Years ago a seat companion on an airplane saw I was working the puzzle and remarked that it had become Google exercise. I objected at the time but this puzzle reminded me of that remark. I’m guessing the majority of Times puzzlers aren’t into Limp Bizkit and Pink Floyd team members so it leaves us two choices: hope for cross-fill or Google exercise!
1
A debut _and_ an anniversary? Wow!
Congratulations on your anniversary, Will. Does 25 years on the job make you "quaint," or have you graduated to "classic"? (I was also a sometimes user of Games Magazine, and have been an addict of the NYT XWP since the days of Ste. Maggie.)
Today's puzzle was a lot of fun, thanks to a terrific theme. It wasn't, however, without some strange missteps by me. My first theme entry was HEADBUTT. Since that didn't jibe with the clue, I thought maybe there was a cartoon duo, one of them a dog called HEAD MUTT, and this was some kind of play on that.
Then I got TRADE FAIR, and thought it was the principle being enunciated as a direction -- "You nations TRADE FAIR, now!"
It was HOUSE/CAT/HOUSE that cleared up the theme for me and gave me a good Aha! moment.
OGEE was a gimme as the XWP's favorite molding, but also as RiA late beloved pooch. OTT was just an old friend, still showing up occasionally. Made up for all those unknown singers.
When I finally got to the revealer, I at first entered BACK FLIPS (with FLIP-FLOPS in the margin of my brain). HOME TOWN disabused me of my first thought and I corrected it. BTW, is "TOWN HOME" a common usage? I don't think I've ever heard it, but I don't know a lot of people who have two houses, let alone two homes.
Favorite themer (other than HOUSE/CAT/HOUSE) was TAKES/OUT/TAKES.
Good debut. Welcome to the constructors' stable. Hurry back.
1
@Deadline
TOWN HOME is real estate agent talk for a townhouse, which you probably know is a single-family two to three-story attached house in the city or a development that simulates city housing, albeit with more greenery; also known as a rowhouse.
@Steve L
Thanks, Steve. No, I didn't know. To me a rowhouse is a brownstone (or whitestone or the like) in the city. It may be a single-family home, or have been cut up into a duplex or apartments, or have been restored to former single-family or two-family status. I have friends who have those in Brooklyn.
To me it sounds as if it's the place where you live in the city, as opposes the place where you live in the country/at the beach/whatever.
But I don't speak real estate. All I have is a crummy one-room apartment!
@Deadline
Townhome is a house which shares walls with another. A condo but more free-standing.
Congrats, Will Shortz! Thanks for so many hours of enjoyment!
Today is the first time I've ever found all the words in the Spelling Bee. Yay!
4
Would it be possible to remove the image for the daily crossword column from the link at the bottom of the crossword page? I accidentally scrolled too far down so I could see the entire puzzle in my browser window and the image for November 20 was a big spoiler for the key clue.
2
Will Shortz -
Congratulations on your 25th Anniversary as Editor of The New York Times Crossword Puzzle!
I've been, in phases, dabbling in and devoted to the NYT puzzles since the days of Margaret Farrar They can be frustrating, they can be glorious. For me, that's Entertainment!
Thank you for ALL you do, Mr. Shortz.
(The Mini Puzzle? - Whether it takes only a sip of coffee or a whole donut to complete, it marks a happy start to my day. Thank you, Mr. Fagliano.)
3
Happy Anniversary Will! I've been a fan since the days of Games Magazine, during your tenure as editor there. I looked forward to every issue arriving in the mail, and now I enjoy your awesome editing of so many great NYT XWPs!
3
Happy Silver Anniversary to Will!
2
Will Shortz, thank you for 25 years of puzzles! I've been along for the whole ride (gratefully). Thank you for crosswords, sudoku, NPR Sunday games; so much enjoyment, learning and grey cell maintenance.
2
Short and sweet: Tough for a Wednesday but loved it! Kudos to a fellow Austinite!
1
Toughest Wednesday in a while. My solution time on this puzzle was almost 2 standard deviations out from my average Wednesday.
Brian,
How often are your Monday *and* Wednesday solution times two (or almost two) standard deviations out from your averages?
Not very often.
