I can feel the author’s disappointment that Kemosabe isn’t actually a racist thing. You do you, NYT.
1
This one was a bruiser, so densely packed it made for a slog!
It will be a cold day in hell when a constructor substitutes QUE MAS SABE for KEMO SABE.
At the end, my time suffered because I just couldn’t see the errant S I had in TEE. Makes me SEETHE.
1
Had a weird bug in the iPhone app. Solved about 2/3 of the puzzle on my morning commute. Picked it up again and finished during the evening commute home, but now the app is listing the puzzle as unfinished and it looks like it reverted to after my morning commute and “forgot” I went back to it. I’ve had this happen a few other times, but it was only one or two entries that went blank after I entered then.
Fail. Didn't know mote and didn't even try. Moxie is one of the worst beverages in the history of the world. Along with an aperitif made from artichoke if you can believe it. But I'm changing the subject. Fail. Ugh.
Are you me? This post pretty much describes my experience perfectly, with the exact same difficulties and missteps. Everything from finishing the center first, and the north west corner being the hardest (partly because I put in Siskel at first), to wondering about KEMO SABE.
1
Kameron Collins , my thanks for Kemosabe. As a child I listened nightly, rapt, on the radio to the Lone Ranger (or the Long Ranger? Really, I never was sure, ) who had a faithful Native American companion, Tonto. Tonto always respectfully addressed the L. ranger as Kemosabe. tonto saved the L. Ranger's life countless times.
now an elder, I realize the honorific was never returned.
3
Oof! I hate it when I have an error and just can’t find it. Turns out Pope LEOn was wrong!!! Apparently I never looked at the down cross to see my error. Duh. Makes me feel quite dopey. I did enjoy the puzzle especially when I realized my mistake and the happy music played.
Liked MORALCENTER, GENETICCODE, OAXACA, and BEERNUTS. Loved MOXIE and ROEPER. I did enjoy Gene Siskel, but sometimes he seemed a little too philosophical.
Thought EDU and DOT was very cute. Not in a bad way, though.
Bring on Sunday. I’m eatin’ Wheaties for breakfast tomorrow! :o
3
Whew ... Can't believe I actually finished this one correctly. Went to bed last night completely stuck in the NW and with the SW yet to do. Only entries were HOTRODS, TONS, EDU, and ____NUTS after giving up on SISKEL at 2D (Curse you, Mr. Collins!). Left for the coffee house this afternoon having only added BEER to 16A (confirmed by my wife -- Thank you, Ali!). Maybe it was the caffeine: Added ABY to 1D, then NTESTS came to me (controversial clue & entry from earlier!). Still uncertain about 19A A_S_S, though.
Now the SW: Got CANDYCOAT quickly but the rest was a slog. Had RENderto or RENegeon for 31D for too long. Even though I thought of RANOUT for 46A, I kept erasing RAN. Top, then TiE for 47D before TEE. Slowly it came together.
Finished, but no happy music. Knew it was probably 19A, where I cycled through the alphabet for the cross of ROE_ER and A_SuS. Still no luck, so changed the "u" in the latter to I (the only other choice IMO). Then tried P for the cross and lucked out.
Now on to Sunday's! Oof!
1
This is supposed to be my C-i-C, and I did all kinds of closing and reopening and refreshing, so I hope it shows up as an original comment.
Loved this puzzle. Started pretty well because 'ARRIS was a gimme. (I never read Gallico, but remember when I was the ohnly one who didn't.) Entered SISKEL but with the mental holdout of the-other-guy-whose-name-I-can't remember.
Also paused at KEMOSABE for the same reasons as Caitlin. Glad she compared it to the awful sports team names. Or is that CANDY-COATing?
OTOH, KEMOSABE gave me the missing letter in CRUNK. CRUNK? Unk!
Entered MEXICO, which conveniently gave me MOXIE. But MTC for the [Stock letters] at least led me to OTC, thence OAXACA and the rest of that corner. And (ugh!) CRUNK.
Other than that, I totally agree with Lewis in his C-i-C (didn't reply because I didn't know where my thoughts might wind up). This is what makes XWPing fun. Mostly.
Remember well the CABARET CARD battles. Glad the Good Guys won.
