New York Times, Friday, January 24, 2020

Hey, y'all! It's a joy to be making my NYT crossword debut. I'm Scott, a resident of Austin, Texas, where I work remotely for a global non-profit and am a leader of our city's November Project, a free and inclusive fitness movement.

My first ever published puzzle was with Queer Qrosswords, a wonderful collaboration of folks from the LGBTQ+ community making queer puzzles to support LGBTQ+ charities. The entry LOVESIMON was originally a theme answer in that puzzle, and while it didn't fit in that final product, I noticed that it alternated favorably between consonants and vowels and sandwiched nicely in a triple stack. Working on these two puzzles at the same time influenced my fill here. While my personal favorite Carly Rae Jepsen got swapped out and Brigham Young found his way in during the editing process, I'm happy I was able to include some other icons in the queer community.

About two years ago, I crafted a themed puzzle involving related idioms that were inspired by thinking of the clue "one who may leave you out in the cold?" for BLANKET HOG. I ended up scrapping that puzzle but was pleased to work the entry into this themeless. Funnily enough, that clue was left on the cutting room floor, though I am thankful for some of the much wittier clues that the editing team added elsewhere!

Looking back at this puzzle now with an extra year of constructing experience, there are some sections I wish I filled with extra sparkle. My end product could have benefited had I been less shy to ask more questions from the editing team during revisions or found a mentor in the "Crossworld." If any new constructors are ever doubting themselves and need a sounding board, or want to collaborate on a puzzle, I am happy to be a partner! For folks from underrepresented groups, I also recommend the Crossword Puzzle Collaboration Directory as a fantastic resource.

It's been a while since I tallied up so many smile-inducing clues. Although I still place more weight on grid-making skills than clue-writing, the balance is shifting. I'd love to know who wrote the following, Scott or Will Shortz and team — I imagine at least some of them were Scott's:

• MENDED = "gave a darn." Tee hee. It doesn't quite work grammatically, but using the "darn" part of darning a sock is genius.
• I still don't exactly know what TWERKING is, just that involves shaking your butt up and down. (As to why, that's another question.) "Doing some back-up dancing" is hilarious.
• Ah, [That's the spot!]. As in where you are, a LOCALE.
• Hot-wiring OVEN RACKS? Ah, the wires forming the oven rack get hot. Groan!
• Where would I see a display of balance? Again, the grammar isn't quite right, as no financial person would ever say "display of balance," but it's so fun that I didn't care. (Missed opportunity though, the UNICYCLE also showing a display of balance!)

There was so much to love in the cluing that it almost didn't matter what the grid looked like. The strict constructionist in me had to have his say, though. It's typically problematic to place a fourth answer (SIDETRACKS) under a triple-stack, even if it's offset — there are too many constraints. See: AMOI / ENNEAD / YAH in the NW.

Running SIDETRACKS all the way to the far right can sidetrack you, too. When that ACK gets fixed into place, it saps away valuable flexibility from that triple-stack of HAVARTI / UNICYCLE / COCKEREL. A minor YDS is a small price to pay, but when you have small prices all over, they add up.

I enjoyed so much of the BLANKET HOG MAMMA MIA BLAME GAME material, but some of the long slots felt like they didn't carry their weight — neutral entries like WEANING and NASTINESS in particular.

Not a standout grid, but a standing O set of clues.