a (gentle) swat on the nose.
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Whoever offered the alternate caption for today’s photo - - about Richard explaining the concept of BI CURIOSITY to his 13-year-old granddaughter:
My original response apparently didn’t make it past the EMU’s - - but you made me SNORT my COFFEE!!!
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In response to Deb's column:
I was recently on a slow crosstown bus ride in the evening. I had done the late week NYT crossword that morning. On the bus I sat next to a man struggling to do the crossword on paper - in pen. When he gathered his belongings to get off the bus, I asked him if he wanted help with one of the clues (no one wants unsolicited help, right?). I told him the correction to one of his answers. He was very grateful. Only in New York!
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@Linda I love Deb Amien's Wordplay columns! She makes all these comments that more lively. And yes! It does help to have a member of a different generation wandering thru when you need a little help.
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@childishgrambina
... and if its a younger generation .... :-D
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@Linda
My takeaway from your story is that you were secretly looking at his paper the whole time, checking his answers. Lol
I reminds me of how someone sitting next to you on a long flight doesn’t say anything the entire flight, then as you land, gets all chatty. I think the thought process is, okay if this dude is a freak, I’m off the plane soon, so now I can start conversation...
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As for constructing, I construct alone, as in "I just constructed my very first puzzle today". Although I did it for my wife, hoping it would make her smile, laugh and be just a little proud of me, I will submit it to NYT as soon as I figure out how. It's horrendous and has absolutely no place among what I assume are exclusively fine efforts submitted by talented and hard-working constructors. Yet, my line of reasoning is - I am extremely unlikely to ever be the person who published a NYT crossword puzzle, and this way I can at least be a person who submitted one for publication. Why not wait for a worthier effort, you ask? Because life is so very short, and often surprisingly so, and all it costs me to make sure I crossed this off my To Do List is lack of shame. And perhaps, I can make a few more people laugh if they make it to the clues before throwing it away.
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@Bojan You sound like the kind of person who would benefit from working with a mentor. I highly recommend joining the Facebook Crossword Collaboration Directory and picking a mentor whose puzzles you admire. And then, when it’s accepted, I can write about it.
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Ići! Ići!
Woof.
Do it bro.
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@Deb Amlen Thanks, Deb! I'll do that
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STAMP act slowed me down a bit. Great puzzle!
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Such an excellent puzzle! Not a single clue that depended on arcane puzzly words, everything could be solved by the crosses. Very enjoyable!
I loved Deb's column today - well, every day, but especially today - it brought back memories of after-Sunday-dinner at my mom's, NYT spread out on the table, some working the puzzle and coming and going, some just chatting and reading. A lovely time in my life.
Re: constructors' notes - thank goodness they ditched the ageist clue of how grandmas would be so astonished to video chat. Considering that widespread use of the internet began by the mid-80s, I'd say it is highly unlikely that even ancient grandmas living in little cottages in a time warp have not Skyped or Facetimed by now.
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@Mary
"Considering that widespread use of the internet began by the mid-80s..."
Really? Boy, did I ever miss the boat?!!
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@Mary if by “widespread” you mean college campuses and by “internet” you mean email, you’re still off by a decade. The first web browser wasn’t publicly available until 1993-ish.
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In the first half of the 1990s we were teaching college students how to do online research using FTP, telnet, Archie, Gopher, Veronica, Jughead, etc. The graphical web wasn't quite there yet. The Mosaic web browser was first released in 1993, and that was the exciting start of the Internet age for most people.
Who says a Tuesday has to be dull? What a pleasure to have at least some thinking required on almost every clue. Many clues made me quite CURIOUS (though not BICURIOUS) to know what the answer would be -- and that's unusual early in the week. I'd call this the "Unyesterday".
I also found the theme interesting, with my favorite themer being BUY AMERICAN. And I thought the best clue was for OVEN MITTS (10D). Liked this a lot.
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A thoroughly solid “SOLVE” - all the way.
No “research” and only a few stumbles - HERTZ, TELE, BOOST UP, ROAM.
PHILOMENA and DOSAS had to come from crosses.
Delightful puzzle as a whole!
Did NOT care for cluing on 7D. Why not just “ELIDE”? Or a reference to the act of impugning?
When we say NOT BY A LONG SHOT, we do NOT mean “easy” - not unless preceded by something like, “That wasn’t hard . . . “
ANTHRO seems like a stretch to me - but I don’t have a better clue. I suppose a 101-level course would be INTRO to ANTHRO🤨?
And wouldn’t NO TAR be a “benefit” or a “feature” of e-cigs rather than a “feature”? Otherwise we could call NO FINS a “feature” of today’s car models.
