NYT Crossword 09/30/17 (Sat.)

Cruciverbalist: Mary Lou Guizzo and Jeff Chen
Editor: Will Smith

Solving time: DNF

Puzzle uniqueness: 0

Words I hadn't known until now: 

PHLOX - "Flower whose name is Greek for 'flame'"
LAKSHMI - "Hindu goddess of prosperity" (Wow!)
RIJKSMUSEUM - "Home of Rembrandt's 'The Night Watch'"
IDEALGAS - "Substance obeying Boyle's law" (Have no idea what this means)

Trivia I didn't know:

BEERBRAT - "Sausage at an Oktoberfest"
KMART - "Chain once self-styled as 'the Saving Place'"
MOAB - "Seat of Utah's Grand County"
AMY - "'Ask ___' (syndicated advice column)"
STAKES - "Track prize" (Never knew "stakes" were the prize)
PRIAM - "Final Trojan king"
ALTS - "Secondary personas. om role-playing game lingo" (Though I see the logic)
LEROUX - "Gaston ______, Frenchman who wrote 'The Phantom of the Opera'"
CENTUPLE - "Increase a hundredfold" (Never knew this word existed, but why not?)
KATEMOSS - "She's been on the cover of British Vogue more than anyone else"

Junk Answers:

GMAJOR - "Setting of 'Eine Kleine Nachtmusic'" (Stupid trap where if you don't know the across answer you have to randomly pick E, G, B, D, F)
SYR - "Like many asylum seekers in the 2010s: Abbr."
EDGEIN - "Parallel-park, e.g."
ALTS - (See above)

Clever clues:

EARS - "Reception figures?"
DJS - "Reception figures"
AIRSICK - "Under the weather while above the clouds?"
DEA - "Crack team's initials?"
VAN - "Moving object?"
GOBLONDE - "Become lightheaded?"
PEDALS - "Bicycle couple?"
SCAB - "Strike fear?"
PEALS - "Takes a toll?"

Obscure (i.e., really reaching) words: 

MAMABIRD - "Fledgling feeder" (Come on, really?)
PHLOX - (See above)
LAKSHMI -  (See above)
VARIETAL - "Chardonnay or merlot"
VJDAY - "Time of surrender in '45"

NYT Crossword 09/29/17 (Fri.)

Cruciverbalist: Damon Gulczynski
Editor: Will Shortz

Solving time: DNF (Was in an impatient mood)

Puzzle uniqueness: 0

Words I hadn't known until now: 

GENDERBINARY - "Male-or-female" (New one to me)
ASAHI - "Sushi bar beverage, perhaps" (Not a sushi guy)

Trivia I didn't know:

PIPPA - "English socialite Middleton"
PABLONERUDA - "Gabriel Garcia Marquez called him 'the greatest poet of the 20th century, in any language'"
JOLLYRANCHER - "Brand of fruit-flavored hard candy"
PIBB  - "____ Xtra (Coca-Cola product"
HOAG - "Judith of TV's 'Nashville'" (Never watched the show)
GARYHART - "Onetime presidential candidate with a divinity degree from Yale"
TRACY - "'30 Rock' character with the same first name as its actor" (Never watched the show)

Junk Answers:

MOT - "Zinger" (Really?)
IVS - They have tubes attached"
MIC - "Item that names a person holding it when its middle letter is removed" (Really?"
PSY - "University department, in course descriptions"
PIBB - (See above)
POLIS - "Ancient Greek city-state"
NATL - Like some monuments: Abbr."
DMC - Rap's Run-___"
APU - "'The Simpsons' character who claims he can recite pi to 40,000 places"

Clever clues:

POACH - "Appropriate game"
LAGS - "Streaming hiccups"
SODAJERK - "Float fixer"
ABOMBS - "Mushroom producers"
TELEKINESIS - "Brain power like you can't believe?"

Obscure (i.e., really reaching) words: 0

NYT Crossword 09/28/17 (Thu.)

Cruciverbalist: Joe Krozel
Editor: Will Shortz

Solving time: 10:51

Puzzle uniqueness:

Black squares are in the shape of a piñata hanging, CANDY in the center representing the letters "C" and "Y" do not appear in the puzzle.

Words I hadn't known until now: 

ASIAGO - "Hard, pungent cheese"

Trivia I didn't know: 

ANSELM - "New Hampshire's Saint ______ College"
ITEN - "Cross-country route, informally"
TIMS - "Popular beige work boots, colloquially"

Junk answers:

INS - "Cave-___ (mining hazards)"
ODS - "Consumes too much, informally"
ETRE - "French 101 verb"
TSE - "Lao-___"
OEDS - "Library references, briefly"
EMT - "Defib user"
QUO - "Where: Lat."
ITEN - (See above)

Clever clues: 

LIFT - "Connector of English stories"

Obscure (i.e., really reaching) words: 

TONKAS - "Some toy trucks"
ANSELM - (See above)
ENTENTE - "Agreement"
LELAND - "University founder ______ Stanford"
ENGELS - "Marx collaborator"

NYT Crossword 09/27/17 (Wed.)

