TSGIF*

Manny Nosowsky's NYT: Really, I'm just always going to enjoy a themeless puzzle by Manny Nosowsky. The brain gets a good workout, the eyebrows raise a little here and there, and it's a good time. And you have to admire the construction—all those jumbo entries criss-crossing one another, those longish ones stacked up and down and side to side in all four corners—great stuff.

Karen Tracey's NYS: The Weekend Warrior comes on the heels of Karen's recent Saturday NYT, and it's a little easier than her last go-round. Like my favorite Sun puzzles, it's got plenty of Scrabbly fill (SAN JOAQUIN, ALTO SAX, and other words in the QXZ family). There's the quaint ABORNING and UNBOSOMS, GALAHAD (counterposed with "Round Table location"—but it's ALGONQUIN) and ALSATIA. There's the anagram cluing ANAGRAM and "it's full of unknowns" cluing ALGEBRA. And there's the TV trivia of AJ SIMON. Karen, keep making themeless puzzles, please! One question: do "fireballer" and MOUNDSMAN mean a baseball pitcher? I'm not familiar with either term.

*Thank Shortz and Gordon It's Friday.

NYT 6:43
NYS 6:16
LAT 5:06
CS 3:28

WSJ 8:24
Reagle 6:42