Brandon Koppy author page
16 puzzles by Brandon Koppy
with Constructor comments
| Total | Debut | Latest |
|---|---|---|
| 16 | 11/21/2018 | 5/2/2024 |
| Sun | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 1 |
| Rebus | Circle | Scrab | Debut | Fresh |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 1 | 1.58 | 93 | 60% |
Brandon Koppy works for a digital ad agency in Austin, Tex.
| C | A | B | A | S | L | A | C | M | E | S | ||||
| C | A | L | A | B | R | I | A | L | L | A | M | A | ||
| E | M | P | R | E | S | S | M | U | R | A | L | |||
| R | E | D | S | E | A | A | L | A | N | I | S | |||
| I | L | E | A | L | E | E | G | I | L | A | ||||
| G | O | N | E | P | R | O | D | V | D | N | E | S | ||
| P | E | O | N | S | I | C | I | E | R | |||||
| F | I | N | E | S | S | E | S | |||||||
| R | E | C | A | P | S | H | E | L | L | |||||
| M | E | D | L | A | O | I | S | L | A | M | I | C | ||
| A | B | E | S | U | N | U | M | A | B | U | ||||
| E | X | I | L | E | S | A | V | E | R | S | E | |||
| R | C | C | A | R | T | E | A | L | E | A | V | E | S | |
| O | C | U | L | I | O | R | D | E | R | S | I | N | ||
| N | A | P | E | S | N | S | A | B | E | N |
My original submission actually omitted the shaded squares—I was worried it would be too "hand-holdy" or something. But I think the presentation tweaks they added are pretty cool and do a good job of illustrating the theme. This was a fun one to stitch together, and I hope you enjoy solving it!
For any constructors interested in this type of grid, I have a tutorial on my website here.
| P | L | A | Y | M | O | N | E | Y | N | E | W | B | S | |
| H | O | M | E | A | L | O | N | E | O | L | E | I | C | |
| E | L | C | A | P | I | T | A | N | D | I | T | T | O | |
| W | A | S | H | V | I | M | S | E | E | N | T | O | ||
| W | W | E | O | S | H | A | O | O | P | |||||
| M | O | T | H | E | R | S | U | P | E | R | I | O | R | |
| O | N | R | Y | E | T | R | I | B | F | D | R | |||
| S | T | I | N | K | E | R | G | A | L | I | L | E | E | |
| I | B | O | N | O | G | O | O | W | E | N | S | |||
| P | A | T | E | R | N | I | T | Y | T | E | S | T | S | |
| C | P | L | L | O | G | S | E | R | R | |||||
| L | Y | N | D | O | N | E | T | A | E | C | H | O | ||
| A | T | A | R | I | C | L | E | R | G | Y | M | E | N | |
| N | O | M | A | S | A | L | A | N | M | O | O | R | E | |
| S | E | E | M | E | P | E | T | S | O | U | N | D | S |
Wrote this "Junior Mint" puzzle as a sort of sequel to my last Milk Duds themeless. Maybe I've found my niche?
Lots of good clue updates by the editorial team this time. Here are a couple of my fave originals that didn't make it:
15A: Temporarily living rent-free?
64A: Classic album that features Coke cans, bicycle bells, and the theremin
Hope y'all enjoy! Check out more of my puzzles and tutorials at see17across.com.
| N | U | R | S | I | N | G | B | R | A | S | I | T | H | |
| S | C | I | E | N | C | E | L | A | B | T | R | I | O | |
| F | L | O | A | T | O | N | A | I | R | E | R | R | S | |
| W | A | T | T | E | T | N | A | F | E | E | T | |||
| P | O | W | H | Y | M | N | A | L | S | |||||
| G | A | R | A | G | E | E | N | E | W | S | ||||
| M | A | D | E | F | O | R | T | V | M | O | V | I | E | |
| R | E | M | C | E | O | H | I | E | A | N | T | |||
| C | A | E | S | A | R | D | R | E | S | S | I | N | G | |
| A | T | W | A | R | O | N | T | I | L | T | ||||
| S | A | N | T | A | N | A | A | S | L | |||||
| B | A | R | D | R | A | M | P | B | O | S | S | |||
| D | U | D | E | I | F | E | E | L | S | I | L | L | Y | |
| A | C | E | R | S | T | R | E | E | T | T | E | A | M | |
| Y | E | N | S | E | A | S | T | E | R | E | G | G | S |
I wanted to make a themeless with a strong 1-Across, so that was my seed entry. My clues appear to be largely intact — although I did have two fewer video game references, two more 90's cultural references, and one more Bong Joon-ho reference. I hope y'all enjoy!
