| A | R | C | H | I | V | E | O | V | E | R | R | A | N | |
| B | A | H | A | M | E | N | B | E | L | I | E | V | E | |
| S | I | A | M | E | S | E | I | N | A | F | L | A | T | |
| P | L | A | T | I | N | F | O | |||||||
| A | L | L | E | N | P | E | Z | D | E | C | C | A | ||
| C | O | A | T | A | S | N | A | P | D | A | R | E | ||
| A | N | I | U | P | A | T | R | E | E | T | O | R | ||
| I | G | N | I | T | E | S | A | R | T | D | E | C | O | |
| V | A | X | T | A | U | |||||||||
| R | A | J | A | H | A | N | D | L | E | T | E | M | ||
| I | M | O | N | F | L | E | E | T | L | A | V | A | ||
| N | O | I | C | R | E | W | C | U | T | T | I | C | ||
| G | E | N | E | R | I | C | A | D | E | P | T | L | Y | |
| O | B | E | L | I | S | K | M | O | R | A | L | E | S | |
| A | D | O | B | E | S | P | R | I | M | E | R |
| M | I | C | P | A | I | D | V | O | T | E | ||||
| E | R | A | S | A | N | D | Y | L | A | U | R | A | ||
| T | I | C | T | A | C | T | O | E | T | A | C | T | I | C |
| E | S | T | A | T | E | S | J | I | M | D | O | H | ||
| S | H | I | N | E | M | O | N | A | C | O | ||||
| K | A | Z | O | O | B | A | Z | O | O | K | A | |||
| P | J | S | M | E | W | L | E | R | R | O | R | |||
| R | U | E | S | D | E | L | A | Y | I | S | N | T | ||
| I | D | L | E | D | I | K | E | A | Y | A | Y | |||
| G | O | F | A | R | I | N | F | A | R | G | O | |||
| S | T | A | C | E | Y | I | W | I | S | H | ||||
| A | W | E | W | A | S | P | O | L | E | N | T | A | ||
| T | O | R | M | E | N | T | E | D | M | E | N | T | O | R |
| M | O | V | E | R | E | V | A | N | S | E | N | D | ||
| S | L | E | D | D | E | S | I | R | E | Y |
It seems there should be a name for syllable-palindromes.
One day I was doing Spelling Bee, and uncovered ALOOF and LOOFA in succession. The thought of a bath sponge that wanted to keep its distance from people amused me, so I went looking for other examples. I expanded the search to five syllables once I found TIC-TAC-TOE TACTIC. I didn't find many options where the syllables were pronounced the same and broke across syllable lines the same way, and that could be clued in a cohesive way that I hope is amusing.
This puzzle was originally rejected because the fourth theme entry wasn't good enough (they were right), but Christina Iverson left the door open for a re-query in her response to me. I'm embarrassed to say I found a replacement fourth entry that I liked better, and that the editorial team liked, hiding in plain sight in my theme ideas list, part of an unrelated idea.
| G | A | P | A | C | E | R | E | S | E | T | S | |||
| A | S | S | I | G | N | O | R | A | M | U | S | E | S | |
| C | U | T | N | O | I | C | E | T | I | N | P | A | N | |
| T | I | E | T | O | O | W | L | S | E | R | S | |||
| S | T | R | A | P | S | H | O | O | T | E | R | S | ||
| Y | K | N | O | W | B | L | A | H | S | |||||
| A | L | I | G | I | O | N | P | A | I | N | E | D | ||
| F | O | R | E | V | E | R | B | E | R | A | T | E | S | |
| A | T | O | N | E | D | R | A | P | S | O | T | U | ||
| R | U | N | I | N | D | E | N | I | M | |||||
| S | H | I | N | D | I | G | N | A | T | I | O | N | ||
| I | P | O | I | P | A | S | P | H | O | N | Y | |||
| S | O | R | B | E | T | T | A | I | L | E | N | D | S | |
| I | S | S | U | E | S | T | A | K | E | F | I | V | E | |
| S | E | E | M | L | Y | A | B | E | T | A | D |
Adding letters to the front of words isn't inherently theme-worthy because it's so common in English. For it to be fodder for a puzzle, there wants to be as much surprise as possible: the parts should all change meaning entirely, so a solver doesn't see it coming too quickly.
It's also more surprising when the "borrowed" letters are meaningless on their own (eg. INDIG from "SHINDIG") or unrelated to their context (eg. TRAPS from "STRAPS"). I found that if either part is too short or too long, the result tends to feel less transformed and thus less fun, but adding five letters to an unrelated six- or seven-letter word yielded the most unexpected results. I found fewer strong candidates for this theme than anticipated and fit what I could on the grid. And luckily, TAKEFIVE presented itself as a handy reveal to help explain what's going on.
The original wording for the "TAKE FIVE" reveal was a bit sneakier, aiming to delay the "a-ha" by an extra second or two: "... or how to solve each starred clue, from what's left of it". The editors proposed the more straightforward version to calibrate the difficulty level just-so.
It happens that 8/3 is my birthday, so I'll use this space to say "Hi, Mom!" and thanks all for solving! Seeing this puzzle in print today (originally submitted April 2022) is a nice present. Hope you enjoy it.
| P | L | A | Y | M | O | N | E | Y | N | E | W | B | S | |
| H | O | M | E | A | L | O | N | E | O | L | E | I | C | |
| E | L | C | A | P | I | T | A | N | D | I | T | T | O | |
| W | A | S | H | V | I | M | S | E | E | N | T | O | ||
| W | W | E | O | S | H | A | O | O | P | |||||
| M | O | T | H | E | R | S | U | P | E | R | I | O | R | |
| O | N | R | Y | E | T | R | I | B | F | D | R | |||
| S | T | I | N | K | E | R | G | A | L | I | L | E | E | |
| I | B | O | N | O | G | O | O | W | E | N | S | |||
| P | A | T | E | R | N | I | T | Y | T | E | S | T | S | |
| C | P | L | L | O | G | S | E | R | R | |||||
| L | Y | N | D | O | N | E | T | A | E | C | H | O | ||
| A | T | A | R | I | C | L | E | R | G | Y | M | E | N | |
| N | O | M | A | S | A | L | A | N | M | O | O | R | E | |
| S | E | E | M | E | P | E | T | S | O | U | N | D | S |
Wrote this "Junior Mint" puzzle as a sort of sequel to my last Milk Duds themeless. Maybe I've found my niche?
Lots of good clue updates by the editorial team this time. Here are a couple of my fave originals that didn't make it:
15A: Temporarily living rent-free?
