Jem Burch author page

I'm obsessed with PUZZLE BOXES. Whenever Mr. Puzzle or Chris Ramsay drops a new video, I go hide in the bathroom so I can watch it in peace (so what if my kids think I have intestinal dysfunction?). I read a ton of middle grade lit for research into my own middle grade books, and The Blackthorn Key — featuring an incredible puzzle box from centuries ago — blew me away. PUZZLE BOXES are so captivating that I've been trying to write a book about one for a year now. Maybe with eight or nine more revisions, it'll even be readable.

There's also something so captivating about rare letters in a themeless. They can be difficult grid around, but when done right, they dazzle. Five Zs and an X, all integrated with no RELAXED principles around smoothness? Well done.

And two more Zs in PINT SIZE / SLEAZEBALL? ACS is not a good entry, but if that's the only price to pay, WON A PRIZE is right.

This puzzle played Saturday-hard for me. I enjoyed the touches of wordplay, like [Whistler on the (kitchen) range] for KETTLE, but I've seen that angle many times before, and there wasn't much else. Stumper-like cluing made for such a tough solve: TSE as the Russian letter. Not knowing my rappers, like EARL Sweatshirt. LAD as a "gossoon." I had a few cries of dismay, and they weren't ACK.

Thankfully, some other clues punched things up, like AFFLUENZA's fresh [Ennui + wealth = ___], and LEGO's "Brickipedia" reference. My son the LEGO fanatic might as well be named Brickipedia.

Standard "stair-stack" themeless grid, but well-executed. With more playfulness and fun in the clues, I'd have given it some POW! consideration.

Better watch out, high-Scrabble constructors, Jem Burch is coming after your scores! Talk about JAZZing UP a solve — SO SPICY indeed.

(Now that this ol' gen-xer has said SO SPICY, generation alpha folks will stop using it. You're welcome, America.)

Neat to highlight so many rare letters in the middle stair stack. PAJAMA PARTY is a great entry, and BASE JUMPERS over ZERO GRAVITY is an evocative pairing.

I appreciated how many long entries Jem ran through that stair stack, too. It's not uncommon to have four long Downs woven through, but PHASE IN, SIMMERED DOWN, LIT MAJOR, SAM RAIMI, SOLD FOR PARTS, ESTEVEZ made for a wide-open grid with a lot of color.

I was baffled by the Dr. Fauci SNL clue since I've laughed a ton at Kate McKinnon's send-ups. Such fun to remember BRAD PITT's version.

Unfortunately, the one region I stumbled mightily on was the starting corner — not surprising that it was the region Jem expressed concern about. Being a transliteration, HIJABS has different spellings, including HEJABS, HIJAABS, HAJIBS, HIJABI. I was fairly sure UNAPT was not apt, but John JAKES was a mystery, and I always get burned trying to remember the [Egyptian sun deity]. Appropriate that IN A TRAP ran through it all.

I'd have given this themeless some POW! consideration if the cluing had been SO SPICY like the grid. There was a sprinkling of seasoning — [Source of a big scoop], literally for LADLE is awesome — but there was so much straightforwardness. Along with a few bafflers, like PTS = [Spread makeup: Abbr.], as in the point spread in betting, it wasn't as fun a solve as it could have been.

Still, excellent stair stack gridwork, another solid example in this maturing themeless category.

Oh, oh, I know what the theme is!

Most of the time, I like overt revealers in puzzles, something like JAMES BOND or DOUBLE-O SEVEN to make sure no one misses what's going on. Today, though, this James Bond fan appreciated the more subtle approach.

That said, I'm sure I'll get a slew of mail, even after people read DOUBLE-O SEVEN in the above paragraph. Even after I point out here that the double-Os are formed in the shape of a 7. (I didn't notice that until Jim Horne highlighted them, see grid below. How cool is that?)

Some excellent fill by today's debut constructor, especially considering the constraints forced by the OO placements. Strong work, incorporating one OO into UBER POOL, a lively and current entry. COOKIE TIN is colorful, too.

Even better, such great use of non-theme-dense areas like the southwest corner, where Jem had a ton of flexibility. IN A TIZZY is excellent, and POWERADE gives an interesting fact about FIFA World Cup sponsorship.

With all the thematic factors constraining the grid, I'm impressed with the low amount of partials (I DON'T), abbrs (NLER, SCI), and only-in-crosswords (DCTEN, usually DC-10).

I've seen a lot of James Bond puzzles over the years, so it's tough to wow me, but that 7 formed by OOs was eye-popping (once I noticed it.) It did feel odd to get a random subset of Bond actors, though, and it's a shame that IDRIS ELBA didn't make it in.

Just sayin', at 9 letters long, he perfectly matches JAMES BOND ...