Cruciverbalist: Jacob Stulberg
Editor: Will Shortz

Solving time: 15:01

Puzzle uniqueness:

Answer THREERINGCIRCUS clue to three sets of circled squares each in a semi-quasi "ring" signifying circus acts. Example: WIREWALKER

Words I hadn't known until now: 0

Trivia I didn't know:

CYPRESSHILL - "Hip-hop group with the triple-platinum album 'Black Sunday'"
PNIN - "Nabokov novel"
ASSAI - "Very, in music"
ANDRE - "Traitorous Major _____ of the Revolutionary War"
NAGIN - "Ray _____, mayor of New Orleans during Katrina"
ERTE - "'Symphony in Black' artist"
SELAH - "Interjection occurring frequently in Psalms"
EOCENE - "Epoch characterized by the rise of mammals"
FIG - "Garden of Eden tree" (One of those "How 'bout that!" answers)

Junk Answers:

IED - "Roadside bomb, briefly"
ANC - "Nelson Mandela's org."
KER - "Lead-in to plop or plunk"
DEGS - "M.B.A. and Ph.D., for two"
FSTAR - "Polaris, e.g., in astronomy" (One of those if you don't know the cross you're toast)
SWE - "Abba's, home: abbr."

Clever clues:

WATT - "Power figure?"

Obscure (i.e., really reaching) words: 

PNIN - (See above)

NYT Crossword 09/25/17 (Mon.)

Cruciverbalist: Bruce Haight
Editor: Will Shortz

Solving time: 07:02

Puzzle uniqueness:

Two-word rhyming phrases that have the last three letters the same, crossing in the center letter. Example: HANDY across and DANDY and down, both sharing the "N."

Words I hadn't known until now: 0

Trivia I didn't know:

THORA - "Birch, 'American Beauty' actress"

Junk Answers:

AAH - "'How relaxing!'"
AMIE - "French female friend"
AMA - "Org. for docs"
MRI - "CT scan alternative"

Clever clues: 

DAB - "Bit of Brylcreem, say" (Take on a very old Brylcreem ad of "A little dab'll do ya")

Obscure (i.e., really reaching) words: 

DIURNAL - "Active during the daytime"

NYT Crossword 09/24/17 (Sun.)

Cruciverbalist: Alan Arbesfeld
Editor: Will Shortz

Solving time: 40:34

Puzzle uniqueness: "State Lines"

Using the abbreviations of states to provide wacky answers. Example: ONEMOTIME with the clue "2:00 in New York vis-à-vis St. Louis?"

Words I hadn't known until now: 0

Trivia I didn't know:

OPENERA - "Tennis world since 1968"
ICET - "Player f TV's Det. Tutuola" (Never seen the show)
BRIS - "Rite for a newborn Jewish boy" (Whatever that is)
TDBANK - "Financial institution whose parent company is Canadian" (Huh?)
ESME - "Name in a Salinger title"
BOER - "It means 'farmer' in Afrikaans" (How 'bout that?)
EDH - "Icelandic letter"
EOS - "Sister of Helios"
TOPHOLE - "First-rate, in British slang"
LYNNE - "Jeff _____, leader of the Electric Light Orchestra"

Junk Answers:

RONI - "Rice-a-___
ENOL - "Hydroxyl compound"
MSG - "Imparter of umami taste, in brief"
EDH - (See above)
ISM - "Ideology"
UNI - "Start to form?"
ETE - "Tour d France time"
EMI - "Former parent co. of Gramophone and Parlophone records"
EPI - "Commercial lead-in to Pen"
XKES - "Vintage Jaguars"

Clever clues: 

NEWDO - "Change of locks?"
SPARE - "Fifth wheel?"

Obscure (i.e., really reaching) words: 0

NYT Crossword 09/23/17 (Sat.)

Cruciverbalist: Robyn Weintraub
Editor: Will Smith

Solving time: 17:52

Puzzle uniqueness: 0

Words I hadn't known until now: 0

Trivia I didn't know:

IRENE - "_____ Neuwirth (designer jewelry brand)"
POLO - "Summer Olympics event discontinued after 1936"

Junk Answers:

GOV - "Common URL ending"
RECD- "Office stamp abbr."
DAS - "Some 'Murder One' figs."
TSK - "Sound of condescension"

Clever clues:

PENPAL - "Friend of note"
POINT - "One can be driven home"
GETBUSY - "Work order?"
BMOVIE - "Cheesy fare"
HOUSEPLANT - "A mister may sit next to one"
TIRE - "One getting bald over time"
ROE - "Potential perch"
PAGE - "Hill runner"
MPAA - "Group that takes on pirates"
PAWPRINTS - "Dog-walking trail"

Obscure (i.e., really reaching) words: 0

NYT Crossword 09/22/17 (Fri.)

