Solved in 3:53. My all time personal best for a Monday (and for any day)!
1
Had trouble completing the Monday Puzzle on my Android phone (not with the NYT app). Keyboard was stubborn, and wouldn't type the letter C, among other things. I had to go to a desktop terminal to complete my Monday grid, which is a method that's not as good for me. đ
Coming across COVENT GARDENS piqued my interest, as my own GARDEN has been sorely abused by heavy trucks with large tire. While mourning my hardy cyclamen, ferns, iris, sedum, lily-of-the-valley, Solomon's seal and May apples, I couldn't help but relate COVENT GARDENS' EN-viable pattern to Mr Nash's EL-usive Llamas.
To COVET GARDENS is a sin
But COVENT GARDENS will fit right in
With High Performance
Before cultured kin.
But don't count yer 'ENS when the chickEN'S away
At the CONVENT GARDENS
Where [um] None may stay.
What everyone else said about the GALL 'n' GALA symmetry and all the other fun bits. What with the saucy GOOSE 'n' GANDER, was sorry not to work in a little Ryan Gosling, and a big Hand up for a definite difference Bialy vs ONION BAGEL. Maybe some of our Archeo experts can explain how CARB 'n' DATA tells how old fossils and rocks really are.
I can't tell you how nice it was, after yesterday's LEOPARD SPOTS on the panther cubs, to be treated to the exotic innocence of the Masai Mara cheetah cub. Hard on the heels of a top-of-the-line C.C. puzzle, it really perked up Monday's start.
Thanks all around.
2
[grr]
That was sposed to be '... RYE'n Gosling'
2
Hi from San Diego. Our power at home has been off since Saturday so we hopped in the car to see our son Alex and his lovely wife in LA. Her sister just had a baby so we had to see Tiger. Very cute. Even when he doesn't get something fast enough and puts on the best "get off my lawn" old man face and harrumphs. But it soon turns into a broad smile.
We're taking a side trip to San Diego to attend the memorial service for an old friend. See some sites here after and back to LA for a few days. Disneyland on Halloween. Yippee!
Back to my puzzle and water company duties. Talk to you in a bit.
3
I'm a little disturbed that Sam said Our Deb has "disappeared." I hope there is no sinister implication. Maybe it has to do with her upcoming nuptials.
I join pretty much everyone else in the civilized world with crowning CC and LL as the Queens of the Easies! Easies because they are, and Queen because they make these puzzle interesting, both as a gateway drug to newbies and a pleasant diversion to the vets.
I continue on my road to recovery from bronchitis and have now entered the final (laryngitis/residual aches) phase. There is light at the end of the tunnel!
3
It has been a long time since the rare gases at the far right of the Periodic Table of the elements have been considered inert. Neil Bartlett in 1962 isolated and identified xenon hexafluoroplatinate in a designed experiment. So please stop calling them inert. Call them rare, unreactive (at least in the common sense), noble (in the historic sense), Period VIII elements, or even gases, but please not inert.
3
@Ann Grant
The dictionary still calls the noble gases "inert gases." Dictionary listings are get-out-of-jail-free cards for crossword editors, so you need to convince the Merriam-Webster editors of the error of their ways.
https://tinyurl.com/yyqa5og3
1
Your friends must think youâre a little strange if you respond to their jokes with the sad emoji. Maybe they think you think their humor is pathetic. There is an emoji for laughing with tears, but itâs not to be confused with sad. ;-)
2
@JF
đ˘
1
I was going to say the same thing... đ˘ does not equal đ
Why couldn't the clue for 58 Across been something like "baseball slugger Williams," something, anything but that given. Cmon man.
3
@John Dietsch
Yes, I agree. Apparently saying more than that wonât get the comment posted, lol
1
@John Dietsch
Why?
When was the last time TED Williams did anything newsworthy?
@Deadline
Well, if you want specifics, try July 5, 2002. That's when he passed away.
2
This is for @Newbie
It appears that you are reading Wordplay on the NYT app. Don't!
I am taking the liberty of reprinting Steve L's reply to your post below, because ironically you were probably unable to read it for that very reason. (I spent many weeks using the app when I was a newbie as well!)
