New York Times, Tuesday, July 6, 2021

I'm really pleased to have my solo debut in the Times today! This was one of the first puzzles I made after I met Christina Iverson, my mentor. She helped me redo the grid to get some nice long fill. I couldn't have done any of this without her, and I'm so grateful to her.

This puzzle came to me when my daughters were obsessed with ABBA. They listened to it all the time, on repeat. It still makes me smile to think about the 3-year-old trying to figure out how to speak clearly enough for Alexa to play Money, Money, Money. It occurred to me that a lot of Abba's titles are repeated words, so I wrote out all of the ones that fit the pattern, and lo, there were three with 15 letters each.

Originally, I had different clues for the themers, which were changed by the editors as mine were deemed a bit too obscure for a Tuesday. Here are my originals:

• MONEY MONEY MONEY: Triple crown?
• GIMME GIMME GIMME: Excess demand?
• I DO I DO I DO I DO I DO: Vow renewal?

They also asked for an edit on SDSU/ESPNU crossing, but in the end, they liked the original version you see here the best.

I'm glad that my living through a few weeks of these earworms paid off in the end with this puzzle. I hope you enjoy it. Sorry if these get stuck in your head on repeat too!

One of the key principles in marketing is that it takes multiple mentions before a brand name begins to register in people's consciousness. ABBA seems to have that down pat! I listened to a ton of ABBA in college, never noticing that their (gigantic) discography contains so many repetitive titles. So much for marketing, but neat observation, Katie!

ABBA is in crosswords with surprisingly high frequency, given that 1.) it doesn't exhibit any consonant-vowel alternation, and 2.) those Bs aren't the easiest letters to work with. Over 150 Shortz-era appearances, putting it in the top 150 most-used entries! This has more to do with the As still being extremely useful, no matter their position within the word, but it's fun to imagine constructors trooping away with "Super Trouper" in the background.

Solid debut gridwork! I breezed through, such a smooth product, with my only pause in the north region. PINKO and STENO feel 1950's-esque, and ABO might become apparent as blood typing letters only after some thought.

With only three long theme answers, I expect a ton of long bonuses. TOMATO SOUP and PANTOMIMES added spice, and GAMERTAG might speak to a generation of eSports fans. I would have liked more out of the EMISSION slot, but the mid-length HOT BATH, SINBAD, and MR COOL helped make up for that potential left on the table.

Loved the YELP clue, a website where you go to see "the stars." Hopefully, five stars!

It would have been great if all the phrases had been as naturally clueable as GIMME GIMME GIMME, a fine phrase on its own ("Daaaaad, I neeeeed that!!!"), since the kooky clues alerted me right away that something weird was going on.

I wonder if anti-ABBAites will be more apathetic or even against this puzzle, but this fan of the Swedish supergroup enjoyed the glimpse into their titular marketing prowess.