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Hi everyone! I'm a high school senior at The Lawrenceville School near Princeton, New Jersey, and I am super excited to be making my New York Times debut and to be the person kicking off Black Constructors' Week!

I started constructing in August 2020, after I Twitter DM'ed Ross Trudeau asking him if he could teach me how to make puzzles. I've been solving since eighth grade, but I didn't really feel the desire to start constructing until the pandemic hit, and I suddenly had a lot of free time and not a lot of activities to fill it with. Crossword puzzles have really been an awesome way to spend my free time when I'm not talking to friends, reading, playing lacrosse, or in class. I am also very honored that my puzzle makes me the youngest female constructor ever published in the Times. I turn 18 years old in 13 days (the day before Valentine's Day), so I think this debut is an awesome way to close my formal childhood.

I was actually on the phone with Ross working on another puzzle when I came up with this theme. I don't remember exactly how he came to say the phrase HIVE MIND, but my brain immediately jumped to thinking about the types of bees in a colony. I have to admit, I had an awesome Beychella clue for HOMECOMING QUEEN, but I am very happy to debut the phrase ESSENTIAL WORKER in this theme. They've really carried us all through the past year, so I hope that this acts as a thank you to them.

Being someone who is very politically conscious, though I was too young to vote, I loved being able to include both Senators Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock in the clues for today, and I also gave a little personal nod to two of my best friends who are planning on being YALIES come next fall.

Before I go, I'd like to quickly shout out Ross (again), Wyna Liu, and all of the editors who were instrumental in making this puzzle what you solved today.

– puzzle by Soleil Saint-Cyr

It's always a pleasure to be published, no matter the venue, but being a part of Black Constructors' Week — and highlighting the visibility of Black crossword makers and enthusiasts in hopes that racial diversity among solvers and creators is much more reality than just aspiration — is special, yet necessary. As for the grid, a lot of my time at the beginning of the pandemic was spent watching reruns of classic tennis matches, and that's where the idea first came about making a grid dealing with the three main tennis surfaces.

My initial doubts about its feasibility soon dissipated when realizing that a good number of crossword solvers who a) aren't big sports fans or b) view the major American sports as anathema don't usually get turned off when it comes to tennis and may appreciate it. Definitely helps that the stars of the sport over the past 20 years have been transcendental with their play on the court and/or their activism and generosity off the court. (e.g. Serena, Venus, Federer, Nadal, Osaka, et al.) What I also wanted to do was have more long entries in the non-themed fill than my first foray (Aug. 12, 2020). The GRASSHOPPER entry was initially a nod to the "James and the Giant Peach" grandfatherly figure in Roald Dahl's book, and RENT FREE had a reference to online trolls and how they believe they exist in people's minds. (Taking that clue out might have been for the better, now that I think about it!)

More than happy that the clue for LEE remained, as one of my earliest memories of having cable television in the late 1990s was watching Jeanette Lee and Allison Fisher, a.k.a. the "Duchess of Doom," go at it time and again in billiards matches that aired at the time I was coming from school! Oh, and the RIOTS clue will continue to stick with me given that I spent a few days in the middle of protests and demonstrations calling out social injustice last summer.

Thank you so much for the time, and I hope you found the solve enjoyable. Have a great rest of your day!

– puzzle by Adesina O. Koiki

On Black Constructor's Week:

I proposed the idea of a Black Constructor's Week to the editorial team when I submitted this puzzle. I've always felt like mainstream crossword venues like the NYT fell short in diverse representation of crossword constructors. For example, I'd be willing to wager that with the 6 black constructors in this week alone, we will surpass the number of unique black constructors in each of 2018 and 2019 (and probably many other years).

Given this unfortunate truth, I often try to think about ways to create spaces to amplify and make space for more diverse voices in crosswords. My hope with the creation of this week is that it might encourage more POC to consider constructing so that it won't just be the same few diverse constructors in these venues. Others before me have done this work, and I want to help advance this effort. After all, I never could've gotten to where I am as a constructor if it hadn't been for Erik Agard and the time he spent sharing his knowledge and mentoring me.