OK - - time for me to go back to my cage.
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@PeterW
I meant “.... “benefit” or a “characteristic” of e-cigs ...”
(First sentence, second-last paragraph.)
@PeterW
These days one would be pretty hard-pressed to find a "benefit".
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@PeterW But leave out the "not" and it can mean easily. e.g. she won the race by a long shot.
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I share my crosswords with anyone willing to give it a go. In Croatia we say that a man and a donkey know more than a man, and I often have a feeling that many a donkey from my island would be a better solver than I am.
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I cut my crossword teeth doing the Sunday Times crossword with a dear friend, way back in the 1960s. We'd sit on the couch, surrounded by kids and basset hounds, as our regular Sunday morning hanging out together. Deb's comments brought back fond memories. These days, though, I find crossword solving (online) a relaxing solo activity. To everything there is a season, I guess.
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Hen and Cat hearily endorse "solve 'em together." SOP since wedding, EONS ago.
Could someone please explain the semi axle clue?
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@catpet - that's a great way to maintain a good marriage.
re: AXLE - semi-trailer trucks have a number of axles for their wheels. They often pay toll by the number of axles they have, including the trailer.
The truck itself has three axles. The first axle is the steering axle, followed by two axles right below the point where the trailer is attached - these have 4 tires each to bear the weight and provide some redundancy. So there are three axles on the truck.
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@catpet Semi is a semi trailer truck, and those have three wheel axles
Here is my proposed caption for today's picture:
Richard Eisenberg of New Jersey stumbles his way through an explanation of the word BICURIOUS to his 13 year-old granddaughter.
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@Andrew
More likely she would be explaining it to him. 13-year-olds are quite knowledgeable these days.
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@Bess
Yes, I had the same thought after submitting the post!
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Just ambled (perhaps ROVED) through the grid. Finished ahead of schedule according to the puz bot.
I take the Sunday puzzle to a local brew pub and wood fired pizza place (The Sawmill in Amery WI) and solve it with whomever is willing to commit to their fill with a pen. Usually I get 2-3 takers. As Deb noted, a good time is had by all.
NOTPASS was a bumper sticker that used to appear on semis, urging one not to pass on the right.
Thanks Cousins.
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NOTPASS? Ugh.
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Ethan,
I assume your "Ugh" was prompted by memories of a failing grade, not by any failing of the clue.
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I like eating multiple number of Dosas! So answer to 63 Across resonated with me!
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@msk
Would that be like cuatros, seis, ochos et ALIA?
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@Andrew more நாலு (in Tamil language)
Using google translate for your benefit https://translate.google.com/#view=home&op=translate&sl=auto&tl=en&text=%E0%AE%A8%E0%AE%BE%E0%AE%B2%E0%AF%81
@msk
Thanks! I got that!
I had more hesitations in my solve than usual for a Tuesday puzzle -- which made the solve all the more enjoyable for me -- but I'm guessing that the solve might be a bit frustrating for a newer solver. Yet the theme seems more Tuesday than Wednesday appropriate. Maybe this puzzle would have been better published on a Wednesday with the cluing toughened up a bit.
That's not on Gabrielle and Jakob, and congrats, you two, on your debut! Speaking of which, and as @Deb mentions, this puzzle features some lovely debuts, seven actually: BUY AMERICAN, BY A LONG SHOT, BYE BYE BYE, LOOTBAG, PHILOMENA, TEST BED (which I enjoyed learning), and VIDEO CHAT. Very impressive for a first NYT puzzle.
This puzzle had personality -- that unique feel that comes from the choice of answers, cluing, and that mysterious x-factor that defines a particular personality. I loved it and want to experience it more up the road. Keep it going, GaJa!
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@LewIs Nice portmanteau, Lewis
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Always happy to see new constructors. This was a a good puzzle with just enough challenge for a Tuesday. Had to work the crosses in most sections. Didn't know the theme song, so getting that from the theme was a nice bonus.
Probably a bit too obscure for most, but did think of one other possible theme answer.
Clue (best I could do): "The 25th and 26th amendments, informally?"
Answer: BAYHLAWS
Must avoid saying anything about ENLISTEE or DOGTAGS.
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Ironically (as I live in Yorkshire) virtually my last entry was SHIRE. I wondered if somehow a misspelling of Surrey slipped in. However, OVEN MITTS was my first thought; I remember ABBIE Hoffman and generally did quite well with this fine collaboration.
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@suejean
Hand up for Surry
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@suejean This Brit in New York also got completely stuck on Surr(e)y
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@Mary Porter
Clearly a fringe opinion.
