| J | E | L | L | O | A | S | A | N | A | C | G | I | |||
| F | L | Y | I | N | G | S | A | U | C | E | R | H | E | R | |
| K | L | E | P | T | O | C | R | A | T | I | C | E | E | K | |
| O | T | O | V | I | N | C | A | S | E | ||||||
| R | U | M | T | W | E | E | B | A | T | E | D | ||||
| D | E | N | A | L | I | T | S | T | R | A | P | S | |||
| I | M | A | G | O | M | O | T | H | E | R | S | H | I | P | |
| N | A | B | I | S | C | O | A | N | C | I | E | N | T | ||
| S | P | A | C | E | C | R | A | F | T | A | C | E | L | A | |
| S | M | I | L | E | R | S | B | R | U | T | E | S | |||
| H | I | H | A | T | T | U | B | E | M | S | T | ||||
| E | D | E | N | F | B | I | L | A | M | ||||||
| L | E | D | T | R | A | C | T | O | R | B | E | A | M | S | |
| P | A | L | B | A | L | L | E | T | D | A | N | C | E | R | |
| S | L | Y | S | T | E | E | D | S | T | E | W | S |
Man, oh man. What a cool-but-flawed puzzle this one was. For a long time, I've been trying to find a way to use both gray squares and circles in the same grid. And I think this puzzle accomplishes that in a unique and compelling way. It's just a lot of fun to visually see the alien abductions take place on the page. And I'm such a sucker for puzzles that look fresh and exciting (check out my puzzles in Crucinova for some extreme examples of this!)
But oof. There were lots of constraints for this one. There just aren't a ton of vehicles that can use tractor beams. And most of them aren't symmetrical in length. And then, in order to have vertical intersections in the center of the word (because you can't have a tractor beam coming out of the side of a ship), it led to a very constrained grid. And, with such a rigid theme-set and grid, after about 30 hours of filling, I still ended up using far more ETOs and AARs than I personally would have loved.
But it's a poor builder who blames his tools. I stand by this puzzle, and I'm very proud to see it run. And I hope you enjoyed it too! Thanks for solving, and for reading this column.
| R | E | A | D | A | N | A | L | I | S | L | E | S | ||
| E | Y | R | E | S | O | H | O | N | A | O | M | I | ||
| D | E | C | K | C | H | A | I | R | S | T | O | U | T | |
| E | A | C | H | I | T | T | Y | |||||||
| E | S | S | R | A | S | P | W | O | R | D | E | D | ||
| A | P | E | M | A | N | H | A | I | R | O | X | I | ||
| T | A | M | E | D | H | Y | S | T | E | R | I | C | S | |
| A | R | I | A | B | A | S | I | S | I | D | E | S | ||
| W | E | N | T | A | L | L | I | N | S | C | A | L | E | |
| A | M | A | R | O | T | C | P | E | E | R | I | N | ||
| Y | E | L | L | O | W | S | A | R | D | E | N | T | ||
| A | U | N | T | R | I | A | L | |||||||
| B | E | A | D | S | I | N | G | E | N | E | R | A | L | |
| A | M | P | L | E | N | O | U | S | I | O | W | A | ||
| A | S | T | E | R | S | T | E | T | A | I | L | S |
My first version of this theme wasn't related to physics at all; it was actually a Marvel-themed puzzle, playing on the idea of "the snap" at the end of Infinity War when half of the universe's population disappears. My themers were all phrases with "snap" in them, but the word SNAP was missing, and there was a black square where each SNAP should have been.
I ended up shelving it — neither the theme nor the fill was particularly strong — but came back to the idea of missing letters after I'd thought of dark matter as a possible topic. I enjoy making puzzles to illustrate interesting concepts, both in the scientific world and beyond, so I really wanted to capture the idea of an invisible, hypothetical substance in this puzzle rather than just play on the words "dark matter" somehow.
It took a few tries to get the fill streamlined enough, but for the most part, the final theme was as I'd imagined it. Hope you enjoyed the puzzle, and if you weren't already familiar with the concept, I hope it was a fun "TIL" moment for you!
I have a crossword blog called Cruciverbology where I post science-related puzzles like this one. If you'd like to see more from me, please consider subscribing!
| B | I | N | G | O | A | L | E | C | Q | U | A | D | ||
| A | F | O | O | T | B | E | L | L | C | U | R | V | E | |
| C | I | T | E | S | B | I | K | E | R | I | D | E | S | |
| O | W | E | S | W | I | S | H | M | E | L | U | C | K | |
| N | E | W | H | I | R | E | O | A | S | T | ||||
| R | O | O | M | Y | B | U | T | T | S | O | U | T | ||
| G | E | R | M | S | M | U | N | I | S | R | N | A | ||
| L | Y | T | E | W | E | E | D | S | E | G | O | T | ||
| O | O | H | D | E | A | N | S | S | A | A | B | S | ||
| B | U | Y | S | I | N | T | O | B | U | R | N | T | ||
| I | N | T | L | H | U | M | P | D | A | Y | ||||
| G | R | A | P | E | S | O | D | A | S | H | O | N | E | |
| M | A | R | S | R | O | V | E | R | S | O | N | I | A | |
| C | R | Y | O | S | L | E | E | P | I | N | O | U | T | |
| S | E | A | N | O | R | S | O | T | E | R | M | S |
This puzzle is personal. It got its start when I faced a scary medical procedure in April, 2021, and thought to myself, "Wish me luck." That was of course followed by the thought that WISH ME LUCK would be a good phrase to put in a crossword. I started a grid at that time, anchored by that phrase.
I came back to the partial grid late in 2021. After a lot of iterations on the grid, and a lot of time writing clues, I had something ready to submit. I'm glad that this puzzle is my first themeless for the New York Times.
While I kind of wish I had been the one to debut WISH ME LUCK, I thoroughly enjoyed Ekua Ewool's puzzle that beat me to it.
| C | H | I | C | G | A | R | A | G | E | A | S | H | ||
| R | A | G | U | O | N | E | T | O | N | B | E | E | ||
| A | U | N | T | S | T | E | E | R | C | L | E | A | R | |
| B | L | O | T | C | H | E | D | G | H | E | T | T | O | |
| R | O | U | N | D | B | E | A | T | ||||||
| R | E | T | R | O | M | O | O | N | S | H | O | T | ||
| B | A | T | H | E | G | O | O | U | T | S | I | D | E | |
| A | C | H | E | T | U | N | E | S | E | T | E | S | ||
| B | E | A | C | H | R | E | A | D | B | E | S | O | T | |
| A | R | T | H | O | U | S | E | S | U | S | A | N | ||
| A | W | E | S | R | E | C | O | N | ||||||
| M | A | I | S | E | L | P | I | C | K | M | E | U | P | |
| B | E | N | E | V | O | L | E | N | T | E | R | S | E | |
| A | R | K | E | V | E | N | S | O | I | V | A | N | ||
| S | O | Y | R | E | N | D | E | R | D | E | F | T |
This puzzle was my first themeless puzzle to be accepted for publication. I submitted it (by mail!) with a note cautioning that "while the grid may look a bit more like that of a M-Th puzzle, I hope you'll see beyond that..." The fill that delighted me nearly three years ago still delights me today — I'm particularly fond of 19D, 4D, and 45A and their clues.
