Pao Roy author page

In the spirit of the day, thank you to the editors and constructors who actively create space for representation — both in terms of whose puzzles get published and what people, places, and parts of language get featured in those puzzles. Thank you to the bloggers, commenters, and solvers who actively encourage dialogue around how we, as a crossword community, can continue supporting the voices of the marginalized.

First, I want to acknowledge that the 2/10/22 NYT puzzle has an identical revealer to this one. My puzzle was submitted in 2020 and accepted in 2021, so I felt shaken up and disheartened to see such a similar puzzle published, knowing mine was to follow. Now, I can appreciate each puzzle's unique flavor and understand the editors' choice to run both. I hope enough time has passed, and folks can still enjoy this one for what it is.

This puzzle was challenging to make! The theme's premise prevented me from using the (very helpful) letter "I" anywhere else in the grid outside the themed entries. Also, the editors and I wanted every dot in the puzzle to represent the actual word "DOT," so many other potential themers like DO THE RIGHT THING were off-limits.

The most complicated constraint to navigate was the way that each dot spelled the letters "D-O-T" going horizontally, but was essentially a blank space going vertically. Long story short: after solving the 3/18/21 NYT puzzle, I asked its constructor Tom McCoy for guidance since it had a similar use of "blank" squares. Without getting too nerdy, Tom was incredibly supportive in helping develop a Python script and custom word lists that made filling the grid a lot less impossible. Thank you, Tom.

Favorite clues that were kept: CHAOS, IMAC, ELOPE, SYMBOLS, ALOE, PANGAEA, SUNS, TSO, BDAY, and EMO.

My primary goal in constructing this themeless was to pack in as much lively, long fill (8+ letters long) as possible — words and phrases that felt dynamic, had few appearances in past crosswords, and could be clued in fun and tricky ways. Themelesses feel more personal to me than themed puzzles, and I enjoy constructors' unique voices shining through when unrestrained by a theme.

The most crucial area of growth for me in making puzzles has been the tedious task of word list management. It's not the sexiest part of crossword construction, but it really goes a long way to differentiating the fill in my puzzles from those of other constructors. Like many constructors, I derive my word list from the XWord Info Word List. This was immensely helpful to me as a beginner, but I've found it necessary to constantly reappraise these default values, so that my puzzles can reflect my own unique value system.

(ON A SIDE NOTE: Word list management is probably the nerdiest interest of mine as a crossword constructor. I'm curious how others organize, score, and revise their personal lists. I appreciate the constructors who deviate from the default canon of cultural references and make puzzles, particularly themelesses, that have unique voices.)

A few other thoughts:

• With this puzzle, I feel happy to debut four entries — INFLUENCER, DRAMA COACH, SPILL THE TEA, ON A SIDE NOTE — that were all scored with a default "50" on the Xword Info Word List, rather than the premium score of "60" that is given to most other fill that has never appeared in the NYT before. It's satisfying to find (and re-score) words or phrases that are either undervalued or absent from default word lists.
• This puzzle has few proper nouns, a conscious choice I made to reduce the amount of generational cultural references, so that it might feel easier or more accessible. I'm curious how that sits with solvers, as I imagine it could either feel generic or refreshing.
• Favorite clues that were kept: 53-Across, 12-Down, 27-Down.

In the planning stages of this puzzle, I knew that I wanted the "down arrow" to make a perfect line across the grid, traveling downwards from left to right. My initial theme set was (DOWN)WARD FACING DOG, BRING (DOWN) THE HOUSE, WHOA SLOW (DOWN) THERE, and HONEY WE'RE GOIN' (DOWN) (yes, the Fall Out Boy song). Eventually, I relaxed my criteria to change the trajectory of the line of arrows, which in turn yielded a more interesting set of theme entries. Thank you to Matthew Stock, for helping me sort through this early decision-making.

It was a personal choice to include grid art in the form of an arrow-esque set of black squares. It took a lot of time to make it work, but I felt that it was a nice enough aesthetic touch to make the extra effort worth it.

