.02 seconds slower than average.
After getting the top two theme entries fairly easily, I decided to jump ahead and look for a revealer which I found in 59D. I must say that knowing this really didn't contribute to getting the remaining theme entries. The fact that all the clues themselves ended in "t" I greeted with "So?." Bottom line: Not one of the best themes.
My final hangup was the crossing between 56D and 63A (TA_ and N_OBE). I was parsing the latter as N_O BE and was getting nowhere. When my wife hinted that it was a single name, a faint memory dawned on me from an earlier puzzle: NIOBE, a mythological figure who lost her sons, weapt profusely, etc. There is truly much to be gained from experience!
2
Down answers: VAT,ALT, KERMIT.
Sorry, your point?
Most memorable TEE clue from my days of yore:
North departure point.
(you know, Andy North, the golfer, won US Open a coupla times.)
1
I’m really torn about having puzzle stats kept for my prior solves. On the one hand, it appeals to my competitive nature, constantly trying for a new Best or to lower my average. On the other hand I miss much of the clever things and figuring out the theme because I’m speeding through the solve. Aah, the problems of a Crossword Addiction.
4
Okay, first, the theme: I'm pretty much with RiA and some others. I thought it was a constructor's theme, but so what. It didn't add anything to the solve for me, and when I got it with the revealer it was more Oh than Aha! I wasn't even interested enough to go back through the clues to admire their cleverness.
OTOH, neither did it detract from the puzzle or my enjoyment thereof. I simply solved as a themeless, with highs and lows and even some problems. As Alex Trebek likes to say, "No harm, no foul."
Okay, that's out of the way. Now the puzzle:
Double Natick!! The crossings of 16 and 11D with 20A. When all else was done, I had ?I?MO at 20A. Thought maybe the singer's name was GIZMO. Apparently not. Rather than doing a double alphabet run, I just revealed the letters and lived with the Red Triangles of Shame. I then remembered MEL from previous XWPs. Thought I'd never heard of ADELEH, but Jeff and others showed me the proper parsing and I remembered (the existence of) the film (never saw it).
Never heard of Rich AURILIO or NED Jarrett. But other names--ALBANESE, SLOAN, and LOEB--were all gimmes. NADAL and ANSARI needed only a couple of letters.
TAGS UP needed every crossing letter.
WHITE before ASIAN elephant (only had the I).
So thanks, Peter and everyone. The puzzle was fun, even if the theme left me cold.
4
I agree with you, DL, about the theme. Meh ...
Same as you with WHITE rather than ASIAN at first. I also was ignorant of many of the names, but thank god for crosses and some good guesses!
1
So... in the last week, I've seen Rich AURILIA, ALOU brothers and San Francisco GIANTS... NYT Finnerty's patrons?
2
After finishing the fill I was looking at 11D again, finally sussed out the Natick (it was L), and then wondered if the film was in Yiddish.....
4
Had no clue of the theme at all until getting to the final section for me, where the revealer was. Nonetheless this was a very quick solve for a Wednesday. Very cleverly hidden in plain sight it was. Kudos to the constructor.
1
Suited me to a T. Or am I repeating?
Extra! Read all about it! Star reporter Deb has an article at top of page A20 of today's NYT under her own byline on the recent crossword puzzle tournament in CT. Kudos.
7
Thanks, Dr. W. It's a big thrill for me, as it's helping our pastime reach a wider audience. It's also my first byline for the Metro section.
6
Can we get to read it here?
1
Yay, Deb!
I'll scoot right over there and read it, right after I finish up here at Wordplay!
1
After reading the 77 earlier comments, not one person claimed to figure out that the clues all ended with t before learning it from the reveal. That shows very impressive skill on Peter's part, making the clues not seem twisted or tortured. Learning that aspect of the theme from the reveal gave me a big wow and shifted this puzzle from the "usual good" category to the "unusually good". Great piece of work, Peter!
9
That means that 99% of the public that doesn't read a crossword blog will never know that info (I didn't even fill in TEE; I got it from the crosses and never saw it.)
