mirle234

Anyhow, anywho, any...hoo? Throwing me for a loop here. Speaking as an empty nester, keep the nest warm, because they do fly back sometimes when the crosswinds are strong.

A sign that I need stronger coffee: staring for the longest time at the word "notok" and wondering what language that's in.

Thank you for the ASCII art. Keep the arcane crafts alive. But I'm not sure emeet is a thing. (And kind of hope that it isn't)

gosh, I thought I was done but I was done in because I didn't know how to spell kabob, kabab, kebab... I'm just relieved the reality TV show wasn't that other one (The App......)

This was a fun one. I was stuck on 33A/33D until I went through the alphabet letter-by-letter.

Fun puzzle! Seems like almost a theme, with meeting cute, puppy love, and Mr. Right Now.

Fun puzzle, though I spent a while pondering what "goup" meant, and whether the ou sounded like "goop" or "gout." But anyway! In the midst the tragedies of our time, is it wrong to cry for a lost rose? Not if we're still human.

Great puzzle! But lox as a topping for latkes? We cook up a lotta latkes every year at our holiday party. Served with apple sauce and sour cream, but I never knew people put lox on them. If it's really a thing, I'll have to try it.

I once had a room-mate, a former Marine, who greeted each dawn with a call that sounded, to my ears, like "AROOGAH!" I guess it was OORAH, the Marine Corp battle cry. Anyway, it sure scared the birds.

Tiger eye is a favorite of mine. My father once made a bracelet for me with tiger eye stones (I still have it). But being from Texas, my first thought about inflatables was "toob" (it's a thing here), which slowed me down at that corner. Overall, very enjoyable puzzle.

Tuesdays are just right, not hard but not too easy. Is there really such a thing as a clap-o-meter? My sleep-o-meter says I should have stayed in bed another hour, but you know how it is. At least I have enough brain cells for a Tuesday puzzle. We'll see about Wednesday tomorrow.

Ooh ah! Very cool looking now that it's done. This kept me preoccupied for quite a while.

With no disrespect to the Dalai Lama, I could not remember how to spell Dalai.

I enjoyed this puzzle very much

Knd of tough. 1-down gave me trouble, since I wanted it to be "genetics" but that didn't fit. 26-across was interesting.

Tripped up on idealdate vs. idealmate. Windy City exchange is new to me. Stuck until I got 33/34 figure out, but I got it.

Saw the party balloons and hats and thought "oh no!" But it turned out to be a breezy puzzle. Had a little trouble in the southwest corner until I figured out the green bloom. We are not going out tonight; the "kids" (all grown ups) are coming here. Hope 2026 is a good year for us all - good health and happiness!

Uh oh, the new comments format has landed! Goodness gracious great balls of fire! I'm going up to Blueberry Hill and never coming down again.

Greek for folded paper was a twist. Also nice to see a Disney princess who isn't Elsa getting crossword respect.

tough corners on this one, especially the starting. Good puzzle.

I thought the hat was darn cute, even though I haven't seen the show. I saw Mandy Patinkin in Evita back around 1980. I was a college student and got a cheap last-minute ticket for a seat in the first row. Patinkin, as Che Guevara, spent much of the show at the spot on stage right in front of me. It was memorable.

Fun puzzle, challenging in spots. Mahjong or bridge? My mother played bridge. Said it kept her mind sharp. Locally, Mexican Train dominoes is popular, but I'm afraid it doesn't have the same mental challenge (except when it comes to arguing about the rules).

Nice to get a little music education with my morning coffee & crossword. An hourglass filled with sand brings to mind the classic opening for the soap opera "Days of Our Lives." Here's a link if you're curious - <a href="https://youtu.be/Og7-6YubuS4?si=KOv2nNIEe_1AaE7o" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/Og7-6YubuS4?si=KOv2nNIEe_1AaE7o</a>

So many Q's! I could hardly believe it. Solved in my typical Saturday time of about 30 minutes. Hope I can get faster. Fun puzzle!

Fun puzzle, but something "evel" about it slowed me down

A breezy Thursday to raise my stats. Big wheels in the Vatican is a cute clue. I was picturing kids on big wheel bikes rolling through.

For a Tuesday, this was a tough one. Took me longer than usual. Once I got the theme worked out, I thought it was pretty neat how it all fit together.

exqq me, this was a tough one.

Very nice! I was trying to make it a rebus puzzle, putting both grades (C and D, for example) into the square. But I finally got it! This explains how I got an A in creative writing last semester (in my continuing education ventures).

Good morning, Ladies and Germs! Would it be disingenious to say one is faux naif? Was confused by saps being good marks -- on a tree, perhaps? But then I saw the comment below explaining that a sap is a good mark for a con.

Takes a bit of macgyvering to get through a Thursday puzzle. This one was fun. (Better than last week's, IMHO). Kudos!

Late to the party, but just to say I thought the literary clues were a lot of fun. Great puzzle!

I had the whole thing filled in, but one letter was off. Turned out it was the clue about bit of cacao that threw me. (Today I learned... )

Fun and surprisingly quick and easy for me. My best Tuesday time yet. I saw the top execs clue and then got the other ones based on that. No use trying to fit in fried potato pancakes or latkas with applesauce.

Fun Sunday puzzle. I was nervous given the theme, since I haven't been to an off-Broadway musical since The Fantasticks in 1982. (Odd, that one didn't make it into the puzzle.) Turns out the wordplay didn't require theater knowledge, but a tough one anyway. Got stumped on "career" for "law but not order' and "colas" for pop group. Made it through in better-than-average time.

aarggh! There are some Thursday tricks I just can't figure out. I'll take another look at it later.

a 23-film series? I thought it had to be the Scooby Doo franchise, but I guess there are others just as repetitive...

Really fun puzzle! I was hoping for "chicken dance," but I like how it worked out. Clever use of "s" in the across answers. Speaking of outlet stores, one of my first jobs was at Radio Shack, where instructions were to "sell more batteries!" Always good to have extra batteries around during these winter storms. Keep your lantern lit.

Good puzzle. I got stuck for a while on little things, like "not mucho"

People say I can be pretty persnickety myself, but I enjoyed this puzzle very much. (A relief after Sunday's tough one.)

LOL, but a puzzling puzzle. I don't understand the clue about cable lead-in for TV. Why is that "tru"? Also, stumbled on the EU, but I see it now. The two of these together tripped me up at 49. Also sleazo vs. sleaze in the lower right corner.

Worked on this in the evening after a day hiking Santa Elena canyon in Big Bend National Park. Caught the Lion King references first. (Big deal when my kids where young,) Set and Osiris popped into my head from somewhere, and both Iagos were familiar. The Jesus / Judas pairing felt sort of heavy for the puzzle, but it works with the theme, unless you're a Gospel of Thomas reader.

Fun and breezy start to the week

A tough one, as appropriate for a Friday. I say let's roll, not rock, and thought gray instead of grey (mistake). The app says I got it done in 30 minutes, felt like a long 30 minutes.

Halfway through, 46-across is looking mighty suspicious. I'm pretty sure the crossword wouldn't allow the words that are forming in my mind.

Nice challenge for a Wednesday. "Bennie and the Jets" played in my head; enough to jog my memory of who led the Sharks. The emoji clues weren't too tricky. But when I saw X, I wondered "Who's X? And Y?"

Tough one. I didn't know you could use a rebus outside of the circle. Now I know. Very clever. I like all the tree names.