To that end, if you're a POC or are from an underrepresented group in crosswords and you have an interest in dipping your toes into construction, I would love to do what I can to help you get started! Whether it's discussing theme ideas, trading tips on grid construction, or collaborating on a puzzle, I would love to chat! You can DM me on Twitter @yacobyo or hit me up on Facebook.

On the puzzle:

After John Lewis passed away last July, I thought to myself that I should construct a crossword to commemorate his life and legacy. I jotted down lots of ideas for themes, but in the moment, I couldn't find a full symmetrical set that I was happy with.

Months later, in December, I was going through my list of half-baked theme ideas, and I came across my original ideas for this puzzle. After racking my brain, I finally thought of GOOD TROUBLE. It felt perfect; it was his slogan (watch him talk about it). This entry was the final missing piece for my theme set.

Finally, a quick shout out to AOC for making the middle of this grid possible. That section was the hardest for me to fill, and in many previous iterations, it was filled with multiple gunky entries. When I finally saw OCASIO, the puzzle fell into place.

– puzzle by Yacob Yonas

It was a thrill and an honor to be asked to submit a puzzle this week! It was even more humbling being able to work directly with Will on honing a theme and polishing the rough ends of this puzzle. I am curious to see which entries will be appearing in the NYT crossword for the first time, but I am fairly sure there will be more than one debut! I did try to have the theme entries reflect a wide genre of music forms, and I hope this was accomplished. My hope is that everyone solving this puzzle will come across a song that is new to them, while still delivering a fun solving experience for everyone.

I will admit, I grew up in an area where racism was not a prominent issue. The small town of Cassopolis, MI, is a melting pot of cultures. But, as I have progressed as an adult, I have tried to learn more from people who have experienced certain things more than I have. But no matter what your background, puzzles can have an uplifting affect on a person's spirits. That is because when you solve a puzzle, whether it is a crossword or a sudoku or a jigsaw, you have found a finite solution to a problem. The world isn't always that simple.

Here's hoping that people of any background can at least get an exposure to, and perhaps learn to love, solving puzzles like I do. And I hope this puzzle was fun to solve as well!

– puzzle by Derek Allen

Recently, there has been an effort in the crossword community to get more diverse constructors into the mix. It's a many-headed hydra of an effort, born of the sense that crosswords have a lot of catching up to do — with reality, I mean. Some of us are invested in getting more women into the themeless game (to say nothing of getting more women constructors into the mix overall — and getting more women's names, interests, and tastes into the grid.) Some of us are also focused on getting more non-white constructors published (and, again, on getting more non-white culture into the grid). Broadly speaking, there's been a real push to cast a wider net.

Jeff Chen, who runs this site, has expressed support for that movement. As he remarked on Monday: "I hope we get to the point one day where the records lists will be filled with people of all different backgrounds." Jeff has regularly mentored constructors, underrepresented and not, for some time now. He has graciously provided a high-quality word list on this website (for a price) that reduces a significant — truly significant — barrier to entry for many people. And on top of all of this, which is already a lot, he provides commentary, right here on XWord Info, assessing every daily and Sunday puzzle run by the Times. His column reads — in sum, and in the broader context of XWord Info — like a running tutorial on how to make publishable crosswords. This is an effort in line with all of the above.

Rather: It's an effort that should be in line with all of the above. But here is where we run into problems. To echo the note of my friend and fellow-traveler Erik Agard on yesterday's puzzle, this is stuff I've said to Jeff in private before, some years and many puzzles ago, regarding some iffy remarks made about names I'd included in a puzzle — names of Black people that Jeff hadn't heard of. Jeff was gracious enough to append an additional note to his comments, conceding: "I personally find it tough to appreciate proper names I don't know, and I tend not to look them up afterward."

