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Wildlife that may nest on Hawaiian golf courses / WED 8-27-25 / The Prancing Pony and the Admiral Benbow are fictional ones / Basic couturier offering / Genre for Blackpink or BTS / Sister goddesses who personify destiny
Wednesday, August 27, 2025
Constructor: Zhou Zhang
Relative difficulty: Medium
Theme answers:
- I'M [UP/DOWN] FOR WHATEVER (18A: "Anything sounds good to me")
- 3D: One end of the day (SUN-[UP/DOWN])
- BUTTON-[UP/DOWN] (23A: Basic couturier offering)
- 26D: One aspect to consider in making a decision ([UP/DOWN]-SIDE)
- GOBBLE [UP/DOWN] (48A: Devour)
- 33D: One orientation of a playing card during a magic trick (FACE [UP/DOWN])
- GOING [UP/DOWN] IN FLAMES (54A: Failing epically)
- 55D: One tool for scrolling on a computer ([UP/DOWN] KEY]
Blackpink (Korean: 블랙핑크, stylized in all caps or as BLɅϽKPIИK) is a South Korean girl group formed by YG Entertainment. The group is composed of four members: Jisoo, Jennie, Rosé, and Lisa. Regarded by various publications as the "biggest girl group in the world", they are recognized as a leading force in the Korean Wave and an ambassador of the "girl crush" concept in K-pop, which explores themes of self-confidence and female empowerment. [...] Blackpink's debut studio album, The Album (2020), was the first album by a female act in South Korea to sell one million copies. Their 2022 follow-up, Born Pink, was the first to sell two million copies, the first by a girl group to reach number one on the US Billboard 200 since Danity Kane in 2008, and the first by a Korean girl group to top the Billboard 200 and the UK Albums Chart. The album's lead single, "Pink Venom" (2022), was the first song by a Korean group to reach number one on Australia's ARIA Singles Chart and the first by a girl group to reach number one on the Billboard Global 200. Blackpink has overall achieved three number-ones on the Billboard Global 200 and four number-ones on the Billboard Global Excl. US, the most for a female act, as well as ten entries on the US Billboard Hot 100. Their Born Pink World Tour (2022–23) became the highest-grossing concert tour by a female group and Asian act in history, while they became the first Asian act to headline Coachella in 2023. // With 40 billion streams and 20 million records sold worldwide, Blackpink is one of the best-selling girl groups of all time. They have the most-subscribed and most-viewed music artist channel on YouTube, and are the most-followed and most-streamed girl group on Spotify. Blackpink's accolades include several Golden Disc Awards, MAMA Awards, People's Choice Awards, and MTV Video Music Awards; they were the first girl group to win Group of the Year at the latter awards in the 21st century. (wikipedia)
• • •
All of the difficulty today, for me, came immediately, with the first clues I encountered. I thought you "rigged" the SAIL (1A: It might be rigged), and when I confirmed SAIL with AHEM (2D: "I'm standing right here, you know!"), I thought I was golden. But then I knew ("knew") the transit option of 1D: S.F. transit option had to be BART, and that wouldn't work with SAIL, so I tore out SAIL/AHEM and wrote in BART, which I "confirmed" with "AS IF!" (12A: No way!"). SAIL/AHEM v. BART/"AS IF!" ... there could be only one victor. Who would it be? Turns out, neither. A third fighter appeared as if out of nowhere and knocked them both out. MAST/MUNI ... oof. OK. I accept that those are the correct answers, but only because the Hawaiian goose said so (as a veteran solver, there's something very sad about needing to be bailed out by a crossword goose, but that's what happened) (15A: Wildlife that may nest on Hawaiian golf courses = NENE). After that ... nope, I'm looking at the grid and I don't see any struggle points. The fill felt iffy and weak in places (that NW corner is so-so, ASAMI is always unwelcom, ECCE and EKED are not much better, and that "OH" in "OH, BE A PAL" is completely made-up / tacked-on / absurd (I can maybe hear an "aw...." but not an "OH")). But mostly the fill seems solid enough. Having theme material in two directions puts a lot of strain on the grid, so we should probably be grateful the fill is as clean as it is. I hope you got the "aha" (or "OHO") moment I did, with the second revealer. It was the one real pleasure the puzzle had to offer today.