1
I feel like Wordplay needs a message pinned to the homepage: "One person's arcana is another person's 'gimme.'"
Knocking DURST and FORTNITE but not PACKRAT (Rat Pack) only shows your age. Some puzzles might be easier for the Boomer generation to solve; some for millennials or younger. None of that should reflect poorly upon the puzzle or the puzzle's constructor.
12
Well said, JT.
@JT
I hope you don't intend "shows your age" as a put-down of the older generation(s). I really dislike ageism -- in whichever and whatever direction it's going -- as objectionable as other biases.
I'm going to assume you did not mean it offensively, because the rest of your post is stuff I agree with.
BTW, we pre-boomers think of the boomers as a younger generation.
@Deadline I definitely didn't mean "shows your age" as a put-down, merely that we each give away our age (or at least our generation) based on which clues we think are "gimmes"!
Wil Shortz—
Been with you all those 25 years. Happy anniversary and thanks!
5
So frustrating that I was unable to get into Wordplay until late Wednesday afternoon--I'd click on the link, the page would flash up onto the screen and then go totally blank. (This is on a Mac laptop with Safari). And I didn't have the patience to keep trying, except randomly and occasionally, and it wasn't happening with any other websites. Finally it loaded. But I can't remember anything I felt like saying about the puzzle. Don't know if this is just me, or if anyone else is having the problem--probably not, from the number of comments I see here now.
Thanks for letting me vent.
2
@Liz B If you don't have it already try Chrome. I use it on my Macbook Air and it's a great alternative when Safari is having issues rendering a web site.
@Liz B
I've been lurking for years, enjoy solving and Wordplay. I had the exact same problem as you on my aging Mac laptop with Safari, started late Tuesday night. Also could not access the Times online and we have a digital subscription. My husband was able to access both the blog and the paper but his laptop/operating system more current. It magically loaded this afternoon on my Mac. You were not alone.
Sue R
1
@CWR & Steve Faiella
Thanks--it seems to be working okay now, but was definitely cranky for a while. And while I still think of this as my new laptop, it's definitely beginning to get some age on it, although the operating system is fairly recent. I guess I need to look at Chrome.
2
Happy anniversary to Will Shortz! His time at NYT has put his mark on the puzzle, in a good way!
4
Somehow a scene from "The Sound of Music" popped into my ken when I finished this one ... and it seemed like a more involved Wednesday than usual. I liked it a lot -- when the vertical inversion finally hit. (No this is not the weather channel...)
So, herewith:
This one's a Wednesday, going on Thursday
Baby it's time to think
Better beware
Be canny, take care
Baby you're on the brink
So today's is Wednesday's, definitely not Thursday's
Grid looks normal, correct?
Fill goes in normally
Acrosses seem properly --
But the Downs are twisting my intellect.
Totally unprepared am I
To face an unavoidable move
Timid and shy and scared am I
To shift the lower half to above!
8
@Dr W
I need someone
Older and wiser
Prodding me to reverse
This is something
Trickier than normal
That I will have to rehearse
3
@Gretchen
Bravo!
1
“I have confidence” when I begin to solve each NYT xword puzzle.... but then, well, this ditty just about sums up what comes next. I now call myself a “Wednesday and a half solver” and have been reading this column since I started solving via the app a year and a half ago, I thought it was time to chime in with my first comment. I am grateful for the hints, support, chuckles, engagement, and enthusiasm of this group! Happy Anniversary Will! And Happy Thanksgiving to all of you!
3
I solve the NYT crossword on my iPad so the app keeps track of my time. This challenging puzzle took longer than my average Wednesday. Clever theme but crossing two obscure clues - such as a Hebrew month and a pop star known only to a fan - irks me, particularly on a Wednesday. Even being a student of German sieg still had the power to startle, so point well taken, Deb.
3
Tim,
I'm not a Limp Bizkit fan and I don't speak Hebrew, but I've heard enough about music and I've heard enough Hebrew to confidently enter the crossing S. You don't have to absolutely know the entry for every clue -- even crossing entries -- to solve crosswords.
