The NBA is 75% black so I didn't really like the bucks clue. Heard Nixon in my head.
1
solon,
Right now, I'd be happy to have Nixon in my head.
16
@Barry Ancona Amen, Mr. Ancona. But not this puzzle.
1
@solon The Milwaukee Bucks are a team in the NBA. Ms Lovinger mentions some of their past stars. But the current star is one Giannis Antetokoumpas. Fear the Deer!
3
I am really upset. I couldn't get to the Saturday puzzle before the Sunday one came out, but because of that when I solved the Saturday puzzle it broke a 232-day streak even though I had not opened the Sunday puzzle. Why is that?
I stopped using the Crossword app for the same reason. When I completed a puzzle on the app, it broke my last streak. Can't everything keep in order?
Congratulations on a fine debut, and a Saturday at that! Enjoyed the longer clues e.g. HOTDESKING and SLIPOFTHETONGUE, and midsize ones e.g. CALVIN too. Thanks for sharing your Constructor Notes. Will look forward to seeing your byline again.
“Weirded out” is a tense inconsistency with the “getting a bad vibe”, right?
@Shane
I had the same reaction. But "I am weirded out" vs "I am getting a bad vide". Seems ok, no? (and Saturday standards.)
3
@Rajeev I'm " getting a bad vibe" from you --- I'm "weirded out" --- you have a problem with that?
9A: “Where it’s at” - I was hoping the answer would be “that”
1
Really did not enjoy this puzzle. Has anyone here actually heard of “hot desking”? And how does “climates” = “moods”?
2
Whoops, read Donald as Danny....too late on Sunday evening!
I have an issue with OTOS, should be OTOES. Funny that NOOB was near NABE, which was a newish for me. Love Danny Glover, but certainly never heard of his alter ego CHILDISH. Weird.
Per Encyclopedia Brittanica, Oto is an alternate spelling of Otoe. Danny Glover and Donald Glover are two different people, Childish Gambino is the alter ego of Donald Glover.
3
These are the worst clues I’ve ever seen for a crossword puzzle. It was nothing enjoyable about this puzzle. The clues had nothing to do with the answers.
4
I slogged through this puzzle until finally I was able to complete it. But there was no satisfaction. I'm really getting tired of all the "modern lingo" and slang that has been creeping into this and other puzzles. Yeah, I'm older, but with many younger friends in the work force. But "hot desking?" Gimme a break. There is no joy in Mudville.
9
@Times Rita oof. you’re absolutely going to hate Sunday’s puzzle.
1
We will go ahead and show ourselves off your lawn while we’re at it...
9
Also what are dark an light load?
@Thomas Solomon Laundry. You separate you washes into dark and light loads.
2
@Thomas Solomon Laundry is often divided between loads of white and dark clothes to avoid the dyes of the dark colors running into the whites if they are put together.
1
laundry
Wave for KNEE resulted in ripples ranted Tom, righteously.
As a practicing forensic psychologist (back in the olden days), latent anger was a source of insight. And, most of my “clients” would have slit your tongue.
Off to NOLA to see the Krewe du Vieux parade. Sister, renowned x-word solver, is in the Krewe. She claims they have a wiener mobile but I am getting a little WIEREDOUT by her cackle after she states that.
Thank you Hemant
3
@dk
I always mess up WEIRD and WIRED and WIERD, too!
1
Since when is "gibbet" not a word (from Spelling Bee)?
3
@byomtov
If you hang around long enough maybe it will be! :)
7
@Robert Michael Panoff - I'm choking on that reply!
4
@David Connell
(recycled) No Noose is good News. . . .
4
“Hemant Mehta, noob, makes a modern debut today.”
there are 2 spaces before NOOB in that subtitle instead of 1. every time i load today’s blog post it grates on my eyeballs a teensy bit. @Caitlin Lovinger if this could be fixed, typography nerds everywhere would thank you. 🙏🏽
2
@a. - there's a kernel of truth in what you say
4
David,
I shot the serif..
5
@a. it bothers me too.
1
Really enjoyed this one - especially compared to last Saturday’s puzzle, which I did not like at all.
3
I am surprised by the quiet tone of the comments, given the vehemence that greeted some other recent puzzles.
Way out of my wheelhouse on some of this--I still get most of my musical sociopolitical commentary from the Weavers, Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen.
Does one REUP for employment? Certainly for the military, a reenlistment is a REUP....
I knew the North/South divide wasn't the Mason-Dixon line, but OHIO seems to cede a bit too much territory to the former Confederacy....
Etc., etc. I got the first B in BBOY from the beer, which, while astronomically named, is not a stellar product (despite posing as microbrew, it is a product of Molson-Coors).
As a PRPERSON, I'd say few of my counterparts are media pros--media relations is a specialized field, for those with good skills and strong nerves.
I think an ION(S) beam is more likely found in an earthly particle accelerator than a sci-fi venue, where even the first Star Trek offered more exotic deathrays.
I did like OWLS as clued and was amused by MOUNT crossing STEEDS, but in general.... out of my wheelhouse.
6
@Puzzledog
Not the state, the OHIO River, which more or less divided the northern and southern-leaning states.
1
@Puzzledog i for one was relieved by the general lack of vehemence as compared to recent puzzles. it’s been getting a bit overblown in these parts.
3
Help, please...explanation of NABE? I've googled and can't find anything other Japanese info. I thought today was tricky and was doing well but never could get NABE.
1
Short for “neighborhood,” I think.