64A: Classic album that features Coke cans, bicycle bells, and the theremin
Hope y'all enjoy! Check out more of my puzzles and tutorials at see17across.com.
| S | W | O | R | D | S | M | I | T | H | S | C | A | M | |
| H | A | G | I | O | L | A | T | R | Y | C | O | D | A | |
| I | D | L | E | G | O | S | S | I | P | A | S | H | Y | |
| V | E | E | S | B | A | A | N | O | L | T | E | |||
| A | D | D | L | E | I | F | Y | O | U | D | A | R | E | |
| I | R | A | R | U | T | S | R | E | G | |||||
| Z | O | N | A | L | E | M | I | T | T | I | N | G | ||
| S | O | N | G | P | L | E | A | S | A | C | T | S | ||
| T | R | E | S | C | H | I | C | T | E | X | A | S | ||
| A | O | L | H | A | L | O | S | I | A | |||||
| T | A | I | K | O | N | A | U | T | D | U | A | N | E | |
| S | N | A | P | E | N | H | L | D | R | U | G | |||
| S | T | E | P | R | E | T | R | O | D | I | N | E | R | |
| T | E | R | P | D | E | R | O | G | A | T | I | V | E | |
| U | R | S | A | S | K | Y | B | O | X | S | E | A | T |
Hello all! This puzzle began as a SWORDSMITH working on his temper. As the corner came together, ITS… at 9-Down seemed ripe for a 15-letter entry.
I wish I could have snazzed up one or two more long answers, but the puzzle came together with so much interlock (not on purpose, initially!) I was satisfied to keep it as free from junk as possible. Maybe a few of the cultural references like TAIKONAUT will prove interesting for a Saturday solve.
| L | I | T | E | R | A | T | I | P | A | D | K | I | N | G | S | T | O | N | ||
| L | E | A | V | E | S | T | O | A | N | A | A | D | O | R | A | B | L | E | ||
| A | D | D | I | T | I | O | N | N | T | H | B | Y | P | A | S | S | E | S | ||
| T | R | A | P | A | D | E | L | E | L | E | N | S | ||||||||
| M | A | T | E | O | E | R | A | S | I | N | G | D | Y | L | A | N | ||||
| A | H | A | G | R | A | P | E | S | A | G | E | G | A | P | O | B | E | |||
| N | E | U | T | R | I | N | O | R | I | D | I | C | U | L | E | |||||
| I | M | T | O | A | S | T | P | A | N | E | L | S | M | A | R | T | E | D | ||
| O | D | E | A | L | E | V | E | I | N | A | ||||||||||
| A | T | E | L | E | S | S | C | A | D | E | T | I | R | O | N | M | E | N | ||
| R | O | T | S | T | O | P | I | C | N | E | R | V | E | E | A | S | T | |||
| A | N | Y | S | O | N | O | F | A | B | R | A | N | D | O | N | S | A | |||
| K | E | M | A | L | S | T | I | R | E | R | S | E | N | I | G | E | L | |||
| D | O | O | R | S | S | E | T | T | I | T | R | A | M | E | N | |||||
| P | O | L | K | O | C | H | R | E | S | P | A | D | E | O | R | C | S | |||
| T | W | O | O | C | H | O | M | E | A | L | S | E | C | |||||||
| A | N | G | D | R | O | P | L | E | A | F | T | A | B | L | E | C | S | I | ||
| I | D | E | A | S | E | A | L | I | O | N | I | S | L | E | ||||||
| R | I | C | O | T | T | A | A | R | T | O | O | A | S | H | A | N | T | I | ||
| P | L | A | T | T | E | R | P | L | A | N | T | E | T | A | G | E | R | E | ||
| A | L | L | E | S | T | S | Y | R | A | H | S | S | N | S | I | S |
LISA: Inspired by the bio of an 82-year-old constructor and his mentor, Will Nediger, I reached out and got my start. I was mentored by Will N., Jeff, Christina Iverson, Jake Halperin, Andrea Carla Michaels, and recently, AVCX editor Ben Tausig. Crossword people are generous, funny, great people.
My husband took over some of our special needs son's care during the pandemic, which lightened my "mental load" so I could begin this pursuit. Based on my idea, Jeff wrote a program, designed the grid, and guided me through the fill. The idea came out of another idea that I'm still trying to pitch to Jeff.
I would like to offer solvers an alternate clue for 33-Down: "Breakdancing model Jakub Josef Orlinski, for one."
| O | N | T | A | P | M | O | M | A | A | S | I | A | ||
| M | E | R | C | I | E | R | I | C | T | A | N | S | ||
| N | O | O | N | E | M | A | S | C | O | I | N | K | ||
| I | N | T | E | R | N | E | T | T | R | O | L | L | ||
| R | O | S | E | U | P | L | O | A | D | |||||
| P | O | I | S | E | D | B | E | E | R | N | A | |||
| A | C | M | E | S | P | E | E | D | D | E | M | O | N | |
| S | C | A | L | P | A | Y | E | S | T | O | I | C | ||
| S | U | G | A | R | F | I | E | N | D | T | O | N | E | |
| E | P | I | I | L | L | A | G | E | N | T | S | |||
| D | Y | N | A | M | O | B | O | D | Y | |||||
| E | N | E | R | G | Y | V | A | M | P | I | R | E | ||
| J | P | E | G | E | Y | R | E | R | A | D | A | R | ||
| A | I | R | S | T | R | O | N | A | R | E | N | A | ||
| W | E | S | T | S | O | N | S | T | E | S | T | S |
A theme that is Alissa's own,
Of vexing creatures, widely known.
Chloe is Alissa's niece,
And thus this is a family piece.
This puzzle is our very first,
We hope it doesn't prove our worst.
Another one may soon appear,
It's been accepted, so we hear.
We know the where but not the when,
It's in the New York Times again.
-Alissa Revness
| J | A | P | E | L | A | S | E | R | B | C | C | S | ||
| C | R | A | W | E | L | O | P | E | R | O | O | K | ||
| R | O | Y | A | L | F | L | U | S | H | A | C | L | U | |
| E | A | T | S | I | T | S | O | A | K | O | I | L | ||
| W | R | O | T | E | F | A | N | N | Y | P | A | C | K | |
| E | N | Y | A | G | O | O | P | |||||||
| L | A | B | O | N | I | T | T | O | U | G | H | |||
| S | T | A | R | B | U | C | K | S | C | O | F | F | E | E |
| U | L | N | A | R | Y | E | L | P | F | O | X | |||
| K | N | O | T | O | R | E | S | |||||||
| A | N | G | K | O | R | W | A | T | T | O | T | E | M | |
| N | Y | U | D | I | A | L | X | A | N | A | D | U | ||
| G | L | A | M | S | T | A | T | E | L | I | N | E | S | |
| L | O | R | D | H | E | M | A | N | C | I | N | E | ||
| E | N | D | S | A | R | O | M | A | S | A | S | S |
I wanted to create a puzzle that invoked the same sort of road trip-y state-to-state movement that has defined so many of our family vacations over the years. In the initial draft that I submitted, I created a vertical design element in the center of each theme answer so that the STATE LINES were literally represented, separating each of the postal codes. It doesn't look like my little doodles made it into the final copy, but that's okay — I still had a blast making the puzzle.
