Deb, you're so easily impressed; the only really clever wordings were for Noah and straights. Didn't find this any more difficult more entertaining nor clever then all other previous Fridays.
I would have had such a fantastic time for a Friday puzzle, but "Noble sort" at 6A had me off down a construction rabbit trail, and I forgot to hit pause! Oh well. Hopefully you will see it in print some day, and it will all have been worthwhile.
Finished (barely) at 11:58. The streak survives. Fun puzzle.
Just saying, but the answer to 33 down is way off, especially now with our virus mania. In any sensible kitchen, a tea towel is for dishes, not hands. Unsanitary!
To a while to get a foothold, but once I did, it fell smoothly but slowly. Was challenging but not frustrating. Perfectly balanced puzzle for me. Thanks for a fun solve.
2
The upper left hand corner of this puzzle was a beast to crack...until I figured out the Preppy attire clue was POLO. I also got tripped up on the “Low-“ clue because I initially thought that it was “RES”
Once I got that then the rest started to fall I to place including the Hospital Gown clue.
But my goodness....this was the trickiest Friday puzzle I have had to do in a while because of that upper left hand corner!!!
5
Just seeing now that Caitlin Reid constructed the Friday USA Today puzzle, too. I haven't looked at it yet, but that's pretty cool.
2
Matches = Sees? I was hoping to see the explanation here and I’m still not getting it!
4
@Andy Betting.
I'll see your 5 and raise you 5.
..
2
@Rich in Atlanta - I fold. Thanks!
1
Any puzzle with a Clash reference is all right by me.
14
I think that we're sending the wrong message by having a Women's "Week".
I 'strongly' believe what we need to have is a Women's *Month*.
As for today's flavorful Friday, well, I DON'T HAVE ALL DAY, but I'll cover any NEW WAGER that says we All State that we're in Good Hands with this latest Caitlin who's come into the fold.
You know the literacy motto says Reading is FUNdamental!... Seems that Reid-ing is the same!!
1
@Leapfinger
I have mixed feelings about Women's History Month, but certainly if there's going to be a Month then there should be a Month of puzzles, too.
2
So, I would *like* to think this week put to rest all the antediluvian idiots who think that, well, "maybe the reason more crossword puzzles are written by men is because it's just something men are better at durr durr" or "it's a technical skill; women are better at soft-skills type things."
This week has been one absolutely sterling puzzle after another.
So let's be honest with ourselves: the reason fewer puzzles are authored by women, (or people of color, or LGBTQ+ people -- and I'd love to see Will and co. do similar such weeks some time for constructors from other underrepresented groups!), has %$^*-all to do with any lack of innate skill.
Kudos to Will and his team for doing this, but most of all kudos to Caitlin and the other authors this week for writing some crackerjack puzzles and (I'd like to think) firmly putting to rest that hoary old nonsense about women and puzzles.
9
ethan f.,
Perhaps you're referring to things you've read elsewhere in crossland, and I've only been reading the Wordplay comments for about five years, but I don't recall anyone here suggesting there were fewer women constructors because women weren't as good at constructing.
4
@ethan f.
A more likely reason for the inequity is the possibility that fewer women have been constructing, submitting or getting accepted. No one said they were less capable. All the constructors this week are top tier. Perhaps more women will construct and submit now. I certainly don’t care who writes my puzzle if it’s a good one.
4
@Steve L Over the years I've heard much about women being unsuitable for many activities --- military service, firefighting, police work, math, engineering --- all of which has been disproven. Despite that, I never heard a word about women being unable to construct puzzles. Of course that would be absurd --- many of the most clever setters in Britain are women. And if anyone still has doubts just look at Emily Cox (Cox/Rathvon) and her work in Canada's National Post, the WSJ, and the NY Times acrostic.
2
(Comment continued)
Which brings me to my final rant: Obscurity for the sake of obscurity. "If you haven't a clue as to what the hell I'm saying, I've written a really great poem." Well I say: Not so fast! As a writer, it's your job to communicate. If you're not communicating, you've failed. And it's your failure, not mine. I absolutely refuse to take the blame.
I'm going off to read Tennyson, Blake and Kipling now. End of rant.
I don't think I've ever tried kvass, so I filled in LYE, thinking ETHEL Merman might have been a bombshell back in her day.
3
I didn't expect to see so much oneupmanship this week but there it was.
Today I got stuck in the upper left because I was too mentally exhausted to change "butt" to "auto" on 2d.
No MEALY STINKEYE here! Great puzzle—perfect Friday themeless.
:-D
4
Dear New York Times:
That was the easiest Cryptic I've ever seen. I start them on Friday to give myself a fifty-fifty chance of finishing on Sunday. This one I completed Friday 2pm. What's wrong? Are you off your game? Losing a little on the old fastball?
Thank you, thank you, thank you.
1
@Tony Longo - cryptic puzzle gets its own page sometime on Saturday - jus' sayin'
@Tony Longo All the cryptics in the NY Times are on the easy side. I've done them for years and they're generally boring. Move on to the monthly ones in Harper's or the Cox/Rathvon puzzle in the WSJ. For an additional challenge try the crosswords in the Financial Times or the Guardian --- they're free by the way. The Brits are the masters of this genre.
2
@Tony S - I do not gainsay anything you wrote...yet - put a "P&A" puzzle up against it? I'll take a Cryptic any day!
