Barb Prillaman

Remember our mantra, y’all, bestowed upon us by our beloved St. Deb: “Your mileage may vary.” Regardless of whether we liked the construction (I did) or the clueing (I did), we really have to give props to anyone who can debut with a Saturday puzzle. That’s a feat worth celebrating. Well done, Mr. Maritz: I thoroughly enjoyed your debut puzzle, and I hope to see you back for many more!

A lovely, crunchy puzzle with some baffling-to-me clues (apparently I don’t get out much). My only nit to pick today is a minor one, and likely of the “your mileage may vary” ilk. (Brief pause of gratitude for our beloved Saint Deb of Amlen.) If older siblings still bicker as they age, do they resort to “UNFAIR” for parental judgments? My remonstration was always the less grammatically correct (but way more satisfying) “NO FAIR.” And now that I come to think of it, I still use the latter. Y’all have a lovely day and remember to be kind.

Y’all have beaten me to everything on my kvetch list, so I won’t belabor those points. Rather I’ll point out that there are times when obscure or rare clues reel me in and make me want to track down the answers, and there times — like today — where I. Just. Don’t. Care. I’m assuming that’s on me today and not on the constructors. I’m still impressed that people create these things for my amusement, and always will be.

Awesome, awesome, awesome! I think it’s often more motivating to post comments when I have a nit to pick, but I really should school myself to post with accolades more often. This was a clever puzzle with special clues that I could easily translate and identify, and it solved smoothly. Bravo e brava to everyone involved, and to raising our awareness.

Wow, wow, wow! Kudos to Mr. Brody! I’m constantly amazed at the cleverness and creativity of constructors who create these puzzles for our enjoyment, and I’m grateful that they share their gifts with us. Just amazing!

Hee-hee! Any day with a rebus in the NYT crossword is, for me, a good day! (I know, I know: as Deb says, your mileage may vary.) As usual, I’m in awe of the clever brains who construct these clever puzzles for my daily amusement. Thank you all. Y’all have a good day, and if you’re on the east coast of the US, take extra care with this storm.

Oh, bravo, Mr. Kahn! My first trip through the clues yielded a lot of confusion — until the penny dropped. Very, very clever! As a respectful aside, if you’re tempted (or if you succumbed to the temptation) to drop a “I hate rebuses” screed here, please remember that some of us love them. As our patron saint Deb says, “Your mileage may vary.” It’s fine if you do you, just don’t expect the whole community to do you, and don’t belittle the creators for their construction choices. Rant, such as it is, over. Be kind, stay cool, and celebrate a society where (I think) we can still disagree respectfully.

I sensed lots of niche clueing today, some of which I knew from experience (YESAND), some which I knew vicariously (DND), and some of which were totally foreign to me (SMEAGOL, BUTTHURT, LEATHERBAR). However, I still found it to be an enjoyable puzzle to solve, and I learned stuff. That’s why we solve them, right? To relax and become more enlightened? And if certain clues aren’t to your liking, repeat our mantra from St Deb: “Your mileage may vary” and move on with your day. Have a lovely day, be kind, and give yourselves — and one another — grace.

I’m not sure I buy HASNT as “informal,” but I’m not going to harsh the Saturday chill by belaboring the point. A fun puzzle for Lunar New Year — and with a language lesson, to boot! GONG XI FA CAI, y’all!

Thanks to Sam for reiterating “please be kind.” I think we all need that reminder on a regular basis. While I’m always amazed by folks who construct crosswords for my daily amusement, I fear my mileage varied today. I didn’t get the theme, even after I solved the puzzle. I may have just checked out because SLEEKEN made me sad. However, that!s just me: props to all of y’all who got it, enjoyed it, and solved it! Y’all have a lovely day and take care of one another!

A bit of eyebrow exercise at the notion of TREEPOSE being a “stance for a yoga beginner,” but otherwise enjoyable and smooth for my part, I’m always impressed by people who can create crosswords. Y’all have a lovely day and be kind to one another. As St. Deb says, “Your mileage may vary.”

Wow!! What a clever puzzle! (Brief waxing poetic and over-generalization to follow.) Poor Down clues: they’re the afterthoughts. They know their brash siblings Across will get picked first for the kickball team. They stand at the ready in case Across can’t score. They know they’re the B team for most solvers, but they wait patiently for their turn to shine. Today is their moment in the spotlight: an homage to Down seems overdue, and Mr. Bodily has done them proud. Y’all have a lovely day, be kind, and celebrate the Down clues wherever you find them.

