Relative difficulty: Challenging (well, for me, because I use AcrossLite, so there was a "Note" with mine, and I never ever read "Notes" because I think it's cheating, but this one (which I read after finishing) was like "certain visual elements could not be reproduced blah blah blah" so ugh—they should stop offering the puzzle in AcrossLite format if this is gonna keep happening ... anyway, I don't know what "visual elements" you all had, but I did not have them) (11-something minutes!?!?)
THEME: IN A ROUNDABOUT WAY (28D: Indirectly ... or how some of this puzzle's answers should be entered?) — the middle of the grid is supposed to be a traffic (?) "roundabout" ... so answers enter it and then kinda go around and then head out in a different direction, at a ninety degree angle to where they entered:
Theme answers:
RALLYING CRY (14D: *"Vive la France!" or "Free Tibet!")
POWER OUTAGE (37A: *Reason for resetting a digital clock)
I NEED A BREAK (46D: *"Whew, that's enough for now!")
SPROUT WINGS (33A: *Become angelic, figuratively)
Word of the Day: BRACERO (54A: Seasonal migrant worker from Mexico) —
noun
a Mexican laborer allowed into the US for a limited time as a seasonal agricultural worker. (google)
• • •
Holy cow, you all got arrows and circles and *&%$!????
Wow. Must've been nice. Solving without it was a nightmare. Even when I was done, I didn't know exactly what was going on. I thought the black square in the center (which you'll see, in my grid, is an actual black square—no circle) was where the connecting "roundabout" letters disappeared ... but then eventually I noticed that no, they're right there in the corners (?) of the so-called roundabout, which, honestly, makes the whole thing even *less* like an actual roundabout somehow. The Whole Point of a roundabout is smooth, rounded transitions—no sharp angles. A crossword grid is perhaps the worst possible medium for representing a roundabout. The idea that you enter and then do three quick 90-degree jogs—absurd. I have to say, though, that the arrows on the grid from the app are very stupid and have nothing to do with a roundabout. They are extra, confusing information. I see that they indicate the direction in which the "theme" answer is headed, but still ... those arrows have no traffic meaning, and so ... well, you tell me, but they seem confusing rather than elucidating. Great ambition here, but it just doesn't work as well as it thinks it does.
If I've seen BRACERO before, I totally forgot it, and that was a rough answer to forget, because TYE (?) was a total unknown (51A: Actor Sheridan of "X-Men: Apocalypse"), and so I had to work that area right down to NYC in order to make any sense of it. Also hard: ANITA Hand. Also hard: SALADS, which ... I guess I eat some pretty substantial salads, because the clue was not at all resonant for me (42D: Some light bites). I had NOSHES (and NAPA Valley instead of SIMI). LACKWIT made me laugh (23D: Blockhead). Do you all have that word? And by "you all" I mean "you people who don't teach Early English Literature for a living." Actually, I'm not sure I've ever seen the word in the stuff I teach. It just sounds very 17th/18th-century to me. Sounds like a character in an allegory, like a morality play or Pilgrim's Progress or something. ABREEZE also kneed me pretty hard. Not looking for that indefinite article, no siree. And TEA LADY ... I'll just take your word for it that that is a thing. Thought maybe TEA LAD(LE) and ... the puzzle was some kind of rebus? Dunno. OOLITES was also a mystery but the egg thing made "OO" gettable.
NATASHA Lyonne solves crosswords so she'll undoubtedly be delighted to see her name here (60A: Actress Lyonne of "Orange Is the New Black"). LYONNE seems like it could be useful fill as well.
Sorry you didn't enjoy yourself, Rex. I do the puzzle on the NYTimes website itself, which had the circle (helpful) and the arrows (you're right, not particularly helpful), and I found it to be an example of the best sort of Thursday puzzle: I enjoyed all the seven and eight-letter words (even OOLITES! Especially LACKWIT! But also SCHNOOK, and AUGUSTA, and okay OMITTER not so much). But I think you should rethink your policy of not reading the Notes: it's really not cheating. And even though I also thought at first that one letter was just going into the black hole, when I saw that the corner letters completed the words, while also spelling out the revealer, I was all the more impressed. Well done, Herre Schouwerwou--
I don't really get the obsession with AcrossLite. I started solving on the LAT app, then eventually put out the money for the NYT app, and eventually got in deep enough to do some indie puzzles, which I do solve on AcrossLite. AcrossLite is great. It saves me from buying tons of ink and paper, but the NYT app is good, too! And, from time to time it uses visual elements that are cool. It feels very similar to use (there's adjustable settings), so why not use it? It saves the step of downloading the file and almost every time AcrossLite can't render visual features in the print version, the app does it really well.
Alright, there's my take. Why am I wrong?
I thought it was a great puzzle. The theme answers were on a road of white squares. I kinda think Rex missed that the black squares outside the circle were the other side of the road and that a roundabout has entrance and exit lanes.
I had all the entries filled in, and saw that the _ squares were continuations, but couldn't get them straight before I got frustrated and quit. DNF on a doable puzzle. I came here to see what kind of time OFL posted. Anything less than 6 minutes and I would have given up on crossword puzzles for good!
My puzzle online had the arrows and circle which definitely helped. Thought clues marked "-" meant the answer had circle or round or space involved somehow, as a continuation answer. Skipped that and just thought it was a black hole and the answer continued across. Finally got the theme because I "knew" sprout wings was right and after seeing the fill I had, figured out the pattern. Still, like Rex, had NAPA and NOSHES, no idea on LACKWIT, TEALADY, ZUNI and SCHNOOK. Luckily, most of the other clues were pretty easy. I like Thursday puzzles on most occasions, but not when they try so hard, like this one. Give me a rebus or something.
Agree with Rex about the arrows, confusing and not useful. This was a mess until, all of a sudden, it wasn't. May not strictly be "roundabout" but it was clever and fun.
No mention of my biggest gripe: why on earth were two of the 3-word crosses next to the center square homophones and two not? ORR/ORE, LEA/LEI, but then GEE/KEA and NYC/TYE? Especially with that placement, I got the two homophones early and then was certain it was part of the theme...
The arrows are the direction of traffic flowing into and out of the roundabout. The whole point of a roundabout is that cars merge instead of cross, which is completely represented here. I thought it was an incredible theme and one of the most enjoyable puzzles I've done in a long time.
Took forever to understand the "trick" of the puzzle. (which is typical for me). Once I got the trick, it went pretty well, except for NE. Had UTMOST instead of ATMOST, and could not see 1-down. Figured it was just another proper name I'd never seen. Also started with MACHOER got MANLIER, which did not help matters, along with never having heard of TOLE. Slogged through eventually for the finish, but much longer than usual.
Wow that was extremely confusing. Appreciate the attempt to make crosswords more dynamic, but this just didnt work out well. The arrows were actually more of a hindrance than a help.
Loved the puzzle idea. Nice aha moment when I figured it out.
I solved this by solving almost all of the non-theme material and then piecing together themers. I waited way too long to look at the clue for 28 down, by which time I'd already seen what was happening.
I like the way the roads entering the roundabout are set up so that the traffic is always driving on the right side, since that's the correct representation in this country.
There are some pretty unrounded roundabouts out there, Rex, but I agree that there aren't many with 90 degree turns.
I have to disagree with Rex on this one. It definitely DOES work as well as it thinks it does. This is yet another amazing example of crossword creativity. I’m sure it was a lot tougher for anyone who didn’t have the circle in the middle, but I did. Mine was a real circle surrounded by black squares. It looked to me like many a traffic circle I’ve driven around, the circle itself surrounded by square streets.
I have to say again how impressed I am by the constructor’s ability to think this variation out, with words that run backwards and angle off in certain areas of the puzzle. It certainly isn’t your plain vanilla-type of puzzle, and I thank Herre Schouwerwou for his efforts.
All that said, I found it to be one tough puzzle, precisely because of the afore-mentioned innovations. The dimensional aspect kept me trying various attempts here and there, but I managed to tough it out.
Awesome puzzle. Very clever, and probably pretty hard to construct.
I also started with NOSHES and NAPA, but otherwise the exterior was straightforward and allowed enough hooks into the theme answers that I could figure it out.
Not sure why folks are complaining about the arrows -- in a real roundabout that's the traffic pattern and in the puzzle they definitely helped me understand the gimmick.
I usually see the notes, obediently read them, solve the puzzle, and not get all upset and stuff about needing a note. I like’em, like the extra layer. But somehow I missed the heads-up today.
So sorting this out with no arrows was supremely satisfying. I loved the entire solve. Ok. Technically I messed up ‘cause I put in the I O T A in the corners of the black square in the middle, missing that they were superfluous. Still. I’ll put this solve in the win column.
With magnificent disregard for the clue, I wrote in “Alabama” for AUGUSTA.
Fun to have “ANITA hand” and I NEED A BREAK sharing the grid. Anita May Kovar: Just bought me some Maneater Mascara that is To. Die. For. If you’re so inclinded, get to an Ulta and buy it.
Was confused by the NAILS clue. But I guess there are people who paint then in their bathrooms. Mistake, if you ask me. What. You sit on the commode and do this? On the floor? The side of the tub? Or you’re a squillionaire who has the whole living room vibe going in your 1500 sq foot bathroom? So you have a couch and a footstool next to the game table and tv cabinet?
Couldn’t help but notice RANT crossing INCITES. Um, yea-uhh. Damn LACKWIT.
(So, well, a gift from Hawaii. I teared up back when I first saw this, but seeing it now, I pretty much have a full-on cry.)
Herre – brilliant concept and execution. Bravo! I'mma go stand over with @Brookboy.
This was pretty cool but it was pretty easy if you sat for a second and looked at the grid. You have to study the enemy so that you can find his weak points and then exploit them, which is exactly what I did here.
I immediately went to the arrowed rows (I made sure I was looking at a proper graphical representation of the grid - a very important first step in the crossword solving process) and then attacked those theme answers. It was obvious that some words ran backwards. Plus that circumferential theme answer was clear after a few crosses so after that it all just collapsed. I only wish that the bi-directional themers would have gone further around the circle, maybe 270° each, which would have overlapped each other. That would have really separated the wheat from the chaff around this joint.
Also, its not called a "roundabout" or a "rotary" except maybe in some Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale village with lollipops and wishing wells and Ye Olde Shoppes; no, it's called a "circle" or a "traffic circle." I learned to drive in Washington DC in the 1970s when I was 14 years old and I can drive anywhere in the world fearlessly, including Rome and Ho Chi Minh City, and believe you me those yokels get out of my way. Pierre L'Enfant designed Washington with circles so that if there was a revolution the Army can just hold the circles and have clear lines of fire down all the avenues that radiate outward from them. I learned that in grade school, so be careful.
Yeah, I got the circle and arrows and $&!@, and for me it made for a really fun puzzle. I self-owned myself nicely by insisting on WHO KNEW for WELL NOW, which kept me away from RALLY for a while. Once I sorted that I didn't mind taking twice my average Thursday time for the payoff. (I don't time myself on Thursdays but the NYT app stats are interesting to me.)
I had the circles and arrows on the NYT android app. And unlike must people, I actually found the arrows very helpful - I'm not sure if I would have finished the puzzle without them.
And no, as the something of a reading teacher, I've need seen "lackwit" either. Must first thought (after getting the "wit" part) was and alternative that started with "f-u", but I know the NYT wouldn't outstanding THAT in a puzzle... :)
We took turns in yesterday's puzzle and continue today. This, to me, was one of those faith-based puzzles, where the theme ain't clear, but you have faith that if you keep on solving, it will become clear. So, piece by piece, I filled this in -- not so easy with six answers out of my wheelhouse and some tricky cluing. But squares continued to fill, including a couple of the right-angled theme answers, and when IN A ROUNDABOUT WAY clicked, it was a laugh-out-loud aha. Roundabouts help you get from point A to point B, and I loved the journey here. Herre, this was one sweet and swervy experience -- thank you!
Don't know most of today's TV actors, not a Harry Potterist, so I generally have to solve around those, but I enjoyed this puzzle. This is the kind of thing I enjoy about the NYT puzzle. Yep. Harder than usual, but a good time. Built an Irish coffee--Jameson's, of course, in this Catholic household--and went work on the puzzle in front of a toasty fire in the pellet stove.
To everyone carping about the puzzle not working correctly in Across Lite... how can you even use this? I’ve only recently installed it after backing Inkubator and needing an app that can open .puz files. It honestly makes me want to stab my eyes out. It’s been a long time since I’ve used an app with such disregard for good user interface design (or good design in general). Even the icon is hideous.
Maybe the solution here is not to complain that the NYT is trying crossword designs that don’t work in terrible apps, but to find better apps.