I believe it's slang for neighborhood
Sylvia,
1. Neighborhood (since before we were born).
2. When googling for the definition of a word, add definition after the word (i.e., google Nabe definition). Try it; you'll like it.
I agree with Caitlin. Relatively tough but fair. I loved the cross of STEEDS and MOUNT, as well as others pairs like LEASH and LASSO. I learned some new slang terms: NABE, and HOTDESKING. We often see complaints about constructors using current slang. I too am old enough to be out of the loop on most of it, but doing the puzzle every day (with look-ups as needed) means that I retain most of those terms for future puzzles. Works for me. This was a lively and enjoyable debut from Hemant Mehta.
6
30D: I am familiar with the OTOE tribe, but only got OTOS from the cross.
Is this the plural form of OTOE?
Is OTO an alternative spelling of OTOE?
Is there an OTO tribe?
1
RAH,
#2.
2
(P.S. If you don't want to take my word for it, please consult the nearest dictionary.)
@Barry Ancona All crossword solvers should bookmark www.onelook.com It's a gateway to numerous dictionaries and it also provides suggested words when you only have some of the letters.
3
This was fresh and delightful for me. This Super Bowl aged lady knows Childish Gambino. I liked HOOD and TUDE. Funny how long it took me to get Weirded Out. Never knew Mark Z has a sister, so I guess there is still some privacy left in the world.
8
@Sophia Leahy just did the name generator. Please call me Crazy Leader from now on!
1
Ah, but TIL there is another sister, Donna, who made quite a splash in lit-crit circles and beyond.
I was too stubborn to revisit PREXPERT and WAKEBOARDS which really did me in until I sought help. Correcting to KNEEBOARDS (first time encountering this word) revealed SLIPOFTHETONGUE and the rest fell into place. Great Saturday.
1
Well, I'm clearly near the end of my puzzle-solving days. Worse yet, it is obviously because I am no longer a part of the world of my times. I was able to get almost nothing of this puzzle on my own. A few things like INCAS (with help) and STEEDS and MOUNT, and the LASSO-LEASH connection was fun. I was forced into HOOD for "Nabe" (I was sure it couldn't be a Japanese cooking pan, but what else?). I had a bunch of crosses for CHILDISHGAMBINO but would have needed them all. Forty-three years in Honolulu but KNEEBOARDS new to me. BOCABURGER? I certainly admire everyone who came up with SLIPOFTHETONGUE for "possible insight." All I had in that column when I gave up was the ON.
I got enough help from Caitlin to fill in everything but the SE, still missing six words even after I got the last five letters of that weird WEIRDEDOUT from Reveal Word. After Reveal Puzzle I understand SNEER and STIR, but the S's weren't enough, and even if I had guessed those two, no way would I have come up with SEDAN, NONE (Huh? Never saw a survey like that), TUDE (from attitude? Seems far-fetched), or RANDI (Even my search engine missed that one).
I'm gonna try Sunday anyway.
7
@kilaueabart -
‘A’ohe pu’u ki’eki’e ke ho’a’o ‘ia e pi’i.
[No cliff is so tall it cannot be climbed.]
1
@David Connell
'A'ole hiki ia'u ke heluhelu i ka 'ōlelo Hawai'i. And that is also frightening because at the end of 1980 I had borderline conversational ability. But mahalo for the new (to me) 'ōlelo no'eau.
1
@kilaueabart - Na'u ka hau'oli - keep on keeping on...
1
I'm 44 and trying to keep in touch with popular culture to chase after my 3 elementary school-age sons. Took me a minute to recall Childish Gambino but did so without Googling. 28 minute solve for me, which is pretty quick for a Saturday, with a huge smile on my face the whole time! TIL saloon=SEDAN, and the term BBOY. Thanks and congrats to the constructor!
6
@Kyle
My children are 14 and 16 years older than you, and this puzzle was totally impossible for me. I too now know (?) BBOY, but I have yet to learn what a break-dancer is, let alone a "childish gambino."
1
@Kilauebart:. Have your children show you Google or YouTube and then it will take you about 30 seconds to find out what a breakdancer is. With respect, it is not required that you learn nothing about the last 40 years. ;)
2
@Kilauebart. Apologies for the last sentence of my reply, but do go watch a few breakdancing videos. You'll be amazed.
I loved it. My only question: STRIKESOUT and WEIRDEDOUT? Fair game?
JAC,
After OILUP and REUP, why not?
5
Thank you and congratulations to Hemant Mehta on this fine Saturday morning puzzle. It wasn't quick for me, but I enjoyed every last minute.
My only quibble is with SOG. Sure, a few of you have pointed out that it's listed in dictionaries. Philosophically, though, is that enough to make it a good (American) crossword entry? It's said to be a word used in English dialect, though this dialect is not specified. My midlands relatives have never used it (in my presence anyway). IMHO (!), using words like this in crosswords is akin to using a dictionary to play Scrabble, which is just not done in my family's rules.:)
In any case, until I am able to construct a crossword of any caliber (probably never), take my quibbles with a TSP (or much less) of salt.
5
@Kate - Philadelphia is notorious for preserving dialectal usages and pronunciations from Britain beyond their time, and I can attest, having grown up in the Philadelphia suburbs in the 1960s, that "sog" was totally a normal word for us. I have a memory from 50 years ago of my sister complaining one day that "my hair is all soggied up!", when everybody knew that she should have said "all sogged up!"
At any rate - I don't doubt that it's a regionalism - but add that it has some currency in the US - and I smiled to see it in a puzzle, just for calling that memory to mind.
