NotMandatory

I’m still relatively new to crosswords and have only been regularly completing Saturdays for a year or so now. I’m always amazed when a puzzle like this comes along where I think I’m absolutely NEVER going to get it, and then one corner gradually opens up and soon enough I find I’ve finished the whole thing with a decent (for me) time - and, more importantly, thoroughly enjoyed the whole process. I’m completely in awe of the skill involved in this kind of construction!

Loved this one - very fun once I realised the twist! And my fastest Monday (or any puzzle) ever, which I’ll feel quite smug about all week.

Ah, as a former rebus-hater and relative newcomer to crosswords, I loved this one! It was clear from the start that some sort of ‘trick’ would be involved with the edges of the puzzle, and once the nature of that trick became clear the STUFFED CRUST started to fill in quite quickly. With the clues themselves being on the more straightforward side, it was a great opportunity to flex those rebus skills (and get some practice on entering them with my iPhone keyboard!). Definitely fresh and fun, and a particularly lovely entry for anyone like me who is slowly moving from dreading Thursdays to actually enjoying them.

I loved this - it was one of my easier Sunday solves! I played the violin for years, so many of the music-related entries were quick for me and helped me solve chunks of the puzzle I might have been stuck on otherwise. I’m still very much a beginner with rebuses and the kind of grid-play present here, but between TUXEDO and PAVAROTTI, and with the help of the grey squares, I sussed out what was happening pretty early on. Not everything was smooth sailing, but overall I really enjoyed it. I can see why some didn’t care for this one or felt it was too niche, but that’s how I feel every time there’s a sports-heavy puzzle or one with endless Americanisms. Not every puzzle is going to land in my wheelhouse, but I appreciate when they do!

OLGA Tokarczuk is one of my very favourite writers, so I was delighted to see her featured here. Would recommend everything she’s written to those who haven’t heard of her, but ‘Flights’ (which won the 2018 Booker) and ‘Drive Your Plough Over the Bones of the Dead’ are particular favourites.

Loved this one - such a joy to complete, even if it made me realise that my spelling of some very famous women’s names can be shaky at times! Still, a very fun solve and the note on the inspiration for creating this puzzle very much echoed my feelings in working through it.

This was a fun one, and my personal best time at 5:29 - making it a very happy Monday for me! A year in and I’m still trying to hit under 5 minutes on a Monday, but with my clumsy fingers and my phone’s tiny keyboard I’m not sure I’ll ever make it.

Definitely a PB time for a Tuesday, and only 20 seconds off my Monday PB time. And I loved it! I get equal enjoyment out of slowly picking my way through a tough Sunday (Thursdays are my real bête noire, and I can’t say I always enjoy them) and flying through a Monday or Tuesday, and today was just good fun. The proliferation of Ys gave this one a particularly upbeat, almost sPUNKY feel, IMO.

This was my fastest Monday ever by a good margin. (I’m not particularly fast, for what it’s worth.) Good fun, and nice to have a speedy solve on a Monday!

I enjoyed this puzzle, but am I the only one who convinced themselves that the shape of the grid represented some kind of Atari-era space monster? Embarrassingly, I was almost halfway through the puzzle before I finally recognised the theme.

This was very fun! I found OOPS I DID IT AGAIN and EPISTOLARY NOVEL pretty quickly and was feeling quite smug about it, but the rest of the puzzle was challenging enough to wipe that smile off my face until I finished. Clever cluing and satisfying long entries throughout - quite an accomplished debut, I’d say!