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Aphid that produces honeydew / SUN 4-24-22 / Brother in the Lemony Snicket books / Jokey remark after missing a modern reference / Male voter stereotype starting in the mid-2010s / King of the gods in Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen / Hindi name for India / Old english folklore figure / The Hangover character who wakes up with a missing tooth
Sunday, April 24, 2022
Constructor: Sam Ezersky
Relative difficulty: Medium
Theme answers:
- APPLE JACKET (23A: Bit of company swag for a Genius Bar?)
- WHAT MAKES / YOU TICKET? (25A: With 114-Across, exasperated question to parking enforcement?)
- WATSON AND CRICKET (28A: Elements of a Sherlock Holmes sports mystery?)
- SITTIN' ON THE DOCKET (48A: Today's plans: watchin' someone's kids?)
- LIKE A MILLION BUCKETS (65A: How much Michael Jordan or Wilt Chamberlain could score, hyperbolically?)
- UNDERGROUND ROCKET (86A: Missile silo's holding?)
- FRONT OF THE PACKET (107A: Where Sweet'N Low displays its logo?)
- DARN SOCKETS (115A: Cry following an electrical malfunction?)
- noun An aphid, plant-louse, or some similar insect, kept and tended by ants for the sake of the sweet fluid which is secreted in its body and used as food by the ants. (wordnik)
• • •
And then there's the fill, which is also a real head-shaker. There's a kind of desperation for the new here, and you can smell it. Unfortunately, for every BERNIE BRO (very good) there are two things like WOODTAR or ANTCOW or NULLVALUE or PREWEB. There's the insipidness of the single KUDO (telling me it's "jocular" doesn't make it less insipid). I laughed out loud at how bad EATS PALEO is ... day by day, we are inching closer to the Platonic Ideal of Random Phrases: EAT A SANDWICH. Can't eat a sandwich if you're eating PALEO, but oh we're close! I've been in academia my whole adult life and still have never heard anyone refer to a POSTBAC in the wild. Not once, ever. I'm sure whatever that is exists, but usually after your Bachelor's, you get your Master's, what the hell? And the (presumably) hard "C" on BAC ... is that from BACCALAUREATE? POSTDOCs are absolutely positively 100% real things. POSTBACs, as I've said before, are your wordlist lying to you. Further, no matter how you clue CAR BOMB, it's never going to be a fun thing for people to see in their grid. Yes, ha ha, funny drink name, but it's named after terrorist violence, what in the world are you even doing here?
There was one very, very sticky moment for me, and unfortunately it involved the (to me) arcane WOOD TAR (?) and NO-OUT, which I couldn't parse to save my life despite having been a baseball fan for (checks watch) roughly 45 years. Oh, and BOOS. Couldn't see it. Had BO-S and still no idea how to make it be [Common results of penalties]. As for the baseball clue, after NO-HIT and NO-RUN my brain just gave up (69D: Like a situation at the start of an inning). So, to recap, BO-S, WOOD-A-, and NO-U-. Bots! Woodwax! No fun! I have to concede that the phrase "NO-OUT situation" is very much in-the-language when describing the progression of an inning, especially when runners are on base and strategies become more important. But my brain wanted only consonants to go in the empty spot in BO-S, so it took me a weirdly long time to see NO-OUT. Fun fact, I have been to multiple baseball games with today's constructor. Yankees Stadium. Camden Yards. Post-xword tournament outings of years past. Sam is an O's fan. I am a Tigers fan. Thus we share ... well, pain, mostly. Although today I had great joy, as I got to see Miguel Cabrera get his 3,000th hit (the first Venezuelan player ever to achieve that milestone):
Explainers:
[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]
- 109D: "Bye 4 now!" (TTYL) — "talk to you later." Ever since I heard that someone once saw TTFN in their grid ("tata for now"), I've been paranoid that that variation is going to jump out and bite me. So I let crosses reassure me that TTYL was indeed correct.
- 88D: Fun plans after work, say (DRINKS) — assuming you go out with friends; otherwise, these plans might be less "fun." Had real trouble with this one. At one point, I wanted DOINGS!
- 4D: Text back and forth? (LOL) — the clue is merely referring to the fact that LOL (a common "text") is a palindrome.
[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]
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196 comments:
I hate to say I don’t love any crossword puzzle. But I will say that my love for this puzzle is less than my love for every other NYT crossword I have ever done.
Can't parse the clue for SITTIN ON THE DOCKET ("Today's plans: watching someone's kids."). Help a fella out?
It’s horrible. It has to be read in a really strained way. Q: What’s on your calendar? A: (Baby)sittin’ (is) on the docket.
I'm not often as negative as Rex, but tonight I am. Like Joaquin, this was painful. So many answers were like: surely it's not XXX... surely not... oh, it is. SITTIN ON THE DOCKET??
POST BAC? I spent a loooong time trying to make POST DOC work, even though it would not likely be clued "after undergrad". Like Rex, same for NO OUT. NO OUTS is a thing, NO RUN, NO HIT. And "Be philanthropic" is surely DONATE. DO GOOD you say?? Yeesh!
Anyway, on the bright side, here in southern interior BC we had a great day: 19 C (66 F), so close to that landmark 20 degrees which screams "t-shirt weather". So cold for the last 2 weeks; a nice change.
[Spelling Bee: Sat 5:40 to pg, then QB later with this dull word which I have only ever seen in SB.]
@Graham – Sittin', as in babysittin', as in watchin' someone's kids, is "on the docket" (in today's plans).
And thank you, @Rex, for pointing out the idiocy of that answer. Saves me the trouble.
Weak theme. Weird fill. Alien wavelength. I'm with Rex and @Joaquin, but no reservations to admitting I hated this one.
🧠🧠🧠
-🎉🎉
Graham: It’s saying that sittin’ (babysitting) is on the docket (somewhat obscure term for agenda). Took me a few minutes too, probably because, as Rex points out, the whole thing is dumb. I was hoping for some kind of “sittin’ on the baby of Doc” pun, but it was not to be. This puzzle took me way longer than usual, and I felt more annoyance than triumph when I finally finished it.
The theme is not just adding ET to the end of words, it is taking phrases that end in CK and adding ET.
At least that helps the title make some sense by turning RACK into RACKET.
Medium. Completely agree with @Rex, including problems seeing BOOS.
Today’s plans = on the docket
Watchin’ someone’s kids = babysitting = sittin
@Graham. Docket, plans for the day. Babysitting plans for the day are on the docket.
Hate to say this, but I have to side with Rex on this one. WHAT MAKES YOU TICKET brought on th slightest grin. Pretty grim, otherwise.
33 Across was in such poor taste I put the puzzle down and never went back to it. How did that get past the test solvers?
Usually I think Rex is too harsh but today his criticism is if anything generous. Silly theme and CARBOMB, sheesh.
@Rex nailed it, as did everyone who agrees with him. And (so far) there are no dissenters. Oh, and everyone who answered the DOCKET question nailed it too. A KUDO to all!
In my field (Math) there are some POSTBAC programs that aim to bridge the gap between undergraduate and graduate (particularly for students from backgrounds/schools that would leave them underprepared to go directly into graduate coursework). The idea is that you graduate, spend a year in a postbac, then go on to a PhD program.
