Tuesday, March 31, 2026 - All hail the SITSKI!

0:00Welcome to Gene and Mike, do the New York Times Crossword. Hi, I'm Gene. And I'm Mike. And today we are doing the Crossword for Tuesday, March 31st, 2026. So on April Fool's Day Eve? Yes. Will you fool by today's Crossword? No. Good. But I have a feeling you've got some great plans for tomorrow. You seem intent on reminding me that that is coming right up. Oh, there's only one thing I'm going to be doing tomorrow. That's going to be watching Artemis takeoff. Oh, okay. I hope I'm going to be watching. I'm either going to watch it takeoff or not move or blow up one of the three. I'm really hoping for takeoff. Uh-huh. Actually, I think launch is the technical term. Yes. It's not an airplane. That's right. That's right. So, well, have fun with that. Thank you. But no, I was not fooled at all by this puzzle. Good. It was a very good Tuesday puzzle. Uh-huh. You have a fun theme and some fun clues to go along with it.

1:04I agree. Did you find it difficult, easy, middle of the road? No, not difficult at all, really. I did it, of course, with our daughter. And that always helps because she knows Arianne Grande is, thank you, next list. Which I did not know. That would be a 20-across and the answer being X's? Yes, I can't imagine writing. You should be listing your exes. I just like the fact that the song was, thank you, next. Yes. She must have gone through quite a few of them. I had no idea. I don't know. Anyway, it's always good to have, you know, two generations working on these puzzles. I have a much better odds of getting the answers quickly. Did she get 52-across, cloudy craft beer, hazy IP? She did? Yes, I had no idea. But boy, she knew that. I just think it's a bad idea to drink a hazy drink.

2:04I know. It doesn't sound too appetizing. It's like, does this been inspected by anybody? No, I don't know. But anyway, yes. I want to go on a limb and predict she did not help you with 6-across. About 746 of these equal one horsepower. What? I just didn't know that. That was a great clue. Yeah, that was a very good clue. I'll show it highlights the weakness of the whatever system of measurement we're on as opposed to the metrips system. 746? There you go. Yeah. Fine. Mm-hmm. One day that problem will go away, but not in this century. I don't think so. Maybe not the next one. Did she help you with four down piece of equipment for a winter paralympian, the sit ski? No, no. And I do one of us knew that answer, but we got the ski part really quickly, but we weren't quite sure what kind of ski, but a sit ski, I don't know. I think that would be kind of challenging to be on a sit ski, sitting while skiing.

3:07Well, it's either that or don't ski. Yeah. I think it would be a little scary. I was hoping, based on the name sit ski, it was going to have been invented by Samarashan. But apparently not. I don't think so. Yeah. I was hoping that Vladimir Sitsky, inventor of the sit ski, I don't think so. But it's actually appeared three times in the New York Times in 2022, last year in January and now. Yeah. Mm-hmm. One she did really, she was very excited about because she knew this and I thought it was funny. She knew it. Leavendown, Billy Joel, title character who's been living in her white bread world. Right. She was a town girl. Yeah. She was a song from my youth, so I'm like, well, I must have introduced her to that at one time. I think that was just a gratuitous attack on white bread. You know? Now of course they call it Italian. Yeah. Because it sounds more exotic. Uh-huh.

4:07But I feel that was unnecessary. Let's see. We had, as you say, a theme. We did have a theme. And I'm going to read the clues because they're kind of instrumental in the theme. But 17 across, we had three themed clues and revealers. So the first thing clue was 17 across 2003 crime drama adapted from a Dennis Lahain novel. And that was Mystic River. And then 27 across, six flags location. That was the first management park to offer 20 roller coasters. And that was Magic Mountain. And then 48 across, concept explaining why certain humanoid robots look so unsettling. And that was uncanny valley. Right. I'd never heard that. Really? Uncanny valley. Oh, yeah. I've heard that quite a lot. Oh, well. You're in computer science. So that might be why. Well, it's a really computer science per se, but it's that sort of gap between reality

