under ten minutes for the nyt saturday this week is close to a record for me, think it was an easy one tho
― i cannot help if you made yourself not funny (forksclovetofu), Sunday, 23 January 2022 20:55 (two years ago) link
https://kotaku.com/new-york-times-crossword-puzzle-making-history-will-sho-1848440135
― Gowron Hubbard (Leee), Friday, 28 January 2022 22:05 (two years ago) link
Cool. Wish they hadn’t kept misspelling Tausig though.
― Tapioca Tumbril (James Redd and the Blecchs), Friday, 28 January 2022 22:35 (two years ago) link
The very beginning of timethe Shortz Era has some bizarre puzzles by constructors from the prior epoch who only got one puzzle in with Will and then were gone. Talking to you, Tom Underhill.
― Tapioca Tumbril (James Redd and the Blecchs), Friday, 28 January 2022 22:44 (two years ago) link
The article leaves out a lot of the more damning stuff about the beanball kerfuffle, i.e. Jeff Chen pointing out the offensiveness prior to the puzzle's publication.
― Gowron Hubbard (Leee), Friday, 28 January 2022 22:53 (two years ago) link
Also the recent "clean coal" nonsense: https://rexwordpuzzle.blogspot.com/2022/01/forlorn-directionless-type-mon-1-10-22_10.html
― Gowron Hubbard (Leee), Friday, 28 January 2022 22:55 (two years ago) link
also 'beaner' isn't really a baseball term ('beanball', sure)
― mookieproof, Friday, 28 January 2022 23:13 (two years ago) link
On March 21, 1943, the New York Times crossword clue was “author of a bestseller.” The answer: five letters long “HITLER.”
I...
Um...
I counted several times and keep getting six letters. What am I missing?
― Bill Kristol Meth (Ye Mad Puffin), Saturday, 29 January 2022 00:26 (two years ago) link
Might have something to do with the extra ‘s’ in *Taussig*
― Tapioca Tumbril (James Redd and the Blecchs), Saturday, 29 January 2022 00:53 (two years ago) link
Article about the "Surprisingly Messy Culture Wars Within The New York Times Crossword Puzzle" has surprisingly messy editing
― Michael F Gill, Saturday, 29 January 2022 01:29 (two years ago) link
That whole paragraph about the word "gluttonous" makes no sense
― Josefa, Saturday, 29 January 2022 02:30 (two years ago) link
Enjoyed today’s NYT but then I caught up on one rare (for the puzzle and probably outside, although it makes sense) word that had two crossings I wasn’t sure of. One I could figure out the other I couldn’t.
― Tapioca Tumbril (James Redd and the Blecchs), Thursday, 3 February 2022 13:20 (two years ago) link
Kind of kicking myself because I have seen and maybe even used this word but in context couldn’t see it.
― Tapioca Tumbril (James Redd and the Blecchs), Thursday, 3 February 2022 13:22 (two years ago) link
Friday was a really smooth solve with albeit with some traps to be dug out of.
― Tapioca Tumbril (James Redd and the Blecchs), Friday, 4 February 2022 04:26 (two years ago) link
yep
― i cannot help if you made yourself not funny (forksclovetofu), Sunday, 6 February 2022 03:17 (two years ago) link
liked saturday's a lot, kameron austin collins makes great crosswords
― symsymsym, Sunday, 6 February 2022 03:26 (two years ago) link
Doing cryptics on my lunch break and then finishing them right before heading home has helped make it so I now average doing one a day. It helps that there are 5 (soon to be 6) weekly US/Canadian publications releasing cryptics now.
― Michael F Gill, Sunday, 6 February 2022 04:21 (two years ago) link
what are they? I do the weekly ones in the globe and mail and the new yorker
― symsymsym, Sunday, 6 February 2022 06:46 (two years ago) link
KAC is one of my favorites, he consistently makes hard and chewy but fair puzzles, wish he showed up more in NYT though.
― Jadzia Dachshund (Leee), Sunday, 6 February 2022 09:01 (two years ago) link
in general i liked it but i was not happy about the non-proliferation answer
― Tracer Hand, Sunday, 6 February 2022 15:41 (two years ago) link
symsymsym, besides G&M and NY-er:
Saturday National Post by Cox & Rathvon (available free here: https://natpostcryptic.blogspot.com/)The Browser (UK-based, but all the setters are American: thebrowser.com, need to subscribe for access)Out Of Left Field (the guys who used to do The Nation cryptic, $4/month, https://www.patreon.com/leftfieldcryptics)
AVCX is starting a weekly cryptic later this month or so too
― Michael F Gill, Sunday, 6 February 2022 16:40 (two years ago) link
thank you so much! I'm looking forward to the AVCX cryptic starting. My perception is that G&M on NY-er are on the easier side (because I can usually get close to finishing them). do you think the other ones are more challenging?
― symsymsym, Sunday, 6 February 2022 17:19 (two years ago) link
AVCX Cryptic? Tausig keeps his cards pretty close to his chest!
― Tapioca Tumbril (James Redd and the Blecchs), Sunday, 6 February 2022 17:59 (two years ago) link
It was announced in their recent successful kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/avcx/avcxpansion-embiggening-an-indie-puzzle-outlet
National Post cryptic is usually at the same level as The Globe & Mail. The Browser is a step up but is a bit more modern, and Left field is a further step up from that.
