B

So, so much easier than it appears! Once you get the gimmick it comes together like lightning; all the clues are really easy. The scary part was the first 3-5 minutes where I was sure they wanted all the black squares to actually represent names of pizza toppings that would complete long megaclues. Shudder. But once you grasp and bite the rebus bullet (thank you lower middle) it's really simple and fast.

Tough but not all that fun. I didn't enjoy these clues and was not familiar with a lot of the fill. The theme felt middling to me. I thought perhaps "common" was a play on "come on" regarding the late arriver. Like the constructor, I too miss the United States very much. And I live here. :(

Ohhh, Pay for Play stuck me for a while. Diabolical. Nice puzzle!

I am SO glad to have finished this puzzle. Because it was simply terrible and I want to put it far, far behind me. What a slog. This is everything anyone ever complains about regarding gimmicked puzzles (the ones I typically love), multiplied to the point of nausea. I dutifully filled in rebuses. That wasn't enough. I took the rebuses out. Surely the down answers had to make SOME sense and keep their letters. Maybe some kind of combo rebus? Slashes? I finally resorted to actually reading the little "i" thing about the theme, which didn't help. Finally after 3 flyspecking sessions I twiddled the right letter and I can put this shame of a crossword puzzle to rest. So much for the "Sundays are Tuesday/Wednesday level" guideline. This was an awful puzzle and I regret even starting it. Difficulty with zero joy. Challenging in the worst way, with unrewarding paths to unwind. I've heard similar criticisms of his movie (haven't seen it) so maybe this tracks. Please do not have this "constructor" back here. Self-indulgent in the absolute worst ways, providing nothing of value or entertainment to the customer. And now off to read some comments and see that everyone loved it. :) ____________________ Jesse Goldberg 8/28/2024 for Puzzle of the Decade (emu filler)

Probably the best application of a rebus crossword I've ever seen. Great stuff. I had one squared circle remaining, having noted the theme and the expanding s-t-a-rs. I still didn't suspect a rebus - not a single other square needed it so why would I - and then the duh moment kicked in, finally letting me solve the upper left corner clues and beautifully finishing (or starting) the theme progression. Excellent. ____________________ Jesse Goldberg 8/28/2024 for Puzzle of the Decade (emu filler) That was a very satisfying finish. Excellent.

A little bit hard. Not a lot of fun. I'm very much not fond of oaten or "dele" and Nolita seems like a ridiculous anachronism, no? In sum, only okay. I'll shut up now.

Doable yet awkward and uninspired. Snees? Looked it up after solving - both British and obsolete! Not an appropriate crossword answer for the NY Times. (The author admits to rolling through automated means to construct this, for some reason. Constructor brownie points or something. Unique entries; no one cares.) So very much unimpressed. Maybe this is one of those constructors whose work is always this tortured? I don't keep track. Cavort as frisk? Dearie me? Come on. The Times can do better than this. It certainly has in the past. At least it was a bit more challenging that the new norm, I guess. Sigh.

Didn't love this one... Interesting that each theme answer was a different construction, but the cart was too easy and some of the others were too hard. I didn't understand aestx until I saw the column (I too thought it must be a play on taxes, oh well. ThisClose.) For some reason I was thinking "business Before pleasure" and I never heard of the adjective rimy. Anyhow I solved the thing but didn't really enjoy it. :( Nice to see that others did.

Solid puzzle, made remarkable by learning it's a debut. Very little cheap fill and it's sort of nice to see Ora without Rita for a change. But I must join the chorus who reluctantly changed that Y to accommodate Peter's non-existent sense. Must be his different and more proper variant in the spiderverse.

Okay, first I came through here to say that I kind of liked the puzzle and theme, even though it took me a little bit longer than I would have liked to grok things when I was working with Alanis. But then I read the Wordplay column, and have thoughts. ;) 1. If those instructions are so vital, why aren't they included in the Info (i) section of the puzzle itself? 2. Contrary to the instructions, I entered Ts throughout in the Web version (on an Android browser) and it worked well. 3. I know how hard it is to get things working multiplatform, but isn't that also a continued argument against the fancier and more indulgent / showy constructs? Again, I happened to like this one myself, but many of them are far too much gild for the lily with little to no return on bang for the buck.... 4. At least this was one puzzle where understanding the theme really mattered in solving it. 5. I almost think those T squares should have been fixed / unwriteable on every platform. Anyhow, I enjoyed it, it was pretty modest difficulty, and I hope it doesn't stir up too much vitriol.