Clue writing is often my favorite part of the construction process, as it comes with hours of going down internet rabbit holes and making puns with yourself. Among my favorite puns were a trio of tricky two-worders: "Hamilton producers?" for ATMS, "Mating call?" for I WIN, and "Adding purpose?" for SUM. To me, finding interesting cluing angles for mundane fill is the crossword equivalent of using high-quality salt or olive oil in a dish. These small upgrades can subtly elevate the whole meal, and set the table for other flavors to shine. Short clues can allow long ones to stand out, and I'm grateful the editors kept my favorite long clue: "Video game with a "rosebud" cheat code that grants free money" for THE SIMS.

(On a final note, I want to acknowledge that two brilliant crossword constructors, Ricky Cruz and Paolo Pasco, published a puzzle last year with a similar premise but completely different execution. My puzzle was pending acceptance with the Times when their puzzle ran in Fireball Crosswords. I wanted to clarify that point, while also drawing attention to how unique and brilliant their take on the same idea is.)

I'm a Queens-born counselor/social worker living in New Orleans, and this is my debut puzzle in the New York Times. Fifteen years ago in 2006, I began making crossword puzzles, eventually landing a job constructing them weekly for my college newspaper, The Daily Reveille, at LSU. My puzzles had themes that ran the gamut from campus landmarks to LSU football rivalries to Baton Rouge's Mardi Gras.

After graduating, I moved to New Orleans, and continued making locally themed puzzles for the now-defunct alternative paper, The NOLA Defender. I broke convention from the national puzzles I was used to seeing by allowing two-letter words in the grid and packing in as much South Louisiana-related trivia as I could. As far as I know, these are the first and only puzzles that were made in Louisiana, for Louisianians. I look back on these puzzles with sweetness and reverence, as they were earnest expressions of the most important crossword value of mine: making people feel seen. The puzzles were odes to my community in South Louisiana, vehicles for me to validate the cultural perspectives of a region that is so profoundly unique and special to me. Alas, in 2012, I stopped making puzzles entirely after a few rejections from the Times. The learning curve from amateur local puzzles to the Times crossword seemed too steep for me to grasp.

After a decade-long hiatus, I came across a resource that renewed my sense of puzzlemaking purpose: the Crossword Constructor Collaboration Directory, a Facebook group offering mentorship to constructors who identify as women, people of color, queer, and other groups that have long lacked representation in the puzzle world. The group connected me to a larger movement of constructors who likewise saw the sphere of crossword puzzles as a platform to reimagine whose voices are being heard. Through the group, I met constructors whose encouragement and feedback empowered me to continue making puzzles, so that I could finally fulfill a dream I've had since 2006 — to publish a puzzle in the New York Times. It was a much longer journey to a debut than most. For all the moments of self-doubt I've fought through, I feel proud of myself today for making it here.

Quick notes on the puzzle:

• It feels poetic to debut on a Monday.
• I regret not being attentive enough to the representation of proper nouns within the puzzle. The number of White folks and Eurocentric locations significantly outweighs the number of people of color and any other geographical locations.
• After watching "Shang-Chi" last week, I requested to change the clue for LIU to reference the "Shang-Chi" star Simu LIU. Unfortunately, it was too late to make the change. As an Asian-American, it would have felt personally meaningful to draw attention to either the actor or the film. I selfishly hope to debut Simu Liu or "Shang-Chi" in a future puzzle.
• As a gluten-sensitive person whose favorite food is unfortunately pizza, I'm happy to draw attention to 17-Across for those with similar food sensitivities or allergies (and similar loves of pizza).
• It means a lot to me that my pronouns THEY/THEM are debuting in the NYT crossword. I remember how nice it felt to complete this puzzle. Even if the fleeting sense of validation during a crossword puzzle is such a small consolation in the grand scheme of life, if my puzzle can make anyone feel a little bit more seen, that's what I'm here for.