I think this puzzle tried too hard. OOLITES feels in retrospect less hard than it did in context (though I still think that Oolite is a gentle detergent for your fine oolens), but when it's a SCHMUCK not a SCHNOOK, and when tailors SEW rather than FIT, suddenly you really want your garden at a BUSSTOP, not a ROOFTOP. Which did not help. Could we, perhaps, have a one Yiddishism per puzzle limit? If it's tasty KNISHES, I'd be happier than needing to know a pile of different words for "fool" that start with SCH.
But really, this puzzle dies, to me, on __CKWIT, where certainly the two letters that occurred to me were not LA.
(The gimmick, I thought, didn't help much. I have lived in places where they're called rotaries, traffic circles, and roundabouts. When KEA and LEA were 90 degrees off each other, I also was concerned that the other pedestrian crossings in the roundabout might need to be BEA or YEA.)
Ultimately failed on the NE because I couldn't resolve the conflicts I was building.
Crikey! That was hard. Harder than any puzzle on any day this year, I’d say. Took a good twenty minutes to get even part of the theme, then once that was clear STILL had to navigate that insane NE corner.
Felt like a Saturday on uppers, and I loved it.
Google engram indicates LACKWIT is just now reaching its peak of popularity. And first use appears to be in the 19th century. Looking at recent examples, a lot of them come from period romance novels, presumably attempting to have their characters speak in an old-timey way and getting it wrong.
I worked with a Bio major to work up a mathematical model of bird’s eggs of any species based on 3 field measurements and presented the paper to the The American Ornithological Society‘s national meeting. I considered myself an oologist, so I knew the “oo’ of the stone’s name.
In Mexico, the traffic circles were called glorieta when I was driving down there in 2004 on a RV caravan.
I felt like a Half Wit at first then a genius for completing this enigma wrapped in a roundabout in a traffic circle in a rotary. Funnily enough I had just been driving upstate NY in a small town that had installed the most complex rotary I’d ever seen. It was like a daisy chain of illogical twists and turns and lackwit conception. A death trap really. Luckily I kind of learned to drive in Paris and recalled my days circling the Arc de Triomphe, which was my Rallying Cry when I completed this bear. I’m fact Rallying Cry was the key that something untoward was going on. Got messed up with Power SURGE at first and botched it at SNACKS for lite bites. If you’ve ever been to a Ponderosa, you’ll agree that SALADS are rarely “light” loaded down as they are there by assorted pastas and mayonnaise infusions. I would call this the puzzle of the year, too, if it weren’t so full of icky pop references from TV Land.
@LMS, I agree. Most people I’ve seen paint their nails on subways or in buses or even at restaurants. One time a female next to me on a crowded plane was doing her toe nails.
I had to use both across lite and printed version from computer because the printout didnt show any across numbers, and then the grid as printed had numbers that didn't match those in the across lite grid. Doing the numbering reconciliation was a giant pain in the ass, and that I bothered is likely testament to my own latent ocd. Since they couldn't find any platform to adequately provide the puzzle, it should never have been run. It was more work dealing with technology and logistics than the puzzle itself. Hated every second.
I did this on Across Lite (as always -- my fave), but I read the note (it's not cheating!!), so I also took a look at the PDF version on the NYT site, and saw the arrows and circles and entry and exit points, and also made note of the differences in the numbering of the two versions. I thought it was a pinball machine, with those four things on each side serving as plungers, and the answer would start at the entry point, bounce around in the middle, and then come out/finish up at some random exit point. Took me a while to realize that just a simple right turn was involved.
We call them roundabouts.
Fun, clever, challenging puzzle.... But LACKWIT?!?!?!??!
Those arrows have no traffic meaning?? There are arrows everywhere in traffic.
Also, Rex: read notes. Come on already. It's not cheating. You're just cheating yourself. Wouldn't it be better to actually enjoy a puzzle the way it's meant to be enjoyed?
I also agee that the arrows were helpful. I needed them to realize that some letter would be running in reverse order (e.g. from down to up). I wish the roundabout (or rotary in my neck of the woods), had acted more like one with answers moving around the center more (though I can only imagine how difficult that would be...if not impossible).
I found BRACEROS a gimme, thanks to Tom Lehrer, who reminded me how old the bracero program really is "and even in Egypt, the pharaohs had to import Hebrew braceros." ;-)
I print out two copies of the puzzle the night before, and my wife and I solve jointly over breakfast. We don't use Across Lite, so we never saw the note. We still don't know what it said, but it probably would have helped. DNF for lack of time. If we don't finish within an hour and a quarter (except on Sundays) we usually give in and check out Rex. On Sundays, we sometimes don't finish until almost lunchtime.
We've driven on roundabouts in France and the Netherlands, both of which have counterclockwise driving (on the right). In Japan and England (both island nations) where they drive on the left (clockwise) I never dared to drive.
A stranger saved my life in London when (on foot) I looked to my right before trying to cross. He rudely (but practically) jerked me back to safety. Never made that mistake a second time. Never drove in Rome and never been to Ho Chi Minh City. Definitely not a fearless driver.
It’s called a roundabout, a rotary, or a traffic circle depending on where you live. Why do people assume that the terms they use are what everyone uses? Ever heard of regionalisms?
I solve in the paper, folded up and supported by my knee. Worked wine with this one. Initially, I thought there would be a letter in the central circle, which works if you write RALLYINGCRY going straight down with the I in the center -- but not for any of the other themers. It was only when I finally got IN [or by] A ROUNDABOUT WAY that I saw how to do it. I never saw that it was a traffic roundabout, though, since that's a British term (you know, like TEA LADY), and the traffic was moving in the US direction. I'll count it as a success anyway.
I did learn that my knowledge of state capitals has faded, or blurred or something -- I rejected Maine right off the bat because ORONO was too far down in the alphabet.
Aside from that my biggest problem was misreading the clue number and writing STROBE at 59A.
I was going to post a Tom Lehrer link, but @ghthree bet me to it. I was going to post a link to Shakespeare's use of LACKWIT too, but it seems that he didn't. Ah well.
@Loren, that avatar took me a moment or two, but it's brilliant!
I don't usually disagree with Rex, especially on puzzles that frustrate me like this one did. But I gotta say the payoff was actually worth it in the end. I solved it on the website applet so there's that...it made it much easier...and with that giant circle in the middle with the dashes around it, I figured that the squares around the circle would spell something like, "Remember to drink your Ovaltine!" or something cruddy like that. But, to my surprise, the thing made sense.
I also gotta say that opening up the puzzle and seeing it for the first time was a bit of information overload.
LACKWIT and OMITTER get my votes for the lamest answers. TEALADY next to MANLIER is problematic too given what Tea Lady can mean. The Tea Lady definition from the Urban Dictionary:
A dated term referring to one's female spouse or sometimes one's mother. Depending on usage can be an insult or a term of endearment. "Hey guys, I want to go to the strip club with you guys and all, but my tea lady says she is going to change the locks on the house if I go out tonight."
What on earth is YRCGN/UORPS???? It doesn't read any better backwards, the way the arrows point: SPROU/NGCRY. I knew it was wrong, so I came here, only to find out it's right. It doesn't make any bleeping sense!!!!
The rest of the puzzle is problematic, too. I love tough, unusual puzzles, but I've always had difficulty with a lot of unclued entries. In the best puzzles, unclued entries somehow manage to be clued obliquely -- even if you don't see it at first. These unclued entries don't seem to be clued at all.
A failure, I'd say, unless I've completely missed something. Which, with me being me, is never beyond the realm of possibility. I'll go read everyone now to find out. If it's right there, under my nose, I'll come back to say I wasn't smart enough. If not, I would maintain: Unsuccessful Puzzle.
Herre is a very clever constructor. His brain works in mysterious roundabout ways that I love. Never a disappointment. I've only done one puzzle on my iPhone and I thought I'd go as insane as my first ROUNDABOUT experience in Rome's Piazza Venezia. I'm glad I download. I'm glad I saw arrows and the little white circle. I'm glad I survived going around and around my first roundabout and wondering why a bus was coming at me in the wrong direction and why the hell I couldn't get out of the circle and turn left like I wanted to. This was the best Thursday I've done this year. Who doesn't love arrows and misdirections and wondering how people come up with these insane chaotic ideas that turn out to be so much fun when you finally reach your destination. My only write-over SCHMUCK instead of SCHNOOK. Just take another sip of my morning LATTE and it all comes together. I stopped watching "Orange" after a few episodes and so didn't remember NATASHA. I do remember Uzo Aduba because she has a wonderful name. She was my last entry. I know half wit and nit wit but I guess LACKWIT is lot more PCer these days. TEA LADY sounds so quaint. Are there MANLIER TEA GENTS? I hope you put more than one PINE NUT in your blender when you make pesto. We have ROUNDABOUTS in my neighborhood and no one knows how to yield. My British brother-in-law was following us to a restaurant and as we turned left, he kept going round and round like a veritable peas in your SALAD, eat them with your knife and lick your fingers after you're done, bloke. BRACERO is a great name for the hard working farm hand. It means to walk arm in arm with strength. This was fun to figure out and fun to finish without Tia Google. I'll remember this one, Here.
I truly loved this one because for a few minutes I hated it and nearly quit. Finishing this was so satisfying. Every time a puzzle causes the solvers who are married to their electronic devices to have a fit I feel so happy here in my cave huddled over my chisel and stone tablet. Sorry folks, that's just the way I feel about it. So many witty comments today in the wake of a great puzzle. A good day in Crossworld. Agree that a clip of Yes playing Roundabout would have been icing on the cake. I don't recognize this constructor. Debut?
@anonymous 8:02,I do believe LEA is pronounced leh-ah in this case since it is a Hawaiian word. It was very Rex of the poster to complain because he saw two perceived homophones and therefore assumed all of them must be, then got mad at the puzzle because they weren’t. Really amazing original conception and execution on this puzzle. Great to have on a Thursday.
WELL, NOW. I see I was supposed to hook up RALLY with INGCRY; and SPROU with T+WINGS, etc., etc. Would I have gotten POWER OUTAGE (instead of POWER BREAK, which I thought was right) if I had had TYE instead of sYd for the totally unknown "X-men" clue (45A)? And would that have set me on the path to Complete Understanding?
Not bloody likely. The way the fill connects seems quite arbitrary. It remains something of a mystery to me, and I still don't think the puzzle works.
I solve on paper, so had the benefit of the arrows and circle. Arrows were hugely important to me, for exactly the reasons cited by @Jim Lemire. Even with them, the puzzle was super hard -- and super fun. I basically started anywhere I could get a foothold (thanks, MANDELA, NATASHA, ASTROS, ORR and NYC) and went from there. I had to fill in basically the entire grid before I could figure out the theme.
And what a payoff it was! Amazing that the constructor was able to come up with phrases that intersected with the revealer like that. And, we get nice open corners and not nearly as much junk as the theme constraints might have necessitated. So bravo all AROUND to Herre Schouwerwou!
Best of all, you can flip the puzzle on the NW-SE diagonal, and it works just as well for the UK and other drive-on-the-left countries!
Wish more Thursdays were like this, but there's only so much trickeration out there, and today's constructor used a lot of it. Outstanding.
I got the theme and finished it without much difficulty. However I can’t say I really enjoyed it much. Even with the arrows and grid design, it was confusing to the point of frustration. Perhaps if there had been a more specific hint at the “roundabout“ factor it would have made it a lot more fun, and instead of a disgruntled solver, I would be a happy one. But to give credit where it’s due - nice effort on the construction.
OK, I can't believe I'm commenter no 59 or something and nobody has told you this, but your picture of what we got in the printed newspaper is not correct. I don't know where you got it, ut it shows numbers where we do not have numbers. As in, there were no numbers at the apparent front of numbers that went backwards. I don't know if you were given some sort of clues for those numbers, we weren't. Which meant we knew those answers went in the other direction somehow or other.
Once I got the roundabout/traffic circle, I first tried to devise a phrase which entered the circle at 12 o’clock and left at six (or three and nine) or vice versa but then realized I had to go to the first exit in either direction. Nicely done puzzle. Also tried to read the constructor’s name backwards as a just in case...
Jeff Chen says, in a roundabout way, that he thinks people will either love or hate this puzzle. He seems to be correct. I am somewhat of an odd duck in that I just shrugged my shoulders at the puzzle, although I recognize the idea is quite original.
The constructor states that he clued the "arrow" entries with two sets of clues. One set had clues relating to traffic but Will chose the other set. Too bad.
If puzzles include notes, the notes are there for a reason. If they are there for a reason, one should read them. If one is obstinate and refuses to read them, then one should lose the right to complain about any complexity issue in solving the puzzle.
