Also if you’re new to the puzzle you should know that the Thursday puzzle always has a gimmick to it. You should review previous Thursday puzzles to get an idea of the imagination that goes into the challenge.
I am new to the NYT crossword puzzle and am completing them via the app. I found this one especially challenging and confusing. Are most of you completing this crossword via the physical copy of the newspaper? If so, did it include pictures? I was not familiar with a rebus but a search indicated there should be some. However, they app does not display any. Thank you for any clarification you can provide.
Newspaper version does not contain any rebus or other type clues. It’s ur typical NYT puzzle, nothing extra.
Very fun puzzle. And how nice to learn that it was done by a student at my alma mater. I look forward to seeing an article about you in the Voice. Good luck with wherever your varied interests take you!
1
Nicely done Sophia Maymudes! Congrats on your first NYT crossword puzzle, and a Thursday REBUS at that!
I’m getting later and later with my puzzle solving. I enjoyed this one and was glad it was a do-able rebus. Looking forward to seeing more puzzles from Sophia.
:-)
3
First-time NYT puzzle-maker Sophia, you're a gem! Congrats on constructing this very interesting and fun puzzle. It was a delight, especially with my cat sitting at my feet!
Study hard, dear, but when there's time, give us some more of these up-to-date and clever brain-teasers!
2
A note to Caitlin: It was Mr. Smith who went to Washington. Mr. Deeds went to Town.
1
@Stewart
That was in the back of my mind last night. I can't believe I left it all day -- will fix. Deeds goes to Town! Roger.
1
Fun Puzzle! I love the Rebus ones! My sticking point was DYE... I had RYE and was stubborn trying to figure out how LAIR was supposed to fit :-)
I must brag though! I got all the Spelling Bee words for the first time ever :-)! That game is always rolling in my mind throughout the day.
3
I did this puzzle this morning, and was delilghted to be able to start the day with a tribute to this wonderful species. (I told Jessica, but she yawned. She's used to being GLORIFIEd.)
Alas, after doing the puzzle and reading the Wordplay and xwordinfo columns, I didn't have time to read the comments (already numbering 130!) nad add my own before leaving for a doctor appointment.
The day went downhill from there.
But I eventually got home and back into the cuddles of my beloved Jessica (who has forgiven me my absence). Read the comments, but had to take a break to give Her Ladyship her evening meal.
Started in NW, which was pretty easy. When I saw the CAT up there in square 1, I immediately said "KITTY-CORNER." And I was right.
At first I didn't understand how KITTY LITTER was a secondary revealer, until I remembered that kittens are born in litters. I was stuck on thinking of the stuff in the box in the bathroom.
I can never remember whether Baldwin is ALEC or Alex.
Didn't know Lily Potter's maiden name.
An impressive debut, Sophia, and welcome to the constructors' stable (complete with barn CAT). Come back soon.
A bonus treat this a.m. in the column. I loved the commercial, which I'd never seen. The one in the New Yorker article linked to was wonderful! And I confess to being mildly addicted to cats riding Roombas.
Time to scratch some ears.
Thanks to all.
4
All the whining and complaining about the difficulty level is rather tiresome.
So what if the difficulty level is Tuesday or Wednesday and it appears on Thursday. I’d rather have that than the Friday or Saturday level puzzle we often see on Thursday
A great debut. And by a college junior no less
11
Being an ailurophile, loved this one! Think it should've been exchanged with yesterday's, though. Smashed my previous best time by 5 mins! (No big head, though, as many others found it easier than typical.)
Started the puzzle last night. Got the rebus thing quickly since, like Caitlin outlined, CATTLE and CATALOG were the clear choices in the NW. Then cornered a cat in the NE, got the revealer KITTYCORNER (Aha!), then went to bed.
Today, struggled a bit in the SW and SE corners before remembering the revealer. CATS in the corner! Oh, yeah.
Mini-theme: LITTERBOXES, SHOVEL, LOOS?
ILLY??
Great debut, Ms. Maymudes, especially from such a youngster! Looking forward to more.
3
@suejean asked, and in case anyone was wondering, in reference to my earlier post, Susan proudly and successfully completed the puzzle, the first time she ever figured out a rebus puzzle by herself. She was beaming.
7
That great, Lewis. Congratulations to Susan.
2
Where is Deadline?
1
suejean,
Waiting for her cat to finish the puzzle?
1
@suejean
Just finishing reading the comments so I can offer my CiC.
2
Great NYT debut, Sophia. Look forward to many more years of your construction!
Twigged to the theme pretty quickly, but got tangled in the cats cradle with first INTHECORNER then CORNERBOXES before finally LITTERBOXES.
3
Hardly a Thursday puzzle, IMO. With 4 identical rebuses all in the corners (as the revealer says), this one wasn't tricky at all. If anything, it should have been a Wednesday.
