BobSolo

@Mike, et al. I think you punsters are all wet.

@Asher B. Loved your comments, in their entirety! ‘… when Ol’ Henri was still Duke.” Glad I didn’t have a mouthful of water (oh, wait, it’s after 1 pm here — wine!) Seriously guffawed on that one.

@Bob Hmmm. I’m on the app, and I saw it the sensical way. Maybe a difference between iPhone and Android? Agree, it would have thrown me if it was presented differently, though the crossings and revealer helped by that point.

@Bill in Yokohama And of course, Velcro is a brand name and comes with a superscripted TM or ®️. (Similar to Kleenex brand or Band-Aid brand.). The common name for a Velcro-like closure is “hook-and-loop”. All of this because back when I was working, we needed a high-strength reusable packaging closure that could withstand literally tons of shearing force. Instead of Velcro (brand) or generic “hook-and-loop”, a “mushroomcap-and-loop” closure was used. Our lawyers (rightly) insisted that we not use the term Velcro, but our customers always referred to our “Velcro packaging”. (Geek-out, nerds!)

@Niall I also had ROJa for a bit until solving for the tequila rounds. Obviously, my uni education paid off in solving that one 😉

@sotto voce Had this same thought until late in the solve. I think I saw the originals of one or two of these, but none of the sequels. So was quite a difficult start. Had to rely a lot on the crosses. Good challenge for me.

@Mike Odd you say that, but since yesterday, my iOS- based app text looks bigger! Maybe it’s a zero-sum situation! 🤓

@dutchiris Well, I do now!

@Roger Some play guitar, others define the meaning of playing guitar, but this…? From a different GALAXY! (And then he threw the guitar over his back, as if to say “that one’s done - no notes left in it”) Made my morning.

@Greg I assume you’re referring to 51A? I wasn’t tripped up by the (lack of) Oxford comma, but I counted Superhuman and strength as two, then plus mind-reading, invisibility (comma) and four dozen other…gave me 52 instead of 51! ICANSAY that PESKY mistake made my EYES sORE TIL I addressed the LIiBILITIES

@The X-Phile The first time I ran across one (years ago), I figured it out without the grid hints (typically) given these days. I felt a great sense of accomplishment, and have been a fan ever since. And today’s example gave me that same satisfaction. I believe you are correct that it’s highly divisive. IMO, a small minority would say “take-it-or-leave-it”, while the vast majority would be divided into the love/hate camps.

@Jane Wheelaghan We would use SOT to refer to a drunkard. Maybe from besot (stupefy), and taking just the end, sot, to make a noun to mean someone who drinks until stupefied? The miracle and immaculate references are from sports coinages for very specific football games (Music City Miracle) or even a certain play within a certain game (The Immaculate Reception). Also, I suppose the constructors were tying into the HOLINESS solve (having handed down the ME). Our pickles generally come from the jar in slices, or in spears, where the whole cuke is cut lengthwise into quarters. You might get a single spear (as a portion) alongside your deli sandwich (as opposed to several slices already within the sandwich).

@Steve Surprised there haven’t been more comments about cement, but maybe because that was argued extensively a few weeks back (regarding mortar if I remember correctly?). Concrete would be the best term over here based on how it’s clued, but it’s more of a technical definition (concrete being made of cement, water, and aggregate), and the only time we talk about tarmac is at the airport. Most people call the large trucks that deliver concrete (for our sidewalks, driveways, and tarmacs) cement mixers, oddly enough.

@MFSTEVE I’ve got youngsters who call me Bobo (as in Bob-oh). Pretty sure they don’t think I’m groovy, but I hope your kids do (think you’re groovy) Agree, enjoyable puzzle experience!

@Your Fired SHAMe I didn’t think of that on the first pass.

@Dvdmgsr Two PBs in one week, including today! Can’t remember that happening since “week one”!

@Mean Old Lady Is that a joyful TEEHEE Or a sinister (?) HEHE (For me, sinister is definitely not HEHE, but MWAHAHA )

@Norwood Yep, kept wondering what a mACAGAWEADOLLAR was!

@Mean Old Lady SETRATES TEASETS IMSET (Plus a bonus SETH, which I guess the OP wasn’t talking about)

@Stacey Yes, you’re right! In fact, I had given up on it and ended up getting it from the downs - then forgot to go back and look, until your comment.

