LG

@Alex It’s only pronounced “scatch” if the speaker is from Boston.

@Jeff B MD But we did get Esau, which is the new Oreo!

@Ian Stet is classic crosswordese, used to see it all the time

@Times Rita TBF, Stax isn’t particularly associated with Elvis (which is why they added Memphis to the clue I suspect), it’s more a soul, R&B, and gospel label. Home to Booker T & the MGs!

@Joe P “Everything in place” - a French term used by chefs for getting ingredients prepared and arranged for service.

@Robert Berry It was a novelty dance that was inspired by one (Batman) though

@Jane Wheelaghan PONY KEG is widely used in the hospitality industry. Probably not often purchased by consumers, but it’s a common term.

@David Bloom There’s no strict definition of “vegetable”

@MB I like to read the column and these comments after solving, and even then it’s much nicer to be able to switch back and forth between apps to look at the puzzle while reading.

@Phil The key to happiness is managing your expectations! I’ve learned not to set them too high when it comes to the Sunday puzzle..

@Marshall Walthew Agreed, and they’re best known for their ska/rocksteady hits.

@Nancy J. As I understand it, a natnick is when two proper nouns cross and so neither cannot be solved definitively without knowing the trivia. Usually it’s considered better form on the part of the constructor to have other types of answers crossing proper nouns so that the puzzle can be solved even if one doesn’t know a name.

@Steve that SW corner was tough, I had the same errors, plus AVer instead of AVOW

@Heidi I find it’s more fun to figure out the theme on my own, so I intentionally don’t read it lol

@Dave Easier for sure. Just for laughs I recently did the earliest available puzzle on the app: a Tuesday in 1993. It was as difficult as a modern Friday or Saturday in my estimation. (And also full of natnicks but that’s another matter.) Coming back to this puzzle, it was by far the easiest Saturday I’ve done; I finished in almost half my average time.

@Steve L It’s trivia, not skill. That’s why natnicks are frowned upon usually.

@Steve L It may not be illegal, but I’m personally not a fan, seems like constructor didn’t make the effort.

@Menc Maybe it’s a regional term. Whereabouts are you located? Here in the northeast US it’s not a term I’ve ever heard of before seeing it in the puzzle.

@Jonathan Same here! When I first glanced at the clue I was sure it was regarding Pete La Roca

@Jim Where does one see the % faster or slower than average? Or did you simply do the math?

@LG I now see that locations are shown lol

@Derek To pare something is to peel it.

@Caro Before a recent app update, you had to click the “i” on the top to reveal the title. Now it’s shown on the opening screen.

@Joe Gill Nice catch!

@Mitch S The puzzle (theoretically) gets progressively more difficult through the week (mon-sat, Sundays more mid range). If you’re looking for easy puzzles just stick to sun-weds, and journey into the archives on the other days. Alternately, embrace the difficulty! :) There is already a troubling trend for late week puzzles to be too easy, please don’t add fuel to that fire! Have a great day

@Toni Also add on, throw on, toss on, etc. There are many similar phrases, tag on is perfectly valid.