Cruciverbalist: David Steinberg
Editor: Will Shortz

Solving time: 34:11

Puzzle uniqueness: 

Triple stack fourteen-letter answers.

Words I hadn't known until now: 

INHERES - "Exists naturally" (So THAT'S where "inherent" comes from!)
ATELIER - "Workshop" (I've heard of the word, just not really what it meant)

Trivia I didn't know:

ELI - "Man's name meaning 'my God'"
REI - "It might have a tent sale" (I assume this is a store of some type)
ROMANTICPERIOD - "Wordsworth, Coleridge and Byron wrote in it"
ESA - "Conductor ___-Pekka Salonen" (OK...this is REALLY reaching!)
SIGURD - "Brynhild's beloved, in Norse legend" (I'm sure we're all well versed in Norse mythology)
PHI - "Beta's preceder"
THETA - "Symbol for a plane angle, in geometry"

Junk Answers:

REI - (See above)
CTRL - "PC key"
DEL - "PC key"

Clever clues:

STAND - "It's taken in court"
DIODE - "Current director"
MAZE - "Setting for a rat race?"
CAREERCRIMINAL - "One who can't turn right?"
MIR - "It went around for 15 years"
DOCTOR - "One who's gotten the third degree?"
TIMEINC - "Life preserver?"
SHOP - "Chamber of commerce?"
MERCI - "Nice thanks"
ONE - "Small square"

Obscure (i.e., really reaching) words: 

INHERES - (See above)
HOMERIC - "Grand"
SIGURD - (See above)
THETA - (See above)
ATELIER - (See above)

NYT Crossword 09/21/17 (Thu.)

Cruciverbalist: Matt Ginsberg
Editor: Will Shortz

Solving time: DNF (Another way too tricky puzzle, which I hate))

Puzzle uniqueness:

UEY clue to another four answers in which the complete answer turns back on itself in the next across row. I won't try to show an example.

Words I hadn't known until now: 0

Trivia I didn't know: 

ALAIN - "Formula One racer Prost"
HOTTEST - "Topping the Scoville scale" (Had no idea what the Scoville scale was)
BASALT - "Makeup of many moon rock" (One of those "How about that!" moments)
OKEEFE - "Michael of 'The Great Santini'"
LAHORE - "Punjab's capital"

Junk answers:

EEGS - "Head lines, briefly?"
INST - "Research org."
IDEO - "Prefix with -logical"
MPS - "British V.I.P.s"

Clever clues: 

SOFTG - "George I or V?"
WENT - "Came's partner"
SYNAPSE - "Something involved in a firing"

Obscure (i.e., really reaching) words: 

TEMPI - "Beats"
VEEPSTAKES - "Quadrennial U.S. occurrence" (WTF?"
MISCALL - "Poker blunder" (Yeah, right.)
BASSI - "Operatic villains, often"
ENIAC - "Vacuum tube innovation of 1946"

NYT Crossword 09/20/17 (Wed.)

Cruciverbalist: Hal Moore
Editor: Will Shortz

Solving time: 09:06

Puzzle uniqueness:

Answers that have two letters in alphabetical order from A to Z. Examples: SCAB, BCE, CDS, DEVIL, etc.

Words I hadn't known until now: 0

Trivia I didn't know:

WIM - Wenders who directed 'Buena Vista Social Club'"
BMWXSERIES - "Line of upscale German autos {23}" ("23" represents the twenty-third set of two-letters in alphabetical order, "WX")

Junk Answers: Way too many. I don't want to bother.

Clever clues: 0

Obscure (i.e., really reaching) words: 0

NYT Crossword 09/19/17 (Tue.)

Cruciverbalist: Don Gagliardo and Zhouqin Burnikel
Editor: Will Shortz

Solving time: 09:33

Puzzle uniqueness:

Answer SILENTPARTNER is clue to three two-word phrases in which each word in the phrase has the same silent letter. Example: CAMPAIGNSIGNS

Words I hadn't known until now: 

GORSE - "Vegetation along a British golf course"

Trivia I didn't know: 

SATIE - "'Gymnopedies' composer Erik"
NERO - "Claudius's successor" (Though the four letters made it sort of obvious)
DRLAURA - "Advice-giver on SiriusXM"
MORGAN - "New York's ______ Library"
IRONAGE - "Period in Europe starting around 1100 B.C."
PORSCHE - "Boxster maker"

Junk Answers: 

FROS - "Bushy dos"
SKEE - "____-Ball"
MAA - "Goat's bleat"
AKA - "Lead-in to an alias"
VWS - "Bugs on the road?"
PSA - "Smokey Bear was in an early one, for short"
HOS - "Sounds from the Jolly Green Giant"
EDS - "Mag. staffers"
SNO - "___ Balls (snack food)"

Clever clues:

HILO - "U.S. city whose name looks oxymoronic" (High/Low, get it?)
HDTV - "It'll give you a clear picture"

Obscure (i.e., really reaching) words: 

GALENA - "Main ore of lead"

NYT Crossword 09/18/17 (Mon.)