P&A is the Donald Trump of crosswords. Jus' sayin'.
The crossword gods were kind to me today. Everything on the tip of my tongue spilled out like golden honey. Normally my brain crashes like Windows XP. Not today though. Fun solve.
4
That was fun. I like themeless. I wasn’t perfect. I had GOYAs, not MIROs because of Spanish in the clue. Glad I let go quickly. Beat my average.
The streak continues.
1
@Horst Witherspoon I also had GOYA initially, thinking of La Maja Desnuda. (Do not Google "Nude Maya," by the way...at least, not at work.)
1
I thought I was going to get another one. Most of it went pretty easily, but the SW stymied me. I guessed maybe menU for "Drop ___," rowS for "Dustups." My guesses for "Soaks (up)" and "Do a cowboy's job" turned out to be right, but they were still just guesses. Getting late, I had to look at the column, and STAGECREW (OHMYGOSH!) set me STRAIGHT at last. (I managed to type this note before bedtime, but then there was no "Read [so many] Comments" button at the end of the Wordplay column so I'm 12 hours late!)
After the mental gymnastics of the Wednesday and Thursday puzzles, this was refreshingly straightforward and welcome. Not that it was lacking in great misdirects, such as “Help to set the scene” and “Set out on the highway.” Lots of things made me smile, particularly DROP TROU, the small arms of T REX, and the DRAFTY hospital gown. On my first pass I put in COURT and ALTAR, luckily in the right order. And I was sure it was the right order when I put in POLO next. (Anyone else remember the tongue-in-cheek Preppy Handbook? I thought it was hilarious back in 1980, even while I too was occasionally wearing polo shirts under my button-downs 😆. Thanks for a very satisfying puzzle Caitlin Reid!
2
@Shari Coats - it was my memory of the Preppy Handbook that held me up - since I had "kilt" where "polo" was needed!
2
@Shari Coats HaHaHa, yes, I remember the Preppy Handbook. (Gen Xer here.) I think I wore Top Siders with no socks every day for five years.
🤣
Nice puzzle today. Not difficult. I began with ELMS, NESS and HISS and it was off to the races, TIRES squealing. Well done, Caitlin.
2
Once again, absolutely no SCIENCE clues. I guess you'd rather have knowledge of pop culture than actual knowledge of the universe. Physics, chemistry, materials, astrophysics, particle physics, aeronautics, engineering ... so many potential clues that are less arcane than some painter from centuries ago!
Puzzle authors can contact me if they need some help in this area.a
1
@Dave
Um, Miro died in 1983. He was a world-renowned painter and a pioneer, along with Picasso, of cubism. One of the true greats of the 20th Century and the opposite of "arcane."
12
@Dave
Joan Miro died in 1983 :) I think many of us would find particle physics more arcane than art, even if it should not be so.
6
@Dave
I wouldn’t call Mirò arcane by any standards, but since you mention astrophysics, how about this nugget: in 1936, he was involved in formulating The Dimensionist Manifesto, a revolutionary declaration of a new approach to art based on the new developments in space-time theory. It even credits Einstein’s theory of relativity, arguably the milestone that marked the birth of modern astrophysics, in its opening paragraphs.
You mention “actual knowledge of the universe” in general, and physics in particular no less than three times. Surely you recognize the level of abstract thought required to fully appreciate the modern concepts in how physics approaches our understanding of the universe, and the role philosophy and the arts play in it.
Also, “Rock the Casbah” is immortal. I could never object to pop culture as long as it gives us such pure gold.
9
Enjoyable puzzle but I'm not convinced LOOFA is a word. I've never seen the word spelled without an "h" at the end and I can't find a dictionary that lists loofa as a variant spelling. Other than that, a fun puzzle!
@Luna Max Oxford lists loofa as an alternate spelling to loofah --- that's good enough for me. I've used this variation in the Sunday Spelling Bee after validating the alternate spelling.
Loved the puzzle. Still not clear on 40-across ILL and how that is clued by "Barely"
1
@TJ one can ill afford to do something
3
@TJ As in "I can ill afford that." That's my interpretation anyway.
4
@Luna Max and Bob T
I read "ill-afford" or "ill-timed" as "I can't afford" or "badly timed"....barely doesn't work for me, and I think it was ill-chosen.
4
Too easy for a Friday was my first thought but I must join the chorus who really liked this puzzle. All the clues with question marks were great --- those "misdirects" made this crossword a cut above for me.
1
I confess that STRAIGHTS sailed right over my head. It seemed like the only word that would fit the crosses the whole time, but I refused to put it in because I just couldn't come up with a way that it would fit the puzzle.
I enjoyed but was frustrated by this puzzle. Still so much to learn!
2
Enjoyable one; thank you!
On another note, is there a way to see stats in the Android app? I like seeing how I did compared to my best times, and I can only find it on the iOS app.
1
@B.C. not on Android; have to go the the NYT web page for statistics -- https://www.nytimes.com/puzzles/stats
Btw by average and best, Thursday is a little harder for me than Friday! Anyone else find this to be true?
I see stats on the iOS crossword app when I'm using my larger iPad. Perhaps it's just when you are on the bigger screens that you get stats. It would be nice to get them even when I'm using my Android phone and the app.
