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Star Wars character who wears Mandalorian underwear I mean armor / THU 5-11-23 / Onetime extravaganzas that included diving displays and water ballets / Measurement whose name derives from the Latin for elbow / Expression of relativity depicted five times in this puzzle / 2020 Taylor Swift song with the lyrics "You'll poke that bear 'til her claws come out" / Selene's Roman counterpart / Title lyric after ours is a love in a Jimmy Dorsey hit
Thursday, May 11, 2023
Constructor: Sheldon Polonsky
Relative difficulty: Easy
Theme answers:
- SWIMCAP / HEADER (2D: Bit of latex pool attire / 20A: Certain soccer shot)
- ARMCANDY / AQUACADES (!?!!?!) (12D: Celeb's red-carpet companion, perhaps / 18A: Onetime extravaganzas that included diving displays and water ballets)
- E EQUALS MC SQUARED / EINSTEINIAN (7D: Expression of relativity depicted five times in this puzzle / 36A: Like some concepts in theoretical physics)
- DREAMCAR / BENCHMARK (39D: Vehicle you'd buy if money were no object / 56A: Standardized point of reference)
- SIMCITY / SULLEN (45D: Video game whose working title was Micropolis / 54A: Ill-tempered)
The famous equation E = mc^2, derived by Einstein, means that energy is equal to mass times the speed of light squared. Equivalently, it also means that any amount of mass is equal to energy divided by the speed of light squared. This little equation is central to the theory of special relativity, and also explains how nuclear fusion and fission can generate energy. // In a famous paper written in 1905, Albert Einstein discovered an equality between mass and energy. He found that the conservation of mass (a famous and important law in physics) is the same as the conservation of energy, and vice versa. These insights were a part of his development of the theory of special relativity, which describes the relativity of motion, particularly at near light speed. (livescience.com)
• • •
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| ["What is SWIEAP!? ... oh ... SWIEAP. I get it."] |
Finding the other "MC" squares was kind of fun, a little adventure, but there wasn't really any challenge there except for the absolutely painful challenge of trying to work my way to whatever the hell AQUACADES are (18A: Onetime extravaganzas that included diving displays and water ballets). Just ... gruesome. ICE CAPADES, I've heard of. AQUACADES??? Yuck. When you have to reach back into ye olden ("onetime") terminology to pull off your theme, it kinda harshes the vibe. ARM CANDY is great, but oof, AQUACADES. I don't really get why the puzzle made the "MC" squares all symmetrical. I know this might seem elegant, but usually you get much better results in the *fill* (you know, the bulk of the puzzle) if you give yourself leeway with the rebus squares. I feel like AQUACADES is a symmetry casualty. BENCHMARK works perfectly, a very inconspicuous answer, but if you insist on that "MC" square being in *exactly* the same (rotationally symmetrical) position in the corresponding themer, well, you end up with AQUACADES, I guess. Anyway, theme idea is ingenious, theme execution is OK, with only the "MC" hunt providing any real interest. I admire the architecture of this one, but it wasn't terribly fun to solve.
Only two thorny parts for me today. "MAD WOMAN" peaked at 47 on the US charts. If you are a Fan (and millions are) then that was a gimme for you, but my fandom is just casual and definitely lowercase-"f," so that song got by me (as far as her most recent songs go, my knowledge drops off quick after "Anti-Hero") (11D: 2020 Taylor Swift song with the lyrics "You'll poke that bear 'til her claws come out"). That made the NE a little more challenging than it might be (and it was already mucky from the AQUACADES nonsense). CMDR gunked it up a bit more, as did CRASS, with its ridiculously overdramatic clue (31D: Swearing up a storm, say)—if you're swearing up a *storm*, seems like you left mere CRASSness behind. Anyway, slowish there, slowish again around KAI (??) / PEDI, both because KAI means nothing to me and I had PEDI as PERM. Is KAI supposed to be a weird bonus themer? KAI Bird is the author of an Oppenheimer bio ... and Oppenheimer is the "father of the atom bomb" ... and E=mc2 is the "equation that gave birth to the atom bomb" ... and the movie OPPENHEIMER (which is *based* on the KAI Bird bio) is coming out this summer ... wait a minute, is this puzzle sponsored content? *Waaaaaaait* a minute, did Christopher Nolan write this puzzle? Am I in a Christopher Nolan movie right now? How would I know? How deep does this theme go?
The fill on this one is largely nondescript. We get Orion again, weirdly (HUNTER) (46D: Orion, for one) and, probably more weirdly, me get REMAP again—both things we've already seen this week. I had SEC before SEG (47A: Div.), and that's among the most interesting non-thematic things that happened to me. Hope this one AROUSED you somewhat more than it did me—though, again, I respect the concept, and nod admiringly at the central crossing. The wordplay involved in the basic rebus idea (i.e. putting E and MC into one "square"), and the arrangement of the revealer, with its own rebus square sitting dead center, both elevate this above your run-of-the-mill rebus. See you tomorrow.
Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld
[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]
Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld
[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]
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157 comments:
Unlike @Rex, the revealer revealed for me. Before I understood the theme, the NW fell quickly, except for the inexplicable SWIEAP at 3D. When I got to 7D I confidently filled in E EQUALS MC SQUARE... so what happened to the D? The dime dropped at EINSTEINIAN and the rest was straightforward. My only overwrite was ALmosT before ALL BUT at 44D.
In the app, the puzzle didn’t solve with the rebus EMC, just MC. That was annoying.
I’ve checked all my answers but iPhone NYTimes crossword app won’t show it as complete. Did other people enter EMC as rebus, or just the E?
Note to other solvers: the iOS app didn’t accept the rebus squares for me as they’re filled out in the solution grid published here. I replaced it with just the first letter of the string, and that worked. Have a great day, all!
I filled the theme squares with MC only on the basis that the E = MC squared (meaning together in one square) and that was considered correct by the app. But it left me feeling like it was slightly off because the E would have also been in a square so the equation technically should have been e squared = mc squared, with which Einstmcin would have taken issue.
The rebus doesn’t work on the NYT’s app
I had to change them all to E instead of EMC to get the solve.
