Nick Roumel

I couldn’t get Mariah Carey to fit in 30 across?

First I thought of that one April Fool’s puzzle with the deliberately impossible clues. Then I thought of a movie villain, who enjoys and savors torturing his victims. Then I thought of Cool Hand Luke, where the sadistic prison guard made Paul Newman dig a hole, fill it again, then dig it again. Like Luke, I finished, but this was miserable. I had more lookups today than the entire summer combined. Puzzles are supposed to be fun, but after finishing that now I need to do something that is ACTUALLY fun.

I am astounded that a high school junior crafted this puzzle. Use your powers for good, my friend!

Love, love, love, so clever. Though I haven’t seen in-flight magazine in quite a while!

Sharp! 😀

When I first saw all the dashes that crossed with [see title], I thought, ”oh no, look at all the top secret naticks!” Coupled with a title that had at least two or three possible meanings, I felt lost. On top of that, looking at thanksa- I wailed, “oh no, are there rebuses too?!” Then, after staring at the title and thanksa- for what seemed like a million times, it finally hit me. What an enjoyable puzzle and construction, a great challenge, and a satisfying crunch at the end.

I used to be such a baseball fan. Knew every team’s starting lineup, pitching rotation, and all their stats. Today I see a clue for the 2018 NL MVP and I got Christian _ELICH and still don’t know who it is.

I firmly believe that 30 across are the three saddest words in the English language.

As I filled the grid, having no idea what I was doing, I was stunned to get the happy music when I entered the last letter. It was like groping my way through a maze in the dark, and then somehow emerging into the sunlight with no idea how I got there. What the hell was this puzzle about?

No happy music yet. Read the “ Tricky Clues” and all the comments to no avail. The one that gives me pause is STAR for “Uber-fan” but everything else seems to fit. But isn’t STAR the object of an Uber-fan?

Didn’t get the happy music, everything looks right. How is ORGS a non so conservative party (14d)? Everything else looks right, but my streak is threatened

What in the world is 22D? I had TONE but it doesn’t work with FRAIDSO.