3
Same as Barry, except I've not heard quite enough Hebrew to enter the crossing S. KISLEV is definitely new to me. I knew the name Fred DURST was in some music group sometime...in the 90's? But Barry's sentiment about knowing the entry for every clue is one I share. Part of the solving experience is the learning. If you knew all of the entries then it's just a giant fill-in-the-blank.
Or, as I'd mentioned before, I find people tend to let too much knowledge and thinking get in the way of solving.
3
I agree — tough cross overall given the Venn diagram of those who know these two answers is a small overlap, I would guess.
Once I figured the theme, it went well. Except for the cross of KISLEV/DURST which did me in.
1
@Babel64
Agree completely. To me, it's a bad design having two esoteric answers intersect. "Solving" then reduces to entering each letter of the alphabet until the "S" gets the music.
2
@Al in Pittsburgh
Print it out, as I do, and that avoids that method entirely, which is so much more fun!
So Deb was uncomfortable with SIEG and ANTIFA, two perfectly legitimate words. it's unfortunate she felt compelled to inject her own personal bias in an otherwise entertaining puzzle. This sets a very bad precedent I am afraid.
10
Arthur,
No bias was injected into the puzzle, and today's column was hardly a precedent setter in stating discomfort with words in the puzzle. IMO, other posters have more than adequately and much more accurately responded to the comments in the column. Do not be afraid.
8
@Arthur, Barry Ancona
That Deb expresses who she is as she solves is the most wonderful part of this column! I love her comments. Without them, this would be dim.
12
Mary,
Agreed. If one only wants answers (and no opinions), see the key.
3
Thanks, Mr. Koppy, for a pleasant debut, even if I had to run a few letters to get the NE rock singer. The theme fell for me right away with TRADEFAIR, but there were enough twists and turns to make it enjoyable. Come again!
Thoroughly enjoyed the theme on this one, led to a definite "I get it!" moment when I put in HEADBUTT. The only clue I still don't quite get is "OVA". I'm not sure if Brandon is referring to the term used to describe certain anime releases, which I guess could be a tube traveller (by way of cathode rays) or something else I'm missing.
@Chris Finlay Ova, or egg cells, travel down Fallopian tubes.
@Chris Finlay
Think of Fallopian tubes.
Several comments today re: Kislev & calendrical issues...
In ancient calendars, the first full moon of spring determined the beginning of the year in the northern hemisphere. The Jewish liturgical calendar remains there, using extra months when needed; the Islamic calendar doesn't, which is why Passover and Easter remain springtime observations, but Ramadan migrates continuously.
Look up George Washington and ask, what year was he born in? Because the year turned - even in his day - on springtide (vernal equinox), not January 1.
Sept. - Oct. - Novem. - Decem. = 7, 8, 9 and 10 in Latin, because the counting begins with the spring moon in March, not January.
These "selenic" = "lunar" months interact with "solar" = "heliacal" days/years to produce all of the complexities and difficulties inherent in the calendar.
4
@David Connell - before there come the negatives on this point - yes, the Jewish New Year now comes at harvest rather than at spring - that translation is ancient but still entirely dependent on the equinoxes ...
Why has yesterday's clues repeated?
Didn't like POPTAB. I remember PULLTABS and POPTOPS, but not their conflation. Other than that, another pleasant solve. I've taken to finding and solving the reveal first, but sometimes it feels a bit unsporting. I also find the "from the archives" puzzles to be wonderfully challenging diversions when the day's puzzle yields too quickly.
11
Would love to know how/when the mini is constructed. It’s so fun when an answer repeats — surely that’s planned.
1
Brandon, congrats on an awesome debut puzzle. 10/10, would def play again!
4
Dear Brandon,
Incredibly clever with a rich double theme! Thank you, Brandon Koppy!
This Older Than “Mean Old Lady” thought the popular cultural references were acceptable, since I got them. Somehow — because of the spelling? — SYD Barrett has meandered into my mind. FORTNITE? Young friends are important at my age, and FORTNITE is unavoidable as long as I can still hear. DURST came on the crosses or with a little fiddling — all part of the puzzle and learning experience.
THEFED is my favorite, even if the I is missing and “thiefed” is not a verb. Aiming at 2% inflation? Using the power of compound interest for No Country for Old People!
A.
7
Amen, A!
