Bob Adler

I don’t think SAFETY SCHOOL refers to driving class. It’s a reference to the senior’s backup college if they don’t get into the preferred one.

Hard puzzle but I almost had it. Lost at, of all things, ADDON for the correct ADDIN and POTMASTER for the correct PITMASTER. Should have had it but was distracted by all the other things I didn't know.

Puzzle was straightforward enough but I needed "Wordplay" to explain the theme even after I solved it.

A great puzzle! It was humbling because of the difficulty and the later knowledge that the constructor was a high school junior! I'm decades past high school but I know I couldn't have have developed anything close to this. Good luck on your journey, Owen. You're off to a great start.

Nice puzzle but I can’t believe that this was the first time MENOPAUSE made its way into a NY Times crossword puzzle. Wow.

Fun puzzle and the theme was realized very cleverly. Very much did not like the crossing AYPAPI an YOINK.

I really liked the BBC brain surgery rocket science clip. Thanks.

Yesterday's puzzle was harder than today's but today's was much more satisfying.

Great Wednesday puzzle!

At one hour, 23 minutes, my longest successful slog through a timed puzzle. I like Ms. Lovinger's take on it: I knew nothing to begin with and started to sweat. Anyway, kudos to putting Geno Smith in a crossword.

Tough puzzle, worthy of Saturday. I really enjoyed learning about Nazca Lines and thanks for the NOVA clip!

Very nice and clever puzzle. I keep falling into the trap of using the reveal on the answers rather than the clues, even though the reveal is quite clear on this point. I got there though.

Tough puzzle but I got it finally. Meanwhile, I'm 50 years older than the constructor. I am humbled by that and also that I once thought that I was a smart kid.

Great, entertaining Tuesday puzzle, apt for the day and Day.

Nice debut, young Ryan!

Thank you for the video of Sarah's barbershop quartet! Made me feel like part of a community just because I regularly solve the puzzles. And it was a very fun puzzle.

Actually easier than the Tuesday puzzle for those who want to know such things. Nice satisfying solve.

Very nice puzzle. Found it was very important not to write in MAIM for correct MAUL.

I also had the experience of panicking when I couldn't get started with this tough (and fun) puzzle. Found myself starting in the bottom right region and was able to build from there. Liked that most of the long answers were common expressions.

Nice puzzle but relatively hard for a Tuesday.

81 published puzzles by this constructor?! Wow!

Hard puzzle. NW corner tough. Also the "cupboard component" clue should have a question mark after it. OK, I'll stop whining.

Very fun puzzle. I appreciated that the span entries were not obstacles but rather helped solving the other entries.

"They're Taking the Hobbits to Isengard" was something viral? I missed it completely. And the link was to a 10 hour version?! I am once again confirmed that I'm old. Great crossword, by the way.

Did not like "OH ME" for the clue alas. Should be "AH ME". This was important for me to find HOPIN for pickup line. I heard of HOGSHEAD but had to work for it.

SW corner did me in. I couldn't settle on BEANO, didn't get NEMO and EBT. Had REALLIFE instead of REALTIME. I was feeling a bit old for parts of this. Also, am I supposed to know the name of every rapper that ever existed?

Nice puzzle with satisfying long answers. But I don't like the word MAZY.

Nice puzzle and I really liked the constructor's vivid remembrance. Needed the PIXAR-related reveal on this one.

Sometimes I get an aha moment when I reveal a puzzle clue that stumped me. NEEDLEDROP did not provide that moment. I know I’ve never heard that before and I’m old. Now I’ll probably hear it once a week.

Tough but fun puzzle! One quibble: is "http" *usually* followed by an s or *often*? It kind of threw me.

Loved the dual theme!

Best Monday puzzle ever. Really fun and the app did a nice special effect with the o's.

Really great puzzle! I felt smart having solved it--then I thought about the constructor. Yeesh!

Re the poem: 13 black squares symmetrically (through a diagonal)?

Great theme which gave me a wonderful aha moment. Never heard of ever and anon until completing this puzzle. Akon and Neyo a little obscure.

TYCO and TSAI crossed together was not nice. Not to mention SAMBUCA, which I wanted to spell with a K.

Very cool theme!

Good puzzle but HAZY IPA crossed with surrealist messed me up. Had to go belly up.

Very tough and clever puzzle. When I finally got it, the App wouldn't give me the win because I entered the circled letters as Rebuses. Since Spraying would not work for an answer (Spanning), I thought this was the way to do it. To much rigidity by the App but the puzzle was cool.

Hard because of SW corner. I never felt though that "I shoulda had it."

NE corner was hard without being fun. ALOO, SHAPERS? CAMPOREE. And Amon Ra has variations in spellings that made it just that much harder to use the crossings. Even after I checked the "reveal" button I didn't have as much as "Oh, of course" reaction as "Say what?!"

Fun, clever, and hard for a Wednesday. Needed the revealer.

Agree with Sam, "at a" as the answer for "one-time connection" is devious and brilliant.

This was a brilliant and fun puzzle! It’s why I look forward to Thursday solves. I needed the Minesweeper reveal to truly get it.

14:02.