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Byron Walden author page

108 puzzles by Byron Walden
with Constructor comments

TotalDebutLatestCollabs
10811/23/20014/6/202415
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1412393697
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321.591,28194%
Byron Walden
Puzzles constructed by Byron Walden by year

Byron Walden is a math and computer science professor at Santa Clara University.

101 daily crosswords by Byron Walden

Sat 4/6/2024
BUBBLYCZARISTS
AHISEEHOMECOOK
DOGIESEMINENCE
THUDSPABSTNOW
HOPELAPISMEME
IRSWALLECITED
NEEDISAYMORE
GOTASECOPENMRI
RESERVEDSEAT
HOSERGUIDODIS
INHDDUNESPINT
ADOCRAPSCROCI
TORABORATOYCON
UPTRENDSANORAK
SEACRESTBERETS
Sat 10/14/2023
MANSEAHABPUMP
ALBUMREGULATES
KOALAMARZIPANS
ENDUREPIZZAHUT
UEYKEGKAY
PANZEROTTIAGTS
GAITORALBOHO
EASTERNILLINOIS
WITREICEREDS
WNYCGEENADAVIS
AHATLCSSW
THESAUCEFACEME
MIDAUGHTSLIVID
EYEBLEACHLAINE
NANADOHASOLES
Sat 4/22/2023
IOWASJACKASSES
SHAVEUPANDQUIT
THREWJUNEAUITE
HEBREWUTABITHA
ILLRIBALDDEEM
SLOPZEROESDRY
INGODOSRIC
TOSSUPQUESTIONS
TORUSSTRAW
TSKSOEASYYADA
BEERVELLUMLEN
ONRADARIMAJERK
NONPUBLICNIXIE
DREAMLIKEGNATS
SALTPETEREXMET

There had been some talk recently about Saturday being the new Friday. I suspect that last week's puzzle by KAC and this week's will tamp down such talk for a while.

One standard way of making a puzzle harder is making the clues vague, so they lead you in multiple directions. But it's easy to overdo it, and no one wants to do a puzzle with clues like [Noun] and [Verb]. I like clues that appear vague at first, but then become surprisingly specific as you figure them out. A good example is [They have everyone buzzing] at 35-Across. Initially you might be thinking in several directions, but once you think of buzzing in as in College Bowl, "everyone" becomes a critical part of the definition.

Mon 10/10/2022
PRIMPSAPEDMCS
AERIALNATOAHI
SPARRINGPARTNER
TOTEMPOLEARIAS
ATEHERBAPP
TACOYESEWE
SEASCAPEFOODIE
PARALLELPARKING
ASTRALMALTESES
SYDMILPLAY
PEPNAPABAR
SEGUEBOYGEORGE
PARTSDEPARTMENT
USEPULPINANER
DYENOSYPARTWO

Don't delete your calendar app! Yes, it is indeed my byline on a Monday. Had the lower right corner with the revealer not worked out, I had the backup plan of PAR 2 as the revealer, which would have probably pushed it to a Wednesday. Since the theme entries weren't PARticularly sPARkling, I tried to put in a lot of fun stuff outside the theme. The challenge was keeping everything as Monday-friendly as possible. Hope you all enjoy it.

Sat 8/6/2022
GARBJUMPFORJOY
ULEEOPERAHOUSE
SPCABIDENOMICS
TAUNTSITCHCAD
ACTIVEDUTYPERE
VASECTOMYBUBBA
HAWSREPAIR
CLUEINDOTARD
THENFLBELT
RAFTSFALLISSUE
OTTOPUTSONHOLD
OLEYALTAGENTS
PINBALLERSBORE
ENDOWMENTSORAL
DESKPERSONPASS

I'm guessing the entry that will garner the most attention is 26-Across. Although I'm also the person who debuted CONDOM in the Times, there's no agenda here. It wasn't, um, a seed entry.

I had a whole grid built with UP IN ARMS, but when I thought of UP IS DOWN, I decided it would be a better entry, and that led to using VASECTOMY. The clue [Form of birth control] is from the editors, but I like it because I think it is a useful exercise for solvers to think of how many forms of birth control for females they thought of before considering forms for males. My clue was a bit of trivia I found interesting: [Procedure legalized in France in 2001, but banned in Iran in 2014].

Sun 4/3/2022 SOFT OPTIONS
LIFTUPPFFTPELTSWAN
ACROSSREARWIPERCECE
SEAOFTRANQUILITYHEIR
TBILLAIDSROCSSOUND
ILLSAPSESETSOFTONGS
NUTSUPERVHSNEAL
GEYSEREDERASEBROCHE
TEARBROWEDREFLEX
UNLADEJESUSLIKETEAT
NEARSRUNEDTAZHAVE
DOCSSANDSOFTIMEONIN
ESTOORKFAUNAMUSED
ROOFBADRATINGTIGERS
GUSTAFNODULESETH
OLEOLEANDREFASTTALK
MOSTWIDEOUTSDEE
SONOFTARZANARRSPANE
AVERTPEETARCOGAMIN
LIARSTATEOFTENNESSEE
ENTORADARTRAPANTONY
MEOWSPYSCOGSEXANTE

Back in 2005, I used the clue [Shroud of Torino?] for CAR COVER. On the old Times Forum and Crossword Fiend, then in its rookie year, a poster vituperatively objected to the cheeky reference to the Shroud. Given the over-the-top rhetoric, I suspected it was all a put-on, but if indeed the correspondent was truly offended, then I hope today's very respectful clue at 32-Down will square things between us.

Speaking of cheeky, I definitely thought about how one might clue REAR WIPER as someone changing diapers. The clue [Clearer in hindsight?] is definitely for the car part. If I were going the other way, it would be [Clearer with hindsight?]. For once, the less scatalogical version is funnier to me.

Hoping you came away from solving the puzzle with a sense of triumph!

Sat 9/4/2021
COMEQUICKACCRA
OVERUNDERSHOAL
PARSIMONYYOUNG
TLCTENTPOLING
OSHAMTETNATET
LEBARONRELO
LISTLESSABADAN
ONALARKBREWING
GAMINSHACIENDA
IMETHAILING
COTFINALSGADS
MONOPOLISTPET
MEYERDESIRABLE
SNORTEATSALIVE
STUDYSHAMPOOED

Interesting, not particularly fun, fact about ABADAN: A major oil refining center, its population fell from 300,000 to an official 6 during the Iran-Iraq war. The population has since grown past its pre-war levels.

Registration is now open for the Boswords 2021 Fall Themeless League. It's a 9-week online event with weekly themeless puzzles, including one by me. There are three levels of difficulty, approximately Tuesdayish, Fridayish and something beyond Saturdayish, so really there's something for everyone. In addition to the puzzles, there are interviews with the constructors and solvers for each puzzle, and other fun extras. You can find details about registration, constructors, past tournaments, and a sample puzzle at www.boswords.org. Don't miss it!

Wed 6/9/2021
CAMSGASUPVAPE
ADAMAROSEELON
RICOTIREDBLOOD
BACKSEATDRIVER
HEPOLE
IRIDESCESBEBOP
LOACOUCHPOTATO
OUTSARIELARTS
STOOLPIGEONBEE
TESLAESPYAWARD
ETCSIR
ARMCHAIREXPERT
LIONHUNTERELIE
IDOLGAMERULNA
LADYSLEDSPADS

Originally the theme entries were clued as people "you just can't stand," explaining the absence of BENCH WARMER, which seemed a bit harsh. I was pretty pleased to get a lot of long nontheme entries in there, but was careful to keep them shorter than the theme entries. The key to making it work was getting a nice middle section, which I don't think I could have managed in the days before E-CIGS and especially, NAS X. I did think about trying NAT X in the NAS X slot. Folks my age who watched SNL would remember, at least. Finding room for LIL in the grid ended any doubts about which way to go.

Tue 12/1/2020
MALICAPSGIANT
IMINHIREEMBAR
SOFTWARECOMPANY
OSTEENSTPRCAS
LAGOSAGEIST
OBSREPUBLIC
SOURTERINIFTY
HOMEFORECLOSURE
AMOCOACAIELAN
CONSORTSLPS
PAMELAOBITS
ADINTPKGALAGA
WHATMORECANISAY
NOTEDERINNINE
SCARSPSSTGAGS

If there were prop bets on crossword puzzles, I wonder what the odds would have been that my 100th puzzle in the Times would have been on Tuesday. (Hmm, maybe 98 to 1.) Thanks to Will and crew for giving me the opportunity and all the fine editing over the past 19 years.

Since it was a pretty straightforward theme, I hoped to jazz it up a bit by interlocking the theme entries. I worked on a different combination for a long time. All I can remember was SOFTWARE COMPANY at the bottom rather than the top. Eventually, I gave up on that and managed to get this one to work. Hope you all are safe and well and enjoy a bit of diversion with the puzzle.

Sat 10/24/2020
RIFFSCOVERART
AVILAURBANAREA
ZONALNEATTRICK
ORGYGIMMEEASE
RYECOTEACH
STROLLCHASSIS
HOTRODDERICANT
AWINGANDAPRAYER
REPOSAUTODRIVE
PRSTUNTSOFTIE
PAYLESSPDT
ABCDSPADETREF
BREECHINGKRONA
BADBOUNCESOUCI
AGETOAGEUNDER

It's been a year since my last Saturday puzzle in the Times. But, really, not that much has been going on in the meantime. I submitted this one at the end of January, which explains why I didn't try to turn SOUCI into FAUCI.

The impetus for the puzzle was the [Intellectual property?] clue. The other entries with an academic vibe [CO-TEACH, VA TECH, KSU, EDU] were by coincidence. If you know I'm a math professor, the clue at 18-Across is a massive misdirection.

Since we're in a census year, a bit of trivia about URBAN AREAs I learned from researching the clue. The census defines an urban area as being either an urbanized area (50,000+ inhabitants) or an urban cluster (2,500-49,999). Per the 2010 census, there is only one urbanized area in the U.S. whose name begins with Z. Can you guess what it is?

(Answer at the end of Jeff's notes.)

Sun 6/21/2020 ANIMAL CROSSINGS
CARAFECHURNSHASSAN
ACADIABAZOOKAOPPOSE
RECASTSWIMMINGTRUNKS
ELEPHANTSENDOWDIET
DARTWAVETANKBIBADS
LAPSSEDINAR
OPENEYESKREMEGSHARP
PITONQATARISSMILES
EXTRADRUMSTICKSANIMA
DYEDCHICKENSOUTOFIT
STOODANTIC
WESTENDFOCACCIAEELS
ACORNELECTRICCHARGES
NODOFFCATSEARROOST
ENAMORDRACOACCESSES
SLAMSALBHHS
TADDIAHONEYBEEELSE
AVOWDUGINFIREFLIES
LIGHTNINGSPEEDTAIPEI
CAMAROCHEEREDADZING
SNAPATSTEELYHEADON

HARRISON: I am 8 years old and a rising third grader. I like fill-ins, frameworks, brain teasers, trivia and other puzzles. I also like creative writing, drawing, trivia, travel (14 countries, 17 states and counting), reading (mostly about history and true crime), cooking, riding my bicycle and playing with my dogs. I have been solving and constructing puzzles since I was 4.

