Thumbnails
Puzzles for May, 2023
with Constructor comments
| F | O | G | S | I | G | M | A | L | A | W | ||||
| O | A | R | R | A | T | R | A | C | E | A | L | E | ||
| L | S | U | U | N | S | E | A | L | S | T | O | E | ||
| K | I | N | G | M | E | U | P | W | I | N | D | |||
| S | T | A | B | M | O | O | N | I | N | E | ||||
| S | A | L | M | O | N | R | U | N | ||||||
| G | I | R | L | Y | A | H | O | O | D | J | E | D | ||
| A | V | O | I | D | S | N | O | O | D | L | E | |||
| F | O | X | T | R | O | T | C | A | T | W | A | L | K | |
| F | R | I | S | L | O | G | A | N | S | T | E | E | ||
| E | Y | E | D | U | M | P | S | E | N | D | ||||
| B | E | A | R | C | R | A | W | L | ||||||
| S | O | H | A | V | E | I | E | M | A | I | L | M | E | |
| G | R | O | C | E | R | S | S | A | N | D | A | R | T | |
| T | O | P | K | N | O | T | E | N | D | E | M | I | C |
ALINA: When I tell friends and family that I spent the weekend at a crossword tournament, they always ask the same question: Did you win? No, of course I didn't win! I only finished a ⅓ of Puzzle 5, for starters! You know who competes in crossword tournaments? People who are "REALLY good" at solving crosswords. I'm only "pretty good." I did come in 4th alphabetically, though, trailing behind Adam Aaronson (as expected).
Something that I do always plan to do at crossword tournaments (aside from solving wonderful puzzles) is meet up with my lovely online crossword friends, like Matthew Stock! I was delighted when he sent me this perfect theme idea, and I love how the puzzle turned out especially the unintentionally adorable grid art.
| M | A | R | S | C | U | F | F | S | G | A | G | A | ||
| A | M | O | K | A | L | E | R | O | U | D | O | N | ||
| D | O | M | I | N | A | T | R | I | X | A | M | O | S | |
| A | R | C | A | N | I | M | E | A | V | I | D | |||
| M | O | O | G | S | M | I | N | I | M | A | R | T | S | |
| S | U | M | A | T | R | A | D | N | A | E | R | E | ||
| S | S | N | E | T | A | T | I | E | D | Y | E | |||
| J | A | M | E | S | B | O | N | D | ||||||
| C | A | B | A | N | A | H | U | T | S | Y | D | |||
| A | S | U | G | I | F | R | O | D | E | O | U | T | ||
| M | T | R | A | I | N | I | E | R | A | L | G | A | E | |
| E | R | L | E | G | R | I | M | M | A | L | A | |||
| I | P | A | D | M | A | R | T | I | N | A | M | I | S | |
| M | U | T | E | G | R | O | O | T | T | A | P | E | ||
| S | P | A | R | M | O | R | S | E | S | T | A | R |
I'd been trying to figure out a way to make a puzzle about "shaken martinis" for a while and I'm really glad that I finally figured it out. Also, longtime solvers of my puzzles may notice that this one is a bit more trivia-forward than my crosswords have tended to be in the past. But that's definitely been happening more and more in my work lately, both intentionally and unintentionally.
Trivia became an obsession of mine during the pandemic, and I've been noticing it seeping into my work in new and often surprising (at least to me!) ways. I've included names I would never have thought cross-worthy before, and even sometimes centering themes around "cool facts." It's been fun for me to watch how one facet of my work impacts another as time passes, so I hope the solvers at home are also finding it fun!
| C | U | P | S | F | A | N | G | S | K | I | R | |||
| O | G | R | E | A | F | O | O | T | S | E | R | A | ||
| W | H | O | C | A | N | I | T | B | I | T | E | N | O | W |
| T | O | M | E | U | R | O | Z | O | N | E | ||||
| B | E | E | I | C | Y | S | S | R | B | O | G | |||
| I | T | S | A | G | O | O | D | T | I | T | H | I | N | G |
| K | A | T | M | A | N | D | U | N | E | O | ||||
| E | L | S | A | A | C | A | P | A | R | K | ||||
| Z | A | X | A | M | E | R | I | C | A | N | ||||
| I | G | U | E | S | S | I | T | S | F | I | N | I | T | E |
| N | A | T | D | A | N | O | T | O | D | E | W | |||
| G | L | O | M | O | N | T | O | J | A | W | ||||
| O | O | P | S | I | D | I | D | I | T | A | G | A | I | N |
| T | R | I | G | O | M | I | T | S | A | S | K | S | ||
| S | E | A | S | E | E | T | O | R | H | E | A |
While working on a theme where "it" could be inserted into common phrases, I came up with WHO CAN IT BITE NOW, which I really liked until I realized that the base phrase already contained an "it." I thought to myself, "Oops, there's already an 'it' in there." Being a Britney Spears fan, it wasn't long before I was humming OOPS I DID IT AGAIN to myself, at which point I pivoted to the theme idea that resulted in this puzzle. It took a long time to find two other "it" phrases that could take on another "it" that result in something that's both entertaining and clue-able.
| M | A | R | B | E | A | T | I | T | S | C | A | R | ||
| O | B | I | A | L | L | U | D | E | R | O | L | E | ||
| S | O | G | T | I | M | B | E | R | L | I | N | E | S | |
| Q | U | A | S | H | S | A | S | S | E | M | A | E | ||
| U | N | T | I | E | S | T | E | N | P | A | S | T | ||
| I | D | O | L | W | A | G | T | E | N | T | S | |||
| T | I | N | T | E | L | A | S | T | I | C | ||||
| O | N | I | C | A | P | I | T | A | L | P | A | L | ||
| M | E | T | O | N | Y | M | P | A | L | O | ||||
| W | O | R | R | Y | S | E | E | A | R | T | S | |||
| E | M | A | I | L | E | D | R | A | C | I | A | L | ||
| B | E | N | O | D | I | S | T | C | O | S | M | O | ||
| B | A | K | I | N | G | S | T | O | N | E | H | O | B | |
| E | R | I | N | A | C | U | T | E | R | E | N | O | ||
| D | A | N | K | R | O | B | O | T | S | S | T | S |
I'm not sure where the idea for this puzzle came from … maybe changing TONI to RIGATONI. But the fact that CAPITAL could be crossed with GAINS in the middle of the grid suggested there would be enough room working around the sides of the puzzle for all of the themed answers I wanted to include.
After I submitted the puzzle, I was asked to change the answer SERIO to SASSE at 22-Across, easy enough to do. But I wanted to write a clue referring to the fact that all the letters in his FULL name could be spelled using only the letters in NEBRASKA, his home state. Since BEN wasn't yet an answer in the grid, I redid the lower left corner and, in doing so, changed 54-Across from YIN to BEN.