Saw that MOL sort of answered my WeeBee/BigBee question by telling me what a WeeBee is. It's the only thing I've seen, though, so I still don't know what BigBee is, unless maybe it's a larger version that shows up on a Sunday. I've have to check out Spelling Bee every day to figure it out.
Thanks, Cameron. You are one of my favorite constructors and I am always glad to see your byline, knowing I am promised crunch and nourishment.
1
Very fun and hard. Technically, RAVEL means the same thing as unravel. So I was pretty reluctant to give that answer until I was forced.
2
Tough puzzle I almost gave up on, but just managed to get the last two letters — the BY of OH, BABY. Phew! Did not know CAMERA READY is used to mean telegenic — cute. Did not know CRUNK: What a wretched little word! I hope the music sounds better. Look forward to the next struggle with another puzzle by this constructor!
Q: Why did the manager of the swamp go on a rampage chopping down mangrove trees? (A: He ran A MUCK.)
2
Every time I hear "hummina, hummina," I can't help but recall Phil Collins' 1985 appearance on David Letterman.
For you music buffs out there who have wondered how the songwriting process happens, the intro to this episode sums it up nicely.
Birdhouse + Larry "Bud" Melman = #1 Record!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eDaMSBJF4w
Loved the puzzle. Came about as close as I ever do to giving up after several attempts because I wouldn't let go of faults and opts in the NE corner. But persevered, very satisfying. In other news, am developing profound clotbur concerns in SB.
NW
The only reason I didn't write in SISKEL was that the K made no sense at 19A. As for OHBABY, I'll take your word for it. My only knowledge of "Hummina hummina" is hearing it come out of Jackie Gleason's mouth. Was it only when Ralph Kramden was showing embarrassment or did Gleason use that expression with other personae?
1
Beautiful grid. NW was tough but I solved it. I thought "hummina hummina" was akin to VROOM instead of VA-VA-VOOM!
1
Puzzles like this are why our favorite pastime will soon be dead. Anachronistic answers and clues that only people well north of Fifty will get will turn off younger people more and more as the years go by. I’m looking at you, HOT RODS, CABARET CARD, “Hummina Hummina”? Really? Is that even English? MOXIE, KEMOSABE, KUSH? Mrs. ARRIS? Worst puzzle I ever solved.
Oh, I wouldn't write the "old" clues off so quickly. My teenage daughter knew "Hummina, hummina."
2
METAPHYSICS was a gimme. My MORAL CENTER took a long time to kick in. Good puzzle.
The Comments would not load when I stopped by early this morning--wow, tough puzzle!--so I went out into the heat and humidity --like an old fool--and washed windows and siding, cleaned and filled birdbaths, and so forth.
Naturally, this brought on a thunderstorm.
That was one heck of a puzzle, something like rock climbing--tiny toe-hold at the bottom, drag one's self up, slip and fall back, start over in a new spot, hit the bottom, go back to the old spot and put answer back in.... lather, rinse, repeat.
Even getting to Genius in the Wee Bee didn't make me feel smarter, but I *did* finish the puzzle correctly! ROEPER was the final entry (or the P, actually.)
Tried to answer about WeeBee and BigBee yesterday but the Comments were still behaving strangely. The easier, one-day puzzle is what I term the Wee Bee.
1
Why do you think that the daily spelling bee online is easier than the print one? It seems to me that the daily online bee requires finding all the same words as the print bee does, plus the fours, too. I realize the fours are not much of a challenge, but finding every single one makes the effort a little harder, not easier, than the print version.
I got caught up on GAP, INC. rather than THE GAP, but finally solved it.
I liked the crossing of GO FOR and SO FAR.
1
You got caught up because it’s a poorly-worded clue. Gap Inc is the parent company for Banana Republic, The Gap, and Old Navy. The Gap is not the parent company of anything, it’s a store.
1
Yes, the parent company is Gap Inc. No, the brand (store) is not The Gap; it's just Gap. "The Gap" can refer to both (and was used in marketing when the company was just the one brand).
I felt that The Gap was an incorrect answer, too. It seems to me that the parent name of a company isn’t up for interpretation. There’s a legal name and that name is GAP INC.
