NYT Crossword 10/11/17 (Wed.)

Cruciverbalist: David J. Kahn
Editor: Will Shortz

Solving time: 07:04 (Personal best for a Wednesday)

Puzzle uniqueness:

GUNFIGHTAT and THEOKCORRAL clues for circled letters in central representing a corral with the answers being synonyms for "OK."

Words I hadn't known until now:

ARB - "Wall St. trader" (Don't know this)

Trivia I didn't know:

IGA - "Grocery chain inits."
ASHE - "Queens's ____ Stadium"
TINO - "Baseball's Martinez"
DEF - "Cool, in dated language"
LUI - "Him, to Henri"

Junk Answers:

IGA - (See above)
KOD - "Down for the count, for short"
ALA - "In the mode of"
EEK - "Cartoon cry"

Clever clues:

BAT - "Club for swingers"
SCENE - "It may be stolen on a movie set"
LOB - "Court setup?"

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

BAOBAB - "Thick-trunked tree"

NYT Crossword 10/10/17 (Tue.)

Cruciverbalist: Mark MacLachlan
Edited by: Will Shortz

Solving time: 08:18

Puzzle uniqueness: 

Using answer ATNO (Atomic number) as clue for the NOBLEGAS clue whose atomic weights are the same number as the crossword number the clues are placed. Example: 18-Across clue is "This, on the periodic table" the atomic number 18 is for the answer ARGON.

Words I hadn't known until now: 0

Trivia I didn't know:

REVE - "Dream: Fr."

Junk Answers:

EMT - "911 responder, for short"
FWD - "Abbr. in an email header"
KHZ - "Radio freq. unit"
PPS - "Additional afterthought, for short"
MTN - "Denali, e.g.: Abbr."

Clever clues: 

HOES - "Gets into the weeds?"
DOE - "One might be around a buck or two"

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

NYT Crossword 10/09/17 (Mon.)

Cruciverbalist: Joe Deeney
Editor: Will Shortz

Solving time: 09:06

Puzzle uniqueness:

Answer CALENDARREFORM clue to three familiar phrases signifying "day," "week," and "month." Example: EIGHTDAYSAWEEK

Words I hadn't known until now: 0

Trivia I didn't know:

WAT - "Angkor ___ (Cambodian site)"
NGRAM - "Google _____ Viewer (tool for charting word frequency over time)"

Junk Answers:

ATL - "Home for the Hawks and Braves: Abbr."
ISO - "Equal: Prefix"
ROO - "Pal of Pooh"
UMS - "Verbal stumbles"
III - "Three on a grandfather clock"
EDS - "Newspaper staffers, for short"
TMS - "Things with (c) symbols" Abbr."
BLDG - "Edifice: Abbr."
ETH - "Biblical verbal suffix"
OSU - "The Beavers of the Pac-12, for short"
NON - "The "N" of NCO"
ENG - "Main Lang. of the Commonwealth countries"

Clever clues: 

AHOYS - "Ship-to-ship communications?"

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

NYT Crossword 10/08/17 (Sun.)

Cruciverbalist: Erik Agard and Alex Brinas
Editor: Will Shortz

Solving time: 21:54

Puzzle uniqueness: "Power Ballads"

Superheroes' favorite bands/singers in a joking manner. Example: Clue - "Aquaman's favorite singer?" Answer - BILLYOCEAN

Words I hadn't known until now: 0

Trivia I didn't know:

ALLA - "Penne ___vodka"
NAY - "Not only that but also" (WTF?)
ELTON - "_____ Brand, two-time N.B.A. All-Star"
PONCE - "Puerto Rican city that shares its name with an explorer"
TETRAD - "Covalent bonds of a carbon atom, e.g."

Junk Answers: A lot. Here are a few:

TSA - "Agcy. for Kennedy and Reagan" (Though a clever clue)
GPS - "Provider of directions, for short"
OOH - 'Intriguing!'"
GRR - "Canine warning"
SEI - "Number between cinque and sette"
YESM - "Quaint agreement"
DOI - "Response to 'You have something on your face,' maybe"

Clever clues: 

ASIDE - "Tangent line?"
ALLEGEDLY - "[Legally covering our butts here]"
TWOMAN - "Like some saws and bobsleds"
COINTOSS - "Several quarter turns?"

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

NYT Crossword 10/07/17 (Sat.)

Cruciverbalist: Byron Walden
Editor: Will Smith

Solving time: 26:09

Puzzle uniqueness: 0

Words I hadn't known until now: 

OSTERIA - "Basic Italian bistro"
SWAYBAR - "Stabilizer in suspensions"

Trivia I didn't know:

IDALUPINO - "Director/co-star of 'The Bigamist,' 1953"
BANFF - "Second-oldest national park in North America"
PINOTS - "Champagne grapes" (Never knew this)
NAN - "___ Britton, mistress of Warren Harding who had a sensational 1927 tell-all book"
DRDRE - "Rapper with the 1992 3x platinum debut 'The Chronic'"
BEESEASON - "2005 film starring Richard Gere and Juliette Binoche"
ODEON - "Literally, 'singing place'" (Didn't know that!)
LOLA - "1970 hit with a spelled-out title"
ONTHEUP - "Improving, in Britspeak"
EPEEIST - "One who tries to avoid being touched" (Never knew this word existed, but makes sense)
RATT - "Heavy-metal band with the hit album 'Out of the Cellar' and 'Infestation'"
MAL - "___ du pays (homesickness: Fr.)"
ANNE - "Grandmother of Jesus" (Never thought about this!)

Junk Answers:

EXDA - "Rudy Giuliani or Chris Christie, for short"
ROO - "Down Under critter"

Clever clues:

OPINE - "Give takes"
PCLANGUAGE - "Unslurred speech?"
INSEAM - "Line of clothing"
LIAR - "Fabulous speaker?"
GOSSIPS - "Dish transmitters"
PINATA - "Candy ass?"
ECOLOGY - "Green field?"
LINCOLNERA - "The early '60s, in U.S. politics"

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

OSTERIA - (See above)
EPEEIST - (See above)

NYT Crossword 10/06/17 (Fri.)

