KadyRN

Enjoyed the puzzle, even if it took me a bit to figure out the relationship of the theme words (“Kale” threw me off). I have a minor quibble with 9D. EPI would not be used as an informal word for epidural (at least, I am assuming that is what it is supposed to be short for). In the medical world, “epi” generally refers to “epinephrine” which could be used in a delivery room, but not routinely.

Back in the late 90s, my husband had a small side job where he was helping SKYMALL put their products up for sale on their brand-new website. Nobody was quite certain if consumers would actually buy products on the Internet.

Count me in as a satisfied solver today. Managed to avoid lookups by getting NEMEA and PESACH out of a dusty corner of my brain which always manages to amaze me (How DO I know that?)...thought it was perfect for a Wednesday. At first the only quibble I had was that I wanted a revealer just to nicely tie the theme together. After reading the notes, I am relieved that they opted not to use "numeronymns" which I am quite sure is NOT in any dusty brain corner and would have had me stumped.

What a fun Friday puzzle! I know many of the regular solvers may find it too easy, but some of us mere mortals appreciate being able to figure it out without the usual amount of stress. I guess that I am also a firstborn that bucks the trend. Not only am I nearly a foot shorter than the second born in our family, I am also much shorter than the third through seventh born. I told my siblings that my growth was stunted from having to help out so much.

This is repetitive, but I just have to say... Hardest.Monday.Ever

Usually I grit my teeth through Saturday puzzles but this one was thoroughly enjoyable. I will admit to a couple of Google lookups, but I was able to get most on my own and didn’t even have to resort to the column Tricky Clues hints! That is a great Saturday for me! One question…what is the more famous palindrome that contains ERE? The only “famous” palindrome that I could think of was “madam, I’m Adam” and that is clearly not it.

I liked the cluing and the crossword in general. Didn't love the theme, I had to read the column to get it, and then said, "that's it?" But as a crossword, it was fun. I struggled with 59A generally, then when it fell into place, I loved it! And it was easier for me to decide that it was "ER" not "OR" NURSES...but that is only because I've been there.

I got CHARLIE BUCKET through the crossings and spent forever trying to figure out how dogs related to Willie Wonka. (Movies are good, but the book is superb). Had one of those *facepalm* moments when I finally figured it out.

Just a minor quibble as one whose job IS to prepare students for standardized exams...(in my case, nursing boards) One can prepare students for standardized exams WITHOUT "teaching to the test" which indeed has negative connotations because it isn't truly preparing a student if all you do is teach them the exact information they need to know for the test. But I am nitpicking. Good puzzle overall. And for the record, I will just call myself "a person from Utah" and avoid the whole "Utahn/Utahan" debate.

Loved this puzzle! I only ever saw a few episodes, but the title was a great hint. I think you could work the puzzle without knowing the show, it just wouldn’t be as fun. Kudos to the constructor!