@Mark Smith Six Flags over Georgia was my first theme park as a kid (late 60’s I’d guess). I still remember (vividly) the dream I had before we went - an utter disappointment to find that it was nothing more than giant swing-sets on a vast, dirt playground! Luckily, the reality was far better than my “dream version”.

@Brian M. Had the same experience. Breezed through today and almost got a Tuesday personal best - got hung up yesterday, somewhere in the middle and it took me quite some time to unravel.

@Barry Ancona, Nice! I didn’t catch the connection, but was past that part of the grid through the crosses.

@Cat Lady Margaret I’m pretty sure we’re in the DEADA$$ timeline.

@Dougie After seeing this as the answer so many times lately, I’ve started thinking of this before LOO, which used to be an “almost automatic” fill. I’ve also become attuned to hearing it more often, and if you fly, and listen closely, airline staff (pilots and flight attendants) almost always call it the LAV.

@Mark If the final X was in the ultimate SE corner position, it truly would have been a “happy ending”.

@Steve L Adding to your comment, homely and comely are opposites, and it’s interesting (to me, at least), that it sort if echoes the ScAM/SHAM confusion mentioned by many.

@SBK in TO Yeah, good point. Add to your examples, my favorite, bespoke (and recently in a novel I’m reading, bespeak).

@Jon Onstot, yeah, that one kept me out of the SE corner for quite a while. Had to (finally) get the RAF to come in for some assistance— the F making it PDF, and the ensuing head-slap.

@SBK That link provided an excellent summary and history! Love learning new words, or in this case, new meanings for words I’ve been using forever. Now, if I can just remember it tomorrow!

@B Count me in the slowest group (>20% slower). Loved it all the same, just took a bit to catch on. Then forgot about “D”. Loved VIKINGSHIPS. Very clever.

@Call Me Al, I used to make quite a bit of beer - especially during 2020/21 COVID pandemic - and I always used EPSOM salts as a water adjustment for the style of beer I usually made. To this day, I still want to end that word with a “n” instead of a “D”. (Probably consumed too much of my own product)

@Steve L FWIW, I’ve never run across either. Must’ve missed it as I watched all those Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom episodes.

@Barry Ancona, et al. Just wondering, have people tried addressing these issues within the feedback function?(Settings>Support>Feedback) Seems that the Wordplay forum may not get the attention needed. I’m a relatively new “regular” solver (daily for about 4 months now) whereas before I was occasional. Even I can now do a Friday without lookup much of the time. But maybe sending formal “Feedback” to the powers that be is just wishful thinking.

@Joe Would have made it consistent with upside-down cake pattern, but since all the other desserts had unique endings, the consistency may not have been important to the editors who selected the puzzle. Also, the -REVO ending would have been a difficult (perhaps impossible) fill with an ending “V”. My $0.02 worth.

@The X-Phile I like the left turn idea, though then the grid itself changes, and it may have just been an impossibility to get a decent fill. Agree that the upside down “trick” had already been done, so a turn would have been a nice twist.

@Bob T. Happen to be fond of gin, and get so tired of people saying “it tastes like pine needles”! But that didn’t stop me from putting in PINEY early on - then taking it out, then putting it back. Such was my solve today. On again, off again despite catching onto the T-theme early.

@Norwood Definitely had coffee_____, then coffeemaker, before eventually getting to wafflemaker. Enjoyed the challenge of the top and bottom three.

@BobSolo Realized I mis-ID’d the clue as sinister. Should’ve been Villainous, but my comment stands.

@BR Same!

@Nancy, yep - SUI GENERIS tripped me up. I hadn’t run across that. Should have been solvable with the crosses, but I drew a blank on 11D (not enough coffee?), and tried to make the themed ending GENEsIS.

@Bill, Their version of Psycho Killer may be better than the original!

@The X-Phile @Mu Commented earlier that i had __URP RIcE PAtTIES - with not only cOW but stAMP as stumbling points. 😂 Even with HA_AN at the top, I struggled to fill that missing letter because I’d never heard of Mr Piker.

@Captain Quahog Must be pay-per-view. 😉