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I hadn’t a clue as to Judi’s flick. That led to an UH OH moment and a subsequent quandary in the SW corner. 1 solve, 1 look up, no errors. The baseball clue, right off the (AT) BAT was a pleasant opener...Mr. Waller, then Poco comprise today’s theme related twofer.
https://youtu.be/q01Y66wf8lE
https://youtu.be/qFwnVj-ZQWk
BYE X’s 3,
Bru
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@brutus
Yay, Poco!!
LETTER BOXED THREAD
M-S (7) S-K (8) is my best offer today. Sounds like a game idea.
@Liane
I had the very same. I thought it seemed more like a fishy social club.
Yesterday I had REWATCH HUMIDOR, the reverse of the NYT solution - a semordnilap?
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I had to look twice (REWATCH) at the NYT solution today. I was close but no cigar case!
LETTER BOXED THREAD
Took a while today... spent too long with words ending in 'ING', which got me nowhere.
Best solution I found:
M-S(7), S-K(8)
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@Mari
Yesterday's solution:
WATCHER RHODIUM
Congratulations, Ms. Friedman and Mr. Weisblat! I enjoyed solving your puzzle.
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SPELLING BEE GRID
Nov 12 2019
R B N O T U W
WORDS: 44, POINTS: 172, PANAGRAMS: 1
B x 18
O x 3
R x 7
T x 11
U x 3
W x 2
4L x 19
5L x 11
6L x 8
7L x 5
8L x 1
4 5 6 7 8 Tot
B 7 5 3 2 1 18
O - 1 1 1 - 3
R 4 2 1 - - 7
T 6 3 1 1 - 11
U - - 2 1 - 3
W 2 - - - - 2
Tot 19 11 8 5 1 44
47
@Mari thanks I was just missing the O5 and one came to me. It’s the music that might end a radio or tv show.
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@Mari Surprising inclusion of the name of a chemical element, which I assumed was a Proper Noun. Nine compound words. An unusual O-word meaning an ending or exit. A whiskey type and four RO-words often seen on the Bee.
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@Mari
Chemical elements are always included, even some of their main oxidation states. Do you recall the discussions about YTTRIC, for example.
The O(5) word we had maybe a year ago. It is a 1950s neologism and to my mind quite ugly.
I only got stuck on the "other fish" (B-6). After a little research, I found that Old Norse/Scandinavian has 2 words for what we would call "flat-fish" or flounder, i.e., bottom-dwellers. One of them is close to our word "flounder", which means "spread-out", and has the same PIE root as "flat". The other word, now "-bot" or "-but" (e.g. halibut), derives from "beaten" [flat], as one might do to soften a steak.
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SPELLING BEE
I’m missing one five letter word. So far 43 words 167 points. Three fish, two of them obscure. One sounds like a Kentucky liquor, the other rhymes with it and sounds like what gives an engine an extra boost. Six words with out at the beginning or end. Three un- words.
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@Kevin Davis make that seven out words.
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@Kevin Davis @mari
Thanks for the grid. And thanks for the hints. Never would have figured out one of the unusual fish without it.
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What a quick and clean solve. Great debut, cousins! Whenever I think of SHIRE I think of Bilbo Baggins’ home. My kids and I often talked about how beautiful it must be while reading Lord of the Rings, and the SHIRE’s depiction in the movies didn’t disappoint us - not BYALONGSHOT.
Every time I hear “AHOY” I giggle a bit. In my husband’s Slavic language, “ahoj” (same pronunciation) is “hello.” He didn’t know until he met me that it sounds like pirate talk to English speakers. To this day, I (annoyingly) add “matey” when he greets his countrymen. I’m sure that STUNT wears thin!
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PS - I loved seeing the multiracial grandpa and granddaughter in the photo for Deb’s column. My family is a nightmare for racial purists (as if that’s possible!) but a dream for those of us who see a future that resembles a mosaic. It’s a long way from Uhura and Kirk’s kiss on Star Trek, the original series 50 odd years ago.
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This is a recurring error: the English of 63A implies “people”, that is, “and others” is not the same as “and other things.” But the latter is what the Latin of the answer means. ET ALIA: “and other things”.
Also, as noted by someone else, “not by a long shot” means “not even close.” Easy or difficult is beside the point.
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@John
I wasn't sure about BY A LONG SHOT at first, but I think it works. "Easily" can mean "without difficulty" but it can also mean "by far", as in --
Our team won the game easily.
Our team won the game by a long shot.
The first sentence has two possible meanings, one that it was indeed easy to win, or two, that they ended up winning by a large margin, regardless of difficulty. The second meaning matches with the second sentences.
