Objectively a cute puzzle.
But who thought this was a good idea?
NYT blows my mind yet again.
1
Oh, Ruth, what's to say? Maybe you are SERENE about including the ANSWER "ABORTED" with this theme. Coincidence? But then there's also "WENT SOLO", "SPILLED GUTS" and "IT'S DONE". Not to mention "SIN", "SCARLETT", "UNWED" and "LOOSER". You were quite tone deaf during construction, or else this is not as "straightforward" a Thursday puzzle as is being claimed. Either way, not a "HEROINE" in my "XBOOK."
3
Why would you do this? I thought the guideline was to remember people are doing this the puzzle while eating breakfast. Relaxing that guideline now? Clever Covid theme next?
2
Please fact-check the claim that Hemingway wrote the ‘story’
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/For_sale:_baby_shoes,_never_worn?wprov=sfti1
thanks
1
Ben WENT SOLO. became Kylo REN.
1
Deb and Will,
You can’t be serious.
I’m days away from my second baby, but my seventh pregnancy. I’ve held my daughter—soft, delicate and perfectly still—until she grew cold in my arms. Words cannot describe what came over me when I discovered the theme.
Absolutely hideous taste. Hurtful, cruel and insensitive. Do better.
7
@JM
I hope it has all gone well by now.
I've seen the unworn shoes. I really wish that they hadn't gone for the photo or the theme.
2
Very late to the party but I didn't find this puzzle to be enjoyable. Well-constructed? Sure. Tasteful? Not so much. The theme was too morbid for my taste and the inclusions of BABY and ABORTED all but ruined my day. Just my two cents.
5
I guess that now the comments have died down I can share a story. My brother. Stillborn in 1965. Carried out the back of the hospital in a sports bag. Buried anonymously in a pit.
We found his grave a few years ago. I commissioned a plaque. His name was misspelled on it. Even in death he suffered from a lack of recognition.
His name is correct now. My mother mourns him 57 years later.
10
I’m always interested in which words constructors choose. Did HOAGY fulfill a vowel-consonant need? Or is the constructor truly a fan?
In that vein, today I somehow made the connection between BABY, ABORTED and SIN. Why? I don’t know. I’m sure, as the kids say, it’s not that deep. Right?!
Perhaps another night I’d be more SERENE. But it’s getting weird here, and I think we’re all on edge.
(My personal feelings on this puzzle’s theme were largely communicated by other commenters.)
6
Add one more to the sad lots.
Sitting in a Waffle House where I stopped for my breakfast-for-dinner-while-solving-before-the-deadline rest stop. I am halfway back to Spartanburg, SC from Savannah, GA (80 degrees and palm trees) where I was leading a faculty workshop at Savannah State U. And the fine folks of Waffle House are looking at me funny, like I had some kind of virus, because I am sobbing uncontrollably. Only a couple of days ago one of my fellow attack from my college lacrosse team called to tell me his daughter had miscarried. It was still fresh when the "NEVER WORN" popped in, and I became weepy. So I had an inkling where the story was going, but the finality of "It's done" just opened the well of tears.
18
I’m sorry to hear about your friend’s daughter’s miscarriage. It’s such an awful sorrow, and sometimes very isolating for all involved. What a wonderful friend you are for being a listening ear.
9
This puzzle was so sad. We are all suffering so much anxiety right now. Couldn't you have given us something happier.
8
I dunno, for all we know, somebody could've bought baby shoes for a friend's baby shower, only having realized that they were no longer needed because somebody else got shoes. No?
9
@Larry No. Ernest Hemingway would lambaste you for a buffoon.
Guess I’m having a literal kind of day. Having once been the recipient of a few pairs of absolutely impractical tiny, fancy shoes for my own not-yet-walking babies, I, in fact, got a smile out of this puzzle.
14
No rebuses.
No tricks.
No Thursday.
2
There's no reason to think Hemingway wrote that story, and it's weird to see the puzzle/column publish this puzzle at all. Why propagate misinformation, especially in the service of an utterly uninteresting theme? Btw, the internet has tons of misattributed Mark Twain quotes and Albert Einstein myths if you need more completely non-Thursday appropriate material.
5
@Paranoid Aykroyd . Yes, and pope and the dalai lama attributions as well.
I am sorry. I found this distasteful.
6
I much prefer PINOCHLE as a card game with melds, and at first I thought I had a rebus puzzle on my hands. Once the cross clues led me to Canasta, it was a pretty smooth solve. I did have to check that Hoagy Carmichael was correct (though I had all the letters for the answer), and BAA as a barnyard bleat required me to search for MIDI.
4
I really don't think that the photo was altogether necessary. A "For Sale" sign, a photo of Hemingway or some such other would have sufficed.