Cruciverbalist: Patrick Berry
Editor: Will Shortz

Solving time: DNF (Northeast corner did me in)

Puzzle uniqueness: 0

Words I hadn't known until now: 

ETSEQ - "And what follows, in legal memos"
ACOMA - "Historic pueblo near Albuquerque"

Trivia I didn't know:

TINAS - "'Tony n' _____ Wedding' (Off Broadway hit)"
BARBARAJORDAN - "Congresswoman who delivered the opening statement at Nixon's impeachment hearings"
SHAMS - "Decorative bedding"
ELOISE - "Enfant terrible of children's literature" (Have no idea about this)
DENNYS - "Bob Evans competitor" (Have no idea what "Bob Evans" is, I guess a diner)
BOCARATON - "Home to the Royal Palm Yacht & Country Club" (Really?)
JULES - "Samuel L. Jackson's 'Pulp Fiction' role"
ORR - "'Catch-22" pilot who repeatedly crashes" (Great book! Highly recommend)
LEOFENDER - "Guitar inventor in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame" (Didn't know the first name)

Junk Answers:

ETSEQ - (See above)

Clever clues:

ADA - "Abbr. on a tube"
METEORSHOWER - "Spectacular rock events?"

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

NYT Crossword 10/5/17 (Thu.)

Cruciverbalist: Alan Arbesfeld
Editor: Will Shortz

Solving time: 14:59

Puzzle uniqueness:

Bumping up adjectives in film titles. Example: SPECIALPEOPLE (From "Ordinary People," 1980)

Words I hadn't known until now: 0

Trivia I didn't know: 

ADLAI - "'Madly for _____' (1952 campaign slogan)" (I knew the answer, just never knew the slogan)
IONA - "The Gaels of the N.C.A.A."
ERNO - "Puzzlemaker Rubik" (I never can remember this)
AGEE - "Jon who wrote and illustrated 'Palindromania!'"
NAS - "'Hip Hop Is Dead' rapper"
SEURAT - "Artist who went Dotty?"

Junk answers:

LTDS - "Bygone Fords"
TMAN - "Prohibition enforcer, informally"
TRALA - "Carefree syllables"
INR - "About"
POS - "> 0: Abbr."

Clever clues: 

BEAN - "Think piece?"

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

NYT Crossword 10/04/17 (Wed.)

Cruciverbalist: Evan Mahnken
Editor: Will Shortz

Solving time: 14:23

Puzzle uniqueness:

Dictionary gags about where certain answers are in said dictionary. Example: Answer AFTERHOURS is clued "Where 'house party' is in the dictionary?"

Words I hadn't known until now: 

GORETEX - "Water-repellant material"
AMARNA - "Cuneiform discovery site"

Trivia I didn't know:

ORI - "Dwarf brother in 'The Hobbit'" (And I'm a LOTR fan!)
EGAN - "Edward ____, longtime archbishop of New York"
ESTHER - "Book before Job"
LEY - "Science writer Willy" (Who???)
TERN - "Bird found on all continents, including Antarctica" (Great trivia question!)
GENOME - "It wasn't mapped until 2003"

Junk Answers:

MON - "The day of M.L.K. Day: Abbr."
GAI - "Moo goo ___ pan"
MIL - "A small amount in science or a large amount in business"
EDY - "Big name in ice cream"
MES - "Parisian possessive"
OER - "Anthem contraction"
TDS - "Scores for Seahawks and Eagles, for short"
IRR - "Like some sale items: Abbr."
SDS - "Activist campus org."

Clever clues:

NITS - "Things faultfinders pick"

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

GORETEX - (See above)
AMARNA - (See above)

NYT Crossword 10/03/17 (Tue.)

Cruciverbalist: Chuck Deodene

Solving time: 10:55

Puzzle uniqueness:

Two answers,  CENTER and ISLAND, are clues to four answers in which an island is in the exact center of the answer. Example: BALTIMOREAN.

Words I hadn't known until now: 0

Trivia I didn't know:

AMMAN - "Capital of Jordan"
NORMA - "'Psycho' mother" (Never knew she was given a first name)
ETEXT - "Writing in digital form" (WTF?)

Junk Answers:

IAMSO - "Retort to a doubter"
YAH - "Affirmative in 'Fargo'"
SAYAH - "'Open wide!'"
ODED - "Had too much, briefly"

Clever clues: 

STRATA - "Rock bands?"

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

NYT Crossword 10/02/17 (Mon.)

Cruciverbalist: Trenton Charlson
Editor: Will Shortz

Solving time: 05:43

Puzzle uniqueness:

Series of letters as clues to the answer. Example: Letters "A B C D E F G " as a clue to the answer MUSICNOTES

Words I hadn't known until now: 0

Trivia I didn't know:

PSI - "It comes between chi and omega" (I've written before that I have no clue the order of the Greek alphabet)

Junk Answers:

OHHI - "'Fancy seeing you here!'"
OER - "Opposite of 'neath"
MBAS - "Some Wharton degs."
INS - "Drop-___ (surprise visitors)"

Clever clues: 0

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

NYT Crossword 10/01/17 (Sun.)

Cruciverbalist: Robert Fisher
Editor: Will Shortz

Solving time: 41:36

Puzzle uniqueness: "That's One Way To Put It"

Wacky re-interpretations of common phrases. Example: "Falling down" answer is TESTINGGRAVITY

Words I hadn't known until now: 

SEHR - "Very: Ger."
LIMN - "Draw, as a scene"
PAWL - "Ratcheting wheel mechanism"

Trivia I didn't know:

IOWA - "Locale for the Quad cities" (Have no clue what this is)
ERIC - "Country star Church"
TSGARP - "John Irving protagonist portrayed by Robin Williams" (Didn't know the "TS" part)
GIDE - "Andre ____, 1947 Literature Nobelist"
PLO - "U.N. observer since '74" (TBH, not sure what "observer" means)
STAG - "Animal depicted in Edwin Landseer's 'The Monarch  of the Glen'" (Never heard of it)
TRY - "Five-point rugby play" (Huh?)
EARLE - "Country rocker Steve"
AMALIE - "Charlotte ______, Virgin Islands"

Junk Answers: A lot. Here are a few:

SEHR - (See above)
EFS - "G.P.A. killers"
SIE - ""Sprechen ___ Deutsch?"
XKE - "Classic Jag"
EOS - "Canon camera"
API - "Bee: Prefix"
OTTOI - Hole Roman emperor called 'the Great'"
PLUMR - "Liquid-_____"
THEO - "Where to accent 'Laotian'" (Horrible clue)

Clever clues: 

DRIP - "Cause of insomnia, maybe"
HOTS - "'Hots'"
ALIBI - "Out in court"
CARP - "Complaining fish?"
AMDIAL - "It goes up to about 1700"

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

SEHR - (See above)
Gaia - "Earth goddess"
SIE - (See above)
BIOTAS - "Florae and faunae"
ADELIE - "Antarctic penguin"
AMALIE - (See above)

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)

NYT Crossword 08/31/17 (Thu.)

