NYT Crossword 10/30/17 (Mon.)

Cruciverbalist: Jay Kaskel
Editor: Will Shortz

Solving time: 06:11

Puzzle uniqueness:

Halloween theme (Witches being predominant). Example: "Computer help for a witch?" is clue for SPELLCHECK.

Words I hadn't known until now:

INCUS - "Ear bone"

Trivia I didn't know:

CRIT - "Lit ____ (coll. course)"
KEATS - "'Hyperion' poet John"

Junk Answers:

ECON - "Supply-and-demand subj."
BOBO - "Classic clown with a repetitive name"

Clever clues: 0

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

INCUS - (See above)

NYT Crossword 10/29/17 (Sun.)

Cruciverbalist: Ross Trudeau
Editor: Will Shortz

Solving time: 25:51

Puzzle uniqueness: "Going Off Script"

Movie one-liners plus actor and the answer LINE combined who says them. Example: Answer HAKUNAMATA plus LANELINE.

Words I hadn't known until now:

BONOBO - "Endangered ape"

Trivia I didn't know:

HALS - "'The Merry Drinker' painter"
THECURE - "'Friday I'm in Love' band, 1992"
CHANGE - "What metathesiophobia is the fear of"
TYNER - "Jazz pianist McCoy _____"
GOTYE - "Singer with the 2012 #1 hit 'Somebody That I Used to Know'"
MOLINA - "Jose, Bengie and Yadier _____, catcher brothers with five World Series rings among them"
VALOREM - "Ad _______ tax"
UZIGAL - "Eponymous Israeli gun designer" (Knew the Uzi part, not the other)

Junk Answers:

VPS - "No. 2's"
ASTI - "Wine often served with dessert"
AGT - "Bond, for one: Abbr."
ESE - "Suffix with legal"
ACC - "Blue Devils' org."
LEHI - "Where Samson slew the Philistines"
ACS - "Window fixtures, for short"
ELHI - "K-12"
SLR - "Camera option, for short"
IVE - "'___ had it!'"
IMAC - "Apple desktop"
WWI - "The U.S. joined it in 1917: Abbr."
KER - "Splat preceder"
SRA - "Mrs., abroad"

Clever clues: 

GUMS - "Canine supporters"
CHARADE - "It's all an act"
GRIN - "Small beam"
RYES - "Loafs around a deli?"
PLAID - "Daring thing to wear with polka dots"

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

VALOREM - (See above)
SENESCE - "Get old"

NYT Crossword 10/28/17 (Sat.)

Cruciverbalist: Roland Huget
Editor: Will Smith

Solving time: 18:20

Puzzle uniqueness: 0

Words I hadn't known until now: 

PAPETERIE - "Container for writing materials, such as fancy stationery"

Trivia I didn't know:

BOER - "Jack of the trump suit, in euchre"
EXCELSIOR - "New York's state motto"
UGO - "Actor Tognazzi of 'La Cage aux Folles'"
BARIC - "Containing element #56"

Junk Answers:

CWT - "100 pounds: Abbr."
UGO - (See above)
MERCS - "Some old Fords, briefly"

Clever clues: 

STENT - "It can get the blood flowing"
ESPYS - "Awards for Best Play and others" (Good misdirection clue)

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

ABROGATOR - "Official with the power to annul laws"

PAPETERIE - (See above)

NYT Crossword 10/27/17 (Fri.)

Cruciverbalist: David Steinberg
Editor: Will Shortz

Solving time: 21:29

Puzzle uniqueness: 0

Words I hadn't known until now: 0

Trivia I didn't know:

DIOR - "French Christian"
ALES - "Flanders Red and others"
TATE - "Allen ____, onetime U.S. poet laureate"
JEN - "___ Psaki, White House communications director under Obama"

Junk Answers:

SGT - "Three-striper: Abbr."
EDU - "Alternative to .net"
ISP - "Verizon Fios or CenturyLink, for short"
APP - "Facebook Messenger, e.g."
MLK - "___ Day (fed. holiday)"
EDT - "Summer hrs. in Somerville"
MII - "Early second-millennium year"
WBA - "Ring org."

Clever clues:

PALMREADER - Line judge?"
NUT - Loony tune"
FEE - "It might come with baggage"
TILL - Bill collector"
DIARYENTRY - "Log unit"
TROLLS - "Forum annoyances"

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

NYT Crossword 10/26/17 (Thu.)

Cruciverbalist: Jacob Stulberg
Editor: Will Shortz

Solving time: 23:15

Puzzle uniqueness:

Answer MTEREBUS (A volcano) is clue to six answers that have "mte" as a rebus (all in one square) because Mt. Erebus can be read as "'mte' rebus."

