PK

It’s weird how some puzzles dazzle, while others leave you cold. This was the latter for me. The clues and answers and the theme today felt forced. UPPISH? Yuckish. At least TIL the name of a tribe I wasn’t aware of. Also, the revealer is the title of the best Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode (IMHO). Oh, well.

Here’s the thing about Wednesdays. It’s harder than you think, but easier than it looks. Or maybe it’s easier than you think, but harder than it looks. Either way, as long as everyone is having fun! Which I did. After fixing my rushed, silly errors.

Despair, followed by dogged determination, followed by revelation, followed by success. Good puzzle! This one is jake by me, Jake. Well done!

For the record, and speaking as an annoying pedant, the three guards in the opening scene of Hamlet are Bernardo, Francisco and Marcellus. What those two Italian guys and one Greek guy are doing in Denmark (besides guarding the battlements), I’m not quite sure. Marcellus enters last in the scene (along with Horatio—Hamlet’s school chum), and in the Globe Theatre where it was originally performed, Marcellus most likely came from the stage right entrance—audience left. Therefore, the third guard from the left is Marcellus. And now you know.

@Deb I totally agree—no need to rush! But that’s exactly what I did, filling in RAP rather than RAG. I knew that POSEE was wrong, but it sort of seemed right—models pose, right? But I actually know the term Go-see because actors also use that term (and often get “typed out” at those open calls). Anyway, a Good Friday workout!

Great workout! Amazing debut! I found this challenging but fun—perfect for a Friday. Bravo, Jackson!

Cute, fun. I worked in New Paltz, which has both a Lenape street and a Lenape elementary school. BTW, what happened to the Spelling Bee? It appears stuck on Monday in the game app.

Delicious! A great debut, a marvelous Monday, and a wonderful way to start the week! Thank you, Ms. Nowak!

BOFF? Maybe? Except for that, a boffo puzzle! Cute, fast, fun!

There’s something very satisfying about using a THREE-HOLE PUNCH. Aligning the paper and then pressing down on the lever or bar and hearing that very particular crunch. Then the paper lines up so nicely when you place them in a binder for, say, your book report, syllabi, or tenure and promotion documents (back in pre-digital days). Sadly, this was not my experience with this puzzle. I got the bit but it was the stretch to connect the answers. Yes, they all had holes, but not really. A donut has a hole, but not so much a sty and empty space. And ades are not really punches. But what do I want for a Tuesday? I guess I want a satisfying crunch!

The last two days has divided the solving community it seems. Yesterday people either loved or loathed and today people either cruised or cursed. I’d be interested in a demographic analysis, to see if there are any commonalities within each group. One week, I propose the NYT offer an anonymous survey for solvers to take and see what comes up.

“I’ll be damned…”. Good one, Sam! Cute puzzle. Woke me right up.

This one went fine for me, though I concur with the comments that there were some techy clues and answers for a Tuesday. But what I want to know is this, why SSGTS and SRGTS? I mean, yes, the down is plural. But that doesn’t turn sergeants into sesgeants. Any army folk out there care to explain this abbreviation?

The past two days seem to validate my longtime theory that the puzzle gets easier at certain times of the year. I’ve noticed this particularly during the winter holidays. People have more time on their hands and decide to give the crossword a whirl. Not wanting to discourage these impulses, the editors ease up on the difficulty—much to the consternation of the hoi poloi of the solving community. (“This puzzle is really a Wednesday!” “But I love Robyn—don’t say anything bad about Robyn!”) I hadn’t noticed the qualitative easing in the summer, but with school out, and the desire to reach a younger audience (which wouldn’t take much, given the tenor of the comments revealing all the alte kakas—me, included), it appears that an editorial decision has been made to lighten up. I’m fine with that. My average solve time goes down, and I can move on to Connections, and get really annoyed. Happy Saturday!

OK. Sure. But I would have liked to see some connection between the names, e.g, Bob and Ray, Nick and Nora, Harry and Sally. Did I miss the connections?