5:09and something that's clearly artificial and something that's clearly real. And there's this space in between that makes people uneasy and uneasy. Uncanny valley. So anyway, the revealer was 64 across, which was utopian expanse, a map of which might include the themed clues. And that was fantasy land, because you had Mystic River, Magic Mountain, and uncanny valley. Mm-hmm. Fantasy land. I'm assuming that fantasy land has nothing at all to do with Disneyland. Well, yes. Part of one of the lands in Disneyland or in Disney World is fantasy land. But I'm willing to bet they don't have an area there called uncanny valley. No, I don't know that. Where Mickey Mouse would be protesting. Hey, that's not nice. But yeah, and let's see here, what we're going to say about Magic Mountain. The Six Flags location with 20 roller coasters, just how many do you need?

6:13Yeah. How much space would that take up now? It depends. They could be really small roller coasters, one second in your back where you started from. Or maybe one's on top of the other, or I don't know, but that's a lot of roller coasters. Twenty in one place. Where is Six Flags? Oh, I get, well, so Magic Mountain is the name of that location. Right. But I don't know where that is. And fantasy land maybe doesn't exist in real life. It might include Magic Mountain, but not necessarily, but no, it's somewhere in the U.S., but I don't know where. I know, I mean, there used to be like a Six Flags in Missouri. And there used to, and there was a magic mountain, Missouri. I don't think so. I know there was a, I'm pretty sure there was a Six Flags in Ohio. I'm going to bet it's like near either Disney World or Disneyland. Hey, we can see Magic Mountain from here. Let's call it Magic Mountain. Let's bring it on, Disney lawyers were ready.

7:15But anyway, there were various Six Flags around the country. And I think we visited the one in Missouri once. I've flown over it many times. I don't know if I've actually been at it. There was a, there was a amusement park in Kansas City, but I can't remember. It wasn't a Six Flags, it was something else. Was it Seven Chiefs? No. No. After Kansas City Chiefs? Yes. Yeah. No. No idea. Sorry. We had, I like, I was pleased with the fact that I got one across the planet's composer. And I'm like, oh, I know this person tonight. And then holst, the correct answer jumped into, jumped into mind. Really? Yeah. That's impressive. I knew his first name was Gustav, but I couldn't remember his last name. Well, I, you know, I think I started with Gustav first and then I went to Maylor. Oh, yeah. I don't know who Gustav Maylor is, but it sounded great. That's, he said, come closer. Yeah.

8:16Yeah. But then, but then holst just sort of popped fully formed into my head. Which is like, oh, I am impressed. You know, I might, I wonder if I had the H because one down was ET phone blank. I might have had the H. That's certainly what it helped. It would have gotten me off of Maylor anyway. Right. Right. I noticed that, that Will Schwartz was also getting into the, that celebrate Artemis Mood, 47 across Crater's Edge, Wim. Uh-huh. Okay. Not maybe hugely into it. I'm hoping tomorrow that they have, actually, that if they're going to do a crossword celebrating Artemis II, they'd probably wait until that landed right. Yeah. Because it looked pretty bad if something did go awry and there was the New York Times Crossword celebrating it. Yes. That would not be good. Yeah. They might have it in reserve. Uh-huh. I liked the clue for 39 across. Tightface that sounds like the name of a Disney princess, Ariel. Yes. That was you. And that's where I ended up.

9:16Oh really? Because, of course, I misspelled Ariel with an E. Oh. And so I had 40 down was inside Emmy Schumer and the sketch comedy series. And about Emmy and with one M, I know as it turned out to be Amy Schumer. That's right. Is there any relation to Chuck Schumer? Um, I have no idea. I just had an idea. You know, if they replace Chuck Schumer with Amy Schumer with anyone notice, I kind of think so. Didn't you used to have half moon glasses? Uh-huh. Did you get 38 down right away? Panasonic, panasonic acquisition of 2009. Samuel, since we just had that clue on Sunday. Did we? Yeah. This thing was actually the same. Yes, we did. You're right. Uh-huh. So I'm like, oh, I know this. It's Samuel. I think I did get it fairly expeditiously. Uh-huh. Also, we had a 50. Let's see. Was it 50 across? No. It was 50 down.