That means it was a lot of work on the constructor's part for no payoff.
Thanks for supporting my original comments!
2
I was amazed to read that Rex Parker and many of his fans found the cluing tortured, due to the "every clue ends in t" constraint. My experience was the same as Lewis's - there wasn't a single clue so contorted by the "end in t" rule that it tipped the hat. That takes considerable skill, whether solvers understand it, appreciate it, or not.
gargoyles on Notre Dame
5
Steve L, I must respectfully disagree. Surely more than 99% of the people will read the clue to the reveal and learn that all the clues ended with tee.
2
Tripped up on SNL because of the abbreviation in “Fall ‘75 TV debut”
Not every feat is worth doing.
....and since I started with the Reveal, more or less, there wasn't even any suspense. Sorry, but MEH.
There are 'beginner' quilt patterns out there that are so simple and lacking in character that they are not worth doing, either.
5
Maybe they're worth doing by the beginners. You have to start somewhere if you want to become an expert like you.
6
Deb's appropriate reference to amuse bouche has me ready for a post-puzzle breakfast!
2
It's always time for second breakfast!
1
Raced through the puzzle, taking no notice of the theme, so the reveal was a true aha! moment for me today. Pop singers (ELTON, LEANN) and Muppets are my specialty, but my knowledge of Nascar is pretty limited--you mean there's another Jarrett besides Dale? I'm better with baseball, but needed some crosses before Rich AURILIA exposed himself (in a manner of speaking). I liked it.
One-hit wonders The TEE Set were part of the musical mini-Dutch Invasion on the US charts in the early 70s. "Ma Belle Amie" features a catchy melody and is sung in charmingly clunky English, with a heavy accent ("you were da ansah, on all my questions, before we're through"---???)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bioah3q7JOk
2
Last night's champ missed a gimme in Final Jeopardy JB. Playing along at home, I am sure you bet the ranch to win. As you stated here last night, when stuck, throw The Beatle's up against the wall and see what sticks. Musicology for $2,000 Alex.
2
That was a surprising loss, considering that a pop-o-phobe like me could not only name the band, but both titles!
yellow submarine
2
As Steve L pointed out yesterday, though, the lyrics to "Eight Days a Week" really don't refer to working at all. It's an obsessive love song.
Cruciverbally speaking, LOSING is such sweet sorrow. Live, learn and, with a feverish patience, anticipate the arrival of Thursday's sophistry...All my trials (& tribulations) were on account of the challenging, international flavor along the mid-western perimeter. I had 27a and 30a but that wasn't enough to rectify my conundrum over 21a & d and 32a. No other problems to report, but the aforementioned perplexities were enough to affect a Wednesday tally that landed in the 'L' column...A gimme, Rich AURILIA was a welcomed sight and right in step with tomorrow's big day in Major League Baseball. The Yankees appear loaded for bear as they pop the cork North of the border. My hope springs eternal for the Metsies; we'll see if their capable array of ARMs fulfill expectations...This break-up ballad, Jackson's forte, speaks to one artist channelling another. You can't not like "Here Come Those Tears Again," eh NIOBE? The Great Dane would as would the Bards of Avon and Quincy. 'Owie, where art thou?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-b1r9OE9M0
That's All For Now FOLKS,
Bru
5
I got the theme pretty quickly but did not see, until reading Deb, the absence of T anywhere else, not that all the words in the phrases end in T. If I weren’t typing this on a phone, I’d have tried to replicate Mr Gordon’s sentence-ending stylistic flourish.
3
I stopped minding the Naticks (for me, they were LILMO/ADELEH and AAA/AURILIA, and yes, I should have been smarter and figured them out) and so where was I? Oh yes. I stopped minding the Naticks when I realized the difficulty of the construction. Thank your for a pleasurable Wednesday, Mr. Gordon. And one more thing. My most delightful aha moment? Spotting the significance of the word "sweat" in the Constructor Notes. That means I spotted the bonus before reading Deb's "Oops, he did it again" note.
