March Madness Quartet

Jan 27, 2020 · 142 comments
DFT (Golden, CO)
hoodoo????
JayTee (Kenosha, Wi)
@DFT Yes, HOODOO: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hoodoo Creedence Clearwater Revival, end of first verse (& later) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wIjUY3pjN8E
Clueless In Texas (Texas)
Overjoyed at seeing the TOPOLOGY clue with Möbius strips and Klein bottles! We have both displayed on a shelf!!!
Alan Hunter (Aylesbury, UK)
Take one Möbius strip. Take a mirror image of the first strip (with the half twist the other way). Stitch the two strips together along their single edges. Et voila: a Klein bottle. Unfortunately you need to be working in 4 or more dimensions for this to be practicable. But that’s the fun of Topology.
Barry Ancona (New York NY)
If you don't want to enter the fourth dimension to make a Klein bottle yourself, you can buy one from this site: http://kleinbottle.com/
Deadline (New York City)
@Barry Ancona Oh, I'd just love to get some of these for certain people as birthday gifts.
RobiGo (NYC)
2nd non-Monday puzzle I've been able to solve without Google or Deb's help. Only took me 10 months of practice haha. Hoodoo totally threw me off but by the end it became clear that would be the only fit. Maybe one day I'll be brave enough to solve in print.
Deb Amlen (Wordplay, the Road Tour)
Look at you go, @RobiGo! Congratulations!
g4734 (Oakland, CA)
I disagree with the clue for Malcolm X, slightly. I guess the Civil rights isn't capitalized "Civil Rights" (Malcolm was often critical of the tactics and philosophy espoused by King and his fellow activists) but did speak of "human rights". http://www.electrostani.com/2015/02/from-civil-rights-to-human-rights.html
Andrew (Ottawa)
Judging by the comments today, it would appear that the clue for LSD passes the acid test.
Dr W (New York NY)
The Möbius strip discussions by Polymath and others (thanks to all!) leads me to suggest two entertaining tricks with a uniformly wide strip of paper -- like one that's half an inch wide cut from the edge of a standard 8 by 11 sheet. First, tie a strip into an overhand knot and carefully make the knot as small as possible, while keeping the paper flat except where folds occur. The result will be a folded perfect pentagon. If you hold the configuration up to a light the pattern of a 5-pointed star shows. Second, fold another strip into as small a Möbius band as possible before pasting the ends to close the loop, also keeping the paper flat except for where it's folded. The result will be a folded perfect hexagon.
Deadline (New York City)
@Dr W You've got too much time on your hands. Sounds like fun.
polymath (British Columbia)
A hexagon? Not an equilateral triangle?
Mean Old Lady (Now in Mississippi)
@Dr W Great. Now I have a headache.
E.W. Swan (Little Rock, AR)
I enjoyed this puzzle and its theme. Thank you!
Desi ette (USA)
Very fun and easy puzzle. 61D was really funny. 28D was a new word for me. As was 27A. I really enjoyed doing this one.
Dr W (New York NY)
Got a chuckle out of 61D: ANYTHING I drop I trip over.
Johanna (Ohio)
Congratulations, Trenton, on hitting the cycle! Please hit it again about a thousand times. Needless to say, I love your puzzles. Such a clever and original theme today with the perfect reveal. Who knew WXYZ could make such a brilliant puzzle? Thank you, Trenton!
Kenn Fong (San Francisco, California)
I realize I'm being pedantic and proscriptive, but where better to be than when discussing crosswords. I realize colloquially 99% of the readers think of Generation X as something like "Mr. X," meaning, "unknown" or "anonymmous;" but the term was coined using the "X" as a Roman Numeral, signifying the 10th Generation since the USA's founding. I think I will give up the crossword if I ever see the clue: "Happens twice a month" with the answer "bimonthly."
Deadline (New York City)
@Kenn Fong No idea why generations have to have names in the first place, or how each is defined. They overlap! I never thought that the reference was to some unknown quality though, just that the people who name generations had to come up with something. Amen on "bimonthly" (or -weekly, annually, etc.). But I don't think Will would do that.
David Connell (Weston CT)
vaer (Brooklyn)
@David Connell That was entertaining.