The past few days, there is seemed to be more comments about the evaluation in the write-ups than the puzzles themselves. Nice to be back to normal.
It was a slog for me, and even when I tumbled to "in a roundabout way" I still didn't see what was going on. Unlike some others, I was flummoxed by the arrows, thinking that the key answers went one way to the middle then the other in the "-", at least North and South, then thought the went across the middle East and West after I got "power break", which I thought was odd, but not as odd as "sproung cry", "I need utage" or "Rally wings". Even after coming here and reading the solution I didn't see it for a few moments. Roundabout is a regionalism, most places in the States use "Traffic Circle". It's an interesting puzzle.
Had Hopi before Zuni, too much pop/sports culture for me, although having lived in Boston I know a lot about Bobby Orr. "Anita"? Never heard that one. Anon up there is correct, "Lea" is pronounced "Lee".
Bracero is no longer a thing as we have a certain person who knows absolutely ZERO about business, farming, economics (macro or micro), immigration or, well, pretty much anything, keeping them out of the country so the crops can (and have) rot in the fields unpicked.
There's a solver named Chris Finlay, from the Isle of Man of all places, who drew for me the loveliest 4-color diagram of how the answers go around the center. This was on the Wordplay Blog (I know, I know, I'm not always completely monogamous). It appears under my first, not second comment. (On Wordplay, the earlier comments are below the most recent ones.) If you click on his reply to me -- the second one with the blue link -- you can see his illustration.
I bring it up only because if I'd had that illustration in my mind's eye, this puzzle would have seemed much less arbitrary and much more elegant to me. Seems the puzzle is light-years better than I thought. The problem is: I don't thank my mind has an eye.
I feel like LACKWIT is a Game of Thrones word. My first reaction when it clicked is that I’ve seen it before, but not in the real world because it’s something Tyrion Lannister would call someone.
George R.R. Martin likes to use names and words that are almost-but-not-quite like their regular English counterparts (e.g., his characters call underwear “smallclothes” and the name “Kevin” gets changed to “Kevan,” to give two examples). LACKWIT feels like it’s in that not-quite-real category.
What "odd sock" (8:53) said!! So pleased with myself for having finished this one, and actually understood the gimmick only a few clues from the end. The pop culture references that always mystify me ( Tye, Natasha, ) were easily discernible, and it all worked! Felt much the same yesterday. Two "challenging" two successes...no doubt I will DNF on an "easy" one tomorrow...
Hesitated to have a knish, because lately I have been enjoying mostly the "Gabella" fried, oily knishes, which aren't really "turnovers..." I consider the knish to be a wonderful dietary aid. A single helping is so filling that it prevents me from eating anything else for hours...
OFL is worried about cheating? This whole exercise was cheating. Cheating us. This is a word game from WS's former life, not a crossword puzzle. A complete waste of time.
A worthy Thursday! I love the representation of the ROUNDABOUT, with its true-to-life directional arrows. And I'm floored at how IN A ROUNDABOUT WAY overlaps the letters of the 4 theme answers. Wowza!
Like @Nancy, I accepted POWER BREAK as a "different" (as we say around here for "that's a little weird") way of saying POWER OUTAGE, so I expected all of the other answers to run straight through as well. Talk about flummoxed! Only when I spotted the errant CRY over there on the left did I understand what RALLYING had to do, and then I whizzed, relatively speaking, around the rest of the circle.
Other grid pleasure: the strangely echo-y ALMOST ASTROS; the euphonious MANDELA GRANOLA; OCD next to STEWS ("Did I remember to wash my hands when I came in, before I ate...?"); the CH-SH mash-up in the SE (BOTCH, NATASHA, IN CASH, THRASH, KNISHES). New to me: LACKWIT, BRACERO.
@Lewis - I love "faith-based puzzle": I'd been thinking "challenging, in the best way" (meaning, I'm stuck, but I just know I'm going to get it). Your phrase is so much better.
Years ago when I went to the British library for research there was a little old lady who wheeled on a cart of tea and biscuits. Is that what they mean by Tea Lady? Very cute.
I grew up in the Land of the Rotary, aka Massachusetts, and entry/exit lanes are not 90 degree thingees. at most 45 degrees, thus the answers should be so constructed. would make it even more difficult, but I do have a vague recollection of diagonal answers. oh wait... wasn't that yesterday???
Best Thursday puzzle in many weeks. Pen and paper here. I got 'round' and wanted 'goaround', but it didn't fit the clue. 'Rallyingcry' showed me 'inaround', which led to 28D. From there, not knowing either Augusta or Natasha (crossing proper nouns is bad in my book) made the lower right the only sticking point.
Great puzzle. Quit your whining. It nearly stumped you, but only because you didn't see it as actually presented. The print version is official. Apparent NYT does provide an app that renders it correctly. If you don't use the right formats, you have no basis for complaint
No understanding! I tried the puzzle, read Rex’s notes, read the comments. I still have no idea what’s going on here! Looks like a lot of people really enjoyed this. Oh well, I will be extra smart with Friday’s puzzle.
I too always used AcrossLite, but then for some reason (I think it was because the NYT stopped compiling stats on AcrossLite times), I reluctantly switched to the web app. It was a frustrating transition, mainly because of different "rules" about what comes next after a square is filled in, but eventually I got used to it. Now I use the app every day, and I like the way it keeps track of one's average times, number of consecutive days, etc. And I always get to see the grid the way it's intended to be viewed. Rex, I think you should ditch AcrossLite and start using the web app. Your times may be slower for a while, but they'll recover, and you'll be glad you made the change. Take the plunge!
@RP: day-um, dude. U plunged into a NYT ThursPuz usin milktoast-only Across-Lite [which can't handle much of anything out of the ordinary], without readin the oh-so-crucial Note, placed there for your Across-Lite-users-ass protection?!? Kinda like plungin into a roundabout, without knowin or carin what the rules for a roundabout are. Just cut plumb straight across through the plants and rock and shrubs and park benches and such in the center of the sucker … go for the crash and burn. har
@muse: har2. Primo avatar. U are one commenter that never lacks wit, darlin.
Roundabouts: snarl. Never have much liked em. Sure did like this puz, tho. Admired its consistency, in only takin quick right turns via the roundabout. Best way to handle a roundabout -- get in and out of the sucker as fast as U can. And don't get m&e started, about tryin to use GPS with a roundabout. snort
M&A always uses the print puzversion, so had minimal nanosecond overages, sussin out the theme mcguffin. Only thing that kept throwin m&e was that giant, maw of an empty circle in the center. Surely I was supposed to put something in there … ? Evidently it is merely the hole left, when @RP wild-assedly crashed into it.
staff weeject pick: ORR crossin ORE. In a round-about way. Discuss.
Thanx so much for the great puz, Mr. Schroundabou. Dang -- only 65 words; helps average things out, for yesterday's 85-worder. thUmbsUp, Herre dude.
Good gravy, I'd doing this grid on the computer and it was a slog
A first, I really thought I was onto something when I got POWER[0]BREAK for the alarm clock reset clue, with the center representing a break(??) Not a helpful assumption.
Hey All ! I subscribe to the NYT Crossword-Only $39/year deal. And the puz I got from the NYT site was the correct version. Had the Circle and the Arrows, plus the entries/clues were numbered in a way where there weren't any "-" clues needed. As in, puz went from 27A to 29A, no 28A "-", and 39A to 41A, with the middle "OUNDA" un-numbered. There are usually two options to print puz from the NYT site, one of them being the one that shows the correct format of the puz. The other one usually is the same, unless some tricksy thing like this is happening. Today, I only got this option.
Although the circle didn't really help today, having the arrows was a boon. Not sure how one could suss out what in tarhooties was happening without them. I too thought thy would be straight across at first, thinking, "Why do we need the arrows if it's just a continuation?" Har.
Very impressive construction, Herr HERRE. Not only did he find the 4 themers (granted, could've been any 11 letter phrase), but had to work them into the IN A ROUNABOUT WAY center block thingie, plus design a grid around that, and produce a puz with good fill and light dreck. Bravo!
Fun to read the themers the correct direction: IYAWT. YRCGN. UORPS, OUNDA. INARO, SGNIW, UTAGE, TUOBA, DEENI. Some of them look like actual words.
So three UTAGEs for Mr. Schowerwerewoo, or whatever your outstanding last name is. :-)
Ditto about the POWER[0]BREAK thing, but it still didn't feel right. I finally had an AH HA moment, which is rare. I can't even imagine doing this one without the arrows. With them it was confusing, then ignored and finally understood. I like this one. Good and slightly odd words, challenging but not enough to stymie.
The only "person" I've heard use the term 'lackwit' is Mr Burns' mother (on the Simpsons). In the same sentence she calls a nuclear power plant an 'Atom Mill'.
I use the official NYT Crossword app and not only were the circle and arrows not visible, there also wasn't a 'note' of any kind. Even after succumbing to failure, and visiting this site to check the answers, I still don't see the pattern for 31 Across. This puzzle seemed more like the streets of Tokyo (purposely designed to confuse invading armies) than it did a 'roundabout' in any way. I'm not sure the circle and arrows would've helped, at all, and I'd still like to see what the note said (which, by the way, is asinine: if you need a note and diagrams to 'explain' your puzzle, maybe it's time to let someone else create it).
@John B and anybody on the real-live NYT puzzle app/site: Click on the cogwheel and you get to set up your OWN preferences for what happens / how you manouver, etc. If there's something you don't like, other than Rex's attitude - you can change it!
@burtonkd, no reason it matters but lea is not a Hawaiian word, you are confusing Loa with Kea. They are both two-syllable words, but neither one is Lea.
Now this is a Thursday that knows how to Thursday. Three S rating for Super Satisfying Solve.
Our son was married in England and two dear friends that attended had wonderful stories about roundabouts and how they could get in but never get out. They made it to the wedding, but went touring afterward. Were are they now? For all I know they're still going around, sort of like Charlie on the MTA.
Just over of half normal Thursday time, despite trouble in the center until getting the theme. Had the arrows and center circle visible in the grid and those elements eventually helped with solving. Did not like OMITTER, but liked the puzzle.
Wow, a 32 minute Thursday - must be a record slow solve for me, for a Thursday. Maybe that anagram puzzle was longer.
I wasted many minutes hanging out in SIMa Valley. This kept LA_____aT from filling in for a long time. I finally said to myself, "Okay, if it is Mauna Loa, what would 23D be? And if it's Mauna KEA? Aha, LACKWIT!" I have been reading a fantasy series by P C Hodgell for over 30 years (there have been some LONG gaps between books) and there is a semi-major character referred to as Lyra LACKWIT, who appears in the last 4 or so books, so the word is well-known to me. SIMI, not so much, along with TYE and NATASHSA and BRACERO.
I was convinced this was going to have some letters in the center which were facilitating the rotations. I had I, O, hey, add a U and it's a poker ante, yay! I get the theme. But, but, the U from SPROUT doesn't go into the center, and...
Hopi, AtlanTA, thinking the answers were going in sideWAYs, all contributed to my time. But I came out victorious and I like it. Thanks, Herre!
ROUNDABOUTs - I love them. And I hate how Minnesotans navigate them, as in, everybody just goes, no yielding (or they come to a complete stop). The city where I work recently put in two within a block of each other right near the National Sports Center, home of international soccer tournaments. When there's something going on at the Sports Center, no one can get into the roundabout because the traffic is unending. Because you can't see over the center mound, it's impossible to gauge whether it's safe to scoot in. Luckily, I'm usually on my bicycle cutting through their parking lot and I don't have to deal with it. Negotiating the sharp curves on ice is a joy also, which many found out yesterday. No RANT here, move along...
I loved this puzzle. It had that "I wonder what's going on here" effect just long enough; then it all fell into place at once. Bravo!
I assume the center circle is the shelter in the middle of the roundabout, behind which a pretty nurse is selling poppies from a tray. (And keeping the tea lady company, I dare say.)
This was fantastic. I'd like to marinate in it before declaring it my favorite puzzle ever, but it's definitely a candidate. I'm glad there are so many other positive comments because I thought the concept and the execution were outstanding. The "hated it" comments seem to be coming from the puzzle purists. I get that, but if you are a purist you should probably find something else to do on Thursdays so the rest of us can continue to benefit from this kind of creativity once in a while.
Rex today: "They should stop offering the puzzle in across lite format if this is gonna keep happening."
Rex tomorrow, when they stop: "They should bring back across lite! They can solve the occasional inelegance by adding a note when necessary!!"
