Marty

Solved it when I finally gave up on the idea that a flying fox is not some kind of squirrel but a FRUITBAT. Anyone else make that mistake? Always learning something from the crossword.

Nice one! Finally finished when I went back to 1D and changed it to BADJOKES and not the more obvious “Dad Jokes.”

Wow that was the toughest Saturday in a long time. A bit of a slog, but there is real satisfaction in finishing such a tough puzzle. Spent a long time working out the northwest section, and finally finished the solve by changing a G to a J to reveal IGOTTAJET. Definitely not the most elegant puzzle, but phew, it’s done.

All in all a fun puzzle, had to experiment with spelling to get the solve on ALOHAOE crossed with ADENINE, sheesh

A challenging Wednesday, thanks for the much-needed distraction!

Ugh this was a tough Sunday. Finally solved it but a lot of unfamiliar clues, made it feel strange. And no theme on a Sunday?? Oof

Wow I was stuck in the northeast section for a long time, thinking DO THE TIME instead of SERVE TIME. Challenging puzzle

Wow that was a fun Friday, thanks. Solved it a little faster than average, lingering in the southwest corner. I couldn't figure out what a breakfast chef would use to save time. Knew it couldn't be powdered eggs or instant orange juice, yuk. I do love crepes, but don't really think of them as breakfast food. I also love acts of congress, but that's a different story.

Phun puzzle, and an easy Thursday once you phigure out the theme.

Phew, that was a tough Wednesday! Got stuck on 6D, where DRAINS seemed likely until I came up with BASINS.

Between JETLINER and PATENTEE, this one stumped me with two tough clues in the NW. I started with AIRLINER and INVENTOR and couldn’t find my way back

This was a fun puzzle and a challenging Sunday. I find myself reading the answers out loud to get the double meanings. Finally solved it after I tried every vowel before landing on ULTA

Tough one! Finished with TGIF. On a Saturday no less!

Finally solved this one when I realized 8A was MCFLY not “McFry.” The 80s were a strange time for movies, but no, there was no Hamburglar movie I forgot about.

Fun puzzle but got snagged in the northeast corner, thinking a money maven could be a CFA (financial analyst). The cross was no help since WANG seemed a reasonable guess.

This was the toughest Sunday in a while. I figured out the double letters but couldn’t quite get the pattern. Finally had to break down and look up the egg-laying mammal. Not a platypus but ECHIDNA

A nice Sunday, thanks! Once I figured out I was looking for palindromes, it was fun to work backwards and see what was revealed.

Not quite a PB but a lot quicker than most Thursdays. I got the theme quickly, and made it home after finding the cross of BOTOX and REDUX. Fun one!

Clever puzzle. Like many others, I was a bit confused. Is this really the WEDNESDAY PUZZLE? But I soldiered on and chuckled at ONE OFF. Finally finished when I figured out SMURF because I never would have gotten OLMEC. What the heck is TAKI? Today I will learn something.

I always look forward to Thursdays and this was a fun one. Clever Clue and just the right amount of difficulty. Now on with my day!

After a nice easy Thursday this one was a challenge! Thought I was so cool because I got OLIVIA RODRIGO pretty quickly. But ended up spending a lot of time in the northwest corner at the end. I insist, I do insist, NO, I INSIST.

Tricky Thursday! I didn’t really understand the clue until I solved the puzzle. Now I see what it’s ALL about! 😉

Nice, crisp Thursday. Is that a pimento in your olive, Mr. Bond?

Raced through this one in half the time of Thursday’s stumper! But still an interesting themeless. Just a tough Thursday, easy Friday.

OPENARMS is a sign of a good reception but I couldn’t help but think of “Open bars,” also a sign of a good reception.

Fun Wednesday. As a retired journalist I appreciated finishing with SKIPABEAT

Wow I got totally stumped on 86A, thinking that “tap” was certainly the right answer for (the old) “soft shoe.” Didn’t get much help on the crosses and had to check the answer key to get MOC. Oh well, keeps me humble.

Once I switched models to the Toyota TUNDRA instead of Tacoma, I was able to finish the solve. Tough one

Nice reveal. I literally finished on the cross of the Big “A” and Sna…. Huh? Got it! Very nice on the app

This was a satisfyingly clever Thursday. Was able to intuit the first four starred clues, but you can't get "Book of Mary" until you understand that Y EQUALS X. Eycellent!

Oh my goodness, what a tough Saturday. I got stuck in the Northwest quadrant for a long time, thinking “lip prints” for 1A. Finally figured out PAWPRINTS and then took a wild stab with PUMP. Oh, that kind of premium. 🤪

Can you elaborate? No. CARETOELABORATE? Yes. And…done

Challenging puzzle but a satisfying solve! A fast one for me. Had to look up JORTS afterwards and now I know what to call jeans shorts.

Finished on 105A INPAWN. Huh? “The term appears every so often in the Times Crossword.” Noted!

Tricky puzzle! I was thinking REM for 22D but I knew “peeled” was not the right spelling. Finally changed the E to A to find RAMONES when the hidden squares were revealed.

Wow I wrestled with this one for a long time and ALMOST finished this without hints. Guessed 8D was INTRO ACTS, instead of IN TWO ACTS. I should have known from the cross that a bird would be more likely to have wattles than rattles.

This was a fun puzzle and one I was finally able to solve with no hints after being stymied Thursday and Friday. The SE corner slowed me down until I figured out [Big] PHARMA and then it all fell into place.

Thursday is my favorite (puzzle) day of the week and today did not disappoint, except it was over too soon. On to the turkey!

I usually start my crossword puzzle week on Wednesday because that's when it gets interesting. Like NERTS! Definitely wasn't expecting that!

Finally got it after I figured out 14A but I liked my original answer: Oh, OK, Wow.

Some weird ones today. SITREPS? ARDENCY? Even EARCLIPS did not quite feel right. Add others have said, a bit of a slog

Easy on but fun “resolve.” Now just have to wait for the big game and see which dog ends up with the ring.

Funny I immediately thought of “best case scenario” but then I got the PLEASANT SURPRISE.” But somebody please tell me what an EPODE is, because I was stuck for a while on “etude”.

Pretty easy once you get to 112A for the clue!

Tough Friday, wow. Finally finished after coming back to it several times. Just now getting the joke about the “number” discovered in the 1500s, which had me stumped for a while. “Apple product” also had many possibilities. I was stuck for a long time on “cider.”

This was a tough Wednesday but a fun one! Loved seeing those old reviews from ROGEREBERT - what is more fun to read than a well written pan? The NW corner was tough. Finally made progress when I figured out OGOD, not “Lord,” the logical guess. Finished when I figured out IPAD, not iPod. 🙂

Enjoyed the laughter, thanks for a nice Christmas puzzle

One of those Saturdays that feels like a minor miracle when I’m able to finish with no hints {even though I was just guessing on NEMEAN and CURLYBRACES.}