1
@ADeNA - amen to the Fortnite idea - it is not possible to associate with 12-year-olds and not know about Fortnite, since it is their only waking thought 20 hours a day!
1
@David Connell
I do not associate with 12-year-olds -- have to remember that as something to be thankful for tomorrow -- but I heard of FORTNITE on the CBS early morning news. Their was some news story that for some reason mentioned it, and someone in the story didn't know what it was, and the newscasters were in awe that there was someone who lacked that knowledge. I Googled and learned it was a game.
No 12-year-olds were injured in my quest, and no other oldsters like me either.
Happy Erev Thanksgiving
Passover is not a festival
It is a holiday
Next week is Hanukkah which is a festival
Enjoy!
4
Dear LA Sunshine,
A central element of PASSOVER is the Seder, a “feast” laden with religious meaning. “Festival” is derived from feast. It seems like a fair clue while not, as someone pointed out in the comments yesterday, serving as a definition.
A.
I do not always read clues as definitions, akin to the animal kingdom’s Chamelion. Sometimes I need to take out the puzzler’s equal to a mechanic’s adjustable wrench. I make decisions as to when clues define, describe, suggest or indicate. My puzzling experience requires sharpening the skill that unravels what the constructor is driving at in hint selection. Borrowing a line from ‘W,’ “I am the decider.” I try to maintain an outlook that clues have a steadfast property of elasticity, trumping rigidity...Having never had the privilege of attending a Seder, I have a hunch that the vibe at one is festive in nature. Yes?
3
@brutus - in Catholic observations, Solemnities and Feasts are gradations on the same scale - in other words, liturgically and historically, being "solemn" and being "festive" are not oppositional. In current usage, yes, solemn wears black while festive is bespangled - but that's only the past 100 years or so. Before that, a "solemn feast" was not at all oxymoronic.
I've been to many Seders, and enjoyed every one. I wish I could say the same for Thanksgiving Dinners with family...but, alas, "I cannot tell a lie."
1
What does "gluey" as in "gluey entries (ALTERER, SIEG, EFF, RLS, STA)" mean? Also, you use the word "tis" frequently, and I haven't been able to decipher its meaning.
Thank you.
Hi Algernon,
When I (or other crossword bloggers) use the term "gluey," it refers to entries that are less than desirable because of their form or because they may be partials, but they are there to hold other entries together and enable the constructor to fill the puzzle. More experienced constructors prefer to sacrifice gluey fill for better fill, but sometimes it can't be helped.
I'm not sure what you mean by the use of "tis." Could you be thinking of "TIL"? That stands for Today I Learned, which means that I learned a new word or fact.
7
Such a clever theme! And so ruined by the plethora of (often crossing) pop culture trivia -- mostly singers and mostly unknown to me. Loved all the theme answers. Hated almost everything else.
I ask myself why this happens so often? Is it because a clever theme, especially when it's as dense as this one is, simply can't be accomplished without a lot of names? Or is it because younger constructors think that pop culture is just the niftiest, most important thing in the entire world? And that those of us who love puzzle-solving should be obliged to learn every pop singer who's ever sung -- or else find another hobby.
It's too bad, because this is really a fresh and beautifully executed concept as far as the reversible theme answers are concerned.
10
SYD Barrett, NEKO Case, and Fred DURST don’t seem all that obscure to me. The least familiar to me was FD and crossing that with SB and, even worse, with a Hebrew month name was unpleasant.
As you point out, a certain amount of unpleasant fill is often the price of a densely populated theme.
1
Come on, Nancy, nobody is entitled to their ideal puzzle everyday. Not everything is made for your generation or your tastes. You should be happy younger people are interested in crosswords!
Complaining about pop culture in a crossword is like complaining about baseball or French. It's there. Get over it.
7
@Nancy
Hobbies are supposed to be fun. If this isn’t fun maybe you do need a different one.
For some reason we seem to feel a need to do everything perfectly, and if we can’t we need someone (thing) to blame for our failure. To use a pop culture word....chillax.
They are just puzzles. They are supposed to be fun. To me this one was great fun even tho I had never heard of Fortnite.
1
SWAP next to FLIPFLOPS was a fun double reveal.