Words I hadn't known until now:

ASSAMTEA - "Indian beverage"
PONY - "Kind of keg"  (Never knew this definition of "pony")

Trivia I didn't know: 

GAMBIA - "Its capital is an Atlantic port"
TUTSI - "East African people"
OSAKA - "Home of Panasonic"

   Junk answers:

SNL - "Weekly 90-min. TV show"
CTA - "Windy City rail inits."
TSK - "'For shame!'"
NAS - "'Cherry Wine' rapper, 2012"
GMC - "Sierra and Canyon maker"
RAHS - "Stadium sounds"
NBCTV - "42-Across airer" (SNL)

Clever clues: 

WILLIAMTELL - "Apple employer, once?"

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

TUTSI - (See above)

NYT Crossword 10/25/17 (Wed.)

Cruciverbalist: Jules P. Markey
Editor: Will Shortz

Solving time: 07:56

Puzzle uniqueness:

Answer BREAKUPTHEBANKS clue to four kinds of banks that are broken up in a phrase. Example: SOLDATALOSS (data bank).

Words I hadn't known until now: 

LATKE - "Something eaten during Hanukkah"
INESSE - "Existing, to a lawyer"

Trivia I didn't know:

LEEDS - "City of Yorkshire"
ASPEN - "_____ Institute (nonpartisan D.C. think tank)"
ASSAD - "Syria's Bashar al-_____"

Junk Answers:

TSA - "Air marshal's org."
LSD - "Drug referenced in 'The Joyous Cosmology'"
DRE - "Grammy -winning 'Dr.'"
ETTU - "Ides of March rebuke"
IAMB - "Two-syllable poetic foot"
KAN - "'The Wizard of Oz' state: Abbr."
SST - "Air travel option until '03"

Clever clues: 0

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

NYT Crossword 10/24/17 (Tue.)

Cruciverbalist: Damon Gulczynski
Edited by: Will Shortz

Solving time: 11:20

Puzzle uniqueness: 

Answer ANOTHERDIMENSION clue to four phrase answers with the last words leading to a dimension. ...POINT, ...LINE, ...PLANE and ...SPACE.

Words I hadn't known until now: 

UNADON - "Japanese eel-and-rice dish"

Trivia I didn't know:

HADJ - "One of the Five Pillars of Islam"
LECAR - "Old Renault"
RENOIR - "'The Bathers' painter"

Junk Answers: 

DEA - "Org. in 'Breaking Bad'"
AERO - "Streamlined, for short"
IDO - "Swear words?"
IRR - "Like the verbs ''lie' and 'lay': Abbr."
INDO - "Intro to Chinese?"
IPA - "Hoppy quaff, for short"
IOU - "Marker letters"
EXEC - "'Suit'"

Clever clues: 

NAGS - "Horses that could be hounds or badgers?"

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

NYT Crossword 10/23/17 (Mon.)

Cruciverbalist: Timothy Polin
Editor: Will Shortz

Solving time: 07:54

Puzzle uniqueness:

Taking single-word ending in "age" and creating silly clues. Example: The clue is "Period when every car was a junker?" with the answer being WRECKAGE.

Words I hadn't known until now: 

ZIGGURAT - "Stepped tower of ancient Sumer"

Trivia I didn't know:

GUYANA - "English-speaking neighbor of Venezuela"
DUEL - "Climax of 'Hamilton'"

Junk Answers:

ECON - "Supply-and-demand subj."
BOBO - "Classic clown with a repetitive name"

Clever clues: 0

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

ZIGGURAT - (See above)
GESSO - "Painting surface"

NYT Crossword 10/22/17 (Sun.)

Cruciverbalist: Tracy Gray
Editor: Will Shortz

Solving time: 22:40

Puzzle uniqueness: "Selfies"

Supposed "Facebook Status" descriptions of areas of the world, which are the answers. Example: Clue is "Facebook Status: '10-9-8-7 ... Ringing in the New Year with 1.000.000.000 of my newest, closest friends'" with the answer being TIMESSQUARE.

Words I hadn't known until now: 

TUYERES - "Nozzles into blast furnaces" (WTF!?!?)

