Kurt

Overall, I thought this was a solid puzzle but I feel like it’s too big of a leap to go from “hold onto your hat” to the phonetic anthem. There’s an idea there but I don’t think we got it today.

Set a new Monday best at 3 min 34 sec (no look-ups - just two clean cycles through). Great way to start the week!

Not my favorite. I found myself really wanting the theme to lean a bit more into rebus territory. There is something less satisfying when the answer to the word roller coaster moving up and down is just…roller coaster.

Nicely done. That top left corner took me ages to crack, and the center with Mr Lonely and Ash Carter had me stumped. Got there eventually but much slower than normal!

Would LOVE for NYT to accept numbers in the rebus. Feels like a standard option, odd that they don’t accept it in this puzzle.