Cruciverbalist: Zachary Spitz
Editor: Will Shortz

Solving time: 24:18 (Southwest corner gave me fits)

Puzzle uniqueness:

Two answers, CORNER and OFFICE, are clues to the fact the each corner of the puzzle is a rebus (More than one letter in a square) with a word that precedes OFFICE. Example:  1-across BOXCAR with the clue "Transporter with sliding doors" across and 1-down BOXSEATS with the clue "Luxuries for theatergoers." Hence, "box office."

Words I hadn't known until now: 

YAKITORI - "Japanese style of chicken"

Trivia I didn't know: 

MAMIE - "First lady with a popular recipe for 'million -dollar fudge'" (Eisenhower)
BRANDI - "Soccer star Chastain with two Olympic gold medals"
DIANE - "Rehm of public radio"
FUNHOME - "Alison Bechdel memoir made into a hit 2015 Broadway musical"
ALONSO - "King in 'The Tempest'"
NAS - "Rapper who famously feuded with Jay-Z"

Junk answers:

IMET - "'How ____ Your Mother'"
INC - "Business add-on?"
REN - "Kylo ___ of 'The Force Awakens'"
NAS - (See above)
NCO - "Base fig."
ENO - "'Music for Airports' composer"

Clever clues:

GASOVEN - "Pilot's surroundings"
FDAAPPROVAL - "Need for drugs" (One of the corner rebuses, OVAL)

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

MAMIE - (See above)
NONET - "Odd group of musician's?"

NYT Crossword 08/30/17 (Wed.)

Cruciverbalist: David J. Kahn
Editor: Will Shortz

Solving time: 09:09

Puzzle uniqueness:

Word ladder  from  BLUNT to SHARP in eight steps.. I hate word ladders. 'Nuff sed.

Words I hadn't known until now: 

DOREMI - "Cabbage or kale"

Trivia I didn't know: 

ZEB - "Grandpa Walton, for short" (Never watched the show)
FIERI - "'Guy's Big Bite' Food Network host"
SLADE - "Rock Band with six #1 British hits in the 1970s"
CUTTLE - "Sea creature with eight arms"
EWELL - "Mayella ______, 'To Kill a Mockingbird' character" (Rather obscure, one would think)

Junk Answers:

ZEB - (See above)
FIERI - (See Above)
LEI - "Kauai keepsake" (Overused)
ELA - "She, in Portuguese"
ANERA - "End of _____" (Really?)
INBAD - "Not getting along (with)"
ABBR - "Rep. or Dem., e.g."
EPEES - "Pentathlon needs" (Overused)

Clever clues: 

RADIO - "What comes in waves?"

IGLOO - "Ice pad?"

LOB - "Upshot?"

SLAT - "Blind side?"

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

BARRE - "Ballet support"
ANNEAL - "Temper, as metal"
ZEB - (See above)
FIERI - (See above)
CUTTLE - (See above - usually referred to as "cuttlefish")
DOREMI - (See above)
ETAIL - Cyber Monday business"
EWELL - (See above)

NYT Crossword 08/29/17 (Tue.)

Cruciverbalist: Adam G. Perl
Editor: Will Shortz

Solving time: 09:44

Puzzle uniqueness: 

Three answers across the entire 15-square puzzle beginning with numbers that are increased 50% with the answer TOOCLEVERBYHALF a clue. Example: TWELVEDAYSAWEEK clued with "1965 Beatles hit ("Eight Days a Week")

Words I hadn't known until now: 

OTIS - "'Miss' with regrets" (I have absolutely no idea what this means)

LOLCAT - "Many a feline Facebook posting"

Trivia I didn't know: 

EAMES - "Charles or Ray after whom a chair is named" (Seems a bit difficult for a Tuesday)
NAS - "'N.Y. State of Mind' rapper"

Junk Answers: 

NAS - (See above)
EMS - "Ambulance letters"

Clever clues:

STOLE - "It's a wrap"
CAIN - "Third person"
OLAY - "Big name in oil?"

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

EAMES - (See above)
NECCO - "Brand of candy hearts"

NYT Crossword 08/28/17 (Mon.)

Cruciverbalist: Dan Margolis
Editor: Will Shortz

Solving time: 05:39

Puzzle uniqueness:

Phrases with a various equines as last words. Example: STUBBORNASAMULE

Words I hadn't known until now: 0

Trivia I didn't know: 0

Junk Answers:

TAVI - "Rikki-tikki-___ (Kipling mongoose)"
CGI - "Staple of sci-fi filmmaking, for short"
ASSN - "The first 'A' of N.A.A,C,P,: Abbr."
OHMS - "Units of resistance"
IMUP - "'No need to wake me'"
SEC - "Instant, for short"
RES - "Hi-___ monitor"
HTS - "Elevations: Abbr."

Clever clues: 

SIESTA - "Rest of the afternoon"
ATTIC - "Web site?"
GIGS - "Play dates?"

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

BERM - "Road shoulder"

NYT Crossword 08/27/17 (Sun.)

Cruciverbalist: Jeff Chen
Editor: Will Shortz

Solving time: 30:13

Puzzle uniqueness: "Location, Location, Location"

Phrases in which words are created within the phrase and the word within the phrase has its first letter on a numbered square. There are cross reference answers which are literal locations of the words within the phrases. Example: Across answer CINDERELLASTORY has the word LAST with the "L" on square numbered 23. The cross reference clue "23-Across, literally?" has the answer LASTPLACE. Whew!

