Scott Hogan and Katie Hale’s New York Times crossword, “Weather, Man!” — Nate’s write-up
08.04.2024 Sunday New York Times Crossword
23A: SHOWERS LIKELY [High chance of parties celebrating a baby’s arrival?]
42A: MOSTLY CLOUDY [Like one’s mental state before morning coffee?]
52A: HEAVY SNOW [Terrible TV reception?]
71A: ISOLATED SPRINKLES [What you might find on the counter after making ice cream sundaes?]
94A: WINTRY MIX [Eclectic holiday party playlist?]
103A: MORNING FROST [“The Road Not Taken” enjoyed over breakfast?]
125A: DAMAGING WINDS [Smashing clarinets and oboes?]
This was a fun, classic theme with some nice, playful re-interpretations of the thematic weather-related phrases. My favorites were MORNING FROST and ISOLATED SPRINKLES. The grid was also largely clean, aside from a few tricky crossings (MUIR / RUE in the bottom left corner), unusual standalone bits like AT CAMP, and the unexpected GAWP (vs GAWK).
A few of the clues were fun in a tricky way: BOSS as [One who manages to get by?] and [Place to get a pricey cab] for NAPA (cab as in a Cabernet) were among my favorites.
How did the puzzle treat you? What were your favorite bits? Let us know in the comments section – and have a great weekend!
Evan Birnholz’ Washington Post crossword, “Never Hear the Eng of It” — Matt’s write-up
Evan Birnholz’ Washington Post crossword solution “Never Hear the End of It,” 8/4/2024
This week’s title is pretty on the nose. I had a good sense of the theme mechanism as I started. A pretty classic set of sound deletions, with a typical payoff:
- 22a [*Far-off chopper?] REMOTE AX (‘access’) – anyone else get stuck on ‘axis’ and not quite see the click here?
- 32a [*Herringlike fish that shows up at the typical end of a workday?] FIVE O CLOCK SHAD (‘shadow’)
- 39a [*”Hit the deck, guys!”?] DROP DOWN MEN (‘menu’)
- 56a [*Tawdry trinkets decorating Satan’s home?] HELLS KITSCH (‘kitchen’)
- 65a [*News headline stating that a big snapping reptile is finished?] CROCODILE DONE (‘dundee’)
- 78a [*Actor Ferrell, when becoming emotional?] WEEPING WILL (‘willow’)
- 92a [*Diagram developer John, when attending an orchestra’s performance?] CONCERT VENN (‘venue’)
- 99a [*Taller version of president Harding?] EXTENDED WARREN (‘warranty’)
And a revealer
- 117a [Pronounce, as syllables … and what’s spelled by the letters you hear from the asterisked answers’ deleted syllables] SOUND OUT
A clean theme done well. As I noted above, the ‘x’ in the first themer gave me trouble in making the connection to “access”, but all the base phrases are nicely in the language. There aren’t any particularly long down entries, but I found the grid pretty smooth sailing and not caught up much in short entries, especially considering the tight spacing of themers in the middle.
Notes:
- 18a [Pitcher Hershiser whose first name is an anagram of 40 Down] OREL. 24 years after OREL’s last game, even baseball fans need to admit that the entry merits a bit of help, as Evan provides here, no matter how much a crossword staple he is.
- 50a [Buzzer by a bed] BEE. A flower bed, that is.
- 81a [Minnesota governor Walz] TIM. Not for long, perhaps. If this puzzle had run a few weeks ago, I would have dug up a cute video of Walz and his daughter at the Minnesota State Fair, but it’s harder to find in the campaign buzz now.
- 90a [“Heartland” author Mort] SAHL. Notably does not get the OREL spelling help, at least this time.
- 119a [Unit circle’s x-coordinate] COSINE. I’ve seen a number of SINE and COSINE entries clued to the unit circle lately. I didn’t learn the unit circle’s place in trigonometry until several years after sine, etc were introduced, but maybe this angle isn’t as deep a cut as I think.
- 6d [SIMPLE savings plans] IRAS. “SIMPLE” here standing for “Savings Incentive Match PLan for Employees”
- 97d [Buick driver’s security system] ONSTAR. I was not aware Onstar was limited to specific brands, or vice versa!
- 116d [NCAA home of the Beavers, Buckeyes or Cowboys] OSU. Oregon, Ohio, and Oklahoma State University, respectively.
Adam Simpson’s Universal Sunday crossword, “Waiting in the Wings”—Jim’s review
We have a multilayered theme and grid art all related to butterflies. The stages of butterfly development are found in the circled letters, spread far apart at the top of the grid, but coming together toward the bottom. The revealer is BUTTERFLY KISS (113a, [Flirty flutter … or what’s depicted by the circled letters?]). In addition, we have the following punny phrases as applied to butterflies.
24a. [Maiden voyage for the subject of this puzzle?] FLIGHT OF FANCY.- 63d. [Process the subject of this puzzle must go through before spreading its wings?] POCKET CHANGE.