In the intervening years, I've moved across the country, and I've started learning the accordion (see the glimmers of an idea in my cluing for 7D). Sadly, though, Janelle [26D] hasn't yet received her EGOT. Thanks to the editorial team for keeping both Booty clues and my shoutout to my mom in the final clue of the puzzle!
| C | H | E | S | S | S | E | T | R | A | S | H | S | I | L | K | |||||
| D | A | R | K | H | U | M | O | R | E | L | V | I | S | B | E | R | Y | L | ||
| T | H | E | I | R | R | I | T | E | S | T | O | U | G | H | A | T | A | R | I | |
| M | E | G | E | P | O | C | H | H | E | A | D | O | N | I | N | |||||
| G | O | A | D | E | D | T | H | A | I | T | A | N | K | N | I | C | K | |||
| T | O | S | S | E | A | R | S | N | A | F | T | A | ||||||||
| B | A | C | K | S | L | A | S | H | L | O | C | I | E | R | N | S | T | |||
| S | P | A | H | E | L | L | O | W | E | D | A | L | I | M | O | O | R | S | ||
| P | E | R | N | O | D | M | E | T | E | S | D | O | A | D | U | E | T | |||
| W | O | W | T | U | B | E | S | A | L | P | S | N | A | P | ||||||
| F | I | B | A | H | M | I | D | D | A | Y | Y | E | S | O | D | D | ||||
| M | A | N | U | N | A | P | A | M | E | N | D | T | U | M | ||||||
| I | K | N | E | W | I | T | C | A | N | O | E | A | R | T | I | S | T | |||
| G | E | E | N | A | S | C | H | I | C | K | H | O | G | G | O | X | O | O | ||
| D | R | O | L | L | H | O | L | E | A | L | I | E | N | L | I | F | E | |||
| L | E | W | I | S | G | W | E | N | A | N | T | S | ||||||||
| G | L | A | D | H | E | A | T | E | H | E | R | S | L | A | N | G | Y | |||
| N | E | W | M | U | S | I | C | O | M | A | N | I | O | C | D | |||||
| A | D | M | I | N | T | H | U | M | B | M | A | D | E | T | R | I | C | K | S | |
| S | T | A | N | G | S | A | T | I | E | S | I | T | T | I | N | G | I | N | ||
| H | O | N | G | T | E | E | D | G | O | O | D | G | I | R | L |
| C | L | A | W | S | S | O | B | S | P | E | A | K | ||
| L | I | M | I | T | Q | T | I | P | E | A | S | E | ||
| I | V | A | N | A | U | R | G | E | P | R | E | Y | ||
| F | E | Z | S | H | I | A | A | K | I | T | A | S | ||
| F | R | E | S | H | E | R | W | R | A | T | H | |||
| S | E | A | M | A | T | L | A | R | G | E | ||||
| G | R | I | N | D | R | A | C | H | E | I | U | D | ||
| O | O | H | S | T | E | N | O | R | A | S | T | I | ||
| B | A | E | S | H | A | G | O | D | D | E | S | T | ||
| S | M | A | R | T | E | R | A | W | E | D | ||||
| R | O | Y | A | L | M | E | A | S | U | R | E | |||
| M | A | T | T | E | L | P | U | R | R | P | E | R | ||
| O | H | H | I | T | R | E | S | G | I | T | M | O | ||
| O | M | A | N | H | I | R | E | O | V | O | I | D | ||
| N | E | T | I | Y | A | M | S | D | E | N | T | E |
Great to be back in the Times! Truthfully, I don't remember much about constructing this puzzle other than it was made during a time I was obsessed with hidden word themes. Part of it may have been conceived while visiting family in Montana. All I remember is when I stumbled on 9-Down, I felt it would make for a perfect reveal.
I also want to encourage everyone to head to www.gridsforkids.com and check out this charity puzzle pack that just went live a couple of days ago. I'm honored to say I was part of the editing team for these puzzles and also a contributor. Thanks!
| A | L | M | S | P | L | A | N | B | R | A | V | E | ||
| N | O | A | H | H | E | R | A | B | A | D | E | R | ||
| T | O | G | A | D | A | I | S | Y | C | H | A | I | N | |
| S | K | I | D | F | A | C | E | I | N | S | ||||
| S | C | O | O | B | A | T | W | O | R | S | T | |||
| S | U | B | W | A | Y | S | E | R | I | E | S | |||
| A | P | E | R | E | A | L | B | L | E | S | S | |||
| S | T | A | T | S | L | I | P | S | O | N | T | O | ||
| H | O | N | O | R | Z | E | U | S | D | A | N | |||
| G | U | I | T | A | R | S | T | R | I | N | G | |||
| I | T | S | O | N | M | E | S | P | E | N | D | |||
| M | B | A | U | S | P | S | B | A | T | S | ||||
| P | I | C | K | U | P | L | I | N | E | U | T | A | H | |
| E | R | R | O | R | A | L | U | M | F | I | L | E | ||
| I | D | E | A | L | S | E | G | O | F | E | L | L |
After a hiatus of over six years, it's nice to be back with the Times. This puzzle went through multiple revisions after its initial acceptance. The original version had five theme answers. To ease up some of the grid restraints, the editors suggested that I use four theme entries. What didn't make the cut? Elks-Odd Fellows-Shriners for a FRATERNITY ROW!
