Jess

Today was my first 200-day streak. (ITWASME!) Such a moment to express my gratitude for this group of PEERs! Some of us are more team players, some more SOLOISTS, regardless it's great to know where to turn for puns and other humor, support, stories, songs, movie quotes, a sympathetic EAR... "Oh, BEHAVE!"

Anyone else have Tony nom at first? Steam looked reasonably fine until I actually read the 13D clue... 😜 🤣 😄 😆 😉

A very orthopedic puzzle! SACRA, ULNA, wow! And some handy IBUPROFEN for aches and pains.

This new puzzle author has given us a GEM(S). What a BOLD start, making a Friday puzzle. Congratulations and best of luck!

My last clue was to fix Yentl to YENTE, ha! Musical mixups, my mishigas, oy! Happy music ensued

Fond recollections of the film Throw Momma from the Train where Billy Crystal plays a writer who struggles to find just the right word... "Do you say the night was humid or the night was MOIST? That's writing!" !

Great puzzle and Deb's column today was a delight. Everything she knows about football she learned from cartoons, heehee :-) Just imagining, which cartoons was it? Was it perhaps the recurring theme from Charles Shultz Peanuts column... with Charlie Brown attempting over and over to kick a football while trying to trust Lucy's promises that she really, really was going to hold the ball up this time, and not trick him again? Good grief! he would say after he sailed through the air and landed flat on his back. Enjoy! <a href="https://www.gocomics.com/blog/3688/charlie-brown-s-greatest-misses-every-peanuts-football-gag-comic" target="_blank">https://www.gocomics.com/blog/3688/charlie-brown-s-greatest-misses-every-peanuts-football-gag-comic</a>

I was so happy to see OH BEHAVE as just a short time ago I recalled that phrase here when the answer was only a plain BEHAVE. I had at one time for 1A the ACA (!) instead of SPF, which just shows me how much I've been immersed in political news instead of sitting in the sunshine this summer!

One of my final clues which when I got on crosses I had a chuckle, was BERGS. I was picturing what could fall off a bookshelf... Did anyone else get stuck thinking of books? If you're done w the puzzle, check out the berg-related NYT article from earlier this week - After Breaking Free, World’s Largest Iceberg Is Stuck Spinning in Circles <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/07/science/a23a-iceberg-antarctica-spinning.html?smid=nytcore-android-share" target="_blank">https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/07/science/a23a-iceberg-antarctica-spinning.html?smid=nytcore-android-share</a>

Here's my take today for an ongoing commentary on "how do you start to solve". I'm interested to know how folks here employ different strategies. How many start in the NW corner? For me, I often scan for a short entry mid-puzzle that I'm 100% sure of, and then work off that word in all directions. One of my early entries today was HUIT -- I love the assurance of a factual answer. Then after warming up with a few like that, I'm ready for the puns and tricks. Where did you start today?

I just loved Deb's comment and I would like to put it down in needlepoint so I don't forget it <> What a lively crew today and lovely puzzle. Bon weekend, mes amis