I will also note that (without going back for actual statistics) - the complaints against "sog" have come from Massachusetts!
5
@David Connell
Hmmm...not sure what to make of the Massachusetts statistic except that maybe its settlers were from a different English region (or regions) than Philadelphia‘s? Thanks for sharing, though, and glad that SOG conjures up a nice memory for you, rather than a groan.
1
@Kate - take some consolation in this - I'll bet a buck you know the related word "soggy"...
Massachusetts was settled by a particular subset of British expatriots; then came an overlay of Irish refugees. The two have a certain affinity, different as they are (and violently opposed, when they first met). They were all altogether seeking a better life, and found a land of opportunity here. God bless _that_ America. The statue of liberty America. The one that is disappearing daily before our very eyes.
I'm here, the descendant of refugees from four nations - beginning 225 years ago. But the descendant of refugees. I wish more people were able to remember their own history when they "vote."
4
Without Childish Gambino this solver would have thrown in the towel.
1
@Joe
I would have thrown in the towel but it was already SOGged up.
2
I always sigh a little bit when I become aware that the puzzle constructor must be several decades younger than I am, which definitely ratchets up the degree of difficulty for me. I recently retired as a high school teacher, which may help some. Does that mean I won't be able to do these at all in another three or four years?
2
racul,
There are plenty of solvers here in their 70s and 80s, and a few in their 90s, so if you maintain contact with younger people and/or current popular culture, you should be good for more than three or four years.
7
Honestly, I don't know which I enjoyed the most -- the puzzle, Caitlin's column, or Hemant's notes. Wow, what a grid. And the puzzle was so fair that I nailed it. Well, almost. I forgot to fill in the first letter of 50A. I was torn between going with that Boca Raton place about 100 miles south of me, or imagining the opposite of "Don't Be Coy," or "B Coy," in other words, for a break dancer. So much I didn't know. I've been to England twice and never heard of a sedan that wasn't a car. And the only Glover I know of is Danny. I used to think I was smart. Times puzzles humble me every day.
6
@twoberry
A SEDAN is a car. In England, that car is called a “saloon”. Nite the quotes in the clue.
It doesn’t mean that the abrirá call a bar a SEDAN; it’s the other way around.
1
@Steve L
The ironically named AUTO correct changed my “Brits” to Spanish. Sorry.
Also note “Note” should go above that.
1
@Steve L Info much appreciated. And thanks for waking me up about how to interpret the clue. You're right, of course.
A very tough puzzle for me where after almost my (formerly!) average Saturday time, only the NW was filled in, plus scant scattered guesses. Answers were full of things I'm ignorant of: Didn't know who Joan Jett is or that reup is used not only for the military or Zuckerberg's sister's name or from kneeboards or from Boca Burgers or that the Ohio was a north-south divide or the word hot-desking or the connection of "saloon" with sedan in Britain (is the car called a bar or is the bar called a car?) or that strigine means owlish (but always happy to learn an interesting new word!) or B-boy (OK, maybe not always). Still, fingerholds and toeholds saved the day. (I don't see why a slip of the tongue should be the insight of a *psychologist* — though a Freudian slip might be. Or why a junction is a "crossing.") Was taken aback by the potentially highly offensive use of "Bucks" but presume I just don't understand the clue for NBA agents.
And can some kind soul please tell me why on my Macintosh, every time I click on Across Lite, this webpage slides off-screen and every time I click on my browser to get it back, the Across Lite puzzle slides offscreen? ... and how to avoid this!!! (Abominably bad operating system design, imho. Fixed it this time by closing everything and rebooting, what a pain.)
Loved the profuse plethora of various and sundried words (not raisins) in this puzzle.
2
@polymath
“They get big bucks (dollars) from big Bucks (Milwaukee NBA players).” No offense anywhere except when the Bucks have the ball.
The car is called a bar, um, a saloon.
@polymath
I lived in Cincinnati for 9 years--on the OHIO River; across the river is Kentucky, one of the Southern states in the CSA. The North-South divide was the Civil War.... It escaped me, too.
2
Thanks, Steve L.
Great puzzle by the constructor. Congrats on getting published. I really liked your commentary. You have a great demeanor.
Love how noob is short for newbie. IMHO, we are not easy to kill.
Can someone explain how “exactly” is SHARP?
5
@Newbie think of it like time... let’s meet at 5 o’clock sharp
2
Read the clue, read it again, stop and think, check the crosses, think some more, write it in and see if it works.
Slow and steady like that all the way through.
This puzzle is so good, I was actually a little bit sad as I wrote in the last entry.
And TIL that there is someone named Donald Glover who has an alter ego named CHILDISH GAMBINO.
We live in a very interesting world.
10
@archaeoprof pull up his appearance on Saturday Night Live last season (I think). He's delightful.
@Sophia Leahy Thank you! But nowadays Saturday Night Live comes on so much later than it used to...
3
Beautiful, my delight,
Pass, as we pass the wave.
Pass, as the mottled night
Leaves what it cannot save,
Scattering dark and bright.
Beautiful, pass and be
Less than the guiltless shade
To which our vows were said;
Less than the sound of the oar
To which our vows were made, -
Less than the sound of its blade
Dipping the stream once more.
"To Be Sung on the Water"
by Louise Bogan
Musical setting by Samuel Barber:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ZOl5V1J5Gw
Reading Tolkien introduced me to the word "plash" as the sound of an oar properly plied; "splash" is the sound of a mistake by the oar-wielder. The quieter, gentler sound of an oar plashing speaks of good technique.