Drop TROU reminded me of my college days when streaking was a fad (not that I took part ;>) . Lots of good puns in this one. I especially liked STRAIGHTS for “in good hands”. The Southwest corner gave me a bit of trouble, especially the “dustoffs” and “makes out” clues. Otherwise, I seemed to be on same wavelength as the author. Thanks for a good puzzle.
2
I didn’t realize that by attending Deb’s talk yesterday I would be getting the answer for 53A in her slides. Thanks for the hint!
2
OH MY GOSH, a themeless puzzle I really enjoyed. I’ll add to the chorus of”more please “ from Caitlin.
4
Letter Boxed
D - E (9), E - S (8)
1
@Mike
S-E (9), E-M(7)
1
@Mike
Replace one of your D’s with the S
@Lou
I went from: I figured it out!
To: Hey good looking!
1
This comment was inspired by someone on the Other Blog who called Marianne MOORE "an enigma."
Get ready, everyone, for my modernist poetry soapbox/rant, triggered by the deliberately impenetrable MARIANNE MOORE, but not limited strictly to her.
ANTI-MODERNIST POETRY RANT
First, they took away everything that makes poetry poetic: The rhyme. The rhythm. Often, the very form itself. All the things that give a poem sonority. That make it beautiful to hear.
Then they mostly took away the Big Subjects. Love. Nature. Death. The Human Condition. If and when they dealt with them at all, they tended to hide them behind a curtain of cascading images and metaphors. More often, however, they heaped their pile of images and metaphors upon teensy-tiny subjects. The funniest Marianne MOORE title? "To a Steam Roller". "You lack half-wit. You crush all the particles down."? I mean really! But even The Fish is metaphored and simileed within an inch of its life. It's a nice enough creature and more important in the scheme of things than the steam-roller, but for heaven's sake: "lack of cornice, dynamite grooves, burns and hatchet strokes..." What on earth is the lady talking about???
(to be continued momentarily)
3
@Nancy
I can’t hate modernist poetry as a whole because I love Plath, Apollinaire, and (swoon) Akhmatova. But I looked up the two poems you cite and I agree with you.
I love, “Metaphored and simileed within an inch of its life,” by the way. No fish should be treated this way. Not even tofu-fillet substitutes.
2
@Nancy Yeah, hard nope on that. I'll stick with Kenneth Rexroth and William Carlos Williams.
1
@Nancy
In her own defense:
Poetry (Marianne Moore)
I, too, dislike it: there are things that are important beyond all this fiddle.
Reading it, however, with a perfect contempt for it, one
discovers in
it after all, a place for the genuine.
Hands that can grasp, eyes
that can dilate, hair that can rise
if it must, these things are important not because a
high-sounding interpretation can be put upon them but because
they are
useful. When they become so derivative as to become
unintelligible,
the same thing may be said for all of us, that we
do not admire what
we cannot understand: the bat
holding on upside down or in quest of something to
eat, elephants pushing, a wild horse taking a roll, a tireless wolf under a tree . . .
In the meantime, if you demand on the one hand,
the raw material of poetry in
all its rawness and
that which is on the other hand
genuine, you are interested in poetry.
1
Today we had a question raised from an Aussie poster about "steak" as an entrée (from the Mini); and we have our old friend "drop trou" in the main puzzle. Both of these raise the delightful questions of variance between dialects within a language.
In French Canada, Britain, Australia, "entrée" retains its original meaning of "opener", "opening course." In Anglo-Canada and the U.S., it means "main course."
Trousers vs. pants is another well-known example of being "divided by a common language."
Here's an entertaining view of these issues, comparing U.S., U.K., Australian takes - from a Korean perspective:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5OEehlggPp0
And Tom Scott's look at the implications for computer-based translation:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GAgp7nXdkLU
2
@David Connell
Thanks for the first URL. The Korean program was fun, although it was another sign of how much my brain is aging. The subtitles were way too fast, and the language was much more colloquial than I have ever been exposed to.
@kilaueabart - kb you present as "old guy" but you don't really read that way. You engage. I'm a fan.
Keep on keeping on, and mahalo.
An excellent Friday challenge. One of the most satisfying Friday solves (there's that noun again) in recent memory! Caitlin Reid has made me a fan. I'd like to see more of her puzzles.
2
Anyone else attempt to chisel towelettes onto 33d?
1
@brutus Thought about it, but I had NEED IT YESTERDAY (wrong!) crossing it. Mom has two tea towels in the kitchen; one for drying dishes, and one for drying hands. God forbid if you should use the wrong one.
POOR DEVIL, she gets confused by syntax so I give some clues the STINKEYE. But
IDONTHAVEALLDAY so OHMYGOSH I just pour myself an early morning MOCKMOSA and enjoy the creative originality.
2
In the spirit of enjoying the cultural references in the NYTXW, I've started a to build a playlist on Spotify of songs referenced in the daily puzzle. The Playlist is https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0vxpMh06oxbZz1YCwGfiic?si=ZV1yMHw6SRawTMJGujeasw
Today I added "It's Like That" by Mariah Carey and "Rock the Casbah" by The Clash
I've also set up a spreadsheet that anyone can comment to add a new song, following the template I've set up. I think it'd be fun to see what kind of list each year puts together.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/13Ld8gVTHnIOMN0ePvgmPue7lyYi054TSPnkgd2e275A/edit?usp=sharing
6
@Sam T I don't know if this is the kind of thing you have in mind, but personally I might also add Sandra Boynton's "Tyrannosaurs Funk", sung by the inimitable Samuel L. Jackson:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y1nBhDVuTR0
"Tiny little arms,
Great big head,
So many teeth,
And a heavy tread."