- 67d. [Job title for the subject of this puzzle?] STAGE MANAGER.
I didn’t pay close attention to the theme during the solve between the Olympics and family issues going on, but I mostly enjoyed the long fill. Once I pieced together the subject matter of the puzzle, I could enjoy the punny long entries. The circled letters didn’t do much for me, however.
Lots to highlight in the fill: NORDRSTROM’S, “CAN YOU NOT?”, “WHAT A BORE“, WHITE SAUCE, In-N-Out’s ANIMAL STYLE, MERITOCRACY, RADIO DJ, and SARAN WRAP.
Clues of note:
- 20a. [Liquid sold in bars]. LIQUOR. Simple but effective misdirection as I briefly thought “bars” was referring to some sort of ingot.
- 103d. [Parliament newbie?]. OWLET. Another good example of misdirection.
3.75 stars.
NYT – I really enjoyed the weather clues. MORNINGFROST and DAMAGINGWINDS were my faves.
I didn’t enjoy the NYT while I was doing it. I kept thinking with each new themer, that’s lame. But glancing back now it looks decidedly funnier.
YEET was new to me but hardly burdensome. For GAWP I couldn’t decide between entering GAPE or GAWK until I had enough crossings, and then it looked like just a lousy compromise But oh, well, maybe it was for them, too.
I didn’t particularly enjoy the NYT theme, either. The theme answers are not bad, but they didn’t truly amuse me.
45D YEET has been in three previous NYT puzzles, all in the last nine months. That’s the only reason I know it. 48A GAWP is awkward, but what are 10D TOE LOOkS?
Where I had trouble was 102A VISINE crossing 80D Y AXES. I got the Down answer first, but missed the plural in the clue. VISINi could have been some product I had never heard of.
I recognize that having to spend five minutes finding a mistake in a big Sunday grid often lessens my appreciation of a puzzle, but in this case, I was underwhelmed long before I finished filling in the grid.
I couldn’t convince myself that GAWP was right so left the P in pencil, even after in desperation tried googling TOE LOOKS to make sure that wasn’t some unfamiliar skating move. I also missed the plural for Y AXES. And that MUIR / RUE crossing was the last to drop for me; I had tried putting in YEW for the bush before remembering those have small red berries, not little yellow flowers…
All that said, I dug the theme; nice dad-joke territory. Not suree why SHOWERS LIKELY took me the longest, but they were all good. MORNING FROST is really great.
Good points, although I’ve heard of VISINE and had an easy time coming up with Y AXIS. I was dead sure I had a mistake in TOE LOOPS.
When I realized Y AXES was correct, I kicked myself for not having figured out VISINE. It’s been around just a little longer than I have.
I quit after getting three themers, along with GAWP (which I’ve seen before and dislike) and YEET (which I don’t recall seeing before, got entirely from crossings, and would be happy never to see again – in a crossword or otherwise). After reading Nate’s write-up and looking over the completed grid, I think I should have quit sooner.
Agree on “yeet.” Hope it has an early death.
Not a fan of punny themes, unless they’re so bad they’re good — and this one didn’t make the cut.
A couple of nitpicky points: Medicaid and disability insurance can be thought of as SAFETYNET programs, but not Medicare. And the DC suburb is officially just TYSONS these days — the Corner was dropped a while back. I remember seeing a picture from the 1950s when it really was Tyson’s Corner — a single-lane intersection with a gas station.
No idea about Tysons Corner – once had a friend who lived there, but that was about 40 years ago.
Disagree about Medicare being a SAFETY NET program (would say the same about Social Security). Just because we pay into it and it doesn’t specifically target the economically disadvantaged, doesn’t mean it’s not part of the “safety net.” A whole lot of older working class folks would be in very difficult financial straits without Medicare.
TBH, I can’t find a good definition of Safety Net programs anywhere. I think of them as systems intended to help those who have fallen on hard times, whereas Medicare is something you get automatically once you hit 65. But fair enough, it’s a debatable point.
I agree that “safety net” is ill-defined. I’m inclined to include programs that help people avoid falling on hard times, as opposed to just programs that help those who have already fallen on hard times.
That’s a nice way of putting the aim of such programs. They include social security, which of course recipients have also paid into and, unlike with Medicare, their payout is related to year-by-year totals of what went in. I believe the idea was to reduce poverty among a vulnerable population that might otherwise have scraped by while working but now left on their own. And it seems to have succeeded quite well. Whether someone calls that part of the safety net is up to them.
But anyway, surely the difficulty of finding a definition means that a cluer has considerable leeway, regardless of my or Gary’s thinking.
Actually, maybe another example? Many countries other than ours have some form of universal health care, and I bet they consider it part of the safety net. Yet “universal” by definition isn’t means tested.
In the UK, at least long ago when I lived there, the NHS was regarded as an essential and uncontroversial part of society. I don’t think the term ‘safety net’ had any currency, and if it did, I don’t think it would be taken to include the NHS, any more than it would include, say, the electrical grid (which was also state-run in those days).