Bullet points:
- 5A: Genre for Blackpink or BTS (K-POP) — I need to make sure you are all familiar with the movie-musical phenomenon KPOP DEMON HUNTERS, which was a streaming juggernaut this summer (on Netflix). The songs from that movie have absolutely torn up the Billboard charts, becoming so popular (with a wide variety of age groups) that Netflix decided to release the movie theatrically earlier this month, with showings specifically designated as sing-alongs! Why do I need you all to know this? Because it's only a matter of time before it makes its way into your puzzle ... somehow. The rival bands in the film are HUNTR/X and SAJA BOYS—no idea how you'd handle that slash in "HUNTR/X" in a crossword grid, but it's not that hard to see how SAJA (4) might find its way into the xword mix. The lead characters (lead singers from the rival bands) are RUMI (4) and JINU (4). There's an adorable large animated cat called DERPY (5). Anyway, this is a pop cultural artifact that is too big for the puzzle to ignore for very long. It will certainly at least be a KPOP clue in the near future. Not only is Kpop Demon Hunters the most popular Netflix film of all time, its two-day special theatrical sing-along release seems to have actually won the box office for last week. From Yahoo! Entertainment:
According to CNBC, “Rival studios on Sunday estimated “KPop Demon Hunters” led all films over the weekend with $16-18 million in ticket sales. Distribution executives from three studios shared their estimates for the Netflix phenomenon on condition of anonymity because the streaming company has a policy of not reporting ticket sales.” Some have even estimated the movie made about $20 million in its weekend stint at the theater. Apparently, Netflix’s KPop Demon Hunters even made it to the top of the box office without appearing at the popular AMC Theaters chain. AMC declined to show the movie. But those KPOP gals didn’t need ’em to send Netflix to #1. That’s two total wins for KPOP Demon Hunters.
- 64A: The Prancing Pony and the Admiral Benbow are fictional ones (INNS) — The Lord of the Rings and Treasure Island, in case you were wondering—I definitely was. Not a Tolkien fan and I don't know if I ever read (or even saw) Treasure Island. The only fictional INN I know is the Tabard, from Canterbury Tales. Oh, and the Stratford Inn from the sitcom Newhart.
- 24D: Apt letters missing from "c--tom---" (USERS) — me: "US ... ARY? What's USARY!?"
That's it. See you next time.
[Follow Rex Parker on BlueSky and Facebook and Letterboxd]
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85 comments:
Easy, solved without reading the long theme clues and without getting the "down" side of the two-way rebus squares until after the happy music played. I put [UP] in the circle at 3Dx18A, then encountered the theme clue at 27A and went ahead and put [UP] in all the other circled squares. That was good enough.
Overwrites:
Like @Rex at 1D: bart before MUNI, after removing MAST at 1A
My confused state was a dAZE before it was a HAZE (46A)
My 58D small was tINy before it was MINI
No WOEs.
I had mostly DOWN answers instead of UPs, but it didn't matter. I found it easy, except I was sure BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) was the answer at 1-Down, with "boat" instead of MAST at 1-Across. I suspect MUNI was a misdirect, because BART is more familiar to crossword solvers (and to this former San Mateo resident).
Same experience as OFL, but I’d rank it as “easy.” Got traction in the NE and worked my way down to 27A and had that OOO moment for UPS. Immediately filled in all the circles with that.
Only much later, after filling in most of the lower right and swinging around clockwise did I see the down clue. Then “ooo” turned into “aha” and I caught the totality of the theme.
Thank you, Zhou. This was fun!
The circles and the reveal gave up the rebus presence without much resistance - which is a good thing since I have been battling a severe case of gimmick-fatigue recently and wasn’t in the mood to go scavenging for rebus squares (again) today.
I had some trouble getting out of the NW with THE FATES being just a black hole up there. I ended up wandering around the rest of the grid and circled beck to clean that up last.
So, nice to see a theme that is not overly burdensome, which unfortunately passes for praise these days with NYT puzzles.
Just last Thursday we had an up/down theme played a different way. Not complaining; just observing.
And (trusting that there is no one left in the universe to spoil this for), the Stratford Inn had the distinction of being a fiction within a fiction. Which suggests the question: if THE FATES were Gods instead of Goddesses, would their names be Larry, Darryl and the other brother Darryl?
I had the same aha moment when I put in “downs.” ‘Twas a game changer as they say.
10 minutes for me, so easy-medium. Same experience as @OFL--what? Downs? Where? Did I miss 4 other circled squares??? What??? And then the big AHA of realizing that each of those circles also works as DOWN, both ways! A fun puzzle with a great double reveal aha moment. Thank you, Zhou! : )
OH BE A PAL is just awful, and those keys are UP arrow and DOWN arrow.
