Marlene

@Deb I'm so happy for you to be retiring, but so sad for us. However, being successfully retired myself, I offer my services if you haven't yet figured out your post-employed life! I keep saying I need to write a book on how to retire successfully, but the truth is, it probably isn't worth more than a newspaper column or magazine article. Regardless, thank you for your guidance these past years, as I went from Monday, Tuesday solver and hair-puller the rest of the week, to a confident weekly solver. You have had a positive impact on so many lives. I raise my coffee cup in salute and thanks! Le'chaim!

Very important to finish this puzzle quickly. Before it melts.

Excellent Saturday puzzle! Today is my cooking day, pre-Passover, so I needed a challenge to wake me up, but not so difficult that it would take all day. Loved the clue: Running mate for ELOPE. But YEESH, so many complaints about Will, working on his recovery, while Joel is taking flak from people who obviously will find anything to complain about! I sure hope no one lets Will see these comments; he doesn't need the added stress. And Joel, you know it's just part of the job. You and the rest of the gang are doing a fine job. If you pleased everybody all of the time, the clock would strike midnight and your subway would be a pumpkin.

We have a long driveway, and we get a lot of packages. (Who doesn't, post-pandemic?) Because some delivery people (looking at you, FedEx) would sometimes leave our packages in – ahem – inappropriate places (halfway up the driveway in a snow pile), we have a box with snacks in the door of our garage and a note thanking drivers for making it to the top of the driveway. Among the cookies, Goldfish, pretzels, Ritz cheese and crackers and peanut butter sandwich crackers, it is the Oreos that always go first. The Double Stufs seem to disappear before we even put them out! (In the hot summer days, our UPS driver prefers ice water, and if I am home, he gets two bottles. By far, our favorite, most courteous driver!)

Not-so-fun-fact: The item most often left behind in the ER is a phone CHARGER. Probably the next-most-often is the phone itself. So if you, heaven forbid, find yourself in the ER, have your phone with you but no charger, just ask your nurse, politely please, if there is perhaps a charger you can borrow. By virtue of my volunteering in the ER, I am aware of the many left-behinds that I have gone looking for, while gloved for health reasons, in rooms that have not yet been cleaned. And thanks to my husband's recent spate of trips to the ER, I am well aware of the cache of left behind chargers. Of course, some of the really cool beds have chargers on them. But you still need a wire. I enjoyed this puzzle, probably because I was able to get some of the stacked answers fairly early. I have become a much better Friday solver, due to my usually needing to stop, go to my shift at the hospital, and then comeback and look at it with fresh eyeballs. But I was able to finish this one all at once, and that will give me a boost when I falter on Saturday, as I am sure to do. Here's to a lovely weekend!

Zipped through this one, and choose to believe it is due to my improving skills, so please don't insist the puzzles are getting easier. Give me some time to glow with pride, and thank you. Definitely some answers I did not know (but I do now!), so I needed the crosses. I think I went through twice, completely, and that did it. But, it being Friday, it's ER volunteer day for me, so I shall get up, get dressed, and go off to "work." Many of the staff there do all the puzzles as well, so I will happily share that all my puzzles are done, and done well. (Nyah, Nyah) Okay, I'll think it quietly to myself. Have a lovely day, FRIEND MATERIALs!

I enjoyed this more than most Sunday puzzles. And I really love Sunday puzzles! The cluing today was really fun. I can't tell you which I loved most because I just don't have that much time in a whole day. Every new clue made me laugh. I needed that laugh today, because I am also writing my mom's eulogy; her funeral is in a few days and doing the puzzles today was a nice break. In our family, doing puzzles together on a Sunday was a ritual while I was growing up. In later years, after she and Dad moved to Florida, I would sometimes call her to help me finish a puzzle. She would do them all, when she was younger...cryptoquotes, jumbles, XWDs, anything that came her way. I think she stopped doing them somewhere around age 98. Her eyesight wasn't as good. By age 100, I could still ask her to help me with them, but it wasn't the same. She lived to over 103, long enough to influence a few generations of word and puzzle lovers. So I dedicate today's win to her, because I suspect that somewhere, she was helping me with it, whether I knew it or not. Thanks Mom.

WILL! Hi! WILLcome back! Willcommen, bienvenue, welcome! Joel did a great job while you were gone, but we were so concerned for you, and knowing that your byline is in place tells us that you did the hard work and made it back to be with us. Perhaps you are living proof that the hard work of puzzling is beneficial to your brain health (right up there with dark chocolate, nuts, berries, socialization, spirituality, and exercise). Here's to a wonderful New Year for you, and for Joel, who no doubt will be able to enjoy some breathing room now. And for all of us, who have studied the bylines since you've been away.