I was a little hesitant about ANGK(OR) (WA)T being a distraction, as none of the other theme entries are actual places, but the NYTXW crew apparently didn't share my hesitation (which is a good thing because I did not have a viable back-up at the ready!).
| R | A | S | P | C | H | A | D | L | E | T | O | N | ||
| B | A | L | E | A | E | R | O | E | V | I | T | E | ||
| G | H | O | S | T | L | Y | P | R | E | S | E | N | T | S |
| S | T | A | R | Z | E | L | O | S | O | S | ||||
| C | E | O | S | M | A | T | T | E | ||||||
| N | O | C | H | A | N | T | S | I | N | H | E | L | L | |
| A | N | A | T | E | A | T | O | R | T | I | Z | |||
| P | E | R | K | S | T | R | A | P | M | O | M | A | ||
| S | A | T | I | N | I | T | I | S | W | I | G | |||
| L | O | S | I | N | G | P | A | T | I | E | N | T | S | |
| O | S | C | A | R | D | A | N | G | ||||||
| R | A | N | E | G | O | C | A | R | O | M | ||||
| P | R | I | N | T | S | O | F | T | H | I | E | V | E | S |
| M | I | N | O | R | M | A | U | I | T | A | M | E | ||
| S | A | G | G | Y | S | T | E | P | S | L | E | W |
CARYN: My original idea for this puzzle was to put a spin on iconic lines spoken by fairytale princesses. For example, [Wistful words from Snow White as she awaited her Shutterfly photos]: SOMEDAY MY PRINTS WILL COME. While this plan quickly hit a roadblock, it led me to the idea of homophones which featured the NCE/NTS ending pattern.
While my first puzzle submission was rejected by the Times, the editor's feedback was very encouraging. It was at this point that I reached out to Matthew Stock who had been such a supportive mentor to me on my past puzzle endeavors. Matthew loved the theme idea and I was thrilled to tag team with him on today's puzzle. I hope you enjoy!
MATTHEW: It was a pleasure to work with Caryn on this puzzle! If you're a new constructor and want to talk shop and/or collaborate, feel free to contact me via Twitter (@1MatthewStock) or my website, happylittlepuzzles.com.
| S | L | A | L | O | M | B | O | G | B | R | A | |||
| C | A | R | A | V | A | N | U | N | I | B | R | O | W | |
| H | I | T | G | A | M | E | M | O | V | I | I | E | R | |
| W | I | I | L | A | S | H | E | L | E | G | Y | |||
| A | N | E | W | S | T | O | O | L | I | E | S | |||
| A | A | A | U | P | O | N | T | B | S | |||||
| O | F | F | I | C | I | S | S | I | P | P | O | U | T | |
| N | O | R | T | E | L | E | O | C | O | B | R | A | ||
| C | A | Y | S | R | U | B | I | L | D | B | E | R | G | |
| E | L | I | S | U | M | O | I | S | O | |||||
| N | O | T | E | P | A | D | S | Y | O | W | L | |||
| M | A | G | N | A | T | A | S | K | P | R | O | |||
| I | M | P | U | L | S | E | C | O | N | T | R | O | L | |
| S | E | A | S | L | U | G | A | M | I | L | A | T | E | |
| C | N | N | S | I | G | E | T | C | H | E | D |
| O | K | G | O | O | G | L | E | A | L | T | P | O | P | |
| C | A | R | S | A | L | E | S | P | A | R | O | L | E | |
| T | H | E | S | K | Y | S | T | H | E | L | I | M | I | T |
| A | L | E | S | P | I | R | O | A | B | O | V | E | ||
| N | U | T | S | H | O | E | S | W | A | D | E | R | ||
| E | A | S | E | D | N | E | T | S | L | O | O | P | ||
| R | A | P | T | E | A | S | R | I | A | |||||
| C | O | B | B | L | E | R | L | I | N | C | O | L | N | |
| D | R | E | I | C | E | D | D | U | O | |||||
| P | E | A | K | S | P | A | S | B | O | R | I | S | ||
| L | O | R | N | A | A | Y | E | S | S | A | G | A | ||
| A | C | H | E | S | S | T | R | I | P | G | N | U | ||
| Y | O | U | W | O | N | T | R | E | G | R | E | T | I | T |
| E | N | G | I | N | E | I | N | N | O | V | A | T | E | |
| R | E | S | T | E | D | P | A | S | S | A | G | E | S |
Delighted to be making my NYT themeless debut today! While I enjoy both themed and themeless construction, themes are so subjective that basically any concept will leave some solvers out in the cold. By contrast, the standard to aspire to on Fridays and Saturdays feels relatively more objective — even if it's harder to meet. The technical difficulties in doing so are a very satisfying challenge.
Today's puzzle was built around 17- and 63-Across, which struck me as really vivid and evocative phrases in the language. The diagonal stripe of blocks between them down the center limits the statistical dependency between the four quadrants — for example, the entries in the northwest weren't super constraining on what could fill the southeast.
This allowed the corners to be significantly cleaner and livelier than would have otherwise been possible. I know opinions on this vary, but I prefer puzzles that prioritize a smooth solve over maximizing openness and interconnect.
On a culinary note, if you haven't made 12-Down, it's one of my favorite Italian dishes. Quick and easy to make, even for novice chefs like me, and outrageously good when tomatoes are in season. You won't regret it.
Hope you all enjoy!
| C | R | O | M | U | L | E | N | T | A | L | P | H | A | |
| O | U | R | O | B | O | R | O | S | T | A | R | E | D | |
| P | L | A | T | E | R | A | C | K | T | B | I | R | D | |
| Y | E | N | R | I | S | K | V | E | N | U | E | S | ||
| P | O | G | O | E | E | R | I | N | E | S | S | |||
| A | F | E | W | D | R | D | E | A | T | H | ||||
| S | L | O | O | P | Y | A | L | I | P | A | K | |||
| T | A | I | W | A | N | I | M | S | O | D | O | N | E | |
| A | W | L | S | A | L | T | S | N | A | N | N | Y | ||
| A | T | S | E | A | S | T | Y | E | S | |||||
| B | A | L | L | E | T | S | L | I | P | P | E | R | ||
| I | M | E | A | S | Y | I | N | H | A | L | I | N | G | |
| S | O | A | M | I | H | A | S | A | N | I | D | E | A | |
| O | R | S | O | N | O | N | U | S | N | E | W | T | ||
| N | E | T | S | T | O | M | E | E | S | S | O |
RACHEL: I'm glad to be back in The Times with Christina, a fantastic constructor (and editor!). This puzzle collaboration began after I used the word CROMULENT to describe a word that Christina and her co-constructor Caitlin Reid used in their banger June 30, 2022 puzzle (our working title was"A Perfectly Cromulent Themeless"). Christina had the brilliant idea to use a diagonal grid, and we split the construction and cluing 50/50. I hope you enjoy the solve!
CHRISTINA: As Rachel mentions, she used the word CROMULENT in her Wordplay write-up of one of my puzzles last summer. I had been in the middle of making a themeless puzzle featuring the entry, but it just wasn't coming together. I reached out to say how happy it made me to see her use the word CROMULENT, and that I wanted to put it in a puzzle some day in an effort to embiggen people's vocabulary.