@Newbie
Don't use the NYT iPad app for Wordplay. It doesn't work right. You won't be able to see beyond three replies to any comment. Go to the nyt.com website on your browser and find Wordplay and work through that. You shouldn't have any problem. The link for today's column is https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/27/crosswords/daily-puzzle-2019-10-28.html#commentsContainer .
The video link works fine for me. Good luck!
4
@Andrew Good idea!
@andrew
THANK YOU!!!
I never understood why certain comments I made didnât show up in the past. They werenât derogatory in any way. So I always wondered why they werenât published (what was objectionable). Now I am guessing it was this three reply thing.
Obviously, I end up at the app because that is what opens when you like link in INFO of the crossword app.
There was one comment I made once (my first comment ever) that was mean spirited toward Deb. It never appeared. I hope it was censored and not just not visible to me. Now I gotta look...
1
@Newbie
My reply appeared as if it was going to be third last time, but others got there first.
I took GOO out, repeatedly to get BAGEL and put it back. That gave me cross clues to no be INERT, wondering.
What a wonderful way to start the week!
1
I am awed by those who could do this in under 4 minutes. 6:21 for me, and thatâs a best ever time for me. Part of the inefficiency for me I suspect is trying to work from top to bottom but Iâm unsure how to get more efficient when the puzzle is easy.
@Mark Josephson
With an easy puzzle, your pen-and-paper solve time will almost always be faster (unless youâre solving on a Wacom tablet). You can have one finger going down the clues while your other hand is filling in the answer so that both are anchored simultaneously in your visual field. With an easy puzzle, youâre not even reading most of the clues all the way, so being able to fill in answers while keeping your eyes fixed on the puzzle and not darting over to the keyboard saves time. The second best option is the full online version. David Connell just listed a 3:31 Monday best below and I know from recent comments that he solves on a PC (or laptop? Hi, David!) On my phone, I canât break 5 minutes for a Monday even though my Saturday best is just under 12, so I know itâs a fat fingers issue (and a wasting-time-looking-at-the-timer-to-slide-in-under-5-minutes issue).
Top to bottom is the fastest for easier puzzles. With more abstractly clued ones (like Saturdays) or potential rebus minefields (hello, Thursdays), the key to a quick solve is scanning right past all the uncertains to your first toehold.
3
Can someone send a good link to a video of someone solving crossword under say 4 minutes. I literally cannot read the clues that quickly, let alone type/write it in. I picked 4 minutes as proxy for fast, maybe itâs 3? Maybe itâs 5?
2
@Newbie
Here you go:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GvXUORrQoZ8
Full disclosure: Newsday Monday puzzles are ridiculously easy. Even so, I can't go as fast as this guy.
1
@steve
Thanks brother. I canât open or copy the link you provided. Is this a âfeatureâ of the nyt iPad app?
On a side note, I didnât realize ONIONBAGEL was an answer, cause I got all the crosses so never had to solve the clue for 10D. I imagine that is part of how people solve so quickly.
Okay, time to type in that url...
I'm not a champion solver here (I've been in some tournaments, I know that's the case). Today was 3:53 for me. Legit Monday best for me, 3:31. There are many who have faster Monday solve times.
There are videos online of champion solvers solving puzzles that defeat most solvers, and that take many solvers a long time, in just minutes. Humbling? Yes. Challenging solvers to do better next time? Heck yeah!
1
The PAVLOVian roles under our roof were reversed.
Dinner was at 8pm CST. For The Dog, that is; the bipeds of the pack usually foraged straight from the refrigerator as needed and/or availed themselves liberally of takeout.
At 7pm on the dot, The Dog would rouse herself, TAKE A GANDER about, and if she saw no activity in the kitchen (she needed a special diet so we cooked for her), sheâd amble over to my desk and clear her throat. That was the first bell ring â my cue to wrap up the paragraph I was on.
7:15pm ushered in stretching and loud yawning. âMeat and veggies need time to reach room temperature prior to cooking. No one ever got a Michelin Star by stuffing straight-from-the-fridge ingredients into a pot.â
7:30pm would bring repeated wet nose plants on the window next to my desk. âYou and I both know Iâm too short to see anything but the sky by laying my head on this ridiculously tall window sill,â the attendant deep sigh would relay. âItâs really beneath my intellect to entertain myself thus. But we both know meal prep takes time, and timeâs running out. Would you rather slice and dice now or clean glass later?â
At 7:45pm, The Dog would assume the Sphinx Pose and commence the Sphinx Stare. The Stare burned through human skin like a plasma cutter. No human in the household could withstand The Stare for more than a few minutes, which is why weâll now never know what drastic measures The Dog might have taken had not made it to the kitchen by 8pm CST.
