| A | N | T | I | C | I | M | A | G | C | I | E | L | ||
| T | U | R | N | O | N | A | P | O | O | N | M | E | ||
| B | R | I | G | G | S | G | R | O | W | N | U | P | S | |
| I | T | S | A | N | O | G | O | N | A | C | R | E | ||
| R | U | T | A | L | M | O | S | T | T | H | E | R | E | |
| T | R | A | N | C | E | S | H | O | U | S | T | O | N | |
| H | E | N | S | N | O | U | S | O | R | O | ||||
| W | A | I | T | F | O | R | I | T | ||||||
| U | N | A | B | R | E | T | R | A | M | P | ||||
| S | E | N | S | O | R | S | P | R | E | E | N | E | R | |
| N | O | T | Q | U | I | T | E | Y | E | T | N | A | E | |
| D | A | U | N | T | N | E | V | A | D | A | N | S | ||
| B | A | R | E | D | A | L | L | A | L | I | S | T | S | |
| I | D | E | A | T | I | A | M | I | N | U | T | O | ||
| B | A | S | K | E | L | I | P | A | T | I | O | N |
Technically, this is a low-key Rocky Horror (Picture) Show theme, inspired by the memorable lyric: "So come up to the lab / and see what's on the slab / I see you shiver with ANTICI... [long pause] ...PATION!"
So thanks upfront to Richard O'Brien and Tim Curry for lodging that one in my brain back in high school. If you're reading the first and last Across entries aloud, you must use your best Dr. Frank N. Furter voice.
I had the first/last entry conceit in my notepad for several months before I thought up a way to flesh out the theme. Once I had that, other than the grid layout being somewhat constrained — WAIT FOR IT, which I really wanted, only worked smack dab in the middle with three black squares on either side — the construction was pretty straightforward, and I'm happy with the result. My only regret is that there was no reasonable way to have a five-letter penultimate Across answer, which Rocky Horror fans could probably guess would have been "SAY IT!!!"
Finally: There were a few notable clue changes worth mentioning; my original HOUSTON clue was "The 'Ho' of New York's SoHo" which I liked, but I really like the moon landing clue as well. In final editing, I was hoping LIL could be clued as "Sumpin' Sumpin' lead-in," but it wasn't to be. And for BIB, credit to the editing team for "Accessory for running or dribbling," which is a killer misdirection.
Hope you enjoyed!
| M | O | N | S | T | E | R | M | A | S | H | G | N | C | |
| E | D | I | T | O | R | I | A | L | W | E | R | O | O | |
| L | I | F | E | T | I | M | E | B | A | N | E | R | N | |
| B | U | T | T | O | N | U | P | S | T | A | T | E | ||
| A | M | Y | S | N | A | M | O | A | T | H | S | |||
| O | N | S | E | T | S | N | O | G | S | |||||
| I | C | A | N | T | W | A | T | C | H | S | A | T | E | |
| C | A | F | H | A | T | E | S | O | N | M | A | P | ||
| E | R | R | S | N | O | S | P | O | I | L | E | R | S | |
| G | O | O | F | S | T | A | S | H | A | |||||
| G | O | P | R | O | M | S | N | K | P | O | P | |||
| A | H | I | T | U | N | A | E | T | E | R | N | E | ||
| M | O | C | R | E | C | E | N | C | Y | B | I | A | S | |
| M | L | K | P | H | O | T | O | C | R | E | D | I | T | |
| A | D | S | M | I | N | D | R | E | A | D | E | R | S |
| J | U | M | P | Y | M | A | D | A | M | M | O | W | ||
| A | P | O | L | O | G | Y | T | O | U | R | A | V | A | |
| N | O | T | A | K | E | B | A | C | K | S | R | E | V | |
| N | O | N | E | T | H | I | S | P | A | R | E | |||
| A | S | T | R | A | L | F | A | S | T | S | ||||
| A | S | M | R | H | O | L | E | P | U | N | C | H | ||
| T | W | O | W | E | S | T | H | E | E | H | E | E | ||
| V | I | R | G | I | N | S | J | O | L | L | I | T | Y | |
| S | T | E | R | E | O | S | I | N | S | N | O | R | ||
| C | O | U | L | D | I | T | B | E | T | O | P | E | ||
| S | H | R | E | D | N | A | S | C | A | R | ||||
| H | E | L | L | D | A | M | A | T | E | A | M | |||
| O | R | E | P | I | P | E | C | L | E | A | N | E | R | |
| E | O | S | E | V | E | N | A | L | I | T | T | L | E | |
| S | O | S | P | A | T | S | Y | N | Y | E | T | S |
This is my 10th puzzle in the New York Times and my first Saturday puzzle. Is it harder than my previous Friday themelesses? You tell me!
I really love the longer phrases in this one. Hope you enjoy solving it!
(p.s. San Franciscans might be able to guess what neighborhood name I originally had at 39A before the editors zhuzhed up — and East Coasted up — that section...)
| F | I | N | S | I | L | L | M | O | I | R | A | L | A | S | S | O | ||||
| A | L | E | C | D | E | E | M | A | B | O | U | T | I | M | H | I | P | |||
| S | H | A | R | E | S | A | N | A | C | C | O | U | N | T | B | E | A | S | T | |
| T | A | T | U | M | F | O | R | T | R | E | S | S | S | E | R | K | I | S | ||
| N | O | B | A | I | L | B | O | O | D | A | H | L | I | A | ||||||
| I | D | E | A | L | C | A | R | D | I | C | S | A | ||||||||
| H | A | S | A | L | L | T | H | E | J | U | I | C | Y | D | E | T | A | I | L | S |
| A | G | A | R | I | S | H | I | R | A | N | D | A | N | G | L | E | ||||
| R | A | T | I | O | E | L | G | R | E | C | O | X | A | N | A | X | ||||
| S | P | I | L | L | S | T | H | E | T | E | A | P | A | T | C | H | ||||
| H | E | N | D | O | W | E | L | Y | A | H | O | O | P | A | W | |||||
| T | W | O | A | M | S | T | I | R | S | U | P | D | R | A | M | A | ||||
| S | A | C | R | E | S | I | P | H | O | N | S | E | U | R | O | S | ||||
| P | R | O | U | S | T | A | E | R | O | K | F | C | I | T | U | P | ||||
| A | I | R | S | T | H | E | I | R | D | I | R | T | Y | L | A | U | N | D | R | Y |
| A | R | T | R | A | N | K | S | A | D | A | M | S | ||||||||
| O | F | F | E | R | S | N | A | B | N | O | H | E | L | P | ||||||
| N | O | D | U | L | E | H | O | S | E | D | O | W | N | E | L | B | O | W | ||
| A | M | I | N | O | W | A | N | T | S | T | O | H | E | A | R | M | O | R | E | |
| P | A | N | D | A | E | P | C | O | T | S | O | L | O | S | M | E | E | |||
| A | N | G | S | T | B | E | E | P | S | A | S | K | T | B | S | P |
| C | O | B | S | H | O | T | P | A | R | C | H | I | ||
| O | W | L | C | A | B | O | O | S | E | H | I | P | ||
| L | E | O | O | L | E | M | I | S | S | A | K | A | ||
| A | D | O | B | O | Y | E | N | U | M | P | E | D | ||
| D | E | P | O | S | I | T | S | L | I | P | ||||
| I | L | L | A | S | K | A | T | L | A | S | T | |||
| P | E | I | E | U | R | O | S | Q | U | O | ||||
| S | A | N | A | N | D | R | E | A | S | F | A | U | L | T |
| O | P | E | R | A | N | O | T | L | E | A | K | S | ||
| R | A | H | T | A | R | |||||||||
| H | O | N | E | Y | B | O | O | B | O | O | ||||
| S | L | A | W | L | A | I | R | D | S | W | A | K | ||
| C | O | R | K | M | Y | B | A | D | O | N | M | E | ||
| A | G | E | E | S | A | L | T | Y | L | U | M | P | ||
| R | O | S | Y | S | E | E | S | P | O | T |
This puzzle came together fairly quickly for me — maybe because I had so few theme entries to choose from. With a theme set of 15, 11, 11, 7, and 5, I was eager to take a shot at constructing my first-ever grid featuring left/right mirror symmetry. This allowed for placement of the revealer at the bottom of the puzzle rather than in the middle of row 8 — the former being preferable to me as I feel it somewhat delays the a-ha moment for the solver. I also discovered that I love this type of symmetry since it is very aesthetically pleasing to my eye, even with the clunky Utah squares I ended up using on rows 10 and 11.