Wonderful to see such consensus... I have no intention whatsoever of challenging it... Rex's critique is spot on. I disagree only with his rating... this was so challenging for me because of the oodles of PPP in the fill that I nearly ASHCANned it several times. Better luck next Sunday, I guess... sigh ...
I wouldn’t suggest anyone go into a pub in Ireland, Republic or Northern, and order one of those. At best you’ll get the cold shoulder, at worst you’ll lose a couple of teeth. “Irish Slammer” is probably the best known alternate name.
People who delight in ordering an IRISH CAR BOMB on St. Patrick’s or any other day are usually the type of Irish-American that annoys and/or embarrasses actual Irish people in Ireland.
(I’m all Jew, so no personal offense here other than I love Irish language and culture and think anyone with a brain can understand why it’s a terrible name for a drink, especially on that particular day.)
I didn’t mind the theme as I like it when I can figure out some of the clues without any letters in. I do enjoy word puzzles within my puzzles much more than Rex does.
Probably the most common POSTBAC is the pre-med program attended by liberal arts majors who decide, after graduating and interning in the magazine racket or some other starvation-level job, that they want to be doctors. A little profit center for many colleges.
Another joyless Sunday slog.
It took me a while to solve this puzzle. I just could not click with the constructor. Once I saw that the ET had to be dropped in order for the solves to make sense (if that makes sense), I had a better idea of what I was looking for.There was nothing wacky about this puzzle, to me it was just long, drawn out, and somewhat boring. I saw that because I don’t like to give up.
Not sure whether Rex just whiffed on the Magazine RACK - CK slant or the lifelessness of the puzzle took over. It has no bearing - this was brutal - theme and fill. So much theme resulted in 4 and 5 letter schlock. CAR BOMB was actually the only entry I liked.
Joyless.
I loved the clues to the theme answers. They weren’t ha-ha funny, but they didn’t have to be because they were so very clever.
I loved this solve – a patchwork solve, where some areas offered scant resistance and others fought like the devil due to no-knows and vague and tricky cluing. The former brought relief from the latter.
I loved TEJANO, THRALL, and BAD LOT.
I loved running across happy accidents. The backward CATS looking up at the backward BIRD at the bottom. The rhyming neighbors: STALL / ENTHRALL, WELL / BEFELL, FAT CAT / ICHAT. Having NO MAD in the same puzzle as [Happy companion]. And throwing another -CKET word – “Snicket” – in one of the clues.
I loved the overall quality and the “every square thought out” feeling – no surprise given the constructor on this, his sixth Sunday NYT puzzle. You presented much to love here, Sam. Thank you for a most lovely solve.
This quickly became a grind just to get the thing finished, trying to work out obscurities like postbac when for all the world I thought it must be postdoc.
And a theme so weak and random I thought there must be a disconnect between British and American humour which definitely happens…. Though reading the reviews here it seems there is a consensus that this one doesn’t hit the mark for any English speakers. Sundays are definitely the most hit and miss day of the week for me, I generally enjoy the weekday puzzles.
Struggled a lot with this, in part because so many of the themers didn't land for me.
SITTIN ON THE DOCK is not a standalone entry. You need 'of the bay' there.
LIKE A MILLION BUCKS and DARN SOCKETS do something weird with the 'S' - it's a necessary part of the base phrase, so it would need to be LIKE MILLION BUCKSET and DARN SOCKSET
UNDERGROUND ROCK and FRONT OF THE PACK are just not common expressions.
So … I liked three of the eight themers.
Also, way too much car stuff.
Is it at all possible that NYTIMES editors are not reviewing the final product. They even sign off on obituaries. How does Irish Car Bomb get into a puzzle? This paper continues to stumble; someday it shall fall.
Crossword puzzles used to be more concerned with vocabulary and knowledge. Now it's all about figuring out some inane, asinine "theme." This example is especially egregious. Lately, the NYT has completely lost its way, mindlessly wandering a landscape bereft of intelligence and joy, while plodding behind a thoroughly mystified editor.
Thought the puzzle was awful, but like others, I will stand up for POSTBAC. Definitely a thing. Astonished that CARBOMB made it in. Incredibly tasteless.
I totally didn't like this puzzle either, similar to so many others. But I will be positive, instead. I LOVE Sam's daily Spelling Bee game. It always makes me smile. Thanks for that, Sam!
This one took me a while. Started last night, finished this morning. Cute but yes, the fill felt... strained at times.
My brother was just telling me about the swarms of June bugs in Texas. And here, I learn about ANTCOWs... Gotta love those bugs!
I work at a university, and for me at least, POSTBAC is a very familiar term. One kind is the premedical POSTBAC, for students who didn't complete all the requirements for med school before they graduated.
Magazines? Huh?
Did not enjoy it at all. The theme did nothing - the DOCKET one was the worst, and the others were pretty much nothing-burgers as well.
The whole north section of the grid is laden with esoterica (TEJANO, WOTAN, BHARAT, MIRO) and out-and-out garbage (CAR BOMB !?!).
I’ve been doing the NYT Sunday puzzles for many years now, and I honestly don’t remember running into one that was as devoid of solving pleasure as this puppy. Others may have enjoyed it - definitely not for me though.
This was a dismal slog and incompetent work. Disgraceful.
Jocularly or not, KUDO does not exist. Not now. Not once. Not ever.
The “et” theme answers (Cricket, Bucket, etc.) are names of magazines.
why not "death of Michael Corleone's first wife" for 33A? makes it somewhat more appealing.
Editor 1: I don’t really want CAR BOMB in the puzzle. People do these puzzles as a nice diversion. They won’t want to be reminded of people being brutally killed.
Editor 2: Hey, there’s a drink called a CAR BOMB. Why don’t we clue it as the drink?
Editor 1: Genius!! No one will ever make the connection the explosive device! Run it!
I came here to see whether anyone agreed with me about the absolute awfulness of this puzzle. Glad to see I wasn't alone. I actually stopped solving, which I never do during the week and only very rarely on Sundays. But life's too short, this puzzle's too awful, and there's Miggy's 3000th (actually 3001--he got another one in the same game) hit to celebrate!
It's not just ET at the end. IT'S CKET.
Thx Sam, for another excellent Sun. puz! :)
Hard.
As to be expected from Sam; a huge challenge, as I'm almost never on his wavelength.
The thing is tho, I know if I keep plugging away, I'll eventually succeed, as was the case with today's offering.
Didn't catch the full sense of the theme until late in the game; took another look at APPLE JACKET and realized that without the ET, it still made sense. This was a great help in speeding up the solve.
A great test of endurance, and loads of fun, to boot! :)
@okanaganer 👍 for QB dbyd & yd! :)
___
yd pg - 9 (didn't have time to pursue the queen) / Duo 34/37 / Phrazle 3
Peace 🙏 🇺🇦 ~ Compassion ~ Tolerance ~ Kindness to all 🕊
I didn't dislike it as much as Rex did... but I didn't care for it a whole lot. It took me a long time to get any traction at all (unusual for a Sunday), so I was respecting the fact that it made me struggle, and I felt good when I was finally putting it together. But overall, nah -- and I always have low expectations for a Sunday these days.
Wish "head of the packet" had been clued to be "leader of the packet." Would have been a nice juxtaposition with "sittin" even though the song title is incomplete. I get the c-k phrase with e-t added but would have appreciated the theme more if the puzzle title had been "phone home."
