Kate

Hmmmm, I dunno. Mr. Walden's notes lead me to believe he anticipated pushback against this puzzle...and clearly he was correct. Huge challenge for me. It took me over 50 minutes, even with looking up the cave, the random programmer, and yes, the lowly OREO. (After completing the puzzle--to calculate the appropriate level of outrage over its inclusion--I sacrificed a few minutes of my life researching how long it was in existence, as I had never heard of it, even having had young kids at the time of its birth. Sadly, I was only able to learn that it debuted in 2003.) The east was a fairly clean solve, progressing from north to south, but by no means quickly. The west...probably the less said the better. I like a difficult Saturday puzzle--practically live for them, in fact. However, hard isn't always quality. For example, I got ZOMBIE MOVIES from crosses but didn't understand until I read the column. Get the joke now, but Saturday or not, head and scarf should have been separate. Headscarf as a compound means only one thing; much too imprecise for the answer. (In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if somebody, somewhere might be mildly offended by this usage.) Similarly, CINDERELLA UPSET clued by "calling card," not a fan. A calling card is one's trademark. CINDERELLA's were the glass slippers, right? Much too convoluted. And I don't think I can add anything to the conversation that hasn't already been said about the ultimate STINKer: BAD THING... To be continued below:

Came here to peek at comments after my big self-congratulatory “I have arrived” moment. After utter despair—and then a break of several hours—I came back and finished this challenge. More than a little proud. Anyway, when I saw negative comments, I wanted to make sure to post my 👍. Difficult but lots of fun, and I hope the mom reveal was as fun as anticipated.

YABBER, dabber, doo! Meet the Flintstones, emus.😜

Absolutely amazing puzzle! I was about to give up ( well, maybe just set it aside for a bit), but I finally realized that the colored circles were types of worms and had a good romp finishing it up. (That smoke you smell—that’s my brain!) Definitely extremely challenging, so for those who had difficulty, it’s not you! After some years of frustration and hair-pulling, I’ve come to treasure these stumpers. Stay with it, and you will know a puzzling satisfaction like no other.

Dear constructors, thank you for the great Thursday challenge. I, for one, look forward to being puzzled when I solve. And I’ve cracked a code 👩‍💻: the number of “too clever by half” comments correlates perfectly to my level of puzzling satisfaction. The more, the merrier!

Coming out from behind my rock (or palm frond?) to express this gardener’s delight over the appearance of TRUE LEAVES in this splendid Saturday puzzle. To a gardening nerd, planting seeds is such a satisfying process: from the emergence of the first anonymous sprout to the plant showing its true self. Imagine commonly used herbs, for example; when planted adjacent to one another, many look exactly the same at first but then the familiar feathery leaves of dill and scalloped edges of cilantro appear. And thinking of this now, with the first hard frost imminent, reminds me that all the fun will start again next spring. Well I did self-identify as a nerd …;-)

This won’t stand up to the fine examples already offered, but here goes: I wanted to open a produce stand… BUT I COULDN’T BEAR FRUIT Creative puzzle, JW!

When I finally said ixnay on the ULNAE for the arm bones, things started to come together… Cute theme, although too bad that POOH couldn’t have fit somewhere. Congratulations on your debut, NH! Emus, you were totally upstaged today. Go, RHEAs!

Stopping by quickly with the sad news (shared by Deb on FB) that Johanna Fenimore, a talented constructor and positive member of this community, has passed. Wishing her family and friends my sincere condolences.

This was one of those that I was actually surprised to finish 😅; was absolutely baffled by the John and Paul clue, so that corner was my final standoff. Anyway, very impressed that it was a debut—and another college-aged constructor, wow! (For the most part, my extracurricular activities were, let’s say, not resume material.) Count me as one who’s never heard the shoes called by their formal name. I was almost left out of that trend, since they don’t come in half sizes. Finally, though, I caved for an irresistible dusty green pair of Mary Janes a half-size too big—largely since I was able to get a friend’s store discount. As expected, their cuteness couldn’t quite make up for discomfort, so eventually they went to Goodwill. If only I’d kept them until after having kids; they would’ve been perfect…

I like some spice in a Tuesday puzzle, and this delivered. Didn’t know all of the proper names, but the crosses were pretty generous IMO. Only problem is that I’ve done all my regular daily puzzles and will be sitting for some hours as my husband undergoes his fourth (final🙏) surgery (second new left hip) in less than a year. Too nervous to read… Any great archive recommendations would be most welcome!