She wrote back that it sounded like a seed for a collaboration. Two heads were definitely better than one, and it was fun pulling this one together!
| M | O | C | H | A | S | D | O | F | F | T | A | B | A | S | C | O | ||||
| O | N | R | U | S | H | F | O | R | U | M | A | M | A | T | E | U | R | |||
| M | E | A | L | S | O | N | W | H | E | E | L | S | R | O | S | T | E | R | S | |
| M | A | N | A | T | E | E | E | L | B | O | W | G | R | E | A | S | E | |||
| I | C | E | S | G | O | M | A | D | T | W | E | E | T | A | N | |||||
| E | T | D | C | A | P | E | R | W | A | S | I | T | W | O | L | F | ||||
| S | U | Z | E | O | R | M | A | N | T | H | R | I | L | L | ||||||
| G | E | T | B | E | T | W | E | E | N | T | H | E | S | H | E | E | T | S | ||
| J | U | D | E | A | S | A | D | B | R | I | E | F | S | |||||||
| A | L | U | M | N | I | R | I | B | B | O | N | C | U | T | T | I | N | G | ||
| B | C | C | N | I | B | C | O | O | O | K | S | N | Y | U | ||||||
| S | H | E | L | L | S | T | A | T | I | O | N | S | A | L | I | S | T | S | ||
| O | U | T | L | A | W | M | A | E | O | N | P | O | T | |||||||
| S | P | I | R | A | L | S | O | U | T | O | F | C | O | N | T | R | O | L | ||
| B | O | I | N | K | S | H | O | T | E | L | R | A | T | E | ||||||
| M | U | G | S | C | A | C | H | E | S | A | B | R | A | G | A | H | ||||
| I | P | O | S | A | R | A | A | T | T | I | C | L | O | C | I | |||||
| B | U | T | T | E | R | F | L | I | E | S | T | O | T | E | B | A | G | |||
| H | O | T | Y | O | G | A | I | N | Y | O | U | R | S | T | O | M | A | C | H | |
| I | N | O | R | O | U | T | G | E | N | R | E | I | R | O | N | I | C | |||
| D | E | N | O | T | E | S | S | E | L | F | C | O | N | G | A | S |
This puzzle is inspired in part by the many pastas my mom has made over the years because I was too picky to eat other food, in particular the late summer pesto pasta we usually make to use up all of the fresh basil in the backyard before the weather starts to get too cold. Hope the timing is appropriate to inspire others to do the same!
Very grateful to be a part of the Diverse Crossword Constructor Fellowship this year; a huge thank you to the editors and the rest of the group, especially my mentor Sam Ezersky, whose encouragement and guidance made this puzzle possible. :)
| L | A | P | S | B | O | S | S | Y | C | H | I | P | ||
| E | P | I | C | E | V | I | T | E | L | I | M | A | ||
| G | O | T | O | E | L | E | V | E | N | A | G | E | S | |
| S | P | A | R | K | R | A | P | T | W | H | A | T | ||
| N | E | I | L | P | L | U | S | O | N | E | ||||
| R | A | T | S | N | O | S | E | P | A | C | ||||
| A | S | H | S | C | O | T | K | E | T | T | L | E | ||
| P | A | R | T | A | K | E | T | E | N | A | I | M | ||
| S | P | I | R | E | S | M | E | N | D | N | E | T | ||
| L | E | N | I | S | A | Y | F | E | S | S | ||||
| H | A | L | F | O | F | F | M | A | M | A | ||||
| A | C | R | E | L | O | N | G | A | N | G | U | S | ||
| S | T | I | R | O | N | E | A | N | D | D | O | N | E | |
| N | O | D | E | A | L | A | M | O | O | N | I | T | ||
| T | R | E | E | T | Y | P | E | D | M | E | T | S |
TRENTON: Simon and I had been discussing possible themes for a while when he got the idea of answers doubling as arithmetical instructions. We quickly hit upon a few that would work well on their own, but after this promising start, it began to seem unlikely that we would find all the answers we needed — ones that could be arranged in a sequence that led to a satisfying revealer. Still, we liked the idea and were just close enough to making it work that we agreed to stick with it a little longer.
It was late in the evening, and I took a break to walk a dog, leaving Simon bent over his laptop. I'd hardly made it a block when I heard Simon call after me.
"Hey!" he shouted. "Half off!"
"Oh, nice!" I shouted back.
If any neighbors heard this exchange, they must have assumed we'd just gotten word of a very exciting sale.
| F | A | R | M | I | M | O | F | F | A | P | P | S | ||
| A | R | E | A | S | W | O | L | E | D | A | R | T | ||
| W | I | T | C | H | H | A | Z | E | L | A | L | O | E | |
| N | A | C | H | O | H | E | E | L | I | S | A | |||
| E | N | O | U | G | H | C | A | R | A | M | E | L | ||
| D | A | N | G | O | D | D | E | S | S | L | O | C | S | |
| L | E | E | V | I | N | C | I | |||||||
| A | R | I | D | I | V | A | C | U | P | Y | O | N | ||
| C | O | M | M | A | N | O | N | |||||||
| Q | U | E | E | N | O | F | S | O | U | L | L | E | G | |
| U | N | S | H | E | L | L | M | I | M | O | S | A | ||
| I | D | S | D | Y | A | D | M | I | N | T | Y | |||
| R | O | A | D | F | E | M | A | L | E | L | E | A | D | |
| E | N | G | R | O | R | A | T | E | A | L | T | A | ||
| S | E | E | S | E | S | S | E | X | N | Y | E | R |
things about this puzzle:
things about me:
| C | H | I | P | S | G | R | A | B | P | O | S | S | E | ||
| R | E | N | E | W | M | E | N | U | R | I | P | E | R | ||
| O | L | D | I | E | A | M | A | S | O | L | I | V | E | ||
| W | I | I | L | B | J | H | S | U | R | E | C | ||||
| E | X | A | C | T | A | A | D | V | E | N | T | ||||
| L | E | T | H | A | L | B | L | O | W | ||||||
| C | E | S | A | R | A | S | T | O | F | J | O | R | D | ||
| O | A | H | U | E | S | I | G | N | S | E | N | Y | A | ||
| T | R | A | D | A | N | D | O | N | E | T | I | E | D | ||
| E | L | H | I | S | T | E | V | E | N | T | O | S | S | ||
| J | O | E | Y | S | P | A | N | ||||||||
| F | L | A | S | W | I | N | G | S | A | T | D | E | A | ||
| O | O | H | M | I | N | A | R | E | T | S | O | M | G | ||
| U | S | A | E | N | S | N | A | R | E | D | M | I | R | ||
| R | E | N | T | O | M | B | E | R | A |
Last December, as a new immigrant from Mumbai to the US, I was itching to remain connected to both my loves — crosswords and India. What better way than making a crossword to celebrate India? And what better icon than Taj Mahal to celebrate India? That's how the idea of this puzzle took birth.
I approached Brendan with the theme idea. He was convinced from day 1 that this was a winner idea! We put our designing caps on and started designing the shape of the Taj. While other theme entries fell in place as per Taj's shape, we both really worked hard to get right the placement of TOMB. To have TOMB right at the bottom centre, where it is in the actual Taj, brought the monument to life!