Also — check out my blog for more puzzles, monthly.
| N | S | F | W | R | E | B | U | S | S | H | H | |||
| E | T | A | I | L | E | X | I | S | T | B | A | E | ||
| W | O | L | F | B | L | I | T | Z | E | R | A | T | A | |
| A | L | L | I | S | O | N | A | B | L | E | R | |||
| R | E | T | T | I | G | E | R | W | O | O | D | S | ||
| K | N | O | W | N | N | O | R | A | G | A | I | T | ||
| I | C | E | V | I | N | C | E | N | T | |||||
| B | E | A | S | T | I | E | B | O | Y | S | ||||
| S | E | N | A | T | O | R | Y | E | E | |||||
| A | N | T | E | A | R | A | B | D | D | A | Y | S | ||
| B | E | A | R | G | R | Y | L | L | S | T | E | M | ||
| R | A | T | S | O | E | N | T | I | T | L | E | |||
| U | K | E | B | U | F | F | A | L | O | B | I | L | L | |
| P | I | S | A | S | Y | E | T | P | I | L | O | T | ||
| T | N | T | G | A | I | N | S | S | A | W | S |
I'm usually not that fond of themes with lists of proper names, but this revealer was just sitting there practically begging to be made into a puzzle. Apologies to Fox Mulder and Bobcat Goldthwait for the snubs — you could've gone in the center if the puzzle had a title instead. Hope y'all enjoy!
| B | R | B | I | R | A | S | G | A | S | B | A | G | ||
| A | E | R | M | A | R | C | A | V | I | A | T | E | ||
| M | A | E | F | I | L | E | T | M | I | G | N | O | N | |
| B | L | A | H | D | O | N | T | M | I | N | D | M | E | |
| I | M | S | O | R | E | E | V | E | L | |||||
| T | T | A | D | A | S | O | A | P | B | O | X | |||
| R | O | M | M | P | H | A | H | N | E | A | V | E | ||
| O | M | I | I | T | G | T | O | S | T | T | U | N | ||
| T | A | L | C | L | O | E | W | E | M | M | M | A | ||
| I | N | K | S | P | O | T | S | O | L | I | I | |||
| L | A | C | K | P | A | C | T | E | N | |||||
| F | E | L | T | A | T | H | O | M | E | E | Z | R | A | |
| O | V | E | R | S | H | A | R | I | N | G | V | I | P | |
| R | E | G | I | M | E | A | N | T | I | A | C | E | ||
| A | R | O | M | A | S | N | E | O | N | H | A | S |
I was a little worried that having the same letters "stretched" each time might get repetitive. But I figured that, with just three sets, the first could be discovery, the second confirmation, and the third a freebie reward.
I hope people enjoy!
For any interested constructors, I have a tutorial on my blog about using wordlist encoding to help fill grids like this. I'll even upload an incredibly dull video walkthrough for this puzzle after it prints (for any true sickos). I also post puzzles, at least monthly.
