Robyn Weintraub author page

YOU GUESSED IT, yet another Robyn themeless that could have upped her POW! tally. Such a Weintraubian feel, with a cheesy clue referencing "cheesy dinner parties" for FONDUE POTS and a groaner with "out" = aSLEEP and "about" = WALKING. My favorite, though, was a fantastic entry, PLAY PHONE TAG, made so vivid by misdirecting to a wedding ceremony. [Exchanging rings?] is a blessed moment of inspiration, repurposing a common phrase for something completely different.

And don't forget the little touches! So many themeless constructors focus on their cluing for long entries and then toss in a bunch of fluff for the shorties. DORM can be such a neutral entry, so I appreciated the extra aha as I flipped from "I have to be able to name the parts of a Jewish temple?" indignation (although APSE does appear a lot, so it would be fair) to elation as I figured out that temple was Temple University. Beautiful use of the old "hidden capital" trick.

I did pause at [Kitchen variety], wondering if that was a similar phrase to "garden variety." Even after uncovering GALLEY, I still wasn't sure, as the book and the boat definitions are more familiar to this writer.

Hmm … a book galley about a kitchen galley on a galley boat …

Don't be SILLY.

I was also confused by the TEN-YARD LINE clue. [Boundary for "first and goal" plays] should be GOAL LINE, yeah? I suppose you could argue that the TEN-YARD LINE bounds the space where most first and goal plays occur, but yikes, that's stretching it.

Speaking of stretching it, I'll end with one of my kids' favorite jokes. Want to hear a joke about pizza?

Eh, I shouldn't tell you. It's too cheesy.

★ Another beauty from Robyn.

I appreciate the lift her puzzles give me, never failing to brighten my day with ten minutes of sunshine and joy. From brilliant clues (MUSICAL CHAIRS as a game you "can't stand to win") to electric entries like THAT'S A FIRST, it's a SOUP TO NUTS experience that ENHANCEs my overall happiness.

I USEd THE FORCE in solving another gem from Robyn, the themeless JEDI MASTER! So many conversational phrases perked me up — NO PRESSURE, STAND ASIDE … YOU DID WHAT?!

BONUS POINTS will be awarded to the best short story linking those three evocative phrases.

Y yes, I do love the FLUX CAPACITOR! I have such a vivid memory of seeing "Back to the Future" on the big screen, captivated by this amazing piece of technology. There hasn't been such a creative coinage ever since. I did get some glazed expressions from solvers when I used this a while back — give me a second to get up to 88 MPH so I can send similar questions back to that day.

Given Robyn and my love of all things fantastically awesome, I'm disappointed that EASTER EGGS wasn't clued to Ready Player One. Then again, Ready Player Two was Game Over. (Don't bother with it.)

CAN I SEE SOME ID? Didn't you just ask me that? Although the two entries aren't exactly the same, it stinks to get scooped by just a few weeks — especially when the previous clue was so wickedly clever! [Common request at a bar] does misdirect to drink orders, but playing on the "utterance" vs. "queue" definitions of "line" is hard to beat.

NO LEFT TURN is a decent enough entry. That clue, though … jughandle? Why is it called — ooh, super descriptive! I'll pour one out for learning that tidbit.

Robyn continues to flex some serious BIONICS in her themelesses.

TRASH PANDA is so hilarious that it could earn a POW! all on its own. This is the kind of delightful entry that makes me smile with every sighting of a Robyn Weintraub byline.

There weren't as many joyful grid entries as I've come to expect out of a Weintraub production, but that's more of a matter of my sky-high bar for her. Still, phrases like ALL OVER THE MAP and HERE WE GO AGAIN are the foundations of a fantastic CARE PACKAGE.

Even with my unreasonable expectations, Robyn managed to wow me with the sheer quantity of delightful wordplay clues. How many times have I seen the word "toy" played upon for "small dog"? Yet I still fell for it today, because of the mystery created by [Toy from a place that no longer exists]. No longer exists ... Atlantis? Abyssinia? Austria? (I once swore that Austria had dissolved back in the 19th century. I also once confused Wyoming and Wisconsin. Sad, but true.)

Such mastery over the "hidden capital" trick, too. [Superior dwellings, say] obscures the capital S at the beginning of the clue, misdirecting from LAKE HOUSES. Robyn also pulled it off in reverse, with [Spent some time in the Outback, perhaps]. That's a Subaru Outback, not the Austrian Outback, of course.

Most themeless constructors spend way too little time on their cluing — an order of magnitude — and this is a great example of where all of Robyn's cluing efforts elevated the solve to a whole 'nother level. As with most Weintraub puzzles, I could have easily given this one the POW! That was my first instinct after hitting one amazing clue after another, but I figured I'd follow Robyn's example of spreading around the joy.

