Elena

Today is my birthday! And I’m from St. Louis! On my 21st birthday, I took off work and went up the 15A just for fun. It’s brilliant up there. As a kid, I imagined careening down it like a slide. Now, I love being able to spot it from just about anywhere in the city. And bonus - it reminds me of my birthday! I love sharing food and tasty treats with my friends and family, too. Especially today. Thanks for a fun puzzle, Matthew!

A very satisfying Friday. I’m slowly but steadily improving on the long, wordplay-y answers!

How about [Nonsense that is black and white, but not gray?] = ZEBRASTRIPE Okay, maybe that’s a bit of a stretch. How often do people say tripe? Anyway, I loved this puzzle dearly :) When I got to TURTLESHELL, I went “aww poor guy!” out loud.

This was my first Thursday puzzle 😅 2 hours 9 minutes and proud!

Similar to Sam and other solvers, I also got silly on 7D. But mine was PopfART, as in a very made-up term for pop art. Delightful.

IFEAR I had you “ate” at 56D for the longest, ALAS the tRUTH is I still FEEl this puzzle was a PEARL!

Fun theme, but crossing actor last names (14A/15D) is always a natick for me, and a HOHUM natick at that.

Lovely puzzle, and I was so happy to see a St. Louis reference (13D). If only the Cards could make me as happy!

I adore this theme!! One of my favorites recently.

Loved this puzzle, Nate. It’s so satisfying to watch all the answers cascade like dominoes. I’m wishing you many more joys in the future.

Loved the reveal of the theme. Hope to see you in an elusive Tuesday puzzle, Kareem!

Really grateful for some juicy modern answers like PENTATONIX, VANDERPUMPRULES, and of course VRHEADSET

VERY delightful puzzle theme, though i wish there was at least one song from the past 10 years 😅. Old songs well, i do not know.

The midi theme was so brilliant! I have no idea how constructors come up with ideas like that. Or how they find multiple words that fit the theme! Pretty neat.

I appreciate the shoutout Mr. Bergman, and I can confirm - CUT A RUG crossing a 60s song and a 50s movie was definitely painful for my Gen Z brain! This hobby sure is hard when you’re not the intended audience. Ah, at least we have Lara Raj in yesterday’s midi.

Loved all the word play both in the theme and in the fill! Nothing more satisfying than slowly filling in a puzzle that you know is within your grasp if you just think it out.

Funnily enough, I also got the answer to 9A from a kids’ show, but for me it was Penguins of Madagascar! I wonder if there’s a lot of LEMUR-based childhood characters or we just found the two needles in the haystack?

Great puzzle! Agreed, Q’s are so fun to fill in!