Karen

Despite the many differences we have: across regions, countries and tastes, today I have seen that we are united in one way: having delighted in writing 58008 with our calculators.

I almost had to verify answers at the adue/adin/gunlap crosses. From the comments, adin was a bit tricky, but not the others. I am in a definite minority. Who knew so many were well versed in music notation, tennis scoring *and* running race terminology. I am impressed. Loved the cluing. Looking forward to more from this constructor.

Note to self: Babur was the founder of the Moghul empire. Babar is a talking elephant in children’s literature. It took way too long to spot that error. Loved the puzzle. I laughed out loud at nepotism and proletariat. What a lovely way for the constructor to honour his mother.

Some here mentioned that piñata made them think about their childhood parties. It made me think of my childhood parties, as well. My dad, who was very manually adept, would make beautiful piñatas for my and my sister’s birthday parties. He put time and effort into them, while knowing they would be smashed to smithereens within days of making them. He was a quiet man who didn’t share a lot. I think those piñatas were one of the ways he showed us how much he loved us.

I am starting a new game which I call “Guess What has Outraged Commenters Today!” Today I guessed “octopi”. Ding, ding ding! My prediction for tomorrow is there will be some combination of “I hate gimmicks!” And “that was a bad theme!” I await on tenterhooks to see just how grumpy the comments can get.

I was surprised so many people disliked the puzzle. I loved it, and the shout out to Andre Brouwer. Seeing the vitriol, I read up on zhuzh. It was added to the oed online in 2005, so has been around for a while. And it surprises me that people get grumpy because they don’t know a word in a puzzle, rather than pleased that they learned something new.

As someone who has been doing crosswords for a number of years now I like to boast about how crosswording has made my mind more flexible, able to imagine different possibilities when the first answer doesn’t seem to work. And then I fill in “eight” in answer to a clue about the planets and stubbornly cling to it even though I can’t fill anything else around it. Sigh. Perhaps one day I will learn. And to all of you who thought undie runs were unfortunate remainders left in underwear: thanks for the visual.

I am absurdly proud for having completed this, unaided, and without knowing the sculptor, agouti trivia or The Rock’s move (and when I did get the answer, it was v disappointingly non-specific. It involves a people and an elbow. Please, tell me more!) I also had to come to the comments to find out what hippos had to do with universities and colleges. But really, it is the constructor who should feel proud that the other clues were constructed in such a way that the puzzle could be completed despite not knowing the trivia.

I’d like to add to the chorus of best wishes to the constructor, editors columnists and solvers. My life would be less enjoyable without passionate discussions about whether it should be eagles or the eagles, octopi or octopuses and whether tomato is a fruit. Here’s to more such debate in 2026!

I came on here to complain about what an easy Thursday this was (and no tricks!). I read through some of the comments, and mentally corrected the first person who said this was a great Wednesday puzzle. By the third mention of Wednesday I had to gingerly get off my high horse and accept my error. Happy almost Thursday!

I managed to fill in the pina colada song clue without getting it stuck in my head. Then I read the comments, and thanks to the commentariat, the song is now living rent free in my head. Though, courtesy of Lewis (I think?) what I am singing is: do you like pina cicadas… That makes the experience slightly better.

As an 80’s kid I much appreciated “macgyvered”. The clue was wrong, however. No chewing gum. There is always chewing gum.

Yesterday I shed blood, sweat and tears to get to the gold star. Today I confidently strode through the clues, filling in answers with aplomb. Oh, the agony and the ecstasy of crosswords!

Not sure why so many disliked the puzzle. I found it a usual Monday. I mean, c’mon, it even had “eely”!

I was beginning to clutch my pearls when I saw the first five letters of 16A. But of course it is just my own juvenile mind going where it insists on going.

I protest! There is no way on God’s green earth that the tin can on wheels known as the K-car was an innovation!

I appreciated the insight from Carolyn about where she draws inspiration from for her crosswords. And I agree, “so there we were” is a great answer.

I am on the side of those that found the puzzle easy, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. I thought “alternative to French” was clever. Alek Wek is a bit obscure, I think, but her name is so great, I enjoyed the reminder, and am sure I will be repeating it throughout the day.

I imagine that it is hard to make a Monday puzzle fun and fresh. This puzzle delivered. As for the “Gen z” answer, I have two children who are Gen zers. I don’t care what anyone says! They are kids, otherwise that makes me old!

Boy, lots of people yelling at clouds and telling those kids to get off their lawn in the comments today. Also, Charli Xix appeared on wait, wait, don’t tell me, so no excuse for the boomer/gen x demographic to not know her!

Please don’t wait five more years to produce your next puzzle, Mr. Charleson! That was fun and challenging!

