Eric Bornstein author page
11 puzzles by Eric Bornstein
with Constructor comments
See the 28 answer words debuted by Eric Bornstein.
| P | C | T | C | O | B | P | O | L | I | S | C | I | ||
| O | O | H | A | D | O | E | V | E | N | P | A | R | ||
| O | M | I | C | R | O | N | R | A | T | F | I | N | K | |
| H | I | G | H | P | R | O | F | H | A | D | E | S | ||
| C | H | I | B | I | G | G | A | M | E | |||||
| S | C | H | O | L | A | R | L | Y | R | E | V | |||
| H | A | V | E | T | O | E | R | E | M | A | I | |||
| O | C | E | L | O | T | S | R | E | L | E | A | S | E | |
| L | E | T | P | O | I | N | O | T | N | E | W | |||
| D | R | O | P | D | O | W | N | M | E | N | U | |||
| P | A | R | T | N | E | R | D | O | C | |||||
| S | T | O | R | Y | S | T | O | R | E | C | R | E | ||
| H | A | W | K | I | S | H | O | N | E | S | E | E | D | |
| A | T | E | I | N | T | O | A | C | E | A | M | I | ||
| D | A | R | T | G | U | N | D | E | F | N | E | T |
Three years ago, Anne Marie noticed that many of the menu options on the computer can be found at the end of longer words, making a fun theme. Eric suggested the revealer DROP DOWN MENU, which became the start of our first crossword collab (hopefully one of many!), which was accepted when OMICRON was just a Greek letter.
After filling this puzzle, we noticed that lots of the words were a little dark, so we reworked the SW corner to be a bit less harsh than the NE. We particularly like the 4x4 section of the puzzle starting with 14-Across with its diagonal symmetry.
From solving partners to constructing partners, we're thrilled to publish together, and hope that you enjoy the puzzle!
| Z | A | P | T | H | E | D | O | W | I | C | E | |||
| I | L | L | S | E | U | G | E | N | E | N | H | L | ||
| T | O | U | C | H | E | T | Y | P | E | S | C | A | L | |
| I | N | T | R | O | P | T | S | D | O | P | E | |||
| G | O | E | S | O | N | T | H | E | L | A | M | E | ||
| E | T | N | A | C | A | M | E | R | A | |||||
| A | L | A | N | I | F | S | O | S | E | T | O | N | ||
| R | E | V | A | T | T | A | C | H | E | A | N | A | ||
| I | T | A | L | Y | A | T | T | A | A | X | E | L | ||
| A | S | L | E | E | P | A | N | A | T | |||||
| P | A | S | S | E | J | U | D | G | M | E | N | T | ||
| S | A | N | S | Y | E | N | E | M | A | I | L | |||
| A | R | C | G | O | T | D | O | W | N | P | A | T | E | |
| N | T | H | A | T | T | I | L | A | O | C | H | O | ||
| D | Y | E | L | E | A | D | E | R | P | E | N |
At one point, while trying to come up with crossword theme ideas, I was thinking about how certain theme types have been done over and over again. I guessed that there probably is a puzzle whose theme is add a letter for each letter of the alphabet. At some point, I came up with this idea, which has just a little twist on the theme type. To come up with theme answers, I looked for words ending in é and stumbled upon ATTACHÉ, which luckily worked as a revealer.
My earlier submissions had WRESTLING MATÉ, which the editorial team thought was too nonsensical and didn't match the other French words, and MILITARY COUPÉ, but the team thought coupé was too obscure. Joel came up with GOES ON THE LAMÉ, and the puzzle was saved! My favorite is GOT DOWN PATÉ, which I think is just funny to picture.