For other examples of symmetry (and asymmetry), be sure to check out the most recent blog posting Fearful Symmetry on XWord Info.
Happy solving!
| C | C | S | B | A | D | C | E | D | A | R | |||||
| H | O | N | E | C | O | L | I | A | N | I | M | A | L | ||
| I | N | A | G | A | R | T | E | N | B | E | R | A | T | E | |
| C | R | I | T | I | D | A | B | W | E | L | L | S | |||
| W | E | L | L | D | U | H | I | B | I | S | G | I | S | ||
| A | D | A | L | O | V | E | L | A | C | E | B | A | K | E | |
| Y | E | T | W | E | R | E | L | U | M | E | N | ||||
| A | N | A | D | E | A | R | M | A | S | ||||||
| D | E | S | K | S | N | O | O | N | K | E | N | ||||
| U | L | T | A | A | V | A | D | U | V | E | R | N | A | Y | |
| V | E | E | E | M | I | R | E | E | L | I | E | S | T | ||
| E | V | A | M | E | N | D | E | S | I | B | E | T | |||
| T | A | M | A | R | I | E | V | E | E | N | S | L | E | R | |
| S | T | U | D | I | O | L | U | N | G | E | O | R | C | ||
| E | P | E | E | S | D | O | S | N | S | A |
ROSS: I once vowed never to make a word ladder puzzle. But when we realized it was a useful format for a puzzle honoring the women with 3-letter names to whom crossword constructors owe a debt of gratitude… well, here we are. And speaking of honoring women, if you're reading this in Georgia, don't forget to vote today.
You can find more of my crosswords on my personal site, Rossword Puzzles.
WYNA: This puzzle celebrates seven iconic women whose first names are familiar to crossword constructors everywhere. Many thanks to them and Ross, who first proposed this concept.
| S | W | O | O | S | H | A | T | T | I | C | S | |||
| C | A | R | A | C | A | S | C | H | I | N | U | A | ||
| O | L | D | T | I | M | E | R | E | E | R | I | L | Y | |
| F | L | E | E | M | R | E | S | B | E | T | T | S | ||
| F | E | A | S | T | G | Y | M | N | A | S | I | U | M | |
| S | T | L | W | E | E | E | A | R | A | R | E | |||
| W | I | N | F | A | M | A | T | E | ||||||
| C | O | N | C | U | R | R | E | N | C | E | ||||
| J | A | W | A | N | Y | L | O | T | ||||||
| A | O | L | G | M | C | E | Y | E | L | O | S | |||
| M | U | L | T | I | P | L | E | X | S | K | O | S | H | |
| P | R | E | E | N | E | T | C | H | A | S | H | E | ||
| E | N | R | A | G | E | S | E | M | E | S | T | E | R | |
| R | A | I | S | E | D | L | O | V | E | T | A | P | ||
| E | L | D | E | R | S | S | A | M | O | S | A |
I was a Russian major in college and have always been interested in how different alphabets look. My first idea for this puzzle, way back at the beginning of 2021, was to try finding words in which Russian letters that looked like different English letters (such as the Russian C, which is our S) might somehow make sense in both languages; that quickly changed to thinking about words in Russian that meant something very different in English. Unfortunately, I soon realized there weren't enough suitable candidates, and that transliteration would pose a problem. So I branched into other languages on what sometimes seemed like a wild goose chase.
I submitted the first version of the puzzle in February of 2021; although it was rejected, there seemed to be interest in the idea, so I completely redid it and submitted a new version in June. After several back-and-forths and another major revision that involved eliminating the reveal and changing one theme entry, the puzzle was accepted in early October of 2021. Many thanks again to Joel Fagliano and the puzzles team for their advice and patience with this one—hope you all enjoy it!
| Y | E | N | S | M | A | Y | S | M | A | L | L | S | ||
| A | V | O | W | I | N | A | C | A | M | E | I | N | ||
| K | I | W | I | D | N | C | U | R | B | A | N | E | ||
| L | O | N | G | J | O | H | N | S | L | V | E | R | ||
| R | E | N | U | T | E | E | N | I | E | S | T | |||
| E | A | R | F | U | L | S | O | M | E | N | ||||
| T | A | I | L | Y | A | W | N | E | R | S | O | L | ||
| T | H | E | U | S | M | E | G | S | C | H | W | A | ||
| A | S | S | T | H | E | B | A | T | S | A | I | D | ||
| P | A | I | D | S | H | R | I | K | E | S | ||||
| T | V | S | I | G | N | A | L | R | I | M | E | |||
| W | E | I | R | D | Y | S | T | O | P | I | A | N | ||
| E | N | C | A | S | E | A | H | A | A | P | O | P | ||
| E | M | O | T | E | R | T | A | T | M | E | G | A | ||
| N | O | N | E | W | S | S | T | Y | I | G | O | R |
I love gimmick puzzles wherein you have to check out what's unusual with the layout or the theme clues, but sometimes once that gimmick is revealed, the remaining theme answers become easy because they follow the same pattern. So I'm really glad to have come up with a puzzle where the gimmick is different on each theme answer but still follows a cohesive theme.