Sometimes it's worth extra work to add a really cool clue.
| H | A | S | H | T | A | G | W | O | M | B | ||||
| T | A | L | L | T | A | L | E | E | E | N | I | E | ||
| F | A | N | L | E | T | T | E | R | T | R | E | N | D | |
| I | T | S | U | P | P | O | R | T | A | E | S | I | R | |
| S | T | A | R | T | O | T | I | S | B | O | S | E | ||
| T | O | R | E | W | I | S | E | C | R | A | C | K | S | |
| S | O | P | P | A | N | R | O | C | K | I | T | |||
| H | E | R | E | D | U | S | K | |||||||
| A | B | O | A | R | D | A | B | S | S | U | V | |||
| F | O | N | D | U | E | P | O | T | S | H | A | N | A | |
| R | O | S | A | N | O | V | A | N | E | V | I | S | ||
| A | K | E | L | A | P | U | L | S | E | R | A | T | E | |
| M | O | R | O | N | P | L | O | T | H | O | L | E | S | |
| E | N | V | O | Y | E | A | S | Y | R | E | A | D | ||
| S | E | E | K | D | R | S | E | U | S | S |
My wife was pregnant when I wrote this puzzle which was very front-of-mind when writing this set of clues (See 8-A, 33-A, 20-D, 39-D, and this bonus clue for 38-D: "Suddenly looked pregnant"). Our second is now 5 months old, very smiley, and is already grumbling about perceived unfair crossings in late week crosswords!
| S | O | P | H | O | M | O | R | E | S | L | U | M | P | S |
| T | H | R | I | L | L | A | I | N | M | A | N | I | L | A |
| A | M | O | D | E | S | T | P | R | O | P | O | S | A | L |
| C | A | N | E | S | B | O | O | K | S | N | Y | T | ||
| E | G | G | S | M | A | P | L | E | K | A | R | L | ||
| Y | E | S | B | A | S | E | L | S | A | M | O | A | ||
| S | E | V | E | N | W | E | R | E | O | K | ||||
| S | P | A | T | T | E | D | T | H | A | T | S | M | E | |
| O | R | L | E | A | N | C | H | I | T | S | ||||
| L | O | A | M | S | P | R | E | S | S | M | P | G | ||
| A | P | C | S | C | L | U | N | K | G | A | I | A | ||
| R | E | A | P | H | A | S | E | C | U | K | E | S | ||
| C | A | R | O | L | I | N | A | R | E | A | P | E | R | S |
| A | C | T | I | O | N | A | D | V | E | N | T | U | R | E |
| R | E | E | L | T | O | R | E | E | L | T | A | P | E | S |
I'm pleasantly surprised to be back in the NYT so soon after my debut! This puzzle was submitted in mid-November and accepted in mid-January.
Something I've learned as a constructor is that black square staircases running in the NE-to-SW direction are your best friend. Each white square along the top of the staircase is the last letter of an across entry and a down entry, so using a common terminal letter like S in any of those squares gets you double the bang for your buck.
This was my first real attempt at triple-stacked 15s, and I think I got lucky with how quickly the grid came together. The only section that gave me trouble — and the last to get filled — was the middle region on top of the central staircase (between 19A and 43A). After struggling with it for a while, I tried brainstorming some more possibilities for the 8-letter slot starting with OAT. Happily, OAT-BASED ended up being just what I needed (appropriate enough for a nut-allergic vegan like myself).
Hope you enjoyed this one!
| M | A | S | T | I | F | F | B | A | F | T | A | I | P | A | S | S | ||||
| C | A | L | O | R | I | E | C | L | I | O | S | D | E | T | E | N | T | E | ||
| S | H | I | P | O | F | T | H | E | S | E | U | S | I | V | O | R | I | A | N | |
| D | O | N | A | T | E | O | R | C | A | S | A | L | M | P | S | |||||
| S | W | I | S | H | L | A | B | C | H | I | P | A | N | D | D | A | L | E | ||
| Y | O | N | O | V | E | R | U | S | E | L | I | V | Y | A | L | E | ||||
| N | A | T | U | R | E | N | E | R | O | C | O | L | O | R | ||||||
| C | H | O | P | S | T | I | C | K | S | C | H | O | W | Y | U | N | F | A | T | |
| P | E | S | T | O | H | A | H | A | S | I | S | I | M | O | ||||||
| P | A | R | I | S | C | H | O | R | O | S | H | N | O | S | R | A | T | |||
| E | V | E | S | S | H | O | W | B | O | A | T | I | N | G | M | E | Z | E | ||
| C | A | C | H | E | T | S | E | R | A | A | P | E | B | O | D | E | S | |||
| K | I | T | M | O | O | T | O | R | I | P | A | O | L | O | ||||||
| S | L | O | W | M | O | T | I | O | N | S | L | O | P | B | U | C | K | E | T | |
| H | A | D | I | N | C | H | I | A | O | N | H | I | R | E | ||||||
| C | H | I | C | O | C | T | A | T | T | U | N | E | D | D | I | D | ||||
| S | L | I | P | O | N | S | H | O | E | S | A | C | E | E | S | S | E | X | ||
| W | A | G | R | E | I | A | T | T | A | S | A | C | R | U | M | |||||
| A | M | H | E | R | S | T | S | H | I | P | O | F | T | H | E | S | E | U | S | |
| N | U | L | L | I | T | Y | T | A | M | P | A | E | A | R | H | A | R | T | ||
| S | P | Y | O | N | S | N | E | A | K | N | O | S | I | L | L | Y |
I love dupes, and I especially love dupes that make you question whether they even count as dupes. One of my other recent Sundays, from 6/12/22, was also themed around dupes, so this puzzle might have you saying IT'S DEJA VU ALL OVER AGAIN. Actually, this puzzle and that one might have you thinking that I'm the world's biggest fan of the word OTIOSE, since I used OTIOSE in that puzzle and OTIOSITY in this one (with the only other intervening use of OTIOSE being my recent themeless collab with Brooke Husic). I do like the word, it's true, but it's mostly just that the letters are so dang useful.
| C | A | R | E | L | E | O | S | A | B | A | T | E | ||
| A | L | E | X | E | L | B | A | D | E | I | S | M | ||
| F | A | C | E | T | I | M | E | D | M | A | D | A | M | |
| E | N | T | R | E | A | T | Y | W | I | N | E | R | Y | |
| A | T | E | R | E | F | I | T | |||||||
| S | S | N | S | E | D | E | N | F | R | A | U | |||
| H | O | G | N | A | E | N | O | S | E | A | T | S | ||
| A | F | L | O | A | T | N | E | W | I | S | H | |||
| D | I | E | T | P | O | P | C | A | T | S | E | E | ||
| E | A | S | T | N | I | N | A | H | E | A | R | |||
| D | E | T | E | R | D | O | S | |||||||
| A | B | I | D | E | S | G | R | O | U | P | H | U | G | |
| V | A | L | U | E | S | A | Y | C | H | E | E | S | E | |
| I | N | S | E | T | O | T | O | H | S | L | E | D | ||
| D | E | A | L | S | L | E | N | O | O | L | D | S |
Much of the time, I struggle to come up with themes. I had been waiting to submit anything until I felt I had a "Times-worthy" idea, and I am happy to be making my NYT debut with this one.
I have always liked themes built around geometric shapes. Since I had exhausted all my ideas using boxes, I began playing with curves. One day, the idea for this puzzle seemed to pop into my head, fully formed. It seems the best ideas always do come along with the least effort.