Wow... @Z, thanks for the tip of PUZZAZZ! I need to study the app some more but it looks pretty nifty. And yes, it shows the grid exactly as it looked in print, with no note or paper clip to tip. Not sure I'll make the switch from Across Lite on a full-time basis, but this is great to have!
@mmorgan - I miss the navigation buttons and I don’t bother with the softwrite function, keyboarding being fine by me if I’m forced to solve electronically, but always rendering the grid as intended is a big big BIG plus. Whenever the NYTX breaks from the routine, heck - even with straightforward rebus puzzles, a plethora of complaints about the technology are sure to follow here. I never use AcrossLite anymore, even though it was the first or second xword software I ever used. Oh, I also use PuzzAzz for Fireball puzzles while I use StandAlone’s Crosswords for BEQ and Newsday. That last is purely because they download automatically.
@everyone - Just a reminder to always check @LMS’s avatar.
For once I saw the note and printed it out in pdf format. It was still tough. Hand up for thing POWER BREAK was odd but correct until I uncovered TAGE going down near the POWER, AHA, that’s what your up to. Fun, fun and more fun. Loved it.
In Scotland we had quite a lot of ROUNDABOUTS, but we pronounced them ROOND A BOOTS, I still do.
Had I seen the word "roundabout" before I checked Rex's blog, I *might* have enjoyed solving (as opposed to *work*ing) this puz. But I didn't. Just. Wasn't. Worth. It. Call me a LACKWIT.
WOWZA! We all get our enjoyment in such diverse ways! Personally, I saw the arrows and immediately knew that we were going to have some “bendy” answers. While I was hopping around finding my toehold, I realized that: 1) there were several ways for answers to “bend” and 2) the big white dot must mean something (and my first thought was that somehow a figure of some kind would be put there-wrong!). But when I was certain about POWER OUTAGE, I just worked until I found how it “fit” starting with i ts initial arrow and e voila! The rest of the answers were fairly accessible through crosses. About average Thursday time for me and other than ABREEZE (really?!?!) a nice grid and an enjoyable solve.
@John Hoffman - Not that you actually asked, but here’s a breakdown
Four clues behave by being entered IN A ROUNDABOUT WAY. 14d is RALLYING CRY, starting at the square with the number 14 in it, going down, left, down, left, ending at the last cross to 2D, the Y in TEA LADY.
35A (Paper)/37A (NYT App/AcrossLite) is POWER OUTAGE, starting at the square with 35 (paper) or 37, going across, down, across, down, ending at the E in DUE DATE.
57D/65D (more appropriately considered an “up” answer) is I NEED A BREAK, starting at the 57/65 square that crosses INCITES, and heads up, right, up, right, anding at the K in KNISHES.
32A/33A is SPROUT WINGS, beginning at the S in OOLITES, which has the number 32 in it in the paper and no number in the NYT App and AcrossLite, and reads left, up, left, up, ending at the S in SCHNOOK.
Finally, all of the four themers intersect with the answer to 28D, IN A ROUNDABOUT WAY, the answer circling the the central 3x3 box with white circle/box.
This sucked. The roundabout theme doesn't work. I did get power outages, and rallying cry, but I didn't know why I got them! I didn't have trouble with the rest of the fill, though. Lackwit is in my wheelhouse, and no, I do not teach 17th century English, I do not teach English -- although I taught freshman English at a CUNY college for four years once upon a time. I knew bracero. Didn't know Natasha Lyonne, but figured out Natasha from the crosses I was filling in. Didn't know tea lady, but figured it out when the tray of tea tray didn't work. A breeze, Zuni, and knishes made interesting, revealing crosses. And I didn't get sprout wings at all, until just now, when I read John Hoffman's post. Congratulations to everyone who understood the roundabout theme. Roundabouts are useful traffic pattern solutions, better than traffic lights in some circumstances. But the roundabout in this puzzle seemed murky and foggy, and I just wanted to escape, so I turned to Rex!
I thought this was a fabulous puzzle. Very clever. Would not have been able to get a foothold without the arrows but once I did it was (relatively) smooth going. and then when I saw the center was IN A ROUNDABOUT WAY, and not just random letters, I was really wowed.
LACKWIT: worthy of a brickbat. Also, OMITTER should have been omitted.
SCHNOOK: I am offended.
TEALADY: wanted TEA cozy.
re AcrossLite: "Roads should not be made for cars because I drive a horse and buggy."
Great fun. Initially, I thought the route followed the arrows across the middle and between top and bottom. SPROUTWINGS cleared that up.
One reason I love driving in Europe is ROUNDABOUTs. The second is the wonderful driving habits of Europeans on motorways. Nobody hangs in the high speed lane unless they’re passing (or flying). I can’t imagine how European visitors to Connecticut deal with the buffoons on the Merritt Parkway.
Back when I lived and worked in England the TEALADY would bring a cart round the office with tea and biscuits. That was a while back, don't know if they still do. But the clue did say Britain.
I thought it was a great puzzle. The arrows and dashes definitely primed me to expect answers in different directions and continuations. Once I got POWEROUTAGE everything followed pretty smoothly.
Two comments for OFL. I don't think it's fair to criticize the format if you aren't using either the published paper version or the official NYT crossword app. I don't think The Times has any obligation to support third party applications.
Second, I don't understand how you have so much time to be frustrated and annoyed and still post a time that would be a personal best for me. Took me 44 minutes, and I'm happy just to have finished it. Guess I'm a LACKWIT
Thought the puzzle was fun. Just got back from a trip to Sedona where they have roundabouts on major streets so I got the theme pretty quickly. Supposedly roundabouts keep traffic moving and are safer than four way stops. Ran into trouble when I was confident that the state capital was CONCORD rather than AUGUSTA.
LOL! I didn’t look back at the clue again when I was angrily searching for a typo at the end of my solve. Had a k we jerk reaction to it as if it were clued as other irksome words have been lately. . . AGAPE (with mouth wide open) recently. I sit corrected.
@JC66: at least here in the Effete East, a Parkway is a limited access highway (usually only 2 lanes each side), which is bordered by trees and gardens, i.e. a Park. certainly, the Merritt. it is a Driveway, since you Drive into it, and Drive away from it.
Ugh! Using the official NYT crossword app and: No arrows or circle No title No note Absolutely nothing to go on. Ridiculous! I don’t know how I muddled most of the way through on my own before coming here t9 find out what was up. Very annoying.
thirsdaysd 5:39, I can still remember when our ashtrays at work would be emptied and wiped clean each night by janitors. Tea ladies seem so benign. We were disgusting. I liked the puzzle. Always on paper; always in ink. (Can’t see pencil). If you’re careful, you can limit write-overs. Mine were “Eden” for 27 across (too clever by half), and “Loa” for “Kea”, although I wrote it lightly so I could jump.
For everyone above who thinks they know the difference between a traffic circle or a rotary or a ROUNDABOUT, consider yourselves wrong. At least in part. Traffic circles, aka rotaries, do exist in this country and others, and I have navigated them. In some places they may colloquially be called roundabouts. Any similar type of intersection control built in this country in the last 15 to 20 years is called a *modern ROUNDABOUT*. To enter a modern ROUNDABOUT you will first be slowed and directed by a splitter island to ease you into the actual circle, while obeying the yield signs. There’s more engineering that goes into them than that, but you get the idea. A modern ROUNDABOUT is the single most useful application to reduce the number and severity of crashes at intersections. Here ends today’s lesson.
FWIW, on the main drag to/from the airport in Baku, Azerbaijan there is a high-speed traffic circle that will easily go 10 cars or more wide. Damnedest traffic I’ve ever experienced; makes NASCAR look tame. And no end to the horn honking, which is a necessity.
Too bad for the folks who had problems solving on devices. (Actually I do not feel nor care about their pain.)
So I got the puz and actually had no write-overs, so . . . success. NATASHA Lyonne gets a yeah baby today.
So the lesson today really is don’t ever get me going on ROUNDABOUTs, or “tar”.
Ha! Old school has the last laugh today! Let's hear a RALLYINGCRY for newsprint! So much for (cr)apps. After one look at that grid, with its "nut" at the center and all those arrows, I thought, this is gonna be either impossible or fun. Turned out to be the latter.
I got it in the NE/E, when I saw SPROUTWINGS; the clue led to that rather specifically. Thus I saw the function of the arrows: as in any traffic setting, they (duh) tell you which way to go. Even a LACKWIT could figure that out. Wow, what a word! I don't research these things, but I'll bet a dollar to a KNISH that this is LACKWIT's debut. Parlay that with OOLITE. Yet both are gettable, if you think about it (and know the "oo" prefix meaning egg).
Having parts of those theme entries form a "squared circle" that reads as the revealer was a tour de force, and earns drop-jawed awe from this reporter. Yeah, OFL, it DOES work as well as Mr. Sch...as Herre thought it would. You just have to pick up a (are you ready for this?) NEWSPAPER!
Add triumph points and a boffo DOD in NATASHA Lyonne, and we have the year's first eagle.
It took me a while to figure out the snake route for the ROUNDABOUT but after I did it was mostly smooth sailing. I say mostly because I got burned by 2D. I had TEAcArt at first, then I changed it to TEACAdy. I knew there was something not quite right but figured there may be a spelling variance for caddy. Wrong. The word lady never crossed my mind. As for 18A, I though "AcL rise" could be an exercise for your knees. This was a fabulous puzzle. I'm not surprised by Rex's RANT. Themers are not his thing and especially ones that don't translate well on devices. Why does he THRASH such a well-executed IDEA? Put down the Ipad and do it with pen and paper. This one was a gem when done in the original olde-timey format, so bravo from the ROOFTOPs to Herre Schouwerwou!
First understanding was seeing SPROUT WINGS. The solve then became angelic. Final bit was seeing IN A ROUNDABOUT WAY. Excellent puzzle, except for the dnf due to having uTMOST and uRMANI never raising his hand in protest. Armani is in the Gugg? Ok. Where was my ANTIFOG when I needed it?
Took a good stab at this one, but the closer I got to the middle the more confused I became. Decided not to enter the square-circled ROUNDABOUT and veered off on unknown streets to safety. Sorta like driving in Rome for the first time some years back.
Whew! About a third of the way into this I NEEDed A BREAK just to discover what the heck was going on. Got it at RALLYINGCRY, but I still had to deal with the other "roads" coming into and leaving the ROUNDABOUT. Definitely non-linear thinking, not to mention the constructing ability displayed here. Brilliant, I say.
Despite not knowing LACKWIT (although it looks pretty self-descriptive), TYE, and BRACERO, I managed to finish with nary a w/o, a feeling of pride, and a huge sense of enjoyment.
After struggling with this one for an hour or so and finally getting it in a roundabout fashion I need a break until tomorrow's syndicated puzzle. Glad to see the syndicated button is now up to date. And does anyone actually say Lack Wit ? But overall a good challenging puzzle for me, and for most of the commenters it appears.
Total BS from the NY Times. I want to work crosswords, not play stupid games. Stick with crosswords, you have way too much time on your hands NY Times!
A long time ago, I was solving this puzzle and got stuck at an unguessable (to me) crossing: N. C. WYETH crossing NATICK at the "N"—I knew WYETH but forgot his initials, and NATICK ... is a suburb of Boston that I had no hope of knowing. It was clued as someplace the Boston Marathon runs through (???). Anyway, NATICK— the more obscure name in that crossing—became shorthand for an unguessable cross, esp. where the cross involves two proper nouns, neither of which is exceedingly well known. NATICK took hold as crossword slang, and the term can now be both noun ("I had a NATICK in the SW corner...") or verb ("I got NATICKED by 50A / 34D!")
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149 comments:
Tough. Clever, tricky, a bit frustrating to solve, but the pay off when I finished was worth it. Liked it a lot (in retrospect)!
I kept thinking the white space in the center called for some entry, or it represented an O. But nothing.... oh wait
Sorry you didn't enjoy yourself, Rex. I do the puzzle on the NYTimes website itself, which had the circle (helpful) and the arrows (you're right, not particularly helpful), and I found it to be an example of the best sort of Thursday puzzle: I enjoyed all the seven and eight-letter words (even OOLITES! Especially LACKWIT! But also SCHNOOK, and AUGUSTA, and okay OMITTER not so much). But I think you should rethink your policy of not reading the Notes: it's really not cheating. And even though I also thought at first that one letter was just going into the black hole, when I saw that the corner letters completed the words, while also spelling out the revealer, I was all the more impressed. Well done, Herre Schouwerwou--
I don't really get the obsession with AcrossLite. I started solving on the LAT app, then eventually put out the money for the NYT app, and eventually got in deep enough to do some indie puzzles, which I do solve on AcrossLite. AcrossLite is great. It saves me from buying tons of ink and paper, but the NYT app is good, too! And, from time to time it uses visual elements that are cool. It feels very similar to use (there's adjustable settings), so why not use it? It saves the step of downloading the file and almost every time AcrossLite can't render visual features in the print version, the app does it really well.