Fun debut puzzle! Hope to see more!
4
Congratulations, Sophia! Terrific puzzle! Also, I hope you keep up with competitive bridge; we need the next generation
in that sport also.
@DYT
Second the motion re duplicate bridge. Can't imagine what the game is like today without the smoke-filled rooms of yesteryear.
Personal best for Thrsday. When the NW corner gave CAT immediately and another clue restricted the Rebus to the four corners it was smooth sailing all the way. (Especially since we were given NAE NAE in a recent puzzle.)
1
Two towel-related entries.
3
Gary,
I hope you found the puzzle easy enough to not have to throw in the towel.
3
@Gary
DON'T PANIC! You seem like a guy who knows where his TOWEL is.
3
Nice to see such "dry" humor.
5
What a fun and funny puzzle -smiled the whole way through...thank you!!!
4
Not proud of the fact that the first thing that came to mind for places that some house pets go was ON THE CARPET (and it fit), having had both geriatric and toddler dogs in the house recently.
Thank god for Resolve and Little Green Machines.
7
@Hildy Johnson
My first instinct was INTHEKENNEL which fit, and gave me threw me for a detour.
Having a great amount of work I put off to do the puzzle, I was happy with an easy-peasy Thursday puzzle that makes me feel smart and frees me up to get back to my other work. So thanks Sophia for the enjoyable puzzle, but feel free to up the challenge level for your next Thursday puzzle!
4
Congrats, Sophia! I enjoyed the puzzle quite a bit, and then was thrilled to read that you're a Carleton student. Fantastic and keep it up. --From another Carleton math major (of many years ago)
3
"I also wanted to ask how many people remember (or are still) sliding a furry beast off the newspaper, repeatedly, while they solved a puzzle?"
Pushes a furry beast off the keyboard.
Why is the cat on the table? Retired people get very lax with discipline
11
@Grace
What's wrong with a cat on the table? Yes, I'm retired, but I didn't wait until I was to let my cats pretty much go where they wanted as long as they didn't break things or try to eat my food.
I do try to keep Jessica off the keyboard though. She messes up whatever I've been working on, including XWPs.
2
Has anyone else had a cat that learned to use the toilet? As long as you kept the lid open.
2
@Dag Ryen Yes! We had a very smart Korat. She taught herself. I noticed yellow water in the bottom of the "commode" and checked the tank for rust. My visiting aunt (who did the NYT XWP in ink and lived to 101) came rushing into the room and exclaimed "There's a cat peeing in the toilet!" Mystery solved. (Our current Korat is not as smart but is sweet and snuggles and will be 20 years old at the end of this month.)
1
I have seen a very similar puzzle previously in the NYT crosswords, probably several years ago, where the theme was kittycorner and there was a different type of cat in each corner box - I remember one of them was TOM.
Maybe someone else can point to that puzzle.
jlady,
See if you can find it. I saw DOG and CAT, and CAT, BRO, SIS, etc., but not what you describe. But that might be my eyesight.
https://www.xwordinfo.com/Rebus
1
@Barry Ancona
I must have been of this puzzle 5/8/2003
https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=5/8/2003
Not a rebus, but a similar idea.
2
Only snag for me was not being a Harry Potter EVANS fan and not knowing how to spell that silly NEE NAE thing that I will never understand. I thought the puzzle was whimsical and a lot of fun. Congrats! And to those who found the degree of difficulty lacking for a Thursday, I say: "Quit being CATTY!"
9
I had mixed felines about this one.
On one hand this was way too easy for a Thursday.
OTOH it is indeed an impressive debut.
20
Too bad puzzles aren't set up for online subscribers. Since I couldn't enter CAT at the four corners, I can't get a win. I was on a roll, too. Pity.
@Jean I only solve online. Just let that "REBUS" button at the top of the puzzle be your friend.
1
@Jean also email tech support to see if theyll restore your streak because you learned about 'more than one square' from the comments section. They helped me, so they may help you. Finding the email address was confusing, but maybe try the one associated with the Spelling Bee.
I've been reading these crossword comments for a while and a debut puzzle by a new constructor seemed like a good time for me to make a debut post here. I'm a 49yo high school math teacher in Durham NC.
Great puzzle, Sophia! I had only two "scars" (see below), which were LAIN for LAID at 34D (don't know what made me go for LAIN initially) and NOVO for NOVA at 62A. I enjoyed seeing clues that seemed fresh (to me, anyway) for OLDIE entries--e.g., "Song from a 'Best of' album, maybe", and "___ Caesarea, etc.".