Trivia I didn't know:

EARLS - "_____ Court (London district)"
TOMTIT - "Chickadee, e.g."
STOAT - "Brown ermine"
ELMO - "Adventurer in Grouchland"
MOE - "Bully in 'Calvin and Hobbs'"
ATTA - "Kofi Annan's middle name"
GUM - "Extra product"
OMAHA - "Home of Berkshire Hathaway"
EDISON - "Early record label"
POTSY - "Another name for Hopscotch"

Junk Answers:

SDS - "New Left org."
SECS - "Instants"
SNL - "Emmy-winning shoe of both 1976 and 2017, in brief"
OCD - "Routine problem, for short"
CIN - "The Bengals, on scoreboards"
OSU - "Big Ten powerhouse, for short"

Clever clues: 

NOSEJOB - "Bridge work?"
POWERNAP - "Office restoration"
BLEATED - "Sounded sheepish?"
ISLES - "Some bars in the Caribbean"
GORES - "Horns in on?"
EIDERS - "Ones holding down things?"

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

TUYERES - (See above)
IAMBI - "Some feet"
POTSY - (See above)

NYT Crossword 10/21/17 (Sat.)

Cruciverbalists: Samuel A. Donaldson and Brad Wilber
Editor: Will Smith

Solving time: 22:25

Puzzle uniqueness: 0

Words I hadn't known until now: 

STANHOPE - "Open, one-seated horse-drawn carriage"
MASSIF - "Cluster of mountains"

Trivia I didn't know:

DAMASCUS - "The Mideast's City of Jasmine"
HILARY - "______ B. Price, creator of the comic strip 'Rhymes with Orange'"
AMSELM - "Sainted archbishop of Canterbury"
BIJOU - "Exquisite gem"
ELENAS - " Tennis players Dementieva and Makaraova"
HOTPEPPEREMOJIS - "Sext symbols"
DSHARP - "Note in the B major scale"
CHOO - "Shoe designer Jimmy"
IONA - "Where Macbeth is buried"
OMSK - "Locale of Dostoyevsky's exile"

Junk Answers:

CEE - "Part of a Connecticut trio?"
TSPS - "Amts. of powder, maybe"
WEDO - "Shared vow"
REI - "King, in Portugal"
ECARD - "Lame (but eco-friendly) birthday gift"
IMLIKE - "'And my reaction was ...,' in teenspeak"

Clever clues: 0

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

STANHOPE - (See above)
MASSIF - " (See above)
SYSTOLES - "Contractions of the heart"

NYT Crossword 10/20/17 (Fri.)

Cruciverbalist: Peter Wentz
Editor: Will Shortz

Solving time: 22:00

Puzzle uniqueness: 0

Words I hadn't known until now: 0

Trivia I didn't know:

ARCSINE - "Inverse function in trigonometry" (Not a math guy)
BEAMS - "Lintels, e.g." (Have no idea what this means)
ONEIL - "Buck ____, first African-American coach in Major League Baseball"
LOU - "Rocker Gramm of Foreigner"
HODAKOTB - "'Today' co-host beginning in 2007" (Didn't know the last name)
WILDE - "'Salome' playwright"
LESSER - "______ ape (gibbon)"
AHAB - "'Grand, ungodly, godlike man,' in literature"
KOI - "Butterfly ___ (fish)"

Junk Answers:

ERS - "Hosp. parts"
BAH - "'Enough of this!'"
DOESO - "Playground retort" (I'm annoyed by the "playground" language answers)
IDED - "No longer anonymous, for short"

Clever clues:

MACS - "Things non-PC people buy?"
FAIRSEX - "Dated women?"
PRAYS - "Appeals to a higher authority?"
SCABS - "Sources of labor pains?"

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

ARCSINE -  (See above)

NYT Crossword 10/19/17 (Thu.)

Cruciverbalist: Ned White
Editor: Will Shortz

Solving time: 15:41

Puzzle uniqueness:

Answer HEADOVERHEELS clue to three pairs of answers in which the top answer is a good leader and the answer underneath is a bad guy. Example: TOPBANANA over NOGOODNIK

Words I hadn't known until now:

DOREMI - "Moolah" (Huh?)

Trivia I didn't know: 

RUDI - "Designer Gemreich who invented the monokini"
VUE - "French scene"
TOD - "Fox in 'The Fox and the Hound'"
TSR - "Co. that launched Dungeons and Dragons" (I can never remember this)
SYD - "Hip-hop's ___ tha Kyd" (Though it's pretty obvious)
ENOS - "1961 project Mercury chimp"
CHAIM - "With 47-Across (TOPOL), 'Fiddler on the Roof' star" (Never knew Topol's first name)
RODIN - "Philadelphia's _____ Museum (art institution)"
HERO - "'Somebody who voluntarily walks into the unknown,' per Tom Hanks"
LUSAKA - "Zambia's capital"

   Junk answers:

RBIS - "They're usually not credited after errors, for short"
OTYPE - "Common blood group"
TSR - (See above)
APU - "Kwik-E-Mart clerk"
NOTOK - "Proscribed"
STA - "Place with a platform: Abbr."
DST - "It ends in Nov."
OLA - "Greeting in Brazil"
EUR - "Common Market market: Abbr."
ETAT - "Entite politique francaise"
INE - "Suffix with elephant"
OOH - "Shout at a circus"
TEL - "Hookup for a tenant: abbr."