Swieap. Just a lovely way to start a Thursday morning.
Just E worked. I figured because they were “equal” that either answer was fine and I guess they are.
If we have to know Taylor Swift, they should have to know Billy Rose.
At least Rex was a fan, with a small f, of Taylor Swift. I spent all of the last two decades just avoiding her music as much as possible. Just not a fan. I had to get the answer from crosses and it still drew a complete blank.
I was bothered by the clue for 61A (AREA), as formulas generally calculate rather than “measure” something. I took a look at the myriad definitions of “measure” and can find a way to lawyer it into tolerable. I suspect that our old friend the Z-meister would give it a pass, but personally I think it is flawed.
Wasn’t a fan of this one - it had a lot of potential which I feel was wasted. Starting out with ASTRA, FETT and the Quran up top was kind of a buzzkill. If you have a neat theme concept, why not show it off instead of surrounding it with head-scratching trivia and outright garbage like AQUACADES? And yes, I’m well aware of the fact that the NYT simply adores the quasi-words like that, but I would prefer that they have a better approach than “shut up and eat your peas” toward their solvers.
Enjoyed this - however, someone has to be testing the app before publication right?
Spent a while with a complete puzzle because it didn’t like my EMC rebus :(
The theme came pretty quickly: double-checked all my crosses in the NW, figured SWIEAP had to be right and the lightbulb came on, or at least half-on until a moment later when I hit the revealer.
I can never remember whether Rooney is the actress’ first name or last name, nor what the second vowel is, so I had Taylor singing MiD WOMAN (“mid” is a thing the kids say, right, like “meh”?) then MoD WOMAN before getting MARA and the happy music.
Ditto @Ed G: the theme’s logic doesn’t hold up. That, plus all the comments about app issues, plus nonsense in the grid, reminds me why I hate rebi. SWIEAP, really . . .
What Rex said, but with a ton of admiration on top.
Ingeneous idea of a theme, unbelievable constructing feat!
Too bad the solving experience was not equally breathtaking..
I Ieave the most prominent uniclue (17&18a) to the notion's inventor (hey @GaryJugert) and submit this:
-10a,13&46 d: Ambitious muslim student?
-8&34d: Swap Lennox for Leibovitz?
(And if I knew who Seg was, I could offer another..).
Easy except for the baffling rebus glitch and the major triple natick of MARA, MADWOMAN and AQUACADES. I had MomWOMAN for a while, because why not?
Thanks! That was driving me nuts.
Naticked at the Quran/Taylor Swift intersection, where I went with bAD WOMAN. IMAM sounded more likely, but I 'knew' bAD was right. I was confusing Swift's Bad Blood with Mad Woman, I think. And 'ib' is a fairly common letter string in Arabic, so I could buy IbAM.
In the US Navy, isn't commander abbreviated CDR?
Very good theme. Having no Es outside of the themers would probably have killed the grid, so I’m good with that decision.
My main problem here is the “squared” part, which I get is just referring to the letters being in a box. But “e equals m c squared” literally means “e=m*c*c.” The formula is precisely about the equivalence of “e” with “mcc,” and so the fact that the crux of the puzzle is about replacing “e” with just “mc” is bothersome on a physics level, wordplay notwithstanding.
This is a wonderfully constructed puzzle, must have taken the author and editor a lot of time to put it together. It is elegant. Yet most of the comments talk about the problem with an app. Sheesh. Well done, Polonsky and Shortz.
Very annoyed that the app wouldn’t accept EMC, and had to read the comments here to go back to change them to just Es. Now the grid looks really idiotic with SWIEAP, AREANDY, DREAEAR and SIEITY. Those are the names of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, who are riding their considerable mass toward us at the speed of light squared right now. All because the NYT messed up on the rebus display!
Once I get over that, I thought this was great. I definitely did not find it easy but I think Rex’s speed was all about figuring out HEADER and SWIM CAP right away, which I did not. I just left it as HEADER and figured I would get the trickery later. So the reveal, which I got late in the solve, was magical for me.
I agree that AQUACADES was awful, though ARM CANDY was fun. Why CADES? Is that short for capades? And I didn’t know the Taylor Swift song, ran the alphabet and decided that MAD WOMAN and AQUACADES was a little better than MAn WOMAN and AQUACAnES. But when I didn’t get happy music, I figured that cross was the problem and tried several letters before giving up and coming here to learn that my rebuses were the problem. And turned against the puzzle (not your fault, Sheldon!) until I decided I would rather be happy than SULLEN.
To paraphrase OFL
This was an excellent puzzle, excluding the aforementioned 17 nits.
I loved this puzzle. I’m no swiftie, but I recognize she’s the biggest artist in pop music currently, so I respect the currency of the hint.
I think it’s telling that a lot of readers of the blog and solvers of the puzzle are. completely satisfied with a “1957 Jimmy Dorsey song” clue but then scoff at the “2020 Taylor Swift song” clue. But I appreciate a modern puzzle and I appreciate todays puzzle.
Yes, the electronic version solution grid needed work. If their going to use a rebus, they need to have the ability to recognize it when used.
I believe the app wants it as ACROSS/DOWN, so E/MC.
I couldn't get the NYT app to work for love or money.
I found this pretty easy just like a lot of folks have mentioned already. Even though I had the rebus entered incorrectly as E=MC, I started out the puzzle thinking, "I wonder how they want it written...". So I had already planned to go back and try different variations. No problem.
AQUACADES slowed me down a little; not because it was obscure or unknown, but because around here we called them Aqua Follies.
Very impressive puzzle construction. Two things stand out to me. First, the E/MC squares are symmetrically placed -- très élégant! How tough is that to fill a grid around? Very. And second, E EQUALS MC SQUARED crossing EINSTEINIAN? The essence of loveliness.
Jeff Chen points out that this theme was done before, nine years ago (10/2/14). That version, while beautifully done, doesn’t incorporate the two above elements. The constructor of that puzzle, David Woolf, in his notes, basically said that while yes, technically, in Einstein’s formula it is only the C that is squared, when you say the formula out loud, you say that E equals “MC squared”, so it’s MC that should go in the square, and that’s good enough for crosswords!