PICKUP LINE was my starting thought. One day while waiting in the car line at school, I noticed all the trucks. Oh look! It's a pickup line. I crack myself up sometimes. Here's a peek at my old school start at hunting for more theme entries. Thanks for giving me the opportunity to workshop the grid!
| L | A | M | B | A | C | L | I | M | B | I | B | E | ||
| A | L | O | U | L | E | O | M | A | I | S | E | L | ||
| G | O | A | T | M | I | L | K | E | D | G | E | R | S | |
| S | E | T | T | O | L | I | S | A | M | E | T | A | ||
| D | O | J | O | E | N | Y | A | |||||||
| F | A | J | I | T | A | F | A | C | E | C | A | R | D | |
| A | S | E | A | W | A | L | T | O | N | W | H | O | ||
| R | I | L | L | D | R | E | A | M | U | F | O | S | ||
| C | A | L | G | R | E | E | C | E | N | U | D | E | ||
| E | M | O | T | I | O | N | S | O | O | D | L | E | S | |
| A | L | P | O | I | N | R | E | |||||||
| A | J | A | X | P | T | S | D | G | R | A | P | E | ||
| R | O | T | I | N | I | P | L | A | Y | O | F | F | S | |
| L | E | A | N | I | N | R | E | I | O | R | C | S | ||
| O | L | D | G | A | G | Y | S | L | S | O | S | O |
Rhode Island — neither road nor island. Discuss.
I was very amused that oat milk and goat milk were one letter off. That's what started this. I'm a simple man. I'm not proud.
So far, I've survived the recent LAYOFFS at Amazon.
Chase's clue reference bingo:
| A | D | H | O | C | A | R | A | B | I | B | E | T | |||
| T | E | A | M | O | C | O | D | E | S | D | O | L | E | ||
| R | E | V | E | R | S | E | E | A | C | H | R | U | L | E | |
| A | M | E | N | R | A | M | A | I | N | I | T | E | M | ||
| S | E | G | A | L | M | F | A | S | |||||||
| D | A | H | C | A | B | A | R | E | T | S | B | A | M | ||
| A | T | E | A | T | B | R | A | E | X | C | U | S | E | ||
| N | E | I | L | T | R | I | P | O | D | S | C | A | N | ||
| C | A | S | P | A | R | A | I | G | S | I | K | H | S | ||
| E | M | T | B | A | T | T | E | R | U | P | S | I | A | ||
| D | I | S | H | R | E | S | I | N | |||||||
| T | O | G | E | T | H | E | R | S | N | I | F | F | S | ||
| U | D | O | N | T | W | O | W | O | R | D | C | L | U | E | |
| B | O | B | S | V | I | S | O | R | L | E | A | R | N | ||
| E | R | I | E | Z | E | K | E | E | R | N | S | T |
A few more clue ideas that didn't make it into the puzzle:
[Al Green] GORE
[Horse chestnut] ROAN
[Firm up] PIXAR
[Shower door] MONTYHALL
[Swiss miss?] GOVEGAN
[Great beyond] ACE
[It smelt!] ORE
| F | O | Y | E | R | C | L | I | C | K | |||||
| C | E | R | A | M | I | C | H | A | D | O | N | |||
| W | O | R | D | S | A | L | A | D | E | X | I | L | E | |
| I | N | R | E | G | E | N | E | R | A | T | O | E | ||
| F | A | I | R | S | D | A | T | A | P | L | A | N | ||
| I | N | S | U | L | T | R | E | S | T | A | R | E | A | |
| P | A | R | T | Y | S | C | H | O | O | L | S | |||
| O | C | T | M | A | E | T | A | R | D | S | L | |||
| F | R | E | U | D | I | A | N | S | L | I | P | |||
| F | A | R | F | A | L | L | E | S | L | I | E | S | T | |
| P | I | O | N | E | E | R | S | L | E | V | E | R | ||
| I | L | Y | C | R | A | V | E | S | R | O | P | E | ||
| S | O | A | V | E | F | E | E | L | S | O | K | A | Y | |
| L | A | K | E | R | S | P | I | E | G | E | L | |||
| E | D | I | T | S | S | T | A | I | D |
NIJAH: When checking how many Black crossword constructors were featured in The New York Times this month, I was shocked to see that answer was none. I'm delighted to be the first Black person published during Black History Month this year although it is nearly halfway through. I love being Black.
| V | A | M | P | I | R | E | S | T | O | B | A | G | O | ||
| I | P | R | E | S | U | M | E | E | C | O | T | E | C | H | |
| B | I | G | T | E | N | C | O | N | F | E | R | E | N | C | E |
| E | P | O | D | E | E | U | F | L | A | G | I | A | M | ||
| C | H | O | O | T | E | L | L | O | N | S | I | M | P | ||
| H | O | D | G | E | S | N | O | U | N | ||||||
| E | B | B | G | A | S | C | A | P | P | O | S | T | S | ||
| C | I | A | W | O | R | L | D | F | A | C | T | B | O | O | K |
| K | A | R | A | T | A | C | T | N | O | W | F | B | I | ||
| I | S | A | Y | T | O | P | T | E | N | ||||||
| A | S | S | T | V | I | S | T | A | S | H | A | F | T | ||
| N | A | P | M | E | N | T | O | R | F | A | R | R | O | ||
| A | M | A | Z | I | N | G | S | P | I | D | E | R | M | A | N |
| L | O | W | E | R | G | I | P | S | A | L | M | O | N | E | |
| A | N | D | Y | E | T | S | K | Y | L | A | R | K | S |
GO BIG OR GO HOME, HUH? (16)
This puzzle wasn't supposed to be 16 squares wide, which pushes the envelope of standard themeless construction. Buuuut … if one is to break the rules, those 16s better be a highlight!
We'll call it a happy accident, though. The inspiration for the whole puzzle was VIBE CHECK; in one of my earlier conversations with Everdeen, I swore I'd build a themeless grid around the phrase at some point. I placed it at 1-Across, as many do, and the NW corner began to fall into place — VAMPIRES / I PRESUME, APIPHOBIA(!) / MR GOODBAR, EBB, CIA, etc. But it was the peculiar PE???? slot, now at 4-Down, that led me to explore all sorts of BIG* options crossing that third letter.
As you can see, I ended up flipping the grid after discovering BIG TEN CONFERENCE … and, later, turning CIA on its own into CIA WORLD FACTBOOK. AMAZING SPIDERMAN and its clue came to me simultaneously, but only after I wended my way there through the SE stacks.