Mmmm, yeeeeessss….if Yoda the clues for a crossword had written….. Have a lovely day, y’all, and remember to be kind.

Fun clueing, smooth solution, and a Friday personal best. What’s not to love there? I admit to being a bit ashamed that my original answer to 2D was POOP instead of VEEP, but maybe that’s just the election fatigue associated with living in a purple state (North Carolina, not me personally). Y’all take care and have a lovely day. Keep laughing!

Y’all know I’m always grateful to the constructors and editors for sharing their talent and efforts. Alas, my mileage varied today. A lot. I found most of the clues to be too esoteric, obscure, or misleading for me, even for a Saturday. I could never get a toehold in the grid, and my eventual reaction to many of the answers was “whaaa….?” In short, that’s a 25D from me today. Y’all have a peaceful day and be kind to yourselves and one another.

As always, my hat’s off to our cadre of puzzle creators for their ingenuity: this was a happy, crunchy puzzle for me — and I loved the appearance of SPACESHOT, given the progress of Artemis II just now. Y’all have a lovely day. Be kind to yourselves and one another, and go have another look at the “blue marble” pictures coming back from Integrity. They make me think all over again,,,.

Clever! I have a small nit to pick over DOEST versus DOST, but maybe that’s because I’m a Southerner and I save time and ELIDE on occasion. Y’all (see what I did there?) have a lovely day.

Thank you to Mr Ayala for a lovely, chewy Thursday puzzle. There were some delightful misdirects and clever clues today! My favorite, which provoked a literal LOL, has to be 28D. I reckon they could use some hugs these days. Y’all have a lovely day and be kind where you can.

Clever! The theme took me a hot minute, but I got it, and I appreciate the creativity that went into this construction. That said, the crossing of tennis and racing (34D and 48A) stumped me. Then again, if Mr. Salvucci had crossed music and ice hockey, I’d have thought nothing of it. Once again, (all together now), “Your mileage may vary.” Y’all have a lovely day and give yourselves and one another grace.

I’lll start out by quoting our patron, Deb: “Your mileage may vary.” And I’ll add my continuing admiration for constructors who create these puzzles for my benefit. However, I have a bit of a nit to pick today. I’m all for Saturday puzzles being a challenge, but I go on the defensive when they make me feel completely ignorant. My first two passes through the grid netted me four answers and had me running to reference sources and to WordPlay. At that point I was annoyed and responded to almost everything I read with, “well, THAT’S needlessly obscure!” That attitude does not make for a peaceful Saturday morning. I’ll look forward to a relaxing, long solve on Sunday. Y’all have a lovely day.

Ah, this is one where my mileage varied. I’ve never pared potatoes (though that isn’t to say others haven’t), and “ALE KEG” made me feel a kinda way and gave my eyebrows an arching workout. Otherwise, I offer my usual admiration to the clever folk who make these puzzles for my enjoyment. Y’all amaze me. Fellow cruciverbalists, especially y’all further Southeast than I, take good care of yourselves.

Awwww, Deb! What a wonderful story! Thanks for giving us all a feel-good for the day. <3

Holy smokes, what an achievement! This is an impressive piece of construction: bravo!!

What a delightful puzzle theme! Kudos and thanks to Mr. McClung for a wonderful debut, and for reminding us of how a well-placed (ahem!) barb can become the stuff of legend. Somewhere up there, Dorothy Parker is smiling.

As always when I comment, I have to note my appreciation for our crossword creators and their mad skills in making these things in the first place. And as usual when I comment, I have to quote (or in this case, paraphrase) Deb Amlen. Today, my mileage varied. I’m all for offering varying degrees of difficulty throughout the week, but in my ideal world, the clues would always strike a balance between challenging and inaccessible. Today’s crossed the line into the latter realm for me. Some clues were totally lost on me, even when I got the answer, and my third scroll through the clues with very little fill reminded me of Einstein’s (?) definition of insanity. Annoyance is generally not a good state of mind in which to solve a crossword. I did, though, and will get over it and move on with my day. Y’all have a lovely day and be kind to yourselves and one another.

I actually swore in admiration when I realized what was going on here. Nicely done, Mr. Martinovic!

That was fun! The theme clues has me smiling throughout, and my brain got a little workout before breakfast. Sharks not for me to love here? Y’all have a happy day and remember to be kind.

Clever!! My usual awe at how constructors’ minds work just got amped: this puzzle was timely and clever and fun to solve. Thanks!

I got caught momentarily on the pronouns and went with the possessive rather than the objective, but I love-love-loved the clue [Use non-lead pipes?] Any puzzle that garners a literal LOL from me gets extra points.

