Sam
Anchorage
@B I would expect the first several comments to be in the "too easy" camp because they finished quickly. You'll find the "too hard" comments hours later.
13th century Icelandic poetry is some of my most favorite poetry so this was really quite easy. 🤥
Never would have solved even after reading wordplay. I gave up not wanting to waste my morning on this and used the answer key.
Joe Marquez, I enjoyed your puzzle and wonder if we are close in age (I'm 40) because there were so many references in the clues and entries that brought me back to my younger days. Air Jordans, The Simpsons, Malcolm in the Middle, Mighty Mighty Bosstones, and Gran Turismo were all fun for me. Thank you!
This was apparently a controversial puzzle with words such as OSHEA, OBESE, EENIE, and NUDIE crossed with ERIN. For those that were triggered, I challenge you construct daily puzzles using only words that wouldn't be offensive in the slightest to any person on Earth.
As someone from Alaska I can confirm that nobody calls overshoes ARCTICS. That is a new term for me, and most it seems. If one does wear those rubber coverings for shoes they would call them galoshes.
Not a PB, but was close at 11:24. Solved most of the across clues the first time through so had to read some of the downs afterwards. No look ups, easy breezy, a perfect Monday.
Fun puzzle, congrats on your debut Emily and Sala, hope to see more from you both!
I loved the clue for 26A! Yes, we have our own time zone!
I can't think of ACCESS HOLLYWOOD without the infamous tape. CAT CAFE in the same puzzle is probably just a coincidence, but I'd like to think it's an Easter egg.
Cheers Malaika! 🍸 Enjoy your espresso martini! What a fun puzzle! I wouldn't call it easy (I got stuck in NW at the end for a while) but it definitely sparkled! ✨
With as tough as this Monday and Tuesday have been, I'm not looking forward to the rest of the week
2 seconds away from a PB. I got most across entries correct the first time through, then only needed a few down entries and a couple corrections. Fun puzzle, a perfect Monday!
@Barry Ancona I suppose a vat is an alternative to cup as well.
I'm going to ignore the comments from veterans complaining about it being too easy. This was a fun puzzle for me. I was on the same wavelength as Hemant and able to correctly solve longer entries like FALLBACKPLAN without crosses! I enjoyed NIKES, CABLECAR, and TIDAL WAVE as well.
Wow, just wow! What a fun puzzle! The clues weren't too difficult so I realized early on that almost every entry was one letter too long so the shaded squares must be rebuses. I quickly filled in the NW section of the pie then got stuck for a while. I put it down and came back to it an hour later and immediately RUMORMILLS clicked for me and SE filled in nicely. I needed some lookups for SW. NE was the toughest for me mostly because I had LILly instead of LILAC. I finally got the rest filled in and was confident about it ... but no music. I double and triple checked every clue. I tried changing LEAKY and STINKY and LEAKs and STINKs but still no win. I caved and read the Wordplay column then realized my error. I had MeYER and CREeKED. I loved the animation I was rewarded with after my correction! What a nice pay off!
Congrats Brothers Matz and thanks for a fun puzzle! I breezed through with no lookups and 19 minutes under average. These are my favorite kind of puzzles- a fun theme, clever clues, and widely used words.
Fun puzzle! I always thought it was spelled wack-a-mole, but a quick Google search tells me I've been wrong my whole life. 😂
ZESTS are not drink garnishes and GEORGE is not a curmudgeon. Has Joe or Joel ever made a cocktail or watched a Seinfeld episode?
@Lars yes, I've had cheddar sauce and broccoli on baked potatoes many times.
Yuck, this was a slog especially for a Tuesday, not fun.
I loved this puzzle, challenging and fun!
@Susan P AMA is Ask Me Anything, a feature on Reddit
I really enjoyed this puzzle. I think I was on the same wavelength as the constructor. I see that many struggled with SE but that was the first section I solved. Next was NE, NW, then center. SW was last. I loved the clues pop back and forth, partner in a picture, and place left of the units. I loved the answer LEADDOG which I got right away being from Alaska.