Abel (Caracas)
"Go try to get that feeling from Sudoku." Priceless!!! :-D
Deadline (New York City)
Deb: "New Deal inits." is "a fresh clue" for NRA?????? I didn't bother checking it out at xwordinfo, and I know that the organization that shall not be named has been the more common recent clue reference, but the New Deal reference used to be used all the time. Sometimes just the Blue Eagle. Puzzle went swimmingly, and I got the part about the single-letter endings right away. But it wasn't until I was left with a blank 53 square that I took another look and saw that they were W, X, Y, and ?. Aha! (I can never remember which generation has which nickname, and I never use those alleged keyboard shortcuts so never memorized them either.) Like others, I've always been tickled by Mobius strips and Klein bottles. Unlike others, I've never played with them. Are ORCs in both D&D and LOTR? I'm not familiar with either except in puzzles, and it seems as if those ORCs get around. Of course, this puzzle also has an orca, SHAMU, who led such a sad life. Congratulations on hitting for the cycle, Trenton.
Barry Ancona (New York NY)
Deadline, Fresh indeed! "Gun group: abbr." didn't even show up in the puzzle until 1971, and the unarmed one was here in July. Of course most of the recent 555 appearances have been weaponized.
Mean Old Lady (Now in Mississippi)
@Deadline FWIW: I always try my Favorite New Deal program first: the WPA. It employed many artist and writers, (many persons of color) and if you go to the Cincinnati airport (in No KY, that is) you will see the stunning mosaics that pay tribute to the industrial workers of our country. And don't get me started on the recordings of musicians, story-tellers, writers, and more! We could do worse than start this again!
Ryan (Houston)
A very quick Tuesday (almost half my average), but a fun one. It clearly wasn't intended, but the basketball-centric theme can't help but make one think of the late great Kobe Bryant. He, of course, never played in the final four, because he was one of the few NBA players to go directly from high school to the NBA. The connection is further cemented by cluing in his erstwhile teammate Shaquille O'Neal. A fun puzzle, tinged with sadness due to its timing. Nice work today.
Joni (San Francisco)
I enjoyed - it may have been easy, but the theme made up for it.
suejean (Harrogate)
I agree with everyone who thought that Monday and Tuesday should have been switched. In fact today’s puzzle was easy even for a Monday. Not a complaint, just an observation, kind of fun to zip through a puzzle like that for a change,
polymath (British Columbia)
Please forgive me if I wax rhapsodic about the Mobiüs band for a moment, probably my favorite among all strips. If you haven't played with a Möbius band, it's easy to make one out of a not-too-short strip of paper. Bring the ends together, give one end a half-twist, and tape them together. Now cut this band in two all the way around the middle — oops! What happened? For more experiments, cut the resulting band in two — or start with a new Mobiüs band and cut it in *thirds* all the way around. If you are an old hand at Mobiüs bands, it may be surprising that it can have its edge make a perfect circle and still be the same old Mobiüs band topologically. (Puzzle: What is the shortest rectangle, in terms of length:width, that can make a Mobiüs band in space?)
Sam Lyons (Santa Fe/Austin)
@polymath >√3:1 for a smooth one, isn’t it?
polymath (British Columbia)
Yes, indeed. (At least that's the presumptive answer; I don't believe that's been proven.) More about that on p 199ff here: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.309.7354&rep=rep1&type=pdf .
Margaret (Maine)
@polymath, can you prove by squashing it flat to a sort of triangle? Thanks for adding another puzzle to the day!
Rachel Reiss (New York)
Nice smooth solve with an extra zing at the end, really enjoyed it!
Mary (PA)
What I liked was that an easy puzzle contained a fresh multi-layered twist. Very nicely done!
Nancy (NYC)
There's actually a product with the slogan "the wart stops here"?? Ugh. When COMPOUND W came in, whatever that is, I went through the clues looking for Preparation H. Alas, it was not to be. I've never heard of CONTROL Z either, but I think I will try it next time I want to undo something. It won't futz up my brand new laptop, will it? I like TROVE crossing Fort KNOX. It reminds me of our sophomore year Social Studies teacher Mrs. Hodges, who posed us the question: "Let's say I've bred a kind of termite that eats gold and I release a horde of them underground and they eat up all the gold in Fort KNOX, but no one knows it, what will happen to the economy?" The answer, it turned out, is absolutely nothing will happen to the economy, because the economy is based on confidence, not gold. This is the only thing I remember from sophomore year Social Studies, to tell the truth.