4
@Sam Lyons
I'm taken aback by a dog who can tell time.
@Steve L
It was uncanny. And Iâm not exaggerating: my husband and I would bet on her sticking to the schedule and she never disappointed. Youâd get a 2-3 minute variance, but thatâs it.
She did not observe Daylight Savings or â what I found most unnerving â different time zones. It wasnât an inner solar clock; she was driven purely by diurnal rhythm: we took her with us to Europe once, and she started the ritual at 1am instead.
@Sam Lyons
Absolutely.
All dogs can tell time. But DST is a bit beyond them. And beyond me.
1
(In response to @Tami Martin) But, @Tami, should someone be obliged to pretend to be challenged by a puzzle that they don't find challenging in the least? What's the point of commenting on a puzzle if you can't discuss your reaction to it accurately and honestly? And I really worry about someone who will be "made to feel badly about their own performance" by reading a blog comment.
Let's say I go on a Bridge blog -- a game I never seemed to have much ability at and therefore don't play. Someone describes the hand of the day as exceptionally easy to make -- practically a laydown. And I look at it and have no idea whatsoever how it should be played -- from the first trick to the last trick and every trick in between. I now know there's at least one person on the blog who's a better Bridge player than I am. But I knew that already. In spades. (Pun intended). I can try to learn from the comment. I can skip the comment. I can hope to be the person who two years down the road will be able to write that comment myself. But I'm certainly not going to go and hide under a rock because of the comment.
I find no reason to think that @Manhattan is not a completely "kind" and "supportive" person -- just as you are, @Tami. But he/she simply wasn't at all challenged by today's puzzle. Why isn't he/she allowed to say so?
1
@Nancy
My take is the distinction between simply saying it was easy for them, and saying it was too easy to be allowed ("That shouldn't be possible")
The first is describing your own experience; the second is determining what is ok for others.
It's tone deaf, given that the Monday puzzle is the route in for many novice solvers.
10
@Nancy
Lots of posters here comment that a puzzle is very easy and very quick. Some even post absurdly fast times that their solve took. I don't think any of us take issue with that. @Manhattan's implication, (perhaps unintentionally), was that the puzzle was *too* easy, and seemingly insulting to his intelligence, because of the time that it took *him* to solve, looking at half of the clues. "Shouldn't be possible" suggests that this should not have been published on a Monday, which is admittedly the easiest puzzle day of the week. I think that a lot of experienced solvers here zip through Mondays without much difficulty. I don't know that today's was particularly any easier than most, but even if it was, his manner of expressing it came off just a bit condescending.
5
Please replace *his* with either *his/her* or *their*.
1
I'm always stunned by CC's seemingly endless creativity and ability to construct the most interesting and smoothest puzzles on the planet.
Thank you, (again) CC!
And thank you, Sam, for your great write-up. And for giving us a kinder, gentler Bee today.
Also for anybody who hasn't tried Spelling Bee yet, give it a shot. But beware, you might become addicted
8
@Johanna
My family also loves the Bee, but we always wonder why some common words arenât used, we like titian as a color word, evidently it is from a proper name of a painter, but anyway, one time I got to Queen Bee by accident and loved the surprise of getting my crown.... it is also lovely that so many folks help out here in comments for the Bee as well as the main crossword. A lot of fun! Thanks Sam and all the solvers who help us!
Did anyone else notice that the GOOSE could have been a GANDER?
I really liked this puzzle. perfect for monday!
2
Ok this is too weird. I do the WSJ puzzle everyday too and, more often than not, that one and this one share a same answer. Today it was 1 Across for both. Anyone else notice this?
@Rhea Demory Today there are 3!
Who the heck is this âCCâ some people are referring to???
MY blog article is by âSEâ and it says that âZBâ was our constructor.
In any case - a solid âSolveâ for me - not quite a new PB but close.
Whatâs with this fixation on âA LA MODEâ? It has been included (in some fashion) two puzzles in a row??