I hope you enjoyed solving!
| L | O | A | M | S | P | A | M | A | N | G | E | R | ||
| A | N | T | E | E | L | I | E | N | O | U | S | E | ||
| H | E | A | D | S | T | A | N | D | N | B | A | T | V | |
| R | A | D | I | O | S | T | A | T | I | O | N | |||
| C | L | A | M | L | I | E | D | T | O | |||||
| D | A | T | A | T | A | B | L | E | Y | A | R | D | ||
| A | T | R | I | U | M | R | E | S | T | N | O | W | ||
| V | O | I | D | S | L | I | D | O | B | A | M | A | ||
| I | M | P | B | L | O | T | C | R | A | M | E | R | ||
| S | I | L | T | S | L | A | T | E | R | O | O | F | ||
| C | E | R | E | A | L | A | L | E | C | |||||
| P | A | R | T | I | N | G | W | O | R | D | S | |||
| P | A | L | I | N | P | A | S | S | E | D | O | U | T | |
| O | P | A | L | S | O | N | U | S | E | T | S | Y | ||
| T | R | Y | S | T | P | O | P | E | S | I | T | E |
I don't have too much to say about this one. I hope you enjoyed solving!
| A | B | B | A | T | H | U | G | S | A | J | A | R | ||
| S | L | A | B | R | E | T | R | O | D | O | L | E | ||
| A | U | R | A | A | R | I | A | L | W | H | E | N | ||
| P | E | R | S | O | N | A | L | F | I | N | A | N | C | E |
| Y | E | A | S | D | A | R | N | |||||||
| T | A | B | F | I | N | A | L | L | Y | Y | D | S | ||
| A | T | O | M | T | O | D | A | Y | I | C | E | T | ||
| C | O | N | A | N | T | A | S | I | N | A | N | E | ||
| I | N | D | I | A | A | M | T | M | A | S | S | E | ||
| T | E | S | L | A | C | S | I | A | S | H | E | D | ||
| O | N | T | H | I | N | I | C | E | ||||||
| C | Z | A | R | W | A | L | L | S | C | O | W | S | ||
| H | E | L | D | A | N | V | I | L | O | V | E | N | ||
| A | R | S | E | S | C | E | N | E | N | E | R | O | ||
| P | O | O | R | E | R | E | D | R | E | W |
I had this idea a couple of years ago, but I wasn't happy with anyone to go alongside BARRY BONDS and JOHNNY CASH. I looked for people with Gold as a last name, but I wasn't sure if any of them were famous enough.
A year later, I figured the next best thing was a person whose last name was Silver. I debated whether to use ADAM or Nate. I knew that someone who didn't know either would at least know the NBA but might not know FiveThirtyEight. However, if I were doing this today, I would have chosen Nate to provide more variety in the celebrities' fields.
At least Nate and the Golds can rest easy knowing that Eddie Money didn't make it in either.
I hope you enjoyed solving!
| C | L | A | S | P | S | N | B | C | V | A | S | E | ||
| O | L | E | O | L | E | E | R | A | A | B | E | L | ||
| M | A | I | D | E | N | W | I | N | G | N | U | T | S | |
| E | N | O | T | E | N | D | S | L | I | T | H | E | ||
| T | O | U | G | H | C | O | O | K | I | E | S | |||
| L | O | A | N | B | E | H | A | V | E | |||||
| I | N | C | U | R | O | K | I | E | S | I | A | |||
| B | A | R | G | A | I | N | I | N | G | C | H | I | P | S |
| E | T | A | G | O | A | T | S | A | S | S | Y | |||
| T | O | B | A | G | O | E | V | E | R | |||||
| F | I | R | E | C | R | A | C | K | E | R | S | |||
| D | R | O | L | L | D | O | N | U | T | V | A | T | ||
| E | Y | E | C | A | N | D | Y | L | I | B | I | D | O | |
| M | A | U | I | A | I | L | T | O | E | T | A | P | ||
| I | N | F | O | H | E | Y | S | N | E | E | R | S |
I'm really happy with puzzle, especially the theme. Snacks are fun, which makes the theme fun. There are lots of snacks that would have been fun in the puzzle, but I believe these were basically the only ones that appear in phrases. I did manage to put a DONUT in, but I know people are mixed on this kind of Easter egg.