There's another quirk about this puzzle: in 2017, I was a resident of Mumbai and teamed up with Brendan to make the American Independence Day puzzle in NYT. Now, I am a resident of Princeton and teamed up with Brendan to celebrate Indian Independence Day (August 15) in NYT. Classic example of using crosswords to bring America and India closer.
| R | I | C | A | N | M | O | M | C | M | O | N | |||
| A | W | A | R | E | F | I | V | E | A | A | V | E | ||
| C | O | N | C | O | U | R | S | E | S | N | Y | E | T | |
| E | N | D | S | S | E | R | R | A | T | I | O | N | S | |
| S | T | Y | T | E | T | E | V | C | R | S | ||||
| G | E | A | R | A | M | I | G | O | ||||||
| S | H | I | F | T | E | D | I | T | M | E | S | S | ||
| C | A | R | F | A | R | E | C | A | V | E | A | T | S | |
| I | S | L | A | A | L | P | S | A | I | S | L | E | ||
| M | O | S | S | Y | T | I | N | Y | ||||||
| G | L | A | D | T | H | E | N | G | M | A | ||||
| B | R | A | N | D | I | S | H | E | S | S | O | A | R | |
| E | A | R | L | S | H | O | R | T | E | N | I | N | G | |
| D | I | V | E | P | O | N | D | C | O | N | D | O | ||
| S | L | A | Y | Y | E | S | O | B | G | Y | N |
It's unfortunately still a good time to 47-Down [Take a Covid precaution] — in addition to the answer in the grid, a well-fitted, high-quality (N95 or KN95) mask goes a long way towards keeping you and the people around you safe. Love you! e
| G | E | R | I | G | A | F | F | E | A | Q | U | A | ||
| A | M | E | N | R | E | A | R | S | M | U | M | S | ||
| W | I | N | E | B | A | R | R | E | L | O | R | A | L | |
| P | R | O | X | Y | V | O | T | E | D | R | A | M | A | |
| T | E | E | A | B | E | N | I | N | ||||||
| F | A | R | S | I | G | I | L | S | ||||||
| G | I | V | E | M | E | O | N | E | R | E | A | S | O | N |
| A | N | I | M | A | L | S | A | N | C | T | U | A | R | Y |
| L | I | V | I | N | G | O | N | T | H | E | E | D | G | E |
| S | T | A | R | E | S | R | E | Y | ||||||
| J | A | N | I | R | E | Y | A | K | ||||||
| A | D | A | M | S | V | I | T | A | L | R | O | L | E | |
| Z | I | T | I | L | I | N | E | N | P | A | P | E | R | |
| Z | E | A | L | P | E | C | A | N | U | R | A | L | ||
| Y | U | L | E | S | W | A | M | I | T | Y | P | E |
| S | P | L | I | F | F | S | C | R | I | M | S | |||
| P | R | O | S | A | I | C | L | O | O | N | I | E | ||
| H | E | L | L | Y | E | A | H | I | N | N | A | T | E | |
| E | M | C | E | E | B | O | C | C | E | H | O | T | ||
| R | I | A | S | C | A | B | L | E | P | U | S | H | ||
| E | X | T | G | A | R | B | O | E | E | R | I | E | ||
| M | O | N | E | Y | S | A | V | E | R | S | ||||
| G | I | L | D | T | H | E | L | I | L | Y | ||||
| M | O | L | L | Y | C | O | D | D | L | E | ||||
| S | A | T | A | Y | A | R | L | E | S | M | D | S | ||
| T | R | O | N | A | R | S | O | N | M | E | E | K | ||
| A | C | T | V | I | D | E | O | F | A | N | C | Y | ||
| T | O | O | B | A | D | S | P | R | A | Y | T | A | N | |
| U | N | W | I | S | E | S | I | D | E | E | Y | E | ||
| S | I | N | G | E | S | M | E | R | E | S | T |
| A | Q | I | T | O | P | C | A | T | B | E | F | A | I | R | P | E | E | |||
| N | U | N | E | X | U | R | B | S | A | L | L | P | R | O | L | A | S | |||
| T | I | S | S | O | L | E | R | A | G | R | A | P | E | S | U | S | C | |||
| E | X | P | O | S | L | E | A | O | W | L | I | N | S | T | A | |||||
| C | O | I | N | A | G | E | M | C | C | O | Y | I | D | E | A | M | A | P | ||
| E | T | T | U | R | D | A | O | U | R | P | E | R | V | I | S | A | ||||
| D | I | E | S | I | A | N | U | P | I | I | D | O | E | N | I | D | ||||
| E | C | O | A | L | F | A | R | B | G | A | S | O | F | U | A | E | ||||
| F | E | L | L | A | A | T | E | I | T | C | L | A | W | S | ||||||
| T | I | E | S | C | R | A | N | E | I | S | T | O | ||||||||
| M | E | D | O | C | T | O | L | E | R | A | N | C | E | C | O | T | E | S | ||
| I | W | O | N | I | W | O | N | C | E | L | O | N | N | O | T | I | C | E | ||
| S | O | Y | A | I | N | T | E | R | S | S | C | A | N | M | O | N | ||||
| T | K | O | K | N | E | A | D | S | I | C | I | E | S | T | E | N | D | |||
| U | S | E | D | S | I | S | N | O | M | H | E | M | S | |||||||
| B | R | A | Y | A | K | C | M | O | S | N | U | T | S | |||||||
| H | O | W | L | S | A | T | A | G | A | S | P | H | A | T | R | A | C | K | ||
| A | L | O | T | C | O | U | P | O | N | C | O | D | E | S | A | B | R | A | ||
| V | E | R | Y | H | U | N | G | R | Y | C | A | T | E | R | P | I | L | L | A | R |
| O | R | S | E | T | A | L | I | A | R | E | P | P | E | D | E | P | A | |||
| C | O | T | H | E | L | I | O | S | E | S | P | A | N | A | S | E | T |
The Very Hungry Caterpillar was one of our family's go-to bedtime stories when our children were little. Because it's such a recognizable book, I thought that a Caterpillar-themed puzzle would appeal to a broad range of solvers.
The biggest challenge I had in constructing this puzzle was to find a theme set that disguised the letters of TIDBITS within the caterpillar foods and their larger phrases while at the same time maintaining grid symmetry. I would have liked to have been able to line up the circles in the grid, as Will mentions in his note, and not all of the hidden foods spanned two or more words in their theme entries.
Also, it would have been nice to have had LEAF appear last, like in the book. I could have done this using CHE[L(S)EA F]C, which would have mirrored IN S[PI(T)E] OF in the front. But I needed LEAF in the middle of the grid for PUL[LE(D) A F]AST ONE, which mirrored [APPL(I)E]D SCIENCE later. Compromises, amirite? But on the plus side, I was able to fit in some nice bonus fill, and in the end I'm just happy that everything came together.