Cruciverbalist: Tom McCoy
Editor: Will Shortz

Solving time: 06:01

Puzzle uniqueness:

Color + body part + "ed" ending. Example: YELLOWBELLIED

Words I hadn't known until now: 0

Trivia I didn't know: 0

Junk Answers:

AMT - "Qty."
AKA - "Letters before a pseudonym"
ONS - "Walk-___ (unrecruited athletes)"
IDED - "Picked out of a lineup, informally"

Clever clues: 0

Obscure (i.e., really reaching) words: 0

NYT Crossword 09/17/17 (Sun.)

Cruciverbalist: Mark Maclachlan
Editor: Will Shortz

Solving time: DNF

Puzzle uniqueness: "Super Looper"

Answers in which the phrases are "looped" to be complete. Forget it.

Words I hadn't known until now: 

PRIONS - "Proteins responsible for mad cow disease"
NANOTUBE - "Tiny conductor of heat or electricity" (WTF?)

Trivia I didn't know:

SUTRA - "Collection of Hindu aphorisms" (Didn't know it means this)
UTAUSTIN - "Rex Tillerson's alma mater, for short" (This is a real reach)
ESA - "Tikkanen who won five Stanley Cups"
TONIER - "More chichi" (Have no idea of the word "chichi")
SENECA - "Roman philosopher who wrote 'All cruelty springs from weakness'"
ALTPOP - "Music genre for Weezer or the Shins"
CLOVES - "Mulled wine ingredient"
ARIE - "Singer India.____" (I can never remember this)
SULU - "The Philippines' ____ Sea" (Would have preferred a Star Trek clue)
EDERLE - "Gertrude who swam the English Channel in 1926" (Another one I can never remember)
ATE - "Homophone for the atomic number of oxygen"
IAN - "Author Rankin" (Who??)
ESTATES - "Trusts and ______ (law school class)"
ENKE - "Speed skater Karin who won eight Olympic medals)

Junk Answers:

SIE - "German pronoun"
ESA - "(See above)
STER - "Team finale?"
RNA - "Stranded cellular stuff"
ETH - "Addis Ababa's country: Abbr."
OTS - "Extra periods at TD Garden"
AGT - "007, for one: Abbr."
OOM - "___-pah-pah"
MTA - "Letters on N.Y.C. trains"
ORTH - "Straight: Prefix"
EEN - "Dark time, in poesy"
SEQ - "1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13 ..., e,g,: Abbr." (ICYI, add the two end numbers to get the next number)
ARA - "Altar constellation"
OSO - "Baja bear"
ILE - "St. Pierre, par exemple"
ARTOO - "'Star Wars' droid"

Clever clues: 

PIANO - "Keys for Keys?"
LAP - "Child's seat, perhaps"
SPADES - "Quarter deck?"

Obscure (i.e., really reaching) words: 

PRIONS - (See above)

NYT Crossword 09/16/17 (Sat.)

Cruciverbalists: Natan Last, Finn Vigeland and the J.A.S.A. Crossword Class
Editor: Will Smith

Solving time: DNF

Puzzle uniqueness: 0

Words I hadn't known until now: 

EMERGENC - "Fizzy vitamin supplement"(WTF?)
CHAYOTE - "Gourd also known as a vegetable pear"
MEEMAW - "Grandmother, in dialect" (WTF?)
GOL - "Cry at Real Madrid game"

Trivia I didn't know:

ELAL - "It holds the world record for most passengers on a commercial airliner (1,088)"
EMERGENC - (See above)
JESSICA - "Shylock's daughter in 'The Merchant of Venice'"
THEGAP - "Something to watch" (WTF?)
TARA - "Hill of ___, site of Ireland's Lia Fail)
RYAN - "'The O.C.' protagonist" (Really?)
ONES - "Kind of place for the summer?" (I don't get this at all)
CHAYOTE - (See above)
MEEMAW - (See above)
HELGA - "Andrew Wyeth's 'The _____ Pictures'"
GOL - (See above)
STAG - "Animal form of Harry Potter's Patronus"
PETERI - "Who's depicted in Russia's 'Bronze Horseman' statue"
SATAN - "He 'wept with all six eyes,' per Dante"
SIDCAESAR - "1950s personality who appeared in 'Grease'"

Junk Answers:

CIS - "Prefix with gender"
OKS - "Checks off on"
EER - "'The noblest hateful love that ___ I heard of": 'Troilus and Cressida'"
LDS - "Relig. affiliation of more than six million Americans"

Clever clues:

EASYSTREET - "Low-stress address?"
STARCH - "Pressing need"
COLT - "Young stud?"
MER - "Sea as in Cannes?"
SHEEP - "Blind followers"
CASTPARTY - "Celebration after a run?"
PRO - "One for the money?"

