Easy-peasy! At least, easy — EASY DOES IT describing themers starting with E and Z. Initialisms are a standard crossword theme, so I ...
read moreEasy-peasy! At least, easy — EASY DOES IT describing themers starting with E and Z.
Initialisms are a standard crossword theme, so I appreciated 1.) Tracy's decision to use at least one tough letter (Z) and 2.) incorporation of a good revealer. EROGENOUS ZONES is a very nice answer, and EMILIANO ZAPATA felt like it was someone I really should have been able to fill in right off the bat.

EBOLA ZAIRE … talk about a downer to lead off one's crossword puzzle. Out of curiosity, I wondered what other 10-letter phrases could follow the E* Z* pattern. Surprised that I couldn't find any good ones!
ED ZWICK … this Seahawks fan might have preferred END ZONE, but there's no doubt ED ZWICK is crossworthy. I did hesitate when reading up on him (such a prolific directing career!) — seems like he goes by Edward?
Some fancy work in the NE and SW corners. A 9x4(ish) chunk is so hard to fill with color and cleanliness. I really liked the NE, with SALT PIT, FINE TUNES, and MIX IT UP (TAKE APART isn't as strong to me) at just the price of an OER. Very nice!
The SW wasn't quite as stellar for me, given that it cost ANA, ERES, and NANS in order to get not quite as many fancy entries. NANS especially stood out (the plural of NAAN is usually NAAN, yeah?), what with other awkward plurals — SOYAS and ELSAS — elsewhere in the grid.
For a standard theme type, I love having something extra; some bonus. While it's nice to get the lovely CANOODLES type of bonus, how cool would it have been to have something like EASY PEASY, with E*Z* and P* Z* phrases? Or limit all theme phrases to different makes of cars, with EASY RIDER as a revealer? That last one would almost certainly be impossible, but it's fun to brainstorm ways of elevating a standard theme type into something standout.