Alright, there's my take. Why am I wrong?
I thought it was a great puzzle. The theme answers were on a road of white squares. I kinda think Rex missed that the black squares outside the circle were the other side of the road and that a roundabout has entrance and exit lanes.
Oolites made this a DNF for me even after slogging through the rest of it. “Egg stones” had to be oolitHs and boHr seemed reasonable...
Mike from Ohio
I had all the entries filled in, and saw that the _ squares were continuations, but couldn't get them straight before I got frustrated and quit. DNF on a doable puzzle. I came here to see what kind of time OFL posted. Anything less than 6 minutes and I would have given up on crossword puzzles for good!
I use the official NYT crossword app and mine didn’t have any arrows or circles either. What an annoying and frustrating time that was.
Cmon Rex you lovable curmudgeon this was a super rewarding Thursday trickster puzzle.
When I visit the big city and encounter a multi lane roundabout I panic and take the first right.
Tonight there was much head scratching, then finally "Oh! You turn right at the...roundabout!!!" Holy Hannah.
Rex you could have cued up this Yes tune.
My puzzle online had the arrows and circle which definitely helped. Thought clues marked "-" meant the answer had circle or round or space involved somehow, as a continuation answer. Skipped that and just thought it was a black hole and the answer continued across. Finally got the theme because I "knew" sprout wings was right and after seeing the fill I had, figured out the pattern. Still, like Rex, had NAPA and NOSHES, no idea on LACKWIT, TEALADY, ZUNI and SCHNOOK. Luckily, most of the other clues were pretty easy. I like Thursday puzzles on most occasions, but not when they try so hard, like this one. Give me a rebus or something.
DNF AF
Agree with Rex about the arrows, confusing and not useful. This was a mess until, all of a sudden, it wasn't. May not strictly be "roundabout" but it was clever and fun.
No mention of my biggest gripe: why on earth were two of the 3-word crosses next to the center square homophones and two not? ORR/ORE, LEA/LEI, but then GEE/KEA and NYC/TYE? Especially with that placement, I got the two homophones early and then was certain it was part of the theme...
The arrows are the direction of traffic flowing into and out of the roundabout. The whole point of a roundabout is that cars merge instead of cross, which is completely represented here. I thought it was an incredible theme and one of the most enjoyable puzzles I've done in a long time.
Took forever to understand the "trick" of the puzzle. (which is typical for me). Once I got the trick, it went pretty well, except for NE. Had UTMOST instead of ATMOST, and could not see 1-down. Figured it was just another proper name I'd never seen. Also started with MACHOER got MANLIER, which did not help matters, along with never having heard of TOLE. Slogged through eventually for the finish, but much longer than usual.
Wow that was extremely confusing. Appreciate the attempt to make crosswords more dynamic, but this just didnt work out well. The arrows were actually more of a hindrance than a help.
"Great ambition here, but it just doesn't work as well as it thinks it does."
Or put another way: "Damn, I wish I'd thought of this."
I agree. No puzzles that cannot be adequately depicted in Across lite. Ugh! I eventually got it, but not a smiling "aha" moment for me.
Loved the puzzle idea. Nice aha moment when I figured it out.
I solved this by solving almost all of the non-theme material and then piecing together themers. I waited way too long to look at the clue for 28 down, by which time I'd already seen what was happening.
I like the way the roads entering the roundabout are set up so that the traffic is always driving on the right side, since that's the correct representation in this country.
There are some pretty unrounded roundabouts out there, Rex, but I agree that there aren't many with 90 degree turns.
Wow, that is brutal without the arrows/circle. It was just a little more than ABREEZE if you had them.
I thought Rex would have had Roundabout by Yes as the song of the day, maybe a bit too on the nose?
I have to disagree with Rex on this one. It definitely DOES work as well as it thinks it does. This is yet another amazing example of crossword creativity. I’m sure it was a lot tougher for anyone who didn’t have the circle in the middle, but I did. Mine was a real circle surrounded by black squares. It looked to me like many a traffic circle I’ve driven around, the circle itself surrounded by square streets.
I have to say again how impressed I am by the constructor’s ability to think this variation out, with words that run backwards and angle off in certain areas of the puzzle. It certainly isn’t your plain vanilla-type of puzzle, and I thank Herre Schouwerwou for his efforts.
All that said, I found it to be one tough puzzle, precisely because of the afore-mentioned innovations. The dimensional aspect kept me trying various attempts here and there, but I managed to tough it out.
Awesome puzzle. Very clever, and probably pretty hard to construct.
I also started with NOSHES and NAPA, but otherwise the exterior was straightforward and allowed enough hooks into the theme answers that I could figure it out.
Not sure why folks are complaining about the arrows -- in a real roundabout that's the traffic pattern and in the puzzle they definitely helped me understand the gimmick.
I usually see the notes, obediently read them, solve the puzzle, and not get all upset and stuff about needing a note. I like’em, like the extra layer. But somehow I missed the heads-up today.
So sorting this out with no arrows was supremely satisfying. I loved the entire solve. Ok. Technically I messed up ‘cause I put in the I O T A in the corners of the black square in the middle, missing that they were superfluous. Still. I’ll put this solve in the win column.
With magnificent disregard for the clue, I wrote in “Alabama” for AUGUSTA.
Fun to have “ANITA hand” and I NEED A BREAK sharing the grid. Anita May Kovar: Just bought me some Maneater Mascara that is To. Die. For. If you’re so inclinded, get to an Ulta and buy it.
Was confused by the NAILS clue. But I guess there are people who paint then in their bathrooms. Mistake, if you ask me. What. You sit on the commode and do this? On the floor? The side of the tub? Or you’re a squillionaire who has the whole living room vibe going in your 1500 sq foot bathroom? So you have a couch and a footstool next to the game table and tv cabinet?
Couldn’t help but notice RANT crossing INCITES. Um, yea-uhh. Damn LACKWIT.
(So, well, a gift from Hawaii. I teared up back when I first saw this, but seeing it now, I pretty much have a full-on cry.)
Herre – brilliant concept and execution. Bravo! I'mma go stand over with @Brookboy.
This was pretty cool but it was pretty easy if you sat for a second and looked at the grid. You have to study the enemy so that you can find his weak points and then exploit them, which is exactly what I did here.
I immediately went to the arrowed rows (I made sure I was looking at a proper graphical representation of the grid - a very important first step in the crossword solving process) and then attacked those theme answers. It was obvious that some words ran backwards. Plus that circumferential theme answer was clear after a few crosses so after that it all just collapsed. I only wish that the bi-directional themers would have gone further around the circle, maybe 270° each, which would have overlapped each other. That would have really separated the wheat from the chaff around this joint.
Also, its not called a "roundabout" or a "rotary" except maybe in some Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale village with lollipops and wishing wells and Ye Olde Shoppes; no, it's called a "circle" or a "traffic circle." I learned to drive in Washington DC in the 1970s when I was 14 years old and I can drive anywhere in the world fearlessly, including Rome and Ho Chi Minh City, and believe you me those yokels get out of my way. Pierre L'Enfant designed Washington with circles so that if there was a revolution the Army can just hold the circles and have clear lines of fire down all the avenues that radiate outward from them. I learned that in grade school, so be careful.
Yeah, I got the circle and arrows and $&!@, and for me it made for a really fun puzzle. I self-owned myself nicely by insisting on WHO KNEW for WELL NOW, which kept me away from RALLY for a while. Once I sorted that I didn't mind taking twice my average Thursday time for the payoff. (I don't time myself on Thursdays but the NYT app stats are interesting to me.)
Ugh. Annoying in much the same way as a passive aggressive person who communicates in a “roundabout” way
I had the circles and arrows on the NYT android app. And unlike must people, I actually found the arrows very helpful - I'm not sure if I would have finished the puzzle without them.
And no, as the something of a reading teacher, I've need seen "lackwit" either. Must first thought (after getting the "wit" part) was and alternative that started with "f-u", but I know the NYT wouldn't outstanding THAT in a puzzle... :)
We took turns in yesterday's puzzle and continue today. This, to me, was one of those faith-based puzzles, where the theme ain't clear, but you have faith that if you keep on solving, it will become clear. So, piece by piece, I filled this in -- not so easy with six answers out of my wheelhouse and some tricky cluing. But squares continued to fill, including a couple of the right-angled theme answers, and when IN A ROUNDABOUT WAY clicked, it was a laugh-out-loud aha. Roundabouts help you get from point A to point B, and I loved the journey here. Herre, this was one sweet and swervy experience -- thank you!
Best puzzle of the year.
Don't know most of today's TV actors, not a Harry Potterist, so I generally have to solve around those, but I enjoyed this puzzle. This is the kind of thing I enjoy about the NYT puzzle.
Yep. Harder than usual, but a good time. Built an Irish coffee--Jameson's, of course, in this Catholic household--and went work on the puzzle in front of a toasty fire in the pellet stove.
Enjoyed figuring out the theme, but killed by a Natick on the letter ‘G’. Almost a great puzzle.
ORR/ORE are the only homophones
I found the arrows very helpful
To everyone carping about the puzzle not working correctly in Across Lite... how can you even use this? I’ve only recently installed it after backing Inkubator and needing an app that can open .puz files. It honestly makes me want to stab my eyes out. It’s been a long time since I’ve used an app with such disregard for good user interface design (or good design in general). Even the icon is hideous.
Maybe the solution here is not to complain that the NYT is trying crossword designs that don’t work in terrible apps, but to find better apps.
I think this puzzle tried too hard. OOLITES feels in retrospect less hard than it did in context (though I still think that Oolite is a gentle detergent for your fine oolens), but when it's a SCHMUCK not a SCHNOOK, and when tailors SEW rather than FIT, suddenly you really want your garden at a BUSSTOP, not a ROOFTOP. Which did not help. Could we, perhaps, have a one Yiddishism per puzzle limit? If it's tasty KNISHES, I'd be happier than needing to know a pile of different words for "fool" that start with SCH.
But really, this puzzle dies, to me, on __CKWIT, where certainly the two letters that occurred to me were not LA.
(The gimmick, I thought, didn't help much. I have lived in places where they're called rotaries, traffic circles, and roundabouts. When KEA and LEA were 90 degrees off each other, I also was concerned that the other pedestrian crossings in the roundabout might need to be BEA or YEA.)
Ultimately failed on the NE because I couldn't resolve the conflicts I was building.
Crikey! That was hard. Harder than any puzzle on any day this year, I’d say. Took a good twenty minutes to get even part of the theme, then once that was clear STILL had to navigate that insane NE corner.
Felt like a Saturday on uppers, and I loved it.
Google engram indicates LACKWIT is just now reaching its peak of popularity. And first use appears to be in the 19th century. Looking at recent examples, a lot of them come from period romance novels, presumably attempting to have their characters speak in an old-timey way and getting it wrong.
I worked with a Bio major to work up a mathematical model of bird’s eggs of any species based on 3 field measurements and presented the paper to the The American Ornithological Society‘s national meeting. I considered myself an oologist, so I knew the “oo’ of the stone’s name.
In Mexico, the traffic circles were called glorieta when I was driving down there in 2004 on a RV caravan.
I'm sure the "yokels" are terrified of you.
I felt like a Half Wit at first then a genius for completing this enigma wrapped in a roundabout in a traffic circle in a rotary. Funnily enough I had just been driving upstate NY in a small town that had installed the most complex rotary I’d ever seen. It was like a daisy chain of illogical twists and turns and lackwit conception. A death trap really. Luckily I kind of learned to drive in Paris and recalled my days circling the Arc de Triomphe, which was my Rallying Cry when I completed this bear. I’m fact Rallying Cry was the key that something untoward was going on. Got messed up with Power SURGE at first and botched it at SNACKS for lite bites. If you’ve ever been to a Ponderosa, you’ll agree that SALADS are rarely “light” loaded down as they are there by assorted pastas and mayonnaise infusions. I would call this the puzzle of the year, too, if it weren’t so full of icky pop references from TV Land.
@LMS, I agree. Most people I’ve seen paint their nails on subways or in buses or even at restaurants. One time a female next to me on a crowded plane was doing her toe nails.
@Anonymous 12:58 you're mispronouncing one or the other of LEA/LEI. Lea rhymes with pea, not pay. Lei rhymes with pay, not pea.