Obscure (i.e., really reaching) words:

CHAYOTE - (See above)
MEEMAW - (See above)
RHEOSTAT - "Current regulator"

NYT Crossword 09/15/17 (Fri.)

Cruciverbalist: Damon Gulczynski
Editor: Will Shortz

Solving time: 28:58

Puzzle uniqueness: 0

Words I hadn't known until now: 

ADJURE - "Beseech"

Trivia I didn't know:

IMPEI - "Rock and Roll Hall of Fame designer"
DENCH - "'Philomena' co-star, 2013"
UNA - "'Por ___ Cabeza' (tango song)"
YAZOO - "Tributary of the Mississippi"
ARN - "Royal son of the comics"
NEUMANN - "Computer science pioneer John von_______"
LEV - "Tolstoy's first name, in Russia"
SWEDE - "Celsius, for one"
MAUNAKEA - "World's tallest mountain, base to peak"
PTBARNUM - "Who said 'Without promotion, something terrible happens ... nothing!'"
WYATT - "Peter Fonda's role in 'Easy Rider'"
SEARS - "Retail giant since 1886"

Junk Answers:

SHH - "Sound from a silencer"
AHAS - "Cries of enlightenment"
LEV - (See above)
DRT - "Richard Gere title role"
CRO - "___-Magnon"
STE - "Business card abbr."
IDEM - "Latin word in a footnote"
WAWA - "Basic beverage, in baby talk"
NUS - "Some college Greeks"

Clever clues:

ENDING - "It may be spoiled"
HARRY - "Dirty cop?"

Obscure (i.e., really reaching) words: 

ADJURE - (See above)

NYT Crossword 09/14/17 (Thu.)

Cruciverbalist: John Guzzetta
Editor: Will Shortz

Solving time: DNF (Too many words/trivia I knew nothing about in one place)

Puzzle uniqueness:

"Tooth" broken up by black squares in three answers with the answer DIASTEMA (which I've never heard of) being the clue. Yuk!

Words I hadn't known until now: 

DIASTEMA - "Formal term for the gap suggested by 17/16-, 35/37- and 54/57-Across"
SEEDPEARLS - "Tiny treasures from the sea"
NESSUS - "Centaur who was killed by Hercules"
NUTRIA - "Burrowiing South American rodent"

Trivia I didn't know: 

RYDELL - "'Grease' high school"
URDU - "Language of the Lahore Post"
NESSUS - (See above)
DES - "Paris's Pont ___ Arts"
ELON - "University near Greensboro"
NUTRIA - (See above)

Junk answers:

ILES - "Dots in la mer"

ASNO - "Come ____ surprise"
ACH - "German cry"
DES - "(See above)
TATA - "'Toodles!'"
EEO - "Job listing abbr."
DWI - "Cause for suspension, in brief"
SRO - "Above capacity, for short"
NFC - "Giants' group"

Clever clues: 

GET -  "What comes before a clue?"
INTROS - "They're often made at icebreakers"
NEST - "Twitter site"
ACT - "It's the law"
TAP - "Weak punch?"
MISADDS - "Does sumthing wrong?"
REVEILLE - "Rising notes?"

Obscure (i.e., really reaching) words: 

DIASTEMA - (See above)
RYDELL - (See above)
DUMONT - "Early TV network competing with NBC, ABC and CBS" (I actually knew this!)
MISADDS - (See above)
NUTRIA - (See above)

NYT Crossword 09/13/17 (Wed.)

Cruciverbalist: Daniel Mauer
Editor: Will Shortz

Solving time: 09:31

Puzzle uniqueness:

Answer THELITTLETHINGS is a clue to three answers whose first words translate to "The little." Example: LEPETITDEJEUNER means "breakfast," Literal translation is "The little lunch."

Words I hadn't known until now: 0

Trivia I didn't know:

EZRA - "Book after II Chronicles"

ORANGINA - "Fuzzy citrus beverage" (Is this a regional thing?)
PHI - "Golden ratio symbol"
LILAC - "State flower of New Hampshire"

Junk Answers:

IBET - "Cynical rejoinder"
RIAA - "Org. certifying albums as gold or platinum"
YADDA - "When said three times, blah blah blah"
EDU - "End of a freshman's new email address"
HELLA - "Very, in slang"
CRU - "French vineyard"
III - "XXX divided by X"

Clever clues:

ELM - "One throwing shade?"
BUT - "Good-news-to-bad-news transition"
EAR - "Listen here!"

Obscure (i.e., really reaching) words: 0

ECLAT - "Brilliance"
BRIO - "Vivacity"
CRU - (See above)

NYT Crossword 09/12/17 (Tue.)

Cruciverbalist: Bruce Haight
Editor: Will Shortz

Solving time: 12:15

Puzzle uniqueness:

Words in which the first two letters are also roman numerals, so wacky definitions ensue... Example: VIEWINGS with the clue "Six members of a 'Dallas' family?"