That's legitimate — for the typical solver. But XWord Info is a resource. It is, I quote, "the essential resource for crossword constructors and enthusiasts." It is the most prominent and comprehensive toolkit available to constructors, both veteran and new, whether they're interested in submitting to the Times or not. This means that, whether intended to play this role or not, Jeff's remarks here — his (literal) tallying of "good" or "bad" entries; his jokey skepticism toward names (especially ethnic names) and other entries which, with a little Googling, could easily be proven to be known quantities; his implicit weighing of some puzzles against others, with puzzles that dare to include his usual bugbears (broadly: things he does not know; things he worries "solvers" do not know; things he worries will "alienate" solvers) getting slighted in favor of the familiar… All of this, every bit of it, is a part of XWord Info's toolkit.

That's because the commentary here isn't merely written with the tone of "Just one guy's opinion" — though that's ultimately all it is, in its current form — but rather with an eye toward instruction. The premise of Jeff's commentary is, so far as I can gather, twofold:

1. To give constructors a sense of what makes a crossword viable for publication.
2. To give constructors a sense of what "solvers" — meaning Jeff, extrapolated to stand in for a general public — might like, or dislike, or find alienating.

And it's within this matrix of concerns, this mission, that a Robyn Weintraub puzzle can be disqualified for Puzzle of the Week status for including the entry CHAKA — as in Khan, the Grammy-winning, multi-time gold and platinum album-selling, nominated-for-the-Rock-and-Roll-Hall-of-Fame-multiple-times funk legend. This entry is a demerit. Jeff's reasoning: CHAKA "can only be clued in one way" — meaning it can only be clued to refer to one person, a person who happens to have written and performed the song "I'm Every Woman." Yes, that "I'm Every Woman" — one of the most recognizable songs in American pop/R&B. This is a demerit? This is what we want beginning constructors to think is bad construction?

That's one example. Obviously, my feelings on this matter are not about any one example, but rather a trend — a trend that needs to change if we're going to keep calling this place a resource. If I had to sum up the double standard of Jeff's commentary here in one binary, it'd be this: Caitlin Reid (rightly!!!!!) being praised for her constructing "voice" while Ricky Cruz, another wonderful recent addition to the NYT slate, is chastised for his: "I'm curious how many solvers are going to balk at KUBO. Based on his previous puzzles, I get a sense that KUBO [of the Oscar-nominated film KUBO and the Two Strings"] is an expression of Ricky's personal interests. I don't know how many solvers will be equally interested and might have a tough time with the name, so I'd leave those types of flourishes out."

Here's what's weird: In Caitlin's post, Jeff describes voice as what excites him (" "[V]oice" relates to how someone's work makes you feel. Does it make you happy? Confused in a great, tense way, wanting to read more?"). But the more accurate definition is what he takes Ricky's puzzle to task for: personal interests, individual style, the things you put in a puzzle that, in addition to being valid, speak to a particular wheelhouse. Not for nothing, but KUBO is only a 4-letter entry, and the crossings — KARMA / UHAUL / BOTTLENECK / OYSTER — are more than a little fair. So why the lecture? And much more urgently: Why are some voices more valid, more worthy of praise, than others? Why are we actively encouraging a style more in line with Jeff's own but actively discouraging ("I'd leave those types of flourishes out") others? Why are some wheelhouses (those which overlap with Jeff's, perhaps) examples of better construction than others?

Because: again: This isn't about Jeff's personal taste, which is what it is, just as mine is what it is. It's about how matters of taste can get confused here, on this website that is a resource for constructors, as practical advice about good construction. It's the way that Jeff wields his taste against constructors whose style bucks — even just barely bucks; let's not pretend that the NYT gets that wild — the cloistered limits of Jeff's own preferences.