12
@David Connell
Now I want you to OAR a rowboat or canoe, whilst quoting the poem (possibly singing it)....and I could be the passenger...
1
@David Connell
Thanks for that beautiful link!
Of course, "To Be Sung on the Water" evokes for many this timeless Schubert lied.
Any excuse to link to Schubert!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=srLP11tZ7-4
3
@Andrew - well, you linked to my Mann, and my man - Fischer-Dieskau, be still my heart - Schubert, be still my soul.
I've told this story elsewhere. When I spent a week at the rowing camp led by the Canadian national rowing coach (Lac St-Augustin, PQ) - he led us to the water early of a morning, where we saw a rigged shell on the lake. He took his thumb and his finger, and shoved that shell out over the water (we were shocked), and we watched it shoot fast and straight, directly away from us until nearly out of sight.
His initial lesson: "Gentlemen: your first job is to not get in the way of this boat doing what it is born to do!"
Splash and Oar will always be enemies in my vocabulary!
2
So far out of my wheelhouse, that I was sent Googling when my "solution" could not trigger the happy music. I was a bit WEIRDED OUT believing that CHILDISH GAMBINO could be anybody's alter ego. Still better than Pee-Wee Herman, I suppose.
My biggest problem at the end was having TUNE for TUDE. That gave me RONNI for the Facebook sister, and no idea what Brits would call a saloon. A few wrong guesses early on included HOTDOGGING, SOYBURGERS, and KITEBOARDS. LETT and LAMB instead of JETT and JAMB. Once all that got sorted out and I looked back at the grid, I wondered why it had caused me so much trouble.
3
Congrats Hemant! Massive respect. I hope to one day follow in your footsteps. One question: what does SOG at 39A mean? It’s not in the dictionary...
3
@Alan Felgate
Maybe you should consider getting a new dictionary. it is in the OED and several online dictionaries.
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sog
@Andrew thank you. Dictionary app = FAIL! I’ll take your suggestion and expand my dictionary collection. Was surprised SOG wasn’t there since “soggy” would seem to be a derivation.
I like to google the mystery word plus “def” to get links to several dictionaries.
Will our constructor be pleased or disappointed to read that some solvers didn't have a prayer of solving his puzzle?
4
Congratulations, Hemant Mehta, on your OBSCENELY good debut!
I had OBSCENErY there thinking about someone "chewing the SCENErY!" So I ended up with CHIrlISH GAMBINO (My Chris was ODOWl). What a mess!
And, no I did not correct my mistakes. Instead I convinced myself that OBSCENErY is a perfectly fine word that I'll use next in place of "emote" to describe "hamming it up."
3
I thought the content was too obtuse. It was way out of my range of knowledge. It’s no fun if the answers need to be googled or revealed to move along! Not my favorite.
2
@Kim
I believe that we've all felt that way at some point in our puzzle solving careers. Fridays and Saturdays are the toughest puzzles to work on, due to both the content and the clueing. It took me a while to finally start getting through those days without lots of looking things up, but as I've progressed, I've gotten better at deciphering the clues, and learned a bit of stuff I didn't know as well. I rarely have to look things up, but I don't mind doing that if it's something I've had little exposure to or experience with. If you keep at it, you'll get better, and have less trouble and more fun.
5
@Kim. I *want* to be unable to finish some Saturday puzzles. I know there are some people who can finish every puzzle, and in an amazingly short amount of time. To me that seems pointless. I want to be challenged and, occasionally, stumped.
4
@PaulSFO
Paul, check out today’s Saturday Stumper from Newsday. I guarantee you won’t speed through it.
1
YEOW! This was easy until it wasn't. Much of this brilliant debut went very quickly until I got to the SE corner --- even though I routinely do British crosswords I've never come across the saloon/SEDAN synonyms even though I'm familiar with boot/bonnet/tyre AND THE LIKE (oops, that was Thursday's puzzle.) Speaking of such, I would like to see Mr. Mehta fashion a Thursday crossword next. It could be fun.
Another “Completion” (capital ‘C’ - but not a “Solve” owing to reliance on Otto Czech)
Once Otto cleared up some mistakes - which seemed very logical on my first passes but which made a mess of several areas - this turned out to be relatively “easy” (for me) and didn’t require much more help from him.
LAME CLUES (or ANSWERS):
“One might make a splash” (different maybe - - but LAME)
“Nabe” (don’t like slang anyway - let alone both clue and answer)
“... business names” (HATE seeing AND in place of an ampersand)
PRPERSON - for obvious reasons.
“Exactly” (How is that SHARP??)
“Climates” (It’s just LAME - that’s all.)
GREAT CLUES:
“Rides into battle” (MOUNT and STEEDS crossing - sweet!)
“One way to take stock”
“What Brits call a ‘saloon’” (CLEVER!!)
“Corvine : crows :: ...” (Because I knew the answer!)
“Part of a frame job”
Enjoyed the puzzle very much. Would have toughed it out - - but I’ve got places to go and people to see.
“Exactly” (How is that SHARP??)
"I’ve got places to go and people to see."
PeterW,
Be back by six o'clock SHARP for the Sunday puzzle.
7
@Barry
Thanks! What would I do without you when my neurons disconnect?
@Barry Ancona
OK. That’s obvious - - - in hindsight. Thanks.
