New York Times, Friday, February 19, 2021

I'm very excited to be here today with my first ever themeless puzzle in The Times! I got really into writing themelesses over the summer, but this was one of the first ones I completed that I was really excited about. Getting to feature ALPHA FEMALE at 1-Across will be hard to top for me, and having the matching DEMIGODDESS in the opposite corner was really just the icing on the cake. Both of these words also have masculine equivalents (alpha male and demigod) that we tend to see and hear a whole lot more, so it was amazing for me to get to feature these equally-valid (if not even cooler) words in prominent places in this grid. I hope seeing these brings to your solving experience even a fraction of the joy and excitement I felt upon discovering that I could include them.

If you're a person who's interested in learning how to make crossword puzzles, particularly if you're from an underrepresented group, feel free to reach out via Twitter (@AmandaRafkin) or my puzzle site. I'd be more than happy to talk shop and/or help out in any way I can.

Two POW!s in one week?! Hey, sometimes you gotta break the rules. I loved that combination of ALPHA FEMALE and DEMIGODDESSES. I hadn't heard the latter, but it's an easy extension of "demigod," which came into popularity with the "Percy Jackson" series). How did I not know Helen of Troy was a DEMIGODDESS (father = Zeus, mother = either Leda or Nemesis)?

Along with the awesome phrases MADE BANK, MANI PEDI, AWKWARD AGE? Talk about I CANT RESIST!

Plus, a stellar clue for CEREAL AISLE, playing on "way of Life" (note the capital L in the clue)?

All this, while enjoying BAHAMA MAMAS? Make mine a double!

I could stop here, but check out [Protrusions near a trunk, maybe]. It had me groaning, because it was going to be some obscure Maleskan entry like KNARS. No, that's an elephant's trunk. Delightful!

Add in a FRACAS to the fun? Don't mind if I do!

I didn't understand [Hair pieces] for HANKS. I thought it must be some cultural reference I was missing, Tom Hanks in ... Saving Private Rapunzel? That Thing You Hairdo? Nope, the dictionary says it means "coils or skeins of yarn, hair, rope, or other material." Huh.

LACUNA was tough, too. I learned the word from making crosswords, researching potential fill a LAC??A pattern and thinking LACUNA was some sort of South American animal. It's a shame for constructors that the Barbara Kingsolver book, "The Lacuna," wasn't better received. That alternating vowel-consonant pattern is so friendly.

All in all, so much to love, such a fun solving experience; POW!-worthy indeed. Great week for the NYT crossworld.