The original idea for this puzzle was to take eye-patchioed fictional characters and cover their "I" with a black square, such as N[ ]CKFURY, SNAKEPL[ ]SKEN, ELLEDR[ ]VER, and LONGJOHNS[ ]LVER. A few snags arose, such as not being able to find enough that seemed ubiquitous enough to name-drop, as well as realizing that Long John Silver didn't have an eye patch.
Robert Newton's portrayal of the character in the 1950 "Treasure Island" created the pop-cultural archetype of the pirate we see today, but he (and his book counterpart) never wore an eye patch or hook hand, just a peg leg. The first adaptation of "Treasure Island" I saw as a kid was Disney's animated "Treasure Planet," in which Silver had a cyborg eye, hand, and leg, so I assumed those were all sci-fi versions of the original's prosthetics.
| P | R | A | Y | E | R | M | A | T | A | D | M | I | T | |
| S | U | P | E | R | N | O | V | A | L | O | O | F | A | |
| I | G | O | T | T | A | S | A | Y | A | N | V | I | L | |
| L | I | E | S | I | T | S | S | T | I | L | L | |||
| A | M | O | B | Y | L | A | W | G | E | L | S | |||
| M | A | G | P | I | E | Y | A | L | E | |||||
| B | U | Y | I | N | G | U | P | B | O | T | T | O | M | |
| I | N | A | S | T | U | P | O | R | G | U | A | V | A | |
| T | A | C | T | N | O | P | E | O | P | T | E | D | ||
| C | I | V | N | U | D | E | S | T | R | E | ||||
| P | E | E | L | E | R | P | S | A | M | O | D | S | ||
| A | L | P | R | O | O | S | T | S | S | O | R | E | ||
| L | E | T | S | D | O | T | H | A | T | A | G | A | I | N |
| E | N | E | R | O | T | O | T | E | M | R | V | S | ||
| R | A | D | O | N | O | P | E | R | A | T | E | E |
BROOKE: I'm mega-impressed by Kim's crossword skills, discipline, and thoughtfulness and I'm so honored to be a part of his first and surely not last themeless at this venue! The diagonal symmetry idea was all him. ;) We painstakingly combed through many possible versions of this grid and abandoned many darlings, and the result is much better for it. My favorite of Kim's clues are 17A, 29A, 63A, and 13D.
KIM: As Brooke implies above, this collab started when I sent Brooke this grid and a seed 1A entry, which did not actually stay in the final puzzle once we started building it out. Brooke is one of my favorite themeless constructors working today, and her trademark eye for pairing an entry with a spicy misdirect clue is on real display here; my favorites of her clues are 1A, 48A, 3D, and 33D.
| I | R | I | S | S | C | A | N | S | O | P | S | |||
| C | E | N | T | U | R | I | E | S | E | P | E | E | ||
| E | S | C | A | P | E | R | O | O | M | A | T | T | A | |
| S | T | O | K | E | D | P | L | A | S | T | I | C | S | |
| T | A | M | E | R | P | E | E | K | A | B | O | O | ||
| O | R | B | S | G | E | T | S | E | V | E | N | |||
| R | E | A | S | O | W | S | S | O | L | |||||
| M | A | T | C | H | E | S | E | P | I | T | A | P | H | |
| H | E | S | S | T | A | R | T | A | O | |||||
| F | E | L | D | S | P | A | R | F | E | S | T | |||
| H | E | A | V | E | H | O | S | C | L | A | S | P | ||
| L | A | T | T | E | A | R | T | T | A | Y | L | O | R | |
| A | R | I | D | F | E | L | L | I | N | L | O | V | E | |
| M | E | S | A | D | I | A | L | T | O | N | E | S | ||
| A | S | H | Y | T | V | T | O | W | E | R | S |
I think this is the closest I've gotten to a Patrick Berry-esque construction, and I like it. Some clues of mine that made the cut: 16A, 49A, and 11D. As always, I admire the editing team's injection of zinger clues like 1A and 30D. They also surprised me with 38D, but I'm here for it (and I bet many constructors will be adding a new phrase to their word lists shortly).
| A | B | A | T | I | N | G | S | L | R | S | C | A | D | S | L | E | D | |||
| L | A | T | E | R | A | L | T | E | A | M | G | A | M | E | P | E | P | E | ||
| P | Y | T | H | A | G | O | R | E | A | H | E | O | R | E | M | A | G | I | N | |
| H | O | A | R | N | E | O | A | N | D | S | A | R | A | L | ||||||
| A | U | R | A | S | H | A | L | D | R | E | I | C | E | L | E | B | ||||
| N | I | T | E | E | L | I | A | B | O | V | E | R | E | P | R | |||||
| D | E | S | I | G | E | D | D | R | I | V | E | R | M | A | T | I | S | S | E | |
| O | N | A | U | R | G | E | O | A | R | D | I | S | O | B | E | Y | S | |||
| W | A | T | E | R | M | E | L | O | N | W | A | I | T | O | N | |||||
| E | M | O | T | E | S | I | B | S | I | L | A | S | E | S | S | A | Y | |||
| L | O | U | T | C | E | L | T | N | O | T | L | I | M | E | ||||||
| S | R | T | A | S | B | A | S | E | S | N | O | M | R | O | L | E | S | |||
| P | U | R | S | E | D | S | E | M | I | W | E | E | K | L | Y | |||||
| P | A | T | O | O | T | I | E | O | U | I | I | T | O | O | B | I | O | |||
| A | N | E | M | O | N | E | I | N | S | P | E | C | T | O | R | C | L | A | U | |
| I | N | L | I | K | E | F | N | N | N | S | C | E | D | G | Y | |||||
| D | U | L | C | E | E | L | S | A | S | O | N | S | C | R | A | M | ||||
| L | A | R | D | T | E | A | K | B | T | W | L | A | R | A | ||||||
| A | L | L | O | L | U | D | W | I | G | V | A | N | B | T | H | O | V | E | N | |
| R | E | I | N | O | N | E | S | E | E | D | S | C | H | I | N | E | S | E | ||
| I | D | E | S | W | A | D | R | O | S | Y | H | O | P | E | N | O | T |
I submitted this puzzle just a few days before the publication of Christina Iverson's fun 12/26/2021 puzzle and was fascinated to see how she'd taken a similar core idea and turned it into a puzzle in a rather different way. (I was also, of course, glad to have the editors decide that this implementation of the idea was different enough from Christina's to make it still worth publishing.)
