festy

I don't mind hard puzzles, in fact I look forward to the progression during the week. But for one to be really good, the constructor not only has to be clever, but understand balance. This one had way too many extremely esoteric answers that only someone with a major in that topic could possibly know, That's not a fatal flaw, but when the opportunity for an educated guess from crosses does not exist the puzzle simply becomes annoying.

Just started reading these, so I suspect this may have been stated many times already. I've been doing these for years, and this may be the most stunning example of expert construction I've ever seen. No, I didn't get the entire theme until I got here. Learning the second level put a smile on my face. This is a very good day. I left the "don't make sense" entries in place since I was sure of the crosses and decided to take my chances. Finished slightly over average with no lookups. A real confidence builder!

This was very much a Jekyl and Hyde work. Some areas had great and inventive entries Others had very questionable ones and it wasn't a question of rarely used words, rather a stretch too far ro make a word "work". I don't like when solvng includees the thought "well, that's not really right but it's the only thing that fits".

Later getting to this than usual, but I had to comment. This is the best sort of puzzle. 80% of the time I was sitting in despair, the other 20 was truly rewarding. When I finish one like this without lookups, it's going to be a good day.

I admire Mr Ezersky's talent, but is on a tottaly different mental wavelength than I am. It took almost 20 minutes of scanning before I entered a single entry. Almost double my normal time to finish, and a slog from beginning to end. It doesn't help that I always forget he likes to use multiword answers.

I have to side with the "too far by a mile" crowd here. Yes, there are tricks and rebuses but I have a problem with being forced to enter totally incorrect words to complete the puzzle. I saw early that substitution was going to be required, but for instance, the "correct" answer being dogbed went against my every thought of what a crossword is, was, and should be. To avoid the snark from the resident caped defender, I'll just say that this was beyond my skill level when actually it caused me to break all the rules I've learned over the years.

No question this is the best so far this year, and maybe last year. I got almost nothing at the beginning. When I completed it, I realized how much fun it is when the pace accelerates to lightning speed at the end. Some VERY clever cluing.

Huge respect for the contructor. I can't remember a puzzle where it took forever to gain a toehold and that was mostly from wild guesses. Some were correct but most were wrong. I think two or three were changed multiple times. Finally, the music sounded. This is the level of NYT crossword I remember from the past.

Everyone's brains works a bit differently, but this puzzle was great fun since it seemed to be made just for me. I amazed myself by seeing the long and/or creative answers with only a couple of crosses. So I filled in some words I had no idea about. Wonderful! Very clever, off the beaten path cluing was a joy.

As I was solving this, I realized it was a great puzzle for new solvers. No (or very lttle) crosswordese, direct but clever clues that took a little thought, and no tricks in filling the answers. Then I read wordplay and found Sam saying the same thing. It's a good day!

I guess this is sort of a throwaway comment, but the best part of this wasn't the theme for me. In all my years of puzzling, I have never seen one this far away from my mindset. Almost every answer was so far away from my frame of mind that when I finally got them it was with a sense of wonder - hey, that would work! Longish, difficult solve but maybe the most gratified I've felt in solving.

Not a single complaint with this one. Though it was quite a slog for me, not once did I feel stumped and helpless. A word dawning here and there led to a succesful completion. My brain is still catching a breath as this is what a crossword is supposed to be.

I liked this one as much as I disliked yesterday's. No gimmicks, but included long entries, thought of alternative usage was mandatory, fair clues - deceptive but not cryptic. Way over my average but a pleasure to solve.

delightfully cruncy, all clues are fair, and using answers I've not (or can't remember) ever seeing before. Perfection with a slog slowly coming together.

The longer you solve, the more humble you get. I was quite enthused at getting the long, clever entries. But every natick is personal, and I ran into a particularly obtuse one involving the last square to enter. It's always good to learn, and a lucky guess provided gorp/chapati.

Most fun and challenging I've seen in a while. It's always a treat to get a long entry just by crosses even when you don't see the connection to the clue. Started out with a handful of gimmes and a sense of dread. Finished with a lot more satisfaction than usual.

For once, no suggestions about where the constructor failed. This is a jewel. So many "pretty sure" entries had to be removed and the mad rush at the end came much later than usual. So stumped early on that I was intent on getting a handle on the rebuses since I had so many open squares. Top tier misdirection that there weren't any;.

Great puzzle and what I expect for a Saturday. Way over average solving time. I do have nits to pick with a couple of areas with really esoteric clues where the crosses did not help at all. Had to resort to one lookup and I never like doing that. Again, great puzzle, but for me the essence of good construction requires crosses (even very difficult ones) that can at least lead to an educated guess for those words not even the most erudite have ever used or even heard of.

A very good day for me. I seldom see themes even when there is a tipoff, so realizing what was going on before I finished was a plus. But the best part was in Sam's comments. I once was fluent in Spanish way back in college and kept wanting to use riata. I never knew the connection between that and the correct entry so it was a huge "really?" for me and something I truly enjoyed.

Lots of complaints about arctic and I agree since I never have seen that usage in my long life. But still, praise for the crossword since the crosses made it possible for there to be only one anwer. In my mind, that's the way it's supposed to work - if there's a word usage that very few people have encountered, make it possible for the learning to happen. As an aside, if it indeed a description of a boot used in arctic climates, waterproof is a real clunker. There's little if no water there, only snow and ice.

Very enjoyable once I got past being certain the china shop would be in chaos. And an interesting note about usage - On every farm I was on, along with farm auctions, that tool was always called a hay fork. In general usage among non-farmers it was always a pitchfork. Maybe the movies with angry townsfolk imprinted everyone?

A wonderful work, the best kind. First pass through and only 3 or 4 small words that I wasn't all that confident in. But bouncing around, getting fills here and there and things slowly came together with some surprising entries.

