Katie
Portland
I only started doing the NYT crossword 10 months ago, and used to only attempt Sunday through Wednesdays. About 6 months ago I started trying to do everyday of the week, and initially needed lots of lookups to finish Thurs, Fri, and Sat. Now after all these months of daily challenges and practice, I feel like I'm really hitting my stride. All that is to say, I loved this puzzle and found the theme straightforward once I got the revealer. Made solving the starred clues much easier and the rest of the grid came together from there! It's odd to me that so many people are complaining about this one.
I loved today's puzzle. If anything it was a little quick for a Thursday! The rebus was obvious on my first pass because I was surprised TAYLORS VERSION was correct, but it took a bit more fill to understand how it would fit. It's so odd to see so many people complain here whenever there is a rebus. Or even complain at all.
I'm a younger millennial (30) but after guessing PANGS, PADIDDLE was an easy fill for me. Surprised to see how many commenters had trouble with that word! After the last few Saturdays felt like impossible slogs, this one was much more solvable yet still a good challenge for me. I did Google YOGINI to confirm it was even a word and had to look up types of felt hats to find DERBY, but otherwise lots of patience got me to the end today. The NW corner was a doozy!
What a fun treat for my husband to complete- it's his bday today! I told him he'd enjoy it and that it's special for him
@Ben I'm 31 years old and absolutely love when there's a rebus. Learning the tricks of the NYT crossword is how I finally got into crosswords! I promise there are plenty of us under 50, we just all use the app instead of the paper.
@Nancy the lights go "out" as in out on the house or on the tree, not out as in off, at the Christmas season.
I have a 9 day old baby and this puzzle took me FOREVER. Thought it was the lack of sleep and haze of newborn life, but the comments confirm I was not alone in finding today's puzzle especially challenging.
@Claire the clue is that it's a Thursday!
@Thomas Clark everybody can solve the puzzles however they see fit. Sounds like you have some pretty strict rules for yourself! But not everybody has to follow your rules. I've seen waterfalls called cataracts a few times, but it did take me a while to remember the word. I wouldn't call it obscure, though. Everybody knows different trivia or vocabulary so it's not surprising that you might not know something other people do.
I loved this very chewy and satisfying Thursday! Exactly what I want from a Thursday puzzle. Challenging and stretched my brain all day long as I kept coming back to it, but it all clicked for me in the end and I finished with a smile!
@AprJer to be fair, the clue didn't mention soccer! Must have been on your mind from the soccer kick clue nearby
Here in Portland all of my favorite Caesar salads have kale in them. But then again I'm vegan so I'm frequenting a lot of kale positive restaurants
Kotex products aren't exclusively used by feminine people. It's 2026 now, let's take gender out of period products!
Complain complain complain. That's all I ever see in the comments these days. Just because a puzzle was hard for you doesn't mean it was bad! Today was a toughie for me but I enjoyed it. Felt very pleased with myself once I got NATO and then pieced together the theme from there.
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