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You are among the originals, my friend. And isn’t it amazing to see it slowly growing into something bigger than any of us? I am so tickled about all of it. To be honest, it kind of affects my sleep. It makes you wonder whether you’re doing everything as good as you possibly can, but at the same time, it slowly starts to dawn on you that you’re doing the right thing because you’re picking up subscribers. Regardless, this is a passion of mine and I am so excited to know there are others out there who feel the same way. And I do love interacting with all of you. It’s just amazing. Every time I have a notification that somebody sent a message, I’m always very excited. Because it’s a chance to chat with you guys. And all of you just simply mean the world to me. As always, I’m just so glad you’re here. You will never know how much I appreciate these messages. Thank you so much.

Wow! Thank you! What a very kind thing to say, and I am so terribly happy to have you here and part of this amazing community. The channel began as a sort of celebration of the humanities but has essentially grown into a community of people who love solving with, and learning from, one another. And for that I am eternally grateful. ☺ Cin-Cin!🍷

And I am so happy I was randomly selected to your feed! We have a small but vibrant community here and I am tickled to have you here with us! Crosswords are sometimes challenging, sometimes confounding, but the longer you stick to them, the easier they get. So let's do them together! Cin-Cin!🍷😊

Thank you! So glad to see you here!

Congratulations! It feels really good the first time that happens. That makes me very happy for you and also very proud of your effort. Well done!

I'm so glad you enjoyed, and what a clever way to put it: Good Soup. I've heard this only once before in person, and that was after an ad hoc performance on a borrowed guitar at a TexMex restaurant in Fort Worth, Texas. The mariachero just randomly asked if I could play, I said sure, then he handed me the instrument & took about a 10 minute break to grab a drink at the bar.😬So, me being who I am, I walked around and serenaded my fellow diners with a few songs that I knew from memory while he imbibed and, when he returned, he said, "That was some good soup, Amigo." So yeah, a great but almost forgotten memory. I'm so glad to put this phrase back into my word hoard! Thank you! And thanks for being here! Cin-Cin!🍷

Honestly? I think it’s a combination of having spent my life studying the humanities and, of course, doing the crossword every day. When I first started doing the crossword, back in the early 1990s, I was a young English and Art major in undergraduate studies. I didn’t have a clue what half of the puzzles really consisted of as I would make my way through the grid each day. And this was before there was really an Internet to speak of, so I had to look things up the old-fashioned way: analog encyclopedias, foreign language dictionaries, almanacs, and books of trivia. Sometimes it was a phone call to my older, more educated friends. But I considered looking up answers to be a form of research and knowledge building. And every time I had to learn something in order to solve a puzzle, I would make it a point to try to use that term or subject in at least three sentences while having conversations with others. It was just away for me to retain what it was that I had to learn. So yeah, everyone’s a little bit different. But that was my technique. I really cannot tell you just how much you’re very kind words mean to me and I’m so glad that you have joined our little community. To me, it is all about celebrating the humanities. And the fact that I get to share that celebration with others, that just means the absolute world to me. Thank you so much for being here and for expressing such pleasant remarks. Cin-Cin! ☺️🍷

Isn’t that funny? I didn’t even see that clue and answer combination because I wasn’t paying attention to all of the downs and crosses. I guess that one kind of just filled itself for me! And hey, it makes me really happy to hear that I inspired you to crack open a crossword puzzle! And if you stay at it, I promise you’ll get better. And an Aussie? How cool is that?! I have served at various points in my military career with Australian detachments all over the world and I must say I always found y’all to have the best senses of humor; and that none of you drink Foster’s Lager is REALLY funny, considering the ad campaigns. If you are ever in the states, you’ll need to do me a favor and go to the Outback restaurant chain. I’d love to have your response to a night with steaks and blooming onions. I’ll be thinking of you the next time there is an Australian related clue. It’s funny how often joeys, roos, and dingos show up in the grid. As always, thank you for the comments. I love interacting with all of you. Cheers, Mate!🍷

Know what? I did notice that while editing! My Mother even snapped a photograph of her television screen and texted it to me. Too funny! Sometimes we get tunnel vision. What can you say? So glad you’re here! And thank you! 🍷☺️

I just got really lucky in the top left. That whole northwest corner became an easy solve because I just happened to know Abraham and of course the CAPTCHA thing jumped right out for me. And I do have to admit that unless I really want to go to a specific website, like I really need to go to a specific website, when I see those I always just hit the back button. So irritating. LOL But I am so glad that you are here with us and I appreciate your very kind words more than you will ever know. I’m serious, they really lift me up. So likewise, I hope you have a fabulous weekend and I will look forward to seeing you here in the future. By the way, today’s Saturday grid was the easiest, and yet most uncomfortable solve, I have encountered in quite some time. I got through it pretty quickly, but there were only one or two clue-answer combinations that I felt good about. To me, those are the hardest solves because you don’t really have the confidence as you make your way through it. Anyway, again, have a wonderful weekend and thank you so much. Cin-Cin! 🍷☺️

It makes us so happy to have you here and part of this community. I am just thrilled to see that you are here and enjoying what this brings to our collective thoughts. It’s just an amazing thing and I cannot thank you enough. ☺️

I promise you, it will come with a bit of time. I just love these things and I really love the way this little community is growing. Thank you for being here!

