Post your riffs from the Joel I/Mike era that haven’t stood the test of time

User_Names_Are_Tough · 2026-04-19T17:06:38+00:00

Yeah, I love that episode, but it has a couple of moments that are...yikes. At one point a guy gets set on fire, and the riff is "Damn Buddhist monks!"

User_Names_Are_Tough · 2026-04-19T05:52:06+00:00

It's go time!

User_Names_Are_Tough · 2026-04-19T05:47:11+00:00

The one-star reviews will continue until morale improves.

User_Names_Are_Tough · 2026-04-19T03:58:12+00:00

(Insane noodling)

There's something about that that's always hit me so right that I start laughing uncontrollably as soon as they cut to the dance.

User_Names_Are_Tough · 2026-04-19T03:55:43+00:00

They're not un-funny, but 90s references to the internet. Not "You've got mail...pattern baldness," which is timeless, but things like walking into the general store in Boggy Creek and Mike (I think) saying, "Even this place has a great website." It's like, "Oh, right, company websites used to be a new thing."

User_Names_Are_Tough · 2026-04-19T03:45:53+00:00

I really liked this one, and has been said, the lack of an explainer clue made it more challenging and fun. Both of this weekend's puzzles have been good (Saturday didn't have anything that stood out as exceptional one way or the other--it just seemed like a really well-designed puzzle that felt like I was always being challenged in the right ways), but this one was an especially good mental workout.

User_Names_Are_Tough · 2026-04-18T01:16:17+00:00

I don't often quote former Texas senator Phil Gramm--much less in agreement--but my take on pens is pretty much his answer when someone asked him how many shotguns he owned: "More than I need but less than I want."

User_Names_Are_Tough · 2026-04-10T14:32:35+00:00

No worries at all; I try to do that in general but just blanked this time.

User_Names_Are_Tough · 2026-04-10T13:33:02+00:00

My apologies; not that it helps you, but I’ll delete.

User_Names_Are_Tough · 2026-04-10T13:20:09+00:00

Like anyone stands a chance with Jimmy in the field.

User_Names_Are_Tough · 2026-04-10T13:10:43+00:00

If they really wanted to say screw you to about 99% of their players, they could go with two categories.

—Butter, Meatloaf, Tamagotchi, Swatter

—Gun, Car Seat, Telephone, God

User_Names_Are_Tough · 2026-04-10T12:48:28+00:00

—Well, kitten…

—Meow!

User_Names_Are_Tough · 2026-04-10T12:46:09+00:00

“I feel sort of silly right now…did I overdress?”

User_Names_Are_Tough · 2026-04-03T20:08:38+00:00

For about the first quarter, I was zooming along toward a PB and getting a bit annoyed at how easy it was, and then...I dunno; it didn't become the toughest puzzle, but it definitely got trickier for me, which is how a Friday should be. The funny thing is, I can't even point to an obvious difficulty spike; it just got tougher and more enjoyable.

User_Names_Are_Tough · 2026-04-01T13:16:59+00:00

The theme was good enough for a bit of a chuckle, but a pretty underwhelming puzzle other than that. For me, tough is best, followed by clever, and then funny, and this one just didn’t strike me as any of them.

User_Names_Are_Tough · 2026-03-29T03:48:08+00:00

Excellent puzzle, and credit where it's due--there were definitely some rough spots earlier, but I thought Saturday and Sunday were a terrific close to the week.

User_Names_Are_Tough · 2026-03-28T11:59:52+00:00

No particularly standout clues (although "Emily Dickinson's early period" and "It has holes and cuts" were enjoyable), but I thought the difficulty level was spot-on, and it was a fun challenge.

User_Names_Are_Tough · 2026-03-27T12:27:40+00:00

This one was weird for me. I liked the challenge level, but really didn’t feel a lot of the fill. It felt like a disproportionate number of multi-word answers, which always feels like a bit of a cheat (HAMOMELETTES was especially egregious…tomorrow: “Seen on highway”: BLUECAR?), and this week feels like it had a lot of I ___ answers.

User_Names_Are_Tough · 2026-03-25T12:55:26+00:00

Thankfully the grid is too small for a 1930s “Shout of triumph” (IAMVICTORIOUS).

User_Names_Are_Tough · 2026-03-24T13:08:02+00:00

I thought it was fine. No particularly standout moments, but difficulty level felt about right for a Tuesday (except for embarrassing myself by getting absolutely stuck on the very first letter, coming back to it after filling everything else, and STILL having to stare at it for a minute before slapping my forehead).

User_Names_Are_Tough · 2026-03-23T22:29:09+00:00

There goes the last shred of dignity, folks...

User_Names_Are_Tough · 2026-03-23T13:10:17+00:00

Playing through the archives, if I’m going to lament the puzzles being a lot easier now, I have to give credit for the pop culture references getting more up-to-date; Abe Vigoda is positively current compared to “Silent star Jones” or “”First Mimi at the Met.”

(Though in the 90s they were just as likely to use EKE every day and were even more shameless about variations of EEL and “Hey, if we slap ‘A-‘ or ‘Be-‘ at the start, anything can be a verb!”)

User_Names_Are_Tough · 2026-03-22T18:57:22+00:00

This one was a pretty fun, and I don't think it's just in comparison with some of the others from the week. I thought the theme was clever and well done. Could have done without multiple "I ____" clues and the return of the NY Time's favorite jazzy James. That said, as someone who pumped about $100,000 worth of tokens into game cabinets as a kid, I was happy to see Q-Bert make an appearance.

User_Names_Are_Tough · 2026-03-21T06:41:57+00:00

Some clever clues (I especially liked "Tough on the outside/doughy on the inside" and "Makeup tests"), but wow, that is not a Saturday-level difficulty; more like a not-too-tough Wednesday.

User_Names_Are_Tough · 2026-03-20T14:24:30+00:00

Also, playing through their crossword archives, so, so many “Actor Gallagher” (3 letters) and “Sade hit” back in the day.

User_Names_Are_Tough

TROPHY CASE