But the theme is very good, and the way the revealer is broken up really works if you are generally solving top-town, which most people I suspect do on Monday-Wednesday. Before hitting the second revaler, I had two UPs and two DOWNs in the circles, then had a nice revelation at the revealer.
Had fun with this - liked the nuance of the dual entry theme. Tall - handsome grid layout - revealers were placed neatly but lacked any true punch.
Lulu
Overall fill was awkward on places. Rex highlights most of the odd stuff. For me - YAK is what you do after eating bad sushi or drinking too much mezcal - YAp is more appropriate. Liked THE FATES and DIANA. Nice shoutout to NPR.
KATRINA
Enjoyable Wednesday morning solve.
FACE UP
I had pretty much the same solving experience as Rex, being quite positive about Bart for 1down, but also about NENE, leading to confusion in the NW. Also a nice aha moment when I realized there was the UP/DOWN component. A fun puzzle.
One thing I don’t get/like is BADAT for perenially struggling with. There are plenty of things in life that one can struggle with - it doesn’t necessarily mean one is BAD AT them.
Thanks for the info about KPop Demon Hunters, Rex! I think I’ll have to watch it.
“Bailed out by a crossword goose.” The perfect description of my experience in the NW, where I really didn’t want to let go of BART. I started to feel like this is something I’m just BAD AT.
I put in three UPs before hitting the second revealer, then DOWN for the last one. Does that make me a glass-three-quarters-full sort of person?
Estoy arriba y abajo para lo que sea.
I first thought "Counting to two is obviously more difficult than you'd think if they're not sure how many UPS and DOWNS go into the circles. So weird ... "that COULD appear four more times..." Then I discovered you can put UP or DOWN in all the circles and said, "Oh, I get it." Then I wondered why the puzzle was skinny.
I've just returned from a weekend of driving and attending social events I only partially wanted to attend, and now my staff is full of covid, so no doubt I have a long couple of weeks ahead, and I might be cranky. I need good puzzles to cheer me up. And this one tried.
On the road we listened to Meryl Streep read most of Ann Patchett's newish novel "Tom Lake." I'll probably never finish it, but it was pleasant, and then BEL CANTO appears in the puzzle today. Isn't life serendipitous.
❤️ OHO. BAD AT. OH BE A PAL.
People: 5
Places: 1
Products: 6
Partials: 3
Foreignisms: 1
--
Gary's Grid Gunk Gauge: 16 of 78 (21%)
Funny Factor: 5 😄
Uniclues:
1 Bag with a melted goose design.
2 The age of children rising up to declare God is real, but he's just not that into you.
3 My title at the roundtable, as evidenced by my belly.
4 When multiplied by millions of travelers, how the airline executive acquired a yacht.
5 How I came to know AHAs aren't real.
6 When the picture of the naked lady finally downloaded in 1993.
1 DADA NENE TOTE
2 DEISM-IMPS ERA
3 SIR GOBBLE UP
4 ADD ON FEE
5 OHO MUSING
6 MODEM PRIZE EKED
My Fascinating Crossword Uniclue Keepsake from Last Year: Angst in crossword solvers' souls who just ain't gonna watch Game of Thrones. ARYA DAMAGE.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I was impressed by how effectively UP and DOWN worked for each answer. But Kpop as the word of the day? The first thing I wanted to do when I finished the puzzle was to google The Fates and learn more about them. That was a highlight for me today.
I don’t know Latin. But I know the Mr Bean theme song which translates to “Behold a man who is a bean” and the opening phrase is “Ecce homo”
I wondered why “could appear” was in the clue for UPS (Hi, @Rex!). “It shouldn’t be ‘could appear’; it should be ‘appear’!” I thought with a harrumph. “It should be [Highs … that appear four more times in this puzzle]!”
So, when the second revealer revealed that DOWNS could also go in the rebus squares, I experienced not only a jaw-drop at that piece of information, but it also explained the “could appear” in the clues for UPS and DOWNS, making for a double ephiphany, and let me tell you, that was one sweet aha.
Fun to fill in a 14x16 grid rather than the standard square 15x15, and, remarkable that Zhou made the rebus squares work in both directions, given the paucity of phrases in which UP and DOWN can be swapped.
Apt to see ASHE, the name of the U.S. Open tennis tourney’s biggest venue.
I was inspired by your persistence, Zhou, by how you kept submitting puzzles to the Times after 15 rejections. That on top of being uber-buoyed by that double-whammy aha. Thank you and brava!