It's clear that many posters solve their crosswords on a device. I tried that for a short while and really missed the tactile experience of holding a pen and touching the page. Other benefits to working the puzzle on paper: (1) When you're done, it's fun to review your "scars"--places where the puzzler gotcha. (2) I put smiley faces next to clues I really like, and they're fun to review after solving the puzzle as well. (The device-versions should permit a similar feature and publish counts; then everyone could see a tally of which clues garnered lots of smiles.) (3) Were you able to draw a little cat face in each corner with ears and whiskers? I was. :-c)€
Happy Thor's Day, everyone!
28
@Floyd
Here is a virtual welcome mat for you Floyd. I place said device for you at WP’s doorstep as a cruciverbal greeting, hopeing that you will carry on with your marginal doodling and successful solving. May it also serve as an AIDE to ensure that the scars of the suss be held to a minimum.
4
I’m also hoping the very same mat gives my spelling proficiency a shot in the arm. {;-)
@Floyd
Yay for math teachers! and Welcome to a Fellow Pen-and-Paper Person. Actually, nowadays I do MTW on PuzzAzz (free app) but Thurs-thru-Sun I print and solve. I like to scribble guesses in the margin, range hither and yon as I figure things out, and I am a Serious Doodler. I prefer the entire CAT, curled up with tail...use @ and add ears :0)
Come back often!
3
A cat tale: I will not ride two-wheelers anymore (the 4 cylinder ILK); yet another activity from my salad days where discretion has overtaken valor. The threat from too many potholes and texting/jabbering drivers are a few of the reasons. When I did ride, I would park the bike on our screened in front porch to protect it from the elements. I rode year round. I would hang my helmet upside down by the chin strap on the brake pedal ergo always knowing of it’s whereabouts. This time of the year, our Calico, Pyewacket, found it a warm (latent heat) and cozy place for his frequent naps, curled comfortably in a ball; my own private little cat in the hat.
16
brutus, That really brings back a long ago memory of my first summer working in Summer Stock on Cape Cod just doing all sorts of odd jobs. One of them was to take charge of the cat, making sure he was fed and generally keeping him content when he wasn't on stage being Pyewacket in Bell, Book and Candle.
2
@suejean
I have been tempted many times to name a cat Pyewacket, but I've resisted.
If I ever have a rabbit, it will likely be between Harvey and Thumper.
3
You've got talent, Sophia, but Will S. did you no favor by publishing this on a Thursday. Yes, it's a rebus, but the level of difficulty, not the rebus aspect, should have dictated the day of the week. It's a Monday or a Tuesday level -- and it's a puzzle for people who hate and/or fear rebuses. Since I'm someone who adores rebuses, the tougher the better, I found this a Thursday disappointment. Come back, Sophia, and challenge us more next time. I think you have the makings of a very good and clever constructor.
5
SPELLING BEE:
(Sorry for posting a new thread - I know there is a lengthy one that @BM posted earlier, but many people can't seem to access deep into the thread).
60 words, 255 points, 1 pangram, bingo.
Table:
Tot 4 5 6 7 8
Tot 60 20 21 12 5 2
A 8 2 4 1 1 -
F 18 5 6 3 2 2
I 1 1 - - - -
L 4 2 1 1 - -
R 8 2 1 3 2 -
Y 1 - - 1 - -
T 20 8 9 3 - -
Tot 60 20 21 12 5 2
No other hint for now. No real obscure words.
11
@Wen
Oops, I have two total lines for word lengths - I'd playing around with format (top or bottom of table) and inadvertently included both. Just ignore the one of them.
1
@Wen
Thanks.
Now I know what I am missing and refusing to look for further! Even if they come to me during the day, I shall resist entering them to protest the numerous common omissions of this letter set: fritallary, fritallaria, riata, raita, fatilly, tartly, tarty, artily.
I may even just avoid this letter set (with or without the "F") routinely from now on just to take a break.
3
@Liane
This is a pretty common letter set (AILRTY) - you'd be avoiding a lot of puzzles.
I was missing a very common 4-letter T-word and a related 5-letter A-word, both of which I thought I'd already entered, after getting the ankle-related 4-letter word. With a slog of a puzzle like this, sometimes you have to go and check all of your 4-letter words because there are so many of them. I think I entered all of them 2-3 times.
2
That was so fun! Congratulations, Sophia, on your NYT debut! Thursdays often make my teeth hurt, so I was super chuffed to be able to finish this one on my own. DYE was almost my undoing, even though I couldn't ever remember eating Rye in a cereal. Loved several of the crosses, especially EVANS with NEE.
We've never actually sought a cat, yet have had one or two living with us for the past twenty five years. The most recent was of the feral barn, struck by a car, requiring surgery variety. It took a year or so, but he now a complete love & is happy living indoors (to protect the birds).
Looking forward to your next offering, Sophia!