Amen.
What are the odds that I wouldn’t love the play inherent in this theme? SLIEHANCE!
Sheldon, you’ve had three NYT puzzles, each manipulating letters in a different way. I adore your trickery, and you’ve made me hungry for more from you. Thank you for a scintillating outing today!
So if MC in a square means "MC squared," how come E in a square doesn't mean E squared?
It sure looks like they've rewritten the formula to E^2=MC^2.
It would have been better if the rebus were E=MCC.
On the NYT website, EMC was not accepted, nor was E=MC, but finally I tried E/MC and that worked.
I too have problems with the NYT app and how to enter rebuses. I have the puzzle solved, know the “trick” but can not get the app to acknowledge my entries. At one point on a past puzzle (archive??) I gave up and asked the app to reveal the square- and learned that when the letters in the rebus square are different for the down vs across - the app wants a SLASH.
Hence my successful solve required. E/MC
Note: I did try EMCC in an attempt to write the true formula….
I went with CATWOMAN.
Hard disagree. I enjoyed this puzzle a lot and appreciated the architectural cleverness, but the theme is just plain wrong. When I went to enter SWIMCAP and realized that only one C was getting substituted, I wrinkled my nose. If you want to do it correctly, it should substitute E for MCC, as that is appropriately rendering the equation. As rendered today, the equation is E = (MC)^2. If Rex is going to nitpick other themes for not having just the right turn of phrase, I think science-related themes should also be subject to criticism.
I liked the theme, kinda cute that the E is in the across and the MC is in the down. I like that kind of “figuring out”. But yeah, AQUACADES and MADWOMAN definitely halted me. I had to look up the song to get that corner. Still enjoyed.
I usually don’t like the gimmicky Thursdays, but this one I rather liked, even though I was about 30 seconds slower than my Thursday average. I guess that means for me it was medium rather than easy.
From the NYT blog:
I’m told that the accepted ways to enter these double rebuses are E/MC, MC/E, E or MC.
I'm ashamed to say that I loved AQUACADES. I didn't know it and needed all the crosses to get it, but I loved learning it was a thing that existed. It conjured up those grand MGM musical spectacles but in water.
I can see why many people might not, especially if you didn't know the Taylor Swift song, and so that corner was already murky.
Absurd to want MCC. The entire point of the theme, from a xword standpoint, is the “squared” wordplay—E = MC “squared” ie MC placed into one square. It’s on the money, 💯, perfect as is ~RP
As an addendum to my earlier comment, look how cool the Cleveland Aquacade was: https://clevelandhistorical.org/items/show/292
I need to read a novel or see a movie about this!
Came here to post exactly that. Normally I don’t go for a lot of the pedantry around how the themer wasn’t literal enough, but this bugged me because they actually include SQUARED in the revealer. So the themers should have been rebuses where you substitute E for MCC. Which probably limits you to MCCHICKEN and…. That’s it.
Also by using E as a substitute for MC in the revealer the puzzle is saying E = E^2 = (MC)^2 = M^2C^2. As a mathematician this irked the hell out of me.
Thank you, I was going nuts trying to find my mistake.
I typed MC and the app now shows it as E/MC.
Wasted 10 minutes figuring out EMC didn’t work and needed the slash. Pain to switch back and forth on keyboard to numeric - bigger pain to learn that E or MC would have sufficed.
Agree on the Aquacades obscurity - growing up in Minneapolis, saw the Aqua Follies and there’s the annual Aquatennial, but wouldn’t this be the Aqua Capades? Or Aqua/Pades? (Hey, I’m getting quicker at adding / marks!)
Put PEDo in before thinking that can’t be right - oh yeah, mani/PEDI!
How is road a drag? Thanks
Have to agree with @Rex on this one - the idea of it was a good one but not a lot going on for a Thursday. Also perturbed by the app since depending what direction you solved first I had substituted Es everywhere, then tried EMC before this third time was a charm. Whole thing left me kind meh.
E doesn’t belong in the rebus square. MC squared = E, so MC in a square works as both MC (across) and E (down).
Easy up top, medium below, fun to solve throughout. After an early HEADER x SWIMCAP, I understood the puzzle's formula, but still needed needed my wits about me to ferret out the location of the other SQUAREs, and I enjoyed the hunt. Terrific construction feat with that central cross.
@Anonymous 6:13 - Yes! I, too, loved writing in AQUACADES, and with the same thought of those movie swimming spectacles, for me the absolute height of glamour when I was a kid. Great word and fun memories.
Had to cheat twice at 23-Across and 45-Down. I'm just not current on Cambodian temples or Asian actors. But I thought the theme was clever and exciting, so I was determined to finish it after catching on to the Einstein trick.
Don't agree with Rex that the puzzle was easy, unless the solver is up to date on popular culture. My compliments to the constructor, who must have a wonderful imagination.
The app wouldn’t accept emc but instead wanted e/mc as the rebus. Very frustrating
Brilliant!
Naticked the F out of me in the NE with MORA/MADWOMAN/WAT. Wat the F was that S?
I’ve heard of major roads referred to as “main drags” before so that’s how I took it ~RP
I understand this theme to involve reparsing the phonetic form of the equation "E=mc^2" as it would be heard into "(E=MC) squared", to say E can stand for MC (or vice versa) in some of the squares. This would even give a possible rationale for accepting either "E" or "MC" but not both in one of the squares. It is still just a tad grating since it does seem like a math mistake was made, but intelligible as crossword wackiness.
It's the inconsistency of NYTimes puzzle app that drives me crazy. An earlier puzzle with similar rebus squares calling for different letters across than down rejected the slash separating them. Now this one demands it. And this after they tooted their horn about the sophistication of their new on-line app that would allow them to do wondrous things - like frustrate the hell out of us and distract from the business of actually solving the puzzle.
I got frustrated and just hit “reveal.” the rebus squares were revealed as “E/MC.” Thank you iOS, for making me ruin my streak just to make sure I wasn’t having a stroke.
Some of us are old enough to remember the AQUACADE in Flushing Meadows Park at the site of the original 1939 World's Fair. That show persisted well into the 1950s.