3
From the wide variance in comments, is it fair to say that 21D is this puzzle's theme? All I can add is that it was very much to mon gout. Thank you, Mr. Gordon.
3
I was quite surprised and flattered by the number of “recommended” votes that my yesterday’s post received, and equally surprised that it created an additional thread of its own. I would simply echo Deadline’s plea that this forum remain an exchange of ideas, and not become a sort of popularity contest.
4
I must apologize for generating any negative feelings about counting the number of recos. It was certainly not intended as anything other than to note that your comment was well-received. Life is hard enough without having to feel bad about this. I will try not to.
3
CS, Please no apology necessary! I simply wanted to acknowledge my appreciation of people's interest yesterday without giving the impression that I was gloating about it. I am sure that we all take notice of the number of recos, especially as "Readers' Picks" is based on that. As such, you have no reason to feel badly about your observation. I very much enjoy your contributions!
3
Thanks Andrew. All is good.
I enjoyed the solve and the theme. There were unknowns for me, but was able to get them from the crosses. Unlike others, I found the revealer before finishing and it did help with the themers. My last fill was the B in RBG.
2
I found this to be quite an ingenious concept. Of course it was a case of retroactive appreciation of the cleverness after the fact of getting to the revealer. And I didn't realize the lack of non theme T's until reading the Constructor's Notes.
As I used to frequent "art" film theaters in the 1970's, I did know ADELE H, however I was completely blocked with LILMO, RBG, and NIOBE.
I think I found the perfect music to honor Peter Gordon and today's theme.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1vth98M7N0
6
Great selection! To a T.
3
What Paul said.
(I was expecting "Tea for Two," and never heard of Peter and Gordon.)
Fastest solve this week for me (which still probably means twice as long as anyone else took). Had to work the crosses in most places but still very smooth. Only brief stall was pondering for a moment until MEL finally dawned on me; then seeing LILMO and realizing I had to separate the H from ADELE.
On the other subject: I'm among those who prefer a theme that involves the solver just a bit more. I guess this one could have helped with some of the long theme answers, but it didn't for me and I'm guessing it didn't for most others. But we actually get a lot of theme puzzles where it's more an after the fact or 'feat of construction' thing. Did Monday's vowel progression really help anyone in their solve? Probably not, but I don't recall any really harsh complaints about it - just a couple of comments of the "I'm not generally fond of..." type.
So, this was a really clever and original idea. I wasn't thrilled with it initially, but after the fact I did enjoy going back and reviewing all the clues to see how the constructor managed to phrase them. To reiterate - we get a lot of themed puzzles in which the theme is extraneous to the solve. Why single this one out?
I might seek opinions about a completely OT subject in a reply. I might. I probably shouldn't. Maybe I won't.
5
It's funny that you asked about Monday's theme helping the solve, because it totally did for me. David L__n became David Lean for me precisely because I understood the theme and saw that it was executed "in order."
2
Me too, David, except LEAN was a gimme and following LANE showed me the theme and helped with the rest of the themers.
2
OT perhaps. Does presidentIAL still mean what it used to mean?
8
Well, it’s been said that “Being presidential is easy “!
https://www.msnbc.com/msnbc-quick-cuts/watch/trump-being-presidential-is...
1
Soooo impressed by the construction- well done !! Keep 'em coming .
1
A puzzle like this makes me again wonder at how our minds work. ALBANESE percolated up from required listening to the Saturday Met Opera broadcasts, where she was always being talked about. NIOBE arose probably from Shakespeare 300, never knew I'd remember that one.
Very enjoyable puzzle, though I must admit the Truffaut title crossing with the R&B artist looked for a minute like a Natick. But LI..MO... what else could it be but LIL?
1
I think it was Erik Agard had a puzzle awhile ago in another venue, with the theme of LI'L Whosie and LI'L Whatsie. It had me totally nonplussed, as I had never even remotely heard of more than a couple of those LI'L persons.