Breaking my lurking streak to express my admiration for this puzzle. Lots of fun to figure out the theme; overall, more crunch than an average Sunday!

Twenty-years-old?! Half a year constructing? NYT debut! Wow, just wow, young Me. Zheng! Here’s to what will surely be a long and bountiful constructing career! TIL, there’s a Disney prince named ERIC; doesn’t seem like a very Disney-ISH name, but what do I know? Our sons never really asked for much Disney, and neither did we advertise it 😉. (As I said to a friend who complained she was so sick of listening to Barby songs in the car, “how did your two-year-old acquire this music?!”) I’m hoping that the puzzle’s three HIPs are some kind of good omen. (*blatant-sympathy-grab alert*—again😉) My husband had three hip surgeries in 2023 (two replacements and one replacement removal), and we await the second new left hip replacement possibly later this month. With any luck, sometime soon in 2024, I’ll finally have my dog-walking companion back 🙏🥳. Also hoping that 2024 brings good health and much happiness to all my Wordplay friends!

I went to see the oral surgeon, and now I’m a bit down in the mouth… (Well, alrighty then, now I know why constructors make the big bucks; those dad jokes are not all that easy to come up with. Those preceding me slayed it, though—if you can actually use “slay” when describing corny humor.😁)

As we had to get our septic system replaced this fall, just after there was any possibility of sowing grass seed, we are living in one jumbo MUD SEASON, so pretty surprising that didn’t come to me right away. Resident canine has been remarkably decent about digging, so it’s mostly been dog towels versus baths, and now we have a six (or so) inch snow barrier on top of it… I found this pretty challenging for a Sunday. The theme mostly helped, but I just couldn’t *see* PR AGENCIES for the longest time and was preparing to register my outRAGE (“what on earth is a pragency???” 🤦‍♀️) until the sinuses cleared (the excuse I’m running with), and I began to think clearly again.

Grand puzzle! BANANA SEAT BIKE alone was worth the price of admission. I had a glorious specimen back in the 70s, although because my parents bought it used, I didn’t appreciate it nearly as much as I should have. It was bright pink with a white seat with multicolored daisies. I’m sure it’s a hot commodity on some retro market, and every once in a while I’ll give it a google. No luck yet… And thank you for making RARE DISEASE a centerpiece and raising awareness. I lost one of my dearest friends to one of these. Thinking of you, sweet Val. (P.S. Cycle for Survival is a great charity funding the search for cures.)

The more I’ve sat with this puzzle, the more I admire it, despite my first somewhat negative reaction to it. Also, I really love that it invited me to revisit a sweet poem. But here, I’ll give you my quick stab at a reimagining (which can only help you see the actual virtue in Mr. O’Neill’s😆: Yo, crow Watch the snow …feeling kinda better, tho

Have been ON LEAVE from the comments due to some home improvement drudgery—but also because of the general tenor of the discussion starting on Thursday and oozing all the way into today. No problem with complaints, but it can just sound so mean and not very constructive at times. And Deb being criticized for some mild nits when she’s mostly accused of being a “cheerleader “: 🙄. Anyway, yesterday’s Ezersky offering was a killer and a humbling reminder that I’ve got some years to go before joining the ranks of the superstar solvers around these parts… As far as today goes, I’ve become a bit of a “git’er done” Sunday solver (except when tricks are involved), but I did have trouble wrapping my head around the themers today. Also, very solidly on team THE FONZ.😁 Back to the coal mines…

Fantastic puzzle to add to the day’s excitement. We won’t have totality here, but pretty close, at @95%. A son is coming to share the experience, and we plan to sit around the fire pit and admire this natural wonder. Before that, I take my husband to his six-week check where we’re hoping he’ll be given official surgical permission to bear weight on his hip and start walking—hoping the eclipse coinciding is auspicious! Thanks to all who contributed playlist ideas and inspired haikus.

Hello, Wordplay! Been on the down-low due to a SCOURGE of unforeseen home-improvement issues (30-year itch of home ownership?) merged with the insistent calls from the spring garden…🪻🌸🌼 This type of puzzle can end up feeling tedious, but not in this case. The themers were each unique in their approach. Nice work, J.K.!

