Lara

Mennonites mentioned! Always a little bit exciting for us Mennonites

I think this is the first Thursday I've done without any hints or help! I'm proud of myself! I like to set 2 "new years resolutions" every year - 1 very lofty and not necessarily attainable, and 1 that is much smaller and easy. 2024 my attainable goal was to learn how to do crosswords and as the year closes, I've got a streak of 200+ and I feel like I've achieved something! Crosswords and other puzzles (like difficult versions of solitaire) help my ADHD addled brain rest and reset. It feels like pouring a gentle cup of chamomile tea on my brain (or something like that). I appreciate the constructor sharing his story - resilience and recovery are always wonderful to hear. Thank you!

I loved this one! I'm still relatively new to crosswords and this was a no-lookup-Tuesday for me! I'm always pumped when I can achieve that :) I thought the theme was super cute

I'm still relatively new (compared to others) to crosswords - I did NOT understand the theme but I got more of the regular answers than ever before! I'll take that as a personal win. Lately the harder puzzles have been slightly less-difficult for me... maybe I'm getting better!

Happy Canada Day to those that celebrate! I hope the weather is sunny and not too hot wherever you are!

I came in here to say I loved this puzzle! It was really fun and I enjoyed it.

The answer to 32D threw me off because we all know that the postal code for the North Pole is H0H 0H0

I solved this with no hints and did not use rebuses! I just entered "F" (on my desktop) and it was accepted. I saw it as a kooky misspelling and didn't even think about using a rebus. Once I got the first few at the top, it was not too difficult (The bottom centre and RH corners tripped me up a bit)

Winnipeg mentioned!!!! <3

I loved this!! I solved everything without lookups until the final clue and once I read through the help here I got the rest of the word too! I’m proud! What a fun challenging puzzle

It's interesting to me because this puzzle was pretty straightforward for me - no look ups at all. I had to ponder a few times, change a few letters here and there but that's all. But there are lots of puzzles that I think are insanely difficult and others breeze through in single digit minutes. It's just how our brains work, and which phrases and references are familiar! Thanks this was a fun one!

I got a PR today and this past Wednesday! I was actually getting slower for a long time so this feels good. Have a great weekend everyone!!

This was a fun puzzle and it felt appropriate for a Wednesday overall. However, there were several clues in here that were very difficult imo! Overall I finished on the faster side (of my own record) but the NW corner had a bunch of stuff I had never seen before. ADIN, CONTE, even MESSIANIC was a challenge

This is my slowest Tuesday yet! I got weirdly tangled in the left with HALEBOPP being close to HONESTY - I thought that the Y was a lead off from HALLEYS comet. I realize this makes zero sense but I also couldn't parse the clues in that area either. Oh well haha - it was a fun and clever puzzle!

I was excited to know "MAPOTOFU" immediately because I LOVE mapo tofu. It's such a comfort dish! If you haven't tried it, I'd encourage you to give it a whirl!

I loved it! It was challenging but when I got the trick, it was really fun. It made me think and it was a slow puzzle for me but at no point was I totally frustrated. Thank you!!

As a non-American I did not understand the theme and solved mostly with crosses (confused at the answers). The SE corner held me up the most. I'm not sure if I liked this one.... but overall I completed it with more ease than other Thursday puzzles. I think that might be due to getting better at puzzle solving!

I understand that you would RE-TIRE in a pit but I had a good chuckle at the idea of retiring to a pit. Get in the pit!

I did this without any hints! I loved playing Minesweep as a kid. I was pretty good at it! This was a great puzzle - I feel very accomplished :)

This was a PR for me... my worst Friday time ever haha - I don't mind. It was tough... but Fridays are always tough.

I got the theme quickly and thought it was so fun! I blazed through the top half but struggled mightily in the bottom (especially the SE corner). It felt like an appropriate Thursday to me (my toughest day usually). I liked it!

This isn't meme related to me - we played this game growing up as a kid! Yes mostly as a rainy-day recess or gym class option

I found the clue for WOAH to be quite odd. I had W and A, and the only thing that I could figure out to put there was WTAF, which didn't fit at all. I don't think WOAH or WHOA is particularly involved in the internet

I don’t get 4D - a singer in the family? RAT This was one of my only Saturdays with a single lookup! Proud of myself

This is my all time personal best time! By one second haha but I'll take it! A fun puzzle

I'm relatively new to the world of crosswords (a 2024 hobby) and this was so fun! I love these theme puzzles and this was a challenge but not impossible.

This was really fun! I didn't quite get the theme at first. I had "WHYTHELONGFACE" but then "LONGJOHNSILVER" didn't fit the clues... but once I got it, it was pretty delightful. The clues seemed appropriate for a Wednesday

Trying to do that puzzle from 1949... it's diabolical! I don't know any of it.

I got caught by the ETALII/NEIL trap too - but other than having to look that up when I got the "horsefeathers" message, this was a fun puzzle with no lookups! That's a win in my book :)

I appreciated the advice to sit and think with the revealer. Usually I am trying to solve for speed (but not really for any good reason). I came to Wordplay because I was getting really frustrated, but I immediately went back to the puzzle and thought a bit harder and it all clicked! :)

I loved this! Very fun and appropriately challenging. I assumed that Bush and Carter had FARMS which messed up that too right corner for me for awhile but I eventually figured it out

I really loved this puzzle! I actually coincidentally made a homemade Caesar dressing for dinner tonight! Not planned but I guess it was kismet One thing I’ll note is that I got stuck for a long time checking and rechecking & it ended up a rebus entry problem. I wish that there was a better technical solution. I ended up just going through and typing “I” instead of IDE and that’s when it worked.

May 2026 has 2 PRs for me - my worst Friday and now my best Friday ever! This was a fun puzzle for me

This was tough for me for a Tuesday. I hate to complain because crosswords are meant to challenge us, but I did find it frustrating that a word like "WEENIEROAST" was crossed with "Gymnast Suni". I had to pull up the answer key to figure out what was wrong with my puzzle and it was that I spelled it "WIENIE" which was after trying "WIENER" for awhile. Yes yes - it's a puzzle made in the USA, but having something so specific like a US gymnast against something that could be spelled multiple ways... just feels like something that could be adapted to the obviously international audience. My thoughts of course.