I began constructing in early 2020 (actually, right before the pandemic hit) and have been delighted to discover the amazingly friendly and supportive "crossworld." I am grateful to all of the editors who have welcomed my submissions (good and bad!) and who have taken the time to provide helpful feedback and encouragement. I would also like to thank Mark McClain, who provided excellent mentoring when I was getting started.
| P | A | S | T | E | L | O | B | O | B | A | M | A | ||
| B | R | O | W | N | O | B | I | M | U | L | A | N | ||
| S | T | O | O | D | G | I | G | E | N | T | R | Y | ||
| P | E | A | C | E | S | I | G | N | ||||||
| I | T | O | L | D | Y | A | P | L | A | Y | A | C | T | |
| T | O | K | E | E | B | O | O | K | E | L | L | A | ||
| S | O | B | A | S | I | L | O | S | A | T | O | M | ||
| A | B | Y | S | S | N | A | N | T | R | O | V | E | ||
| G | A | M | E | O | N | P | O | S | I | E | S | |||
| O | D | E | C | O | P | N | O | R | D | S | T | |||
| A | I | D | A | A | P | S | E | |||||||
| V | F | O | R | V | I | C | T | O | R | Y | ||||
| F | O | O | T | A | L | O | H | A | R | O | A | R | ||
| A | N | T | E | M | O | T | O | R | O | G | R | E | ||
| B | E | E | R | A | V | A | S | T | R | A | M | P |
I first submitted a very different version of this puzzle in August 2020. Three months later, the editors expressed interest in the concept but suggested a different theme set, removing my original revealer. I couldn't find a rewrite I was proud of and shelved the idea for another day.
Fast forward to May 2022, I thought of 4-Down and realized mirror symmetry could accommodate a funky intersection with some cool grid art to boot. Thanks to Matthew Stock for test solving on short notice and suggesting the emoji cluing angle — my favorite part of this puzzle. That Saturday, I responded to the 2020 rejection email and received an acceptance by Thursday afternoon. A year later, I'm excited to share it with the world and hope others enjoy!
| B | R | A | G | A | V | E | C | J | A | B | B | A | ||
| L | A | M | A | G | I | Z | A | I | D | R | I | S | ||
| O | V | E | R | B | E | A | R | S | M | O | A | T | S | |
| G | E | N | I | E | A | H | E | M | T | E | E | |||
| S | L | A | W | E | L | I | X | I | R | S | ||||
| N | I | G | H | T | C | R | A | W | L | E | R | S | ||
| A | P | A | S | E | A | L | S | A | L | S | A | |||
| M | A | N | N | S | P | I | C | E | Y | A | L | L | ||
| E | D | G | E | S | B | U | R | P | V | U | E | |||
| S | H | O | O | T | I | N | G | S | T | A | R | S | ||
| R | E | T | I | N | U | E | Y | O | Y | O | ||||
| E | R | A | N | I | T | S | C | Y | B | E | R | |||
| M | O | R | S | E | H | I | G | H | H | O | R | S | E | |
| A | D | A | P | T | E | L | L | A | T | O | M | E | ||
| P | E | P | Y | S | R | O | O | M | A | W | E | D |
For the new constructors out there, I taught myself a lesson by starting with a grid that forced my long downs to cross three theme entries. Bad idea. I had some okay entries (including the delicious EVILSPIRIT at one point), but the whole thing was too constrained, and I kept getting into trouble. You may or may not like the current fill, but it's a lot less bad than the EVILSPIRIT version would have been.
Other than that, not much of a story for this one. It started as a clue idea the other way ("High horse" for PEGASUS), and then I realized I could flip it using constellations in the clues. I hope everyone enjoyed solving the puzzle as much as I enjoyed constructing it.
| A | S | T | R | A | F | E | T | T | I | M | A | M | ||
| S | W | O | O | P | D | E | A | R | M | A | R | A | ||
| T | I | T | A | N | A | Q | U | A | C | A | D | M | S | |
| H | M | A | D | E | R | U | N | D | O | W | A | T | ||
| M | A | L | A | E | R | A | T | E | S | O | N | E | ||
| A | P | S | E | P | A | L | S | C | M | D | R | |||
| R | O | O | F | S | A | R | R | A | Y | S | ||||
| E | I | N | S | T | M | I | N | I | A | N | ||||
| I | D | L | E | S | T | S | A | N | D | S | ||||
| T | R | E | S | S | Q | M | I | S | A | S | H | |||
| S | E | G | A | R | O | U | S | E | D | L | I | U | ||
| A | A | A | S | E | R | A | S | U | L | L | M | N | ||
| B | M | N | C | H | M | A | R | K | C | U | B | I | T | |
| E | A | C | H | A | R | E | A | K | N | U | T | E | ||
| T | R | E | E | P | E | D | I | S | A | T | Y | R |
I'm very excited to have my third puzzle published! This theme idea was one of my earliest attempts, well before I had enough experience to make it work. I also had difficulty coming up with a related crossing revealer with an "e" in the center. At the time, the best I could come up with was SPEED—why couldn't ALBERT_EINSTEIN's parents have given him a middle initial? It would have been the perfect 15-letter crossing! In any case, I liked the idea, came back to it years later, and finally came up with EINSTEINIAN — a little clunky, but it worked. I know double rebuses (or maybe, in this case, one and half rebuses) are a hard sell, so I'm grateful the editors went for it.
I do have to make a very sincere apology to all the mathematically or scientifically inclined solvers today. I realized after I sent it in that since the formula is e=m(c2), not e=(mc)2, the rebus should not, strictly speaking, have the mc together in the square. Please take it as cruciverbial license, not ignorance! I hope you still enjoy the puzzle and have a RELATIVELY enjoyable experience!
| M | A | T | C | H | A | I | S | T | H | A | T | I | T | |
| E | R | A | S | E | R | W | I | R | E | L | E | S | S | |
| D | E | C | A | N | T | O | P | E | R | E | T | T | A | |
| A | S | K | S | P | I | N | S | E | R | V | E | |||
| Y | O | Y | O | E | D | T | E | A | S | Y | ||||
| R | E | N | E | B | O | A | T | A | O | |||||
| C | A | S | C | A | D | I | N | G | M | E | N | U | ||
| A | L | L | T | I | M | E | G | R | E | A | T | S | ||
| I | S | A | B | E | L | A | L | L | E | N | D | E | ||
| S | I | R | E | S | P | E | T | T | A | |||||
| H | A | I | M | F | A | A | M | O | S | H | ||||
| N | E | W | S | R | A | D | I | O | C | H | I | |||
| B | E | E | R | A | M | I | D | N | A | S | C | A | R | |
| A | N | T | I | G | O | N | E | E | T | H | A | N | E | |
| N | E | S | T | E | G | G | S | R | H | Y | M | E | D |
I'm honored to share this themeless crossword with New York Times solvers! It's my first themeless here, and I'm happy with the overall vibe and the personal touches throughout. Some of my favorite answers are the sassy IS THAT IT, a SPIN SERVE that works wonders for us tennis lefties, ISABEL ALLENDE, who's truly one of the ALL-TIME GREATS, and my old woodwind section, the CLARINETS.
I'm also glad that many of my clues made it through editing mostly intact, including those for EDT, BOA, NEST EGGS, HENS, BIG LEAD, FADES, RING, and ENE.
| C | R | I | M | P | N | S | F | W | I | D | I | G | ||
| H | U | M | O | R | E | Y | R | E | M | E | G | A | ||
| I | M | P | R | I | S | O | N | E | D | P | L | O | P | |
| P | O | L | E | D | A | N | C | E | B | A | T | T | Y | |
| S | U | I | E | T | S | S | O | L | A | C | E | |||
| R | E | A | P | S | S | R | I | R | A | C | H | A | ||
| S | P | A | C | E | T | I | M | E | O | A | R | |||
| P | R | O | M | O | C | O | D | E | ||||||
| C | D | C | A | R | T | C | E | N | T | E | R | |||
| H | E | A | D | D | E | S | K | S | O | L | E | S | ||
| E | N | B | I | E | S | T | A | D | J | O | B | |||
| M | I | F | F | S | P | L | A | Y | E | R | O | N | E | |
| L | E | A | F | D | R | O | P | S | A | H | I | N | T | |
| A | C | R | E | V | A | S | E | T | E | N | E | T | ||
| B | E | E | R | D | Y | E | D | H | A | S | T | Y |
This puzzle's grid was inspired by a grid from the incomparable Robyn Weintraub, whom I had the pleasure of meeting at this year's ACPT. I flipped the "stair stack" shapes on either side to create a similar grid but with a smaller central stack and beefier corners. There are fewer sparkly entries than I usually like to pack into my themeless puzzles nowadays (looking at you IMPRISONED and REJOINS) but I believe the trade-offs made for a buttery-smooth solving experience.