@M as much as I enjoy that... I think it’s a stretch too far (for small arms to reach)
I enjoyed this puzzle immensely. At first I approached it as yet another "impossible" Friday and my first pass through seemed to indicate that I was correct, with few answers filled in. I persevered, however, enjoying the ingenuity of many of Caitlin's clues such as those for DRAFTY, T REX, TIRES, and TROU , although the latter made me draw a blank for a while. I must say that once 35A became apparent, many of the crosses fell into place.
Nice job Caitlin. I think it is a good puzzle when the fill is not a conglomeration of crosswordese and the solver derives a good feeling from the challenge which is not insurmountable.
4
This is by far the best puzzle this week, and so much fun to work! I adored the clever clues, the debut entries, the fair crosses, and the fact that Caitlin so deftly avoided crossword-ese, and annoying ancient rulers / rivers obscura, so efffortlessly. Thank you!
3
@E.W. Swan, I agree with everything you said except "so effortlessly." This stunning puzzle was anything but effortless. Caitlin just made it look that way.
2
Folks have already written about pretty much anything I have to comment on, but I want to say that this week has been a very amusing one for the NYT puzzle, IMNSHO, with a great run of innovative and interesting puzzles. I've particularly enjoyed with the fresh cluing of old glue.
Keep it up! I'm sad today's puzzle is done, and I'm looking forward to tomorrow.
6
This is unequivocally the best Friday puzzle I have ever had the pleasure of doing. I'm in awe of Caitlin's ability to write a crossword like she's writing a novel. She is "talking" to us. (Please see Jeff Chen's blog today.)
And the cluing! OH MY GOSH! Caitlin can also create images like the hysterical T REX.
As I said, I'm in awe.
Brava, Caitlin!
8
Great puzzle. I had MOCKTINI, which is a variety of MOCKTAIL, for a while.
1
@Curtis
I spose it's a more plebian background that starts with NEARBEER. After the TAIL became evident, I wondered about COKETAIL. Guess I'm just not cosmopolitan enough to mix my drinks, she whined.
1
@Leapfinger NEARBEER was my first instinct as well. Remember Kingsbury Brew? Kaliber? I think they still make O'Doul's.
1
@Grant, I grew up on Molson's and Moosehead. For years and years, *all* American brews tasted like NEARBEER ;D
Very good puzzle!
1
Hey there my comrade in retirement, does your feline answer to Schroedinger? Never mind, cat’s don’t bother responding when called. They DO have all day; that is, to snooze.🐱
1
34d: reminds me of Marisa Tomei's oscar winning "you blend"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1xA4ItzAQ0
5
A mechanical engineer and that doll, Miss Vito, knows TIRES!
https://youtu.be/CFdJza0AbeA
Thanks RMP
5
A quiet wintry morning, a steaming hot cuppa mo and a (not impossible) themeless; simply superlative! There will be nEiTHER gripes nor sour grapes from this writer out here on the snowless mid-Atlantic coast. 1 natick is not enough to upset my (MEALYless) 🍏-cart. The culprit? That crumby square under the 25 square. Though I’m a dyed in the wool, dedicated follower of PROSE, poetry and fashion, that elusive ‘O’ never crossed my mind. A sloe Friday natick is totally endurable; and educational to boot...Derby Day is a couple months off but the ODDS, along with the 3-year olds, are rounding into shape every day. Can’t wait for the annual run for the bread and the roses. This is MIMI Farina’s rendition of “STEWball.”
https://youtu.be/m4ysDXHZZKk
SEES The Day,
Bru
3
A master class in great cluing -- especially in the NW, where I didn't know LOOFA, didn't think of POLO (which was pretty dumb of me actually), and was utterly confused by the marvelous clues for AUTO, STRAIGHTS and DRAFTY. I had ?R??TY for the hospital gown and could only think of gRitTY. When DRAFTY finally came in, I laughed out loud.
The clues for TIRES and NEW AGERS also flummoxed me for a while. For a while, doWAGERS were my "crystal collectors". (Think of Downton Abbey and the ultra-lavish way their tables were set.)
Also, there are so many new portmanteaus these days that I don't know, I tend to make up my own when solving puzzles and hope for the best. With the benefit of ????TAIL, I guessed MOCKTAIL and was right. (How would I know MOCKTAIL since it's something that I have never and would never order. Hic.)
The hospital gown may be DRAFTY, but this puzzle is GRITTY and I loved it! Think it's the best puzzle of the week so far.
6
@Nancy Yup, me too. I hung onto doWAGERS for way too long.
1
For me, THE CASBAH reminded me of the 1938 movie, Algiers, starring Charles Boyer and Hedy Lamarr. It was a little before my time, but comedians in the forties would do impressions of Boyer saying “Come with me to the Casbah.”
Good puzzle.
2
@Jack Abad - I knew the phrase from Gilligan's Island! That's staying power.
2
Near beer for MOCKTAIL set the stage for a delay, stated Tom soberly.