I am tired of how some entries and constructors are accused of "alienating solvers." It's a claim that Jeff makes too often and applies unevenly, in glaring ways. If Byron Walden's HEPPLEWHITES — a great entry! referring to the antique furniture style — isn't earning him any lecturing on solvers being "alienated," then Pete Wentz publishing the far more contemporary TANEHISI COATES (public intellectual; multi-time bestselling author; Macarthur fellow; TV talking head) shouldn't either. Nor should Nam Jin Yoon publishing COATES, just the last name, become an occasion for Jeff to once again argue for cultural gradualism: "This is by far the best way to work in names like COATES, gently introducing solvers to more recent influential persons. Other puzzles have risked tainting solvers' first associations with someone new to them."

Call me crazy (you'll get no argument from me), but what if publishing TaNehisi's name in full was the point? What if, for that constructor, it's a way of saying: This is known, this is legitimate, this is different, you're not a bad person for not knowing it, but now that we're here, here's your chance? And what if, in evaluating these entries, Jeff asked, not "Who's going to feel alienated by this?" but, rather, "Who'll be excited to see this (whether I, Jeff Chen, am excited or not)?" What if, instead of making a crude FITB game out of Erik Agard's entry HAUDENOSAUNEE — an entry that I didn't know either! — we take a second to, firstly, note the meaning of that term (Jeff does not) and secondly recognize that, being that it's clearly the marquee entry, maybe Erik put it there for a reason. And maybe that reason is just as valid as Jeff's reasons for wanting to avoid that entry — which, it should be noted, is what Jeff spends a lot more time talking about in his response to Erik's grid than the entry in itself.

Maybe part of what makes for a good puzzle are choices like these: choices which, whether Jeff cares for them are not, do have solvers in mind — just not the solvers Jeff seems to think of when he uses that word. But why should the people who feel threatened by these inclusions, who'd "balk" at a 4-letter Japanese name, who'd feel "alienated" by Black culture, have such a stranglehold over Jeff's sense of what makes for a good puzzle? Why cater to a solver who'd sincerely finish a puzzle with a bad taste in their mouths because — despite apparently knowing all about HEPPLEWHITES — they've never heard a CHAKA Khan song? Surely we cannot think such a person is the "average solver." And if they aren't, why are we always talking about them — and why do I get the sense that Jeff's idea of the average solver could never be someone who looked like me, or even Jeff himself?

To reiterate Jeff's own words: "I hope we get to the point one day where the records lists will be filled with people of all different backgrounds." A good way of getting there, at least as far as XWord Info is concerned, is by starting to think seriously about questions like these.

– puzzle by Kameron Austin Collins

KATIE: I loved this puzzle idea when Christina pitched it to me. We both have young children (mine are 8 and 4), and the thought of the little one saying some of these phrases made me laugh a lot, especially LOCKER WOMB TALK, which didn't make the final cut in the end, but still makes me smile. Christina is a wonderful mentor. She is very easy to work with, and I am grateful to her for sharing her knowledge and collaborating with me. I couldn't be happier to have my debut with her and on a Sunday! Also, shout out to her dad for connecting us.

When I was a kid, I would take the books of Sunday puzzles that my dad always had around on summer vacations and fill in one or maybe two of the easiest answers on every page. This probably annoyed him, but he never said anything, and I felt very proud to have contributed. Now we solve the Sunday together over FaceTime most weeks. I wrote him a (non-symmetrical) puzzle for his 70th birthday a few years ago but didn't try serious construction until last spring, during the UK's first lockdown. As a stay-at-home mom trying to handle home-school, puzzle construction has offered a welcome distraction in the evenings.

CHRISTINA: Katie and I connected when she read an interview with me on my dad's blog. She reached out to him to see if I was interested in mentoring her. I gave her some feedback on some puzzles she had made, and we quickly ended up collaborating. Katie is a fast learner and a great brainstorming partner. You will definitely see more from her!