Words I hadn't known until now: 

PTRAP - "Backflow preventer in a drain" (I'm not a plumber)
TSTRAP - "Ladies' shoe fastener" (I'm not a lady)
SCANDIUM - "Metallic element that's #21 on the periodic table"
UTZ - "Snack food brand" (Huh?)
UNI - "Sea urchin, at a sushi bar" (Not a big fan of sushi...it's OK)
RATINE - "Loosely woven fabric with a rough texture"

Trivia I didn't know:

FER - : "Iron,: Fr."
POSITRON - "Antiparticle first observed in 1929"
MIDI - "Noon, in Nantes"
ETIENNE - "_______ Lenoir, inventor of the internal-combustion engine"
OAHU - "Location of Waimea Valley"
LIBERIA - "Africa's oldest republic"
IVANI - "Old Russian ruler known as 'Moneybag'"
SAMSA - "Gregor _____, protagonist in Kafka's 'The Metamorphosis'"
HAN - "___ characters (Chinese writing)"
LILI - "1953 Leslie Caron film" (Thought it was Gigi, at first)
KARACHI - "Former world capital called 'City of Lights"
CSU - "Sch. in Fort Collins"
SUN - "Symbol on the flag of Argentina or Uruguay"

Junk Answers:

MDS - "E.R. V.I.P.s"
FER - (See above)
UTZ - (See above)
UNI - (See above)
IDI - "Uganda's Amin"
AFBS - "Where fighter jets are found: Abbr."
STL - "1904 world's fair city: Abbr."
ORA - "___ pro nobis (pray for us)"
ELS - "Winner of four 1990s-2000s golf majors"
DST - "Setting eschewed by Hawaii: Abbr."
CSU - (See above)
INS - "Networking assets"

Clever clues:

EROTICA - "Spicy fare?"
DENTED - "Made an impression?"
STRADDLE - "Take both sides?"
TIPS - "Word on a jar"
EDSELS - "Bombs developed in the 1950s"
OILSLICK - "Disaster film?"
CLEFS - "Staff openings?"
PAR - "What one will never be, in golf"
GRAPH - "Results of some plotting"
LIDS - "Lens caps?"
MORAL - "Takeaway, of a sort"
ANAGRAM - "Asked for a desk, say" ("Asked" is an anagram of "a desk")
SANTA - "International package deliverer"
EGOSURF - "Try to find oneself?"
KEYS - "What a designated driver takes"
EDITOR - "Line judge?"
YIN - "The dark side"

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

HORST - "Actor _____ Buchholz of 'The Magnificent Seven'"
SAMSA - (See above)
UTZ - (See above)
RATINE - (See above)

NYT Crossword 08/26/17 (Sat.)

Cruciverbalist: Peter Wentz
Editor: Will Smith

Solving time: 30:14

Puzzle uniqueness: 0

Words I hadn't known until now: 

POMELO - "Exotic salad ingredient"

Trivia I didn't know:

BOYLESLAW  "PV = k, to a physicist"
MALAWI - "'The Warm Heart of Africa'"
BODYMAN - "President's aide"
YESAND - "Phrase used as a basic tenet of improve comedy"
GREG - "Daniels who adapted 'The Office' for NBC"
KNEEHOLES - "Some office openings" (I have no idea what this is, unless it's the space you put your legs under an office desk)
JAYGATSBT - "Storied party host" (Never read the book, so I didn't know his first name)
OLAF - "N.C.A.A.'s St. ____ Oles"
LEBANON - "Cedar Revolution locale" (Though "cedar," as in "Cedars of Lebanon" is a big clue)
LESH - "Grateful Dead bassist Phil" (Only a Deadhead would get this right off)
BASIL - "Lime cooler ingredient"

Junk Answers:

TASTEOK - "'How's the food?'" (WTF? I would think it should be "Tastes OK")
GAH - "Cry of frustration" (Again, WTF? "Bah" maybe or "Pah," but "Gah"?)
RNS - "Careful workers, briefly?"
LESH - (See above)

Clever clues:

ORALPHASE - "Nursing is a key component of it"
AFTERSHAVE - "It hurts when you rub it in"
WOMB - "'Oven'"
NORMA - "Woman's name that becomes a man's name when its first letter is added to the end"

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

KNEEHOLES - (See above)
MULAN - "1998 Disney princess"

NYT Crossword 08/25/17 (Fri.)

Cruciverbalist: Sam Trabucco
Editor: Will Shortz

Solving time: 21:36

Puzzle uniqueness: 0

Words I hadn't known until now: 

HEGIRA - "Muhammad's flight"
INDRA - "Hindu war deity"

Trivia I didn't know:

CONEHEADS - "TV family from the planet Remulak"
ROSSSEA - "Waters near Mount Erebus"
CAF - "Half-___"
AVON - "Maker of Scentini fragrances"
PERTH - "State capital on the Indian Ocean"
ALEWIFE - "Member of the herring family"
SKYS - "'____ the Limit' (Notorious B.I.G. hit)"

Junk Answers:

OOH - "Sound of admiration"
RDS - "Ways: Abbr."

Clever clues:

PASTS - "They often come back to haunt people"
ODOREATER - "Shoe-in?"
FORAGER - "Raccoon in a Dumpster, e.g."
PEN - "John Hancock item"
TEE - "It gives a driver a little height"
GENE - "One with a feature role?"
GRADS - "Their number increases every May"

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

HEGIRA - (See above)
INDRA - (See above)

NYT Crossword 08/24/17 (Thu.)

Cruciverbalists: Neil Patrick Harris and David Steinberg
Editor: Will Shortz

Solving time: DNF

Puzzle uniqueness:

Another goofy puzzle that I hate. Tribute to HARRYHOUDINI. That's all I want to say about this.

Words I hadn't known until now: 

ADORBS - "Like, so cute!" (WTF?)

Trivia I didn't know: 

ANNA - "Elsa's sister in 'Frozen'"
AMYS - "All-vegetarian frozen food brand"
TAXCO - "Mexican silver city"
EDWINA - "Lily Tomlin's role in 'All of Me'" (WTF?)

Junk answers:

EEK - "Apt rhyme of 'squeak'"
INS - "Tip-___ (easy baskets)"
SCI - "51-Across (ECOL), e.g."
ECOL - "Paris accord subj."
WWI - "'A Farewell to Arms' setting, briefly"
PAU - "___ Gasol, six-time N.B.A. All-Star"
EMI - "Classic record label"
NIC - "Actor Cage, informally"
ETS - "A.P. exam inits."

Clever clues:

APP - "Purchase that can be deleted"
NAPS - "Goes out for a while?"

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

PHREAK - "Old-style hacker"

NYT Crossword 08/23/17 (Wed.)

