Megan

Ok, faster than my average Wednesday, but what can I do when this puzzle has me written all over it. First,My actual name, though I don’t play soccer. Second, I marched in marching band with the CSU Ft Collins Ram bands for 4 years. 2 Holiday Bowls included. Love seeing my CSU clued for once!!! 3rd, grew up with a rabbit and a duck. Whoo Hoo! Loved this

I had ice pack before gel pack and it threw me off. Once I got through to the correct first three letters I had an easier time with the nw corner. Enjoyable Friday puzzle. Happy birthday to me today

A few oblique clues. Had meh instead of heh and meatwaves did not make sense. However, 3 minutes faster than my average I can’t complain

Felt like a Monday puzzle with rebuses. On the thumbs up side if you are new to rebus puzzles this is a great one to sink your teeth into. I figured out the rebus squares very quickly today. My mom once babysat Mia Ha(mm) so as soon as I saw three letters for her name I figured it out. Ditto with O(cc)am and then quickly realized Ad Ho (cc)o(mm)i(tt)(ee) and also quickly started spotting the rest of the double letters. Fun, easy, and one of my best Thursday times.

As a French Horn player in the John Phillip SOUSA band of Colorado I appreciate the crossing of Valves and Basshorn in this puzzle.

I’m a bookworm who wanted to either be a librarian or a teacher growing up. My favorite place to be was my public or school library. In college my second year, I had a work study job as the assistant to the technical librarian and was part of the retrospective conversion (card catalog to computer) where I came across a book with all the verses to the national anthem. So, this book/ library theme was my dessert. Loved seeing Number the Stars. There was a nice range of publication dates and reader preferences for this theme. Also enjoyed the mix of books and theater with usher and Ilsa mixed in. I also appreciated the cross of ooh and ahh, very subtle but appreciated. Relatively easy solve for me. Not a PB, but 5:43 better than my average.

I usually struggle with Thursdays especially rebuses. They don’t make sense to me, I never know where they go. But I was just jumping around trying to fill in easys for me knowing scotch and soda and easier said than done but not getting where the rebus was until I got red(hand)ed down and Han Dynasty across and had my Aha(nd) moment and was able to go back and fill in with the rebus correctly. Finally got a rebus with no frustration

Forgot my favorite pun. If you get offended easily at religious puns please skip. However this was hung up in my priest’s office. A picture of a kid dragging a string with a wadded up Kleenex on it and a sign post pointing to hell off the page. Titled: lead a snot into temptation. (And lead us not…..). I still can’t say the Lord’s Prayer with a straight face

Slightly embarrassed Tolkien fan who mentally ran the gamut from Nazgûl to Samwise and Baggins to frodo and even came up with Gollum before remembering Gollum’s original name SMEAGOL. Otherwise fun puzzle

Interesting how yer as an ending indicates a person practicing. In ASL we use a similar identifier. The sign for law which is the L hand touching the finger tips and then the base of the palm followed by palm in hands going from chest to hips on the side of the body as the indicator for a person. For lawyer. Interesting

Thoroughly enjoyed this theme and puzzle. My favorite stage production in hs was Peter Pan. Like a puzzle where Denali and Dog team are in the same puzzle. Trump is in Denial over Denali. I’ve seen all the comments that this is more a Tuesday but I disagree. The chewier clues had lots of easy fill in my opinion making it a delightful ah, ah, CHOO (I’ve been known to scare people with my sneezes) theme.

First off: Happy 100th birthday Dick Van Dyke! Maybe we will get a Van Dyke themed puzzle. I learned last night that he played two parts in Mary Poppins: Bert and Mr Dawes Sr. My one comment on today’s puzzle: shocked that it took me so long to get DENVERMINT. Given I live 22 minutes away from it.

Nice Monday solve. Thought Carrel was with an o not an e but easy fix. Big into watching figure skating, prefer to watch ice dancing live but you think ice dancers and my brain automatically goes to the incomparable Torvill and Dean

For once a Thursday puzzle that was a rebus that I didn’t need to fill in the rebus box. Figured out the saying very quickly and then made it easy by just using “f”. Bested my Thursday average by 2:47. Nice way to start the new year.

