Justin

A remarkably unenjoyable puzzle. Full of non-universal brands (cereals aside, how is ATRA meant to resonate?) some incredibly obscure words (PTUI is not cute) and mean spiritedly obtuse clues (who is associating DDS with calculus?). I'm all for a challenge but this is like a murder mystery where the killer is revealed despite no evidence or clues being present prior.

Perhaps the most Boomer forward fill I've encountered here.

" 'Scuse me while I kiss this guy"

EYES OF BLUE made me pause the game and tell my wife about the clueing. Just a beautiful way to start the day. Favourite in a long time.

A fun fill! I copped some flak on Wednesday for saying "I'm all for a challenge" but thought the clues on that puzzle were mean spirited - this is a great example of a challenge where patience and lateral thinking will yield answers. (still not over PTUI :)

Thought I was real cute sticking IKNOWRIGHT in with no crosses for 14A. Unsuprisingly, NW took me a while. Fun solve!

An enjoyable puzzle, but in my opinion clued more like a Wednesday than a Monday? Nearly double my usual solve time for this one. Maybe just an off day for me.