This might be my favorite puzzle I've made. It was inspired by a real miscommunication when my toddler (2 at the time) said he wanted to weed. I assumed he meant "read," and "weed between the lines" just popped in my head. I thought it was a good theme entry for a puzzle and pitched the idea to Katie. It turned out my son really did want to weed, though.

We had a great theme set picked out but then realized that some of the entries had extraneous R's and W's, and so we brainstormed more to make sure we didn't have any extras in there. We also tried to keep it to words where the sound changes, but it's more than just a letter swap (i.e., ROCK to WOK, and not RINK TO WINK). Some of my favorite entries that didn't make it for one reason or another:

• THE WEST IS HISTORY [Headline after the Yellowstone Caldera erupts?]
• LOCKER WOMB TALK [Little chat about pregnancy between classes?]
• A CALCULATED WHISK [Beating the eggs at just the right second?]
• ICE SKATING WINK [Flirty move after landing a triple axel?]

– puzzle by Katie Hale and Christina Iverson

Hey all, excited to be making my debut in the 15x15 section. I've been making midis for the NYT Crossword app for a little while (check out my Harry Potter-themed Wizarding Midis!), and Joel challenged me to try making a daily. I sent over a couple of theme ideas, and this was the one they liked best. I hope they'll be open to publishing my NINTENDO themed 15x15 one day.

My crossword dictionary is heavy on comedy, sci-fi/fantasy, and pop culture, and I'm glad that came through in this grid. OPPS/PCB was originally submitted as OPUS/UCB — as a kid in NYC, I knew this improv theater before I knew about most Broadway musicals! LYRA is both my favorite character in a fantasy series and a circus apparatus that I've taken a class in. Still, I've also dabbled in astronomy, so I was happy with this final clue. If LEAP DAY makes you think of that 30 Rock episode, you'll love my Modern TV Midis — thanks to that dictionary, I also got JENNA into this puzzle!

I was originally attracted to puzzles because of the trivia aspect, hence all the themed packs. I grew up with many different dialects in my household, so wordplay is still somewhat frustrating. That's why I was really proud of this one — I even got PERM and COMB in there! When my father moved to this country from the Caribbean, he was embarrassed that he couldn't finish American crosswords, so he couldn't be prouder that I've been welcomed into this lovely community. When I told my mom I was getting my puzzle published in the New York Times, she said, "Well, are they paying you?"

– puzzle by Portia Lundie

Hello out there in puzzle-land! Naturally, I'm thrilled to be making my NYT debut. Over 30 years ago, I sat in the lunchroom at Bronx Science, solving the daily puzzle with my friends, and today I wrote it. Which means I'm slow and getting old.

A big shout out to my fellow juggler and crossword mentor, Wren Schultz, who endured endless emails evaluating embarrassing early efforts and was always kind, helpful, and painfully honest. Besides pointing me to all the useful x-word resources, he came up with today's third themer (TIGHTEN YOUR BELT, replacing the not so hot WEARS THE PANTS). He said forcefully TIGHTEN YOUR FILL at least four times. Which, of course, I'm glad he did. Thanks, Wren!

My constructing has also greatly improved thanks to Jeff Chen and his amazing resource XWord Info (where you might be right now). His thoughtful but never pandering daily commentary and badass word list have really upped my game. Thanks, Jeff!

And, of course, a big thanks to Will, Sam, and the rest of the editorial team for always being helpful even when saying no.

Other fun facts about me: I juggled in a circus for ten years. I've built many bicycles (some wild and wacky, some practical) and in my youth did a 3000-mile European tour. I'm a songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and bandleader (when not in quarantine), with uke being my main axe. I've been a stay at home dad for the last 13 years!

Mask up and happy puzzlin'!

– puzzle by Colin Ernst

I love this puzzle and hope you do too!