BYRON: I tell a lot of dad jokes. A while back, sparked by a suggestion from my wife Robin, we started thinking of ways to build a dad joke theme. Harrison and I would note some decent ones here and there without too many letters, but it took a long time to hit on some unifying ideas. Having run across several "crossing" jokes, the idea of crossing the components in the grid just clicked. The first two jokes were modifications of ones from Harrison's jokebooks. The latter two we wrote ourselves to make the symmetry work.

We collaborated throughout the process. Most of the longer entries were Harrison's choices. Once we had finished all but the two isolated corners, I told him he should try to finish them off on his own. He used CrossFire with a basic word list for suggestions, but he added one word at a time, without autofill. He'd ask things like "Is HASSAN okay?" for words he didn't know, but managed to finish up in pretty short order. We did the cluing together. Thursday will mark my 10th wedding anniversary and thus the 10th anniversary of the wedding day puzzle Robin and I constructed. So now it feels like we've come full circle. Hope you all enjoy the puzzle and the day.

Sun 5/17/2020 WIDE-OPEN SPACES
ATPARANCHOVYSPEEDO
RHINOAPARICIOPLANER
KENTCIGARETTESLASTED
AVESSERRATEDFUNTIME
NATWENTATITBARTERER
SUREBETTINCONGOREDS
ALEXAKINGHUSSEIN
STETSTOVETOPSSLATED
RECIPEHOPESSUAVE
SEASONSDETESTSSHIN
OURLORDSAPIDPISTOLS
USNANEBULAENATURES
THIRDRESINIGUANA
SIEGELUSAINBOLTLIZA
ECURRENCIESBIDEN
ZEPPOMARXBETBELAIRS
AQUILINECULTHEROTOW
MUZZLEDHOTSEATSMAZE
FIZZERHUNTERGATHERER
INLATEARGONGASSNORE
REESESPLANSONTUDOR

I had very much wanted to clue HUNTER-GATHERER as [Meat-and-potatoes kind of guy?], but it turns out that wild potatoes are actually a pretty bad thing to eat. The More You Know ....

27-Across makes its NYT debut, but I've used it once before. It was an entry in the 2005 ACPT finals puzzle and was referenced in that puzzle's title. Hoping this puzzle provides a little bit of FUN TIME for you all in the current crisis.

POW Fri 4/10/2020
COFFEETHEOREMS
ORILEYHELLENIC
PAROLEEPIDURAL
STEWSMAPSPATE
HOSSTALLSSPAR
OROSERPENTTSA
WIFIPASSWORD
SOFTISHHOUSTON
STEMPIPELINE
GALSTARTEDNEA
UTEPSLYERLYFT
SHARPLASBETON
TOFOLLOWNOMORE
AMESIOWABLOOMS
VERYEASYCANNES

Major thanks to Kevin and Finn for putting together Crossword Tournament From Your Couch. It was really fun and a great honor to be part of it.

Most of the time, I make a themeless by starting in a corner and building the grid out from there. With this one, though, I started with WIFI PASSWORD. Since you can't build a conventional corner around a 12-letter entry, I used this pinwheel style that accommodates 12-letter entries nicely. Once you've got the middle part filled, the four corners usually offer a lot of good possibilities independent from one another. As an example, at 36-Down, ON?????? has so many options of the ONE LITER variety. I was very pleased to come up with something fresh there.

Wishing you all a safe and healthy Friday. It's been almost ten years since the last time I, along with my favorite co-constructor, was in the Times on a Friday. That reminds me, I better start looking for a romantic restaurant that delivers candlelit dinners.

Sat 10/19/2019
TACOTRUCKZAGAT
ADENYEMENATONE
TOLERABLEXANAX
ARTDEGREEIDEST
RESAISLESEAT
NONETOOALAN
LOVERSLANEDOSE
ORAMAGENII
CANEWESTBENGAL
INGAPATHAND
GUNBARRELCUD
BEALEWILDPARTY
DARIAOVERAGAIN
ADDONREFINANCE
YESNOMRTCEREAL

Solvers of last week's Saturday Stumper (Newsday) got a big hint for 56-Across. The clue for MR T. there referenced the cereal. Hopefully, everyone else has seen "Pee-Wee's Big Adventure," where the cereal has an appearance. It was Tim Burton's directorial debut, and I pity the fool who thinks he's made anything better since.

Sat 7/27/2019
BOINGHEADER
ENCORECURSIVE
TEEBOXRELIEVES
TIDEWATERACCENT
ADULTMALESROO
SAPPHIRESBBGUN
RANATFILET
HIRESJANUS
RAZEDBARGE
MEDEACRIMEBOSS
AMFTEENPEOPLE
LOANTRANSLATION
AVIARISTOTTAWA
LETTUCEWELTER
ASHLEEREEDY

This is the first grid I've made with fewer than 60 entries. Never say never, but I suspect it will be the last. It's not easy to get the word count that low and keep everything flowing and interconnected the way I like.

There are a few clues here I really like, especially [Performance bonus] for ENCORE, which I had in mind when I built the grid. I really like having "question mark" clues that are so on point that you can omit the question mark. But my favorite clue is one of the innocuous ones: [Salves] for RELIEVES. It is there as a hat-tip to one of my constructing heroes, Sherry O. Blackard. In 2006, she had a 58-word puzzle in the Times where SALVES was an entry clued as [Relieves]. The grids aren't twins — hers had no three-letter words and was connected through the middle. But as a mere mortal, I'm happy to have one that is even just reminiscent of hers.

Wed 2/20/2019
ITSALIENOIR
BROWNANDSERVE
DUKEANDDUCHESS
PERTUESORS
TAGTEAMSCLUTCH
ALLWETBADELI
STEERTHANBIAS
RICEANDBEANS
DRAKEANDJOSH
EONSMOJOTABLE
PLYAPRCAVEAT
PETALSAMARETTO
HEPEDOMTIN
SMITHANDWESSON
PENNANDTELLER
ALGAGOODSON

This puzzle has a pretty unusual set of theme entries: two 12's, two 13's and two 14's. The sensible thing would be to blow it up to a Sunday size, but the theme felt thin for that, and the next best entry I could think of was BUTLER AND O'HARA. So after much fiddling, I managed to make it work without too many cheater squares. The revealer EDU was completely serendipitous.

POW Sun 11/18/2018 PORTMANFAUX
DARKAGESHEELSSTROS
AQUILINEMUDCATIWISH
MURDERCASEMURSEPESCI
PAIDADMADEUSESREAR
TESSSKIRESORTSKORT
CHARTEAUXSHIVA
LENSRBISSPASMINERT
URIHILOACAIAGRIP
BRADYBUNCHBRUNCHRAS
EPEEHALTERASMUS
GREYPOUPONGROUPON
NONREALPOEMGLUE
HAJSPACEPROGRAMSPAM
UTICAEVANEASEELI
HOBOSRIPITGEMSSETS
SERTANACLTYROS
BURNINGLOGBLOGRING
IMREDELLLOONINAREA
OMITSSALTEDPORKSPORK
TIETOSMARTSMAKESURE
ATSIXOASISEPILEPSY

Byron:

It's always a blast constructing with Joel. It's like playing HORSE with Michael Jordan. "Wow, that's amazing. Wait, what, I have to match that?!" We probably could have made our task 10 times easier by cutting GREY POUPON GROUPON, but it was our favorite, so I'm very pleased we made it work.

Joel:

Byron and I have been working on this theme, on and off, since April 2016. We batted it around for a while over email, but it started to seem impossible to find enough good examples, never mind for them to work symmetrically. Still, after every fallow period over the intermittent two years, one of us would find another example, and the thread would keep going. Definitely one of the most satisfying themes to finally put together, after all that work!

Sat 10/27/2018
SCHLUBBYPOTASH
PLEASUREOPORTO
YOUDAMANLEMMON
BURLMISSEDWORK
ODIEENIACARKS
ALSPREGNANT
TITLEDNATESTS
SKIERSSCORED
ECOCIDALKNAVE
PETODORSGEM
ARCOCROWEMIRE
BILLBOARDSICAN
APEDOMNOTALENT
REFILMESURANCE
ENTITYDEPENDED

When I started the puzzle with SCHLUBBY, I had in mind cluing it as [Like many sitcom dads], but SITCOMMY precluded that. SITCOMMY was the linchpin that finally allowed the grid to be finished, so that clue had to go. My original clue for STORK was basically [Frog predator]. I can't take credit for the macabre twist from Will and Joel and Sam, but I did enjoy it.

The last time I used a historical royal who was largely unfamiliar to me was Queen WILHELMINA, who was awesome to learn about. Turns out LEOPOLD II was as villainous as she was heroic. Hoping for a better one next time.

The juxtaposition of PREGNANT and DNA TESTS is fun, but I like the combo ECOCIDAL PET ODORS even better.

Sun 7/15/2018 COMPLIMENTARY
ALPOACTASIFTHEDANCE
MARCMRSLATERIDESOUT
IMITOUTSTANDINGBILLS
NICOLDOONADDERALL
ONEPAGERADOREDIG
RADICALMOVEMENTSOTTO
ABYSSMENTHEOIL
PIGGYSAINTECONOMY
CANOEBRIGASHCAKE
ASTATAICHISWEETTALK
STELLARCLASSIFICATION
KILLERBEEPODUNKIMRE
CLIFBARTELEMEADE
SCENTEDGADOTJARTS
SICSONOFAWHEEL
NOTARSOLIDFOUNDATION
RASNIGERSTILETTO
EPICPOEMASHEASHEN
SMASHINGPUMPKINSSELF
AMSTEREOTAPINTOELLA
DATALOSSAVENGEDSPOT

SAM: Unbeknownst to Byron, I've wanted to get a theme like this published for years. I submitted a 19x19 grid with OUTSTANDING DEBT to the Indie 500's inaugural guest constructor contest, though there were clearly superior puzzles in the pool. I had another 15x15 construction with DOPE SHEET, SICK DAY, COOL BREEZE, etc., but I just wasn't in love with the theme set enough; how could I refine this idea more?

It wasn't until recently that I realized my flaw in execution: the DEBT in OUTSTANDING DEBT didn't really change meaning from its base phrase. OUTSTANDING BALANCE came to mind, and I liked that I could interpret the phrase as a completely different lexical chunk: an asset for a gymnast. It wasn't long after that I thought of RADICAL MOVEMENT, and noticed that these could be clued quite crisply ... as "compliments"!

I was so sure this time around that my puzzle idea could work out ... until my theme well went dry. AND I still had to get everything to lay out symmetrically. Enter Byron, who, after hearing my pitch, quickly came up with SMASHING PUMPKINS and SWEET TALK, much to my amazement. OUTSTANDING BALANCE would have to become OUTSTANDING BILLS, but that was OK by me. I not only had a full theme set now but an opportunity for another Sam and Byron collab, which was such a blast the first time.

So we happily set off to make an easy, friendly 140-word Sunday ... LOL, you thought.