I was able to see how the words were completed, and that they were going down at different angles. I missed that they spelled out “hills” (doh!) and was unclear what the signs were for. I blame this on my traumatic memories of downhill skiing. As a risk averse and physically inept child I was forced to take downhill skiing lessons. Every weekend I would trudge to the hill, often in -20- -30 C weather (4- -22 F), to hurtle down the hill, feeling no sense of control. Never a broken bone, but I hated it. I think my brain simply refused to connect the dots when I looked through the puzzle. Despite the PTSD, now understanding the puzzle, I admire it. Well done.

At first I was a little disappointed because I thought I got was understanding the gimmick too easily. I confidently filled out the salad clues, but had a momentary lapse on the ides of March, so the rebus flew right over my head. With middlemarch I began to understand the complexity of the puzzle (and I am re-reading this amazing novel right now!). Then finally I got the rebus. What a puzzle!

I managed to solve it 6 minutes faster than my average time despite the clues not appearing properly and not understanding the theme. Errors in crossword clueing are small potatoes in this world, but it would be nice if everyone were able to appreciate the constructors’ hard work!

Although I have been doing crosswords for ages I never paid attention to the grid. Then I learned that they are supposed to be symmetrical so started looking. I thus saw something was up today when I started, but it still took a while for the anvil to drop, so to speak. Absolutely delightful.

Not the first to say it, so I will add that I also enjoyed “coming out” crossing with “closet”. I enjoy elaborate themes but sometimes simple is beautiful, like today. Lovely, fun puzzle.

I was going to impress my kids with my knowledge of newfangled slang by dropping “still mooing” into a sentence the next time I mention some rarity. So glad I read the column and will save myself from being laughed at. Excellent puzzle!

What an elegant puzzle. I needed the column to tell me about the extra flourish of the “here” before the answers went down. I went back to look at the puzzled and marvelled at the ingenuity of it. That must have been so challenging to do!

Now that was an excellent puzzle! I was worried I would not get the yellow star and would end my winning streak. In the end, though, patience, changing shinney/heey (don’t even ask) and yes, looking up “Tara Road” got me there. Kudos to Mr. Quigley!

This was a great puzzle. I really wanted “litter pick up area” to be the SPCA, but nape does make more sense.

It sounds like you and Arjun had a special friendship, Adrienne. I am sorry for your loss. You are also a very talented crossword creator! Having scanned the comments, you have somehow pleased almost everyone. And that is a rare feat.

For my final entry I put, with some trepidation, am “L” next to “oesser” and got the happy music! So pleased that I was able to pull that out from the far reaches of my brain and didn’t have to plod through the alphabet to get the right letter. A nice, zippy puzzle!

What a wonderful, challenging puzzle. I was so pleased to see Octavia E Butler. With that name, how could she be anything other than a sci fi writer? I read Kindred last year and it was gripping. Now I have a reminder to read more of her work.

I got only two clues in my first pass through the acrosses, so I got a little worried, but the downs filled in easily to lead to a smooth solve. Loved the inclusion of knickknack and artsy fartsy. My mom, whose first language was not English, and my kids, who are dyslexic, helped me realize how challenging English can be, but it is also fun and beautiful!

I luckily did not get caught up by nueen, as Caitlin, along with many others, were. I am glad, though, that I am not the only one to look at an answer that makes no sense and create a reason to make it sensical. Up here we got through a bunch of snow and -40 degree temps with threats of rolling black outs last month. To all who are facing winter storms, stay warm and safe!

While I agree with Sam Corbin that, given the puzzles that have been published lately, this is a whursday puzzle, I think that this should be the epitome of a Wednesday puzzle. The fill took a little to, well, puzzle out, the theme was surprising, but not beyond reach, and the result is an overall somewhat challenging delight. It is the perfect bridge between the easy first two days and the difficulty of the next days. Please editors, can we have some more?

I was at first intimidated by the trivia but became increasingly satisfied as I got them through the crosses. My question (which I am sure will lead to a d’oh! moment when I see the answer). How does “you might sit for this one” lead to “kid”?

I got, and loved, the theme pretty quickly. But, the NW corner had me beat. I think EBT is an American thing (if Google told be about the correct EBT). Also, despite being a proud Gen xer, I never played video games. And I had Bart’s instead of Barq’s. That put me over my average. Still loved the puzzle, though!

I thought more people would be put out by “weird flex”. I was glad to see that those among us who are old enough to call them “the youth” enjoyed the answer. I also did not expect “fin” to be the cause of so many comments. I wouldn’t have come up with the answer without crosses, but once filled I could imagine James Cagney using the word.

This puzzle hit the sweet spot for me. Some parts challenging, some easier. At the NE corner I wondered if I would buckle and turn to Google for help, but managed to key in the last letter to hear the happy music. A very good Friday. I hope we see more of Mr. Zhou soon!

One day I aim to be equal to a Byron Walden puzzle. Today is not that day. I bow to the master.