drsophila

Can we who are not bothered by rebuses simply stipulate for the benefit of those who hate rebuses that, yes, they are unfair, annoying, confusing, senseless, obstructive, unethical, abominable, and a sin against God and man. There! Now the people who hate rebuses need not post about them, and the people who like to read comments need not read about them.

The puzzle was fun and entertaining. The constructor should be esteemed (my first fill) if not revered (the correct fill). And yes, "kil" was bad. But I think it's time for the NYT to require posters who want criticize fills like "kil" to propose a new fill and clue. In practical fact, they will be required to propose multiple new fills and clues, up to and including an entire new puzzle, because clunkers like "kil" are in a puzzle for a reason. Constructors don't put "kil" in puzzle, and editors don't leave "kil" in a puzzle, so that they can gather their loved ones and point to the puzzle and proudly proclaim, "Look, I put 'kil' in a puzzle." They do it because they like the rest of the puzzle and they don't want to redo the whole puzzle to avoid "kil." So, puzzlers and puzzlettes, embrace the "kil."

Grumpy companion was easy: Sleepy. This made finishing the puzzle quite the chore.

Wow. This puzzle prompted a flashback. Almost 60 years ago, I worked in the maps, microtext, and newspapers department in the basement of Olin Library at Cornell. Part of my job was to put newspapers in chronological order for microfilming. Some of the papers were Chinese, so I needed to know Chinese numbers. Who knew that the real purpose of that job was to prepare me for today's puzzle? Alas, I got 5 Down only with the crosses.

Loved it.

As a former reporter (Can't those copy editors ever write a headline that matches my story?) and copy editor (When will the reporters ever learn to write?) I like this puzzle.

Simeon: Did the editors tell you why they nixed “Doo-wop refrain incorporating a Hindu deity, a Buddhist monk and a doorbell”? I cannot imagine a good reason. And with your clue, one did not need to remember the Edsels. (I remember the 50s, I remember the song, and I remember the car. But the band? Nope.)

Wonderful puzzle.

I figured "topper" was "lid", but had "patina" and didn't get "lamina", therefore missed "tamely" which should have been easy. I was sure it was "amid", but that gave me "aestx," which I did not see was "mess with Texas," even though "mess with Texas" came to mind as a state motto. I'm old enough to remember Foot-o-Scopes, which may be why my brain is fried and my kids turned out the way they did.

A nit. I got "stadium section" instantly and filled in "nosebleed," which didn't fit. I knew 46D was possessive, so I added an "s" to "nosebleed." Shouldn't the clue for 61A have been "stadium sections" plural? I never heard one called a "nosebleeds" section, but maybe that's just me.

"Wabi sabi". Never heard of it before, but I'm sure I'll have plenty of chances to use it. Thanks.

A quickie, except for the Sasha, Sus, Hiragana cross. I guess I should have sussed out "sus" from "_us" and with "_as_a" I should have gotten "Sasha." "_iragana" was no help on what the "main script of written Japanese" is, although no doubt most NYT solvers carry that word around in their back pocket.

Excellent in all ways.

Solved it without getting the theme. I didn't tumble to the idea of "B" and "N" as words, so I couldn't figure out how to get six words out of "A Star is Born." Great puzzle.

The "S" at the cross of "fists"and "samesies" was the final fill and took me about two minutes. I was surprised to hear the music, but I guess that's the only letter it could be. Good puzzle.

Saturdays should be tough. This one was, but in a good way. Fifty minutes is not too long to spend on a Saturday. I don't know Awkwafina's first name (well, I didn't), and it could be either "Nola" or "Lola" and it seems to me that the "cigarette specification" could reasonably be either no tar or lo-tar. Yes, lo-tar should be low-tar, but "lo" is an advertising abbreviation for "low" (although the clue was "specification," not "spec", but on the other hand, is there such a thing as a "no tar" cigarette? I doubt it. Anyway, I picked "lotar" and "Lola", but made a mental note to come back to it if the puzzle didn't solve. Then came -eg stand and _iva. Huh? The only thing I could figure was keg stand, and Kiva, of which I had never heard. But the puzzle did not announce that it was solved. And my mental note about Nola and Lola had gone the way of most of my mental notes. So I had the grid checked, and was reminded of my note. I'd bore you more, but I gotta go Google Kiva.

Great puzzle. Thank you, John.

Great puzzle.

To a hockey fan, the Panthers home is in Florida, and it's an arena. "CARARENA" for "Panthers home" gives a pretty good approximate solve if you try "gnosit" instead of "gnosos", "Salti" intead of "Solti", and "rest" instead of "less." Who knows enough Greek to know if there's no such word as "gnosit," and "rest" could be "off," although it does not sound right. But the Panthers home is not the "CAR" arena, and Georg is"Solti" not "Salti." Eventually I remembered that there is such a thing as the NFL (Don't they have a game coming up next weekend?) and things worked out.

Changed Inez to Ines because I couldn't think of anything that began with "ztil." Discarded "ztile" because what the heck is a "ztile." My excuse for not thinking that it referred to the "z" tile in Scrabble is that nobody I know ever uses a "z" without either it or the word it is in being on multiplier. So it is always, always at least a 20- or 30-point play.

Interesting puzzle. Took about 1.5 times the usual time. I think my total ignorance of plants (alpines and periwinkles included) and eastern food (egg foo yung and noodle bowl included) made this especially hard. Can someone explain the origin of "bork" as "break"? And does it mean break as in rest or break as in fracture?

I can never remember if the trident is phi or psi. Besides, everybody knows the three-point letter not found in Scrabble is a capital Delta.

Great puzzle. Of course, each player on an NHL championship team gets the Stanley Cup for a day, so the actual Cup has crossed numerous borders (including the U.S./Canadian) over the years. Fair clue, nonetheless, as the concept for which the Cup stands (the championship) has not, and the answer brought a smile to my face. (I think I'm having a senior moment here, so help me out, word people. What is a word meaning the concept for which the object stands (e.g., the NHL championship in relation to the Cup).)

Excellent.

An amusing if not challenging puzzle. You either knew 82 Across/Down or you didn't. I didn't. Nothing obviously wrong with "Ida" and "Iva." But wrong.

Can somebody 'splain me "ranto" as an answer for "sought help." I can only think it's "ran to", but how is that seeking help? "Ran TO", with "TO" being the initials for something I'm not getting? My first thought was SOSed, but that was obviously wrong.

Alas, indeed!

GONG XI FA CAI, everybody! Never, ever, ever, heard anybody say it or saw anybody write it. I must travel in the wrong circles. For those who share my ignorance, <a href="https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki" target="_blank">https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki</a>/%E6%81%AD%E5%96%9C%E7%99%BC%E8%B2%A1 says that literally it means “congratulations for becoming rich”, but figuratively it means to congratulate and wish joy.

I get the feeling I'm missing something obvious, but I'm just not seeing it. Why is "seen" a "good way to feel"? (49D)

I haven't read all the comments, so someone may have pointed this out already. If so, forgive me. Coxswains sit at the stern of the shell, not the bow. Rowers face the stern, so they can see and hear the cox.

A very quick solve, but I never got the theme.