I think my problem was that, “Exactly six o’clock” and “Six o’clock SHARP” have the modifiers on opposite sides of the time - - - - and I think it is only in the context of time that this similitude makes any sense.
That’s my story - - - and I’m sticking with it!!
This one was really really hard for me! I couldn't finish it last night and had to come back to it this morning to try to finish off the NE corner. I had wanted PRICE GUIDE but knew that wouldn't work, but once those words were in my head it was hard to think of anything else. Finally came up with SHARP and that was the key to the rest of it.
The clueing was sly enough to make it a challenge to fill in much of the rest. I was really happy to get things like WEIRDED OUT and HOTDESKING, although I had ASSOC before ANDCO and had no idea what king of BOARDS went with water skiing. So this was a tough workout for me, but a good night's sleep helped solve it.
5
Ugh ... unfortunately I really liked this puzzle. Maybe that’s why I dragged it out for twice as long as necessary.
I *had* RANDI but absolutely could not reckon SALOON / SEDAN. Completely knackered, I obfuscated 11-Down into LOGO because SILE is where it’s at.
PR PERSON: “All the cool kids love the sile. It doesn’t turn or age, it just is, and that’s why it’s so hot right now.”
Um, JOKE WRITER took awhile, as did CHILDISH GAMBINO.
I don’t know what HOTDESKING is but OBSCENELY, SLIP OF THE TONGUE, DEPLORABLE, SACRILEGE, ISNT SORRY, TINY and HAND all seem particularly pointed at the end of this week.
Great debut.
5
Saloon? That delayed finishing for a long time, until I realized the car model was what was needed.
1
Well, the SW ate my lunch...
Along the way I had to give up DESPICABLE, WAKE BOARDS and the FREE BOARDS. I had CHILDISH GAMBINO (Huh?) and took out the CH. Doesn't the ONE A divide a part of GB?
I got BLUE MOON (STELLA ARTOIS would have been better) but there were too many unknowns BROB?BBOB? ROCA or BOCA? I had TOFU. We've spent a ton of time in both Home Depot and LOWe's without hearing anything eponymous.
Two Googles, so FAIL. Plus DHubby called for an assist at 3 a.m. and I never got back to sleep.
Congrats to the newbie; you can hang my head on the trophy wall!
6
Wow! Super hard. Way longer than average. First pass through the acrosses I had three four-letter words and that’s it. For most of the time I didn’t think I’d be able to keep my streak going. But it slowly came together and I finished it in one sitting.
2
Wow, three faves (CHILDISH GAMBINO, Joan JETT, and BOCA BURGERs) all in one puzzle! Bonus linkage: Joan Jett is vegan. Happy Saturday!
4
I was vexed at 35A because it would've been very helpful, if only I'd known it. Proper nouns and pop culture are my weak point. Oh, and non-baseball sports. But I actually solved this in slightly less time than I did yesterday's puzzle, and my streak is up to 16 days. That's my longest since I adopted a strict 'no google' policy for myself. Another very fun puzzle.
4
I'm surprised(even though it always happens) that so many found this easy. Slower that average for me, but really fun!
The picture at the top of the column? I'm having trouble figuring out which one of them has their tongue out. Not judging, just sayin'.
1
After having taught psych for 21 years, and been a great admirer of Freud’s work, I think SLIP OF THE TONGUE should have come more quickly!
1
Nice debut but just a bit too far out of my wheelhouse and above my pay grade. Have several early gimmes, but it wasn't enough to really get me going anywhere. Even after I looked up some stuff it seemed like I was always a letter or two short in most places from being able to see a possible answer.
So, not close to success but still looking forward to more from our new constructor.
4
Half my average time today, so not overly taxing. Really held up in the NE though.
Surprised that OILUP and REUP crossing each other made it into a NYT puzzle, let alone a Saturday. Not a big fan of SHARP for "Exactly", and "Nabe" as a cluing for HOOD is a true natick IMHO.
Still an enjoyable puzzle and congrats to Hemant on the NYT debut!
1
Rob,
If I'm parsing correctly, you're saying the cross of SHARP and HOOD is the "true Natick?" If you found them so, so be it, but "Nabe" and HOOD have been common terms for a neighborhood for more than 50 years. And the puzzle comes out at 10 p.m. SHARP...
@Barry Ancona Ahhhhh...for some reason that incarnation of sharp to mean exactly escaped me in the moment. I feel better now.
But I stand by my feeling that nabe is an obscure reference to hood. Maybe it's a regional thing? But I'm 49 years old and I've never heard that usage of nabe in my life. Guess I need to get out more.
Top center having "TOSS SALAD" is pretty good too.
1
@RRA
Not if you insist on the -ED (for SALAD and for TEA with ice...). Which I do.
1
Sly and clever clueing. It was a pleasure to wrestle with this one, Hemant Mehta. A good start for my Saturday.
1
I still don't get "hood" from the clue "nabe". What am I missing here?
@mjan "Nabe" short for neighborhood. It was the last clue I filled and it took me second to get it too.
Googling Nabe only gets you japanese hot pot dishes. Even urban dictionary doesn't really recognize nabe for neighborhood. Combine that with OILUP and REUP crossing each other and you get a really unsatisfying corner of the puzzle.
7
@mjan
NABE for neighborhood is from the film industry. See my earlier comment.
@Rob
Google NABE DEFINITION and you’ll find exactly what you need.
1
A BOCABURGER is also a mockBURGER
1
Solving crosswords is a sport?
NEAT! SHARP! HOT! A RANGE of words for this enjoyable puzzle!