Hope there's enough extra juice here to justify the extra column and that it leads to an extra-enjoyable solve!
| W | I | G | M | A | A | M | T | C | B | Y | B | O | P | S | ||||||
| A | H | M | E | D | I | S | C | O | O | R | E | O | I | K | E | A | ||||
| S | L | E | E | T | I | N | F | E | R | R | U | N | G | C | R | A | L | |||
| C | U | T | T | I | N | G | C | O | R | N | E | R | S | I | F | E | A | R | ||
| I | M | S | N | O | S | I | R | L | E | A | P | S | O | N | ||||||
| A | S | T | I | N | B | I | O | D | E | M | O | N | R | U | M | |||||
| P | I | N | C | H | I | N | G | P | E | N | N | I | E | S | D | I | A | N | A | |
| A | L | O | H | A | T | L | C | P | R | O | M | D | A | T | E | S | ||||
| N | O | B | P | D | A | A | L | A | M | O | S | A | Y | L | E | S | S | |||
| A | S | I | S | E | E | I | T | N | A | D | A | R | E | C | ||||||
| M | E | G | S | A | L | B | U | M | A | S | S | E | T | E | G | I | S | |||
| I | S | L | S | T | A | B | P | R | E | P | R | I | N | T | ||||||
| M | I | N | I | P | I | G | T | O | U | C | H | A | N | I | N | D | A | |||
| O | P | E | N | H | O | U | S | E | T | O | E | R | O | S | I | N | ||||
| A | S | O | N | E | S | T | R | E | T | C | H | I | N | G | A | B | U | C | K | |
| N | O | N | G | R | A | T | A | Y | E | A | M | A | R | T | S | |||||
| G | E | N | O | M | I | C | A | R | N | I | E | B | T | U | ||||||
| H | O | L | S | T | M | A | K | I | N | G | E | N | D | S | M | E | E | T | ||
| F | O | W | L | I | D | E | M | D | A | L | A | I | H | O | R | D | E | |||
| W | H | E | E | C | U | R | B | E | P | O | D | E | I | B | E | X | ||||
| D | O | N | E | S | A | S | S | D | E | W | Y | P | S | A |
CHRISTINA: Sam and I met at ACPT in April of 2022. We quickly discovered we have complementary constructing styles — we both enjoy developing themes, but I prefer laying out a grid, and Sam enjoys writing clues. We played with several other corner-related themes before landing on CUTTING CORNERS as our seed entry. This felt like a puzzle where the Gods of Crucinova were working in our favor, with these four money-related idioms all fitting symmetrically in the grid, with just enough room surrounding them to squeeze in the visual elements. I've always been drawn to rebus-style puzzles like this, and this concept was inspired in part by two Alex Eaton-Salners puzzles, Bird Play and Playing With Food.
| C | N | B | C | R | A | S | P | E | D | G | A | R | ||
| U | B | E | R | E | I | R | E | N | U | R | S | E | ||
| D | A | T | A | F | R | O | O | T | L | O | O | P | S | |
| R | I | A | L | R | O | I | W | I | I | |||||
| S | P | A | G | H | E | T | T | I | O | S | U | R | N | |
| H | A | Y | S | C | H | W | A | T | A | P | E | |||
| O | L | A | F | T | R | I | H | E | N | |||||
| W | E | L | L | R | O | U | N | D | E | D | D | I | E | T |
| E | A | R | K | I | A | I | N | R | E | |||||
| S | C | A | N | S | I | E | V | E | D | I | A | |||
| C | A | R | C | H | E | E | S | E | W | H | E | E | L | |
| I | V | Y | H | O | E | N | E | O | N | |||||
| D | I | P | P | I | N | D | O | T | S | W | I | S | H | |
| E | L | T | O | N | E | D | E | N | L | A | K | E | ||
| R | E | O | R | G | D | E | M | O | S | L | I | M |
I can't recall the exact moment that sparked this puzzle, but I do remember being excited when I couldn't find any hits for WELLROUNDEDDIET in the crossword databases I checked. Most of the time you will find a potential revealer has already been taken years ago.
So if you are reading this from the future thinking you might have the perfect idea for a WELL-ROUNDED DIET puzzle, sorry for the disappointing news.
I've kept a version history of the puzzles I've submitted to The Times on the off-chance that I'd ever have to write about one, and the themers that made it to the final puzzle were already in place (albeit in a different order) in the first working version. I tried another possibility with the revealer in Row 13 and SWEDISHMEATBALL in Row 3, and also tinkered with ONIONRINGS, CHEESEBALLS, and LIMEWHEELS as themers.
You might notice this puzzle has a pretty high theme-density, so there are actually 5 words that cross three themers. This puts some strain on the grid, but the letters in the themers were luckily flexible enough to allow for some serviceable long bonuses.
A big thanks to my friend Travis for his help with test solving, and to the puzzle editing team for their valuable feedback.
| A | M | S | T | E | L | A | D | D | S | K | E | W | ||
| P | A | N | A | M | A | B | O | A | P | E | S | O | ||
| S | T | A | R | B | U | R | S | T | S | O | T | T | O | |
| E | S | P | E | R | A | H | U | N | T | E | D | |||
| K | R | A | F | T | S | I | N | G | L | E | S | |||
| M | I | M | I | T | H | C | E | Y | E | |||||
| A | M | A | L | F | I | E | A | T | S | B | A | M | ||
| S | A | L | T | I | N | E | C | R | A | C | K | E | R | S |
| A | X | E | E | C | R | U | B | O | I | L | E | R | ||
| M | I | L | I | R | A | S | L | A | P | |||||
| K | L | O | N | D | I | K | E | B | A | R | S | |||
| N | U | D | I | S | T | B | A | E | S | H | E | |||
| I | C | E | D | S | Q | U | A | R | E | M | E | A | L | |
| F | A | L | L | O | U | R | O | S | C | A | R | S | ||
| E | S | S | E | K | E | N | N | E | S | T | E | A |
When I first started making puzzles, I thought rebuses were unbelievably cool so I made a list of potential rebus revealers. Many of them involved the word "square." I tried to make a version of this with meals as rebuses. It did not go well.
Then I got into other kinds of visual puzzles and tried to make a version of this with meals laid out in square shapes in the grid. It did not go well.
Then I gave up, which seems to be a key part of my puzzle-making process.
I don't remember when it occurred to me that some foods are just square shaped. Perhaps while eating a mint-flavored 51-Across. Hope you all enjoy this puzzle as much as I enjoy those! Also, I really like putting actors (especially theater actors) whose work I love into puzzles, and 6-Down is one of my absolute faves!
| W | A | F | E | R | S | C | A | B | I | N | C | A | ||
| I | L | L | B | E | M | E | L | T | T | B | A | R | ||
| I | D | A | B | V | V | E | L | L | S | S | A | C | S | |
| S | A | P | I | R | E | M | O | T | T | O | ||||
| J | A | M | E | S | B | A | L | D | V | V | I | N | ||
| S | P | A | N | I | S | H | W | I | S | E | ||||
| P | E | C | A | N | B | O | T | R | A | C | K | |||
| A | S | K | D | O | U | B | L | E | V | C | H | I | ||
| M | O | S | H | G | N | C | C | U | T | I | N | |||
| E | A | R | L | W | A | R | N | I | N | G | ||||
| G | E | O | R | G | E | V | V | A | T | S | O | N | ||
| A | R | T | O | O | I | R | A | G | P | A | ||||
| M | A | H | I | V | V | E | B | D | U | B | O | I | S | |
| U | S | E | S | M | E | W | L | R | O | U | T | E | ||
| T | E | R | M | I | T | S | Y | L | O | T | S | A |
The first time I saw a W created from two letters was skateboarder Tony Alva's logo — which reads, AWA — merging the L and the V created a strong, stylish brand. I love the optical illusion — all three letters at once!