★ Another beauty from Robyn — you bet I FANCY THAT! Not many constructors can work with 14 long slots (8+ letters) and convert them into 14 excellent entries. Editors prize multi-worders in themelesses, because they often have more zing than single-worders. CIRCULAR FILE and CRUNCH TIME are perfect examples, laden with meaning and imagery.

And the single-worders that Robyn did employ? This dork would gladly submit to the emotional terrors of pon farr if it meant a shot at joining STARFLEET.

DUTY-FREE SHOPS does double duty, too, as both a fantastic phrase and one that lends itself to a Starfleet admiral-level clue. "Non-taxing part of airline travel" wins a Medal of Excellence.

Themeless constructors often either allow too much glue or are too stringent at the cost of not enough color. Robyn has found the sweet spot, achieving top-notch pizazz at only nominal costs like STD and TUE.

I did have one hitch at the end of my solve, since I confidently wrote in BANTER for [Give and take]. My annoyance level was high; unable to figure out how ANC could match [Bow]. But when I finally corrected to BARTER, I appreciated what an interesting coincidence that is, BANTER and BARTER both aptly fitting that clue. Crossword theme radar pinging ...

I've raised my bar for Robyn because she's just that good. Today's surpassed even my final frontier expectations.

There's no DEFINITE MAYBE about it; Robyn's byline always brings me joy. Her philosophy of building crosswords to entertain and distract from the woes of the world resonates so strongly. She's got an incredible knack for incorporating colorful and smile-inducing phrases like FINE DINING and I HAVE TO RUN.

Not only do her feature entries work great on their own, but she combines them in fun ways. I picked up a love for deals from my Taiwanese mother, so COUPON CODE over BONUS ROUND = yes please!

(The Amazon Fresh store that's now sent me over $500 worth of "buy $25 worth of groceries and save $10" coupons might want to rethink their approach. But don't tell them that.)

BRIDGE LOAN is a neat term, self-explanatory even to non-MBAS — since they bridge the potential chasm caused by a cash crunch.

And as someone who's cut up a ton of cantaloupe, MELONBALLER crossing ORANGE made me grin.

Even having been in charge of payrolls, I couldn't exactly remember FICA or what it stood for, and I did wonder for a minute if it was ANA or INA de Armas. No other pauses, though. I'm so impressed at the arc of Robyn's constructing career, her puzzles regularly exhibiting both color and cleanliness these days — in exemplary fashion.

What I love most about Robyn's puzzles is that they spark so much joy. CHOCOHOLIC, DESSERT WINES, DOZEN ROSES, going in WARP DRIVE? THAT'S SO Robyn!

What I want most out of my crosswords is an uplifting, entertaining fifteen minutes to help me forget about the woes of the world. (Others vehemently disagree, looking for other elements like education and horizon-broadening, and that's fine.) Robyn exemplifies this philosophy, and my world always feels happier—12x rosier, you might say—after finishing one of her beautifully-arranged bouquets.

LET THAT SINK IN, EATING FOR TWO — now that's the Weintraubian themeless vibe I know and love! Fantastic everyday phrases that can take on clever clues, all while keeping the mood fun and playful. They make for such brilliant marquee features.

Not as wild about the rest, at least compared to my heaven-high standards for Robyn. It was much darker than usual, with HORSEMEN of the Apocalypse, CENTURION, packing HEAT, DREW in a pistol duel … yikes.

Thank goodness for that awesome NAIL POLISH clue. [Digital (relating to the digits of the hand) color presentation?] is such a clever misdirect, getting me to think about Powerpoint.

I didn't love ANAT, ESSO, THU, and especially EFT in a 70-word construction — these days, the competition is so high that virtually all 70- and 72-worders ought to be near spotless.

However, Robyn worked in enough CASE DISMISSED, POKER CHIP as "food" that goes into a poker kitty, GENERATION GAP, to still make it a fun diversion.

★ Another delightful puzzle from one of my favorite themeless constructors. There's so much emotion tied up in OH, IS THAT SO?, ranging from innocent querying to sarcastic throwing of shade. I love these kinds of entries.

CAKE TOPPERS is another fantastic entry, but for a different reason: it's ripe for clever cluing. Playing on "stuck-up" — as in stuck on top of a cake — is so smile-inducing. Plus, cake!

Similarly with TELEKINESIS. It's not only laden with mystery, but innocently repurposing "brain power," as in a literal power generated by one's brain, is as magical as the wikihow page on how to develop TELEKINESIS. Quite a moving (sorry) article.