I had to use both across lite and printed version from computer because the printout didnt show any across numbers, and then the grid as printed had numbers that didn't match those in the across lite grid. Doing the numbering reconciliation was a giant pain in the ass, and that I bothered is likely testament to my own latent ocd. Since they couldn't find any platform to adequately provide the puzzle, it should never have been run. It was more work dealing with technology and logistics than the puzzle itself. Hated every second.
I did this on Across Lite (as always -- my fave), but I read the note (it's not cheating!!), so I also took a look at the PDF version on the NYT site, and saw the arrows and circles and entry and exit points, and also made note of the differences in the numbering of the two versions. I thought it was a pinball machine, with those four things on each side serving as plungers, and the answer would start at the entry point, bounce around in the middle, and then come out/finish up at some random exit point. Took me a while to realize that just a simple right turn was involved.
We call them roundabouts.
Fun, clever, challenging puzzle.... But LACKWIT?!?!?!??!
Those arrows have no traffic meaning?? There are arrows everywhere in traffic.
Also, Rex: read notes. Come on already. It's not cheating. You're just cheating yourself. Wouldn't it be better to actually enjoy a puzzle the way it's meant to be enjoyed?
I also agee that the arrows were helpful. I needed them to realize that some letter would be running in reverse order (e.g. from down to up). I wish the roundabout (or rotary in my neck of the woods), had acted more like one with answers moving around the center more (though I can only imagine how difficult that would be...if not impossible).
I found BRACEROS a gimme, thanks to Tom Lehrer, who reminded me how old the bracero program really is "and even in Egypt, the pharaohs had to import Hebrew braceros." ;-)
I print out two copies of the puzzle the night before, and my wife and I solve jointly over breakfast. We don't use Across Lite, so we never saw the note. We still don't know what it said, but it probably would have helped. DNF for lack of time. If we don't finish within an hour and a quarter (except on Sundays) we usually give in and check out Rex. On Sundays, we sometimes don't finish until almost lunchtime.
We've driven on roundabouts in France and the Netherlands, both of which have counterclockwise driving (on the right). In Japan and England (both island nations) where they drive on the left (clockwise) I never dared to drive.
A stranger saved my life in London when (on foot) I looked to my right before trying to cross. He rudely (but practically) jerked me back to safety. Never made that mistake a second time. Never drove in Rome and never been to Ho Chi Minh City. Definitely not a fearless driver.
How can I not love a puzzle that confirms what I have always known but the world has yet not learned - I am a genius!
Loved a Thursday for the first time in (literally) months. This is what a Thursday should be!
No rant about 3D MANLIER ??
It’s called a roundabout, a rotary, or a traffic circle depending on where you live. Why do people assume that the terms they use are what everyone uses? Ever heard of regionalisms?
Anyone who doesn't see the roundabout has clearly never tried to make a snowman on a TRS-80.
- Mr Robot
In Swahili roundabouts are called Keepylefties. At least in 1970s Tanzania.
“George Murphy” by Tom Lehrer, from the album ‘That Was the Year That Was’, c. 1965:
And, after all, even in Egypt, the pharaohs
had to import Hebrew BRACEROS...
Mother played that record a lot when I was a kid
I solve in the paper, folded up and supported by my knee. Worked wine with this one. Initially, I thought there would be a letter in the central circle, which works if you write RALLYINGCRY going straight down with the I in the center -- but not for any of the other themers. It was only when I finally got IN [or by] A ROUNDABOUT WAY that I saw how to do it. I never saw that it was a traffic roundabout, though, since that's a British term (you know, like TEA LADY), and the traffic was moving in the US direction. I'll count it as a success anyway.
I did learn that my knowledge of state capitals has faded, or blurred or something -- I rejected Maine right off the bat because ORONO was too far down in the alphabet.
Aside from that my biggest problem was misreading the clue number and writing STROBE at 59A.
I was going to post a Tom Lehrer link, but @ghthree bet me to it. I was going to post a link to Shakespeare's use of LACKWIT too, but it seems that he didn't. Ah well.
@Loren, that avatar took me a moment or two, but it's brilliant!
I don't usually disagree with Rex, especially on puzzles that frustrate me like this one did. But I gotta say the payoff was actually worth it in the end. I solved it on the website applet so there's that...it made it much easier...and with that giant circle in the middle with the dashes around it, I figured that the squares around the circle would spell something like, "Remember to drink your Ovaltine!" or something cruddy like that. But, to my surprise, the thing made sense.
I also gotta say that opening up the puzzle and seeing it for the first time was a bit of information overload.
LACKWIT and OMITTER get my votes for the lamest answers. TEALADY next to MANLIER is problematic too given what Tea Lady can mean. The Tea Lady definition from the Urban Dictionary:
A dated term referring to one's female spouse or sometimes one's mother. Depending on usage can be an insult or a term of endearment. "Hey guys, I want to go to the strip club with you guys and all, but my tea lady says she is going to change the locks on the house if I go out tonight."
So yeah, no.
What on earth is YRCGN/UORPS???? It doesn't read any better backwards, the way the arrows point: SPROU/NGCRY. I knew it was wrong, so I came here, only to find out it's right. It doesn't make any bleeping sense!!!!
The rest of the puzzle is problematic, too. I love tough, unusual puzzles, but I've always had difficulty with a lot of unclued entries. In the best puzzles, unclued entries somehow manage to be clued obliquely -- even if you don't see it at first. These unclued entries don't seem to be clued at all.
A failure, I'd say, unless I've completely missed something. Which, with me being me, is never beyond the realm of possibility. I'll go read everyone now to find out. If it's right there, under my nose, I'll come back to say I wasn't smart enough. If not, I would maintain: Unsuccessful Puzzle.
Herre is a very clever constructor. His brain works in mysterious roundabout ways that I love. Never a disappointment.
I've only done one puzzle on my iPhone and I thought I'd go as insane as my first ROUNDABOUT experience in Rome's Piazza Venezia. I'm glad I download. I'm glad I saw arrows and the little white circle. I'm glad I survived going around and around my first roundabout and wondering why a bus was coming at me in the wrong direction and why the hell I couldn't get out of the circle and turn left like I wanted to. This was the best Thursday I've done this year. Who doesn't love arrows and misdirections and wondering how people come up with these insane chaotic ideas that turn out to be so much fun when you finally reach your destination.
My only write-over SCHMUCK instead of SCHNOOK. Just take another sip of my morning LATTE and it all comes together.
I stopped watching "Orange" after a few episodes and so didn't remember NATASHA. I do remember Uzo Aduba because she has a wonderful name. She was my last entry.
I know half wit and nit wit but I guess LACKWIT is lot more PCer these days. TEA LADY sounds so quaint. Are there MANLIER TEA GENTS? I hope you put more than one PINE NUT in your blender when you make pesto.
We have ROUNDABOUTS in my neighborhood and no one knows how to yield. My British brother-in-law was following us to a restaurant and as we turned left, he kept going round and round like a veritable peas in your SALAD, eat them with your knife and lick your fingers after you're done, bloke.
BRACERO is a great name for the hard working farm hand. It means to walk arm in arm with strength.
This was fun to figure out and fun to finish without Tia Google. I'll remember this one, Here.
oh...didn’t see you there, @gthree
I truly loved this one because for a few minutes I hated it and nearly quit. Finishing this was so satisfying.
Every time a puzzle causes the solvers who are married to their electronic devices to have a fit I feel so happy here in my cave huddled over my chisel and stone tablet. Sorry folks, that's just the way I feel about it.
So many witty comments today in the wake of a great puzzle. A good day in Crossworld.
Agree that a clip of Yes playing Roundabout would have been icing on the cake.
I don't recognize this constructor. Debut?
@anonymous 8:02,I do believe LEA is pronounced leh-ah in this case since it is a Hawaiian word.
It was very Rex of the poster to complain because he saw two perceived homophones and therefore assumed all of them must be, then got mad at the puzzle because they weren’t.
Really amazing original conception and execution on this puzzle. Great to have on a Thursday.
I thought it was excellent. But could never do it without arrows.
My fav error in the working...put in koops SPOOK for 'Become angelic, figuratively '
WELL, NOW. I see I was supposed to hook up RALLY with INGCRY; and SPROU with T+WINGS, etc., etc. Would I have gotten POWER OUTAGE (instead of POWER BREAK, which I thought was right) if I had had TYE instead of sYd for the totally unknown "X-men" clue (45A)? And would that have set me on the path to Complete Understanding?
Not bloody likely. The way the fill connects seems quite arbitrary. It remains something of a mystery to me, and I still don't think the puzzle works.
Has it been a while since you updated the app? The latest version of the NYT Crossword app on an iPhone definitely showed the circles and arrows.
I solve on paper, so had the benefit of the arrows and circle. Arrows were hugely important to me, for exactly the reasons cited by @Jim Lemire. Even with them, the puzzle was super hard -- and super fun. I basically started anywhere I could get a foothold (thanks, MANDELA, NATASHA, ASTROS, ORR and NYC) and went from there. I had to fill in basically the entire grid before I could figure out the theme.
And what a payoff it was! Amazing that the constructor was able to come up with phrases that intersected with the revealer like that. And, we get nice open corners and not nearly as much junk as the theme constraints might have necessitated. So bravo all AROUND to Herre Schouwerwou!
Best of all, you can flip the puzzle on the NW-SE diagonal, and it works just as well for the UK and other drive-on-the-left countries!
Wish more Thursdays were like this, but there's only so much trickeration out there, and today's constructor used a lot of it. Outstanding.
I got the theme and finished it without much difficulty. However I can’t say I really enjoyed it much. Even with the arrows and grid design, it was confusing to the point of frustration. Perhaps if there had been a more specific hint at the “roundabout“ factor it would have made it a lot more fun, and instead of a disgruntled solver, I would be a happy one. But to give credit where it’s due - nice effort on the construction.
OK, I can't believe I'm commenter no 59 or something and nobody has told you this, but your picture of what we got in the printed newspaper is not correct. I don't know where you got it, ut it shows numbers where we do not have numbers. As in, there were no numbers at the apparent front of numbers that went backwards. I don't know if you were given some sort of clues for those numbers, we weren't. Which meant we knew those answers went in the other direction somehow or other.
Once I got the roundabout/traffic circle, I first tried to devise a phrase which entered the circle at 12 o’clock and left at six (or three and nine) or vice versa but then realized I had to go to the first exit in either direction. Nicely done puzzle. Also tried to read the constructor’s name backwards as a just in case...
Jeff Chen says, in a roundabout way, that he thinks people will either love or hate this puzzle. He seems to be correct. I am somewhat of an odd duck in that I just shrugged my shoulders at the puzzle, although I recognize the idea is quite original.
The constructor states that he clued the "arrow" entries with two sets of clues. One set had clues relating to traffic but Will chose the other set. Too bad.
If puzzles include notes, the notes are there for a reason. If they are there for a reason, one should read them. If one is obstinate and refuses to read them, then one should lose the right to complain about any complexity issue in solving the puzzle.
The past few days, there is seemed to be more comments about the evaluation in the write-ups than the puzzles themselves. Nice to be back to normal.
LOVED this one even though I also had no graphics; finally getting the theme near the end was a HUGE "aha!" moment for me.
It was a slog for me, and even when I tumbled to "in a roundabout way" I still didn't see what was going on. Unlike some others, I was flummoxed by the arrows, thinking that the key answers went one way to the middle then the other in the "-", at least North and South, then thought the went across the middle East and West after I got "power break", which I thought was odd, but not as odd as "sproung cry", "I need utage" or "Rally wings". Even after coming here and reading the solution I didn't see it for a few moments. Roundabout is a regionalism, most places in the States use "Traffic Circle". It's an interesting puzzle.
Had Hopi before Zuni, too much pop/sports culture for me, although having lived in Boston I know a lot about Bobby Orr. "Anita"? Never heard that one. Anon up there is correct, "Lea" is pronounced "Lee".
Bracero is no longer a thing as we have a certain person who knows absolutely ZERO about business, farming, economics (macro or micro), immigration or, well, pretty much anything, keeping them out of the country so the crops can (and have) rot in the fields unpicked.
There's a solver named Chris Finlay, from the Isle of Man of all places, who drew for me the loveliest 4-color diagram of how the answers go around the center. This was on the Wordplay Blog (I know, I know, I'm not always completely monogamous). It appears under my first, not second comment. (On Wordplay, the earlier comments are below the most recent ones.) If you click on his reply to me -- the second one with the blue link -- you can see his illustration.
I bring it up only because if I'd had that illustration in my mind's eye, this puzzle would have seemed much less arbitrary and much more elegant to me. Seems the puzzle is light-years better than I thought. The problem is: I don't thank my mind has an eye.
