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Featured Replies

COVID-19 has brought me back to crossword puzzles.   I don't take a daily fish wrap so I work mostly NYT crossword compilations I've collected over the years. 

Who else is into these?

I loved doing them from the NYT/IHT pilfered from airport lounges.  Was a little peeved that you have to pay a subscription fee to NYT just for the crosswords.

 

Turns out you can do it from the Seattle times for free.  Has back catalog and all the solutions

 

https://www.seattletimes.com/games-nytimes-crossword/

  • Author
8 minutes ago, PRONG HORN said:

 

Jackherelook-Sexy-Women-Off-Shoulder-Bik

 

INSTANTARTS-Crossword-Puzzle-Bikini-Set-

69 Down:   I’ll be in my _____

3 hours ago, deadshank said:

COVID-19 has brought me back to crossword puzzles.   I don't take a daily fish wrap so I work mostly NYT crossword compilations I've collected over the years. 

Who else is into these?

I do the NYT every Sunday as a ritual. Just finished today's as a matter of fact

 

Edit: My daily paper at the office is the WaPo, so that's what I do when I'm taking my daily dump.

Edited by G650

  • 1 month later...

Love the NYT crossword app.  My favorite thing on Sunday morning is to work the crossword and drink my coffee.  A pleasant hour plus of my time. 

On 3/28/2020 at 5:03 PM, Continental Op said:

The NYT Crossword app is worth the $3/month subscription

Can you print them, or do you have to solve them digitally?

You can print them with a regular NYT subscription from the website. Not sure about app subscription.

Can you print them, or do you have to solve them digitally?
Not sure. I do them online because I apparently enjoy seeing how much slower I am at getting them done than my friends.

I used to buy the Sunday paper just for the NYT crossword.  Now, I use the gift cards I get for book stores to buy the omnibus editions.  I'm usually pretty good at finishing them; however, I have some from the 60's and 70's which are far more difficult due to the cultural references of the time.  

1:07 today for the Sunday crossword.  No lookups or reveals or cheating of any kind.  

16 minutes ago, CycleTex87 said:

1:07 today for the Sunday crossword.  No lookups or reveals or cheating of any kind.  

Keep working hard and you can get that time down to under a minute.

Spoiler

 

 

20200517-145659.jpg

I gotta scribble manually.

 

 

Edited by G650

  • 4 weeks later...
On 5/11/2020 at 4:32 PM, Knoxtnhorn said:

I used to buy the Sunday paper just for the NYT crossword.  Now, I use the gift cards I get for book stores to buy the omnibus editions.  I'm usually pretty good at finishing them; however, I have some from the 60's and 70's which are far more difficult due to the cultural references of the time.  

Cool.

The Sunday puzzle is good, but it's just big. It can be engaging at times but sometimes I find it's just bulky. 

The fun really starts for the NYT puzzle on Thursday through Saturday. Especially Thursday, because that's when the tricky stuff appears (like today). 

And yeah, I agree, the puzzle has changed a lot with Will Shortz taking over as editor. I think it's for the better. The older puzzles (usually Eugene T. Maleska, if I spelled that correctly) was full of seven letter words of African antelopes and shit like that. Stuff for which you kinda needed a crossword puzzle dictionary. Shortz is much, much more into wordplay. I'm not a rap "music" fan so the clues about that area I usually don't get, but hey, can't have everything. 

look at all you smart motherfuckers with your end-of-week crossword preferences

Adit. RLS. Adieu is a Nice way to say bye. We take the newsprint edition of the NYT and I have a servant read me the clues.

  • 3 months later...

Another fun NYT puzzle today (October 1, 2020).

Not "perfect", but pretty darn good. A better-than-average Thursday, imo. 

 

2 hours ago, Asithappens said:

Another fun NYT puzzle today (October 1, 2020).

Not "perfect", but pretty darn good. A better-than-average Thursday, imo. 

 

they throw me off 100% of the time there is a rebus or really anything other than 1 letter in a square. are there ever any hints as to when those are present?

3 hours ago, Asithappens said:

Another fun NYT puzzle today (October 1, 2020).

Not "perfect", but pretty darn good. A better-than-average Thursday, imo. 

 

I hate these, I end up getting them but don't get how you are even supposed to start there. 

On 10/1/2020 at 2:33 PM, strangulation! said:

they throw me off 100% of the time there is a rebus or really anything other than 1 letter in a square. are there ever any hints as to when those are present?

No hints, at least I don't see them. But Thursdays often have them. 

What clued me in to this puzzle was the answer "Three Dog Night" and realizing that the "Three" had to be the rebus. But then that didn't work, either (too long of an answer), so other clues (film noir/sixers) finally got me to see the telephone connection.

But to answer your question, if there is a rebus it's on a Thursday, and if there's a clue that I am very sure of the answer but it doesn't fit, then I scratch my head for a possible rebus-type answer. 

Thanks - even knowing they are Thursday's helps. Three Dog nights is the one that helped me as well. 8track sealed it. 

On 10/3/2020 at 10:08 AM, hornbri said:

Thanks - even knowing they are Thursday's helps. Three Dog nights is the one that helped me as well. 8track sealed it. 

Know how I know you’re near my age?

On 10/3/2020 at 10:08 AM, hornbri said:

Thanks - even knowing they are Thursday's helps. Three Dog nights is the one that helped me as well. 8track sealed it. 

Yeah, usually I go into a Thursday assuming that there will be a rebus going on. Then it's just a matter of finding where it is and what the theme is. 

  • 1 year later...

I constructed a puzzle for some friends but need someone to edit it and make sure my clues/answers work.  Anyone have suggestions on where to get that done?  Anyone here want to take a stab?