Wow, so universally disliked! I almost never go 100% along with Rex, but this time I do. One thing, did I miss it or did he neglect to point out the inconsistency of 115 A, "Darn Sockets." The only plural of the bunch.
You and Matt from Chicago need to lighten up.
This was an unpleasant slog. Usually have such a fun time solving the Sunday puzzle. Pure drudgery today🤨
Couldn’t agree with you more on this one. After completing the puzzle — and while I was working on it — I kept looking back at the themers trying to find more meaning. Is adding an ET all there is? Are magazine names hidden in the answers somehow? Anagrams, Rebuses… anything, anything at all? Maybe ET should phone home because I’m not finding a lot to enjoy about this theme in this galaxy.
Agree with those who say that POSTBAC is definitely a thing. I've heard it many, many times when referring to extra courses one might take after graduating from college in order to apply for medical school, if one hadn't taken organic chemistry while an undergrad, for example.
Agree with kitshef that the missing "s" at the end of some of the base phrases is grating and sloppy.
I think it's called "Magazine Racket" because a potential theme answer could have been "magazine rack/magazine racket." I don't usually think of the titles as being theme answers, but I guess there's no reason why they couldn't be.
@ Francis Ford (8:07 am) Not for his first wife it wouldn't.
I didn't love it. I don't understand the magazine tie in. Each phrase though is a "common" phrase:
APPLE JACK (23A: Cereal, Drink,)
WHAT MAKES / YOU TICK? (25A: self explanatory)
WATSON AND CRICK (28A: DNA Scientists who worked as a team)
SITTIN' ON THE DOCK (48A: ...of the bay)
LIKE A MILLION BUCKS (65A: how you may feel when finishing this puzzle?)
UNDERGROUND ROCK (86A: Indie bands?)
FRONT OF THE PACK (107A: Not where we finished this puzzle time wise?)
DARN SOCKS (115A: bygone multi task)
Thanks Sam!
My heart sank when I saw Sam's name, as did my average for the Sunday puzzle. It was slow going and not fun. And after I would fill in the clues, I would find my suspicions were often correct. But the answers just seemed so banal and boring.
By the way, regarding the CAR BOMB clue/answer, I winced at that one. It would certainly not go in one of my puzzles. IMO, it was, and may forever be, too soon for that clue/answer, which I found to be in bad taste. Having worked with Sam, I know he meant no harm. I believe this will be a learning experience for him and the NYT team after seeing the reaction here and on WordPlay.
After I winced, I took a couple of breaths, swallowed, and moved on, bringing my focus to the elements I enjoyed.
I thought the title was cute once I figured it out. Themers were okay but agree with comments on fill. Personal shortcoming - I had no idea who WATSON AND CRICK were. Just not in my DNA.
Baseball irony given complaints about the modern game in honor of Cabrera’s historic feat. Between 1942 (Paul Waner) and 1970 (Aaron and Mays) only one player reached 3,000 career hits. It happened at Wrigley Field in 1958 and is the only pinch hit to achieve the milestone. (See below). Since 2000, ten players have reached that plateau. Apparently some players can still hit.
***********************************
***********************************
Answer: Stan Musial
Would my life be richer, fuller, happier if I knew...
*The focus of the website Brickipedia?
*"The Hangover" character who wakes up with a missing tooth?
*The aphid that produces honeydew?
*The tissue in a plant stem?
*The brother in the Lemony Snicket books?
*Rufus and Chaka Khan's "____Nobody"?
I always wonder when I confront a puzzle such as this one if the constructor constructed it with Google and YouTube sharing the screen and with an Encyclopedia perched on his lap. No single person can know all these teensy, tiny assorted bits of arcane information off the top of his head, can he? I certainly don't. And I hate puzzles that make me feel dumb because I am NOT dumb!
I dropped this one less than halfway through. I'd suffered quite enough already, thank you. It's a beautiful day out there and I fully intend to enjoy the rest of it.
Slowest Sunday for me in a long time. It took forever to see that ET thing, and I only realized what was going on when "Magazine Rack" made more sense than "Magazine Racket", Oh. I frequently do the WSJ puzzle, thank goodness, because this kind of thing shows up there often.
Took forever to see TEJANO, same baseball problems as OFL, SET for PUT messed up the beginning of UNDERGROUNDROCK, and even after I got that I was thinking , come on, all ROCKS aren't UNDERGROUND. Thant kind of a morning. Forgot who WATSON AND CRICK were and decided it was some fancy British department store I had never heard of. Sheesh.
So a certain satisfaction after enough erasing and refilling got me the puzzle filled in correctly, and I did my own happy music, although reluctantly. Not my all time favorite, SE, but Some (Slight) Enjoyment, at least, for which some thanks.
Hope Sam gets a PR in his half marathon today.🏃♂️
Also trying to figure out the why of the puzzle's title--is it because the puzzle appears in the NYTimes Magazine?
A POSTBAC is a thing, obscure but real. It is a program that give students additional preparation beyond their BA or BS for a graduate program. The one I know about is in classics. Many undergraduate institutions can't give students enough background in ancient languages for them to go on to the doctorate. So some students will do an intensive POSTBAC in classics before applying to doctoral programs.
POSTBAC is definitely a thing. Usually pre-med school. It’s a way to burnish your grades before applying, make you eligible for stronger programs than you would have otherwise.
CAR BOMB also got a 'wince' (hi @Lewis) from me, but it prompted a search to determine its origins. It also provided an impetus to do some prayerful work on the subject of violence, in general. 🙏
"The "Irish" in the name refers to the drink's Irish ingredients; typically Guinness stout, Baileys Irish Cream, and Jameson Irish Whiskey.[3]
The term "car bomb" combines reference to its "bomb shot" style, as well as the noted car bombings of Ireland's Troubles.[3][4][5]
The name is considered offensive by most Irish and British people, with many bartenders refusing to serve it.[6][7] Some people, including Irish comedians, have likened it to ordering an "Isis" or "Twin Towers" in an American bar.[4][8]
Contrary to its name, the cocktail is only commonly known and well-consumed within the United States; the cocktail is mostly unknown or undesirable to Irish and British people, due to either its controversial name or its unusual adulteration of regular Guinness stout, which is usually consumed on its own within Ireland itself.[9] (Wikipedia)
___
td pg: 6:49 / W: 3*
Peace 🙏 🇺🇦 ~ Compassion ~ Tolerance ~ Kindness to all 🕊
Well, at least the clue for KOS was pretty cool (Big hits?), unlike the rest of it which was a big swing and a miss. I feel bad that the lovely and marvelous Ms. Teri GARR had to get caught up in all of this - she really deserves more respect which she drops by for a visit and graces us with her presence.
I subscribe to the NYT crossword specifically because it tends to be the lightest on the pop culture trivia, proper nouns, brand names, weird abbreviations, and low-effort exclamation clues. Obviously some of those are unavoidable to make a crossword work, but the NYT generally isn't too bad on them.
You can imagine how happy I was to find that today's was essentially nothing but those.
Wish I'd seen the creator name earlier. Sam's editing of the spelling bee game forced me to stop playing it, as weird obscure plant and bird names and odd linguistic constructions that nobody has ever uttered aloud are commonly included, while fairly common words are frequently excluded. It would have at least clued me in to expect nonsense.
What @Joaquin said. That pretty much sums it up for me.