With apologies to those who object to math in crosswords, I was very pleased that this theme allowed for the inclusion of 23-Across. Personally, I'm a fan of a little math along with my wordplay. Tangentially, If solvers of this puzzle would like to try the wedding crossword mentioned in Will's note, it is available here. No special knowledge of the couple (except, perhaps, their names: Sarah and Brennan) is necessary to complete it.
| C | A | B | I | N | P | A | N | S | B | U | M | |||
| U | S | I | N | G | F | L | O | P | R | O | P | E | ||
| B | A | L | L | O | F | F | I | R | E | E | N | D | S | |
| I | D | L | E | I | T | S | M | E | C | E | O | S | ||
| C | A | S | A | B | A | T | A | C | T | I | C | |||
| F | E | S | T | H | I | P | H | O | P | |||||
| C | D | S | A | C | I | D | S | G | E | I | C | O | ||
| H | I | T | G | O | F | E | T | C | H | N | H | L | ||
| A | R | I | A | L | F | A | U | L | T | A | O | L | ||
| D | E | C | R | E | E | N | O | E | L | |||||
| K | I | S | M | E | T | S | N | A | F | U | S | |||
| B | A | T | S | O | L | I | V | E | B | O | N | A | ||
| A | L | O | E | P | A | P | E | R | T | R | A | I | L | |
| I | B | I | S | O | T | I | S | S | A | L | T | S | ||
| T | A | T | P | E | N | T | A | T | S | E | A |
TONY: It's always a treat to work with my x-word mentor, C.C. She can grid like nobody's business. C.C. probably remembers better, but this started as Play Fetch, and we went a few tries with her honing the grid and me playing with the cluing.
C.C: I enjoy brainstorming with Tony. He has many fun ideas and is quick and creative with theme entry selections. We settled down on a conservative grid, with no fill longer than the shortest theme entry. Probably unnecessary since we have * in the clue entries.
| C | A | K | E | S | C | R | A | P | W | H | I | Z | ||
| R | U | N | E | C | I | A | R | A | H | O | N | E | ||
| I | R | O | N | U | R | G | E | S | O | U | T | S | ||
| B | A | B | Y | S | B | R | E | A | T | H | S | E | T | |
| H | A | I | R | L | O | N | E | L | Y | |||||
| C | R | E | P | E | S | S | I | T | U | P | ||||
| L | E | V | A | R | W | O | L | F | S | B | A | N | E | |
| O | N | I | T | A | E | R | I | E | B | R | E | D | ||
| G | O | L | D | E | N | R | O | D | L | I | T | H | E | |
| G | R | A | T | E | P | I | N | Y | I | N | ||||
| T | H | E | Y | R | E | S | A | U | L | |||||
| R | A | N | L | A | D | Y | S | L | I | P | P | E | R | |
| U | N | I | T | T | O | N | Y | S | B | E | T | A | ||
| C | O | U | P | E | M | C | E | E | J | E | T | S | ||
| K | I | S | S | R | E | S | T | S | S | L | A | P |
This puzzle was inspired by the phrase "say it with flowers." Historically, many flower species were used to symbolize a specific message or emotion; I had the pleasure of reimagining what certain flowers could signify if interpreted in a more literal sense.
BABY'S BREATH was an early favorite because it's such a well-known flower, and its literal interpretation is so silly. There was some initial investigation re: whether LADYSSLIPPER or LADYSLIPPER was correct to use for another theme entry, and after researching, it seemed that both are used/acceptable. I wish I could've somehow squeezed in SNAPDRAGON because it's such a punchy flower name. That said, I was thrilled with the final theme answers and fill.
I want to give a big shout out to Wyna Liu from the NYT editorial team for all of her guidance throughout this process. Robin Weintraub generously answered many of my new-constructor questions, and Penelope Williams and Miranda Copps (my crossword buddies) offered helpful feedback as I worked through construction. Thank you, all!
I hope that flower lovers and crossword lovers alike enjoy this puzzle!
| P | O | L | L | C | C | E | D | S | P | C | A | |||
| A | V | I | A | H | A | L | O | A | P | A | R | T | ||
| N | U | M | B | E | R | S | E | V | E | N | O | M | ||
| E | L | I | B | R | I | E | G | O | L | A | N | |||
| R | E | T | R | A | I | N | B | O | W | L | C | U | T | |
| A | S | S | E | S | G | A | L | A | S | E | T | A | ||
| B | I | O | R | U | T | S | A | S | S | |||||
| L | U | C | K | Y | B | R | E | A | K | S | ||||
| I | P | A | S | D | E | Y | E | M | U | |||||
| N | A | V | T | E | S | S | A | U | L | T | R | A | ||
| G | R | I | S | H | A | M | R | O | C | K | I | E | R | |
| A | S | T | I | R | P | I | C | K | N | S | A | |||
| A | B | H | O | R | S | E | S | H | O | E | U | F | ||
| B | L | E | N | D | U | S | E | R | R | A | M | A | ||
| C | E | D | E | N | O | S | E | B | R | E | T |
| E | E | L | I | N | G | O | S | L | O | I | D | E | D | ||
| O | R | O | M | E | O | P | H | E | W | N | I | N | A | ||
| N | E | W | P | O | T | A | T | O | E | S | L | E | T | T | |
| S | A | N | S | C | L | I | O | M | E | D | I | A | |||
| A | D | O | C | H | I | C | K | E | N | S | T | O | C | K | |
| G | E | T | B | E | A | T | W | I | N | W | E | E | |||
| O | R | E | A | D | D | I | E | T | A | N | D | Y | |||
| H | E | A | V | Y | C | R | E | A | M | ||||||
| B | E | S | S | L | I | E | U | B | I | B | L | E | |||
| U | N | A | P | O | E | D | E | E | D | B | O | X | |||
| S | A | U | T | E | E | D | L | E | E | K | S | Q | V | C | |
| R | C | C | A | R | U | T | N | E | C | R | E | E | |||
| I | T | I | S | V | I | C | H | Y | S | S | O | I | S | E | |
| D | E | N | T | A | C | R | E | B | U | L | B | E | D | ||
| E | D | G | Y | L | E | E | R | Y | E | A | S | T | S |
I remember thinking that a recipe puzzle would be something unusual, and wanting to find a fairly common dish that was composed almost entirely of four ingredients. I thought it would run on a Tuesday or Wednesday, but apparently the editors felt it would play harder than that. My biggest problem with the execution was remembering how to spell vichyssoise!
When Joel Fagliano sent me the acceptance letter on this one he (more or less) promised to try vichyssoise for the first time on the day this puzzle came out — hopefully someone on the inside will hold him to that!