Reminds me of a time that MacKnight had a comment with LIL LEAPY in it, which I thought was really quite sweet of him. Turned out he'd meant to type LOL LEAPY. Almost as good.
6
I agree, Catpet.i had the same experience with the opera singers name and I don’t follow opera at all. Where did that knowledge come from?
I googled LIL MO and learned she was born on Long Island. LI..MO might work.
1
No complaints here. I solved as if themeless and then read the revealer clue only to be amazed that each clue ended in T. I usually miss the themes that involve the clues themselves and for that I am ashamed. An earlier comment mentioned that Wednesdays are usually themeless, but I don't think that's true. In other news, I recently had the pleasure, nay the honor, of attending a talk given by RBG at my synagogue. She is inspiring. If we could bottle the energy in that sanctuary and use it for good...
6
A young woman who often brings her dog to the dog park at the same time my dog and I go was extremely excited recently because RBG came to speak at her place of employment that day.
3
Oh, how I envy those who have had the honor of hearing Justice Ginsburg speak in person!
CS, when you speak of bottling the energy in the sanctuary, I assume you mean the energy in RBG's audience. Certainly her own patented energy is indeed being used for good.
1
Yes, Deadline, I meant the energy she generated that day. It was electric. She does use (and always has used) her energy for good.
I expected a few negative comments; we all like (and dislike) different stuff. When I first joined wordplay I constantly asked "How do they do it?", come up with so many different ways to construct a themed puzzle. To me that is part of the fun. Anyway, I liked this although I missed the theme completely until the reveal, and still didn't notice that there were no other T's in the puzzle, amazing.
I loved all the long theme answers, and the variety of fill covering a wide range of topics.
Thanks, Peter
14
Agree, suejean, amazing how constructors come up with the themes. Takes a lot of time and effort, so why shouldn’t they enjoy the process? Same as you, I didn’t get this theme until the reveal, but very amazing feat. One of my gimmes, ADELE H, I suspected some solvers might have trouble with. A very interesting film with Isabel Adjani, if I’m remembering correctly. The story of the daughter of Victor Hugo, thus, the H.
1
I gamble as much as I watch TV and my E in Faro denied me a Happy Pencil.
Boring story alert: While in grad school we developed a computerized black jack game that calculated your odds of getting a certain card. Gambling with training wheels we called it. The idea was to demonstrate "odds ratios" tostudents and lighten up Stat 101. One could alter the number of decks in "the shoe" so one got the relationship between the size.... well anyway. After using this with my class for a couple of semesters: off to Las Vegas. My allotted $50 became $300 and I stopped playing. As I gathered up my chips my companion noted I had been playing with my fly unzipped. Never knew if it was my experience with the electronic decks or the unlikely zipper talisman that contributed to my prowess at the gaming table. Research partner assured me either way I would come up short.
Welcome back TSETSE and thank you Peter
4
Blushing emoji but cute story.
Impressive theme but was Natick City for me.
MEL, LILMO, and ADELEH in the NE, all connected.
FARO and KAHANE in the SW (combined with PORTES being an educated guess and SESS just as able to be SESH or SESN).
4
Pleasant solving, Final Ts themes sweet.
I have a question. I vaguely remember a genetic study of finding out that men named COHEN and men named KHAN had similar Y chromosomes indicating the same patrilineal descent. Would that also cover KAHANE? And CUNHA, my middle name?
2
Laura, I'm guessing that you are of Portuguese descent?
Do you mind if I ask if you are actually from Portugal? I don't believe I've ever actually known anyone who was.
No problem, Rich. I was born in Brazil. Family tales are that everybody in the whole village of my great grandfather came from Portugal (Traz-os-Montes) to Minas Gerais in Brazil and rebuild the village there, same village name, same family house order around similarly placed streets. They were the Rodrigues. The Cunhas must have come much earlier, as there were no family stories about it.
1
Laura, it's my experience that a lot of Cohen families altered their name somewhat to make it a little less obvious: Cone, Caine, Coyne, Kahn, etc. But not all.