UNDERGROUND ROCK[ET] does not work for me at all. Is that a music genre? Googling it post-solve, I guess it's a thing but it's a thing I hadn't heard of, and the resulting theme answer is in no way a pun. An UNDERGROUND ROCKET is exactly what's in a missile silo - no question mark needed.
WATSON AND CRICK[ET] - I'm afraid I didn't know that DNA duo. Speaking of DNA, CSI as a DNA reviewer? What the heck...I get it, I do, but reviewer?
Sam, I wanted to like your puzzle but only 23A, 65A and 107A really landed for me. I take that back, WHAT MAKES YOU TICKET was actually the best - a shame it had to be split in two which lessened it's punny impact.
Agree with everyone here who hated this. What does any of this have to do with magazines? This was so awful, I gave up, because scooping cat boxes seemed like a more appealing use of my time. This was almost like, "Sam, ya gotta do a puzzle, can you throw something together?"
If I weren't so concerned about my stupid streak in the app, I would have walked away from this one. A slog. A strain. And I love doing puzzles with horrors in them so I can grumble.
But this is just sad, from a really good constructor.
Even @Lewis needed to start each sentence of his review with "I loved..." (and then I could imagine him sitting there staring into space trying to think of something positive).
Does anyone want to point out that the constructor -- Sam ezersky -- IS a NYTimes puzzle editor?
1) Large items on which to practice deboning fish
2) Insect attracted to money
3) Where to buy and sell pews
4) “Secure the axes!”
5) How to apply retardant to a forest fire
6) Mend a badly knitted afghan
7) Find the missing brass instruments
Well, I didn’t like this puzzle much either – so much so that I decided not to drop in today. But I have very little time for the blog at the moment, and I knew that today I did have some time, so I changed my mind. And then I thought I’d extend the theme by dropping the CK requirement and just adding ET onto any one-syllable word. Not sure about the results but you can see for yourself.
I didn’t think most of the themers landed well, but I did get a small chuckle out of WATSON AND CRICKET, although a big leap was required to get from clue to answer. My biggest problem in solving was thinking that Yukon and Acadia were suvS (and they are, aren’t they?) and that GNAW was steW. I also had difficulty with INFOmania and imagining any country whose national sport could be oil wrestling. Or even imagining oil wrestling at all. Somehow, I’ve never heard the terms BHARAT or BERNIE BRO, but was interested to learn them.
Always like a puzzle that starts with art-related content – SCULPT and MIRÓ. And the so-called ASHCAN School of American painting from the early 20th century, with people like Robert Henri and George Luks, who depicted the back alleys and poorer neighborhoods of New York. Also liked seeing FAERIE spelled this way. It reminds me of Spenser’s The Faerie Queene and also, in mythology, of faeries as dangerous, powerful beings, who are as likely to wreak havoc as be benevolent. More literature: POEM, ODISTS, Lady Macbeth (in a clue), ALBEE (and KLAUS in Lemony Snicket?). Lots of music: UNDERGROUND ROCK(ET), STAC., TEJANO, A TEMPO, FRET, and WOTAN and MARIA as clued. Chuckled at BEFELL, which I think of as a Spelling Bee word – guess Sam can’t completely escape his day job.
Yeah, well, not the best Sunday. I, too, hated the Irish cocktail. Not every day’s a winner nor, realistically, could be. But one solves and moves on (and, I hope, constructs or edits and learns). TTYL.
1) BIG SHOES TO FILLET
2) FLY ON THE WALLET
3) BENCHMARKET
4) BATTEN DOWN THE HATCHETS
5) LAY IT ON THICKET
6) FILL IN THE BLANKET
7) TURN UP TRUMPETS
HOLY guacamole, we've buried ourselves in a miasma of BOOS. NO MORE. To dig out for a moment, if only to breathe:
I liked CANOE and WOOD TAR for being here today, as both have a kind of Birchbarkian tenor. True, I'd say "pine" TAR, but no matter. Mixed with pennyroyal, it is good for fending off the biting bugs.
Which reminds me, what do you call a bunch of biting bugs who walk off the job?
A NIT PICKET.
Where wine or a crappy puzzle might be placed
INACASKET
“Oh that Rex, he’s so grumpy, he never likes …” I have written or thought something like that many times. But he is spot on today. The first time I can remember ever thinking midway through a solve, do I really need to finish this? I did, to keep up the streak. Theme and fill equally bad.
Like everyone, I was trying to figure out what “magazine“ had to do with anything but I think @Bradley Greenwald figured it out.
What is SITTIN’ ON THE DOCK(ET) ? It can’t possibly be referring to the Otis Redding song could it ? The name of that song is (Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay. Is “sitting’ on the dock” a stand-alone phrase apart from that song ? If so, I never knew it and that’s on me.
Post-bac's are definitely a thing in the laboratory sciences, and a growing thing at that, as graduate schools become more competitive. The NIH has a program for them and I think that's all you really need to know to make them legit.
Well said, @Joaquin!
Yikes! Did the entire editorial department vanish? I have solved a ton of puzzles in the last 60 years and have never struggled so mightily to appreciate a theme like I struggled today. ‘M with @Rex and @Joaquin. ‘Nuff said.
Agree with Rex
The title is another "add ET" pun ...magazine rack-et. Apparently not good enough for the theme set so it became the title, I guess. All of these were so weak. Not even dad joke funny.
I wondered if the hyperbole was jillion, billion, zillion? Why MILLION?
If you're going to hyperbole, do it!
I started with the gimme, XYLEM and it only got better from there. Almost dropped this puzzle to read a travel article about Phuket, where you can spend time SITTING ON THE DOCK.
Sometimes I think Rex is too harsh but I have to agree with him today. I really did not like this puzzle...Thanks to those explained the link between Sitting on the docket /Babysitting tie....I could not for the life of me connect that one...As others have said and as the granddaughter of Irish immigrants, CARBOMB was a real turn off nor did I appreciate the Missile Silo/UNDERGROUNDROCKETS...Crosswords are my escape from the horrible war news we are enduring every day. No joy in this one at all.
I've said before that my first contact with crosswords was sitting on my Dads' lap and filling in the S for words clued as plurals. I'm over 70 now, and I have to say that this is the WORST puzzle I can ever remember in the NYT.
How in Gods' name did this ever make the paper ? This fails on so many levels that it is not even worth discussing. I don't think I can even read anything from the king of the Constructors Fan Club any more.
Rad2626,
You hurried the lede. 3000 hit trivia is a fertile field, and while Stan The Man achieving 3K as a pinch hitter is nifty, Warner’s 3 grand trivia is better. He’s the only player to get his 3000ty hit twice. Yep. The official,scorer credited Warner with a double on a hot shot that Eddie Joost couldn’t handle. As the crowd of players and press converged to offer congrats, Warner waved them off. He demanded that the scorer revise the play to an error. And he did just that. ( Warner punched his 3,000 ticket the next game).
As an aside, I myself have some not-too-shabby trivia regarding my 3000th knock. I was the first player to ever achieve it by hitting a home run. I celebrated with two cases of Miller Lite. And a pint of rum. ( I was playing for Tampa at the time, so…).
In addition, post bac is definitely a thing in the wild Rex. Bryn Mawr used to boast grads of their program had a 99% success rate in getting into Med school. Maybe they still do.
Kudo is also a thing. there’s a very famous niter view bite wher George Halas says “ You’ve got to give the old guys a big kudo for getting it The NFL ) going.”
