Deb

I was definitely not on Rebecca's wavelength, doubled my average solve time. Nothing came easy. On to Thursday.

I bought an NYT subscription during Covid and have really enjoyed slowly improving my times. This one took me Sunday time to finish, but SO satisfying to eventually complete with no lookups! Absolutely brutal and beautiful grid.

Brutal. Resorted to some key Googling, like the Mark Twain award. I was shocked to learn the answer, because I don't care for Pryor's crass humor. I was proud of myself for finishing most of the rest, but then had to peek at the column to finish the NW. I really didn't think BADTHING could be the answer. I did (finally) get the IRS clue, but Cinderella sent me down a heavy metal rabbit hole in search of an answer. Ultimately, I enjoyed the challenge, and while people are absolutely entitled to their opinions, I'm really sad about the snark in the comments.

Who liked this puzzle? MOI!

Very fun puzzle for me. My first pass looked a lot like Deb's, but I persevered and came in 4 mins under avg. I was definitely on Kate's wavelength with the vague cluing until getting stuck at the bottom. I *almost looked up Steinbeck's hometown, but I had SAL and vaguely recalled that he was from CA, so I tried SALINAS, and everything fell from there. Looking forward to more from Kate!

I loved this puzzle. Enjoyed the "floundering" clue crossing HALIBUT. THREENAGER is perfect, I wish I'd thought of it! Baseball, Stephen King, pandas. Who could ask for more?

Absolutely brutal....and I am so proud of myself for finishing, albeit with a few cheats (Screamo, for one). Really appreciated the cluing. Is there such a thing as a fun slog?

That whole CUREL block had me flummuxed for a long time. I had PAINT_O_ first. Paint pot? Nah. Couldn't get it until JERSEY dawned on me. Then it took a ridiculously long time to rethink "tie with strings" even after I had BO_O. I also had THING for the 20 questions clue for a long time, which ruled out TEAL or CYAN and had me head-scratching. And the Poison clue...I should've known. Brutal. Needed a couple lookups. But I liked it.

Very much enjoyed this puzzle and theme. 52A was superb.

Loved the theme, but having LOO and OHNO really stuffed up the NW for me.

I had to resort to Reveal Word to complete the SE.... Definitely a head-smack moment. There were a couple of Scooby-Doo head-scratchers in there as mentioned by other commenters, but overall, I'm proud I got through most of it. Pointer clue was brilliant. I really enjoyed this crunchy puzzle.

Took me Sunday time to finish, but very satisfying when I did. Yes, a couple of lookups, but considering it's the next to the last week of school and my brain is officially fried, I'm happy.

Very tough, but thanks to Google, I didn't get totally SCROD. The puns were 'nother level. Liked all those double-letter combos.

Way over average for a Weds for me, and required a couple of lookups. Def not my wavelength.

Enjoyed this one, very proud to solve it with just two lookups - the author and the playwright. Also happy to learn what "erstwhile" really means. At last.

Wow. I would have relished this more if I could've tackled it on a leisurely Saturday morning instead of Friday afternoon after a long (short) week of school. As it was, I def needed a few lookups. DEFER rather than DETER really messed me up for a while. Guessed on YOINKED. NW was rough. DEL rather than POL had me wondering what on earth a John Deere reader was. Great puzzle.

Personally found today tough, def not my wavelength. Needed some lookups, then still had to Reveal to finish the SW. And then I still faced flyspecking and my pre-Spring Break brain had to rely on Check Puzzle to get the music. Oh well. Interested to see all the chatter about Thursday - I enjoyed that one! I did find Deb's column a little surprising, but frankly appreciated the candor.

Great puzzle, kicked my fanny. Stuck on AGE OF, didn't know GOSS, didn't get the shower misdirect, didn't know ACELAS, didn't know NFT. But I'm really happy to have gotten so far.

Found this challenging, some of the clues a bit of a reach. Took a few comebacks to get to the end, then stuck in the upper Midwest with PARKINGFINE. The column helped me finish, or I would've had to look up a couple things.

Enjoyed this puzzle, just the right chew. I too did not get the MEESE reference (the quote "I love these meeses to pieces" sticks in my head from some old Hanna-Barbera cartoon, but I love moose and have never thought of them as a type of deer). Got from the crosses, though.

Definitely not on the wavelength for this one, but I'm proud of myself for sticking with it and finishing. I thought there might be a rebus thrown in there, and had REWRITE THE STORY for a long time, which led me to speculate about Vermont being a big coffee producer (!). I had to look up the Rings cast, and that helped me unlock the NE. Then I had to go back and fix my mess in the NW, where I had gotten stuck on RAP and REALTIME. Tough one.

My one cent: Loved it!

I'm in the "meh" camp. I had no problem with the rebus aspect, though my brain really fought hard for some kind of connection and i bogged down for a while, but failing that, I just forged on and entered the letter pairs. I had a "d'oh" moment when I hit the revealer and realized those seemingly random letters were states. (And my state was even one of them!) My issue was the fill itself. I found most clues a bit too boring - you know, Monday-ish. NBAREFS had me going for a while, though. And TIL RATITE and the fun fact about their footprints. So, thanks, Amie!

Tough, but fair! Had to leave and come back a couple times, and I confess I needed the column tip on "evening out," but otherwise a very satisfying finish.

Chewy and delicious! Thanks, Kareem!

I was on the wavelength with the clues until I wasn't. Had to look up Nanak to unlock the NW. And I guess it's been too long since I played tennis and had to run the alphabet. My husband told me a deuce was also the nickname for a 32 Ford (aka the little deuce coupe), and that had me puzzled for a while.

So not on my wavelength, especially after a tough day at school. Key lookups helped uncover the NE, which then helped me suss the theme, but the SW corner still eluded me and I gave in to Reveal to finish. Nit: I like classic cars, but there was nothing in the clue to suggest the slangy name.

I found this tough, but any puzzle with COALESCE in it is worth the effort.