"Let's shoot for 124 [words]!," I chatted Byron, adding a laughing emoji so I could pretend I was totally joking about trying to break records and not insane. Fortunately for me, Byron is, in fact, insane, too. As you can see, we ended up "settling" for 128, though that's probably for the best.

BYRON: Collaborating with Sam is fairly predictable: it's not going to be easy, but it's going to be fun. We both like wide-open grids that are a challenge to fill at all, and then require many iterations to fill well. We ended up with some great chunks that we didn't use just because they didn't work with other parts — the downside of having lots of connectivity and maintaining symmetry. The BARBADOS section ended up being the linchpin — credit to Sam for figuring out that bit out. Hope you enjoy solving it as much as we enjoyed making it.

Sat 6/23/2018
ROPESINAGENDAS
ECONOMICBOYCOTT
LANGUAGEBARRIER
ANTESELOPEDOE
BAILARETEHAVE
EDUCRIBSCARET
LASTYEARBORERS
UNANIMOUS
ALANISTOUCHPAD
FOLICSYNTHHIE
FAQSDUCKSSORT
ANALECHEBEEBE
ICEHOCKEYARENAS
RADICALFEMINIST
SPACKLEDETOXES

I usually don't start a themeless having a grid in mind, but every once in a while, I'll try to push myself with a hard one. This grid is a Manny grid (1/10/03), so it's like treading on hallowed ground for me. I like giving solvers lots of connectivity, but it definitely takes a lot of patience and sweat trying to find a way to make everything fit together. This one was hard enough that I'm gonna stay far away from the Manny grids that had even fewer black squares.

The CELEBRITY CHEF entry/clue combo is one of my all-time favorites. I'm always on the lookout for clues that have two misdirecting parts. Here, I especially like that the first part of the clue points to the second part of the entry, and vice versa. On top of that, it uses the old hidden capital trick as well. Happening on this clue was like finding a four-leaf clover.

The quote in the CYNIC clue was cut for space. The full version is: "a blackguard whose faulty vision sees things as they are, not as they ought to be." Mister, we could use a man like Ambrose Bierce again.

Sat 3/24/2018
ALERTCHINASHOP
GOPERLEMONLIME
EVITAEMPTYEYES
RECIDIVISMDALE
ABILENEEAGLET
NOSESPRAYDELTA
GATSADHERES
ETSTRIESONMUM
LITCRITRENO
ADDERKONACOAST
NOOSESDRAGNET
GMOSKATEYSAGAL
LIVESALIESIETE
ONEPUTTEDINNER
SIRSPEEDYSEEDS

For three or so years, I've been the second most published Saturday constructor in the Times. With great fanfare, I can now say I have one half — that's a big 50% — as many Saturdays as the all-time king and all-time great Rich Norris. And it was possible to get halfway there only because he's taken a ten-year breather. Maybe it's like competing with Milton Berle — if I ever get close, he can just crank out a few more Saturdays for us. (Oh, that reminds me, in case there's any confusion, the second half of 6-Down is just the proper name, not an epithet.)

This puzzle started with CHINA SHOP. My clue was [Bull market?], so this is probably the first time the edited clue was the exact opposite of mine. I get the change, in that the norm is that the bull wouldn't be there. But norms that proscribe wanton wreckage are not quite in vogue these days, so my version might be a bit more zeitgeisty.

Sun 3/4/2018 CHARACTER BUILDING
STHELENAACTSONSPAMS
TEATIMESLOVATOARTOO
INTHOUGHTASMUCHGODNO
FUTONSBONMOTLABATT
FRISTSINSOMESMALLWAY
SEPAVONSEANENG
EMITWEEPGRAMM
RABIDSINGOFOMISSION
PARENCATDOORGENRE
STINGINTHESHOWERCALI
HAZEFEYRANTWAS
ATOZSTRINGOPERATIONS
WANESCOYNESSHORDE
STARINGQUARTETKENDO
STOLIHOOKHIPS
AMCLENAPEDICOG
STARTINGDAGGERSASANA
AEROBEDREAMYANIMAS
BALOOSTARTLINGLINEUP
ESIGNOHMAMANOISETTE
RENEEYESYESEASTWOOD

HAT TIP to the puzzle magazines of my long-gone youth. One of them (Dell?) had a little word puzzle where you had to go from STARTLING to I deleting one letter at a time, always forming a new word without anagramming. (BTW, there are two solutions.)

One of my bugaboos is plural names, which I really try to avoid. This one has two! The second one came when I just had to get IN MEM out of the grid and upgraded it with TV MOM. I tried to do something about ALIS. I could replace the corner, but because of the interlock, it would require redoing the whole of the eastern seaboard, and I just couldn't pull it off. Because of a tough crossing, ALIS needed the easiest clue possible, but I like to tell myself the real clue is the first word of Oregon's state motto. I'm pretty happy how the rest turned out. Hope you all enjoy it!

Sat 2/3/2018
HALLPASSGAPPY
OLIGARCHSOIREE
PIBBXTRAPANERA
ICETSOBSISTERS
SERRADBACKNYT
FAIRSATEAT
NATGEOTURNRIPE
EYEHANDPAYAFEE
WESTCORKCOVENS
SOFIAKNEES
OTBDANZAELLIE
COOKEDKALEBLOW
TRAUMAKETELONE
AIRDAMHUNGOVER
DIDUPSTAGGERS

SAM: Talk about goals: Once upon a time, I was an avid solver, obsessed with Byron's work. His grids were always loaded with interesting answers; how was he able to fill such wide-open areas so smoothly ... and with such a unique touch? After meeting him at the ACPT a few years ago, we realized how similar our approaches to themeless puzzles were, and last spring, I got the green light I'd been looking over Facebook chat: "We should collab sometime on a themeless — would be fun to see what we could come up with."

After briefly fainting, I set out to make the craziest, most wide-open grid I could, just so I could compare with Byron's normal wavelength. Beginning with PIBB XTRA crossing LGBT ___, I designed the grid skeleton you see now, filling in the NW corner all the way down to AREA CODE MAP / SON OF ADAM (sorry about EYE-HAND!). I passed it off to Byron, and with several grid constraints already in play, was worried that he'd have trouble with what remained. Well, not only did he prove that something was possible ... he made a freaking MINI-THEME out of the SE stack. Unbelievable!

The swath of white space leading into the NE corner was by far the hardest to fill, but it ended up being the most fun. We bounced around various possible fills — Byron had SAW GERRERA work at one point! — but nothing was quite satisfying enough. Finally, the non-database-discoverable GO ASK ANYONE came to mind, and that proved to be the breakthrough.

We're thrilled with the final result and hope it kicked off well with Byron's brilliant HALL PASS clue. Huge thanks to Byron for working with me on an unforgettable puzzle-making experience. Whew! It may be a bit before I wade back into 64-word waters ... we'll see.

Byron: When Sam sent me that corner, I almost sent it back saying this was too good to share, but I'm not that noble. It already had plenty of good stuff in the fill. The main thing, I thought, was to round the corner heading SE in a reasonable way that maintained the openness into the smaller corners. My general goal when constructing, especially themelesses, is to find one bottleneck in the grid that is hard to eliminate and find a way to eliminate it. In this case that meant maintaining the AREA CODE MAP / SON OF ADAM combo and running something long through them. My self-indulgence was trying to do that with KAZAKHS and DANZA, the former for the crazy consonant mashup and the latter as a hat tip since my wife has very fond memories of working with him in her former career in film production.

It was so much fun working with Sam. Hope you enjoy it as much as we enjoyed making it.

Sat 10/7/2017
HELLSCAPEGELID
AXIOMATICOPINE
IDALUPINOBANFF
GARAGESALESCUR
STOPBOLA
PCLANGUAGEALLY
ALOHAOEYEARNS
PINOTSINSEAM
OGRESSOSTERIA
CAWSIWANTITALL
OWIEPACT
NANPSYCHODRAMA
DRDREBEESEASON
ODEONADULATION
MSDOSREPORTAGE

This one started out with HELLSCAPE. After I got a stack I liked in the NW (no 3's, yay!) I toyed with using FIRE ESCAPE (opposite GARAGE SALE singular) as an asymmetric minithemer, but I just couldn't make it work. But some failed attempt made me see that DRAMA might be a good ending in that slot. Rounding the corner at I WANT IT ALL was the hardest part. Thinking about I WANT CANDY for that slot helped inspire the clue for PINATA. Between that clue and CONDOM, I wouldn't say this puzzle razes the mansion of the breakfast test, but it does jump on the furniture quite a bit.

If you haven't noticed, I have a fondness for the non-question mark misdirection clues like [Dish transmitters]. They've got to pretty precise to avoid the punctuated caveat, so it's gratifying to be able to come up with several of them in one puzzle. But as much as I appreciate the diabolical nature of the [Early '60s] misdirect in the KENNEDY, I mean, LINCOLN ERA clue, that one wasn't mine. That one needs more than a ?-- it needs a horror movie audience yelling "Watch out! It's a TRAP!" Hope you all enjoyed the ride.

Sun 4/9/2017 HAVING NOTHING ON
ABBOTSCATCRIPROOS
CLOTHARCHRENEKENDO
HOBBITHOLEAIDEOFTEN
TORSWINEMYGALSALOON
MOVIEBUFFOONSPLEENY
BASESTENLLORAX
PRECUTSAUSAGEFESTOON
LARUSSACDTLIFEECRU
ACTATEENEGOASHEN
YESHORSEDRAWNCARTOON
BEREAASLARGOS
SMALLMOUTHBASSOONTUB
PINUPULAOHNOSUPE
ERTESERBLPSEDWARDS
WAILINGWALLOONWHYNOT
ELEGYAOLOBOIST
IMPALESFLOODLAMPOON
MAINDRAGOONRIVALGOP
ADAIRLOCIDOMINATORS
MANNYAGAROPIESELMA
SMOGDOLEASTRHADAT

The genesis of this puzzle was seeing OON in some puzzle, laughably clued yet again as a legit suffix. (I would say that I've never put it in a puzzle, but I'm afraid to check.) The few dictionaries that list it don't actually say what it means. They just blame it on the French and leave it at that.

That said, it was pretty easy to come up with lots of options. For a long time, HORSE-DRAWN CARTOON was the only 17. That puts it in the center and segments the grid unpleasantly with Utahs (3 blacks next to 2 blacks) or Merlesque staircases on either side, unless you can do some fancy long crossings on the downs on the H and the opposite N. I couldn't make it work, but trying made me very familiar with the possible intersections.

I was just about to downgrade it to GROCERY CARTOON, when I realized STRIPED BASSOON could be upsized to the much funnier LARGE-MOUTH BASSOON. The rest came together pretty nicely. LARGE had to be swapped out for SMALL to make REFLEX TESTS possible on the other side, but aside from the nasty little section in the Southwest (RWY, I'LL DRY, ugh), it worked well enough to leave a lot of room for some interesting non-theme entries. With such a straightforward theme, it's a good idea to spice it up a bit elsewhere. Hope you enjoyed it.

