New York Times, Friday, December 30, 2016

Exceedingly smoothly themeless, as per usual for PB. There weren't any feature entries that I *squeed!* over, but there were several that were very solid. I especially liked YOGI BERRA, N'EST CE PAS?, and the PURPLE COW / CREAM SODA combination.

When using a standard-ish themeless layout — triple-stacks of 8-10 letter-long answers in each of the four corners — constructors often seed each corner with a single answer and build around them. Each of the four seed entries can help its respective corner sing. This can, however, lead to problems knitting the corners together into a single, fluid puzzle.

I wonder if Patrick started with HOLDUP JOB and maybe PURPLE COW, allowing his filling process to flow eastward without having to meld into other seed answers. I'd bet good money on HOLDUP JOB as the starting point, since it's one of the most interesting phrases in the puzzle, and it's never been used in a major crossword. (Although I did wonder if STICKUP JOB was snazzier.) The fact that MUDFISH crosses it — another new to major crosswords entry — and I'd double down that bet.

The result is as smooth as always. I'm pretty sure that it's a result of a ton of trial and error even for the great PB, and what differentiates him from other themeless constructors is his willingness (relentlessness?) to keep on restarting a section over and over and over again until he finally can create something silky-smooth.

This process also tends to result in a grid that's not always the sparkliest or freshest, but that's the trade-off PB typically makes, and it usually makes for a very satisfying solve.

KILEY was a toughie, but the crossings seem to be all fair. TITO might be tough for some, but Josep Broz TITO is no doubt someone that educated solvers ought to know.

Patrick's themelesses almost always leave me with such a feeling of satisfaction, his puzzles so smooth and solvable. I always feel sorry for the poor sucker who has to follow him. (insert foreshadowing here)