Terminology of this sort doesn’t cross borders very well.
NYT: Not to pick a fight about nitpicks… but why would Medicare not be considering a social safety net program exactly?
If I had to nitpick, it would be the clue for ASCOT… while they do go with formal wear, I think what distinguishes them is that they’re reserved for daytime use. I wouldn’t say that they’re a “dressy tie”… perhaps a dressy cravat, or an American cravat. But that may be too in the weeds for a good clue. My understanding is that you’d wear an ascot when the occasion would call for a bow tie if it were an evening affair. I could be wrong, of course :-)
I always enjoy a good groaner, but I have to agree with David L that these were some really weak puns. SHOWERS LIKELY seemed like a mildly promising start, but it just didn’t get any better from there.
SNOW is an analog TV phenomenon, and hasn’t been seen in most of the US since 2009, when the vast majority of broadcasters were required to switch to a digital format.
Y-AXES gets my vote for the worst POC in recent memory.
I see that Y-AXES has one previous NYT appearance, in a Saturday grid by Robert H. Wolfe. I’ve struggled with a lot of his puzzles in the archives; the last one I did took me three times what a typical contemporary NYT Saturday puzzle takes me.
It is a pretty yucky answer. I think I’d feel that way even if I hadn’t misread the clue and put in Y-AXiS.
LAT – No challenge for me. I competed the fill until the third theme entry. Then I filled in the final three with no crossings. The revealer then jumped out at me.
36a was easily my favorite theme entry followed by 61a and 51a.
About par (changing sports) for a Sunday puzzle
Does anyone know where I can solve the Universal Sunday 21×21 crossword?
It’s available in Across Lite format and online from the Today’s Puzzles page.
The website button on the Todays Puzzles page just takes me to the Universal Freestyle.
I did find a site called http://www.DownForAcross.com that lets people solve together.
The AcrossLite version is always there.
I’m guessing you’re the constructor of the Universal Sunday puzzle. If so, congratulations!
I’ll admit that I’m not a fan of grid art that results in a lot of three-letter answers. They’re tedious to fill in, but I always need a few to get some of the vaguely-clued long words like 48D WHITE SAUCE.
But this was reasonably enjoyable. I liked seeing 46D CAN YOU NOT (useful in so many situations) and 68D MERITOCRACY (we should be so lucky).
Haha yes I made this puzzle. 😆
I agree with you about too many 3’s, so I tried to balance that with having as many vibrant bonus entries as possible. I enjoy pixel art so it’s been fun combining that with crossword construction to make grid art.
Thanks!
You did get some nice stuff in there.
loved 26a in the WaPo
My husband tried to teach me chess a long time ago, but I wasn’t interested.
But I guess I retained enough to sort of understand that clue.
WaPo: Well done as always, though I’m not sure I quite get the point of some of the pseudo-meta puzzles where the revealer literally spells out what would be the meta answer in a traditional meta puzzle. Maybe it’s to introduce solvers to the idea of a meta puzzle?
I love the clue for 44A RUDE. I have long thought that there ought to be a universal service requirement in the United States, but instead of being in the military, everyone should have to work in food service. It’s stressful work that doesn’t usually pay well.
I also enjoyed the rabbit hole 114A EROTIC took me down. I hadn’t heard of Chuck Tingle, but his Wikipedia entry makes for interesting reading.
NYT: Seems like a tough crowd today :D .
I enjoyed the puzzle. I enjoyed the gentle WORDplay weather puns (as opposed to the constructor making the app jump through clever cutesie hoops) (I really liked the one with colors last week, but that did include much wordplay along with the … hoops :D :D) I actually liked seeing gawp, which doesn’t show up often. It’s an ugly word, but prized for its rarity LOL!
NYT: I semi-scowled at seeing both ODES and ODEA in the grid – essentially the same underlying root word if I’m not mistaken
LAT: Please help. How is UAL a competitor of LUV?
LUV is Southwest Air’s NYSE tag.
UNI-SUN: This puzzle didn’t do much for me, and I will never understand Jeff Chen’s editing style.
For example, 79A: “Prefix for moms-to-be” and the answer is “Sono”. And 101D: “Stunts” are “Dares”. (Chen plays too loosey-goosey from my perspective?)
It’s never been relevant to my life, but SONO is apparently how some OB-GYNs and pregnant women refer to a sonogram. I’d ask my very pregnant niece to confirm, but since they’re inducing labor in a few hours, now’s not the best time.
As for stunts being dares, surely many people have done dumb things on dares. I solved that puzzle but have deleted it. Wasn’t it clued as “Some stunts?”
Both clues seem perfectly fine from my perspective.
TY for the reply, and in the PDF version that I solved, “Stunts” was the only word in the clue for 101D. And I still think it’s a huge stretch for “Sono” to be clued as a “Prefix for moms-to-be”.