Sat 12/10/2016
SPOILTPETHATES
HARVEYEXHIBITA
ERNANIDIALECTS
STANDNEXTTOKOS
GYMGRIPMERE
OBESESNOCKERED
NUNCIOGLOAT
ESTHETELOUISCK
NIOBELANKAN
IMTOOSEXYIGIVE
BAEZNCISLAA
EDSSLEEPERHOLD
AMORTIZEROADIE
MAROONEDBURGER
SNOOPERSSTEERS

The answer to the age-old question of "Do you start with the answers or with the clues?" is sometimes "I start with one nasty tough clue, and then build the rest of the puzzle around that entry." This puzzle was all about a vehicle for the [Play with an imaginary friend] at 15A. Very tricky obviously, and no ? as a warning.

After a lot of fiddling and polishing multiple versions. I saw that I had IVAN next to LEND. If there had been an easy fix, I would have tried to turn LEND into LENDL. I would have needed a five letter LG??? — LGBTQ would be great, and maybe even possible, but it was quickly evident that finishing the grid would have been murder, so I dropped it. This is the disadvantage from the constructor's point of view of grids that have lots of flow. The effects of changes in one area propagate elsewhere freely. But having flow is better for solvers, so I try to maximize it where I can. Sure, you get saddled with a TESORO now and then, but on balance, I hope it ends up for a more enjoyable puzzle overall.

Sat 7/16/2016
YALEUSPASSPORT
ODIETEAMLEADER
GROGMARIAELENA
AINTNOBODYTOI
MAKEASALELATIN
ANISETTEFIXERS
TINTTVWIFE
SIGFOLIAGEMAS
METEORWART
CREEDSLAQUINTA
HEELSSATURNISM
ANYBATHINGCAP
STOPMOTIONMULE
MARIOCUOMOAROD
SLEEPAPNEANENE

See that black square at the end of 46-Across? I hate that square. It and its northeastern counterpart add 6 three-letter words to the puzzle. I had a good fill in the northeast without it but just didn't like the fill I came up with in the southwest. So I sat on the puzzle for a long time--long enough that I doubt QUINOA is trendy any more--hoping the constructing elves would sneak in one night and fix it for me. Alas, they never came so I conceded defeat and added the blasted black square.

I would have greatly preferred a cheater square at the first letter of CHASMS,but ??SMS is not really going anywhere. This is one of those instances that makes me think cheater squares don't deserve such an ugly name. My noncheater was much more perfidious. Oh well, hope you enjoyed all the squares you got to fill in.

Sat 6/4/2016
ADOLESCENTSMAD
CESARROMEROIRE
TECHNOMUSICSTP
IRATEESTISSEL
VERISMOECOCIDE
TOPCATADIT
BARBICELSTRATI
OLEANNITWAHOO
HINDEROHIOBORN
EMERELSEIF
MOGAMBOBIODATA
INEPTSMURAMON
AIDWATERLOVING
NEOTROMBONISTS
SSNFINESSESHOT

BYRON: Fun as always to work with Brad. He's so meticulous in his craft, but always in an easygoing manner. I love the things you learn when you construct, and the story behind 15A (CESAR ROMERO) may be one of my all-time favorites. MARTI pops up in crosswords often enough that I was quite surprised I hadn't run into that fascinating bit of trivia before.

BRAD: This puzzle began its life as a solo submission of mine with UPSET VICTIM / NATURE DEITY / FRAGILE EGOS in the upper left. The 1A had a misdirecting sports-related clue, but Will felt that the entry was not quite in-the-language enough to green-light. My subsequent revision hinged on at least one abbreviation he had decided to relegate permanently to the "no" list. The whole thing sat for a while, and on a whim, I sent the stack from the opposite corner across the country to see if Byron liked it (FINESSE SHOT / TROMBONISTS / the Ayn Rand title "WE THE LIVING.") Byron replaced the literary reference with WATER-LOVING to spare everyone involved ERI at 60D, and we were off.

I don't consider wordplay clues my strength, but I think I chipped in 31D and 53D to try to keep pace with Byron's brilliant 25A and others like 13D. It's also nice to scan the puzzle and see validation of our combined relish for pumping life into common entries with trivia-based clues. (In case you were wondering, a puzzle with that old NW did find favor at another venue.)

POW Sun 5/1/2016 STELLAR WORK
FORAGETORIDISGUSTS
AMULETPAWEDOCEANMAP
CABLECHANNELDERRIERE
THYMUGGLESFAROESE
SASHPOLIORIPOPEN
LOKIPEALRIGHTSIDE
UNITEDAIRLINESTKOS
TAPENADESCEDARGRIST
EMPLOYERDEANICEIDEA
PIECIENTOLURK
BROKEREDASETTLEMENT
PUMAODESSAEIN
NADERISMAFTKEROSENE
AVERTHOMIEGETANEDGE
MIRAROMEOANDJULIET
EDMCMAHONSUMPASAN
RODENTSTEAMSHGTV
HALIDESELASTICHIE
EGOTISTSACTINGCAREER
MRMISTERSEEMSOCULUS
POACHERSHYPESTEPPE

BYRON: The idea for the puzzle was Joel's. I was psyched when he asked me to collaborate on it, because I like puzzles which play with crossword conventions, and I am a big fan of Joel's puzzles generally. For an easy puzzle, you want the structure of the theme to be evident right away. For a trickier puzzle, you want the revelation to come right at, or possibly just after the end. For this one, I envisioned the typical solver getting it somewhere in the middle, maybe just past halfway through. Too soon, and it becomes just a slightly odd themeless. Too late, and the joy of the joke gets washed away. Hopefully, we found the right mix.

JOEL: Had a ton of fun putting this together with Byron. One thing we debated in the theme stage was whether a clue like "*Search party?" for ED MCMAHON was fair game — after all, it completely eliminates the quote marks used in the show "Star Search," not to mention the space between "Star" and "Search". We agreed it might be a little cheap, but that hopefully it would add an extra "aha" layer for the solver.

We both favor wide-open grid patterns and constructing challenges, so our styles meshed pretty well when it came time to fill the grid. I've always felt that Byron is one of the best themeless constructors, so the task of working on a Sunday with him with big chunky corners like this was very cool. In the end, I think we kept the compromises to a relative minimum while working in some nice longer fill, but I'll be interested to read how solvers felt.

Sat 3/19/2016
STJUDENUDISTS
CHENINLOVESEAT
HEAVEDONELLAMA
MONETSSCALAWAG
ADASHMIISNARE
LOUTSANTADYAD
TREEHUGGING
ZELDAFITZGERALD
MICHELLEWIE
AMFMSCENESENT
MARONHPSJUDGE
PROPOSALHARDEN
SINESTROENGIRT
UNDREAMTWIENIE
PASSERSSEDGES

This one was in the oven for a long time, as one might imagine. It was about half-filled last year when Will asked me to construct for the ACPT finals. I thought about trying to finish this one for the finals puzzle, but it looked like it would take too much work to finish in time, and was a little too name-heavy at that point. The actual finals puzzle ended up being about as much work, and even more name-heavy. Shows how much I know.

I was very tempted to clue ZELDA FITZGERALD as the inspiration for the Eagles' "Witchy Woman," but opted for the clue as is, to clue her by an accomplishment, and possibly misdirect a few solvers into trying SCOTT instead. He really should have dropped the F. off his name if he wanted more crossword love. Hemingway clearly was way ahead of him in that regard.

Tue 1/19/2016
GEARRACKBETCHA
UTNEICEEAVALON
LCDSCARPEDABOUT
PERCHEDATOPURI
STEAMSINRAGS
CANOEISTSPIECE
EMIRTENANT
FLOUNDEREDAROUND
DELVESGASX
RODEOSALTDOMES
MANUALOROMEO
ECOSKATEDALONG
GONEFISHINGAPAL
ONEPINANNEROTE
SKYINGDYESSPED

Don't throw out your calendars — it is indeed Tuesday. Given the basic nature of the theme, I was shooting for Monday, but I couldn't resist the siren song of opening up the grid with extra connectivity. Hope you enjoy the result.

Sat 12/12/2015
PRISMJUNGLEGYM
MORAYOPERATIVE
SMITHLEVERAGES
ESAUINENGLISH
JOHNMCENROE
ARPPUPBRAHMS
WOOSPIRALPOSH
IMUSSTENOERMA
NENEOTITISSAG
GODEAFISTEGG
SCAMPERAWAY
SLUMPOVERATOZ
LIKEICARENAMIB
OPENCOILSDRANO
POSTSALESSINEW

This may be the most lightly edited puzzle I've had in the Times, so direct all complaints and recriminations to me.

The most interesting edit was for 6-Down. When I was originally cluing the puzzle (only a few months back), I checked to see how the Times styled said Angelina. She was generally just "Ms. Jolie," especially in her professional capacities. So my original clue was [Surname of six Hollywood scions]. But in the run up to her latest film, there was a long feature in the Times where she was now styled as Ms. Jolie Pitt. I shot Will and Joel an e-mail suggesting a change to the clue might be in order. Had I waited until after the film's release, I might have suggested ["By the Sea" bombmaker], but I'm guessing that wouldn't fly anyway.

The other major change was effected by the addition of a single word in the clue for 21-Across (JOHN MCENROE). That word is "American". Editorial Fairness 1, Constructor Mischief 0. (Oh well, there's always 1-A, 4-D, 17-A, 28-D, ...)

I'm guessing the most polarizing entry will be 5-Down (MY HUMPS). If it's not your dish of tea, there's always BRAHMS. The song itself is so annoying and insipid, but getting it and its deadpan clue into the Times ranks as one of my most cherished cruciverbal achievements.

Sat 9/5/2015
HOPONPOPKOALAS
IMONFIREURGENT
FORELEGSMIRAGE
IONJETBOODLE
IDEALMANCOL
BAPTISTERYCOPY
ORELRUSSIAHAHA
BERLEFITOR
BYRDPUTTOANEND
YOYOERRORCODES
RUMCREEPIES
IDAHOSMONFAT
GOSOLOONONDAGA
GNOMONRYCOODER
SENORASMOGTEST

This puzzle started out with BOBBY RIGGS. I trust that a lot of solvers will look at the clue and wonder how it could be someone they've heard of. My other favorite trivia tidbit in the puzzle is in the KOALAS clue. It could be the basis of a fanciful whodunit.

Sat 5/16/2015
DRIPPOTBEATSME
REMORSEUPDATED
UPPSALALEAKING
GROTTOCLEMENTE
CIRCESLYSUGAR
ZETAALOFTPOLS
AVERAGESOUT
REDDIAPERBABIES
LITTHETORCH
ASTINARISNOOR
SPANGROMPENNI
HINDUGODWESSON
ANGELOUTITMICE
RELEARNONRADAR
PLEDGEDMOONERS

A couple of clue edits caught my eye. For 1-Down (DRUG CZAR), I had [Coke head?]. I would have gone with [Pot head?] but for 1-Across. As such, the clue felt a little crass to me. I love the edited version, which works the same kind of joke in a much subtler fashion. (Jeff: [Highest officer in his field, ironically]; "Highest" — get it?)