3
LETTERBOXED
C-N(10) N-Y(4)
5
My rhyme for the day is: This was a bear but it wasn't unfair.
As I look over the completed grid, there are only four answers alien to my wheelhouse -- HOTDESKING, CHILDISH GAMBINO, ODOWD, and RANDI. That should be pretty easily overcomable through crosses, and they are all fairly crossed. So why was this so tough? Tough tough cluing. Clues as oblique hints from all angles. At least, tough for me today (as compared to many of the solvers who have commented).
And yet, as I look the clues over, they make perfect sense. It's an art to make clues like that, and here, in his NYT debut, Hemant has demonstrated that he's got it -- it either flows effortlessly out of him, or he recognizes the just-right clue when it finally comes to him after much mental grindwork.
What a promising first puzzle, and how I look forward to more from you HM!
18
I like seeing Chris ODOWD, brings back the IT Crowd. I stuck on RANDI (who?) crossing TUDE for a minute, until my brain worked again. Fun puzzle, but not very hard. The gridspanners, if they’re gettable, will do that.
I like the wild shifts of mood across the puzzle from SACRILEGE and DEPLORABLE to BLUE MOON and BOCA BURGER.
1
@Frances
Your brain wasn’t working? Did you try turning it off and on again?
Or, call me Ruff Samuri, my Wu Tang name.
Tough one for me today! Thank goodnes for some gentle crosses to the TILs.
I think it's a good day to stay in and make Some NABE.
1
@Ann Yes, I googled "NABE" and then kept trying to figure out how to fit Japanese hotpot into the space...
2
Why does Caitlin think that HOTDESKING will tug at my heartstrings?
@lpr Open work environments with no assigned seating AND a requirement to work in the office is DEPLORABLE . So a tug at the heartstrings but in a bad way - I had a visceral reaction that clue :)!
3
It took quite a while but I almost finished this Saturday puzzle. Yippee! I am doing the recommended plan of doing lots of the puzzles that I'm close to solving to get better and for me that is a Thursday. So being a few letters short on a Saturday felt great.
I would like someone to explain both the clue and answer for 1A. I assume it's a social media term but as a retiree I've only used Facebook and Twitter so don't know what one is qualifying for here.
5
@Anne Schultz
IMHO - In my humble opinion
(Yeah right. You just bloviated for three looong paragraphs about why eating sushi with one’s fingers instead of with chopsticks better preserves the integrity of the fish and reflects a greater respect for the planet. Lose the H).
5
@Puzzlemucker
Oh! I always thought the H was for honest!
@Ann
When I first saw LOL I thought it meant Lots of Love. I thought the Internet was a very affectionate place.
13
A combination of quite easy and Unknown’s again, and I found both enjoyable, so look forward to seeing Hemant again. Fine debut.
4
Thank you Hemant! A perfect Saturday. I didn't suffer enough this past Thursday and Friday so I feel ready to be put back in the stable now, sweaty and happy.
More humbled than smug on completing this one--amazed at what the brain can store away and regurgitate if asked nicely, several times. I have no idea where it came up with CHILDISHGAMBINO related to Donald Glover (I am old) although my husband would say it is intricately linked to my obsessive fascination with popular culture.
The SW almost did me in; I had OKAY instead of YEAH and TOFUBURGER instead of BOCABURGER for the longest time.
One additional note: The clue for Lights and Darks confused me because that is how we explain to our cat how long we will be away (just two darks and one light, Lulu!) but I couldn't get that to fit.
8
this one was so much fun! i was sure it was going to be a stumper for me at first. i flipped through the first several acrosses and the entire top row of downs, and nothing, i mean nothing was coming to me. i even tried HOTDESKING (after COWORKING proved to be too few letters) but erased it thinking, nah, it’s not about whole offices, can’t be it.
my first tentative toehold that remained was, unexpectedly, ANDCO. i got one more tentative toehold with EDEN, and then i was on my way.
from there it became an unexpectedly smooth solve for me — i set my new saturday record of 22:00 exactly, which would‘ve been a few minutes shorter had i not gotten tripped up on the very last square of all. for some reason my brain decided STIT was a word, and it took me rewriting all my answers throughout the rest of the grid in “pencil” (my new, who-knows-if-it’ll-work tactic for hunting down errors) to realize my error.
i really enjoyed a lot of the longer answers, like OBSCENELY & SACRILEGE (another pair? though further apart), SLIPOFTHETONGUE, WEIRDEDOUT, and JOKEWRITER, and enjoyed the cluing. what a great saturday, and great debut!
3
SPELLING BEE
46 words, 236 points, 3 pangrams. I'm working on clues now.
28
@Kevin Davis
13 words end in Y (not always a suffix)
Obscure word hints:
A pale color
Give a false impression
Make someone seem unimportant
Important thing, slang
To a great extent, slang
Liver secretion or anger
Part of a ship bottom or nonsense
Temporary soldier lodging, noun or verb
Male goat
Having the right to do something, pangram
Adj, & adv. of above word
Better than the rest
A taunt; sometimes spelled with J
Edible bird parts besides muscle
Laugh nervously, noun & adj.
Fish lung or ¼ pint
Coated in gold
Insincere or slick, noun & adj.
Unreadable writing, noun (pangram), adj. & adv.
Sickly
Extremely small. Bitty not accepted though.
Readable writing, noun (pangram), adj. & adv.