| O | H | S | O | A | S | T | I | R | E | C | U | R | ||
| F | E | E | L | S | S | E | E | N | E | M | O | R | Y | |
| F | L | O | A | T | T | A | N | K | T | I | L | D | E | |
| E | M | U | F | A | R | M | S | H | I | N | D | U | S | |
| D | S | L | R | O | U | E | O | N | E | S | ||||
| T | I | S | S | U | E | S | A | M | P | L | E | |||
| M | Y | M | A | N | P | E | E | L | E | I | D | |||
| Y | O | U | N | G | M | C | L | A | S | T | L | E | G | |
| O | Y | S | C | O | O | P | C | A | L | V | E | |||
| B | O | T | T | O | M | D | O | L | L | A | R | |||
| R | E | N | O | D | E | A | N | A | R | F | ||||
| F | I | E | S | T | A | C | A | N | N | I | B | A | L | |
| E | R | A | S | E | D | A | N | C | E | T | U | N | E | |
| M | I | D | I | S | A | S | T | E | R | I | S | K | S | |
| A | S | S | E | T | G | T | O | S | S | E | S | H |
I seeded this puzzle with STARING CONTEST for its fun vibes and wordplay potential, then later settled on RETINAL SCANNER as an apt counterpart. And while I may be a vile ASTROS fan, I couldn't resist including the Easter egg at 58A. I hope people enjoyed!
| R | I | D | S | T | A | D | C | R | E | T | E | |||
| E | M | I | T | H | O | E | H | U | S | H | U | P | ||
| V | U | V | U | Z | E | L | A | E | N | T | I | R | E | |
| S | P | A | C | E | D | F | L | A | W | S | A | N | ||
| C | L | E | F | E | P | I | C | W | I | N | ||||
| O | L | E | O | L | E | O | L | E | O | L | E | O | L | E |
| D | A | Y | E | T | A | L | D | O | N | |||||
| E | X | E | C | S | M | A | Z | E | S | T | Y | X | ||
| C | O | G | N | O | S | Y | D | E | F | |||||
| G | O | O | O | O | O | O | O | O | O | O | O | O | A | L |
| H | A | N | S | O | L | O | S | T | U | N | ||||
| A | T | T | D | I | P | S | E | L | E | C | T | S | ||
| N | E | A | L | O | N | W | O | R | L | D | C | U | P | |
| A | R | C | A | N | E | A | H | I | G | E | N | A | ||
| S | T | Y | E | S | G | M | C | E | D | E | N |
I had GOOOOOOOOOOOOAL in my list of potential themeless seeds, but pivoted after noticing WORLDCUP and VUVUZELA are the same length. You're less likely to hear one now, though, as they were banned in 2014. Hope people enjoy!
| P | E | R | T | U | R | B | S | L | A | D | E | D | ||
| E | X | N | I | H | I | L | O | F | E | L | I | P | E | |
| T | E | A | M | U | P | O | N | T | A | P | S | I | N | |
| R | E | C | O | R | D | D | E | A | L | S | ||||
| H | Y | D | R | A | K | G | B | P | E | E | ||||
| E | U | R | O | B | R | I | T | A | P | P | S | |||
| A | G | O | G | T | U | A | H | O | N | E | S | T | ||
| P | O | P | U | L | I | S | M | A | M | W | A | Y | ||
| M | E | A | N | T | T | S | A | R | ||||||
| E | S | P | T | E | S | T | S | R | I | G | ||||
| S | P | A | T | R | O | E | G | S | N | O | G | |||
| A | L | L | A | H | S | L | R | A | G | E | R | |||
| G | U | I | T | A | R | S | O | L | O | D | A | T | E | |
| A | M | N | E | S | I | A | S | T | A | C | H | E | ||
| S | E | E | S | P | O | T | S | E | T | T | E | R | ||
| T | ||||||||||||||
| R | ||||||||||||||
| I | ||||||||||||||
| S |
This must set a record for most black squares in a weekday puzzle, right?
I was worried it might be a nonstarter with those four extra rows and unchecked squares. And if accepted, I had no clue what day of week it could run. The theme didn't feel tricky or dense enough for Wed/Thu, but the word count put it firmly in themeless territory. Yet here we are with my first Friday — hopefully people aren't too bummed about missing out on their traditional breezy themeless.
This was an interesting construction challenge, with no symmetry but a unique set of new constraints:
- I decided the black squares should use each piece exactly twice with none of them touching.
- I wanted one of the lines to be placed directly above the TETRIS slot at the bottom.