10:172010's dance fad with a reduplicative name. Nene. Nene. We just had jib jab. Uh-huh. And now we have Nene. Well, did you know 51 down, though, bound along clumsily. Lollip. No. That was a stunner for me. Lollip. I love that word. Lollip. That's because it probably reminds you of lollipop. Well, it kind of looks like lollipop. I wonder if you lollip while dining on lollipops. Yeah. You know, I thought about loll, like L-O-L-L. Yes. Yeah. Which I think. You loll around. Right. Lollipop. Great word. And then we also had 52 down. Malarkey. Hokem. Yes. Hokem. I figured you like that one. I did. Mm-hmm. I liked we had, uh, let's see. 68 across. Like flapjacks and frisbees. Right. Yeah. I was trying to think of some scientific term.

11:18Uh-huh. Yeah. Okay. Perhaps neuralagia. Oh, wait. No, that's brain freeze. All right. I think that is it for the crossword. Okay. But it is Tuesday. That it is. Which means it's time for triplet Tuesday. And for new listeners and those with four memories, triplet Tuesday is where one of us reads three clues to the other. The answer to all three clues is one three letter answer. You object just to guess that answer in as few clues as possible. We do it three times. Hence the name triplet Tuesday. And today I believe you will be posing the clues. I will. And I will be pretending like I know what I'm doing here. You, you pretend pretty well. All right. Okay. Here's your first clue. Ready. Metaphorical hole. Pit. No. Oh, yes it is. I'd like to argue with the judge. It has to be. Okay. Metaphorical hole.

12:18All right. Fine. Not a pit. Okay. Here's your second one. Buster Keaton missile. Buster Keaton missile. A metaphorical pit. No. No, no. Metaphorical hole. What? A metaphorical hole. Metaphorical spell W-H-O-L-E. What? Oh, you didn't say that. Well, you said pit right away. So I didn't have a chance. Metaphorical metaphorical hole. Buster Keaton missile. Yes, Patrick. Well, he wore a pork pie hat. And missile.

13:19Let's see. In the general. I mean, he throws... He didn't have it in the general. He throws lots of things. All right. I don't know. As easy as... Pie. That was... That was the answer. Oh, he threw pies. Yes. And the metaphorical hole is the pole pie. Yeah. Yeah. All right. All right. Another one was epitome of easiness. Do you've known... No. As easy as pie. I don't think so. I don't think I would have got that either. So, okay. Well, you got it. I'm free. All right. All right. Here's your next clip. Uh-huh. Quick drink. Quick drink. Uh-huh. Sip. No. Close. Yes. It is. It's either that or pitch. Beat by a whisker. Beat by a whisker. Just... Beat. Why? Just beat.

14:19Yes. Yes. Understand. Um... Let's see. One by a nose. That's too many letters. Um... Beat by a whisker. Uh... No idea. Okay. Here's number three. Blanket in the bud. Nip. Nip. That is correct. Okay. Uh-huh. What was the first one we had? Quick drink. Take a nip. A nip. Yeah. Oh, wow. Okay. Sip was close. Uh-huh. But no. Nip. Okay. All right. Here are your third set of clues. Leggo. No. Hang on. That's not through letters. Erector set. Peace. Log. Oh, no. Oh, close. Yes. It was either that or pit. Or sip. One of the three has to be... It was number two. Word with hot or fly.

15:23Hot or fly? Uh-huh. Hot or fly? Hot or fly. Pop. Hot pop. Or pop fly. No, not quite. All right. Here's number three. Partner of a cone. Or a wheel. Real spelled R-E-E-L. I'm sorry. What? It's either a partner of a cone or a cone or a wheel. R-E-E-L. So you can see. Black and cone. Black and real. No idea. Rod. Rod. Rod and cones like in your eye. Rod and real. Okay.

16:23All right. Wow. Three or ten. Three or three. Three and lost. Woohoo. All right. Well. Uh, thank you for that. I think. Sorry. And that is it for today. Thanks, everyone, for listening. We will be back again with our cutting-edge analysis of tomorrow's Crossword tomorrow. Bye-bye.