# Today's NYT crossword: How can FIEND possibly be the correct answer to DEVOTEE? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [June 6, 2020, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/todays-nyt-crossword-how-can-fiend-possibly-be-the-correct-answer-to-devotee/855162 "2020-06-06T17:39:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2020, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/todays-nyt-crossword-how-can-fiend-possibly-be-the-correct-answer-to-devotee/855162/21 "2020-06-07T04:26:57Z")
Poor Eugene T. Maleska has been spinning in his grave for years. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2020, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/todays-nyt-crossword-how-can-fiend-possibly-be-the-correct-answer-to-devotee/855162/22 "2020-06-07T04:44:44Z")
> [@BlankSlate](#): > > Poor Eugene T. Maleska has been spinning in his grave for years. It’s a grave filled with etuis, nards and a host of Essenes, like the tomb of an ancient pharaoh… ---
**Author:** ![42fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/4/b487fb/32.png) [@42fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/42fish)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2020, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/todays-nyt-crossword-how-can-fiend-possibly-be-the-correct-answer-to-devotee/855162/23 "2020-06-07T04:54:40Z")
> [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](#): > > I also don’t know why people from Yale are Elis. But if the clue fits… Presumably derived from the University’s benefactor/namesake Elihu Yale ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2020, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/todays-nyt-crossword-how-can-fiend-possibly-be-the-correct-answer-to-devotee/855162/24 "2020-06-07T05:23:17Z")
I’ve heard of a coke fiend. That would sort of fit “devotee.” ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2020, 9:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/todays-nyt-crossword-how-can-fiend-possibly-be-the-correct-answer-to-devotee/855162/25 "2020-06-07T09:14:22Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > I’ve heard of a coke fiend. That would sort of fit “devotee.” “I wanted Coke, dammit! Not that Pepsi crap!” ---
**Author:** ![K364](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k364/32/5_2.png) [@K364](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/K364)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2020, 11:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/todays-nyt-crossword-how-can-fiend-possibly-be-the-correct-answer-to-devotee/855162/26 "2020-06-07T11:22:06Z")
Today’s puzzle (Sunday) had me spitting nails\* I’m a very literal thinker, so it’s easy for me to get the blinders on and not think in the dozens of other ways a word could be used. Which is why I do crosswords. So, “Montana, in the 1980’s” had me totally stuck since I couldn’t get past (passed?) thinking of the state of Montana. Even when I got the answer “NINER” I couldn’t connect the dots. And the clue beside it “Early accepter of mobile payments” (CALDER) I still can’t figure out - can someone please enlighten me in on that one please? Is it common to refer to a SF Forty-Niner as a Niner? I totally derailed at the cross of “German city where Charlemagne was buried” (AACHEN) and “Supports” (BACKS). I had BANKS and no clue about the German city. \*hmm… is this a potential theme? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2020, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/todays-nyt-crossword-how-can-fiend-possibly-be-the-correct-answer-to-devotee/855162/27 "2020-06-07T11:47:56Z")
> [@K364](#): > > And the clue beside it “Early accepter of mobile payments” (CALDER) I still can’t figure out - can someone please enlighten me in on that one please? Alexander Calder, the sculptor who was big on mobiles. ---
**Author:** ![robardin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/43a26b/32.png) [@robardin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robardin)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2020, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/todays-nyt-crossword-how-can-fiend-possibly-be-the-correct-answer-to-devotee/855162/28 "2020-06-07T13:26:11Z")
Yes, the SF 49ers are very often just called the Niners by fans and broadcasters. I also didn’t know the name CALDERS but assumed it was a person to do with mobiles, as in modern art. I usually fill in people’s names the worst, especially from pop culture clues, and am resigned to filling them in from crosswise answers and phonetically. The answer that held me up the most today, even though I’d already figured out the theme gimmick and filled in the first half of the word and had a lot of the back of the phrase crosswise filled as well, was that I never knew SURFEIT was pronounced like COUNTERFEIT ("-fit"). And with emphasis on “sure” - I have always thought it was “Sir FATE!” And this is how I find out! (It’s not a word that gets said aloud much, is it?) ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2020, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/todays-nyt-crossword-how-can-fiend-possibly-be-the-correct-answer-to-devotee/855162/29 "2020-06-07T13:53:25Z")
Another puzzle completed without getting the theme until I read the notes… :rolleyes: I seem to have some kind of blind spot for theme, which is why Thursday is sometimes hard for me. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2020, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/todays-nyt-crossword-how-can-fiend-possibly-be-the-correct-answer-to-devotee/855162/30 "2020-06-07T17:54:50Z")
> [@K364](#): > > Starting 1 across with an obscure world capital was uncalled for. It may not be strictly cricket, but that’s easy enough to look up. I vaguely remembered the name, but had to look it up to be sure of the spelling; I already had the MENA. I’m not at all shy about turning to Google or Wiki for clues on such things as pop hits and movies I’ve never seen, or read or heard about. Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2020, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/todays-nyt-crossword-how-can-fiend-possibly-be-the-correct-answer-to-devotee/855162/31 "2020-06-07T18:13:23Z")