I wasn't as hot on the ROSE BUSHES misdirect. Both Jim Horne and I fell for the Rose GARDEN trap, but it felt more mean than clever. Sort of a Nelson Muntz "Haw haw!"

And as typical for a Weintraub themeless, more than a handful of wordplay clues that elevate boring ol' day-to-day short fill. A CODA is (a set of musical) bars that close (out a piece). Getting a date from a PALM is different from Tinder. If only Palm Pilots were still around, you could get a date from a palm or a Palm!

Pardon my French, but how the @#$! am I supposed to know the French for "without caffeine"? Wait. SANS … caf … ah, SANKA! Great piece of trivia.

A "clue echo" works best when the same clue is repurposed in two vastly different senses. Using "turnover" in two consecutive clues, to mean an apple pastry vs. a basketball flub is perfection.

It's not one of my absolute favorite Weintraub creations, what with some potential left on the table — BEFORE I FORGET isn't as evocative as OH, IS THAT SO?, and entries like GUIDEBOOKS and GOES TOO FAR had uninterestingly straight-shooting clues. Still, a lovely ten minutes of escape. Exactly what I want out of a crossword.

★ Another delight from Robyn! What I most want out of a crossword is ten minutes to forget about the woes of the world, so Robyn's BEDSIDE MANNER is perfect. GO WITH THE FLOW, DON'T GIVE UP, PADDLEBOATS, SOFT SPOT, FREE SPIN — so much EYE CANDY! If there were cruciverbal Olympics, I'd lobby hard for Robyn to get GOLD MEDALS in the themeless category.

I appreciate how she doesn't try to do too much with a grid, usually sticking to 70 words and maximizing both color and cleanliness. Maybe there's an argument that ESL could be difficult to suss out (English as a second language), and some solvers might not know NWA, but both of these entries have gimme crossings. I'm in awe of themeless constructors who can consistently pump out 68 or even 66-worders that exhibit similar levels of both snazz and smoothness, but that's incredibly rare. I'm more than happy to solve 70-worders like this one.

Robyn is one of the best in clever cluing, too. Granted, some of the wordplay brilliance comes from Will Shortz and the team, but Robyn's themelesses consistently have around a half-dozen wickedly sharp clues (most other regulars might have around 3 or 4). My favorite today was the confusing [It helps make waiting easier]. That's a TRAY, as in waiting tables — brilliant! Close behind, though, was GOLD MEDALS' punny play on "haul of fame."

Different people want different things out of crosswords, and Robyn's style may not resonate with those seeking deeper enlightenment or broadening of their world view. For those of us who want a pleasant diversion to start our day, something to clear our minds and put us into a positive mindspace, Robyn puts out near-perfect products.

The title OLIO — a crossworld insider's term for a mixture or mismash — doesn't do this puzzle justice. It's such a jaw-dropping grid, those diagonals neatly aligned as if this were a magnetic field. Great first impression.

Some flashy long material, too. A typical themeless features about 12-14 long slots (of 8+ letters), whereas this super-sized one sports 24 of them. That's about what you'd expect, given that a 21x grid has about twice as many squares as a 15x, but it's still such a huge quantity of long slots to work with. Awesome stuff that's new to the NYT crossword:

• RETAIL THERAPY (I so badly wanted to debut this evocative entry!)
• LINE-ITEM VETO
• NOT EVEN CLOSE
• EYE ROLLS

Nary a trace of crossword glue, either. If ECONO, MER, NEET are the only entries a certain annoyingly picky blogger who wishes he could get a funny nickname like the BIEB (Justin Bieber) can point out … Incredibly clean.

There was a lot of potential left on the table, though, with a lot of long slots taken up by neutral material:

• PROPELLED
• ENTERTAIN
• SUSPENSE
• ENTICING

Not the most suspenseful or enticing of entries, especially given that editors prize colorful multi-word entries. A fun clue can elevate them — PROPELLED literally so, with [Catapulted, say] — but they're not even close to something like NOT EVEN CLOSE.

Along with a ton of mid-length filler through the middle like HEDGED HOGGED BONDED WINKED COOLED WORKED BINGED, it's not my favorite of Robyn's work. As visually pleasing as the black diagonals are, the grid design doesn't do Robyn any favors.

I haven't been a fan of the themeless Sunday, but I've softened my stance over time. It is challenging to present brilliant themes week after week, so an occasional themeless puzzle can help fill the gaps. I'd much rather have a snazzy themeless than a dull theme.

