JBW

This was the holiday fruitcake of puzzles. While I admire the effort and cleverness that went into it, there is much too much going on for it to be enjoyable to those partaking of it.

I came here to share how much I enjoyed this puzzle and its fresh grid-spanning stacks. But perhaps the best part of today's entry is Adrianne Baik's beautiful contructor notes and the absolute gut punch at the end. Somewhere Arjun is smiling over this fabulous debut. I so look forward to the next puzzle.

This was a stunning debut. I absolutely loved the star exploding across the grid and the echo of related answers like ad astra, starburst, and make it pop. Gold star for this one. More please.

I went right for the answers that didn't have any shaded squares and worked my way toward the crusts. It's a lovely moment when the concept suddenly clicks. And a very nice visual at the end. And now I have the late night munchies.

My son and I have been solving the puzzle together for several weeks now. I’m trying to get him hooked on the family legacy of NYT puzzle solving and I think I nearly have him addicted. This puzzle was right up his warp pipe. His insider knowledge landed us nearly ten minutes under my Sunday average. I understand Super Mario might not be a preferred theme for all solvers, but I found this a refreshing and delightful change of pace that helped me convince a new puzzle solver that Sunday themes can be great fun.

An A+ puzzle. While the theme was fairly easily uncovered, the fresh answers and cluing made this particularly entertaining. And how nice to see a Wordplay column from Will Shortz.

A marvelous debut and wise advice from the constructor about sticking with puzzles that involve a bit of solving flexibility. It was great fun to watch theme answers morph into something unexpected. Making tarnation of Tarantino was particularly entertaining. Looking forward to Mr. Guzman's upcoming puzzles.

Deb, I am so sorry. What a lovely, moving tribute you have shared with us. Almost 27 years on, I still have the last NYT crossword puzzle my Dad tried to complete in his final days in ICU. He and my mother introduced me to the daily discipline of completing the Times crossword. It is so reassuring to renew that connection with them every time I start filling in a new puzzle.

An absolute delight to solve. Adrianne, please come back again soon -- particularly if you're bringing chocolate.

What a workout. Fair, but tough. Just how I like my Saturday puzzles. "King me" was a particularly enjoyable aha moment. This puzzle pushed my current streak to 1400, and I had to fight for it.

This puzzle definitely put up a fight. I had to hang onto toeholds for dear life. Exactly the sort of challenge I want from a Saturday puzzle. More of this, please. "Spin right round" was a particularly enjoyable clue, even if it triggers an inevitable earworm.

Stunning to look back at the grid on completion. The "wowed" in the center sums up exactly how I feel about this clever construction. Well done.

An enjoyable puzzle that was kind to us on a Thursday. But mostly I want to call out the charming constructor notes. What a delightful way to sum up 17 years of wedded bliss. Happy Anniversary Zhou and Kevin. We'll be waiting for puzzle #11.

An absolutely ingenious puzzle. It deserves to be inducted into Phi Beta Kappa. I enjoyed this one immensely and certainly hope Mr. Schiff will amaze us soon with similar symbol play.

Wwwoooowww! Here I was plugging along thinking the letter repeats were random and getting a bit cross about it -- not unlike when I fat finger a text. Then comes the reveal and how wrong I was. Clever theme. I enjoyed sticking with this one.

"ASL" is so frequently the answer to puzzle clues. How wonderful to see it become an integral part of the solution. Loved this and loved learning these signs.

I didn’t pay attention to the constructor’s name until completing the puzzle. That gave me quite a smile. Congratulations on a marvelous, mirthful, mischievous debut, Mr. Motz. Very enjoyable.

Wow, wow, wow. What a tremendous workout. I enjoyed every bit of the journey from "what in the world" to "oh, I see." I played it by ear, inched along, and finally booked a completion. Thank you, Mr. Schiff -- this was clever and great fun.

Thank goodness for the minor third. It was my gimme into the theme. Led me due north as it were. Clever puzzle.

I was working at Wells Fargo during the infamous “Happy Birthday, Holly” mass email incident in which a well-meaning private birthday wish ended up being distributed to nearly the entire corporation. It was quite something to watch hundreds upon hundreds of reply-all emails flood everyone’s inbox with indignant demands to be removed from the distribution list. Which of course led to endless rounds of people using a reply-all email to admonish others to stop using reply-all. Frustrating. It spiraled out of control for several hours before someone found a way to shut the whole thing down. The experience was eventually turned into a media story and a t-shirt – so ultimately an amusing rather than regretful mass email memory. What a perfect Saturday puzzle you’ve gifted us today, Mr. Juhnke, with just the right amount of bite and mischief. It pushed my current streak to 1,750 so I’m pretty chuffed about that.

I love how the puzzle doublecrossed me by making me doubt duplicate answers. What a delightfully devious thing to do. Marvelous theme elegantly presented. I'd like to request seconds, please.

I particularly enjoy reading constructor notes that share stories of success after much persistence. Congratulations, Chad, on a solid and very likeable debut.

As someone who constantly has to avoid it in local restaurants, I confidently filled in "sweet" for the Southern variation rather than "peach." The sweet tea here can be aggressively sweet and a shock to the system if you are not prepared for it. Loved the movie title and phrase that framed the theme. Tea for Tuesday.

Because I'm old, Ice Capades was the first ice show that popped into my mind, so that slowed me up a bit. I also wanted my shades to be slatted rather than pleated. So much to like here in a solid, classic Saturday puzzle. Particularly enjoyed the clue for street taco.

Tuesday is usually my least favorite day of the puzzle solving week, but this is a major exception. What a delightful, celebration-worthy theme that gave us the right amount of challenge and fun. Gia's dad is surely smiling over this one.

