Sam Corbin

@Herstorygirl Don’t be discouraged! I have no doubt you’re doing great. Every now and then I am humbled by a Tuesday or Wednesday puzzle, and sometimes I breeze through a Saturday so fast that I wonder whether I’m secretly a genius. It ebbs and flows, regardless of skill levels, and no single puzzle should convince you otherwise 🙂‍↕️

@Lewis Make my day, why don’t you!!

@Mar in PA I'd offer that being "well read" isn't a helpful way to look at the skills that make for a good crossword solver, nor is it a fair assessment of someone's age, intelligence or life experience. We live differently, read differently and speak differently — and I find it utterly thrilling to discover these differences through a puzzle, of all things.

@Riley I think of jargon as exclusionary, like "corporate jargon," where the acronyms don't represent more than the words they stand for (e.g. OOO). Nuyorican is a word that represents a larger migration and arts movement — embodied by movies/ musicals that are popular outside the northeast, like West Side Story — and is worth getting to know! <a href="https://poets.org/text/brief-guide-nuyorican-poetry" target="_blank">https://poets.org/text/brief-guide-nuyorican-poetry</a>

@dutchiris Solving crosswords at 91: Now, there's something I can aspire to. Happy birthday today, and to all the ones yet to come!

@Esther Lee I love that you bring in your kids to solve together! And you're not stupid. Crossword themes run the gamut from the facepalm-ingly obvious to the impossibly subtle, and I'd say this one leans heavily toward the latter category. Also, solving crossword puzzles is just an exercise in thinking differently about language; it's not a measure of intelligence. We all get stumped now and again — I'd say that's more than half the fun.

@Keith See? They're not so evil! (Rebus enforcers are watching me as I type)

@Bill Maybe I'm "shredded" in the sense that, after any attempt at intense physical exercise, I feel as though I have been put through a tree incinerator. On the bright side: Now I'm mulch!

@Andrew The mythology lightbulb went on moments after publication. how fitting -- it was *I* who couldn't see what this entry was subtly referring to 🤦‍♀️

@MRR You know, this is what I get for being 5'3 — automatically regarding "I can't see!" as a reference to someone short standing behind someone tall. 😮‍💨 Oof, my pride

@Lewis So glad to see your name and to know you’re safe and well!

@Wark I hope you stick around a while! Your Canadian kindness may just rub off on others (said my naive Canadian optimism).

@Craig Ditto. I spent all that time learning "pistil," and now discover there's another obscure flower term to remember?

@Golfsan And did only seeing "ups" get me "down"? Not a bit, either!

@DH I am ashamed to say that I snort-laughed at this

@Andrzej Somm people, eh?

@Ed Welp, there go my assumptions. You guessed right: I was mostly a city kid, and thus unaware this program existed in Canada, too — 4sHame!

@APNerd OMG I didn't realize the double meaning of [Dramatic salsa move] until you pointed it out! BRILLIANT!

@John Appleseed For once, one of my presumptions pays off!

@Mary Bono I like the idea that this crossing suggests there are other scientists with the same name. (Or could the alt spelling be one of Neil’s secrET ALIAses?)

@Nancy ah yes, the TEXT BOG… when I am bogged down by unread messages.

@JD As a big fan of cows I would happily attend Cowic-Con, please let me know when it is happening

@Katie Brilliant idea for a list! I'd add: - e-commerce sites Ebay and Etsy - variant spellings of "uie" and "uey" for a U-Turn

@Bill As I see it this confirms that your first word was, in fact, “supernovae.” Thank you for corralling these stats!! I was so busy being indignant I did not consider that it might actually be more popular (in the very, very limited contexts in which it’s used) 🫨

@Bruce et al., No need to refer to them as such! The clue refers to the [blocks] that appear IN a drinking [glass], i.e. ICE CUBES

@Ken I am sincerely eager to learn how you got there from here.

@Coffee please Come back and comment again soon! We have fun here :)

@Heidi Hear, hear!!

@Matt R. Blasph-emu-s!

@CCNY Aw, thank you! Excited to serve 🫡

@Norwood This reversal is brilliant. Genuinely.

@Rachel R. This explains why I was unfamiliar — I'm definitely more of a cottons and linens girl.

@Joseph If I ever feel that the prize has been awarded to the wrong person, I will use this word.

@Nik I love this!! Onward!

@Once a Marine I've been considering REBA, but I don't know whether Ms. McEntire likes crosswords enough to tolerate the confusion.

@Suzanne Bee Welcome to my nightmare. I am constantly being thwarted by UEY vs. UIE, AAH vs. AHH, the ITSY/EENY/TINY triptych and will never know whether I am supposed to eat a KEBAB or a KABOB. At least we stay on our toes, eh?

@Scott SANDAL SCANDAL is brilliant!

@Bill I’m astounded. Thank YOU for adding such a — ahem — spread of historical detail. I’ll be bringing up the margarine mishegaas at my next dinner party.

@Steve Defense Against the Ark Darts: You never know when Noah's going to shoot.

@Andrew I'll eat my words on calling ELPHABA obvious. I assumed that most people would be familiar with "Wicked," given the long-running Broadway stint and recent movie success, but it was tricky for many solvers. It just goes to show that one person's gimme is another's "gimme a little help, here?"

@The X-Phile D’oh. I interpreted “checker” to mean a chess piece that checks, but am now realizing that the king is really more of a checkee.

@Eric Hougland Ack! My double-decker checkered past, revealed!

@Stella This is utterly vindicating. THANK YOU.