Rob

@Mike Oh no, the treaded pun!

@Emma But isn't an electron microscope a powerful microscope? Which would make the clue accurate. "Power microscopes (called electron microscopes) have resolutions less than 0.1 nanometer. I also had a question on EMDASH or ENDASH, but WEMT APE didn't make sense so I got it on that cross.

@William If you're not a fan of those challenges, fair enough. I loved this puzzle, but YMMV. A No-Goonik solves to BADEGG, but since the brunch item (EGG) is bottomless, it's missing the G. Like the other starred clues.

@Linda I don't know how long you've been solving, but when I first started some 25 years ago, with only the Sunday available to me, and paper only, it took me months before I could solve it in its entirety and even then it took me a week to do so. Fast-forward and it's been a decade since I couldn't solve any day of the week. All to say, even though it doesn't seem so, crossword puzzling is a learned skill and I suspect you'll see improvement with time.

@Jared If you "mew" you are copying a cat!

@Ethan Well.... it's grammatically correct to say, Arlo sang "Alice's Restaurant" , he did, so nothing amiss there. And considering he no longer performs, it's even more so, if regrettably, accurate.

@JD Gold "I need your talk to end at noon" "Okay, I'll make sure I stop by then." Does that help?

@Aidan Deshong This was a great puzzle of which you should be proud. For some, apparently @SB, "I didn't understand/like/grok this puzzle" equates to "There's something wrong with this puzzle." Haters gonna hate, pay them no mind.

@Barry Ancona If no one else is raising their hand, I'd be happy to oblige. Barry? You're a taxi. I feel bette now.

@Michael I guess I solved an unsolvable puzzle!

@Janine Hope you're sufficiently recovered tomorrow, because that Tuesday puzzle ain't gonna solve itself, Janine! Best wishes for your recovery.

@Moira I think in Moira's defense the comment is incredibly sarcastic. Like over-the-top sarcastic. I think. I hope.

@Courtney Congratulations!

@Michael Who played bass for Unindicted Rebus?

@spurious Dinsdale

@MmmmHmm Ouch! Didn't expect a Connections spoiler in the Crossword comments. There is a Connections community chat that's available.

@BetsyRayBans Welcome! I'm picturing you writing that proudly, with your hands on your hips.....which admittedly would be impossible to do.... :)

@Jane Wheelaghan "On a tear" is a very common phrase in sports. Multiple goals in hockey, three-pointers in basketball, hits in baseball. "Tear" rhymed with "tare" if that helps at all.

@Peter Congratulations, Peter! I'm going to join the other 100 recommendations to your post with my own "huzzah"!

@SP I think I'm like a lot of solvers in that we got the theme at C-Luster, and thought the first letter of the NATO alphabet was spelled "ALPHA". I only found out the "ALFA" spelling in the comments. Great puzzle, imo!

@Michael I didn't find LINEDOUT a stretch at all, and I'm just a casual baseball fan. Once I had SONORIT the last letter had to be a "Y" because it was a quality; no other letter fit. And have never heard of TITHER used that way. Not unobtainable nor needing incredible luck.

@Paula Drop Trou is a real phrase! Thankfully not one that I use everyday, but still...

@heironymous LOL! Where have you been all our lives?

@Timothy Priddy They're synonyms. The word "SUPERCALIFRAGILISTICEXPIALIDOCIOUS", from Mary Poppins, means "the best", "great", "A-ONE".

@Ann Nor does Alex Cooper's podcast website for Call Her Daddy. but maybe @taylor has better intel.

@Lynn smart move

@Hevani Congrats, Hevani. It's incremental but you'll find that it gets better and better, easier and easier to solve.

@Steve L And who's this Lebron James guy, anyway?

@Pierce Sum as in the answer to an addition problem! Clever, no?

@Jackson Same, same! Got the theme at Identity, and with NAPS at the other end, I didn't blink with SOO (I thought it clever). Yesterday 20m, today half that. Wednesday was a bear.

@Bill You left us hanging!!! ANO-CAPS?

@Bill - All those "ini" foods

@RuthieD Perhaps 106D?

Oh my, I guess it did! LOL! Somehow made funnier by the clue, 'Encumbrance'

@Trey Welcome to this community! An editor of Wordplay, Dab Amlen gave the advice, "if something seems 'off' (ie - you know an answer and it doesn't fit) it could be a rebus. Typically, they only appear on Thursdays and Sundays. I can't recall in over 2000 puzzles that this wasn't the case. For me, on this puzzle, I wasn't expecting a rebus, but knew for sure the answer MEYERS. Since the puzzle was about optical illusions..... And that unlocked EYEMASK which led to SAKS, etc... Stay, Trey!

@Nancy J. I have it packed for my New York trip tomorrow!

@Barry Ancona Had also never heard of the composer, but as you said, got all the letters using the cross(ing) words.

@Seth I've never understood the supposed proscription against using the same word in two different answers. "That would have been a great puzzle, but unfortunately, using RUN twice...., well, that ruined it for me"