A puzzle that immediately draws a smile when you see the colors and the rings. Once you grasp the concept, it is perhaps too quickly solved for a Sunday. But, I'm feeling the Olympic spirit, so this was enjoyable. Plus vite, plus haut, plus fort – ensemble.

A charming, marvelous debut. Very clever interplay of the double letters among the theme clues. I always enjoy reading the constructor notes, particularly when they convey the obvious joy of that first time in print. I'll look forward to the next puzzle from Mr. Horton.

I will admit to Googling 22D after completing the puzzle. I had almost nothing in my first pass. Got a toehold in the SW corner and it fell gradually from there. That's my kind of puzzle. Excellent debut. More please.

A class act of a puzzle. Once I had the theme, I dropped the rest of the grid to focus on first filling in as many of the names as I could. Kelly, thank you for a shining ray of joy and pride -- it is much needed these days.

That was humbling. It was a personal triumph to push through to the end, hanging on to every toehold for dear life. Fair and brilliant. But, definitely humbling.

Was this another delightful debut? "Signs point to yes." What a smile-worthy aha moment once I recognized the reference. I enjoyed Daniel's backstory. So glad Ruby said yes.

A perfect Monday puzzle with an enjoyable theme to suss out. Oorah was new to me and I kept doubting that starting double o for longer than I should. Today's solve pushed my streak to 1500. Onward.

I am probably one of the three people on the planet who have never watched this film. Now that I've tunneled out of this puzzle, I feel an obligation to give the movie a go sometime soon. An enjoyable solve and an admirable feat of interlocking theme answers, even if I had no clue about the film references.

I really wanted producer of black & white footage to be a panda paw rather than cam. That put me on the struggle bus for a bit, but otherwise this went by quickly and enjoyably. A fresh and charming puzzle.

Put me in the "loved it" column for this Sunday workout. It took me a good while to catch onto the theme. I needed a critical mass of non-theme crosses to get a toehold. All the way down to "give off "/"emit" the aha moment finally hit. After that, it was a delight to sound out the remaining themes. Well done.

Clever theme. I found myself wishing there were more parallel answers to uncover. I spent far too long trying to make Oxford rather than serial describe the controversial punctuation (I'm generally an Oxford comma observer). This was a marvelous collaboration debut. More please.

I went to the dentist this morning for a crown (sadly not the fun kind), so novocaine was quickly entered. Lots of playful misdirection and just the right amount of resistance for an enjoyable Saturday solve. Congratulations to Mr. Lieberman for publishing a grid for every day of the week -- quite the accomplishment.

I was fortunate that Maria Tallchief and the spelling of the Irish title for prime minister came to mind readily. Otherwise those corners would have been a real slog for me. I got the fill for ID tag long before I understood what it meant. Excellent clue. 'Twas a perfect Saturday puzzle.

Sometimes being an avid fiber enthusiast pays off. I was getting little traction with this puzzle until I reached the clue for 52 across which is a gimme for knitters, particularly those who regularly knit fair isle. Everything fell neatly into place after that. And how wonderful that the constructor is a knitter too. A very satisfying Saturday puzzle.

The Thursday puzzle still has a hold on me. I confidently filled in "save the day" for 1A rather than "pave the way." Way / Day. Sadly, it's no longer w-or-d choice day. Lots to enjoy in this fresh puzzle that made me work to get a toehold. I learned a few new-to-me terms.

A super quick solve but so much fun and a clever conceit. It's put me in the mood for Doublemint gum. Double your pleasure, double your fun.

I'm old enough to fondly remember looking forward to the Movie of the Week, so this was a lovely throwback to simpler days. I always enjoy the reset of solving difficulty as we start a new puzzle week, and this was a smashing, perfect Monday solve.

I hope this will be a recurring theme, because I'd love to do many more of these puzzle. Such fun. Tony Orlando was the first theme answer that fell for me and it gave me such a laugh. I really feel someone needs to open a posh central Florida restaurant with this name.

Seriously, this was a splendid debut, Mr. Falkowski. For a Tuesday it had bite and humor – and that is most welcome. I’ll let others debate whether this was the right level of complexity/clueing for a Tuesday. I’m simply grateful there’s another puzzle to solve each day and a talented new constructor on the roster to keep us amused going forward. Please come back soon to needle and rib us.

Sesh, not sess. Arrgghh. Spent way too much time looking for that error. This is the puzzle that clicks my streak odometer to 1100 so I was determined to find the hitch. Clever, clever puzzle. At first I expected theme answers to follow the same pattern. Re-reading the title helped trigger the aha moment about the orientation of the answer making all the difference. A lovely Sunday challenge.

That was phun and phast. I typically get impatient with puzzles that rely on a quote spanning several clues, but a Steven Wright quip is always worth the effort. An enjoyable Thursday offering.

Clever. At first the fill seemed relatively straightforward and I thought perhaps I had my days mixed up and this wasn't actually a Thursday puzzle. Then down the wormholes I went. I always enjoy a bit of Thursday misdirection fun. Well done.

I really must remember how to spell jodhpurs. I wore them often enough growing up horseback riding. The h/p sequence always trips me up and certainly lost me a bit of solving time here. No matter. It was a marvelous puzzle and a real rush when you realize you've been putting items in your pants pockets.

A breezy, fun Tuesday puzzle. Love the downward trajectory reflected in the construction. But, I particularly enjoyed the charming constructor notes. Congratulations on your terrific debut, Corry. My mother introduced me to puzzle solving too and she also enjoyed calling out the snicklefritzes in our family.