Crossword puzzles are not designed for one of us. They are designed for all of us. Some of us love a particular style; some of us hate that particular style. Some of us are just happy to have puzzles to solve and games to play, and to wake up and play another day. Some people think "comments" means spew and whine. Some people think "comments" means complain online. But a lot of us like the comments to share and ask and create community. If you don't like the puzzle, oh well. Do a different one. As for me, I'm keeping my glass half full.

I am amazed at the number of people who want to rake Deb over the coals, when, every day, there are solvers who complain about beginner, constant, and in-between puzzle-makers for the too-hard, too-easy, too-much-culture-related, too-whatever puzzles they construct, and only a couple of people call them out on it. Or none. "Too easy for a [insert day]!" "Too many movies from the last century!" "Too many of whatever I don't know!" "Too many arcane words!" Blah, blah, blah... Everyone is entitled to an opinion... and columnists are hired for theirs. But all this is just my opinion.

@Deb My mom passed a few months ago. She was 103. After she moved to FL from NY, I would call her on Saturday mornings. Sometimes, in the middle of the conversation, I could tell I had lost her for a moment. Then she would suddenly say, "What's a five letter word for...." and I knew she was doing a crossword while we were talking. Normally she would do them with my dad, but by then Alzheimer's had stolen the puzzles from him. After he passed. she moved up to Massachusetts, to be near my sister. By the time she reached 100, puzzles were starting to be a thing of the past. But now that she is gone, I know that she and Dad are watching me as I do them, poking each other, and trying to put the right answers into my head. Grief takes time. Let it move through you, but leave yourself open to the memories. As we say, "May his memory be a blessing." I find the memories are wonderful, and make great stories to pass on. Especially when there's no one around to correct them!

Such wonderful cluing on this puzzle! I don't think I've enjoyed the clues so much since, perhaps, the Eugene Maleska days! (That may not be true, but I'm old enough that my memories prefer to go to the back of the stacks). I spent more time enjoying the clues than worrying about filling in the answers, so no rushing on this one...just pure enjoyment. Add to that, I have yet to run into a commenter complaining about the puzzle. A miracle? Or, I just haven't read far enough... Yesterday, during my volunteer shift in the ER, one of our visitors said to me, as I escorted her to visit her husband, "I have to see him before he falls apart. He hasn't finished his Sunday NY Times puzzle, and his week doesn't start until that's done!"

Interesting tidbit about dreidles. While the ones we, in the US, are familiar with have the letters nun, gimel, shim, hey, and they stand for "a great miracle happened there," if you purchase one in Israel, made in Israel, it will have the letters nun, gimel, shim, peh, standing for "a great miracle happened here." I have friends who collect dreidles, and there are so many beautiful ones, made of many different materials, but of course, many are clay. When I was a child we used either chocolate gelt or hazelnuts (filberts) in their shells as our coins. And no, we never got gifts every night. The dreidel design in the puzzle came to me pretty quickly, and I enjoyed this game immensely! Thanks for the fun, and happy New Year to all, and happy last night to MOT. (Members of the Tribe)

I enjoyed the puzzle, despite not knowing quite a few answers. They came easily with crosses and I learned quite a bit today. I confess, I will probably never get a handle on gods, goddesses, and their offspring. This community encouraged me to read Moby Dick several years ago, and I did, and am better for it (only because of the puzzle, not because I enjoyed the book), but mythology and I are polite to each other in company, and avoid each other in private.

I am overworked. (And I am retired, so what does that tell you?) I knew I was, but it came home to me when I couldn't find the error keeping me from the happy music... and then it hit. I had ADOBe instead of ADOBO. Happy to say we are off on a cruise to continue the year-long celebration of our 50th next week. All of my puzzles will reset to 0 streaks, and my brain will reset to retirement mode. Volunteer activities will resume on my return. I suspect the organizations will carry on without us. (Not that I'm counting, but 5 days to go...)

In 1999, we were buying a new car. Had our eyes on one particular model, and were set to buy it, but Consumer Reports advised, "If you are considering (this), test drive (that)". So we did. I loved that. And this was to be my car. So when the dealer asked me for my opinion, I said, "Well, it's nice, but...can it fit a 20 oz. WaWa?" He thought I was kidding, but not every car had cup holders at that time, and I picked up a 20 oz cup of WaWa coffee every morning on my way to work. The next morning, there was a message on my work voice mail. "It fits a 20 oz. WaWa." He had tried it himself on his way in to work. We bought the car. I know many of you are wondering what the heck kind of a name WaWa is. WaWa is the name of a Pennsylvania town, and the convenience store's headquarters are located there, and obviously named for the town. The coffee is excellent, and it is a well-loved shop for all kinds of convenience items, including made-to-order (choose your term:) hoagies, subs, heroes, grinders. I lived in NJ at the time, and WaWa is all over there as well. Their gas stations used to be well-priced, too. Now, just like every one else. And that concludes today's lesson on WaWa.