- I felt all theme entries needed to be Downs
From there it was just a lot of grid tinkering until I settled on a promising skeleton. As a bonus, this layout lends itself to a nice post-solve animation (fingers crossed the NYT wizards were able to make that happen). Hope you enjoy!
| A | H | A | L | T | E | S | C | H | M | O | I | S | H | N | I | B | ||||||
| R | E | X | R | E | E | D | S | H | O | O | I | N | S | D | U | A | L | I | P | A | ||
| P | H | L | E | G | M | Y | F | O | R | T | L | E | E | A | B | R | A | H | A | M | ||
| W | A | P | G | O | O | D | N | E | A | T | S | A | D | S | ||||||||
| A | N | G | E | L | E | N | O | P | A | P | A | L | W | A | R | N | Z | O | N | E | ||
| D | E | A | D | N | H | E | A | D | T | O | G | C | A | S | U | A | L | S | E | X | ||
| L | A | S | S | I | P | L | A | N | E | T | E | A | R | T | H | S | O | A | M | I | ||
| I | T | S | D | O | T | I | M | E | L | O | C | A | L | S | G | E | T | |||||
| B | O | Y | S | D | U | E | I | B | A | R | S | H | M | O | S | E | A | S | ||||
| O | W | E | N | C | L | A | R | I | O | N | E | L | O | N | ||||||||
| A | B | A | S | E | E | W | E | D | M | S | E | I | D | S | U | G | A | R | ||||
| L | A | N | A | I | S | T | O | O | K | N | O | V | E | R | F | I | G | A | R | O | ||
| A | R | I | R | E | E | F | L | A | H | T | I | E | T | R | E | S | M | U | ||||
| B | N | S | I | D | E | S | A | E | R | A | T | E | D | H | A | R | P | N | O | N | ||
| A | B | E | F | O | R | T | A | S | M | I | O | R | O | C | K | S | O | L | I | D | ||
| M | A | T | S | S | O | L | A | R | S | A | I | L | D | I | R | E | ||||||
| A | C | E | L | U | P | I | N | E | P | E | D | A | N | T | N | E | D | |||||
| K | A | R | A | T | E | E | N | D | U | S | E | R | G | O | O | S | E | S | ||||
| E | B | E | R | T | O | U | S | T | S | S | L | O | P | E | ||||||||
| S | W | E | A | T | S | N | I | T | M | A | R | S | T | A | R | N | D | A | T | E | ||
| T | I | L | D | E | S | N | O | W | P | I | E | R | C | E | R | H | U | M | O | R | ||
| A | D | A | M | S | E | T | P | H | O | N | E | H | O | M | E | A | C | E | L | A | ||
| T | E | N | E | T | S | E | A | N | T | O | T | S | T | E | N | D | S |
Despite the shorter theme entries, this puzzle was deceptively challenging to construct. Eight pairs of crossing answers with limited options (the U only had two) all in a set order is tough to build around. In fact, I couldn't fit everything in without going up to a 23x grid. So hopefully people enjoy it as there are 31 extra words to trudge through.
I never thought I'd debut any 3 letter entries, yet this puzzle somehow has two. Glad to see they both survived the final edits.
| S | L | A | G | O | B | T | U | S | E | S | S | E | ||
| H | A | I | R | N | E | W | L | O | W | U | P | N | ||
| O | M | N | I | P | O | T | E | N | C | E | P | O | E | |
| O | A | T | E | S | R | A | O | D | E | R | M | |||
| P | R | I | V | A | T | E | P | R | O | P | E | R | T | Y |
| E | T | A | L | L | O | B | E | S | ||||||
| A | C | K | L | I | E | S | R | U | G | B | Y | |||
| T | R | A | S | H | C | O | M | P | A | C | T | O | R | S |
| M | A | L | T | A | T | O | I | L | S | A | L | |||
| Z | E | A | L | S | R | U | M | S | ||||||
| F | I | S | H | F | O | R | C | O | M | P | L | N | T | S |
| A | N | A | L | D | O | H | E | B | O | A | T | |||
| T | E | L | P | I | C | O | D | E | G | A | L | L | O | |
| A | S | A | S | U | C | K | E | R | L | I | E | U | ||
| L | S | D | A | M | O | E | B | A | L | E | S | T |
I normally don't enjoy themes with circled words spread throughout longer answers. Too often, they're just "hidden," with no justification for why the letters were broken up. So I wanted to try a theme that focused on the "chopping," and a secret recipe seemed like the obvious choice. I first considered mirepoix, but I was concerned it might not be widely known enough. I much prefer this, though, since it has a little twist for the final ingredient (my apologies for the sloppy knife cuts and snubbing of delicious cilantro).