| E | L | C | A | P | I | T | A | N | A | S | P | S | ||
| V | I | L | L | A | N | O | V | A | I | H | O | P | E | |
| A | D | U | L | T | E | R | E | R | M | O | L | A | R | |
| N | A | B | S | P | O | R | C | H | S | W | I | N | G | |
| T | I | T | T | O | O | E | C | K | O | |||||
| A | S | I | A | N | T | O | R | R | E | |||||
| T | H | I | R | D | S | T | R | I | K | E | T | A | B | |
| M | O | M | I | T | H | A | C | A | N | A | L | A | ||
| S | P | A | G | R | A | S | S | H | O | P | P | E | R | |
| G | L | O | A | T | W | R | E | C | K | |||||
| A | M | I | E | N | S | C | S | N | O | |||||
| F | I | N | A | L | D | R | A | F | T | F | U | R | S | |
| A | L | E | V | E | I | N | E | E | D | A | N | A | P | |
| R | E | S | E | T | C | O | M | E | A | N | D | G | O | |
| S | O | S | O | H | E | A | R | M | E | O | U | T |
I'm excited to be back in the Times with my first themeless puzzle. I started constructing it in the southeast corner, which I think is quite fun. I'm happy with the rest of the puzzle except LIDA and ITHACAN. I'm very impressed with other constructors who are able to build grids without fill like this. My favorite clue is [It's found around a crime scene] because it's tricky until you figure it out, and then it becomes incredibly clear.
I hope you enjoyed solving!
| V | I | S | A | P | R | I | M | P | A | M | O | R | ||
| E | S | P | N | L | A | M | A | R | Z | O | N | E | ||
| T | H | E | Y | A | G | A | M | E | A | P | E | X | ||
| W | H | I | T | E | C | A | S | T | L | E | ||||
| O | T | I | S | S | E | R | E | |||||||
| A | D | J | O | I | N | N | E | A | R | B | Y | |||
| B | A | A | S | U | R | F | A | C | E | O | U | I | ||
| B | I | N | G | M | O | O | R | E | M | S | R | P | ||
| A | R | E | A | R | L | O | T | L | I | E | G | E | ||
| Y | A | L | E | E | D | S | U | R | G | E | ||||
| S | Q | U | A | D | P | C | T | B | E | A | R | D | ||
| A | U | S | D | E | L | O | U | S | E | R | K | O | ||
| M | E | T | A | L | A | U | D | E | A | D | I | N | ||
| B | E | E | P | S | Y | R | I | A | T | E | N | N | ||
| A | N | N | E | A | S | T | O | R | A | N | G | E |
LORI: I'm very excited to have my first puzzle published with one of my favorite sons as a collaborator. The puzzles have always been a family affair. My father-in-law would solve the puzzle in pen as we watched in awe. My husband Alan, who I refer to as the big guns, as he can crack even the toughest of puzzles, continued the tradition. He and I would solve them together with our sons always eager to help. And now of course, named for my father-in-law and taking it up a notch, Eric is a master puzzle solver and true cruciverbalist.
The genesis for the puzzle came during a family vacation, including my other favorite son Marc. In transit to pass the time, we were brainstorming ideas for puzzles; and as someone who is preoccupied with food, this theme occurred to me.
I'm a retired hardware engineer and former chip designer. The love of puzzles and problem solving led me to study engineering, with a brief stop in art school on the way. I'm a voracious reader, volunteer, activist, and cooking enthusiast.
I was happy to be able to include JANE AUSTEN, one of my favorite authors, but was disappointed to lose the reference to Outlander by Diana Gabaldon (Producer Ron MOORE) in the clues, another favorite. Our original submission had OPI at 61-Down, clued [Kinky in Helsinki nail polish brand], which would have been an Easter egg for my dear friend and puzzler extraordinaire, Judy, but the editing team changed it to make the puzzle more Monday friendly.
