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

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 :)

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.

APITALIAN, ANN and PANEL should also have some reversed letters if they have greyed out squares. That isn't necessarily the constructor but how it is displayed by NYT. Either way, there should be some sort of indication that the theme only applies to the across words. I was stuck on those for a long time.

I combed through the comments but didn't see an answer. I don't get "46 years?" being BIDENPRESIDENCY I'm not American so maybe I'm missing something.

I don't understand 71A IFWAS BUTWAS ANDWAS? How are any of these a street urchin?

This was a PR for me for Wednesday! I liked it :)

Where's my Pips! Where's my Pips! (said in a chant while I bang the table) Jk I know it said that Pips would be gone July 1 but I'm still sad. I thought it was a fun puzzle and I did them every day! Please consider bringing them back