Thank you! Very kind of you to say!

Thank you, @larakennedy5! I'm just elated to have you here! It's a budding community, but I have been SO happy with the response. Very moving. But yes, welcome! Cin-Cin!🍷☺

Wonderful! That is so good to hear! First of all, anytime I have an opportunity to inspire somebody to do something positive, well that’s a really good thing. But secondly, and maybe most importantly, is that you have uncovered a desire to master an understanding of the world around you. I applaud that whole heartedly! Well done! And as always, I am just so glad to have you here in this community with us! Cin-Cin! 🍷

@@LetsWineDownOnTheNYTCrossword Thank you for your answer! Cin-Cin (or as we say in Poland. Na zdrowie :) )

Pozdrowienia z Bawarii! ☺️🍷

I was actually having a Bianco Martini. It basically consists of Bianco vermouth and equal splashes of sparkling water and Prosecco. You may very well like it, but I have seen people who do not. Give it a try and let me know what you think! ☺️

@@LetsWineDownOnTheNYTCrossword Usually I'm not a fan of vermouth, but I'll give it a go if an opportunity arises :) Thank you

I'm so glad you find them helpful! You're too kind, thank you for the amazing feedback!

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Glad you enjoyed it! Moreover, I’m glad you’re here! Cin-Cin! 🍷

You are the absolute best! Thank you so much for the compliment!

Thank you! And I’m so glad you are here! Cin-Cin!🍷

@@LetsWineDownOnTheNYTCrossword my new favourite channel! cheers indeed 🍷🍷

@@stevejobs1026 Thank you SO much!!!

You are TOO kind! Thank you SO much!

For me, it just took time. Lots of it, too! LOL - But trust me, if you stick to it you will get there. And when you do need to search for an answer, conduct those Google searches with a sort of life lesson approach. Don't just look up the answer and then forget about it when the puzzle is complete. Retain what you looked up and use that knowledge as much as possible. Because it will absolutely show up again! 😂 I cannot tell you how much I appreciate your very kind words or your participation in this little community of ours. So glad you're here! Keep us up to date on your progress! Cin-Cin! 🍷

That’s a fabulous point. I blush to say the spoiler effect had not occurred to me. But, consider the issue resolved. And thank you for the invaluable feedback along with your words of support! Cin-Cin! 🍷

Thank you! It was a LONG one, but wow! Very cleverly constructed! So glad you're here with us!

Thank you SO much for both being part of our community and for the very kind words. They mean the world to me. Cin-Cin!🍷

Nun, lassen Sie mich zunächst sagen, wie sehr ich mich freue, dass Sie bei unserem Kreuzworträtsel dabei sind! Ich bin einfach so glücklich, Sie bei uns zu haben. Meine Mutter ist Deutsche, sie kommt aus Heidelberg. Aber sie ist in die Vereinigten Staaten gezogen, wo ich geboren wurde. Ich bin also eigentlich ein Deutsch-Amerikaner der ersten Generation. Aber ich lebe und arbeite in Bayern und passe ganz gut hierher. Die meisten Leute, die ich hier treffe, scheinen überrascht zu sein, dass ich Amerikaner bin. 😂 Noch einmal, ich bin so froh, Sie als Teil unserer Community hier zu haben, und ich freue mich darauf, in Zukunft mit Ihnen zu interagieren. Prost! 🍷

You are SO very kind to say! Thank you! And I enjoy making the videos almost as much as I enjoy solving, so I will keep them coming for sure! Again, thank you for such a nice comment. I look forward to solving with you! Cin-Cin!🍷

Well done! Bravo! Yes, it started to slowly dawn on me by the time I got to the end, but for whatever reason, this theme did nothing but hurt my brain! LOL! I am severely impressed with your ability to crack into it so effortlessly. It just felt a bit circuitous for a Thursday (speaking averages), but I do love a challenge regardless. And I think I said this during the solve, but there really is no worse feeling than solving a grid without ever knowing the theme. It somehow feels incomplete when that happens, but the little gold star helps. I think it is similar to making the bed every day, regardless of how I may be feeling or how busy I am. It’s a way of keeping order/neatness, of course, but it’s also a very small accomplishment. And accomplishments, no matter how insignificant, are wins. Strange metaphor, I know… I truly appreciate your very kind words here. I love connecting with everyone more than anything else, so thank you! Cin-Cin!🍷

