New York Times, Thursday, February 2, 2023

My first version of this theme wasn't related to physics at all; it was actually a Marvel-themed puzzle, playing on the idea of "the snap" at the end of Infinity War when half of the universe's population disappears. My themers were all phrases with "snap" in them, but the word SNAP was missing, and there was a black square where each SNAP should have been.

I ended up shelving it — neither the theme nor the fill was particularly strong — but came back to the idea of missing letters after I'd thought of dark matter as a possible topic. I enjoy making puzzles to illustrate interesting concepts, both in the scientific world and beyond, so I really wanted to capture the idea of an invisible, hypothetical substance in this puzzle rather than just play on the words "dark matter" somehow.

It took a few tries to get the fill streamlined enough, but for the most part, the final theme was as I'd imagined it. Hope you enjoyed the puzzle, and if you weren't already familiar with the concept, I hope it was a fun "TIL" moment for you!

I have a crossword blog called Cruciverbology where I post science-related puzzles like this one. If you'd like to see more from me, please consider subscribing!

If you haven't read Blake Crouch's Dark Matter, get it onto your list. Even though I have a tough time suspending disbelief at the weirdness of DARK MATTER principles, the story is incredible.

In case you missed the ten missing letters, we've added them to the grid below. Great touch to arrange them in symmetrical positions, using five rows of two answers each.

I did wonder why the letters were "dark," especially the D of DREAD, M of MARIA, and E of EASTER. As with Crouch's book, sometimes you have to turn off your stupid brain and enjoy.

It might seem easier to work with ten short themers than five long ones, but it can be much tougher. Any time you force black square placements, you take away flexibility, and every one of the ten themers does just that. Additionally, to stay at the 78-word limit, you need a bunch of your fill to be long. It's a tough combination of constraints.

I like Elise's decision to go to 80 words. She still gave us some long color in DECK CHAIR, IN GENERAL, and she even did well with up some mid-length slots like SPARE ME. There is a lot of minor glue — AMA ASIN EMS ENT ESS etc. — but nothing is egregious.

Ten themers, each of which becomes a valid entry after "beheading," made for an interesting debut. If I understood DARK MATTER better, I might have disappeared into the concept more.