Just a short aside to thank all of you and each of you for all you have done to brighten my days and educate and elucidate me and others.
As 1A from the mini suggests, SAFE TRAVELS!
5
@Robert Michael Panoff - Happy Thanksgiving - glad you're doing well!
DC
2
O GEE! That was SOME AWE I felt for a debut puzzle.Seemed more of a Thursday idea than a Wednesday. (Another FLIP FLOP?). I considered the cross of KISLEV and DURST a Natick, but I got through it with a little perseverance (read trial and error).
So, Mr. Koppy it would seem only appropriate to be GIVING THANKS for this puzzle. I'm glad to see you had it IN YOU.
3
I wrote in FLIPFLOPS only after A**BACKWARDS wouldn't fit.
Just kidding! What a wonderful reveal for an equally wonderful puzzle and really fun solving experience.
Loved it! Congratulations to you, Brandon, on your most impressive debut!
13
Not a fan of little stunts in a Wednesday puzzle, simpered Tom salaciously.
Bad Swifty aside this puz was fun.
Building Barbie Dioramas today for tomorrow’s fete. Off in search of wooden boxes.
Thanks Brandon, nice debut
@dk
Wine stores may be a good source of nice wood boxes.
@Dr W
Dear me -- an echo?
Talk about your spoilers-- the answer key appears to be from some other puzzle. Is there no end to the trickery?
This was really cool, once I got over the rude HEADBUTT... of course, I'd not have known the cartoon duo (Nancy and Sluggo? Calvin and Hobbes?) .....and then there was the crossing of a vocalist and a Hebrew month (unfair to Old WASPS)..
Just when you think there can be no new thing under the sun, along comes a Koppy (hep)cat to prove us wrong.
Tried to park a LeSABRE in 24A, and even PhysicsDaughter corrected me. Neither she nor DHubby actually knew the right answer, though I winkled it out shortly.
What would CrossWorld be without Mel OTT?
Happy PreCooking Day, everyone!
8
@Mean Old Lady Sorry about that! The link to the answer key has been fixed.
Happy Erev Thanksgiving, all!
@Mean Old Lady
Last time I looked the LeS was a Buick. Reason that stuck in my mind was because the first one was an over-sized version of the Corvette Sting Ray, and I thought that had to be grotesque -- even for GM.
This is my favorite Wednesday puzzle in quite a while! Immensely enjoyable cluing with tough spots that led to satisfyingly average time (only relevant because Weds. have been too easy for me lately).
I finished the left side first after not seeing much in the NE, and then worked back up to NE corner. Once I had that "v", Kislev came immediately. That will be tough for many. If I didn't observe my father's yahrzeit in Kislev, I might have taken much longer to get it. Used to Adar as the only Hebrew month ever appearing in XWs.
Though I cottoned to the theme quickly, that did not diminish the fun at all. I'd seen Mr. Peanut on the Atlantic City boardwalk plenty and remembered the monocle. Still, it took a few seconds and a cross or two before I realized it was "glasseye". Very clever!
Kudos and come back soon with more, Mr. Koppy!
5
I am certainly feeling the tug into the land of cruciverbal obfuscation. So much so that I almost missed the exit ramp to ANTIFA. Sounds like someone’s HOMETOWN...Welcome Mr. Koppy. How does an Econ. Major from Windy University land in Austin in the advertising biz? I slept through one Economics course. 50 years later I am amazed by the fact that my memory still supplies that Profs name on demand, Mr. Peacock. I must have missed the class on 17a. I wanted ‘free’ before FAIR TRADE forever...Like the insurance ad campaign purports, this solve was so easy, even a CAVEMAN could do it; as I did......but sans SERIF and ease. I finally finished in two sittings...The visual chronology of cover artists is a nice side dish to Doug Kershaw’s tribute to Big Joe Turner’s “FLIP FLOP(S) And FLY.”
https://youtu.be/00OJ08rdljc
Eat Heavy WPers,
Bru
3
A virtual FIVE HIGH (*Wheel straight in poker) to this debut effort. As Deb mentions, it's packed with theme material which is what struck me as I was solving it. Not only that, it felt fresh. I enjoyed this thoroughly. Only sticking point was the PTO/PTA classic "Which one is it?", whose terminal letter I entered incorrectly without bothering to check the cross.