1
Really liked today’s puzzle...was trying to fit in BE IN REGRESS for some time for 35-A before figuring out the correct phrase
1
This is my favorite kind of crossword ... unsolvable Friday night, but yielding slowly, exorably (which *should* be a word: I mean, if you can yield inexorably, why not exorably? And my efforts today were definitely exorable).
The southeast corner just about did me in, but I was saved by KEMOSABE, which made a whole lot more sense than my original hypothesis, DEMOCRAT :-)
2
This was one of the best puzzles I’ve ever done in NYT! Not the easiest, but the mental shifts required were always fun. Before early in 2017, I rarely, if ever, did crosswords. Now, however, they are a much appreciated escape from the barrage of nonsense mixed with horror coming from Washington DC.
11
I think those 'mental shifts' are a hallmark of Kam Collins' puzzles.
Re the emanations you mention: funny how the proportions change, isn't it?
2
I’m with the group who found this to be a very challenging puzzle. I ended up looking up the Zapotecs, because nothing was working in the SE corner. I’m kind of surprised that there weren’t more lookups, as I had basically nothing to start with—ROM and PARR and ARRIS and CAVER. And either SISKEL or ROEPER, but at least that choice combined with ARRIS gave me a foothold in the NW. But seriously, the rest of it? Tough!
STROBELIGHT helped me move out of that NW corner but didn’t lead to a whole lot. Finding OAXACA and coming up with OTC got me into the SE and made that corner work. But that still left most of the puzzle.
Gradually it all came together, but it was slow! I now know what CRUNK is, and a CABARET CARD (I didn't know if that was local to New York or a more widespread thing). Mr B enjoys a refreshing bottle of MOXIE once in a while, but it sure doesn’t appeal to my taste buds. I also read Mrs ‘ARRIS goes to Paris in Reader’s Digest condensed books many many years ago—it was entertaining, and I’d read it again (uncondensed) if I could find a copy. I see that Paul Gallico also wrote The Poseidon Adventure—very different from a tale of a London charlady who goes to Paris for a couture gown!
It’s mid-July, so many of my hours are spent watching the PEDALS go around at the Tour de France.
2
I watched the Men's SemiFinal Part B (sorry, Rafa) and then the final few games of the Women's Finals (sorry, Serena, but Angelique was the better player today.)
So much going on!
1
I really had no idea where the Zapotec liked to congregate in ancient times, But OAXACA was the place I chose to go for the last fully subsidized Continuing Ed I was going to get, so it was a place-name I knew, and 'the signs pointed to Yes'.
2
The total word count for the BEE today is 48/169 points, 2 less than my estimate below when I was at GENIUS status. This is because the average points per word increased somewhat, from 3.28 to 3.52.
There was just one CLOTBURish word today – the others were common words.
Of the 48, 43 of them (90% !) were 4- or 5-letter words. Only 5 words were longer. So a bit of slog.
1
Congrats on the QB!!!!!
I agree that the preponderance of 4-letter words dumbed down the entire experience. I thought there were at least two obscure words that were accepted, although nothing at the level of the dreaded CLOTBUR!
Can someone explain NTESTS/Source of tremors?
Nuclear tests.
2
There are 48 words today, FYI.
No idea why that comment arrived in this stream...
What is this Spelling Bee that so many are mentioning?
Scroll down https://www.nytimes.com/crosswords and you will find it.
Wow! That was a tough one. Some of the gimmes were not what they seemed (Siskel--ROEPER, Gap, Inc--THEGAP, and on it goes.) The SW was my toughest--and last--finish.
Mrs. Arris was a gimme for me. As a 'tween, I loved visiting my uncle who had a bookshelf full of Reader's Digest Condensed Books. What a feast! And one of the titles I remember was "Mrs. Arris Goes to Paris." Thanks for the memory!
45A, MOXIE is a Maine soft drink very popular here in Maine. It was first called Moxie Nerve Food and was sold as a patent medicine. The name of the soft drink is apparently the origin of the meaning of the word. Drinking Moxie gives you moxie! According to Meriam-Webster, E.B. White (a Mainer of course) was a fan. I tried it this week for the first time. I don't recommend it.
https://www.drinkmoxie.com/index.php
2
Spent a couple of wonderful summers in Blue Hill, Maine as a student. Drove by E.B. White's house many times. I believe that he still was living there at the time.