For 8-Down, I had the somewhat rococo [Teddy Roosevelt's third-party endorsement?]. It interests me that my version made the first part of the entry easier to find, where the edited version gives a big hint for getting the end of the clue. It might be an easier clue that makes the puzzle harder, since the top of the entry is one of only two ways into the NE section. Fortunately, the baseball trivia at 20-Across is well-known to many, and easily findable for anyone else who gets really stuck getting into that corner.

Thu 3/26/2015
ALPHASABUDHABI
PARENTNINEIRON
AYEAYETOILETTE
SLYTHERINSDIOR
SASOPEDOHEXT
NOSERINGS
LEOIKETHOU
INTENSERIVALS
PLEXLESPDA
SPINSERVE
GOTONOFAASEC
IMACRINSECYCLE
MALENUDELAMOUR
PHONESEXINCODE
SANTAHATSTATES

I'd normally be grumbling about the god of symmetry forcing me to use the insipid central theme entry (plus all those not-technically-cheaters but rather-cheaterish black squares). I'd have preferred the zippier SUSPENSE-RIDDEN or at least the more common TAKEN SERIOUSLY. But then the theme isn't that awesome without the placement. The shading may make the puzzle less Thursdayish, but given all the extra black and the plethora of 3-letter entries it necessitated, I wouldn't want anyone to miss the design.

Even then, you work so hard to get the best makeup and costume and lighting for your star and some supporting starlet, meaning the southwest corner, jumps out and steals the show. I'm guessing it's the only part that will get much attention. I can live with that.

POW Sat 2/7/2015
GRABLEEASYACES
RULEONMONOTONE
ICHINGBROUHAHA
PHINDICATORLAG
PERSONALADGENL
EDTNEWMETOSCA
LAMESBRACES
WAVEREDBOILERS
ELEVENHOBBS
ATRIADITKAPIM
KAYSWILHELMINA
SIMDESIARNAZJR
PRICECUTRAZZES
OILLEASEEMDASH
TVDINNERYEASTY

Constructors have a risque term for the torture one does to the quality of the entries in a puzzle in order to put a lot of high-point Scrabble letters like X, J, Q and Z into some portion of the grid. With this puzzle, I'm tempted to repurpose the term for what starting with those letters in a nice airy corner can do to the constructor when s/he has to make the rest of the puzzle come together.

This one, of course, started in the southeast with DESIARNAZJR — and the clue, one of my favorite ever — and trying to build enough space around the ZJ to hide it for a while, to maximize the punch of getting the answer. (I half-wanted it to run without the ? for the same reason, but it's hard to quibble with it as he just turned 62.)

Queen Wilhelmina

Once I got the stack in the southwest to come together, I had just enough hope that I could actually get it to work. I even had a different completed grid, with PASTA POT/PAVANES in place of WEAKSPOT/WAVERED, but I liked what I managed to get out of this one better. The LONDON AREA/ENGINEMEN combo, neither great, afforded lots of possibilities for the NW and NE but unfortunately getting the corners to work at the same time was the tricky part. After many, many different tries I stumbled onto PHINDICATOR as an option. I liked it so much as an entry, I pretty much vowed to make it work.

Lots of near misses until RUCHED came to mind — finally all those episodes of "Say Yes to the Dress" paid off! Then I got the NE to fall and tied everything back up at HOBBS. I had hoped to make that HOBBY since there were a lot of names in the area already, but I could live with it.

I never really knew much about Queen WILHELMINA before reading a bit for cluing her. She's a heroine who's been a bit undersung, at least in the U.S., so I'm happy to give her a cruciverbal shoutout.

Sun 6/29/2014 DOWNRIGHT TRICKY!
CHINICECUBESCALESIP
OAHUMOSHPITEAGERPRO
BRAMONPITCHANEGGIKE
BEDECKSVIKEHOTPOCKET
SARIFAMERONEAREDS
HOGCALLERBLINDBID
EMUNOMARMILUSAGE
MANCAVEYEARLYPHYSICAL
ITCHESTIVATERUESELL
LEHRERHSIAABSCISSA
IVEMADEADECISION
PASSEDONEROSNODOGS
FRATILKSAMSNEADAFRO
FILMINDUSTRIESBEARFUR
TATASPUPIDLERBBB
MSPACMANPADDEDBRA
ALIIROARMIMESYALE
WINNDIXIESCARINSTALL
FBIASINKNAZIERAINCA
URNRENEEBRITCOMNCIS
LAGANGRYCONDONEGEDS

This puzzle had two distinct geneses. The first was CHIVALRY IS DEAD, which I had liked as a potential entry for, oh, 7 or 8 years. 14-letter entries can sit on the shelf a long time. At some point, much more recently, CONSIDER IT DONE caught my eye as another nice 14, and I thought of pairing it with CHIVALRY IS DEAD in a themeless. I think I actually started a grid and then noticed the C.I.D. connection.

The other thing I had in mind for quite some while was that feeling you get solving. You know something is wrong, and then you realize "Oh, it's a rebus!" and then everything starts working properly. I wanted to construct a puzzle where that has to happen twice — first when you think it's a rebus, and then when you realize it isn't. There would have to be a way that the themers were too long to fit, but then ended up somewhere else.

So when the CID part jumped out at me, a bunch of things came together at once. CID and CHIVALRY IS DEAD both got me thinking of knights. And the knight in chess moves like an L, ... "L" CID ... and hence the puzzle. My original title was "Knight Moves," which Matt Gaffney later used for a different gimmick, so I suggested to Will to change it to "Knight Shift." Will's title is probably a clearer hint ... hope you all remembered to look at the title before you started.

I lit onto MADE A DECISION pretty early on, to disguise the DEAD part. Then when I realized that I'VE MADE A DECISION could go in the middle and allow for symmetric placement of my two theme seed entries, I had my basic structure. I was lucky enough to hang a few more L's off the center entry and get some pretty complicated interlock to work out. The roughest section to fill was that little knot around HSIA/AAAA/EVIE. A lot of not-greatness there, but I could live with it. A special THANK U to Alanis, without whom I would have had to rip up the whole thing.

The area that was surprisingly challenging was the bottom of CONSIDER IT DONE. I needed ???DONE but I didn't want DONE in the answer and I had ONE elsewhere, so wanted to avoid using it again. That pretty much left me with CONDONE, making that section rather knotty, especially since I wanted the revealer next door. After all that, I somehow missed the dupe of LEG PAD and PADDED BRA, which I just spotted a couple of days ago. But I guess it never hurts to have a little extra PADding.

Sat 6/21/2014
CABOOSESHASTA
ASSUREDCHEROOT
SKITEAMPINENUT
TADLINCOLNAGRA
SNEADBLUESCDC
NAIADSKAYAK
SHEDRISSANCTA
TOLEDANNETTLED
AVERYSMARHESS
LEASEREDFIR
IRRDIONECADIZ
NONISOURCECODE
EVINCEDIODIZES
RENDERSTAUTEST
ARGYLEEXPERTS

Brad:

My original intention was to do the entire top half and tag Byron, but I ended up giving him just a corner. I had to laugh that he engineered a nifty section with TAD LINCOLN, as I had tried that over and over again with no clean fill. I hadn't mentioned it to him in advance; we won't call it mind-reading exactly, since the –LN ending was one of the better choices. I recall that we had more back-and-forth choosing the fill for the bottom than we did for the whole of our puzzle of Nov. 30. 36D was a new word to me, and having Byron slot that in really tidied up that immediate area. I particular liked the Walden clues for 40A and 59A — I think the upper left might have been too hard with his original clue for 16A, but I'm keeping it mum so he has a chance to use it again.

Byron:

My memory of the construction was Brad started with the lovely NE corner, I got the TAD area working with a helpful assist from the egregi..., um, I mean innovative partial at 2D. Brad zipped off at least a couple of excellent SE corners. Then I slogged through with something OK in the SW but Brad noticed a bit of a dupe and buffed up that area to fix it. Beyond his greatness as a constructor, Brad really just shines as a co-constructor. I'm not even sure the 16A clue I wrote is harder than what's in the puzzle, just hard in a different way. Several clues are like that, especially 52A, which was clued in one option as the recentish Jake Gyllenhaal movie. I imagine that would be easier for some and harder for others. Hopefully the headaches are spread evenly and pass quickly.

Sat 11/30/2013
SGTSCHULTZCRAB
URANIUMORELILO
DATINGPOOLUGLY
SPITEIKIDSHOW
YENSORSACTTWO
PAEANHEMAN
BIOGASTAMARIND
UNMATEDSILENCE
STEVESAXREDDER
HELENMRMET
WREATHAIDSETI
HATHAPTSPICOT
ALPONAILSALONS
CIAOSANANTONIO
KANTARGYLESOCK

Brad:

Byron has always been a clip-and-save constructor for me, so I jumped at the chance when he sent me a corner and proposed we try the "hook" of mirroring B____ W____ entries. The scary part: I had never done any significant stacks that were four deep, let alone ones with restrictions. After a day or two I sent Byron a few possibilities without any BW, saying perhaps it was the best I could do. He was gracious about it, but luckily I persevered a little longer and a BW section came together. I'd have to say, though, that my favorite part of the puzzle was the last to go in — Byron's zippy NW. A 10-letter entry with only one vowel — how often has THAT happened?

Byron:

Brad was more than up to my little challenge — not that I had any doubts. I do like four deep stacks when possible just because three-letter entries are nearly always tired. (NAS was first clued as the rapper in 1999!)

One other note about the cluing. I suggested to Brad that we clue each other's corners. It was a nice way to completely share in the creation of the puzzle.

POW Sat 10/5/2013
ACTFIVEOFFCAST
FAIRBANKSALASKA
FREEASSOCIATION
ALGOREMANXMPG
BEANSPORTMOJO
LAMSBUDSLOVES
ESEBRNOROO
ESPRITDECORPS
AIMRAMPLID
SKORTHASPNOLO
AAHSSAGEJAWED
IBMZERODUPING
DOYOUWANNADANCE
HOMELESSSHELTER
IMYOURSCLAMORS

I started out picturing the grid with the two double stacks of 15s. The intersecting central 13s only came into the plan once I started writing the NW corner. 15-Across was the first to go in and I started looking at other 15s staring with F, thinking that 1-Down would be OFF-something. I got really close with CARLOAN/D and TIEGAME (singular) at 2 and 3-Down. I saw ALGORE working nicely but the dearth of OFFA??? led me to try AFFABLE. Then I worked out a pretty good corner if BOANS was a thing (a defunct department store in Perth).

I joked to myself about using CARLEAK instead. That was enough to get me over the hump by thinking of LEASE and adding the central 13 running across. I wasn't psyched about FREONS and would have chucked it if the opposite corner hadn't come together so well. Didn't much like HOMELESS SHELTER as an entry. A lot of space for a word you can't really clue with my usual japery but there was too much good stuff in the SW corner to pass up.

