Nam Jin Yoon author page
9 puzzles by Nam Jin Yoon
with Constructor comments
See the 46 answer words debuted by Nam Jin Yoon.
| D | U | E | T | F | R | A | Y | M | M | A | ||||
| I | N | L | A | W | P | R | O | M | O | T | I | O | N | |
| S | T | E | P | H | R | E | S | C | U | E | D | O | G | |
| S | O | C | I | A | L | I | T | E | R | A | G | E | R | |
| T | O | T | E | M | S | C | O | M | E | D | Y | |||
| P | R | I | C | E | S | T | U | T | U | |||||
| R | I | V | A | L | T | O | O | T | H | P | I | C | K | |
| A | G | E | S | L | U | R | P | E | E | N | A | E | ||
| M | A | S | S | E | U | S | E | S | R | E | T | R | Y | |
| L | I | N | K | A | R | C | H | E | S | |||||
| P | U | P | U | S | A | D | O | C | I | L | E | |||
| O | N | E | I | L | B | O | W | L | G | A | M | E | S | |
| S | P | A | C | E | T | I | M | E | H | I | A | L | L | |
| T | I | R | E | F | I | R | E | S | T | R | I | B | E | |
| S | N | L | T | O | D | D | S | L | A | W |
| C | H | A | R | T | S | P | F | O | W | L | S | |||
| R | O | M | A | N | A | C | L | E | F | L | E | O | S | |
| A | R | E | N | T | W | E | A | L | L | D | I | O | N | |
| I | S | N | T | A | N | Y | T | A | K | E | R | S | ||
| G | E | T | W | I | T | H | K | I | N | D | E | R | ||
| R | O | B | O | T | O | P | E | D | S | E | A | |||
| B | A | T | O | N | C | O | R | D | C | O | N | K | ||
| T | C | H | O | T | C | H | K | E | C | R | U | D | E | |
| S | E | A | T | L | A | Y | A | B | O | U | T | S | ||
| S | T | Y | L | E | D | C | O | N | S | |||||
| C | I | O | R | H | Y | T | H | M | S | |||||
| P | I | L | A | F | R | A | I | S | E | H | E | L | L | |
| A | D | U | L | T | S | I | T | E | S | A | D | I | E | |
| D | E | C | L | U | T | T | E | R | T | R | I | M | S | |
| S | A | Y | P | L | E | D | D | A | Y | S |
If you're looking to read a ROMAN À CLEF, we recommend "Cassandra" by Christa Wolf (Jan van Heurck translation)
If you're in the mood for a sweet rom-com like "To All the BOYS I've Loved Before," we love "Always Be My Maybe" and "The Half of It"
If you're seeking newer R&B music than "SAY My Name," we have "Have Mercy" by Beyoncé protégé Chlöe on repeat
| M | O | S | S | P | R | O | V | E | I | T | ||||
| C | O | N | E | O | F | S | I | L | E | N | C | E | ||
| F | R | I | E | N | D | L | Y | B | A | N | T | E | R | |
| M | O | E | S | T | O | I | C | F | A | R | C | E | ||
| A | R | M | S | R | I | G | H | T | L | E | A | S | ||
| I | G | E | T | B | Y | H | O | Y | A | E | P | A | ||
| M | E | D | I | A | S | T | U | R | D | Y | ||||
| T | E | L | L | O | N | T | A | M | A | L | E | S | ||
| D | A | L | L | O | W | A | Y | N | I | K | O | L | A | |
| A | B | A | O | N | P | O | I | N | T | V | I | P | ||
| M | O | C | K | S | A | G | G | Y | M | E | S | S | ||
| A | U | R | A | S | T | A | U | P | A | P | I | |||
| S | T | E | P | I | N | M | A | D | E | R | O | O | M | |
| K | I | M | O | N | O | A | N | D | S | C | E | N | E | |
| S | T | E | W | E | D | T | A | R | T | M | S | G |
If you're interested in learning more about TERESA Teng, I recommend reading this article and putting on this song.