Difficult for a Tuesday, I thought. I needed to do several lookups to complete.
@dutchiris I think that reply was in response to this comment of yours: "The Duchess of Alba is one of Goya's most famous paintings, and if you have never heard of it, perhaps the lack is yours." To me, that is snobbish. If there was a famous rapper you didn't know about, and I did, I wouldn't tell you that you're lacking. I enjoy challenges and learning new things that are interesting or useful to me. I'm okay with unusual words that I can solve with the crosses. What I don't enjoy is a puzzle in which I need to look up 90% of the words/names. To me, that's a slog. I'm used to some Saturday puzzles being like that and I accept it and just move on. Yesterday felt like a Saturday puzzle and a chore. I did like seeing Cloris LEACHMAN in the puzzle, one of the few bright spots. Most of the words/names unfamiliar to me were uninteresting to learn and I didn't think the theme was especially clever. That's just my take. You have a different take. We both should be able to freely express our opinions on it.
PUBLIC RADIO is popular? That's news to me.
@Nancy Not hookup, it's the movies HOOK and UP.
This wasn't a fun a puzzle for me. Too many unfamiliar terms. The theme entries were meh.
Solved in 11 minutes flat. I was happy to get the spanner SKATEBOARDTRICK immediately without any crossings. The Z in CZAR/ZIP was my last letter entered.
@Barry Ancona I disagree wholeheartedly. There should be no obscure words on Mondays.
Congratulations Taryn on your debut, well done! Looking forward to your next puzzle!
I must have been on the same wavelength as the constructors today. Not a PB but 12 minutes under average. I got all the theme entries except for 32A right away without crosses. I didn't know ANNA, NHLMVP, or OXLIP but got them with crosses. I had to fix TARSa with an I to get DIP.
Thanks Jackson! This puzzle was fun from start to finish!
Enjoyed this puzzle, fun clues and answers, challenging but not too much.
@Illyria Ha I see what you did there!
This was a fun and fast puzzle, perfect for Monday.
I'd say all the clues were GIMMEs. Not a record but finished in under 10 minutes. I'm not complaining though (Christopher, I promise, don't yell at me 😄). I'm a busy person so I enjoy puzzles I can solve quickly.
This was a rare Thursday I solved without lookups or help from the Wordplay column. The theme was easy. I got SNL SKITS immediately without crosses. The NE corner was the last section I solved. The dominos quickly fell once I figured out GDAYMATE. I enjoy these breezy puzzles without too much crunch. Keep them coming! PS: Tuesday this week was much tougher for me which required several lookups.
Kokomo was stuck in my head for the entire solve 😂
Tough Friday puzzle. Even in easy mode I needed the check puzzle option and had to start guessing vowels. ALASKAROLL, NOCHEBUENA, TSHIRTS, and KENKEN was a personal double Natick.
This went 100 times smoother than Wednesday. Congrats on your debut Mat from a former Oregonian!
Just adding to the chorus that this was a fun puzzle! I solved it with the downs then figured out the trick on my own before reading Deb's column.
Congratulations Jackson, keep constructing! BISTRO was my last entry to solve the puzzle. I kept insisting on booths until I abandoned that and got BISTRO with all the crossings.
@Sally I thought bodybuilders that also usually tan for appearances. It reminded me of the Jersey Shore cast and their GTL days (gym, tan, laundry).
Tough puzzle for me, and felt right for a Friday.
@Eric Hougland I very much agree.
@Francis yes my comment inferred that I was speaking for myself. I wasn't solving for other people. I shouldn't be surprised that as one of the regular snobs here you took this opportunity to feel superior about yourself.
Came here to see if everyone else enjoyed today's strands as well 😀 Strands #221 “Think about it” 🟡🔵🔵🔵 🔵🔵🔵
This should have been a Tuesday or Wednesday puzzle. There were too many obscure clues and entries for a Monday.