New York Times, Tuesday, April 14, 2020

It is an honor to have my Times' debut!

Looking at this puzzle a year later (it was accepted in January of 2019), I want to dig in and re-edit it! But then I remember what a pain it was getting the concept to "work," especially for a novice constructor.

There are several "finger" and "hand" themed crosswords published. Most recently, Evan Mahnken's 7-3-19 NYT puzzle, which is way more clever than this one. In my puzzle, each "finger" phrase is vertical and proportional in length for a human hand. This required making the grid asymmetrical, and having all the entries flush at the bottom.

I submitted several versions of the puzzle. I did not think Will would accept this version, with the unfortunate "EGAL," and the 28 three-letter-words in it! (I am very sorry about EGAL, btw). However, I was hoping, given the difficulty (for constructor) of having five theme entries all flush to the bottom, and the novelty of having an asymmetrical grid, he might overlook these shortcomings. Luckily (for me), he did!

I hope that the difficulty in construction translates to some enjoyment for the solver, since I know this is not always the case, haha.

One last note: the hand dimensions in the puzzle present the index finger as longer than the ring finger. This is the case with many individuals, although, for many other individuals, the ring finger is longer than the index finger.

MINDBENDING is right! You don't even have to squint to see four fingers curled down, and a MIDDLE finger pointed straight up. I wanted to give this puzzle the POW! because it makes me laugh at how Will Shortz will respond to letters from shocked solvers. Will it be:

1. Whoops! I never noticed that.
2. Get your mind out of the gutter. It's simply a hand. Speaking of hand, talk to it.
3. A subversive grin.

Whatever the case may be (I'm hoping for number 3), this puzzle displays another point of uniqueness: no symmetry. At first glance, it looked like regular symmetry, but it quickly dawned on me that it's not just one or two blocks shifted to make the theme possible. It's complete chaos. It's like Loki made the puzzle and then flipped Asgard the bird.

Surprisingly, I didn't mind the irregularity. It's almost … bold. Not only do no theme entries match in length, but the blocks in the center don't even come close to matching up. Nor do the sets of blocks on the left and right. Or the ones on the top and bottom.

I suppose it is appropriate, since in real life, every finger is distinctive. Why not fully thumb your nose at convention?

Jim Horne and I sometimes discuss whether or not the symmetry rules that were put in place long ago should be relaxed, more a rule of thumb. Symmetry does lend elegance to a puzzle, an aesthetic quality that's so pleasing. However, once in a while, I welcome something that blows up the standards.

Not your father's crossword, that's for sure. If it had been cleaner — too much AERO ATA DOA ECCO EGAL ITGO SSA — I would have given it the POW! for its distinctiveness. Easier said than done, though. The constraints are tough enough that getting the theme to work, period — symmetry be damned — that achieving a smooth grid would make even the most experienced constructors raise that MIDDLE finger. A memorable debut.