1
In the singular, Shortz era score is PTA 179, PTO 1. I'd be more inclined to see the latter clued to a tractor.
1
@Barry Ancona
Personal time off? Doesn't work with the clue.
Deadline,
PTO (Parent Teacher Organization) works with the clue in the puzzle, but since it loses out to PTA in crosswords almost every time, I was suggesting a different *clue* I'd like to see for PTO abbreviating something else; a tractor's power takeoff.
Fun, fun, fun!! Normally on themed puzzles, I try and solve first and then go back to figure out the theme. That is not a good strategy for today, though, because knowing the theme helped immensely with solving! I realized about halfway through, when the theme entries just weren't coming, and after the "a-ha" moment of grokking the theme, everything went much better! I loved the theme as well! My favorite themes are those that involve wordplay, and Mr. Koppy's offering today did not disappoint! And what a smorgasbord of theme entries! Nine of them! This is my idea of a perfect Thanksgiving puzzle, with lots of delicious words that will have me napping on the couch from consuming so much! Happy Turkey Day all!
5
I had trouble with the Scrabble 4-pointer clue. Isn't "eff" 9 points? Can anyone help explain?
@m it's the letter F, and EFF is a phonetic spelling.
1
oh of course! thanks for the pointer.
1
@m
Of course, the irony is in your name, Em.
The Bee:
QB: 40 / 223, 1 pangram
A 6 (1*4, 2*5, 1*6, 1*7, 1*8)
C 8 ( 2*4, 2*5, 1*6, 2*7, 1*8)
I 5 (1*4, 2*6, 1*7, 1*10)
N 3 (1*5, 1*6, 1*8)
T 14 ( 3*4, 6*5, 3*6, 1*7, 1*9)
V 4 (2*6, 2*8)
12
@susgraham Not much that we haven't seen before in this one. Of all things, the last 4 letter word held me up for a while.
Hints: A couple of musical terms, including an operatic one that may not be familiar to all (sophisticated as this crowd is). Don't forget time in the pool.
4
@susgraham thanks for the grid! I know it's a pain to put together but I always appreciate it. I'm sure many others do too.
2
@susgraham Thank you taking time to share this. I think INITIANT should have been accepted.
1
Like suejean, a very (very) slow start for me; not much at all after a first pass. Took a break and a deep breath and dove back in and managed to work out TRADEFAIR. Saw what was happening and gradually it all came together. Some complete unknowns but mostly worked them out from the crosses.
Nice puzzle and clever concept; congratulations to our constructor on his debut.
I can't see GLASSEYE without thinking of my all-time favorite W.C. Fields routine. Prepare yourself for 5 minutes of frustration:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aEIUW5Rslrc
..
2
Or there is the classic Heywood Banks song "The One Eye Love"...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ms2e7T1bF7E
1
@Michael Brothers
But there ain't no woman like the one-eyed gott.
..
@Rich in Atlanta Now you've got me all distracted! WC Fields juggling is a hoot. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ytgPGr6JhLo
1
That's the third month of the Hebrew calendar, not the ninth. Confused me quite a bit as the ninth month, Sivan, doesn't fit. Otherwise a wonderfully entertaining puzzle.
1
@Ron not Jewish but assuming the creator couldnt have gotten that so egregiously wrong i googled and found this...
Kislev (Hebrew: כִּסְלֵו, Standard Kislev Tiberian Kislēw; also Chislev) is the third month of the civil year and the ninth month of the ecclesiastical year on the Hebrew calendar.
3
@pjmcgovern: thanks. I still think that's a poor clue. If you read the wikipedia page on the Jewish calendar you'll see that the year of the plants starts in Shevat and that the year of the animals starts in Elul. The ecclesiastical calendar fell out of use when the Kingdom of Israel fell more than 2,500 years ago, while the civil calendar has been in continuous use for over 3,000 years. We don't refer to November as the ninth month, though it used to be in the Roman calendar (which was reformed only 2,000 years ago).