When my grandmother was in the hospital last year, I visited her with a draft of this puzzle. Watching my dad and grandmother solve this puzzle together — him reading the clues and her dictating most of the answers — was one of the highlights of my crossword construction journey so far. Much love to them both!

Thank you to Andrea Carla Michaels for suggesting this puzzle's revealer and for being an enthusiastic first test solver. I started writing crosswords a little over a year ago thanks to encouragement from a constructor's note: If you belong to a group that's underrepresented in crosswords, I encourage you to check out the Crossword Puzzle Collaboration Directory or to reach out on Twitter (@kateshawkins) for help getting started.

Some notes about the grid:

• A few years ago, I encountered a population of 46-Downs that hangs out at the top of Half Dome in Yosemite. They're fearless and will rip through any unattended packs while nearby hikers take pictures of the view. Cute? Yes. Ruthless? Also yes. Squirrels? Apparently.
• Some b-squad themer options left on the cutting room floor: RING THEORY, AMP COLLECTOR, INK BUGS, RANGER DANGER...
• I hope solvers get as much of a kick out of 37-Across as I do!

– puzzle by Kate Hawkins

Looking at the puzzle through new eyes (it's been more than two years since I made it), I especially like the ELF-ELF from ELVES example as neither TWELVE nor STEPS appears in the grid. It feels more elegant than the others since EFFECT, TABLE, and NAMES are unchanged. That said, DIE-DIE from DICE is especially nice (!) as adding an internal consonant is an unusual plural construction. I also like that each of the plurals is formed differently (consonant change plus an extra vowel and consonant, consonant addition, single vowel change, and double vowel change).

I enjoy seeing how the editorial team massages the cluing. Some clues make it through unchanged, some are tweaked, and others are completely redone using a different sense of the word.

A few clues I miss:

• GORE: ["The Thing" thing] became [Feature of a creature feature, perhaps]

• DRAWER: [Chest chamber] became [Part of a cabinet]

• MOM: [Ewe to me, if I were a sheep] became [May day celebrant]

• IS IT ART?: [A question of framing?] became [Question one might ask when looking at a banana taped to the wall]

On the other hand, I really dig the playfulness of the revised version of IS IT ART?.

Notably, the theme clues also received a more straightforward treatment from the editors:

• COME[DIC E]FFECT was [Routine justification?]

• TW[ELVE S]TEPS was [Way to keep dry?]

• COF[FEE T]ABLE was [Remote location?]

Perhaps that's to ratchet down the difficulty?

– puzzle by Alex Eaton-Salners

What a thrill to be back in the Times, especially with my first Sunday grid! I had five daily puzzles published between 2001 and 2006. In those days, that meant mailing Will a manila envelope and getting a letter back, and then running out on publication mornings to buy a paper to keep. I got away from constructing, but I recently rediscovered how much I love it, and I am delighted to find that a whole crossword community has grown up in my absence, with blogs and Facebook groups, and more. I'm excited to be part of it!

Here's my bio top-line, since I'm effectively new: I had a 30-year career in non-commercial radio. Currently, I'm self-employed as an author, with two recently-published novels for young readers featuring lots of LGBTQ+ content without that being the preachy point. I also represent my town of Exeter, N.H. as one of the first out transgender state legislators in U.S. history.

I came up with the theme for today's puzzle back in the 00's. That early version had symmetrical placement of the red squares, at the cost of some real stretches among the theme words and fill. I enjoyed the editorial process with Joel Fagliano, who gave me permission to abandon the symmetry and helped guide me, with patience and good humor, to this better final version. Kudos also to the editorial team for finding some excellent cluing opportunities I missed.

I hope this grid brings solving joy!

– puzzle by Lisa Bunker

DAVID: This puzzle happened because the crossword community is full of great people encouraging newbies. Erik Agard's fantastic Crossword Puzzle Collaboration Directory introduced me to Nate Cardin, who helped me finish my first ever (rejected!) puzzle. Evan and I met at an Andy Kravis-led workshop in Brooklyn. It turns out we were both frustratedly gnawing at the exact same idea ("Monkey in the Middle") and decided to collaborate.