A couple of lesser-known proper nouns did end up in the puzzle, but BETTY gets a pass for being a fantastic Taylor Swift song, and though DENIECE Williams may not be as well-known as T-swizzle, four Grammys is hardly underground.
I also want to give a huge shout-out to the crossword discord server. Being able to ask construction questions to a group of seasoned NYT contributors has been invaluable to my crosswording journey.
| T | A | U | R | A | S | H | S | I | P | S | B | A | R | |||||||
| J | A | I | L | S | A | U | T | O | P | I | L | O | T | A | V | E | R | S | ||
| A | I | M | E | E | S | K | Y | W | A | L | K | E | R | B | E | D | E | W | ||
| M | M | E | C | U | T | S | C | I | V | M | A | R | Y | L | E | I | ||||
| B | A | K | L | A | V | A | L | A | N | E | S | W | E | B | C | A | S | T | ||
| A | T | E | A | S | E | E | N | T | R | E | F | E | N | N | E | C | ||||
| B | E | A | R | C | A | T | M | I | S | S | I | L | E | |||||||
| L | B | S | O | L | D | S | I | T | T | N | T | |||||||||
| P | E | I | I | S | T | O | A | H | H | D | Y | E | D | O | H | S | ||||
| L | A | D | D | O | I | N | S | E | A | E | L | S | A | T | E | T | ||||
| A | P | P | E | L | S | E | T | A | R | C | I | T | Y | S | B | A | ||||
| S | Y | R | I | A | S | W | O | R | D | S | M | A | N | C | O | O | R | S | ||
| M | E | I | R | A | N | O | T | H | E | R | O | B | O | E | ||||||
| A | A | C | E | L | L | R | E | D | A | N | T | S | G | A | Z | A | N | S | ||
| R | E | L | I | E | S | L | O | B | E | S | R | A | T | E | D | X | ||||
| A | L | G | A | M | L | S | E | G | O | S | ||||||||||
| E | N | S | N | A | R | L | S | E | E | S | T | A | R | M | I | S | E | N | ||
| Q | U | A | D | A | T | I | T | H | A | R | E | N | E | M | O | |||||
| U | R | L | Z | I | P | P | E | R | M | E | R | G | E | S | C | A | W | |||
| A | S | S | A | S | I | A | N | A | T | U | M | U | L | T | T | I | A | |||
| L | E | A | P | E | T | D | O | G | A | S | S | E | S | S | S | L | Y |
I sometimes read critiques of crossword themes that feel "computer-generated." I empathize, especially in a time of AI tools that are increasingly capable of humanlike text and art. I did write a computer program to help me identify hundreds of ZIPPER MERGE candidates — but I sifted through the options manually and tried many placements in the grid until I found an arrangement that would fill cleanly.
But the most compelling story behind this puzzle is a personal one: I spotted the central theme answer, HEAD TABLE, on a seating chart my then-fiancée Mahima sent me for our upcoming wedding reception. At the time, I noticed that alternating sets of letters in this phrase were hidden in WILL THAT BE ALL and RED ALERT, but I couldn't find a tidy way to present these curiosities in a crossword puzzle. Six months after the wedding, I merged onto my local highway in rush-hour traffic, and — aha! — the theme mechanism for this puzzle suddenly came into focus.
I don't discount the possibility that AI might eventually make much creative work trivial or even obsolete. But I'm hopeful that nothing will replace the experience of making connections with your own brain.
| Y | A | K | S | S | P | A | C | E | C | L | U | B | ||
| E | D | N | A | A | R | G | O | N | A | I | D | E | ||
| S | M | A | L | L | W | O | R | L | D | M | O | O | D | |
| N | I | V | E | A | M | A | D | P | E | N | N | |||
| O | N | E | S | T | E | P | F | A | I | R | S | |||
| L | I | T | T | L | E | L | E | A | G | U | E | |||
| A | R | S | O | N | S | E | E | L | S | A | S | L | ||
| H | O | N | G | P | O | T | S | T | E | M | ||||
| E | T | A | S | C | A | N | L | A | K | E | R | S | ||
| M | I | C | R | O | B | R | E | W | E | R | Y | |||
| K | I | N | D | A | H | A | U | L | A | S | S | |||
| I | F | F | Y | S | A | Y | B | I | C | E | P | |||
| R | O | O | F | T | I | N | Y | D | A | N | C | E | R | |
| O | T | O | E | O | T | T | E | R | E | R | I | E | ||
| M | A | D | D | M | E | S | S | Y | S | A | N | E |
Some of the themes I've been most proud of coming up with have been ones that arose through my natural interactions with the world. I try to keep my "crossword brain" on, and when I come across interesting words or phases, I ask myself: "What wordplay could come out of this?"
This theme idea came from the title of my favorite songs by one of my favorite bands, Little Things by Big Thief. Of course, a puzzle that simply contained things that were small in the grid might not be the most interesting for solvers. I wondered if there was a way to develop a theme around "little things" that was a bit more playful and driven by wordplay or visuals, and I arrived at using a subscript in the clues to reference phrases that included synonyms of "little". This choice was inspired by Leslie Rogers' 3/28/22 Monday puzzle that wowed me with its visual clues.
I am delighted to share this puzzle with the world, and I hope you all enjoy solving.
| A | B | S | S | O | C | I | A | L | S | B | I | B | ||
| P | O | E | O | P | E | N | N | E | T | E | C | O | ||
| N | O | N | C | H | A | L | A | N | C | E | H | A | Y | |
| E | Y | E | R | O | L | L | T | E | T | O | N | S | ||
| W | A | C | O | I | N | D | O | L | E | N | T | |||
| S | H | A | P | E | D | O | R | R | S | E | L | F | ||
| T | I | A | N | A | E | L | S | I | E | |||||
| D | I | S | C | O | M | B | O | B | U | L | A | T | E | D |
| A | C | O | R | N | R | I | S | E | S | |||||
| M | E | N | U | P | A | S | Y | E | N | T | A | S | ||
| M | I | S | N | O | M | E | R | S | H | U | E | |||
| N | A | C | H | O | S | A | C | T | F | A | S | T | ||
| A | K | A | U | N | B | E | K | N | O | W | N | S | T | |
| P | E | R | S | E | A | W | E | E | D | O | I | L | ||
| A | R | E | E | R | N | E | S | T | O | S | E | E |
KATE: I reached out cold to Adam, whose puzzles I love, to see if he'd be interested in collaborating. He asked if I had any theme ideas, and I had the barest germ. I love words like these and learned that they're called lonely negatives (15 letters!!). I'd compiled a long list, but didn't know where to go from there. Adam came up with this brilliant construct. We aimed for different prefixes for each themer, and originally had LONELY NEGATIVES as the revealer. The editing team suggested cutting it, which let us add DISCOMBOBULATED — so much better! This was my first NYT acceptance, though it's the second to appear.
