Jeffrey Martinovic author page

Jeffrey Martinovic and Evan Park are fellow students at Western University in London, Ontario. They became friends over cards (bridge, the Korean game Mighty) and intramural sports (ultimate Frisbee, water polo, softball, and others).

This puzzle started when Evan observed that the two shaded words in the grid could intersect. Together, they brainstormed theme answers related to that crossing, then filled the grid and composed clues over a month of video calls.

Matt Proulx and Jeffrey Martinovic are students at Western University, in London, Ontario, where they have been friends since they met in a first-year business course.

Matt's love of skiing inspired this puzzle's theme. It was originally developed in a 15x15-square daily grid, which was rejected, because the theme was too cramped and the daily paper's crossword can't use color. Jeffrey and Matt went back to the drawing board and turned the idea into a much better 21x21 Sunday.

Jeffrey Martinovic is a mechanical engineering student at Western University, in London, Ontario. He's been solving crosswords since he was 10, helping his mother with the puzzle in the local paper.

He was fascinated by the seemingly impossible across-and-down interlocks. He's been constructing puzzles since high school. "The idea for this one came to me when I was lying in bed one night unable to fall asleep," Jeffrey says, "I figured I may as well do something useful and let my mind wander."

Jeffrey Martinovic is a mechanical engineering student at Western University in London, Ontario. Jeff Chen, of Seattle, is a writer and longtime Times crossword contributor.

They brainstormed puzzle ideas and entries over email, and nearly three months, 200 messages and 100 grid versions later, submitted the artful puzzle here. The theme is neatly explained at 111-Across.