Getting our original idea actually to work in a grid was a struggle. Squeezing a 17-letter marquee answer in a 15x15 grid can make things complicated! We attempted a bunch of variations on the theme concept before hitting on the grid you see here, with its added visual element that we hope makes the puzzle accessible and interesting to new and experienced solvers alike. The theme ultimately covers *a lot* of real estate at 70 squares(?!), and the grid is a bit heavy on 3-letter entries and black squares, but we hope the fill is worth any tradeoffs. Props go to Evan for some of the fill's more modern and colloquial entries, but I'm claiming BANANA PEEL, which I *love* for this theme. Thanks for gibbon us a chance!

I post puzzles these days at GridProQuo.blogspot.com and @Hero_Complex — some nerdier themes, a couple of funkier concepts, and training to construct a Cryptic Crassword. (You read that correctly.) I've always been a big nerd, but at some point, did I become indie?

Am I cool now?!

EVAN: David was always cool! And thanks again to Andy for organizing the meeting that made this collaboration possible.

For a different take on this idea, try Ben Tausig's "Swingers," available for purchase at the American Values Club crossword website. (Or, skip to the puzzle review at Crossword Fiend.)

Even with a basic idea and set of theme entries in hand, this grid was a beast to develop. Fortunately, one late night I realized that we could incorporate the evocative 17-letter phrase — arc and all — utilizing mirror symmetry within the standard rotationally symmetric grid. That was the key to freeing up the grid enough to make things clean and sparkly. I fired off an excited email to David at 4:15 a.m. with the breakthrough.

– puzzle by David Harris and Evan Kalish

I'm very excited to be here today with my first ever themeless puzzle in The Times! I got really into writing themelesses over the summer, but this was one of the first ones I completed that I was really excited about. Getting to feature ALPHA FEMALE at 1-Across will be hard to top for me, and having the matching DEMIGODDESS in the opposite corner was really just the icing on the cake. Both of these words also have masculine equivalents (alpha male and demigod) that we tend to see and hear a whole lot more, so it was amazing for me to get to feature these equally-valid (if not even cooler) words in prominent places in this grid. I hope seeing these brings to your solving experience even a fraction of the joy and excitement I felt upon discovering that I could include them.

If you're a person who's interested in learning how to make crossword puzzles, particularly if you're from an underrepresented group, feel free to reach out via Twitter (@AmandaRafkin) or my puzzle site. I'd be more than happy to talk shop and/or help out in any way I can.

– puzzle by Amanda Rafkin

Hi again everyone. It's still a lovely, pinch-me-is-this-really-happening moment to be published overseas, and more so to be making my first appearance at the crunchier end of the week. I hope this first themeless finds you well.

The seed entry for this grid was the central IT'S A YES FROM ME. For some inexplicable reason, it's just one of those random phrases I quite like. The symmetrical crosser SECRET SERVICE is hardly a humdinger, but immediately appealed to my (more default) cryptic constructor brain. As it turns out, my original clue ("Bond with colleagues as a group?") didn't cut the mustard, but I like the "Protective suits?" replacement we now have. A number of other clues were changed/tweaked throughout, mainly I think to move the whole thing firmly into Saturday territory. On first review of the proof, the puzzle seemed quite tricky to me, so I'll be interested to see how people fare with it.

Elsewhere, welcome back SKEE-LO, the mere mention of whom will always connect me to a certain time, place and people. When we got cable TV installed in our flat at uni (a real novelty at the time, trust me!), "I Wish" was all over the 3 music channels we spent far too many hours watching. That song and endless, peak-era episodes of The Simpsons ... happy days.

Stay well and I hope you enjoy solving.