Words I hadn't known until now: 

OMRI - "Father of Ahab in the Bible"

Trivia I didn't know: 

HIPS - "'____ Don't Lie' (2006 Shakira hit)"
ELLIS - "Designer Perry"

Junk Answers: 

ENT - "Doc who might perform laryngologic surgery"
DRS -  "H.M.O. V.I.P.s"
NRC - "Org. concerned with meltdowns"
ITD - "'___ be my pleasure"

Clever clues:

DUELS - "Pacer's engagements?"
SHAPE - "You might run to get in it"
ASSET - "It's no liability"

Obscure (i.e., really reaching) words: 

OMRI - (See above)
MONOSKI - "Relative of a snowboard"

NYT Crossword 09/11/17 (Mon.)

Cruciverbalist: Erik Agard and Paolo Pasco
Editor: Will Shortz

Solving time: 07:37

Puzzle uniqueness:

Two answers, LALA/LAND, are hints to phrases which have circled squares filled in with "LA," two per answer. Example: TORTILLAFLAT

Words I hadn't known until now: 

AFROED - "Sporting a natural" (Didn't know this word existed)

Trivia I didn't know: 

DAWES - "Dominique _____, 1996 Olympic gymnastics gold medalist"
RAE - "Issa who stars on HBO's 'Insecure'"
SALAAM - "Deep bow" (Never knew this was what was meant by the word)

Junk Answers:

PSI - "Pitch-forked letter"
LPS - "Vinyl albums, for short"
RAE - (See above)

Clever clues: 

IGLOO - "Ice pad?"

Obscure (i.e., really reaching) words: 

AFROED - (See above)

NYT Crossword 09/10/17 (Sun.)

Cruciverbalist: Brendan Emmett Quigley
Editor: Will Shortz

Solving time: 38:56

Puzzle uniqueness: "Size Matters"

Adding the sound "Sy" to a familiar phrase. Example: STATICCYCLING

Words I hadn't known until now: 

ONEONTA - "City with one of the SUNY schools"
YLEM - "Primordial universe matter"
AVOIR - "French 101 verb"
LADOGA - "Europe's largest lake"
GAI - "War su ___ (boneless chicken dish)"
SAMOSA - "Indian appetizer"
CELIAC - "Relating to the abdominal cavity"

Trivia I didn't know:

JULIA - "Comic Sweeney"
SKYTEL - "Wireless data and messaging company"
WESSEX - "Prince Edward's earldom"
ESTES - "Photorealist painter Richard"
IRENE - "Chemistry Nobelist Joliot-Curie"
JAYZ - "Rapper with the music streaming service Tidal"
IDYLIST - "Pastoral poet" (And I thought it would have two "L's")

Junk Answers:

YOO - "'___-hoo!'"
MMES - "Little women: Abbr."
GAI - (See above)
IMA - "''___ a little confused'"
UIE - "It may be pulled after a wrong turn"
ACH - "German lament"
OKD - "Green-lit"
III - "Due east on an old clock dial"
ORS - "Surgical locales"
STA - "Greyhound stop: Abbr."
INST - "Think tank, e.g.: Abbr."
NON - "Smoking or ___"
AME - "Black church inits."
ALAI - "Jai ____"
MAI - "French month"

Clever clues: 

BAREXAMS - "Pre-practice tests?"

WINO - "Lush's favorite radio station?"

METHLABS - "Workplaces with a need for speed?"

Obscure (i.e., really reaching) words: 

YLEM - (See above)
CELIAC - (See above)
UNCASE - "Take out, as wine bottles"
IDYLIST - (See above)
NAYSAYS - "Denies"

NYT Crossword 09/09/17 (Sat.)

Cruciverbalists: John Guzzetta and Michael Hawkins
Editor: Will Smith

Solving time: 26:54

Puzzle uniqueness: 0

Words I hadn't known until now: 

MENSAN - "Person with a mental bloc?" (I'm aware of Mensa, just didn't know this take)
CHERE - "Start of a billet-doux" (Still have no idea what this is)
ANI - "'___ ohev otach' (Hebrew for 'I love you')"

Trivia I didn't know:

ROLFE - "Son-in-law of Chief Powhatan" (Still don't know who he is)

Junk Answers:

EEE - "Oxford designation"
INT - "Football stat: Abbr."
PDS - "They have sgts."
TNT - "P.G.A. Championship airer"
OHO - "'Well, I'll be!'"

Clever clues:

GASPEDAL - "One getting depressed on the road"
ADOLESCENTS - "Minority group"

Obscure (i.e., really reaching) words:

TROTH - "Loyalty, old style"
MENSAN - (See above)
ANI - (See above)

NYT Crossword 09/08/17 (Fri.)