Remember, the alphabet ends at Y.
CARBOMB early on was enough to sour me on this one. Then came the lame theme thread.
Hey All !
Holy Tough SunPuz Batman! Took me an hour and twenty minutes! Sloooow for me for a SunPuz. And "finished" with multiple errors. Had to go back two more times before getting the Happy Music. Ouch!
Agree this wasn't the best Sunday to come out of the puz mill. I think Sam gets a pass, as he is part of the PuzTeam over there. Maybe there wasn't a SunPuz ready to go, and he had to whip one up real quick. Title could've been Tennis Racket as easily as the Magazine Racket.
My takes on the Themers if you take out the CKET:
APPLE JA - Ask a German if they want a Red Delicious?
WHAT MAKES YOU TI - Change Clifford Joseph Harris Jr to your Rap name?
WATSON AND CRI - On your IBM computer watching soccer gms?
SITTIN ON THE DO - Accidentally parked on your girlfriend's new hair style?
LIKE A MILLION BU - Tons of hay?
UNDERGROUND RO - Short cock-a-doodle-doer in a basement?
FRONT OF THE PA - Where Ma stands?
DARN SO - "Dang tootin'!"
(Some of those aren't the best! 😁)
Got a chuckle out of getting NEVADAN after having in NAVAJOS first. Shoot, I'm a NEVADAN 15 years now and never heard of Great Basin College. (Granted, Nevada is a large state, and I'm only in one tiny little corner of it.)(Also granted, I'm not edumacted enough!)
Time to TEEOFF (well, not really, I'm not a golfer) AANDE DOGOOD.
yd -7 (oof), should'ves 5, Duo-oof again, missed two.
Six F's (wowsers, two days in a row!)
RooMonster
DarrinV
The addition of et to the end words of common phrases produces the name of a magazine. Thus, the puzzles title both exemplifies
and describes the theme. Thumbs yp.
Besides being a joyless slog, let me add a comment about WATSON AND CRICK. Besides Crick being a eugenicist and Watson making racist remarks, the two essentially stole the work of Rosalind Franklin. Many scientists believe Rosalind Franklin should have received the Nobel for the discovery that DNA has a double helix structure. The Nobel instead went to three men: Watson, Crick, and Wilkins. Of course there is not enough room for all this commentary in the crossword... but choosing to include WATSON AND CRICK as a themer is just a shrug of "who cares?" to sexism.
'Irish CARBOMB' is an obnoxious name for a drink, and if the Irish came up with it, and drink it especially on St Patrick's day, so much the worse for them. If it wasn't the Irish, fu too. But I don't do the puzzle for a 'diversion', I do it for a little mental workout. even as I was typing for help here I figured out DOC for Happy companion - got diverted by its similarity to DOCKET et al. As a Canadian I also got pleasantly diverted by Yukon and Acadia.
You gotta give Sam credit. I’ve never seen so much agreement amongst the commentariat.
Here's the 2nd most annoying thing after the appalling CARBOMB: singular KUDO??? KUDOS IS singular. I know the "s" at the end throws people off. But there is no such thing as a single KUDO.
Awful. Awful. Awful. I do *not* understand why WS publishes junk like this.
I wasn’t in a Masters program but wanted some additional higher-level classes after I graduated. POSTBAC is a thing.
This puzzle was about as much fun as a CAR BOMB. And I’m not referring to the cocktail. If there is such a thing. I’m Irish and I’ve never heard of it.
In fact, this puzzle was so bad it made me never want to do a NYT Sunday puzzle again. For the first time in years, I stopped solving about halfway through. Then I mailed the grid to @Nancy so she could throw it against her wall.
It was either the LIKE in LIKE A MILLION BUCKETS or the SITTIN in SITTIN ON THE DOCKET that pushed me over the edge. Not that those were the worst answers in the grid. But somewhere in there I reached my threshold of tolerance for arcane trivia, humorless jokes, and irritating trickery.
Other than that, I liked it.
well, no. I liked it… enjoyed it.
At the same time, agree with 🦖’s critique 97%. (There we’re a few clever clue/answers) and magazines … related to what- guns, a collection of articles……you read?
Will chalk enjoyment up to mood and the somewhat ease of the 🧩 for me, because I can’t refute most of the -objective-charges against it. 😂
🤗🦖🦖🦖🤗
Sam may have needed a fast 1K to hire someone part time to deal with all the complaints about the Spelling Bee.
@Fitzy 3:39 AM - Very much agree.
Solved today with my wife AND with our houseguest, one of my best friends of 30 years who’s in town visiting from Texas. Fun three-person tag team effort.
I liked some of this (WHAT MAKES YOU TICKET probably the most, as I love a terrible pun).
I disliked much of this. Most offensive answer to me was UNDERGROUND ROCKET. Because “underground rock” is Not A Phrase.
You can be in an “underground rock band,” but here the common phrase is “rock band” which is modified by the adjective “underground.” An “underground rock club” is a rock club with underground status.
I played for *decades* in an independent band, worked a side gig for decades as a promoter of independent / indie rock shows, and even had a two-year stint as a promoter and the assistant manager for a punk venue. “Underground rock” is not a phrase I ever used or encountered.
Is it perhaps some geological terminology? I somehow doubt this.
Ok, off to the Brooklyn Botanic with our house guest before going to Greek Easter dinner with my in-laws. Happy Easter to anyone on the Greek Orthodox calendar today. Enjoy some lamb today.
Stick to Spelling Bee, Ezersky!
@Kevin C.5:32 AM - Yeah, I hear you, but it's pretty obscure for non-academics. Obscurity does not usually bother me. I always say part of the pleasure of crosswords is learning new words, names, things, etc. But in this case, I don't know, it just felt desperate. In addition, at least according to the Internet, it is usually spelled "post-bacc" (so *that* is really the new thing I learned, no thanks to the constructor, really).
@kitshef 7:15 AM - Yeah, so, it is not really chopping ET off the ends, but chopping it out wherever it appears, as in the examples you discuss. Totally agree that SITTIN ON THE DOCK is wrong for this theme, because, as you say, it needs "of the bay" to make any real sense, and that would have been too long, so the constructor should have just gone for something else.
Sam Ezersky creates the NYT puzzle Letter Boxed. That’s probably how this got published…and evidence that he should stick to his own creation.
@z - you nailed it, lol. Mr. Ezersky pulled off a very rare trifecta - One, he works for the Times, Two, he actually edits puzzles for a living, and Three, he got this abomination past Shortz who published it. This is a tough crowd to get to agree about what color the sky is, and he managed to pull it off !
@Eton Oxbridge - 8:04 AM - Thank you for giving me the excuse I needed to go full pedant. KUDO may or may not exist as a slang term for scant praise (I guess maybe it's a millennial / zoomer thing), but "kudos" is singular, like "gyros" and...well, I can't think of any others that are common in English. The -os ending for the nominative singular in Ancient Greek is equivalent to the -us ending of words from Latin, like alumnus, animus, etc. But not "omnibus"—There we have the Latin root "omn-" plus the dative/ablative plural ending, -ibus. Yes, you can feel free to ignore this entire post.
@Francis Ford 8:07 AM - I love it when this blog makes me literally "LOL"
@Will Carpenter 8:05 AM - Wow. So they are. Thank you! I thought they might be...but I was looking for things like Elle and Vogue and Time and Playboy, so when I did not recognize the names of magazines in the entries, I thought it was just random expressions.
