New York Times, Monday, April 3, 2017
| Author: | Agnes Davidson and Zhouqin Burnikel |
| Editor: | Will Shortz |
AGNES: Prior to December 2015, my only experience with crossword puzzles was solving them, a pastime that I've enjoyed since the late 1970's. Through C.C.'s generous invitation to collaborate, I'm enjoying the challenges and rewards of the nuts and bolts of construction. Most of all, I'm enjoying working with C.C. whom I consider both a friend and mentor. I'm very excited about our New York Times debut.
C.C.: This puzzle was accepted last Sept. Agnes and I were fairly conservative in our grid design due to theme entry length. I started making puzzles with Agnes in Dec. 2015 and we've had a few puzzles published by Rich (Jeff: Rich Norris, the LA Times editor). Agnes was eager to learn, and she learned so fast. She also works incredibly hard and is unfailingly kind, patient and accommodating of my background. I enjoy very much working with her.
Debut! Great to see C.C. work with so many new constructors.
Baseball theme, a BATTER, COACH, PITCHER, and a FAN making up BALLPARK FIGURES. I liked how they concealed those words by using different meanings, i.e. BATTER as a coating, not as a hitter. BEER BATTER was my favorite — a snazzy phrase, and one that threw me off the scent.
It would have been nice to get the revealer, BALLPARK FIGURES, at the very end, though. Right in the middle of the puzzle is a logical spot to place that entry, but that did give away the game halfway through my solve.
I usually prize consistency, and one form of consistency is having all plural or all singular themers. In this case, though, it felt odd with just a lone FAN. Perhaps this represents a Dodgers game. Hey-o! (Lifelong Giants fan here.)
Getting multiple FANS in could have been done with WINDOW FANS, but that phrase doesn't resonate as well for me. (Perhaps it's because my two-year-old has a strange fascination with CEILING FANs. Don't ask.)
Tough to build around five long themers. Looking at the layout of black squares before starting, I guessed that two of the roughest spots would be in the north and the south — those are areas where there's a lot of overlap between themers.
In the north, PATEK is tough, and I don't think Cheri OTERI has made a crossworthy mark yet. In the south … as much as I love Superman, I'm not sure it's fair to expect most novices to get the KALEL / LEA / TOILE crossings.
I did appreciate the effort to incorporate some long fill — RACHAEL RAY and ILL BE THERE are both nice additions. They make for some difficult filling challenges, since they both intersect two theme answers apiece, but the results are pretty good, especially in the lower left. Very smooth there.
I'm not sure the prices of INE / NATL / RHEAS / SCRAG (those last two are tough vocab for a Monday) are worth RACHAEL RAY, but I'm sure her fans will disagree.
Well-disguised theme plus a spot-on revealer makes for a nice Monday puzzle.
