New York Times, Monday, December 9, 2019

Working with four 15-letter theme entries was interesting because it presented both a degree of rigidity and interchangeability in placing them. Rigidity in that the answers had to be in rows 3, 6, 10, and 13, or else there would be too much segmentation and too many 3-letter answers. Interchangeability in that the entries could be placed in one of 24 possible combinations. The choice of which combination to use came down to how well the two middle entries worked together, particularly in the east and west. The options quickly dwindle when one considers that not much good fill ends in V or U, for instance (in VALENCIA and BLUES).

I'm excited to have my second crossword in the New York Times and especially to have it published as I prepare for my last finals before I complete my undergraduate degree. I hope it makes for an enjoyable solve.

The Shortz Era began with a color crossword. The fact that there have been dozens more over the decades may have (ahem) colored my impression of this one. Many newer solvers might not give the solid theme a second (or even a first) thought. For me and my OCD, third, fourth, and beyond!

Why ORANGES, BROWNS, REDS, BLUES, I wondered — do they form some tidy set? No, but they are a more interesting grouping than I first considered. How many other phrases can you think of that end with a pluralized color? MIXED (or SALAD) GREENS came easily, but what else?

. . .

(That smell is the smoke from Jeff's overheating brain)

FARMERS TANS?

GREEK OLIVES?

Tan and olive aren't as strong as blue and red, though. So I like Ellis's set.

Too bad WHITE isn't a color. PEARLY WHITES is a great phrase.

Hey, wait a second! WHITE is in the grid — that's inelegant. For a theme this simple, you either want to blast it with a dozen more colors, or make sure to include no stragglers.

Budding constructors ask me all the time, what makes for a "bad" short entry? Some examples: ACAR / IASK (partials), NATAL (tough, uncommon word), ECONO (prefix), and ETO (initialism many won't know). We've scored all of them similarly in our word list, but constructors have to use judgment.

In my eyes, NATAL is by far the worst of these gluey bits, as it's something that newer solvers might never figure out. ETO is next worst, and ACAR / IASK / ECONO are all minor; entries that might cause wincing but not outright swearing from newbs.

I did like some of the bonuses — THE WAVE, ED HELMS, SCRIBBLE, MAINSTAY = a lot of assets! However, those came at the price of a grid that frayed around the edges. For Monday puzzles, I prefer a cleaner and more welcoming product, even if that means it's less snazzy. Breaking up SCRIBBLE and MAINSTAY would have helped.

Overall, though, a softball theme that's hard to miss. There's something to be said for that on a Monday.

ADDED NOTE: Astute reader Mike Knobler points out that there is higher level of consistency; that each themer starts with a place. I completely missed that!