At one point five years ago I was submitting about 100 puzzles a year to the NYT and had 20 puzzles in the NYT queue — I only submit a few puzzles a year now, and after this one is published I'm pretty sure I will have zero in the queue. Crossword puzzles have added immensely to my life over the past ten years, and I am so thankful to all the people who helped me along the way, especially Peter A. Collins and Will Shortz.
| B | A | D | J | U | J | U | T | O | G | A | S | |||
| A | Q | U | I | N | A | S | T | I | L | A | P | I | A | |
| G | U | N | B | O | R | E | R | E | D | M | A | S | S | |
| M | A | K | E | S | F | R | A | S | E | C | T | S | ||
| A | R | T | S | R | U | I | N | S | R | H | E | E | ||
| N | I | A | B | O | L | T | C | U | T | T | E | R | S | |
| A | N | V | I | L | Z | E | B | R | A | |||||
| K | O | O | L | S | S | M | O | G | S | |||||
| D | R | U | N | K | I | T | S | O | N | |||||
| C | H | O | K | E | P | O | I | N | T | S | R | E | C | |
| L | A | R | A | S | O | D | A | S | D | A | T | E | ||
| E | R | E | C | T | Z | A | P | G | I | N | Z | A | ||
| A | L | L | R | I | S | E | P | O | M | A | D | E | S | |
| R | E | S | A | L | E | S | E | L | E | N | O | R | E | |
| Y | E | N | T | A | D | Y | N | A | M | O | S |
| K | E | Y | S | U | P | D | A | D | B | O | D | |||
| A | M | O | E | B | A | W | I | N | E | B | A | R | ||
| M | A | U | L | E | R | T | E | D | T | A | L | K | S | |
| A | I | R | F | R | E | S | H | E | N | E | R | |||
| L | E | I | S | P | E | N | T | A | F | T | S | |||
| S | H | O | E | L | O | R | I | S | N | A | R | E | ||
| T | O | N | H | I | T | M | E | A | N | N | U | L | ||
| R | A | F | A | U | R | O | R | A | L | T | E | E | ||
| A | X | I | O | M | E | M | O | T | E | H | O | N | ||
| T | E | R | N | S | M | E | A | T | C | E | R | A | ||
| I | S | E | E | C | O | T | S | G | O | O | F | |||
| A | B | O | V | E | T | H | E | F | R | A | Y | |||
| R | E | D | R | Y | D | E | R | O | N | F | I | L | E | |
| I | D | O | T | T | E | R | P | R | I | E | S | T | ||
| G | U | S | H | E | D | S | E | N | S | E | I |
CHRISTINA: Tom and I met at ACPT through our mutual friend Andrea Carla Michaels, and connected over our shared Minnesota roots. We discussed themeless construction, and how sometimes when working solo we end up not knowing when to stop tinkering with a grid — we both had found ourselves frequently not being satisfied enough with a grid to move on to writing clues. My computer is full of themeless grids sans clues!
Collaborations, I have found, are a nice motivation for getting a puzzle over the finish line. We thought it would be fun to team up on a Saturday-level puzzle — the only day of the week Tom was missing to hit for the cycle. I'm excited to share a byline with him as he reaches the milestone!
TOM: Such a privilege and pleasure to team up with Christina! She provided the awesome seed entry/clue in THERMOMETER [Cold shower?], which I incorporated into a grid with the central stagger stack, and we took turns filling sections from there.
We hope the puzzle brought you a smile or two along the way!
| A | H | B | L | I | S | S | M | E | R | C | I | H | O | P | E | S | ||||
| B | A | L | O | N | E | Y | C | A | R | P | E | N | T | E | R | A | N | T | ||
| C | L | O | W | N | E | D | T | H | I | S | I | S | T | H | E | L | I | F | E | |
| S | L | O | W | E | D | T | H | I | N | E | T | R | A | D | E | D | U | P | ||
| O | M | A | R | C | A | R | P | S | M | B | A | S | A | F | E | S | ||||
| S | W | I | T | G | O | G | O | S | F | E | I | N | T | N | O | G | O | |||
| P | E | N | E | T | R | A | T | E | C | O | M | E | S | A | T | R | O | N | ||
| L | E | G | R | A | I | S | E | P | H | O | E | N | I | X | A | Z | ||||
| I | K | O | B | E | T | A | W | A | R | D | S | T | E | X | A | N | ||||
| T | E | N | S | F | E | M | I | N | I | S | T | S | S | I | D | E | S | |||
| S | N | I | T | S | R | E | S | T | S | T | O | P | S | S | I | X | E | S | ||
| D | O | R | I | C | D | E | S | P | A | C | I | T | O | E | T | C | H | |||
| N | O | T | I | T | C | R | A | N | K | C | A | L | L | T | O | E | ||||
| M | A | D | E | P | R | O | U | D | I | M | S | O | D | O | N | E | ||||
| F | I | B | T | E | L | L | A | L | L | K | N | E | E | B | E | N | D | S | ||
| I | M | A | M | R | E | E | C | E | G | L | E | N | N | L | O | C | H | |||
| R | A | N | A | T | P | A | K | C | R | A | S | S | S | I | T | H | ||||
| E | L | G | R | E | C | O | S | G | A | I | U | S | L | A | S | H | A | T | ||
| P | O | L | I | C | E | R | E | P | O | R | T | S | P | O | U | T | I | N | E | |
| O | N | E | S | H | O | T | D | E | A | L | S | C | A | D | E | N | C | E | ||
| T | E | S | T | Y | S | O | R | T | A | S | M | I | D | G | E | N |
Thrilled to have my first Sunday puzzle in the Times! This grid features one of my favorite open middles that I've made as it pulls from a variety of subject areas. I had originally tried to make it work in a 15x15 grid, but then decided to expand the grid out to a Sunday-size puzzle with a fun whirlpool shape. Hope you enjoy!
| H | I | P | A | R | C | S | A | S | S | E | S | |||
| A | M | I | D | Y | O | L | K | B | L | U | N | T | ||
| T | A | P | E | D | E | L | A | Y | C | A | S | I | O | |
| S | C | E | N | E | L | U | R | E | C | H | A | R | ||
| S | C | I | S | S | O | R | S | K | I | C | K | |||
| M | O | V | E | O | N | C | A | P | E | |||||
| A | M | O | R | T | E | A | K | O | R | A | N | G | ||
| L | E | I | B | O | X | S | E | A | T | V | I | I | ||
| I | N | D | I | A | E | A | T | S | R | O | L | F | ||
| C | R | O | C | S | P | I | N | E | T | |||||
| P | A | P | E | R | T | R | A | I | N | E | D | |||
| O | L | A | F | T | A | F | T | S | E | N | S | E | ||
| S | I | L | L | S | B | O | W | S | T | R | I | N | G | |
| S | A | M | O | A | L | U | A | U | S | N | U | G | ||
| E | S | S | E | X | E | L | S | E | A | B | S |
I didn't necessarily think of this puzzle as a holiday crossword, but the editors saved it for this week. One of the hardest parts in making it was figuring out where to fit "gift," given all the space taken up with wrapping supplies.