– puzzle by Ali Gascoigne

So excited to bring you all a banger-filled 21x21 on 2/21/21! I made this puzzle this past August, and it was accepted in mid-December. The idea for the theme started with the clue-answer pair at 24-Across. From there, I wanted to make sure that I really stuck the landing on each themer — options like [Sand bars?] for MARGARITAVILLE or [Biker bars?] for THE CHAIN didn't feel like they worked quite well enough — and I ended up putting the idea on the back burner a few times before eventually rounding out the set with WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS. Once I realized that I could lay out the grid with the 17s and 15s interlocking, I was off to the races. My favorite clues of mine that made the cut are 74-Across and 110-Across, and the editing team delivered across the board — my favorites additions of theirs are 36-Across and 12-Down.

As is the case with almost every puzzle I'm proud of, I'm so thankful here for my friends Brooke Husic and Sid Sivakumar, whose feedback on early versions of this theme and grid were truly invaluable. I wholeheartedly recommend solving every puzzle that either of them ever makes, starting here and here. (If you're not all puzzled out by now, my stuff's over here.)

Lastly, I've learned a lot since making this puzzle in August, and if I were remaking it today, I would only consider theme sets with a wider variety of diversity among the ‘featured' artists. Our community has important work to do in diversity in inclusion, not only in puzzle content but also in terms of constructors (and editors). If you're a constructor from an underrepresented background in crosswords and want any pointers/feedback/other help as you make your way into puzzles (21x or otherwise), please don't hesitate to reach out.

– puzzle by Matthew Stock

I'm pleased to be back in the New York Times. This theme came to mind when I was looking over a medical bill, and the phrase OUT OF POCKET jumped out at me. Despite the theme, I'm a terrible pool player.

I believe this is the first (and one of the only) puzzles I've made with the theme entries in a pinwheel. I don't remember why I did that, but looking at it almost a year later, I can see how it made it easier to fit the five theme entries, including the short one in the middle. While I like having other longish entries, I'm afraid they make it harder to see the theme.

In non-theme fill, I'm pleased to bring KYIV to the NYT crossword, and I'm proud to debut a non-theme word that's not on Jeff's list. When Kyiv and Ukraine were in the news early last year, I noted the interesting spelling and added it to my word list. It wasn't until it fit into this puzzle that I looked more into it and realized that the Ukrainian government had been actively trying to get newspapers and governments to change their usage from the Russian transliteration of Kiev to the Ukrainian transliteration of Kyiv. They started a campaign complete with the hashtag #KYIVNOTKIEV to bring attention to it. The New York Times and other newspapers changed their style sheets to use Kyiv in 2019.

– puzzle by Barbara Lin

I've been designing puzzles for as long as I can remember, from mazes in elementary school to "crosswords" on my Scrabble board in middle school. Finding out that the Times considers submissions from everyday people was a "Wow!" moment. Having a crossword published? Incredible!

I'm a middle school science teacher. When I'm not at school, you'll likely find me cooking, watching quiz shows, or playing and creating quizzes on Sporcle.

This theme started with the revealer and then 3-Down and 36-Down. I designed the grid by hand. When I mailed it in, I was so proud! Since then, I've collaborated with great mentors and learned about many crossword resources. I've come to realize there are many do's and don'ts that I didn't know. Looking back at this grid, there are things I'd do differently:

1. Tighten up the theme. Always have the gimmick span over two words? Have the shaded letters spell out words or even a hidden message? I was happy just to find symmetrical theme answers.

2. Restructure the grid for better flow and more long answers. The isolated northeast/southwest corners just happened. Plus, there are only two long answers outside the theme, and they aren't terribly colorful.

3. Clean up the fill! I was content to find words that could fit in the grid rather than words I was excited to include.

While I'd do things differently today, I appreciate that this puzzle exists as-is, both for you to enjoy and for me to have as a reminder of what my early constructing efforts were like. I look forward to continuing to refine my skills.

– puzzle by Dylan Schiff