4
This is probably inappropriate in our present situation, but here’s an old two word story:
Coughin’. Coffin.
13
Earlier today when solving this puzzle a gloomy cloud engulfed me. After some thought and discussion with my wife, the loneliness of a life lost took root and we vowed to make an additional donation to Care Net Pregnancy Center. So for me, out of gloom comes hope.
19
@pjfin:
Thank you.
2
So many Leos.
So few iBoxes.
24
@keith
Your SIX WORD post is the most brilliant thing I have ever read! Thank you!!!
2
As a GARDENER, I long to KNEEL in SOIL, to weed, and to
prune, SHRUBS. As for SIXWORD stories, how about, "Hints tease, happiness grows, puzzle solved."
8
Is it possible for this column to avoid graphics that provide hints to the puzzle's theme (i.e. baby shoes)? If you do the crossword on a web browser, it's very easy to scroll down too far an inadvertently get an unwanted hint.
5
Erik,
From earlier today:
https://nyti.ms/2vRS7qA#permid=105772706
@Erik
Not trying to be smarmy, but if you know there is a picture right below the crossword, try to scroll down more slowly.
Even if you if inadvertently scroll to far, doesn't mean you have to automatically focus on the picture.
I think I "see" the picture all the time, but I don't actually "look" at it, until I'm ready to go to the Wordplay column. And honestly, most of the time, the pictures don't have a literal correlation with an answer.
Just my opinion.
Certainly you could try the app instead.
2
Hi @Erik and all who have commented,
I'm kind of stuck between a rock and a hard place on this.
First, I have no control over the layout of the puzzle page. Wordplay was placed on there so that new solvers would know and see that there was a place to turn to for help. I'm very grateful to the designers, because now people are actually aware that Wordplay exists.
Why don't I just not use photos that give away anything in the puzzle, you ask? For one thing, the editors (even though I am the editor of the section, I still have people looking over my shoulder) strongly encourage me to tie the headline and photo to the puzzle. All other content in the paper is published that way, and although we have discussed spoilers, the top still must be topical.
Also, I take my inspiration for headlines and photos from the puzzle itself, sometimes from the theme, sometimes from the fill. Nothing else makes much sense. So in that sense, anything I use could be a potential spoiler.
Finally, I applaud everyone who was able to guess the theme from a photo of baby shoes and the "Concise Yet Evocative" headline. Not everyone can, though. The puzzle could just as well been about something else.
We apologize for the spoilers.
18
Once I got the first three letters ERN, all of the theme answers were quick fill. However, this was still a challenging puzzle. Like others, I figured iBOXES were a thing (I still think 9+ LEOs is too many - get a new name already!), and the crossing of little-used barnyard onomatopoeia with a French term I'd never heard took some guesswork.
56A will always remind me of one of my favorite Simpsons scenes:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCMXmAX18XA
As for my two cents on the nature of the theme: I don't believe the crossword simply must stick to only light-hearted material. The apocryphal Hemingway story is indeed heart-wrenching and serves as a cultural touchstone, and I think it to be a positive thing if it exposed others to a concise, moving story (regardless of authorship).
I do also understand the pain of miscarriage, and that that pain is a reality for far more people than one may realize. To live life is to also realize that one my come up against acute reminders of that pain, and that confronting it and accepting it is part of the healing process.
In short, I don't feel the puzzle treated the theme lightly (or that such a theme received light treatment inherently by its appearance in a puzzle), but I do also understand that it may have triggered some deep, sincere grief in some people. To those I'd say: it's okay to feel that, and you're not alone, and it will get better.
29
@Ryan I think this was brilliant.
6
@Ryan thank you. Exactly so.
1
Nope. You don’t blindside people like that.
Oh, and this. My suggestion for the next theme involving literary parsimony, by Frederic Brown: “The last man on earth sat alone in a room. There was a knock on the door.”
12
Having started in the SE corner, I had SIX WORD filled in before I came across the four theme clues, so there was no guessing involved for me. While my relationship with Hemingway is complicated (sometimes best described as grudging respect, sometimes just plain grudging), that story kicks me in the gut every time. Hard.
Now, the fact that it’s very likely misattributed because myth came... er... clung to Papa easily is another story, hopefully for later, when I’ve had the chance to read all the comments after my day is done setting my hair on fire.
5
Barnyard bleat is MAA? Gimme a break.
13
Arcturus,
Puzzle got your goat?
14
@Arcturus This was the one I had wrong upon finishing the grid. I had BAA, and figured BIDI sounded French enough... "say-lah-vee."
4
@Barry Ancona I kid you not!
10
I had heard of a similar SIXWORD story that went:
For Sale: Wedding Dress. Never Worn.