| S | W | U | N | G | D | O | H | A | P | O | P | E | ||
| P | A | T | I | O | R | I | O | S | E | L | A | L | ||
| C | R | A | C | K | F | A | L | L | S | C | R | A | C | K |
| A | T | H | E | A | R | T | D | E | R | I | V | E | S | |
| N | R | A | A | U | T | O | S | |||||||
| S | H | E | E | T | S | L | I | P | S | S | H | E | E | T |
| P | A | D | S | E | E | R | S | E | R | V | E | |||
| R | I | D | S | R | E | H | A | B | D | O | E | R | ||
| E | R | I | C | S | O | H | I | O | D | R | S | |||
| E | Y | E | H | I | T | S | R | I | G | H | T | E | Y | E |
| E | T | H | A | N | B | M | W | |||||||
| P | R | I | M | A | R | Y | K | E | Y | E | D | U | P | |
| L | I | N | E | R | E | A | D | I | N | G | L | I | N | E |
| U | S | S | R | E | A | R | N | O | V | O | I | D | ||
| M | E | T | S | S | H | E | D | D | E | N | T | S |
Still straining from the rejection of my crossword tour de force entitled "Carpe B.M.," I devoted myself in the last year to only writing puzzles about stuff stuck inside other things. I was finally forced to abandon the construction of a grid resembling a ship lodged in the Suez Canal when the Ever Given was released, and the news cycle moved on.
Resorting to visual puns, the last harbor of a desperate cruciverbalist's mind, I threw together the puzzle you find before you. Please don't blame me that it has nothing to do with Christmas. I had a puzzle about people in Santa suits stuck in chimneys, but the editors thought it could frighten too many children. As if children are all doing the New York Times crossword.
In any case, do enjoy a sandwich with this stodgy offering on National Sangria Day.
| B | O | D | E | L | O | W | E | R | H | A | R | P | ||
| A | R | E | A | I | R | I | S | H | I | D | I | D | ||
| F | I | F | T | Y | P | E | R | C | E | N | T | O | F | F |
| T | O | O | O | B | O | E | N | O | I | S | E | S | ||
| A | N | G | O | L | A | S | T | I | N | T | ||||
| P | O | L | S | H | U | E | A | P | P | |||||
| F | A | M | E | M | E | G | A | M | E | R | G | E | R | |
| A | W | A | R | E | A | N | T | D | E | N | S | E | ||
| R | O | Y | A | L | F | L | U | S | H | C | I | T | Y | |
| E | L | I | D | O | I | O | U | S | T | |||||
| F | E | I | N | T | F | W | O | R | D | S | ||||
| O | W | N | E | R | S | H | I | F | I | E | R | A | ||
| W | H | A | T | S | T | H | E | B | I | G | D | E | A | L |
| L | O | V | E | O | B | I | E | S | E | D | I | T | ||
| S | A | Y | S | N | O | R | T | H | N | Y | N | Y |
NANCY: Was the theme idea effortlessly sparked by hearing someone use the theme phrase in conversation? Or did I lie sleeplessly in bed trying to "ideate" theme possibilities as I so often do? It's been a long time since the creation of this puzzle, and I have one of the world's worst memories, so I don't remember the original impulse behind it. I should probably keep a notebook of some sort, but I don't.
I do have a record of my collaborative process with Will, since I never delete our emails in the working out of a theme. This one went at lightning speed with perhaps no more than 2-3 emails between us before we agreed on the themers and the clues for the themes, and Will went off to create his beautiful grid. He is SO easy to work with: never wishy-washy, always decisive about the best of our possible choices when I'm not always 100% sure, and yet at the same time generous, flexible, and totally without ego.
Hope you'll enjoy this latest collaboration of ours.
WILL: As always, I'm grateful to Nancy for her endlessly creative theme brain — this is one of my favorites of hers. I'm also happy to be the first constructor to get multiple F-WORDS in the New York Times crossword.
| I | S | A | A | C | R | B | I | S | L | A | B | |||
| W | A | N | D | A | C | O | I | N | N | A | S | A | ||
| A | N | G | E | R | S | U | N | K | C | O | S | T | S | |
| S | T | E | P | D | I | N | G | O | T | E | R | I | ||
| H | A | L | T | E | R | D | E | M | O | R | A | C | ||
| A | H | I | T | A | T | A | A | R | T | S | Y | |||
| D | A | N | S | W | A | B | E | S | E | |||||
| T | A | R | D | O | E | D | A | D | ||||||
| E | L | M | U | R | L | S | M | E | G | |||||
| L | O | V | E | R | T | R | I | O | B | R | O | |||
| C | A | R | T | I | E | R | A | L | F | R | E | D | ||
| A | T | A | R | I | N | O | I | R | R | O | L | L | ||
| S | I | T | O | N | E | O | U | T | R | O | S | I | E | |
| K | N | O | T | A | C | T | S | A | S | I | C | S | ||
| S | I | R | S | T | H | E | C | H | A | T | S |
For themes that involve breaking up long words, I prefer when the resulting short words are legitimate, so I brainstormed theme answers with this constraint in mind. Getting ROUNDABOUT ROUTE to run through the four thematic arrangements might just top the list of lucky moments in my crossword construction career.
I decided to clue all the short words since I figured having 12 unclued answers might make for a frustrating solving experience. I thought this puzzle might run on a Wednesday, given the lack of resistance that the unclued short words would have provided, though I'm always happy to be published on my favorite day of the New York Times Crossword week.
| O | H | S | O | A | S | T | I | R | E | C | U | R | ||
| F | E | E | L | S | S | E | E | N | E | M | O | R | Y | |
| F | L | O | A | T | T | A | N | K | T | I | L | D | E | |
| E | M | U | F | A | R | M | S | H | I | N | D | U | S | |
| D | S | L | R | O | U | E | O | N | E | S | ||||
| T | I | S | S | U | E | S | A | M | P | L | E | |||
| M | Y | M | A | N | P | E | E | L | E | I | D | |||
| Y | O | U | N | G | M | C | L | A | S | T | L | E | G | |
| O | Y | S | C | O | O | P | C | A | L | V | E | |||
| B | O | T | T | O | M | D | O | L | L | A | R | |||
| R | E | N | O | D | E | A | N | A | R | F | ||||
| F | I | E | S | T | A | C | A | N | N | I | B | A | L | |
| E | R | A | S | E | D | A | N | C | E | T | U | N | E | |
| M | I | D | I | S | A | S | T | E | R | I | S | K | S | |
| A | S | S | E | T | G | T | O | S | S | E | S | H |
I seeded this puzzle with STARING CONTEST for its fun vibes and wordplay potential, then later settled on RETINAL SCANNER as an apt counterpart. And while I may be a vile ASTROS fan, I couldn't resist including the Easter egg at 58A. I hope people enjoyed!
