THU

Yes, it's a THU puzzle all right, the NYT by David Pringle, with the days-of-the-week rebus. I wonder how many solvers will get stuck in the middle, where PULSING is about as valid as PUL[SAT]ING, and question everything else that crosses UNSED (which is UN[SAT]ED). SLOW (SLO[WED]), STAT (STA[TUE]), and MICA ([MON]ICA) look legitimate without the rebuses, too. Good job with the longish fill, too—DE NADA, SWARMED, the largely forgotten ANDROPOV.

Joe DiPietro's Sun puzzle, "Seeing the Sites," features a whopping six dotcom-based theme entries, five of which (plus the two long vertical entries) are new to the Cruciverb database (GILA MONSTER was used once before). It's a shame that BARNEY GOOGLE hasn't been used in a themeless, isn't it? This has been a great week for realizing the full extent of a theme hours or days later. SLATE.com and MATCH.com didn't occur to me until just now. I'd originally noticed only three of the five theme entries in yesterday's creepy-crawly NYS; and some people didn't notice the second and fourth installments of the Wednesday NYT's theme. It's a shame that all the uncounted thousands who solve the puzzles and put them out of their mind probably miss out appreciating the full extent of the constructors' cleverness.

By the way, check out the Wikipedia article on crosswords. I learned there that "a creator may be called a cruciverbalist, setter or compiler." Who are your favorite setters and compilers? I think Irish setters are pretty, personally.

NYS 4:56
NYT 4:37
LAT 4:15
CS 2:37