There is (inevitably) a web page for six word stories. Some are amusing. http://www.sixwordstories.net/
Here's my entry:
Social distancing. Practicing all my life.
35
Here's something for the "One of the only..." objectors (and other interested parties):
https://throwgrammarfromthetrain.blogspot.com/2014/07/observations-on-one-of-only.html
4
And enter this one at your own risk...
https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/161442/does-one-of-the-only-actually-mean-anything
4
@BarryA
Verrrry interesting!!
@Barry Ancona Fascinating! Thanks for sharing.
My freshman composition instructor used the following biblical passage John 11:35 to demonstrate the impact conveyed with few words in a course on Hemingway:
Jesus wept.
6
Got Rice. Toilet Paper. Still Here.
26
Oops. A DNF I didn't see. LEO II led to I BOXES for the "Popular holiday gifts of 2001." I was asking myself, in fact, why, when I'd heard of the IPhone, the IPad and the IPod, I'd never heard of the IBox. Well, now I know why.
5
@Nancy
I, too, started with LEO Ii, but soon figured out the X-factor.
4
I had “ardor” for burning desire, which literally comes from the French word for burning—but perhaps the question mark should have tipped me off sooner
1
My fave six word story.
That’s not “All You Can Eat”.
7
Letter Boxed
Hint: St Patrick
S - S (9), S - T (5)
2
Got this on my own after failing this am, returning on my break at work. Glad to see your confirmation, thanks!
1
@EskieF
Got it. Your tip helped. Thanks!
Four word story about 42A:
ICY YETI.
IT'S DONE.
4
You know, I could have done without this puzzle's theme/message/story, and ditto the photo. Loss of pregnancy and neonatal death are not uncommon parts of human life, but I was unprepared for this puzzle's theme. "Evocative" is the apt descriptor.... Sheesh, Will.
15
@Mean Old Lady
Same here. I'd call this bad timing also, considering recent reports in the news.
4
I must compliment Ms. Margolin for going back to re-clue her puzzle herself rather than taking the lazy course of letting others do it.
Also one for the editors for not feeling compelled to force a gimmick puzzle just because it’s Thursday.
9
54 across, "One of the only..." No, no, a thousand times no. "One of the few," perhaps, but not the construction shown in the clue. I have seen this error too many times in newspapers and on line, and I hope it is not trending upward.
3
Easy Thursday. Waiting for next week.
5
Geez! Reading the Times is depressing enough these days and then I turn to the crossword and guess what?
2
I usually read the opening paragraphs of Wordplay before I start the puzzle, and the picture of the baby shoes was a spoiler for me. The puzzle never had a chance after that. Still, it did take a Thursday amount of time for me to complete the rest of it.
1
@Ken
I'm pretty sure that Wordplay is written for those who either have finished the puzzle or who are looking for some hints. So why, if you don't want spoilers, would you read it before doing the puzzle?
26
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's additions: "I Need a Doctor" by Dr. Dre and "Stardust" by Hoagy Carmichael.
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... but given the number of songs, I'm going to keep it quarterly.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/13Ld8gVTHnIOMN0ePvgmPue7lyYi054TSPnkgd2e275A/edit?usp=sharing
9
I read Mr. Hemingway's stories in Ernest.
(Autobiography of Venus de Milo: "A Farewell to Arms")
15
So while I have *no* objections to the occasional straightforward Thursday, this one hit me hard. I have, thank goodness, no personal experience with the subject of this six-word story, but I imagine this puzzle making that grief fresh again for a parent who does have such experience.
Turning this ultimate grief into entertainment -- doesn't sit quite right for me. I think Will and company missed the boat on this one.
16
I hate quote puzzles, and this one was no exception. And I agree -- to have it on a Thursday only enhances the feeling of disappointment and letdown.
But this puzzle does have one [not quite] saving grace: It introduced me to that incredibly sad and evocative HEMINGWAY title I didn't know: FOR SALE: BABY SHOES, NEVER WORN. Now there's a writer for you!
And so I say: Well done! Not to Ms. Margolin, but to ERNEST HEMINGWAY.
1
A calamitous “Completion”! In retrospect, this WAS a “straightforward” puzzle - but I had to call in Mr. Otto Czech for collaboration. Somebody - somewhere - must have worked a bit too hard on re-writing some of the clues.
“Goes back and forth (with)”?
“Shortening in a coffee order”??
“Unfazed”?
“Do loop-the-loops, maybe”?
“Bed of roses”? (This one sort of grew on me, though.)
“Not so fast”? (This one too.)
I “get” them all - after the fact but they were “too-too” as I solved.
My excuse is a 6-month-old, 4-footed little thing that provides SOME form of distraction about every 30 seconds!! But she is SO cute!!