What an astonishingly sweet comment, @Ivana13Ci! Thank you so much for the very kind words! And really, the fact that you have jumped into the deep end of the proverbial pool speaks volumes. Absolute volumes, and in many ways. I was an undergrad student in my early twenties when I started solving around 30 years ago. And the reason? I wanted to be like my friend Brian. He was 30 years my senior, an accomplished artist, and perhaps the smartest person in any given room and any given time. He had - and still maintains to this day - a razor-sharp wit and a vocabulary that I can only best describe by borrowing from Beowulf: a word hoard. Brian was always the life of the party and a testament to the causal link between intellectualism and coolness. So, I subscribed to the Fort Worth Star Telegram daily and every morning I would get the paper off the lawn, read the news, and then take the NYT Crossword with me to school/work neatly folded up on a clip board. I worked on the puzzle all day long during my free time, and if I needed to look something up, I did. I just made sure to approach this level of "research" as if I were writing an essay or prepping for a debate. In other words, I wanted to retain what I was learning while looking up clues because, in my mind, it was always a rehearsal for my "performance" at the next cocktail party. But now I see the crossword as a testament to the study of the Liberal Arts & Sciences; grasping the humanities and the amazing accomplishments of human kind. These little gems are a daily celebration to me, and I am just so tickled to have you here and with us on the journey. Welcome! And thank you again for the comments and support! Bravo!

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@lpbabckramann7774 - Guten Tag!

I clearly need to follow up on that! I have to tell you, I am quite intrigued with the very notion of a “goat yoga” anything! 😂

Know what? That is something that I realized I should have done as soon as I got this thing into post. I must say I am very sorry. I have simply been in my own little world today. It’s been a strangely exhausting week and while that is no excuse, it’s the only one I have. But I cannot tell you how much I appreciate your very kind words, and also the kick in the tail to be a better steward of the solver’s challenges. Believe me, this was a very challenging puzzle. But I think you would have to agree with me that it was pretty freaking clever, eh? ☺️

@@LetsWineDownOnTheNYTCrossword you definitely have no need to apologise. Incredibly clever puzzle. It would take me about three hours to solve any of these crosswords -- I'm consistently left in awe of how efficiently you decimate them. Your video format is fantastic and your passion really comes across. Keep enjoying life! 🍷

You’re the best! Thank you, and so happy to have you here! Cin-Cin! 🍷

Perhaps five deployments can, at times and with a little luck, knock some of the rough edges off? All I know for sure is that WE DON'T RENT PIGS. 😅

I think it’s just three decades of solving grids, but I do really look forward to each day’s puzzle! Thank you so much for the very kind words and for being here!

@@LetsWineDownOnTheNYTCrossword You're very welcome. And thank you. It's a pleasure to watch you masterfully run through this crossword :)

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Welcome aboard! I’m so glad to have you and your friend here! And what a wonderful suggestion. I have also been contemplating something along these lines for some time. Now, in today’s grid I talk about this a little bit, but I do plan on creating a separate series on the channel that just goes through the mechanics and logic. I think it’s a fabulous idea, and I look forward to starting work on it. In the meantime, the best advice I can give anyone starting out on their crossword journey is to consume as much information as you can on a regular basis. Things like actually reading the credits on a movie or TV series, watching a game show like Jeopardy, downloading the app and going back in time through the archives just solving puzzles, etc. it really is a celebration of the liberal arts and sciences. again, what a very thoughtful post and I cannot tell you how much I appreciate it. Have a fabulous day and we will see you for the grid! Cin-Cin! 🍷

@sophliberty I appreciate your reference to demographics very much; their role in problem-solving really fascinates me. Our individual frames of reference can really impact the way we perfom on tests, socialize at gatherings, solve crossword puzzles, and so on. It makes me question established paradigms, but that is another subject altogether. And thank you for the very kind words. My wife is a devout Mini owner and I am equally devoted to BMW. Hence the homage of steering wheels. We joke since our cars are both made by the same company, and both here in Germany. But, the Mini is an absolute joy to open up on the Autobahn, much more than the Bimmer. Hey, thanks for the note and I hope to see you back for more. Cheers.😁

Exactly! 🙂

Thank you so much! I'm thrilled to have you here with us. And funny you ask, because it was not until a few hours later when it dawned on me that there was a purpose to the shaded squares! I'm so glad you actually saw them and therefore enjoyed the puzzle even more! Indeed, very clever. Kudos! 😃

I just wanted to make sure you saw that the eight horizontal answers weren’t being cut off… the “tones” at the end were simply “falling” into the gray squares… the tones themselves form an overall “scale going down”… hence each revealer. I love how quickly you hit on some clues others found tricky. I’ve been hearing a lot about BORGE for example :-)

@@mikeellison7422 I sometimes fall into the "forest for the trees" syndrome. I get so wrapped up in solving at times that I miss the little nuggets that bring even more joy to the grid. Very clever. And please do always share your thoughts!

First, I'm just so happy to have you here with us. But most importantly, it is really about the journey, not so much the destination of *puzzle completed* and in record time. When I first began solving, there was no Google to consult, and back in those days (undergraduate, early 1990s) I had a small library of reference books to which I could turn when I got hemmed up. But, I absolutely loved the thrill of hunting down the answers and, by extension, building my knowledge base. And then one day it just got a bit easier. There are tricks to get through them as well. And hey, why not do the puzzle right along with me each day? You will get the hang of it in no time and yes, it can be an absolute joy. Again, so happy to have you and I must say that your note is very much appreciated. Thank you!