Wow. This puzzle really won me over. First it seemed almost too difficult, with very few toeholds. But in the end it was pretty fair, and I began to appreciate some of the clever cluing. Starter home, line for the shower, place to stick the knife in, all good stuff, as Carson might say. Once some of the long ones began making sense it all ended rather quickly. I enjoyed this. Misleading in that it turned out much easier than it seemed.

I really liked this puzzle. It was as easy and fast as a Monday should be but it felt fun and fresh, and the theme was interesting and nicely done. Lots of good wordplay and basically no filler. An excellent debut! (I very rarely feel compelled to comment on a Monday puzzle.) ____________________ Jesse Goldberg 8/28/2024 for Puzzle of the Decade (emu filler

Anyhoo? He / they? Boo.

From short staffed to Shortz staffed! Hurray! Welcome back, at long last, Will, and welcome aboard Ms. Binney. Good debut. We really missed you, Will, and are so happy about your recovery. Keep paddling. ____________________ Jesse Goldberg 8/28/2024 for Puzzle of the Decade (emu filler)

This one was really good. I was going to say how impressively chewy it was for a Tuesday and then checked again. :) Nice theme and well executed. Competitive poker has got to be the BEST clue for our tired and ubiquitous old pointy stick that I've seen. Long story short, fun puzzle. Weird they held on to it 2 years, but maybe that's the normal queue. ____________________ Jesse Goldberg 8/28/2024 for Puzzle of the Decade (emu filler)

This went shockingly quickly for such an initially intimidating grid. Smooth as silk. I didn't love every clue and it wasn't a laugh riot but it was an honest puzzle with almost no filler. PSA and ERs and Sty were about it. Went very quickly for me with basically zero snags. Nicely done. Thanks and congratulations on the record, I guess. :)

Doable and hard, but I didn't much like it for some reason. A lot of it just felt forced to me somehow, and I didn't find anything very clever or fun. Finished up pretty quickly and was glad to be done. Looking back on the grid I like it less and less. But at least it was the proper level for a Saturday.

TV Tape? TV Tape? I mostly enjoyed this puzzle but that is one of the most awkward answers I've ever seen. VCR medium is TV Tape. Wow. Pros: Nice, fun theme that revealed itself right on time after minimal confusion. Glam rock is a great clue. Overall a well made puzzle. Cons: Who the heck is Buck O'Neil? (Sigh, sports guy of course. I would have preferred Buck Owens or something.) TV TAPE! ;)

Okay, what is going on over there? This is a real problem - I have been trying to coax a couple of people into the crossword and this kind of unpredictability is making it impossible. Mondays and Tuesdays are supposed to be easier. This Tuesday puzzle was more difficult than EVERY puzzle last week, including Thursday through Sunday. Lay for ballad? Seriously? Seriously?? Exert for bring to bear? Pas for father figures? Sestet? The Shannon river? All of these are Saturday level, if not just unwise cluing. This inconsistency does not speak well of the editing. This was supposed to be a Tuesday. I was and am delighted that Will is back but we must have better than this. Please. (I haven't read the other comments yet; I hope I have some company.) ____________________ Jesse Goldberg 8/28/2024 for Puzzle of the Decade (emu filler) [Oh and the theme was fine.]

Most of it was really (too?) easy for a NYT Saturday, but the bottom right gave me some pause. Decent, well made puzzle, and a truly refreshing lack of junk filler or frequent flyers such as oreos. This leaves a smooth taste. :) Thanks.

Puzzle was easy; theme was cute; data entry was absolutely miserable! As others have already said, the color handling made it nearly impossible to see what row or column was being highlighted in the web version of this puzzle. It was a real chore. Admittedly I was already pushing the limits by doing Sunday puzzles on a cell phone screen, but today's interface was punishing. Please don't do this again. The pain was not worth it for the modest gain of cluing simple answers like blue birds and yellow bellies. Puzzle overall was fine, although really too easy for a Sunday by my expectations....