Jake (Charlotte, NC)
@Nancy Your computer time is about to get more efficient. Shortcut keys (Control C, Control Z, etc.) are far quicker than using a mouse!
Jim (Middletown)
Yes, and cut down on repetitive stress pain/injuries if you do a lot of computer work. I learned a bunch when I developed carpal tunnel and they are a life saver, and a lot faster than using the mouse.
JayTee (Kenosha, Wi)
@Nancy If you look at the menus in your programs, you'll find a lot of keyboard shortcuts. The Copy, Cut, Paste, and Undo commands and their associated shortcuts (Ctrl-C, -X, -V and -Z) will be found in the Edit menu, but there are many more, and some are program-specific. Ctrl-Shift-Z is Redo in case you go overboard with Undo and need to bring something back. Other common ones: ctrl-S for Save, Ctrl-Shift-S for Save As, Ctrl-P for Print. If you have a Mac, it's the Command (Cloverleaf) key instead of Control.
dk (Now In Mississippi)
Alphabet soup, argued Tom angrily. Fastest personal Tuesday on record notes the NYT puzzle application. A Robert E Lee designed the former schoolhouse that sits behind my house. Although a different Lee than the one found in our grid. Thanks Trenton, a smooth and speedy solve. Makes one feel good about oneself, at least once.
PeterW (Ann Arbor)
A solid “Solve” today - capital ‘S’ and all. And a new PB (but that’s measuring against statistics that were reset earlier this month.) Seems like yesterday’s and today’s puzzles might have been “swapped at the hospital”. I don’t understand how just filling in COMPOUND W reveals a theme - - - but I didn’t need the theme to solve the puzzle anyway. It became clear only when everything was filled in. I have to confess to an attempt to connect W, X, Y and Z with March Madness somehow. I’m glad to see mention of Moebius strips and Klein Bottles. (I didn’t even notice the mention at first. Saw “Branch of mathematics” and immediately recognized TOPOLOGY then moved on.) Anyway - for those who haven’t tried it - it is interesting to construct a Moebius strip and, then, cut it along it’s center line. The result is surprising - at least for those who are not topologists. And you can win bar bets with the result.
Kate (Massachusetts)
I’m still pretty new to this, but the cluing seemed super fresh to me. I loved “copycat’s drink order”!
Puzzlemucker (NY)
VERTEX “Spotted in a garden”: Any hints as to what I’m looking at? (Have to say that I like Vertex a lot).
Dorothea (Crozet, VA)
@Puzzlemucker A ladybug?
NH (TO)
I think Dorothea is right.
Puzzlemucker (NY)
@Dorothea Thanks! I can see it now.
Over-it Millennial (Radnor)
Sorry, but I think you’ve got it twisted. There is no “so-called” when it comes to Millennials. GENERATION Y was just a place-holder name until the generation could be properly named (ditto for Generation Z, if you’re getting any ideas). No generation should be named after the one that came before it. Generation X got their name for a specific reason that doesn’t apply to Y or Z. And what... are we gonna call the next generation AA?
Puzzlemucker (NY)
@Over-it Millennial “No generation should be named after the one that came before it.” I would have voted for “The Second Greatest Generation” over Baby Boomers. ;-)
Deadline (New York City)
@Puzzlemucker I always thought they should more properly be called Boom Babies rather than Baby Boomers. And I can't keep track of all those generation nicknames anyway.
Oswald (Washington, DC)
@Over-it Millennial all "generations" can be termed as "so-called" because none of them are "official".
msk (Troy, NY)
To honor this puzzle (containing topology), I will treat myself for a doughnut (torus shaped). Thank you Mr. Charlson!
Dr W (New York NY)
@msk Bagel for me. Bagels the mind.
Lewis (Asheville, NC)
Standing O for the theme! It seems so obvious in retrospect, but it took Trenton to see it for the first time. On top of that, it's housed in a solidly clean grid, with the lovely GRANDEUR, and that clever clue for LSD [You'll trip if you drop it], as, in the NYT, "trip" and "drop" have been used in LSD clues aplenty, but not both. Once again, Trenton saw it for the first time. Speaking of which, I'm amazed that the is the first time FINAL FOUR has shown up in a NYT puzzle. And Trenton, I saw your wannabe theme answer SHAM U, and I won't go into the enterprise this immediately brings to my mind. TOPOLOGY was a mini-passion of mine as a kid, and I'm still fascinated by those Mobius strips and Klein bottles. With that answer plus the aforementioned lovely GRANDEUR, even without your superb theme, you had me with this puzzle. Thank you, Trenton, for putting an AAH into my day.