| O | D | E | O | N | F | E | A | R | B | A | T | |||
| Y | O | U | R | E | O | N | L | Y | L | O | N | E | L | Y |
| S | O | C | L | O | S | E | Y | E | T | S | O | F | A | R |
| R | A | Y | H | A | R | D | A | D | O | B | E | |||
| A | T | L | S | A | T | O | R | I | R | A | S | |||
| H | O | Y | L | E | O | D | O | R | M | E | M | E | ||
| A | D | P | A | G | E | P | A | P | A | Y | A | |||
| O | T | T | A | W | A | S | T | E | N | O | S | |||
| O | U | T | L | E | T | E | N | G | U | L | F | |||
| A | R | S | E | L | E | G | S | D | A | K | A | R | ||
| C | S | T | L | A | R | A | M | S | N | M | I | |||
| H | A | R | P | O | L | A | T | E | C | O | M | |||
| E | L | E | C | T | R | I | C | A | L | P | O | W | E | R |
| B | E | E | T | H | O | V | E | N | S | T | H | I | R | D |
| E | S | S | O | W | E | S | L | O | T | S | A |
The story of this puzzle goes back several years, when I became familiar with Schuyler Fisk through a collaboration of hers with Joshua Radin (who I got to see in concert a few years ago!) and was captivated by one of her songs called You're Only Lonely. Eventually I noticed it was the magical 15 letters in length, but lamented that it wasn't well known enough to feature in a puzzle. Of course, when I looked it up, I discovered that her rendition was a cover version of a song from 1979! I guess my constructor's brain is good for something (and though J.D. Souther's original is excellent, I have to say I still prefer Schuyler's version, especially with the incredible bass line).
I initially had my sights set on a triple stack, but when I discovered that the pair of DOOR TO DOOR SALES and EUCALYPTUS TREES intersected nicely with the other two 15s, I had hope of using the elusive double-stacked-15 frame layout that's rather uncommon in the Times (not used since 2015). I'm more than happy with the grid spanners, and with some fun fill elsewhere like HOYLE (I'm a huge fan of the Hoyle Board Games series of computer games) and MANGA (anime addict here), I think there's something for everyone.
Hopefully the puzzle serves as a pleasant companion over the holiday weekend, and for those of you for whom this time is particularly difficult, I wish you nothing but the best.
| B | U | G | S | S | A | T | A | T | U | R | D | U | C | R | A | B | ||||
| O | T | O | E | S | P | L | A | S | H | G | O | E | S | H | A | L | T | |||
| N | A | T | E | S | A | L | U | T | E | H | O | M | E | P | A | G | E | S | ||
| G | H | O | S | T | W | R | I | T | I | N | G | A | R | E | P | A | ||||
| P | I | A | T | E | L | A | S | S | N | S | E | M | I | S | ||||||
| P | I | N | K | L | A | D | Y | F | L | U | I | D | V | O | L | U | M | E | ||
| P | R | E | T | E | E | N | T | R | A | I | N | E | E | S | F | E | N | |||
| S | E | C | O | N | D | S | T | O | R | Y | T | E | D | X | M | F | A | S | ||
| A | G | E | O | M | A | P | E | W | P | O | I | S | E | |||||||
| S | O | S | A | K | E | T | A | N | J | I | O | N | I | O | N | Y | ||||
| P | R | I | S | O | N | S | E | N | T | E | N | C | E | S | ||||||
| A | S | S | U | R | E | I | N | P | O | W | E | R | E | T | N | A | ||||
| C | R | U | E | T | P | A | T | A | D | E | B | O | N | |||||||
| S | I | B | S | S | T | E | M | A | D | D | R | E | S | S | B | O | O | K | ||
| P | A | S | L | O | O | T | B | A | G | S | R | I | H | A | N | N | A | |||
| A | N | I | M | A | L | P | R | I | N | T | B | A | R | C | O | D | E | S | ||
| N | A | D | A | L | F | A | T | E | A | M | A | R | V | S | ||||||
| I | T | A | L | O | W | O | R | K | I | N | G | T | I | T | L | E | ||||
| B | U | Z | Z | W | O | R | D | S | C | I | E | N | T | O | B | E | E | P | ||
| O | R | E | O | A | T | O | P | H | A | R | O | L | D | E | A | V | E | |||
| O | L | D | S | N | Y | N | Y | S | A | S | S | Y | S | K | Y | E |
It's fitting that this puzzle is running on Christmas Day. I make kid's books, both as an author/illustrator and a book designer for Tundra Books, a children's publisher in Toronto. For the past few years, I've created a holiday crossword for my coworkers, with themes playing on the titles of the books we publish. After creating last year's holiday puzzle, I thought its theme had the potential for a broader audience if I clued it with the titles of famous novels.
Big thanks to the editing team for their thoughtful edit, and especially for acquiescing when I pushed to keep my favorite bit of wordplay in the puzzle — the clue for T-BONE STEAK. Additional favorite clues that made the edit include those for MOOSE, SUBSIDIZED, BAD VIBES, I'M EASY, and the 1-Across/1-Down combo of BUGS and BONG.
Working in children's books, I'm also glad to have snuck in a few extra kidlit entries with HAROLD, ROO, and TOTO.
Some theme entries from the puzzle that inspired this one but that I couldn't make work here include COUNTERNARRATIVE for a book about an abacus and FROZEN ACCOUNT for a book about snow.
On that note, happy holidays!
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| O | D | O | R | U | R | I | S | U | L | T | R | A | ||
| O | N | C | E | D | I | N | S | M | E | R | I | T | ||
| M | A | K | E | A | F | A | C | E | V | A | P | E | ||
| O | R | A | L | X | S | H | A | P | E | D | ||||
| A | P | P | H | O | P | S | H | A | T | |||||
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| D | O | R | M | T | E | A | S | N | A | P | ||||
| C | H | A | N | G | E | H | A | N | D | S | T | I | A | |
| E | E | L | L | E | I | A | I | N | N | |||||
| G | R | A | M | M | Y | S | S | C | A | T | ||||
| R | O | L | O | C | L | O | C | K | W | O | R | K | ||
| I | W | O | N | T | R | O | M | A | O | X | E | N | ||
| P | E | N | I | N | U | S | E | R | L | I | N | E | ||
| E | R | E | C | T | M | E | N | D | S | N | O | W |
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.)
