How to Improve at Crosswords - 29 July 2021 New York Times Crossword

This theme totally eluded me through completition. If only you could hear the groan I made when I looked it up after the solve.

“Asleep” being NUMB refers to a limb, not really a person.

Yeah, sorry, we're going to need to see the cat.

I love that you skip „follower of catch or latch“ at the start and just a few seconds later say that you need to find an area that allows you to „latch onto“ it. 😅

A "rumble strip" is the line of small raised bumps at the edge of a motorway/highway that makes an audible rumbling sound when driven over, to alert drivers that they are drifting off course. Pete Rose was a star baseball player (and notorious, due to gambling offences) for the Cincinnati Reds - hence "Red Rose".

I’m always so hard on myself for not knowing everything. I would refuse to look up answers and I’ve left so many puzzles unfinished. Going forward, anytime I have to look something up, I will look at it as an opportunity to learn and not something I should shame myself for. Thanks!

My partner arrived at Ironclads before you had also based on their knowledge from Civilization. Also rumble strips are bumpy areas on the side of the road which causes a car to rumble if a tired driver veers too far to the side.

This is the first video of yours that I've watched & it was super helpful. I've always wanted someone to share their thought process aloud while solving the more difficult puzzles. Glad to see you're human and you weren't spitting answers left and right like a robot. Gives me hope & inspiration to do more NYT crosswords, especially later in the week. Thanks!

Thanks for the words at the beginning! You are correct, of course - the primary challenge for me is to have the confidence to not look something up, because a lot of the time I know the word, but just can't remember it. That is something I've noticed myself getting gradually better at, which is very satisfying. And it is also why it is extra frustrating to run into a new puzzle that just completely throws me off, like yesterday's - but I'm at a 15 streak now and I intend to keep going, and these videos are definitely a big part of that, so thanks again.

Wise words on getting better at solving. I think my big stumbling block has been coming to terms with the idea that crossword solving is a skill that you can practice and improve at with time, and not purely a trivia quiz like I'd been thinking previously. Your demo of the UK vs American style crossword really threw into sharp relief just how much more is going on here than pure trivia.

Just incase anyone was curious, here's the NATO phonetic alphabet(feel free to correct any mistakes): Alpha Bravo Charlie Delta Echo Foxtrot Golf Hotel Indigo Juliet Kilo Lima Mike November Oscar Papa Quebec Romeo Sierra Tango Uniform Victor Whiskey X-ray Yankee Zulu

Usually I hold off looking stuff up until I'm really stumped which is usually after I make at least some headway in the puzzle, but here we had New York Theaters

Unless I missed it, you didn't go back to 50 down, "Unlikely trick taker", for which the answer was Trey. Apparently that means three in poker, which ties in to one interpretation of the clue you were considering.

Thank you for sharing your thoughts and tips. I’ve introduced a number of friends to the NYT puzzle. They always say they won’t be able to do it and later say how much fun it is.

You were perhaps getting stuck on one understanding of a clue with "prefix with penultimate" again - "antepenultimate" is a word for the third to last in a series. :)

Wow that theme broke my brain when I saw it. Always surreal hearing someone read your comment, I always expect a comment on a YT video to be shot into the ether. Thanks for the response! If nothing else, watching these videos should help with my crossword skills!

Another horizontally rather than rotationally symmetrical grid!

That thumbnail photo of you… phwoar!

The IRONY that at 10:27 the clue is follower of “catch” or “latch” and just MOMENTS later at you say 10:52 you say “… that allows me to latch ONTO it….” 😳

It's July 29th, 2019, and this... is The Daily Solve. Warmest greetings.