Anker

Too many obscure proper nouns

How fitting that USA crosses with NUTCASE

A full third of this puzzle are proper nouns, some extremely obscure. I have taken to just looking up all of these on Saturdays; otherwise it's just tiresome. A difficult Saturday is in creative clueing, not how much arcana the constructor can google just to make their puzzle work.

Me: "Rather than upping the level of difficulty through clever and imaginative clueing of common words and phrases, can we just make puzzles that are full of totally obscure proper nouns that pretty much nobody knows and that the constructor has to google?" NYTimes: "Hold my beer."

Terrible puzzle. Yeah it's difficult. Because of all the obscure proper nouns. Just google them (like the constructors did) and save yourself the time. Note to the editor: A good, tough Saturday is comprised of cleverly clued words that can be figured out with effort, not z-list "celebrities" no one's ever heard of. Do better.

I have been doing the NYT puzzle for 30 years and I can't remember a more annoying weekend than yesterday and today. I just look up all the proper nouns now, and most rebus puzzles just bore me as they almost always have that "anything for my little gimmick" constructor-googled fill.

As soon as I saw it was a Quigley puzzle I rolled my eyes and said here comes an annoying mess of obscure proper nouns, naticks and assorted borderline-legit answers. Yep.

"Pah"? Really. Pah. Ooooooookay there NYT whatever you say.

One of the worst puzzles of all time.

Too many proper nouns

What an absolute mess of obscure proper nouns and naticks. Terrible puzzle.

Save yourself the trouble and just google the many MANY totally obscure proper nouns. Why not? The constructor obviously did.

Ugh what an awful puzzle. I've seen puzzles with a lot of stretches and downright dubious fill just to make a too-cutesy gimmick work, but this one takes the cake. Dreadful.

Once again... WAY too many proper nouns.

Way too many proper nouns and deliberately obscure clueing yet again. Totally lame puzzle.

What a meh puzzle. A few very questionable crosses like a Latin plural and a monogram from Poe. Also crossing the Spanish "arepas" with not one but two proper nouns? Do better. (PS and "nuyorican"??? Don't care if that is actually a thing - just...don't).

Absolutely dreadful puzzle. Stick to editing Sam.

What an annoying puzzle

Ugh. Hated it. This is a perfect example of a puzzle that was probably a lot more fun to construct than it was to solve.

This puzzle is poorly edited. There are several questionable clues, and then there's the five/evif thing which is just a goofy little tapdance to make this trite gimmick work.

Brilliant puzzle. Possibly my favorite Thursday ever!

A full third of this puzzle is comprised of obscure proper nouns, arcane terminology or foreign words.

Talk about trying way too hard to be clever. Yuck.

Dreadful puzzle. Obscure proper noun hell, as usual.

Yawn. Couldn't be bothered. Got everything but the "key" and just lost interest.

Way too many obscure proper nouns. Clever Saturday construction is in the clueing, not in just googling stuff almost nobody will know

What is this mess? Ofc the comments cult is fawning over it, as they do everything, but what a lousy puzzle

Lots of very questionable clueing in this one, as well as obscure, "constructor-had-to-google-them-too" nouns. Especially in the SW corner where Hebrew word meets Chinese name meets name of ski resort. Blech.

So sick of puzzles like this that substitute hopelessly obscure proper nouns for clever clueing. I just google them. Why not? The constructor clearly did.

7D - Said no basketball fan or announcer ever

I guess Friday is the new Tuesday

"Absym"? Really? The clue should have at least said "archaic" or poetic term for..." "Woah" is borderline. And the Oprah clue I still don't get. Meh. 4/10. Do better.

I'm solving Fridays and Saturdays in record times every week. So I asked AI to see if NYT crossword puzzles are getting easier. This is what I got back: "Evidence suggests that yes, New York Times crosswords have generally become easier over the last several years. Long-time solvers and data from the archives indicate a "Great Easing," particularly in the following way: Accessibility: The NYT has shifted toward making puzzles more approachable to grow its subscriber base, especially following the 'Wordle boom.'" In other words they are catering to the masses by lowering the bar in order to maximize revenue, thereby further contributing to the dumbing down of literally everything. Talk about circling the drain. Where does it end?

Over 35% proper nouns today. Such lazy, unimaginative construction. I just google them all. It's too annoying and time consuming otherwise.

Terrible puzzle. Do yourself a favor and just google the plethora of obscure proper nouns. The constructors obviously did in making this mess. What a waste of time.

As usual way too many obscure proper nouns.

Outstanding puzzle. Cleverly clued, no garbage fill, no gimmicks. Well done!

Saturday morning routine: Coffee, and googling all the obscure nonsense substituted for imaginative and clever clueing in the NYT crossword.

Clearly this one took a whole lotta googling of obscure proper nouns by the constructor to make his little gimmick work.

What a mess of proper nouns and cheesy fill. Terrible puzzle

What an absolutely unholy mess of a too-cute, way overthought puzzle. I'm sure it was fun for the constructor. Not me, and not for a lot of people judging by the comments. I can solve a difficult Saturday with the best of them, but I just can't be bothered this kind of typical Thursday nonsense.

Weird puzzle. Not on this guy's wavelength at all

2 clues in SW corner are much to obscure for a Tuesday. And the "theme" is just pointless. Meh.

Tough solve! Didn't ever get the theme and still don't (couldn't be bothered). I see many in the comments are saying they had to read the explanation to get it. Well if it's that cryptic that ppl need an explanation, then perhaps you're reaching just a little bit too far? I miss Will so much...

This puzzle is a masterpiece! Loved it. Well done :)

What a ridiculous puzzle. I have better things to do with my life than memorize Star Trek trivia. Pass.

I'm sure the constructor had lots of fun googling all this trivia that absolutely nobody knows. Including him. What a waste of time.

"This must be Thursday. Never could get the hang of Thursdays." ~ Arthur Dent