Like, regular human beings would know these? For example, "peddler of religious literature" (colporteur), Korean War soldier" (ROK - Republic of Korea), "PV=k" (Boyles Law), "gladly, old style" (life, as in "he would as life eat rocks as….), "gloss" (annotate), "fancify" (doup), "waterfall" (cataract), "enlightened sort" (arhat), "cabbage or kale" (doremi - apparently a slang and somewhat dated term for money), "Spartan serf" (helot), and "what a mobius strip lacks" (end). There are some clues I find ridiculously obscure and that's when I start writing really vicious letters in my head to the NYT puzzle editor, Will Short. For example: "Visibly stunned" (agasp), "really angry" (ireful), "running slowly" (seepy), "visibly embarrassed" (ablush), "mounted" (ahorse), "one who avoids being touched" (epeeist), "like paradise" (edenic), "venomous biting" (aspish), "echo" (revoice), "board near a gate" (enplane), "embiggen" (enlarge), "making bubbles as an ocean wave" (spumed), "treat as a saint" (enhalo), and "uhhhhh…" (erm).
But sometimes I think that the NYT just makes up words. OK, I admit I have a fairly concrete mind. You find more unique clues later in the week as the puzzles get more difficult. There are a lot of things you can tweak to adjust the difficulty, and earlier in the week, clues are purposely re-used to make the puzzles easier. Finally, his work isn’t NYT quality, but Myles Mellor has carved out a niche as one of the most prolific crossword-makers alive today, and when his puzzle isn’t there, people notice. They also got me with "appropriate game" (poach), "spend time on-line" (dries), "evening result" (tie), and "baby shower" (sonogram). Unique clues are a big part of what contribute to the difficulty of the puzzle. The NYT puzzle just loves those sneaky clues and I have been brought down by more than few, for example, "One whose 60-something" (Dstudent), "sticky foods" (kebabs), "iPhone8" (TUV), "Jolly 'Roger'" (Ihearya), "snaky character" (ess), "heat shields" (badges), "homey" (dawgs), "something the Netherlands has but Belgium does not" (capitaln), "maker of thousands of cars annually" (Otis), "very basic things" (lyes), and "took out the junk" (sailed).
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