@Unknown 8:13 AM - Good point. Pedantic, but I like pedantic.
Two reasons why I read you blog: 1) to fill me in; 2) to hope for a reference to the Tigers. Congrats Miggy!
@John H 8:46 AM - You kinda missed it...it's "darn socks," as in mending them. As another poster pointed out, that's one of two entries where you take out the "ET" before the "S"
This NYTXW of April 24, 2022 is unique - in the sense that it will forever be refered to as one of the worst Sundays of all time.
@Eldreth (11:55 AM)
As you pointed out (I didn't know), all of the themers are indeed magazines, periodicals, etc.. Thx for this! :)
"Jacket (now published as Jacket2) is an online literary periodical, which was founded by the Australian poet John Tranter. The first issue was in October 1997.[1]" (Wikipedia)
"Cricket is an illustrated literary magazine for children published in the United States, founded in September 1973[1] by Marianne Carus[2] whose intent was to create "The New Yorker for children."" (Wikipedia)
"The Docket Magazine is the premier resource in the legal industry. With a strong digital footprint and strategic campaigns the platform is able to reach targeted audiences." (The Docket Magazine)
"Bucket is a magazine from travelers for travelers, offering regional knowledge, inspiration and practical resources." (Kickstarter)
"Rocket is a premier student-ran fashion magazine based at the College of William and Mary. We provide an outlet for students to convey their visionary prospects. This can be seen in our thought-provoking themes alongside our creative ventures of photography, digital, art, and feature pieces." (Rocket Magazine)
"Packet is an art publication like no other. It’s biweekly, meaning that these designers are, astoundingly, creating a publication every two weeks. In an age of publishing where we’re used to our bi-monthly art magazines, thick bound pages with enough content to last us for the next six months, Packet offers something entirely different and entirely refreshing." (It's Nice That)
Socket Magazine:
"Diverse photographic genres blend in a symbiotic narrative that features selected work from the students’ array of projects. They reach out to the world with an inspective eye (AGORA), follow people to their various roots (TRACE), expose our shapeshifting mood in our strive for survival (CHAMELEON), and shed a spotlight on digital heroes and hidden icons (EYESOME). The productive cross-contamination of creative practices (in this instance, photography, poetry, and painting) is celebrated as a serious field of inquiry in which the process of discovery transcends to the final outcome." (issuu)
___
Peace 🙏 🇺🇦 ~ Compassion ~ Tolerance ~ Kindness to all 🕊
Challenge or chore? A tough call for me on this one. I'm predisposed to like Sunday puzzles and themes that require some brain-racking, but I found today's particularly hard to get into and mostly unrewarding once I did - with WATSON AND CRICKET the happy exception. And, for me, the rest went overboard on the slangy, jokey, BRO-y, and what-you-get-when-spelled-backward. But a feel-better ending, with the cute DARN SOCKETS and the lovely FAERIE.
@Anonymous 10:08 AM - At last, a fellow classicist! Or so I presume.
I never much cared for Sam's crosswores and today's puzzle reminds me why. Although some of the reasons may be very different from mine, I am happy to read so many pans about today's puzzle. I initially though spending over 6 hours in a hospital emergency room for a leg blood clot was the cause of my reaction but comments here suggest not. I can put up some a bit of PPP outside of my interest, but the amount of PPP and slang outside my interest disqualifies this puzzle and most of Sam's efforts from resulting in any enjoyment at struggling to solve the puzzle.
I don't even care I missed the real theme. Actually, I'm kind of proud of it.
Will, at least I am still alive. And ready to hike up to the Bear Mountain observatory tomorrow, followed by what should be an enjoyable wine barrel tasting event. What, me worry?
@Teedmn 10:26 AM - Agreed about the poor cluing of CSI, which would be a perfectly good entry (and frequently is) if the clue had been something like "DNA analyst." In fact, for all its many faults, I think the greatest fault of this puzzle was the poor clueing, sometimes obscure, sometimes misleading, sometimes just downright inaccurate.
@Anonymous 11:02 AM - Nope. You got it right. You got all there is to get. It's just a bad clue for a bad entry.
@Eldreth 11:55 AM - Great! That is, for the four people who have ever heard of any of these magazines. Would actually have been a fun theme if the magazines had been commonly known, popular ones, like Elle, Vogue, Time, Playboy, Esquire, etc.
@Leo C. Stein 11:59 AM - As pedantic comments go, I have to admit that yours is far more consequential than my post about "kudos" being singular. Thank you for that annotation.
hear, hear!
ditto!
Thanks for the explanation of “sittin’ on the docket.” Makes sense now. Also hated CARBOMB. No one should ever order that “fun” drink - on St Patrick’s Day?!?!?!?!?
I DID know POSTBAC, having attended a liberal arts college. As Chris Christie said, it was for people who wanted to go to medical school and hadn’t completed the required science courses.
“…part of the pleasure of crosswords is learning ….
But in this case…” 🤔🙄
LOL 😂
yes, one KUDO for that dubious accomplishment
The worst in a long time and Rex was much too charitable in his comments.
Court agenda with one lonely item on it?
DESOLATE DOCKET
♪ Away from the city that hurts and mockets
I'm standing alone by the desolate dockets ♪
*****Phrazle Talk******
I finally got today's, in two guesses but it took forever. But, I sort of take issue with this one, and I will tell you why – no spoilers, more like hints if you're stuck, but don't read if you don't want to know:
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
1) One of the words really doesn't need to be there.
2) There should be a hyphen in the phrase, which is not indicated. (It could be that all punctuation is eliminated as a matter of style.)
Awful. 🤢
I remember when, back in the mid/late 1960s, the term "underground was more or less a synonym for "counterculture" (e.g., "underground" radio, "underground" newspapers, etc.). I definitely remember hearing "UNDERGROUND ROCK" used as a kind of catch-all term for the music that was played on so-called "underground radio" (often public stations, almost always FM). But if that's the intended reference here, it's both dated and obscure beyond redemption.
Agree with most that this is bad. Also wanted to call out the Natick of MIRO crossing WOTAN. Hooray for 19th century proper names!
@Mike in Bed-Stuy 12:58. biceps, triceps, quadriceps.
On the other hand ...
'pease' was once singular, then we made into a plural and created 'pea' as a new word.
'cherise' was once singular, then we made it into a plural and created 'cherry' as a new word.
Any singular ending in an 's' sound is at risk for this, it's just a matter of how far we are along the path.
PEA, CHERRY - now accepted by everyone
KUDO, GYRO - OK for some, not for others
BICEP, TRICEP - unacceptable anywhere, notwithstanding its appearance in crossword puzzles
My 11yo had a subscription to Cricket at one point. I have heard of Socket. I have heard of The Docket. I have never heard of Jacket or Packet or Bucket Magazine. Literally the only thing that came up for me for Ticket when I googled it is a publication (maybe their Sunday mag?) related to the Haitian paper Le Nouvelliste. It's in French and has a FB page but not a website. Searching for it under Ticket tab at Le Nouvelliste brings up a Page not Found error. All of these are obscure, niche things. Even the one I knew, Cricket, brought no little joy of recognition.
I bet @Mike in Bed-Stuy didn't need to do a POSTBAC before applying to grad programs in classics. (Thanks for the explanation, btw.)