Then, much more recently, while listening to the band Alvvays (spelled with two V's), I wondered how I might use similar typography in a crossword. I tried finding theme entries using two W's, like: BRAVE NEW WORLD and NEW WAVE MUSIC — but too many V's really gummed up the grid. I also realized I didn't have a reason to join the V's together, and during my search for a revealer the crossword magic happened!
First, I tried the nickname for Volkswagen, VW or VEE DOUBLE-U, but that got me nowhere. I switched gears and remembered in Spanish the letter W is pronounced "doble ve" or "double v." A little bit of research later and I re-discovered the Double V campaign from WWII and I learned the heroic story of George Watson who, along with many other Black Americans, was lost to history for far too long. And as a high school English and journalism teacher, I'm thrilled to celebrate Wells, Baldwin, and DuBois!
As a new constructor I've always found it helpful to hear others' NYT submission stats, so here are mine: this was the 9th puzzle I sent in to the Times, and I've submitted another 13 since to no avail. So we grid on! Reach out if you'd like to collaborate: @MrZiebarth
| T | I | N | G | F | A | N | G | R | A | S | ||||
| M | I | A | M | O | R | O | M | A | R | O | V | A | ||
| A | N | K | A | R | A | O | B | I | E | T | I | C | ||
| G | R | E | G | M | E | D | I | T | O | U | C | H | ||
| M | O | T | E | M | A | C | E | A | N | N | I | E | ||
| A | A | H | B | A | R | O | N | E | D | I | T | |||
| D | E | P | O | R | T | C | O | W | S | |||||
| L | O | W | P | H | E | B | I | K | E | |||||
| T | W | O | D | O | R | I | N | G | ||||||
| R | A | N | D | O | A | N | N | E | E | G | O | B | ||
| A | V | I | E | W | Y | O | U | R | T | I | D | E | ||
| M | A | C | A | W | I | C | E | E | N | Y | A | |||
| R | T | E | O | R | B | S | E | S | T | E | E | M | ||
| O | A | T | W | O | R | E | D | U | R | E | S | S | ||
| D | R | Y | E | R | S | E | A | R |
Of the many joys of puzzling, one of my favorites is the process of opening a puzzle, seeing a funky symmetry-bucking grid, and immediately knowing there's a fun gimmick to suss out. Sean Yamada-Hunter's THAT'S A BIG IF puzzle, Liz Gorski's Guggenheim tribute, and countless Joe Krozel puzzles have scratched this itch for me, and I've always wanted to try my hand at something similar.
I'd been kicking around the phrase TAKE THE L as a theme for a while, but it never really went anywhere. Then it hit me — black squares forming L's could be a clear W!
This puzzle took more trial and error than any I've made before or since — even finding the appropriate shape for the L's took me a few days! A few early versions of the puzzle contained non-thematic L's, but I thought those might distract solvers and removed them. This is why the inelegant ONE SKI survives instead of MUESLI, which would've been oodles more fun.
E-BIKE, BOW WOW WOW, AVATAR, AVICII, and the clue for POT DEALERS — there's a lot of stuff in here I'm glad to bring to a Times crossword.
I think it's interesting, too, that Matthew Stock and I used such similar revealers to such wildly different ends!
I'm proud of this one and hope you agree the effort was worth it!
| G | A | S | H | E | A | T | E | R | A | H | A | B | ||
| A | B | O | U | T | F | A | C | E | S | L | E | G | O | |
| S | H | I | R | T | F | R | O | N | T | E | A | R | L | |
| P | O | S | T | A | L | R | O | A | R | D | I | E | ||
| A | R | E | U | M | P | G | E | T | S | B | Y | |||
| T | S | E | S | E | A | L | I | E | I | N | ||||
| M | I | N | U | T | E | W | A | L | T | Z | ||||
| P | U | Z | Z | L | E | B | O | X | E | S | ||||
| P | I | Z | Z | A | S | T | O | N | E | S | ||||
| P | E | N | A | L | L | A | D | A | C | K | ||||
| L | A | T | K | E | S | N | A | P | R | A | E | |||
| A | C | S | D | U | P | E | R | O | B | U | S | T | ||
| N | O | I | R | V | A | M | P | I | R | E | B | A | T | |
| T | A | Z | O | S | L | E | A | Z | E | B | A | L | L | |
| S | T | E | W | M | A | D | E | S | E | N | S | E |
If this puzzle is any indication, I'm a big fan of Scrabbly letters. I enjoy filling puzzles with as many of these oft-neglected consonants as possible — –they frequently present unique gridding challenges, which call for creative problem-solving. And I feel like they force me to improve the quality of the surrounding fill — –if the fill isn't good, then how can you justify squeezing an extra Q in there?
I started this puzzle with the central stair-stack and quickly settled on this pattern for its plethora of Zs. The bottom half proved fairly easy to complete, but I struggled with the northwest — –ironically, the only corner of the puzzle without any Js, Qs, Xs, or Zs. This remains the corner I'm least happy with: the entries aren't as lively as I would like, and 28-Across is not ideal (although, since I'm studying both Russian and linguistics in college, I'm happy the editing team clued it the way they did).