5
Too bad the link to Wordplay, with the spoiler picture, appears right under the grid so that it's easily visible when you start solving. The puzzle would have felt more Thursday-ish if the theme clues hadn't all been given away from the start.
@Andrea
This has been brought up a number of times in the past. The response: Nada.
1
Well that was depressing. Hemingway's story was my second guess, after Snoopy's "It was a dark and stormy night" didn't fit. So the puzzle fell pretty quickly for me.
3
Sorry, too sad for my taste.
6
This very short story certainly evokes empathy and understanding. Sometimes we need diversion, and sometimes we need insight. This exceptional puzzle offers both. It seems eerily well-suited to our immediate situation.
12
@archaeoprof
I'm guessing you've never lost a child.
1
@archaeoprof
Whoa, there! I said I was guessing. And I'm guessing now that you have completely missed my point in your rush to give me a dressing down.
@archaeoprof
A more civil response would have been either:
Actually, I have, and I still feel that way.
Or
You're right, I haven't, and I might have considered how those who have would view this puzzle.
Have a good day, sir.
Some babies grow so fast that their shoes never fit their burgeoning feet. Imagine Hemingway's feet at, say, six months. Just saying.
6
Good puzzle.
If it hasn't been mentioned already, Hemingway's authorship of this six-word story has been disputed, if not altogether disproved.
5
iBook, then eBook, finally X marked the spot, sputtered Tom spasmodically.
As a young dk hearing my mother and aunt (Mainers) describe their card game I was well into my teens before realizing 1a did not end with a h.
This puzzle suggests an alternative to bad Tom Swifties and that would be bad SIXWORD Hemingway: For lease, one life, never lived. Makes one tingle with anticipation, does it not?
Thank you Ruth
6
Ruth Margolin, thank you! The moment I got the author name I had that thrill of recognition, knew the theme immediately, and it's a story I've always loved.
2
Any permutation of the three parts will make a poignant six word flash fiction!
1
I don’t know how set-in-stone the publishing schedule is, but I do wish this sad (in many ways) puzzle had been pulled instead of running on a very unsettling week. I look to the puzzle for challenge and distraction- neither of which it delivered on today.
11
You came back 4 months later to comment?
After getting FOR SALE and BABY SHOES I went with NEVER USED, figuring there would be a rhyme in here. Equally sad.
But a good Thursday puzzle.
2
This week, easy Thursday feels good.
2
(Just trying to lighten the mood a bit) So right before the 2002 World Cup, Ireland's captain, Roy Keane, had a dust-up with the team's manager, Mick McCarthy, and was promptly sent home (or quit, depending on whose story you believe,)
A clever fellow posted an ad in the Irish Times; "For sale: 1 pair Diadora Brazil boots (Keane's model) Never worn.
8
@Grant, OK, I was hesitating to share this one before, but now I will:
Lena and Ole had been married many years, when Ole passed away. Lena asked the newspaper to run an obit saying “Ole died”. The editor told her the first 5 words were free, did she want to make a longer message? After some thought, she requested they run this: “Ole died. Boat for sale.”
27
I remembered one particular boast from second year Latin. “Veni, vidi, vici” translated to, “I came, I saw, I conquered”. It told about the conquest of Gaul.
3
For many of us, this Thursday resembled last Thursday’s puzzle: No MAA instead of no MA.
MAA has appeared 131 times an entry, including three times in 2019, usually clued as “goat bleat.” Selective amnesia I suppose and a shameful ignorance of French (speaking only about myself, not the other MAA missers).
4
Yeah, this one kept me from gold staring. I didn’t know the French word and I have never seen MAA I’ve BAA. One to put in the back of my head I suppose!
4
@Puzzlemucker I still feel past entries shouldn't necessarily warrant it being included in the future...for it to have messed up so many here, I think the problem is in the clue itself. I'm fairly new to these but I only got it by guessing MAA at the end because I assumed it would never be anything but BAA. It is in *some* dictionaries, but at least half I have looked it up in have no entry (probably more like 75%+ but I'm being generous here).
2
Not a successful solve for me, but really not bothered by that. Puzzle was just kind of a downer for me. My six-word story later.
Got HEMINGWAY early on, but had forgotten that attribution and never did work out all of the story. Was stuck in a number of places - I'll skip the details. Only interesting sidelight - I'm guessing I'm the only one who considered MURDERERS for 20d with a few crosses in place. Though I guess that clue would have been "Ones in a row" rather than 'rows.' And it turns out that MURDERERSROW has been an answer in three puzzles.
OT: Yesterday was chatting with my newest neighbor across a chain link fence. Her 4 year old was by her side and I knew that she has him in pre-school, so I finally asked "No school today?"
So - my six word story: "Neighbor's school closed. Teacher tested positive."
10
@Rich in Atlanta you are not alone - I considered murderers for longer than I’d like to admit!