Cruciverbalist: Joe Kidd
Editor: Will Shortz

Solving time: 08:14

Puzzle uniqueness:

"El" inserted between the last letter "s" and the penultimate letter. Example: SECURITYCAMELS where the clue is "Dromedaries on patrol?"

Words I hadn't known until now: 

MOSH - "Slam-dance"

Trivia I didn't know: 

HOSEA - "Book between Daniel and Joel" (I didn't know "Joel" was a book)

EMAJ - "Key with four sharps: Abbr." (I used to play trombone in band, too long ago for me to remember this)

Junk Answers:

NOMAYO - "Sandwich shop request"
AHME - "Sighed words"
TBA - "'Still open,' on a sched."
EMAJ - (See above)
UEY - "One-eighty"
COM - "Common URL ending"

Clever clues: 

ORES - "What you might take your lead from?"

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

HOSEA - (See above)

NYT Crossword 08/22/17 (Tue.)

Cruciverbalist: Timothy Polin
Editor: Will Shortz

Solving time: 09:24

Puzzle uniqueness:

Cities whose state abbreviations are within the spelling. Example: ASTORIA has the Oregon abbreviation within it (OR).

Words I hadn't known until now: 0


Trivia I didn't know: 

LLB - "Undergraduate law degree"

CHAKRA - "Spiritual center, in yoga"

Junk Answers: 

LLB - (See above)
PAC - "___-Man"
IMSET - "'Nothing for me, thanks'"
SKA - "Calypso-influenced genre"
SEC - "1/60 of a min."

Clever clues:

IGLOO - "House that's cool to live in?"

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

NYT Crossword 08/1/17 (Mon.)

Cruciverbalist: Tom McCoy
Editor: Will Shortz

Solving time: 07:06

Puzzle uniqueness:

Breaking up a word in familiar phrases into two words and having a wacky clue. Example: Clue - "Feet in the city?" Answer - URBANLEGENDS (Urban leg ends).

Words I hadn't known until now: 0


Trivia I didn't know: 0


Junk Answers:

ECO - "___-friendly"
GIS - "Audience member for a U.S.O. show"
ONT - "Toronto's province: Abbr."
OFA - "'Son ___ gun!'"
ITGUY - "Computer-savvy office fellow"
SSS - "Air-escaping-from-a-tire sound"
PSST - "'Hey, you!"

Clever clues: 0

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

TOULON - "City in Southern France"

NYT Crossword 08/20/17 (Sun.)

Cruciverbalist: Ruth Bloomfield Margolin
Editor: Will Shortz

Solving time: 27:38

Puzzle uniqueness: "Found In Your Inbox"

Using "Re:" as pun for phrases beginning with "re". Example: "Re: ____ (Song lyricist's subject line) with answer being VERSECOURSE - "Reverse course"...get it?))

Words I hadn't known until now: 

FAUVE - "Matisse, e.g., stylistically"
APERCUS - "Pithy observations"
DACAPO - "From the top, to a musician"
HOSTA - "Lilylike plant"

Trivia I didn't know:

STPIERRE - "The first pope, to French speakers"
EVAN - "Hansen of a 2016 Broadway hit"
ESTER - "Perfume compound"
ARP - "'A Navel' artist, 1923"
VERDE -     'Mesa _____, National Park"
ORSAY - "Paris's Musee d'_____"

Junk Answers:

CHIS - "XXX"
ROWA - "Seats by the orchestra pit, perhaps"
KAL - "Carrier to Seoul, for short"
ORDS - "Municipal regs."
ESTS - "Repair shop figs."
TKOD - "Eliminated by a ref's decision"
ANUT - "'Are you some kind of ___'"
EOE - "Want ad letters"
STAC - "Short and detached, in music: Abbr." (A music major critiquing this elsewhere claims the actual abbreviation is "stacc.")

Clever clues:

BASSES - "The lowest of the low"
SOAPS - "Bathday cakes"
FOG - "Thick coat on a cold day"
UNARM - "Take the heat from?"
RAIL - "Third one's a harm?"

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

FAUVE - (See above)
APERCUS - (See above)
ESTER - (See above)
HOSTA - (See above)

NYT Crossword 08/19/17 (Sat.)

Cruciverbalist: Mark Diehl
Editor: Will Smith

Solving time: 41:01 (This was a toughie)

Puzzle uniqueness: 0

Words I hadn't known until now: 

ORRIS - "Root used in perfumery"
UDON - "Noodle soup noodle"
GRIDIRONS - "Primitive cooking equipment" (Only knew this as a football term)

Trivia I didn't know:

ISOLDE - "Singer of the Wagner aria 'Liebestod'"
FLORIO - "James _____, 1990-94 New Jersey governor"
VISA - "Company added to the Dow 30 in 2013"
MARCUS - "Dr. Brody of 'Raiders of the Lost Ark'"
ACACIA - "Tree favored by giraffes"
ACORN - "Kind of squash""
MACRO - "Photog's lens"
MESNE - "Intervening, at law"
LORENA - "______ Ochoa, 2017 Golf Hall of Fame inductee"
OISERIVER - "Waterway that lent its name to two French departments"

Junk Answers:

UDON - (See above)
MIR - "Station that people once looked up to"
LATEN - "Draw toward dark"
WILEE - "Toon who uses his middle initial"
UPDOS - "High styles"

Clever clues:

DOWSES - "Looks forward to the next spring?"
TRESPASSES - "Goes over the line?"
LOCKER - "Box at the gym?"
DENTALINSURANCE - "It covers bridges, typically"
PEENS - "Ones always banging their heads against thing?"

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

ORRIS - (See above)
UDON - (See above)
SEINING - "Method of fishing"
MESNE - (See above)

NYT Crossword 08/18/17 (Fri.)

Cruciverbalist: Brendan Emmett Quigley
Editor: Will Shortz

Solving time: 16:53

Puzzle uniqueness: 0

Words I hadn't known until now: 

DIABOLO - "Toy consisting of a spool on a string"
ELEA - "Birthplace of the philosopher Parmenides"

Trivia I didn't know:

BEDE - "Theologian called 'The Father of English History'"
SADKEANU - "Internet meme of the star of 'The Matrix' looking sullen"

Junk Answers:

SAS - "Carrier in the Star Alliance"
IWON - "Exultant cry"
IOS - "Platform for Siri"
ITTY - "Minute, to a tot"
OHHI - "'Surprising to run into you here'"
AMA - "Health org."
AAH - "'That's the spot!'"

