New York Times, Friday, November 29, 2019

I'm thrilled to have my first Themeless puzzle published in the New York Times - especially the day after Thanksgiving when hopefully this can serve as a nice post-Thanksgiving food coma family solve.

Anyways, a few notes on the puzzle: First, northwest corner down stack was definitely the basis for the puzzle. One day I heard myself saying the phrase, "I'M THE WORST" (which I say fairly often…), and decided that it would be a really nice way to start off a puzzle. MORE TO COME… and PR AGENCIES were great debut entries to follow.

The rest of the puzzle ended up going through a lot of changes, at the (very very fair) request of the NYT editing team, since the SW corner was most definitely not up to par with the rest of the puzzle. Aside from having less other than stellar entries, I originally had GOOGLE DUO (an app I use a lot), and Will and the team were worried that it might not stand the test of time. So, I went through quite a few revisions before getting to what you see today. In the NE corner, I also originally had AGED CHEESE/REC LEAGUES where today you see BRAKE CABLE/LOVE POTION.

Some other favorites are SMELL TEST and I NEED A LIFT.

In terms of clues, sadly, many of my original ones did not make the cut: PR AGENCIES [Places to go for a spin?], CAPITAL I [Character embedded in the CIA?] and WON BIG [Cleared the table?]

Of the clues that made it through, my favorite is for BIGAMY [Twice-committed crime?].

Anyways, hope you enjoy!

The most experienced themeless constructors often eschew 72- and 70-word grids, since they present little challenge to build. Place long answers in each of the four corners, make sure you can stitch them neatly together, and you're done!

(It's not that easy, but it doesn't require nearly the iteration and care of a 68-worder.)

I wish more (most) themeless constructors would stay at the 70-word level since it's such a sweet spot. It allows for a lot of colorful fill without requiring many trade-offs. LOVE POTION, SMELL TEST, OPERA COATS, PR AGENCIES, I NEED A LIFT and more, for the NOMINAL FEE of an ETE? Yes, please!

It is hard to stand out in the 70-word space, though. All it takes is a few minor dings. ETE is one, STYE can annoy some solvers (both in real life and in crosswords), LATEN is a bit of an odd duck.

Then you have to take into consideration the overall vibe. As much as I enjoyed the self-deprecation of IM THE WORST, a couple of entries gave me pause when taken in total. I don't love being reminded of TERRORISTS these days, and with a GAT crossing a LEGMAN crossing BIGAMY, it's a bit unpleasant. I'd much rather have unicorns, mermaids, and princesses in my daily diversion.

(My 5-year old daughter seems to have affected my world view.)

Overall, a well-executed puzzle that might have garnered some POW! buzz with a bit of massaging. I wouldn't fault others with different personal preferences for picking it as a standout.