Jack G H

That was rough as dogs for a Monday puzzle! Took me literally double the normal amount of time and I struggled hard on some of them… DEKE? I’m pretty well versed in sports but what on earth is that?

Can someone explain to me the boo-boo = OWIE clue? Absolutely no idea how that works… Also, isn’t it ATCHOO? That’s how we always wrote it. Maybe a British-ism…

Really nice Wednesday grid. Thought it was right on the money in terms of Wednesday-level difficulty, and the theme was solid. The only minor quibble I have is that I have a feeling some of the trivia-based clues are truly impossible for those of us under 50… ALF I did get after delving into the very darkest recesses of my mind (I’m 40 btw), but HEDY (Lamarr) I can honestly say I’ve never heard even mention of in my life. I’m all for obscure clues that need loads of help from other words, but a person like HEDY (that doesn’t even look like a name) is a little harsh IMO. I struggled with PECK too, but as I have seen that somewhere written down, I was sure enough of it to keep it in the grid.

Really liked this puzzle, normally I fail on Thursdays but I managed to get through this one relatively unscathed. The only issue I take with it is one section where 3 ‘proper noun’ clues crossover, and there is absolutely no way to actually find out the right letter… this is where ORPY, TAY and EARP cross. I thought there was an unwritten rule in NYT crosswords that there had to be a way to get the letters from other clues if you just don’t know the answers to the trivia, and here I was forced to look up one word which was annoying. I might’ve been able to guess TAY, but ORPY and EARP are so obscure (for me, a non-American) and weird that it’s really impossible IMO.

Just curious - do non-American solvers know KIBOSH? Genuinely have never heard it before and had to create it letter by letter from the other words, and still thought it looked wrong.