New York Times, Tuesday, May 20, 2014

Some puzzles go from conception to publication in a matter of several weeks. Some others languish in prison for years. This is one of the latter. I mailed it in over three years ago, and for three years it's been peeking through the bars of its cell wondering when it would be set free. My very own little Jean Valjean. Maybe the Innocence Project needs to look into this.

I'm glad that all the themed entries are two words long, so there aren't any unnecessary tag-alongs that don't contribute. Including extra words always makes the theme a little less elegant. For instance, if I'd chosen to use NEW MEXICO STATE, the NEW would just go along for the ride — like it's third-wheeling on a date or something. Never a good idea.

I do remember trying to brainstorm themed entries that break COST other than between the O and S (MAGIC OSTRICH?, Pecos Bill's little brother PECOS TIM?), but didn't have much luck, so I went for the consistency of having them all split the same way.

As for the fill, I like A MAN DOWN. It's one of those rare phrases where the indefinite article is necessary. MAN DOWN doesn't make sense, and no self-respecting hockey player would say "the Blackhawks are playing ONE MAN DOWN."

Nice example of a "hidden word" type theme, COST broken across four different themers, with HIDDEN COST as a revealer. As a finance guy, I like HIDDEN COSTs, specifically digging through documents to uncover where salesmen are messing around with you, spending hours poring over details so you don't get taken advantage of.

Apparently, I'm getting weirder (as if that were possible). The things I like to do...

I appreciate how Pete took care to be uber-consistent, breaking COST in the middle each time (CO/ST) and keeping each phrase to two words. Textbook consistency; keeps the puzzle elegant. This is especially important when a theme is of a standard type, and thus isn't allowed as much wiggle-room by solvers.

I'm going to have to name the antagonist in my next book PECOS TIM though. Man, I cracked up reading Pete's comment about that.

I also enjoyed the snappiness of the themers. TACO STANDS are some of my favorite places to eat, and although I didn't know BRONCO STADIUM specifically, Boise State is one of the few college football teams I know a little about because of their propensity to deploy trick plays. Hard not to love a team that dares to run the Statue of Liberty play at a critical moment.

I did appreciate the bits of long fill, DUCK BILL being my favorite (I'm a big fan of the platypus and its cousin, the Psyduck), but the overall fill did have a slightly older-school feel to it. It made a lot more sense after I read Pete's comments about how long this puzzle took to get published. I doubt Pete would let by so much CES, SRA, CRO, IGO, APO, ESO kind of stuff these days.

Off to start writing the Ballad of Pecos Tim!