Cruciverbalist: Sam Trabucco
Editor: Will Shortz

Solving time: 17:52

Puzzle uniqueness: A lot of scrabbly letters. Example: BUZZFEEDQUIZZES

Words I hadn't known until now: 

TAPASBAR - "Place to order sardinas and sangria" (Didn't know this was a thing)
CAKEPOP - "Dessert on a stick" (Didn't know this was a thing)

Trivia I didn't know:

ARTIE - "Whell chair-bound 'Glee' character" (Never watched the show)
ROSA - "'Brooklyn Nine-Nine' detective Diaz" (Never watched the show)
STARCRAFT - "Hit sci-fi video game set around the 26th century" (Never played the game)

Junk Answers:

SQIN - "Abbr. in many an area measure"
NIC - "Actor Cage, informally"
NOA - "___ thousand times..."
ALIA - "Inter ____"
FIDOS - "Cousins of Spots" (Plural, really?)

Clever clues:

FIREAXES - "Tools for escaping the heat?"
EWE - "Rams fan?"
ZAP - "Be a buzzkill?"

Obscure (i.e., really reaching) words: 0

NYT Crossword 09/07/17 (Thu.)

Cruciverbalist: Alex Eaton-Salners
Editor: Will Shortz

Solving time: 13:29 (Really bad puzzle)

Puzzle uniqueness:

All answers are in alphabetical order starting from 1-Across to 67-Across.

Words I hadn't known until now: 0

Trivia I didn't know: 

CLAUDI A- "Lady Bird Johnson's real given name"
LUCASARTS - "Maker of Star Wars and Indiana Jones video games"
COBIN - "Lead singer of Nirvana"

Junk answers: Way too many, I don't want to play...

Clever clues: 0

Obscure (i.e., really reaching) words: 0

NYT Crossword 09/06/17 (Wed.)

Cruciverbalist: Daniel Raymon
Editor: Will Shortz

Solving time: 16:17 (Center gave me fits)

Puzzle uniqueness:

Taking known phrases and turning them into a wacky "y" sound within the phrase. Example: FJORDEXPLORER

Words I hadn't known until now: 0

Trivia I didn't know: 

SARA - "Grammy and Tony nominee Bareilles"

TIMOR - "_____ Sea (body north of Australia)"

ROBYN - "One-named Swedish singer with the 1997 hit 'Show Me Love'"

Junk Answers:

IMHOT - "'It's boiling in here!"
III - "Senior's grandson"
SMS - "Texting format, in brief"
ENO - "Rock's Brian"
MONT - "France's Pic de Rochebrune, e.g."
LORES- "Like early computer graphics"
EZIO - "Pinza of 'South Pacific'"
URB - "Metro area"

Clever clues:

EDIT - "Pare a phrase" ("Paraphrase...get it?)

Obscure (i.e., really reaching) words: 0

NYT Crossword 09/05/17 (Tue.)

Cruciverbalist: Michelle Kenney and Jeff Chen
Editor: Will Shortz

Solving time: 08:54

Puzzle uniqueness:

Answer INTERMISSION clue to four phrases in which play titles are split. Example: GREEKVASE has the play "Grease" split.

Words I hadn't known until now: 

GINKGO - "Tree whose leaves appear in many Chinese fossils"

Trivia I didn't know: 0

Junk Answers: 

AMPM - "Clock setting for an alarm"
CFOS - "Corp. money managers"
DDE - "Ike's monogram"
ITD - "___ be my pleasure"
GOA - "___ long way"
ABCTV - "'Fresh Off the Boat' network"
CID - "El ___ Spanish hero"

Clever clues: 0

Obscure (i.e., really reaching) words: 

GINGKO - (See above)

NYT Crossword 09/04/17 (Mon.)

Cruciverbalist: Tracy Gray
Editor: Will Shortz

Solving time: 09:09

Puzzle uniqueness:

Answer BBQ clues four phrases with last words relating to cookout food. Example: RESERVOIRDOGS ("1992 Tarantino crime thriller")

Words I hadn't known until now: 

TSLOT - "Letter-shaped track in metalworking"

Trivia I didn't know: 0

Junk Answers:

TSLOT - (See above)
AAA - "Smallish battery"
KEA - "Mauna ___ (volcano)"
DUI - "Drunk motorist's offense, briefly)"
RKO - "'King Kong' and 'Citizen Kane' studio"
TBS - "Atlanta-based cable inits."
SRO - "Sign for a sold-out show"
OHOH - "Cry before 'I know!,' in a classroom"
PANDG - "Consumer products giant that makes Tide, for short"

Clever clues: 0

Obscure (i.e., really reaching) words: 

ARGUS - "Mythical 100-eyed giant"

NYT Crossword 09/03/17 (Sun.)

Cruciverbalist: Andrew Zhou
Editor: Will Shortz

Solving time: DNF

Puzzle uniqueness: "United Kingdom"

Answer ANIMALMAGNETISM signifies phrases in which two animals butting up against each other are within the phrases. Example: INTERNETROUTER contains "erne" and "trout" abutting.