Interesting that this puzzle has appeal across generations. I am old enough to remember VOLARE (which will be my ear worm for today, and I'm not complaining!), watched Sister Act with my kids, saw SCAR on screen (no doubt with SNO CAPS) and stage, am a grandmother with a MII, and though I have heard of CHARLI XCX, I have no idea what kind of music the artist is known for. Now that I think about it, most themeless probably cross generations. This is probably just the first time I noticed it. I truly enjoyed this puzzle; for a change, I won't have to finish it later, when I come home from my shift at the hospital. Meanwhile, Hubby went to the supermarket early this morning and, since flowers were BOGO today, I have two bouquets awaiting my attention. Have a lovely autumnal day, friends!

This was a hard puzzle. I like a hard puzzle on a Saturday. Lots of new stuff, which is good because when it's all "the usual suspects," it's not as much fun. If you know all the answers ahead of time it's like just rushing through the puzzle without any real need to use your brains. At least for me. Everyone has their own level of love for each day.

Kvetch, kvetch, kvetch. If you don't like the puzzle, remember that no one says you HAVE to do the it. And, if they were all easy, it wouldn't be fun. I loved this theme. Some of the clues were puzzling (hah) to me, but once I tasted them slowly, they made sense. Baby talk was probably my foggiest, but when I had enough letters to get ORALLY, it was a "slap the forehead" cinch. (No, I won't tell you how many letters that was...) A great debut, I must say! And I look forward to more puzzles from Ms. Rajamani, which I predict will be Wednesday and Thursday levels!

Hey, Deb! My mom could crack walnuts in her hand, too! She would put two in her hands or hand, and squish. We kids tried to do it; occasionally it would happen, but Mom had the magic. (She's 103 now, and those hands don't crack anything anymore, but the memories of us all sitting around the table cracking and eating while she was getting ready to bake are priceless!)

As I am currently starring in "Covid: The Relapse" and out of breath from coughing, I truly appreciated the joy of this puzzle. It had it all: aha! moments, LOL moments, discovery moments, and learning moments. Even the comments gave me a lift today. Thank you commenters. It is now time to attempt to do something that benefits society, without spreading evil sprays of germs. Stay well, friends!

Lovely Monday, and tied my best. And so, off to the ER, where I expect I will be the only volunteer today, as it is a holiday. Also expect a busy day, as it is a holiday. People get stupid on holidays. Celebrate your weekends off, right to organize, minimum wage, and benefits, America! But do it safely!

My daughter's kids are not allowed to have soda; there is none at home. But they, of course, hear about it at school. It is a well-known fact, however, that "Grandma never says no." Let the record show that my daughter is the one who told them that; I never did. I follow their rules to the letter, and only bend them when specifically told that it's okay. So when I had the kids for a couple of days a couple of summers ago, we were at a restaurant (only outdoors ones where permitted), and grandson asked if he could order an orange soda. I knew he wasn't going to drink it, so I let him order it, with a glass of water. He drank three sips of the huge soda (definitely a whole can of Crush in that glass) and then abandoned it. Mom and Dad approved, and he still, now and then, will order a soda, and not drink it. Granddaughter (two years older) shakes her head at him, in an older sister way, and orders water. "It's bad for your teeth!" she reminds him. I did love this puzzle; and my favorite clue was "Service for someone who needs support?" for BRAFITTING. And that's another story. But, maybe we'll skip that one today...

Like many others, all I saw was a blue square with a ? Kinda feel cheated, but I enjoyed the game anyway. My cleaning crew was late today, so had to cancel/change plans for the day, so I am going to head over to the hospital where I volunteer, and walk in their air conditioning, have lunch there, and drop some stuff off for the food bank we have for employees. Isn't it sad that we pay health care workers so little that we need a food bank for them? Have a safe day, people.

I had saunter before SWAGGER and that threw off my SW for a while, until I filled in the WHAT of WHATABOAR. Suddenly, I was able to finish the corner speedily and was rewarded with the happy music. Sometimes it's really hard to let go of the absolutely wrong answer, isn't it?

I went into this puzzle telling myself, "It's Thursday. Beware." I smiled when I realized where the rebus came into play, realized it was NO NO, finished the puzzle with a smile...and no happy music. Carefully, I peeled away the layers; each clue one by one, read the column, went through some comments. Opened up the finished puzzle, and compared answers one at a time. Nope, nothing wrong. Aarrgghhh! Finally, last resort: I opened the "check puzzle" and agreed that the streak could go by the wayside. And there it was. Instead of NO in one of the answers, I had N0. A zero instead of a letter. I think I need a vacation. But I'll settle for lunch, and a manicure. See you later! (after I solve Eugene's puzzle, which I did originally in ink on my way to work in NYC.)

