John

Crossword companions, I understand that times get tough on the grid, but there’s nothing to dislike about this puzzle! Loved @Redwoodtree’s comment “I thought I had an aneurism…” I too thought for a fleeting moment there was a glitch in the matrix, but right off the bat we get a revealer clue at 4D signaling something’s up. Next move was to the remaining long fills in the grid where revealer clues typically live. Sure enough, at 7D and 23D, there they were. Alas, it’s all just word play. That’s what we’re here for, is it not?

Fun puzzle! Felt like a Tuesday and a Thursday had a baby…which would make…a Wednesday? Gotta say I’m a little irked by “rolled out unannounced?” and “tped”. Sure I get it, just didn’t sit well with me. Feels like maybe there was some odd fill that needed clueing at the end of construction.

Today just didn’t do it for me. Nothing I can objectively argue with…I understand how the offending answers / clues are technically valid, but just some very stretched fill. Herb teas? Sorry, it’s herbal. Deals? Never used in reference to “everybody’s hands”. “Man everyone was bummed about the deals at that poker game”. Yes yes I get it…but no. We’re here for wordplay for sure, I just found myself more annoyed than satisfied / humbled when I finished the puzzle. Happens sometimes, looks like lots of people enjoyed this Thursday. Different strokes for different folks.

Fun puzzle! Not sure about watch this space though…Only clue I felt was a bit of a stretch.

Fun puzzle! Not too happy with OMNOMNOM though…definitely the biggest reach on an answer I’ve encountered in a while.

A delightful Sunday! I appreciated some straight-forwardness in a few of the clues after Friday’s mind bender. Brain is happy.

Absolutely loved it!! Poison classification was particularly delightful.

Overall fun puzzle. Wasn’t too thrilled with “ten g” answer for the clue “100 c-notes” though. Since c-notes is plural in its abbreviate / slang context, ten g’s should have been as well. Nobody says “yo I got ten g”. “Ten k” would have been a more appropriate answer here. Sorry this stuff bothers me!

Did not enjoy this puzzle. I’m all for some obscure clues to keep things interesting, but this was a little much. Even for a clue like “tied up”…nobody says “all even”.

A perfect Saturday puzzle I’d say. Hard enough to make you think outside the box and require imagination (the best part of the crossword!), and also very solvable. Clues and answers were amply clever without feeling like a reach, and all of the answers were consistent in both spelling and phrasing with real-world usage. I mention this because it always irks me when answers are bent too hard. Like “yeah this technically works, but…no”. One example is from the New Year’s Day puzzle. The answer to the clue “It always wins, they say” was “house”. It’s THE house. “House always wins” said no one ever. I deeply appreciate when puzzles are accurate in this way. ‘Twas the most satisfying Saturday puzzle in recent memory. Cheers!

A doozy of a Friday but a very fun puzzle! Definitely took me some extra time but was well worth it. I learned that polo is played on yaks in Pakistan…pretty cool! I was also curious what makes a loofa(h) natural since so many are synthetic. Turns out a true loofa(h) is made from the fibrous interior of a fully ripened gourd belonging to the cucumber and squash family. In other news…@Barry I appreciated your arepa advocacy in the comments yesterday. Who does it best…Venezuela or Colombia? With today being Friday, enjoy those arepas tonight!

Meh. Not as bad a this past Thursday but not the best Saturday in recent memory. The upside is that after all these years I finally put my finger on it…I’m not a fan of clues / answers that solely rely on esoteric and obscure definitions of words in a 1:1 fashion without any additional wordplay. Like if 150 years ago the word pumpkins meant boots and the clue was just “pumpkins” and we were responsible for arriving at “boots” as an answer, I’d be none too pleased. In the case of “gate”, sure I get it, but really think it should have had a “the” in front of it. No one would say “what was gate tonight?” They’d say “what was THE gate tonight?” In which case “total receipts” would have been an (even better!) answer, grid space permitting. Was there really no bette

Clever theme and really fun solve! Happy camper on this fine Sunday.

Overall I enjoyed this puzzle! I think “Show faces?” needed an “e.g.” in the clue, unless the powers that be feel that TV is so ubiquitous it’s not an abbreviation. “Holla” as an answer and “7/“ as a clue, while both perfectly valid, just felt off to me. I think these could have been better-clued without being gimmes.

A fun Thursday! Clever theme and solid clueing.

Now that was a lovely Friday puzzle!! Particularly enjoyed “sect” and “donut shops”. My best mate was the final (and youngest) brewmaster at Anchor Brewing Company in San Francisco before they closed their doors. Over the years I’ve learned a lot about the ins and outs of brewing from him…fortunately that includes the term oast! Happy Friday to all!

A fun and quick Wednesday, just what I needed! And/or maybe I need more Star Wars knowledge…

There are myriad things about today’s puzzle that could be harped on, but I’ll skip those. Mostly curious how we go from chance > chants with precisely zero indication that a homophone need be considered.

Fun puzzle to start the new year! I wasn’t too thrilled with the NW quadrant - 1D, 2D and 1A. With idiomatic answers, I feel it’s crucial to include the complete phrase. 2D is always two words…always. In this case the first word / article was omitted. If we want to get technical, 1D answer relates to playing chords, not plucking. 1A just…felt like a reach. Overall these were all solvable, but bending standard phrasing or meaning (beyond word play) always irks me.

A couple fun clues in here but…an irritated outburst? I’m about to have one cause of the answer to that clue! Just…no. Not a memorable Wednesday. Will hope for redemption next week!

“Breezy things enjoyed at the beach” annoyed me. Easy reads can be (and are) enjoyed at any time in any number of settings. Nothing inherently ties them to the beach. Also, Elmo is entirely red, not just redheaded. I don’t know enough to say whether he was conceived as a monster. Otherwise fun puzzle.