Barry Ancona (New York NY)
Lewis, As I just replied to an earlier post, the exact phrasing of this LSD clue is original, but "trip..." and "drop..." *have* been used before in the same clue.
Lewis (Asheville, NC)
@Barry Ancona -- I didn't see it in my first perusal in XwordInfo, but there it is on my second -- out of 251 results for LSD in NYT clues, "trip" and "drop" have been used once, on 6/10/2001, by Cathy Millhauser, [It's dropped on trips].
Barry Ancona (New York NY)
Lewis, There's another, more recent one. (This is on our eyesight, not Trenton's clue.)
judy d (livingston nj)
I liked it! Simple but had a GRANDEUR all its own!
Jamestown Ararat (New York City)
Smoothe and pleasing puzzle. Decided to read up on Kinshasa. TIL, among other things: 1. With 11 million people, it is the world's largest Francophone urban area. 2. Local engineer Thérèse Izay has created traffic-directing Robocops ... five of which are in service there.
Rich in Atlanta (Clarkston, Georgia)
Very quick and easy Tuesday. Probably would have been record time for me if I hadn't gone dim-witted in the NW. I had POUNDW filled in and was baffled by that. Yeah, it seems obvious now, but I think I was only half awake. Anyway, I just got hung up pondering that until I finally decided to go ahead and work out the rest of that corner. I can't have an MRI. I spent about 3 seconds in a machine once before they confirmed what I had been told, but wasn't completely sure of. I had long thought maybe the VA was just being generous, but the operator pulled me out with the comment "you've got a lot of metal up there." Probably explains my magnetic personality.
Deadline (New York City)
@Rich in Atlanta Remind me not to get behind you in line at an airport.
Rich in Atlanta (Clarkston, Georgia)
@Deadline I've only set off one of those alarms once, and that was quite a few years ago. I guess there are a lot of pieces but they are all very small - the surgeons removed everything of any size. And I'll expand a bit on what I said about the VA. I had a full scholarship to an expensive private liberal arts college after I got out of high school. I did well for two quarters, but in the third quarter I started doing a lot of, umm... "late 1960's" stuff and pretty much stopped going to class, so I lost my scholarship. When I got out of the service I wanted to go back to college but knew I couldn't afford that one. My local VA rep encouraged me to apply for a disability rating. I was skeptical, but I went head and did it. A side note; the regular G.I. Bill gives you flat rate every month for going to college, but if you have a 30% or more disability rating, they pay full tuition and give you an additional living expense. Well, the VA gave me a 30% rating for "scars and shrapnel." I've already described the shrapnel and the only person who ever noticed any of my scars was my barber. I will forever be convinced that they did that intentionally for that purpose. Oh, and a year after I graduated, they dropped it to 20%.
Kevin Davis (San Diego)
The crossword practically filled itself. Very relaxing, thanks.
Mari (London)
SPELLING BEE GRID Jan 28th MMXX A C L N T V Y WORDS: 37, POINTS: 143, PANGRAMS: 1 Starting Letters-Frequencies: A x 4 C x 13 L x 2 N x 9 T x 5 V x 4 Word Lengths -Frequencies: 4L x 16 5L x 12 6L x 4 7L x 4 8L x 1 Grid: 4 5 6 7 8 Tot A 2 1 1 - - 4 C 6 4 1 2 - 13 L 2 - - - - 2 N 3 4 1 1 - 9 T 3 2 - - - 5 V - 1 1 1 1 4 Tot 16 12 4 4 1 37 (Y-Axis: Starting Letters, X-Axis: Word Lengths, X/Y Co-ordinates: Frequency/Number of Words for that letter and length)
Dave (Penngrove, CA)
@Mari Starting Two: AL-2 AN-2 CA-10 CL-2 CY-1 LA-2 NA-9 TA-5 VA-4
Dave (Penngrove, CA)
@Mari Missing sort of obscure words: ATLATL - throwing device C4 - guinea pig Re cluing: I'm too lazy to look up the exact comment, but was the request to make the clues less like Monday and more like Friday? That would require some Shortzian editing... So I had to google 'Shortzian'. How could you not? :-) And found the following cool xword project: http://www.preshortzianpuzzleproject.com/ Maybe well known here?