My later days with Depts of Justice and Defense often caused me to opine on the IQs of those who SEXT, texted, emailed or posted PROSE that would come back to haunt/convict them. I often recalled, eliciting the STINKEYE from co-workers, my grandmother’s adage: Do not write it if you do not want to read on the front page of the paper.
Thanks Caitlin
7
What a fun puzzle! Jeff over at xwordinfo.com speaks about a writers "voice". It's a term that applies equally to crosswords, where choice of words and clues can give you some insight to the constructor's mindset (and Caitlin's is definitely compatible with mine). I tend to solve with a somewhat critical eye, and I'm always tsk tsking or giving at least one or two entries in a puzzle the side eye. I'm also quick to nod approvingly and chuckle at a good entry or clue. Not one tsk tsk today, and a whole lot of smiles! Thanks for kicking off the weekend with a satisfying solve, Caitlin, Will and team, and our intrepid guide Deb. Looking forward to seeing you all at ACPT in 2 weeks!
5
I truly adore the Dayenu reference in the column. Thank you!
20
@Elizabeth L I was hoping someone would notice. :)
7
@Elizabeth L
And so timely!
1
@Elizabeth L You beat me to it!
1
This puzzle was a delight! So many wonderful clues kept me smiling all the way through. “Rock the Casbah” was a gimme for me (I look forward to seeing it on @Sam T’s playlist😊) and that got me started. Although there were many stops that followed my smooth start, it was such an enjoyable solve. Thanks, Caitlin!
2
@SPB Except I had 'Kasbah' for a long time. Sigh . . .
Yes, a very fine Thursday that I found a little harder than usual.
But now I fear that "Rock THE CASBAH" will be going round in my head all day long...
5
@archaeoprof
It could be worse. You could be Lost in the Supermarket.
6
I had to ask my students about this song, and they played it for me. Yes, I agree, it's monotonous. (but I didn't tell my students that..)
2
Although the lyric is "Head out on the highway", my brain has been playing Born To Be Wild since 38A. :-)
5
Deb writes: "15D. The small arms thing with regard to T. REXes will never not crack me up."
I assume, however, that "Threat bearing small arms?" would no longer be acceptable as a clue for NRA?
3
Or would it, since it calls the NRA a threat?
2
@Barry Ancona If doesn't, should
2
@D Smith
Head desk.
..
6
Thank goodness ether isn't used any longer. Had it twice when I was a kid.
From wikipedia: "With a strong, dense smell, ether causes irritation to respiratory mucosa and is uncomfortable to breathe." The smell is extremely unpleasant and stays with you. And that mask, with the the cold liquid dripping on my face:
http://artefact.museumofhealthcare.ca/?p=348
Wikipedia also says it's still used in parts of the developing world because it's inexpensive.
3
Jane,
For me, once was enough.
3
That smell! That mask! It gave me nightmares. The puking afterwards was awful, too. Whoever invented propofol should be sainted.
1
@Pat - don't forget the nightmarish visions while you were under!
1
Good long workout for me. Had very little on first pass, took a deep breath and ended up working my way up from the bottom, section by section. Then I was completely stuck in the NW (doesn't look that hard in retrospect). Had considered ALTAR, COURT and STAND for the oath locales and went through the various configurations until STRAIGHTS finally dawned on me. Then POLO and the rest came together.
Really nice puzzle and a satisfying solve.
Interesting answer search history today. We've had TREX twice this week and 3 times in the last month (loved the clue for it today). Beyond that... every once in a while I'll come across an answer that suggests a change in standards from editor to editor. TREX is a standout in that category. 54 times in the Shortz era. NEVER appeared previously. As a useful 4 letter entry, that just strikes me as really odd.
5
@Rich in Atlanta
According to Merriam-Webster, Tyrannosaurus Rex was not shortened down to T REX until 1981.
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/T.%20rex
So it's not surprising that the first use of the term as an entry was in the wake of a blockbuster movie ("Jurassic Park" beast, for short). Before that movie, which debuted the same year Will Shortz became editor, it's likely it was just not that well-known a term.
Paleontologists might have used it among themselves, but it may not have had currency among the public.
Of course, it can be said that the "farm-to-table" movement of new words into the puzzle has accelerated mightily in the past few years, and that is an editor's decision, but I don't think Mrs. Farrar had the term at her disposal in the 40s and 50s.
3
@Steve L
Run! It's a thesaurus!
Just kidding. Thanks for the information. Didn't think about that.
7
@Rich in Atlanta
A T-RUS?
2
This was a stop-and-go solve for me, something I hate in traffic, but love in puzzles, when I'm steadily going forward as I'm steadily meeting resistance. While there was never a frustrating delay, there was still fight all the way through, and at the end I was pumped from the successful effort.
What I especially loved was how fresh the puzzle felt, and no wonder -- it had nine NYT debuts (as @deb mentioned), and all of them superb, so much so that I have to mention them here: CLOSE KNIT, ERROR CODE, I DON'T HAVE ALL DAY, MOCKTAIL, NEW AGERS, OH MY GOSH, ORDER HERE, POOR DEVIL, and THE CASBAH. Wow! Freshness not only from new words and phrases, but from their clues, which of course, are first-timers as well.
The cluing, which accounted for much of the "stop" of this stop-and-go solve, was right on the mark (as @deb mentioned), a blend of vague and clever clues, mini-puzzles that felt great to figure out, that nourished the whole journey.