Sat 7/13/2013
REMANDSQUIDINK
EXETERPUNTEDON
DESTRYLIMORIDE
CROWDSCENEBORE
ATNOERECTITAL
POICAINEANIMA
ENCLOSESBIGCAT
IZODFALL
HAPPENREDEEMER
ADORNBEADYAPO
MULELUCREPRII
PLEADRESSSUITS
TANDOORIIAMNOT
OTTERPOPGRAEME
NEAREASTNASSER
Thu 10/11/2012
APEDOMBLOWPOP
TUXEDOSMARIANA
OBELISKORANGES
CANCANCANTATA
EDUGOTOENO
RATSWERTHER
ECRUSTRAMSTOP
CHICHICHIHUAHUA
TAXCODESSLITS
UTILIZEENDS
MOMDORAMOE
BERBERBERNINI
ALISTERRAMINTO
MONTANAONASTAR
ANGOLANITISSO
Sat 9/8/2012
GABYSTOODINFOR
OMOOKEPTADIARY
TONGOREOCOOKIE
CREAMRINSEBEES
HERMITPENNE
ASSADPARDOATE
TWEEZERSMAD
ORBINSTANTELS
MILVICECOPS
ECUEDICTAPERS
LEEDSBILLET
ECHOPHOTODIODE
THEORIOLESTILE
TENNESSEANUSED
EXSENATORSPEGS
Sun 5/27/2012 STATE QUARTERS
POSSEAWLSDLWRHOST
ONHERMCIALINEANNIE
TEALSLAUGHINGFALCONS
OLHMNLERSBADREP
SPFELUDERSCCELLKAY
ICNIFYTAUPEFERS
CARLTTORIPESSISALL
PHAROHCORNRUPELAPSE
RANDMPANELNSGASTAPS
BRITANNDEMOCRAT
NBAKANENTASONEAKNA
REDRYDERNSHOUND
DARESAYBAHIANSEMNEM
SKYLERLAMPADEMISUSA
AIRRAIDSINSRECORSE
LISAAMADOGENERS
INAENTRYUNCOVERECU
EDBERGFLOODMRLN
GEORGESDELATOURHYMIE
ENNIOAIDAILNIOPERA
TENTKNUKLOVETONED
Sun 3/18/2012 REAR-END COLLISIONS
CHICASETCETERAPACKAIA
DEMOTETHREECARIMEANIT
TAMLINCRUNCHTMTURNSTO
DUELSHEMHOOGIST
MONSTERABCBREEITSI
EVELSENDSUPPRESSCNEEC
RETAGHOETETRAPOKES
CROWDPESRSQUEEZEPAECU
SIRSACUFFALESLAP
STAMENSTSLOTINFANT
PANCAKEBEKATTNTSEARCH
ALTARSUMOSARIASATEIT
NEEDLEXERCLUTCHPROMNE
AENEIDGAPESINASPOT
FIRMGASSOLIDSMUT
IRECRUMPLEZNCOMPACTDS
RAVEDEARNSTHYLAILA
SQUASHBOSMEKESOUTMALL
TIEROUISINCPREEMIE
ARESDOATANANNAN
ROADMAPPINCHRNECLERGY
ACTUATEENTHUSEDTAXIED
JAMSSINCOVENTRYSITARS
Sat 3/3/2012
AIRSIGNSSLEAZE
BRAINROTPASMAL
ROCKCAVEITSBIG
ANKHMAATHEIRA
OMSKZESTER
HAIRLACQUER
ARMYGROUPSOKAY
LIANATETALEXA
FACEDISORDERLY
SEAANEMONES
RUBIESDOTS
ANORAKIGOYELL
SCRAMSLOUISNYE
PLAQUELOCKEDON
SEXISTADHERENT
Sat 8/20/2011
HOGANSTASHAWAY
EARLSTHEPIRATE
ITALYAIREDALES
SEVENTYNINEMAW
TRENCHCOATGALE
SSNRAULLURID
DWELTPARTVI
REQUIEMMISUSED
EXULTSPINTS
POACHMACEGAP
RUDEPOLARBEARS
OTBGATEWAYCITY
OLIVEDRABNOTGO
FAKESMILEONEUP
SWEETENERWORMS
Thu 12/9/2010
PLODSCAMSPSAT
ELHIHOVELOCTO
RAYEEMILETROY
CNOTEBLOWOPEN
HOUSEBOATLIE
OLAVTALENTS
BAWDNEWNASDAQ
OSHADRAMASOSU
MCIMASCOTSOSA
BITTENOROPROD
SIERRASALII
TILHOLYCROSS
FREEBIRDHIMOM
YEASANGUSTARO
AMSOSTATEONEK
ZAHNSONYAFIRE
Fri 6/25/2010
PALPSARABAMPM
ALIASLODESTARS
REBUTDIDGERIOS
TVILPASSEDOFF
VESSELTOPHAT
OKAPISNOONE
WINECASKASNER
SOPIIIIIORR
TRUSSFROTHERS
ATRIAFASTER
CHILIGENRAPT
ATEKOSHERASEA
PLANTFOODSTARR
PONTOONEDHUMIR
STIRROSYAMITY
Sat 3/13/2010
BMXERCOBBSALAD
LIANEOROYPLATA
ELVISWELLABOVE
SLIDONODORS
SEEWESATESCI
BRRLEDSTITAN
SOCIALLUBRICANT
TRUELIFEROMANCE
ENGLISHLAVENDER
PEASEESSETIL
SSTNRASRSNEW
TRALASALADA
SOCRATICSBORON
INNOCENTIIMOUT
GENDERGAPNEWTS
Sat 12/19/2009
LADDERDNALAB
AMOEBASQUIVIVE
YOUCANCOUNTONIT
URBANHRESWEAT
POLYTEASESOTO
SUEARMLOCKFER
SOAPIERSNERD
CRIMSONTIDE
OCTADBEASTAR
ICUNICEISHSEE
RAPSEARLYLODI
ERATOPTSFINNS
FINALRESOLUTION
UNCLEARNOSENSE
LAYLOWBERGER
Sat 5/16/2009
JAZZHANDSPERIL
ASYOUWEREALINE
STRONGBOXLONGA
PUTTERWILLIGER
ETESEASELSTNN
RECUTSERAMOUE
SOAKSMAINER
CATALPAHARNESS
AMANDACASIO
TPKSCHARASPER
SHECHORDSOLDE
COFFEEBREAKAIT
ARIELNEDBEATTY
NAVELORGANSTOP
SEETOBEENTHERE
Sat 4/18/2009
FISHBOWLSABABA
INTOODEEPROVES
GROUNDSQUIRRELS
TOPSYTURNSONTO
RAGEJEANSGRR
EDABURRTHREAT
ESPERANTOEARNS
GENUINELY
SARISSETTLEDUP
PRESTORHOSISU
ITSGALENPOHL
TITFORTATCAMEL
SCARLETTANAGERS
ALGAEWIKIPEDIA
TEENSONEPARENT
Sat 2/21/2009
RAZORTRAVELER
AZURESHESALIVE
GOLEFTELICITED
ADELATVIAELO
SYMMETRICMATRIX
EARCLIPINSANE
STEMSNAPLES
ESCHERSWOKS
SCRODSARIFAX
CHEWINGONNIECE
ARPMOONEDSEER
POEAPESREADTO
ADPAGESJURYBOX
DEARESTASININE
ERNESTOWEEONES
Sat 11/8/2008
DREAMTOFATLAST
RELIABLETRIFLE
ALANLADDMASTIC
MATTEMEACZECH
AXEHURLSTRES
PEASALADMIA
MIDAPRILURBANV
CLOSEDCIRCUITTV
CENSEDSHIPAHOY
ALTSADTALES
SOLIYIPPYETO
KNARSGASFATHA
IGUANAPOOLCUES
LUGNUTEDWARDII
LEHIGHRYEBEERS
Sun 10/5/2008 FAULT-FINDING
PAELLASACROSSATTESTED
ANCIENTCHEWUPPROFORMA
SECONDOCINEMAPORTRAIT
TWENTYPOUNDNOTEPISTILS
YPRESLASHLIU
IVESBETASPRETTYPOISON
CITYPOLICEEASELINN
IRONALLOYINNERKETCHUP
EINSTEINSNAGVITALITY
RDSERNSCELEBRITYPOKER
SNOGPARTLEASVERO
BERETSDIRTYPOOLTHESIS
LEERIONEPEASBOER
UNIVERSITYPOSTDUMABSA
RICEBELTRIOSUSTROOPS
BEHOOVESPINSPETITGRIS
UNUCOROTTREATYPORT
PARTYPOOPERSHEARSUNOS
ANOCPUSHERSH
RITCHIEPUBLICITYPOSTER
AMARILLOMAIDENMERCYME
DATAFLOWEDSELSESCAPED
ELEGISTSSEARLESTATORS
Sat 8/16/2008
SHOTCLOCKMSNBC
TENURABLEALERO
GRABASEATRESIN
EBSENROCKETTE
RATSSTENOPLOY
ARISTATENSENS
RICHARDSAPO
DAKOTASONAFAST
LETSKIPARKA
ASHYTACOMAKYL
GOESOSAKAYAWL
HARMONICMUNRO
ARMORMCPHERSON
STAKEOHIOSTATE
TONESVIPPASSES
Sat 6/28/2008
ZIPLOCBAGHARPS
ONIONROLLAGORA
MRROMANCEYOYOS
BEAMENGINESATH
IANODDSPLEA
ECHOICSOCKAWAY
SHAFFERWARRENS
NILEEPOS
ALCOVESRENEGES
TASTESOKSACRUM
ERLETREFAGA
IDEWATERHEATER
NEWDOSPEARMINT
TRICKTURNSTAIL
OSSIEOPEDESSAY
Thu 4/17/2008
BEIGEBOXBODICE
ACTALONEEDISON
CHARLTONHESTON
HOLTRACEUSNA
ADOOARS
TENCOMMANDMENTS
EXALTEBSENARI
ECRUELCIDHAIL
UEYYARDSJACKO
PLANETOFTHEAPES
OWESETS
AXISNEPALEGO
BENHUROMEGAMAN
ENDORAPENALIZE
TOONEWEXAMPLES
Sat 4/12/2008
PITBOSSIMPALAS
ONEAWAYFARPOST
STATINSONEONTA
THREEDCLEMGET
PEDSPADISERE
USOGRIPKEARNS
NEWFRONTIERS
KANSASCITYCHIEF
THEHONORABLE
SAMOANNONURED
TWOPMSEWTOGA
JAGKINDPARKAY
UKULELETOLUENE
DELIRIAACTNICE
ENSUREDTOOKTEN
Sat 3/22/2008
JABBERCARESFOR
EQUINEONCAMERA
LURKEDMTARARAT
LASERSMISPRINT
OPTSOUTOFSTAGY
SLOTNODUH
HAPAXPERIODIDE
ONENILCHANEY
TENDAYWARSTATE
SINEWENOL
NAPPASUPERMINI
OLEASTERBOYMAN
DIETSODAEXMATE
ATTHEGUNRIOTER
TOESTOPSNOMESS
Sat 8/4/2007
BEFORETHEOTHERS
ITALIANALPHABET
GIRLFROMIPANEMA
DEMITTACDORAG
ONCEBENINILIE
SNLBUSTUGEND
EULERDECRY
BEARDEDLADY
ODIUMEPSOM
UNASTNHUEDOL
SOPSOKRASBENE
BRITTTASSALTS
AMERICANSTUDIES
NICOTINELOZENGE
KEEPONKEEPINGON
Sat 6/30/2007
PALMGIFTEDKIDS
OMOOINSIDEINFO
LACEGUTTERBALL
ERASGRAINOLAV
MILALERSITE
ILLBREDDUCHESS
CLARETHUGO
SOWONESWILDOATS
ASHYYEOMAN
ILPOSTOUSROUTE
NEATUPCSDEA
PESOPARLEDARK
ALCOHOLBANARTS
REALESTATEBYOB
TELEPHONESOATY
Sat 6/2/2007
SCRAPEPOSTCARD
TIEDINLIMAOHIO
EVADEDALANLADD
PINREINROTTED
CLICANTATAS
HUMPERDINCKDES
ANAISINGAGRIT
NITEWAGERRAGA
GOESINTLTIGHT
ENDONAHIGHNOTE
EMINENCENOT
OMELETSALTFUR
BIGARADEERMINE
ICANTLIEFIERCE
SANDALEDSPREES
Sat 5/19/2007
SYMBOLISTSWABS
QUARTERTOTHREE
UKRAINIANMYMAN
IFSCASTEAMEND
REBASEEPRENDS
TSARSSTOGYIII
STRINGHERCAPN
ALLFEMALE
JUGSELOFORBAD
USOONEBCNERDY
METEDEVIESIRS
BARGEFIENDNIP
OBEYSRONREAGAN
CLAPSOUTOFTUNE
DELTAMSOLYMPIA
Sat 4/21/2007
LOSTSTEAMTRYIT
ANTIPASTOREUNE
YOUBETTERAPPLE
ENTICEDTOPSPIN
REZABARSINC
SNARLSVEER
THEATEROFBOFFO
HARDACTTOFOLLOW
EIGERTHEABSURD
BROSCHESTS
USNFUELACTA
STONIERGUMDROP
HYMANAMANALONE
ELISEPOLICECAR
SECTSYEAVERILY
Sun 4/8/2007 IN OTHER WORDS
CERAMISTCARATBAILIFF
AMARANTHOXEYEBEINGFAT
DISARMEROLDENENTRAINS
TRIMESTERTHRICEMGM
LBJINSETSUNPORCHBIBI
ORATEDBOTMOONIEDOGIT
POSEDGOMADULEEEIGHTH
MASKEDAVENGERSROUTE
AMIRITYELIASDORS
MONOSKIWRESTGRIDSTKT
BLESSINGINDISGUISEARES
LOGESIREOAFPLUNK
ECUSUNDERCOVERFBIAGENT
SHYSPEEDOBESEACCEDES
LIEDSAONESSEBELK
GWENNSECRETADMIRERS
ELEVENHAUSISAACNAIAD
NIMESMETRESTYRBGIRLS
TBARCABERNETATEARELL
ENDBINARYCARNELIAN
BEERIESTOFUSENERVEGAS
BSINGLESFORTEUNDERONE
ESTADOSFREEDPASSFAIL
Sat 2/24/2007
TABLOIDTVASPER
IFYOUDARESHONE
RURITANIALOINS
ESOSIALSOSUE
DENFEELSUPTOIT
FULLSCREEN
URBANAREASPUD
SHORMAPLELENO
HOBODALLIANCE
MUSICROLLS
JACKETLAPELSSE
ETAISITISWAN
NODOZFINAGLING
GLOBEFOILPAPER
ALOESENSLAVERS
Thu 11/9/2006
JAMSBADGEROOM
AREAOATERSANTE
MUDDYWATERSGATS
ITSDONEARMIES
CLUDIRTYHARRY
REHEATNEESON
ODOULSADSUAW
PEOPLEOFTHEEARTH
ENLDUIILLSAY