| C | H | E | F | S | K | I | S | S | C | L | I | F | F | |
| Y | O | G | A | P | A | N | T | S | H | E | N | R | I | |
| B | O | R | N | A | G | A | I | N | I | N | D | E | X | |
| E | K | E | Y | A | R | N | A | N | D | I | E | |||
| R | A | G | A | N | O | T | E | T | O | S | E | L | F | |
| C | H | I | C | K | W | E | L | L | S | B | A | A | ||
| A | B | O | D | E | S | D | I | A | S | A | N | K | ||
| F | A | U | C | E | T | S | A | S | K | A | N | C | E | |
| E | R | S | P | A | R | E | S | A | N | D | E | S | ||
| S | I | T | I | N | E | T | S | |||||||
| B | I | D | E | T | S | G | O | T | A | S | E | C | ||
| A | C | R | I | D | H | A | B | A | N | E | R | O | S | |
| S | A | Y | N | O | M | O | R | E | A | R | O | M | A | |
| E | L | L | E | W | O | O | D | S | S | I | D | E | D | |
| S | L | Y | N | O | F | E | E | F | E | T | E |
This puzzle owes its genesis to Brooke Husic and the puzzles on her blog, which:
- you should solve (my favorites are this one and this one), and
- inspired the diagonal symmetry seen in this grid.
Shout out to my parents, who unfailingly turned off my electric fan every night throughout my childhood.
| C | L | E | A | T | S | F | I | R | S | T | ||||
| T | H | I | S | I | S | A | M | E | R | I | C | A | ||
| T | H | E | M | O | R | E | Y | O | U | K | N | O | W | |
| P | H | A | S | E | B | L | I | N | D | G | U | N | ||
| A | R | T | S | M | A | I | N | E | C | O | R | Y | ||
| N | O | H | M | I | S | O | G | Y | N | Y | ||||
| G | A | U | N | T | L | E | T | T | A | N | G | |||
| T | R | A | I | L | S | B | R | I | D | A | L | |||
| T | I | D | E | B | E | E | L | I | N | E | S | |||
| F | A | N | B | A | S | E | S | G | T | O | ||||
| S | I | B | S | N | E | S | T | S | E | S | T | A | ||
| I | N | A | B | I | L | E | S | M | A | T | E | R | ||
| M | U | S | I | C | A | L | T | H | E | A | T | E | R | |
| M | I | R | A | C | L | E | W | O | R | K | E | R | ||
| S | T | A | N | S | D | O | T | E | O | N |
Three bases in one grid; call that a trip.
| K | I | L | N | J | A | W | S | P | T | A | S | |||
| I | N | E | E | D | A | N | A | P | S | L | A | S | H | |
| D | O | N | T | J | U | D | G | E | T | A | K | E | I | |
| S | N | O | W | A | N | G | E | L | O | C | E | A | N | |
| O | N | T | O | T | A | P | A | S | ||||||
| E | N | E | R | G | Y | T | O | P | B | R | A | S | S | |
| P | A | N | K | O | E | U | R | Y | D | I | C | E | ||
| O | C | D | B | E | A | T | S | M | I | N | ||||
| C | H | I | M | N | E | Y | S | L | E | A | F | S | ||
| H | O | N | E | Y | B | E | E | B | E | S | T | I | E | |
| T | A | M | E | S | P | U | T | T | ||||||
| S | C | E | N | E | O | V | E | R | R | A | T | E | D | |
| T | O | A | S | T | R | E | A | L | I | T | Y | T | V | |
| I | D | R | I | S | E | S | C | A | P | E | P | O | D | |
| R | E | S | T | S | T | E | P | S | O | N | S |
The original seed for this one didn't survive the construction, but feel free to put it on anyway for some post-solve vibes.
Recommended book pairings for the puzzle: MIN Jin Lee's Pachinko and OCEAN Vuong's On Earth We Are Briefly Gorgeous.
| H | O | A | G | I | E | D | R | O | I | D | ||||
| R | O | C | K | E | T | S | C | I | E | N | C | E | ||
| Y | O | U | H | A | T | E | T | O | S | E | E | I | T | |
| S | A | Y | N | O | G | R | A | D | D | O | N | E | ||
| C | L | A | D | C | O | A | T | E | S | F | E | N | ||
| A | T | L | S | U | I | T | E | C | R | U | S | T | ||
| B | A | S | E | L | I | N | E | M | O | U | S | S | E | |
| P | A | N | G | D | A | U | B | |||||||
| C | A | S | I | N | G | K | I | T | T | Y | C | A | T | |
| E | X | A | C | T | D | U | S | T | S | A | D | O | ||
| R | O | O | S | C | O | N | C | E | K | N | I | T | ||
| A | L | I | G | R | O | D | E | C | E | D | E | S | ||
| M | O | R | E | P | O | W | E | R | T | O | Y | O | U | |
| I | T | S | N | O | W | O | R | N | E | V | E | R | ||
| C | L | E | A | T | P | A | S | T | E | D |
I recently passed my one-year mark of constructing themelesses, so I thought this might be a good time to jot down a few things I wish I'd known when I first started.
