MB

@Anne C. I don't play video games, don't have kids, and have never played Mario, but I've heard people talking about it enough over my lifetime I was able to figure it out.

@Ro HATERS GONNA HATE

@Red Carpet They're looking for the longest number in characters, not the biggest number numerically.

@R2hule I say don't read the column until after you've solved it. I always assume there will be spoilers (since that seems to be half the point of the column).

@B The problem is a lot of them almost sound like ad hominem attacks, or like when a really unattractive and out-of-shape man criticizes women for not being a 10 in beauty or fitness. Just kind of cringe and unnecessary. You can say you had a hard time with it or that it was easy so you must be a genius, but it seems distasteful to criticize the constructor with no evidence you could have done "better" (according to your standards).

@B Of course it's subjective. Also, I usually finish every day faster than my average but I understand it probably means I'm improving and not that the puzzle maker is a moron.

@Francis I think it's the comment boards. Probably in the olden days people just complained to their spouse or whomever they were next to and we didn't all have to hear about it.

@Dave Humphrey It got published because the editors understood the clues, like most of us here.

I don't understand how they got confetti in there but apparently not underlines! (Though I did see them in the Android app.)

@Bob It wasn't ole!

@David NES = Nintendo Entertainment System. Switch is a current Nintendo product.

@Tim Carey So you had ACC_A and couldn't come up with a capital? I don't know, I feel like world capitals are at least finite in number, so they are less objectionable than, say, a singer from decades ago.

@Charles Counterpoint: I did figure out the theme and thought it was a great puzzle. I really don't think one person not figuring it out means it wasn't good.

@Tarun Krishnamurthy I'm impressed that you're willing to come to the comments section - it's oftem full of complainers who hate everything. However, I loved your puzzle and I'm trying to get my friend to try solving it. I love that you are from my town too. Looking forward to more from you!

@Jeb Jones Ha, I just saw someone the other day with a shirt that said "It's not a dad bod, it's a father figure"

@Steve Also, it seems to be common in crosswords. NYT crossword is the only place I've ever heard of it and I've seen it multiple times here.

@Francis I agree. You can say that you found a puzzle difficult without personally attacking everyone involved in its creation or publication. Because you didn't like it doesn't mean there is something inherently wrong with it Also, I don't know how long these people have been doing the NYT crossword, but I have been doing it less than a year; I found after a few months I did not have trouble figuring out the Thursday gimmicks and I appreciate their cleverness. I don't think there is something inherently wrong with these puzzles.

@Vaer At least LOME is a real word someone could know, unlike AHNOLD!

@jp inframan Counterpoint: Some of us like to discover rebuses. Maybe they can just mention it in the first paragraph of Wordplay that won't show up for anyone unless they intentionally try to read the column.

@Wes Also the link for that clue in the Wordplay column doesn't explain anything. Also as an American I've never heard "git" used in this way.

@Francis I think he's saying "not safe" would be better than "unsafe"

@Kim It is a "high speed" train line on the East Coast.

@DLM Difficult for you doesn't mean something wrong with the puzzle, just saying

@Gilead Kutnick At least on the Android app you can see the title by clicking the little "i" icon for information. I think Sundays are the only ones that have a title. (There might also be other info there, like the recent one that required "turning" combination locks -- it contained instructions and I totally missed them.)

@Asher For you, maybe...

@Medical Man My struggle was with STAN and SERT.

@Barry Ancona While I disagree that "signoras" is wrong (I don't think signora is an English word, but I think it's fine to use English plurals on foreign words, for the crossword), I don't think M-W is a very good authoritative source. They seem to include literally everything anyone has written anywhere, including the Internet or a fifth grader's essay, so every misspelling is listed as an alternate.

@R.J. Smith No one forced you to do it...

@R.J. Smith Um... This was a good Sunday crossword and I'm fairly certain it was harder to construct than one without this rebus.

@Jason "Do to a 'T'"

@Steve For the EVIF/FIVE, though, it should have just been FIVE. For the across entry, you just read it backwards, per the revealer, you shouldn't type it in backwards. For the down entry you read it as normal.

@Steve L How about "company that runs airport services in Istanbul." Surely everyone will get that...

@Red Carpet Why do you want to review Wordplay as you are solving, though? It contains spoilers!

@John S Have you heard of the singer Michael Jackson (RIP)? She is his sister, also a singer.

@Steve L Merriam Webster is not a great reference for "accepted spellings" - it seems like as soon as they find a misspelling on the internet they put it in their dictionary.

@R.J. Smith How did you solve it without figuring out the "stack" gimmick?

@Kevin Davis I wasn't familiar with it but I got it from crosses and it sounded like it could be logical...

@CB I changed all of my LINEs to - - - - but it wasn't accepted. Then finally I deleted one regular letter and added it back and finally my grid was accepted. I think I wasted like 10 minutes trying to figure out what was wrong (and nothing was wrong, which I finally realized when I wasn't able to edit the grid anymore on my phone but the time kept ticking -- I was only able to correct it on a computer).

@Dave S There was a lot of trivia though, so it could have been hard (although it was mostly gettable if you are familiar with common English names).

@Mike I think it could have still been possible given that the title had "rainbow" in it and they were in rainbow order (which is more of an American English thing than an actual color thing - I didn't even know what color "indigo" was exactly before this puzzle). But yes, I'm sure it made it more difficult.

@Jon But doesn't going to the column mean you are looking for spoilers? I suggest just avoiding the column until you are done.

@Chris Ok you can cancel then if it's that bad for you -- I'm sure everyone will be fine