Angela

What a slog.

I absolutely LOVED this puzzle! Kudos to the creator! I look forward to the Thursday puzzle every week because I enjoy how creative and out-of-the box they can be. Deb, thanks for the reminder that grappling with a challenging solve is part of the fun.

If ever there were a puzzle tailor-made for me, an English professor and preacher's daughter, this it! 🤓

I used to dread Friday and Saturday themeless puzzles because of their difficulty, and it would take me AGES to complete them. Two years into daily solving, and I now look forward to them. Sticking with it pays off! Loved the spanners in this one. Thanks to the creator and editors for a great start to the weekend!

Now THAT was a workout! My grid was distressingly blank for a long time. I kept chipping and chipping and it finally started to click. Thanks for the challenge, and congratulations to Adrian and Anne on your engagement!

Creative use of rebuses + a clever revealer = the PERFECT Thursday puzzle! Bravo!

I've been solving daily for almost two years (709 day streak, to be exact!) and this is one of my favorite puzzles to date. Just a delight, and so so clever. Bravo, Sam! 👏👏👏 Also, I was watching Jeopardy with my mother-in-law last night, and the wordplay clues came much quicker to me than they used to. I 100% credit crosswords for that improvement.

I spent way too long trying to suss out a theme related to electricity. Anyone else? 🙃 A challenging solve! Kudos to the creator.

I JUST figured out that the constructor Amsay Ezersky is actually Sam. When I saw the name before solving the puzzle (which was a delightful challenge), I thought, "oh, Sam must have a spouse or relative who also creates crosswords!" 😂 DUH Also, I just can't seem to parse the non-Pig Latin version of 53D. Can anyone explain?

Love a good Sunday rebus puzzle. Cheers! That was fun.

I absolutely loved this puzzle!! A perfect Thursday challenge.

Whew! That was a workout! Took me ages to break into the grid. I finally started seeing some daylight in the SE corner, then chipped away at the rest. Ultimately, a very satisfying solve for my 46th birthday. 😊 Thank you to the creator and editors!

I'm an SATC diehard and it took me FOREVER to come up with FLIRTINI. I think the only mention of that cocktail comes in S2 E4, "They Shoot Single People, Don't They?" (featuring a very young Bradley Cooper!). Great pull. Merry Christmas, all!

Loved this one! Figuring out the revealer helped me break up a logjam in the NW. Great solo debut, and a perfectly challenging Thursday puzzle!

I absolutely loved this puzzle, especially the diagonal stack of Qs. The NW corner was the last to fall for me. Props to my husband for coming up with WHALE, which finally broke things open. Bravo, and thanks for the fun solve!

I stubbornly held on to EXPATRIOT for 4D for waaaaaay too long. When I finally let it go, NW began to click into place. Great Friday puzzle!

What a clever puzzle with great cluing! I had an "a-ha!" moment about five minutes after finishing, when the rebus trick finally clicked. Thanks for a fun Sunday solve!

I love a tricky Thursday puzzle. Two thumbs up!

At 13D, I stared at _ _RECORD for waaaay too long trying to come up with a 4-letter word that ended in RE and worked with CORD. 🤦‍♀️

I'm very late to the party. Just wanted to say that I loved this theme! Very clever and cute.

As a huge Harry Styles fan, this puzzle was a delightful way to start the week! And now, just because, here's my personal fave among his singles: <a href="https://youtu.be/P3cffdsEXXw?si=YL4o3mVX1kdVXeTG" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/P3cffdsEXXw?si=YL4o3mVX1kdVXeTG</a>

Fun theme! I enjoyed this one overall. But... sexer? Is that a thing?

A fun solve overall! I suppose I wish all the units of measurement were those actually used by carpenters, instead of units of volume (i.e. GAL) or units of time (i.e. MIN). But I'm nitpicking. I enjoyed this one.

I figured out the gimmick, and had entered four letters in just two of the four rebus squares (the other two had just two letters filled) and was surprised to get the solve music when I corrected an error elsewhere. So technically, only two of my four rebus squares were complete when I "finished." I guess I'm just a little confused about how that counted as a solve.

For 45D [Stunning], I found it unusual that both the clue and the answer (DAZING) were in present participle form (ending in "ing"). Anyone else? I thought there was some sort of unwritten rule against this type of parallel structure, like how a word in the clue can't also appear in the answer, but I could certainly be wrong. At the very least, it seems uncommon. I got hung up in the SE corner for a quite a while because I was sure 45D couldn't possibly end in "ing."

What is this midi puzzle that I keep seeing folks reference? What am I missing? Help!