Sara O'Bannon
Omaha, Ne
If Eddie posted today, he would sa,y "Eye done did this puzzle!"
I don't know why I thought HPI for printing instead of DPI and HAZE fit as a crossing instead of DAZE. Finally had to check it so blew my streak. Side note: My dad would have appreciated the Barq's reference. To him, it was the BEST root beer, and as a teen, he worked at their bottling plant in Greenville, MS.
So proud today! My first Friday with no look-ups and a best time for me! Loved the breezy wordplay as well! I also learned that there were once Uh-oh Oreos! (Although my first thought was Spaghetti-Os, but that was too long!)
I normally do not have to do lookups on a Tuesday, but today I did due to PLOTZED. Just ugh. This was more than a Tuesday level of difficulty and my time reflected that today.
I have to shout out having OMAHA as a clue! That made me smile!
Always happy when Omaha is an answer to a clue!
@Eddie Happy to see you back here! You were missed. Your posts are like a seal of approval on the puzzles!
For the longest time, I had Yogi's accessory as a HAT not MAT. I guess I watched more cartoons than Yoga videos?
Best Friday time ever with no lookups! And after a hard puzzle week, I am glad this was easier and will take it!
@Francis This was the first song I thought of. On a side note, I got to meet Stephen Stills when I was 5, as my dad was his banker in Miami. Pretty cool! Do know that millions of us stand with all of you!
Good Monday puzzle. I first got hung up on SNOB vs SNOT but knew MAC and cheese so I got there. My last struggle only came to me on the crossings and it took me a while to understand SRSLY
@Lewis It's definitely a Friday challenge for me. It's so cool to "know" the creator, in a way! I hope to see more of your puzzles.
Congrats on your first puzzle! As a fellow Hoo, I also loved the puzzles in the Cavalier Daily and wrote for it. I never found others who had the puzzle obsession there in the 80s. I did hang out with the music nerds and helped run the Open Mike nights there.
@Andrzej I came here looking for somebody else who had Dad jokes as well and yes, I was trying to understand why one across was DATTED! Thank you for being in the same boat with me!
@Barry Ancona That was the first thing I thought upon completing the puzzle. It was always Meep-Meep to me but I do see there is an online debate on this as Warner Brothers says it is beep beep.
I lost a lot of my entries when the screen bounced and I had to re-enter them when I hit something wrong while going for the Rebus button. I wish the Rebus button was easier to reach while doing a puzzle, and that my work would be autosaved more quickly. I felt like the Emus were eating my entries today!
@Andrzej Good to see you back! For me, today was hard as I had to look up some of the words that were gimmes for you. Still, it was less lookups than a normal Saturday, so it was a Best time for me. I had 3 best times this week, so I guess I am getting better at this. I appreciate hardness, as I always come away from it learning something new. And today I also learned about communal barbecuing in Poland. I would love that here as my building has no communal area for it, so I must go out if I want a char-broiled meal.
@Eddie So good to see you back!
@Andrzej I also had not heard of slyboots. That was a look-up for me. As to Dope Slap, I always called that a Gibbs Slap from the TV show NCIS, but it would not fit in the spaces.
Always have to shout out when Omaha is an answer!
I thought Mauna _ had to be LOA but it could only be KEA by the crosssings. Definitely a tricky clue for me.
@AndrzejFor my whole life my Dad would refer to it as Din Din. As in what time is din din? I miss hearing that, so today's clue brought me a smile. Dad was a Southerner, where dinner is actually at midday but he got used to it in the evening with my NYC mom. I hope you come back soon. I look forward to reading your perspective from Poland.
@DawnW I felt this too. A smooth solve with no lookups for me and only twenty seconds off my record time for a Wednesday. I needed this as I will be on the struggle bus here until Monday's puzzle.
@Andrzej I also found it much easier than yesterday and set a Wednesday best for myself with no lookups. That is rare indeed!
@Andrzej I am American and also needed more lookups as well. I bet there are a lot of us today in this boat. This was a slow, horrible slog today.
Happy to have a Tuesday best! Seemed to be on the same wavelength as the constructor!! Loved lookieloo. Wonderful debut!
@Megan My cousin was a quarterback during his time at CSU so I knew that one for sure!
I love Mondays because while I have to think deeply about a few clues, it is never enough for a lookup, and I completed it in under 16 minutes! Your tricky clue of Orono was an easy one for me, as we head the US Junior racewalking camps there in the summer in the 90s. It's a beautiful area! I agree with others on the Kale. It is not a Caesar salad with that in it, so a more apt description would be in order here.
@PG This is one place we know he will never go!
@Andrzej I did more lookups than I ever have on this one today. It was hard. A lot of little-known names and facts. I had very few give me's today
@Sam Corbin I was one of those! Maybe too much thinking about 4th Base in high school?
@Nancy Sculerati MD Love the sarcasm at the end. I learn so much from the comments section. When I started puzzling as a kid, I struggled. By college in the 80s, I graduated to the NY Times puzzle, as they sold it on campus and I had a NY Times crossword puzzle dictionary to guide me on those toughies. There were no commenters to help explain things. I came back to puzzling late last fall, for the first time online and I am finally GETTING it! You will, too. As in life, give yourself grace and never be afraid to Google a touch clue. That is how we learn!
@BarbWho Congrats on your streak!! I blew mine last week when I finished Thursday's puzzle late on Friday, but before I opened the Friday one. So a blue star on that one. I had a personal best time today! Very happy about that. Next to get under 11 minutes on a Monday.
@Helen Wright I do butter in my espresso each day as well and switched to this way of eating. Like you, I reversed T2 Diabetes and feel great. Other bonus, my cholesterol dropped, go figure!
This article is not showing up as a link on the puzzle. This might be why the number of comments is so low. i had to search for it.
@Steven M.I found it hard for a Tuesday. Was looking forward to a breezy solve and that was not what I got today.
@Andrzej CRISPED required a lookup for me, I tend to CRISP my Canadian Bacon as well as my American Bacon. I was thinking Slabbed but the crosses did not work. Dragonflies as DARNERS also got me.
@Andrzej, I had no lookups until I did not get my happy music. The error was on SHAG, which I still do not get, but oh well, I fixed it and got my happy music.
@Jacqui J I enjoyed this one as well and beat y best time by almost a minute. I had to think on a few answers, so I definitely have room for improvement.
@Michael B. Agreed. And way over my average Tuesday time. The clueing for BOLT was all sorts of wrong. DDT banner also did not make sense as BLEH is not really used.
@Steven M. Smokey is familiar for many Gen Xers and Boomers for the movie Smokey and the Bandit and the song Convoy, which also has a movie. I knew Deism, because it specified religion. A deist follows the deism religion.
@Infidel SIGIL was one I knew well as a fan of the show Supernatural! They use a lot of sigils as protection in the show.
@HeathieJ I needed a lot of lookups on this one, and still I was like, who is this person?
@NYC Traveler Still do not get why 38D is what it is. Made me question my knowledge of the English language.
@SP Eddie might have helped on that cluing, perhaps?
@Joe Same here! She still writes beautiful poems and they touch me deeply.
@HeathieJ Gotta love it!
@Andrjezurdum Love hearing about your NYC adventures! Welcome back!
@Andrzej For me, it was slower than my usual Monday time, so yes. On a few, I needed a several crosses to complete them.
@Turing Big congrats!