Genuine, slang
Written slander & target (EE)
Feudal superior
Sing-songy accent
Lesser, slang
Obscure word for tiny, or a written dot
Abominable snowman
39
@Kevin Davis 2-letter starts:
BE-3 BI-9 EL-4 GI-6 GL-2 IL-4 IT-1 LE-4 LI-7 TI-5 YE-1
23
@Kevin Davis I was so eager to point out a non-accepted word that I included a spoiler. Sorry about that.
4
I've struggled the last three Saturdays but this one was a solid solve and in half my average time.
My favorite clue was for CUTS, that was very clever. Tried veggie dog before BOCABURGER, which, incidentally, I don't recommend cooking on the grill. They are much tastier when cooked in a pan or on a griddle, they get dried out and char easily on the grill.
Great debut, I hope to see more!
2
Good debut, Hemant bhai!
3
@XWordsolver
Impressive debut, and good to see the oh so talented Childish Gambino👍🏽
2
@XWordsolver - Well, I
designate this puzzle a wonderful
design and I
desire many more of the same kind of puzzle.
hee hee
another commendable debut - pet peeve anyone? :)
2
The only thing that stumped me is something that no one else mentioned. 52D clue: I don't know what FF is and don't know the meaning of the answer REW. Can someone clarify this?
@Catherine
Fast Forward on an old VCR and REWind are opposites...
2
@Catherine This is referring to “fast forward” and “rewind”, abbreviations that were commonly found on the corresponding buttons of physical media players of yore.
Now I feel old.
5
I know who Danny Glover is but have never heard of CHILDISH GAMBINO - got it relatively quickly anyway from crosses. I thought "FORTNITE' must be some kind of video game or something LOL so that was another fill on crosses and that corner was the last one for me. Also will someone please explain how SEDAN comes from SALOON? Not something I've ever heard before. Same with HOTDESKING so that was something new because I've never worked in an office with cubicles. Really liked learning about STRIGINE a word I'd heard before today, OWLS! Whoooooo knew? But really CLIMATES = MOODS? That's kind of a cheat for me. Do people really have climates? Do meteorologists ever talk about moods? What am I missing here?! Still, I enjoyed it!
1
@Lin Kaatz Chary
Sorry, I wish there was a way to edit - I meant a word I'd NEVER heard of before today. Also, I kept thinking BOCA BURGERS must be TOFU BURGERS because I never get used to the use of brand names, but as soon as T didn't work I knew I was on the wrong track. Once I finally remembered BBOY and LEASH (ok, I guess leashes are a pet's peeve) it all came together .
@Lin Kaatz Chary
I have heard of the “climate of public opinion ”. I don’t think this clue refers to a personal mood but rather to a general feeling or attitude about something.
2
@Lin Kaatz Chary “Saloon” is a British term for a four-door car (sedan), in the same way the trunk is the “boot” and the hood is the “bonnet”. They probably think Americans’ terms are hilariously odd.
5
I spent more time in the northwest than all the rest of the puzzle. IMHO the clue about problems with paper and pay is one of the most clever I have seen. I spent most of my puzzle time on this clue, but it was very satisfying when it finally clicked. Unfortunately, I am not a big Star Wars fan so that left a big gap at the equator. I also liked the clue referring to Milwaukee Bucks, but the capital B gave it away. No PR for me, but I still enjoyed this a lot, and my compliments to the creator...
6
I agree. It would have been more difficult if clued as Bucks bucks hunter.
1
@Robert Kern I had the exact opposite experience. CUTS was about the only answer I was sure of, but I didn't fill it in until checking the whole puzzle out. Then quickly wrote in IMHO, NOOB, and CUTS, followed by an incorrect OBSESSIVE until I got to the second S which conflicted with my correct guess of STEEDS. So, ironically, even though the NW was my starting point, it's the only place where I had a couple of strikeovers -- the CE of OBSCENELY.
1
Is the answer HOOD for the clue Nabe a common Crossword thing? I wasn’t familiar with that word, and when I googled it all the results were about the Japanese dish Nabe, so I hesitantly put down food even though I knew it couldn’t be right. Haha.
I finally found a dictionary site that listed it as slang, but it seemed a little weird to me.
2
@Eoin
In the film industry, a NABE is what they call a neighborhood movie theater (as opposed to a multiplex, which draws from a much wider area).
Something that might draw a “Hi kids!” from Deb.
HOOD, on the other hand, is of course a more recent shortening of NEIGHBORHOOD.
Eoin and Steve,
Depending upon you and your neighborhood, you may live in a HOOD or a NABE ... or neither.
As a Glover lover, this puzzle was right in my wheelhouse. A new Saturday personal best in 15:16.
2
Wow, I had the NW and entire bottom half of the fill completed in about 14 minutes, on pace to beat my average at least, but that N-NE area added another 18 for me. Maybe it's my inexperience as a solver, but PRPERSON and PRICERANGE were just killer for me. Plus, I've never heard of SALAD days, but I suppose that's just me not being sufficiently erudite.
I absolutely love that SW quadrant, though: BBOY for BLUEMOON and BOCABURGER, beautiful.
1
@Matthew Miller “My salad days when I was green in my judgment” is a line from one of them bard fellows.
3
@Jim
Cleopatra’s line from Antony and Cleopatra by Shakespeare.
2
A welcome breather (32:13, 10 minutes below my Saturday average), especially on the heels of Friday's 75-minute horror show. Streak reaches 30.
- 30 -
4
Yesterday's and today's times came in as near records for me. Made me wonder about the criteria for Friday and Saturday. Did the supply of good hard puzzles run out? Was a guinea-pig crew overfed and drowsy? Did Will think we need an occasional ego trip? Did the puzzles score high on all measures but one, which happens to be my forte?