How is its a drag. "Road"?
Hey All !
This was quite the clever theme! Liked it a bunch, even though I was scratching the ole head for quite some time. Knew that 2D had to be SWIMCAP, but couldn't get either MC or CA to work as a Rebus square in the Across. Hmm, says I, I guess I'll keep going and see what happens.
Got the *ding* *lightbulb* moment in SW, when I had D_EAEAR, and said, Holy moly! What is happening? Already had SQUARED in the Revealer, so the ole brain finally clicked, and saw that that E could be an MC to make DREAMCAR, and actually said aloud, "Ooh, E=MC SQUARED!" and proceeded to finish filling in the Revealer, and finally being able to make sense of each corner oddity.
Neat.
AQUACADES was new to me too. Had the Taylor Swift song as MAntOMAN, getting me AQUACAnES/tAT. Got the Almost There message, hit Check Puzzle, and saw my wrongness. Crossed out said wrongness, and thout "CADES is in Icecapades, why not AQUACADES?" Put it in, thereby letting me see MADWOMAN.
Nice Theme find, Sheldon. IAMS impressed.
Two F's
RooMonster
DarrinV
RP, nice to see you hanging around the comments more often. Your Christopher Nolan musing was worth the price of admission squared!
@anon 8:13, thanks for saying it. I personally find it a feature rather than a bug to have something like AQUACAPADES show up. Never heard of it, but it is inferable from Ice Capades, and I got the fun images of the MGM musicals to bring a smile to my morning. -capades seems like a suffix we could use more of than just the "Es" variety. Bikecapades, Bachcapades, acaismoothiecapades, tequillacapades, catcapades.
So glad that I no longer worry about streaks. When I didn't get the happy music, I checked the puzzle to see that it accepted my Es but not my MCs. Fixed it and got to rush over her 5 minutes sooner.
I'll have to re-think drag. Must be some reason it's called "Drag racing", and not the RuPaul kind. Sounds like racing on the main drag in my neighborhood on warm summer nights:(
rebus EMC doesn't work but a plain E works. Hated this
armcandy is demeaning and decidedly not great. it was an especially jarring follow to the empowering song mad woman.
@AlexScott - You do know what '=' means, right? That the thing on the left and the thing on the right are same thing, substitutable for one another. You can't say one is right and the other is wrong.
I didn't think I was chiming in particularly late and then I saw 55 comments already, and I thought, App Day! and sure enough. Y'all have my sympathy and the easiest way to avoid this is to solve on paper. I will not add "as God intended" as God's intentions still remain mysterious to me.
Had the idea something was up at SWIMCAP/HEADER and saw the revealer going down the middle which explained everything and then it was just looking for the other four, which was fun.
Folks may not like AQUACADES but for me it went right in somehow. Now then, any single clue that references both Star Wars and the Mandalorian should be outlawed. FETT!! is a pretty apt reaction to that. I mean, really.
Folks like KAI and MARA are still unknowns for me as is the Taylor Swift songbook , but the crosses were easy enough.
Liked the clue for ONE.
Impressive construction indeed, SP. I thought this was a Sterling Puzzle, and thanks for all the fun.
I saw it immediately at the first rebus answer: HEADER crossing the "what-on-earth?" answer of SWIEAP. "Oh, that has to be SWIM CAP," I thought. Which led to an "E" in the same square as an "MC". "Aha," I thought. "E=MC SQUARED!" Was it there, somewhere? Yes, it was.
Such ELEGANCE in this puzzle. A terrific theme idea wonderfully well executed. All the rebuses play so fair in their cluing. And occasionally there's a trick inside a trick. 12D looks as though it will be EYE CANDY, but he MC rebus turns it into ARM CANDY.
I also loved DREAM CAR. When I read the clue I wondered how it could be that every single person in the world would buy the same vehicle if money were no object. I mean, you want the Rolls and he wants the private jet and I...well, to tell the truth, I want the yacht. But DREAM CAR is the perfect answer.
As rebus puzzles go, this wasn't especially hard. But I think it's a real beauty -- both simple and clever -- and I'll pay it my highest tribute: I wish I'd thought of this idea myself.
Oh wow, thanks! YEESH.
ELEGANCE = MAL CUBIT CMDR
if that’s not fing brilliant, I don’t what is
KAI/LIU/WAT - too much of that garbage. I was ‘sure' 44D was ALmosT but KNUTE got in the way. 50D is wonky... you can avoid a fastball without ducking. Not sure how Rex can rate this as Easy. I thought it was hard. I started last night on the app, was sleepy and didnt “get” the theme so I went to bed. I did the hard copy this morning and got SWIMCAP and was off to the races. I keep looking for a last name beginning with MC somewhere (MCDonalds?) But the MCs were all nicely divided between the first and second words, nice. Never heard of FETT or LUNA. Nice idea, but just too many nits.
Angkor Wat is some 900 years old and may be the largest temple on earth. Not too „current“, imo…
Ah--my quibble over E being incorrected "squared" doesn't apply if you entered just "MC" in the rebus square. That makes sense that the E is equal to the squared contents.
But I have a new quibble: MC^2 does not equal (MC)^2. Only the C should be squared.
I was also impressed by the symmetry of the rebus answers. I liked this one!
@Cdilly52 your post on yesterday’s grid called it “ Charming, clever, creative, and fresh.” Your personal reflection on family, career & geography were “ Charming, clever, creative, and fresh.” as well. True of Rex’s blog and his cadre of helpers who keep me coming back. Thanks!
I find it sad in a way that there seems to be nothing new under the sun. I read Lewis's post and was intrigued by the fact that there was another NYTXW in 2014 with the same rebus theme. I was even more intrigued because 2014 isn't all that long ago -- yet I didn't remotely remember it.
Was I posting on Rex back then? I thought that I was, so I went back to that date and looked up my comment. Here it is:
Went immediately to the clues surrounding and crossing 36A to get EQUATION. Looked for EINSTEIN at 19A and there he was. Knew what to look for in this clever, clever trick puzzle. Solved, even though I've never heard of MCLOVIN. A real treat. Loved it!
