KK

Well, never heard of NERTS before!

So, here are two random names that use the same characters. Meh.

Not my favorite for a Tuesday. Theme made no sense, and too much reliance on trivia/names.

Goal Day for me! 366 day streak, meaning a full year including Leap Day! 😂

Sloppy clueing. E.g., “My heavens” for “I DECLARE” and “Jeez Louise” for “AW COME ON”, crossing each other? And so so many obscure proper names. One of the worst puzzles in memory.

Alas, one of my least favorite Saturdays in a long time.

Should we call this a “Hidden RE-bus”?

The TAJ right on top of AGRA was delicious!

So, I have worked out how to solve these types of obscure proper noun heavy puzzles. Just go ahead and look up a couple of them, when you are stuck. Makes it go a lot faster, with less frustration.

I miss the moderating hand of Will Shortz.

What a slog….

This one was “just right” for me. Not easy breezy, but not full of trivia I am forced to look up, either. Clever theme, totally solvable with no lookups, just a little perseverance! Well done!

Finished it. But can’t say I enjoyed it.

Some clever, and some very sloppy clueing. I miss Will Shortz.

I don’t know enough Italian or German for that clue. I guessed it may be HIS. Unfortunately SOPPED worked just as well for the across (as in “cleaned up” the drippings on a plate with bread). Oh well…

Loved the puzzle. Not a big fan of LITCHI as a variant spelling of lychee (as it is usually spelled), but I suppose it’s valid.

Had to look up too many things. Not my favorite Saturday, but looks like others enjoyed it.

I guess the message is “get done solvin’ and get started lovin’”?

Quick, fun solve. I didn’t catch on to the Homonym Hominem thing until I came here, but it was fun anyway.

For those objecting to NUMETAL. It is definitely a thing: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nu_metal" target="_blank">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nu_metal</a>. Also, UNALIVED is very much a thing in online speak, especially among the younger set.

That ON EARTH thing just didn’t work for me at all.

It was a bit odd that 78D and 100A lit up together (on the iPad app), as if one was clued off the other, when they were not. Perhaps they were initially co-clued, but did not survive Shortz?

For me, it was the easiest Saturdays ever, but only because some wild guesses turned out to be correct! Very enjoyable, though.

24D/39A was a natick for me. Several letters could fit the common letter if you know neither name.

I found the 1D/51D pair to be unfair clueing.

Wow. Totally enjoyed this one. Very cleverly done!

One of the best Saturdays in recent memory! Nice work Kunal!

Are they confusing parasailing with hang gliding? At least around where I live, hang gliding is a hilly terrain sport, not a seashore one…

So wanted HARM POET there! (MIXED METAPHOR)

The theme is a bit forced. Not my fave.

We have 3 crossing proper nouns that (to me) are obscure. I guessed 96a to be ROSALIND Lupton. With that, REEL Kassis for 87d and PSI as a school name acronym (something something Institute?) for 91d seemed totally reasonable. So, does this qualify as a proper Natick?

A perfect Saturday puzzle! Loved the noodle-eating poodle!

A welcome respite after Friday’s hash of a puzzle! (Apologies to those who loved the Friday puzzle, I am definitely not a fan of that mystery 13 series with “too clever” clues).

Loved the meta-theme that included the clues as well! Nicely done.

Meh. Sorry, but don’t know any of the mentioned books or the author. So, had to slog my way through the crosses, which were easy enough, and thus completed the puzzle. But can’t say I enjoyed it.

Never heard of a rookie being referred to as a rook. Not a fair clue.

Never heard of the Trinita whatever. But, the crosses were easy enough to make it a fair Wednesday puzzle for me!

Solved with no assistance! It seemed almost impossible, especially with all the unknown trivia entries, but the spanner guesses, they fell into place. Never have seen HAVOC used as a transitive verb, but the dictionary says it can be, so I guess it is fair.

Wow, that was hard! Had to do some “research” on a couple of the trivia names, but oh well, got it done.

Can’t say it was my favorite. Theme was easy enough, but then there were too many proper name trivia questions. Became a slog.

Not a fan of “massive” applied to ICE PALACE, with a seating capacity of ~12,000, when the other SKA Arena in the same city has a seating capacity of ~22,000.

Liked the theme. However, AMSCRAY was terrible. Maybe they used that word in his home. Not mine! Some puzzle setters sometimes fail to realize every one didn’t grow up in their home! The editor should have ixnayed that!

The delight at realizing there were digits was mitigated by the overuse of proper names. Really hate playing Trivial Pursuits in crosswords.

Very clever idea! Well executed too. Congrats!

I’ve decided that rather than getting mad and frustrated at these “overly crunchy” puzzles (which others seem to relish), I will simply look up trivia when needed. Such as ARI SHAPIRO’s name, the fact that Dr. J was a SIXER, that there is a certification program called LEED, and that the PAWNEE nation has the named council. With those 4 clearing roadblocks, the rest was thoroughly enjoyable!