Clever clues: 

ONE - "First in an infinite series"
PUPIL - "It grows in the dark"
ELOPE - "Split to join"
AUTOS - "They're tired"

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

DOREMI - (See above)

NYT Crossword 10/18/17 (Wed.)

Cruciverbalists: John Lithgow and Brendan Emmett Quigley
Editor: Will Shortz

Solving time: 13:27

Puzzle uniqueness:

Theater phrases with wacky clues. Example: Answer CURTAINCALL clued as "Decision to go with drapes instead of blinds?" Plus, other theater related answers interspersed throughout the puzzle.

Words I hadn't known until now: 0

Trivia I didn't know:

KEYES - "Daniel who wrote 'Flowers for Algernon'"
KATISHA - "Nanki-Poo's pursuer in The Mikado'" (WTF?)
SECCO - "Painting on dry plaster"

Junk Answers:

AAR - "Swiss waterway"
SHO - "'Dexter' channel, in TV listings"
GMOS - "Engineered food, briefly"
IMOK - "Response to 'You hurt?'"
MOI - "Question of false modesty"
MOCS - "Comfy slip-ons"
INA - "Once ___ while"
NAT - "Lead-in to Geo"
TEC - "Private eye, in old slang"

Clever clues:

EGOS - "They may clash in a theater"

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

KATISHA - (See above)
TEC - (See above)

NYT Crossword 10/17/17 (Tue.)

Cruciverbalist: Jeff Chen
Edited by: Will Shortz

Solving time: 10:16

Puzzle uniqueness: 

Answer CONMEN clue to four two-word phrases in which the first word in the phrases are synonyms for victims of cons. Example: PIGEONCOOP

Words I hadn't known until now: 0

Trivia I didn't know:

IBANKER - "Pro at building financial worth, slangily"
APCALC - "High-level H.S. class with integrals" (Makes sense, just never have come across this)
UNDEROOS - "Brand of kids' wear with Superman and Batman options"

Junk Answers: 

ATON - "Lots"
ENG - "An official language of Canada: Abbr."
CCUP - "Size in a lingerie shop"
OER - "'The Star Spangled Banner' contraction"
SSNS - "IDs collected by H.R."
BCC - "Secretive email option"
AHH - "'That's the spot!'"
OAS - "Intl. group headquartered in D.C."
BNEG - "Rare blood type, for short"
SNO - "___-Cat (winter vehicle)"
DHS - "Some A.L. sluggers"

Clever clues: 

ROADIE - "Person setting the stage?"
VOODOO - "It has its charms"

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

NYT Crossword 0/16/17 (Mon.)

Cruciverbalist: Jennifer Nutt
Editor: Will Shortz

Solving time: 08:23

Puzzle uniqueness:

Answer KILLERWHALE clue to five answers that contain ORCA, a killer whale. Example: RADIATORCAP

Words I hadn't known until now: 0

Trivia I didn't know: 0

Junk Answers:

ILE - "___-de-France"
POV - "Long-running PBS film series"
BALI - "'____ Ha'i' ('South Pacific' song)"

Clever clues: 0

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

BLAT - "Trombone honk, e.g."

NYT Crossword 10/15/17 (Sun.)

Cruciverbalists: John Guzzetta and Michael Hawkins
Editor: Will Shortz

Solving time: 43:57

Puzzle uniqueness: "Wise Move"

Taking two-word phrases in which the first word ends in "Y" sound, then inserting the second word of the phrase between the first word and the "Y,' then adding an "S" with a humorous clue to describe the new phrase. Example: GRAVETRAINEES instead of "gravy train." Clue: "Interns at a cemetery?"

Words I hadn't known until now: 

TUYERES - "Nozzles into blast furnaces" (WTF!?!?)

Trivia I didn't know:

EARLS - "_____ Court (London district)"
TOMTIT - "Chickadee, e.g."
STOAT - "Brown ermine"
ELMO - "Adventurer in Grouchland"
MOE - "Bully in 'Calvin and Hobbs'"
ATTA - "Kofi Annan's middle name"
GUM - "Extra product"
OMAHA - "Home of Berkshire Hathaway"
EDISON - "Early record label"
POTSY - "Another name for Hopscotch"

Junk Answers:

SDS - "New Left org."
SECS - "Instants"
SNL - "Emmy-winning shoe of both 1976 and 2017, in brief"
OCD - "Routine problem, for short"
CIN - "The Bengals, on scoreboards"
OSU - "Big Ten powerhouse, for short"

Clever clues: 

NOSEJOB - "Bridge work?"
POWERNAP - "Office restoration"
BLEATED - "Sounded sheepish?"
ISLES - "Some bars in the Caribbean"
GORES - "Horns in on?"
EIDERS - "Ones holding down things?"