Thanks to my parents for test-solving and for suggesting some clue improvements. My mom came up with ‘The "king's" speech?' for 20-Across, but the editing team sadly passed on it.
| D | O | N | T | E | R | A | S | E | B | B | S | |||
| A | L | U | M | N | I | M | A | G | S | C | L | A | W | |
| R | I | D | I | N | G | B | O | O | T | A | U | R | A | |
| T | V | G | A | H | I | R | A | C | E | B | Y | |||
| S | E | E | S | T | E | N | D | E | R | A | G | E | ||
| P | H | O | N | E | R | E | C | O | R | D | S | |||
| E | D | G | E | I | N | W | E | T | A | W | E | |||
| L | E | A | D | E | R | S | A | P | H | A | S | I | A | |
| A | C | L | I | O | N | R | O | U | S | T | S | |||
| H | A | V | E | A | G | O | O | D | O | N | E | |||
| D | E | A | T | H | T | R | A | P | L | I | F | T | ||
| S | E | S | T | E | T | P | H | D | R | O | O | |||
| U | N | T | O | O | N | T | H | E | A | L | E | R | T | |
| I | C | O | N | N | O | E | N | T | R | A | N | C | E | |
| T | E | N | B | E | E | S | K | N | E | E | S |
| N | E | O | N | R | O | B | E | A | V | I | V | P | L | A | N | A | |||||
| A | L | P | O | C | H | I | A | O | B | A | M | A | L | O | A | V | E | S | |||
| C | L | E | A | R | A | S | C | R | Y | S | T | A | L | D | E | R | B | I | E | S | |
| L | E | C | H | E | T | E | N | S | M | U | O | N | S | O | L | D | E | ||||
| S | H | O | P | S | G | R | E | E | N | A | S | G | R | A | S | S | |||||
| H | I | G | H | T | O | P | S | A | A | A | S | S | L | O | M | O | |||||
| A | L | L | I | E | D | E | N | L | I | S | T | A | N | T | F | A | R | M | |||
| S | O | U | N | D | A | S | A | B | E | L | L | A | L | B | S | L | I | E | U | ||
| U | S | E | D | C | N | B | C | K | R | I | S | C | O | D | A | S | |||||
| P | E | D | M | O | O | D | D | E | T | E | S | T | S | A | V | E | M | E | |||
| P | R | E | T | T | Y | A | S | A | P | I | C | T | U | R | E | ||||||
| B | I | G | A | I | R | H | O | T | P | O | T | R | O | M | P | N | S | A | |||
| O | D | O | R | S | S | E | L | A | W | I | I | G | S | O | W | S | |||||
| B | O | A | T | D | U | N | K | S | M | A | R | T | A | S | A | W | H | I | P | ||
| A | L | L | Y | S | O | N | S | W | E | A | R | S | E | L | A | I | N | E | |||
| P | A | S | H | A | H | A | R | M | G | O | G | E | T | T | E | R | |||||
| S | M | O | O | T | H | A | S | S | I | L | K | B | O | R | A | T | |||||
| P | A | L | O | O | T | H | E | R | P | E | O | N | A | B | O | U | T | ||||
| A | R | M | P | I | T | S | P | L | E | A | S | E | D | A | S | P | U | N | C | H | |
| S | T | E | E | P | S | T | E | M | P | T | F | A | T | E | M | I | L | E | |||
| M | A | C | R | O | A | D | U | E | S | T | E | W | S | T | A | Y |
You might be solving too many crossword puzzles if upon hearing the phrase "free as a bird," your brain translates it to a theoretical crossword clue [Free, as a bird] for the answer UNCAGE, then swaps that pair to the answer FREE AS A BIRD clued as [Uncage?], and then tries to find a theme set based on that conceit. Finding enough symmetrical theme entries where the opening adjective made sense as a verb and could be neatly clued with one word was slow-going; I sat on this idea for over a year. Ultimately, broadening the search from similes with AS A to include also those with only AS yielded more choices. Still, this puzzle went through a revision.
Bonus points to solvers who catch the throwbacks to my previous puzzles in 1D and 18A's clue.
Many thanks to the editing team for the opportunity to revise, and especially for the delightful title. I am 112-Across to have my first Sunday in the New York Times, and hope you enjoy it.
| B | R | A | N | D | M | A | P | C | L | A | S | S | ||
| L | A | N | C | E | I | R | E | M | A | N | I | C | ||
| U | P | T | O | N | S | O | A | P | O | P | E | R | A | |
| E | T | S | Z | E | E | S | E | N | A | M | E | L | ||
| J | U | I | C | E | P | R | E | S | S | Z | I | N | E | |
| A | R | E | O | L | A | S | P | E | N | A | S | S | ||
| Y | E | S | M | D | A | T | E | S | ||||||
| T | I | N | D | E | R | M | A | T | C | H | ||||
| C | H | O | R | E | O | O | P | S | ||||||
| C | U | B | L | E | I | S | T | A | N | T | O | N | ||
| A | R | E | A | S | Q | U | E | E | Z | E | T | O | Y | |
| P | S | A | L | M | S | T | A | D | A | O | D | D | ||
| F | U | S | E | B | O | X | E | S | L | A | D | L | E | |
| U | L | T | R | A | F | R | O | E | L | D | E | R | ||
| L | A | S | T | S | L | O | N | A | B | Y | S | S |
I never like having to resort to big "Utah" black squares in a puzzle, but the lengths of the theme entries just wouldn't cooperate with another arrangement. Hopefully, TINDER MATCH is a fun enough marquee entry to justify them.
For Downs-only solvers, I hope you enjoy the 39- to 44-Down succession of a HOT TODDY and SNYDERS pretzels followed by a CAPFUL of Pepto-Bismol. Sounds like a good way to celebrate the long weekend to me.
| L | A | I | D | S | L | A | P | H | I | D | D | E | N | ||
| E | R | G | O | P | E | T | E | O | R | I | E | N | T | ||
| C | R | U | D | E | A | R | N | G | I | V | E | T | H | ||
| H | A | A | G | E | N | D | A | Z | S | N | A | P | E | ||
| E | N | N | E | A | D | C | A | P | R | A | S | N | L | ||
| S | T | A | R | R | M | E | N | L | O | W | I | D | E | ||
| P | S | I | C | I | A | A | G | R | A | ||||||
| V | O | L | K | S | W | A | G | E | N | D | A | S | H | E | R |
| E | R | I | E | O | H | O | T | S | A | ||||||
| A | B | B | Y | L | A | N | E | S | H | U | N | K | S | ||
| L | I | E | H | E | M | E | N | K | E | T | O | N | E | ||
| T | R | I | O | M | A | G | E | N | D | A | V | I | D | ||
| T | I | A | R | A | S | W | I | N | O | H | I | V | E | ||
| E | N | C | O | R | E | O | N | I | T | A | C | E | R | ||
| A | G | E | N | D | A | L | E | D | S | N | E | S | S |
This is another satisfying case of a theme idea that was collecting dust until I finally found that last piece to make it all work. I had the revealer HIDDEN AGENDA and the two shorter themers for quite some time. Then one day I came upon VOLKSWAGEN DASHER, the last puzzle piece! I think nowadays the editors aren't too excited by a theme with the same exact word hidden in each themer, but I guess it's a good find when it's a six-letter word.
I had to stretch the grid width to 16 blocks and split the revealer into two parts, but we made it work! Very helpful that the two shorter themers were both 10 letters.