In the end, it felt like I was being taken all over the place on a rousing vacation, all as I was sitting in a chair. Thank you, Caitlin for this!
20
I had HANKS for “Big cast” for far too long. A tad iffy clue-wise, but I would have allowed it.
3
KMBredt,
Nice (noice?), but singular-plural conflict disallows it.
2
@KMBredt
HANKS would have worked well for "Big star", though.
@Barry Ancona I understood KMB as referring to Tom Hanks, who is only one person despite his seeming omnipresent at times.
One of my faster Fridays but a very fun and clean solve. Bravo!
1
@Kevin - Very accessible I think.
2
@Doug I have never encountered a couple of the words.
1
SPELLING BEE GRID
C A K R T W Y
WORDS: 23, POINTS: 102, PANGRAMS: 1
First character frequency:
A x 2
C x 10
R x 2
T x 6
W x 3
Word length frequency:
4L: 8
5L: 9
6L: 2
7L: 2
8L: 2
Grid:
4 5 6 7 8 TOT
A: - - 1 1 - 2
C: 3 4 1 1 1 10
R: 2 - - - - 2
T: 2 3 - - 1 6
W: 1 2 - - - 3
TOT: 8 9 2 2 2 23
Two letter list:
AT-2
CA-7 CR-3
RA-2
TA-3 TR-3
WA-2 WR-1
52
SMUG ALERT! My second QBABM! In two months! And once again I actually gasped when it happened, disturbing a sleeping cat. And then sailed through the crossword till the very end when I finally bagged the elusive TREX (great clue). A good thing I will go to work soon and be reduced to more manageable dimensions. I never expect to get QB without clues, grids or sometimes cheating because there are usually words I simply don't know (although today's 6 letter C was a total guess).
21
@AudreyLM
But you will be off to work with a smile on your face!!! Not easy in these crazy times--Congratulations!
5
@AudreyLM
I agree. QBABM is more exhilarating than one would think. Not today for me (thanksDoug and Kevin!). Congrats!
4
**S P E L L I N G B E E H I N T S**
23 words, 102 points, 1 pangram.
7
Hint: With a Y in the set, there are a few adjectives, some obscure.
Other hints:
Thick makeup, or bread that’s too sweet
Unit of weight for gems
Seed used to flavor rye bread
Eye cloudiness, or waterfall
Spiteful, feline
Inclined to fissure
Throat synonym, where things get stuck
Lively, titillating
Diplomacy
Path formed by repeated treading (obscure, pangram, compound)
Land area of indefinite extent
Really out there, slang noun & adj.
Cause extreme distress, archaic spelling
34
@Kevin Davis My first QB, thanks to the rye clue!
Non sequitur: my all time favorite Seinfeld was The Rye :)
3
@Kevin Davis Whoa! Second time this week that QB unexpectedly popped up before I even knew I was close. I tried that pangram for the sport of it, and it worked! Nice hints, Kevin.
3
This was definitely a top 10 puzzle for me. Just so many clever hints like “Source of buzz” and my favorite: Old Knockout?
I needed some hints from the column and eventually had to turn on auto check to finish the puzzle in a reasonable time (cause I don’t have all day!). However I was able to fill in quite a bit before then and enjoyed all of it immensely.
Also liked the Passover Dayenu theme in Debs column.
5
I don't know what BREVE is, and I don't care, because I've beaten The Yankee Clipper's record by extending the streak to 57. Next up is 61, Di Maggio's streak in the Pacific Coast League in 1933, when he was 18 years old.
6
Breve is a British music term. A single whole note is called a semibreve. They also call quarter notes crochets... just in case that ever shows up.
6
@Jim Boyken
Crotchet actually. And eighth notes are quavers, which leads us to semiquavers, demisemiquavers, and hemidemisemiquavers... (just in case that ever shows up.)
4
@Andrew Fantastic... 19 letters.. hmmm
I got it from the cross words, but can someone explain why the answer to 40A Barely is "ILL"?
5
@BW The Oxford Dictionary of English includes this definition for ILL: "only with difficulty; hardly". That fits in with "barely".
3
Try thinking of contexts like " buying a car that I could ill afford " or "they are ill suited as a couple"
3
@BW
"The sickly man was ill equipped to run the marathon"
2
Some nuns took up smoking. It's like a bad habit.
(This is a pretty conventional pun.)
23
@Mike
Not with a bang, but with a wimple?
5
@Mike
A nun's hospital gown. It's like a bad habit.
5
@Andrew And then there was the laundry man who rang the bell at the convent and asked if they had any dirty habits...
2
I’m a knitter, so when I got “straights” for “they’re in good hands,” my first fleeting thought was “at last — a knitting reference!” But, of course, “straights” referred to playing cards, not knitting needles.
3
and Elke
First of all- Deb- the second paragraph of your column is a riot. You have either a reprieve of yesterday's ENOUGH or a preview of the upcoming Passover DAYENU.. Funny !
Fun puzzle- really wanted something other than DRAFTY for the hospital gown but did not want to set off that mob of emus.
And . OH MY GOSH , I still have not washed that STINK(e)Y(e) TEATOWEL.
Really enjoyed the reference to Marianne MOORE. She said that "Poetry is the art of creating imaginary gardens with real toads."
