debra b

Ho hum. I was looking forward to being fooled, and finding out that’s the joke - no fooling - is a bummer.

Intricate, multilayered, and a joy to solve! I just scored my personal best for a Sunday puzzle: 15:07. I suppose that contributes to my liking it so much!

Felt good about my better than average solve time, but since I had to read Wordplay to really get the theme, the good feeling was fleeting.

What a delight for Earth Day! A tightly constructed, intricate set of interlocking theme clues where nothing felt forced, no bizarre usages - well done, Mr. Vu. I was pleased to finish just under my average.

The term “liquid gold” usually means clarified butter / ghee - I have never heard or seen it used to refer to pasta water. That doesn’t even make sense, as pasta water is by not gold by any stretch of the imagination!

Visually elegant and impressive, like a snowflake or crystal! I finished in 25:17 which was almost 8 minutes better than my average, but it didn’t feel like much of a victory - the plethora of 4L words were relatively easy, while many of the 10L felt awkward or forced. OLDERPIPES?! C’mon.

Most of the tough clues felt fair, but I take exception with the use of “numb-er” - ether doesn’t exactly numb, it renders unconscious. A similar result can be achieved by banging one’s head against the wall over an obscure crossword puzzle 😬😅