Emily Rourke author page
2 puzzles by Emily Rourke
with Constructor comments
| M | I | M | I | V | O | I | L | A | T | G | I | F | |||
| O | D | O | R | M | O | P | P | E | T | E | L | S | E | ||
| P | I | N | K | P | A | N | T | H | E | R | N | A | P | E | |
| T | O | S | S | I | N | O | C | E | A | N | S | ||||
| O | T | T | T | O | N | Y | T | H | E | T | I | G | E | R | |
| P | I | E | D | O | O | O | A | S | O | N | E | ||||
| S | C | R | A | P | E | B | Y | S | I | S | W | O | N | ||
| H | E | L | L | O | K | I | T | T | Y | ||||||
| S | O | D | T | I | E | A | N | T | E | A | T | E | R | ||
| E | N | O | L | A | T | R | A | H | O | M | E | ||||
| C | O | W | A | R | D | L | Y | L | I | O | N | P | A | M | |
| N | O | D | E | A | L | D | O | M | I | N | O | ||||
| W | E | P | T | C | H | E | S | H | I | R | E | C | A | T | |
| I | P | A | S | A | T | R | A | I | N | M | A | T | E | ||
| T | A | T | E | F | I | S | T | S | O | L | E | S |
I was inspired to construct a feline-themed crossword after we adopted our cat, Sperry, in 2021. Every day she sits in my lap as I complete the NYT crossword, so it seems fitting that her feline family members feature in a puzzle of their own. Cereal is also an important component of my morning crossword routine, so I'm pleased that 24-Across made it into the final version.
I had a lot of fun diving into the universe of fictional cats, and my only regret was having to cut Puss In Boots.
| S | H | A | G | S | O | R | A | L | T | A | M | P | ||
| T | A | B | O | O | D | E | M | I | A | R | E | A | ||
| A | R | E | A | R | O | L | I | G | A | R | C | H | Y | |
| B | I | L | L | O | F | R | I | G | H | T | S | |||
| I | R | A | C | O | T | E | D | O | E | |||||
| I | N | T | E | A | R | S | E | U | R | E | K | A | ||
| C | A | R | L | E | T | T | E | R | P | R | E | S | S | |
| E | T | A | T | Y | A | Y | S | M | U | T | ||||
| P | A | C | K | A | G | E | D | E | A | L | E | R | E | |
| O | N | T | O | U | R | S | M | O | L | D | E | R | ||
| P | T | S | T | O | E | D | M | S | U | |||||
| Y | O | U | V | E | G | O | T | M | A | I | L | |||
| S | A | F | E | S | P | A | C | E | A | B | O | D | E | |
| A | W | O | L | E | D | A | M | R | E | N | E | W | ||
| P | E | E | L | R | E | F | S | T | R | E | A | D |
One of the highlights of my year was when my inbox informed me that "You've Got Mail" and the enclosed message was an acceptance by the NYT for my Crossword Debut!
Who doesn't love a good '90s rom-com? And the warm and fuzzy feeling of receiving a letter from the postman? This puzzle is a breath of nostalgia for me, harkening images of the little yellow AOL man and a youthful Tom Hanks; It's a SAFE SPACE if you will. I hope that letter writing never becomes a LOST ART!
In all seriousness, I had a blast making this puzzle, and it went through many iterations and revisions before making it to this final stage. It's surreal to be making my NYT debut, and I hope solvers have as much fun with the puzzle as I had making it!