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

TUYERES - (See above)
IAMBI - "Some feet"
POTSY - (See above)

NYT Crossword 10/14/17 (Sat.)

Cruciverbalist: Sam Ezersky
Editor: Will Smith

Solving time: 33:04

Puzzle uniqueness: 0

Words I hadn't known until now: 0

Trivia I didn't know:

UGLYBETTY - "Hit TV series based on a Colombian telenovela"
HOSEA - Source of the line 'They have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind'"
TRAPQUEEN - "2015 #2 hit for rapper Fetty Wap"
ASHE - "Eponym of a North Carolina city"
AMMAN - "World capital once known as Philadelphia"
EDITH - "Mrs. Woodrow Wilson"
ECONMAJOR - " Many a B-school applicant" (Have no idea what a "B-school" is)
CHOCOTACO - "Crunchy Klondike product"
EGRET - "Symbol of the National Audubon Society"
TYRABANKS - "Model who popularized the term 'smizing'"
NYNEX - "Half of a 1997 telecom merger"
SHARON - "P.M. between Barak and Olmert"
LOGARITHM - "What turns 1,000 into 3, in base 10"
USANDTHEM - "Longest song on Pink Floyd's 'The Dark Side of the Moon"
REID - "Brit ____, real name of the Green Hornet"

Junk Answers:

BBQ - "Pit-y party?"
SATS - "Topics for Kaplan"
NYNEX - (See above)
BWAY - "Tony' place, for short?"

Clever clues:

PROM - "Senior moment?"
LUTZ - "Spin out on the ice?"
ATTICDOOR - "One way to the top"

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

MAGUS - "Sorcerer"
IAMB - "One of 70 in a Shakespeare sonnet"
REUNES - "Gets together after 10 or 20 years, say"

NYT Crossword 10/13/17 (Fri.)

Cruciverbalist: Zhouqin Burnikel
Editor: Will Shortz

Solving time: 11:35 (Personal best for a Friday)

Puzzle uniqueness: 0

Words I hadn't known until now: 0

Trivia I didn't know:

DAMASK - "Reversible fabric"
GERANIUM - "Flower with five petals"
LEN - "___ Lesser, player of Uncle Leo on 'Seinfeld'"
TORTONI - "Ice cream treat"
OYL - "Castor ___ of old comics" (Though pretty intuitive)
SON - "Grand Duke vis-à-vis a czar" (How 'bout that!)
EULER - "18th century pioneer in graph theory"
MOSUL - "Major city on the Tigris"
TENOR - "Wagner's Siegfried, for one" (Now I feel better!)

Junk Answers:

ADT - "Big name in home security systems"
COR - "Heart: Lat."
CRUS - "French vineyards"
GOP - "Letters leaning to the right?"
OYL - (See above)
RIS - "'___ for Rocket' (2004 best seller)"

Clever clues:

TIE - "Evening result?"
RUNS - "Heads up"
TIPS - "Things worth waiting for?"
BARTAB - "A screwdriver might be added to it"
TACH - "Dash part"
SIPS - "Opposite of downs"

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

DAMASK (See above)

NYT Crossword 10/12/17 (Thu.)

Cruciverbalist: Alex Eaton-Salners
Editor: Will Shortz

Solving time: 13:32

Puzzle uniqueness:

All across clues are homophones of the actual clues. Example: Clue is "Mined," the homophone of "mind." Answer is CARE.

Words I hadn't known until now:

BISTRE - "Grayish to yellowish brown"

Trivia I didn't know: 

RABE - "Broccoli ____"
EDITH - "English poet Sitwell"
KARAN - "Designer Donna"

Junk answers:

INOR - "'Are you ____ out?'"
NOMSG - "Declaration on a Chinese menu"
ERDOC - "One who may order an operation, informally"
ETTU - "Classical rebuke"
EXES - "Kramer and Kramer, in 'Kramer vs. Kramer'"
YER - "Suffix with saw"

Clever clues: 

LAMA - "Priest from on high?"
LIARS - "Ones spinning webs?"
ACTOR - "One for whom work is play?"

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

BISTRE - (See above)

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"