I feel like LACKWIT is a Game of Thrones word. My first reaction when it clicked is that I’ve seen it before, but not in the real world because it’s something Tyrion Lannister would call someone.
George R.R. Martin likes to use names and words that are almost-but-not-quite like their regular English counterparts (e.g., his characters call underwear “smallclothes” and the name “Kevin” gets changed to “Kevan,” to give two examples). LACKWIT feels like it’s in that not-quite-real category.
I loved this, and then belatedly found the “missing” the era I, O, T, and A in the revealer phrase. Wow! AB FAB!
I solved this on my iPhone with great difficulty. Truly hate gimmicks like this.
What "odd sock" (8:53) said!! So pleased with myself for having finished this one, and actually understood the gimmick only a few clues from the end. The pop culture references that always mystify me ( Tye, Natasha, ) were easily discernible, and it all worked! Felt much the same yesterday. Two "challenging" two successes...no doubt I will DNF on an "easy" one tomorrow...
Hesitated to have a knish, because lately I have been enjoying mostly the "Gabella" fried, oily knishes, which aren't really "turnovers..." I consider the knish to be a wonderful dietary aid. A single helping is so filling that it prevents me from eating anything else for hours...
OFL is worried about cheating? This whole exercise was cheating. Cheating us. This is a word game from WS's former life, not a crossword puzzle. A complete waste of time.
A worthy Thursday! I love the representation of the ROUNDABOUT, with its true-to-life directional arrows. And I'm floored at how IN A ROUNDABOUT WAY overlaps the letters of the 4 theme answers. Wowza!
Like @Nancy, I accepted POWER BREAK as a "different" (as we say around here for "that's a little weird") way of saying POWER OUTAGE, so I expected all of the other answers to run straight through as well. Talk about flummoxed! Only when I spotted the errant CRY over there on the left did I understand what RALLYING had to do, and then I whizzed, relatively speaking, around the rest of the circle.
Other grid pleasure: the strangely echo-y ALMOST ASTROS; the euphonious MANDELA GRANOLA; OCD next to STEWS ("Did I remember to wash my hands when I came in, before I ate...?"); the CH-SH mash-up in the SE (BOTCH, NATASHA, IN CASH, THRASH, KNISHES). New to me: LACKWIT, BRACERO.
@Lewis - I love "faith-based puzzle": I'd been thinking "challenging, in the best way" (meaning, I'm stuck, but I just know I'm going to get it). Your phrase is so much better.
On the US West Coast we call them roundabouts, and also drive on the right.
Years ago when I went to the British library for research there was a little old lady who wheeled on a cart of tea and biscuits. Is that what they mean by Tea Lady? Very cute.
Anybody else saw the grid and thought "Parcheesi"? (The actual puzzle was hard but fun to solve on paper)
I grew up in the Land of the Rotary, aka Massachusetts, and entry/exit lanes are not 90 degree thingees. at most 45 degrees, thus the answers should be so constructed. would make it even more difficult, but I do have a vague recollection of diagonal answers. oh wait... wasn't that yesterday???
Best Thursday puzzle in many weeks. Pen and paper here. I got 'round' and wanted 'goaround', but it didn't fit the clue. 'Rallyingcry' showed me 'inaround', which led to 28D. From there, not knowing either Augusta or Natasha (crossing proper nouns is bad in my book) made the lower right the only sticking point.
Great puzzle. Quit your whining. It nearly stumped you, but only because you didn't see it as actually presented. The print version is official. Apparent NYT does provide an app that renders it correctly. If you don't use the right formats, you have no basis for complaint
No understanding! I tried the puzzle, read Rex’s notes, read the comments. I still have no idea what’s going on here! Looks like a lot of people really enjoyed this. Oh well, I will be extra smart with Friday’s puzzle.
Maybe I lost my "knack" - or didn't care to try.
I too always used AcrossLite, but then for some reason (I think it was because the NYT stopped compiling stats on AcrossLite times), I reluctantly switched to the web app. It was a frustrating transition, mainly because of different "rules" about what comes next after a square is filled in, but eventually I got used to it. Now I use the app every day, and I like the way it keeps track of one's average times, number of consecutive days, etc. And I always get to see the grid the way it's intended to be viewed. Rex, I think you should ditch AcrossLite and start using the web app. Your times may be slower for a while, but they'll recover, and you'll be glad you made the change. Take the plunge!
@suzieQ -- This is Herre's eighth puzzle.
@RP: day-um, dude. U plunged into a NYT ThursPuz usin milktoast-only Across-Lite [which can't handle much of anything out of the ordinary], without readin the oh-so-crucial Note, placed there for your Across-Lite-users-ass protection?!?
Kinda like plungin into a roundabout, without knowin or carin what the rules for a roundabout are. Just cut plumb straight across through the plants and rock and shrubs and park benches and such in the center of the sucker … go for the crash and burn. har
@muse: har2. Primo avatar. U are one commenter that never lacks wit, darlin.
Roundabouts: snarl. Never have much liked em. Sure did like this puz, tho. Admired its consistency, in only takin quick right turns via the roundabout. Best way to handle a roundabout -- get in and out of the sucker as fast as U can. And don't get m&e started, about tryin to use GPS with a roundabout. snort
M&A always uses the print puzversion, so had minimal nanosecond overages, sussin out the theme mcguffin. Only thing that kept throwin m&e was that giant, maw of an empty circle in the center. Surely I was supposed to put something in there … ? Evidently it is merely the hole left, when @RP wild-assedly crashed into it.
staff weeject pick: ORR crossin ORE. In a round-about way. Discuss.
Thanx so much for the great puz, Mr. Schroundabou. Dang -- only 65 words; helps average things out, for yesterday's 85-worder. thUmbsUp, Herre dude.
Masked & Anonymo5Us
**gruntz**
Good gravy, I'd doing this grid on the computer and it was a slog
A first, I really thought I was onto something when I got POWER[0]BREAK for the alarm clock reset clue, with the center representing a break(??) Not a helpful assumption.
That was a primrose path, fo sho.
Clue numbering different in paper NYT vs. NYT App. Made the back and forth between my wife and me interesting. But WHY would it be that way?
Hey All !
I subscribe to the NYT Crossword-Only $39/year deal. And the puz I got from the NYT site was the correct version. Had the Circle and the Arrows, plus the entries/clues were numbered in a way where there weren't any "-" clues needed. As in, puz went from 27A to 29A, no 28A "-", and 39A to 41A, with the middle "OUNDA" un-numbered. There are usually two options to print puz from the NYT site, one of them being the one that shows the correct format of the puz. The other one usually is the same, unless some tricksy thing like this is happening. Today, I only got this option.
Although the circle didn't really help today, having the arrows was a boon. Not sure how one could suss out what in tarhooties was happening without them. I too thought thy would be straight across at first, thinking, "Why do we need the arrows if it's just a continuation?" Har.
Very impressive construction, Herr HERRE. Not only did he find the 4 themers (granted, could've been any 11 letter phrase), but had to work them into the IN A ROUNABOUT WAY center block thingie, plus design a grid around that, and produce a puz with good fill and light dreck. Bravo!
Fun to read the themers the correct direction: IYAWT. YRCGN. UORPS, OUNDA. INARO, SGNIW, UTAGE, TUOBA, DEENI. Some of them look like actual words.
So three UTAGEs for Mr. Schowerwerewoo, or whatever your outstanding last name is. :-)
Why, I YAWTa...
RooMonster
DarrinV
Ditto about the POWER[0]BREAK thing, but it still didn't feel right. I finally had an AH HA moment, which is rare.
I can't even imagine doing this one without the arrows. With them it was confusing, then ignored and finally understood. I like this one. Good and slightly odd words, challenging but not enough to stymie.
The only "person" I've heard use the term 'lackwit' is Mr Burns' mother (on the Simpsons). In the same sentence she calls a nuclear power plant an 'Atom Mill'.
Very tricky, therefore challenging (for me). Challenging is fun. Thanks.
If it doesn't run on my Commodore then it's useless.
Lack wit may not be familiar to all but it has a very impolite child that gets used often.
I use the official NYT Crossword app and not only were the circle and arrows not visible, there also wasn't a 'note' of any kind. Even after succumbing to failure, and visiting this site to check the answers, I still don't see the pattern for 31 Across.
This puzzle seemed more like the streets of Tokyo (purposely designed to confuse invading armies) than it did a 'roundabout' in any way. I'm not sure the circle and arrows would've helped, at all, and I'd still like to see what the note said (which, by the way, is asinine: if you need a note and diagrams to 'explain' your puzzle, maybe it's time to let someone else create it).
@John B and anybody on the real-live NYT puzzle app/site:
Click on the cogwheel and you get to set up your OWN preferences for what happens / how you manouver, etc. If there's something you don't like, other than Rex's attitude - you can change it!
It doesn't go across. It goes up. SPROUT WINGS.
@burtonkd, no reason it matters but lea is not a Hawaiian word, you are confusing Loa with Kea. They are both two-syllable words, but neither one is Lea.
Sorry, brah.
I guess New Hampshire is a fairytale state because they are called rotaries up here!
Now this is a Thursday that knows how to Thursday. Three S rating for Super Satisfying Solve.
Our son was married in England and two dear friends that attended had wonderful stories about roundabouts and how they could get in but never get out. They made it to the wedding, but went touring afterward. Were are they now? For all I know they're still going around, sort of like Charlie on the MTA.
Just over of half normal Thursday time, despite trouble in the center until getting the theme. Had the arrows and center circle visible in the grid and those elements eventually helped with solving. Did not like OMITTER, but liked the puzzle.
Wow, a 32 minute Thursday - must be a record slow solve for me, for a Thursday. Maybe that anagram puzzle was longer.
I wasted many minutes hanging out in SIMa Valley. This kept LA_____aT from filling in for a long time. I finally said to myself, "Okay, if it is Mauna Loa, what would 23D be? And if it's Mauna KEA? Aha, LACKWIT!" I have been reading a fantasy series by P C Hodgell for over 30 years (there have been some LONG gaps between books) and there is a semi-major character referred to as Lyra LACKWIT, who appears in the last 4 or so books, so the word is well-known to me. SIMI, not so much, along with TYE and NATASHSA and BRACERO.
I was convinced this was going to have some letters in the center which were facilitating the rotations. I had I, O, hey, add a U and it's a poker ante, yay! I get the theme. But, but, the U from SPROUT doesn't go into the center, and...
Hopi, AtlanTA, thinking the answers were going in sideWAYs, all contributed to my time. But I came out victorious and I like it. Thanks, Herre!
ROUNDABOUTs - I love them. And I hate how Minnesotans navigate them, as in, everybody just goes, no yielding (or they come to a complete stop). The city where I work recently put in two within a block of each other right near the National Sports Center, home of international soccer tournaments. When there's something going on at the Sports Center, no one can get into the roundabout because the traffic is unending. Because you can't see over the center mound, it's impossible to gauge whether it's safe to scoot in. Luckily, I'm usually on my bicycle cutting through their parking lot and I don't have to deal with it. Negotiating the sharp curves on ice is a joy also, which many found out yesterday. No RANT here, move along...
I loved this puzzle. It had that "I wonder what's going on here" effect just long enough; then it all fell into place at once. Bravo!
I assume the center circle is the shelter in the middle of the roundabout, behind which a pretty nurse is selling poppies from a tray. (And keeping the tea lady company, I dare say.)
This was fantastic. I'd like to marinate in it before declaring it my favorite puzzle ever, but it's definitely a candidate. I'm glad there are so many other positive comments because I thought the concept and the execution were outstanding. The "hated it" comments seem to be coming from the puzzle purists. I get that, but if you are a purist you should probably find something else to do on Thursdays so the rest of us can continue to benefit from this kind of creativity once in a while.
Rex today: "They should stop offering the puzzle in across lite format if this is gonna keep happening."
Rex tomorrow, when they stop: "They should bring back across lite! They can solve the occasional inelegance by adding a note when necessary!!"
Wow... @Z, thanks for the tip of PUZZAZZ! I need to study the app some more but it looks pretty nifty. And yes, it shows the grid exactly as it looked in print, with no note or paper clip to tip. Not sure I'll make the switch from Across Lite on a full-time basis, but this is great to have!
@mmorgan - I miss the navigation buttons and I don’t bother with the softwrite function, keyboarding being fine by me if I’m forced to solve electronically, but always rendering the grid as intended is a big big BIG plus. Whenever the NYTX breaks from the routine, heck - even with straightforward rebus puzzles, a plethora of complaints about the technology are sure to follow here. I never use AcrossLite anymore, even though it was the first or second xword software I ever used. Oh, I also use PuzzAzz for Fireball puzzles while I use StandAlone’s Crosswords for BEQ and Newsday. That last is purely because they download automatically.