★ A much harder than usual Weintraub Friday puzzle, but I still loved it. There's so much playfulness, so much to enjoy in evocative entries like SLEEPOVER PARTY, WHATS FOR DINNER, HOT APPLE CIDER. I spend a lot of time thinking about great phrases to add to our word list, but none of these three had occurred to me.

(Maybe when my kids enter that dreaded age of losing-sleep sleepovers. I can already sense the impending crankiness …)

Why was this puzzle so difficult, and more importantly, why did that make me enjoy it a tad less than a typical Weintraub Friday?

One reason was the unusual grid layout. Instead of having most of the snazz squeezed into the four corners, it's spread throughout. I love how SLEEPOVER PARTY, WHAT'S FOR DINNER, FRONT ROW SEATS, and HOT APPLE CIDER build an open skeleton, with so much EARLY FROST, TEDDY BEAR filling the perimeter. It does make it harder to gain traction, though.

Another reason was that some of the wordplay cluing nearly went over my head. Jim Horne and I had to spend a minute figuring out why a CONE is a cup alternative (neither of us has gone out for ice cream for roughly a year — what else have we forgotten about?). I often admire "directive" clues, but [Snap out of it?] for CAMERA (you get a "snap" or a pic out of a camera) made my tiny brain snap.

I like it when puzzles make me feel smart. When I can rip through a themeless in under-record time, I often feel strongly positive about it. The opposite can also be true.

Thankfully, there was more than enough to delight me. The clue for POEM, getting measured in both feet and meters, is both genius and smile-inducing; absolutely perfect wordplay.

I appreciate that there are (equally valid) constructing philosophies out there, but I so love Robyn's pure fun-and-enjoyment approach. It's by far my favorite.

★ Incredibly well done! Great long entries, a wealth of clever and/or amusing clues, not much short glue (although SERE, I sere you).

So many of the marquees resonated with me, a PARENTHOOD vibe running throughout. I'm in the midst of a PICKY EATER period, where our kids won't even touch a potato even though they love fries. Sometimes I wonder if my life is a giant SATIRE, with our living room ACCENT RUG accented by Lego booby-traps I have ZERO CHANCE of avoiding. Reaching CRISIS MODE …

I was sure that "something you can't get in a restaurant" would be ANYTHING THAT MY KIDS WILL EAT, but that's slightly too long.

BERT AND ERNIE — surprisingly together for 50+ years! — unfortunately haven't worked themselves into my household, which is more filled with ASH AND THAT FREAKING ANNOYING SQUEAKY PIKACHU. I don't care if that's too long, that's my answer, and I'm sticking to it.

Jeff Foxworthy is studying me for his next "You Know You're a Parent" bit.

Robyn does such a wonderful job of weaving joy and delight into both her grids and her clues. Aside from CRISIS MODE, there's so much to uplift — EXTRA SPICY OVER THE TOP SECRET RECIPE is right! And such great clues for a bunch of otherwise ho-hum short entries, my favorite the innocent [Union deserters]. After plunking in REBS, I couldn't figure out my error. That's a marriage union, ha!

Okay, maybe a bit of a downer, but it's worth the cleverness.

It's been a while since I've given Robyn a POW! (four whole months, the horror!), mainly because my standard for her is so sky-high. This one gave me so much delightful diversion that there could be no question about it. No sad TROMBONEs today.

I love it when Jim chimes in. Sometimes people complain about entries like C FLAT as arbitrary, but I don't mind them. And I love them when they have a special significance — at least if you're as worldly as Jim. Fascinating to hear the neutral CFLAT elevated to a natural entry, all the way to a sharp one!

I love Robyn's themelesses, so much so that she suffers from the curse of high expectations. While I did find STONEHENGE and its innocent [Classic British rock group] clue fantastic, there wasn't as much to excite me as usual. Along with some tough crossings — ULTA/MTA, KENO/DORAL, KYLO/OMAR, NENA/EEKAMOUSE — I can't call it among my favorite Weintraub creations.

Still, enough fun entries, SURE WHY NOT, RING BEARER, HULA SKIRT, BILL THE CAT (I wonder how many Millennials will even know who this is?) to make it an enjoyable solve, overall.

Jim Horne and I chat about puzzles once a week, and we had a fun exchange about "crosswordese." It's too general a term, encompassing everything from entries called out in editors' spec sheets (partials, abbrs.), to things seen much more in crosswords than real life (ONO, ENO), to words that perhaps NYT solvers ought to know. The first category is clearly to be avoided, the second is fine by me. It's the third that's of real interest.

