Treegarden

@James "No indicator of what's going on" is part of the challenge. I personally enjoy having to figure it out.

@TLC Many people, including me, enjoy clever puzzles, and appreciate the constructor’s work in creating one. I see no evidence that Ms. Dershowitz’s intent was to call attention to herself.

@Chet Barry beat me to it, but I’ll just add that your condescension (“Do better”) is remarkable.

@Bill Thanks for linking to that beautiful painting.

@MW “And the banker never wears a Mac In the pouring rain Very strange Penny Lane…”

@TP You are aware, aren't you, that the NYT has established a program to attract more puzzle constructors from under-represented groups? Perhaps it would be worth doing a bit more investigation before dropping a judgmental (not to mention arrogant) "do better."

@Seth Please read Sam’s column for an explanation.

@Mean Old Lady RENOWN as a noun works, although RENOWNS falls into the category of questionable plurals IMHO.

@Tex Well said!

@RI guy Puzzle-construction software is not AI, and, as noted here multiple times, it’s been in use for many years.

@CCNY "Do you read the clues and fill in what you’re certain is true, and then go back and look at the crosses and the grid?" Yes, that's more or less what I do. In addition, when I don't know an Across on the first pass, I'll look at the Downs whose first letters it contains and fill in that letter if I know the Down. (I hope that makes sense!)

@AH Only on Sundays, by clicking the “i” icon (with the blinking circle) at top right. Themes for other days of the week are left for the solver to suss out.

@SiobhanL Hardly depressing, given the mention of the ESA’s success rate!

@Kevin Sunday puzzles have had gimmicks forever–did you, perhaps, start solving only recently?

@Mean Old Lady Caro’s Series on LBJ is magnificent. I heartily recommend adding them to your queue.

@David Meyers No, this is one of the theme clue/entry pairs, in which a spoken word ("parasite") is interpreted by a text-to-speech tool as "Paris sight." It's explained in the Wordplay column: "I can tell you, for example, and with apologies to the French, that Americans don’t think of the EIFFEL TOWER as a [Rod-shaped parasite]. We might, however, refer to it as a 'Paris sight' or 'site' (both are appropriate here)."

@JoPa Close enough for a puzzle, methinks.

@john ezra I just finished The Brothers K. Not a lighthearted romp, to say the least!

@Eric Hougland Go for it. That low end really completes the sound. And one of the beauties of subwoofers is that very low frequencies are not directional, so a subwoofer can be placed anywhere—under furniture, off in a corner, etc.

@Pezhead Have you visited the Pez Visitor Center? <a href="https://us.pez.com/pages/hours-and-location" target="_blank">https://us.pez.com/pages/hours-and-location</a> “Come see and experience the PEZ brand in person. Over 4,000 square feet dedicated to all things PEZ! See the largest, most comprehensive collection of PEZ memorabilia on public display in the world, PEZ motorcycle built by Orange County Choppers, the world's largest PEZ dispenser, viewing area into our production area, PEZ trivia game, retail area, interactive historical time line and much more. Learn about the brand that has been inspiring and innovating since 1927!”

@Lauren Fridays are *supposed* to be hard!

@Jannicut And all of those eleven championships have been under the guidance of the amazing (an overused but appropriate word here) Geno Auriemma, who built and continues to lead the UConn women’s basketball program.

@Jason Per <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/zedonk" target="_blank">https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/zedonk</a> and many other dictionaries, “zedonk” is (also) correct.

@SP I’ve heard people say “she rowed crew in college” (or similar) as a way to describe participation in the sport.

@Holly Puzzle-construction software, perhaps, but that doesn’t require AI.

@Jack McCullough One of my all-time Commander Cody favorites. Thanks for posting!

@Grant That might be one of the rules made up as the game progresses...but it was always barely controlled chaos.

@Petrol Lover? Paramour?

@Will But voice over IP could, of course, be used for a landline.

@Mean Old Lady OT? Please enlighten me. (I always enjoy your comments.)

@mainer Wouldn't DONE be 100%?

@Bill Rosser “Address,” informally.

@Sam (and @Barry Ancona) I was surprised that the M-W dictionary listed "ump" only as a verb. <a href="https://dictionary.com/browse/ump" target="_blank">https://dictionary.com/browse/ump</a> has it only as a noun!

@Teresa Of course, that phrase is imperfect in that a drum doesn’t beat itself. “Make like a drummer and beat it,” perhaps?