Which reminds me: I gave a donation to a certain charity in March. In June the same charity called me to ask for another donation, telling me that my March donation came in their previous fiscal year. Cheeky!
3
Ron,
I just attended my 50th college reunion, and I've been "class fund director" for the past 25 years, but a handful of my classmates still don't get that the college's fiscal year does not end on 12/31, but, rather, on 6/30. Perhaps your charity's FY ends on 3/31...
Fun theme and an impressive amount of it! Good on you, noob!
2
Nice debut, Mr. Koppy! I think I lucked out by stumbling on the revealer fairly early, but it was still a fun and challenging solve ... in a good way! Thanks
Oh I loved this xword! Bravo. Felt Thursday-ish satisfaction at my SIEG.
Re: the Bee: Grateful to Liane's notes yesterday which gave me permission to abandoning--there were at least four words I would never have gotten, including the pangram. Which wasn't a BURCLOT but close. Today's is much more fun though I initially thought the pangram was a word on my toothpaste tube.
5
Indeed, that’s s such a commonly used word I had to enter it twice to be sure it wasn’t accepted. Still working the bee but have found the pangram.
Oh, yes, this was a feat. When I finished, I thought, "Did you see what I just saw?" Ten theme answers, eighty -- eighty! -- theme related squares, six theme answer crosses. Not to mention coming up with nine cool phrases that have different cogent meanings when flip-flopped, and that fit the grid.
But, IMO, the main thing is how the experience goes for the solver. For me, this had lovely grit, coming from vague clues, figuring out the theme, and five answers not in my wheelhouse. Until I figured out the theme, it was certainly hard Koppy, and I reveled in the tussle. I also liked the mini theme of double E's (6) and the theme echo entry -- SWAP (as in swapping the words of the theme phrases) -- butting right up to the actual reveal.
An impressive constructing feat and an engaging and pleasurable solve made me easily forgiving of the crosswordese and even that gulp in my throat that I felt at SIEG (Hi, @Deb!). I thought Will and company made the right choices here (kudos on the Koppy editing), and Brandon, I'm eagerly looking for more from you!
15
@Lewis
Ditto, ditto, and ditto.
1
I got off to a slow start. It seemed that there were a lot of things I simply didn't know or I knew them but just couldn't remember. For example my house is full of "Curved mouldings", but I couldn't remember what they were called. I didn't have any of the * entries filled in until I finally spotted PACK RAT and realized it worked the other way round. AHA! Had another look at the reveal clue and then had a wonderful time FLIP FLOPping all those starred clues.
Terrific debut, Brandon; I bet you could do a great Thursday puzzle based on how tricky this was.
7
@suejean
The thought crossed my mind that this might qualify as a Thursday puzzle.
1
I liked the puzzle - I got the revealer clue first based on the downs which in turn led me to change 48A from RATPACK to PACKRAT. After that I was off to the races. Especially liked the answer for17A as the answer, either flipped or flopped, is the same concept (FAIRTRADE/TRADEFAIR)
1
Congratulations, Mr. Koppy! I enjoyed your debut puzzle.
The Nazis used all the German words. There's no particular reason to be squeamish about Sieg.
26
Loved it except QEII. Ogee was a gimme for me as someone who used to be in the trades.
@Adam
OGEE becomes a gimme after one's first few hundred puzzles. Others of this ILK are ETUI, ELHI, OTT, and ORR.
2
Great Wednesday and a well-designed, clever debut. Bravo, Brandon!
2
Sieg - hmm, maybe.
On the other hand Siegfried Sassoon was a heroic first world war poet, heroic for his critical stance on the war in his poetry and his memoir. Just one use of sieg.
We can't not use words because they were once used badly - swastika, for instance. Otherwise, we are like Queen Victoria, Victorian England, covering table legs with cloths so legs aren't seen - otherwise the legs might make people think of human legs and then, horrors, of sex.
14
@Peter Jackel - I agree with the simple (and should be incontrovertible) concept that victory (Sieg) is a strong thing, not to be surrendered to evildoers:
https://youtu.be/XTvw8r34eug?t=240
9
@David Connell
Totally agree that words shouldn't be associated only with the worst possible use they've ever been put to. Otherwise, no one would ever play bridge again.
