All smiles on this fine Sunday. Was ready to *very mildly* lament in these comments over the one dimensional theme, but read y’alls before posting. S.O.S. in all black! Woulda bit me if it was a snake.
Loved the fill. Either coincidence or masterful construction (likely the latter) to have SHORT I sandwiched with RADICCHIO and TONSIL, skewered by a PROPOSITION. Mini mid-grid theme. ;-) Cheeky procession of ASS, CLASS and BALLAST too. Artfully scientific construction. Happy Sunday!
1
Even after completing, still did not catch the theme until reading the post. "Duh" moment.
Although still managed to complete rather quickly (for me).
My chuckle came at finishing 1A near the end based on slight knowledge of ballet to solve 1D. My limited sports knowledge often puts me at a disadvantage, but ballet won the day. Small justice.
Even after solving it from the downs, 76A strikes me wrong.
After I see it, I’m racking my brain trying to think if there’s a hip hop song about “a shorty in pink lipstick” (but thinking, have I been spelling it wrong all this time?) (and I only even know “shorty” refers to a girl because I looked in the urban dictionary once while reading an article about pop culture). Not a big fan, so I had no idea. Looked at the explainer, which fortunately included 76A.
I personally regard the first i (in pink) as a long e sound which is something else, really, than a short i - “lipstick” tho, I grant you, has two of them.
A lovely and very special Sunday crossword - today was my 365th crossword in a row! I've been doing the NYT crossword for years, but my solving had previously been slightly erratic.
That changed exactly a year ago, when my semester wrapped, and I started doing the crossword every day. I had been going through a particularly difficult period in my life, and the crossword became a small ritual to keep me going. The cheeky clues, the groan-worthy puns, and this AMAZING online community all brought smiles to my face, even when all I felt like doing was crying (I firmly believe this blog is the most charming corner of the internet). At a certain point after my streak hit 100, I decided that I was going to do the crossword every day for a year, and I dedicated myself to getting a little better every day.
Today I've been reflecting on how far I've come since I began my year-long NYT crossword journey. I'm proud to report that I'm happier than ever - I even met an amazing man, who helped me celebrate this crossword anniversary with a custom crossword he constructed for me (it's love!)
My heart is so full, and I owe some of that to those who make these crosswords, those who blog about them (Hi Deb and Caitlin!) and those whose comments on the puzzles regularly make me smile. So thank you all!
Until next year :)
33
@Naomi, wonderful to hear!
And thank you for providing grounds for optimism.
9
@Naomi
How inspiring! Hope things continue to go your way!
6
Naomi,
Major congratulations to you! What a milestone!
1
Finished a tiny bit quicker than my usual Sunday time. Mr. Collins’ SOS theme was sorta cute or quaint as Will might say. Not a greatly difficult nor disappointing theme, just a theme.
My favorite theme fill was SAIL ON SAILOR. Love some classic Beach Boys.
:-)
2
Probably my fastest Sunday solve ever, and without a single check of Google, m-w.com, IMDB, or Google Translate.
Did anyone else have "HELPMERHONDA" before "SAILONSAILOR"? It was my first theme entry, and I thought that "help" was consistent with the SOS theme.
My only other stumbling block was not knowing how to spell RADICCHIO.
BTW, when I said it was my fastest Sunday solve, I wasn't really bragging; it still took me 51:37, which is probably 3 times as long as a lot of you. A Sunday puzzle is usually good for 2 hours for me, with at least a couple of items to research.
4
rdwells,
It's your puzzle and your solve, and I salute your faster time and unaided solve.
If not for the crosses (and getting the theme earlier), I would definitely have wanted your song choice!
2
Woohoo! Finally broke an hour! (Worried when I finished but heard no happy music. Searched and searched till I found it: eMBICILE!)
Because of someone's (Deb's?) suggestion, I always peruse the grid before starting, so I noticed SOS and therefore got the theme up front. Favorite themer: SULTANSOFSWING. 😎
Thank God the crosses of RTSNLE were straightforward!
5
My guess is that Caitlin is trying to be wryly honest about the gaps in her knowledge, but saying things like "I gather that PASS RUSH is some football play" or "apparently the Wii has nunchucks" [Dec 7, 2018] rubs me the wrong way. I read it as "I can't be bothered to research the basics of lowbrow pop culture phenomena and will treat them as unfathomable mysteries." It's obviously a minor issue, but it was BUGging me and I figured it was worth pointing out.
1
Morgan,
I'd say Caitlin was admitting she was unfamiliar with something most other solvers *would* know (like it or not, football is not "lowbrow pop culture") and would *not* need explained. Pick up your flag.
3
@Barry Ancona
Fair enough. I just feel there's a subtle difference between the two examples I mentioned and Caitlin's comments on, say, ZESTA crackers, KANSAS STATE, and SAIL ON SAILOR; these three strike me as "Hey folks, I didn't know these but I took a moment to research them in case I could share something interesting with you."
All of this is intended as constructive criticism. :)
1
I thought that 53 down was latchon and had trouble with 52 down so did not get 52 across although should have been obvious.
1
Breezed through this puzzle until it was filled and I had an error. Corrected my misspelling of IMBECILE. And yet, it still seems to speak volumes!
An enjoyable, albeit too fast Sunday. The theme was revealed a little too early thanks to how the puzzle's title was so obviously related to the first theme answer.