I hope everyone enjoyed today's puzzle!
| S | K | A | O | M | A | H | A | P | R | I | Z | E | ||
| T | O | N | U | R | G | E | S | O | A | S | I | S | ||
| R | A | Y | T | I | E | D | T | H | E | K | N | O | T | |
| A | L | T | O | S | D | O | O | E | T | N | A | |||
| W | A | I | V | E | C | H | A | R | G | E | S | |||
| M | E | T | O | O | S | L | I | M | E | S | ||||
| U | B | E | R | B | O | S | S | I | N | A | N | E | ||
| S | I | N | S | H | E | L | L | L | O | X | ||||
| S | T | O | U | T | A | C | A | I | R | O | S | Y | ||
| R | E | W | R | A | P | I | L | I | A | D | ||||
| C | U | R | R | A | N | T | S | C | O | N | E | |||
| L | E | A | H | I | O | U | A | K | R | O | N | |||
| E | D | D | I | E | M | U | R | P | H | Y | O | R | D | |
| A | G | E | N | T | T | A | L | E | S | U | S | O | ||
| D | E | N | S | E | S | L | O | M | O | S | E | W |
This puzzle was inspired by childhood summers at the beach in Cape May, New Jersey. Many thanks to my son and test solver, Nick Diamant, who caught a few errors.
| A | B | E | R | U | S | E | M | E | T | R | O | |||
| C | O | N | A | Z | U | R | F | O | R | H | E | R | ||
| O | D | D | W | O | N | D | E | R | B | R | E | A | D | |
| L | Y | R | A | B | O | L | O | S | E | R | A | |||
| Y | O | U | N | G | B | U | C | K | S | B | A | L | I | |
| T | I | N | N | I | E | R | S | E | A | L | S | I | N | |
| E | L | S | V | E | N | N | W | A | T | T | S | |||
| P | E | T | T | Y | C | A | S | H | ||||||
| A | S | P | E | N | T | R | O | N | B | I | G | |||
| D | E | A | L | S | T | O | I | N | A | N | I | T | Y | |
| V | E | S | T | W | H | I | T | E | P | A | P | E | R | |
| I | N | T | A | I | O | L | I | H | O | R | A | |||
| S | O | U | N | D | C | H | E | C | K | S | L | A | T | |
| E | T | R | A | D | E | N | A | I | F | A | T | E | ||
| S | E | E | P | S | E | L | M | O | R | E | D |
So clearly, I was that kid who spent a lot of time listening to his parents' music growing up.
The idea for this puzzle grew out of a different, unrelated money-themed idea I was working on. I stumbled on YOUNG BUCKS and PETTY CASH, quickly added WONDER BREAD, and found a fun revealer in SOUND CHECKS to tie it all together — and then spent an inordinate amount of time searching for another option that fit. Has anyone else in human history ever spent so much time flipping back and forth between the Wikipedia entry about Rock 'N' Roll Hall of Fame inductees and the Thesaurus.com entry on slang terms for money? I'm guessing no.
I wanted someone with the same cachet as the other three artists, and struggled to find another entry that felt like it was solid enough for inclusion after stumbling through some weak options that I won't even bother to share here. I'd rather have included both a female artist and someone whose music I like much more than Barry White's (with all due respect to the man) — I considered options like (Billie) HOLIDAY BONUS or (Carole) KING'S RANSOM or (Darlene) LOVE NOTES and had to discard them for various reasons — but eventually concluded that WHITE PAPER made for the best, tightest puzzle for solvers. Such is life.
Hope you got a kick out of my NYT debut and, more importantly, hope you all liberally borrowed your parents' CDs like I once did.
| B | A | S | E | S | G | A | G | S | A | R | E | S | ||
| A | D | A | P | T | R | O | O | K | L | E | N | T | ||
| B | A | L | S | A | M | I | C | V | I | N | E | G | A | R |
| E | M | T | T | A | N | N | O | V | I | C | E | |||
| I | S | U | R | E | D | O | T | E | N | T | S | |||
| M | O | N | T | E | C | R | I | S | T | O | A | S | S | |
| T | R | E | E | S | A | L | A | N | A | |||||
| V | A | S | E | B | A | L | O | O | D | R | A | W | ||
| P | E | E | L | E | R | E | U | S | E | |||||
| O | O | P | P | E | A | C | H | M | E | L | B | A | S | |
| B | R | A | V | O | S | T | O | O | G | E | S | |||
| I | N | S | I | D | E | T | R | U | I | S | H | |||
| W | E | S | T | E | R | N | O | M | E | L | E | T | T | E |
| A | R | E | A | M | A | L | I | A | R | I | E | S | ||
| N | Y | S | E | A | V | E | C | R | A | N | T | S |
My original idea was to do a puzzle about SLICED BREAD, with entries like (B)E(R)NI(E) S(A)N(D)ERS and (B)A(R)BRA STR(E)IS(A)N(D). But when I saw that (B)U(R)G(E)R (A)N(D) FRIES also worked, I switched to this foods-within-foods idea.
Interestingly, SU(B)MA(R)IN(E) S(A)N(D)WICH also has "sliced bread" and also is literally made with sliced bread.
| A | W | E | D | K | G | B | A | T | V | S | ||||
| D | E | C | O | E | O | E | V | O | T | E | R | |||
| A | N | O | N | P | I | A | N | O | T | U | N | E | R | |
| T | H | E | W | I | N | D | O | W | B | D | A | Y | ||
| O | D | E | G | Y | M | D | E | U | C | E | ||||
| T | O | T | E | B | A | G | M | O | R | P | H | S | ||
| A | R | E | A | B | A | N | G | O | N | |||||
| R | O | L | L | I | N | G | B | L | A | C | K | O | U | T |
| D | E | A | C | O | N | O | P | E | D | |||||
| A | S | H | I | E | R | B | A | I | L | E | Y | S | ||
| S | W | O | R | D | A | C | E | P | A | R | ||||
| P | E | T | A | E | M | O | T | I | O | N | A | L | ||
| S | P | R | I | N | T | C | A | R | S | U | B | E | R | |
| T | O | S | E | A | T | O | P | T | O | T | O | |||
| D | E | W | S | S | T | Y | S | X | S | W |
Hello Crossworld! I'm delighted to be back in The New York Times — it's always an honor to be a part, however small, of the crossword's decades-long history.
The core conceit of this crossword came readily from the revealer — in a way, with the pieces ROLLING, BLACK, and OUT, the theme practically writes itself — but I sat on the idea for months as I couldn't fill the grid cleanly. The construction is surprisingly involved; for example, the cheater squares are thematic, so using extra cheaters is a non-starter. Twenty failed drafts later, I cut the number of theme answers from six down to the four you see now. It's still not perfect — I can only offer my sincerest apologies for DONC — but I hope the puzzle was enjoyable nonetheless!
On the clues, 42A is my favorite by a mile — discovering this angle for an otherwise boring -ER word was nothing short of a miracle — and I'm very grateful that the team agreed. I also like 24A, 41A, and the team's laugh-out-loud 21D. I love wordplay and always try to include plenty in my clues (knowing many will be cut): 17A was originally [Worker concerned with strike action?], 44D was [Tailor for swift?], and 45D was ["Call me," maybe]. Sometimes, I need to remind myself I'm not writing for the Stumper!
Finally, I almost can't believe I'm introducing VTUBER to the Times! Crosswords are a great place to share a glimpse of one's interests with others, and flourishes like these, I think, make them uniquely human. If this was unfamiliar, I hope you found the crossings fair — and learned something new, too!
| H | E | L | L | S | C | A | P | E | B | A | I | L | S | |
| I | L | H | A | N | O | M | A | R | U | N | L | I | T | |
| M | I | A | M | I | D | A | D | E | S | I | L | V | A | |
| O | T | S | T | E | S | T | O | Y | S | T | E | R | ||
| M | E | A | L | S | H | O | P | E | R | A | S | |||
| S | N | I | P | E | A | W | E | S | E | L | I | |||
| N | O | P | A | I | N | N | O | G | A | I | N | |||
| M | A | D | L | I | B | I | M | L | A | T | E | |||
| P | O | R | T | A | P | O | T | T | I | E | S | |||
| A | T | M | R | E | D | O | C | S | P | A | N | |||
| N | O | R | M | N | E | O | N | S | C | O | W | |||
| G | R | E | E | T | S | R | O | C | K | C | P | A | ||
| R | O | S | S | I | B | E | L | I | E | B | E | R | S | |
| A | L | T | A | R | T | A | T | T | L | E | D | O | N | |
| M | A | S | S | E | S | L | E | E | P | D | E | B | T |
One time, I was complaining about dating to Adam Wagner, and he sent me [the video below]. The (incorrect) idea is that dating is just like looking for the right porta-potty. You should sample a certain number of boyfriends/porta-potties, and then go for the first one that's better than all of those.
