New York Times, Thursday, December 18, 2014

I have a chronic tendency to underestimate puzzle difficulty. This one I tried to gear towards a typical Wednesday; my guess is it will turn out to be a hard Thursday. Fortunately, I also have a chronic tendency to write harder-than-average clues, so these mistakes often balance each other out. One clue that was really toughened up, though, was PIG LATIN's. My submitted clue was [Secret language the constructor has disguised the five italicized clues using], which you can readily see is pretty explicit, and a bit verbose. The published clue still indicates that there's something amiss with the theme clues, but it does so without giving away too much information about the trick. And in fewer words.

Nice sound changes, "X-ray" the PIG LATIN of "wrecks" = a real winner. Took me a while to figure that one out, and it gave me a strong "hey, that's cool!" moment. The others didn't quite have the same effect as the pig latinizations weren't as surprising, but figuring out "airway" into "wear" was also pretty rewarding.

Loved the cluing touches today. There were several that heightened my solving experience. Go back and study the clues for SNOG, DOJO, IRS, EDEN, EXTRAS, and darn you if you're not amused. DOJO as a place to "kick back"? Yes! Even the IRS brought me a smile when I realized the clue was referring to a tax shelter, not a homeless shelter. Each one of those little moments brings me such pleasure.

I've noticed I favor late-week puzzles. It's taken me a while to figure out why that is specifically. And a big reason is because there are more of these clever clues usually included. I assume this is because the more experienced solving audience is more likely to appreciate the wordplay? Well, I say pish tosh, sir! Here's hoping that we get more of these gems in early-week puzzles too. Why deprive novice solvers of the associated joy?

Sort of a "definitional" puzzle today, usually not my favorite as the clues and answers kind of appear switched. I really like this type of theme when the "definitional" entries are colorful, like KNUCKLE DRAGGER and JALOPIES. But RIP TO PIECES ... RIP TO SHREDS yes, RIP TO PIECES ... maybe. (Also, "trash" doesn't seem like it accurately matches RIP TO PIECES to me — I wrestled with that one because I couldn't equate them in my mind.) Finally, LIVE AND BREATHE doesn't sing to me. AS I LIVE AND BREATHE = yes! LIVE AND BREATHE = a definition out of Merriam-Webster.

A nice balance at 74 words, open enough to be more challenging than a 78-worder, but still allowing for some good long fill like ON THE STAGE, REDUCED FAT, and STODGY. I also appreciated the relative cleanliness of the grid, just a few minor MHO, OYE, A DEAL (can't fool me, partial!) kind of things. Always a balance when five themers are involved.