Julia

This was just not for me. No zest or sparkle, just frustration and indifference. I’m guessing this puzzle will get mixed reviews.

I’ve done 1800 NYT puzzles, and can honestly say I have never enjoyed a puzzle less than this one - and the poker one was pretty annoying! Just not for me at all- I hope others get more pleasure from this one than I did.

The only hold-up for me was confidently entering OXFORD COMMA, which is the only term I knew for this, and which fit until the crosses weren’t making sense. Also, I am on Team Comma.

This one is just not for me. I hate-solved it.

Definitely chuckled when I noticed the theme - really enjoyed this one. My kind of Thursday - clever without gimmicks and tricks, just stealthily witty.

The clue for FAKE NEWS should be “when media is accused of misinforming “. Just because someone calls news “fake” doesn’t mean it IS fake. Hard Pass on seeing this in the puzzle.

This one was definitely not for me

Well that was annoying. No underlines for me, so I was just throwing guesses with no idea what was going on. Didn’t have a clue until I read the column AFTER I finished, as I do. Thursday puzzles are very tedious when the technology isn’t solid.

I solved in the app, and wasn’t able to find the equal sign on a keyboard. So I went to the NYT site and opened the puzzle there, and was able to get to a keyboard with an equal sign. (iPhone). Another tech glitch- so annoying

Didn’t spend a second trying to understand the theme before, during, or after. This was just a brute force solve.

Lots of swings and misses for me in the NW corner, but I finally cracked it. Great Saturday puzzle - crunchy and clever but not impossible.

I enjoyed this one! My first pass through the clues left me feeling less than confident that I would know any of answers and I had a mostly blank grid. With not too much work things started to fall into place and the answers bloomed- and turns out I wasn’t unfamiliar with any of the answers- the clues were just so clever- as they should be.

Sadly I didn’t enjoy this one bit. Played much like a Saturday for me - it was just not on my wavelength at all

Yeah no this wasn’t fun for me at all. I don’t do the crossword to get an extra game in the game.

Take, as a pointer may be the cleverest clue I’ve ever seen. I thought this puzzle would defeat me, but I just kept hacking away. Lots od delightful wordplay here. And luckily I’m a Seahawks fan.

AOLER? Is this what we’ve come to?

My neurodivergent brain has enough trouble remembering what day of the week it is without having a Thursday phzzle thrown at it on Tuesday. I lost a whole day for a while there.

Really liked this one! So many great clues, but the one for CUL DE SAC was delightful. I actually double checked halfway through the puzzle to see if Robyn was involved.

If ypu like rebus puzzles, this was probably fun. I absolutely hate rebus puzzles, and most Thursday gimmicks. I kind of dread Thursday to be honest.

Really enjoyed this one- it was on my wavelength. My only slowdown was the southwest, but it resolved pretty quickly on my second pass. Some clever and fun misdirects here.

This isn’t the kind of puzzle that I enjoy solving. Enough said.

Although this was crunchy, it was totally on my wavelength. My parents swear we were at the Dock Ellis game.

Well that was delightful!

I enjoyed this one! Clever and fresh with a noticeable lack of junky fill.

I laughed out loud when I got VACANT LOT. Really enjoyed this Friday puzzle. Not much resistance but a fun solve.

I thoroughly enjoyed this solve! was on its wavelength from the start and was able to just woosh in those long answers. Great puzzle!

Loved this one. Finished much faster than my average yet this was still challenging in the best possible way, by which I mean the clueing was exceptionally fresh and clever. This was a crunchy gem of a puzzle!

I very much enjoyed this one. I was definitely on the same wavelength because the long answers came easily - like BRAFITTING! And ALONETIME - one of my favorite things! A very pleasant puzzle experience.

I live on an island and our medical emergency transportation to the mainland is either a helicopter or our FIRE BOAT. And I still had trouble with that one.

Enjoyed this one very much- a bit crunchy in the Northwest, and a few wrong initial write-ins, but managed to parse it all out eventually.

I thought the SW corner was going to end me, but I finally got it sorted out. Love an Agard puzzle!

I loved this puzzle. Only one crunchy spot for me (Sec of War Root). Otherwise it was fun to work out the puns which, if I’m to be completely frank, I normally despise but genuinely enjoyed these.

Happy to be reminded of Midnight Cowboy and that wonderful ad lib.

Took me forever to figure out that I picked the wrong pooch

The NYT greatly overestimates the number of solvers who have any interest in skiing, poker, and video games.

Too much like a cryptic puzzle for my solving enjoyment

Very enjoyable puzzle with some fresh clues and fill, if a bit less challenging than an average Friday. Well done!

Well that was fast - no resistance at all. I was a little concerned when I saw the choppiness of the grid that it would be a festival of crosswordese.