Merci

Fun theme. Thanks! I hesitated to answer “ovals” to face shapes at first because I learned in “charm school” back in the 60s (Yup, that was a thing, and I went with my Girl Scout troop! So…much…brainwashing…) that “oval” was the BEST face shape, but there were all sorts of inferior face shapes, and we were to study and measure our faces to find out our own geometry, for which eyebrows could be plucked and makeup applied accordingly. LOL. Pretty much the opposite of girl power.

Hmmmm. Surprised to see people complaining about misogyny here. I thought the opposite - that the creators totally got the inherent misogyny of traditional magician acts with the silent, sexy, “lovely assistant” who gets sawn in two. To me, the belittling (or at least limiting) “synonyms” for women fit right in to that theme. I suppose I could committing some sort of intentional fallacy.

Thanks! I’ve never thought of a crossword as “cute” before, but this one definitely was :-)

Thanks for a fun Wednesday puzzle. The repeated rebus added just enough challenge to keep me focused lest I be led astray…by the news or other folks in the house yelling about dinner or something.

I agree with Mr. Gulczynski: Nice work, younger you! Quite fun, and funny to see how emotional solvers can become over rebuses and punctuation ;-). Today I learned that a UK "stone" is a unit of mass rather than weight, even though the folks there weigh themselves in stones. Filing that away in case I ever want to bore people to death at a cocktail party...

I like how rebuses help me move more quickly through the clues, but then I’m sad that it’s all over so soon. Lol. Enjoyed the baby bear clue and photo! Thanks!

“Automagically” (from the Constructor Notes) is my new favorite word. Thank you!

Best Thursday in a long time. Nice! XO

Loving the little zamboni smoothing the ice. A fun animation as a prize for completing the puzzle is most welcome!

Like CL, my immediate reaction to the “ascii” clue was to worry about younger solvers’ knowledge banks; ditto with Lucy M.M. – have the young ones met Anne of Green Gables? But perhaps there are few to no younger xword enthusiasts anyway, and solving these puzzles is a sign of aging out? :-/ At any rate, has some local NY event, like a court case or something, led to asshats spilling over onto the grid these days?... Thanks to those who reminded us that we can mine the archives for past xwords btw.

This was a fun Monday puzzle. Pan butt, indeed! I get why the crosswords have gotten easier (to help newcomers — new subscribers — engage). Not sure what part this change has played in the Times’s subscription boom, and it’s certainly their right as a business, but there will come a point when I likely will not renew since I’m not getting the brain exercise or joy out of the experience that I once did. Just an observation. Out with the old and in with the new, maybe. No problem. There are other sources for challenging crosswords, etc., and many people must enjoy this level of challenge, so good for them!

Entertaining! I was a little mad at 43D clue but then I remembered that in our 20’s, DH and I used to dig among the cushions for change when we wanted to walk to the corner store for a pint of Cherry Garcia. So, okay then! (Also, my 59-year-old brother refers to the other people who play pickleball as “the olds.” I guess the term is not used just by kids re their ‘rents.)

I rarely see the easter eggs if not given a heads up — so thanks for that! I used to drink Americanos when espresso beverages were my only option. Haven’t had a mocha in years, but this may be the week! Cheers!

I was sad to see there were just 4 spaces for the answer to 47A. The clue had me hoping for Forest or Yellowstone (or even Jellystone), but alas, no. Got the right answer quickly but no joy this time.

Same issue as others with Midi as others. Too bad bc extra puzzle makes up for sometimes too easy cw solves. Posting here bc “feedback” and “report a bug” links also don’t work. Assuming the coding meant to capture user data is not appreciated by my VPN.

Today’s theme: Dad jokes.