2
PeterW,
"CC" is Zhouqin.
2
@PeterW
To amplify Barry's comment a little bit--Zhouquin has published other puzzles under the name C C Burnikel. Her Chinese name can be transliterated into English more than one way. NY Times style apparently demands that it by Zhouquin. So people who remember her earlier puzzles, or her puzzles in other venues, call her CC.
3
@PeterW
In some fashion? I see what you did there...
3
Nice one CeCe.
1
You omitted one of the available anagrams, Ms. Burnikel. I saw this immediately because I used this particular set of anagrams in one of my 41 anagrammed verse-puzzles -- a collection offered to Will Shortz back in 2013 for consideration as possible Variety Puzzles in the NYT. He did not leap at the chance. But, hey, you can always change your mind, Will. Here's the one that uses today's set of anagrammed words:
GENIAL HOST
Let us take a stroll around the ------.
The sky is clear and bright and there's no ------ of a storm.
Last month the weather ------ from cold and blustery to wet,
But now the day is beautiful and warm.
Come and take a ------ at my tulips.
Afterwards we'll sit and have mint juleps.
4
Growing up in Buffalo, NY, in the â70s, with the wonderful Albright-Knox art gallery, Op Art was a fixture of my childhood.
https://www.albrightknox.org/art/exhibitions/eyeâs-pop-op-art-albright-knox-art-gallery
Very nice Monday puzzle.
1
I like to think of Monday puzzles as the gateway drug for our hobby. Surely a good number of new addicts took their first hit with this fine puzzle today!
13
@archaeoprof
Today was my first puzzle, and I had a blast! I'm a little too young to know early 2000s Senate leaders, but aside from that, it was a good challenge for a young newbie!
6
Welcome to our daily conversation, and congratulations on your success to this point! You will find that we are a friendly group, always willing to share each other's victory celebrations.
1
@smey5174
Welcome smey. To both our diversion and our chit-chat.
Too young to know early 2000s Senate leaders? Wow, that really is young! So glad to have a truly new generation.
I remember, shortly before his demise in the Senate, Trent LOTT and his family, along with other lawmakers and their families, went on some sort of junket. The newscaster reported that Senator L went to some meeting or another, and "meanwhile, Lott's wife ..."
Best thing every about Trent LOTT.
3
My five favorite clues from last week
(In order of appearance):
1. Device on which to get texts (7)
2. State of Japan (3)
3. They usually come with bikinis (3)(5)
4. Many of the world's rulers use it (6)(6)
5. Mark of a scam artist (3)
E-READER
ZEN
TAN LINES
METRIC SYSTEM
SAP
9
Delightful, quick, and amusing.
5
Loved it. Probably a personal best time for me (not that I keep track) but I've often said that making an easy puzzle has to be a lot harder than making a difficult one - so much more restricting. Very impressive.
Does the name PAVLOV ring a bell? With my dogs, my long time substitute for his bell has been the announcement - "hungry, hungry hippos!" I can confirm that it works.
7
@Rich in Atlanta
Agree about the relative difficulty of composing easy vs. difficult puzzles.
In 70 years of dog and cat ownership, I don't think I've ever had to ring a bell or say anything at all to get them to their food bowls. They always beat me. Can't your dogs tell time?
1
The last 10 days or so have been hard solves for me. Iâm recuperating from some surgery and was so happy to solve so quickly today. Hopefully now Iâm OUTOFDANGER.
17
@Elke: All best wishes for a speedy and full recovery.
6
@Elke
Surgery's no fun. Crossword's are a good way to recover. If you're frustrated, though, it won't help your recovery... I highly recommend switching from a tough one to a bonus or some Monday from the archives, if there are any you haven't done, until you get your mojo back. I often go back and forth just to prove to my brain that I can still do it!
6
The challenge of a good Monday puzzle is to make it fun and interesting whilst keeping it easy, and CC is one of the best. I was pleased with noticing the anagram with the first two in spite of being quite poor with them usually. I looked forward to a clever reveal and was not disappointed.
Great start to the week!
9
LETTER BOXED
J-A(4), A-K(10)
1
@Mari
I went very long today.
H-T(10), T-S(11)
@Andrew - that was like a Hail Mari.
4
@Wen
That was a good catch!