ADAM: I normally expect theme collab brainstorms to take weeks. Not so with Kate! She lobbed "Lonely Negatives" in her very first email! I suggested deploying blocks to clue themers self-referentially, and we were off.
I also normally expect to give fill guidance to newer constructors. Again... not so with Kate! She filled circles (squares?) around me. I mean look at that BE HONEST / I CANT LIE stack … that is truly awesome.
Lastly, one neat constructing quirk: bumping INDOLENT and MISNOMER in one block from the edges is the reason the whole grid works, because it makes the block over the D in DOLENT symmetric with the block over the B in BEKNOWNST, reducing two pairs of constraints down to one and allowing much more flexibility with the fill.
All in all, we hope this puzzle left you feeling gruntled!
| S | K | I | S | O | R | B | S | A | O | C | ||||
| I | O | N | I | A | N | S | E | A | S | P | A | M | ||
| M | A | K | E | S | E | V | E | N | T | E | N | O | R | |
| S | T | O | P | D | I | O | R | A | M | A | ||||
| C | R | E | T | I | N | U | R | N | A | R | M | Y | ||
| C | U | B | A | N | A | N | A | C | O | N | D | A | S | |
| S | E | R | O | A | R | E | I | D | ||||||
| D | O | E | S | T | H | E | S | P | L | I | T | S | ||
| D | I | S | S | A | T | R | I | B | ||||||
| A | S | P | I | R | E | S | T | O | C | K | O | N | E | |
| H | O | O | F | G | U | S | P | A | I | N | E | D | ||
| A | U | D | I | T | O | R | H | U | R | L | ||||
| S | L | I | C | K | E | T | Y | M | O | L | O | G | Y | |
| S | U | E | T | L | O | M | A | L | I | N | D | A | ||
| M | S | S | Y | E | N | S | T | O | P | S |
I'm so excited to have the Wednesday puzzle this week — my first solo showing in the New York Times! This one represents a pretty early effort for me, and I'm happy to report that I remain very pleased with how it turned out. I'm also very grateful to the top-notch editing crew at the Times, who helped me take this puzzle through a couple of revisions and made sure it hit all the marks.
One constraint I imposed on this grid is that the "split" pairs of answers spanned the whole width of the line they're on. That, plus the 13-letter revealer, meant I did not have a lot of wiggle room for arranging the blocks. But what is crossword construction, if not painstakingly weaving the most fun possible path through self-imposed obstacles?
An opinion I hold on themes like this that might be controversial: I love when one of the necessary letter combinations only appear in weird circumstances. Finding CKONE as an entry that begins with CK- was a major shot in the arm for this puzzle, at least for me. (Especially when paired, as in my original draft, with the very fun ANTIPASTO. Alas!) That tightened up the grid requirements even more, and I think you can spot the gluey bits that resulted. But all in all, can't be too mad with this one!
| B | O | M | B | G | Y | M | K | A | N | S | A | S | ||
| Z | H | A | O | L | E | A | A | R | E | O | L | A | ||
| Z | I | L | L | I | O | N | S | H | I | T | M | A | N | |
| T | O | L | E | D | O | O | I | L | E | N | D | |||
| R | O | M | A | N | N | U | M | E | R | A | L | |||
| S | T | O | L | I | D | T | A | I | L | S | ||||
| W | A | H | E | M | I | R | F | L | A | P | S | |||
| E | L | E | C | T | R | I | C | A | L | F | A | U | L | T |
| B | E | L | O | W | T | U | N | A | L | I | U | |||
| O | D | I | S | T | E | S | T | A | T | E | ||||
| S | E | V | E | N | L | E | T | T | E | R | S | |||
| T | A | E | A | D | O | R | O | C | K | E | T | |||
| U | P | B | E | A | T | A | N | C | I | E | N | T | S | |
| D | O | U | G | I | E | S | O | U | N | E | N | A | ||
| Y | E | G | O | D | S | T | N | T | D | E | A | R |
This puzzle is inspired by the crosswords of Tom McCoy, whose linguistic wit and formal innovation serve as constant inspiration for what a puzzle can hope to achieve. If you're a newer solver, I highly recommend perusing the archive for his puzzles, in particular this one and this one.
| B | A | B | Y | S | H | A | R | K | T | H | U | D | ||
| G | R | E | A | T | I | D | E | A | C | H | O | S | E | |
| A | T | A | N | Y | C | O | S | T | M | A | N | E | T | |
| M | I | L | K | K | P | H | S | O | N | O | M | A | ||
| E | E | L | E | D | T | I | P | I | N | R | B | I | ||
| E | A | T | P | E | D | B | R | A | N | |||||
| P | O | S | T | H | A | S | T | E | R | O | S | E | ||
| S | U | H | W | E | E | T | R | E | P | U | L | S | E | |
| U | L | N | A | T | O | D | A | Y | O | N | L | Y | ||
| S | L | O | P | A | L | I | E | T | C | |||||
| H | A | W | A | L | L | O | W | S | H | R | E | K | ||
| I | S | I | T | O | K | R | A | P | M | A | L | I | ||
| B | I | S | O | N | D | A | R | E | D | E | V | I | L | |
| A | D | E | L | E | E | M | P | T | Y | N | E | S | T | |
| R | E | E | D | M | A | S | S | E | U | S | E | S |
In honor of 1-Across, I wrote a crossword themed song parody of "Baby Shark." Please know that I carefully crafted these lyrics over the course of nearly three months, making sure every word, nay every syllable, rang true. I'm not saying it's a work of satirical genius worthy of several Grammys and a Pulitzer, but if someone did happen to say that online, they wouldn't be wrong and I would, like, really appreciate it. Enjoy!
Sung to the tune of "Baby Shark"
Crossword fun, doo-doo, doo-doo, doo-doo
Crossword fun, doo-doo, doo-doo, doo-doo
Crossword fun, doo-doo, doo-doo, doo-doo
Crossword fun.
Puzzle fun, doo-doo, doo-doo, doo-doo
Puzzle fun, doo-doo, doo-doo, doo-doo
Puzzle fun, doo-doo, doo-doo, doo-doo
Puzzle fun.
Word game fun, doo-doo, doo-doo, doo-doo
Word game fun, doo-doo, doo-doo, doo-doo
Word game fun, doo-doo, doo-doo, doo-doo
Word game fun.
Grandma Shark, doo-doo, doo-doo, doo-doo
Grandma Shark, doo-doo, doo-doo, doo-doo
Grandma Shark, doo-doo, doo-doo, doo-doo
Grandma Shark.
[Note: I ran out of synonyms for "crossword," so I just stuck with the original lyrics for this last verse.]
Weird Al, eat your heart out! Now available on Spotify.
| L | O | L | C | A | T | V | I | L | E | S | T | |||
| O | N | L | Y | N | O | W | A | V | E | N | U | E | ||
| B | E | A | R | D | O | I | L | L | E | A | D | E | N | |
| B | O | N | U | S | L | O | D | E | S | P | B | S | ||
| E | N | O | S | G | L | O | A | T | F | O | I | E | ||
| D | E | S | F | E | A | S | T | L | A | I | R | S | ||
| D | A | N | C | E | A | R | O | U | N | D | ||||
| M | E | M | E | A | C | C | O | U | N | T | ||||
| S | Y | N | E | S | T | H | E | S | I | A | ||||
| T | E | P | I | D | H | A | N | E | S | C | A | R | ||
| H | A | R | M | G | E | N | T | S | C | U | T | E | ||
| A | G | E | F | O | R | G | E | B | A | R | R | E | ||
| N | O | T | H | I | N | E | R | N | U | R | S | E | S | |
| K | A | T | A | N | A | S | O | C | L | O | S | E | ||
| S | T | Y | L | E | D | S | K | O | R | T | S |
This puzzle's grid was based on a themeless by Kameron Austin Collins. I loved the intersecting 11s and the grid flow from a solver's perspective. I'm happy with the mix of entries I got into that center area.