  • Author
On 11/8/2021 at 8:44 AM, Jimbaround said:

I constructed a puzzle for some friends but need someone to edit it and make sure my clues/answers work.  Anyone have suggestions on where to get that done?  Anyone here want to take a stab?

That’s awesome.  I did that once for my wife when she retired.  It was quite difficult to make a real CW puzzle that actually made sense.  

On 11/8/2021 at 8:44 AM, Jimbaround said:

I constructed a puzzle for some friends but need someone to edit it and make sure my clues/answers work.  Anyone have suggestions on where to get that done?  Anyone here want to take a stab?

Well clearly you need to put it on one of those online “create your own” crossword sites and post the link. 

On 11/11/2021 at 9:31 AM, hornbri said:

Well clearly you need to put it on one of those online “create your own” crossword sites and post the link. 

Let me see if I can do that.  I just made mine in excel.

2 hours ago, Jimbaround said:

Let me see if I can do that.  I just made mine in excel.

hurry up

  • Author

I have an advanced copy on my desk.  

You'd better know your Sanskrit and Shakespeare.

 

On 6/11/2020 at 10:21 AM, Asithappens said:

Cool.

The Sunday puzzle is good, but it's just big. It can be engaging at times but sometimes I find it's just bulky. 

The fun really starts for the NYT puzzle on Thursday through Saturday. Especially Thursday, because that's when the tricky stuff appears (like today). 

And yeah, I agree, the puzzle has changed a lot with Will Shortz taking over as editor. I think it's for the better. The older puzzles (usually Eugene T. Maleska, if I spelled that correctly) was full of seven letter words of African antelopes and shit like that. Stuff for which you kinda needed a crossword puzzle dictionary. Shortz is much, much more into wordplay. I'm not a rap "music" fan so the clues about that area I usually don't get, but hey, can't have everything. 

Completely agree.  I never, ever look up clues.  I'd rather leave spaces blank than try to look up the past tense form of jog in Greek.

Agree w/ the Shortz take.  My favorite puzzles are the "gimmicks"... For example, I'm doing one now in which the clues beside some of the numbers are blank.  The title of the puzzle is, "Do It Yourself".  The answers end up being things like, "withoutaclue" and "drawingablank".  Other examples I've come across are: symbols for words or computational answers.  One of my favorites was one I came across a few years ago that drove me absolutely crazy.  Turned out the ends of some of the clues actually ended up out of the grid.  Genius.

I'm looking forward to a road trip this weekend in which I'll be "stuck" in the back of an SUV for several hours with nothing but my NY Times Crossword book.  Time Enough at Last.  /Twilight Zone reference

21 hours ago, huge said:

hurry up

You'll get yours in due time.

  • 1 year later...

Bump.

Just started doing NYT like a week ago. For the most part I enjoy it but there's been a couple puzzles I just couldn't get into. 

I try to cheat as little as possible but there's also only so long I'm going to blankly stare at the screen. Especially towards the end when I'm like a square or two short and I don't know either clue. 

3 minutes ago, ztejas said:

Bump.

Just started doing NYT like a week ago. For the most part I enjoy it but there's been a couple puzzles I just couldn't get into. 

I try to cheat as little as possible but there's also only so long I'm going to blankly stare at the screen. Especially towards the end when I'm like a square or two short and I don't know either clue. 

Yeah. I'll give it a go, but if not I'm going to poke around a clue with google and see if I can figure it out.

Most of the time Mon-Thurs I can get them. Fri/Sat I often find myself looking up a name I don't know. Sunday is hit or miss. Sometimes they flow, other times google is handy.

Today's NYT was unlike anything I've seen before, it took a while to understand the theme.  

I actually find Sunday much easier than Friday or Saturday. There are so many clues you can usually work your way around the puzzle. Saturday can be a real bitch.

 

 

The biggest key to doing NYT or LA is just repetition. A ton of the same fill gets recycled, so once you know what 's common, it becomes much easier.

17 hours ago, Teebox said:

Today's NYT was unlike anything I've seen before, it took a while to understand the theme.  

Yeah I haven't gone back to it but it was bizarre. 

3 minutes ago, G650 said:

I actually find Sunday much easier than Friday or Saturday. There are so many clues you can usually work your way around the puzzle. Saturday can be a real bitch.

 

 

The biggest key to doing NYT or LA is just repetition. A ton of the same fill gets recycled, so once you know what 's common, it becomes much easier.

Sunday is for sure usually easier in my admittedly limited experience. It's still takes me an hour at least just because of the amount of clues and how many long clues there are. 

Not sure how I missed this thread, but love crosswords.

I don't do the NYT, but guessing I should try it.

I do The New Yorker crossword, as it goes from hard to easy, M-F. Mondays and Tuesdays I'll usually get a couple answers and just shut it down. Wednesdays (moderately hard) if I can complete the puzzle which has happened once or twice, it's a huge win for me. Thursdays are very easy and beginner friendly so I always finish those. Fridays are a theme.

And I never google. It's either I know it or I don't and it's an honor code with the man in the mirror.

18 hours ago, Teebox said:

Today's NYT was unlike anything I've seen before, it took a while to understand the theme.  

Was this the Dara/Storyline you are talking about?

I just did today's, didn't seem super weird to me, kind of a typical late week theme.

 

Totally has one of those crossword words that are always around, baby newt is an eft. Faketan has gotten pretty common too.

11 hours ago, animaltobacco11 said:

Was this the Dara/Storyline you are talking about?

Yessir 

7 minutes ago, animaltobacco11 said:

Every time I finish a New Yorker crossword puzzle they have awesome little one panel cartoons @RDCanecutter

2012-01-30-wheeler.png

Yep. A relic of another time.

Been getting my butt kicked all week, finally got my hooks into an easy one and dominated it. Feels good:

image.png.066404f10051f13b96849158cb3185a9.png

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