1 E | 2 G | 3 O | 4 S | 5 V | 6 A | 7 P | 8 O | 9 R | 10 I | 11 R | 12 I | 13 S |
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14 B | E | R | T | 15 I | R | A | T | E | 16 N | A | T | L |
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17 B | E | E | R | 18 B | A | T | T | E | R | 19 E | C | H | O |
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20 S | K | O | A | L | 21 E | R | A | 22 S | 23 H | A | T |
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24 P | U | 25 M | 26 P | K | I | N | C | 27 O | A | C | H |
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28 S | 29 K | 30 I | 31 R | O | E | 32 R | H | E | A | S |
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33 O | I | L | 34 S | 35 N | A | 36 S | 37 A | 38 A | F | L | ||||
39 B | A | L | L | 40 P | A | R | K | F | 41 I | G | U | R | 42 E | 43 S |
44 B | A | E | 45 S | A | L | T | 46 N | A | P | A |
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47 A | 48 L | E | V | E | 49 A | C | 50 T | 51 Y | A | P |
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52 W | A | T | E | R | 53 P | 54 I | 55 T | C | H | E | 56 R | |||
57 N | T | H | 58 S | U | M | O | 59 R | E | 60 A | 61 M | 62 S |
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63 I | T | E | 64 M | 65 C | E | I | 66 L | 67 I | N | G | F | A | N |
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68 N | E | R | O | 69 K | A | L | E | L | 70 A | R | I | A |
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71 G | R | E | W | 72 S | N | E | A | K | 73 L | O | N | G |
| Across | Down | |
| 1. Inflated senses of self : EGOS 5. Moisture in the air : VAPOR 10. Flower girl? : IRIS 14. Muppet with a unibrow : BERT 15. Furious : IRATE 16. The "N" of N.F.L.: Abbr. : NATL 17. Coating for fish that you might think would make you tipsy : BEERBATTER 19. Sound heard in a cave : ECHO 20. "Cheers!," in Scandinavia : SKOAL 21. Historical periods : ERAS 23. Derby or fedora : HAT 24. Cinderella's carriage : PUMPKINCOACH 28. Hit the slopes : SKI 31. ___ v. Wade : ROE 32. Cousins of emus : RHEAS 33. Classical paintings : OILS 35. Org. that operates the Jupiter orbiter : NASA 38. ___-C.I.O. : AFL 39. Rough estimates ... or what the ends of 17-, 24-, 52- and 65-Across are? : BALLPARKFIGURES 44. Slangy "sweetie" : BAE 45. Pepper's partner : SALT 46. California wine valley : NAPA 47. Popular pain reliever : ALEVE 49. Have a part in a play : ACT 51. Talk, talk, talk : YAP 52. Waiter's refilling aid : WATERPITCHER 57. Utmost : NTH 58. Sport for heavyweights : SUMO 59. Curses (out) : REAMS 63. Couple, in a gossip column : ITEM 65. Overhead cooler : CEILINGFAN 68. Ruler said to have fiddled while Rome burned : NERO 69. Superman's birth name : KALEL 70. Song for a diva : ARIA 71. Sprouted : GREW 72. Underhanded sort : SNEAK 73. Like marathons and maxiskirts : LONG |
1. Recedes, as the tide : EBBS 2. Sheldon of "The Big Bang Theory," for one : GEEK 3. Cookie that may be dipped in milk : OREO 4. Subway standee's support : STRAP 5. By way of : VIA 6. Works at a museum : ART 7. ___ Philippe (Swiss watchmaker) : PATEK 8. Cheri formerly of "S.N.L" : OTERI 9. Aired, as old TV shows : RERAN 10. Suffix with serpent : INE 11. Host of TV's "30 Minute Meals" : RACHAELRAY 12. Cornell University's home : ITHACA 13. Tree huggers? : SLOTHS 18. Fuzzy picture : BLUR 22. One who's all skin and bones : SCRAG 25. Leonardo da Vinci's "___ Lisa" : MONA 26. Fruits that are a little grittier than apples : PEARS 27. "That sounds good - NOT!" : OHFUN 28. Cry big tears : SOB 29. Maker of autodom's Optima : KIA 30. Words after "Reach Out" in a #1 Four Tops hit : ILLBETHERE 34. Work like a dog : SLAVE 36. Cousin of calypso : SKA 37. Quacky insurance giant : AFLAC 40. House of Lords members : PEERS 41. Scratch target : ITCH 42. Pollution police, for short : EPA 43. Softhead : SAP 47. Store window shader : AWNING 48. ___-day Saints (Mormons) : LATTER 50. Fork-tailed bird : TERN 53. Hockey discs : PUCKS 54. "Wait, let me explain ..." : IMEAN 55. French fabric : TOILE 56. Majestic : REGAL 60. Big, round head of hair : AFRO 61. Street through the middle of town : MAIN 62. Slight problem : SNAG 64. Cut the lawn : MOW 66. Pasture : LEA 67. Kind : ILK |
Answer summary: 5 unique to this puzzle.
Found bugs or have suggestions?