Ben V

I did not like this puzzle. RARIN? LDOPA? Two star trek clues? UTERI? GESSO? The theme answers were the most disappointing, I love a good pun but was underwhelmed. I’m getting cranky, need to put myself to bed…

This puzzle was way too challenging for me. Was feeling pretty good after completing friday and saturday, but this was… humbling. A mix of deceptive cluing and my own trivia blind spots forced me looking up everything I could possibly google and still struggling to finish. Oh well, not the puzzle creator’s fault, I’ll keep on trying!

After figuring out the first three themed answers, I was convinced that J♦️ was some kind of jewel thief. When I eventually figured out it was Jackie Robinson, that made sense - he was famed for his base running, especially for stealing home. So “jack of diamonds” works in more ways than one. A lot of people seemed to miss that. That said, I think the theme would have worked better if they were all proper nouns, or all not. The whole bottom third of this puzzle had me hopelessly stuck for a while, but I guess that’s on me. But Dinosaurs weren’t really a race…

This was a fun challenge that had me puzzling for over an hour. I may not have been so patient had I not been stuck on a transatlantic flight.

First time solving a Thursday! With a reasonable amount of cheating (just google, no autocheck or hints). Had a feeling “collier of fortune” wasn’t quite it. Will be trying thursday again next week!

No matter how many times this clue shows up… 2 down is NOT “ani.”

This was a fun challenge! Like many, AUNATUREL x DINER were the last two I filled in. Took me a little over an hour on a rainy day while watching football.

I’m joining an adult softball team, now that’s what I call a BALDSPORT! Proud to say this was the quickest I’ve ever finished a Thursday puzzle, and I only cheated a little (the sHa/lHasa is an inevitable lookup). Thanks for the fun solve!

This was a slog from start to finish, needed all the clues and help I could get. I was so pissed when I finally got “an i,” mad at myself because that is some devious cluing. Still don’t know what RDA is. Oh well, on to next week.

A slog from start to finish. Just when I thought I was getting good at this I am thoroughly humbled. Frustrating.

I solved the friday puzzle in record time with zero hints or look ups. I was so proud. Just when I thought I was getting good at these things, Saturday and Sunday kicked my @$$. This theme seems impossibly obscure, and I’m amazed anyone figured it out. But I guess this is what yall come here for. My only complaint is that there was no pattern to which rows had THE DOORS.

I agree that they must have mixed up Tuesday and Wednesday this week, cuz I set a PR and still haven’t finished the tuesday… I love the lil uzi vert clue cuz it gives me a leg up on the general NYT crowd. Yall should listen to more mumble rap. He’s been big for >7 years now, check out XO Tour Lif3 or I Just Wanna Rock.

A fun puzzle and perhaps my quickest Thursday solve ever (rare for me to get through a thursday without any look-ups). 45A had me trying to shoehorn “magic dragons” in there. Today I learned HBO has been around since ‘72… have they always been allowed to show nudity?

How much did Uber pay for 58A?

A brutal slog, needed all the helo I could get and still struggled for almost two hours. I’m gonna pass on next friday.

My girlfriend asserts that Jennie is the lead rapper in Blackpink, Lisa is the lead dancer