6
Absolutely brilliant debut! Loved the Thursday rebus, the theme revealers and the fresh fill including Alan Arkin and My Chemical Romance, and the ever-present Nae Nae.
Can't wait to see more from this talented young constructor.
PS Here's a brief clip of one of my favorite Kevin Pollak bits about Alan Arkin, starting at 35 seconds:
https://www.facebook.com/thebonniehuntshow/videos/kevin-pollak/108944142423/
3
OK, no CATTY remarks allowed!
Congratulations to Sophia Maymudes on her sweet debut (despite the KITTY LITTER scattered around the grid.)
I liked that I could combine LITTERBOXES and KITTYCORNER to make KITTYLITTER.
Oddly I got the rebus right off the bat, first fill in, at CATTLE/CATALOG. That never happens.
I also liked the long matching downs of CALIFORNIA/BEACHTOWEL.
No nays today! Just a NAE NEE. Do I hear a horse?
4
And if you are a cat lover, as I see some commenters here are, and you missed it, there's always this: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/05/opinion/walk-cat-leash.html?action=click&module=Opinion&pgtype=Homepage
1
Nice debut! Definitely more fun than the history lecture I'm currently ignoring.
This is probably the quickest I've ever figured out a rebus theme. CATTLE and CATALOG were two answers I picked up on right away, and once I figured out LITTERBOXES my suspicions were confirmed.
I've also never heard the word PRATE before, but luckily the surrounding clues helped me fill it in. Thanks for the addition to my vocabulary.
2
Bulldog,
Get back to that lecture, lest you get a "D as in Drake."
2
NEE, NAE? No, nay, never! DON’T PANIC, I said to myself. Just BIDE your time so as the 1-2 punch of a natick compounding a rebus does not threaten the solve. I carried on with dogged persistence and finished, refusing to be TAKEN OVER by those corner dwelling, tail swinging, ready to pounce felines. ALAS, solvation!...So now, going forward and thanks to today’s puzzle, I can boast of being native to NOVA CAESAREA...Congratulations to Seattleite Sophia Maymudes on her successful OPENing act as a NYT XWP constructor. I HOPE there’s an encore in the works...Today’s music is a montage, a promo for an album from Laura Cantrell. “KITTY Wells Dresses” is a paean from Nashville born Laura to another Nashvillian a k a The Queen Of Country Music.
https://youtu.be/bVScPWSdOxI
Not Just Slappin’ My KNEE,
Bru
2
Sophia, nice work and greetings from Wisconsin. Spent a delightful evening with your former college Pres. at one of the last "rustic camps" in Maine.
As a young dk I would often decorate the cat box with little ceramic Christmas trees around this time of year. Cat tolerated the trees, parents discussed psychiatry as possible gift for me.... or perhaps them.
My Christmas wish is for a single spelling of czar and a single name Muslim leaders.
Thanks Sophia
3
I like your idea of decorating the litter box and will try it this Christmas! Thanks from Mary in NH
First let me get it down on 'paper' that FRITILLARY should have been one of the pangrams for today's Wee Bee. Butterlies get no respect?
Congrats to our new constructor! We are Cat People in this house, minions of Charlie Parker (tasteful solid black, to set off his green-gold eyes.) Hope there are more in the pipeline, Sophia!
8
@Mean Old Lady
And of course, no FRITILLARIA either. The Bee often shows little interest in the garden.
2
With you on FRITILLARY. Very disappointing.
1
Also missing TAFFRAIL
1
Once we filled the LITTERBOXES, we felt relieved...and the rest just fell into place.
Very nice debut. Congratulations.
8
Very nice debut. As I share a house with a cat (or, more properly, the cat shares the house with me), I couldn't help but wonder if 57A SHOVEL is also a theme answer, in connection with 34A LITTERBOXES??
3
Sophia, I'm impressed that your early love of crosswords led you to constructing them at such a young age. I've been doing them for decades and it never crossed my mind to try to construct one. So, huzzahs for your daring. As for having your first submission accepted, WOW!
5
Sweet puzzle, Ms. Maymudes! If you are reading the comments, please know that we enjoyed it. Comments about it should have been a Tuesday (in my estimation) or Wednesday do not reflect on the quality of your lovely effort. Placement based on difficulty is an editor's responsibility.
You did a fine job of blending current and older literature references. For me, those came easily because I have a child near your age (a math and physics major, musician and so-so cook, but still learning and trying). I especially enjoyed DON'T PANIC crossing with TOWEL. I see what you did there.
So for now, so long and thanks for all the fish! Keep plugging at creating and keep crosswording alive for TNG!
P.S.: I secretly hoped to see "kittywampus" or "cattywumpus" somewhere, an expression I've heard mostly in the south.
