Nat

Dreadful slog. Felt like much more of a slog than many deep-week NYT crosswords which have taken me much longer, probably because of some of the awkward cluing and the “doesn’t quite work” theme.

A bit too grindy for me. Some of the clues are rather awkward.

Many of the clues are still extremely awkward and clumsy even when reversed. Consider me unimpressed by the gimmick.

I’m usually critical but honestly I enjoyed this one and didn’t find it frustratingly hard - though it certainly wasn’t easy either. Surprised by the comments.

Too much trivia.

Tough one but every answer felt natural afterward, which made for a grindy yet fair puzzle.

I actually enjoyed cracking the gimmick, despite the initial frustration. Fun puzzle.

Fun creative clues. I got the puzzle down to a handful of answers but didn’t have the patience to complete it, plus a couple of Naticks prevented me. Still found it enjoyable, many clues were genuinely tough but fair - which is something usually just said on reflex to justify overly vague cluing or a ton of trivia, but which actually applies to this puzzle’s clever misdirection. Hope to see more crosswords like this one.

2D and 40A were obnoxious. Otherwise a bit of a slog but fair for Friday.

Not as hot on this one as others, some of the clues felt weak to me, like the Alt Tab? one for example. I feel like overall the puzzle could’ve been tightened just a smidge. At the same time, not negative on it either, was relatively easy and gentle for a puzzle this deep in the week and the theme was a B I’d say (which to me is good rather than just fine). Mildly positive on this one overall, and looking forward to another one.

Had to reveal the corner with the sergeant clue, haven’t had to reveal in a while.

Have to agree with the other comments, the wordplay was too stretched for the solves to feel satisfying. Some of the answers I still don’t get.

Can anyone explain 1A?