Fun, and a very clean true crossword. I have to admit I had never heard the term for that dog toy and it held me up for minutes until I realized even though it made no sense to me, there could be no other answer.

I was involved with vehicles for most of my life, and spent quite a bit of time in race car transporters and truck stops. Not once, ever, did I ever hear anyone refer to any area as a cabin. Never. The common term for the sleeping area is berth or sometimes rack. And the area in front of it is the cab, which may have come years ago from cabin but even if it did has fallen out of use before all of us were born. This was standard from coast to coast. You can check ads from the early 1900s and the passenger area of a truck is always referred to as a cab. A stretch of miles and miles on that clue.

Very sound puzzle with a great amount of clues that brought smiles when the answer dawned on me. I was surprised to be a few seconds over average, but there ws a reason for that. Did others get stuck on the answer not being jpeg?

Though Mr Ancona often attacks my belief that crosswords follow traditonal rules, for some unknown reason the constructor put a smile on my face by breaking (demolishing?) a cardinal one.

Different mindsets produce different results. This was extrememly difficult for me, but I made it through without any lookups. One of the few I can remember where I got the long clues quickly but they weren't of much help for the shorter ones. Nice workout for me, sorry for those who breezed through and missed the pleasure when the final solve came.

Just went to the top of my list for most annoying puzzle of the year. All over the place for the tricks, and trying much too hard to be clever. Yes, I solved it but with clenched teeth. Maybe needed some phrases in Klingon or a down clue actually needing to be entered in the across spaces.

Before I was annoyed. Now I'm angry. For at least the 4th time the site refuses to recognice a correctly completed puzzle. Yes, I know how to contact support. The fix? Clearing out the answers, entering them once again, and then letting support know I've done so. At that point they will force a completion status. Really, NYT? I pay good money that go could somewhere else for a product that doesn't always work. Either because of lack of concern, lack of ability, or something else the problem has continued. There is no reason I should have to trade emails and work a puzzle twice.

It's a good day when the constructor and I mindmelf and are on exactly the samewave length. Rare for late week, but a steady progression from one clue to the next. The only square that took some thought was 64A where I was over thinking. I was sure it was IOS, the system that runs I Pads, I Phones, etc. Forehead slapper on that one.

Best way I can explain this fascinating Tale of Two Puzzles: Draw a line from top right corner to bottom left. Right side - "This is a Friday?" Left side: "Whaaaaat?" Had to shift gears to finish this thing, with a smile on my face while I dd so.

Tough but fun once I realized the conceit. As an aside - with nothing against those who filled in - it is such a joy to see Mr Shortz back on the job, and it is amazing how much better the puzzles are since. Just good, clean, crunchy works which I always expected from the NYT.

Really interesting and fun. As usual, I solved but never understood the clue. Only after reading wordplay and checking back and forth did the light bulb go on. Very clever, very workable, and a classis crossword!

I think this may have the best week ever for quality crosswords. All straightforward, many requiring a total rethink of the clue. Wondering if anyone else was tripped up by saint in 1A, and being so sure that was the answer that it was only late in my solve I realized there was an alternative.

The two entries that some people had problems with are related. They are absolutely correct but the confusion arises from new usages and language evolving. Long before a basketball dunk was possible, let alone common, it would be entirely accurate to describe a a high scoring shooter as stuffing the basket with lots of balls going through the net. It was only later that the term started being used to describe a dunk and took over that term. As for the supercharger thing, as others have noted the original means of charging the cylinders with more air than the ambient atmosphere allowed was a mechanical item that was powered by the crankshaft. Later, turbochargers were developed and used the engine exhaust to do exactly the same thing without putting a load on the engine. The old standard of the mechanical became the norm for supercharger though the turbo is also one, simply powered in a different way.

Sometimes one's on or even close to the constructor's wavelength, and sometime it's a universe apart. Today was the latter. My time was over my average at an embarrassing level. But no complaints at all about this Saturday workout. The cluing was spot on. And even though I got the couple of clues being complained about , so many of the others were just not in my wheelhouse. Congrats to the constructor for throwing a knuckleball.

Just like averages, I don't pay much attention to the day it's published other than look for gymnastics on Thursdays. It's all about the enjoyment of the puzzle. Solved this one without lookup and was forced into a bunch of Plan B answers to do so. It engaged the brain and I got the pleasue when the mental lightbulb switched on. That makes it a good puzzle regardless of the day of the week. Isn't that why we're all here? I think a lot of people have morphed into a lot of side issues and lost sight of the core of crossword solving.

Breezy indeed, proper for Tuesday. As for wadi, any of the nymphs, and many other fills they were regular entries in the past. I wanted Mothra but then thought of the movie that scared the poop out of me at a single digit age. Lots of current references that should have been a snap for newer solvers. The truth is that every crossword is different for every solver.

Really difficult for me, very slow but steady slog. Made the smiles when things clicked and the accomplishment of solving all the sweeter. Glad I thought I was reduced to lookups a couple of times but resisted.

Great balance for me. Of course I look at average time, but it's just a habit. I do these for the enjoyment and feel a bit let down when it's all over within 5 minutes or so. Neither do I enjoy my brain getting overheated and being filled with despair. So this one was just right - lots of changes had to be made especially on the theme modifier words, but challenging enough to be a joy as I slowly worked through all those blank spaces.

For some reason, my solving style almost never entails getting the theme to complete. So this one was about half my average even with having to read wordplay afterwards to understand what it was - and when I saw that it put a smile on my face. Very clever, and something I would not have gotten since none of the clues invovled any sort of explanation. With crosses and educated guesses, this was a joy to complete.

Really good puzzle, the best kind. Lots of blank staring at the beginning that turn into multiple "AHAs" as one progesses - with unusual entries to boot.