ARILS. Jim mentioned it's an odd plural. I hadn't heard of it until a few years ago when it was in one of C.C.'s puzzles. I was outraged upon filling it in. Outraged! That is, until the next day when at the grocery store, I picked up a pack of pomegranate seeds … marked as "Pomegranate Arils."

BRAE. I haven't laughed this hard in ages. See Jim's notes below.

The point is, this category is the toughest type of "crosswordese" to judge. One person's CPI is another's RPI. Someone inflamed by OTOE might not blink at EDER.

I enjoyed this "stairstep," a mature themeless category in which Robyn has only worked once before. The triplet of WORD PROCESSOR / PINSTRIPE SUIT / FAKE EYELASHES is fantastic, as are the crossings of LEATHER SEATS and FREE SHIPPING. Along with some WIKIPEDIA / PAPA BEAR and BANK SHOT in the corners, there's a lot to love.

And there's the star clue, [Initials of the person who said "Fight for the things that you care about but do it in a way that will lead others to join you]. It's a fantastic mantra, too many people preaching in styles that are not only ineffective but that turn the other side further away.

★ That central feature, PASSPORT PHOTO, is perfect. Not only is it a snazzy phrase, but that clue is so clever! Such a brilliant misdirection toward immunizations.

If only my PASSPORT PHOTO didn't look like I was high, sleeping, drooling, and a felon. Okay, I'm going to take the picture in three, tw — *click*. Who does that?!

DON'T BE SO HASTY is another great entry. It's not quite as strong as PASSPORT PHOTO overall, since it's hard to give it a clever clue, but it's a colorful, colloquial saying. Robyn shines in this arena, consistently treating us with ones like NEVER FEAR!

I wasn't award that RARE BOOKSTORE was still a thing, but it did remind me of a novel I loved, Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore. Sometimes our themeless solving experience is so tied into personal experience. If you're looking for an engaging, puzzly mystery, Mr. Penumbra is at the top of my list.

I appreciated the openness of the grid design. In the past, Robyn has sectioned off some of her corners, which is a huge help in construction (allowing for working on subsections in isolation) but can have detrimental effects on solving flow. It'd be so tempting in this grid to break up either ORIONS BELT or TEN FOOT POLE, so I'm glad that Robyn resisted.

I will say that the one area that bogged me down was the southeast corner, a tad bit cut off from the rest of the puzzle. I was confident SLOP was what you wouldn't find in a Michelin-star restaurant. GLOP? That didn't feel right. Along with not remembering Georgia ENGEL from decades ago (speaking of old, see: HEP) and not knowing Chekov's work in detail (OLGA?), I was worried I'd have my first Did Not Finish in months.

Thankfully, I wasn't so hasty, trying out a few random letters here and there until WOEBEGONE made my woes be gone. Whew!

Robyn's puzzles are always a ton of fun, a delightful combination of playful grid entries and a plethora of wickedly clever clues. HALF ASLEEP is a great entry, and [On one's way out] is some "Penn & Teller: Fool Us"-level trickery. I love the feeling I get after solving one of Robyn's themelesses, a golden glow protecting me from the woes of the world for a few precious minutes.

★ A (w)holesome concept, the LETTER W's disappearance making me go down many rabbit holes. I spent so much time floundering while trying to uncover that set of instructions. So many mistakes I had to shred ... shrewd I was not!

I'm glad I stuck with it, as the payoff was so satisfying, finally dawning on me how many clues had been affected. Fantastic job of making all the W-removals all seem so innocent. Kicking it off with [Major source of wheat] is brilliant. Hawn to Han of the silver screen is amazing!

I do wish there had been more longer entries whose clues had been affected. For a puzzle with this much grid flexibility, it'd have been great to put focus on those long downs, where MINUTEMEN and ELABORATE sit. Having so many short themers made it hard to keep track of them.

I'm glad I read Robyn's note since I couldn't figure out why NOW was in such a strange spot. I hadn't noticed there were any other Ws in the grid; that's a nice touch.

There was a lot of crossword glue spread throughout but think of all the short "themers" Robyn had to place. Plus, the three-part revealer! Normally, a puzzle with 10+ gloopy bits would fall automatically out of POW contention, but in service of such an entertaining experience, I let it slide.

I enjoy getting a clue-focused puzzle once in a while. It's been a while since we've such clue trickery — one I remember played on IT. I did find the "quote puzzle" aspect of this one frustrating, but thankfully, Robyn kept that part short. Finally earning all that delightful W-wordplay was well worth it.