It was a lot of fun to produce this with Eric. He led me through the entire process of building and clueing it. The silver lining of the pandemic was the time with my guys and taking a hobby to the next level.
I hope that you enjoy solving it.
ERIC: With theme answers of length 9, 10, 10, and 11, we were quite constrained in designing the grid. This led to some subpar fill towards the bottom of the grid. On the bright side, the top of the grid was mostly unconstrained, which let us easily add all the letters needed for a pangram.
It was fun to work on this puzzle with my mom, and I hope you enjoy solving!
| P | L | A | Y | M | A | T | E | A | M | B | L | E | D | |
| R | U | N | O | U | T | O | N | M | A | R | A | C | A | |
| I | N | D | U | S | T | R | Y | P | R | E | Y | O | N | |
| C | A | R | D | E | S | A | U | B | E | I | N | G | ||
| E | R | E | E | S | O | T | O | L | D | T | O | |||
| B | L | T | P | O | L | E | O | M | G | |||||
| B | A | H | A | I | M | O | P | E | S | N | I | T | ||
| A | D | A | G | E | A | R | I | A | A | M | C | O | ||
| L | A | S | S | L | P | G | A | D | R | E | S | S | ||
| I | M | A | E | S | P | Y | C | I | A | |||||
| S | T | J | U | D | E | A | H | N | S | A | M | |||
| S | M | A | U | G | D | I | D | O | M | O | V | E | ||
| T | I | S | K | E | T | R | I | P | T | I | D | E | S | |
| A | T | T | E | N | D | A | E | R | A | T | O | R | S | |
| T | H | E | S | E | S | Q | U | A | N | T | I | T | Y |
I wrote this puzzle while taking an economics course in college. The class was mostly partial derivatives, but I'd say this makes a better crossword theme.
I got quite lucky that SUPPLY and DEMAND are both six letters; most other lengths wouldn't really work. The theme largely dictated how the grid was constructed with PRICE and QUANTITY forcing black squares along the edge. With that in place, there was only one good spot for ECONOMICS and ADAM SMITH. QUANTITY is definitely not the easiest word to have at the bottom of a stack of three long answers, so I had to start constructing in that section of the grid.
I appreciate the editorial team taking my suggestion of putting axes on the puzzle in the print version. I think it is fun and might make the theme a little clearer.
Constructors used to (maybe some still do) use graph paper to make crosswords. It's funny that this is the opposite, a puzzle that makes a graph.
I hope you enjoyed solving!
| S | T | O | P | P | R | I | M | S | T | A | R | S | ||
| T | H | R | U | R | O | N | A | T | O | R | A | H | ||
| A | U | C | T | I | O | N | E | D | R | O | G | U | E | |
| R | D | A | S | P | I | R | E | I | F | O | L | D | ||
| E | S | S | E | N | E | T | A | M | P | A | ||||
| Y | O | R | K | T | I | E | R | T | W | O | ||||
| S | W | E | E | T | N | E | O | N | S | R | O | I | ||
| O | A | T | S | O | L | A | B | O | R | N | ||||
| U | S | A | S | O | C | K | S | D | R | I | N | K | ||
| R | A | T | P | A | C | K | T | A | R | E | ||||
| I | N | D | I | A | S | I | D | N | E | Y | ||||
| T | R | I | E | D | T | R | U | T | V | O | V | A | ||
| R | I | A | T | A | O | D | O | R | E | A | T | E | R | |
| U | N | T | I | L | F | O | M | O | B | E | R | N | ||
| E | D | E | N | S | F | R | O | S | E | D | Y | S |
My original seed for this puzzle was PRIDE and PREJUDICE, but unfortunately, I couldn't build a grid around that pair. I tried to prioritize phrases that could be clued differently from their across and down entries. The clue for PRIM and PROPER can also be applied to PRIM or PROPER, whereas the others need to be solved as pairs, which I think is more fun. I also had hoped to include a phrase with a repeated word like OVER and OVER, NECK and NECK, or HALF and HALF, but again, the constraints of the uniclue puzzle limited my options.
