Rosa

Breaking my first ever 7+ day gold streak (12 days!!!!) on this but I'm not upset at all:) I love when a clue that originally trips me up ends up making another appearance (as they often do) or becomes randomly relevant in an IRL conversation. "OMG I learned this from the crossword!" feels so good to say, especially around my friends that I've been BEGGING to try the crossword. Alright ... going to use Check Puzzle and finally say goodbye to gold ... remember meeee *fades to dust*

OMG IM JUST NOW SEEING THAT OUR CONSTRUCTOR IS BORICUAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAHHH IM SO EXCITED MUCHAS GRACIAS POR LA CRUCIGRAMA <3 shedding tears rn (I never actually learned the word for crossword in Spanish #nosabogirlie but I'm going to keep this constructor in mind as I continue with my language studies <3)

Only one look-up - I had no idea was an ICBM was and I was sure that the record label in question was rCA (sorry, I don't know any of the boys!!). I liked today's column as someone who is trying to transition to a 99% analog lifestyle. Yesterday I forgot my phone at home and spent the day listening to my friends DJ at a coffee shop, drinking mojitos, rock climbing, crocheting, trying to make a dent in my crossword book, sharing left handed cigarettes at the beach, perusing outdoor gear shops, and eating Hawaiian barbecue. I haven't laughed so much in such a long time!!! I recently got back from a weeklong vacation and I've been aching under the mental switch from living completely unrushed back to the regularly scheduled grind - but yesterday, with no device to keep me tethered to the world outside of my immediate surroundings, I felt that familiar ease of being on vacation. Trying to fill in a physical crossword is no joke, especially since I was overly confident and wanted to start out with a book of Wednesdays. But I got to pass the book around to everybody I chatted with and get lost in the clues when I had some minutes to myself. So much more fun than just typing in answers. (I did lose my Sunday streak, though LOL) Yaaay Monday <3

Didn't get the theme at all until I read the column :') Loved this one. In my bouldering gym, route difficulty is indicated using a color-coded circuit grading system. A route with a yellow tag could be anywhere from a V1 to a V4 (that's about a Monday to Wednesday/Thursday difficulty range in the average gym). I love this system in part because certain routes can vary in difficulty from person to person. For example, a tall climber who loves dynamic movements will climb differently than a climber with small hands who prefers slow, controlled movement. Each will have their own assessment of route difficulty based on their personal strengths. When I do a puzzle, especially on a holiday, I usually approach it under the assumption that its perceived difficulty may fall within a day or two of today's expected difficulty. Some Mondays kill me (the Latin from last week or so?? woof.) and sometimes I fly through a Friday. Idk. I really enjoyed this one, even if I did finish it pretty early for a Wednesday. I like when the theme is a thinker bc it trains me to think about clues differently in the future. I also really liked all the references to other clues in the puzzle. Yaay Wednesday <3

My jaw dropped at OLLAS - so excited to see that the tap-water-sickness wasn't the only thing I brought back from my trip to Mexico last week!!

I love when theres a gimme (to me) hip hop reference, especially when I see that it stumped some people! (Not necessarily today's but in general.) I love being reminded of how our different crossword strengths lend themselves to collaboration and expanding our knowledge. Opera, though ... quite often my last fills, if not straight up googled. I completely forgot that 2020 was the year of THE RAT? Hello??!?! I learned SANYO and HOKUM in recent puzzles :) Love when this happens. Yaay Tuesday <3

Loved TAKEANL because I knew how much people were gonna hate it LOL! I only ever see BUSCH Gardens Tampa mentioned!! I live about 20 minutes away from the other BUSCH location in Williamsburg, VA. Maybe I'll see that clue one day! Happy Tuesday :)

1. Learned the meanings of fillip and sculler today 2. LOVED the Baltic and Mediterranean clues, words before a dash, OHNOREASON, and GETSLOSHED!!! 3. Always happy when knowing how to read sheet music comes in handy in an adult life:) Happy Friday <3

Never thought I'd see the day where I become the grumpy fart that complains about how easy the puzzle is :') Okay, well, it's a Monday and I've been challenging myself with later-week puzzles for the first time since I started the crossword in 2023, so now the Monday is getting a little ... boring? Not the fault of any constructors or editors, of course, just the nature of the game. I was stuck on 1A thinking it *had* to be gONG because who wouldn't make that clue weed-related!!?? BIBS was so obvious and I still held on to gONG until it was the last square keeping me from completion. Very silly. #potheadmoment After a weekend of tough hints, *actual* misdirects, and real thinkers of themes, I was not that excited about the solve today. But I'm just playing the part of grumpy fart today :) I hope everybody has a wonderful daaayy!!!

Very cheeky IONIAN/DOHA cross. The O was my last square.

Quite literally my anti-style in puzzling which made it so much more satisfying to fill in :3 I know nothing about theater/opera/classical music (besides what I learned playing clarinet in middle school) so these clues are usually an immediate skip-and-come-back situation for me. When I realized what the theme was ... woof. Got scared that I would need to look at the column at less than 50% complete. But I made it to the very end!! (well, two empty squares in A1 - the L and S eluded me until I finally caved and checked the puzzle). Very very proud of myself for powering thru this puzzle. Two beautiful debuts back to back :)