FRIENDSALADS
DUSTYBAKERPIM
ALUMNIASSAILS
INMYSANDYDENNIS
LAMEESPIESCOLT
YEARSHREDEROS
Sat 10/14/2006
SITASPELLADELE
APOLLOXIIRELAX
PARTYGIRLMACYS
INTTRIPEASP
DASANISSODPAO
LOCATTAINU
STRATEGICROUTES
WHENIWASYOURAGE
ARBITRONRATINGS
PEESALESIG
SALAPBATEALOT
EDAASREDAZO
AKRONELDESTSON
TIMIDALLSEEING
STYLEKEEPSAKES
Sat 3/25/2006
CHATSUPTRAUMAS
RADIOFREEEUROPE
ITSACOINCIDENCE
STORKOMANIGAS
TERACRETEMORT
ORBGEESEQUOTA
HARSHCURSER
RESIZESCHOKERS
EXUDESLAITY
DINERTISCHPSI
STDSCHESSCOAT
OFOALANACHILI
NEWAGEMOVEMENTS
JENNIFERANISTON
ASSENTSSEXTANT
Wed 2/15/2006
WALLAREASGLAD
IDEAROASTRARE
FINDMOCHALATTE
INSIDETHELINES
EARSLED
ROUSTSGOODFEW
ITSMEAEONTALE
AHEADOFTHECURVE
TERNPAISURGED
ARSPERTTENORS
ANNTHUD
BESIDETHEPOINT
TECHNOCRATWHIR
BAREOHARANONE
STUNROMPSSPEX
Thu 2/2/2006
OBESESLOBAHEM
LEGALKAMATELE
EAGLEIDIDNTLIE
ONSECONDTHOUGHT
TANSASAUS
HONESYRBED
AMOTHKIWIJUICE
INTHELIGHTOFDAY
RIVARIDGEBULGE
NOBSEWSEED
MIANEDDOS
AFTERREFLECTION
UNSAYABLERADIO
DOERCUERUPEND
ETALETASBEAKS
Sat 12/24/2005
THEJUNGLEARABS
VEXATIOUSRICOH
GRAPENUTSCORBY
ABLEGEESOSS
MILPRESSUPBAT
EEYORELESAGE
MIDDLELETTER
MALECHAUVINISTS
THINKINGEVIL
CONSULANTONY
AYEPLATINGPIE
RMSSCADVEGA
MAORICLIPPINGS
ETUISROOSEVELT
LETGOANTIPODES
Sat 11/19/2005
THEPROOFLAMEST
WOVEINTOAZARIA
OHITSYOUTUDORS
POLEAXERERASES
MSGRMENEM
EELGRASSETTA
HANDPAINTEXERT
OUIGYMBALLSON
ARUBAMOTIONSTO
RASAJEBEDIAH
THUDSMAGS
LASSOSLAWYERUP
IMHURTETHIOPIA
MAOISMDEEPFELT
ODETTESETSFREE
Thu 11/3/2005
CAPMUONSCHAR
APUMENTALIMAGE
ROBRUBBERNOSES
ELLISASENATE
ELISERFSGEE
ROCAAIRBOND
EXTRABATTERY
DIVIDEDCAPITALS
DENVEROMELET
INRETILSTAR
SIELLAMAEVA
INCASHLEIRED
TEAMMANAGEREND
MASCARACASEGEL
EMTSEMCEEODE
Sat 10/8/2005
HEADSTANDSPICT
INDOORPOOLARAW
GOONTIPTOEPORE
HURTSREVERENCE
AGESLIVEPERSON
SHESIZERCHIVE
CITERBEADER
CAROLEDWRITERS
ONAGERIHOPS
MOVINSWEATYEP
PRETTYHARDCODA
LENAHORNEHADIT
EXITGOTAMINUTE
TINEIVEMOVEDON
ECGSSEMIDESERT
Sat 9/24/2005
GASBAGSROTIFER
QUARLESEVASIVE
TRYOUTSSELENIC
YOYOMALORIEDA
PREKINDERGARTEN
EASINGINTOAUNT
NORMASMINCE
BIGGUYTOSEED
AMESSSTRODE
DENSHARDRESINS
PADDLEBOATRACES
ANAALITINHEAT
STRAPINALMAATA
TIMRICECLANGER
STERNOSSANDERS
Sat 8/27/2005
POTATOSACKRACES
ISATONESLEISURE
CONTROLPITCHERS
OLSONPOKESAT
NEHTOLDONSITE
EMOELAINESNAT
TIEONEONSTA
SOSADSEDAPHIS
KOSSERGEANT
BODNICEJOBDAR
IPODLANATEASE
GENOMESEDGES
SNAPINSPECTIONS
ATTENTIONPLEASE
MOISTTOWELETTES
Sun 8/21/2005 THE MAMAS AND THE PAPAS
ACMEARCACZARATBEST
SLAPSDOWNHUTULARDER
PARACHUTEPANTSBRIDLE
ISRHOGMARINEMAMMALS
CHITCHAISRNA
AHIPASTPARTICIPLE
AGENDASIWEREASSAIL
ADELAIDEVITALEACNE
DAMASKSMASSMARKETING
ABASHBUTTPLEXFEY
THESTAGEMASERATI
ESELEEKPAREMOCHA
PARALLELPARKSTOPSPIN
SNIPMARCIEHALLPASS
OKAPISVIRALORDEALS
MALLMANAGEMENTSRI
ARIVOLGAESSE
PAJAMAPARTIESRUEATM
LIONELMAYFLOWERMADAM
ODENSEISPSAABATTERY
TALESESHOOPRESASKS
Sat 6/4/2005
SCOOPSUSSTATE
TANKUPTAPERER
ARCANACAPETIAN
RDASHHHHWHOSE
DAMENEUREESES
ONETOMCGARRETT
MORTWALKER
AUSTINTEXAS
SNOWRANGER
BRASSIERESETAE
LEROUXRLSTBSP
ICEINOILEDITO
MOORHENSREALMS
POLEAXEBALKAT
SKEETERONIONS
Sat 4/2/2005
SPOOLERSTOSSTO
TITLEVIISUPERB
ANTIGENSPRIMAS
SCAVENGESNINE
HAVENSNEAMASS
YARDSOAPBOXES
AIRSERVICE
FOBBINGARRESTS
UNERRINGLY
ZEROESOUTLACK
ZOLAEFTCAMERA
ENIDFLOORPLAN
DONEINENCASING
UNESCOSCHMUCKS
PERTERSEESPAST
Sat 3/12/2005
CATAMOUNTCOCOA
ONONEKNEEOVENS
STATEDEBTRILES
TOSITSODAIDA
ANTLIONNICEBOY
RESENTEDSLEAZE
AGREEDENTER
SIEGADWARSENS
ENNUISALARY
ATTENDRENEWALS
BEARCUBSTEELIE
ERNIDESKEANE
ARGUSBUTTINSKI
SOLVEONIONSKIN
TREADPYONGYANG
Thu 3/3/2005
MESHTICSTOSEA
ALIIENCEATILT
LONGSNOUTLEMME
LIGHTSUPTHEROOM
HOERLENIN
ACCORDPERTEVE
SLOPEGIDESWAN
CAMERAEQUIPMENT
ORBSCOUPREINE
TAULOGECELLAR
STARROREL
ACTIONADVENTURE
SAINTPLUSSEVEN
KNOTSHILTSEND
SENSEYVESTAOS
Sat 1/22/2005
SMACKEDUPSINEW
MADRILENOEMOTE
ALOTTOASKCANIT
LARSENHISSOCK
LIEIONETIKI
OSSSANDGROUSES
JETSETSFILLETS
CRATUPIS
ETVOILANAVAJOS
CHIFFONCAKEUPI
LEAFSTATMTN
INGUSFLMOSAIC
PERONIMPEDANCE
SWAMILEYDENJAR
ESSEXMXMISSILE
Sat 12/25/2004
UCLAESSAYSFUR
PEASANTARMYUSE
CROISSANTANDJAM
STSSURDSDEIFY
RAERIB
PARTISANTACTICS
ARIELSTOPSMUT
IDASILENTCPBA
NOTIMASKICEIN
TRANSANTARCTICS
DAMHAS
ELCIDDEKEDWHO
ROLAIDSANTACIDS
IRASECRETSANTA
QEDMESSESBEVY
Sat 11/27/2004
PSALMISLAMABAD
OWNEDTHESOURCE
MIDISTATERTOTS
STYLEMTAOKOK
CHAGLUESSENS
AHASOIRYE
THROWOFFBALANCE
VIDEODEPOSITION
STYROFOAMPEANUT
PENBILELS
LIMALEASEFTD
UCALLAMCRYIN
CALIFORNYOESTE
INABOWTIEBRIBE
STRIPSHOWSEXED
Sat 10/30/2004
THEWAVEPISANOS
HEXAGONACIDITY
RADIANTRUNONIN
EDITSIDAGLASS
ETCHSTOPOFF
COTEALLEYOOPS
AWARDLETTERATP
TOTERMSTAR
SROIMPERMEABLE
KRAZYGLUELEAP
CZARISTINCA
HEGELASTBEATS
ELITISTIWANTIT
REVENUECOSTATE
AVENGEDSEESRED
Sat 10/9/2004
ADAMANTUTENSIL
BADAREAKENNEDY
STURGESALLEWIS
CELLOISEONE
ISTOSOMETHINGS
STEMCMYON
SARASOTASPRINGS
AMERICANHISTORY
SPRINKLERSYSTEM
AUFNETREB
DRESSRACKSLENI
COXOSETIAMO
UNLATCHCHABLIS
PEALIKEARIELLE
SEXLESSWELLYES
Sat 9/25/2004
LIBYANSWIPESAT
AREOLEAEROPERU
PERKEDGRANITES
INNERSSENDCASH
DEALTISP
ADDSNADACOOPT
RUEMERINGUEPIE
INTHEMEDIUMTERM
ANTAGONISTSRAP
NEEDAONESMATT
AHAPORES
LESSENEDBITOFF
ETHERIZEAXILLA
GREATMENCAVEAT
SELTZERSKRESGE
Sat 9/11/2004
MONTEZUMASCUBA
ANYDAYNOWKAZOO
CONSUMINGININK
ANEUNKEMPT
WEXFORDEMPIRES
LUGERDELANO
APTERYXESDEVON
REHEMESOOVETA
ANITADELIVERER
BISONSTONER
SNIFFLEPARSECS
FLYLEAFCOP
OTTOIMARLSTONE
SEWONESTATELAW
SCOTTRESTRAINS
Sat 7/31/2004
JILLSTJOHNEDAM
OREOCOOKIECOPE
COTTONEDTOHOPI
KNITTEDSPORES
ESTTRIPPAIMAT
YOGASMALLSCALE
SNOBSANACTTSR
SHAGGYDOG
TAEALGAEREWET
HIGHFLIERSERNE
ERGOTOASTSICE
ACROSSCROPTOP
TOOKPULLINHERE
ROLEANOUKAIMEE
ELLYNUMBERLESS
Sat 6/26/2004
MOVESASIDEALES
INERTGASESLOTT
DANGERLINEPARE
SITLEASTRANUP
TRIMMERPACERS
ROSYSCENARIO
HOBSCHORDCAN
AHAREAUMURANT
NILAPPLEORSO
GOACROSSTOWN
ARCHESOVATION
RILEDLEPERONO
IVANCOVARIANCE
NEVETRIPLEBILL
GRAYRELAYRACES
Sat 6/5/2004
ENAMORSMOPPETS
RILESUPAREAMAP
ONEMOMENTINTIME
TEXCORONETED
IMAMUSHINESS
CONLON
INDIVIDUALISTIC
STRAITOFMESSINA
THERESNOIINTEAM
TOSSUP
BATWEIGHTADO
REACHINTOKIR
ASSTUPIDASCANBE
SPIELEDPIEHOLE
HOLDERSESTATES
Sat 5/15/2004
COOKPOTSTMARYS
UNDERDOTHERESA
STONIERRENAMED
PORTMANTEAUWORD
ARES
GUSSIEDUPCASCA
OPTINGINMASHUP
FOOTLOCKERSTORE
ONLOANFRETOVER
RAINYHINDERERS
COSI
CASEOFTHECREEPS
AMIABLEERITREA
RETRIALLEFTARM
PRESETSSWEETIE
Sat 5/1/2004
LOSTITBARBLST
OPPOSITEWAYAAA
BURKINAFASOTIC
BLUEGRADEBMILK
YENGETZINTO
INGOODEMERSION
SCOFFADAGES
TENFEETPOPEAFB
BRETTSENTRE
COLESLAWMATTEA
RHEAOBITHER
IDATARBELLCELS
TADOUAGADOUGOU
IREKINGHENRYVI
CNNINKSWASMET
Thu 4/1/2004
GNUMAMBONATAL
NAPONLOWERODE
ABSNOISSIWNOOW
WSINOXINSCENT
DODILTRS
ANEMICOIHOSSIW
HADACVAMPPSI
EBONHSIMIHURL
ROWTOOTTENET
NONIWOOZFARADS
COHNUXOR
ACHOONOMINOMI
SNOINONIXIWURN
ATONEOPENANEG
WINGSTANGYDDE
Sat 3/20/2004
SPHERESBLONDER
TRITESTLINEONE
RELEASEASTARTE
ALLPENNSTATION
PUTTXOUTPETIT
ODORSSMUTROLE
NEPALIBLAHSSR
COBBSALAD
BADPERKCLIMAX
ODERTAUSSEIZE
AAMESILKATSAR
SWANNINLOVEFLO
TANNATEPINKIES
ORDERERJAIALAI
FESTERSENDLESS
Sat 2/28/2004
MIXNMATCHUPFOR
INFIRMARYSEINE
STICKEMUPMONEY
DELEONSEWINGON
INERTMARINENO
DTSTOEDSTEROL
DEPLETEVEND
REFEREEUMPIRES
AVONNETBALL
MARTHERANASOI
ACTARGUSSPANS
LUKEWARMSTONED
LANISAPPLIEDTO
ATONESEEACTION
HEXESSTAYSSANE
Sat 1/31/2004
UMMQASRPATINAS
TROUNCEABILENE
AHEADOFRANLATE
HYSTERIASTYPED
ADHERENCETAL
NEARSERRSSITE
NOIREABODES
SAVANTSTWOFERS
AVERSESHALT
VERYMUTESEGUE
EMSPOSITRONS
TAIGASPACESOUT
IRONAGERERINSE
MINARETGAUDIER
EASTERSEXPENDS
Fri 11/23/2001
SHORTIEASKERS
ICEBOATSVINNIE
BALLYHOOELEVEN
ELPASOPROWESS
APEDETHOSALEE
MERITAOLBLOND
SRSBELLYFLOP
BILLYGOAT
BOLLYWOODLET
AGIRLHANEPODE
LOGEMORSEINIT
ATTIRESLENGTH
RHINOSBULLYBOY
MIMOSAATELIERS
SCENESRESANDS

