New York Times, Wednesday, July 26, 2023

Finally, you've found a good theme.

When you're on a roll like this, it feels like you should be able to just plunk the themes down in the grid and sail away, but of course it's not that simple. After I set up my first grid, I could have sworn I heard the whole thing make a clunking sound and grind to a stop, so, I rearranged the words. Clunk. Move the themes to different rows? Nope. Scoot the letters over a square? Two squares? And so on, until about thirty attempts later the grid that had once felt strained was now purring with possibilities.

This puzzle taught me to listen to what it is telling you. If it feels stuck, it probably is.

For me, the clue to 49-Down will always be: my mom. Rita Mondville was a music and nature lover, a wild mushroom expert and the most loving person I've ever known. I dedicate this puzzle to her with much love and thanks for many happy hours playing scrabble around the dining room table.

Special thanks to the Diverse Crossword Construction group and editors, especially Tracy Bennett, who graciously shared her time and talents with me.

Break it up! Although relationship conclusions are nothing to laugh about, Mary's reimagined FINISH LINEs sure are. SHRINK WRAP, as in "that's a wrap," made me think of my therapist buddy who's been trying to break up with some of his clients who don't need him anymore. SHALLOW END is even better, employing a flippant throwaway comment in parting.

Some solvers might not recognize the phrase STOCK SPLIT — a psychological maneuver involving a company artificially inflating the number of shares while reducing the per share price to make it seem more affordable — but the reimagined concept is solid. What more stock (trite) line is there besides "It's not you, it's me"?

Not a dab of glue in sight! It's awesome to see a debut constructor take so much care in their craftsmanship. There is more segmentation than is desirable — the NW and SE corners are only connected to the middle through two entries apiece — but that quasi-trisection allowed Mary to stuff those corners with juicy material. AT THIS RATE, she's building a DREAM HOUSE, all right.

When I first heard solver complaints about FRIEND ZONE, I didn't get it. Researching more over the years has made me see more context, though.

Some great cluing touches, too. The [Sad trombone] noise always makes this former trombonist laugh. I might take it up again one day, just so I can WAH WAH myself when my daughter asks yet again to watch "Barbie DREAMHOUSE Adventures."

FINISH LINE is a slightly awkward way to describe "sentence uttered to conclude a relationship," but its punniness more than makes up for that. Great examples here, with such high-quality gridwork. Looking forward to Mary's next offering.