7
We spell it 'cattywampus'....and the city school's teams are The Wampus Cats.
CATegory
ConCATenation
4
@Mean Old Lady So maybe you know what a Wampus actually is, if it actually is? I know how to use kittywampus/wumpus/cattywampus/etc. descriptively, I but never pondered "wampus" having an independent meaning.
I am not really sure, but I expect they might be related to those 'jackalopes.' .....wink!
(In short, they are made up, with no resemblance to any real creature. )
Fantastic debut, Ms. Maymudes! This was one of those puzzles where everything just clicked for me. The revealers were perfect to grok the theme, and that made my solve very smooth! I originally had KaTTYCORNER for one of the revealers, but the cross with CALIFORNIA set that straight. Thanks to being an XWP regular, several answers just went right in - NAE, NEE (great cluing!), ADO, RNA, EMO, ILK, OAT. Although they are three letter fill words, they do a lot to help with the rest of the puzzle. Wicked clue of the puzzle award goes to 68A - "Host" for ARMY. Took me a few seconds to parse that one out as in "A Host of troubles"... Congrats Sophia Maymudes! Hope to see more of you!
3
Great debut.
Congratulations!
(I wanted to say the puzzle sent me to Katmandu, and back again, even though that's a misquote)
3
The CAT does not have my tongue ... I must agree with many before me that it was a simply lovely debut, albeit a bit easy (read too fast) for a Thursday. I belong in the CATty CORNER corner. Must be a regional thing. As for where the LITTER BOXES are, I don't think the clue implies that the boxes are necessarily in the corners, only that there are boxes where CATs "go".
The Harry Potter clue reminded me of the mirror in which Harry can see his parents, which always brings a tear to my eye.
Congrats to Sophia on her debut.
2
Congratulations to Sophia from a fellow math major, musical theater lover, and so-so cook. I was a terrible cook at your age, but it’s true what they say - you get better at it with practice. Looking forward to more puzzles from you!
5
Nice puzzle, but pretty easy for a Thursday.
Wonderful debut, Sophia. Don’t give up on the cooking, you’ve got a lot of time to perfect it. Or you could be lucky enough to marry a Kitchen Genius, as I did.
1
I notice that the "Email me when my comment is published" box is now automatically checked, and even when I uncheck it, the check is back the next time.
I wish this could be changed back. I don't need my email clogged up with notifications, and I don't want to have to think about unchecking this box every time I post a comment.
2
@Steve L
I noticed that starting yesterday I began receiving emails. I guess we have to uncheck that box every time. There must be a work around - at least you would think so.
@Steve L
I use gmail and I just archive all of those emails. Sometimes it's useful to be able to go back and see the emails, and especially in gmail you can search your archived emails so you can try to find something you may have written a while back and need to bring it up again.
Plus it is stubborn about getting turned off--usually takes me three or four taps to get it unchecked. Grrrr
Please explain ‘army.’
2
@Ruth Beier
HOST has an old-fashioned meaning of "army." You find it in a religious context, such as "heavenly host."
See the link below for more examples.
https://www.gotquestions.org/heavenly-hosts.html
4
Related words that might help make sense of it: hostile, hostility, hostilities.
2
@Ruth Beier
You could have a whole HOST of cats, which would also be an ARMY of cats!
How’s the weather in Petoskey? We grew up searching for and polishing “Petoskey stones” while vacationing in Northern Michigan.
1
This actually ended up as a fairly typical Thursday time for me, mostly because I just wasn't getting anywhere early on. Then, catching on to the theme (and the reveals) made it come together fairly smoothly.
We've had five cats during our marriage. One of them was FATCAT. The others were Kitty (clever, huh), Bird, Michigan and Baby. Nobody puts Baby in a corner. And yes, I obliquely used that line recently in a comment, but now I'm wondering if that could be an opportunity for another rebus puzzle.
Congratulations on a fine debut, Ms. Maymudes; looking forward to many more. I attended Lawrence University (many years ago); at that time, Carleton was in our athletic conference, though I see that they are not any more. And of course Northfield is quite famous for another event that happened in yet another century.
3
What a nice debut puzzle. I got the theme quickly like others; for me it was the FATcat that did it. At that point I skipped down to the reveal where I had caTTY CORNER at first. I was glad to see I wasn't alone with that.
I think this would be a great puzzle for beginners and for those who struggle with and therefore dislike rebus puzzles.
Like others I welcome Sophia and hope to see more.
I just read Lewis' comment so will be interested in Susan's reaction to the puzzle
4
@suejean
She might not get to it before tomorrow... but I'll report on the results when she does do it.
1
Pleasant Thursday puzzle. I like the clue about Lily Potter.
4
. . . And her name crossing with 49A just made it better, didn’t it!