3
My sanity is very thankful to Caitlin for including an explanatory note on 76A - SHORTI. I would have never figured it out on my own. And 56D - SULTANS OF SWING - the best version is from Alchemy Live. Check it out - has about 126 Million views on YouTube.
2
@Chat Cannelle
Hopefully you find Wordplayer @Robrecht’s version posted earlier. It’s really, really good.
1
and Elke
Am caught on the horns of a dilemma--I am USED TO printing out the Sunday puzzle . If I print it out so that the grid and clues are on one page, then I see the giant S O S , but can't read the numbers on the clues ( yes, a magnifying glass helps). If I print it on two pages, it's not convenient (I have been known to schlep the puzzle around until the last clue is answered).
Don't want to CRY ABOUT this more . It's a lovely puzzle- and my CRY of SOS is a lone voice in a big ocean (212 comments already ).
4
@Robert
One way to get around this is by printing each half of a puzzle page fully on two paper pages and then trimming and taping the page halves together.
Now there is a consideration that you won't have anything that facilitates isolating half a puzzle on your lasptop. In that case (and I've actually done this ) take two carefully framed pictures with your camera, one each of upper and lower half of the puzzle, then print them out on full sheets, one half per page, thencut and tape.
1
and Elke
Dr W- thanks for your suggestion; I think I'll stick to my magnifying glass , as needed.
I never expected to see "Sail on Sailor" in a crossword. A great song and a great surprise.
3
I don’t get wheel of fortune sextet “rstlne”?
1
@Jonathan Leal
Click on the link from the text in the Wordplay column. Those letters appear in the final round of every show, as the linked video demonstrates.
Having never watched that show in my life, I was able to complete that answer only through the crosses. I thought it was really annoying.
3
Sheesh! Annoyed the heck out of me too!
Thanks
2
GMA,
I've missed a few cultural experiences in my life too, and I also get entries drawn on them through the crosses, but it never occurred to me to be really annoyed about it, especially when the crosses are so easy.
No Natick, no foul.
3
I don't believe the i in "pink" is short. The i in "pin" is short, and you don't pronounce pink as pin-k, more like peen-k.
So, a short i is frequently, but not always, found in pink lipstick.
Oddly, most of the sources I checked on line showed pin's pronunciation as pĭn, IPA: /pɪn/, [pʰɪn] and pink's pronunciation as pĭngk, IPA: /pɪŋk/. It may be that I have spent too many years in countries where -i- is often pronounced ee.
Anyway, the clue made sense to me.
For some reason, I've taken to trying to get as many acrosses as I can before I start working vertically, and it frequently causes me trouble--as in ZILCH rather than ZIPPO, and some delay with PASSRUSH because I didn't look at the 1D clue for a while.
Along with the variation on SNOCONE, we also had YSER, REO and ETO show up again. Big do was FRO this time, not a FETE. OKAY was not OK.
I was happy to see SNOOK, which I think is a funny word, and my wordsense tells me that ENGORGED is actually a more response to swollen than ENLARGED.
As a dog owner, PUT TO SLEEP is not a happy term.
My experience solving was a bit like this note--a little scattered and hit or miss. I did get the reveal early as I wandered down North East way, and it did help me suss some of the long answers. I thought it was a solid puzzle.
3
@Puzzledog
"ENGORGED is actually a more ACCURATE response to swollen than ENLARGED."
as I wandered down SOUTH East way,
Really need an edit function.
1
@Puzzledog
I argue holeheartedly about an edit function.
Your exposition (disquisition?) on pink gave me pause. I *think* you’re right.
2
@Puzzlemucker, 'argue hole-heartedly'?
With a patent foramen ovale?
@Puzzledog, I was thinking PUT TO SLEEP has better connotations for old-timey newspapers, but that was PUT TO BED, wasn't it? Oh well.
To my ear, pin=ink=pink=pinch=inch=cinch all exactly the same, but maybe it's just me being merrily undiscriminating and deaf to nuance. I couldn't think of the languages where 'i' is 'ee', my bad.
ENGORGED, as I understand it, means swollen or enlarged _specifically_ on account of being filled to/beyond capacity with fluid. That might be limited to anatomic or clinical jargon, but that's the only context I've heard it used.
SNOOK, no fish for me, thanks. As a kid, I heard one broadcast of Baby SNOOKs on the radio; turned out it was the last show Fanny Brice ever aired. Funny girl...
I spose doing all Across then all Down must have have an upside, or so many people wouldn't solve that way. In my solves, not looking at both directions would mean passing up the chance to confirm as I go, and having even 1-2 letters so often sparks an entry that was stone-cold when empty.
But enough about me.
3
Top came together quickly and rolled right along to my best Sunday solve once I figured out what SHORTI was referring to (never heard of MODISTE) Fumbled a bit with LOW-FAT in place of NONFAT. Unto us a sow is given :-) didn’t even notice I had “LALKY” string beans. Good fun!
2
NYT and LA Times Sunday Apr. 7 puzzles: UNFURL and SOS: coincidence??
@retired, with cat
COLLUSION!
2
I figured 1A's "sack" would be something that happened to a quarterback, but even the initial P didn't help much. How is MRAZ pronounced? And who is this judo expert DAN? There is a Japanese word "dan" that roughly means level of expertise, if there is a number in front.
1
@kilaueabart - "dan" is suffixed to a number to indicate the degree a person has achieved only once they have achieved black belt; before black belt, the levels are not dan.
