Anna E

That was tough, which is fine, but not fun, which is not. Felt like a blind date with a clever nerd who is believes he's the smartest person in the room and doesn't care if you don't like him.

In my early 50's I attempted to memorize Ozymandias. Ten years on what I remember amounts to: "I met this foreign guy who told me that out in the desert there's a big broken statue that's supposed to be a monument to some old king, but nobody remembers anything about him."

My favorite kind of puzzle -- seemingly impossible until it wasn't. Like others I confidently entered SALSA right off the bat and was consequently stymied in the NW corner; otherwise my first pass yielded only HANK, DINO and, oddly enough, SKELETONCOSTUME -- which somehow leapt from my mind fully formed, like Athena, and gave me the "bare bones" to start building from the bottom up. Nice little Friday workout. Thanks!

Got the theme early on, but the NW corner had me scratching my head for the longest time. Austin Powers' catchphrase was obviously YEAH BABY, which of course didn't jibe with COP, AHA, PBS or HAVE I. I don't recall OH BEHAVE, but there are so many things I don't recall these days. . .

Filled in all the answers and got the happy music but the essential puzzle remained unsolved. Had to read Deb's column to unlock the theme. I bow to the constructor's superior skill, but the intentional misdirection of 63-A seems underhanded, and leaves me feeling misused. "B" and "N" are not words. You were already winning, David Kwong; you didn't need to cheat.

Joining the chorus of praise here -- that was great fun!

I spent a bit of time trying to shoehorn NOR into the middle of the theme entries, but once I let go of my assumption that the "neither" in the clue should be followed by its syntactical partner in the answer, things clicked into place. Honestly my favorite sort of crossword experience -- a confident beginning, brought up short by utter mystification, then chipping away here and there to create little toeholds that eventually facilitate an aha moment, and the rest fall like dominoes before I've finished my coffee. With some delightful little touches-- I especially liked "Story that starts with the end?" and "Two past cue." Thanks for a happy start to the morning, Martin Schneider!

Great puzzle. I got bogged down with RED tape in the NE corner for the longest time. Also had to get over my assumption that Macgyver was an expert at JERRYRIGGING, which obviously didn't fit. Looked up the etymology and was surprised to learn that JURYRIGGING comes from something you'd do on a boat, rather than in a court room. Thanks for a worthy weekend workout!

Absolutely brilliant construction. And I love having a mind-bending challenge (or in this case mind-and-word-bending challenge) instead of the usual big-but-not-particularly-interesting Sunday slog. Keep 'em coming!

I got the trick fairly early on, but it wasn't until I'd completed the puzzle and saw how the blacked out squares actually spelled "SECRET PASSAGES" that I truly appreciated the next-level genius of the construction. Just amazing, that anyone has the wherewithal to think of such a thing in the first place, and then figure out how to pull it off within the confines of a crossword grid. Hat's off, Dan Caprera!

Solved the puzzle pretty easily, but was thrown off by the introductory explanation that rotating the locks would form "four valid crossword answers." Figured that must mean the four new words created by each rotation would somehow be alternate answers to their respective clues -- otherwise why would they be "valid crossword answers" instead of just "new words"? Stared at the blinking lights pondering this mystery until I got a headache. Oh, well. Another puzzle that emphasizes the constructor's prowess over the solver's experience. The former was clearly impressive; the latter merely average. Favorite clue was "Work like the Devil?" And have never read TIMON of Athens, but maybe I should. . .

Great puzzle! The Eastern half came together pretty easily, but except for the excellent RAMI Malek, the entire Western Hemisphere remained a howling wilderness until I guessed it must have been Broadway Joe who wore #12. The H of NAMATH somehow gave me the toehold I needed to figure that the homophonic career could only belong to ROBINHOOD, and then everything started clicking into place. Very satisfying Friday!

Whoa, that was my kind of roller coaster ride!! Super swift solve for a Thursday -- the circled squares put me on alert for some sort of multi-directional shenanigans, and the cluing was straightforward. But it was such a delightful rush I'd stand in line to do it again. My mind boggles at the feat of construction -- it's one thing to think of a cool idea for a tricky puzzle, and quite another to pull it off. Respect, Simeon Seigel!

Sam, you were nice to provide us a link to a dictionary definition of ARCTICS, but, sorry, I'm still not buying it. ARTICBOOTCOVERS are a thing, and ARCTICSSHIELD is a brand that makes 'em, but of course neither of these fits the available space. Maybe somebody somewhere a long time ago used the term ARCTICS to refer to overshoes or galoshes or rubbers; if so, the clue should have indicated a colloquial or archaic usage. As it is, the opening salvo is needlessly obscure, and spoils what was otherwise sweet little puzzle. But then I never could make good fudge -- mine always turns out grainy. Sad!

Benn waiting all week for a work out like this. Mille grazie!!

Tough but fair. Great Friday outing!

A nicely constructed puzzle, but the cluing was so very straightforward that the overall experience was kind of a let-down. I expect to Mondays to speed past before I'm fully awake; by Tuesday I'm hoping for a little bit of juice to get me going.

Not on the constructor's wavelength today. Oh well.

Terrific workout!

Great puzzle! After the gimmes at 1A/2D the northern hemisphere was a howling wilderness for the longest time until suddenly it wasn't. Fresh cluing, lots of delightful entries. I'd make a list of all my favorites but SOMETHINGCAMEUP and IDONTHAVEALLDAY. Thanks, Kate Hawkins -- I look forward to your next outing!

Doh! Got me! I knew something was up with x's and y's, but It never occurred to me apply the trick to the clue itself, even when explicitly instructed to do so. Who knew crossword puzzles could be agents of illuminating the pitfalls of blindness/prejudice/unconscious bias? Nicely played, Mr. Gulczynski.

Breezy and fun!

A breezy Wednesday solve; way too easy for a Friday. I realize the editors can't please all of people all of the time. Have you considered providing multiple levels of puzzles every day -- maybe "Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced," or "Smooth, Tricky, Brain-Busting"?

Daughter and I solving together always brings a smile! Several more smiles bubbling up from today's puzzle -- thank you to the constructors and to Deb, for her unfailingly sunny outlook!

The pictures were cute, but a Thursday challenge this was not. Perhaps the editors would consider publishing multiple puzzles a day, rated based on their relative degree of difficulty. Solvers could choose which level they're ready to tackle, whether gentle, moderate or brain buster. . .