Eh, at least a world capital is something with a definite, unambiguous answer (if you happen to know it). What irks me are clues like “Compass dir.”, three letters, which has eight possible answers and 2-4 possibilities for each letter. At least give us something like “Lansing to Kalamazoo direction (abbrev.)”. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2020, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/todays-nyt-crossword-how-can-fiend-possibly-be-the-correct-answer-to-devotee/855162/32 "2020-06-07T18:13:07Z")
Eh, at least a world capital is something with a definite, unambiguous answer (if you happen to know it). What irks me are clues like “Compass dir.”, three letters, which has eight possible answers and 2-4 possibilities for each letter. At least give us something like “Lansing to Kalamazoo direction (abbrev.)”. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2020, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/todays-nyt-crossword-how-can-fiend-possibly-be-the-correct-answer-to-devotee/855162/33 "2020-06-07T20:05:19Z")
> [@K364](#): > > Starting 1 across with an obscure world capital was uncalled for. I agree but it doesn’t matter to me really. When solving a crossword I usually start by scanning all of the clues for low-hanging fruit, and filling those in answers. It doesn’t matter much where the easy and hard clues are in the sequence. Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2020, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/todays-nyt-crossword-how-can-fiend-possibly-be-the-correct-answer-to-devotee/855162/34 "2020-06-07T21:55:41Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Eh, at least a world capital is something with a definite, unambiguous answer (if you happen to know it). What irks me are clues like “Compass dir.”, three letters, which has eight possible answers and 2-4 possibilities for each letter. At least give us something like “Lansing to Kalamazoo direction (abbrev.)”. Better yet, “Lansing to Kalamazoo dir.”, so you can leave out the “(abbrev.)”. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2020, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/todays-nyt-crossword-how-can-fiend-possibly-be-the-correct-answer-to-devotee/855162/35 "2020-06-07T22:52:36Z")
> [@RitterSport](#): > > Better yet, “Lansing to Kalamazoo dir.”, so you can leave out the “(abbrev.)”. From today’s puzzle, 92a REALLY BOTHERED turns out to be ATE AT. Double-U. Tee. Eff. I know that correct irregular verb participles are passé in the wider culture, but I expected better than this from the New York Times. [SMH] Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2020, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/todays-nyt-crossword-how-can-fiend-possibly-be-the-correct-answer-to-devotee/855162/36 "2020-06-07T22:56:28Z")
> [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](#): > > From today’s puzzle, 92a REALLY BOTHERED turns out to be ATE AT. > > Double-U. Tee. Eff. > > I know that correct irregular verb participles are passé in the wider culture, but I expected better than this from the New York Times. > > [SMH] > > Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk How is this wrong? “It really bothered him” is the same tense as “It ate at him”. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2020, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/todays-nyt-crossword-how-can-fiend-possibly-be-the-correct-answer-to-devotee/855162/37 "2020-06-07T23:04:29Z")
My error. Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2020, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/todays-nyt-crossword-how-can-fiend-possibly-be-the-correct-answer-to-devotee/855162/38 "2020-06-08T02:19:50Z")
> [@robardin](#): > > I do a lot of crossword puzzles, have done the NYT one for 20 years (on and off), and yet I can’t remember ever seeing TEC as three-letter fill. According to [xwordinfo.com](http://xwordinfo.com), TEC has appeared 55 times in the last 20 years. Last time was May 24, 2019, and, before that May 20, 2019. Then we had four times in 2018, Once in 2017, and then you have to go back three years to 2014. 2010 seemed to be its heyday, when it appeared ten times. First appearance was in a 1945 puzzle. I, too, was unfamiliar with it. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2020, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/todays-nyt-crossword-how-can-fiend-possibly-be-the-correct-answer-to-devotee/855162/39 "2020-06-08T02:43:40Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > According to [xwordinfo.com](http://xwordinfo.com), TEC has appeared 55 times in the last 20 years. Last time was May 24, 2019, and, before that May 20, 2019. Then we had four times in 2018, Once in 2017, and then you have to go back three years to 2014. 2010 seemed to be its heyday, when it appeared ten times. First appearance was in a 1945 puzzle. > > I, too, was unfamiliar with it. Is that only in the NYT puzzles? I do the LATimes, Newsday, and WSJ crosswords so it seems like I see that word a lot. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2020, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/todays-nyt-crossword-how-can-fiend-possibly-be-the-correct-answer-to-devotee/855162/40 "2020-06-08T03:04:34Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > Is that only in the NYT puzzles? I do the LATimes, Newsday, and WSJ crosswords so it seems like I see that word a lot. Yes, that’s a count from NYTimes puzzles only. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/todays-nyt-crossword-how-can-fiend-possibly-be-the-correct-answer-to-devotee/855162.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/todays-nyt-crossword-how-can-fiend-possibly-be-the-correct-answer-to-devotee/855162.md?page=3)