New York Times, Monday, January 23, 2023

The day I received the proof of this puzzle was also the day my grandfather died. Normally I'd have a profound puzzle insight to share but instead what's on my mind today is gratitude — for the time I spent with him, but particularly for the friendship Alvin, a dear family friend, forged with him during his final years.

Alvin, who began as his landscaper, first came by as a casual friend after grandpa's hip replacement, continuing to come over regularly during many of the 11 years grandpa outlived my grandma. Alvin's visits often took the shape of coffee and conversation after dropping his kids off at school. They discussed everything from family, to life, hobbies, and current events. Some days grandpa would invite Alvin for steak dinners, but other days they'd barely speak and spend the morning watching the news.

The important thing was his presence — the conscious, routine decision to be involved and engaged and make the mundane life of an old man meaningful. Tonight, this morning, whenever you're reading this, take a few minutes to say hello and check in with someone older that you care about. Those hellos can make all the difference.

Brilliant fanfare for the common solver today, newbs treated to trumpeting wordplay. I've seen plenty of "disguised instruments" themes before, but nothing as clever as this. I can only imagine the horrible sounds generated by trying to blow into a TAPE RECORDER!

Amazing to find three objects that work so perfectly for this theme. I scoured my memories, flipping through 20 years of orchestras and band experience to find a single other wind instrument that would work. There are some non-wind instruments, like BELL or SNARE, but percussion instruments aren't blown.

Such great use of mirror symmetry, too — it's perfect for these situations when you can't pair your themers in length, but they're either all odd or even-lettered. Lengths of 12, 8, 14, 10? No problem!

Well, not exactly. Mirror symmetry does present different problems than regular symmetry. The trickiest part is often figuring out which rows your themers should inhabit. Note that TAPE RECORDER, SHOEHORN, and DON'T BLOW IT all force black square placements on their sides. Those black squares all have to play nicely together.

You need DON'T BLOW IT as the revealer in row 12, so that restricts your flexibility even further. Stacking TAPE RECORDER and SHOEHORN might seem showy, but with these lengths, stacking two themers is almost a requirement.

Additionally, mirror symmetry sometimes forces long Down bonuses instead of making them optional. Trying to break LOCAL DIVE at the second L causes a cascade of black square problems. Fantastic to end up with a grid that's both smooth and sparkly — LOCAL DIVE is so colorful.

Adrian far from blew it today, giving us a symphony of harmonious delights.