Never heard of Moxie though, and it sounds like I'm not missing a whole lot.
1
I am so K/CAM ERA READY! Nice to see you back, K/CAM!!
Great to finally have a definition of 'Humina Humina", and will await the REvival of REBRANCHING out to RESTEM and RELEAF.
P.S. to Deb: I still miss Bob Mankoff. Thank you, that was a real booster shot in the arm!
3
Caitlin!!!! My apologies.
1
Today's puzzle I found particularly difficult. On first pass I had only one "gimme", and that was SISKEL. By the end this made the NW impenetrable, and I resorted to actually having to use Google for what I considered a gimme. (I vaguely knew that Ebert had another partner after Siskel died, but I had no idea of his name.) Now I am faced with knowing that my current streak of 121 was achieved fraudulently.
Spelling Bee wouldn't accept TEABAG, GAMBA, or BEATY. (GAMAY was not accepted either but it seems to be a proper noun.)
I did a "natural" run to GENIUS level (118 today) on the Spelling BEE, which required 36 words including 1 pangram. That's a very low average points-per-word count of 3.28, so I estimate it will require about 50 words to make QB status.
Semi-devastated when TEABAG was not permitted – loose-leaf tea if far superior in taste and quality.
1
I am at 44/137 but still no pangram. I am assuming then that it is not a CLOTBUR?
Is CLOTBUR now officially the NATICK of Spelling Bee pangram obscura?
I got to genius FINALLY with 38 words and 120 points (a bushelful of 4-letter words) (what, no babymama???) but never got the pangram. Assuming a compound word but despite some very silly ideas, nothing is clicking. Since I am a genius, however, I can rest. While I get to genius every day (except Clotbur Day which shall live in infamy) I am unlikely to ever get Queen Bee because there has never been a day so far where i didn't see words on "yesterday's" list that I simply do not know.
2
This one was fun, with only one groaner in the bunch, somewhere in the NW, but it wasn't bad enough for me to go back and check which one it was (edit: reading other comments, I am reminded it was NTEST. Bah and feh, I say). Roomie was delighted to remember Mrs. ARRIS from her youth of watching old wholesome movies, saving me from PRETZELS instead of BEERNUTS. I had the same thrill by not getting caught in the same trap Ms. Deb did and picking off OAXACA. Annoyed that I needed crosses to remember DELTA and TROY, but STROBELIGHT fell early.
Being in those awkward middle years between GenX and Millenial, I picked up on CRUNK right away with an appreciative whistle that it would show up in a crossword at all. Same with KUSH, which I was just researching yesterday after getting my Medical cert. approved.
I think it was the NE that stuck us for the longest, and all because of AMATORY.
1
For a while I was totally lost, but once I found my MORALCENTER it all began to make sense. Deliciously difficult!
2
I quickly cut a swath through the lovely diagonal center section trusting that KUSH and CRUNK were correct due to the fair crosses. Minor blips at sTp and TRIBes in the SE, but not a big hang up.
The NW almost did me in. I had NerveS before NTESTS. Was sure 1D was either OolAla or OHlAla. ROEPER had to be siskEl, right? I also kept thinking it'd be cornNUTS. Everything was a mess there ... until it wasn't.
What a wonderful puzzle, thank you Kameron Austin Collins! I'm just sorry you let it sit so long in your pile before you graced us with it's beauty!
4
What a great puzzle!
5
This was properly hard, I racked up a time that will definitely pull up my average but still really enjoyable. Hard, you have to earn every answer, from crunk to Paul Gallico (surely nobody reads him anymore, in fact spellcheck wants to curtail his name) this is my recipe for an enjoyable difficult themeless, which is my favourite kind of puzzle. No gimmicks. Thursday is my least favourite day.
I like obscure literary trivia. Bring it on. Balances out the endless sports nonsense which is to me, ashes.
3
Tough one yet solve time shorter than Friday this week
... intersection of ARRIS and APSIS held up the closing.