This is a very dense theme with limited flexibility in layout, so it required a few glue-y bits to stitch together. I hope they don't sour anyone's solve too much, and I promise to never put EBOAT in another puzzle.
As always, thanks to the editing team for all their great work.
| L | A | S | A | T | O | M | S | E | E | K | L | A | D | I | E | S | ||||
| A | S | A | S | A | R | A | H | E | L | L | E | O | R | O | N | Y | M | |||
| P | S | Y | C | H | O | A | N | A | L | Y | S | I | S | G | I | J | O | E | S | |
| C | U | S | H | Y | O | R | E | O | M | O | N | S | O | O | N | S | ||||
| A | C | M | E | I | S | W | E | A | R | I | T | S | I | S | E | H | S | |||
| T | H | E | R | E | D | C | A | R | P | E | T | P | A | N | E | L | S | A | W | |
| P | I | E | R | S | C | P | A | E | D | D | A | |||||||||
| P | E | L | O | T | O | N | T | S | H | I | R | T | C | A | N | N | O | N | ||
| A | L | O | U | M | E | A | N | I | E | G | L | U | E | D | A | W | K | |||
| C | L | A | I | M | S | N | O | N | E | T | A | B | O | O | S | |||||
| K | A | N | J | I | S | I | M | O | N | S | A | Y | S | B | O | R | O | N | ||
| A | T | H | O | M | E | O | K | I | E | M | O | R | A | L | E | |||||
| A | M | A | R | A | D | A | R | T | O | L | D | T | O | E | N | D | S | |||
| B | I | N | G | E | W | A | T | C | H | E | R | O | R | E | S | T | E | S | ||
| U | N | T | O | O | Y | E | I | D | I | O | T | |||||||||
| J | O | B | O | F | F | E | R | C | H | A | N | E | L | N | O | F | I | V | E | |
| A | R | E | A | L | S | U | K | U | L | E | L | E | S | O | N | E | D | |||
| R | E | S | T | U | P | O | N | M | O | R | T | B | A | S | T | E | ||||
| G | O | T | H | A | M | F | L | Y | M | E | T | O | T | H | E | M | O | O | N | |
| A | L | L | E | L | E | T | I | M | E | I | R | A | I | L | L | E | I | |||
| R | E | E | S | E | S | T | A | D | A | O | R | T | A | E | S | C |
I'm thrilled to be back in the NYT with my first Sunday puzzle.
My initial submission had "Mystery Date?" as one of the theme clues and LIFE ON MARS as the answer for "Space Jam?", but there were concerns these might not be well-known enough. While I might give solvers more credit re Bowie songs, I suppose it's fair to assume not everyone recalls Ethan Hawke vehicles from 1991 that grossed $6M worldwide. It was for the best though, as this version is much improved.
While short-listing movies for theme potential, I noticed that a solid 20% of my options contained "man" (without even including compounds like "gentleman," "Englishman," "Superman," etc.). Out of curiosity I did a count of each unique word across a sample of 10k or so films, omitting articles, prepositions, and conjunctions. It should surprise no one that "man" was the most common word by far, almost doubling each of the runners-up ("night" and "love"). I obviously capped it at one.