Enjoyable puzzle. Felt like there were a few more naticks for a Monday than I expect. I knew OTIS Redding but not PETULA Clark. nor Paco and I prefer college basketball to pro So I had to stretch for Malone. As an English teacher I appreciate the word play around Still on the Table

First in a long time I have seen braille alphabet as a crossword clue answer. Grew up with a blind family member so I truly appreciated this. Got pocket immediately and had to get hard drive with a few downs and then fill in the blanks. Enjoyed this overall

Never heard of Progrock, don’t like BRAH, felt like a Wednesday. Got a little too tricky

1. With great power comes great responsibility the proper answer is Uncle Ben TO Spiderman! Had to get that off my chest!! However being a circus fan loved Big Top. Wanted to put Barry Bond not Babe Ruth but land of talking animals and magic clued one of my favourite fantasy book series Narnia.

Enjoyed this very much. CSUITED my sweet tooth to a tee. Got all the themes and the revealer. As a teacher appreciated the AMSO, SAYSWHO, and CUPCAKE clue. Happy Holidays everyone. Three more sleeps til Christmas

I agree, here’s the Tuesday puzzle. I also felt that it was my kind of puzzle. First: I don’t compete in sports but have scored a lot of volleyball games in the last 10 years so bump, set, spike was a gimme. Second: My junior year of high school I was a towns person in a production of Fiddler on the Roof that opened our newly remodeled auditorium to a SRO audience and 14 curtain calls. 30 years later I was cast as Motel the Tailor’s mother in a community production that due to COVID got shut down. And Finally: my mom got to see Zero Mostel as Tevya on stage! Can I say easiest clue ever for me!

Ms. Baik, nice grit and grace pushing through figuring out such a complex puzzle and the loss of a friend. I struggled with somethings with this puzzle, generation gap is a great way of putting it as I saw someone else comment. My other struggle was that usually when I am struggling with a clue, especially in a foreign language or baseball or political my go to for help was my boyfriend who speaks 3 languages, is very good at politics and history and baseball. However, after almost 13 years together we broke it off last weekend. Uggh

Struggled with today. But it’s partly because my dad passed away yesterday. Oddly I didn’t automatically get Margarita=Daisy as I’m a PEO and one of our symbols is the Marguerite Daisy. Loll. Loved the cross of artsy fartsy big Catan player. And a teacher who’s 12-13 years old kids regularly drop FBOMBS

Thought I was looooosing my mind at first with oooooolll the ooooooos. Interesting puzzle enjoyable

Nipped right through that. I was a little confused on breadbox being toaster as I’m familiar with the old fashioned actual breadbox. Aloha all.

Thoroughly enjoyed this puzzle. I’m a musician and an actress so I loved all those clues. I will take issue with Navaho. While both Navaho and Navajo are used, the j usage is currently more accepted. I would actually like to see instead of Navajo, DIne accent over the e) used more often as that is how they refer to themselves. Navajo is way over used and wouldn’t it be better to be able to use a different clue than formally eating for dine?

I adore Dolmas. Can eat them all day long. So that was a gimme. WHALESONG dropped in easily. I had VACANT before CORNERLOT. Wanted blades before Sabers. I did like that whalesong crossed seashore. Think I’m still recovering from Turkey day as I was slower than usual.

Nice, easy Monday. Fun to see croaks and Kermit, though Kermit has a very nice voice and I’ve never heard him croak. Fun one

Struggled with the sw corner. Not plagiarisms but manner and gain. However I appreciated Menlo park and Edison being so close together. Laughing at myself as I spent 5 months in Australia and know that at a sporting event it’s Aussie, Aussie, Aussie and Kiwi kiwi kiwi but my brain was stuck at Philippines for a while. Fun clues mixed in with a few tough ones. I find it funny that I found the longer ones easier

“If we shadows have offended,  Think but this, and all is mended--  That you have but slumbered here  While these visions did appear.  And this weak and idle theme,  No more yielding but a dream,  Gentles, do not reprehend.  If you pardon, we will mend.  And, as I am an honest Puck,  If we have unearnèd luck  Now to ’scape the serpent’s tongue,  We will make amends ere long.  Else the Puck a liar call.  So good night unto you all.  Give me your hands if we be friends,  And Robin shall restore amends.” Curious if Mr Gangi was extending an apology if he offended us in anyway by making this quote the second to last clue of the puzzle. Big fan of this monologue. Loved music notes and chemical symbols. Think I might need to memorize the characters of the office as it was my one hang up

I know Satin Doll because both bands I play with play an arrangement of it. In fact rehearsal last night included it. Say the magic word came quickly. But struggled with a lot of it.

Being a member of the John Phillip SOUSA Band of Colorado love Tuba being clued instrument similar to a Sousaphone. Trivia: John Phillip Sousa had the idea of the Sousaphone but J.W. Pepper manufactured the first one. It was created to have something easier to play standing or marching than a tuba. Got hung up on Sashimi as I was thinking Sushi and put a U first. A little tricky but fun

Nice Wednesday puzzle. Got the puns pretty quickly. Some nice toothiness for a Wednesday but relatively fast solve.