Mari (London)
@Dave Re 'Shortzian' and follow-up. Thanks for the new web wormhole to follow!
Andrew (Ottawa)
LETTER BOXED W-M(6), M-S(8) Peripheral solution today. Yesterday PANDEMONIUM MULCH. (NYT)
Mari (London)
@Andrew I have: W - S (5), S - R (8) ... 13! YESTERDAY: COMPLAINED DUH (surprised 2nd word accepted!) CHUMP PALINODE AUDIOPHILE ENDEMIC
Andrew (Louisville)
@Andrew I have W - R (5) and R - M (11)
pi (Massachusetts)
@Andrew I have S-R(5), R-N (13). Not efficient, but it gets the job done!
Mike (Munster)
A gold bar doesn't ring; it KNOX. (You don't carat all about these GROANERs.)
Sam Lyons (Santa Fe/Austin)
@Mike Au contraire: I bow before the GRANDEUR of your TROVE of GROANERS. [toothy grin]
Andrew (Ottawa)
@Mike Hope you don't feel that we are bullion you...
JayTee (Kenosha, Wi)
@Mike @Sam Lyons @Andrew Those were rich... (thought I'd cash in on this lode).
Kevin Davis (San Diego)
SPELLING BEE Need 6 points or so. At 36 words 1 pangram 138 points out of about 144. Any trick or slang words like wanna, gonna, etc.?
Martin (California)
@Kevin Davis Yep, it's a V5. Two-syllable slang for a three-syllable word.
Kevin Davis (San Diego)
@Martin Got it in 1 try for QB, thx
LaurieA (Seattle)
A very fun puzzle - and a personal best for a Tuesday at just under 7 minutes. I was noticing that there were several clues with a single letter at the end, and that those single letters were towards the end of the alphabet. But somehow didn’t match that up with the final four theme. Doh! Thank you Mr. Charlson for an enjoyable solve that had a combo wordplay/sports theme. Delightful! And congratulations on hitting the cycle!
kilaueabart (Oakland CA)
The only one of the Final Four that I recognize is the Malcolm one, but the rest filled in from crosses, saving me from having to stop and think about it until I finished. Another one done in way under an hour and my honest streak up to three.
Robert Kern (Norwood, MA)
Loved the clue for LSD - original? Enjoyed the puzzle...
kilaueabart (Oakland CA)
@Robert Kern I missed that clue because the app skips things that are already filled in. I'm so glad that Deb and you brought it to my attention.
Sonya (Perth, Australia)
@Robert Kern My favourite clue also. Actually chuckled out loud...
Barry Ancona (New York NY)
Robert, The exact phrasing of the clue is new to the Times, but "trip" and "drop" have been in LSD clues here before (this is its 164th appearance in the Shortz era). Trivia question for newer solvers: How was LSD clued before the drug?
Austin (Toronto)
Fav Trenton Charlson joint—superb puzzle!!
David P (New York City)
This puzzle was much easier than Monday's. Should have been switched.
Susan (Belmont MA)
Zaire is the present name of what was formerly Northern Rhodesia, not vice versa.
Steve L (Chestnut Ridge, NY)
@Susan Are you sure? Last time I looked, Zambia was the country formerly known as Northern Rhodesia. Zaire is the former name of the Congo, which itself was the former name of Zaire.
Susan (Belmont MA)
You are right, Zaire was the breakaway part of Congo and is once again Congo.
Steve L (Chestnut Ridge, NY)
@Susan Um, I don't understand the "breakaway"--Congo, once Zaire, and Congo before that, was a Belgian colony known as the Belgian Congo during the colonial days, up to 1960. There was a smaller colony called the French Congo as well that also became independent in 1960, That country also called itself Congo. The former Belgian colony, the larger of the two, can be distinguished by being called by its full formal name, Democratic Republic of the Congo, or as Congo-Kinshasa (by tacking on its capital city). The former French colony, similarly can be distinguished as Republic of the Congo or as Congo-Brazzaville. Nothing broke away from the rest of anything; the two Congos were always separate places with similar names.