2
Does anyone recognize this as a literary quote?
"Our rulers live in a different country."
(This relates, tangentially, to the entry MORAL CENTER, I suppose, but I've been wanting to ask for a day or two.)
I heard it in an episode of Inspector Lewis that I was watching recently, and it sounded like one of those philosophical or literary quotes that DS Hathaway was always dropping into the proceedings. But I can't seem to search it up online. It's possible that the scriptwriter came up with it whole cloth, but if it's a known quote, I'd love to know the source.
1
The only relevant google hit I could find quoted that line verbatim with this citation: "Spoken by Detective Sergeant Hathaway. Masterpiece Mystery! - Inspector Lewis, Series III:
Counter Culture Blues. Aired on Monday, Aug 30, 2010"
Don't know if that helps you.
Shouldn't it be "Our rulers live in a different country club"?
4
I found this even tougher than usual for a Saturday, and was glad I didn't actually have to resort to a reveal at some point.
It was nice to see CAVER at 28D, reminding me, of course, of those heroic people who managed to get all the boys and their leader out of that horrific situation.
8
From the moment I gazed at the gorgeous grid design to when I filled in the last square, I was transported into crossword nirvana. Yes, it is an accomplishment to fill in a 64-word grid so cleanly, but it is the art, not the mechanics, that elevated me. The simple-yet-brain-teasing cluing was elegant, with answers coming from all over the great mix of life. I trusted -- accurately, it turns out -- that when coming across an answer I didn't know, it would be fairly crossed. There was enough not-so-hard to counter what was difficult.
And thus for these reasons and others more ineffable,I felt awe and joy through my solve, and now in the afterglow, I realize the skill and talent that went into making that happen. I'll remember this one for a long time. It is the embodiment of loveliness.
18
31D. First time I went through the whole puzzle with no answers. I did finally finish with help from the blog and comments. But too many clues were just too obscure for me.
6
I thought this was going to be a first for me--a quick solve of a puzzle by Kameron Austin Collins, until I got to the SW corner and came to a screeching halt, which took me as long (if not longer) than the rest of the puzzle. Persistence paid off in the end.
3
Caitlin, I read the clue as meaning that KEMOSABE was *used* as a term of respect in westerns, not that it actually is or was a term of respect in the real old west.
4
Like many, I found this harder than usual, at about 1/3 longer than my Saturday average. ARRIS/APSIS were total unknowns to me. Likewise CRUNK though I got it easily enough through crosses. SISKEL before ROEPER, though I knew it could be either from the jump. Had CABARET and even CABARET CA•• long before CARD occurred to me. I was trying to think of the female counterpart for greasers for the longest time before arriving at HOTRODS from the -O-O-S, alone.
All in all, to emulate Porky Pig, this was “a be, a be, a be, a hard one.”
7
Thanks all for kind words about Pizza Lady work... Now Can anyone in SF help out this person? Will pay someone to do the puzzle with! https://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/dmg/d/crossword-puzzler-wanted/66427336...
2
He or she sounds desperate for intellectual companionship. I hope the right person gets the job.
1
Perhaps someone should introduce the person to Wordplay?
Agree that this was a great puzzle. Visually pleasing, tough but fair, and I learned several new things. Also agree with your second point. I've done crosswords all my days, but it was fall of 2016 when I got my NYT subscription and it was instrumental in getting me through the ensuing unpleasantness.
Agree that this was the toughest Saturday in a while -- the entire West side of this puzzle gave me fits!
But I enjoyed it nevertheless!
3
"Agree that this was the toughest Saturday in a while..."
Others may well "agree that this was the toughest Saturday in a while," Patrick, but you appear to be first to say so.
1
I think Patrick was agreeing with Caitlin, Barry.
1
You're probably right, David. It's tough to follow conversation here -- even when the comments system is working -- when people don't identify prior references. Speaking of which, I assume you were saying "your" Monday - Wednesday line was the poor attempt at humor, not Sphynx's response to it.
This comment is about Spelling Bee. I have posted in the past about some of the anomalies in the word list; but today's Bee goes beyond anomalous into the realm of offensive.
