Jim

@Francis I think he's talking about the ones like "I would say every curse word about this puzzle but the comment filter wouldn't approve my post if I did" or the people weirdly calling a 40 year old franchise with two recent blockbuster movies "niche knowledge," not the normal people who said they didn't get the reference but just dealt with it.

@Matt Agree! Or the tennis players. I feel like more people know of the Mario franchise than old tennis players. The vitriol against this puzzle is bizarre.

@Matt Weird, it's like this puzzle is from a US newspaper or something. Sport-specific clues drive me bonkers sometimes too, but I never understand people complaining about Americanisms when doing a puzzle from the NYT.

@Helen Wright modern cloth diapers use snaps. That's what I had for my son.

@Wyra smock smock smock smock smock smock!

@MmmmHmm for poetry slams instead of applause people snap their fingers

@Robert C. Android, but mine is like that too. I really wish we could customize the order of the games. I only do the main crossword, wordle, and connections. Scrolling through all the others to get to this one is annoying.

@Barry Ancona I never read Wordplay before I do the puzzle because half the time I end up getting a clue spoiled for me.

@Dvd Then why do restaurants have "lobster tail" on the menu and bring you tails of actual lobsters? I think that phrase being used for crayfish abdomens is more of a localism for you.

@joepb I did that the other day with SKIP LANE

@RozzieGrandma The Hague is home to the U.N. International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court. Crimes against humanity have been prosecuted there (Gaddafi, for example, was indicted there).

@Chef Kevin Mario Brothers was literally not before your time if you played Atari games (eyeroll)

@Hitch Super weird, a puzzle from an American publisher having a lot of Americanisms (eyeroll). I never understand this complaint. That being said, I didn't really enjoy this one either.

@Aoi when your checker gets to the other side of the board, you get another checker put on top of it, making it a king that can move in any direction.

@Steph Coldstone has been advertising a chocolate and peanutbutter flavored thing thats similar, but no idea how it compares to the real thing. I miss them too.

@Jennifer I did the exact same thing, lol

@William Kash Grew up in a big Ohio city, it's scarf there too.

@Cyndie I hate "playground retort". Am too, Are so, Am not, CAN SO, there are always so many options and it feels like it's never the same one so I can't just memorize it like the dumb tennis trivia. And you're right, It's rarely something a kid would actually say in an argument outside of some 1950's tv show.

@James and HEADS. I had to resort to the tricky clues part of the column to get me unstuck when check puzzle showed me I was wrong.

@Vaer Ope I found Philomena Cunk's NYT account lol

@Bill BOA = snake. Boa constrictor

@The X-Phile CD DRIVE bugged me too. Like, its technically correct but I've never heard it referred to as a DRIVE except in regards to computers. For cars I've only ever heard it referred to as a CD player.

@Bob Yikes! That's rude...