Clever clues:

EXWIFE - "Frequent designation for Elizabeth Taylor"
THIEVE - "Take things the wrong way"
TOME - "One might require an oversize jacket"

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

MOHS - "____ scale"

NYT Crossword 08/17/17 (Thu.)

Cruciverbalist: Peter A. Collins
Editor: Will Shortz

Solving time: 15:21

Puzzle uniqueness:

Answer GANGOFFOUR  refers to three groups of four circled squares in which the circled squares form words that follow the word "four." (Example: Letters T-O-P-S in circled squares are clue to "Second set of circled letters" = Four Tops, so the answer is MOTOWNSINGERS.)

Words I hadn't known until now: 

AZO - Like some synthetic colorants"

Trivia I didn't know:

QAT - "Arabian stimulant"
LEY - "ESPN broadcaster Bob"
AVON - "River through Bath, England"
PLATTE - "River paralleled by I-80 through a long stretch of the Plains"
URALS - "Range located along the 60th meridian"

Junk answers:

ABIT - "Somewhat"
QAT - (See above)
AZO - (See above)
OTC - "Like Tylenol PM, for short"
LBS - "About 1,400 of them is the record for a human: Abbr."
TIA - "One in la familia"
OPS - "Black ___"
FAS - "Scale notes"
ISR - "Eastern Med. land"

Clever clues:

AVOID - "Verb for a dieter"
ATOMS - "Smithereens"
GENES - "Things in pools"

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

QAT - (See above)
AZO - (See above)
BORZOI - "Russian wolfhound"
ZELIG - "1983 Woody Allen film"
TWYLA - "Tharp of dance"
HAGEN - "Golfer

NYT Crossword 08/16/17 (Wed.)

Cruciverbalists: Andrew Kingsley and John Lieb
Editor: Will Shortz

Solving time: 07:58

Puzzle uniqueness:

Answer SPINCLASS clue to four answers pertaining to people who spin. (Example: SKRILLEX is a DJ who spins records)

Words I hadn't known until now: 0

Trivia I didn't know: 

SKRILLEX - "Grammy-winning electronic music producer and D.J."

MARADONA - "With Pele, co-winner of FIFA's Player of the Century award"

ASSAM - "Kind of tea from Asia"

Junk Answers:

LSTS - "D-Day carriers: Abbr."
FORA - "Fit ____ king"
OXO - "Losing tic-tac-toe line"

Clever clues: 0

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

NYT Crossword 08/15/17 (Tue.)

Cruciverbalist: Zhouqin Burnikel
Editor: Will Shortz

Solving time: 08:28

Puzzle uniqueness:

Types of "collector" clues with wacky answers (Example: Clue = "Stamp collector" with the answer being PASSPORT)

Words I hadn't known until now: 0


Trivia I didn't know: 0


Junk Answers: 

BTU - "Energy measurement, for short"
RTE - "A detour offers a different one: Abbr."
ITAL - "Slanted in print: Abbr."
UFOS - "Subjects of some fuzzy photos, for short"
ENT - "Sinus doc"
ISH - "Kinda sorta"
AHS - "Sighed sounds"

Clever clues: 0

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

NYT Crossword 08/14/17 (Mon.)

Cruciverbalist: Rich Proulx
Editor: Will Shortz

Solving time: 05:59

Puzzle uniqueness:

Three entrée menu items to serve as clues for answer MEATLESSMONDAY.

Words I hadn't known until now: 

LUI - "French for 'him'"

Trivia I didn't know:

VESPA - "Italian scooter brand"

Junk Answers:

LUI - (See above)
ABS - "Torso muscles, briefly"
WISC - "The Dairy State: Abbr."

Clever clues: 0

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

NYT Crossword 08/13/17 (Sun.)

Cruciverbalist: Eric Berlin
Editor: Will Shortz

Solving time: 41:19

Puzzle uniqueness: "The Magic Show"

Magic terms utilized within the puzzle. (Example: CHANGINGCARD answer represents changing another answer from "Peking" to peace," i.e., the "king" is changed into an "ace.")

Words I hadn't known until now: 

RAGA - "Bit of a Bollywood soundtrack"
TRIOLETS - "Eight-line poems"
AGFA - "Name on some boxes of film"
CONTIES - "Furs from rabbits"
TITI - "South American monkey"
DICTU - "'Mirabile _____!' ('Wonderful to state!')

Trivia I didn't know:

MALTOSE - "Sugar found in beer"
YWCA - "Female org. since the 1850s"
ORFF - "'Carmina Burana' composer Carl"
NINE - "Musical based on Fellini's '8 1/2'"
EDWARD - "Part of P.E.I."
NAUTICA - "J. Crew competitor"
KATT - "Stand-up comic Williams"
DOLAN - "New York archbishop Timothy"

Junk Answers:

AGFA - (See above)
DYS - "Bad: Prefix"
MASC - "Like the Spanish nouns 'gato' (cat) and 'perro' (dog): Abbr."
YOWEE - "Shout of pain" (Spelling sucks)
ANTH - "Literary collection: Abbr."
LAH - "___ di-dah"
INFRA - "Prefix with structure"
MANI - "___-pedi"

Clever clues:

FORD - "Escape maker"

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

NYT Crossword 08/12/17 (Sat.)

Cruciverbalist: Kameron Austin Collins
Editor: Will Smith

Solving time: DNF

Puzzle uniqueness: 0

Words I hadn't known until now: 

CANTAB - "Cambridge student, informally"
TOPONYM - "Champagne is one"
LATKE - "Applesauce-topped nosh"
LEGARMOT - "Greaves, e.g." (Never heard of "greaves")
BAYBERRY - "Candle scent popular at Christmas"

Trivia I didn't know:

LILIAN - "Mystery writer ______ Jackson Braun"
BARNEYS - "_______ New York (upscale department store chain)"
EMORY - "Prestigious research university"
BRAINPLASTICITY - "Ability to learn and adapt neurologically"
DRESS - "Habiliments" (Never heard of the clue)
CATT - "Suffragist Carrie Chapman ____"
ATLI - "Gudrun's victim, in Norse myth"
CELA - "That, in France"
EPISTLES - "Mass readings"
WYNNE - "Arthur _____, inventor of the crossword puzzle"

Junk Answers:

HRS - "Billing units: Abbr."
CATT - (See above)
ATLI - (See above)
ORK - "Sitcom world"
CELA - (See above)
MOC - "Cozy footwear, for short"

Clever clues:

ARI - "TV Gold?"
SILLS - "Places to cool it?" (I assume this is clever, but I don't understand it)

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

CANTAB - (See above)

NYT Crossword 08/11/17 (Fri.)

