Kurt Weller author page

This theme idea has been with me for a while. It was always limited by the few phrases I could find that fit the theme. For that reason, it kept being placed on the back burner.

I spent far too long trying to get FACE PAINTING (or some derivative) to work in my grids when I realized MAKE A FACE would be a better option. A few rewrites later, and I'm thrilled to have a second crossword appear in the NYT. It gives me some satisfaction that my first acceptance wasn't a fluke! I hope it gets your tick (or tock) of approval.

Big thanks to Dad, Mum, and everyone else I've wrangled as crossword testers since I started constructing. Huge thanks to my wife and daughters. Their crossword care factor might be next to zero, but they constantly support, encourage and fangirl nonetheless.

Cheers from Down Under,

Kurt Weller

(For the TV buffs, yes, I have the same name as the "Blindspot" character, who coincidently was played by an Aussie.)

Greetings from Australia! As you read this, I am likely to be FAST ASLEEP! Let me fill you in (pun intended) on how this Aussie came to have his crossword appear in your world-renowned newspaper.

Christmas holidays in Australia are for surf, sun and sand... and for myself growing up, puzzles! Tucked inside a caravan north of Brisbane at Coolum Beach, is where I found a love for crosswords, wordplay and puzzles. While the holiday high times were spent playing on the waterfront, the down times were spent snoozing in the cool breeze, reading a good book or huddling around the camp table with my family searching our collective mental resources for crossword answers. I also enjoyed creating word puzzles for my family to try. I remember my first as a child was a word search that I couldn't stop beaming about around the caravan park.

But as I aged, my love of crosswords waned somewhat. See, unless you enjoy a good cryptic crossword (which at times I do), my experience of crosswords in Australia is that they are quite straight forward. No themes, no intricate construction, no wordplay, just the satisfaction of a completed puzzle. You can imagine my delight when I came upon the New York Times crossword app two years ago! It wasn't long before I was hooked again. Not to mention my ecstasy to find out that anyone can write and submit a crossword for a chance to have it published!

I enjoy all the NYT crosswords throughout the week, but I love, love, LOVE the Thursday crosswords. The mix of wordplay, complexity, and tricky clueing is my kind of puzzle! The first one I attempted to solve two years ago involved rebuses. I admit I had to cheat and look up the solution. I remember thinking, "What?! There's more than one letter in these boxes!... Amazing!!!" In my mind, it's no wonder that my debut submission is a Thursday puzzle.

As many constructors do, I came up with the revealer first (and you'll see that great minds think alike if you tried Robyn Weintraub's puzzle from 7/23/20). I soon realised, though, that my ambitions of having numerous theme answers that hold symmetry would be difficult to accomplish. It's not as easy as I thought to add a "t" and a "w" to other words to create meaningful and misleading clues. Further to that, creating the remaining clues without using "t" or "w" was also a strain. The letter "t" feels like it's in everything when all you're trying to do is avoid it! But through persistence, a rejection, some early constructions with very ugly fill, and a little help from Will, Sam, and the team, I have something I am proud to call my debut NO MATTER WHICH way I look at it.

A big thank you to the team of editors for the feedback and crossword writing tips that come with each submission. I am sure to try my hand at many more in the future. From Down Under, enjoy!