Another lovely Weintraub product. A couple of great colloquial phrases in YOU'VE CHANGED and DON'T LOOK AT ME, and a bevy of colorful entries like ESCAPE ROUTE, COOL BREEZE, SOAP OPERAS, ALL PURPOSE. It's a RARE TREAT indeed to see 14 long slots (8+ letters) converted into 14 fantastic answers — at least rare for mere mortals. It's commonplace for Robyn.

I could easily pick any of Robyn's themelesses for the POW! these days — she's that good. My bar for her keeps on rising higher and higher. It's no surprise that the New Yorker added her to their lineup. Congrats!

This one didn't have as many clever clues as I expect from a Weintraub product, though, just the STONER taking the "high" road (groan).

It also had too many gluey bits in ABBR ESE ESSA ITBE ONA STET, much too high for a 70-word puzzle. Patrick Berry is one of the greats because his grids are so immaculate, not even a whiff of inelegance anywhere. I'd love to see Robyn edge in that direction. However, Robyn's grids are often more colloquially colorful than Patrick's, so somewhere in between seems like the ideal.

You know you're good when someone mentions you in the same sentence as Patrick Berry. You know you're great when someone suggests Patrick move in your direction!

★ The first marquee answer delighted me, and it was highlight after highlight from there. PORCH SWING is a great answer in its own right, but when you elevate it with the mysterious [Option when one wants to move out of the house?] — that's literally move, right outside your house — it's Einstein-level brilliant.

WHAT'S SO FUNNY? UP TO SPEED. I AM SO THERE. FREE WIFI. All that, plus CROISSANTS? Heck yeah, I am so there!

If you haven't been watching Dan Feyer's weekly speed-solving adventures, you're missing out. A lot of it is him tearing through without commentary, but I like his short and sweet impression about each puzzle. As he says about Robyn, so many colloquial, catchy phrases — that's why she's one of the best.

Slew of great clues, too:

• [Labs might offer them]. I've seen many plays on lab(radors), but this one still delighted me, labs offering their PAWS to shake.
• COPIER always "turns out the same"? Ah! Turns out the same, as in identical copies!
• [Mr. Rite?] wasn't hard to decode as a PRIEST, but what a fun way to play on "Mister Right."
• The best was [Jet setting], which didn't need a telltale question mark. Repurposing the term "jet-setting" as a setting in which you have (water) jets is a delight.

Although Will Shortz and his team contribute to clever clues, it's clear that some constructors spend much more time than others on their wicked wordplay. Robyn's themelesses always have more than a handful of clues that shine.

I wasn't thrilled to get TYRO in a 72-word themeless, or TOR clued to the mountain peak instead of Toronto, but I can easily overlook those minor issues, given the overall awesomeness.

Robyn features a great assortment of colloquial phrases today, telling a story:

ANY TAKERS?

... IT'S A START

LETS ROLL!

ARE WE THERE YET?

CALL IT A DAY

PROPOSE A TOAST, PEABRAIN!

Sounds like the plot of "Dude, Where's My Car?" or "Hot Tub Time Machine," two movies I unabashedly loved.

Let's call it semi-abashedly.

One of the things I love best about Robyn's themelesses is that there's often a seed entry that sings, that sticks in my memory. I didn't find one today, but LIFE LESSON came close. Perhaps that has something to do with where I'm at with my kids, and all the valuable LIFE LESSONs I impart upon them.

Did you know that eye rolling starts at age 2?

Just a TOD too much crossword glue today. I'd STET a minor TAE or ASI here or there, but something like TOD that's already borderline gets amplified by other tough names like LON and CID, so it sticks out more than usual.

EXIT … pursued by a bear? It's from "The Winter's Tale," where John Candy — er, Antigonus — gets chased off stage by a bear. Huh!

The clue for ELECTORATE was more up my lowbrow alley. [Seasonal pickers] had me focused on farm workers. Great misdirection, using the word "seasonal" to hint at election season. No telltale question mark needed!

A thoroughly entertaining puzzle overall.

There's a lot to like about this latest Weintraub creation. Robyn has a knack for picking marquee answers that delight, and HOME SWEET HOME hit the mark. The statement is so loaded with relief, with joy, with a huge smile, evoking images of coming home to your loving family.

Or to two kids screaming that JAKE HIT ME NUH-UH TESS MEAN MUGGED ME!

Same difference.

How does a three-year-old know what mean-mugging is (and I don't), anyway?

FISH TACOS makes my mouth water. They're even more tempting with a delightfully obfuscating clue in [Seafood in shells]. Not lobster, not crab, not crawfish … what could it be? That's a perfect misdirect leading to a wonderful a-ha.

PAPER AIRPLANEs going over students' heads, heh. So good! Although Drax would catch them. Probably demolish them into atoms.