It seems I have a history of loving this particular rebus -- even though it failed to emblazon itself on my memory. Of course, very little ever emblazons itself on my memory.
Re-reading my comment makes me realize: I was terser back then:)
Stole my point! Einstein would not approve, and life as we know it would cease if this puzzle were right!
I viewed it as “squared” being changed from the mathematical definition to the act of putting E and MC in the crossword square.
A pretty common gimmick, but the central square and revealer definitely give it that extra ELEGANCE. Not much more to say about the theme.
Fill is pretty bland, but I liked DREAMCAR, ASTHMA (not the condition of course, but that consonant run is cool) and ARMCANDY. Not so much ITSABET, SORARE and ONS.
Errata: cArdigAN and ALmosT. I loved Taylor's pandemic albums, especially the first.
There is at least one positive to solving this puzzle in ink in this morning’s delivered-to-the-door newspaper. When I got to the ambiguous square, I left it blank until filling in 7d, which was not too difficult. Then my blank squares made instant sense, by
Knowing an “e” could equally be an “mc” and v-v. Clever, fun,and entertaining all ‘round.
Oh gosh ... I cannot believe I completed this in good time with no help despite all the random people in horrible spots and typed in EMC into the rebus squares like you should since you need all three letters to make the downs, acrosses and theme work properly ... but nothing. Silence. I checked my grid against the 🦖 grid. Exactly the same. So then I know ... a nation of humans trying to support this puzzle by paying for the official app will be punched in the face by needing to read blog commenters to change the EMC to MC. For goodness sakes NYTXW, get this figured out. Every Thursday it's a guessing game about what the app will or won't accept. And today MC is straight up wrong. I will be the 50th complainer on this blog today and it's still early. Grrrrrrr.
We'll barely remember the puzzle after the fury. It was good, if a bit one-note, except for the aforementioned starlets clogging it up. Walking away from a perfectly lovely Thursday mad at the administration. We should be talking AQUACADES, BOBA FETT, ANGKOR WAT (how did I know this?), ARM CANDY, CUBIT, KNUTE, SATYR and of course how dreadfulest IDLEST is. I'd love to be rubbing in, ehem, AROUSAL and the dedication of our editorial team to ensure daily juvenilia. But instead we'll listen to the rebus haters who are justifiably hateful today. So disappointing.
Oh, my dream car is a split window VW bus. And, I do not understand science.
Uniclues:
1 Gaudy godly leggy gala ... that's wet.
2 A neighborhood full of satellite dishes.
3 Noah's arm.
4 Adds the bill at Red Lobster.
5 What the puzzle programmers should do today.
6 Switch to Cheetos if at all possible.
7 Lovegood's admission after life's travails.
8 One looking for a fancy piece of paper.
1 TITAN AQUACADES
2 ROOFS ARRAYS
3 BENCHMARK CUBIT
4 TOTALS ELEGANCE
5 REPOST REMAP
6 TRADE ANNIE'S
7 I'M A CRASS LUNA
8 MASTERS HUNTER
Advice to all whose serenity was ruined by AQUACADE: Chill out and stream one of those silly but technically amazing Esther Williams movies. Swimming, diving, water skiing are at least as much fun to watch as yet another 20 minutes of CGI space battles.
E/MC also works in the rebus squares in the NYT app.
Medium. Clever, liked it. Xwordinfo shows how the finished grid should look.
No idea on the Swift song or KAI.
Boy, I’m glad that not many commenters know that the real equation is e equals m times c squared divided by the square root of (1 minus v squared over c squared). We’d really have some CRASS howling over the injustices to physics contained in this puzzle’s sham of an equivalence. This was a wonderful theme idea, executed perfectly. I suggest a refresher course on Joaquin’s Dictum for those who disagree.
Funniest thing I’ve seen today is @Bob Mills 8:49 saying “I’m just not current on Cambodian temples ….” I mean, did Taylor Swift build Angkor Wat or something?
Thanks for a wonderful Thursday, Sheldon Polonsky.
Aw, gee...I didn't like you. You can MC me squared from here to Timbuktu and I still won't enjoy your company. May I tell you why? This was no fun. None of it. I'll give AQUACADES a little dance and maybe, just maybe a little smile because I figured you out at SWI[MC]AP. Then you annoyed me. Just about everywhere. I'm looking at you FETT. You were in good company with SQMI, ANNIES, KNUTE and the non ELEGANCE of ONE LIU KAI.
I always want to finish a Thursday gimmick with a smile or two or at least with a feeling of accomplishment. I finished this but it brought absolutely no joy.
Sorry.
Yes, very irritating. I couldn’t figure out what was wrong
I liked this puzzle! I can’t understand the nit-picking. Everyone SWOOPing in for the kill. The equation tells you how to enter the rebus, as @Lewis pointed out. MC squared. It works fine. Even in the app. The puzzle was amusing. I never heard of or saw AQUACADES or listen to Ms Swift, but the person in the clue is clearly MAD and the cross for the M is fair. And AQUACADES!! So much more entertaining than lap swimming.
Also SWIMCAP - you don’t see those much anymore.
Very enjoyable puzzle. I hope the constructor doesn’t come here. He deserves better.
My experience was pretty much like Rex's, but it felt a bit harder. It took me a minute or two to see SWIMCAP, which made the E=MC squared seem likely, but I needed BENCHMARK/DREAMCAR to confirm it. So that was neat. But it took me a bit to reach the revealer and feel utter elation at the way the two terms crossed at the rebus square. Truly brilliant.
I don't know about anything Mandalorian, but is the FETT in question Boba the bounty hunter, the guy who hauled around a frozen Han Solo?
I had AQUApADES at first, but trig fig sorted that out.
Anyway, please remember that this is a crossword, not a sudoku puzzle -- i.e., it's about words and letters, not mathematics. The rebus produces the words of the revealer flawlessly, it's only if you try to calculate them out that you get into trouble.
We've long seen constructors vying to come up with original clues for OREO and EEL, but Sheldon Polonsky has now thrown down the gauntlet for a cluing competition on IMAM. I'm looking forward to it.