1
Eerie or grisly coincidence: the Wed NYTimes food section had an article on last meals for inmates awaiting execution.
2
Does lies on really go with surmounts?
3
Teapot,
Yes, it does.
But why take my word for it?
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/surmount
3
@mTownTeapot My feeling too. "Surmounts" seems to imply the getting there, not just the being there.
Got Hemingway pretty quickly but wasn’t familiar with the six word story. Wanted to make it ruBYSHOES and figured it was a recap of The Wizard Of Oz. Way off base. So far me, a little above average for a Thursday time-wise. Like SOLO and REN side by side, and as for the theme, appreciated the poignancy. We can be united in suffering as well as in joy.
3
@Tom Kara I wanted to fill in ARMY SHOES, thinking of Farewell to Arms, in which the main character deserts. Of course, that novel ends with the tragic stillbirth of his son, so I was on the right track.
2
Well crafted / Lovely solve / Sad aftertaste
30
I was familiar with the story, and, like Deb, just felt so sad. I guess that's a mark of good art, but it sure is unexpected to find it in a diversion such as a xwd.
In other news, I took longer than I should've to see that it wasn't some kind of tRISS or cRISS or pRISS CAN. Der.
3
The trick this Thursday was that last Wednesday had the trick. How tricky!
3
I love laphroaig. I shall have one tonight.
Sad puzzle on a sad day
7
Had “iBooks” for Presents, which left an I where and X should have been. Added 2 minutes hunting that puppy down. Still a very easy Thursday solve.
1
Peaty? Really? Why would people want to drink potting soil? And perhaps the baby just was born with big feet and didn't die.
6
@Kevin Phillips
I've been told Laphroaig is particularly PEATY and reserved for the strongest of Scotch lovers.
5
@Kevin Phillips Yes, peaty. It's one of the most common descriptive words for "smoky" Scotch whisky. And no, the baby died.
5
I like that version of the story!! Denial for the win. Lol
4
Once you make an error it’s hard to let go. I had 64 as INSTONE and, above it, thought the dubbing was like film audio, so it took forever to sort out the mess.
My streak ended when the clocks got set forward and I thought I could get to the puzzle before bed. C’est la vie, the new streak has begun.
5
SPELLING BEE GRID
U A C H N R Y
WORDS: 21, POINTS: 122, PANGRAMS: 1 (1 Perfect)
First character frequency:
A x 2
C x 7
H x 5
R x 3
U x 2
Y x 2
Word length frequency:
4L: 2
5L: 7
6L: 7
7L: 4
8L: 1
Grid:
4 5 6 7 8 TOT
A: 1 - - - 1 2
C: - 2 3 2 - 7
H: - 2 3 - - 5
R: - 1 1 1 - 3
U: - 1 - 1 - 2
Y: 1 1 - - - 2
TOT: 2 7 7 4 1 21
Two letter list:
AC-1 AU-1
CH-3 CR-2 CU-2
HA-1 HU-4
RA-2 RU-1
UN-2
YU-2
47
@Doug @Kevin Davis
QBABM!!!
That said, QB is a LOT easier when the letter set (pangram) is a repeat of an October Bee (Third time this month!)
7
@RAH
But two tough words. Big congratulations!
(Can’t stop writing in six words).
4
@RAH
Alternatively:
But who remembers October? Big congratulations!
4
**S P E L L I N G B E E H I N T S**
21 words, 122 points, 1 pangram.
7
Hints: Surprisingly, only 1 UN- word (which is not from today’s set), plus another word starting with UN. I ended up giving clues to all but a couple obvious words.
Other hints:
Precision
The glow around a person
Place of worship, noun & adj.
How to make butter
Sound of chewing hard food, noun & adj.
Clergy position, similar to an island or drink
Comb a horse, or spicy dish
Bottom, hips, & tops of legs (combined)
A feeling, or to bend forward
A cheer, 2 spellings
Vulgarity, noun & pangram adj.
Math term for singular
Strange or mysterious, unsettling
Chinese money
Agave plant
34
@Kevin Davis Thank you for hints. Made genius in record time but was missing three words which I got from your hints.
First two letter list:
AC-1 AU-1
CH-3 CR-2 CU-2
HA-1 HU-4
RA-2 RU-1
UN-2
YU-2
6
@Kevin Davis ha! today I spent the most time trying (unsuccessfully so far) to figure out what clergy position exists that fits these letters and sounds like an island or a drink! That said, your hints make the difference between 'genius' and 'queen bee' - Thanks!
2
I don’t really care/keep track of speed, but that was definitely one of my fastest Thursdays ever.
1
Maa? okay...