In spite of a multitude of serious issues with this analogy (I don't know how many boyfriends I'll be able to sample, porta-potties don't cheat on you, sampling a porta-potty is fast, and they don't change over time, you don't necessarily need different things from a porta-potty at age 20 vs. 40, no porta-potty has ever rejected me, etc.), the porta-potty thing became a bit of an inside joke between us.
Though it has not helped me find a boyfriend (yet!), the analogy inspired me to seed a puzzle with PORTAPOTTIES, and now here we are with a NYT publication (the second best thing, really). I also owe Adam for the incredible clue on that entry!
| A | C | T | T | H | E | P | A | R | T | L | S | D | ||
| B | A | B | A | O | R | I | L | E | Y | T | O | P | O | |
| C | R | A | M | P | I | N | G | U | P | O | V | A | L | |
| S | T | R | I | P | T | E | A | S | E | M | E | R | E | |
| I | R | L | E | D | I | B | L | E | ||||||
| S | H | I | N | E | O | N | U | P | S | E | T | S | ||
| G | O | E | S | G | A | G | A | P | A | T | T | I | E | |
| R | U | L | E | S | K | A | O | T | R | A | ||||
| A | S | L | E | E | P | E | N | G | I | N | E | E | R | |
| M | A | R | I | N | O | D | I | N | N | E | R | S | ||
| P | A | T | E | N | S | M | O | S | ||||||
| T | H | I | N | T | O | N | A | M | E | A | F | E | W | |
| S | O | S | O | I | N | I | T | I | A | T | I | V | E | |
| K | N | E | W | F | A | K | E | S | M | I | L | E | S | |
| S | E | R | F | R | E | S | H | S | T | A | R | T |
This maniacal puzzle is a sharp turn from last month's offering, but one I consider among the best puzzles I've ever made.
Most people have a love-hate relationship with quad stacks, especially the dreaded 4x10, but I find them among my favorite type of themeless to solve. If done well — filled with vibrant long answers and few obscurities — that extra answer gives a surprising textural dimension to the puzzle, like the jelly in a jelly donut.
No seed entries in this type of grid — instead it's all about the story told by the stacks and how well the entries as a whole play off of each other. In this case, I'm particularly fond of the results. Every long answer in the grid I consider a strong asset, or has a great clue that elevates it into a strong asset (18A, 11D, 54A, 37D, 23D all mine!), or both!
This one goes out to Mrs. Wright's 8th (now 9th!) grade class, who I had the joy of teaching the morning this puzzle was accepted, and all the other brilliant educators out there (hi mom and dad) that have started or are soon starting school for the year — thanks for all you do!
| M | I | D | I | S | I | T | C | O | M | S | J | U | N | I | P | E | R | S | ||
| U | D | O | N | S | C | I | A | T | I | C | O | P | E | N | A | R | E | A | ||
| R | O | W | S | N | I | C | H | O | L | A | S | N | I | C | K | L | E | B | Y | |
| A | N | N | U | S | N | O | N | H | E | R | O | C | I | A | ||||||
| L | O | W | L | I | F | E | S | C | O | M | M | O | N | C | O | L | D | |||
| T | A | T | E | R | S | A | R | M | E | N | I | A | E | P | E | E | ||||
| R | E | G | I | S | T | R | A | R | D | U | M | A | T | A | N | |||||
| L | I | D | D | E | D | O | F | F | I | C | I | A | L | O | R | D | E | R | S | |
| O | D | D | D | A | W | N | S | U | P | S | T | I | E | D | Y | E | ||||
| C | L | O | D | Y | E | N | A | T | T | A | D | E | A | L | ||||||
| K | E | G | E | L | B | E | S | T | B | U | D | D | Y | L | A | T | K | E | ||
| L | A | P | S | H | A | S | P | E | A | R | Y | A | N | K | ||||||
| A | R | C | H | I | E | A | I | L | T | V | D | A | D | B | E | E | ||||
| G | A | L | I | L | E | O | G | A | L | I | L | E | I | P | E | A | L | E | D | |
| A | D | A | A | L | D | O | K | I | L | L | S | T | I | M | E | |||||
| S | I | R | S | E | N | D | W | E | L | L | P | O | S | I | T | S | ||||
| P | O | O | L | P | L | A | Y | E | R | F | I | R | T | R | E | E | S | |||
| I | I | I | R | E | A | D | O | R | N | S | I | N | C | E | ||||||
| M | I | D | D | L | E | M | A | N | A | G | E | M | E | N | T | G | N | A | W | |
| U | N | A | B | A | T | E | D | T | R | E | A | D | E | D | H | I | D | E | ||
| M | A | N | Y | F | O | L | D | H | O | R | R | O | R | S | T | S | A | R |
This theme took shape when I was creating a different grid that included the entry ENMESH, and I idly noted that the word might be punnily repurposed to clue something like NETTING. I came up with a few other things like that, such as [Jaywalk?] cluing JAUNT, [Embalm?] cluing MOISTURIZER, and [Eye level?] cluing INTERMEDIATE. I sent the bunch of them to XWord Info's Jeff Chen to ask if he had ever seen a puzzle with a set like that before. He reminded me that one-word theme entries weren't optimal, so I asked my coding-rockstar son Teddy to help me filter my word list for things like what you see here.
Fun entries that didn't make the final cut included [Beekeeper?] = BLOOD BANK, [Empress?] = MAD MAGAZINE, [Describe?] = DANIEL DEFOE, [Teabag?] = TRAVEL TOTE, [Eye exam?] = INTERNAL INVESTIGATION, [Detest?] = DOCTORAL DISSERTATION, [Jaybird?] = JUMBO JET, and [Behead?] = BRONZE BUST.