Right, it’s as if the constructor has heard “e equals m c squared” as a famous string of syllables but has no concept of what it actually means. Let it be known that two anonymous mathematicians take issue!
Nice!
Thanks, that was driving me crazy too
AQUACADES were definitely big, back in the day. Slightly before my time, but not so much the I hadn't heard of the spectacle.
Had BAD BLOOD in for the Taylor Swift clue. Seems I was some years off, but it even fit two of the crosses. Drove me a bit mad trying to figure out what the actual answer was.
The revealer was a revealer for me. I had skipped over the SWIM CAP clue as something I didn't quite get, but then the revealer had me going back to it.
Count me in among those who admired this puzzle. Clever theme, and the MC in the exact center of the grid added a touch of ELEGANCE.
If I’m a Taylor Swift fan, it’s with a small upside-down f, a sideways a, and a missing n, so neither the title nor lyrics of MAD WOMAN were anywhere near the vicinity of my wheelhouse. Would much rather have gone with the Giraudoux play “The Madwoman of Chaillot.”
Favorite themer: ARM CANDY
Least favorite answer: ROAD as drag. Would that be like Road Queen Story Hour?
THANK YOU! This is so frustrating.
Hey Rex/Michael - you are so fearlessly opinionated in your daily write up, why do you comment anonymously? Yes, you add /RP on occasion, but it’s just confusing whether an anonymous post is from someone legitimately outside commenting or Rex mimicking the Unknown Comic (remember him? From when TV showed QUALITY!)
With Parker (not Sharp) being your screen name, it would at least make sense if you called yourself Pseudonymous!
I went to the San Francisco World's Fair as a child in 1939. It featured an aquacade starring Johnny Weissmuller and Esther Williams. There were similar shows at world's fairs in Cleveland and New York at around the same time.
Absolutely great puzzle. Delightful touch of elegance that the rebus squares are symmetrically placed in the grid.
Noah knew all about cubits.
Apparently AQUACADES is or was a thing. Who knew? I think it’s hilarious, and I added to my store of worthless information.
🙋♀️ for the same annoying problem!!! Had to come here to get it. Thanks @Anon 6:15 AM
Rex says this was "easy"??? For a Thursday or in general??? Any puzzle solving time over 20 minutes sure ain't "easy".....
You had to type it E/MC. It was SO frustrating!
How could anyone not create this puzzle after they discover EEQUALSMCSQUARED can fit right in the center 15-square down?! (Oh! I see that @Lewis 7:46 points out that Jeff Chen points out that David Woolf had a version in 2014, though not with those two extra ELEGANCEs.)
Game afoot at SWI_AP (left that square blank and moved on).... At DREA_AR, showed up again exactly.... Pause to survey my partially filled grid.... 36A must be EINSTEIN (and those three squares must be -IAN), and the aha came floating slowly down by parachute to neatly fill in the rest of 7D.
Nice! And, once I got the first two rebuses, fast.
ARM CANDY is new to me, but there’s ear candy and eye candy, so why not.
CUBIT is fun to say.
CMDR filled in by crosses because I thought a commander would have been a rank above captain.
I have no idea who a Mandalorian is and that’s okay with me.
@Rex – Hand up for CRASS as underreporting that swearing storm. Say, perhaps, more a private stomping-around, raging storm? Lovely riff on KAI Bird engendering sponsored atomic content. (KAI is Kai Ryssdal to me, and I just learned how to spell his last name because I’ve only heard it on the radio.)
@Wanderlust 7:22 – LOL, the Four Horsemen!
Thanks, Sheldon, for the clever, fun rebus puzz.
PS: @A from last week – Glad you liked the Apocalyptica clip, and thanks for the link to the 12 cellos of the Berlin Philharmonic playing together; yes the lights and staging of Apocalyptica would be a treat!
Well I went back to October 02, 2014 to see if I made a comment on David Wolf's Einstein puzzle. Evidently I like that one - Double SWIM CAP and all. I must've been in a better mood.
It was fun reading @Zeke and how he described anal retention and how Freud said all human development revolved around penises and pooping. I think it was because of a comment made by @evil. Fun comments!...
Thanks @Ed 6:25. You explained the “missing “ E for me. Mercy what a struggle.
I do puzzle on an iPad. Put in MC five times. That was correct according to the end message I got. After reading these comments, I still don’t feel comfortable with that solution. The only thing squared in the formula is C. MC is not squared. EMC is nor squared. E isn’t either.
First time in a very long time that I didn't finish a puzzle - & didn't care to. Oh well.
It bothered me that both the m and the c are in the same square, implying that they are both squared. But only the c is squared in the equation.
Once I knew what the theme was going to be, I was really hoping to see something more clever with it (mcc replacing e would be pretty unlikely to pull off, but at least would be correct).
On behalf of all the math/science nerds out there, I protest. The famous equation means that e equals m times the square of c, i.e., the "squared" operates only on c, not on mc.
Stick to math
No idea on the Taylor swift song - ManWoman made sense to me as did aquacaNes. Total nattick compounded by the unknown temple first letter which could have been anything.
Other than that, a fun puzzle.
Anyone else DNF due to having CROSS rather than CRASS for one who swears a lot? Resulted in a to me reasonable EINSTEINION for the cross …
retired guy,
Don't bother. Rex and hi acolytes don't care a whit about math, physics, chemistry, engineering, internal combustion engines, plumbing or unborn children.
Of course the C is the only element squared. But alas, they don't care.
One of the other commenters knew about Esther Williams and the Aquacades, with which I had no trouble. My mom went to Washington High in LA with Esther. Also, got caught up in trying to figure out how the app wanted E=mc squared displayed. After one commenter explained that only mc should be typed in a SQUARE that would equal E, I had to say Ooooooooh. But how would the paper people know that they had it right? Hmmmmmm.
The Aquacades at Jones Beach on Long Island was a great show.
@egsforbreakfast (11:22). We've got a nice piece of cake for you over here.
This was too precious. More like a Tuesday for difficulty. Mr. Shortz should check these for use on all formats before wasting people's time chasing the correct entry format.