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/段
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rank_in_Judo
1
Very nice!
Spotted the SOS early ( not in the grid) and enjoyed the lift! Luckily son was visiting so PASSRUSH and KANSASSTATE were fathomable!
Ah, the false ease of the first pass: I started with potatoes in the sack, fat in the muffin, a barman in cheers, era as the geological period, with an enlarged swelling. Was very tempted to have catcall for catch on, but by then I had crosses....
One can eschew home cooking by ordering in, not only by eating out?
I like the resonances, anagrams, repetitions and parallels: : BTA and BAT, ONE and EON; ENE and OST; ARIES and LEO; and my favorite: SNARL and UNFURL.
And, slightly off topic, me and my friends quote Hamlet’s “Oh, what a noble mind is here o'erthrown!” when we have our senior moments....
5
GO LA.
It could mean so many things. A Lakers fan, a runaway teen, a version of the American Dream. An abbreviated “Go West Young Man” or “Bisy Backson”; GO LA.
So there I was, finishing up a Sunday crossword in record time, right? I HEAR this happens all the time, though it has taken an EON to get past Friday. DSHARP, I got that. AVENUE, AVE, RSTLNE, ATEOUT and genres ... been there, did that, got the t-shirt.
“It’s gonna happen”, I think to myself while correcting PAL from SIB. “I am going to PUT TO SLEEP this BALLAST and score a PR on a Sunday. Record time. Irkutsk is BULgarian right?
SAME OLD STORY.
ENLARGED before ENGORGED. BUL before BUG.
GO LA.
2
@Michael
“IRKustk is BULgarian right?”
Very funny! I had BUL first, too. But my mind never ventured to IRKutsk.
Took me a bit but I get the GO LA. GO for LA as part of 128A. Any comfort that you were not alone or that word has it that next Sunday will feature Risk countries?
HELP
Help! I need to see some black squares
Help! Not just any black squares
Help! You know I need the hidden squares
When I was younger so much younger than today
I never needed Will Shortz’s help in any way
But now these days are gone and my sight is not so good
Now I find I can’t find my own neighborhood
Help me if you can with those four long downs
I do appreciate your Notes when they’re around
Help me hear my app make that happy sound
Won’t you please, please help me?
Help me, help me,
Ooh
42
@Puzzlemucker
TERRIFIC!
For today's puzzle if you need Help! I highly recommend All My Lovinger.
7
@Pm
You have outdone yourself!
Keep them coming!
3
@puzzlemucker
Bravo!
3
I didn't know FTBRAGG and stuck with AERO instead of AGRO for 92-down-figuring out that and guessing the song was SAILONSAILOR rather than SAILORSAILOR unlocked this one for me. One of those puzzles where I filled in all letters relatively quickly, but then had to really wrack my brain for edits. I find those the most demoralizing solves!
1
@Saralyn Similar to you, I had all letters filled out for a would-be Sunday best, but then had to spend a long time finding a few squares that were out of place. I had SAILOfSAILOR originally, and misspelled IMBiCILE. Racked my brains and couldn't figure out what either iTO or ETO would be for the WWII arena, so it was a surprise to me when I put in SAILONSAILOR and ETO and the happy music played.
This is a comment on the Comment function:
I received confirmation at 11:28 a.m. this morning that my comment "has been approved!"
I did not make a comment today. Until now. This one.
I clicked on the "View your comment" link.
It is a comment I made on August 31, 2018.
It was not in any way a controversial or questionable comment, yet it seems to have been deliberated upon for over eight months, finally achieving approval status this morning.
How odd!
8
@Chief Quahog
Better emulate than never!
8
I second that emulsion.
3
@Chief Quahog
EMU powered time machine!
2
Modiste was "soy-ten-ly" a new one to me, "Imbecile" that I am ... "nyuk, nyuk". "Why I oughta ... !"
6
This one seemed relatively heavy on popular culture references. I'm quite ambivalent about that: I'm old as dirt, so I'm pretty out of touch with current pop music (Mraz?!?!) and I don't watch shows like Wheel of Fortune (RSTLNE?!?), so some of the clues left me clueless. On the other hand, I'm old as dirt, so references to Sal Mineo and Sam Malone were no-brainers. And I'll admit that although I certainly remember the Beach Boys, I was never much of a fan, so it took me a little extra time to go from SAILORSAILOR to SAILONSAILOR as it did others. The SOS clue was a big help there.
Altogether, though, a new personal best for Sunday, 33% faster than my average!
3
@pj I got stuck on SAILORSAILOR rather than SAILONSAILOR as well. DAR and DAN seemed equally plausible to me.
"Stuff in a muffin" cracked me up. Top clue.
The internet gave me some silly British people stuffing in a muffin:
https://youtu.be/Zsgeoxhb8S4
5
@Dan
One earlier poster had EGG instead of EAT. I guess it cracked him up too!
3
Andrew,
You're headed for the punitentiary.
2
Barry and Andrew,
Get thee to a punnery.
3
SPELLING BEE
Tacdlor
64 words, 262 points, 2 pangrams, bingo
A x 11, C x 12, D x 7, L x 3, O x 3, R x 5, T x 23
4L x 28, 5L x 16, 6L x7, 7L x 8, 8L x 3, 9L x 2
4 5 6 7 8 9 Tot
A 1 6 1 1 - 2 11
C 5 2 1 2 2 - 12
D 4 - 2 - 1 - 7
L 1 1 - 1 - - 3
O - 2 1 - - - 3
R 2 1 - 2 - - 5
T 15 4 2 2 - - 23
Tot 28 16 7 8 3 2 64
13
@Ron O. I'm curious - how does one make the grid? And how do you get it so neat?