Special thanks to Teddy, who helps me this way in many of my grids. I hope you'll all keep a lookout for a Thursday puzzle he and I coauthored, soon to be appearing in the New York Times.
| C | A | M | O | S | E | E | M | A | S | A | P | |||
| A | G | E | R | F | A | R | E | R | I | P | E | R | ||
| R | U | N | A | R | O | U | N | D | E | M | O | R | Y | |
| P | A | U | L | O | S | A | P | S | R | I | O | |||
| B | O | U | N | T | Y | H | U | N | T | E | R | |||
| E | G | G | S | P | Y | S | O | L | O | S | ||||
| T | O | O | T | O | U | T | T | O | N | G | S | |||
| A | S | D | R | U | N | K | A | S | A | S | K | U | N | K |
| S | H | O | E | S | B | U | M | S | T | A | Y | |||
| W | A | H | O | O | L | E | A | S | T | Y | ||||
| S | U | N | D | A | Y | B | R | U | N | C | H | |||
| A | S | H | P | E | T | E | L | Y | F | T | S | |||
| S | T | I | L | E | U | N | C | O | U | P | L | E | S | |
| S | O | L | E | D | S | T | O | W | E | A | R | N | ||
| Y | O | L | O | E | S | P | N | R | P | M | S |
My grandma Myrn used to do the Sunday New York Times puzzle every week. She was really good at crosswords, but she could never get it 100% complete without using a dictionary or Google. There was always a square or two left blank. After years of grinding away at the grids, one week, everything finally fell into place — she completed it without any help. To commemorate the occasion, she cut out the puzzle, framed it, and kept it at her desk. I'm sure she would have gotten a kick out of seeing this byline.
Obviously, I'm excited to debut in the New York Times! Special thanks to Katie Hale for all of her advice and mentorship over the past year. Shout out to the folks at Crosshare.org for solving my mini- and midi-sized creations. If you haven't checked it out, it really is one of the best communities on the Internet for constructing and sharing crosswords. Thanks to my wife, Caroline for listening to all of my half-baked theme ideas. Lastly, thanks to the G.O.A.T. test-solving tandem: my parents, Phil and Betsy. I don't think I've ever created a puzzle that they didn't like.
Oh yeah...*plug alert*...be sure to check out my more "bite-sized" puzzles at OlioGrids.com!
| P | L | O | T | A | B | A | C | K | C | B | D | |||
| E | A | C | H | R | O | M | A | N | W | A | L | E | ||
| R | I | T | E | T | W | I | C | E | I | R | O | N | ||
| K | R | U | S | T | Y | T | H | E | C | L | O | W | N | |
| P | H | O | E | Y | E | A | L | L | E | Y | ||||
| C | O | L | O | N | E | L | S | A | N | D | E | R | S | |
| I | C | E | W | I | N | E | S | M | I | O | ||||
| A | D | S | O | M | A | N | I | S | A | W | ||||
| P | I | K | D | I | S | R | A | E | L | I | ||||
| C | H | A | R | L | I | E | C | H | A | P | L | I | N | |
| D | O | R | I | S | M | A | E | S | P | F | ||||
| T | H | E | C | A | T | I | N | T | H | E | H | A | T | |
| R | O | T | E | A | N | I | T | A | A | E | R | O | ||
| A | H | O | Y | N | O | S | I | R | S | A | C | K | ||
| Y | O | O | G | R | E | E | T | E | L | S | E |
I tried making my first crossword puzzle with pencil and graph paper when I was around 11. This was before home computers (at least in my home) and construction software. I quickly realized it was not as easy as it looked and waited approximately 40 years to try again.
This puzzle was inspired by a puzzle a while back that had little "bats" made of clusters of black squares. I wondered what other shapes could be made that way and came up with bow ties. Then, it was sheer luck that of the limited number of well-known people/ characters known to wear bow ties, there were enough that were the same length and could be split in two by their "bow ties" symmetrically. I hope you'll agree with Doctor Who (the eleventh incarnation) that "bow ties are cool."
| U | P | O | N | L | O | N | G | T | H | E | R | E | ||
| S | O | L | E | O | B | O | E | H | O | N | E | D | ||
| C | L | A | R | I | N | E | T | S | A | D | D | E | D | |
| L | Y | F | T | Y | E | T | T | G | I | F | ||||
| B | O | R | E | D | E | D | E | N | ||||||
| T | U | B | A | I | D | L | E | D | S | T | O | W | ||
| S | M | I | L | E | D | Y | O | G | A | E | R | A | ||
| A | I | R | L | E | A | K | S | I | G | N | A | L | S | |
| R | A | D | E | B | A | Y | N | E | U | R | O | N | ||
| S | K | I | P | L | Y | I | N | G | I | S | N | T | ||
| N | O | S | E | D | O | S | E | S | ||||||
| C | H | I | P | A | D | O | M | A | L | I | ||||
| G | H | A | N | A | R | I | G | H | T | N | E | S | S | |
| M | O | N | T | Y | A | S | I | A | C | O | L | E | ||
| S | O | D | A | S | T | H | E | Y | E | V | E | R |
I began this puzzle by locking in UPON, LONG, THERE, THEY, and EVER and the black squares required to support them. Then I selected across words one at a time, slowly building my characters, universe, and plot while adding more black squares and keeping the down entries as clean as possible. The crossword staple OBOE was the first story word I chose, and everything flowed from there.
As the grid became more and more constrained by the previous words, the story became increasingly difficult to write. The most challenging slot was the one eventually occupied by AIRLEAK.
During the editing process, I changed a single square. Can you guess which one? The editors requested that I replace EDDINGS with EDGINGS, which changed YODA to YOGA. Consequently, I turned the YODA t-shirt into a YOGA t-shirt, and the endearing YODA-speak mirroring of the original story became a groan-worthy pun on LYING.
Post-acceptance, the editors made a small change to the story. In my version, it wasn't Ava who IDLED, but rather some nearby cars. Of course, Ava was still gathering her courage, which I guess is pretty close to idling after all.
| O | S | C | A | R | N | E | M | O | J | A | M | |||
| K | A | R | M | A | O | L | I | N | A | X | O | N | ||
| A | G | A | I | N | H | E | L | P | R | I | C | E | ||
| Y | A | M | D | R | O | V | E | A | T | O | H | O | ||
| D | R | A | P | E | R | O | D | M | A | N | ||||
| W | E | R | E | T | E | N | F | O | U | R | ||||
| A | T | O | N | A | L | T | E | R | E | D | ||||
| I | N | C | I | S | E | D | M | E | S | S | A | G | E | |
| F | A | K | E | T | A | N | S | N | O | W | ||||
| R | E | T | A | I | N | S | E | T | S | Y | ||||
| C | R | I | S | P | S | N | O | P | E | S | ||||
| E | O | N | S | A | N | D | C | A | T | J | A | W | ||
| N | U | D | E | W | O | O | L | H | O | O | H | A | ||
| T | G | I | F | A | L | O | U | O | W | N | E | R | ||
| H | A | T | Y | O | R | E | S | L | I | M | Y |
Of the many (too) weird and (too) wacky Thursdays I've ever submitted, this one runs much easier in comparison, as you could technically solve the whole puzzle being oblivious to the gimmick. The NYT team was even half contemplating it for a Wednesday. Thankfully, it did publish today, so I can finally hit for the cycle (bucket list!).
In previous Thursday puzzles, constructors have played around with pretty much everything they can get their hands on — from what can go in the white/black squares to the space outside of the grid and, of course, to the clues themselves. Why not play around with the clue numbers, too, I thought?
I restricted the theme entries to those with Arabic numerals only, as per the clue numbering format. Since moving black squares affected the numbering sequence, there was a whole bunch of trial and error in the construction, given the need for symmetry. I would have loved to restrict the theme squares to only one Arabic number per entry, but in the end, it wasn't worth sacrificing for the additional flexibility.
Kudos to the NYT team for clues 43A and 63A!
Constructors log: submitted/accepted in May/August 2022.