Elizabeth

Esau is the new oboe.

A beautiful reflection by the constructor in her comments! You have a way with words and numbers. Thank you for sharing this puzzle, and your wit, with us.

Six years ago today - and on a Friday - my daughter was born. We were in the throes of the pandemic, yet her arrival inspired a sense of hope, beauty, and joy in contrast to the darkness and uncertainty of that time. We were enamored, and overjoyed to welcome her into our lives even with the difficulty inherent to starting a family at that time. (Grateful too for our many blessings and privileges even with those challenges.) In the relatively quiet isolation of that time, my crossword solving habit kicked off. 6 years old today she inspires me still! Watching her grow continues to be a source of both challenge and pride. And so too, for my solving habit! I went from using auto check on early-week puzzles to a nearly 400 day streak. Thank you to the constructors who provide this solace and challenge during the uncertainties we all may be facing.

One thing was sure: OBOE wouldn’t be appearing in today’s puzzle. Super impressive and, dare I say, imaginative, construction!

This was brilliant. I had so much fun trying to crack each quadrant. Yes, it was really tough but not unmanageable. In fact, many answers could be deduced because of how open this was. I felt like I got to solve four tricky mini puzzles. Congratulations to the constructor for his record. The grid was immediately awe-inspiring. Thanks for this gem!!

This felt refreshingly different from the usual NYT clue style. (Which I also love!) It was challenging for me without being a slog. Thanks for the fun puzzle!

Woosh. Let me raise a dram of whiskey to the constructor for giving me a good mid-week, workout!

Well done!! Wow, what a fun and buoyant solve!

Face palm! That was a workout.

What a delightful and perfectly enjoyable Sunday puzzle! Thumbs up!

Dastardly, indeed. But, I love the trickery and the frustration that eventually gives way to satisfaction. Thank you for the variety of puzzles that never leaves me bored!

Wow, what fresh clues! That was delightful and difficult at the same time. Thank you for this fun solve!

So demoralizing when I finish the puzzle in reasonable fashion and then spend a third more of that time trying to find an error. Been through the grid twice, checked proper names (and my pencil marks)…to no avail. Ugh! Thanks for a fun puzzle though! I enjoyed it.

I thought it was clever! Some new clues that had me thinking, too. Thanks to the constructor!

For me, this felt like a big tough Saturday. Thanks for helping me stretch my brain, which as a mom of young babes, is appreciated.