New York Times, Monday, June 2, 2014

I could write an ESSAY about this, but I'll keep it short! (Relatively...for me). I simply liked the simplicity of "S.A." phrases and that it was a play on the pronunciation of ESSAY.

Tried to make all five interesting, mostly excited about SNOOZEALARM and SMARTALECK. The crowning moment for me was to realize SYDNEYAUSTRALIA was a perfect 15. It was not SHEERAGONY to make!

As always, I envisioned this as a Tuesday, because of the non-immediate obviousness of the theme, the fact that there were five theme entries, plus a reveal.

The clues were left 90% intact. One exception, I had 21A "___ Eye for the Straight Guy" which was one of my favorite guilty pleasures back in the day. I saw every episode...twice! Not thrilled to have QUEER defined as "Odd", but that certainly is one definition.

Wanted to liven it up with QUEER, QATAR, SMUTTY, JIFF and WAHOO crossing with MAGOO. Needless to say, this was originally a pangram, but the V magically disappeared when Will's intern Joel redid the bottom SE corner which was LAVA/OUST/CVS/KAT and is now MANE/SUNG/CNN/KEG.

I'm happy all around but didn't really remember the impetus etc. from a year ago. I was heavily involved with a book of essays on not having had children. The book is called No Kidding: Women Writers on Bypassing Parenthood. When I googled ESSAY to find when I submitted this puzzle, 200 emails came up around the same date about the book. So ESSAY must have been something seared in my brain.

Strong puzzle to start the week. Initialism themes (two-word phrases which begin with the same letters) are commonplace, so one must go the extra mile to distinguish them. Acme does just that, by 1.) choosing superb theme answers, 2.) incorporating five of them, and 3.) throwing in a phonetic revealer, ESSAY. Very well executed, one I would have picked for the POW if it weren't for another puzzle coming up this week.

Aren't you curious now?

Bwa ha ha, I'm not going to say anything! Ah, schadenfreude.

Not only does Acme choose five themers, but they're long ones. A grid-spanner in the center actually is easier to incorporate than a 9 or an 11 or a 13 in the middle, but it still ain't easy. And look at the others — it wouldn't be bad at all if they were 8's or 9's. Tens and elevens are another story completely. Her layout is about the best configuration possible (leaving as much space in between themers as possible), but look at how much overlap there is between SHEER AGONY and SNOOZE ALARM, for example. That's sheer agony right there. Acme squeezes a few blocks between those answers, but that 20A slot is daunting. DO NOT feels a bit partial-ish to me, but a good clue ([Forbidding words?]) helps to save it.

At the opposite corner sits the other tricky spot. It comes out nice and smooth though, only USDA as a small blight. With both SUPERB and SMUTTY in that section, it's a winner in my book. Overall, a very smooth solve for me, one I'd be happy to give to a neophyte friend to try out.

Ah, the pangram. It's subjective, with many constructors (and some solvers!) trying for (or looking for) it at every turn. QATAR and QUEER slide right in, so I'm grateful to see the Q there. Not always the case with pangrams, which can feel to me like a J or Q or Z is jammed in with a hammer and chisel.

Personally, I like the reworked corner better, as KAT is slightly iffy in my book. But in this case, I can definitely see a case being made for Acme's original corner. The smoothness levels here are roughly equivalent, which is not always something I can say with pangram vs. non-pangram.

Finally, a great clue for AXLES, [Ones keeping the wheels turning?]. Fun wordplay here, plus a shout out to Journey's "Wheel in the Sky." I enjoy it when I leave a puzzle humming. Puzzles make me smile in general, and I really appreciate when the constructor/editor goes the extra mile.