[Continuing from yesterday] My assistant, Joel, taped us editing yesterday's and today's puzzle, and he transcribed a bit of our discussion each day. It illustrates our process as well as our back-and-forth, which sometimes goes off on tangents. Below, we're working on the clue for 61-Across, BREAKFAST. The constructor's clue was "Morning meal ... or what this puzzle's theme entries do?"
Will: Hmm, well, that's awfully easy. Shouldn't we hide the revealer a little bit?
Joel: Right.
Joel: "IHOP speciality."
Will: "24-hour McDonald's offering, now."
Joel: That's kinda fun.
Will: Yeah. That's like an ad for McDonald's, though.
Joel: Well, I think they're doing okay.
Will: [laughs] You don't think they need us? Their stock price won't go up because of us?
[long pause]
Will: Morning ritual?
Joel: Ritual … hmm.
Will: Comb your hair, shower, breakfast.
Joel: I was looking up quotes about breakfast. Steven Wright: "I went to a restaurant that served 'Breakfast At Any Time.' So I ordered French toast during the Renaissance." [laughs]. All right, I thought there might be some quotes about breakfast, but, wasn't meant to be.
Will: Morning tradition? Morning staple?
Joel: Breakfast, breakfast, breakfast. Well … waffles, cereal, oatmeal, pancakes ...
Will: "Oatmeal or waffles, e.g." You think those equal breakfast?
Joel: Let's keep thinking. Breakfast … [pause] It's sometimes skipped in the morning?
Will: Rope.
Joel: Yeah, I don't know what the hell else that could be.
Will: I really don't mind "IHOP specialty," except it feels so commercial, especially because it's a theme answer. The whole puzzle hinges on this.
Joel: Hmm. This bothers you more than it bothers me. Because in my minis all the time, there's just brands left and right. I never feel like I'm selling out to them or doing them a favor or anything. It's just something me and the solver share in common. We both know what this thing is, so it's like a touchstone.
Will: There's a lot of brand names in the main crossword, too. I just try not to put too much attention on them. They should be incidental. And here, since it involves the key answer in the puzzle, it's sort of like throwing IHOP in your face.
Joel: That's why you don't like the McDonald's thing either?
Will: Yeah, even more so, 'cause that's new, so it's even more of an advertisement. "Hey guys, McDonald's has this new thing ..."
Joel: "After this commercial break, you can continue solving …"
Will: At least with IHOP, breakfast there is part of our long-standing culture.
Joel: Could say … "Coffee go-with"?
Will: "It follows a shower"?
Joel: It might not. I usually eat something before I shower.
Will: How's this for an ad … "Free Hampton Inn offering"! [laughs]
Joel: That's not a terrible idea, actually. We could do something like "Motel freebie."
Will: Uh-huh. "Motel freebie, nowadays." "Freebie" is weird, though. Freebie's like a mint on your pillow.
Joel: … "amenity"?
Will: That's better. O.K. … "Modern motel amenity." [scribbles it down]
Will: You know, when I started at the Times in '93, and I introduced commercial names into the puzzle, a lot of people really hated that. There were complaints for a couple of years, especially from older solvers. But I knew people would eventually come around. Either that ... or they'd die! Now maybe I'm on the conservative end of things.
Joel: Maybe it's just that brands are part of my … they're just everywhere, and they connect with people on Twitter and stuff. So I don't really think twice when I see one in the puzzle.
Will: Yeah, times have changed.