An especially luscious “Aha!” today when I filled in DOWNS, just as I experienced yesterday, during Zhou’s husband’s puzzle, when that yellow A lit the grid up.
That's hard to create in a puzzle, and both have the ability. Now I wonder if Zhou and Kevin encountered a similar explosive rush when they first met!
Very easy, and the revealer wasn't as exciting for me because I started with DOWN in the first rebus circle, so the UPS revealer gave it away immediately. I played the rest by using whichever one (UP or DOWN) fit the phrase that first popped into my head, and thus had a mix of the two by the end.
But I felt the need to comment because deciding between UP/DOWN for 26D made me think of this song, which contains the lyrics "down on the upside" (and is from an album of the same name):
Soundgarden - Dusty
Thought this a fun puzzle with in-the-language themers and quickly identifiable rebuses (rebi?) that should have add it easy. However struggled in the NW with NENE a gimme but MUNI a mystery. Same in SE with PIKE an unknown and ANEW clued awkwardly, at least for me. I was far off starting with “done”. Anyway, all’s well that ends well…
I didn’t have the ‘aha’ moment, as I first wished to put ‘down’ in the circles. Then I encountered the 3 letter reveal and saw the circles could be up or down. Solving on my phone, I wasn’t sure what I should put in the circles could- but simply putting in ‘u’ worked.
Hey All !
Neat puz, but total fail on my part in a couple of ways. First big ole DNF as the ole brain decided to block any answer in West Center. Had BUTTON, ASHE, THICK, but just could not home up with DEISM, BAD AT, USERS, ARC, TSK. Dang. Wanted either icK or yuK for TSK. No parsing of "customers" was coming through for some reason. I was thinking of Customs, like at the airport, customers (custom-ers, not pronouncing it as it should be.) And ARC! Nothing. BADAT, ugh, again, nothing, the brain shutting off.
Second fail was not noticing that both UP/DOWN would work for each clue! Wanted the Up only in the Across, and the Down only in the Downs. Then I come here and read Rex, and he tells me either one would work, and I let out an "ohhhh". No YAY ME today. Silly brain.
So kind of an oxymoronic theme, sort of. English in all it's crazy glory. GOBBLE UP, GOBBLE DOWN. IM UP FOR WHATEVER, IM DOWN FOR WHATEVER. GOING UP IN FLAMES, GOING DOWN IN FLAMES.
Puz is 14x16, which gets you 224 Squares, as opposed to 15x15, which gets you 225. I want my money refunded for the lost square. Har.
@Rick Sacra from YesterComments -
My F crusade came from noticing that the F wasn't used much in puzzles, as a common letter. Aside from the unusual letters, like your J, X, Q, Z, it seems the common enough F gets shafted a lot. So I starting keeping track, just to point it out for y'all, you know, in case you gave a fig.
Enough YAKS from me
Have a great Wednesday!
Four F's
RooMonster
DarrinV
Easy...and I also only saw the "DOWN" once I hit that clue. For me, it was more of an "Oh" than an "Aha" moment.
Rex’s blog today informed me about K-POP DEMON HUNTERS. I do try to stay marginally aware of the latest and hottest young people’s fads, but this one was (fortunately) entirely out of my radar. Now I’ll be forced to watch the first ten minutes of the film and declare myself an expert. Right up there with Skibidi Toilet.
Until I got to the DOWNS clue, everything was an UP for me and I found the puzzle boringly easy and obvious. "Is this all there is?" I wondered. But it wasn't. Now I'm thinking that this is a clever way to delineate one of the real oddities of the English language. Could the trick have been revealed -- or at least hinted at -- earlier so that I would have been in on the joke? Had that been done, I think this would have been a far more enjoyable puzzle.
In a much, much simpler way, it's the same problem I had with the CLINTON/BOB DOLE puzzle. I only saw one solution and therefore missed the whole thing as it was unfolding.
When I came across the first rebus square, I puzzled over whether it was supposed to be “up” or “down”. Maybe it was “up” for across and “down” for down, but that did not match the clues either. Was I supposed to write up/down in each circle? I settled on “up”, which seems like what everyone else did also. I assume the puzzle would have marked “down” as correct also. I wonder what it would have done if had asked for the solution?
Let's see--BART? Check. Saved by NENE? Check. Put UP in the circles? Check. Pleasantly surprise by DOWNS? Check. So I really feel like a member of our little community this AM. Only wished I had seen the UP/DOWN thing earlier so I could have so I could have made a little arrow going up and down in my circles.