Cruciverbalist: Hal Moore
Editor: Will Shortz

Solving time: 17:25

Puzzle uniqueness: 0

Words I hadn't known until now: 0

Trivia I didn't know:

IONE - "One of the Nereids"
THAI - "Language in which 'seven' is 'jet'"
ERIE - "Home to Double-A baseball's SeaWolves"
ALTA - "Wasatch Mountains resort"
LEOI - "Hilarius succeeded him in A.D. 461"
URIAH - "David had him slain, in the Bible"
IRV - "Music producer Gotti"
LIA - "___ Fail (ancient crowning stone"

Junk Answers:

LEOI - (See above)
LIA - (See above)
IONE - (See above)
PLEB - "Common sort"

Clever clues:

ECHO - "Return from a tunnel?"
FEES - "Loads of investments?"
SALAD - "Preparatory course?"

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

PHILEAS - "Fogg of fiction"
EGALITE - "'Liberte, _______, fraternite' (France's motto)"
LIA - (See above)

NYT Crossword 08/10/17 (Thu.)

Cruciverbalists: John E. Bennett and Jeff Chen
Editor: Will Shortz

Solving time: 12:21

Puzzle uniqueness:

Black squares on either side of the puzzle form a "hook" and a "crook.' The circled letters FISH are in the hook and the circled letters LAMB are in the crook. Answer BYHOOKORBYCROOK clues the theme.

Words I hadn't known until now: 

CLONK - "Sound of metallic impact" (I've heard of "clank" and "clunk," but this is a new one"

Trivia I didn't know:

ASPEN - "Home to an annual Ideas Festival"
TONIO - "'Pagliacci' role" (Huh?)
PER - "What a '/' may mean"
TYNE - Newcastle upon ____, England"
LASCRUCES - "Seat of New Mexico's Dona Ana County"
OTHO - "Roman emperor who overthrew Galba"
AMINOGROUP - "-NH2 attachment, in chemistry"

Junk answers:

BLT - "Diner staple, for short"
SST - "Attraction at Boeing's Museum of flight, for short"
BMOC - "Standout in a quad"
STP - "Indy racer sponsor"
ABIT - "Somewhat"
NYNY - "Letters that might precede 10001"
THEM - "Silent part of 'mnemonic'" (A junk interpretation. "The M." really?)

Clever clues:

PEW - "Seat of Christianity?"
WEARIEST - "Spent the most?"

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

TONIO - (See above)
CLONK - (See above)

NYT Crossword 08/09/17 (Wed.)

Cruciverbalist: Adam G. Perl
Editor: Will Shortz

Solving time: 07:59

Puzzle uniqueness:

Impossible poker clues describing every day phrases. (Example: Answer CHESSMATCH in which the clue is "Where a queen can beat a king")

Words I hadn't known until now: 0

Trivia I didn't know: 

EMIL - "Disney's '____ and the Detectives'"
LEO - "Soccer's Messi, informally"
BEHAN - "'Borstal Boy' author"
PYE - "Onetime English poet laureate Henry James ___"
LEHAR - "'The Merry Widow' composer"

Junk Answers:

ISR - "Mossad's land: Abbr."
EDU - "School email suffix"
OMG - "Texter's 'Yikes!'"
PDAS - "Forerunners of smartphones, for short"
PED - "___ Xing"
AMC - "'The Walking Dead' channel"
MRI - "Radiology exam, briefly"
IPA - "Hoppy brew, briefly"
IES - "Certain plural ending"
RES - "In medias ___"

Clever clues: 0

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

NYT Crossword 08/08/17 (Tue.)

Cruciverbalist: Dan Flanagan
Editor: Will Shortz

Solving time: 07:24

Puzzle uniqueness:

Four fractions with the same number above and  below, each representing something in everyday life (Example: COMMONTIME. Clue: 4/4)

Words I hadn't known until now: 

TODDLE - "Walk like a two-year-old, say" (I had no idea "toddler" came from this. BTW, I have no kids)

Trivia I didn't know: 

OMAR - "Vizquel with 11 Gold Gloves"

Junk Answers: 

ENE - "Indianapolis-to-Cleveland dir."
ECO - "Green: Prefix"
SSN - "I.R.S. digits: Abbr."
OER - "'___ the land of the free ..."
ESE - "Suffix in many language names"

Clever clues:

DIRE - "Like some straits"
QUICKSAND - "Something that gives you a sinking feeling"

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

TREME - "Onetime HBO series set in New Orleans"

NYT Crossword 08/07/17 (Mon.)

Cruciverbalist: Kevin Christian
Editor: Will Shortz

Solving time: 06:22

Puzzle uniqueness:

Answer FILMDIRECTOR  is clue to the three answers whose second words are "lights," "camera," and "action." Typical words of a director.

Words I hadn't known until now: 0

Trivia I didn't know:

MOTET - "Sacred choral work"

Junk Answers:

MSG - "'No ___' (menu phrase)"
SSN - "XXX-XX-XXX fig."
MASC - "Not fem."
ISR - "Tel Aviv's land: Abbr."
ONT - "Toronto's prov."
RTE - "GPS offering: Abbr."
DOR - "Palme ___ (top prize at Cannes)"

Clever clues: 0

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

YAKOV - "Comedian Smirnoff"

NYT Crossword 08/06/17 (Sun.)

Cruciverbalist: Patrick Berry
Editor: Will Shortz

Solving time: 35:00

Puzzle uniqueness: "Anchors Away!"

Maritime puns. (Example: SEMITRAWLER Clue - "Fishing vessel that can pull only half a net behind it?")