Something I noticed that I thought was interesting is that all three revealers include foreign (or fake) words. To find three phrases with words ending in AGEN, we needed a Hebrew word (MAGEN), a German word (VOLKSWAGEN), and a Danish-sounding word (HAAGEN).
Anyway, I hope you enjoy. I haven't had a daily in the NYT in almost three years! If you like wordplay, you can check out my cryptics and puns & anagrams, which have been coming out more often.
| C | H | E | E | P | R | O | A | R | B | A | R | K | ||
| H | E | A | L | S | A | N | N | O | R | A | V | E | ||
| E | N | V | O | Y | P | E | T | S | E | A | S | Y | ||
| F | R | E | N | C | H | G | U | I | A | N | A | |||
| S | I | S | H | O | O | P | S | A | S | P | S | |||
| P | E | N | D | P | A | D | T | H | A | I | ||||
| I | D | L | E | D | K | A | L | A | M | A | T | A | ||
| B | E | A | R | S | K | I | M | P | I | S | I | T | ||
| E | T | H | I | O | P | I | A | I | L | E | N | E | ||
| G | E | T | S | M | A | D | B | A | L | K | ||||
| R | I | C | A | S | W | I | L | L | N | T | H | |||
| O | N | O | M | A | T | O | P | O | E | I | A | |||
| W | E | L | P | N | E | X | T | A | D | A | M | S | ||
| A | L | O | E | K | N | E | E | S | I | T | O | N | ||
| H | I | S | S | P | U | R | R | S | N | O | R | T |
I'll be honest, I have no memory of constructing this puzzle. I think I made it two-ish months after my kiddo was born (in case that wasn't obvious from 10D, 38D, and 26D), probably while nap-trapped on the couch.
Come to think of it, and I'm guessing here because that whole era is a spit-up-filled, sleep-deprived haze, but the theme was probably inspired by the animal noises written on my kiddo's (many, many) diaper shells.
That also might explain why I only used animal sounds, rather than, say, SPLAT or BANG or — at the risk of pandering to a certain daily crossword writer — POW!
(Speaking of animal sounds, I can't write a whole constructor note without plugging my daily word game Anigrams.us — thanks to everyone out there who's been playing!)
Lastly, I want to thank my partner Anna. You are a superhero. I try to be a coequal parent, but no matter how many pump parts I wash or bedtime stories I read, there is no equal to the physical and emotional (and, for a few hours there, literal) labor you put into helping our child thrive in this world. I acknowledge that that labor is a big reason why I even have the space to pursue this wordplay hobby at all — and I thank you deeply for it. Love you, bub!
| B | I | T | S | A | I | N | G | E | A | T | M | S | ||
| O | T | O | H | S | N | A | R | L | R | O | I | L | ||
| O | P | P | O | T | O | G | A | S | C | A | N | E | ||
| T | E | R | R | A | I | N | N | A | M | A | S | T | E | |
| C | O | A | T | S | E | T | D | O | N | T | O | P | ||
| A | P | N | E | A | G | I | A | B | E | E | R | S | ||
| M | L | K | T | O | A | D | S | R | E | I | ||||
| P | E | S | A | C | H | P | U | T | S | O | N | |||
| B | L | E | U | S | O | N | S | |||||||
| T | O | M | C | A | T | S | T | O | W | A | R | D | S | |
| A | N | A | D | A | S | H | I | K | I | O | W | E | ||
| R | I | C | C | I | C | A | L | S | A | T | A | N | ||
| T | O | R | O | N | T | O | B | L | U | E | J | A | Y | S |
| A | N | O | N | A | L | I | E | N | A | R | N | E | ||
| N | Y | S | E | R | E | T | R | O | R | Y | E | S |
I guess I can consider myself a published poet now?
One version of this puzzle included several more theme answers, though ultimately, I think it was a good choice to pare it down a bit.
| A | L | I | B | I | B | Y | A | I | R | |||||
| P | I | E | C | E | S | G | R | U | D | G | E | |||
| N | O | M | A | K | E | U | P | M | A | K | E | U | P | |
| M | O | P | E | D | T | R | E | S | S | L | A | P | ||
| E | R | S | E | A | L | E | C | T | I | N | E | |||
| N | U | T | S | N | E | A | K | E | R | H | E | A | D | |
| U | S | A | B | L | E | M | A | N | O | R | ||||
| S | H | R | O | O | M | S | T | A | C | O | B | A | R | |
| S | T | I | E | G | C | H | E | A | P | O | ||||
| M | A | T | C | H | A | L | A | T | T | E | L | O | B | |
| E | R | R | S | E | Y | E | S | A | L | L | Y | |||
| Z | E | E | L | I | C | I | T | E | T | H | A | N | ||
| C | O | N | T | E | N | T | C | R | E | A | T | O | R | |
| A | L | D | E | A | N | O | I | L | R | I | G | |||
| L | A | Y | E | R | N | S | Y | N | C |
MARGARET: Most themeless puzzles have a dozen or more answers with at least eight letters. This one may only have four, but I think they really pack a punch. Three of the four seeds were in the original grid skeleton. However, Sophia's addition of CONTENT CREATOR dramatically opened up the fill possibilities for the bottom half. As always, it was so fun to send edits back and forth, focusing on making the mid-length fill shine.
SOPHIA: I'm proud of how many of our submitted clues made it into this puzzle, although my favorite — "You shall not pass!" for BALLHOG — was tragically cut. It's always a blast to work with Margaret, looking forward to more collabs in the future.
| F | R | O | Y | O | I | T | W | A | S | N | T | M | E | |
| R | O | B | I | N | S | O | I | G | A | T | H | E | R | |
| A | G | L | E | T | H | I | D | E | Y | H | O | L | E | |
| T | A | I | L | O | R | L | E | S | S | R | E | C | ||
| B | I | G | D | E | A | L | P | E | E | T | ||||
| O | N | E | S | N | O | C | A | M | E | R | A | S | ||
| Y | E | S | H | O | W | A | R | E | Y | O | U | |||
| R | I | V | E | R | C | A | R | D | ||||||
| C | A | R | E | N | G | I | N | E | O | D | D | |||
| G | E | T | E | R | D | O | N | E | T | H | E | O | ||
| G | E | R | E | G | S | T | R | I | N | G | ||||
| A | N | T | C | A | L | L | T | W | I | T | T | Y | ||
| R | E | A | D | A | L | O | U | D | I | S | S | U | E | |
| T | R | I | A | L | D | A | T | E | T | H | O | R | A | |
| H | A | N | D | M | O | D | E | L | S | A | N | E | R |
I'll be at the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament this year and I hope to meet as many of you amazing puzzle people there as I can. Please come say hello. I fight against my introverted nature in such situations and a little help is always appreciated.
