Dory Mintz author page

I'm thrilled to be back in the Times. For a while there, my puzzles were selling like whatever the opposite of hot cakes are, and I was beginning to lose hope that I'd ever make it to the two-timer's club. But a few months back, I received an email saying that today's puzzle was a yes and that my name would be back under the bright lights, alongside all the news that's fit to print.

But I digress.

I got the idea for this puzzle while reading my dad's old college art textbook during the doldrums of quarantine. The phrase GOFORBAROQUE came to me and seemed like a potentially fun entry. I figured if I wanted to get this phrase into a puzzle, it would require an add-a-sound-esque theme. I then went to my brain trust of my parents, sisters and girlfriend for help coming up with words that become other words when adding an "uh" sound (formally known in linguistics as a schwa, I would come to find out). Side note: I would like to publicly thank them as well as apologize for my constant pestering during the construction process.

One last thing, I have tried to include ADELE in all of my puzzle submissions with the clue: ___ Dazeem (infamous mispronunciation of Idina Menzel). Today's marks the first and only time ADELE was accepted for me, however the team at NYT felt that the reference was too ephemeral. So I wanted to showcase the clue here before I officially retire it from my future submissions.

It's a dream come true to be making my debut in The NY Times. I received the acceptance email last December while eating breakfast burritos with my friend on a trip to San Diego. Coming from the breakfast burrito desert that is New York, I was confident that our visit to cojito's would be the highlight of my day, but clearly the editorial staff had other plans.

This was my third submission to the Times, and I truly could not have gotten to this point without the incredibly helpful feedback from Will, Joel and Sam on my first two rejections (and my next few after this one was accepted). I also want to give a shoutout to the crossword collaboration group on Facebook and specifically Erik Agard who steered me in the right direction for this puzzle by advising me to make each theme answer valid as a stand-alone phrase (nixing my original idea of CANNES OF WORMS). On that note, I welcome aspiring constructors to reach out with any questions or just to talk shop — you can find me in the aforementioned Facebook group.