A fun bit of word play; thank you for driving me bonkers for a while. It really was fun, once I caught on. GREATSQUALLOFCHINA was one of my faves, but most of them were just lovely. A great Sunday type of puzzle, perfect for a snowy day. Tomorrow, it will be a rainy day. Maybe, since I've already done the puzzle, I'll bake instead.

Interesting how the column is divided between people who found it easy (mostly American citizens) and those who found it difficult or unpleasant (mostly not Americans). I don't think I would have the ability to even attempt a puzzle in another language, let alone another culture. My hat is off to those of you who regularly do the NYT puzzle, and do it well. Yes, some of our cultural (many, I should say) clues are mysteries to you, but you have certainly learned quite a few of them as you have done more and more of these puzzles. You are challenging your brain, which is excellent, btw, for your brain health, and adding to our knowledge when you supply us with comparable information from your own culture. Thank you for sharing your own thoughts and experiences here; the conversation is every bit as uplifting as the puzzle.

Had to laugh hard at @xworddeb 's comment re: 2D, as she thought of a bra being on a rack. At my daughter's wedding, the "best man" who was actually the groom's twin sister, read a magnificent toast that she penned on her way to the wedding. It had everyone rolling. It detailed their lives, how she would get them in trouble, but he always got the punishment. But the best line was undoubtedly: You grew a beard and I grew a rack. And this puzzle... I went through it once and thought I'd never finish it. Then, suddenly, words started filling in. Slowly, my brain remembered stuff. Important stuff. Banal stuff. Did pretty well for a Friday! So, keep at it! I was TODAY DAYS OLD when I realized Fridays are getting easier for me! I never thought it could happen!

One of the most fun puzzles I can remember...and I've been doing these XWDs since the 60s. Chortling at the theme answers was one thing; coming up with a new clue for OREO was another! Bravo for that! For today's ear worm, I will have Alexa play Peter and the Wolf; it's been years since I've listened to it! I totally forgot the assignment of instruments to the characters! I was held up in that corner till the very end, until OBOE hit, and then the rest fell into place quite dramatically. (Kind of appropriate, wouldn't you say?) It's almost time for lunch. Today's puzzles took me from breakfast to lunch. That's what I call a good Sunday!

My grandkids are coming over today. I haven't seen them since December, so I'm stoked! One of the things the little one (now 10 years old!) loves doing with me is my NY Times puzzles. I almost forgot, and started doing the Bee, but stopped after the pangram and two words. But the crossword? We love to do it and he learns about new (to him) words. How do I explain how "screw" and "nail" also mean "shag" ? Maybe we'll just bake cookies today. However, I did enjoy the puzzle, and am happy to say I don't think the puzzles are getting easier. I think I am becoming more adept at not giving up so easily. After my first read through, I have, maybe 3 or 5 answers filled in. Then I slow down and go through more carefully and have, usually, about ten. And so it builds. I know some of the Wordplay columnists have said similar things; that at first they don't fill in a lot of words, and that made me stop giving up so easily. My brain appreciates the company. Happy Valentines Day!

I hate complaining about puzzles, but I did check a few times to see if today was Wednesday or Thursday. I'm having a hard time keeping up with the dates, and the puzzles used to be a good way for me to do it. Yesterday was a real Monday, for me, but today was not very Tuesdayish. I guess what I object to is not the puzzle; once I understood it, I was okay with filling in the missing clues. It was just that it didn't feel like the usual smooth solve I've come to expect on a Tuesday. I have to admit it...it felt like work. But not every puzzle will be on my crudité board, and someone will always love a puzzle that I don't. So, I'll be glad that I finished it, even though it took longer than usual. Today isn't a volunteering day, so what was my rush? And I'll take a breath and go do a puzzle on another platform and see y'all here tomorrow. And anyway, Strands was easy. And I got all the others done. So, what do I have to bellyache about?

Today's ear worm, obviously, is LETSGOFLYAKITE. If you don't know it, don't look it up. It really is an ear worm; I'm sure to still be singing it at bedtime. But I enjoyed this Saturday puzzle that took me a while to get through, but with no look ups! Go, me!

OO, OO, OO! That was a lot of fun!

Whenever I see "I never heard that phrase before," and it's a fairly common phrase, I always wonder about the age of the poster. Are you young and just starting on the puzzle journey? Are you not especially well read? Or perhaps you've heard the phrase but not heard it properly. (Like in rock songs, i.e., There's a bathroom on the right). The XWD is undeniably more difficult if you aren't well read, which is why, at this group's urging a few years ago, I finally read Moby Dick. As for this puzzle, it was a treat. I caught on to the theme quite quickly, changing my BLACK list to BLACKBALL as soon as I saw the revealer. A marvelous debut! and a perfect Monday, as well. Brava!