Words I hadn't known until now: 0

Trivia I didn't know:

LOTUS - "Fruit mentioned in the 'Odyssey'" (Thought it was a flower, not a fruit)
BOORTZ - "Libertarian pundit Neal"

Junk Answers:

GPS - "Speaker on a car's dash"
RNA - "Messenger ___"
LSD - "Deadhead's hits?"
LPGA - "Women's Open org."
NEO - "Revival movement prefix"
OLE - "Cheer with an accent"
FDA - "Pharma watchdog"

Clever clues:

CURB - "Walk on the edge"
SEQUEL - "Second story?"
SUB - Under goer?"

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

SWIRLY - "Forming spiral patterns"

NYT Crossword 08/05/17 (Sat.)

Cruciverbalist: David Phillips
Editor: Will Smith

Solving time: 24:48

Puzzle uniqueness: 0

Words I hadn't known until now: 

ENOKI - "Mushroom added to udon soup"

PANTO - "Silent dramatic performance, to Brits" (There is a bit of a controversy over this clue)

Trivia I didn't know:

ANA - "Actress Ortiz"
ENOKI - (See above)
NIGER - "Third-longest river in Africa" (Really?)
ELEVEN - "Number of sides on a loonie" (Don't know what this is)
SEEKER - "Position in Quidditch"
NERO - "Enemy captain in 2009's 'Star Trek' film"
NOE - "San Francisco's ___ Valley"
CRU - "Word on une bouteille de vin"

Junk Answers:

AVE - "Colosseum greeting"
URE - "Cult follower?"
SRA - "Title for Queen Isabella: Abbr."
NOE - (See above)
CRU - (See above)

Clever clues:

PEACESIGN - "Double-digit figure?"
MORPH - "Reform?"
TECH - "Apple field"
SANSSERIF - "Unembellished type"
BITES - "On-line jerks?"
OXEN - "Draft picks?"
ESP - "Picking things up?"
PINATA - "Party animal?"

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

PANTO - (See above)
GENESES - "Beginnings" (Rarely used in plural)

NYT Crossword 08/04/17 (Fri.)

Cruciverbalist: Damon Gulczynski
Editor: Will Shortz

Solving time: DNF

Puzzle uniqueness: 0

Words I hadn't known until now: 

GIGECONOMY - "Labor market short on long-term work"
BIGA - "N.Y.C. racetrack, informally" (Have no idea what this represents, grew up in the southwest)
SHIM - "Level" (I know a shim levels, but didn't know these were synonymous)

Trivia I didn't know:

SCOTT - "White Cloud competitor"
LINA - "Chinese tennis star who has won both the French and Australian Opens"
PRATT - "Brooklyn art institute"
AILEY - "The _____ School  (Manhattan dance institution)"
ARMANI - "Fendi rival" (Never heard of Fendi)
RONNY - "'The Daily Show' correspondent Chieng"

Junk Answers:

BSS - "Some undergrad degs."
ISH - "'Sorta'"
PRE - "Nova Scotia's Grand ___ National Historic Site"
TVPG - "'Modern Family' rating"
EXEC - "C.F.O., e.g."
ODON - "Go crazy with, in a way"
XOXO - "Love letters"
DCAREA - "The N.I.H. is based in it"
ISSO - "Playground rejoinder"

Clever clues:

VERB - "What fish or chicken can be, but not turkey"

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

PERESTROIKA - "Historic 'restructuring'"

NYT Crossword 08/03/17 (Thu.)

Cruciverbalist: Timothy Polin
Editor: Will Shortz

Solving time: 11:36

Puzzle uniqueness:

Answer BELTLOOP clue to three answers which have types of belts within the answers and also wrap the puzzle from east to west. (Example: WOOLYMAMMOTHS has "Ammo" in the answer (ammo belt) and "MOTHS' is on the west side of the puzzle, the bulk of the answer on the east side.)

Words I hadn't known until now: 0

Trivia I didn't know:

KRISHNA - "Deity often depicted with blue skin"
LIBYA - "Modern home of ancient Tripolitania"
JACOB - "Patriarch with 12 sons"

Junk answers:

AKA - "Otherwise called"
ASKNO - "_____ quarter (refuse mercy)"
ETS - "Figures in the 2016 film 'Arrival,' for short"
CCS - "Also keeps in the know, in a way"
TLC - "'Cake Boss' channel"

Clever clues:

STIGMA - "Tough to remove stain"
OMERTA - "Code broken by rats"
LODE - "Lucky strike?"
LIEGE - "One working for the lord"
ART - "Works in a salon"
SOD - "What might make up for lost ground?"
DUEL - "Drawing contest?"
VINYL - "Like records that are easily broken?"
MOOED - "Made field calls?"

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

SKYY - "Grey Goose competitor"

NYT Crossword 08/02/17 (Wed.)

Cruciverbalist: Bruce Haight
Editor: Will Shortz

Solving time: 08:21

Puzzle uniqueness:

Contronyms. Words with two opposite meanings. (Example: OVERSIGHT Clue: Watchful care ... or careless mistake)

Words I hadn't known until now: 0

Trivia I didn't know: 0

Junk Answers:

HEHS - "Sneaky little snickers"
SFO - "Bay Area airport code"
KAMA - "____ Sutra"
ISBN - "Card catalog ID"
INI - "Suffix in many pasta names"
SHH - "'Zip it!"
NCO - "Cpl. or sgt."
OEN - "Wine: Prefix"
NAV - "___ system (car option that may speak to you"

Clever clues: 0

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

PELEG - "Co-owner of the Pequod"

NYT Crossword 08/01/17 (Tue.)

Cruciverbalist: Jay Kaskel
Editor: Will Shortz

Solving time: 07:40

Puzzle uniqueness:

"Shocking!" phrases that are tagged to professions. (Example: OHMYSTARS - Clue: "Shocking!," to an astronomer?)

Words I hadn't known until now: 0

Trivia I didn't know: 

MAMMA - "With 6-Down (MIA), 'Dancing Queen' musical"

Junk Answers: 

CAB - "Zin alternative" (Zinfandel vs. cabernet...I just hate the cluing"
XER - "Gen ___"
ISTOO - "Childish comeback"
NEA - "Teachers' org."
ATIE - "End in ____"
TRE - "Uno + due"
OED - "Multivolume ref."
ELO - "'Strange Magic' band, for short"
SSE - "Chicago-to-Indianapolis dir." (I really hate these)
ADT - "Big letter in home security"
EDS - "Mag heads"
AGER - "Ending with teen"

Clever clues:

LOO - "English head"

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