@Ron O. --
Thanks for posting. I've got a ways to go.
And thank-you to my niece's recent achievement for making (one of) the pangrams evident.
4
@John S.
I create the grid using the Notes app on my iPad.
The app allows you to create tables as well as text. The grid is a table with the correct number of rows and columns for the puzzle du jour. Today’s grid is 9 rows x 8 columns.
I create the table and then enter the data, using left-justified table entries. I do the word counts manually, double-checking to make sure they are correct.
Once I’m happy with the note, I copy and paste it here (using the Safari web browser on the iPad).
I’m sure there are other ways, but this works for me.
4
Again with the SNAKE OIL!
One hopes that TAUTENED is just crosswordese, and that sensible persons will just say 'tightened.'
I had a slight Natick crossing where the Beach Boys cross the judoist, so I had to trust that DAN was the right term...the song *might* have been SAILOR SAILOR, except that the pattern turned out to be S-word-O-word-S-word.
PhysicsDaughter tried to explain about PHOTONs..like I'm going to buy the idea that light comes in particles.
Thunderstorms all night are now continuing. Such a cheery day!
10
@Mean Old Lady
Not just SNAKE OIL but SNO CONE too, this time with no W.
6
@Mean Old Lady
Did you get your iPad problem fixed? I still can't access the puzzle with the immovable ad sitting on the page, and no reply to my Friday message for tech help.
@Hildy Johnson
NYT was no help whatsoever, and the person'/bot stated there is no way to black the pop-up. I tried Google (it's their ad service) but no response. I am at the point where I am willing to remove Google from the iPad entirely....but I am not sure it will stop the ads.
The tiny x does not remove or minimize the ads. I can't drag the ad to the side. I can't 'beat the ad to the punch' because it overrides my tap on the puzzle/wordplay display.
Can Will or Joel, or Deb or Caitlyn HELP???
This took me an “larger than normal” amount of time because I refused to admit ENLARGED was wrong. Eventually my “swollen” head admitted I could be wrong and I quickly found ENGORGED. (I realized BUL made no sense but I wasn’t seeing anything that did! I must have had some sort of BUG.)
2
To me this solved like a "Monday" of Sundays. Easy enough for new Sunday solvers to get. A great introduction to the big end of a NYT solver's week.
But still with enough substance and style to keep our interest. Loved the grid art!
Thanks, Peter Collins, for a puzzle where I think we can all say we STRUTTEDOURSTUFF!
10
Perfect Sunday - relatively easy solve with a doubly delightful theme revealed when completed.
Caitlin, thanks for the fantastic clip of Ray Charles and the Beach Boys. That must have been one heck of a show!
In the spirit of the puzzle theme and sharing of favorite music clips, here's one that seems especially relevant today:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvChjHcABPA
2
@Chungclan
Steve L beat you to it in the first post of the day!
Andrew,
Now who's the puzzle police?
(Badges?)
2
@Barry Ancona
Touché!
(Deputy)
I agree with @OISK's early review: pleasant and easy. There was enough interesting cluing to hold my attention, my favorites being SHORT I at 76A (who could possibly come up with that without crosses?); D SHARP (9A); AYE (60D); and I HEAR (65D). The simplest fill -- clued in a way that makes thinking necessary. But at no point was I baffled.
In fact the most baffling thing for me in the entire puzzle was the Note in the paper edition: "When he can, Peter likes to incorporate some of the black squares into his puzzle themes, as he ingeniously does here." Huh???? Where???? I was looking for a devilish trick (sort of like my own "Black hat" trick with Will Nediger), but the puzzle was coming together in the most trick-less, straightforward way imaginable. Where was the trick???? Only afterwards did I see the SOS design fashioned from black squares. "Oh, that," I yawned. "Grid art. Nothing to do with me at all. Completely superfluous to my solving experience." Hardly worth a Note, as far as I'm concerned and certainly not a Note that produces disappointment. But a nice puzzle, nonetheless.
2
@Nancy
It's "hardly worth a Note" to point out a feature that numerous solvers, including yourself, missed noticing themselves? Can't say I agree with that.
8
@Bess -- Don't mind a Note. Just mind THIS Note -- i.e. one that makes you look for/hope for something tricky hidden in the black squares. Here are some potential Notes I wouldn't have minded at all:
"Peter has a deft hand with grid design and this puzzle is an ingenious example of his skill." Or
"Never assume that a grid by Peter is just...a grid. There's often a lot more there than at first meets the eye."
Then I wouldn't have been looking for a trick and wouldn't have been disappointed that it wasn't there.
@Nancy
I'm glad that I didn't see that note in the online version! I probably would have spent a lot more time during the solve trying to figure out how the black squares integrated with the theme! I'm with you on this one!
