Saturday, September 2, 2023, Rebecca Goldstein

Although definitely not a "No-brainer?" this puzzle solved smoothly, but with a satisfyingly level of challenge. I didn't always get the answers right away but filled in the grid little by little, with the northwest being the toughest and final section for this solver. I was stymied until I finally woke up and got ZOMBIE at 1A, which broke the things open for a final solve time of 22:15. Once I got it, I liked "One means of gaining access" (BADGE). MOODSWINGS is good fill. 

"Lost at strip poker" (GOTNAKED) was funny. I also enjoyed "Gives a leg up" for BOOSTS, "Mantel piece" for URN and"One crossing the line" (SCAB). "Gets dirty" for SOILS was good, too, in a way.

The pair of "triangular" clues - SEDGE and EPEE was neat. OTOH, One answer that was too much for this solver was TRIPLETAKE. That must be some shock to be one more than the usual double take. Another oddball for this solver was "They may be held during the national anthem." Without any crosses to conunterindicate, I first tried noteS, but the answer turned out to be BRIMS - not that hats don't have brims, but that's not the first thing I think of saying I'm holding when I remove a hat. I also didn't know that a "Nickname that can be a diminutive of a family member" is TITO.

Any chance that FLUTE ("Alternative to a tulip glass") is a tie-in with Connections? Not a spoiler - I'm referring to yesterday's edition.

On a personal note, I'm feeling temporarily SETFORLIFE while on vacation here. One might even say I'm in GOBLINMODE, gorging on pineapple and CHEEZITS, but you won't catch this word nerd ordering GARLICFRIES.

~Frannie.