JELLO SHOTS is another in that vein. I wonder, though, if some solvers won't figure out why JELLO SHOTS are "set for a wild party." Set out in a tray? Because JELLO SHOTS love to party, a la the foods in "Sausage Party"? Nope, the clue is getting at "set" in the sense of Jell-O needing to set in the fridge. Some might see it as clever, but it took away from the fun for me because it took me so long to figure out the intention.

I'll explain a couple more that could get missed:

• [Small cardinal] — I thought I knew what a "cardinal" number was, but it turns out they're not quite the same as "integers." The Wikipedia article confused me further. I still enjoyed the clue, but I fear that math haters are gonna hate.
• SYN is short for "synonym," so [Individual, for one] means that "individual" is a synonym for "one."
• HOLEY is [Well-ventilated] ... yes, but "holey" is usually an undesirable accident, while "well-ventilated" is purposeful. I think the clue needs a question mark.
• I'm not a fan of AGUE as a crossword entry, bringing back the Maleska days. Trying to play on it with "sweater" = "a person who sweats" ... yikes!

Along with more crossword glue than I'm used to from Robyn — AGOOD WIS SYN CUTTO AGUE — it's not my favorite of hers. Still, I did enjoy many of the feature entries, and I appreciate Robyn venturing away from her usual construction style, into stair-stack territory. Pushing oneself is a good thing.

Robyn is one of the few themeless constructors whose voice tickles me. As I've pointed out in the past, she has a knack for seeding grids with nerdy and/or playful terms that delight the Nerd Army (of which I'm a Ranger).

I thought HOLOGRAMS would be just that today, but the clue brought down the quality of the entry. Jim Horne and I had a philosophical discussion about whether HOLOGRAMS are actually there or not. If a HOLOGRAM appears in the forest, does anyone see it?

Jim and I received a nerd army promotion for that.

Second day in a row that SST is in a themeless. It speaks to how useful that little entry is. In the Shortz era, SST has had a long, (in)glorious run that's been decelerating. I'll be glad to see it grounded, like in real life.

There's a lot to love in this one — CASH FLOW, I CAN RELATE, PHONED IT IN, ON THE ROCKS, GUESS WHAT all HITting THE SPOT — but not the essential Robynian element that I've come to adore.

DECODER RING indeed gives this one a Weintraubian flair. I love it when Robyn treats us to delightful entries like this one, evoking memories of that little kid in "A Christmas Story" who gets the message to drink more Ovaltine. The clue — "… to have on hand" — makes an already fantastic entry that much better!

LICKETY SPLIT fell into that same vein. Such an entertaining, colorful phrase.

I didn't detect much else high on the Weintraub scale of playful nerdiness, though, no MIRACLE MAXes, TRACTOR BEAMs, or CLOWN CARS. I don't want to ACT YOUR AGE, thank you very much!

A solid grid overall, though not as clean as I'd like out of a 70-word grid, with a smattering of HRE PST SRS SYR TELE. These are all minor offenders, fairly easy to overlook, but they are what they are.

All in all, an enjoyable solve, as are most all Weintraub joints, but perhaps a bit more middle ground — neither excessively colorful nor excessively clean — than I like.

Another delightful solving experience from one of my favorite themeless constructors. FAMILY TREE is already a strong feature entry. The clue makes it stand out even further.

(If you didn't get it, think about "relatively" as "relative-ly." If there is such a thing as a great groaner, this is it.)

Fantastic usage of her 14 long slots, hardly a one feeling wasted. URBAN LEGEND is fantastic. SIMON SAYS brought back good memories (and some frustrating ones where I wanted to smash my Simon into pieces). GROUP PHOTO with a clever clue, repurposing "big shot." AVANT GARDE classing up the joint.

The NYT would never be able to run a clue like [Word that follows "No sh*t"], but that didn't stop me from smiling at SHERLOCK.

So why no POW!? Part of it was that a 72-word themeless is the easiest of construction tasks, so it has to be near perfect. MORO is tough. CHAKA can only be clued in one way. ROES is an odd plural. TMAN is outdated.

A bigger part is that I have stratospheric expectations for Robyn these days. In particular, some of her marquee answers in the past have wowed me on their own — POPPYCOCK, CLOWN CARS, RON WEASLEY, TRACTOR BEAM, MIRACLE MAX, SMARTY PANTS right over MADE YOU LOOK. These are so much fun and they appeal to my nerd sensibilities. There wasn't anything quite like that today; nothing that screamed that it was the marvelous seed to the puzzle.

Overall though, still an immensely entertaining solving experience on an absolute scale. About average on the Weintraub index, though.