Fun fact: I debuted the singular of 21D a few weeks ago, and here I am debuting the plural today! It was not at all on purpose — that entry is made up of crossword-friendly letters, and it's really wordplay-friendly for cluing.
The NE and SW corners are my favorite parts of the grid. And, here's an alternative clue for 32A: Neuropsychological trait that may make you feel blue?
| Y | E | S | A | N | D | N | O | N | A | S | A | L | A | C | T | I | V | |||
| I | D | I | T | A | R | O | D | I | T | P | R | O | T | H | A | M | E | S | ||
| P | A | R | T | N | E | R | I | N | C | R | I | M | E | L | A | L | A | L | A | |
| M | E | R | N | O | H | I | T | B | L | A | N | K | C | D | S | |||||
| A | I | D | E | T | E | S | S | A | R | T | I | S | T | S | ||||||
| C | H | E | C | K | I | N | D | E | S | K | D | R | Y | G | I | N | ||||
| F | O | S | T | E | R | D | A | D | H | U | E | E | N | C | A | M | P | |||
| L | O | T | A | T | O | N | A | S | S | E | T | S | G | I | J | O | E | |||
| A | C | E | R | W | A | I | T | I | N | L | I | N | E | R | A | M | S | |||
| T | H | R | E | A | T | S | O | U | L | E | U | R | O | C | R | A | T | |||
| S | H | O | E | S | L | E | E | P | G | A | U | L | ||||||||
| R | E | D | P | A | N | D | A | N | Y | E | T | S | I | E | S | T | A | |||
| O | R | E | O | E | N | D | I | N | T | E | A | R | S | S | K | I | S | |||
| A | M | E | N | S | A | F | R | O | E | D | U | C | L | A | O | A | K | |||
| R | A | P | D | U | O | E | A | T | S | T | R | I | K | E | O | N | E | |||
| I | N | N | I | E | S | M | O | T | H | E | R | I | N | L | A | W | ||||
| S | P | E | N | D | E | R | N | O | P | E | W | A | N | T | ||||||
| T | O | N | K | A | T | S | U | A | C | C | R | A | E | R | E | |||||
| E | L | N | I | N | O | B | A | C | K | I | N | B | U | S | I | N | E | S | S | |
| P | O | U | N | C | E | E | G | R | E | T | I | N | A | S | T | A | T | E | ||
| S | I | D | E | D | R | E | E | D | S | T | O | T | H | E | M | A | X |
This puzzle started with JACKIN' THE BOX (a pun on robbing theatergoers with the best seats in the house), and I set off looking for "X-in-the-Y" phrases, where X was a noun that could be reinterpreted as a verb to produce a punny result. The other finds were equally clunky, but switching to "X-in-Y" phrases produced better options. The theme was still restricted in some ways: it would have felt inconsistent to use verbs losing an E in their gerund form (e.g. CASIN' POINT) or gerunds taking a double consonant (e.g., MANNIN' THE MOON).
Several of my proposed "?" clues were kept, including some for shorter words (LIRA, MER, AHA, and NAN). My favorite was SIESTA for being a double play on both "Spell" and "out". My favorite clue from Will was the quote clue for SLEEP — a quote that I'm sure will come to me when I next suffer a dose of insomnia.
The team also suggested a cheater square in the southeast, which enabled a big improvement in the fill (even though you'll have to forgive OPCITS). After trying to eliminate DANAS I eventually succumbed but was still overall happy with some fill I would personally like to uncover as a solver, like RED PANDA, BLANK CDS, RAP DUO, SUNDANCE, FOSTER DAD, DRY GIN, and EUROCRAT.
Thanks to two reviewers — Mark McClain, who gave the theme and fill a thumbs up, and Taylor Evan Johnson, who gave this newbie a lesson on "?" clue etiquette.
| A | B | O | R | T | R | I | N | G | B | A | R | E | ||
| N | A | B | O | B | E | T | A | L | A | T | O | N | ||
| A | D | A | M | S | A | V | A | G | E | N | E | S | T | |
| K | A | M | A | C | A | L | E | S | T | A | T | E | ||
| I | R | A | N | A | M | Y | S | C | H | U | M | E | R | |
| N | E | E | P | I | P | P | L | Y | S | R | S | |||
| A | R | I | A | S | A | U | N | A | ||||||
| A | N | D | Y | S | A | M | B | E | R | G | ||||
| S | T | O | I | C | S | M | O | G | ||||||
| M | B | A | H | U | M | N | A | S | D | O | S | |||
| A | L | S | H | A | R | P | T | O | N | E | S | T | E | |
| R | U | S | T | I | C | A | N | T | B | E | A | R | ||
| B | R | U | T | A | S | S | E | E | N | O | N | T | V | |
| L | A | M | P | L | U | T | E | O | L | D | I | E | ||
| E | Y | E | S | L | I | E | D | W | A | S | P | S |
Greetings from Vietnam! I started solving crosswords two years ago to improve my English and thought crossword construction would be the perfect way to take my hobby to the next level. As a non-native English speaker, getting my puzzle published really boosts my confidence in my English proficiency!
I first used AS YOU KNOW as the revealer but later scrapped it because I felt it was too simple, and the revealer would not apply to everyone as not everyone knows ADAM SAVAGE. After some more digging, I uncovered AS SEEN ON TV, which is much snazzier and makes the theme tighter.
I am not familiar with American pop culture, so to decide which A.S. is crossword-worthy, I used the number of Google search results and looked for past appearances in crosswords. Further crossword constraints led me to drop some notable A.S.s such as AMANDA SEYFRIED and ADAM SANDLER. However, in the end, I am pleased with the diverse final set of themers. Some other A.S.s like ANAKIN Skywalker and Anna SUI managed to sneak in!
