Charlie

@Miriam I thought we were supposed to remember him for saying "I regret that I have but one life to lose for my country". Before being hanged by the British for being an American patriot-spy. Statue of him at Yale. Did he also write children's books? Or are we up to three Nathans now? Perhaps other commenters will know of more to add to the list...

@Paul I couldn't figure out why the baseball kept getting bigger. Then it hit me.

@dutchiris And here the radio reported "no injuries" - I guess they didn't think to ask DutchIris's husband if he was okay!

@Andrzej I'll agree with you; as in Heather J's sample setence, the expression is used almost exclusively in the negative.

@Lucy I'm stunned and amazed by people from other countries who can solve, and enjoy solving, these puzzles. Maybe not so much Monday and Tuesday, but later in the week... the sports teams, the stores/ trade names, the small idiomatic differences, math spelled with four letters... I would think the small snags would be constant, unavoidable, unfair. How do you guys do it??

@Connor I always feel bad for international solvers, guilty even. But I doubt there's a good way out of it. There are so many Americanism and American brands, and constructors need all the words they can get. Puzzles are already so constrained, to use only terms known to English speakers across the globe, may be... I am surprised to read Sam, in her column, say she wasn't particularly familiar with the AFL-CIO. I thought the name was pretty well known.

@Charlie Oh. Thanks guys. (slightly embarassed) (notes there is no delete function on this forum.) I and few friends have reached that stage of life at which we've had to quit completely so "can I get you an N.A. [beer]?" comes up periodically.

@Roberto Yes, you're correct about the "with" and all, but there's no "a". So it's "on par with" or "commensurate with".

@Bill XD love it.

@Trish Yeah. "why the long face" also fit perfectly. I put that in early and it was hard to believe that wasn't correct.

@Charlie Tie as in tennis. Got it. I got 'em both. I'm very tired out here on the west coast. Thanks everyone!!

@_chs_ You can tell her for a fact, there's a second person who doesn't know Elphaba...

@koty Good question. I find the column writers to be quite supportive of the constructors, quite positive in their reviews of the puzzles, but they'll include a quibble on occasion. Perhaps they include the occasional critique when something really strikes them, or perhaps they do so the column reads as honest, credible, and interesting not predicable and bland. Anyway. Good question.

@Scott Yeah, I think "keep to the plan" sounds pretty natural. That said, I had "keep at" for the longest time . As in "to keep at a task". And it screwed me up. I was unreasonably confident in that answer. "keep to" is actually a better fit for the clue.

@Erick P. Was this the one for which "chalked up" was the answer? Or something close to it? In which case what does it matter how skilled or serious of a climber you are?

@Sarah Yup. me too. Found this one far easier than yesterday's. :)

@Sam Lyons Where are you?

@Andrzej Yeah, I don't know if you looked this up already, or it's interesting to you, or helpful, but the team name is the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Which gets shortened to "The Bucs" - always plural. And a buccaneer, of course, is another name for a pirate.

@Joey It took me forever to let go of noviA. I had the rest of the puzzle completed before I could bring myself to question, and then replace, that entry.

@dutchiris This is a superb comment. (I see what you did there!)

@Stephen I like "litmust tesT" also. Maybe someday.

@JayTee Ohhhhh!

@Jon Yeah, I loved the "tank top" clue. Excellent word-play. Brought a smile.

@Norwood I see what you did there.

@kilaueabart I hear it all the time. I was going to add "out here in California" but I see you're in Oakland... (shrugs). (maybe recently arrived from Hawaii and they're not common there?)

@Times Rita That clue first took my mind to the rhyme we learned when younger "beer then liquor, never skicker; liquor then beer, never fear" or "...you're in the clear" Obviously the intended entry was a much better one.

@Cat Lady Margaret The singular "antic" reminds me of Bill Bryson writing about words in English for which there seem to exist only the negated form. "She is so wonderfully competent and ept"

@Renegator I believe setting the puzzle aside and returning after a break works for exactly the opposite reason most people say. I think your mind gets stuck in rut, if you will. Reading that clue as a noun, thinking of those two homophones but not the third, hearing the answer rhyme with the last word you were thinking of, that sort of thing. When you come back to it, you start over, you see the verb instead of the noun or whatever it might be, because you are looking at it fresh, your mind isn't in the same loop it was before. Returning after a break works as well as it does precisely because an unconscious part of your mind was _not_ working on the puzzle.

@Jay Ha!! I totally missed "D to F" Thanks for pointing it out!