John,
RE: 61A, [Et] ALIA
IMO it is an early-in-the-week misdirection, not an error, to clue it as "others" rather than "other things."
"And others" need not be people, as in "I enjoy many sports: soccer, basketball, ice hockey, et alia."
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@Bess
Or there's this overheard conversation:
"There were easily fifty thousand people in the crowd today."
"Not BY A LONG SHOT..."
and Elke
Had the feeling that I should BI-sect myself :there is for the under16 yr. crowd (aka "youngsters" ) BI CURIOUS, VIDEOCHAT, , INHD, TATS, IT GUY , TIVO and then there's for the over 16 yr. crowd (aka "grannies") OVENMITTS, STAMPTAX , OXO (for arthritic hands), ABBIE H. ET ALIA.
Jeff Chen mentions the BICURIOUS character in the Canadian sit-com "Schitt's Creek". The emus in Canada do not SNEER at that title...
Where do I put the RAB-BI in my _LIST_ ?
Question to Gabrielle: as budding Chemist- will you come up with a BIS word combining both your names ?
Now GO BANANAS- you published a fine puzzle in the New York Times !
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@R/Elke
Abbie Hoffman is no longer a hippie -- not by a long shot! It's many moons since he turned into a suit.
I enjoyed Schitt's Creek enormously when I had access to it. You could never the sure how many lines it would cross in a given episode. X L Ent.
It’s a fun puzzle when you are led astray by same lengthen answers that fit in perfectly:
ROVES instead of roams
VIDEOCHAT instead of videocall
ALAMO instead of hertz
ENLISTEE instead of inductee
STAMPTAX instead of taxation
GOBANANAS instead of goberserk
But it seems to me that BYALONGSHOT isn’t necessarily easy, just lucky.
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The SW pretty much did me in yet again! Who is BOBEVANS? What are DOSAS? What is TIVO? A movie called PHILOMENA? Really?
Well, the clues answer two of my questions, but too late.
3
@kilaueabart I only fudged in the SW corner once I saw TIVO in the comments. You and I would have been of little help to each other, had we tried to solve this together, as Deb suggested.
3
@kilaueabart
Bob EVANS restaurants are found primarily on this side of the Mississippi in the Mid-Atlantic region. The home office is New Albany Ohio.
5
@kilaueabart
I'll take Ohio Trivia for 100, Alex!
Bob Evans was a pig farmer in southeastern Ohio. He opened a small restaurant in Rio Grande Ohio in the 1940s, selling breakfast sausages made from his own pigs. One thing led to another, and now Bob Evans is a large chain of "country style" restaurants.
4
That STAMPTAX made the colonists go postal.
(That's a first-class pun.)
(Also, congrats on the great debut!!!)
25
@Mike I thought 32D was going to be GO postal, but there weren't enough letters. That would have been funny!
@Mike
Loved it!
This is just so 'there' in my puzzle world, I don't consciously think about it! My Mom and I often did the NY T crossword together, and we educated each other about generational clues. Then my 4 sisters would chime in with us...one instance in particular I remember is a sister said "back to back: fr", I immediately said "dos-a-dos". The best moment was in my 1st cousin's kitchen in Baton Rouge, LA, when I introduced his 22-year-old musician/filmmaker son to the pleasures of the NYT puzzle, and we ripped through it!
8
I can’t believe BYE BYE BYE is nineteen years old! (Only 3 years younger than Gabi! Wow!)
Great debut!
5
The mention in today's column about group solving reminded me of the giant puzzle which appears in the print edition of the Sunday NY Times shortly before Christmas, as part of the "Puzzle Mania!" supplement section. There's a photo of the puzzle in this article:
- https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/16/insider/puzzle-mania-will-shortzs-inside-look.html
It's definitely ideal for a collaborative effort. I believe it's only available in the print edition, but it's worth purchasing (if you have a digital- or crossword-only subscription) just for the supplement. And there are 20-25 other puzzles of various types and difficulty levels as well. Highly recommended!
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@RichardZ
My son and I have made doing Puzzle Mania together part of our holiday tradition. It’s well worth the price of the hard copy paper, although soon this column will be replete with complaints about the cost from digital subscribers. Deja vu all over again. Think of it as the extra you pay to see a 3-D movie, even though you already have a pass for the movie. I will gleefully fork it over.
2
@RichardZ
My whole family now waits for the Puzzle Mania Section - it's become an annual treat . One request from the editors - give us a shout out which week it's coming !
2
Somewhat more difficult than I was expecting, but in a good way.
4
@vaer
IKR?
By golly I want to go out and buy a bike right now!