1
Opened up in the NW with a football term and closed out with EDD in the SE. The Redleg Hall of Famer was ejected from a game for taking a notorious mid-game nap. Roush, the center fielder, wasn’t AWL that enthused during an over-extended, game delaying argument. He was PUT TO SLEEP by the on field debate. It’s true, you can look it up...There were a few errors, ones that I stubborly chose to latch on to; MODISTE, not precisely from the world of haberdashery, was one that I didn’t CATCH ON to. There were others, especially in the SE corner, so let me briefly CRY ABOUT them. TAUTENED, ENGORGED (not enlarged?) under IMBECILE (had that Stoogeism) BUGged me to no end...This Allmanesque cover of Elvin Bishop’s “Struttin’ My Stuff” is one of many tunes I was a-hummin’ to this morning.
https://youtu.be/hMpB10lL_ZU
This just in from the ‘Not The SAME OLD STORY Dept.’: Bay Area PARENTs can take the kids as Phil Lesh MCS a free concert today at 3 pm left coast time in San Rafael’s Beach Park.
Your PAL,
Bru
6
@brutus
I wasn't too crazy with TAUTENED either... Of course it's valid as per the dictionary, but does anyone use it instead of "Tighten", and leave TAUT as an adjective?
1
@Steve Faiella
I TAUT so too.
6
Completely OT but whatever happened to archeoprof? Anyone know? (This is not an SOS)
1
@K Barrett
Not OT. D'accord.
After the usual considerable amount of time spent solving this enjoyable Sunday puzzle, I was at the stage of filling in the final letters before the happy music. I had finally figured out the SOS theme and its application, but it had taken me longer than usual for whatever reason. My wife glanced over my shoulder at my iPhone and immediately said to me "Your puzzle is speaking to me. It is saying SOS". I stared at her in disbelief. How had she instantly picked out the theme entries when I had taken over an hour to do so? And on the terribly tiny iPhone screen? Well, she had immediately seen the grid pattern spelling SOS. For me this was a perfect example of my not seeing the forest for the trees!
17
@Andrew
Proving once again the old adage that people who don’t do crosswords (assuming she does not) are smarter than people who do. That adage was first coined by the famous blogger “XwordsSCHMXwords”.
2
@Andrew
Didn’t see the grid design at all until your comment!
Too focused on the details, or too depressed this morning after SEEING OUR STATE boys lose to Texas Tech last night in the stadium here in the Twin Cities!
3
@Andrew
Your wife provides an excellent, concrete example that substantiates the PROPOSITION ‘you can’t see the forest for the TREEs.’ AS TO Patrick’s crafty and situational placement of the help wanted sign, I thank you and your Mrs. for the tip.
The theme did help me correct SAILORSAILOR to SAILONSAILOR. It's only because I swoon every time I listen to Lolita sing (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2m8MjverT64) that I can never get her biggest hit song out of my head.
2
Two things:
1) Interesting to see PYLE as an answer today after (Jim) NABORS yesterday;
2) MONEYFORNOTHIN has the same number of letters as SULTANSOFSWING (I had my dates confused).
10
a Zero in nonfat instead of an O cost me 20 minutes this morning!
good puzzle!
6
@Patrick
Given the clue and entry, the zero was unusually appropriate!
4
@Patrick
What a devious trick for a Thursday puzzle! Replacing "Ohs" with "Zeros"!! It wouldn't fly well at all with either Will or us, but that's why it would be devious... ;-)
1
@Patrick I sympathize. I have blown a streak by doing the same thing.
Nice long workout and some good 'aha' moments with clever mis-directions on a few clues. The theme answers came fairly smoothly for the most part, but there were other little sections that were quite tough to work out. Oh, and I'm a long time Beach Boys' fan, but don't recall that song at all.
Bit of a bummer to end with one wrong square - the very last thing I filled in - the crossing of MODISTE and RADICCHIO. Waffled between E and I and guessed wrong. Ah, well - it's not like I'm on a streak or anything.
With apologies, a bit OT. I still have my dad's copy of "Here is Your War," a collection of Ernie PYLE's reportage from the ETO. A great book. I've long thought that is next to impossible to relate what it's like to be a combat infantryman, but I think Pyle comes as close as anything I've ever seen with just this one sentence:
"In their eyes as they pass is not hatred, not excitement, not despair, not the tonic of their victory – there is just the simple expression of being here as though they had been here doing this forever, and nothing else."
20
@Rich in Atlanta,
Thanks for sharing that quote from PYLE!
7
@Rich in Atlanta
I read and reread _Brave Men_ as a teen. PYLE was a prose master, and I learned a lot (perhaps by osmosis) from his style.
Since I grew RADICCHIO from time to time, I got that off the- CH-, and I knew MODISTE, but only because of my fondness for old novels and period fiction....but I did think to myself that we don't hear or see that word much nowadays....and that they are not enough gardeners.
4
I was grateful after the solve for the mental jog, then I noticed more touches that took this puzzle beyond ordinary. The SOS made up of black squares, for one. The care put into the cluing, with many clues a level beyond simply direct, and many using clever wordplay, such as the clues for PASS RUSH, PUT TO SLEEP, SHORT I, ADS, AUCTIONS, and AYE. Then there were answers that popped: RADICCHIO! MODISTE! SNOOK!
Thus, this offering was not only a Supplier Of Satisfaction, but also a Specimen Of Skill.
8
I utterly missed the SOS in the black boxes! Completely agree on the quality of the clues- made for a delightful solve.
7
@Lewis
Agreed... the cluing was really great, even though I lost a considerable amount of time on "Stuff in a muffin, say?" where I had plopped oAT instead of EAT. Not knowing Ernie PYLE didn't help... I should probably slow down and double check myself during the solve from now on... LOL
4
I noticed the S O S fairly quickly, but only connected it with the tittle. The only theme answer I had by the time I got to the reveal was STRUTTED OUR STUFF, and it finally clicked and was a huge HELP in getting the rest of the answers. I loved the way it all came together and was very impressed with the clever construction.