One overwrite, PRIZE, had PRICE.
Local legend had the site of the Newhart show as the Norwich Inn in VT, which is where we have our Monday night hootenannies. Sure, why not?
Nice to see all the stuff about KPop, but I think my musical tastes are pretty firmly established by now and I'm still catching up with all the good stuff I missed at the time.
Nice tricksy Wednesday, ZZ. I liked its Zesty Zeitgeist, and thanks for all the fun.
Okay, but GOBBLE DOWN? That one just doesn’t sound right to me. Scarf down, sure, but you GOBBLE UP.
Very easy for me until I got to the very last clue left to finish, and I was fittingly in a haze because I’d filled in “price” for 32 down and am unfamiliar with “sepal.” That took me a minute to figure out. I liked the up/down theme. I usually hate rebus puzzles but maybe having the circles made it easier to see.
I had PRICE instead of PRIZE which kind of also works for the clue “Value.” But that gave me HACE instead of HAZE. I never heard of HACE so I looked it up and apparently it is an ailment that causes a state of confusion (High Altitude Cerebral Edema). So I thought that also kind of fits the clue. Once I saw PRIZE/HAZE that obviously fits better but it kind of irked me that PRICE/HACE can also sort of work for the given clues.
Nice puzzle. Surprised it accepted only UP in the rebus circle. I had (UP/DOWN) and that was accepted as well. Never heard anyone say “GOBBLE DOWN” so that one didn’t work for me.
I’ve been watching the KPOP Demon Hunters with my grandsons. I was wondering why I had one of the songs stuck in my brain while working on this puzzle! I have to admit the songs do appeal to everyone, young and old, if my family is typical.
Oh wow! I entered UP in every circle without even giving it a thought. Then saw the revealer and slapped my head for not seeing the DOWN alternatives. All that time, I coulda entered either one and shoulda noticed but I didn’t.
My only wrinkle was badly wanting I’m Up For ANYTHING versus WHATEVER. And a little cringe at OH BE A PAL. But mostly just outstanding - and lots of fun. Thanks Zhou Zhang. I look forward to seeing your name again.
A rebus that I liked! Does that mean we're off the hook for tomorrow?
Nothing to say but Thank You, Zhou :)
What everybody said (except Nancy) it was neat to see DOWNS and suddenly realize how clever a puzzle it is.
One flaw—BUTTON-UP is a real thing as a verb, but it does fit the clue. Sure there are button-up shirts and cardigans, but one wouldn’t just say “BUTTON-UP” as a noun.
Also, the Roman goddess of fertility was Ceres, surely, not the virgin DIANA.
Am I the only one who mixed ups and downs according to which sounded more natural (to me)? It began to dawn on me that either could work when I was filling in BUTTONUP/DOWN – UP/DOWNSIDE, but for the other clues one just felt more right, e.g., I'm DOWN for whatever, Gobble UP, Going DOWN in flames, etc. Because I filled in the revealers early without thinking too hard about them, I knew that there were some UPS and some DOWNS in the puzzle, but I didn't quite see that either could work in every case and just figured it was UP for some and DOWN for others. I had the same experience as Rex in the NW—wanted SAIL and BART before I figured out MAST. Never heard of MUNI, but NENE was rattling around in my head somewhere, and I plopped down the N as my final letter to complete the puzzle.
I think you’ll find Tom Lake worth finishing. Funny, one of the only books I haven’t read of Patchett’s is Bel Canto.
🤣 Methinks your Return key went rogue today?
Ah, clever! I had UP in all the rebuses . . . didn't notice that those could also be DOWNs until the very end, when I got the happy music and the squares filled in with UPDOWN.
Overwrites: BART before MUNI, PRICE BEFORE PRIZE, ADDED before ADD ON, CUT before FEE.
Have never heard of the Prancing Pony or Admiral Benbow and have to go look them up now. A fine Wednesday puzzle, nothing to object to.
Wow. My entries were the same as @Rex in NW except SUN(down) bailed me out instead of NENE when I corrected sail to MAST. I GOT the “gimmick” before I got to DOWNS when I got to GOBBLED and couldn’t decide between UP/DOWN…went “hmmm” and revisited the priors to see they were all interchangeable and that I just needed to commit.
