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@Ken Burk Nyet is “no” in Russian. NYS is New York State, home of the city of Buffalo. Both NYS and nyet have, I believed, appeared in the puzzle before. Autocorrect is of very limited utility to the puzzle, which commonly features foreign terms, abbreviations, brand names, etc. I doubt auto correct knows Curad or Iago either.

@Barry Ancona Ignore them. The idea that some passing familiarity with the content of the New York Times might help one to solve a puzzle in the (wait for it) New York Times seems radical to some, apparently.

@Katie Roundabouts exist because they save lives. They are much safer than traffic lights because they naturally compel drivers to slow down whereas traffic lights—yellows especially— encourage drivers to speed up. Collisions happen at roundabouts but they are usually just low speed fender benders, whereas the impacts at lighted intersections cause greater damage, injury and death. Also, they basically manage themselves and don’t require the electrical maintenance that lights do or sustain the same kind of damage in storms. In addition, because they are usually green spaces and sometimes contain plantings and community gardens and such (often maintained by volunteers), they are much more attractive and pleasant than lighted intersections. Finally, they encourage motorists to take turns in an active, cooperative, collaborative way rather than imposing a structure (red light stop, green light go, yellow light go very fast) from “above” and in that way they promote social cohesion. They are absolutely a net social good.

@redweather No. Both CSAs and Farmers’ Markets are community supported agriculture. But a “CSA” is a specific subscription product you buy to support a local farm. You could do either or both.

@Nancy Robert Frost was not disparaging rhymeless poetry—he wrote it himself! (See “Mending Wall.”) By “without a net” he meant that rhymeless poetry could be even harder to construct—it only looks easier. And long before Plath or Eliot, Walt Whitman, the greatest American poet, had mostly eschewed rhyming poems.

@JohnWM Hmmmnnn. Now I’m hungry for cupcakes!

@cameron Disagree. I’m way better at quickly remembering “obscure” names than common synonyms. Brains work differently. And who was “obscure” in this puzzle? There was the Bible, Shakespeare, Disney and Tolkien. Definitely not obscure. I had forgotten Red Adair but he’s by no means obscure nor is Sylvia Plath. (And that answer was just logical—you didn’t need to know much about her to guess that.)

@CrosswordSolver Hmmmnnnn. On the phone app version it accepted “KitKat” with no slash.

@Jane Wheelaghan I thought “pave” in this context was devilishly clever.

@Eric Hougland Lea Michele broke out via the TV show Glee. Keep her in mind—this is not her first appearance in the puzzle and anyone who’s name—first or last—has three letters and two are vowels and is musically inclined (think Yoko Ono, Brian Eno, Rita Ora) seems to appear frequently!

@MmmmHmm “Colonial” and “Cape” are adjectives that became nouns when folks dropped the “house” from the phrase. Apparently in the Southwest, the same phenomenon has occurred. Hence, “He lives in the adobe house at the intersection of Camino Real and Del Plato” becomes “He lives in the adobe at the intersection . . .”

@Tony 21:45! Kudos! If I got every single answer correct the first time, I still couldn’t do it anywhere near that quickly. You must have fast fingers!

@The X-Phile Brutus is unquestionably one of Shakespeare’s greatest—most complex, multidimensional, relatable and thoughtful characters—his dilemmas seem much more universal and of the modern world than say, Hamlet’s, Othello’s or MacBeth’s.“Julius Caesar” just never stops being a relevant and meaningful play.

@Lynn You live in a Colonial house, I’m guessing, which we refer to frequently as just “a colonial.” Or Cape or ranch—same convention works—we drop the modified noun (house) turning the adjective into a noun. These are styles, not materials, true. But in the Southwest, the material (adobe) is also a style.

@Francis You’re not aggressive—and you’re right.

@Jessie Because: the puzzle constructors work really hard — and I don’t think they get paid much or at all (could be wrong). The Times puzzle editors also work hard and editing is a difficult and mostly thankless task. And too many commenters who appear to lack patience come to the comments to vent thoughtlessly without even doing minimal checking to see if their complaints have any merit. I often miss clues in the puzzle but I won’t complain until the day I can construct my own Sunday puzzle and it gets accepted by the Times—in other words, never.