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| S | I | D | E | A | R | M | D | E | R | A | N | G | E | |
| N | E | A | K | I | M | L | E | T | S | O | N | |||
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| F | A | D | B | E | A | G | L | E | R | A | P | S | ||
| C | H | I | N | A | R | E | O | B | I | L | L | Y | ||
| C | A | P | O | R | E | N | E | G | E | K | Y | D | ||
| L | I | V | E | A | T | R | E | C | ||||||
| C | L | O | S | E | S | A | L | A | O | A | F | |||
| L | A | M | E | N | T | S | O | V | E | R | D | U | E | |
| I | R | A | D | O | U | B | L | E | C | R | O | S | S | |
| P | V | C | O | R | E | O | S | H | A | R | E | S | ||
| S | A | Y | R | E | S | T | T | O | L | E | D | O |
It's been a little over a year since I submitted this puzzle. I do remember trying out umpteen grids with various theme possibilities before settling on this one. Hitting on MAGENTA for the middle was a big help. I wanted all the "double" words to be embedded in other words and phrases rather than standing alone. For example, I wouldn't have used something like FBI AGENT or DATE PALM.
I hope you're all having a fun holiday season!
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| S | T | E | V | I | E | N | I | C | K | S | H | I | R | E | |
| U | R | N | A | N | A | S | T | J | A | M | E | S | |||
| B | A | S | S | N | O | T | E | S | A | N | O | D | E | ||
| C | A | R | O | L | E | K | I | N | G | ||||||
| A | T | E | A | T | M | O | O | R | E | S | L | A | W | ||
| B | E | N | N | E | T | T | L | E | A | E | L | I | |||
| R | E | A | D | R | O | C | K | A | N | D | R | O | L | L | |
| A | B | B | A | Y | O | L | O | E | D | E | N | S | |||
| H | A | L | L | O | F | F | A | M | E | A | P | I | T | Y | |
| A | L | E | R | O | A | R | E | D | M | O | N | A | E | ||
| M | L | S | E | R | R | A | N | T | S | T | E | R | N |
This puzzle owes a debt of gratitude to Aimee Lucido, who included the entry CAROLE KING in a New Yorker crossword from last November. The clue mentioned the fact that King had been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice, which got me wondering who else that was the case for. The glaring gender imbalance in the list (23 men vs. 3 women) had the perverse effect of creating a tight, symmetrical theme set, and I wrote and submitted the puzzle the next day.
The puzzle was originally planned to run during the week of the RRHOF induction ceremony in November but it ended up getting pushed back a bit; nonetheless I'm extremely excited to see it run now!
It's especially exciting to be making my NYT debut since the Times puzzle holds special sentimental value for me. During college I did the crossword every day at lunch, and my sophomore year I was joined by another member of my dining co-op — we would solve the puzzle together and then sit and talk, sometimes for hours. Eight years later, she's now my fiancée (and #1 test-solver). Love you, Talia!
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| I | V | E | E | L | I | O | T | A | D | I | O | S | ||
| L | A | T | E | R | A | L | L | Y | T | E | M | P | S | |
| T | O | A | D | T | I | V | O | I | I | I | ||||
| C | I | R | C | U | S | E | M | U | L | A | T | E | S | |
| H | O | T | H | E | A | D | R | O | B | E | R | T | ||
| I | N | S | L | E | A | S | A | I | D | |||||
| L | A | T | E | S | H | I | F | T | ||||||
| G | O | L | T | H | E | M | C | S | I | |||||
| S | T | A | L | L | S | D | A | B | B | L | E | D | ||
| C | O | L | L | A | T | E | D | C | L | E | A | N | S | |
| Y | U | P | S | A | R | I | A | L | M | A | ||||
| T | R | A | N | S | V | E | N | T | I | L | A | T | E | |
| H | E | L | E | N | E | A | S | E | S | T | O | Y | ||
| E | D | S | E | L | D | O | N | E | O | R | E |
We are delighted to share our first puzzle collaboration with you! This puzzle was developed in summer 2021 as we were wondering how it was possible that we had never made a puzzle together. Rachel had the initial theme idea with EMUS/EMULATES, and we worked together to nail down exactly how we wanted to execute the SHIFT mechanism. Together, we equally shared the work of selecting the theme entries, laying them out, and filling the grid, and then we wrote the clues together over Zoom, bouncing ideas off of each other and laughing a little too hard at the "Chicken king" echoing clues. We're delighted that our original clue for 40D made the final cut (representation matters!).
A little about us: we are the proud owners of the crossword blog Just Gridding, where we post our own puzzles, occasional collaborations with other fine crossword folk, and the occasional "Just-The-Grid," where we crowdsource clues to create a finished puzzle. We have also worked together on the fundraising crossword packs These Puzzles Fund Abortion and These Puzzles Fund Abortion Too. We are excited to be working on our next TPFA puzzle pack and encourage you to check out www.abortionpuzzles.com for more information about this project!
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| C | H | A | G | A | L | L | M | A | N | O | W | A | R | |
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| S | E | N | U | E | Y | F | R | E | E | |||||
| S | E | M | I | J | A | M | S | S | A | U | N | A | ||
| A | L | Y | A | O | R | B | T | H | I | N | G | S | ||
| L | O | O | K | T | H | E | O | T | H | E | R | W | A | Y |
| S | I | P | H | O | N | J | O | E | D | A | G | A | ||
| A | S | I | A | N | E | E | O | C | T | Y | E | S | ||
| S | E | A | R | B | A | T | L | A | V | |||||
| T | H | A | T | S | F | O | R | S | U | R | E | |||
| S | C | R | O | O | G | E | I | S | E | E | N | O | W | |
| W | H | A | U | D | E | N | N | E | W | T | O | M | E | |
| M | A | M | M | A | L | D | R | E | S | S | E | S |
I got nothing. Wishing all the solvers and regulars of XWord Info a happy and healthy '23. Be good to each other.
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| W | I | S | E | T | O | I | D | E | A | L | I | S | T | |
| I | N | K | P | E | N | T | O | A | D | E | T | T | E | |
| S | C | R | E | W | M | I | R | T | H | B | E | N | ||
| H | E | E | L | F | I | N | E | A | S | Y | E | T | ||
| E | N | D | M | R | T | S | H | I | A | |||||
| D | E | D | I | C | A | T | E | A | R | T | E | |||
| Z | I | G | G | Y | S | T | A | R | D | U | S | T | ||
| T | I | R | E | S | C | R | A | P | P | E | D | |||
| V | I | D | S | T | O | Y | E | R | E | |||||
| B | U | S | E | D | O | W | O | W | B | R | A | N | ||
| E | S | E | D | R | A | I | N | K | R | A | F | T | ||
| R | E | A | D | L | I | P | S | K | E | E | N | L | Y | |
| G | U | M | M | E | D | U | P | O | N | E | T | O | N | |
| S | P | Y | V | S | S | P | Y | S | O | D | O | P | E |
Happy to debut 18-Across. Re: 3-Down — I solemnly swear I am not a redditor. Shoutout to the editors for the 45-Across clue.
Happy New Year to those who celebrate!