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This message is meant as encouragement to newer puzzlers who might be intimidated by Wednesday puzzles. It is for all those people out there lurking like I do, reading how easy puzzles are becoming but still struggling or being challenged. Stick with it. Keep clicking through the crosses and downs and don't give up. I started last night and couldn't figure out the theme until this morning. There were many clues that came to me after putting it away and coming back to it with a fresh perspective. I was finally able to complete it this morning. Six months or one year ago, I would have turned on autocorrect but now my confidence has increased and Wednesday puzzles are my new favorite. I do attribute this to persistence but also to reading Wordplay Column everyday and to regular contributors here with all their insights. Someday I hope to feel the same about Friday and Saturday puzzles.

If you had asked me a year ago about a Wednesday puzzle, I would have dismissed it because I thought it was too hard. These days Wednesday is my favorite puzzle of the week and today’s was a pure treat to do. Maybe in another year or two I will say the same about the Friday or Saturday puzzle.

On the last day of 2025, I would like to express my gratitude to all the constructors and contributors. I value all of you and your insights. Thank you for your commitment to wordplay and puzzles. I truly admire the dedication to this community and the love of words, puns and misdirection. Thank you for putting so much thought and energy into puzzles - without this column and commentary I would probably have given up all puzzles except Mondays. Happy New Year

Happy New Year everyone. I am so grateful to all of the amazing people who make this community so vibrant. The editors of Wordplay do a great job each day to keep things fun, light, fresh and informative. To the regular posters, I learn so much from all of you and I am grateful that you take the time to write thoughtful and constructive comments. To the constructors of these puzzles, I am in awe of your craft and thank you for making me chuckle every day at some of your clever clues. Happy New Year everyone.

@Sam Corbin Thank you for the nudge to watch Alysa Liu's performance. That was incredible. I enjoyed the puzzle too.

@Barry Ancona. I laughed out loud after a few minutes of struggling to understand 10d (Against the rules). NO TOK, what the heck is NO TOK? Then I was reminded of the crosswordese knowledge you recently shared on being DOOKed. Did others DO OK with 10d or did others feel NOT OK about the clueing to NO TOK? My wife thinks it’s funny when I chuckle to myself while doing the puzzle. Thanks to the puzzling community for providing humor to my day.

“Remember this!” (THE ALAMO) I hope this helps others learn more about puzzle nuances. I asked in yesterday’s comments about the clue “Call me!” (CAB) and @Lewis kindly explained it by writing, “ When you have a clue with an exclamation mark but no quotation marks, that clue refers directly to the answer. So the answer to [There's the rub!], for instance, which has appeared in the Times puzzle twice, is SPA, and that's what "there" refers to (a rub is another word for a massage). In [Call me!], the "me" refers to the cab.” I find it funny that “Remember this!” was a clue today. I will remember that.

I love the Wednesday puzzle and this one was really fun. Shout out to so many great women and Simon Biles being one of them. Regarding the wicked clue, I read the clue to my wife and she instantly said ELPHABA. She paused a minute and couldn’t resist saying “you’re the only person in America who doesn’t know that”. Chances are good I will need to ask again the next time ELPHABA is clued and that’s ok.

I am so impressed by people who are able to solve Friday and Saturday puzzles unaided. I hope to get there someday. In the meantime, I will continue to solve easy mode on Fridays and use autocorrect on Saturday puzzles.

My Wordle streak ended the other day when it was sally. Today I read @Sam Corbin’s use of the idiom sally forth. Was it a coincidence or cosmic unconsciousness?* *Repo Man reference

I really love Wednesday puzzles. Hard but doable. It took me a while in the NE corner because I was certain 16A was PLUSONE which made 9D ALL, but with some perseverance I was able to finish without any lookups or help from my wife. All of this was possible without having any idea about CHAO or ERTE.

I will commit OPI to memory. I will commit OPI to memory. I will commit OPI to memory. Fun puzzle with just a few look ups.

After the past week or so, I finally committed NENE to memory. It's taken a long time but now I can fill it confidently.

I started last night and got hung up but persisted this morning to finish. For me, I had smirked with what I thought was some good misdirection with 45A Throw, for instance. I had RIG instead of RUG

For me there was very solid misdirection with 32D Head covering? and 64A Pay for play, perhaps. I loved those clues - they really made me think.

Here’s a tip for people who are intimidated and struggle with Friday puzzles -like me. It might be obvious or sacrilegious to some. Solve the easy mode (I get it via email in the mornings ) and then solve the regular mode. It’s fun to see some of the variations in clues and I’m always surprised how quickly I forget an answer.

Fun puzzle. Is it ARE SO, AM TOO, NEWB or NOOB - I’m learning. I liked the “rainbow” fish clue. @Caitlin with nothing but appreciation for your column, the picture of the fish is of brook trout not rainbow trout.

Someday I may not need my wife’s help with Shakespeare clues, but I will still ask because as @Sam Corbin recently wrote in wordplay, it’s fun to do puzzles with someone else. Cheers to all

Congratulations on your debut. It was a fun puzzle that made me think of the movie, Toy Story……the claw, the claw, the claw. I am still reading all the comments each day and loving the puzzles -especially Wednesdays.

Some people do puzzles on a train, others create them. Kudos to Adam on crafting a fun and challenging puzzle.

That was so fun. It was the closest I have come to completing a Thursday on my own. Like others, I knew the rebus theme/answers but I couldn’t remember how to enter the U/PEN. Still it was so clever and fun- I’m not hung up yet on always getting the gold star or maintaining a streak. Also, I still needed some help with some of the names but figured out a bunch of clues by the crosses and some newly discovered crossword confidence. I loved 25D. OOPS

This morning was filled by doing the Friday puzzle in the easy mode and then trying it in regular mode. I still struggled with some clueing but I think it will help in the long run.

I have come a long way in my puzzling journey but I have to admit that I have been that passenger on multiple occasions. Very clever and congratulations on your solo debut.

I have mixed emotions. I am sorry so many people had issues with the app and weren’t able to enjoy the theme. I am also feeling incredibly proud of myself for being able to decipher the theme and solve (most) of this puzzle. Off to the archives….

Great puzzle. For all those who enjoyed Holes, I encourage you to read The Cardturner. It’s a great story that I recommend it all the bridge players I know.

I struggled with 44D (Turn off) and then I thought it was so clever to clue to ENTRANCE but no it was ESTRANGE. Double misdirection.

That was hard yet a lot of fun to work through many times before finally finishing it. Didn't quite understand the theme until reading the column,D'OH! Can someone please explain H, to Homer? ETA Thanks in advance.

Chances are good if you’re on SKI BOARDS (aka blades, scorpions) you are either under 15, intoxicated, it’s the last day of the season or wearing jeans… or all of the above.

Question for all you record breaking solvers: are you doing the puzzle on a computer, iPad, phone or do you print it and set your timer? I'm impressed that you solve the puzzle so quickly (even people who report 6 minutes is pretty amazing and way faster than I could ever finish) and while I don't currently care about how long it takes me, I may become more enthralled by my times as I get more gold stars. I personally solve it on my phone because it's more comfortable holding my phone than using my iPad. I do appreciate printing it out so I can see more than one clue at a time- like it is on the computer. I haven't tried solving it on my phone using the three bars mode because I enjoy seeing the entire grid. Just curious.... Nate, I enjoyed your puzzle and sorry for your loss. I really enjoyed 28A (magazine for small screen since 1953) and I didn't need help from my wife with 22a (Shakespeare clue) because I solved it with the crosses. Written from my phone so please excuse typos