CALPURNIA (Georgia)
You remind me of a man. What man? The man with the power. What Power? The power of the Hoodoo. Hoodoo? You do. I do what? You remind me of a man. What man? The man with the power. What Power? The power of the Hoodoo. Hoodoo? You do. I do what? You remind me of a man.
Lorienne Schwenk (Cambria California)
That whole comment is a Möbius strip!
Amber C (California)
@CALPURNIA every time I see the word hoodoo I get this stuck in my head for the rest of the day!
Dave (Penngrove, CA)
@CALPURNIA Thank you for that. A little Cary Grant: https://youtu.be/bU9wLjk4II8?t=94 Other variations: Atomic Fireballs: https://youtu.be/XeqUN9XEYHs Bowie: https://youtu.be/dDkp7GysvbY?t=40
Concerned Citizen (California)
Really good one! Easier than Monday's puzzle.
Jeremy (Chicago)
Nice puz! Very enjoyable. And congrats on hitting for the cycle. This also happened to be a record Tuesday solve for me. #humblebrag
Kiki Rijkstra (Arizona)
WXYZ, isn't that a radio station in Detroit? I was thinking it could be a good reveal for a puzzle like this. Actually it's only been used once in an NYT puzzle clued as "After V" in 1974.
mjm (mi)
WXYZ is the ABC affiliate in Detroit.
Deadline (New York City)
@mjm Both radio and TV (channel 7). During my Detroit childhood, the station promos insisted on pronouncing it "wixie." They had a jingle, playing on Michigan's "water wonderland" hype and calling Detroit a "wixie wonderland." A competing local radio station was WCAR. You can just imagine what it's jingles were like!
Deadline (New York City)
@Deadline Aaaaaarrrrgggghhh! I don't believe I made such an egregious punctuation error. I hang my head in shame.
coloradoz (Colorado)
Several years ago, I had an MRI and I felt very claustrophobic. Therefore, when I went for an MRI last month, I was elated to find it was an OPEN MRI
Andrew (Ottawa)
@coloradoz Does that mean anybody can attend? :)
Martin (California)
I'm going for my biannual MRI next week. The worst part for me is the infernal clanging. I guess I'm not claustrophobic.
Barry Ancona (New York NY)
Martin, Or maybe the infernal clanging takes your mind off the confinement?
JayTee (Kenosha, Wi)
Another vote for fast, easy and fun. Only 'problems' were AHH vs AAH and ERIN vs EIRE, but both resolved immediately.
friend (New England)
@JayTee ha I had the exact same errors to resolve
Steve L (Chestnut Ridge, NY)
@JayTee If you see "poet" or "poetic" in the clue, it's going to be ERIN. EIRE is the official name of the Republic, it being the Irish version of the word Ireland, not a poetic version of it. ERIN can, of course, also be clued as a woman's name, like Andrews or Moran, but when referring to Ireland, it's not the official name. AAH and AHH, I can't help you with.
JayTee (Kenosha, Wi)
@Steve L Good to know. Thanks!
Andrew (Ottawa)
Rather a sad picture and caption today - a room full of people watching their college team lose. I had to wonder if it was a conscious choice not to be too celebratory with regards to basketball...
Andrew (Ottawa)
The looks on most of the faces, I'm inclined to call it March Sadness...
Frances (Western Mass)
@Andrew The reality of a sporting tournament is necessarily sad, many teams that have put in time and effort to do their best failing. But it’s that effort to do your best and achieve the best result that when you lose gives meaning to the victors. All sports victories are given meaning by those who also ran. The idea that only the victors matter is ridiculous.
Barry Ancona (New York NY)
Frances, Your point may be better taken by the players than by the fans.
TxMary (Houston)
Cute theme, but did it seem like today’s was more of a Monday and yesterday’s seemed more like a Tuesday?
Ann (Baltimore)
Zippy and easy as A-B-C! We arent much for present-opening on Christmas morning any more, so I hesitated for a sec and tried to see how "listen to music, drink mimosas, and bake biscuits while waiting for everyone to wake up" could fit into six squares. Still finished right quick.
a. (sf, ca)
@Ann imagine if you’re not christian! “sleep in late and laze about”... oh wait, that’s not what they mean.
Ann (Baltimore)
@a. Forreal tho! A great day for foylers!