Also, "Writing is exciting and baseball is like writing.You can never tell with either how it will go".
But we know this puzzle belongs in the winner's ring.
8
About kvass: I tried it once. According to the Icelandic Prose Edda, it was a sublime elixir that would endow me with the gift of song and verse. Kvasir, by all accounts, had been the sharpest tool in the shed of the Norse pantheon and when he (not voluntarily, but those were rough-and-tumble times) gave his life so that his blood could be drained, sweetened with honey, and henceforth serve to bring poetic talent to anyone who partook of it — well, it was reasonable to hope that some of Kvasir’s wisdom came with that poetry, too. (An alternate reading of that story, in fact, is that Kvasir was just an unpopular know-it-all and the dwarves had had it with him and beat him to a literal pulp, but that’s a depressing thought.)
“Fægt med hvasse Sværde!” Exhort the skaldic verses. “Fight with piercing swords!”
Yeah, the only thing I was fighting was my downed, er, liquid poetry from coming right back up. Heads attached to fragile American stomachs need to remember there’s a reason that while Scandinavians romanticize kvass as the erstwhile lifeblood of sharp Kvasir, Slavs translate kvass as mouth-puckering acid.
13
@Sam Lyons
after recently reading sholom aleichem’s delightful account of a hare-brained scheme to make a fortune selling kvass in the shtetl of kasrilevka, someone brought a sample for our class to taste. feh! let’s just say not my cuppa tea.
one of my regrets is having missed the miro museum on a visit to barcelona. guess i’ll just have to force myself to go back.
terrific friday workout.
2
Re 21D: Mr. Magoo was myopic, not diplopic...
QB,
maGOO was hiding in yesterday's puzzle (67D).
4
For “old knockout” (53A) I first had ETHEl. Thought it was odd (at 56D) that they’d add lYE to kvass (before, presumably, removing it). But I’d just read up on preparation of the poisonous puffer fish, so ...
1
It’s not a regular TEXT, but a SEXT that would be scandalous.
Also, an exhausted person could be on their BUTT 😄
But I guess AUTO(PILOT) makes more sense.
2
JH,
What subtlety am I missing in your observations? The answer in the puzzle *is* SEXT, and in neither alternate you offer would the crosses work.
@Barry Ancona
I think JH might be sharing his solving process.
3
This was a wonderful themeless puzzle. Challenging, with some trivia I needed to research, but no bad entries and a bunch of great ones. Some clue highlights: "Old knockout", "Threat bearing small arms?", "They're in good hands".
About the mini, is STEAK really an entree?
4
@Aarglefarg - it's a cultural thing: see meaning 1 vs. meaning 2
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/entrée
2
@David Connell
The link doesn't work correctly, as the ée gets lopped off and you're left with /entr.
Easy enough to fix, click the link, go to the address bar and add the "ée" and it should work. One HAS to add the accented e because there's also an entry for "entree".
1
@David Connell Thank you very much. :)
Had no idea Orson Welles ever played Ahab so I Googled it. He wrote, directed and starred in a two act drama called Moby Dick—Rehearsed. The play was staged June 16–July 9, 1955, at the Duke of York's Theatre in London. The original cast included Welles, Christopher Lee, Kenneth Williams, Joan Plowright, Patrick McGoohan, Gordon Jackson, Peter Sallis, and Wensley Pithey. That’s what I love about the Times puzzle. You can always learn something new.
14
@Queenie
Thanks for the research. That list of names brings back so many images and feelings of nostalgia and loss. Sixty-five years in the blink of an eye.
Another one for the "Where else but Wordplay?" folder.
6
@Queenie And yet another British cast to die for.
1
Fat then bar then CAL before finishing up the NW.
2
Home late after long day. Started as a trot and hastened to a sprint. Much to enjoy. Still trying to wrap my head around yesterday’s comments. So many people recommending ridiculous name-calling of Deb. Heartbreaking to me.
16
@Puzzlemucker Thanks, but not to worry. Been called much worse. You are lucky not to see the ones that the mods delete.
7
@Deb Amlen
Your class and equanimity are, as always, inspiring. Just disappointing to me that Limbaughian claptrap (directed at you no less) would be endorsed by so many on here. Gee, because I’m such a macho non-snowflake, I really hope we can still have cutesy clues for “mass murder” and “genocide.”
14
Wow.
Until now, I was sorry to have missed dropping in on yesterday.
Don't know what has gotten into people.
9
What a fun puzzle! I loved how it all fell together pretty swiftly after an initial slow start. Long time ago, I had two little girls in my classroom: one nicknamed "MIMI" and one whose family used the word "MIMI" for private parts. Hijinx ensued.
11
@Ann
Your recollection made me smile and I wasn't even in your classroom!
2
@Ann
My grandmother used the term "peppy" for male anatomy. One day, when we were out driving, we passed a fancy French restaurant called Maison Pepe. Hilarity ensued.
6
Very enjoyable. Fun clueing; also enjoyed the two oath locales, but in addition to STINK EYE, the DRAFTY hospital gown really got me sniggering.
2
Wow. Two Friday solves in a row, and quick. Am I actually getting better? That's the story I'm going with...until next Friday.
Fortunately, all the long answers came to me pretty quickly.
The miMi and Midi was a lucky guess.
