New York Times, Monday, December 30, 2013

I constructed this puzzle, my 100th New York Times submission, in June 2012. I'd seen several vowel progressions from around that time period and decided I wanted to try my hand at constructing one. So I went into my construction software program and figured out how to generate every possible four-letter vowel progression with respect to the second letter. It was quite a challenge to find a vowel progression with only common words that had not already been published, but I finally hit upon PANT/PENT/PINT/PONT/PUNT. I wasn't thrilled that PUNT RETURN ended up forcing PANT SUITED, the only theme entry where the P?NT arrangement isn't completely separate, but I appreciated that all the theme entries felt lively and would be New York Times debuts. The grid was rather challenging, but I still was able to include many entries I really like, such as POWER NAP, SO WHAT, WEB APP and SQUISH. I was expecting the puzzle to run on a Tuesday, since some of the fill is a bit "chewy," though I'm pleased to have another Monday. Enjoy!

While vowel progression themes have become fairly common (and warning: I have several more in inventory!), this is the first one I can remember in which the progression appears in a four-letter string. Whether it's a first or not, it's a nice change of pace.

Meaty start to the week, a vowel progression from David with an unusual grid pattern (not the first four-letter progression though!). It played much harder than a Monday for me, but sometimes the variety is nice. I like it when constructors try something new, and working high-density themes into low word-count grids seems like a new wave of experimentation in the NYT.

I was a little mixed on the theme answers, as PUNT RETURN is a great (and aptly-timed) answer (go Seahawks!), but PANT-SUITED felt a little off. Wearing a pant-suit yes, pant-suited … hmm. PINT MEASURE also feels out of the language to me, but my idea of cooking is eating a jar of spaghetti sauce straight out of the refrigerator. PONT LEVEQUE is a super-toughie. Yes, I like learning new things from crosswords, but I personally wouldn't give this puzzle to a novice. And the crossing with RUBATO is going to be really tough for some.

Where David shines is his long fill. Sticking POWER NAP, POP TUNE, and SO WHAT in the SW is really nice. I would have loved it if the latter had been clued to the "So What" track off Miles Davis's blockbuster "Kind of Blue", but perhaps that's best saved for a later-week puzzle. OUT THERE is also a great entry, not at all out there.

Was the low word-count grid worth it? I did appreciate the snazzy fill, but in the SW we see OPE, SOAPER (is that really a thing?), ATCO and RTS. Nothing is a terrible entry in itself, but all together squished into a small region the effect is less than ideal. I would have preferred breaking up the SW and NE with a set of black squares (you'd have to lose the cheater squares before POSE and after GARY). Snappy long fill is a great thing, but sometimes I feel like the price to pay is too high.

All in all though, an enjoyable solve. I think pushing the envelope is rarely a bad thing.