Very clever design and implementation! Italian verb conjugations aside, a smooth solution for me. Thanks and props as always to the talented creators.

Kudos to all of you who solved it, got it, and celebrated it. I was only 90 seconds off my personal best, but didn’t get the hook until I read Wordplay. Talk about [Blindingly obvious]! Have a lovely day, y’all, and show yourselves and one another some grace.

Oooh, that was fun! Beautifully constructed, nicely clued, and smooth to solve. Bravo! Y’all be kind and stay cool today!

Ahh, if only PowerPoint were just a VISUALAID. More often I find it used as a speaker’s crutch. If you want me to tune out, just start reading slides to me, and I’m mentally outta there. That unpleasant association aside, a fun puzzle once I made it through my first round of getting no answers. Y’all have a lovely weekend.

Oh, bravo! I found today’s puzzle to be clever and smoothly solved. I’m constantly in awe of constructors who create these fiendishly enjoyable puzzles for my amusement, Thank you to everyone involved in crafting this puzzle. I guess all those years watching “Stargate SG-1” weren’t wasted,

Ugh. I’m afraid my mileage varied on this one! When I spend half as much time in Wordplay as I do in the grid, I’m not a happy bunny. (Don’t get me wrong: I love Wordplay, but usually as dessert, not a main course.) Still marveling at the clever people who make these puzzles for my enjoying. Y’all take care and be kind!

Bravo, Mr. Musa! That was a chunky, spicy puzzle to kick off my Friday! For me, the cluing struck the perfect balance between “what the…?” and “oh…that!” Y’all have a lovely weekend and be kind.

Kudos to Mr. Mauer for the fun puzzle, for teaching me song lyrics I thought I knew, and for dropping in an allusion to what I consider to be Weird Al’s best parody ever. (Seriously, try singing his words over the original. They fit like the proverbial glove.)

Those of us who are wont to issue sweeping judgements like “awful puzzle” might want to remember the mantra of our patron saint Deb: “Your mileage may vary.” I love me some rebuses, but I know that not everyone shares that view. Therefore, I’ll say that FOR ME, this was a very enjoyable puzzle. However, I’m stumped by 16D and would appreciate some enlightenment: how is DOM a “counterpart of a sub”? Y’all have a lovely evening, and be nice to one another. We all need more understanding and longer fuses.

So. Freakin’. Clever! My hat’s always off to the clever constructors who make my mornings happier, but special props to Mr. DiPietro for this one. Yeah, yeah, I know…not everyone likes rebuses and wordplay. Let’s remember the mantra of our beloved St Deb: your mileage may vary. Be kind, stay warm, and have a lovely day, y’all!

As smooth and satisfying to me as my first mug of tea in the morning, which sat cooling as I dug into this morning’s puzzle. Hats off, as always, to the clever creators who conjure and craft these puzzles for our daily enjoyment.

I’m late to the party, but no less appreciative of this beautifully designed and clued puzzle! Thank you, Mr. Martinovic, for a delightfully nerdy way to celebrate a delightfully nerdy day.

What a lovely tribute to the very talented Mel Blanc!

As Wile E. himself said on several occasions, “Geen-yuss.” What a delightful puzzle!

Ahh, Ms Iverson and Mr Hogan — what a delicious payoff in 59A (pun not intended, but I’ll own it). Any clues that garner a literal LOL are a delightful bonus. I almost wrote “icing on the cake” there, but the thought of WORCESTERSHIRE on cake is just…no. Thank you for sharing your wit and your talent with us all.

My mileage varied on this one. :-/ However, I’m still mightily impressed with the skill it takes to construct these things!

I still have no idea (though I do have a clue) what 54A means, but aside from that, this puzzle was delightful. Just about as chewy as the bagel I had for breakfast. Props to Ms. Winters! Y’all take good care, be kind, and (literally) stay cool.

Kudos to Mr. Mauer for the fun puzzle, for teaching me song lyrics I thought I knew, and for dropping in an allusion to what I consider to be Weird Al’s best parody ever. (Seriously, try singing his words over the original. They fit like the proverbial glove.)

I know the clue to 32D includes the word “informally,” but I just couldn’t bring myself to type the answer because I knew it was anatomically incorrect. I filled it on the crossings instead, and consequently I think I may have to extend the scale of my cruciverbal prudery! LOL Thant’s my only nit to pick in a pleasant Monday puzzle. Thanks as always to the constructors and editors who share their talents for our enjoyment. Y’all have a lovely day, be kind, and stay cool.

Clever puzzle this is! My complements to Mister Barocas go!