Mia

Really, Sam - ENSILE? And you won’t give the Spelling Bee annatto or aroar? Fun, challenging puzzle. Perfect Saturday morning fare.

Lovely puzzle. Streak hit 1000 today. Solving each day has become an essential part of my identity.

This would have gone a lot faster for me had I not been hell-bent on cramming CHCHANGES (Bowie) into 61A. (Since it crossed well with BEATLE at 44D, which was also wrong.) This was a tough one, despite many of the references being staples of my generation—having grown up with SESAME ST and endured high school in my DR MARTENS. Very nice start to the weekend.

Made me smile to see MERCY BUCKETS. There’s a Drive-by Truckers song by that name that I absolutely love. It’s especially good seeing them perform it live. Puts a lump in my throat every time. <a href="https://youtu.be/U-sBQi0pbXE" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/U-sBQi0pbXE</a>

Oh, I just loved this one! I struggled quite a bit more than I typically do, so it was super fulfilling to eventually crack it. I feel like the clueing was really well-balanced in light of how much of a challenge each of the theme entries brought. I know the original poem and think the creator here did a great job reducing it to its essence. I hope it will inspire folks to seek out the original. Also - re the irregular parsing of the four theme entries—to me that only added to the beauty of the puzzle. And GIDDY UP was just a perfect way to end.

Felt a bit lost after my dismal first pass, but as I went along the clues started clicking. Sometimes it just takes a little while to align my thinking with the constructor’s. This gave me several chuckles and a-ha moments. Very enjoyable and perfect Saturday difficulty. Clicked through to the column and realized it was the latest in David P. Williams’s series and it all made sense. All of the puzzles in the series have been delightful, and I especially welcome each opportunity to go back and revisit the poem. Many thanks to Mr. Williams.

First pass gave me the “uh oh” feeling, but turned out to be juuust enough foothold to build on, quadrant by quadrant, with quite a few take-backs. (I, too, clung stubbornly to INSIDE DATA.) Absolutely loved the wordplay in the clueing. Finished about three minutes longer than my average. I enjoy a challenging Friday puzzle and this one was really satisfying.

Nicely done. More Thursdays like this, please!

Love the shout out to PDX's The Sports BRA! <a href="https://www.oregonlive.com/trending/2024/03/this-portland-hot-spot-is-an-answer-in-todays-new-york-times-crossword.html" target="_blank">https://www.oregonlive.com/trending/2024/03/this-portland-hot-spot-is-an-answer-in-todays-new-york-times-crossword.html</a>

Really enjoyed this one, and loving it even more after learning that it’s a debut! I feel like the clues and answers were diverse enough to appeal to solvers from all generations. Love the clever theme, especially TECTONIC PLATES. Growing up in California in the 1970s, we learned all about them, along with our duck-and-cover drills, so the term’s been in my memory about as long as the lyrics to WE WILL ROCK YOU.