7 Variety puzzles by Byron Walden

Sun 9/21/2008
AZURE
REPEG
DIVININGROD
ACIDNORI
TUNINGFORKS
AGEOTOLOGYASH
LOTSYOURSARLO
AARONNETAPRIL
BLEWUPASTAND
GAPEGOVALPYGOR
AMORAKEVIEDSPA
GASMETEROBROTHER
ANTIBODYWISHBONE
STAREAST
YSHAPED
TAKES
PLANT
Sun 1/13/2008
JOBSSKIP
UHOHBOOERS
NINEFEEHARDROLL
GOODWILLIKEAWAY
SOLOSJUNKMAIL
VOWREPOSARNE
CRANKTELEPHONE
RAKESTAURO
LETFIRSTSERVICE
ONEALASYLA
DROPPEDCURTAIN
ABBASAINTNAY
COLDDUCKCADIZ
TRAENTOHOUSECAT
SICKBIRDASELACE
SKIRTSILLS
SPASGLUT
Sun 7/29/2007
JUMPS
ONEPARENT
THROWINTHEGARBAGE
REUBENORTWILDOX
ARTITWEAKARNE
JETTISONPITCHOUT
ATEROSSECHOITE
NODOUSKEGTSR
ENROLSTYNE
CRIPVIDEOALDO
LEGOEFLATCIRC
ACHTREICHSMUT
WITABCHETIGO
FRYGOAECUNUB
ECSEGARSUBBASE
ELIXIRSTREATER
TEXTEDBRIERS
Sun 7/16/2006
PARTLYAGES
PERILOUSASCENT
PERFECTLYINNOCENT
ARISENTERRIESFUR
RIGIDSILTSPARE
EDNANOSDENSE
NEONSEGGTORIES
ADIDASHOETENSES
REGIMENDAREI
SUGARYOUNGMC
PECANSNEWSAMOSA
MIXERSKOSLOSER
ORONOFARNEXT
PACTDORIAASCII
UTANOXZEMAENCASE
PERCENTAGECONTENT
PERUVIANACCENT
SOFTTBTEST
Sun 3/12/2006
CMONMETRO
HOMEAUREOLE
JOVESPROPPEDUP
APIGJUSTINE
TYPEABSATSTLO
ALESSITONELOIN
CEDESHOPHIRT
KNUTHOPPEDUP
SOPMOPPEDUPCLE
POPPEDUPCRIB
ABITDUCEROME
FIRSBCUPROEPER
IMACALPSNAPAT
BAZOOKAEKED
STOPPEDUPBSIDE
SOARINGLIEU
LYNDATERP
Sun 2/27/2005
MADRESPARSDRUPE
CLEANUPONAISLESIX
DESIGNATEDDRIVERS
OXENENEMIESERAT
NARYNISLATE
ANTSWITCHBOXCEE
LDSPINAIXCFL
DRTATRAZELLOLE
SIRSHITTERSGUAR
AILSOURSONG
PULLINTOASPOT
MOORTOED
POWERCORD
PINCHME
NOMAS
LPS
Sun 1/16/2005
TSARISM
GOESTOPOT
HURRIESFROM
GENEREAP
AUGUSTOPINOCHET
CHRISTOPHERWALKEN
ASUREOTEROPEONY
ROSARYSNITSREDS
SATCAT
BABAWROTEOHSTOP
EPOCHATESTRABBI
LOSTOPPORTUNITIES
POSTOPERATIVELY
NUTSPEEL
PUTSMILESON
BURSTOPEN
MISSMAY
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