Words I hadn't known until now: 

ORRERY - "Solar system model"
ALEA - "'____ iacta est' ('The die is cast")"
SHAMS - "Pillow covers"

Trivia I didn't know:

LEILA - "'Don Juan' girl"
ARA - "Constellation next to Corona Australis"
NINJALOANS - "Low-quality bank offerings whose acronym suggest stealthiness"
PALAU - "Island nation hat was once part of the Spanish East Indies"
KAHLUA - "One-third of a B-52 cocktail" (Don't know the other 2/3s)
REI - "Big seller of outdoor gear"
RIC - "Ocasek of The Cars"
SWAROVSKI - "Crystal jewelry company with a swan in its logo"
DUMAS - "'Lady of the Camellias' author, 1848"
ALEUT - "Fox Islands dweller"
RENEE - "_____ Elise Goldsberry, 37-Across winner for 'Hamilton'"
SEGOS - "Plants with bell-shaped blooms"

Junk Answers:

INAPET - "Peevish" (This should be permanently retired)
TNT - ""TV's NBA on ___"
AROD - "Onetime Yankee nickname"
CAV - "Cleveland athlete, familiarly"
ILO - "U.N. Worker's grp."
DCI - "Early seventh-century year"
TAE - "___ Bo (workout system)"
LBJ - "War on Poverty prez"
TKT - "B'way buy"
REI - (See above)
RIC - (See above)
NRA - "Publisher of the magazine America's 1st Freedom, for short"

Clever clues:

SPARE - Happy event after a split?"
ARCHIVE - "Record collection?"
STRAW - "Little sucker?"
SEED - "One put in bed?"
BATON - "You might pass one in a race"
ELOPE - "Tie up quickly?"
ARIES - First sign of spring"

Obscure (i.e., really reaching) words: 

OSMOSE - "Seep through"

NYT Crossword 09/02/17 (Sat.)

Cruciverbalist: Erik Agard
Editor: Will Smith

Solving time: 31:55

Puzzle uniqueness: 0

Words I hadn't known until now: 

ETAGERES - "Pieces of furniture with many shelves"
AQUILA - "Eagle constellation"

Trivia I didn't know:

LAUREN - "Actress London of TV's 'The Game'"
QUEENSUGAR - "Oprah Winfrey Network show about a family farm"
UNITAS - Winning QB in the first N.F.L. playoff game to go into sudden-death overtime"
PATBENATAR - "Female singer with the second video ever shown on MTV" (I defy anyone to truthfully admit to having known this off the top of their head)

Junk Answers:

RPG - "Dungeons & Dragons or Final Fantasy, for short'
CTR - "Focal point: Abbr."
LLD - "Deg. for a jurist"
SOTU - "President's annual delivery to Cong.
SDSU - "Calif. school near the Mexican border" (San Diego State University)

Clever clues:

CAST - "Movie lot?"
THESTONES - "Band that really rocks, appropriately?"
BEDS - "Their heads and feet are usually the same distance from the ground"
ADDRESSES - "Points of contact?"
SON - "This is an issue"
AIRTAXIS - "They might be used in making hops"
DEICED - "Cleared for landing?" (Shouldn't this be "Cleared for takeoff?")
TED - "Big name in talks"
CHESSSET - "32 men are found in it"
SANANTONIO - "Home to shooting Stars"
WIG - "Removable locks"
PUERTO - "P.R. piece?" (Puerto Rico)

Obscure (i.e., really reaching) words:

OUTRO - "Closing bit of music"
ETAGERES - (See above)
AQUILA - (See above)

NYT Crossword 09/01/17 (Fri.)

Cruciverbalist: Patrick Berry
Editor: Will Shortz

Solving time: 16:20

Puzzle uniqueness: 0

Words I hadn't known until now: 

KENKEN - "Math puzzle" (Though deep in the back of my mind, something tells me that this has appeared before and I just don't remember)

Trivia I didn't know:

METHANOL - "What the earliest cars used as antifreeze"
PAXROMANA - "Period ushered in by Augustus"
HELEN - "Clytemnestra's half sister"
OBELISK - "Object at the center of St. Peter's Square"
GEORGEWILL - "Newspaper columnist who wrote the book 'Men at Work: The Craft of Baseball'"
CASPIANSEA - "What the ancient Greeks called the Hyrcanian Ocean"
CEBU - "Pacific island Magellan visited in 1521"
TRINI - "Certain Caribbean islander, informally"
CREOLE - "Like etoufee"

Junk Answers:

CEBU - (See above)
TWA - "Howard Hughes acquisition of 1939"
AMC - "Cable channel for cinephiles"
NAT - "Player in Washington, familiarly"

Clever clues:

ASPENS - "Ones trembling not out of fear"
SMORGASBORD - "Choice meal?"
LAYAWAYPLAN - "The seller takes no interest in it"

Obscure (i.e., really reaching) words:

METHANOL - (See above)
CEBU - (See above)
KENKEN - (See above)