These comments are far more entertaining than this dismal puzzle. It's as if the NYT editors are trolling their subscribers by publishing something so poorly executed. For any constructor who's had their NYT submittals rejected, I'd bet you have unpublished puzzles that are better than this one.
June 11 will mark the 40th anniversary of the release of the movie "ET" (per Google). Maybe if they had changed the puzzle title to something reminding us of the flick, and waited until Sunday June 12 to publish we could have let things slide.
As it stands - even wearing my @Lewis shoes I could find nothing to love here. What Rex said.
@Mike in Bed-Stuy (1:01 PM)
Thx for pointing out that @Will Carpenter (8:05 AM) was the 1st to mention that all the themers are mags. Sometimes I skim thru the posts too quickly and miss something important. I enjoyed Sam's puz (and the themers dropping the ET), but am even more impressed that they're all actual mags. :)
@Joe Dipinto (2:14 PM)
About to embark on the Phrazle; sounds like I may have to check your hint/s after an hr. or 2 of time-sink. lol
___
WordHurdle: 3
Peace 🙏 🇺🇦 ~ Compassion ~ Tolerance ~ Kindness to all 🕊
This puzzle is not only joyless, but pointless AND dumb.
Hard to believe the NY Times can't do better for a Sunday puzzle, but this one was truly not worth the effort.
What a difference a day makes. Yesterday we had a top of the line theme-less and today it's a bottom of the barrel prolonged half baked pie in the face collection of strained dad jokes that don't even land. Even the fact that it was difficult does nothing to redeem it. It was difficult for all the wrong reasons. I stuck it out just out of spite so this abomination wouldn't get the better of me. I never wanted to quit a puzzle so badly as I did with this one. Just when I thought my opinion of SE couldn't get any lower he manages to astound.
CARBOMB was the proverbial turd floating in today's punchbowl of piss.
yd -0, NYT please get a new SB editor.
Jacket, Cricket, Docket etc. are magazine titles.
39D Bunch of Scoundrels. BALLOT seemed to fit here.
Completely agree with Rex, and friends, on this one. A disappointing Sunday puzzle all told. Further I was put off by the juxtaposition of "car bomb" and "what makes you tick ..?" And you know, under those missile silos there really is a rocket -- an ICBM ready to blast us into nuclear annihilation. So, bad vibe altogether.
And Rex is right, there is no such thing as a Post Bac program. Google it, and your spelling will be questioned. "Do you mean Post BACC?" There are a lot of those -- many for premed students, and at least one in Classics (Penn) and another puzzle solver mentioned Math. But be sure to include that second C.
What a slog.
Kinda glad to hear that I wasn't the only solver that just weren't quite on this SunPuz's wavelength. Took m&e 3 or 4 sittins to survive that there solvequest. With a long break in between each time, to get my nerve back. Lost valuable Dr. Peppers.
This puppy seemed to be raisin desperation to a whole new level -- while also hankerin to socket-to-yah with a shockin feast of feisty clues, all in one rodeo ride. If it were a runtpuz, the test solvers would call that puppy a biter.
Ow de Speration hi-lites [some maybe just becuz M&A don't understand em]: PREWEB. POSTBAC. EATSPALEO. WOODTAR. Split themer [took a while to realize that] WHATMAKES + YOUTICKET. FTYPES [F as in FOUE]. GMCS. NOOUT. ANTCOW. MCD. LVI. KUDO.
Clues of mystery fave: {Native of the country whose national sport is oil wrestling}. Pretty slippery. Downright OILY.
no-knows: CARBOMB drinks. Brickipedia foci. FTYPES. FOUE. TEJANO. ANTCOW. REDDS. BERNIEBRO. DOWD. BHARAT. KLAUS. Oil wrestlin. Hangovered STU.
staff weeject pickets: OKS & KOS.
Thanx, Mr. Sam-EZ. See yah back on planet Earth, next time soon. (Had enough time with them ETs, for a while.)
Masked & Anonymo10Us
**gruntz**
I feel much better now: I am not alone I fear sometimes when a puzzle beats me up like this ... well, okay, Steve, that 76th birthday was an accomplishment but now you're ready for the "home." Well maybe not yet - or at least I'll have some good company there!
Thank you, Rex for confirming everything I felt while doing this puzzle. Not a moment of pleasure doing this.
This is my first NYT crossword in months and I thought I was just rusty. Tried to reserve judgement until I came here. It’s not easy making these and I’m sure the creator will take our feedback constructively! Thanks for the puzzle!
Agree with all. Just an awful slog. Has any NYT puzzle garnered as much agreement on this blog?
Sam sometimes signs my puzzle rejection notices so now I feel better.
Ugh. What a slog. I rarely dislike a puzzle this much…….
To be fair Sundays are meant to be a little unconventional, if I understand correctly.
On twitter there is an account called Endless Screaming… that was me for this entire nonsense…
By far, the worst NYT puzzle I have ever done. The "theme" is meaningless and inconsistent. (Why do some clues end in "ETS"?). I would have expected adding "ET" to names of magazines at least, but no, the actual puzzle is much lamer. Much of the fill is horrible. Singular KUDO? POSTBAC? WOOD TAR? ANTCOW? Geeez. Next time I see a Sam Ezersky puzzle, I'll pass. At least that will give me some amount of pleasure.
Watson and Crick did not receive the Nobel for discovering that DNA is a double helix, it was for the discovery of AT GC base pairing which explains DNA replication, a discovery which Franklin had no part in.
Nice!! Now that’s a comment!
Wow, I got this puzzle and a NYT submission rejection email from Sam Ezersky in the same week. He said my puzzle wouldn't appeal to young people enough. Yep, "Magazine Racket" is so hip. Ugh.
Fellow academic here: postbacs are definitely a thing. They're usually one-year programs that facilitate entry to professional schools or PhD's for people who didn't take the "right" classes in college because they hadn't realized at the time that they wanted to go onto such programs. So there's postbac for med school (for people who didn't take premed classes in college) or postbac for a Classics PhD (for people who didn't study the languages enough in college).
@What? 5:34 - The Nobel Foundation's website indicates otherwise https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/medicine/1962/speedread/
I had Apple Basket not Apple Jacket. I thought sounded like it was correct- a basket of apples and also Swag can come in a basket. At that point I decided the theme was "ends in KET" so I wrote that in for all the theme answers.
This was not good. Unable to complete. Gave up. Had good finishes with Thurs, Fri and Sat Puzzes. This may me feel like a PUZZ PUTZ.
A little insider trading here. Sam Ezersky is the NYT Spelling Bee editor.
Hydrokitty
Totalky agree and it pains me to say this, but they're getting worse every week. There's a difference between "clever" and "ridiculous
The theme, lets say it, SUCKED. Didn't read the other 140+ comments to see how this theme might have made sense. Even if it was a theme, the clipped phrases still didn't feel smooth. Add that to a host of less than common or even unused words, names, etc. e.g.: preweb, Miro, Wotan, Dowd,Bharat, Whatmakesyouticket (what is this phrase?????), carbomb, postbac, Klaus crossing Stu, BernieBro, Albee, antcow, Redds, drib, stac. Either the constructor lives on a different planet than me, has a better thesaurus, or just relies blindly on their constructor software, I am on a completely different wavelength. As with Rex, I have a Ph.D. and never heard the term postbac (and neither has the spellcheck).