3
Oh dear, title, not tittle ( although that could be a reference to Y. A. and clue 1A)
3
-@suejean
Y.A. Tittle? Y not a tittle.
Sorry. I blame the previous posters and their hen weighing and knock-knock jokes.
3
@ad absurdum
Hilarious henway! On the fly, no less.
2
I guess I've made all the comments I was going to make in replies to others.
I'm not a big fan of initials-type themes, especially with no wordplay involved, and most of the song stuff went right by me but was easily gettable from the crosses.
Add that I didn't see and don't care for the SOS arrangement of the black boxes, and this one was definitely not in my wheelhouse. That's not a criticism of the puzzle or the constructor, just a comment on my personal preferences.
But at least I learned PASS RUSH. Which I'll probably forget about pretty soon. But thanks,
5
Found the theme pretty quickly when checking the downs to confirm that PARMESAN was the cheese. Sometimes on the Sunday puzzles my solving is rather scattershot. I start out with the acrosses in the Northwest, but don't always make it all the way to the Southeast in that manner.
As others have mentioned, noticed the various callbacks to puzzles in the past week, including my nemesis from Saturday, Nada, but this time as a clue.
Kudos to all the commenters and Caitlin offering links to the various videos. Here are two links to Mark Knopfler's collaboration with Emmylou Harris.
https://youtu.be/JE_sUN_M7p0
https://youtu.be/3PHaGgpFH4g
3
@vaer
These are great. Thank you. They reminded me that he played guitar on one of my favorite Joan Armatrading albums, The Shouting Stage (1988). I don’t want to link because Emmylou (with Mark) deserves her own thread. His guitar makes everything better.
2
With some constructors, my brain just seems to link. I had a really good time on this one. Not a personal best, but good.
I did start with "realtors" at 2 down.
2
A "short i" is only "frequently" found in "pink lipstick"? Frequently? Really? How about always?!? SMDH
2
@Brennan
I had the same thought until I realized there are 3 “short i’s” in “pink lipstick”. Wordplay.
7
@Brennan
I guess " short i"s are always found in pink lipstick when spoken with a english or american accent. But not when spoken with a foreign accent, maybe french? Thus frequently?
@Laura Rodrigues in London
I think that the SHORT I is found not just once, but frequently (three times) in pink lipstick.
1
I noticed that I hadn't done the Sunday Nov 25 2018 puzzle, so I just went back did it. It also mentioned Nicholas II and the KSU Wildcats, and my solving time was 1 second longer than today's.
2
LETTER BOXED THREAD
F-S(6), S-Y(8).
I suspect there is a perfect solution but it eludes me so far.
@Phil P can you continue your streak?
1
@Kevin Sparks
Not today. I got the same letters as you, but a different way to hit the same total: F-S(7), S-Y(7).
@Phil P
I expect I have the same answer as you.
Yesterday I had the very convoluted SHAWARMA AXIOMATISED. Not my proudest moment.
@Kevin Sparks
S-F(7) F-Y(6)
Well that was an hour and twenty minutes of my life I won't get back.
I enjoy a challenge but not inanity. Easter isn't a week it's a day. Who or what is shorti, and why does it in pink lipstick? RSTLNE are six random letters, not a sextet of anything. No, I'm not going watch a TV show hosted by a man who equates climate science with racism. Enough product placement.
@Jeff Harris,
P(i)nk l(i)pst(i)ck features three short i's.
3
@Jeff Harris in the Catholic, Anglican and (I think) Lutheran traditions, Easter is a week-long celebration that begins with the resurrection on Sunday. It is preceded by Holy Week which starts on Palm Sunday and ends on Good Friday
7
@Thomas Gray
As a life long Episcopalian, an Anglican church, my understanding is Lent is the forty-day long period of fasting and reflection that precedes Easter. Good Friday is the Friday before Easter Sunday, but there is no such thing as Easter Week in the Episcopal Church.
I've heard Catholic and Orthodox friends sometimes describe the week before Easter Sunday as "Holy Week", but never as " Easter Week".
Using the phrase "Easter Week"this way is just lazy puzzle writing.
1
This was a fast Sunday puzzle, until it wasn't.
My last letter was the "A" in ZESTA and MALONE but no happy music. "Huh?"
S.O.S. (Something's Off Somewhere.)
Time to pull out the magnifying glass and start flyspecking the grid. I went through all the across entries and clues, one by one. "Looks good to me." I then went through all the down entries and clues, one by one. "Yup, looks good to me." Now repeat.
My inherent problem is that I was relying on the crossings for several no-know's. For example, I had never heard of ZESTA but I knew MALONE was right. Similarly, RSTLNE eluded me but all of the crossings checked out.
Finally, I found the error. I didn't know Ernie the WWII journalist was and I was therefore relying on 29-A ("Stuff in a muffin, say?"), which I had as OAT instead of EAT.
"Argh. CEREAL-SLY?"
"Well, what does a PACMAN do?"
"Oh yeah, EAT."
9
@Henry Su
Same exact issue for me!! Was Uber proud of not needing to look up any answers for the entire Sunday grid. And then had to go clue by clue against the answer key to find this eat/oat error. Sigh....