I think this concept is both simple/brilliant and loved it (except the OHBEAPAL)
@Anonymous 9:37 AM
I had the top two as up, and the bottom two as down. That's why I couldn't understand why there might be four of each. But yeah, if it is GOBBLE-ABLE, I will gobble it up or gobble it down. I'm not picky that way.
Godly responsibilities have a lot of overlap, and also evolved over time. Fertility being a big deal in Rome, Venus, Ceres, DIANA, and arguably Juno are fertility Godesses.
FYI, there's an easy-breezy puzzle by Patrick Berry on The New Yorker site today.
I played a different game in the NW than Rex - I looked at the 3D clue and said to myself, "Dusk or dawn?". UHUH pointed to DUSK and I started wracking my brain to think of any other wildlife than NENE that could go in 15A. But IM UP FOR WHATEVER took the K of dusk out of the picture and cleaned all that UP. I soon thought "OHO", that could also be I'M DOWN FOR WHATEVER so the revealers only confirmed what I had already guessed. For consistency's sake, I left all of my circles as UPS and mentally checked how the DOWNS might work in the answers.
The clue for 24D, on my screen, was split after the M of cUStom so I was not seeing the full USERS of customers and needed crosses to fill in that answer.
Hides a tear, 60D, had me thinking the kind of tear in your eye. I couldn't think of a three letter word that meant "sniffles" or "blinks". SEWS a rip, I get it.
Thanks, Zhou Zhang, nice job!
Gobble down?
UMP is short for an actual word.
Goose down and goose up could be a fun one to try cluing. Downtown and uptown would be easier. If this makes you mad, I guess you've gone crosstown.
I happen to be watching K-POP Demon Hunters at this very moment with my 7 year old granddaughter. It's my second time watching, her 2033rd. Her name is Golden, which is also the name of the song at the heart of the story. I wonder if @Clare is into this phenomenon.
Really great puzzle. I had a mix of UP and DOWN before getting the trick. I just left them and they were accepted. Thanks, Zhou Zhang.
Cool puztheme idea, nicely made. M&A went with all UP's, for obvious-to-U-all reasons.
14x16-er puzgrid. WedPuz multiple-choice rebus. Not yer usual cup-o-teaser. Like.
Also, Ms. Zhang darlin's first NYTPuz ever accepted ... but second one published. [First one published was just a little over a month ago, btw. She's clearly on a roll.]
staff weeject pick: UPS.
some fave stuff: Not much long stuff other than themers, but I'll go with: O-B-A-PAL. UHUH. KNEE & TYPIST ?-marker clues. The Circles [very helpful, in splatzin in UP's].
Thanx for the fun, Ms. Zhang darlin. Keep em comin up/down.
Masked & Anonymo5/9Us
... sorry, no circled rebi in this pup ...
"Put a Lid on It" - 7x7 themed runt puzzle:
**gruntz**
M&A
Loved the Newhart clip; thanks, RP!
MUNI (San Francisco Municipal Railway) is our transit system. It operates our buses and famous cable cars.
I don’t keep records as I trust Rex to do, but I think this is probably my vote for best Wednesday of 2025. Delighted to have shared everything in Rex’s experience (e.g. the confidence of BART, in my case “confirmed” since 1A could be BOAT, the shrug at the first revealer, the delight at the second revealer). I also share pabloinnh’s experience of confidently writing PRIcE for 32D, which stayed until the end—not that HAcE made any sense at all, but by mid-week I’m always ready for a few words I don’t know.
I’m a solid two years into solving crosswords, and when I started I would go through all the acrosses and all the downs sequentially to get traction. I know Rex mocks that tactic, but before building crosswordese vocab and gaining an ear for clueing style I had to. I still jump around a bit on late-week puzzles, but early-week I can get the pleasure of the gaining-ground approach that Rex endorses.
All that to say, Wednesday is a toss-up for whether I might need to jump around, so with this particular puzzle I’m delighted that I didn’t. This particular puzzle uniquely rewards building one’s way to the revealer, and I’d have missed the pleasure if I had jumped around early on. What a delight!
I entered UP when it was the top of the down clue and DOWN when it was the bottom of the down clue, so two of each. It made sense at the time even if it didn't exactly match the hints.
UP alternative apparent seconds into game, the DOWN some time later. But, against the time, decided I would UP the first three holes, DOWN the last, and the parser accepted it. That made me wonder if entering a 'U' alone in all relevant cells would have bingoed. (And further speculate how such devices are managed at contests - or perhaps they're never deployed.)
Time better than the Tues and w/i reach of a Wednes best. Settled game on BA_AT, 23d, pickin' my nose before dropping the final.