Gotta love a Special Relativity puzzle. ("Special" relativity is the simple elegant theory that is pretty easy to understand; we actually learned it in grade 12. It has to do with energy-matter conversion-- E=mc2-- as well as time passing at a different rate for a different speed. "General" relativity came later and governs gravity and is understood by maybe a dozen people in the world.) The Thursday trick is a nice touch.
[Spelling Bee: yd 0, my last word this pesky 4er. And it's been a while since we've seen this SB classic!]
This is what happens when one of the most famous equations in physics with an exact, precise meaning is used in a format that many describe as casual and imprecise (cf. "close enough for crosswords"). As comments today show, all hell breaks loose. Is it E or MC or EMC or some combination or permutation of these? Does it change or stay the same for Acrosses vs Downs? And using a Latin word incorrectly in an attempt to gussy up the gimmick and make it appear more sophisticated and erudite than it really is only compounds the kerfuffle.
I would vote to limit the use of Latin and Greek for more scholarly pursuits than xwords, such as science, law, government and the like. If a Latin word is to be used for this contrivance, it should refer to multiple letters being stuffed into a single grid square. The Latin word for that is litteris, "with or by way of letters". The Latin word rebus means "with or by way of things", as in The Rebus Principle that is used by linguists to explain the origin and development of abstract alphabets. More on this growing controversy at Rebusgate.
Never ever before commented here but I've got to weigh in today. It's E=mc^2. In other words E=m*c*c. Not E=(mc)^2 which is E=(mc)*(mc). All the rebus squares therefore, should contain an 'mcc' not an 'mc'. Following that, the idea the "squared" refers to the 'mc' being in a square doesn't really compute once you parse the famous equation correctly. It surprised me that this wasn't your first criticism sinking the whole puzzle.
I put it in as MC, since E “equals” MC… wasn’t sure it would work, but it did
The “squared” business comes from the placements of the rebuses, one in each corner. So in the nearly “square” pattern, at the corners, comes the E/MC substitution. IMHO.
My husband knew AQUACADES. Ha!
This rebus theme mcguffin seems reasonable to m&e:
1. E EQUALS M C SQUARED is exactly how most people say the equation. [And yep, they do write it out different, in a mathematical form.]
2. Each rebus square has a choice of E in a square, or its equivalent "MC squared" [i.e., the two letters MC housed in that same one square].
3. Sooo … each rebus square has an E value, equal in this here theme to the alternative pick of MC squared. Dependin on which direction yer light rays are headin [Across or Down].
4. QED. [quod erat desperatum]
5. har
fave stuff: MADWOMAN. ELEGANCE. SATYR/DUCKS. TOTALS clue. Anything with Einstein in it.
not real fond of all the health problems lurkin in the NW corner, tho. But M&A did persevere there, until he figured out the SWIMCAP/HEADER natatorium vibe. Then went lookin for the revealer, which was hard to find, cuz it was hidin in plain sight. Revealer was almost a gimme, at that point.
staff weeject pick: E/MC. No problemo at all, dealin with that pup durin our paper-based solvequest.
Thanx for the fun, Mr. Polonsky dude. It had a lotta energy.
Masked & Anonym007Us
**gruntz**
You had "perm" (hello 1948) but can't handle "aquacades"?
What? The theory of relativity led to the atomic bomb? Not really. Not at all. At best it explains the force behind it...
Other than that:
I'm a mad woman; I'm sure as hell not arm candy, and you're not my master. What a very horrid corner that is.
Thx, Sheldon; nicely done! 😊
Hard.
Same dnf as @kitshef (7:16 AM), for pretty much the same reason. Easily corrected tho, but that's not the end of my misadventure. Thot I must've had AQUACADES wrong, not being familiar with the term, nor with 'trig' terminology. Know COS only from xwords, but thot maybe it should be a 'p' for pOS / AQUApADES (as in ice capades) (hi @jberg (11:31 AM)), but still no luck. Rechecked all other answers (which all looked good). Normally, with rebuses, I'm wary of how they're entered, but in this case I was so fixated on the aforementioned water sport / trig term, I didn't even think to tweak the rebus.
Bottom line: a very disappointing performance on my part for not really thinking it thru. :(
Thx, to all those who endured the agony and posted the solution/s. :)
I can only hope to not be caught off guard again. 🤞
Otherwise, a fine puz, and mostly on my wavelength. In a weird sense I kinda enjoyed this misadventure, as it provided a good kick in the pants! :)
___
@Geoff Ghitter (2:21 PM)
Welcome to the commentariat! 😊
I'm currently studying algebra, so your explanation resonated.
___
Peace 🕊 🇺🇦 ~ Compassion ~ Tolerance ~ Kindness & Freudenfreude to all 🙏
This is madness.
The constructor attempts to defend the indefensible with this contradictory nonses Over at WordPlay.
"I do have to make a very sincere apology to all the mathematically or scientifically inclined solvers today. I realized after I sent it in that since the formula is e=m(c2), not e=(mc)2, the rebus should not, strictly speaking, have the “mc” together in the square. Please take it as cruciverbal license, not ignorance!"
Huh? You understood something AFTER you submitted the puzzle which misunderstands the equation and think it wasn't rank ignorance?
Nonsense.
everyone except Anon 10:49 is missing a subtlety. one of the clever things about the reveal is that the word "squared" changes meaning when translating from the equation to the puzzle theme. the equation is simply said out loud linearly and the verbal recitation of the formula does not have parentheses around the MC. the answer never implies that the MC is mathematically squared. it is "squared" in the sense of being put in a square. similar to a "boxed set" theme that puts the word SET in a box. putting the MC in a single square does not conjoin them for purposes of the vertical answer - they are 2 separate letters like in SWIM CAP. so no reason to incorrectly infer that the adjective "squared" would be applying to any other letters that precede C.
Folks who enjoy the synchronized drowning, I mean swimming, competitions in the Summer Olympics would have enjoyed aquacades. I don't see any problem with it as a NYTXW answer. They were quite a big deal in their day, with Johnny Weissmuller and all. It was the most successful production of the 1939 NY World's Fair.
The Aquacade was held in Flushing Meadow Park, Queens, New York, in the 1950s.
