Jonathan Raksin author page
1 puzzle by Jonathan Raksin
with Constructor comments
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Very excited to be making my New York Times debut! I've (technically) been a solver since I was around ten years old. On Sunday mornings my dad would leave a copy of that day's Times puzzle beside everyone's place at the breakfast table. The unstated expectation was that my siblings and I would at least give it a once-over in exchange for our French toast.
For today's puzzle, I remember that the revealer and theme set came to me in relatively quick succession. The only other theme answer contender that I recall seriously playing around with is the ever-fascinating LASCAUX CAVES. Gridding this one, however, was not nearly as smooth a process as theme development. The large amount of theme material left me with basically just a single viable option. Many thanks to the editorial team for allowing me to include an obscure New Wave band from New Zealand to make that option work. I was pretty psyched to tip my one Kiwi friend off to its inclusion.
Finally, just a few shout outs. Firstly, to Jeff Chen who I cold emailed in 2024 with a bunch of half-formed ideas. He has provided free mentorship ever since, and I'm a vastly better constructor for his generosity. And I know that I'm far from the only person for whom this is true. Secondly, to the Crosscord Discord community, which I only came across in the last year or so. There's just amazing levels of generosity, encouragement and flat-out talent present there that I'd be remiss not to crow about here while I have the chance.