3
Same last error for me well. Eat/oat!
4
I put EGG in my muffin at first.
1
Another “in my wheelhouse” puzzle and my fastest Sunday solve yet; half my Sunday average.
Most SOS entries came to me right away; Dire Straits and the Beach Boys are long-time favorites. Sports are also wheelhouse items, so PASSRUSH, LPGA, KANSASSTATE, ACE, DAN, and EDD were gimmes as well.
Did not know RAO, ZESTA, MODISTE, or AVE but got those from the crossers.
Enjoyed the well-constructed puzzle; didn’t see the black-letter pattern until reading about it in the comments. Kudos to Mr. Collins for a fun puzzle!
5
No idea what 1-across is, but got the rest.
Legend says SOS came abut because when expressed in Morse code they form a very distinctive signal.
Neat!
@Dr W
1A is football. See just a bit earlier for details.
It always feels great when the puzzle theme jumps right out at you like today's seemed to do. Knowing that all the longer answers were going to be in an S.O.S. format was a great help in solving these without too many of the crossing words. Once all the themed entries were in place it made for a really quick solve. Even a Stooges fan doesn't feel much like an imbecile with this puzzle.
1
I was parsing that wrong. I'M....doCILE? Didn't sound very Three Stoogeish tome.
1
Open to Wordplay and Coachella breaks out. Sensational.....and thx to all our resident maestros!
2
PASSRUSH? RSTLNE?
What?
@Frances "Pass rush" is a football term for when the defense "rushes" at the quarterback to try to tackle, or "sack", him.
3
@Frances
During the bonus round of Wheel of Fortune, the contestant gets the letters RSTLNE and can select a few others, in order to solve the puzzle.
3
@Frances
My worst part too, which is too bad because I start in NW and usually just finish that segment and then follow my nose.
When I saw that nothing was making much sense with the first letters I had filled in, I thought about alternate meanings of "sack" and remembered that one of them had to do with tackling in football. That was absolutely no help at all in getting to PASS RUSH, which I've nevere heard or heard of.
1
It makes for a boring job - groan!
3
Is RSTLNE something to CRY ABOUT? Am I missing something? A random collection of letters used to make words? OKAY SURE
1
@judy d In the bonus round of the Wheel of Fortune game show the contestant is given the letters RSTNLE, then gets to choose 3 more consonants and a vowel and then has to tryto guess the word the show is looking for. I hope this isn't TMI.
2
One of my faster Sundays. I liked the variety and the agonizing tasks of choosing between two or more valid answers. I had ZILCH before ZIPPO, and REALTORS before AUCTIONS before I got smart and decided to wait on the crosses to limit the possibilities. Being a KU alum, KANSAS STATE was a gimme, even though I'm now living closer to Northwestern, whose teams are also Wildcats.
Totally missed the revealer and the grid pattern. Checking the newspaper version might have sped up the solve, but only by a little. I would like to see Will's notes appear on the online versions as well as on the print versions.
3
There are great pairs of similarities in this puzzle: - PRAYED and EASTER WEEK, LEO and ARIES, RADICCHIO and PARMESAN, LANKY and NONFAT, TRY and PESTERS, AARDVARKS and GNUS (two inherently funny animal names), ENE and OST, TAUTENED and ENGORGED, and probably etc.
During the time I was solving this puzzle my son told me about a type of joke actually named a "henway" (person A uses a word like "henway," person B asks "what's a henway," and person A then says, "about three pounds"). I had to look it up online, of course, which led to a site about different types of jokes, https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/WhatsAHenway, some of which I realized were very much akin to the way some crossword clues misdirect the solver. It was an interesting juxtaposition, and noticing all the different ways Mr. Collins used misdirection very much enhanced my enjoyment of this puzzle! My favorite clue? "A lump in the throat." BTW, shout out from one Michigander and UMich alumna to the teacher in Ann Arbor, MI!
8
...not to mention Bisquick.
3
Peggy Poznanski, David Connell, and Barry,
A: "Fenway."
B: "What's a Fenway?"
A: "I dunno exactly. Can I give you a ballpark?"
5
Edit: I think the phrasing is slightly better like this:
A: "Fenway."
B: "What's a Fenway?"
A: "I dunno exactly. How about a ballpark?"
@Caitlin
You should also be aware that Kansas State is located in the "other" Manhattan. There's a somewhat amusing way any Jayhawk would tell you how you get there, but I'm going to refrain at the moment.
3
@JayTee
You've piqued my interest with your comment. Hopefully the moment will arise when you share the joke, (if you can get it past the emus!)
1
@JayTee,
Or please provide a link if it's online somewhere.
Rock Chalk!
Oh dear.
I absolutely missed the clever layout of the black squares.
Deb has mentioned several times the usefulness of having a LOOK at the puzzle first.
Slow learner, me.
14
@Kevin Sparks Hah! Definitely missed the forest for the trees there.
2
@Kevin Sparks I never would have noticed if you hadn’t commented.
2
@Kevin Sparks
You're not alone. Shame On uS.
2
Took me 3-4 full passes through to have enough to then go out of order and fill in areas.
Like Caitlin, I had DAR before DAN. I didn't realized DAN could denote a skilled judoist. I know that DAN is the word for level. Although I suppose, before you reach 1-DAN, you are not skilled at all. Looking back on it, of course, SAILOR SAILOR doesn't fit the theme, so I changed it to SAIL ON, SAILOR.
