In today’s puzzle, 1 across was ADDIS ABABA, clued as “World capital whose name means ‘new flower,’” and it’s an appropriate opening because the puzzle was a garden of delights. Terrific, sometimes funny, associations. And I learned things. IDAHO is slightly larger than all of New England combined. Really? I would have never guessed. And Santa’s POSTAL CODE in Canada is HOH OHO! How neat is that?

Simple words were enriched by clever cluing: MALL (“Place for some outlets”); and PLEA (“It might be enhanced by puppy dog eyes”). LOSERS was nicely clued by “Duo who have to give up their foosball table spot.”

There is a gentleman named Lewis who comments daily on the Rex Parker blog, always finding the positives in a puzzle. Sometimes he writes about why he loves puzzles. Here’s what he posted today:

“I look at the answers in the grid, and there are only a few out of my knowledge, so the huge resistance I encountered was in the cluing. Vague cluing, misdirect cluing, upper-level wordplay cluing. The kind of cluing I want on a Saturday – riddle cluing, where each square filled in from a cross is like a new hint. Riddle cluing, where I have to keep finding new angles of approach, and where the cracking of the riddle is cause for great inner celebration and a deep nod of respect for the clue’s author.”

“Therein for me, lies one of the major joys of crossword. When I was a kid, my sister and I played with words, making silly words that sounded funny, making elementary wordplay jokes. These are some of my happiest memories. But now, as an adult, with an adult brain, I want the same thing at a far deeper level.”

There were cute “stories” in the grid, e.g., PAIRED, IS THAT A YES?, NEARLYWEDS, ALTAR, and IT’S ALL OVER. (“Nearlyweds” was new to me and nice. The clue was “They are about to say ‘I do.’”)

And this drug bust: ACID, TAB, DOSE, ALL-TIME HIGH, and, alas, DEA.

WAGERS at 47A sat right next to LOSERS at 50A. A punny clue was “Knight shift, e.g.” for CHESS MOVE. (Get it? — a play on “night shift.”)

The clue “Intimates” led to the answer HINTS AT, so it was a verb: to intimate. But a commenter confessed that when he first had – – N T – – – , he thought the answer might be PANTIES. How quickly the mind races to the bedroom.

Last, to finish on a classy note, for you art folks (Hi Carol and Bob), the clue “Mobile relatives” yielded STABILES. These are big art installations akin to Calder’s mobiles, except that they are stationary. You can see a neat one here: https://calder.org/works/monumental-sculpture/jerusalem-stabile-ii-1976/

I’ll just slip out quietly now before anyone mentions the Yankees. (Oy.)