Jeanne

There once was a woman named Deb Whose prose snared us all in her web. With a style deft and droll, She has tickled our souls, And her exit will leave us bereft! Godspeed in all that comes next, Deb! Thank you for all that you've given us.

For those who've expressed their distaste for this puzzle, keep in mind that its constructor, Joe O'Neill, in his excitement at his NY Times debut, might come to the comments section and be genuinely disheartened by some of the negativity he sees. (Yes, I'm also doing some projection). If it doesn't bother him a whit, more power to him, but I'd hope people could be a little gentler in their critiques.

The coincidence of having 60-Across in today's puzzle is rather eerie!

Like Deb, I thought the LIEs were hidden behind the black squares (I guessed that the test taken by CIA employees was a lie detector test and that we therefore had to 'detect' the hidden lies). I was very pleased with myself for a few minutes, then realized that things weren't falling into place. Congratulations to Rena on an impressive debut, definitely one of the trickier solves for me.

Kyle, congratulations on an impressive NYT debut! Deb, your 'voice' is one of my absolute favorites in media: such warmth and wonderful humor. When I say I'll miss you I know I'm joining many, many other Wordplay readers who feel the same way. The Times' loss is, obviously, your gain. ENJOY your retirement. Wishing you all the best.

Congratulations on a terrific debut! Hope to see more of your work.

Fun theme, Garrett! And such impressive construction, including the fact that the greyed squares are all actual words. I've admired your past NYT puzzles, both solo and with AK, so I shouldn't be surprised. Your experience on Nov 10 sounds terrifying...glad a good therapist helped you find a way through the aftermath. Looking forward to future puzzles of yours.

LOVED this theme! So clever.

Congratulations to Mat on a fun debut! I figured out the bumps pretty quickly, but only after reading Deb's column did I realize that they were all 'in the road'...a terrific twist.

Fantastic theme; great execution. I salute you both!

Congrats on a terrific debut, Timothy! Looking forward to seeing more from you.

Big fan of Kareem's puzzles and this was another great one.

Ingenious! I can only dream of coming up with something this clever.

Wow! Just....wow!

TIL: Batiste is a fabric! Had no idea. Another terrific puzzle from Kareem, one of my favorite constructors.

Thank you to Rebecca and Adam for a terrific puzzle, but more importantly to you, Deb, for sharing the lovely memories of your father. It's a blessing you were able to be with him at the end. Those moments, and all of your other memories of him, can never be taken from you.

Tricky for a Tuesday, but what a fantastic debut. Congratulations, Ingrid! Looking forward to more from you.

Terrific theme idea!

In a word: delightful! Thanks for bringing a smile to my face. (And, I imagine, to those of many others).

Loved this! More inspiration...

This was delightful! (The seal in the 24-ACROSS clue had a real James Thurber-esque vibe). I, for one, would love to see more crosswords with visual clues. Congratulations, Esha, on your second Times puzzle.

Congratulations on your debut, Samantha! This was such a fun, smooth solve. Great fill.

Such a great theme! Congrats on your debut, Killian!

Love the apt crossing of AARONJUDGE and ROGER (Maris). I met Patti at ACPT earlier this year and learned she's a baseball fan (see her April bonus puzzle). 10- or 13-letter entries for 'AY': AYECAPTAIN or AYEAYECAPTAIN.

Terrific puzzle, Kevin. Not only do I look forward to your wife's offering tomorrow, but - perhaps? - a joint effort down the line!

I always enjoy Ms. Lempl's puzzles. The revealer made me think that TIME was involved in some way...did I miss something?

It took a while to reach the 'Aha!' moment, but I eventually got there. Congratulations on your debut, Judy!

Loved this! Thank you, Joe.

Loved this; such a fun theme! Rebecca Goldstein is one of the best constructors out there...such creativity. The one she made for Lollapuzzoola last year was incredible.

Loved this! Thank you, Ella, for a fun seasonal theme.

Congratulations on a terrific debut, Joel!

Such a clever theme!

Fun theme, and well executed!

So fun, Nathan!

Fun theme!

Another fantastic offering from Katie Hoody. She should offer a course in clueing! My one nit to pick is, vis-a-vis 24-Down, that herpes zoster (aka shingles), is more likely to be extremely painful than to itch.