A minute into postmortem, I couldn't recall a single entry - I must have gone to that ethereal place the autopilot takes you along the beaten commute home. But this ta me, not a call to adjust the challenge over the replies (or clues).. to the amusing.
Game was fine.
(Additional note - several complaints over the months regarding The Times app. Never downloaded, not familiar with what it offers. My first interest is to scan the headlines, make selections, read. [Game later.] Use the principal browsers, interchangeably, laptop and mobile, both platforms, never had an issue that I can recall - entry, animation or other. They all accommodate reading list creation, the saving of articles, endless tabbing, and more, so why keep wrangling with the app - choose a browser, away you go.)
Two days, two extraordinary puzzles, and the fact that a wife made one, and her husband made the other, brings dash to the mixture, makes this a Crosslandia event that I feel privileged to have experienced.
Speaking of responsibilities, it seems damned irresponsible of those Romans to fail to anticipate the problems this would cause NYT crossword solvers.
By the explosion of thought at the bottom of this post, truly zesty.
Minor correction: I shared everything in Rex’s experience other than not knowing the Prancing Pony. In fact I own pint glasses decorated with that name and that of Green Dragon, and the Tolkien reference further endears this puzzle to me.
I’m posting again because I happen to be in Natick, and it just feels right. I drive through often, but not much reason to stop, unless one’s wife is having surgery here.
Since I’m here, I’ll take the opportunity to admire the YAK crossing an entry clued by its cousin the alpaca.
@kitshef, thanks to adding to my classical knowledge!
Sorry about that. If I could I would add a 'this space for doodling label".
Jesus Christ, do we have to have gimmicks creeping into our Wednesdays all the time now?
I have one proposed addition to the up/down theme.
Now things are just gonna get worse:
It's all uphill (downhill) from here!
I accept that I have to know random NYC trivia because it's the NYT. But I already had to learn BART. How much random trivia about some regional west coast city am I expected to learn?
No Thursday rebus? Be careful what you wish for. Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition.
popping in to say I did not quite get the both ups and downs thing. I had down in each circle. But I regret that OFL is not a diehard fan of STEELEYE SPAN, because if he were, he would surely have included a link to their clas"The Ups and Downs". Also known as the Aylesbury Girl. When she learns that her lover lives at the sign of the ups and downs, she knows she made a terrible mistake going with him to the apple grove.
I had the same reaction.
The Tabard was actually a real place https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tabard in addition to Chaucer I saw some documentary a few years ago exploring the possibility that Shakespeare probably knew it as well, The White Hart on the same street was a setting in Henry IV https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Hart,_Southwark. The same street also has The George https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_George_Inn,_Southwark which Dickens visited & used in some stories. My memory about the doc is pretty vague but there's a book referenced on The George's wikipedia page by Pete Brown called Shakespeare's Local https://archive.org/details/shakespearesloca0000brow
@Pablo: this is taking "live free or die" a little too far, don't you think?
suck it up and pipe down!
p.s.
Also initially took a ride on the BART, at 1-Down. Based on M&A once takin a ride on the BART from SanFran to U Cal in Berkeley. Neat ride.
First time we were in SanFran, we made the mistake of gettin to our hotel (up on Nob Hill) via the cable car. Had all our luggage with us. Got lots of sneers from other passengers.
Don't believe we ever did that there MUNI dealie, unless cable cars count.
M&Also
Of Mills Hospital where my husband was born?
Easy-medium.
No WOEs.
Costly erasures - PRIcE before PIRZE and pEtAl before SEPAL.
Fun double rebus, liked it.
The HBO series Treme about post KATRINA NOLA is excellent with a 97% Rotten Tomatoes score. It was done by the same folks who did The Wire with some of the same cast.
An Ann Patchett fan and Bel Canto is the best, IMHO
This old timer immediately put in MUNI. For a few years I was a regular on the J Chirch
I'm a former SF resident and BART never occurred to me! Once NENE was in there, MUNI seemed very obvious. But I had SAIL before MAST. Also had trouble with the east center, where I couldn't figure out HAZE, because I had PRICE at 52-Down.
One of my favorites has always been someone learning English trying to figure out how you chop a tree down and then chop it up. Then what? Chop it down again, I guess, and so on. And when the house burned down it burned up. English. Not for sissies.
Yes nice OHO moment to realize "you can put either UP or DOWN in there"! But to save time I decided to just put UP and see if it worked. Across Lite did not approve, so I changed them all to UPDOWN and that worked. Weird!