Penna resident--
The constructor doesn't share your tortured view. See his comments at NY Times Wordplay. The answer is a whole lot simpler. Dude didn't know that only the C in that equation is squared. Rank ignorance that he now wishes away as cruciverbalist license.
Thanks so much I couldn't find what was wrong
Yes, this! The MC is squared in that it is in a square box in the grid, and it (MC in a square) equals the letter E such that the correct answer is MC, not EMC. This is why MC is correct in the app. I’m surprised this wasn’t picked up by Rex.
I'll beat the dead horse. Of the three elements in the equation, only C is squared. So "squaring" E&M is nonsense. This theme simply does not work.
Aquacade was easy for us old timers who remember the 1939-1940 World’s Fair. The Aquacade was produced by Billy Rose and featured great swimmers like Johnny Weissmuller and Esther Williams. Give us a break….we have to put up with clues about Taylor Swift.
Welp. One of those days my post didn’t “make it” in and I thought I posted around 11 am. Who knows what I did wrong. Gotta put it on ME cuz I said nothing controversial.
I really liked puzzle and…(I’ll scroll up”) and @Penna resident probably said it best. Point being…the ACTUAL math equation didn’t figure into rebus, Joaquin’s dictum and all that.
It’s late now. I’ll just say the puzzle was clever and I enjoyed it.
CDilly52 I had responded to your comment yesterday FWIW.
@Anon 3:48. it doesnt matter if the constructor didnt know. sometimes artists create art accidentally. i saw his comment and he apparently made 2 mistakes, including his apology, and they cancel. furthermore, the interpretations that all 3 letters are getting squared is what is tortured. E and MC do not appear in the square together - they are substitutes, one OR the other, not both, and both firmly "squared". you cant poke a hole in my argument. the M in SWIM didnt become part of CAP by sharing the box with the C, and the same with all the others, so consistency would logically require the M and C in the center box to remain separate entities in the vertical answer.
This makes the most sense to me out of all the attempts to explain this rebus.
I MUST attend CatCapades. Money is no object.
“E” by itself worked.
But why is the theme E=MC when his equation was e=mc^2?
I call BS on the whole thing.
Thank you for this!!
@anonymous at 8;13
WHY WOULD YOU BE ASHAMED TO LOVE AQUACADE? I LIKED IT, AND I VAGUELY REMEMBERED THEM BEING A THING. (WHICH I COULD OLY HAVE SEEN IN MOVIES)
I for one was happy to learn about aquacades. I had never heard of it. And it’s fascinating. The enormity and absurdity of such a show. That could entertain, and feed, thousands of people. And for like 5 years. Then it fell off the face of the earth. WW2 happened and everyone completely forgot about that. Amazing
I was so excited to see Aquacade! I wrote a novel about the Aquacade called WE CAME HERE TO SHINE, uplifting historical fiction set at the 1939 New York Worlds Fair. I first learned about the aquacade when I read Esther Williams’ autobiography. The NY Aquacade, produced by Billy Rose, was the highest grossing attraction at the 39 fair and there are loads of videos of it on YouTube. Really really interesting. Johnny Weissmueller was one of the stars in New York in ‘39 with Eleanor Holm, and then he starred with Esther Williams in the aquacade at the San Francisco worlds fair in 1940. I find the history of it fascinating and could go on and on, but I won’t because there are a lot of people on here today, who are angry at the word aquacade 😉. I couldn’t believe how delighted I was when I saw it in the puzzle today!
Yes!
Actually, the summers of 1939 and 1940.
Squared is the box itself
All of the above!!!
Add me as a third, not anonymous, physicist who also objects.
I loved the idea... Great crossing revealer, fun finding each instance.
I'm happy to see so many others taking umbrage over the precision of the formula, but then @jberg elegantly said "The rebus produces the words of the revealer flawlessly“, and i forgave Mr. Polonsky...
My dream car is a red Deux Chevaux (2CV) with a roll back top.
True, but not in any of the answers. I suppose words with ‘mcc’ would be hard to come by.
Somewhat annoying to see all the scienceheads carping about the equation. For once I see this as OFNP does: the square is simply the square! Inside it reside both the E and the MC. Hammer. They coexist, sorta like Schrodinger's cat, depending on whether your point of view is across or down. ELEGANCE!
I was a bit late getting the aha, since of course my salon job beginning PE was PErm. Big hand up for that one. Trying to make sense out of ...SQUARER. I did not know the K-person who wrote the Opp bio. Somehow missed that baby. When I finally got it it was more of a DOH! headslap than an aha. Only then did I see PEDI and, apparently, KAI.
KAI, BTW, is a Bajoran title of priestlike elders, as we Star Trek: Deep Space Nine watchers will attest. Cool name.
The whole puzzle is cool, IMO. Basking in the afterglow of the VGK Cup win, I give it an eagle.
Wordle bogey.
Oh joy - a rebus. Even tho I did make sense of most of it - even the rebusy parts.
Don't know all Star Trek names/aliens/whatevers.
Diana, Lady-in-Waiting for Crosswords
TOTAL MASTER
DEAR MARA TAUNTS A MAN, you know,
with ELEGANCE, and WAT?
She's ONE WOMAN with no EQUAL,SO,
IT'S RARE that IT'S ALLBUT.
--- CMDR. KNUTE EINSTEIN
Shitty puzzle that could have been great but that AQUACADES entry was just bad. So was MADWOMAN. I hate Taylor Swift clues and Disney princess clues. With a bit of careful editing this one could have been great. But WS doesn’t give a damn and so we get mediocre stuff like this.
I can't believe how sexist so many of the bloggers are! Men can be ARM CANDY too!!! Just watch the red carpet parades at the Oscars or The Met Gala.
I thought AQUACADES was particularly lame. I came here to see if Rex didn't like it either. I was please to see he (and so many others) didn't.
On the Seattle Times site, the ONLY acceptable way to fill in the rebus squares is E/MC...and there's literally no way to do that, other than hitting "reveal square", as the system doesn't accept characters.
I realize that syndicated websites are a low priority, but it's very frustrating. Definitely hurt my enjoyment of the puzz.
This theme was lame, not clever
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