Solid grid, featuring a good number of snazzy entries. I liked how Andrew spread his assets around, from STOLEN BASES to SKATE PARKS ...
read moreSolid grid, featuring a good number of snazzy entries. I liked how Andrew spread his assets around, from STOLEN BASES to SKATE PARKS to BORN THIS WAY to COSA NOSTRA around the corners, and that beautiful middle triple of BUYERS REMORSE / PARODY ACCOUNT / MUSEUM EXHIBIT. I only counted about 11 assets in the puzzle, but it felt like more because they seemed to pop up everywhere.

COSA NOSTRA is one I love, but I remember my wife looking blankly at me when she first encountered it (in crosswords). I do think this term for the Mafia is interesting, literally meaning "our thing."
Smooth grid, too. There's an editor's STET and a weird TENK (10-K race), but what else? Maybe you could argue that ANN LEE and EFREM Zimbalist are a bit esoteric, but they're both crossworthy in my eyes. Andrew did well to make all the crossings fair, too.
Well, maybe you could say that the MARCH of BETH MARCH isn't fair, crossing EFREM. Hmm. Not having read "Little Women" (I know, heresy!), I did pause at the M. Thank goodness I know EFREM from crosswords! Otherwise, EFRED and DARCH might look plausible. Maybe I'm thinking of Mr. Darcy, from another one of those old British books I was supposed to have read. Bah humbug.
It's rare that I notice a great short entry, but SPANX! I love this, having seen the shapewear brand throughout O the Magazine and other sources. I often pooh-pooh marketing, but whoever came up with this name is a genius.
It's not easy to construct "stairstep" triples (BUYERS REMORSE / PARODY ACCOUNT / MUSEUM EXHIBIT) with both color and cleanliness. And sometimes this type of layout can make it tough to work in a lot of other extras throughout the puzzle. So Andrew does well to work in a good number of assets, plus very few liabilities.