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@Allen As an attorney, I pronounce the first syllable of “paralegal” as “pair.” So the theme worked perfectly for me. Cast your mind back to law school when we were taught to consider different points of view.

@jp inframan How is it a lack of imagination to include an extra trick into an ordinary puzzle? Seems like it takes extra imagination to me.

@Kroobey Does each response require a response?

@marty my guy, just skip Thursdays. It’s that easy. Some of us really look forward to Thursday for the extra trickiness.

@Steve L So funny to see you in the reverse of your typical role today.

@Lewis No, but apparently I’m the only one trashy enough to immediately type “VODKAREDBULLS” in 18A. 😆

@Chet it did work though, and no rebus was required. If you put “U” in the square it worked for the across; and the fact that the “U” was a pocket containing the item in the across clue means it worked for the down!

@Alexis it went over my average by quite a bit— there were some clues that seemed really obscure to me. But I’m not going to complain about it. That’s kind of my problem, not the instructor’s.

@Michael but the thing that goes in the pocket is literally in the across clue. So there can only be one thing in the pocket. It’s fine if it didn’t click with you (it happens to everyone) but there’s no need to come in guns blazing.

@NG It really doesn’t. It’s an accepted spelling. One spelling is anglicized and one is hispanicized. Neither is more correct than the other, although one is more commonly used.

@Ιασων I really don’t think it’s bragging. Even if it is, I’ll take bragging over the incessant complaining.

@markm Why is it out of place? It’s okay to have newer, fresher things in the crossword.

@Sam Lyons I’m sorry but nothing with a Harry Potter reference could possibly be considered obscure. Also when does something stop being “pop culture”? The books are almost 30 years old at this point.

@Nancy J. Imagine having your day ruined by a crossword

@Steve L We are trending toward Celebrity Jeopardy easiness here. “Just write down a color. Any color!”

@Lorne Eckersley That’s been a pretty common phrase for years!

@Andrzej I sometimes wonder if there are Americans out there complaining that they don’t understand the clues in Polish crossword puzzles …

@Tim V. I have seen this type of rebus plenty of times. Just move on.

@Times Rita overabundance of initialisms? idk wym!

@Bruce I spent at least 2 minutes wondering what an “acunit” was

@Elijah Bush How is it not a word. It’s in the dictionary. And the NYT crossword. It’s a word.

@HeathieJ Same. I’ve never had a “technical issue” or whatever with rebuses.

@jp inframan Once I realized how this puzzle worked, I switched to ONLY answering the Down clues. Because it was so fun.

@Paul Agreed. Some people posted things like “fun for the instructor not the solver.” It might not have been fun for THAT ONE solver, but it was very fun for others! Why do people think their opinions are facts? 😭

@B They are words, according to the dictionary.

@Katie I do think people are more negative these days. Steve L made a joke about it the other day and a bunch of people were mad about THAT. It’s just a game, people. (A game that takes some kind of genius to construct!)

@Dave Munger in Chicago there are cops standing in the middle of some of the bigger intersections and they will NOT tolerate jaywalking. They’re terrifying.

@Mason all of them, at some point?

@Phil Come on. You’re saying you never do the tough puzzles, and then express a very confident opinion that the way this rebus was done is bad??

@Lake life it’s “holy whatever you want.” Holy macaroni. Holy ravioli. Holy bologna. The fun never has to end.

@Doug I don’t know man. Could be because we evolved for billions of years to sync our biological processes to align with the Earth day. Just a thought. :)

@Tas Bops by Coi Leray came out in 2023 and still plays on hit stations.

@Sam I never watched the show and didn’t feel alienated. Sheesh. Something not being in your wheelhouse doesn’t mean you’re alienated. No one made this puzzle AT you.

@A Pedant This forum seems to have become mostly complaining about the puzzles, complaining about others’ comments, complaining about complaining … The top comment is someone complaining that others post their solving times and it makes them feel sad. Just …

@Tom S. Yes now that the puzzles cost more to play, the NYT is really targeting that sweet, sweet gen z money. /s

@DW all words are made up, though

@Pax Ahimsa Gethen the only acceptable knowledge is REALLY OLD knowledge 😀

@Francis I didn’t know this- and it makes me feel so much better for how hard I struggled in P chem 20 years ago! I still don’t … fully get entropy. :)

@Beth in Greenbelt Today we are all no one!

@a Yeah! They should only include facts and references from your heyday or earlier! New stuff bad!

@Kevin I find it fascinating when someone thinks they are the arbiter of the way things “should” be.

@Daniel You’re not blindfolded- you’re given the first two letters of every single down answer!

@Jennifer Why do you think kids aren’t taught handwriting? Do you really think schools have completely eschewed paper? This is a really persistent myth among older people lately.

@Julia wait til you find out it’s Wednesday …

@Strudel Dad I looked it up (in DuckDuckGo, not google) and got a range of results, none of which made clear to me what a “bed seat” is. What is a bed seat and why is it a better answer than bed slat?

@Eric Hougland I didn’t take the comment as a criticism or complaint. I feel the same way. Whenever I cave and read the column, I already have all the tricky clues! Doesn’t seem to be a theme as to the type of clues, just something I noticed.

@Jon in my 40 years I have heard “what’s cracking?” many times. I hope that helps.

@Mean Old Lady it’s exactly the same as every other theme answer in the grid. Just newer.

@Jim “I shouldn’t be able to” …“I shouldn’t have to” … “wah wah wah me me me”

@Tom S. We get it, Tom. You don’t own a tv.