Skeptical1

This is a nitpick, but it is important because it illustrates the decline of learning in our Latin-based language. The plural for two women comedians is ALUMNAE . ALUMNI means men or mixed gender.

This small cast of characters brilliantly and oh so amusingly cozied up in the most enjoyable puzzle of the century. I needed a long time to finish it early this morning in my shady garden shared with numerous friendly birds. I enjoyed every minute.

One of the uncanny things about the New York Times crossword puzzle is how frequently a theme fits right into one’s own life. I am in the throes of searching for an outfit to wear to my grandson‘s upcoming wedding to a lovely woman of Indian heritage. So with With a hoot I quickly filled in the first theme clue, referring to one of four types of glittery garments I can choose from. The rest of the theme answers came very easily.

This puzzle wasn’t easy, which is why it was such a lot of fun. I find with puzzles as clever as this, thinking actually interferes with knowing The themes were readily accessible because I just let them float into place from deep familiarity with our language’s idioms and stock phrases.

What a quirky mind this lady has. I enjoyed so much being on her wavelength. The only word I couldn’t suss out but got as a result of trial and error was CASCA. Shame on me for not remembering the villain who first stabbed Julius Caesar.

This brilliant puzzle offered me the entire range of challenge, Some grooved in answers popped up in immediate recall from depths of memory. Others, especially in the upper right corner, were sleuthed through error caused by layered misdirections. An educational, amusing solve, with no lookups!

ATONOF must be a quantity. “Untold” is not a quantity, it is a status I protest this clue!

I found this so excruciatingly idiosyncratic( (aside from the fact that I had never played a video game and had no idea who the princess was) that it was un-pleasurable to do it. Many of the words were completely made up. And to me had no relevance to the English language as I have known it for 90 years . I had no colors in my online edition so I didn’t get any of the intended extra-semantic hints. Reaches and stretches that challenge brains to connect and create are herein too extravagant, IMHO.

Ryan is a master of the modern puzzle in which phrases dominate. Some are very familiar, a few are idiosyncratic stretches. His puzzles are the most enjoyable of all, for me.

Caitlin, that’s my favorite quote from Millay, whose poetry got me through many youthful romantic crises. As for the puzzle, I never got the theme and had to use crutches to cross the finish line, but I respect its complexity and enjoyed doing it.

IMHO the clue to 1 across is incorrect. The meaning of the clue is rich and elegant, not merely smart. For example, a crisp white shirt with a pair of black jeans is smart, but not xxxx.

What sport is MMA? This is the second time this has appeared in recent days. I think the puzzle was a nice little challenge for relatively new solvers.