LAT tk (pannonica)
NYT 5:30 (Amy)
Universal tk (Jim)
USA Today tk (Emily)
Michael Lierberman’s New York Times crossword—Amy’s recap
NY Times crossword solution, 2/28/25 – no. 0228
Maybe a little on the hard side for Fridays? But not too far afield.
Entries I’m not sure I’ve seen in a grid before: PUBLIC POOL ([Splashy government expenditure?] is about local governments), PAJAMA DAY (such as at a school, when students and staff can wear PJs all day), MISO PASTE, CAR TITLES, and a baseball PITCH CLOCK.
Fave fill: EASY DOES IT, a coconut MACAROON, ATHLEISURE, PEEKABOO, “OKAY, I GIVE.”
Three more things:
- 23A. [Some overhead expenses?], BEANIES. What’s the cost of a knit cap these days? I’m old-school and steadfastly avoid calling such things “beanies.” Back in the day, beanies were little caps not much bigger than a yarmulke, and if you were lucky, your beanie had a propeller on top.
- 55A. [Fruit harvested by the ribeirinhos], ACAI. Looked Portuguese, the ACAI is Brazilian … Wikipedia says the ribeirinhos are a traditional rural group in the Amazon, living near rivers as you might guess from that “ribeir-” bit. Not something we’re expected to know–just “word looks Portuguese, try that Brazilian word that’s 3/4ths vowels.”
- 56A. [Subject of some grainy photographs?], SILO. No, I don’t care for this clue. A photo of a silo that conceals the grain stored within cannot plausibly be called a “grainy photograph, get it?” Too stretchy.
3.75 stars from me.
NYT: A good Friday puzzle which fell smoothly until only the upper right — a sea of white — remained. Somehow managed to complete the puzzle despite being stalled for a few minutes at this point. Tried PAnAMA DAY before seeing that n —> J.
NYT: Seemed a little on the easy side for a Friday, in spite of several unfamiliar names in the NW and a couple of missteps (“tied to” before TIED IN, “votes aye” before “votes yea” before VOTES YES).
Where I live, PAJAMA DAY is the day you go shopping at Walmart.
i interpreted the SILO clue as “a photo of a silo would usually show it amidst fields of grain, hence a grainy photo.”
Thanks! I hadn’t understood that clue.
NYT: Woot– sailed through this one with Wednesday time, and really enjoyed it.
Lovely construction with 4 sets of triple stacks, all great entries. Amazingly little crosswordese.
PEEKABOO opened the whole top half for me, evoking images of babies laughing, made my day.
Gets an A+ from me.
NYT Spelling Bee: I had griped that the Bee hadn’t been much fun (for four days in a row) recently. But yesterday and today were plenty of fun for me. The letters cooperated, there were many words to find, and all is well in Mudville.