6
@ADeNA` Yes, didn't notice that. I was really referring to the answer. I now find myself wishing my sisters had married guys named Potter.
I was confused by the clue for LITTER BOXES. The only way it makes sense to me is if litter boxes are generally placed in corners, so I'm putting the question out there, commenters, is this true? I can tell you that our litter box does go in a corner.
Susan, my wife has been doing NYT puzzles for a bit under two years, starting with Mondays, then adding Tuesdays, and she's now comfortable with Wednesdays, for the most part. Occasionally I'll suggest she try a certain later puzzle, usually an easier Friday, and she's found success there. She's a bit scared of trick puzzles, including rebi, but I'm going to give her today's. I think she's going to get it! Thank you for making this, Sophia, and thank you Will, for occasionally publishing easier trick puzzles just for people like Susan.
6
@Lewis - the instant family that cats and dogs are born in is the litter. A litter of cats is in the corner boxes.
4
@Lewis I'm not a punctuation hound, but I must note that I misinterpreted the beginning of your second paragraph when I first read it.
Might have needed one more comma.
3
@Lewis
Why would anyone put a litter box in the middle of the room?
The Spelling Bee should definitely include tilia - a genus of plants (and a kind of herbal tea)
@Dfkinjer
(1) Latin names for plants are consistently rejected unless they are routinely visible in some other context (like Aloe). You won't find Canna any time soon either. I'm an avid gardener with extensive plant Latin and yes, it frustrates me, but I now accept it. (Until the Beekeeper tricks me, that is!)
(2) To keep the ire of the XW fans down when Bee comments start to spread on what is the XW blog, please do try to look for the BEE thread (as by searching the page or scrolling down for a thread that calls itself BEE THREAD, SPELLING BEE THREAD etc.) and comment there. That way it is easier for us to have a single conversation about inclusions, exclusions and maintain karma here. Not a requirement, just asking with a please.
2
Good ideas, but having a separate blog accessible from the Bee page would be even better. I usually access this from an iPad and there is no search function available. Scrolling would be easier if comments were arranged with oldest at the top so that the threads don’t “migrate” down the page (or perhaps a scrolling preference could be offered).
@Jeff S
You can search from an iPad by swiping down from the top.
A separate blog has been asked for plenty already. It's not happening anytime soon.
Caitlin, I have to slide my furry beast off the laptop, but yes, a daily ritual, oft repeated. Especially in the winter when the keyboard is so nice and warm.
Sophia! I raise my lint brush to you--a junior in college and your first submission! Looking forward to many more.
3
@audreylm
Your keyboard doesn't pick up all those hairs? That's amazing.
1
@Dr W Oh it does! My laptop is as furry as my yoga pants, but well worth it for the adorable companionship. The lint brush I raised to Sophia is always at hand.
LOVED the herding cats commercial.
(second time I've tried posting this, comments are acting up a little)
1
Congratulations, Ms. Maymudes, on your very enjoyable debut puzzle. It was the cat's pajamas!
7
Definitely a glitch. Finally accepted after retyping in rebus entries for the 5th time. Added an extra 15 minutes. Very frustrating.
1
Anyone else having trouble with the Andriod app version of puzzle? I have it solved and it's not accepting it as completed.
3
I do the crossword on a pixel 2 and haven't had any problems.
@Matt Yep, same. I started it on a Pixel 2 and finished on my desktop, and it kept saying I had an error. After 15 minutes of frustration, I retyped the rebuses and it worked.
Spelling Bee
I feel compelled to note the rejection of “fritillary”, one of my favorite English words.
On another subject, I recently found out that since I use the New York Times app on my iPhone, iOS v12.1, I do not see many of the Wordplay comments.
Not surprisingly I only discovered this when I looked for one of my own comments in a thread and didn’t see it. You don’t miss something when you don’t know it’s there.
If you go to the nytimes.com web site and read Wordplay there, you will see up to three replies to comments. If there are more, there will be a box that says “view all replies”.
Not an option on the app, the replies stop at three. I emailed feedback and got a nice reply that they would look into it, but I would really like to know if anyone else is experiencing this.
As a Spelling Bee enthusiast, this issue became very important to me the other day when there happened to be so many good hints and grid corrections in the reply chain. If we’re going to try to sequester Bee business as much as possible into one area it would be nice to have it accessible to all.
I know I could just use the web site instead of the app, but this is irritating.
2
@BM. I agree wholeheartedly with your points.
I have stopped before torturing myself to Queen Bee today at 58 words 243 points. The rejection of thr pangram FRITILLARY, a common word and visitor for me may have broken me at last! The common plant FRITILLARIA I can let slide on the it’s plant Latin basis Yet at a point, what distinguishes it from other common foreign words now accepted. This letter set is always controversial. Where are RIATA and RAITA?