This was a good deal of fun. The Thursday SNAKE OIL presaged today's SNAKE OIL SALESMAN.
TIL SNOOK, about REOS and the Depression, MODISTE, MRAZ. I eyed that AVE and AVENUE crossing with suspicion, but since one isn't an abbreviation of the other as clued...ok.
In the end, it was a tightly themed puzzle - LANKY and NONFAT.
4
Woohoo! One of my all-time favorite songs in this one, a classic that prompted me to pick up the guitar many years ago. Here's my own take on it:
https://youtu.be/Dw7TB-HZ6y8
Great puzzle, loved the verb/noun misdirection in "rock".
16
Nice cover, Robrecht!
1
@Robrecht
This is great! Thanks for posting.
1
@Robrecht
Fantastic cover! One of my favorite Dire Straits songs. You really sound like Mark Knopfler! Excellent guitar work too! Thanks for sharing.
1
One of the characteristics of an above-average puzzle is the inclusion of fills that can be one of two or three similar words. In today's, we had Zilch and Zippo. This forces the solver to look both ways, something that a "speed" solver learns not to do because of the time lost going back and forth. I don't know if constructors go out of their way to create this type of situation or not, but it always adds another dimension to the experience. You might guess it right or you might not. Only your time will tell.
For those who might be interested, Hal is in a bad mood today for a variety of reasons ... so you had better watch out!
16
@HALinNY
That’s why I enjoyed the clue for EAT (29A), “Stuff in a muffin, say?” Thought it was EGG at first.
6
@Puzzlemucker, methinks you hast been spending too much time unter der fashluggeneh golden arches (and not your footsies) :=)
2
@HALinNY
Actually, I never EAT there, “eggs” or whatever else they sell. Hoe you feel better.
Just a quick note to say for the rest of Lent I have made two resolutions: a) refrain from working the puzzles "the night before" and b) read all comments before commenting.
A bit of a personal push to finish well!
11
@Robert Michael Panoff
Ok, Sunday puzzle done on Sunday, now to read 231 comments!
1
I did this puzzle in the paper and it is one that highlights why the NYT should publish Will Shortz’s new Sunday Intro notes in the on-line version (especially the last sentence):
“Peter A. Collins is the chairman of the math department at Huron High School, in Ann Arbor, Mich., where he has been teaching for 39 years. He has been creating crosswords for The Times since 2006. This is his 108th. When he can, Peter likes to incorporate some of the black squares into his puzzle themes, as he ingeniously does here. — W.S.”
This was a pretty smooth Sunday for me. Besides the theme/themers, some clever clues (“Lump in the throat” my favorite), and the ingenious use of the black squares, I was struck by some echoes from this week’s puzzles, including SNO(w) CONE, SNAKE OIL [SALESMAN], and AYE [].
I also enjoyed much of the straightforward fill, including AUTOMATA, BALLASTS, ORDAIN, TAUTENED.
(Could have done without 119A, but it did not spoil the puzzle for me and the cluing softened its use.)
A good end to a good week or good beginning of a new one . . .
10
Since the Sunday puzzles are now *always* carrying a note from Will Shortz -- which may or may not have a puzzle hint -- if your solving format doesn't show the full note, check the PDF available on line, which *is* the puzzle from the paper:
https://www.nytimes.com/svc/crosswords/v2/puzzle/print/Apr0719.pdf
5
Thank you so much for pointing this out! And of course now that I know it’s there, it’s ever so obvious, but I’d missed it altogether until reading your comment.
In other news, everyone who took umbrage at SNOWCONE earlier this week can breathe a sigh of relief now.
7
@Puzzlemucker - I had a reply clobbered by the emus. Basically, I just said that someone messed up (a different word was used that the emus didn't like). The only note from Will Shortz was in the newspaper version. The alternate PDF version, the online version, and the AcrossLite version, none of them had the note.
2
I think of this as a classic kind of Sunday puzzle--nothing too flashy, it solved steadily and smoothly. The theme became evident early on, none of the answers were too hard, my solving time was way less than average (no, I'm not going to be more specific) and I was happy about that because the bronchitis is still befuddling my brain to some degree. I even figured out SHORT I without too much trouble!
Now I need to go listen to some Dire Straits.
10
@Liz B
As an alternative to Dire Straits, which is great, Mark Knopfler has some gorgeous solo recordings, including Redbud Tree (with some nice accompanying images):
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=QUH3c3QQ_WY
5
@Puzzlemucker
Yes, Mark Knopfler is definitely one of my favorites!
1
@Puzzlemucker - The Redbuds will soon be blooming hereabouts. The flowers come right on the old wood, rather than on the twig ends. Very special. They are in the pea family and are tasty, having a very similar flavor to fresh baby sweet peas.
I like to sprinkle the redbud flowers on a light garden salad or on a little bowl of ice cream for a beautiful celebration of spring.
7
Here's a little musical interlude in honor of today's puzzle:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvChjHcABPA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Q_ZzBGPdqE
The obvious choices. Perhaps the column doesn't have permission to use them, but commenters have no such restrictions.
10
Another way to follow the theme musically:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ObL3L6MRvN4
7
A college band of my acquaintance did a song called S.O.S., but the guitar intro had the phrase
short-short-short long-long-long
in a repeating pattern, which audiences were fond of pointing out made SO-SO, SO-SO. Not quite what had been intended.
5
@David Connell
So? :-)
3