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@TJ I'm pretty new to solving the whole week, so I had to look a couple things up to get toe holds. But this was a great puzzle and I loved it! How would I get better if not challenged?

@B As an American, I knew none of them, either.

@Apurv I liked it. It was very hard, required lookups to finish for me, but I thought it was fun and engaging. You're welcome to disagree, but your comments go way past respectfully expressing your thoughts. I hope once you get some space from this you feel differently. It might be good to give yourself that space before commenting in the future.

@D I think it's a stretch to say no one's heard of speed cubers. I have, and lots of others in the comments here have.

@Maks I assume you're thinking of the homeliness definition where it means cozy. It has another meaning, which is the exact opposite of pulchritude.

@Matt SP's answer was great, but I thought I'd share a list of definitions someone else posted here at some point that I found useful. Not all of the terms are really used in this forum, but enough are that I think it's an educational read. <a href="https://qv.neocities.org/xwords/glossary" target="_blank">https://qv.neocities.org/xwords/glossary</a>

@SP I thought it enhanced the joke, personally.

Past tense of tear, past tense of rend.

@D I'm sorry you didn't like this one. I thought it was pretty fun.

@Jane Wheelaghan Perhaps it's an art lab! There's a great Calvin and Hobbes with the quote: "don't knock my smock or I'll clean your clock!" I say it every time smocks are mentioned. My family is definitely not tired of it.

@Heidi Am important part of the concept of "the ick" is that it's not something most people would be averse to. It's meant to express that for this one person, it's a dealbreaker. It's usually not rational, but instead more of a gut feeling.

@Loopy It might help to think of the clue as a clue and not a definition. This sort of thing comes up a lot - clues lead you to the answer but aren't meant to be definitively exactly the answer.

@Pat Bae is slang for the one you love (short for baby). Merriam Webster lists the first use in 1983, but it became common in the last decade or so.

@Cherry In your browser of choice, go to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/spotlight/daily-crossword-column" target="_blank">https://www.nytimes.com/spotlight/daily-crossword-column</a> In the browser menu, choose "add to homescreen". Put the icon next to your nyt games app. Since you said you use an iPhone, here's a page with directions for safari: <a href="https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/bookmark-a-website-iph42ab2f3a7/ios" target="_blank">https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/bookmark-a-website-iph42ab2f3a7/ios</a> There's not really a great way to do this for puzzles from the archives. I end up googling "nyt wordplay column" and the date I need. I hope this helps! I agree it sucks that they made this difficult.

@SP Yeah, but if I received the nasty comments he sometimes gets I'd probably stop posting, too. I really think some people forget they're aiming their vitriol at another real human being. Hope you're reading this, Andrjez. We see you and like you being here.

@Asher B. I'm surprised your household thinks you're the rude one in this situation. I think you're fully justified. If someone knocks on my door, it's almost always a salesperson. I'll give them a quick no and close the door while they're still trying to talk to me. Your housemates would probably find that rude, too, but the fact is that they're not entitled to an iota of your time.

@Mean Old Lady I've only heard it as pet peeve, not something that scares you, fwiw.

@Don H I had the same mistake hold me up at the end.

@Bob DiNardo You may be right for the language of origin, but in English I've only ever heard anyone call it a panini. It's common usage, so it's correct for a puzzle like this one. English does this to words from other languages all the time.

@Andree Heidi didn't bring that up as a brag, so doesn't need your congratulations. She used it to demonstrate the false equivalency of "I don't know it = bad puzzle".

They're referring to the Midi. There isn't a separate place to discuss the smaller crosswords.

Like Andrzej said, it really just does mean being kinda pouty after an outcome you didn't want. You shouldn't find anything bad if you Google it.

@Andrzej What a great picture of an absolutely pulchritudinous dog!

@Katie Great article. Thank you for sharing it.

@Christina It's when someone is playing a puzzle from the archives that they enjoyed and want to share. They don't relate to the days puzzle, but they're a fun way to jump into another puzzle if you want!

@Dan Yes, and it's linguistically useful, since it includes the information that what you're about to say is your best remembrance/an approximation of what was said, not word for word.

@lucky13 I've never heard left-handed compliment before, and I'm glad to leave it out of use. We lefties get slandered enough as it is.

@Wayne Harrison There's no such thing as cheating in a single player game. Have fun!

@Courtney Elder millennial chiming in - Mario belongs to no generation. I think anyone from Gen X down was introduced to Mario during their younger years, and the older generations were parents or grandparents who saw it some, too. Millennials on down got it as young kids, though.

@kjc Tons. There was one earlier this year about the world cup.

@David B Agreed! I didn't know the first two you mentioned or 1 or 5 down, so that corner stymied me good!

@Brendan I did the same thing. My first thought for how it could have happened was perhaps being a required textbook for a lot of classes. I don't know if that's the case, but it was the best explanation that came to mind.

I'm a newer solver, too, and this one was great! I had to look up some trivia to get things moving here or there, but was able to complete the whole thing without coming to the tricky clues hints or the forum. I try not to because I hate having the fun ones spoiled, and today I was able to do it! I don't mind filling in some proper names and such if it means I still get to suss out the ones that make you think.

We got diss track!

@SP I've been wondering, too. He disappeared after someone was rude to him a bit ago.