3
@Zane
Just remember... sheep go MAA, while cows go MOO. The latter is more popular in NYT puzzles (241 occurances) VS MAA (131 occurances). :-)
1
@Steve Faiella
I think my ability to spell is inversely proportional to the amount of coffee I've had in the morning. I do know how to spell occurrences...
2
Just prior to not getting the happy sound, I was all set to do some research on Le Bidi!
5
When I was done I checked everything but couldn’t find an error. Turns out the barnyard animal sound was MAA, not baa. The down clue didn’t help as I never heard the term MIDI for the south of France. It means noon to me. Wikipedia confirms it though. TIL.
10
@Kevin Davis it Italian, Mezzogiorno means noon but it also means Southern Italy (with an il in front of it). Knowing this didn't help me with the clue though! Oh well, now we know it's the same in France.
3
Same here. Took me ten minutes to find it.
1
@Kevin Davis Came here to post that. It's always been BAA BAA black sheep.
3
Honestly, I have seen easier puzzles on Fridays and Saturdays than this.
1
@Gulzar
So you thought it was really difficult? Or am I mis-interpreting what you said? :-)
A fine puzzle but... I look forward to the puzzle as a time to relax at the end of the day. This one left me extremely sad. Yes, I already knew the quote, but I really didn’t need to see it tonight. Maybe I’m being over-sensitive. Maybe if I wasn’t in Seattle, maybe if it wasn’t today, maybe if a friend hadn’t recently died, maybe if I could count on groceries or could go to work (almost no one is allowed to go in physically), maybe if it wasn’t a hard time globally. But, that aside, there will always be someone in the puzzling community who is going through a tough time and who, exhausted, settles down with the puzzle for a bit of reliable pleasure. Isn’t it easy enough to avoid denying us of that? How about a little compassion?
24
@Cindy And, for anyone who did this puzzle who lost a baby, I am truly sorry.
16
@Cindy
Elbow bumps, Cindy, from a neighbor. It's a rattling
time, and I'm so sorry for your loss.
7
@DW Thank you and elbow bumps, DW!
1
This puzzle was deceptively hard. I had all theme answers filled within the first 90 seconds (RUM & GRAS gave me URGE & PURR, letting me stab at ERNESTHEMINGWAY, after which my one-time fascination with flash fiction sent me off to the races), but I still couldn't manage to beat my fastest Thursday!
Like others, I was hung up on BAA/MAA at the end. I went over the grid in full twice before making the swap. I also wrestled with ENURED ("no, that's supposed to be an I...what am I missing?").
I think I would have enjoyed today's puzzle quite a bit more if I didn't get the theme so early, since now I just feel dispirited. It's as though I put the car in cruise control and promptly veered off-road.
7
I thought it was a decent, straightforward Thursday puzzle.
But that clue for 54A? OMG! Please! “One of the only” is not a thing! Either it’s the only or it’s one of a few!
2
@Dave S
"One of the only" = "One of a few", with the understanding that there used to be many, now there are only a few...
2
"They are the only ones who believe that."
"He is one of them who believe that."
"He is one of the only ones who believe that."
5
@David Connell
One of the only ones? Yes.
I’d be happy to sell several pairs of baby shoes my two year old never wore. I was terrible at guessing the size of her feet when she was an infant, and never bothered to return purchases that were always too small. And who puts shoes on babies anyway? Apparently not my wife and me.
At least one pair came a Babies-R-Us liquidation sale. How about that for a sad short story: Hedge fund profits in Babies-R-Us bankruptcy
16
I couldn't find anything that looked like it could be the error. Some answers I wasn't happy with, such as SIN for "Opposite of purity," but the crosses said that was what it was. I had earlier checked to see if there was such a thing as an i box. Affirmative. How about v box? Affirmative. But switching between "i" and "v" did no good. Suddenly I wondered--might there have been a _ninth_ Leo? I didn't have to check; XBOX saved me.
4
Cows go MOO sheep go BAA, what creature goes MAA? That answer was bullsheep.
24
@James Hamje lol. My 2 year old reliably says “maa” when asked, “what sound does a goat make?”
14
@Scott - Not the first time I have been outwitted by a 2-year old!
13
Three singing pigs go La La La?
(Thanks to Sandra Boynton and two young children, I couldn't help hearing this!)
4
I thought maybe it was a rebus and therefore "the people's republic " of Boulder
4
@coloradoz
Smile.
@coloradoz
Or Cambridge -
Somehow it seemed like the right night for a somber, thoughtful crossword puzzle. Tragedy at its best can feel cathartic as it is an expression of the shared human condition. In the coming weeks as we all turn to these puzzles not only as a fun way to procrastinate but as a companion to our literal isolation, I hope there are more puzzles that find a way to touch the heart as well as the brain.
