Great puzzle. This mechanism was the 29th thing I tried !
auee89 3s · 2023-01-29T19:51:41.626Z
Thanks Emma! Happy Birthday!
K7 🤓11:22 · 2023-01-29T20:33:31.710Z
Happy Birthday Emma! Nice puzzle!
Snood 5:22 · 2023-01-29T20:14:48.409Z
Very clever and current cluing! Lots of fun. Thank you.
Laura M 🤓11:15 · 2023-01-29T20:54:39.659Z
Nice! Happy Birthday, Emma!
ajk 🤓11:59 · 2023-01-29T21:58:16.901Z
Fun indeed. Happy birthday!
KayW 🤓13:23 · 2023-01-29T22:03:22.499Z
Happy Birthday Emma - hope your celebration involves FUNFETTI!
Dave C 7s · 2023-01-29T22:37:14.180Z
Fun one
Carolyn 6s · 2023-01-29T22:18:09.771Z
Fun!
Darth 15:09 · 2023-01-30T04:59:38.095Z
Nice idea! Thanks, and happy birthday!
bergie 🤓10:34 · 2023-01-30T07:31:15.618Z
Fun puzzle, thanks!
Cindy Heisler 2s · 2023-01-30T14:54:29.229Z
Happy Birthday, Emma!
THC 🤓3:25 · 2023-01-30T16:12:33.074Z
Thanks, Will & Emma! Thought for sure the answer would be HARPO INC (Oprah's trademark) since her 69th birthday was 1/29, the release day of your puzzle.
Flinty Steve 3s · 2023-01-30T18:13:06.761Z
Took a second, but lots of fun!
Tyrpmom 2s · 2023-01-30T18:59:41.346Z
Happy belated birthday!
rjy 2s · 2023-01-30T19:48:41.248Z
Struggled a bit, but it finally fell… thanks, Emma, enjoyed it!
hazmat 🤓11:20 · 2023-01-30T23:22:39.677Z
Happy Birthday Emma! Thanks for the enjoyable (;) puzzle.
ReB 3s · 2023-01-31T21:58:10.170Z
Took me a couple of passes before I finally looked more closely at the title and then everything fell into place. A nice birthday gift from Emma.
Bbaack 28:34 · 2023-02-01T16:50:01.129Z
Happy birthday Emma!
Jimbo 12s · 2023-02-02T04:11:45.475Z
I was totally flummoxed, convinced that having a birthday on the 24th supported the idea of subbing in the corresponding letter from the alphabet (X) for the position in the clue. Nope! There they were in the grid, hiding in plain sight. Thank you for your present to us, birthday girl.
MatthewL 🤓9:10 · 2023-02-02T22:58:48.226Z
Finally! Happy (belated) birthday!
Burakodrama 3s · 2023-02-04T05:46:04.224Z
Fun puzzle! Or rather it would've been because I got the logic down with my first idea, got the right combo but then failed to parse it and subsequently turned it into a frustrating experience lol. Here are some other eight letter combinations that I tried after my first and apparently very successful attempt: HDDXBIKH, CALKHORN, KBYCOLNR, KOLKOTNR, BALSOETA, OLRUQSOO... I don't remember how I got at least half of these lol.
Meta World Peace 4s · 2023-02-04T13:16:58.912Z
From the birthplace of Funfetti (Pillsbury HQ, Minneapolis), happy birthday Emma!
Second Elizabethan ___ (historical period from 1952-2022)
17A
(6,1) Politician who once introduced himself with, "For those of you who don't know me, I'm Michelle's husband"
19A
Goal
20A
Clean ___
21A
Dianne Feinstein and Katie Porter, e.g.
22A
Conveniences sometimes with inconvenient fees
23A
Ran, as ink
25A
One of two countries that borders the largest freshwater lake (by surface area) in the world
26A
(4,5) Winner of the first season of "American Idol" who performed at the second inauguration of 17-Across
32A
"Because I ___!"
34A
Over the ___ (old)
35A
"___ you serious?"
36A
Some long-lasting bulbs
37A
Reward for a win
39A
Pet lovers' org.
40A
Hosp. areas
41A
"I ___ you" ("I get it")
42A
Unlike a wallflower
44A
(2,8) One of the two "no-names" alluded to in Vulture's 2009 article "Marvel Rolls Dice, Casts No-names for 'Thor'"
47A
"Get ___" (2017 Jordan Peele film)
48A
Quaker abolitionist Lucretia
49A
Gutter site
51A
[I'm shocked!]
54A
Santa's helpers
58A
Diagnostic test done in a tube
59A
(3,7) Blues singer who won her first Grammy in 1990 and her most recent one in 2023
61A
Astronaut Jemison who was the first Black woman to go to space
62A
Runs real fast
63A
Org. for Hoosiers and Tar Heels
64A
Muscles worked by crunches
65A
Together, as a marching band
66A
Muscle many vaccines are injected into, for short
Verticales
1D
Whoopie pies, to a Pittsburgher
2D
Russian river
3D
Recurring role for Angelina
4D
Trucks for hauling equipment
5D
"All good!"
6D
Slapdash
7D
"___ remiss if I didn't say..."
8D
Airport conveyance
9D
Pet food brand owned by the same company that makes M&Ms
10D
Amtrak stop: Abbr.
11D
Spick and span
12D
Proper to the point of stuffiness
13D
Cleveland football team... wait no, Los Angeles football team... wait no, St. Louis football team... wait no, I was right the second time, Los Angeles football team
Do this to your bowl (which should be glass or metal, not plastic) and beaters (or whisk) before trying to make homemade whipped cream
28D
Former US Rep. Cheney
29D
Collaborator with Tove Lo on "Heroes (We Could Be)"
30D
Killer whale (although it's actually a species of dolphin)
31D
Matt's "White Collar" role
32D
Coin opening
33D
Dynamic opening?
38D
Taylor Swift album featuring "22" and "I Knew You Were Trouble"
39D
Where you can find Loch Lomond and Loch Ness
41D
In shape
43D
One in a raft?
45D
Emerald or pistachio
46D
Word after Roman or Galactic
49D
Castmate of Saoirse, Eliza, and Florence in 2019's "Little Women"
50D
___ League (regional organization in Africa and Western Asia)
51D
Henchman
52D
Picnic ruiners
53D
Obnoxious kid
55D
Bad habit, maybe
56D
List-ending abbr.
57D
"Now!"
59D
Alleged "health" measure created by Adolphe Quetelet - a Belgian astronomer, mathematician, statistician, and sociologist who among his many achievements was notably not a healthcare practitioner