Very satisfying for a Monday puzzle, a lot to chew on. I enjoyed it! Yesterday, I was sad first that I waited until the end of the day to do what turned out to be a crunchy puzzle; then, I was sad (and confused) about the technological thud (with the effects not happening); and finally, I was perplexed that the comments were closed before I could ask a question (which ultimately was answered by one of the 500 or so responses). Do we know why comments were closed? Happy earth day, fellow crosswording earthlings! 🌎

Fun puzzle and relatable construction notes! Have been experiencing this with our peppers, and our garden security is basically mini Fort Knox after battling all manner of mammals. We were winning until now…I’m pretty sure it’s insects (Japanese or asiatic beetles or worms as others have suggested). After soliciting a lot of advice, I made an emulsion of water, dish soap, and oil and sprayed the leaves thoroughly (undersides, too) after the sun is low in the evening. Seems to deter them , fingers crossed. (Reapply after rain.) Neem oil is also said to be useful as is sprinkling food-grade diatomaceous earth around the plants.

Wow! That was a perfect Friday—love one that seems impenetrable but slowly opens up. Lots of fun stuff lately, but I’ve had to limit my typing due to a two-week-old shoulder surgery. The one answer that resonated (not in a good way) for me today was LIEAWAKE. Here’s to better sleep in a month or so… Cheers, all!😊

Quite surprised this puzzle has generated so many comments! I read them, mostly, and conclusione (as an Italian friend likes to say): “You can please some of the people all the time, you can please all the people some of the time, but you can’t please all of the people all of the time.” (!) I was pleased but would’ve liked more trickery. Just got my happy husband back home from the hospital—two nights was about all he could handle. Onward!

Haven’t had much spare time lately, but had to take a minute to compliment this puzzle. WOW 🤩, just WOW! And in doing so, I was lucky enough to read the constructor’s notes—lovely. The world definitely needs more Donias today… Hope all is well with the Wordplay gang 😊.

Been short on time so not able to engage here as much as I’d like…but I had to drop in to praise this tough but satisfying Thursday. Once I stopped trying to squeeze an illogical rebus into a few places, I slowed down and very slowly figured it out. Loved it! Question: how do people get to the comments without reading the column??? I’ve seen so many questions in today’s comments that were answered in the column..,

Have to express my admiration for this one! Love a chewy Wednesday! Hi, emus…

Well, I’m feeling dense for not getting the theme on my own…But fun to see it after the fact. I never crave or want ice cream until it’s presented to me, and then I wonder why I don’t have it every day. I was recently introduced to salted caramel with (the old cruciverbial fave) Oreo chunks. Utter genius 🤯!

A lot of sparkle in this musical puzzle; loved it! (And even pulled Lady G’s song out of some dusty corner of my brain…) How about a nice trip to K-K-K-K-K-K-Katmandu, emus? (And welcome back to Deadline and Helen W!😊)

First, I should say that this was absolutely clever and fun to do. I loved discovering (AHA!) that I needed to reverse all my first entries (well, the ones I got on the first pass anyway). But…I’ve been having such a disorganized week that I had convinced myself that today was Wednesday, so when I opened the puzzle and saw Thursday, it gave me a huge, nerdy grin—and an internal Thursday happy dance—but then I finished in Wednesday time and felt a little robbed of my Thursday fix. I’ll end my fascinating post (insert wryly sarcastic emoji here) by summarizing that this puzzle would have been an outstanding Wednesday-level offering. Are you nodding off, emus?

Too many comments to read all, but popping in to say: Kudos to the Katz kinfolk for an enjoyably tantalizing Thursday puzzle! Loved it!

I flew through this…but came to a grinding halt at the song and pet medium cross. Never saw PET PSYCHIC coming, even though I once had a pet reiki practitioner sent by a thoughtful friend after suddenly, unexpectedly losing one of a bonded pair of dogs. She told us that our surviving pup thought we should place her brother’s ashes under his favorite shade tree and taught us a soothing spinal massage for our old gal. Whether real or not, we felt some comfort from it. Got a good laugh from GAS STATION SUSHI 🤢! I don’t think one needs to be a PSYCHIC to predict the complications possible from its consumption. I once wisely shunned a plateful of uniced slimy-looking shrimp at a book club evening…Others were not so astute… Great debut, Mr. Cotham! (And loved the column photo, Deb!)

I was actually ready to be outraged by this offering until it clicked, and then, WOW, what a delicious treat! In fact, it has put some wind in my crosswording sails. I could go on…but instead I think I’ll go celebrate with a warmed up slice of you-know-what for breakfast. Cheers!

