Deb Amlen

We’re grateful for your daily wordplay, @Mike!

Thanks, @Barry Ancona. I’ll be here all week, or at least through tomorrow!

@Mike No skin off my hide.

Hi @Julia, What did you dislike about it? Kind and civil feedback is important to constructors, so we discourage comments about "hating" a puzzle without at least some rationale.

Hi @ianrey, I'd just like to correct your last statement: The rebus button is under the More button on the app. Tap More and then you can tap the Rebus button on the keyboard. That will allow you to enter more than one letter in a square. For reference, which I am adding to the article: <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/08/crosswords/rebus-crossword-puzzle.html" target="_blank">https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/08/crosswords/rebus-crossword-puzzle.html</a>

@Mike puns just make me number than I was before

@John Deal I honestly don’t think I slagged it, although I do have opinions about puzzles. I just spend more time pointing out the fun parts of crosswords and showing new solvers how to solve. I was hoping for more from a puzzle whose theme was exciting to me but didn’t really feel like it had the oomph it could have had.

@Laura W and @Marlene, Thank you so much for your very kind words. They mean more to me than you know, and I feel very lucky to have had the opportunity to sit down with you all and solve crosswords. And I’ll be around a bit longer (my last column is for the Jan. 2 puzzle, but I have at least one piece still in the hopper and a couple of video appearances in NYTGames social media.

@Harriet Will is doing great. He’s still recovering, but he is editing some of the puzzles and you should see his byline on some of them in January. Here’s an article about what happened to him and how he’s recovering: <a href="https://www.brainandlife.org/articles/crossword-editor-will-shortz-says" target="_blank">https://www.brainandlife.org/articles/crossword-editor-will-shortz-says</a>

@Kristopher You're never the only one. Everyone solves at their own skill level, and they succeed for a lot of different reasons (they may be more experienced, they just happened to be able to immediately recognize the pictures, or they may just be having a good solving day). For every person who comments on this column, there are tens of thousands of readers who don't, and they may have had the same experience you had.

@Lpr Fun fact: Jim Horne, who is quoted in the column, was the person who coded the FreeCell game for Microsoft and “snuck” it into the Windows operating system. <a href="https://www.hey.gg/podcast/freecell" target="_blank">https://www.hey.gg/podcast/freecell</a>

Hi @Sue Plantinga! Have you finished the puzzle? Keep going — there is an explanation in the clues and grid (and the column!)

Thank you, @Tito. I appreciate your thoughtful response.

I've also updated the column with the list of clues.

@Reader Just popping my head in to say that I doubt human constructors are going anywhere any time soon. Computers don't do wordplay or nuance well.

@Aidan Deshong Wow, what a small world! For those who are just joining us, Aidan has had four puzzles published in The New York Times.

Hi @K Barrett, If someone irritates you, you can also say that they got to you.

@Grant You rang?

Hi @Meghan, If you look at the top of the column just below my byline, there is a jump link to both sections. Click the one you want to read first and it will take you there without your having to scroll.

@Barry Ancona African or European?

@Andrzej Please save me a seat (and a spritz). That sounds lovely.

@Jim Whoops, sorry! All I can say is that I’ve been doing this for a really long time …

Hi @Maggie, Welcome to Wordplay! May I suggest that you start with the early week puzzles until you’re ready for more of a cruciverbal adventure? They tend to be more straightforward and you can practice some of the skills you’ll need for the trickier ones. Also, please scroll down and click on the free guide to solving the New York Times Crossword. It discusses the types of puzzles and clues you can expect to find here, and there are mini crosswords you can do for practice. Good luck!

@sonnel Well said.

@The X-Phile “The Romans, they go the house?”

@Nancy J. Animals seem to know when someone is a good person, don’t they?

@Laura … arrrr ….

@Stepan It’s not the speed, it’s how much fun you had, in my opinion. Congratulations! 🏅

@Pat Try substituting the "y" in Mary for an "x."

@TLC I never said the pancake was purple. I said it was green

@The X-Phile Funny you mention the Deb Envelope thing. Not a spoonerism, but Amlen is the translation of the Welsh word for envelope

@rsfinn That was sort of the point :) Møøsefööd

@Geoff Offermann I asked the puzzle editors about this, and their answer was that they never said an EN DASH was the longest hyphen, just that it was a long one.

@HeathieJ Way to go!!

@Katie And the days go by …

Welcome, @Bruno! The fact that you figured it out on a tricky Thursday is fantastic. Keep on solving!

@Eric That's very common. Some days you get the puzzle, and some days the puzzle gets you. :)

This is one of the things I love most about Wordplay 💜

@Rachel R. You’re already intelligent. But now you know another theme possibility and will be ready for it next time. You’re even more intelligent than you were before!

Oh @dutchiris, those are wise words indeed. Thank you for reminding me.