@everyone - Just a reminder to always check @LMS’s avatar.
My favorite all-time prank name is Oliver Clothesoff.
“Paging Mr. Clothesoff, Mr. Oliver Clothesoff.”
Yeah, I’m twelve inside.
As for LACKWIT, Mr. Burns' mother called him an "Improvident lackwit" in The Simpsons episode, "Homer the Smithers"
I got POWER OUTAGE and stopped there because this puzzle was too clever for me.
"That improvident LACKWIT? Always too busy striding about his atom mill to call his own mother."
--from "Homer the Smithers"
For once I saw the note and printed it out in pdf format. It was still tough. Hand up for thing POWER BREAK was odd but correct until I uncovered TAGE going down near the POWER, AHA, that’s what your up to. Fun, fun and more fun. Loved it.
In Scotland we had quite a lot of ROUNDABOUTS, but we pronounced them ROOND A BOOTS, I still do.
Had I seen the word "roundabout" before I checked Rex's blog, I *might* have enjoyed solving (as opposed to *work*ing) this puz. But I didn't. Just. Wasn't. Worth. It. Call me a LACKWIT.
WOWZA! We all get our enjoyment in such diverse ways! Personally, I saw the arrows and immediately knew that we were going to have some “bendy” answers. While I was hopping around finding my toehold, I realized that: 1) there were several ways for answers to “bend” and 2) the big white dot must mean something (and my first thought was that somehow a figure of some kind would be put there-wrong!). But when I was certain about POWER OUTAGE, I just worked until I found how it “fit” starting with i ts initial arrow and e voila! The rest of the answers were fairly accessible through crosses. About average Thursday time for me and other than ABREEZE (really?!?!) a nice grid and an enjoyable solve.
@John Hoffman - Not that you actually asked, but here’s a breakdown
Four clues behave by being entered IN A ROUNDABOUT WAY. 14d is RALLYING CRY, starting at the square with the number 14 in it, going down, left, down, left, ending at the last cross to 2D, the Y in TEA LADY.
35A (Paper)/37A (NYT App/AcrossLite) is POWER OUTAGE, starting at the square with 35 (paper) or 37, going across, down, across, down, ending at the E in DUE DATE.
57D/65D (more appropriately considered an “up” answer) is I NEED A BREAK, starting at the 57/65 square that crosses INCITES, and heads up, right, up, right, anding at the K in KNISHES.
32A/33A is SPROUT WINGS, beginning at the S in OOLITES, which has the number 32 in it in the paper and no number in the NYT App and AcrossLite, and reads left, up, left, up, ending at the S in SCHNOOK.
Finally, all of the four themers intersect with the answer to 28D, IN A ROUNDABOUT WAY, the answer circling the the central 3x3 box with white circle/box.
This sucked. The roundabout theme doesn't work. I did get power outages, and rallying cry, but I didn't know why I got them! I didn't have trouble with the rest of the fill, though. Lackwit is in my wheelhouse, and no, I do not teach 17th century English, I do not teach English -- although I taught freshman English at a CUNY college for four years once upon a time. I knew bracero. Didn't know Natasha Lyonne, but figured out Natasha from the crosses I was filling in. Didn't know tea lady, but figured it out when the tray of tea tray didn't work. A breeze, Zuni, and knishes made interesting, revealing crosses. And I didn't get sprout wings at all, until just now, when I read John Hoffman's post. Congratulations to everyone who understood the roundabout theme. Roundabouts are useful traffic pattern solutions, better than traffic lights in some circumstances. But the roundabout in this puzzle seemed murky and foggy, and I just wanted to escape, so I turned to Rex!
What's wrong with ABREEZE? It's 2 words. Something simple is a breeze, like a Monday Puzz.
I thought this was a fabulous puzzle. Very clever. Would not have been able to get a foothold without the arrows but once I did it was (relatively) smooth going. and then when I saw the center was IN A ROUNDABOUT WAY, and not just random letters, I was really wowed.
LACKWIT: worthy of a brickbat. Also, OMITTER should have been omitted.
SCHNOOK: I am offended.
TEALADY: wanted TEA cozy.
re AcrossLite: "Roads should not be made for cars because I drive a horse and buggy."
I will always solve in pencil.
Great fun. Initially, I thought the route followed the arrows across the middle and between top and bottom. SPROUTWINGS cleared that up.
One reason I love driving in Europe is ROUNDABOUTs. The second is the wonderful driving habits of Europeans on motorways. Nobody hangs in the high speed lane unless they’re passing (or flying). I can’t imagine how European visitors to Connecticut deal with the buffoons on the Merritt Parkway.
Back when I lived and worked in England the TEALADY would bring a cart round the office with tea and biscuits. That was a while back, don't know if they still do. But the clue did say Britain.
I thought it was a great puzzle. The arrows and dashes definitely primed me to expect answers in different directions and continuations. Once I got POWEROUTAGE everything followed pretty smoothly.
Two comments for OFL. I don't think it's fair to criticize the format if you aren't using either the published paper version or the official NYT crossword app. I don't think The Times has any obligation to support third party applications.
Second, I don't understand how you have so much time to be frustrated and annoyed and still post a time that would be a personal best for me. Took me 44 minutes, and I'm happy just to have finished it. Guess I'm a LACKWIT
Thought the puzzle was fun. Just got back from a trip to Sedona where they have roundabouts on major streets so I got the theme pretty quickly. Supposedly roundabouts keep traffic moving and are safer than four way stops. Ran into trouble when I was confident that the state capital was CONCORD rather than AUGUSTA.
One helluva puz, above my pay grade but finally succeeded. Musta been tough construct.
@Chip Hilton:
Merritt Parkway
well... it *is* a Parkway, not an Interstate. predates it by decades.
LOL! I didn’t look back at the clue again when I was angrily searching for a typo at the end of my solve. Had a k we jerk reaction to it as if it were clued as other irksome words have been lately. . . AGAPE (with mouth wide open) recently. I sit corrected.
@Banana D
Can you'll us why we drive on the Parkway and park in the Driveway?
Your numbers dont match the puzzle see Bracero 48 across not 54. Also another.
@JC66:
at least here in the Effete East, a Parkway is a limited access highway (usually only 2 lanes each side), which is bordered by trees and gardens, i.e. a Park. certainly, the Merritt. it is a Driveway, since you Drive into it, and Drive away from it.
@babana D
It's an old George Carlin joke.
Actually, I think that was Steven Wright who did the parkway/driveway bit.
Good puzzle. Try using Puzzazz instead of AcrossLite.
@Jeff
Yeah, I think you're Wright. ;-)
Arrival/Departures always confused me. I'm arriving in a car but I'm departing in a plane.
Ugh! Using the official NYT crossword app and:
No arrows or circle
No title
No note
Absolutely nothing to go on. Ridiculous! I don’t know how I muddled most of the way through on my own before coming here t9 find out what was up. Very annoying.
I loved this puzzle but arrows didn’t really help. Noshes and Napa stumped for a while. Under an hour which I thought was pretty good.
Roundabout is a British term for a traffic circle; and when you enter one, you go to the left not to the right.
thirsdaysd 5:39, I can still remember when our ashtrays at work would be emptied and wiped clean each night by janitors. Tea ladies seem so benign. We were disgusting. I liked the puzzle. Always on paper; always in ink. (Can’t see pencil). If you’re careful, you can limit write-overs. Mine were “Eden” for 27 across (too clever by half), and “Loa” for “Kea”, although I wrote it lightly so I could jump.
It's Carlin
For everyone above who thinks they know the difference between a traffic circle or a rotary or a ROUNDABOUT, consider yourselves wrong. At least in part. Traffic circles, aka rotaries, do exist in this country and others, and I have navigated them. In some places they may colloquially be called roundabouts. Any similar type of intersection control built in this country in the last 15 to 20 years is called a *modern ROUNDABOUT*. To enter a modern ROUNDABOUT you will first be slowed and directed by a splitter island to ease you into the actual circle, while obeying the yield signs. There’s more engineering that goes into them than that, but you get the idea. A modern ROUNDABOUT is the single most useful application to reduce the number and severity of crashes at intersections. Here ends today’s lesson.
FWIW, on the main drag to/from the airport in Baku, Azerbaijan there is a high-speed traffic circle that will easily go 10 cars or more wide. Damnedest traffic I’ve ever experienced; makes NASCAR look tame. And no end to the horn honking, which is a necessity.
Too bad for the folks who had problems solving on devices. (Actually I do not feel nor care about their pain.)
So I got the puz and actually had no write-overs, so . . . success. NATASHA Lyonne gets a yeah baby today.
So the lesson today really is don’t ever get me going on ROUNDABOUTs, or “tar”.
the grid in the Montreal Gazette today has the numbers in a funk - not where they should be so I "peeked" at the answers here
Ha! Old school has the last laugh today! Let's hear a RALLYINGCRY for newsprint! So much for (cr)apps. After one look at that grid, with its "nut" at the center and all those arrows, I thought, this is gonna be either impossible or fun. Turned out to be the latter.
I got it in the NE/E, when I saw SPROUTWINGS; the clue led to that rather specifically. Thus I saw the function of the arrows: as in any traffic setting, they (duh) tell you which way to go. Even a LACKWIT could figure that out. Wow, what a word! I don't research these things, but I'll bet a dollar to a KNISH that this is LACKWIT's debut. Parlay that with OOLITE. Yet both are gettable, if you think about it (and know the "oo" prefix meaning egg).
Having parts of those theme entries form a "squared circle" that reads as the revealer was a tour de force, and earns drop-jawed awe from this reporter. Yeah, OFL, it DOES work as well as Mr. Sch...as Herre thought it would. You just have to pick up a (are you ready for this?) NEWSPAPER!
Add triumph points and a boffo DOD in NATASHA Lyonne, and we have the year's first eagle.
It took me a while to figure out the snake route for the ROUNDABOUT but after I did it was mostly smooth sailing. I say mostly because I got burned by 2D. I had TEAcArt at first, then I changed it to TEACAdy. I knew there was something not quite right but figured there may be a spelling variance for caddy. Wrong. The word lady never crossed my mind. As for 18A, I though "AcL rise" could be an exercise for your knees. This was a fabulous puzzle. I'm not surprised by Rex's RANT. Themers are not his thing and especially ones that don't translate well on devices. Why does he THRASH such a well-executed IDEA? Put down the Ipad and do it with pen and paper. This one was a gem when done in the original olde-timey format, so bravo from the ROOFTOPs to Herre Schouwerwou!
First understanding was seeing SPROUT WINGS. The solve then became angelic. Final bit was seeing IN A ROUNDABOUT WAY. Excellent puzzle, except for the dnf due to having uTMOST and uRMANI never raising his hand in protest.
Armani is in the Gugg? Ok. Where was my ANTIFOG when I needed it?
ABFAB IDEA
WELLNOW, the TEALADY TOLE me, INAROUNDABOUTWAY,
“INEEDABREAK from ARMANI, ORR a MANLIER LEI.”
--- TYE BRACERO
I meant to add: Wow, Herre Schouwerwou! Fine puz!
Puzzle was straightforward and easy, except for the stuff circling the shower drain in the middle. Ignore it.
Took a good stab at this one, but the closer I got to the middle the more confused I became. Decided not to enter the square-circled ROUNDABOUT and veered off on unknown streets to safety. Sorta like driving in Rome for the first time some years back.
I have everything except the gimmick. Arrgghh! I'll keep staring.
Lady Di, Waiting for Enlightenment
Whew! About a third of the way into this I NEEDed A BREAK just to discover what the heck was going on. Got it at RALLYINGCRY, but I still had to deal with the other "roads" coming into and leaving the ROUNDABOUT. Definitely non-linear thinking, not to mention the constructing ability displayed here. Brilliant, I say.
Despite not knowing LACKWIT (although it looks pretty self-descriptive), TYE, and BRACERO, I managed to finish with nary a w/o, a feeling of pride, and a huge sense of enjoyment.
Bravo.
The puzzle wins. And this one deserved to - kudos!!
Diana, Lady-in-Waiting for Crosswords, INAROUNDABOUTWAY
After struggling with this one for an hour or so and finally getting it in a roundabout fashion I need a break until tomorrow's syndicated puzzle. Glad to see the syndicated button is now up to date. And does anyone actually say Lack Wit ? But overall a good challenging puzzle for me, and for most of the commenters it appears.
Total BS from the NY Times. I want to work crosswords, not play stupid games. Stick with crosswords, you have way too much time on your hands NY Times!
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