And some Cohens aren't Jewish.
I fully agree that the version with KEGEL would have been more uplifting, but there was also something satisfying about having KAHANE under the NEGEV.
Aside from the Theme, thought the fill quite excellent, and incidentally liked how the puzzle TAGS UP GOESSTAG after MonTAG und DiensTAG on a Mittwoch.
Regarding the Theme, you could say it was all one big TTTTT. Right, Peter Gordon't?
6
I didn't puck up on theme and never read the clue for 59D because I got it from the crosses and then got then got the happy music. Regardless, I am impressed! I knew Rich AURILIA, but I expected some others to consider him a bit obscure for a Wednesday puzzle.
1
I had teASES before ERASES as I was remembering a friend torturing her dog by picking up his lead then putting it away again. Gotta love those homographs! Grrrr. Otherwise I got the revealer during my first run through along with my (relatively few) gimmes, which helped. Nice one. Bracing myself for the rest of the week...
2
I've been doing puzzles too long. My first thought after reading that the title was a T president with separation was T-aft. Until I read about tweeting.
3
A pleasant, easier than usual, Wednesday puzzle. I solved it like a themeless and got the point only when I reached the LAST (BUT NOT LEAST important) clue, 59D.
Speaking of names that solvers do not like to encounter, I could have done without 43D.
9
I could have done without him too, but confined to a puzzle he's harmless.
1
It went pretty quickly. I got stuck on one square: The L that ends MEL and starts LILMO. I just had to guess letters until the happy chimes.
4
Since this was a Wednesday puzzle, I wasn’t expecting a theme... so the apparent lack didn’t bother me. But, as the solve progressed, it did seem as if something was a bit ‘off’ and I kept going back to look at the theme entries. 59D revealed all, and that immediately took the puzzle to a new level! Had to scan all the clues! And did notice the lack of other TEEs but couldn’t wait to verify! Had to come here ASAP!
I’m usually not very impressed with construction gimmicks - but in this case there was a real thrill in the recognition of the feat. Hats off!
11
"Since this was a Wednesday puzzle, I wasn’t expecting a theme..."
RampiAK,
It is my understanding that only Fridays and Saturdays are "themeless."
1
and Elke
GreaT ScotT -thaT puzzlemenT goT residenT RoberT, buT noT (his) quieT, ofT righT consorT wiT.
TEEhee
8
Somewhat indecent boast, isn't it?
4
I actually liked this. I had to look up a few things, but it was easier than the usual Wednesday and fun.
4
I was certain the t thing was a reference to the porky pig clue: t-t-t-t-t-t-t-t-t-t-t (etc) that's all, folks!
5
[Ubba bee, bubba bee, bubba bee...]
Brilliant puzzle. The only box that got me was 20A (the L) but the rest was superb!
3
Exactly! I ended with an alphabet run for LI'L MO (headbonk) as I had also been unable to parse ADELE H.
3
Leapy,
That was one several pop Naticks that I guessed, but checked with
Google before proceeding.
1
Natick there here.
2
Too many crossing obscurities for me. ELT_N clued John is fine, but a 2000's R&B artist crossing a 1975 Truffaut film; a foreign phrase crossing an Israeli landmark; or a 2002 singer crossing a 1924 court party crossing a name from antiquity in a line from _Hamlet_? ಠ_ಠ
21
I like the eyes at the end!
2
The Leopold and LOEB case was a pretty famous one (very rich, privileged young men perpetrating a thrill killing); 'The Story of ADELE H' was for its day ground-breaking (and sadly, a true story); the NEGEV and NIOBE don't seem that obscure...... so I think we have wheelhouse that are exactly opposite, because the singer, the ball player, the person named Dwight--those were my unknowns.
2
For the curious, the eyes are dubbed the "look of disapproval" here on the interwebs. Basically a meme.
1
Don't listen to the naysayers, Mr Gordon. It was fun.
13
Some of the negative comments on this one were a bit of a surprise to me, I found it charming and fun for a Wednesday, not to mention being quite a feat.