@Amy Me too! I was thinking “Mafia hit list,” “Fascist regime,” “FBI most wanted,” “ICE in the area,” etc. I was genuinely relieved when I realized the answer was “surprise parties.” Which is weird. Why should a crossword clue trigger a reaction? Times we live in, I guess.

@Crevecoeur Me also. Northeast corner was tough and Mayor Pete’s spelling tripped me out. But it’s a great, really fun puzzle.

@Mean Old Lady Confusing the Stamp Act and Tea Act is not a mistake you would ever make if you grew up in Massachusetts!

@Roger Ha! I see what you did there!

@Grant Lea Michele is a very well known television and Broadway performer—for at least the last 15 years, since Glee premiered—Funny Girl, the musical about Fanny Brice, was huge and made Streisand a star. Brice, Streisand, and Michele have all made many appearances in the Times arts section. Not even the least bit obscure.

@Laura Stratton There is no such thing as “too clever.” It’s supposed to be a challenge and if it stops being a challenge, many of us will get bored and leave.

@Laura Stratton Kudos to you for acknowledging that, to echo Brutus’s buddy Cassius, the fault lies with you.

@Laura Stratton Mufasa is the Lion King’s father. The original movie came out 30 years ago. The musical ran (still running?) on Broadway for forever. This is not new or obscure stuff. At all.

@Jane Wheelaghan Lots of Americanisms in this one. Meow Mix is a cat food with a long-running and, dare I say, annoying television ad jingle that will be very familiar to most Americans over the age of 40. Noodge is Yiddish.

@lucky13 Because we like to wear pretty earrings, maybe? I did it in high school—no regrets.

@Linda Jo The islands, peninsulas and coves are why Maine has more coastline than all the other states except Alaska. More than California, Florida, Washington, etc. even though those states are so much bigger and longer north to south as the crow flies. And why it can take an hour to drive between two towns on the Maine coast that are only a few miles apart on the map but the distance between them is all water.

@Charles Peterson Me as well. I knew it was one of those two, but went with the soup first.

@Joe Recto and asana are in the puzzle often. You will see those again.

@Grant The New York Times definitely is paying attention to Broadway—a major source of ad dollars as well as content of interstate to the traditional Times reader.

@D Ayo Edebiri is an Emmy winner on one of the most discussed TV shows of the last five years. Success with the puzzle requires some familiarity with pop culture.

@NY Expat I loved this clue! I typically require crossing letters to get phrases in the puzzle but this one I knew immediately. And if you have learned to be cautious about how you take up space in the world, then you should have some insight as to how many women feel in public spaces.

@Jill Yes! Chuckled appreciatively when I realized it was Helen! Glad it wasn’t Emily, however—the many commenters who apparently haven’t watched television in this century would be complaining.

@Chris H Agreed!

@Jane Wheelaghan The Disney universe is a crossword perennial, much like Marvel, anime, video games, and oddly and especially, the Simpsons. I don’t think the NY Times puzzle can go a week without a Simpsons clue.

@Rick Othello was double crossed by Iago. Mufasa was double crossed by his brother Scar. Osiris (just learned this myself from the puzzle) was double crossed by Set.

@Keith L. Same exact thing happened to me. I had it filled out with B/A, D/C etc rebuses and checked every answer three times before I gave up and read Will’s note. That part was frustrating but overall it was a fun puzzle.

@Jane Wheelaghan Antsy is also very common American slang for keyed up, nervous, fidgety, can’t sit still.

@Linda Jo Also, “wicked good”? You’re not originally from Georgia, are you? Or has that bit of New England idiom made it that far south?

@Beth On the I Phone app version,tap the “more” button on the bottom left of the alpha keyboard and then tap “rebus” on the bottom right of that keyboard.

@kilaueabart Juana Ines de la Cruz has been in the puzzle before.

@dcy Sloe gin fizz? Haven’t seen one of those in a few decades!

@Francis Why a backlash? There is no prohibition in Christianity on spelling out the word Jesus to refer to Jesus Christ of Nazareth. And, at least in Catholicism, so I’m guessing some other Christian denominations as well, prayers refer to Jesus as “lamb of God.” Why would anyone complain? These are neutral facts. Who is the Lamb? could be a question on a Sunday School quiz.

@Marshall Walthew Yes! Loved that clue (idols—totem).

@StevenR Everyone is indeed different. The left top corner killed me! What the heck is a pit saw? VSOP, OTOH, was a piece of (rich and alcoholic) cake.