Being a connoisseur of history WWIIVET was a gimme. Enjoyed 17a QUITE A BIT. For some reason unknown to a lover of CRAFT BEERS it took me a while to figure it out. Also enjoyed M(lies) P(er) G(allon) crossing the gas in Amigas and model plane. A bit of irony there. Very well crafted puzzle.

For once, I figured out the rebus immediately. Knew it was semi. The trick was hi(semi)nence which eminence by itself works and fits without the his but once, pretty quickly, I realized why semi went in I went to the remaining circles and filled them in with semi. A rarity for me. I truly appreciated the revealer utilizing the circle as well as the rebus. Not something seen very often

Grew up without tv service so movies and babysitting or staying at a friends were my exposure to looney tunes. Got Daffy right off the bat. Had to get a few downs to realize Woody but the rest of his voices were very easy. Still love Bugs and Elmer. 2:38 under my average. Nice trip down memory lane

It’s SET IN STONE she CRAVES no ICE, the drink will still GO COLD. I’ll PASO the ICE as READE the ORACLE READ PALMS OFF HOURS. The PRUDES will HOIST their eyes as the AURORA WEND(s) across the skies, but not near the running EMU who never met the GOTHS. I hope the IT PRO fixed the IO ERROR before the satellite ORBIT(s) away. ETTU IVES now NEEDED A NAP. Ok some was a little tricky but my first attempt at getting most of the puzzle pieces together logically

It took me until I was in my 40s to see a stage production of Fiddler on the Roof, from the audience. I was in a stage production of it in high school and then almost 30 years to the day again but it got shut down due to COVID. One of my all time favorite shows to sing, act and watch. Fun puzzle

Nice Wednesday puzzle. Had to look up the spelling of amortize, knew the answer right away. Enjoyed the new way to clue orc. Big LoTR fan here. Did a stage production of the Hobbit once. Played a troll in the first half and Smaug in the second. So I got killed twice in one show. Still one of my favorites. Caught onto the theme very quickly. Had chocolate cookie before coated. Still came in under my Wednesday average

Caught on to the rhebus and theme very quickly as I am a bit of an X-men fan and mut(ant)s didn’t fit into 1a. Then which square and which letters should be the rebus? I’m a huge reader and (ant)hology was another gimme. Ok, that’s one ANT. Are there insects or more ants. Working my way down the west side, I see hunting lodge decor, and not enough space for deer head but you can fit in (ant)lers. Made the rest of the puzzle easy when I made ANT my m(ant)ra! First time ever I picked up the rebus so fast. Bested my average Thursday time. Also, as a Colorado mountain girl, not only did I enjoy ANTlers and ANTenna (appreciate using ant and antenna in this case), but it was another gimme for my home town AVS group to be the NHL

Felt that the long down entries especially home made cookies and a drop in the ocean (I started with bucket and realized it was too long and not big enough, lol). Had anglaise very quickly (watch too many food shows). Adore the nod to Chuck Mangione. Rip fellow brass player. Found the western hemisphere faster than the eastern hemisphere today. Got hung up on a few clues so ended up a bit slower than average but not by much.

Spend enough time in farm country and you automatically know Calve. My brain wanted Monologue instead of MNEMONIC but that’s due to being a stage brat (as opposed to army brat) given I spent many late nights in a sleeping bag in the aisles while my parents rehearsed. I’m a teacher who spent many years in small towns in eastern Colorado surrounded by farmers so I have a diverse background. Loved Shakespeare clue, Scene, Potter, Act I and karma all meeting at some point. Oh, also lived in Australia for 5 months so emu was a gimme. No help needed tonight and learned a new word OSIER.

I kept trying to make Onkeykong a rebus and started with thinking that the rebus square was the KEY. Nice flip on the head for American solvers trying to figure out how to spell Nunavut, though the crosses helped. Until the end I thought it was Nunavuk and had to figure out what square I had wrong. Nice solve with a de-lightful fun crunch

Love minesweeper. Very addictive game. Figured out the rebus pretty quickly. Did not think this was easy otherwise. Never seen Ad Ho(mine)n before this nor Aegean Airlines. However. Clyde of Bonnie and Clyde, Iago (nice classic bad guys) just fell into place for me, and as a SCUBA diver who has dive the Great Barrier Reef, The Great Astrolabe reef, California, and Blue Hole, Self was automatic as well. Bling to anyone who can tell us where the Astrolabe reef is without looking it up. ;)