BC

Having worked in the industry, I’ve encountered BICFOOT many times. Someone steps on a cheap pen, it breaks, ink gets everywhere. Terrible mess. It’s an experience that will literally leave stains on your sole. I’m hoping for an October with as little unwelcome chaos as possible. Take care everyone.

This puzzle was a little frustrating. It has its charms but it needed more finesse. It's like they tried to force a hard Wednesday to become a Saturday. I'd like to see the editors tighten up the cluing overall. There have been some clunkers recently and clunkers crossing clunkers, which can be really frustrating.

I think the puzzles while Will Shortz was on leave were easier on average than the ones before or since. This one took me beyond my average time but I don't mind. It's a really good puzzle. I especially enjoyed the Q's, the X's, and the V's.

A lot of variance in this puzzle, some clever clues, not a quick solve, and a very respectable gimmick. I liked it.

This was not a quick Tuesday for me. 6D tricked me, had to dig deep to get the bottom center section, and my initial fill of 60D took me into overtime. D'oh! After my first time around I had NOT.......TEA at 51A. Made me chuckle. Please, not tea, anything but tea! The puzzle has spoken, I'll take my water plain this morning. I'm down with tougher Tuesdays. My brain always needs a little stretching. Thanks, Kelly!

Are horses omnivores? No. My interpretation of the revealer was slightly off. VEGETATION fits where VEGETARIAN goes. Cost me some seconds sorting that out.

If passionate responses are a sign of art, then Kareem Ayas has created art in an unexpected space. Kudos, Kareem!

Joe Marquez, this is how a crossword puzzle is done! All the great stuff about doing a crossword, no agitation. Loved it.

I love it when fútbol commentators say OTRA VEZ with emphasis. AJAX Amsterdam was the first European club that caught my attention as a kid. Perhaps this is why... This week's Friday and Saturday were reversed for me in terms of difficulty. It's cool that a crossword puzzle can create such a diversity of experiences and that people can come on here to share about theirs. Thanks to everyone who works so hard to make this all happen.

About half of my initial guesses were wrong and I really enjoyed this one. I'm a fan of Le Tour and especially the mountain stages so the circled letters were a big help in solving that corner. I also watched the "Tour de France! Tour de France!" with my daughters when they were little. Shame that NBC relegated it to their streaming service this year.

Washington University has a beautiful campus. There was a wedding taking place there one time I drove by it. This puzzle was a beautiful Tuesday puzzle, a beautiful mix of the new and the familiar. Well done, Rena Cohen. Good luck with your studies and your mission.

JACUZZI is my favorite center word of all time. Getting it brought the whole puzzle together. This puzzle worked really well for me. I put in BALANCEDUE but I had GASP instead of GAPE so I took out, and put it back, and took it out, and put it back. That was funny. Errors like TZAR instead of CZAR and DOTCOMBIOM (typo) were easy to find and fix. Anyway, I enjoyed it and appreciate it.

The most agreeable puzzle from Sam Ezersky that I’ve had the pleasure of attempting. Happy Boxing Day to all who celebrate. Cheers!

I want to suggest that if you can Google the answer to a clue, like EUNICE Kennedy Shriver, or WOES, it's not tricky. Not at all. It's just something you might not have known, like AEON. Isn't discovering and then struggling to remember words like AEON part of the fun? (I agree that the theme entries should not mix with the tricky clues, fwiw.) I got the theme from 38D. I started with POLAR but I like that it was PANDA instead. Last complaint - if you're going to theme on the NATO alphabet and include ATOZ, shouldn't there be an entry for Zulu? A zebra, a zorse, a zither? I think so. Thursday down. Happy Friday everyone!

I applaud everyone involved in the production of this crossword. You may have made the perfect Saturday puzzle for mid-Gen X. My best Saturday time is now faster than my best Thursday, Friday, and Sunday. Cheers!