I tried arab as a four letter word. It was rejected. Ok. It can be considered a proper noun, and that's cool. So I tried arabic, which (in addition to being the name of a language) is an adjective. But that was also rejected. Do we have a problem here?
What is your source for your word list? Whatever it is, you need to change it.
3
Spoiler: But note that arabica is in fact allowed.
I've altered my thinking -- the constructor could include all the words I (we) have found [but aren't there] PLUS the ones currently included and it wouldn't change the levels or the Queen Bee status.
Put another way, today's puzzle has 48 words included. If it had 75 words the only difference would be that the different levels of achievement would be farther along the scale and I'd have to find 75 (rather than 48) words to Queen Bee.
I pass this along because changing my perspective has reduced my frustration/annoyance with the word choices. I can now Queen Bee AND thumb my nose at the universe for having found more words than necessary.
On a different note, if you're at all like me, you're going to hate 3 of today's words.
2
jess, Arab and Arabic are considered proper nouns, and as such are not acceptable in the Bee. WK's spoiler however is the name of a tree producing coffee, and therefore acceptable.
KUSH is making its first appearance in 68 years. Interesting that the clue was quite different then:
https://www.xwordinfo.com/Finder?word=KUSH
5
I liked the old clue 10^4 better than the new one. Mind you, I still got the new one, but prefer the old one.
I believe Gap Inc is the parent company that owns Banana Republic, The Gap and Old Navy.
11
As noted above (or below), there is no "The" in either the corporate name or the brand name -- Gap Inc. and Gap -- but both are often referred to as "The Gap."
1
How soon we forget...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CCEBoOy0ne8
I also thought that Gap Inc. was the name of the company, but when I Googled "The Gap," I learned that the full name of the company is "The Gap, Inc," and "Gap, Inc." is only the familiar term for it. So the clue is right.
2
would have finished faster if I put in STEEL after getting CAGE. too timid! Also didn't trust DELTA. eventually that corner fell in. Liked to see ancient city of TROY -- my birthplace in upstate NY!
1
Funny, I’m going to a wedding in Troy, NY tomorrow (i.e. Saturday) night. Didn’t realize it was THAT Troy. Wonder if I’ll run into Helen.
1
She moved back to Sparta, Steve.
1
I thought it was Paris, Barry.
Fun puzzle with a good bit of challenge and I loved the pinwheel construction. Pretty to look at and enjoyable to play. The northeast corner got me a bit - I thought that the BR parent company would be GAPINC, not THEGAP since that's the actual title, no?
I had OPTS in first as a usual gimme but then it didn't fit with SISKEL which I thought was a sure BET! Eventually got to the other Siskel partner.
Two thumbs up!
2
Gap is the brand and Gap Inc. is the corporation, but I hear The Gap used for both (as I trust you do), so not actual but "in the language."
I also had GAPINC (crossing with REPELLANT) before discovering they wouldn't work, and SISKEL before ROEPER, but eventually got things sorted out.
Had MOXIE, KEMOSABE and PEDALS so OAXACA was an obvious choice for me.
Ended up finishing in the SW corner in about ¾ of my Saturday average.
To me, "hummina hummina" is what Ralph Cramden said whenever Alice caught him in a lie. Hubba-hubba would have been less misleading, even if misdirection is the name of the clueing game. This should be honest, not just devious.
22
My feelings exactly. Hummina hummina is the sound of being caught in a lie or otherwise tongue-tied. Not the same as hubba hubba.
12
There seems to be no question where it started, but it has gone off on its own since then. Simple cite here, lots more to see of you care.
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/hummina
Misuse becomes accepted use, I know. But so far, I only see Wiktionary accepting that usage. So I will reiterate, misuse. Show me M-W and I’ll change my mind.
Fast and fun Friday night frolic, finished ON TIME. I was happier to see CAVER than NTESTS. If you look down low on the piano -- or the puzzle -- you will SEE THE PEDALS.
(RAN OUT)
1
Dang! I looked at the piano and what did I SEE? THE VOWELS...
2
KUSH? KUSH?
KUSH my tuchis.
3
cf Hindu KUSH
aka Paropamisadae in AncientGreek, which would be qualitatively worse
Me, I saw piano's three *syllables*.