12
I got stuck for so long cause I had INURED in the upper right but it was ENURED, which I didn't even know was an alternate correct spelling... and I had BITE for cat hate, but it took me a while to see BATH there (cause it obviously didn't go with ERNEST HEMINGWAY). For one of the only remaining "people's republics" I had DPRK, I should have known better not to use an abbreviation, took me a moment to remember LAOS.
I had BAA for "Barnyard bleat" and that didn't end up working with the cross word either.
Overall I got tripped up quite a bit on this one but eventually got it. Sad theme though I have to say.
2
and Elke
Yesterday I shed tears of laughter at the ASSUME video, today I SPILLED tears of grief at unworn baby shoes.
Will REENTER and rewatch the ASSUME video.
3
I’m pretty knowledgeable about Hemingway. I’ve seen the six-word story before and was happy to be reminded of it.
Sadly, that was the only virtue of the puzzle.
3
Not crazy about ABORTED being used along with this puzzle’s theme.
30
@Tim F. Oh for Pete's sake.
Apollo 13 mission to the moon was aborted because of an explosion of an oxygen tank number 2 in the service module.
16
@Ray T Thanks for the unsolicited history lesson. I understand “scrubbed” can refer to an aborted space mission, but it seems to be in poor taste in light of today’s theme. I feel like I’m within my rights to express my opinion on this, especially when comparing my observation to some of the pearl-clutching that goes on here at any mention of the NRA (an organization that I neither condone nor support).
33
@Ray T
I think that @Tim F. made a noteworthy connection that hadn't entered my mind, and I don't think that he was passing any moral judgement.
17
This almost never happens, but the minute I spied the clues I knew what they referred to (it still took me 12 minutes because of a darned typo, though). Like some of the other commenters here, I’ve read enough debunking of the story to know it’s not Hemingway's (one attribution I recall was to a playwright who wrote about Hemingway).
In any case, it's delightful that it all fit in so neatly to a symmetric grid, and it definitely made for a more relaxing Thursday.
2
I have to agree that this was somewhat easy for a Thursday (got my fastest solve time) but I ... well, I didn't *enjoy* the theme but it was well done. Also appreciate seeing one of my namesake's most famous roles, SCARLETT, show up.
4
“For sale: baby shoes, never worn” is pretty commonly known not to actually be a Hemingway “story.” The first accounts of it (or something similar) date to when he was 10 and the first supposed links to him didn’t appear until he’d been dead for something like 30 years. I know the crossword isn’t the news section, but cmon.
6
@Seth Mnookin
To be fair, the first clue says "attributed to", which is probably still the case for many.
2
Fast Thursday. Good cluing. Meh overall.
1
Wow.
I was way off in my interpretation of the six worder. I thought it was a joke, as in, baby's crawl, not walk. So they shoes never get used.
Kinda like how your single friends buy you some expensive designer baby pants, that seem so hip, but in reality, will never get worn, because one-sies are so much more practical for diaper access...
Personally, I think a cross of an animal sound with a french word is cruel. No way I was gonna know it wasn't BAA/BIDI. Thank goodness I like to keep my gold star streaks to under 3 days.
Thanks crosswords for the distraction on this sad corona news day. Sports / travel / lockdowns.
20
HEROINE SPARS, SPILLED RUM, IT'S DONE.
The puzzle, on the other hand, not quite as simple. Had ARdor before ARSON, SmearS before STAINS, iNURE before ENURE, and IBOokS before XBOXES. Then will before Grit before GUTS. After URGE and PURR, ERNEST HEMINGWAY was a quick guess that was fortunately correct. I filled in MAA because sheep are usually on pasture, while goats are often in barnyards. Liked the GARDINERS cluing.
It finally came together, though, and finished in a reasonable (for me) time.
7
@JayTee
GARDENERS
1
@JayTee
YOU NEVER DID THE KENOSHA KID
1
I'm choosing to ignore the theme like so many other things I don't want to think about these days. It is, after all, only SIX WORDS, and there are lots of other things to like in the puzzle, many of which Deb has mentioned.
I could use a shot of noice PEATY Scotch right about now.
13
@vaer
the thought of someone "shooting" scotch seems disrespectful. You sip that bad boy, neat preferred. Is nothing sacred?
4
@vaer
I’m with you about the theme being my least favorite part of the puzzle. IRIS DeMent CAN:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nlaoR5m4L80
4
@Newbie
I only meant shot as a measurement not "doing a shot." Perhaps I should have said two fingers.
@Puzzlemucker
At a certain point, I had the FOR SALE and
_ _ BY SHOES, which I thought might be ruBY SHOES and maybe there was some kind of Wizard of Oz thing going on. Alas, I was soon proven wrong.
4
MAA/BAA mishap and the cross, being Greek to me, was no help. Puzzle checked. Streak broken.
