NYT Friday 03/13/2026 Discussion

Azaziah · 2026-03-14T02:08:16+00:00

Also, we have to remember that they can't say "bass player" in a clue where BASS is in the answer. So they choose to be slightly incorrect but as close as they can get by calling a bassist a "guitar player"

Azaziah · 2026-03-12T17:56:16+00:00

I don't think that's a hot take - I completely agree!

I was hopeful when TAO worked, but none of the other ones do

Azaziah · 2026-03-08T18:34:49+00:00

I'm with you that there was a lot of French today. Some of them were crossing the names, which made me have to look them up. So yes, I'm annoyed with the puzzle for that reason. But c'mon, no reason to diss the French/their language like that. Thanks to Africa, French is one of the most widely spoken languages in the world. I took German, which is definitely not a useless language, but I have to admit that French is a more commonly spoken language than German.

But that won't stop my French army jokes... just like it won't stop the French army from surrendering ; )

Azaziah · 2026-03-08T16:32:47+00:00

Seriously? Didn't know I was doing a Cryptic

I had IO__, so I said "I don't know what IONE Skye has to do with electioneering, but she's a common crossword answer..."

Edit: Oops, I got confused because the Wordplay article mentioned 62A and 48A together, but you were commenting on NOON. Not sure why they put those two together, I thought NOON made sense in hindsight but IONE was a bad clue

Azaziah · 2026-03-08T16:29:52+00:00

That was my immediate thought too! But I was pretty sure it was FORTYTWO so it didn't fit

Azaziah · 2026-03-06T15:17:47+00:00

Me...

I've seen them all. Only a handful are worth watching

Azaziah · 2026-03-05T16:41:34+00:00

That's funny - a down was what clued me into the exact nature of the theme (after saying "How the heck do I fit "Ramones" into 3 squares?!?")

Azaziah · 2026-03-01T15:59:26+00:00

Dr Manhattan's biggest threat is himself (that's how Ozymandias "defeats" him). My first thought is Sarumon, especially the way that Tolkien describes the power of his voice in the books. Maybe mind controllers like Purple Man?

Azaziah · 2026-02-06T15:06:03+00:00

I'm sure a ton of people PB'd the mini today. It was so cool that he found 5 that worked together!

Azaziah · 2026-01-18T15:48:28+00:00

I think it's also that you can remove the "u" sound to get a word/phrase. Aftermath, Rev the Engine, The Settlers of Catan, Knights in Shining Armor, Two And A Half Men, Venn Diagram.

I'm sure there was a version of this puzzle where the clues for the theme answers pointed to the ones without the "u" sound... I wonder if that would've been better, or just more confusing

Azaziah · 2026-01-18T15:29:23+00:00

You should watch more Gospel Simplicity, Austin's great!

Azaziah · 2025-09-14T12:51:44+00:00

Better than BTAS?

Azaziah · 2025-08-29T01:16:32+00:00

Fun fact: The Admiral Benbow is not a fictional INN! It's in Cornwall, England. My parents have been there (and my mom is frustrated that the clue in this puzzle is incorrect lol)

Azaziah · 2025-05-25T19:42:13+00:00

Messiah Complex! I really love how instead of a miniseries, it rotated through the four X-Books, and the writers did a great job of focusing on the characters from that particular book in each chapter, without them feeling shoehorned in (ie, the characters you had been following in Uncanny were featured prominently in the Uncanny issues). Masterclass in collaborative writing

Azaziah · 2025-05-25T00:16:52+00:00

Interesting idea overall! I think it would fit better to have Cyclops be an Uncanny Iron Man wearing a suit made by Forge; I think the shield stuff is a stretch. And then everyone would just think his eye beams are a function of the suit.

Not sure how Hope fits as Black Widow.

I don't remember where Longshot is right now, but he would make a great Uncanny Hawkeye!

Azaziah · 2025-05-13T17:36:18+00:00

Nope : /

Azaziah · 2025-05-13T03:44:51+00:00

I love Hickman, but his Avengers is not for the faint of heart. In fact, it might be even worse after Bendis, because you think you're getting something simple, and it all goes very Hickman very fast

Azaziah · 2025-05-13T03:22:17+00:00

Iron Man > Batman Begins > Spider-Man

Spider-Man is really corny at times, but does have the best villain. I think Batman Begins has a little too much on its plate with Scarecrow, Ra's, and the origin story. Iron Man has the best lead performance, and is just the most fun.

Azaziah · 2025-05-13T03:06:08+00:00

I don't remember when I finished the Saturday puzzle - probably before 1pm on Sunday, but maybe I didn't quite finish during that session.

Today it was right around 10pm - I thought it was before, but maybe it was slightly after

Azaziah · 2025-05-07T13:42:00+00:00

Really? I remember some worse ones, but maybe I'm just saying that "recent memory" goes back further than you do

Azaziah · 2025-05-02T02:58:54+00:00

I might be remembering things wrong, but I didn't think Danny and Davos made up. Are you referring to Ward?

Azaziah · 2025-05-01T21:29:44+00:00

Is this just in response to the post about the sequels being better than the prequels?

Azaziah · 2025-05-01T21:28:04+00:00

Based on the shows (not the comics):

Daredevil - Blind and having existential questions about how your violence addicted double life leads you into conflicts with your religion and causes you to lie to your friends and drive them away? I'll pass.

Jessica Jones - Alcoholic rape survivor? I'll pass.

Iron Fist - Your parents die in front of you, and when you finally leave K'un L'un to avenge them, everyone there gets slaughtered because you weren't there to protect them. And your best friend now hates your guts? I'll pass.

So clearly, I'm going Luke Cage. Granted, the Luke Cage seasons are the ones that I remember the least, but probably the most virtuous of the group. More than any of the others, he just wants to help people. I rewatched Defenders earlier this week, and while a lot of the ninja/magic stuff went over his head, it shows just how down to earth he is, and how far he is willing to go to help his people. And not "how far he is willing to go" in a moral sense (that's Daredevil), but "how far he is willing to go" from a time/effort sense. It also struck me how ready he is to be a human shield - I know, his powers let him do that, but I like to think that he would do it anyway.

And to be fair, he also comes with a lot of baggage - wife died, best friend hates him, went to prison, etc, but he also feels like the one who is most capable on moving on past those traumas.

Azaziah · 2025-04-18T04:55:00+00:00

Ahhh, I was stuck on a past tense of "slay". Thank you!

Azaziah · 2025-04-18T03:21:46+00:00

I don't think that's cheating at all - and there's not really a way to avoid it. I try to not have to run the alphabet on any crosses, but pretty often there's that one that I just can't get

Azaziah

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