3
Well, the Mini went down like a plate of oysters in 24 seconds, and the main puzzle seemed to zip BY, BY, BY, but I was slowed by my insistance on TELEphone. No PB, alas.
I enjoy looking over people's shoulders and "helping" them with their puzzles, but the people don't seem to like the collaboration as much as I do :)
5
That’s how I play scrabble. I like to make all the words. Same result.
2
@Ann @Clare
I've had both experiences.
Intergenerational wheelhouses make for a fun solve with lots of teamwork. Same age partners complain that I tend to solve it by myself and don't share the fun.
Analysis based on a very small sample size.
2
My husband and I collaborate best when he takes the left half of the keyboard and I take the right. It's not a speed solve, but the collaborative typing gives us each a chance to weigh in with our respective thoughts.
2
Well done and congrats on your successful debut!
7
BICURIOUS is not a first timer? Now “curious” what other risqué phrases have made their way into nyt crossword. I feel so naughty...
3
@Newbie
Go to Xwordinfo.com word finder and type in whatever you might desire and see for yourself:
https://www.xwordinfo.com/finder
2
@Newbie
That should have been “You can go to . . .” Didn’t mean to sound so bossy. But Xwordinfo.com is a great site for finding out all sorts of things about past NYT Xwords.
5
@Puzzlemucker
With advice like that, Maybe its time to create a new site - Xxxwordinfo.com. I wonder if that name is taken. (Undoubtedly...).
6
Isn’t it a crossword No No to repeat a word, even as part of an answer?
BAGPIPER
LOOTBAG
T
S
K
T
S
K
1
@Anonymously depends on context. A LOOTBAG bag is definitely different than a BAGPIPE bag. Now if BAGPIPE band been HANDBAG, for example, that would likely have been a no-no.
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Anonymously,
While LOOTBAG is two words (and thus BAG is a word in the puzzle), BAGPIPE is one word (so there is only one "word" BAG in the puzzle). I trust you do not object to the LED in SLED and the LED in LEDIN in the same puzzle...
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@Barry Ancona
I disagree. The one word is still a compound word with the word BAG a discrete and distinct noun in its own right. I think Anonymously has a point.
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Some clues evoke memories. My nephew once told me during his first Las Vegas summer he kept oven mitts in his car because the steering wheel would be too hot to touch after parking on the street.
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Also had he wanted to fry eggs on the dashboard he would have had proper kitchen accoutrement right there.
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@Queenie
And some cars come with the option of heated steering wheels!
@Queenie
Just so long as he didn't need OVEN panTS on account of the hot seat
To 57-Across: On the simplified 1040 for 2018, the entire first page consists of blanks that are neither numbered nor lettered. On the second page, there are blanks numbered 1-23. On the 1040s for 2017 and earlier years, the top of the page is unlettered and unnumbered blanks for personal information; tax information is entered in numbered lines below that. There is no Line A, at the top or anywhere else. A better clue might have been “Latin word which anagrams to its English synonym.” (linea = a line)
@Fact Boy
A W-2 is an IRS form with LINE A (for SSN) at top:
https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tips/irs-tax-forms/what-is-a-w-2-form/L6VJbqWl5
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@Puzzlemucker
You beat me to it. However, in more than 30 years of preparing W-2s, I never heard of it called
LINE A. More commonly the places where data is is entered on a W2 are referred to as boxes, hence Box A. If the entries were referred to BY Line reference, then the second line would be line B12
And Box A is where 13D is entered. (SSN)
Pedantry over and out
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@ColoradoZ
LINEA/A LINE it is then. A Tuesday Latin acronym clue would have raised more hackles than a dog being lifted by its nape, but IRS clues are never my faves, as they tend to remind me that I am probably paying more in taxes each year than a certain “billionaire” paid for several years, i.e., more than $0.
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Installment 2 in the expanded musical links experiment. Evelyn Glennie on XYLOphone accompanying Björk on “My Spine” followed by a Wiki about Ms. Glennie (Dame Evelyn), who among other things is deaf:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=MY89pMzeTO8
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evelyn_Glennie
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Kudos for the 4 different spellings in theme entries and reveal.
Personally more familiar the 45A phrase beginning with NOT, but easily solved with the crosses.
Just a lovely way to start the day.
Hoping Spelling Bee will be as straightforward!!
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Deb,
I cherish the joint solves that I sometimes do with the boy now away at grad school. Joint construction sounds like a good way to make a puzzle too.
This puzzle was perfectly pleasant for a Tuesday, although easily could have been a Monday. Had my son and I solved it jointly, I'm not sure my typing fingers could have kept up with pace of the solving.
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