Love your use of the Talking Heads lyric, Deb! Thanks for the chuckle. And what a fun puzzle! The COMITE gave it away for me, but not without some satisfying struggle. Finally, I have an idea for Thursday columns. Could we please have two comment buttons: One reading “Comment here if you liked the puzzle,” and the other something opposite to that. Would save some time!

You are truly the heart of this place, Deb, and will be sorely missed. Fortunately, though, you’ve given us some vivid, happy images of how you’ll spend your retirement —enjoy every minute!!! In the meantime, glad we’ll be able to partake of more of your insights and humor these next few months. And, PS, today’s puzzle was a treat! Did not see that EYE coming!

Exquisite 👩‍🍳 💋! An epic battle that I only just eked out, with my last square being the M in PLASMA—obvious with the TV, but I’d been, for the 15th or so time, working the downs. It took me longer than usual, but it was worth every minute. As is often the case, I had to let go of a few answers that I was overconfident about— like being sure that 20A was check, rather than the actual (and delightful) answer: GODOT. We sure got our money’s worth today. I hope that something deliciously difficult is coming our way tomorrow (an Erik Agard?).

Nice warmup for Thursday and fun puzzle, definitely a little more challenging than normal for me, which is a good thing! I do protest, though, that the YETI is a hairy hoax. We once saw the blur of an eerily gray elbow rounding our house as we pulled up the drive and ever since have blamed all unexplained events on you know who. 😉

Well done, Jon and Carl! Beautiful rebus creation that I so thoroughly enjoyed, I’ll even forgive NOT AT😉. I’d imagine you’ve been forewarned, but please ignore the negativity here. It seems that some make it their official job to reject any rebus puzzle—and I would know; many moons ago I was one of them. Also, thanks for introducing me clue for RANT. It’s new to me, but one of our sons is a namesake of the answer. I can’t believe we’ve lost 24 years of opportunity to tease him with it.😁

I once rode a roller coaster with not one but three loops. That was when I was young and YOLO-embracing. The last amusement park ride I tried, when my kids were little, was a humble Ferris wheel. I had to curl into a fetal position and practice deep breathing to get through the ordeal. This puzzle was definitely a thrilling ride, but I did it mostly circle-less (before finally checking the note) and just barely limped to the finish. Thanks for the brain workout, Mr. Seigel!

I certainly did not find this easy; yet I finished well under my average, strange. My key to completing was when my husband woke up and gave me Chopin’s birthplace. That little AREA was pure agony for me until then. I dutifully read all the comments before mine, so I’ll provide a little index of repeated topics: WORE (see Barry’s note a few down) Faster-than-normal finishes for some/more difficult than usual for others The age-old popular-culture answers bad versus good debate. (My take at this point, as I begin to feel veteran-ish, is bring it on, because whether I know them or not, it gives more tooth to the puzzle in general. But that’s just me…) BTW, CATDAD is hilarious to this dogmom!

Well, that was a smashing debut! Hope all the family enjoyed your creation! Can’t resist a little BANANA humor: "My mother always used to say: 'The older you get, the better you get, unless you're a banana.'" ~ Betty White

Nice debut, EM! I love the fact that there is no revealer. And I’m probably not coining this, but (as I noted below in response to another comment) I guess you could say, “It’s always 4:20 somewhere…” if you were so inclined.

DUCKing in quickly to offer my compliments for this sweet puzzle! No time to read all the preceding comments, but I’m assuming there’s at least one “bustle in your HEDGEROW.” Today is the beginning of my next trip around the sun (or is that tomorrow???). In any case, it was a good start in which family answered my request for some muscle help in the garden. Got much accomplished!!! 🌸 Cheers, all!

Add me to team woohoo! Just the right balance between frustration and discovery; ultimately, it felt like six puzzles for the price of one. And I love a bargain…😁 Emus must, too…

OK, I’m emerging from lurking mode (which has resulted from simply being busy) to add my voice to the ITS A SNAP chorus. Yes, I’m always wishing for themeless Wednesdays—just not on Friday, please. I’ve become a pretty good solver…but not that good. (The puzzle did not disappoint in other ways; would’ve been a delight on Wednesday .)

Love the constructor notes and found the puzzle charming. However, it took me half the time I usually need for Saturday as did yesterday’s for Friday. So I’ll join the chorus here and follow some of those archive recommendations! Regarding the toddler’s bedtime, I confidently entered GO NITE NITE, as that somehow became our household vernacular—to the point that our second born referred to his beloved pacifier as his nite-nite. (It was a teary day when he bravely agreed to package them all up to “send them to his newly born cousin.”)