RAH (New York)
Given my background, OPENMRI was a gimme. Would be nice to know if this was its first appearance. But the NW corner-- Started with SHY for COY!! AAH for AHH!! Otherwise completed as fast as I could type, which rarely happens with a Tuesday puzzle. Very clever construction leading to a satisfying reveal.
Wags (Colorado)
@RAH It is the debut of OPEN MRI. You can check such things on xwordinfo.com.
Melissa (New York)
I totally agree about soduko - it’s always just the same numbers rearranged! No pay off at all.
Kiki Rijkstra (Arizona)
@Melissa I lost interest in sudoku when I found an Excel spreadsheet that could solve any grid in a matter of seconds.
Andrew (Ottawa)
@Melissa It’s also the same letters rearranged, apparently! :-)
a. (sf, ca)
@Melissa what is this in response to? i’m confused... didn’t see a sudoku clue in the puzzle.
Liz B (Durham, NC)
Easy, fast, and fun. I'm amazed at how the lengths of the theme answers all worked out just right (sounds like Trenton was a little amazed as well). Almost totally off-topic, I just learned last week that until 1990, the Portuguese language did not have the letters W, Y, and K. Those letters could be found in foreign words like "whiskey," but those words could also be spelled in Portuguese without those letters ("uisque"--interesting that it's so close to the Irish and Gaelic term). In 1990, those letters were officially added to Portuguese.
Ann (Baltimore)
@Liz B I'm fascinated by Portuguese language, culture, and everything! Thanks for adding to my knowledge bank.
Wags (Colorado)
@Liz B Muito bom.
polymath (British Columbia)
Liz B, thanks — never noticed that usquebaugh was a sort-of cognate of whiskey before.
Rodzu (Philadelphia)
pretty quick. But fun, as always.
Millie (J.)
It was poignant to see the basketball references in the puzzle today.
Puzzlemucker (NY)
Puzzle was like a 80s Australian pop song: fizzy, catchy, heavy on hooks (with a dose of education - TOPOLOGY - and beauty - GRANDEUR - thrown in). The HOODOO Gurus delivered the fizz and hooks with “I Want You Back”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FO_Mt48vyis
Fact Boy (Emerald City)
Prison sentences aren’t shortened by parole; they’re shortened by pardon or commutation: see “Conditional release” = PAROLE (5/20/96, 11/15/06), “Out with some ifs” = ON PAROLE (7/5/02), “Sentence ender” = PARDON (12/21/07).
Barry Ancona (New York NY)
My daughter was solving. When she filled in PAROLEE, I explained the problem with the clue and told her Fact Boy would comment on it.
Rosemary Arnold (Cornwall, NY)
Took me a minute to find my mistake... hoodoo?? Never heard of it.
David Connell (Weston CT)
@Rosemary Arnold - it was clued the way it is usually "hinted at" in the Spelling Bee threads: as a kind of version of "voodoo" or black magic. The word has a concrete meaning, too: the beautiful geological forms that are like standing figures in a rocky landscape: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoodoo_(geology)
Wen (Brookline, MA)
@Rosemary Arnold - you should try the Spelling Bee game. It's been featured there a couple of recently. It's basically related to voodoo.
Steve (Colorado)
@Rosemary Arnold Many of us old enough to remember CCR's "Born on the Bayou" are familiar with the word HOODOO.
David Connell (Weston CT)
Well, I like Trenton's puzzles, but It was all in three-D, I drank some Hi-C, then brushed with Oral-B before rating it a Grade-A puzzle but sheesh, solved in better than Monday record time means...G-whiz, this was too E-Z.
coloradoz (Colorado)
@David Connell Emus must have a problem with something in my "Special K" reference in previous post. Or they didn't like my grammar using ATE instead of eaten
David Connell (Weston CT)
@coloradoz - no accounting for those emus! I hope we'll see it eventually.
Barry Ancona (New York NY)
Or maybe the emus don't like accountants?
Steve L (Chestnut Ridge, NY)
A Tuesday record for me. Only 7 seconds longer than my any-day record, which of course was on a Monday.
pi (Massachusetts)
@Steve L A Tuesday record for me as well. :-)
PeterW (Ann Arbor)
@Steve L Hand up here - - re: the Tuesday personal best. But I had my statistics completely reset only a couple of weeks ago - - so, maybe, this is no great thing. Check back with me in several months.
polymath (British Columbia)
Steve L — More Tuesdays like this and it won't be "of course"!