SPELLING BEE GRID
LÂ AÂ DÂ FÂ MÂ PÂ U
OCT 28TH 2019
WORDS:Â 32, POINTS:Â 87, PANAGRAMS:Â 1, PERFECT:Â 1
A x 4
D x 2
F x 4
L x 8
M x 5
P x 9
4L x 22
5L x 5
6L x 2
7L x 3
4 5 6 7 Tot
A 1 - 1 2 4
D 2 - - - 2
F 3 1 - - 4
L 7 1 - - 8
M 3 - 1 1 5
P 6 3 - - 9
Tot 22 5 2 3 32
49
@Mari just missing pangram M7. Iâll keep trying. No ampulla today.
@Kevin Davis found it pretty quickly knowing which letters, how many, and 1st letter. It keeps truck tires from spraying dirt and rocks.
5
@Mari
My husband and I do the Spelling Bee every morning in Vienna. We usually work to Genius level and beyond, but when we are stuck, we check for your grid and often get to "Queen Bee" with your help on initial letters and number of letters in a word. We count on you to help us finish, but we marvel at how you do it so quickly! Thanks!
30
I was about to ask why mind-boggling designs is opart until I realized it is op art. Not the first time I did this. There is a female newscaster named Paula Zahn. Before I saw her on TV, I thought it was a man named Paul Azahn.
3
@Mickey T
When I was very little, I thought there was a singer named Franxa Natra.
5
@Mickey T
When my son was little he thought the bookstore was Barns and elbow.
7
I can still feel my disappointment when I learned that the Beach Boys did _not_ go
to a dance
looking for a man
met Bob Moran and
thought they'd take a chance on
Bob Moran
Bob Bob,
Bob Moran.
All these years later I can still picture that dreamy Bob Moran.
10
First Monday solve under 4 minutes! Cute theme and an enjoyable puzzle.
What's good for the GOOSE is good for the GANDER. (They eat GAGGLE bites.)
4
I canât type that fast!
2
A really fast solve but so much fun! No more fresh ONION BAGELs since our nearby Bagel Palace closed. I'M SAD. đ
3
This was an excellent Monday puzzle, as we have come to expect from ZB.
But Sam, with you filling in today I will take the opportunity to thank you for your work on the bee. I start every morning with it and a cup of coffee. Great fun and much appreciated.
18
A good Monday
I liked it fine. Thanks, Zhouqin Burnikel!
2
Paleo diets aren't carb restricted. I know we like to switch up clues, but they should still be accurate clues.
1
...and thank you for Tonya Harding, an unfairly ostracized athlete, at least according to a recent excellent film.
2
@Dr. Panda
Maybe the clue should have been "Ex-figure skater," since she has been banned for life.
I don't think "unfairly ostracized athlete" is a universally accepted description.
3
For what it's worth:
the latest from Tom Scott, a lecture at the Royal Institution in Britain.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=leX541Dr2rU
@Dr. Panda
Didn't see the film (I assume you mean "I, Tonya"), but I know someone who did. From his report, it was slickly produced but still just another whine in her long list of poor-me outbreaks about everything from every time she didn't win, to her supposedly broken shoelace.
Nice puzzle. Had at first guts for chutzpah, noble for neon or argon. Iâd say paleo diet restriction is carbs, not carb.
1
Quick, fun puzzle for me too but I must be a bit Leo McGarry-ish here (cf. his West Wing complaint re the spelling of Gaddafi ("I've met the man") and point out that rare gases such as argon and neon are NOT in fact inert. They are weakly bound through van der Waals interactions.
3
@ScienceGirl
Some people like to put up Waals; others like to tear down Waals. An inert joke, yah?
8
love the WW reference!
3
They are inert in the sense that they do not react with other elements to form compounds except (at least in the case of argon) under very unusual conditions that can only be obtained in fancy labs or stars.
I realize her name is probably very crossword friendly with all the vowels, but man, ARIANAGRANDE gets a lot of play recently. I think this her third reference in the last week? When is Katy Perry gonna get some love?
3
@Newbie
You would have to travel back in time to between 2015 and 2018 to find her clued four times.
@vaer
Only four times over four years! That is a disgrace and so disrespectful to Ms. Perry. Now Iâm WIDEAWAKE and just wanna ROAR...