| T | E | A | O | M | A | N | S | L | U | R | P | |||
| A | R | P | X | E | N | A | H | A | N | O | I | |||
| B | A | R | T | E | N | D | S | B | I | O | T | I | C | |
| A | S | I | A | N | S | A | V | O | N | A | L | A | ||
| S | E | C | T | C | L | A | N | S | K | I | S | |||
| C | R | O | A | T | I | A | L | I | C | H | E | N | S | |
| O | S | T | A | T | T | N | N | Y | O | N | G | O | ||
| N | E | W | S | E | V | E | N | T | ||||||
| G | A | Z | E | B | O | D | E | S | I | E | R | R | ||
| E | D | I | T | O | R | S | E | S | C | A | P | E | E | |
| M | A | P | S | K | I | S | S | P | I | N | T | |||
| I | M | F | M | E | T | A | J | E | S | T | E | R | ||
| N | A | I | L | E | D | S | T | O | N | E | A | G | E | |
| I | N | L | A | W | H | A | N | D | P | E | A | |||
| S | T | E | P | S | A | X | I | S | H | S | T |
| G | O | S | L | O | W | A | B | C | S | A | S | H | ||
| A | R | E | O | L | A | S | E | A | U | P | T | O | ||
| P | E | L | L | E | T | D | I | S | P | E | N | S | E | R |
| S | O | L | A | N | T | I | T | E | M | S | ||||
| B | A | B | Y | C | A | G | E | |||||||
| G | H | O | S | T | O | F | A | C | H | A | N | C | E | |
| R | O | A | S | T | S | L | S | A | T | I | L | L | ||
| I | N | N | E | R | S | I | E | B | E | T | A | S | ||
| F | E | Y | O | M | A | R | C | A | R | R | I | E | ||
| F | R | U | I | T | O | F | T | H | E | L | O | O | M | |
| C | U | B | E | A | L | L | S | |||||||
| S | N | E | E | R | W | I | N | M | Y | B | ||||
| W | A | K | A | F | L | O | C | K | A | F | L | A | M | E |
| A | P | E | X | A | R | E | M | A | L | I | C | E | ||
| B | A | S | E | O | D | E | P | A | C | M | A | N |
For us, constructing and tying down a themed crossword is so time-consuming but is so rewarding when all the themers come together in such a clever way. WAKA FLOCKA FLAME has got to be one of our all-time favorite themers. When coming up with themers related to PACMAN, the Shakira song "Waka Waka (This Time for Africa) was first in mind. Obviously, it didn't work, but coming up with Waka Flocka after that was a no-brainer. It was so clever and so funny that we had to submit it.
At first glance, the connection between PACMAN and WAKA FLOCKA FLAME isn't as clear-cut as the other themers, but the theme is tied together in such a clever way that when the realization hits, it pops out like a jump scare.
We constructed this crossword in early 2022 and have been talking about it since. It's been a real fight mentioning the crossword to our friends and family and not revealing any spoilers, so we cannot wait to see it published finally.
| A | W | E | S | C | O | M | A | B | A | R | R | E | ||
| T | A | M | E | O | N | U | S | I | D | E | A | L | ||
| W | H | I | P | P | E | T | S | T | I | A | R | A | ||
| A | O | L | S | T | E | A | M | O | P | E | N | |||
| R | O | Y | A | L | W | E | S | P | A | S | ||||
| P | O | W | E | R | S | U | P | P | L | Y | ||||
| T | E | S | T | R | I | D | E | E | A | U | ||||
| R | A | P | D | I | S | C | D | A | M | A | S | K | ||
| A | C | L | A | I | R | F | A | R | E | S | ||||
| P | H | I | L | I | P | P | I | N | E | S | ||||
| T | O | R | A | H | N | O | W | T | H | E | N | |||
| E | M | P | L | O | Y | E | E | S | E | R | A | |||
| S | E | E | I | N | F | L | I | P | P | A | N | T | ||
| S | T | A | T | E | T | I | S | H | A | V | I | A | ||
| A | S | S | A | D | Y | E | T | I | R | E | E | L |
AK: I got to know Garrett last year in my American studies course at Riverdale Country School in The Bronx. Yes, Garrett was a terrific student, but he proved to be an even better crossword constructor.
GC: It was so cool to be in the classroom with Mr. Kingsley, a constructor I'd always admired. That class will always hold a special place in my heart, and Mr. Kingsley was a great and entertaining teacher (… except for the one time I fell asleep in the front row, sorry!)
AK: The inspiration for this specific puzzle came after I had cooked split pea soup for the first time. I discovered that what makes split pea taste so good is the pound of bacon the recipe requires. I approached Garrett with the theme idea, and it came together quite quickly. This is my second puzzle that looks like it has rotational symmetry but doesn't. I guess that's my thing now.
GC: While I'm sad to be leaving Riverdale, I'm off to The University of Chicago in the fall and am delighted to join an ever-growing community of crossword constructors (hi, Josh Kindler and Katherine Baicker!). When Mr. Kingsley and I started working together last year, we set a goal to get published in the NYT before I graduated, and I'm happy to say — with three weeks to spare — mission accomplished! Oh, and happy birthday, Mom!
| O | M | A | N | I | S | E | G | A | S | N | U | B | ||
| V | E | R | Y | C | L | E | V | E | R | C | O | D | E | |
| A | M | I | T | O | O | L | A | T | E | H | I | D | E | |
| L | O | L | M | I | L | L | S | P | O | S | E | R | ||
| P | E | N | S | B | A | L | L | E | R | S | ||||
| H | U | B | R | I | S | N | O | M | A | A | M | |||
| A | P | R | O | N | M | E | R | C | Y | R | U | L | E | |
| S | T | U | M | P | A | W | E | E | S | S | A | Y | ||
| H | O | T | D | E | S | K | E | D | R | H | I | N | E | |
| E | R | A | S | E | R | C | H | I | C | K | S | |||
| A | F | F | E | C | T | S | S | L | A | P | ||||
| P | R | O | S | E | L | I | M | I | T | B | O | A | ||
| A | I | R | S | N | O | T | O | N | E | W | O | R | D | |
| R | A | C | E | O | V | E | R | G | R | A | Z | E | D | |
| T | R | E | S | M | E | M | E | S | H | O | O | S |
Here's hoping the chatty nature of this puzzle feels more familiar than annoying. (But now you know what it's like to have a conversation with me.)
I'm very amused by the crossing of BALLERS & PLAYERHATERS, SCHOLARSHIP & ESSAY, and AMITOOLATE & ICOMEINPEACE.
The symmetric placement of MAKESLOVE and GETSBORED is purely coincidental.
In hindsight, I should've linked together SNUB and NOM.
| G | I | N | S | U | P | R | A | C | E | B | I | B | ||
| O | N | E | O | N | E | A | L | L | M | I | N | E | ||
| O | P | E | N | T | A | B | S | L | E | I | G | H | S | |
| D | A | D | J | O | K | E | S | E | A | R | N | I | T | |
| I | R | M | A | T | A | W | N | Y | O | D | E | |||
| E | K | E | L | I | N | E | A | D | I | N | E | D | ||
| T | A | M | P | E | R | P | R | O | O | F | ||||
| M | O | D | E | L | T | R | A | I | N | S | ||||
| T | O | T | E | S | A | D | O | R | B | S | ||||
| H | O | B | O | S | N | E | W | T | S | Y | E | T | ||
| A | R | F | S | T | A | G | Y | L | E | A | H | |||
| H | E | R | N | I | A | L | A | B | W | A | S | T | E | |
| A | C | O | U | P | L | E | P | O | O | R | Y | O | U | |
| H | A | N | D | O | U | T | S | A | V | E | U | S | ||
| A | P | T | E | S | T | S | S | H | A | S | T | A |
Hi! I'm Sam, a 17-year-old high school student from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Starting constructing in early 2020 and soon after started solving daily. That helped me sharpen my construction skills, and got this guy accepted to be published in January when I was still 16.
Fun fact: this isn't my first accepted NYT puzzle. Unfortunately, I was set to debut with a 62-worder in March, but some circumstances had that one pulled last minute. Excited to showcase this one instead, which I think is a better grid than the other.
This started as an audacious 62-worder, with a block being added in the NE/SW corners once they became nightmares to fill cleanly. Started with 33-Across and built out, looking for snazzy stuff wherever I could. That NE corner was the hardest to fill by far, so happy I came out of it with just 7-Down.
Clue-wise, happy to see 42% of mine remain unchanged! Fun additions from the team include 32-Across and 30-Down (!). A personal favorite that made it to print was 19-Across, though sadly, mine for 7-Across [Way to track someone on the run?] was left out.