★ A month ago, Robyn became the first woman to make the finals puzzle for the ACPT. And it was a beaut! She's got such an excellent aptitude for selecting long entries that delight.

Today's was another win in her string (theory) of great puzzles. STRING THEORY — clued to "The Big Bang Theory," without actually duplicating "theory" in the clue! EVIL GENIUS! SCHNITZEL, such a funny sounding word. INNER PEACE.

LAST PLACE's clue cleverly misdirects. [Rough finish]? Last is a rough way to finish, indeed. It's even more devious once you note that MATTE is in the puzzle too, subconsciously tipping you toward thinking about photo finishes.

Er, finishes of photos. Not races. A double-cross misdirect!

Beautiful disguises for Gal and Berry, their capital letter hidden at the first word of the clue. There have to be tons of gals in superhero movies. And berries featured in cosmetic ads. D'oh! That's Gal GADOT and HALLE Berry.

Speaking of great clues, [One may get stuck in an office] isn't an overworked person, but a POST IT NOTE. STICK SHIFT — a manual shift — employs the common term [Car owner's manual?] in its clue. Two fantastic entries in their own right, made even better by wickedly sharp clues.

Even two ho-hum shorties got the star treatment through great cluing. [Message on a tablet] — a drug company's tagline? Nope, that's an EMAIL on an iPad or Surface tablet. I must admit I groaned when I figured out that SEALY (a big mattress brand) was literally for the "rest of the people." But it was a good sort of groan.

I had so much fun solving this one that it made me want to figure out why. It's not often that I feel like I have a lot to learn from any one constructor, but Robyn's ability to entertain and elate through her themelesses is astounding. She's caused me to rethink my own philosophies on creating themelesses.

Day 6 of WTF? Week at XWI! I love having the chance to tell people What I'm Thankful For.

POPPYCOCK! Tee hee. I don't know why that word makes me laugh, but I don't care. It feels like one of the trademark Robyn entries that I've come to know and love in her themelesses.

TIME MACHINE, too. She's given us such goodies as TRACTOR BEAM, JEDI MASTER, MIND MELD … this sci-fi dork gives it the Vulcan salute!

The fun continues with GARBAGE BAG. Okay, some might successfully argue that it's not a sizzling entry on its own. But that clue! [Purchase that usually ends up in the trash]? What an entertainingly literal way of describing a GARBAGE BAG; no giveaway question mark needed.

Similar case for JUNIOR PROM. [Function not intended for seniors] might have AARP members up in arms about ageism! Um, no, it's referring to seniors in high school.

More fun with [Pair that clicked in film] — I was sure it had to begin with ASTAIRE. I love getting innocently fooled in this way, RUBY SLIPPERS getting clicked to send Dorothy home.

Even the short stuff — [First digit] had to be ONE. No, wait, ZERO! No, that's "digit" as in "finger." Totally got me!

I'm so thankful for when I identify a constructor like Robyn, whose byline I so eagerly look forward to. She's number thumb on that list right now. Er, one. Thanks for so much entertainment this year!

More and more, I'm noticing that a single entry/clue pair in a themeless can make the entire puzzle stand out in my eyes. I hit [Employer of some shepherds] and was thinking farms, fields, or maybe watchdogs, as in government orgs watching over the safety of the public. Great a-ha to figure out it meant German shepherds, in a CANINE UNIT! That's beautiful.

Looking back upon Robyn's puzzles, I remembered that I had similar reactions to CLOWN CARS, RON WEASLEY, TRACTOR BEAM, MIRACLE MAX, SMARTY PANTS. Robyn sure does know how to pick ‘em!

I didn't get the same sheer joy today as I've gotten from some of Robyn's other ones, though. Not nearly as playful today, with NANNY STATE and HOLD MY BEER (which appears to be a meme going around ... something said before a fight?). Seems like Robyn TONEd IT DOWN a bit.

Some of the other long answers didn't resonate with me, either. I love the Beatles, but I didn't know "Something" was on ABBEY ROAD. Seemed like there were more fun or playful ways of cluing this great album, one of the Beatles' last.

I've been able to overlook some crossword glue in previous puzzles, but my lack of elation made it harder today to turn a blind eye to ARY. It is a short bit, taking up only three squares. But yikes, is it ugly. A suffix for secret, making secret-ARY? Oof, that's terrible.

In some ways, it's unfair for me to voice these gripes, which likely would have seemed minor if it had been some other constructor. It was still a fun solving experience, but I've come to expect tremendous things from a Weintraub themeless. Not entirely sure if that's a fair way to look at things, but it is what it is.