― Michael F Gill, Sunday, 6 February 2022 19:32 (two years ago) link
Cool. Just noticed the name of an ex-ILX0r on there. Maybe had some dim awareness he was doing that. Are they doing variety cryptics or just regular? Was making a bad joke about Tausig since he literally lives a block away from me. I sometimes have a very brief chat with him when we cross paths but I don’t really know him.
― Tapioca Tumbril (James Redd and the Blecchs), Sunday, 6 February 2022 20:00 (two years ago) link
NYT with an unusually clever themed Monday today. Not difficult, just unexpectedly charming.
― Bill Kristol Meth (Ye Mad Puffin), Monday, 7 February 2022 14:05 (two years ago) link
OTM. Had almost forgotten about Hägar the Horrible's wife, maybe that's for the other thread. Assuming this is not the Rebecca Goldstein that wrote The Mind-Body Problem and married Steven Pinker.
― Tapioca Tumbril (James Redd and the Blecchs), Monday, 7 February 2022 15:34 (two years ago) link
this is very cool
Fun little trick in the Sunday New York Times crossword yesterday: the central theme clue was "The better of two sci-fi franchises", and regardless of whether you put Star Wars or Star Trek, the crossing clues worked pic.twitter.com/NS4LDxwxxl— ℳatt (@matttomic) February 7, 2022
― frogbs, Monday, 7 February 2022 20:43 (two years ago) link
Great stuffthink they did something similar in the 90s for the presidential election winner
― nxd, Monday, 7 February 2022 20:55 (two years ago) link
Yes, Tuesday, November 5, 1996. There was one before that, earlier that year, and so far there have been 17 of these Schrödinger, or quantum, crosswords, as they are known, including this latest.
― Tapioca Tumbril (James Redd and the Blecchs), Monday, 7 February 2022 20:59 (two years ago) link
for the diverse among us: Apply to The New York Times Diverse Crossword Constructor Fellowship
― mookieproof, Monday, 7 February 2022 23:07 (two years ago) link
Erik A. also has a Friendbook group you can join.
― Tapioca Tumbril (James Redd and the Blecchs), Monday, 7 February 2022 23:14 (two years ago) link
I hate how much the NYT crossword leans on Star Wars shit
― west elm girls (Whiney G. Weingarten), Tuesday, 8 February 2022 01:28 (two years ago) link
I feel like I was born on some kind of cusp where everyone (or so it seems) born younger than me is obsessed with Star Wars and the entire Star Trek franchise, whereas I only ever really cared about TOS.
― Tapioca Tumbril (James Redd and the Blecchs), Tuesday, 8 February 2022 01:39 (two years ago) link
I don't remember it being a factor other than being the theme of one recent puzzle
― Dan S, Tuesday, 8 February 2022 01:41 (two years ago) link
have no idea what TOS stands for
― Dan S, Tuesday, 8 February 2022 01:48 (two years ago) link
lotsa SW words show up as fill with some regularity (REN, LEIA, SITH, SOLO). hate ARTOO whenever i see it
― donna rouge, Tuesday, 8 February 2022 01:49 (two years ago) link
The Original Series
― Tapioca Tumbril (James Redd and the Blecchs), Tuesday, 8 February 2022 01:50 (two years ago) link
JEDI has been in there 42 timesYODA 56 timesHAN SOLO 22 times, not to mention the related partials
― Tapioca Tumbril (James Redd and the Blecchs), Tuesday, 8 February 2022 01:54 (two years ago) link
HANSOLO, I meant
ARTOO 53 times!
― Tapioca Tumbril (James Redd and the Blecchs), Tuesday, 8 February 2022 01:55 (two years ago) link
:)
― Dan S, Tuesday, 8 February 2022 01:59 (two years ago) link
And then of course there is ENDOR. 29 Shortz Era appearances, 143 total, although of course it is sometimes clued as, especially in the Before Times, “Home of a Biblical witch.”
― Tapioca Tumbril (James Redd and the Blecchs), Tuesday, 8 February 2022 01:59 (two years ago) link
Tomorrow’s puzzle okay, but not as good as today’s.
― Tapioca Tumbril (James Redd and the Blecchs), Tuesday, 8 February 2022 03:26 (two years ago) link
James Redd +tB is posting from the future
― Bill Kristol Meth (Ye Mad Puffin), Tuesday, 8 February 2022 03:41 (two years ago) link
(Psst, puzzle drops at 10PM on weekdays, earlier on the weekend)
― Tapioca Tumbril (James Redd and the Blecchs), Tuesday, 8 February 2022 03:45 (two years ago) link
Yeah and that has messed up my streak sometimes. Late in the evening, I go to what I think is current - and by default it gives me tomorrow's puzzle. Unless I check carefully, this means that I might not get credit (in this particular arbitrary and probably stupid niche-world) for today.
With a halfway-decent time machine I bet I could kick all your asses at Wordle. Anyhow carry on
― Bill Kristol Meth (Ye Mad Puffin), Tuesday, 8 February 2022 03:49 (two years ago) link
agreed, but at least i mostly know the star wars shit -- the harry potter shit, however
― mookieproof, Tuesday, 8 February 2022 06:22 (two years ago) link
feeling that post
― assert (matttkkkk), Tuesday, 8 February 2022 06:37 (two years ago) link
Me too. Feel like it don't see it that often but when I do it I get a litle antsy.
― Tapioca Tumbril (James Redd and the Blecchs), Tuesday, 8 February 2022 14:21 (two years ago) link