New York Times, Wednesday, November 4, 2020

I'm thrilled to have a puzzle in the New York Times! Crosswords are in my blood - my grandparents were avid solvers, my dad submitted a puzzle to Eugene Maleska, and I caught the bug in 2013 and have been a daily solver ever since. This is actually the second crossword of mine to be accepted by the NYT but the first to appear in print, so you haven't seen the last of me.

This idea excited me because I enjoy themes where each theme clue feels like a small self-contained puzzle. There are not as many candidate phrases for this one as you might think. A handful of words sound like two letters (e.g., IVY, EXCEL, CAGEY), fewer of those words begin legitimate 2-word phrases (e.g., IVY LEAGUE), and fewer yet can be clued in this theme's format (is there an example of a league that starts with V?). Another entry I considered was SEEDY BAR but, while Cheers is a well-known "C" bar, I wasn't satisfied with the recognizability of any "D" bars.

I was pleased to see many of my clues survive the editing process, including a nod to my alma mater at 67-Down.

Many thanks to my wife Maheen for helping me workshop ideas, my dad for getting me into crosswords, and my mom and sister for being ridiculously supportive of every move I make. Thanks, Will, Sam, and the rest of the editing team, for doing a wonderful job sprucing up the puzzle. I adore crossword puzzles, and it means a lot to me to provide a (hopefully pleasant) diversion for New York Times solvers today.

What a debut! I enjoy letter homophones, and although I've seen similar plays on ESPY = S P AWARD, the rest felt fresh. I started at [Euro, Zloty] as I slowly uncovered the entry EASY ____. I got a great a-ha when EASY MONEY = E Z MONEY fell into place.

It was a little too Euro Zloty to fill in the rest after that, though since the [I C] entry had to start with ICY, M T had to start with EMPTY, etc. Such solid themer examples, though, that I didn't mind breezing through it all.

Jack impressed me with all the wonderful bonuses he wove in. That's not an easy task when you have five themers — many experienced constructors haven't gotten the hang of offsetting long downs (alternating BASTILLE DAY / SPIT IT OUT / PARTY HATS / LIBRARY CARD up/down/up/down with proper spacing). The overlaps of these bonuses create difficulties, so getting some PBA and ACCTS in those west/east regions isn't surprising.

What is surprising is that Jack kept his dabs of glue so minimal. There's no secret to it, simply an unwillingness to say "good enough."

I did find it odd to get EAZY E in the grid, both because it (sort of) duplicates EASY MONEY, but also because it's another two-letter homophone in E Z. I'd have asked for a revision there, especially since if you don't know your Keebler crackers, ZESTA might feel wildly incorrect. Experienced solvers might also think to themselves that, of course, Will Shortz wouldn't allow an EASY / EAZY dupe, so they might go with EATY E or EAVY E instead.

Overthinkers of the world, that's my tribe.

A debut rarely gets POW! consideration, but this one was right up there.

ADDED NOTE: Some readers have been confused by ESPY AWARD — it's referring to the Satellite Awards and the Pultizer Prizes. I know, that last one is much more a "prize" than an "award," but it still works.