As to formats, I hear your frustrations. The emus only got the replies on the website working better post Election Day. For a while there were more posts here about how badly replies worked than the puzzles, it seemed. Hopefully, the IT department will follow through with fixes for the App soon.
3
"You don’t miss something when you don’t know it’s there."
BM,
Your sentence reminded me of this song:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=94bdMSCdw20
2
@BM
Anothet Spelling Bee omission - TAFFRAIL
2
I really enjoyed this puzzle! I usually struggle with rebus a lot, but this time it all fell into place pretty quickly, about 10 minutes faster than my Thursday average, in fact. After struggling (and failing) a lot last week, I was dreading the late week puzzles, but this was fun!
My new word of the day: KITTYCORNER, and now I finally know how NAE nae is pronounced.
Really cool first puzzle, Sophia! Look forward to solving more from you in the future!
1
Sophia, you have a Heart of Gold.
3
Thanks for the Joni video. And for the cat stare down - some things are important but not roombas as any cat knows.
3
Nice debut puzzle ... and greetings from a fellow Pacific Northwest resident!
Congrats to new contributor. Fun stuff. However, it seems I just became a brilliant solver ( sub 10 on a Thursday ) or it was a bit easy.
Congratulations on your NYT Puzzle debut, Sophia.
I was concerned about the LITTER BOX reference, but I think it's OK after noticing SCAT in the SW corner. Time for the scooper.
2
@Mike R: Oops, that's the SE corner.
2
@Mike R
How scatalogical! ;)
Wonderful!
Who doesn't love cats?
That sac fly was a hard clue because I didn't know the word for Roman road.
2
@Mary
The last time sac fly came up, there was some discussion about whether or not it always leads to a Run Batted In; it does. A batter can advance to second or third base on a caught fly ball, but it is not credited as a sac fly in that case.
You should commit ITER to memory; it has appeared 488 times in the NYT puzzles, but be aware, it has an anatomical meaning as well.
7
...but a *bunt* that advances a runner to second or third base *is* credited as a sac.
(No need to commit *that* to memory unless you plan to be an official scorer.)
2
@Steve L
ITER is also the acronym for the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor being built in the south of France by a consortium of the EU, Russia, S. Korea, Japan, and (minimally) the US. It's a nuclear fusion (*not* fission) device.
Nice debut! I'll join the others in wishing it were a bit more difficult, but on the other hand it's a nice break from some of the recent puzzles.
I will admit to a bit of a bad start with 1A - I got the T, so immediately thought of ATVs, but with 1D ending with -ALOG there was the aha moment—we have rebuses, so that was fixed and the puzzle solved quickly.
1
And there I was thinking about the RYE in my morning muesli. The DYE must be an American thing. Poor people.
7
Me too! I also kept going back and forth between LOOS and IANS at 60A.
5
@Dan
They don't put food dye in children's cereals in Straya to make them more appealing to the kiddies?
Look at number 10 below and tell me how those Froot Loops got to be those colo(u)rs:
https://www.buzzfeed.com/jemimaskelley/australian-breakfast-cereals
This site also shows me that you have several cereals that we have here, but named differently. For example, we have Raisin Bran, and you have Sultana Bran. Here, sultana is a variety of raisin, but most people have never heard of that term. Also, your Rice Bubbles are our Rice Krispies, and your Frosties are our Frosted Flakes (formerly Sugar Frosted Flakes, but they wanted to de-emphasize the sugar). Your Coco Pops are our Cocoa Krispies.
Also, Sanitarium would never be a brand name in the States; the word conveys the connotation of an old-style loony-bin (i.e. mental hospital).
I also noticed that we eat oatmeal while you eat the (to us, Dickensian) porridge.
And slightly unrelated, what you call Hungry Jack's, the rest of the world calls Burger King. Here, Hungry Jack (no 's) is a brand of pancake mix and syrup. Which leads us back into breakfast.
8
Congratulations.
Fun theme, easier than yesterday's.
2
I got a kick out of DONT PANIC crossed with TOWEL (from BEACH TOWEL). Douglas Adams fans will understand why.
24
For the many who may not have heard of Carleton (back in the day I remember getting questions such as "Is that a four-year school?"):
A
#1 in Best Undergraduate Teaching
#5 in National Liberal Arts
Colleges (tie)
[I wonder why Mr. Shortz didn't toughen up some of the clues.]
@PaulSFO
I thought Carleton was a doorman.
2
I had about 95% of the grid filled in and couldn’t quite leap to the rebus. I asked my wife for help (there might have been whining involved), and she immediately pointed out that we needed a little something extra in the corners!
On a side note, this is the first Thursday I’ve solved without needed to check for errors! Feeling very pleased with myself and my growing skills.