In the upper left I had pretty much all the typeovers that people have mentioned, BOAT / BART etc.
What a dumbing down of the theme answers. I got the first two without even seeing the circles. Nice job of spoiling the puzzle. NYT XW solvers are not morons.
in the vernacular, UMP stands on its own. All good
All of it. Before the weekend.
Rex! Have you been to the Tabard Inn in DC? Cute B&B but more importantly a legendary restaurant in a lovely couple of townhouses on N St. Worth a brunch visit for sure. Or dinner. So good. And lovely they chose to commemorate Chaucer.
My first thought for 1A "It might be rigged" was SAIL but crosses eventually confirmed MAST. For you landlubbers (poor wretches) a sail gets running rigging while the MAST gets standing rigging.
I was not seeing the symmetry in this one and then noticed the unusual 14X16 grid layout.
GO_IN FLAMES would get shot down because it doesn't have a matching letter count for its symmetrical counterpart IM_FOR WHATEVER. A subtle letter count inflation technique comes to the rescue: Take the base verb GO and make it the gerund GOING. (FACE_ and GOBBLE_ can do their jobs in their base verb forms.) Is that a nit or am I just MUSING?
Nice verbis (Latin for "with or by way of words") puzzle. Don't know why some folks are calling it a rebus puzzle. The NYTXW itself has clued REBUS as a "Picture puzzle" or some variation thereof many, many times over the years but never as a "Word puzzle". More on this swirling controversy at The Rebus Principle.
Son Volt
Surprised you limited yak to one meaning.
Yakety Yak. Immediately came to mind but I have heard it used in the sense of the puzzle innumerable times.
JJk
Struggling with/bad at
The key phrase “doesn’t necessarily “
You admit then in some situations the CLUE can fit the answer.
That’s all that is needed in a crossword.
Wow. Just as I was blasting through this one wondering why our constructor made the UP spots so obvious, (once I got the first UP, and saw the circles, I didn’t read any more theme clues, just filled in the circles), when whammy!! I ran into 51D. And the “Aha! Really good one!” joke was on me. Just so well done! I added Zhou Zhang to my list of solo constructors whose work I admire and look forward to seeing again. Her byline has been seen before in concert with yesterday’s constructor, Kevin Curry. Today marks her solo debut.
I wanted MAST at 1A at first but glanced over at 3D and erroneously slapped in “dawn.” Then I saw the circle, and that corner pretty much solved itself with SUNUP and the easy MUNI at 1D, my recent move to the Bay Area paying a dividend giving me an easy one.
I did think the abbreviation of San Francisco as just SF was a bit of a stretch; I wondered if anyone would think Santa Fe. I wonder how many folks are aware that the city’s public transit system, officially the SFMTA that includes buses, light rail and of course the cable cars as well as street cars is nicknamed The MUNI. Not too tough but the corner felt a tad forced.
I had one spot that I briefly considered changing my UP to DOWN and that was the “basic couturier offering,” the BUTTON UP/DOWN. My wardrobe both professional and casual always contains several mini-oxford cloth BUTTOWN DOWN shirts, with the BUTTON DOWN actually referring to the iconic collar style. I question whether that clue actually lands since I doubt any true couturier offering includes such a mundane item, but I’ll blame this little blip on the editorial staff.
Overall, this was such a fun solve with a superb surprise. Maybe don’t whack us over the head with the “four more times” clue and the circles, but it is an early week puzzle.
I have enjoyed the past Zhang/Curry collabs and offer hearty congratulations on Zhou Zhang’s solo debut today. Cleverness is always welcome; more please.
Anonymous 8:37 AM
I looked it up ( not down)
But gobble down is a thing.
Tricky NW but easy overall. Who doesn't like a Schrödinger puzzle? Very clever.
I don't care much for K-POP, but I'll check out Kpop Demon Hunters. I'm sure there'll be other things to enjoy aside from the music.
P.S. Zhou's profile pic on xwordinfo. Search results for Zhang from the blog. I knew that smile looked familiar. :D
I do crossword puzzles slowly.
I also tend to be slow to get the theme. But this time when I came to the early up clue I somehow noticed the word “could” and realized it meant something. I looked at the circles and realized that this was a Schrödinger’s Cat puzzle. Nobody used that term today but the Clinton/Dole puzzle has frequently been called that here over the years.
So I got the gimmick before I saw the down answer.
Liked the puzzle. Happy to see that most people did.
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