Hope you enjoyed it, and I'll surely be back sometime with another themeless offering for you all. See you then, and have a great rest of your Saturday.
P.S. Shoutout to my mom! We still solve together often, and she's always been so supportive. I'm excited to see how long it will take her to crack this one.
| M | A | S | K | I | N | C | A | G | R | I | N | E | R | P | S | S | T | ||||
| A | G | A | I | N | R | O | L | L | I | O | D | I | D | E | O | H | I | O | |||
| L | E | I | S | U | R | E | S | I | T | S | U | I | T | U | P | F | R | O | N | T | |
| A | D | D | S | T | O | W | O | O | F | T | O | E | S | I | N | G | E | S | |||
| C | O | Y | S | M | E | E | S | A | G | E | T | A | S | I | S | ||||||
| H | U | E | S | C | L | A | W | L | U | R | I | D | A | N | T | ||||||
| I | T | S | A | L | O | S | T | C | A | S | E | C | O | L | D | C | A | U | S | E | |
| L | A | M | E | F | L | E | S | H | E | L | D | E | R | S | O | N | |||||
| P | T | R | A | P | S | T | I | L | T | S | A | T | O | L | E | B | L | T | |||
| A | S | A | M | I | B | E | E | T | L | O | O | S | E | E | P | A | |||||
| C | A | N | I | S | T | E | A | L | Y | O | U | F | O | R | A | S | E | C | O | N | D |
| R | S | S | H | A | R | D | C | S | O | L | E | C | O | R | G | I | |||||
| M | I | A | D | E | T | S | A | R | A | P | E | S | F | I | T | T | E | D | |||
| I | N | C | L | U | D | E | S | T | O | T | E | D | O | R | G | Y | |||||
| C | A | K | E | D | O | N | T | S | D | O | N | U | T | D | E | S | P | A | I | R | |
| M | E | T | L | U | G | E | D | P | A | I | N | E | R | N | E | ||||||
| I | A | M | B | B | L | O | A | T | K | N | E | W | U | S | D | ||||||
| E | M | B | E | R | S | E | R | A | Y | O | K | E | M | A | R | G | I | N | |||
| T | H | I | S | O | L | D | H | O | S | E | P | A | N | T | Y | H | O | U | S | E | |
| R | I | D | E | O | N | U | S | E | S | P | L | I | E | S | A | L | T | S | |||
| E | P | E | E | B | A | D | A | R | T | S | E | N | D | M | A | S | S |
We want to thank the editing team, and especially Christina Iverson, for their patience and expertise while we made this puzzle into what you see today. Their efforts and guidance really helped this puzzle shine, and we are deeply appreciative that we get to share it with you all.
And now, for your viewing pleasure, our reality TV top three of all time:
Chandi
- Selling Sunset
- America's Next Top Model
- The Bachelor/Bachelorette Franchise
Taylor
- Planet Earth
- America's Funniest Home Videos
- Ted Lasso
| N | A | S | A | D | E | B | T | A | L | A | S | |||
| C | A | M | P | S | O | M | A | R | S | A | F | E | ||
| H | Y | P | O | T | E | N | U | S | E | P | Y | R | E | |
| A | S | S | O | R | T | I | N | S | T | O | M | |||
| F | A | S | T | A | N | D | L | O | O | S | E | |||
| T | O | S | S | A | B | S | Y | A | W | |||||
| A | C | T | B | A | R | E | I | N | H | A | L | F | ||
| C | H | O | C | O | L | A | T | E | M | O | U | S | S | E |
| T | O | O | H | O | T | T | R | O | D | T | A | T | ||
| D | A | S | D | E | I | B | E | T | E | |||||
| W | H | A | T | T | H | E | D | E | U | C | E | |||
| H | A | S | S | I | B | M | A | M | M | A | L | |||
| A | V | I | D | J | A | M | B | A | J | U | I | C | E | |
| C | E | D | E | A | T | T | A | U | S | E | R | S | ||
| K | N | E | W | B | E | V | Y | N | E | N | E |
KATIE: Zach and I had been trying to come up with a fun theme together for a while, but nothing was quite landing. One evening, I was taking my 6 year old through some of her spelling words, which were all -OOSE words that week. I find a lot of inspiration through helping my kids with their homework because seeing things written out in different ways can sometimes trigger an idea or connection that I may not have thought of before. So constructors who have kids, I highly recommend this as an extra incentive to check their homework!
We originally had POOR EXCUSE in the theme set, but Zach (rightly) thought twice about that one because of the Y-sound on USE, and he redid the grid beautifully with HYPOTENUSE instead. Hope you all enjoy the puzzle!
ZACHARY: Katie and I were actually working on a different puzzle when she proposed the -OOS ending concept. I'm happy with the current theme answers; we also tried to work ZEUS into the set, but TEMPLE OF ZEUS and BLOOD OF ZEUS are not particularly idiomatic. We also would have liked to use a revealer — Katie floated END USE, but I thought that focused too much on the long U sound. I also thought we might be able to create a starting OO- theme set with the revealer PRIMORDIAL OOZE, but that didn't quite work out either.
| L | I | T | E | R | A | L | A | C | A | C | I | A | ||
| A | C | H | I | E | V | E | P | R | O | B | I | N | G | |
| B | E | A | G | L | E | S | E | M | B | A | R | G | O | |
| T | H | Y | C | A | L | R | O | N | ||||||
| G | I | S | T | F | R | A | T | E | R | N | I | T | Y | |
| A | M | A | A | U | G | T | A | O | ||||||
| M | A | L | A | R | K | E | Y | D | I | L | L | S | ||
| U | N | I | F | I | E | D | S | T | A | R | E | A | T | |
| T | I | E | O | N | L | A | W | R | E | N | C | E | ||
| U | G | H | A | N | I | T | E | A | ||||||
| B | A | L | L | O | O | N | I | S | T | B | A | S | K | |
| A | L | E | R | E | D | E | I | N | ||||||
| L | I | M | E | A | D | E | R | E | G | R | E | T | S | |
| S | C | O | W | L | E | D | I | N | A | D | A | Z | E | |
| A | E | N | E | A | S | M | E | N | S | R | E | A |
| N | S | F | W | R | E | B | U | S | S | H | H | |||
| E | T | A | I | L | E | X | I | S | T | B | A | E | ||
| W | O | L | F | B | L | I | T | Z | E | R | A | T | A | |
| A | L | L | I | S | O | N | A | B | L | E | R | |||
| R | E | T | T | I | G | E | R | W | O | O | D | S | ||
| K | N | O | W | N | N | O | R | A | G | A | I | T | ||
| I | C | E | V | I | N | C | E | N | T | |||||
| B | E | A | S | T | I | E | B | O | Y | S | ||||
| S | E | N | A | T | O | R | Y | E | E | |||||
| A | N | T | E | A | R | A | B | D | D | A | Y | S | ||
| B | E | A | R | G | R | Y | L | L | S | T | E | M | ||
| R | A | T | S | O | E | N | T | I | T | L | E | |||
| U | K | E | B | U | F | F | A | L | O | B | I | L | L | |
| P | I | S | A | S | Y | E | T | P | I | L | O | T | ||
| T | N | T | G | A | I | N | S | S | A | W | S |
I'm usually not that fond of themes with lists of proper names, but this revealer was just sitting there practically begging to be made into a puzzle. Apologies to Fox Mulder and Bobcat Goldthwait for the snubs — you could've gone in the center if the puzzle had a title instead. Hope y'all enjoy!