14
yeah, this wrecked me too. now I know, I guess? ugh ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
1
@mark Never break the streak. Always cheat. Some answers don't MAAke any sense, and it's best to cheat past them. Gotta keep those boxes golden
26
@Jake, are you an Astros fan?
6
*applause sign*
Loved it!
Clever and challenging. Chock full of groaners and guessers both.
Cheers.
6
"Not so fast" is a good clue for LOOSER. A racier clue would be "Not so slow". And I'm wondering if I'm the only person who was slowed down by entering AUDIENCES at 20D.
6
@Mitchell, gotcha. Metoo was thinking of the semi-antiquated phrase 'LOOSE woman'.
[Forgiveness sought where/as necessary]
IT'S DONE. That's the story for this puzzle. Two words.
The puzzle solved easily enough. I hadn't heard of the story, It's certainly sad if you fill in the details with normal assumptions. Liked seeing NORSEMAN, X-BOXES (note, should probably be X-BOXEN). UNWED and then WENT SOLO? What happened to the middle part of THAT story?
Had ICY before the real ICY told me that it was NIP. Thought LEO II but couldn't remember anything I BO___ until I filled in the rest of the down entry.
Interesting entries that seem related - LOS and LAOS, PITY and PEATY, TELL and SPILLED, SOIL and STAINS.
7
fun puzzle! some tricky clues. I liked GARDENERS best -- people found in rows!
9
@judy d, yes! Because “people found in a higgledy piggledy mess of perennials” would be too obvious...but for some, more accurate.
11
I googled a few 6-word stories and blanched at this one: “The plague began with a hug.”
33
@Sue Koehler Coronavirus Epidemic Spread With A Trump
8
Of all the countries that have been governed by a Communist regime, there were only five “People’s Republics”: Hungary, Poland, Bulgaria, China, and Cambodia under Vietnamese hegemony (Cambodia under the Khmer Rouge was “Democratic Kampuchea”). There were three “Socialist Republics”: Vietnam, Romania, Czechoslovakia. One was a “Socialist People’s Republic” (Albania), one was a “Socialist Federal Republic” (Yugoslavia), one was a “Democratic Republic” (East Germany), and Cuba was and is simply a “Republic”. Laos has always been the only People’s *Democratic* Republic.
9
What about the People's Republic of the Congo
2
@Fact Boy
Let's not forget our boi Kim Jong Un in
Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
Actually not sure why North Korea isn't included in the list with LAOS.
1
@Bruvver, you really need a special dispensation for any country that self-re-names as frequently as the Congo/ Zaire/ you-name-the-variation-it's been that.
Longer than average. All the overage spent in the southwest quadrant.
5
@Mr. Mark Yes, me too. The MIDI/MAA thing was OK for me because a friend invited me on a tour of the Canal du Midi 50 years ago. I had TOYOTA for the Echo for a long time which didn't help. So in the end it was a longish Thursday; partly because I kept looking for the rebus that wasn't there.
5 minutes of flyspecking, tweaking entries, untweaking entries, pulling hair, unpulling hair, laughing at self, cursing at self. Thinking if Henry Su, as I always do when I flyspecking for more than 30 seconds. My downfall: ignorance of French and a lack of imagination regarding “barnyard bleats.” BAA was MAA and, of course, BIDI was MIDI.
The theme resembled my feelings about Hemingway. Not really. Ah, I don’t know. Loved him when I was a late teen. Not tempted to reread him 40 years later. Haven’t read Deb yet. But the theme was . . . enigmatic. Loved the ENTITLE twin clues/entries and some of the other twinning. NE ate my lunch. For some reason I needed nearly every cross to make out HEROINE, and IRIS SCAN was slooow to come to me.
(Still working through the most challenging rebus puzzle I’ve ever done. Kevin Der’s 10/15/15 Thursday puzzle, which features about 40 unique rebuses.).
9
Shared the BAA / MAA mishap.
13
@Mr. Mark
Good to know I had upstanding company. And sorry about the typos. On Wordplay, once you hit Submit, IT’S DONE.
3
@Puzzlemucker - I had BAA too, but when I saw _IDI, I changed it to MAA.
4
Our constructor writes: "I was pretty surprised, since I had thought of it as Tuesday fare."
I agree.
12
I've read some SIX WORD stories in the past that were just amazing for how well they distilled the essence of the story. I tried to come up with some, but failed miserably. I'm looking forward to seeing what the commenters here come up with.
And I didn't know that Sir Edmund Hillary went in search of the YETI. Will have to investigate further.
At 30, father coronary, mother dementia.
6
His love letter was left unwritten.
3
The scar belied his regal mien.
2
I'm at a loss to express how I feel about this theme. But none of what I'm thinking is good.
9