Oracle

I got the theme early on, but had a hard time figuring out how / where it would apply. It honestly seems a bit arbitrary as to which words along the sides it would apply to.

Just a tad stickier than a usual Monday, and all the more enjoyable for that!

One of those puzzles where I figured out the theme quite quickly, but some of the other non-theme clues like SZA, BAI, BRUH etc were so obscure (at least to me) that most of the time was spent trying to do random guesses to see what might work. Did finish ultimately, but a bit of a frustrating exercise.

Some amusing entries and clever clues. Mostly just obscure trivia and nouns. Not a fun solve.

A bit tedious for me, I’m afraid. The theme was great, but the rest felt like a slog.

Not being a Trekkie, I must say I groaned when I saw this theme and thought it would be a tedious slog. But, it actually turned out to be quite a fun and breezy ride.

Whew, that was quite a workout! Went way over my Saturday average time, but glad to stick with it and finish.

Wonderful! Reminds me of the hilarious 30 Rock joke when Angie says “My album ‘my album is dropping’ is dropping”

Breezed through almost all of it in record time and then got stuck in the MUKBANGS / IGA / KANGA region. Eventually did figure it out through trial and error, but wasn’t as satisfying a finish. Fun theme though!

Wonderful! Really smart and well-clued puzzle made for a smooth and enjoyable Saturday ride. I did chuckle at 21 Down being a person who is “left”. Good one! :)

Oof, that BASSOS, BWANA, NEMEA, HELIOSTAT corner was punishing. But fun workout overall!

Not difficult, but just not a satisfying solve for me.

Too many obscure pop-culture references, at least for me. The ANNIKA, TKO, ARCANA crossing was especially wearying.

What a stylish and well-designed puzzle! Really cool grid and lots of unique, off-kilter clues and entries. Superb! (Felt more like a Wednesday, to be honest, but no complaints from me!)

Beautiful and intricately designed puzzle. But I don’t know if the theme paid off in the solving experience. I was able to finish the puzzle pretty quickly, without knowing what the italicized clues were getting at (I see it now after having read this column). The rebus part was nice though.

So much fun! As a millennial, I finally feel seen and validated by the NYT crossword ;)

Did three-fourths of the puzzle in record time and then got stuck on a handful of entries. The NAZCA-LASERMAZE cross was punishing!

Felt a bit clunky with some awkward cluing, but very creative theme! Appreciated it more after I finished and read the column.

Fastest ever Thursday without realizing what the theme was!

It wasn’t hard per se. It was more that it was chock a block full of very obscure American trivia and American idioms. Personally I prefer a Saturday with more word play, but to each their own!

Superb Saturday! It took a while and I overshot my Saturday average by a fair bit, but such a pleasure to work through it and get to the end.

Brilliant misdirects! I can’t be the only one who had “DROSS” instead of “DRECK” and “ABEL” instead of “ADAM” in the bottom right corner. Fun to work it out!

Utterly delightful!! I chuckled at every theme entry.

New personal best Thursday time for me. Amazed that I finished without even realizing what the theme was!

What a fresh and fun puzzle! A bit off-kilter for a Monday, but in the best way. Enjoyed this one a lot.

Fantastic puzzle! I’m surprised 17A made it past the Times’s infamous “breakfast table test” (though I suppose it is because the theme is asking us to read the answer differently and not what it actually says!). In any case, a fun and nicely designed Thursday!

Double my average Saturday time. But very satisfying to get to the end!

Brilliant misdirects! For 26D, I had SPEED DATES for the longest time (and then when I got EGOS for 63A, I changed 26D to SPEED MEETS).

Fun and clever puzzle! Enjoyed this one a lot. Though I did feel that there was a lot of sub-optimal fill just to make the theme work. I was also surprised that the editors allowed multiple entries with the same word in them - “ATE IT UP, WOKEN UP, GET UP STEAM” (the latter is also quite awkwardly phrased). Nevertheless, I do think the theme was worth it!

One of the most satisfying Saturdays in a while! Really enjoyed this one. The long answers were a delight.

Ingenious!!

Nicely executed theme. Especially impressive to have six theme entries! But I did feel that it made the rest of the fill somewhat awkward.

Brilliantly designed grid with lots of fresh, fun cluing. I really enjoyed this one. My only minor quibble is that the revealer says “… a hint to entering the answers…” which does suggest a rebus since it implies that there is a particular way to enter those answers. But actually it should be “…a hint to reading the answers…” since you’re not really entering them in a different way, but just reading them differently.

Brilliant! A perfect Thursday

Count me among those who initially entered the colors as rebuses. Wasted some time re-entering it all. Good puzzle overall though.