I'll leave you with a few of my favorites that didn't make the cut:
- Hot Shots? FLAMING DR PEPPERS
- Batman Forever? DESIGNATED HITTER
- Boyz n the Hood? MECHANICS
- Edge of Tomorrow? MIDNIGHT
Thanks, as always to the editing team for all their great work.
| N | A | T | O | A | S | P | I | R | E | B | A | T | ||
| A | N | O | N | C | L | O | S | E | T | A | P | E | ||
| M | O | N | S | T | E | R | M | A | S | H | R | T | E | |
| M | E | A | D | B | E | I | G | N | E | T | ||||
| W | A | L | L | S | T | R | E | E | T | C | R | A | S | H |
| A | L | O | E | W | I | L | L | S | A | R | T | E | ||
| N | Y | C | F | I | F | E | O | D | D | S | ||||
| C | O | N | T | A | C | T | U | S | ||||||
| T | B | A | R | N | A | I | R | B | E | E | ||||
| P | H | A | T | G | R | O | P | E | A | I | M | S | ||
| R | U | S | H | H | O | U | R | T | R | A | F | F | I | C |
| O | N | M | Y | O | W | N | I | R | O | N | ||||
| A | D | A | F | I | L | M | S | P | L | I | C | E | R | |
| M | E | T | F | L | O | T | U | S | C | A | N | I | ||
| S | R | I | A | D | W | A | R | S | A | L | T | O |
I know this mash-up/double feature gimmick has been done before (for both movies and musicals), but I've only ever seen it result in zany themers. I was curious if I could find examples that were valid in-the-language phrases, and, luckily enough, there were just enough for a solid theme set. The one entry I loved that didn't make the cut was ZODIAC SIGNS, but without a title the revealer took precedence for that final slot.
| A | B | A | S | E | B | E | R | T | R | 2 | D | 2 | ||
| B | U | N | T | S | U | V | E | A | B | A | R | N | ||
| B | O | N | E | T | R | E | C | L | A | I | M | E | D | |
| R | Y | A | N | R | E | Y | N | O | L | D | S | |||
| W | O | O | T | N | Y | U | M | S | N | |||||
| A | N | I | G | A | L | S | H | E | C | A | T | E | ||
| D | O | N | D | E | L | I | L | L | O | O | T | O | S | |
| C | O | T | A | N | P | I | E | C | L | I | N | T | ||
| O | D | O | R | C | O | C | O | C | H | A | N | E | L | |
| P | L | U | N | G | E | K | I | L | O | G | R | E | ||
| Y | E | R | O | N | S | I | P | O | D | |||||
| P | A | T | T | O | N | O | S | W | A | L | T | |||
| S | W | E | E | T | R | I | D | E | A | N | N | I | E | |
| A | W | L | S | A | P | E | X | W | I | C | C | A | ||
| C | 3 | P | O | L | E | S | T | S | T | E | E | L |
This was a fun puzzle to write. I like the playful twist that comes when you get to 42A. If only May the 4th fell on a Wednesday this year…
| L | I | F | E | B | O | A | T | S | H | O | W | |||
| I | M | A | M | O | N | C | E | N | O | R | A | D | ||
| F | I | L | A | S | M | U | T | I | D | A | H | O | ||
| E | N | L | I | S | T | E | R | A | P | A | T | O | W | |
| L | E | O | A | C | M | E | E | O | N | |||||
| T | U | R | B | A | N | S | A | B | R | A | ||||
| I | D | O | L | A | T | A | R | I | F | L | O | P | ||
| M | O | M | A | C | Y | C | L | E | T | O | I | L | ||
| E | N | O | S | C | L | E | A | N | E | T | N | A | ||
| T | R | E | E | S | T | A | R | S | K | Y | ||||
| F | O | Y | E | N | D | S | N | A | B | |||||
| A | R | E | N | D | T | T | W | O | S | I | D | E | D | |
| C | A | N | O | E | N | E | H | I | R | O | M | E | ||
| E | N | T | R | Y | A | N | O | S | T | V | M | A | ||
| G | A | M | E | H | O | M | E | H | E | A | D |
As a solver, I don't enjoy cross-referenced clues. If I stumble on a "See X-Across" I'm more likely just to skip it than to jump elsewhere in the grid. So this puzzle was my attempt to take something I don't typically like about crosswords and turn it into something fun. If you agree, I hope this puzzle is redeemed by not having the dangling second halves for those clues.