- Stair-step block patterns that go up are usually easier to fill than stair-step block patterns that go down. (I'm realizing now that Patrick Berry actually explained why this is in his excellent Crossword Constructor's Handbook and that my dumb ass had somehow glossed over it the first time around.)
- Actually reading Berry's handbook will save you a lot of time and frustration in the long run.
- "Cheater squares" is a term invented by masochistic constructors who want to make an already difficult task harder for no good reason.
- "No partial dupes" is another one of those unwritten crosswords rules, which in many ways resemble baseball's unwritten rules. For instance: a small but vocal contingent of crossword purists will get pretty mad at you if they catch you disregarding this "no-dupe" rule. As a rule of thumb, crossword's unwritten rules should be afforded the same respect and reverence as baseball's unwritten rules.
- Every themeless construction is an exercise in avoiding SEERESSES as your final across answer. But go too far the other way with your J's and Q's, and eventually, your seams will show, and everyone will know you are just afraid of SEERESSES. It's best to deal with the SEERESSES early on while maintaining a healthy but respectful distance.
- Pangrams should be reserved for immediate family members who have the grace not to write mean things about your puzzles on the internet.
- Don't pander. Your solvers can tell when you do, making them heavy bored. Stick with words you'd be happy seeing as a solver (without lying to yourself), and the rest will work itself out.
| T | I | M | E | T | R | A | V | E | L | E | S | T | A | |
| A | R | E | Y | O | U | G | A | M | E | X | M | A | N | |
| P | O | W | E | R | S | U | I | T | S | P | A | S | T | |
| S | N | L | T | H | A | N | T | A | R | T | T | |||
| T | O | E | B | L | O | T | T | E | R | |||||
| F | A | I | R | S | F | A | I | R | M | B | A | |||
| D | R | E | S | S | C | O | D | E | S | O | U | P | ||
| P | R | O | B | E | O | R | C | S | A | N | D | S | ||
| L | O | G | O | A | U | T | O | T | U | N | E | S | ||
| A | P | P | P | I | T | Y | P | A | R | T | Y | |||
| C | A | R | R | E | L | S | B | E | A | |||||
| E | L | I | O | T | G | P | A | S | O | C | T | |||
| B | I | N | S | O | V | E | R | S | H | A | R | E | S | |
| O | N | C | E | P | I | N | A | C | O | L | A | D | A | |
| S | E | E | N | T | E | E | T | O | T | A | L | E | R |
If anyone's looking for a good quarantine read (or re-read), I'm a fan of 21A's The Secret History, which is still the GOAT campus novel.
| K | A | M | A | S | U | T | R | A | A | N | G | S | T | |
| A | T | I | T | A | G | A | I | N | S | E | R | T | A | |
| F | L | A | T | W | H | I | T | E | S | H | O | O | P | |
| K | A | T | E | L | A | W | Y | E | R | U | P | |||
| A | S | A | N | A | S | E | R | U | P | T | S | |||
| D | R | U | M | B | E | A | T | C | H | I | ||||
| L | A | M | P | O | O | N | S | T | H | A | N | |||
| G | I | N | S | D | U | O | B | O | A | T | ||||
| D | A | F | T | B | A | N | K | R | U | P | T | |||
| A | L | E | S | O | L | D | I | E | R | S | ||||
| B | O | S | S | E | D | P | R | E | G | G | O | |||
| S | W | A | N | S | O | N | G | C | H | O | U | |||
| S | H | O | T | S | P | E | L | L | G | R | A | N | T | |
| E | E | R | I | E | E | Y | E | O | P | E | N | E | R | |
| A | S | K | E | D | D | O | N | T | S | T | A | R | E |
Fridays are my favorite crossword days, so I'm excited to see my first puzzle published on one. This one started with the EYE-OPENER / DON'T STARE pairing in the SE and proceeded counter-clockwise from there. As a law librarian, I was particularly happy to be able to work in LAWYER UP and angsty law grad KAFKA along the way. Props to the editorial team for making me look a lot better at this constructing thing than I am.
If you're a member of an underrepresented group in crosswords (regardless of experience level) and would like to collaborate, shoot me an email at njywords@gmail.com.