I hope you enjoyed figuring out the theme and solving the puzzle!
| W | A | S | I | H | O | P | E | S | T | A | T | S | ||
| A | L | L | M | O | D | E | L | E | R | N | I | E | ||
| S | O | Y | C | O | D | E | B | R | E | A | K | E | R | |
| P | E | A | P | O | D | R | A | E | S | L | I | T | ||
| S | E | L | L | S | A | T | H | E | N | A | ||||
| S | T | A | N | D | U | P | C | O | M | I | C | |||
| C | A | F | M | A | R | X | C | A | B | I | N | |||
| A | R | O | M | A | C | E | L | K | N | I | F | E | ||
| N | E | X | U | S | E | D | I | T | T | S | A | |||
| C | H | I | R | O | P | R | A | C | T | O | R | |||
| D | A | S | H | E | S | S | A | D | I | E | ||||
| I | D | E | A | L | A | S | I | A | G | R | E | E | ||
| G | E | T | C | R | A | C | K | I | N | G | E | V | A | |
| A | L | O | H | A | T | E | P | E | E | N | E | S | ||
| T | E | N | O | N | S | E | A | R | S | D | R | Y |
I'm excited to be back in the Times!
Making this puzzle made me wonder where the phrase GET CRACKING actually came from. A quick search online seems to say that the origin is unknown. I had always thought that it related to cracking open a textbook to study. I wanted to include this form of cracking, but alas, TEXTBOOK READER isn't a real phrase.
I hope you enjoyed the puzzle!
| S | A | M | O | A | A | B | S | S | I | G | H | |||
| A | L | A | R | M | B | E | L | L | S | O | T | R | O | |
| G | A | S | S | T | A | T | I | O | N | S | H | E | A | |
| A | S | T | O | C | A | B | O | B | O | O | E | R | ||
| S | O | L | I | D | G | R | O | U | N | D | ||||
| I | M | D | O | W | N | L | A | N | G | |||||
| M | A | R | D | I | O | L | M | E | C | H | O | P | ||
| P | L | A | S | M | A | S | C | R | E | E | N | T | V | S |
| S | I | M | S | T | U | D | S | L | O | S | E | S | ||
| A | G | U | A | R | E | T | O | R | T | |||||
| L | I | Q | U | I | D | A | S | S | E | T | ||||
| A | D | U | L | T | Q | U | I | P | O | N | I | T | ||
| N | O | E | L | J | U | S | T | A | P | H | A | S | E | |
| A | L | E | E | D | A | I | S | Y | C | H | A | I | N | |
| I | S | N | T | S | S | E | P | I | N | T | S |
I'm super excited to be making my NYT debut!
I just graduated from Harvard where I studied computer science and math, subjects that feel like puzzles to me. Since graduating, I've moved to the Philly area for a new job. My dad has solved crosswords for a long time, and I got into them by working alongside him. I hadn't considered making them until my girlfriend made one for me. Although that puzzle didn't exactly follow NYT rules, she does have one in the queue that you will hopefully see soon. I'm very thankful that she introduced me to constructing, and I am also grateful towards her, my parents, and brother for test solving my puzzles.
This puzzle started when I was thinking about how the revealer could point to the phases of matter in a funny way. I had a couple options for each of the phases, so I had a decent amount of flexibility with creating a grid. I noticed that BRACELET and SWIMSUIT could fit crossing three theme entries, and I built the grid around that. Originally, I had broken up ALARM BELLS and DAISY CHAIN, but I decided that they add color and grid flow. Also, I thought that solvers would likely not confuse which of the answers were themed because the theme was fairly straightforward. I'm very happy with how the fill ended up. I like the long entries, and I think that there are only a few minor subpar answers. Although the theme isn't too exciting, I think the fill helps make the puzzle fun.
I hope you enjoyed solving!