I'm not ashamed to admit that the 21 square was a total natick for me, though I guessed the right vowel to fill it. But SLOAN Wilson was a gimmie. We're all different.
10
If you didn't recognize the name Aziz ANSARI, you need to start reading the rest of the paper.
2
I was astonished at the negative—and sometimes even hostile—comments. Though the content may have been a bit Tuesdayish, I found the T business, and the way it just kept going and going, an amazing feat. For some commenters to use the pejorative "constructor's trick" shows a sad inability to appreciate a harmless and entertaining approach to a puzzle.
12
Paulymath--I think those who use "constructor's trick" are saying that it was probably more fun for the constructor to figure out all those t-ending clues than it was for the solver to solve it.
I didn't see a theme while I was doing the puzzle. I noticed that each theme answer had a four-letter word in it which ended in T, and noticed later that all the words in the themers ended in T. At which point, I said, "so what?"
Then I read that every clue ended in T, and I again, more forcefully, said, "so what?" This is not in and of itself an interesting thing.
This kind of trick construction has been done before, and better, in some cases. It's old hat at best, and not very interesting to the solver.
Basing your puzzle on trick construction that is barely noticed by the solver is "harmless," yes, my bones are all intact and all that, but I feel somehow deprived of the "something more" that often comes with a NYT themer.
7
Tasty.
2
For someone so experienced at construction, the fill was embarrassingly poor. The wacky "T" gimmick - not worth it.
4
Considering that 14 Down entries each crossed two themers (as well as being restricted to no extra-themic Ts), I'd say the fill was unabashedly good.
SCALE MODEL DOORNAIL SNARES KNEEBRACE
5
The constructor's notes were a treat, more than most, at least in a bit.
9
Not great, yet pleasant.
I didn't notice the theme while I was solving it. The TEE reveal gave it away at last. It didn't really affect the solve one way or another, I thought. I liked it a lot. Just not a whole heapin' lot. Still, CHACUN À SON GOÛT.
5
Not swift, yet pheasant.
Tougher than it looks, ain't it?
2
didn't like the theme as theme -- too inside baseball.. I did like SAT BOLT UPRIGHT. Loved Licia ALBANESE -- wonderful soprano!
1
"Some people might consider that to be just another constructor’s trick..."
And I would be one of them. Reasonably easy Wednesday, so as I sped along solving, I did not stop to smell the teas steeping in the clues. Found the TEE only after sinking the putt on 18. Oh well, 21 Down.
3
I know: everyone has their own gout.
Try colchicine. ;D
3
You need to come into the 21st Century. The med of choice here is allopurinol. Collchicine is used after gout onset. Allopurinol controls uric acid. My Dad used colchicine. I use allo.
And some lucky people get by with just Indocin, apparently. Although that may also be 20th Cent. (As am I, by and large ;D)
I am in awe of the layers of wordplay that Mr Gordon brings to this (and to the comments!). I got sidetracked into looking back at the double dactyl puzzle, which was amazing, too. And all the clues sound so natural (in both puzzles).
I really liked seeing the longer entries in a mid-week puzzle. Things I didn't know (like ALBANESE and AURILIA) were gettable from the crosses. Very nice!
9
Clever clever clever. I sat looking over the whole grid for the thing that made it work - because I had never seen the revealer clue before completing the puzzle! But I knew to keep looking, and found the T's, then the lack of non-theme T's, and then the last letter of the clues T's. Well crafted, no clunks anywhere.
14
I feel as if I’ve been robbed of a theme. A bunch of words end in T. So what?
4
'Robbed'? Really? (Sacramento, Baton Rouge.) Might reflect on your own poke at Wags, to wit: 'you need to start reading the rest of the paper'.
1
Michael--
I said in my other post:
Basing your puzzle on trick construction that is barely noticed by the solver is "harmless," yes, my bones are all intact and all that, but I feel somehow deprived of the "something more" that often comes with a NYT themer.
I'm aware that this is just a crossword puzzle.
3