Jill

Got my best Tuesday time ever (ten min less than average) on this one with no hints or lookups. Nice!! For once, no frustration felt, only triumph!

This is the first Saturday I was able to solve using just the hints (and one or two lookups) without resorting to the answer key for the last couple of clues Pretty proud of myself! Now the next hurdle is to solve a Saturday without the hints at all…

Very easy until the SE corner. What the heck is greenhorn? House of (blank)? Shakespearean conspirator? “Later”!? A basic cable show winning an Emmy for drama? I had no knowledge of the constellation resembling the instrument or the word for “dry as the Sonoran desert.” So weird. My whole grid was filled except that section which was wicked hard. I wish those clues were spread out better bc that seems to all be very specific knowledge. At least for me (age 47). I did get IMDB though. Cute reveal. Love the double meaning there!

Even with the hints, way too hard. Also I’m Jewish so maybe I’m wrong but shouldn’t 1a be SAINT not SANT? Also I’ve never heard of “slimed” as “said nasty things about.” I know Thursday is supposed to be hard, but this was insane.