TEATOWELS is new to me. I had HEATOVENS for a while, although that didn't make sense to me, but it fit!
And I don't think there is anything controversial in the puzzle or the blog today. What are we going to hate on today?!? I wait with bated breath...
4
What a lot of very clever clues and new phrases! I solved this one after seeing Deb's excellent presentation on crossword puzzles this evening at the Smithsonian in DC.
14
@AdrienneMC
How fun! I thought about going but couldn't make the logistics work.
2
Can someone explain these? 'cause I don't get them:
40A Barely = ILL
62A Matches = SEES
2
@Adina
ILL suited (as barely suited)
Sees (i.e matches) a bet (e.g. at poker)
6
@Ray T ,
Thanks. I'm still making a dubious face at my screen. Ill suited and barely suited are very different in my lexicon--barely suited is minimally acceptable, ill suited is *un*acceptable. And the poker thing is a stretch.
I think I'm going to classify this puzzle as "Not my cup of tea-like beverage." The puzzle is fine--the clues...well, they're ill-suited to the puzzle.
3
@Adina - try them as adverbs rather than adjectives.
I can ill afford to lose a week of work.
I can barely afford to lose a week of work.
13
This fell more easily than I expected after a very slow start with almost nothing after the first pass through. Liked the clues for STRAIGHTS and T REX and it was fun seeing the STINK EYE again. THE CASBAH and TEA TOWELS were two longish entries that a) I enjoyed seeing, and b) helped me get deep into the solve.
7
@Liz B
Moi, I looked at the clue for 5D and though Rats, CASBAH doesn't fit...
2
Started slow, then sped up, then got stuck for a while in the NE before it fell. Nicely constructed.
6
I was on track for a Friday personal best until I hit the SW corner. NEWLYWED instead of NEWAGERS lead to LEAR instead of AHAB which lead to oh, never mind.......
4
My fastest Friday! Nice to know that random Mariah Carey knowledge is useful for something.
5
@Zoe I loved Mariah Carey’s early music.
MIMI, not so much.
@Zoe
Congrats Zoe. Fastest Friday is definitely a cause for celebration. I raise my MOCKTAIL (ice tea minus the long island) in your honor!
3
@Zoe Same here! Mimi unlocked the whole NE for me and then I flew down south with the only real hiccup at BINET/MEALY. The SW felt like a drag, but only because the rest of the puzzle was lightning quick. Ended with my fastest Friday, too.
I thought this was going to be hard - there was no gimme to get me started. Then I found NESS at the very bottom SE corner and some long paved over memory cell gave me BINET as the IQ guy and I was on my way. In the end a fraction under my Friday average so I'm happy.
5
@Andrew :PS and I did like the 'Threat bearing small arms?' = TREX clue. Very good.
4
@Andrew -- my experience was pretty much exactly the same. NESS fell first, followed by the unexpected recall of BINET.
1
To 21-Down: Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee by SEVENS, the male and his female: and of beasts that are not clean by two, the male and his female. Of fowls also of the air by SEVENS, the male and the female; to keep seed alive upon the face of all the earth. (Genesis 7:2-3; emphasis is mine, saith Fact Boy)
5
@Fact Boy Actually,
Genesis 7:2-3 New International Version (NIV)
2 Take with you seven pairs of every kind of clean animal, a male and its mate, and one pair of every kind of unclean animal, a male and its mate, 3 and also seven pairs of every kind of bird, male and female, to keep their various kinds alive throughout the earth.
Genesis 7 New King James Version (NKJV)
The Great Flood
7 Then the Lord said to Noah, “Come into the ark, you and all your household, because I have seen that you are righteous before Me in this generation. 2 You shall take with you seven each of every clean animal, a male and his female; TWO OF EACH of animals that are unclean, a male and his female; 3 also seven each of birds of the air, male and female, to keep [a]the species alive on the face of all the earth.
7
@Ray T and Fact Boy,
You gentlemen do realize that most animal species do not form conjugal pairings and likely never did, even back in the Mists of Time?
(I can just see TREX with his small handguns giving the Ark a jaunty tilt)
4
Ahh, Wordplay rabbit holes...
“Of every animal/beast clean/pure, you shall take with you SEVENS SEVENS: a male/man and his female/wife/mate.”
That’s the literal translation from Hebrew (punctuation mine, capitalization Fact Boy’s). Doesn’t flow very poetically when rendered thus, but it does solve the question of “by sevens” vs. “a pair.”
These “sevens,” by the way (שִׁבְעָ֖ה or šiḇ-‘āh), are the same as the “seven” we’re still enjoying today in Sheba (following an interesting semantic change, but I digress), the ritual of shiva (though not Shiva, the Hindu deity) and, of course, the Shabbat.
TIL... No, wait: TIGDFAHB or Today I Got Derailed For An Hour By the grammatical treasures of the Hebrew adjective cardinal number “seven.” If this doesn’t somehow further the manuscript I’m working on, I’ll be forced to extend my sabbatical (pun not originally intended, but what the heck).
5
Today’s puzzle was faster than my Wednesday or Thursday times.
2
@Kevin Davis I finished a little slower than Wednesday, but much faster than Thursday. It seemed like I was >this< close to getting stuck the whole time, but I even managed to guess the 9A/11D cross letter to finish the puzzle.
1
@Kevin Davis
same here.
1