Andrew Kennelly

Loved the theme clues, but overall it was tough for a Tuesday. It was perhaps my longest solve time ever for a Tuesday. It would be fun for the NY Times to publish data on median solve times and create a query-able database.

33D: Icy cold . . . "Gelid" (apparently pronounced "Jellied") . . . I did well on the SAT, but this word was new to me. Am I the only one? Or it perhaps a regional term?

Simply amazing. I mean, wow. A bit harder than a normal Tuesday (my solve time was twice my Tuesday average), but it got easier once I got the revealer.

Whether Monday or Saturday, too many obscure proper nouns ruin a crossword puzzle. Nothing at all fun about today's puzzle. How was this puzzle accepted for publication? It belongs in one of those supermarket magazine rack puzzle books, not the NY Times.

54D - ("person of interest" = LOANSHARK): Early on, I filled this as "JOAN OF ARK" (though I couldn't understand how she would be a punny or witty answer to the clue, but figured maybe it was just going over my head) . . . and accordingly I struggled with the rest of the east-central part of the grid . . . until it finally came to me.

I'm admittedly not "Mr. Pop Culture", but the three intersecting proper nouns (14A, 15D, 30A) seemed a little obscure for a Monday. And the cluing to 29D (clue: "Iraqis and Iranians", answer: "Asians") seemed a little weird and unsatisfying. Other than that, a fairly run-of-the-mill Monday.

I'm not a crossword snob (I generally don't have much success after Thursday), but today seemed a little too easy even by Monday standards. But an easy one is fun from time to time, it makes me feel smart. As for OG, I might suggest OLD GEEZER and ORGANIC GROWTH.