Watson and Crick based their work on Rosalind Franklin's discovery without attribution. That is stealing!
I'm a little surprised at the outpouring of the lack of love (with the un-notable exception of @Lewis) for this puzzle. How was this one significantly worse that any of the preceding 52 Sundays? Tired and a syllable theme, tied together by magazines no one's ever heard of (and apparently, some not even published any more -Jacket Magazine's last issue was in 2010), dad jokes that fall flat. Sound familiar? Like 9 out of 10 Sundays? Ok, CARBOMB kind of blew things up, but still, how was this other than just another Sunday?
Anyone have an opinion on POSTBAC? Bueller? Bueller?
Watson and Crick based their discovery of DNA structure on the work of Rosalind Franklin without attribution. That is stealing!
Going back and reading previous comments, I was happy to see that it was not just me who thought today's puzzle was a bust. Then I was surprised when it was pointed out that the constructor was also editor of the Spelling Bee, which also includes numerous obscure/unused terms at the expense of common language, which gives me the impression that they just want to impress us with their adept use of online thesauri and constructor software rather than make a pleasing puzzle. I also wonder if their Xwords are edited more leniently since they are on the editing team?!?!?!
I'm going to frame today's blog. It the first time I derived more pleasure from it than the Crossword!
While I found this a bit of an awkward exercise, it wasn't until I filled the last letter and the sour "at least ..." message popped up. Spent 15-20 minutes trying to sort out where I went wrong. Finally grasped that my stab at "POSTBAs"/"IsON" (figured that had to be a notable baseball fielder with that name) was likely problematic.
Postbac / Post-bacc (no reference consensus) may be a thing. Fingers crossed I don't encounter it again during a solve.
I thought I'd feel a little better after reviewing the constructor's notes. I do. I feel 1% better. I'm with Rex and most of the commenters. The truth is I walked from this one short of completion with no desire to return. My least happy Sunday solving experience in years.
Heads up. 0:53 is the new Monday standard. Good luck y’all.
And you thought Rex was fast…
1) BIG SHOES TO FILLET
2) FLY ON THE WALLET
3) BENCHMARKET
4) BATTEN DOWN THE HATCHETS
5) LAY IT ON THICKET
6) FILL IN THE BLANKET
7) TURN UP TRUMPETS
Brava. Best laugh all day
When I saw Sam's name attached to the puzzle, I almost skipped it. I knew it would be filled with "seriously?!?" and "Oh, come on!" I was right. Sam is a glutton for punishment.
@Susan 2:55 PM - Aw thanks. Actually, I majored in comp lit in college, so I had to do some non-matric work and enroll in a master's program before I could swing the doctoral program. All roads lead to Athens?
All one had to do was go to Wikipedia to see how truly vile that clue was. I'd "love" to know WHERE it's popular....
My fastest ever is about 2:20 on a Monday. I literally don't understand how it's physically possible to get a 0:53. Is he typing on a regular keyboard? Can't wrap my head around it. Really impressive
The Sunday crossword has had themes, usually somewhat challenging to figure out, for the decades I’ve been solving it.
Brilliant! (Though I can’t say I’ve heard of any other than Cricket.) Rare but gratifying to see Rex outsmarted.
Hated, hated, HATED this puzzle. Haven't had a DNF in years. There were multiple Naticks here. Awful. Worst Sunday NYT puzzle ever.
Thanks! I love stuff like this.
Alien wavelength sums up the puzzle well. Didn’t enjoy. Too many obscure or stupid answers
Simply one of the worst puzzles I have ever encountered in any medium. Not fun, not funny, not clever, frequently pedantic and show-offy in annoying ways, and needlessly difficult.
I would have liked this slightly more if the magazine reference wasn’t made in its title. Maybe calling it “Alien Invasion” and adding an ET to the phrases would have made it just a little more palatable. For me at least.
Intentionally obtuse and annoying as heck to do.
Half the time I struggle with Sundays — that is my skill level. But this was filled with too much arcane, weird stuff that was not much fun. I give it my lowest grade.
Agreed with basically everything here! But "postbac" is most definitely a thing. Yes, pronounced with the hard 'c.' Have had many a conversation with students about postbac programs.
I’m Irish and support Northern Ireland independence from English occupation. And I gasped out loud when I realized the clue was “car bomb.” WTF? Never is a reference to terror okay. How does this even have to be said?
Is the NYT going to allow plane bombs as an answer, using a reference to 9/11? I cringe just typing those words.
I’m not an expert solver, so the puzzle was fine for me. But that clue is grossly inappropriate. There is nothing to be celebrated about, and we should not be normalizing, car bombings. Or plane bombings. Or mass shootings. Again, how does this even have to be said?
I'm looking forward to my root canal after this.
STOP STOP EVERYONE!! Did no one read Will Carpenter's comment at 8:05 a.m.???? All the theme "et" answers are names of magazines (Cricket, Bucket, etc.) That makes this a whole new ball game. I think everyone, including Rex, needs to apologize to Sam. Sheesh
Awful puzzle! I don't care that the constructor is 26 years old....or maybe that's why it's such a crappy puzzle.
I eventually decided to take a look at the comments because of the car bomb clue. After I started the puzzle, I had to put my pencil down when I saw that clue and trashed the puzzle. I don't know how that ever was allowed to be a clue. "popular St. Patrick's Day cocktail"? Really?
I was pleased to see that I was not the only person that thought this was an inappropriate, never to be repeated, type of clue.
Worst NYT Sunday crossword EVER!
Terrible.
Somebody owes me.
I did all that work--and I get...what? --CKs turned into --CKETs? That's IT? So what if they're all magazines? There are a MILLION (maybe not all that hyperbolically!) publications out there, 90% of which NONE of us knows about--including every one in this puzzle. Not even in doctors' waiting rooms.
Then our resident genius decides to make this a full-out slog by cluing Saturday-style. Hardly a gimme to be found ATANY point, except my trusty day-in, day-out DOD Ms. Terri GARR. Thank you, my love.
Meanwhile, I have to deal with so much crap, including one of my arch-pet peeves: the ampersandwich. Who's gonna pay me for all that toil? Double-bogey.
I plod along with another Wordle par:
BGBBB
BGGBB
BGGYG
GGGGG
NULLVALUE NUKE CHART (HOLY BUCKETS!)
ITAKEIT THE UNDERGROUNDROCKET
is WHAT's SITTIN'ONTHEDOCKET?
TELL THE ITTEAM their TICKET
is NO GOOD. Sumthin' AIN'T CRICKET.
ORWE plug IT into THE DARNSOCKET.
--- KLAUS "DOC" DOWD
Oh, I spent way too much time on this puz. KEY write-overs include ASHbiN (ASHCAN), DOnate (DOGOOD), maKE (LIKEAMILLIONBUCKETS), RIsOTTo (RICOTTA). Hurray for WOODTAR!
MOSS growing in the corners.
A birdie wordle. Shoulda been eagle but new to the game, did not know letters can be used more than once.
BGBGB
GGBGG
GGGGG
I agree. I've submitted four far superior puzzles to this over the years to Shortz and he always had some lame reason to reject them. Then I see a similar puzzle and theme a year later.
Yes. I'm afraid that's all there is to this, Oh FL!
Also, too many names I had to look up. I managed to finish, but my heart wasn't in it by then.
Diana, Lady-in-Waiting for Crosswords
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