2
@Deadline
Very clever, Deadline!
Pretty difficult for a Wednesday.
13
I second that.
1
@Benjamin Teral
Too hard for me. I only could figure out 8 words by myself on first run through. Not enough time for more tries, with 18 guests coming for dinner tomorrow.
2
Loved the clue for 51D...especially after another -500 point day on the NYSE...tho, this SIG was a probably a minor contributor...
@BK
What's SIG? I Googled, and got (among other things) a gun and the Summer Institute for the Gifted, but nothing that makes sense in your post.
Deadline,
A SIG may be a special interest group (which was the clue for 51D).
@Barry Ancona
D'uh.
But (in my own defense), BK's comment made it sound as if he was referring to himself as an individual.
Lots of fun and very clever - my favorite.
3
Excellent debut, Brandon. Just the right degree of difficulty for a Wednesday and a very clever theme. Bravo.
15
Got it with just one look-up! (KISLEV)
Great debut from a fellow Austinite!
Happy parenting and hopefully many more puzzles to come!
3
dsgarcia,
I also did not know the "Ninth month of the Hebrew calendar," but I *did* know the six entries that crossed it, and found that the answer was KISLEV. Which one (or more) of the six crosses did you (also) not know?
@Barry Ancona
DUNST crossing KISLEV makes for a mini-natick.
1
Dag,
It's DURST, not DUNST, but that would support why *you* found it a mini-natick.
Maybe I’m mistaken but I think ESTO is a mistake. Sp masculine “this” is ESTE
@Ezekiel - pero neuter "this" en verdad is ESTO en Español.
4
@David Connell no sabía que existe
@Ezekiel - pronombres como eso, esto, aquello, ello - neutros - used when there is no specific reference - as in
¿Que es esto?
¡Es un pronombre neutro!
3
Cottoned to the theme with HEADBUTT (what does that say about me?) and filled in the rest with relative ease. Have never heard a monocle referred to as an EYEGLASS, though.
@Irene
Since we have been talking about Dorothy Sayers recently, I am all but positive she made reference to Lord Peter's eyeglass.
Irene,
Biocular = eyeglasses, monocular = eyeglass?
https://www.dictionary.com/browse/monocle
2
Oh, Barry, I *get* it! ;)
Had just never heard it before. But lord knows I’m all for neologisms!
Very irritating...not clever...reflected quirky mindset
2
@Lazy puzzler
I disagree but taste is always personal, never right or wrong.
7
YMMV, but I loved the quirky mindset!!
9
@RampiAK
Ditto loving the quirky mindset.
"Most" arias aren't soli. *All* arias are.
5
So, all of something doesn't include most of something?
That makes for an interesting diagram...
@David Connell @Fact Boy
"Most" indicates that some aren't.
Are there any "duet arias"? Honest question...
3
@Mariana - There are plenty of arias that are not soli; the name "aria" simply corresponds to the English word "air" = melody, tune, something hummable, and as such, it is often applied to instrumental music. Much of that is indeed for a single player, as the famous Goldberg Aria with its variations by Bach:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gv94m_S3QDo
or the Aria of Flor Peeters for organ:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZqRdaBVI64
Others are written for whole ensembles, as this from Respighi:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-XtoeV8YORk
or these more unusual ones:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aq6u5hWLpgo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qfy4tmHnGz4
There was nothing in the clue about vocalists. If two singers cooperate, it is a Duet(to) rather than an Aria (this was Fact Boy's meaning); if they take turns in dialogue, it is a Scena (Scene). But there is one well-known Aria with two singers in turn but not in dialogue: the 20th movement of Handel's Messiah, "He shall feed his flock":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WsoEg6h6EXc
It is most often listed as "Duetto" - but the two soloists never interact. Kind of a "serial aria."
14
Answer key is for 8/15/18
13
@Houston Puzzler
You can get the correct answer key at https://www.nytimes.com/svc/crosswords/v2/puzzle/15978.ans.pdf
2
...or here:
https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=11/21/2018
(What is it that makes people want to "reco" a post pointing out a human error of no consequence, but *not* "reco" a post providing the workaround?)
1
@mikeq Thank you! I was hung up on poptag and PTA.
1