Lizzie Boredom
Michigan
I don't think I've ever been on this kind of a week end wavelength with this many constructors!! Breezed through Friday [25:07], Saturday [21:57], and today's Sunday [35:52]! I made an effort to get a star every day for 2025, and my goal this year is to get more gold stars than last year until I get an entire gold star year. Clearly my consistent effort last year is paying off already in 2026! How fun to develop a goal and stick with it to the point that it truly becomes a pleasure and the morning highlight of my day. :-)))) Is anyone else feeling this positive and proud today?
I really enjoyed this puzzle. Zero lookups, a little crunchy, but I was on the same wavelength with this crossword constructor. Being a baseball researcher is so fun when it actually helps my solving, but given that I'm a Negro Leagues scholar, the clues are rarely within my wheelhouse; today I happened to know the multiple specific clues. That being said, ARC was my last to fill in, and I agree with others that I didn't love that clueing. I'd definitely recommend the movie 61* to watch to learn more about the Maris v Mantle home run race. Billy Crystal directed and co-produced it as a love letter to NY baseball, even though Tigers Stadium was used as the filming location for Yankee Stadium. As a Tigers fan, I love that detail :-)
@Becky when I went to Google I found that the nyt crossword clue would essentially populate as soon as I started typing, so I stopped using Google almost immediately. Now I consider it treasure hunting research for clues and I limit myself to Wikipedia/IMDb/dictionary, and as an underemployed degreed art historian, the treasure hunt is legitimately such a fun part of the crossword for me :-) It's extra fun when I finally get to solve them without hunting, but that's few and far between haha. Welcome to that first week streak!
And Fab 5 was used to talk about the Queer Eye cast
So proud of myself for having a star every day in 2025, and only 38 were blue [for completing outside of the time frame, not for peeking]. Started off 2026 with one of my fastest ever Thursday times and really loved the pop culture from this puzzle! Cheers everyone! See you more throughout the year :-)
@Steve same here! I love when last week's crosswords linger in my head and give extra chuckles :-)
Loved this start to the week! I'm always so happy when I read the constructor notes and see a duo. It gives me so much encouragement that I will find a crossword puzzle mentor and get my own puzzle ideas published one day :-)
Enjoyed the puzzle, but woof I was another FLyER casualty :-(
Another puzzle to remind me I so badly wish that the theme showed up on the app instead of hidden on the info page (although I truly did not get the pig latin interpretations).
@Jack McCullough yes! Geddy Lee (Rush) donated his collection years ago. He's been a massive supporter of NLBM since its inception. The museum is really fabulous, with a highlight being the player statues on a mini diamond inside. Absolutely worth the trip to KC! We had our Society for American Baseball Jerry Malloy Negro League Conference there in 2017 and I loved it
@Joya HESAIDSHESAID was so satisfying to plug in!! Same reaction over here :-) These are the little moments that really make me feel part of the crossword community
@Post Mortem I always associate "Gild the lily" with Chaucer, and by that I mean Paul Bettany says it in A Knight's Tale when he's offering to fabricate Heath Ledger's patent of nobility
@Lpr I had MOON, the first clue I filled in, forever until your commented helped me keep my streak. 🙏
@Sonja I'm always astonished that there aren't individual boards for each of the games!!! Pip pip cheerio to you!
@Steve I badly wanted “syllable” for 31D, and I agree with other commenters that I don’t really consider “sometimes” to have two SILENT Es because the e’s affect the consonants around it and the pronunciation. Rod Carew’s NL batting title counterpart is Tony Gwynn. The Hank Aaron Award is given to the outstanding offensive player in each league :-)
@Xword Junkie appreciated your humor, felt the ;-) in my gut, and giggled over my tea at the multilingual row you incited ;;-)* *me winking, but plagued by last night's mascara and this morning's allergies
@FJC I associate Zhuzh with Queer Eye too! But I think of it even earlier, with the 2003-17 Fab Five and hear it in Kyan's voice when he was doing hair. I think Jonathan is using legacy zhuzh
@Kameron FRIENDOFDOROTHY was fab, and I loved seeing ORGASMS-- It's also described that way in the first season of Emily in Paris
@Times Rita -- thank you for reposting. Agree, appalling for comments of your ilk to be removed.
@Helen Wright //murderer!
@Times Rita that makes my heart hurt for her
I’m surprised by Deb’s Word Play column for REGNANT. If the clue states “Queen Elizabeth” then why would Deb write that the clue suggests QE II? Paraphrasing, but ending that “QE I was also a REGNANT” is bizarre given that the clue specifically refers to QE I.
@Dan totally on the same boat with the difficulty and just not understanding the pig-latin interpretation!
@Jack Sullivan first comment in a year that I've taken a screenshot of :-))
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