Enjoyed this, though it felt like Wednesday to me. I think “source of psychologists insight” is a crisper clue because the slip of the tongue itself isn’t the insight.
1
Sog!? C'mon now.
Otherwise, I enjoyed this a lot, especially the Childish Gambino callout.
6
@pi With you on this. "SOG" ?? It's not really a word.
Right. Definitely not a word.
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sog
Congrats, Hemant! You give the rest of us wannabes some hope!
This was an easier one for me, thanks to the seed entry. For anyone saying they’ve never heard of Donald Glover, please correct that, in whichever way you see fit: music, comedy, drama, social commentary. I believe that he’ll go down as one of the most talented performers of our time.
10
“This is America”
That’ll scare the heck out of some people who comment here but others (like me) love it. Look it up if you dare.
3
@Pani Korunova
That is an amazing song/video (warning: disturbing video). I’m embarrassed to say I had never heard it or knew of Childish Gambino beyond knowing he was somehow connected with Donald Glover. I just read Glover’s Wiki. He grew up in Stone Mountain, GA, home of the Confederate version of Mt Rushmore. Wow!
2
I had a *really* hard time with that puzzle, but was so excited to see Friendly Hemant was the constructor! "I Sold My Soul On eBay" is on my bookshelf...
3
The reference to HOT DESKING (3D) made me think of its precursor - the open office. There was a funny segment a few years back on the NPR show "Planet Money" in which the inventor of that awful arrangement was interviewed:
- https://www.npr.org/2016/05/27/479696596/planet-money-tracks-down-the-inventor-of-the-open-office
In the same interview, someone who detested the open office design described it as "Like, if you could climb inside a migraine headache, that's what that felt like." My feelings exactly!
5
two things — funny, given the topic:
1) gaetano pesce did not invent the open office; the notion was around before him, and there’s no one inventor
2) ironically, what he describes and planet money erroneously refers to as “open office plans” is in fact HOTDESKING (not just a lack of walls or partitions between desks, but no assigned desks at all). and furthermore, he could be considered the inventor of HOTDESKING because this chiat-day example is pretty broadly considered to be the first example of it.
a. — yes, it's truly astonishing when you consider the large number of people who did not invent the open office.
@polymath not sure if you’re being facetious / poking at my comment, but my point remains, maybe it was unclear — pesce didn’t invent the open office, he invented hotdesking.
Big bucks from big Bucks?? Really?
3
@Anne
The capitalization gave this one away. How many Bucks are proper nouns? Whatever happened to Buck Owens and Buck Rogers? Buck Taylor (son of Dub Taylor) who played Newly on Gunsmoke is still around.
1
@Anne
Coincidentally, the Milwaukee Bucks currently have the best record in the NBA at 44-7.
1
@JayTee and why didn't Caitlin include the NBA's current hottest star, Giannis Antetokounmpo?
2
I doubt Odysseus (photo caption) rhymes with “kisses us”—even in Ukrainian.
3
Steve,
Did you notice that Odysseus (photo) is *not* attacking the photographer?
3
@Barry Ancona
Yeah, my son’s pit bull is known to “attack” people much the same way.
2
@Steve L & BA - I wonder if you never had *that* kind of aunt...
Went from “I’m not going to finish this, at least not tonight” to finishing in decent time. All thanks to WP commenter @childishgrambina, which got me to CHILDISH GAMBINO. That was the key that opened up much that had previously seemed impenetrable. Thank you, @CG!
Loved the puzzle. What an amazing debut!
9
For @Al in Pittsburgh and others for whom NOOB and “nabe” might leave you a little cold. After Dylan’s “It Ain’t Me, Babe”:
It Ain’t My Nabe, Babe
Go lightly on the lingo, babe
Go lightly on the slang,
Next to you I’m a NOOB, babe
Still cool with NEAT and dang,
You say you’re lookin’ for someone
Who’ll get CHILDISH GAMBINO from the start
Someone to give you Gucci TUDE
Someone whose HOOD’s a nabe
Someone who’ll do a full send for you
But that ain’t me babe
No, no, no, that ain’t me babe
It ain’t me you’re constructing for, babe
4
@Puzzlemucker I'm sure you realize that I was sitting here with a big ole smile on my face when that Donald Glover clue came up, but I immediately thought, "Nah, don't do it, it'll make things too easy." 20 minutes later when I came across it again, I was again delighted, but this time filled it in with gratitude!
2
Interesting to solve the crossword while watching the Democratic debate—with DEPLORABLE in the grid!
5
@Steve L - Perhaps 15D (DEPLORABLE) could have been clued as "One in Hillary's basket."
12
had to come straight here to point out - no one says noob anymore. an “easy kill in fortnite” would, without exception, be called a ‘bot.’ couple years late with this one
3
@G Man
This week's Wednesday puzzle was accepted back in 2017; puzzles can be in the pipeline awaiting publication for a long time, so before you criticize "outdated" terminology, please realize that it might have been current when the puzzle was submitted.
6
@JayTee
Seems to me that any clue or entry likely to be so ephemeral as to be obsolete or irrelevant in two years is a questionable choice for the NYT. This puzzle has many of them. God help anyone working the Archive ten years from now.
5
@G Man Even though no one says "noob" anymore, I still don't know what "noob" and "bot" mean. That may be because I also need the clue explained. Can someone help?
1