I beg your indulgence in giving a huge thanks to my wife Beth and my kids Tyler, Trevor, David, Anna, and Chloe. Beth is my heart's center and despite not being into puzzles, she has supported me every step of the way as I Google strange things and torment her with groan-worthy clues. I've got four adult kids and one about to level up to adulthood this summer. They're incredible humans, and getting to know the adult versions of them is a new horizon in parenting that I cherish.
Speaking of parenting, I contributed to a top-notch puzzle pack for charity called Grids For Kids. Donate $10 to a child-focused charity and get a pack of 25 outstanding puzzles. Visit gridsforkids.com to learn more. Also stop by gridtherapy.com and solve my independently-produced puzzles. They come in at a trickle these days, but it's still going. Beyond that, I'm still working my day job as a clinical psychologist. You can check out my practice at trentevans.com for more information.
As far as today's puzzle goes, I hope you enjoyed it. The only thing I can tell you about it is that my aim was to have a pretty wide-open center and try to check off Saturday in my pursuit of hitting for the cycle. Four down, three to go. Have a great weekend!
| T | O | F | F | P | E | S | T | S | E | P | I | C | A | R | T | S | ||||
| A | C | E | R | A | L | E | V | E | T | A | P | E | S | L | E | A | P | |||
| C | H | R | I | S | T | M | A | S | C | A | R | R | O | L | L | O | H | H | I | |
| T | O | N | E | P | O | E | M | D | U | E | S | A | C | T | I | O | N | |||
| D | I | O | R | E | A | R | N | P | O | O | R | M | E | |||||||
| A | S | S | O | R | T | A | D | D | M | I | T | T | S | D | E | F | E | A | T | |
| L | A | T | K | E | A | G | O | G | A | E | R | I | A | L | ||||||
| A | V | E | R | E | X | I | L | E | D | D | A | D | S | W | I | S | P | |||
| B | E | E | A | T | T | I | T | U | D | E | S | M | E | H | A | N | T | I | ||
| A | S | L | R | O | N | A | N | S | U | B | S | F | R | E | O | N | ||||
| S | T | Y | L | I | N | G | C | R | E | M | A | C | H | A | S | E | R | S | ||
| T | A | D | A | S | C | H | A | R | L | I | L | A | C | D | Y | E | ||||
| E | T | A | S | F | B | I | W | E | L | L | C | O | M | E | M | A | T | T | ||
| R | E | N | T | O | L | L | A | T | A | O | I | S | M | O | N | I | T | |||
| T | R | U | I | S | M | P | O | N | E | F | R | A | M | E | ||||||
| F | O | R | T | H | E | E | A | S | S | K | I | N | G | K | E | E | P | E | R | |
| A | V | O | W | A | L | A | P | E | S | M | A | L | L | |||||||
| R | E | M | I | N | I | T | S | A | R | G | A | R | L | A | N | D | S | |||
| I | R | A | N | M | I | S | S | I | N | N | F | O | R | M | A | T | I | O | N | |
| N | I | N | E | B | R | A | I | N | B | L | I | N | I | E | L | S | A | |||
| G | T | O | S | A | I | N | T | C | Y | N | I | C | R | E | A | P |
My seed for this theme was BEE ATTITUDES, which I thought was pretty original — but soon after submitting the puzzle, I took my son to a honey farm and saw a poster with that very pun on it! Nothing new under the sun, I suppose.
The theme involved some back-and-forth with the editors before we settled on a set they liked, and I'm grateful that they ended up going with a set of six, allowing me to focus on smooth fill. (And I'm especially grateful they kept my clue about TSAI Ming-liang, one of the greatest artists currently working.)
| P | B | S | B | E | E | S | L | O | O | P | |||
| A | M | I | A | M | P | S | C | E | N | E | S | ||
| P | O | L | A | R | O | I | D | C | A | M | E | R | A |
| E | V | E | S | C | A | I | R | O | |||||
| R | I | N | S | E | S | L | O | A | N | C | A | P | |
| S | E | T | M | E | N | I | N | B | L | A | C | K | |
| S | M | E | E | I | V | E | S | ||||||
| B | E | A | R | W | I | T | H | M | E | ||||
| O | L | A | V | M | O | U | E | ||||||
| J | A | M | E | S | B | R | O | W | N | G | A | S | |
| S | T | A | N | L | E | E | S | T | R | U | C | K | |
| S | I | E | N | A | Y | E | T | I | |||||
| M | O | M | E | N | T | I | N | T | H | E | S | U | N |
| B | R | E | A | K | S | K | O | I | T | A | N | ||
| A | R | T | S | Y | H | O | P | S | L | Y |
Look at me crossing SIENA/RENI on a Monday. I am a bit of a bad boy if I do say so myself.
| S | L | O | E | S | C | O | T | F | O | R | K | S | ||
| W | E | P | T | H | I | H | O | O | N | I | O | N | ||
| I | N | T | H | E | R | A | I | N | R | E | P | R | O | |
| G | O | S | O | L | O | O | T | I | S | S | E | T | ||
| S | L | O | B | O | N | A | B | O | A | T | ||||
| R | E | F | E | M | I | R | S | K | I | N | N | Y | ||
| B | R | E | W | L | O | I | T | E | R | |||||
| G | R | E | E | N | E | G | G | S | A | N | D | H | A | M |
| M | U | D | E | E | L | S | O | I | L | |||||
| B | E | S | E | T | S | T | A | T | A | E | L | K | ||
| I | N | A | T | R | E | E | M | O | B | S | ||||
| G | A | M | I | L | L | S | P | R | E | R | E | Q | ||
| A | B | I | D | E | W | I | T | H | A | G | O | A | T | |
| S | L | A | I | N | E | M | M | A | A | N | T | I | ||
| K | E | M | P | T | S | P | I | T | R | A | S | P |
This is my debut puzzle! It was my second attempt, and I am thrilled and can't quite believe it. I hope to have even better work in the future. My dad, David, has solved the N.Y. Times crossword religiously for many, many years. And my husband is perhaps an even more fanatical solver, so there are many crossword discussions in our household on theme brainstorming, fill, and cluing. Oh, and my best friend promised to make a t-shirt out of any puzzle that ever got published by the N.Y. Times, so I'm totally looking forward to some new (nerdy) wardrobe!
I'm a lawyer by training — the General Counsel of a private biotech company in the Bay Area — but "published crossword constructor" sounds way cooler!
This puzzle includes a tip of the hat to our 11-year-old son, Connor, who is a big fan of Dr. Seuss.
