New York Times, Wednesday, April 22, 2020

The idea for this puzzle came while at work, as many others have. I am a letter carrier in Philadelphia, at 63 I'm well into my 30th and hopefully final year with the USPS. I think the focus on name and number throughout the day allows my right brain the freedom to bubble up some theme ideas from time to time.

In this case, being in the midst of a creative drought I remember the exact moment when I reminded myself to look around and speak what I saw. It happened to be the sign of a dance studio with the address 1515 in large font. I said "number" aloud and began to riff, number became prime number (1515 is not one), which led to prime example leading to prime real estate which is a 15! Later at home I found some examples of places that included a prime and started to fill the grid. My submission was accepted in October of 2018, with the need to make some revisions which Sam Ezersky was very helpful with. Thanks to Will and his team for jazzing up my clues as usual.

Getting back to my profession, we are in a bit of a bind right now as you might have heard. I won't get too political here, I would just ask you if you care to, to educate yourselves about the issues, and remember that the Post Office is a public service established under Article I of the U.S. Constitution. The person residing at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. didn't arrive until Article II.

Be well everyone and keep on solving.

Several years ago, a newer constructor ran an idea by me, using PRIME REAL ESTATE as a revealer for THREE MILE ISLAND, plus some others I don't recall for TWO, FIVE, and SEVEN. I loved the notion, but his choices left something to be desired. I thought his chances for acceptance would be much higher if he brainstormed for better themers, but he went ahead as is, and subsequently got rejected.

Enter today's puzzle! I like Jules's selections, each themer easily recognizable and catchy to boot. I would have loved for TWO and FIVE to be included, but crossword symmetry requirements are a cruel beast. To get the three prime numbers in ascending order is a nice touch.

Today's grid is more wide-open than usual, the word count of 75 deceptively high, considering it's a 16x15 grid. With biggish swaths in the SW and NE, parts of the grid approach themeless-like openness. I often dislike when constructors do this, leaving me with a feeling that they're trying to show off, trade-offs be damned.

Not today, Jules's decision is paying off. LEVERET is a bit of an oddball, but when you can work in SURGICAL, CORAL RED, TEA SHOP, POLITICO, that's worth a bit of ARIL ETES GOVT. There's some extra bite, to be sure — I nearly got stuck in the NW, unable to make the connection between "Buzz off!" and BITE ME, for example — but it wasn't enough to create the feeling of mismatch that can come with a straightforward theme buried within a tough grid.

I enjoyed this concept the first time around, and I enjoyed it even more now. Makes me want to go back to my notes to see if there is a TWO and/or a FIVE themer.