17
Great debut, Sophia.
For me, the term has always been CATTY CORNER. Is this a regionalism?
As someone who is on the staff of a cat in this household, I loved the videos, Caitlin.
You're no longer working if you're retired? I don't think so.
9
According to Josh Katz who literally wrote the book on this stuff (“Speaking American”), “kitty-corner” is generally used in the northern third of the country, while “catty-corner” is the preferred term south of that. The study that resulted in that book shows how this sort of regionalism can pinpoint where you have lived.
2
Wags (and all),
Cater corner
Kitty corner
Catty corner
Catty wampus
Please add your favorite...
2
@Jeff S I grew up in the NY area and my wife in Michigan. We both use catty corner. Go figure.
3
ILLY? Rilly??
22
@Alan Young
Well, it's also a coffee company
Welcome, Sophia, from a solver in Minneapolis! I hope we see many more puzzles from you in the future. I only have one cat rather than a LITTER, but she does like hiding in corners.
Loved the video clips, Deb. I was trying to keep my volume down while laughing, so I ended up wheezing, which made the cat look at me funny. I do not have a Roomba, but I am sorely tempted for two reasons: 1) would it really pick up cat hair, and 2) would my cat sit on it and take a spin around the room or hide in the closet and never forgive me?
1
@Kris Troske
Yes, it picks up cat hair, but our cat ignores it. It will also pick up a shoelace and wind it around and around its rotating parts until it chokes itself and stops. Just so you know...
@Mean Old Lady
Perfect. I'll stock upon shoelaces to ward off the projected takeover of genus homo by robots ...
1
@Kris Troske
Caitlin, not Deb.
BOOMERS' CLUES
16A. Guinness who was 10D on film (1948)
21A. ____ the Stilt
51A. Words inscribed on The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
50D. Actor Maurice who played Dr. Zaius (1968)
Not really a CAT person, but I didn't mind them sent to their corners. Caught on the rebus right away, and from there it was EZ-PZ.
7
MILLENIALS’ CLUES
16A — Donald impersonator
29A — Apple of its day
44D — Kaepernick’s signature
51A — First song on first Coldplay album
Loved this puzzle!
9
Enjoyable, but likewise think it was way too easy for a Thursday...especially after yesterday's slog.
2
I agree. I thought this was much easier than yesterday and completed it in half the time.
1
Sophia, I hope your debut will give you a warm feeling if you're out this evening or when you go to class tomorrow; I see it's getting cold in Northfield.
4
I found this to be by far my fastest Thursday ever. I had only two entries, ALEC and GASH, and caught the CAT rebus immediately with 13D. I soon realized that KITTY CORNER was going to be involved and filled the CATs in all of the CORNERs.From there it was a romp to the finish.
4
and Elke
Andrew-- since Sophia attends Carleton College , I thought you would GLORIFy the Ottawa ,Ont. institution of higher learning : Carleton University .
Were you LOATH ?
https://carleton.ca
1
@Robert
I didn't make the connection! I am actually more closely associated with this "cross-town" institution of higher learning:
https://www.uottawa.ca
2
Congratulations on your debut, Ms. Maymudes. That was a fun albeit relatively easy puzzle. The cluing was consistently straightforward, and I spotted the rebus right away with ?ALOG in the NW. From there it was just a matter of working through the rest of the grid, smiling as I completed 34A and 44A.
4
Meow. Typical Thursday, either really easy or diabolical. This fun puzzle was the former.
3
A gentler, kinder Thursday puzzle.
21
Great debut, and wonderful puzzle and theme, but easiest Thursday I can remember. New personal best for Thursday and 1/4 my Thursday average.
Obviously a cat lover's puzzle. The theme was easy CATCHY - right on the first pass, in the NE corner, got that there was a CAT rebus. But didn't know where yet. By the time of the revealer at 44A, it was obvious and easy to get all of them. As easy as it was, it was still very enjoyable. Loved DON'T PANIC, NAFTA, and especially, GLORIFIES.
ILLY was the only one I really didn't like very much, even though we'd seen it in the Spelling Bee a few times.
My only complaint is that I think it should have been a Tuesday-Wednesday. But looking forward to Ms. Maymudes creating more puzzles for us to enjoy. Well done!
8
@Wen
Ditto. Less than a quarter my average Thursday time. Didn't like ILLY either. Loved GLORIFIES. And NAFTA dead center. Made me nostalgic for the 20th century...
3
Is it Monday again?
8
Nice debut! It was easy for a Thursday, but it was still fun. DON'T PANIC, indeed! I'm looking forward to more puzzles from Ms Maymudes.
6
Here KITTY! DON'T PANIC -- here's a DAINTY treat. And so this was for us!
7