Shout-out to my wife and test solver, Brooke, who suggested running the sequence along the border when I was first brainstorming this theme.
| D | I | P | B | E | E | L | I | N | E | C | H | E | ||
| E | R | A | A | T | E | C | R | O | W | A | O | L | ||
| J | A | C | K | S | O | N | H | O | L | E | M | M | A | |
| A | S | K | S | I | N | A | N | I | B | E | E | P | ||
| H | U | N | T | I | M | E | F | L | I | E | S | |||
| A | V | E | M | A | M | A | F | E | N | C | E | |||
| B | E | A | T | B | O | X | N | A | L | A | ||||
| O | X | T | A | I | L | T | A | C | K | E | D | |||
| S | T | E | P | P | O | T | H | E | A | D | ||||
| I | R | A | T | E | A | S | A | P | N | U | S | |||
| P | O | W | E | R | P | L | A | Y | W | E | S | |||
| H | A | A | S | L | A | N | V | E | S | T | E | D | ||
| O | R | R | P | A | D | D | L | E | B | O | A | R | D | |
| N | E | D | A | M | I | R | I | T | E | R | I | A | ||
| E | D | S | S | E | N | A | T | O | R | R | E | Y |
My original submission obfuscated the theme more as their clues were simply "PETER RABBIT," etc. I liked the solver having to work more for the aha moment, but that might have been a bit too cerebral. Overall, I think Will's edits work well.
I had a decent list of potential theme options, but it was pared down a good deal when I added the constraint that the clues had to be two separate words (and no hyphens). For example, I could use BLOOD MOON to clue "LINE DANCE" but not BLOODLINE to clue "MOONDANCE."
Glad to see my favorite clue made the final cut (4-Across).
Thanks to Will and team, and I hope you enjoy!
| R | A | H | M | E | S | Q | S | S | H | A | K | E | ||
| O | G | E | E | F | E | E | T | Y | O | U | I | N | ||
| T | R | A | D | E | F | A | I | R | D | U | R | S | T | |
| E | D | E | N | S | I | E | G | S | O | L | I | |||
| L | E | B | A | R | O | N | A | L | T | E | R | E | R | |
| O | S | U | O | V | A | M | A | N | C | A | V | E | ||
| O | T | T | N | E | K | O | S | T | A | |||||
| M | O | T | T | R | E | E | F | S | T | H | A | I | ||
| A | S | P | D | O | E | S | O | P | T | |||||
| P | A | C | K | R | A | T | R | Y | E | M | P | S | ||
| O | N | L | E | A | S | H | T | E | R | S | E | L | Y | |
| P | T | A | S | S | E | E | N | I | A | T | E | |||
| T | I | M | O | R | F | L | I | P | F | L | O | P | S | |
| A | F | O | U | L | E | S | T | O | S | W | A | P | ||
| B | A | R | T | S | D | E | E | D | A | N | Y | A |
I'm very excited for my NYT debut. I was an Economics major at the University of Chicago and now spend my days at an ad agency in Austin, TX. I've been solving the Times crossword off and on since college, but with increased vigor since becoming a dad earlier this year. My new schedule comes with a good deal more at-home hours, and I've filled some of that newfound surplus trying out crossword construction.
I had been toying with this theme idea for a while, keeping a running list of potential theme answers on my phone. I liked the idea of cluing the flipped form instead, because, in addition to the solving curveball, it allows you to showcase both versions without having to dedicate double the grid real estate. This allowed me to include nine examples of themed wordplay (plus a revealer) rather than just three or four.
The most challenging part was achieving the interlock in all four quadrants, given a relatively short list of options in my theme bank. MANCAVE and PACKRAT each span two other theme entries which put some strain on the fill in those sections. But those were two of my favorites, so I went for the higher theme density, and I think the final version worked out well.
Oddly, the example that first gave me the idea (JACKBLACK/BLACKJACK) didn't make the final version. I had it in the northwest but was having trouble filling the surrounding area satisfactorily. Other near misses for various reasons include KINGFISHER, ARMSTRONG, and SHOWBOAT.