Greg B

For gamers familiar with the back story, it's funny to note that LEEROY JENKINS fits in 38 Across.

I don't comment on many puzzles, but wanted to compliment the constructor on a fantastic effort. I didn't notice the L/R pattern until they flashed upon completion, so what a pleasant surprise! Rare Thursday with no Google assistance, so I'm extra happy!

The start in the NW corner suggested this was going to be an extremely difficult solve, but little by little, it came together. I absolutely loved this puzzle...one of my favorites so far this year!

Cook's offering with chips was one of the more clever clues I've seen in a while. Had GUAC for a while until it was clear that GU wasn't correct. Kudos!

I was really not enjoying the puzzle until about halfway through when I finally figured out the up/down construction. Completely changed my view and ended up really appreciating it!

RUF/FOOTIES held up the solve until I finally replaced with B. I'll not admit to being intimately familiar with Shakespeare, but FOOTIES definitely made sense and I talked myself into RUF as an odd Shakespeare twist. Therein lied the rub.

I finished in 11:11 and now hope to have good luck all day!

This kicked my butt for about 45 minutes - thought my streak was going to come to an end! Definitely agree with other observations that it felt like solving four different quadrant puzzles rather than one cohesive effort. A bit of a slog, but definitely a real sense of accomplishment when finally done.

Absolutely fantastic puzzle! Kudos to the creator.

A new personal best time today. Yay me!

This one really clicked for me for some reason. Set a new PB that was 60% quicker than my normal Saturday average (and even quicker than my Friday PB). What a great way to start the day!

Everything clicked for me on this puzzle and set a new personal best for a Tuesday. Huzzah!

Had a wonderful trip to Bend a few years ago with a group of friends. Fantastic microbreweries and restaurants, plus the joy of visiting the last remaining Blockbuster in the world!

Happy day...I thought I'd lost my modest 315-day streak due to a much-needed trip to the Kentucky Bourbon Trail yesterday. Was pleasantly surprised when I did yesterday's puzzle first and the streak remained intact!

Spending an additional 5 minutes to figure out my error in VIBED/QUAD vs VIBEY/QUAY kept me from a Saturday PB, but I still loved this puzzle! The quad Qs, including QBERT, a notorious quarter eater from my arcade days, was a particularly nice touch. MEATSWEATS was the chef's kiss! Greetings to the constructor from frigid Chicago!