Dena R. Verkuil author page
4 puzzles by Dena R. Verkuil
with Constructor comments
| Total | Debut | Latest | Collabs |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 11/25/2024 | 9/22/2025 | 2 |
| Sun | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Scrab | Debut | Fresh |
|---|---|---|
| 1.65 | 10 | 22% |
See the 10 answer words debuted by Dena R. Verkuil.
| G | P | A | F | U | N | G | I | C | A | C | T | I | ||
| E | L | M | I | N | U | I | T | O | R | L | O | N | ||
| N | E | E | R | E | D | B | O | R | D | E | A | U | X | |
| Z | A | N | Y | V | I | E | A | D | A | P | T | S | ||
| E | W | E | S | F | I | L | M | |||||||
| J | U | S | T | I | N | T | R | U | D | E | A | U | ||
| E | T | A | I | L | U | S | E | P | R | A | Y | |||
| T | A | G | D | O | G | B | E | D | S | B | R | O | ||
| S | H | A | Q | N | E | O | A | V | A | I | L | |||
| S | U | P | E | R | N | I | N | T | E | N | D | O | ||
| A | L | O | E | M | O | S | T | |||||||
| A | S | H | C | A | N | M | S | G | S | W | I | M | ||
| C | O | O | K | I | E | D | O | U | G | H | O | N | O | |
| T | U | N | E | D | M | A | R | I | O | O | F | T | ||
| S | L | E | D | S | S | T | E | N | T | D | O | H |
Dena: As someone who has been watching The Simpsons since it debuted in 1989 (when I was the same age that Bart somehow still is), I am especially pleased with this puzzle's reveal. It all came together super quickly — Andrea and I brainstormed the idea on a Saturday and had the puzzle ready to submit by Tuesday.
I'd like to say it's a testament to how well we work together, but according to the number of projects sitting in my ACME file, it's certainly not the way it always goes, which makes sense, considering we rarely make it through a conversation without stopping to jot down an idea. More to come from us!
Andrea: I started off as a mentor to Dena, but she has now surpassed me, Grasshopper. We've now become good friends, and are equal collaborators.
This puzzle was spurred by something random I said while we were watching her husband Gibson perform a fabulous song he wrote for her called "The Constructrix". Once we realized we could crown this idea off with "D'Oh!" we were off and running!
I believe this is my 90th puzzle for the NYT…and with Dena in my life I hope to reach 100!
(Puzzle and age-wise)
| R | A | S | T | A | C | L | O | G | S | |||||
| D | O | E | S | N | O | T | C | O | M | P | U | T | E | |
| I | N | T | H | E | N | E | A | R | F | U | T | U | R | E |
| S | T | Y | L | E | S | S | P | A | S | B | O | X | ||
| P | A | P | E | R | B | E | S | O | C | H | I | C | ||
| E | P | E | E | B | O | D | E | S | A | U | C | E | ||
| L | E | D | M | I | N | I | V | E | R | B | A | L | ||
| H | E | A | D | S | H | O | T | S | ||||||
| F | I | B | E | R | S | M | A | T | H | J | O | B | ||
| A | M | O | R | E | T | I | M | E | P | A | N | E | ||
| U | F | O | S | B | O | S | S | D | A | S | H | I | ||
| C | U | T | C | U | P | S | G | E | R | M | A | N | ||
| I | L | L | D | O | T | H | E | T | A | L | K | I | N | G |
| L | E | M | O | N | A | D | E | S | T | A | N | D | S | |
| G | S | P | O | T | C | H | A | S | E |
| C | A | P | O | T | E | S | L | A | C | A | P | E | ||
| O | R | E | O | A | D | W | A | R | A | L | E | S | ||
| G | E | E | Z | L | O | U | I | S | E | T | K | O | S | |
| K | E | Y | S | S | S | N | P | A | P | A | ||||
| P | H | A | S | E | W | H | O | A | N | E | L | L | Y | |
| J | O | B | S | F | O | E | R | I | E | S | ||||
| S | L | O | G | L | O | S | A | S | S | |||||
| Y | O | U | T | A | L | K | I | N | T | O | M | E | ||
| A | R | K | A | D | D | N | U | T | S | |||||
| A | S | T | R | O | L | S | D | S | R | I | ||||
| N | O | W | A | Y | J | O | S | E | E | A | T | E | N | |
| G | R | I | N | A | H | H | F | A | V | A | ||||
| L | E | S | T | B | Y | E | F | E | L | I | C | I | A | |
| E | S | T | E | B | E | R | E | T | A | H | O | Y | ||
| S | T | Y | E | A | S | A | D | A | N | E | N | E |
Andrea: In the last decade, over half my constructions have been collaborations with over 30 different folks.
I know I'm not allowed to have favorites, but this NYT debut with Dena Verkuil is special to me.
Dena is a Friday gal but we met two years ago here in San Francisco when she was open to a mentor even tho she was doing nicely on her own.
We were immediately in sync, have same sense of humor and takes on puzzles, and even look alike! (Many folks have even asked if I'm her mom whom I do bear a resemblance to! I prefer to be mistaken as her sister 😉)
This was a true collaboration. Every theme answer was debated at length, every word in the Dena-made grid was examined and discussed and replaced with nary a fight nor awkward moment.
The editors have chosen to leave out last names, eg "Forget about it, Mr Feliciano!" which I think makes for a harder-than-Monday solve, but I'm pleased as punch with the overall result and look forward to many more collaborations with Dena who's become a cherished friend.
| L | O | O | F | A | S | H | E | R | A | P | A | R | ||
| A | C | R | I | D | H | A | N | O | I | A | N | O | ||
| S | H | A | R | E | H | O | L | D | E | R | T | K | O | |
| H | O | L | E | A | W | E | S | B | A | I | L | S | ||
| M | A | Z | E | G | A | R | N | E | T | |||||
| L | I | K | E | H | E | R | D | I | N | G | C | A | T | S |
| A | R | E | N | A | U | M | A | S | S | |||||
| B | E | G | S | W | E | P | T | A | L | A | ||||
| A | T | E | A | T | A | I | M | E | D | |||||
| F | O | L | L | O | W | Y | O | U | R | B | L | I | S | S |
| O | R | E | G | O | N | P | E | S | O | |||||
| R | I | V | A | L | A | L | D | A | V | E | T | S | ||
| M | O | I | S | O | C | I | A | L | M | E | D | I | A | |
| A | L | E | E | V | E | N | T | R | I | D | E | S | ||
| L | E | D | T | A | S | T | E | S | T | A | S | H |
I love challenging myself to learn new skills and only recently added constructrix to my CV. Although I've been solving NYT crosswords for decades, I never would have dreamed of constructing without my husband's encouragement - and now I'm hooked. This is a rare case where seeing how the sausage is made actually enhances my enjoyment (of xwords)!
The fact that my debut is a Monday is a testament to my inimitable mentor and friend, Andrea Carla Michaels, who convinced me that this puzzle was NYT-worthy. Since it's a Monday, I expect all of my friends and family to at least attempt to solve. They will (mostly) be excused from my upcoming Friday puzzle.