2
@Newbie
I've noticed she's around here a lot too.
I have now made a note to myself that, when I have time, I will investigate and maybe find out who she is.
I noted that Jeff's column was illustrated by a photo of a woman in a cat costume. I went to TinEye and, as I suspected, it was a pic of Ms. Grande. Jeff's mouseover caption said "Hard to believe anyone can pull of kittycat ears...." Well, Jeff, I did. Once. It was in, I think 1964 (or at least thereabouts), and a friend was taking me to the Artists and Models Ball. The theme that years Nautical, so we went as the Owl and the Pussycat. I was the latter. I made my ears out of a black sleepmask cut in half, and had a dimestore black hair switch for my tail. The rest of the outfit was just a black leotard, opera hose, and long gloves. We got an honorable mention.
1
This was way too easy. I try to do the Monday puzzle just looking at the down clues, in order to make it more challenging, but even so it took under 6 minutes to solve. That shouldn't be possible.
@Manhattan
Your comment EMITs a vibe that this was a MITE too fast. I MET a fast one too, but still had a good . . . Thatâs all I have because Iâm OUT OF TIME.
15
@Manhattan
Why shouldn't it be possible? I feel my very existence being challenged by this assertion as my Monday average sorely disagrees with it. Imagine how poor Rex Parker -- who will probably do it in two minutes -- will feel?
2
@Liane
I donât think Manhattan gives himself enough credit. I also think doing only the Acrosses rather than only the Downs would have made this a substantially more challenging puzzle.
3
Must be all the sugar from Sunday's puzzle -- I really sped through this one, too. A really nifty Monday offering!
3
Nice Monday! I especially liked seeing COVENT GARDEN there.
7
Super smooth, super fast, super CC effort.
My only gripe is the puzzle left me with an earworm: Humans "are very poorly made. Theyâre mostly GOO and juice. You just take the juice out and then theyâre dead."
I love a Monday puzzle to cure my Sunday night blues, and this one did the trick. Thanks, CC
12
On todayâs Mini by Joel Fagliano, there is a small problem with 8A DAYS clued as âThey grow shorter in winter.â
The first day of Winter (22 December) actually marks the shortest day of the year and beginning of lengthening days.
4
@canisminimus
Good catch! That is actually one of the only hopeful things that keeps me going through the long winter.
1
@canisminimus
Maybe itâs been changed online, but my clue is âCalendar squaresâ.
5
@Steve L
Not on the Android app.
I was full of GLEE to see that CC was our constructor. I was hoping for her or Lynn Lempel today. What's NOT to like?
5
@vaer
Agreed. And, another beautiful cat cub photo.
4
Enjoyable writeup, Sam!
The reveal OUT OF DANGER was very clever. "Out of" hasn't been used this way -- to introduce anagrams -- in NYT puzzles EVER, at least in the search I just made. So even with 66 NYT puzzles to her credit, CC comes through fresh as ever. And with a grid that's smooth as a Berry, no less. Brava, CC! Whenever I see your name above a puzzle, I know it will be a masterwork of quality.
13
Needed a moment to understand âsmooth as a Berryâ...
1
@Leapfinger
Yep -- cluing is smooth. Grids are just squares.
Quick and thoroughly enjoyable!
5
Finished before being able to appreciate the theme. It was fast, fast, fast. Even though I didn't get any of the theme entries on the first pass and had to get through the puzzle with two passes. Even with a couple of fat fingered errors, still set a personal best time.
The theme is a fun one, though obviously I didn't need to know it to solve the puzzle. I wonder if a novice would find it useful.
There are some nifty long entries like PAVLOV'S DOG (what's not to LOV?). I suspect RANGED isn't in there because there is a RANG at 22D. Interesting to see GOOSE and GANDER, GALA and GALL. KAPLAN and PLAN B.
'Tis no OP ART, for sure. Great Monday puzzle.
9
@Wen Yes a Novice did find it useful! I figured out OUT OF DANGER's double meaning which helped me fill in GARDEN.
11
@Karen Egee
That deserves a medal, Karen. Keep at it because many moments of surprise and pleasure lie ahead.
4
First time in a long time I solved by filling in every Across with no errors. Not even a keyboard error, which is very unusual.
6
Super fast. Cute theme.
11
short and sweet with nary a pause.
5