Interesting comments. I didn't think this was all that bad, or all that hard really. He threw us an emu right at the top. Nobody else tried to fill in Tim Walz for "Coach" in quotes? :) My issues included getting stuck with "stile" because I spelled the name "Ines", not knowing you can have galop with one L (rebus? I wondered) or much about Oklahoma OK, and wanting fresh basil instead of salad. Other than that, and apparently bucking the consensus, I think I actually enjoyed this one. It was hard but wrangleable. Favorite was "nihilo" only because I like the sound of the phrase. I could SO do without hearing the icky phrase "vape juice" ever again though.... /Jesse Goldberg 8/28/2024 for Puzzle of the Decade

My that was hard. "Smooth and fairly navigable"? I don't think so! I had pretty much nothing (besides a growing terror) until I gave in and completed the lower right ahead of schedule. Unlike yesterday's hard and rewarding debut masterpiece, I can't say I really enjoyed this one at all. The answers were just there for the sake of being there and fitting the space, like Greg Brady just fitting the suit. Even rescanning it now I don't see anything clever or fun. It was just a hard puzzle. So it has that going for it. Which is nice.

Immaculate. This is why she has the reputation she does. I found it pretty speedy and the early XWStats rating is Average, which seems about right. (As a Friday I'd probably vote Easy.) But there's no junk fill and some interesting clues throughout. Reading the column, I think the constructor achieved her aims here. A pleasure. Welcome back.

Is it? Is it really? It is a stretch to have to turn "it is" into a question in order to make it a valid answer. I did not like that one at all. Other quibbles: "Game" is superfluous for Claw Machine and "Amusement" is superfluous for Arcade, as noted in Wordplay. There are no alternatives to Ticketmaster, which is the whole problem. Put dough in and take out bread seems to be trying too hard. Why exactly is "hold on a minute" something you'd say while using a claw machine - urging the rigged claw to stay closed I guess? Rinsing isn't cleaning. Claw machines are just the worst. 50 cents or more for barely 3 seconds of unamusement. They stink. Anyhow, the puzzle was okay and the "fill" was pretty clean, despite starting with yet another spa(s).

I really enjoyed this one! Finally a nice engaging puzzle. I got/guessed 1 across immediately, but it took me about half way through the rest of the grid before I could fill in the rest of that corner. (I still have reservations about "whop".) The clue for speed chess was pretty wonderful. Loved seeing iconoclast as a word, and the accompanying clever misdirection of juxtaposing convention challenger with the political clue above it. This was good.

I found this pretty hard, and also not that much fun for some reason. The theme was fine, if not inspiring. I had a lot of trouble with the upper left / middle but worked through it. And expanses of white until I got to the theme. Well constructed I suppose. I just.... didn't like this one? I guess I've become used to more entertainment on Thursdays.

That was a good puzzle. Surprisingly challenging for a Wednesday, complete with a rather complex theme. I generally knew what was up but didn't really get it until the revealer came together. Very nice. /Emus are jealous of Paul's luxurious hair, well past 8^2 , also dyeing to know his secret

This puzzle was really good, as was yesterday's. An embarrassment of riches so far this week. Certainly the best Tuesday/Wednesday punch ever...? Great funny, clever, consistent theme. Only one truly hoary piece of fill (our fine feathered friend). I would have to nominate both this and yesterday for awards recognition. I found this one more delightful.

Well that was painful. The "long stacks" weren't nearly so much the problem as was the more questionable cluing. "Last to fall" for me was the pair of accessories. I'd never seen decoct or the Slavic brothers, and I suppose "syn" is supposed to refer to synecdoche? Maybe. Least favorite for me. Glad to have gotten through this but I can't say I enjoyed it. Despite the difficulty I didn't find it all that clever.... Certainly not funny or witty. ____________________ Jesse Goldberg 8/28/2024 for Puzzle of the Decade (I do this instead of emuing)

I came in to say the theme was really, really impressive. To find 4 common two-word phrases that so elegantly fit an equally common theme answer seems like quite the feat! The overall cluing was quite easy, certainly after an unusually hard Monday, but it was appropriate for its day slot I guess. A really nice job that must have taken tons of time and thought.

Wow, that was hard for a Thursday, and I really enjoyed it! The theme itself was tough to get for a while, and it proved to be interesting and fun too. More crucially the theme actively helped me complete the puzzle. I just love when it's more than tangential windows dressing. If you catch this one it opens up a lot. This was mildly terrifying for me for a bit, much more so than the average Thursday. Well done! And it took me a while to change first person from "Adam", you sly dog you.