New York Times, Wednesday, August 9, 2023

CARYN: My original idea for this puzzle was to put a spin on iconic lines spoken by fairytale princesses. For example, [Wistful words from Snow White as she awaited her Shutterfly photos]: SOMEDAY MY PRINTS WILL COME. While this plan quickly hit a roadblock, it led me to the idea of homophones which featured the NCE/NTS ending pattern.

While my first puzzle submission was rejected by the Times, the editor's feedback was very encouraging. It was at this point that I reached out to Matthew Stock who had been such a supportive mentor to me on my past puzzle endeavors. Matthew loved the theme idea and I was thrilled to tag team with him on today's puzzle. I hope you enjoy!

MATTHEW: It was a pleasure to work with Caryn on this puzzle! If you're a new constructor and want to talk shop and/or collaborate, feel free to contact me via Twitter (@1MatthewStock) or my website, happylittlepuzzles.com.

A year ago, Caryn and I batted around SOMEDAY. MY PRINTS WILL COME, trying to do something interesting with it. I enjoyed the humorously wistful imagery, but it didn't feel like enough to build an entire puzzle around. We ended up going in a completely different direction, but I hope that someday she gets a chance to use it. Perfect title for a cozy mystery featuring an impatient detective.

I appreciated that this was more than a run-of-the-mill homophones puzzle, featuring NCE to NTS. It felt too familiar, though, some detective work turning up several ancestors and one predecessor. It's unfortunate that Paula's used two of the exact same themers, but realistically, only a tiny fraction of the solving population will even have an inkling of past puzzles. Still, it's a point of pride in the construction community to renew rather than rehash.

I did enjoy the two new ones — NO CHANTS IN HELL would be a truly hellish fate for my daughter, who loves to sing at the top of her lungs, bless her soul, but with a decidedly unblessed tone deafness. We're gently working on that.

Curious choice to clue OTTO to OTTO Porter Jr., whose claim to fame is his repeated underperformance sinking many of my fantasy basketball teams. Not that I still hold a grudge.

Great to have the TINSELTOWN sparkle along with Bill Watterson's CARTOONING (not so much "The Family Circus") to help keep up interest, especially for those solvers who might not even notice the NCE to NTS extra level.