New York Times, Wednesday, February 5, 2020

Back in March of 2017, I clued ALL RED as "visibly embarrassed," deciding that while Gloria ALLRED was crossword-worthy, a non-trivia clue would be better for a Tuesday-ish puzzle. (She was even in the news at the time, representing multiple women who had accused then-candidate Trump of sexual assault.)

Since this puzzle was accepted, in August of 2017, #MeToo began, grew, and flourished into the robust and essential movement we know it as today. If ALLRED had found its way into one of my 2018, or 2019, or 2020 grids, I would have clued it as Gloria in a heartbeat.

Also, if you're looking to get into crossword constructing, and especially if you identify as non-male, LGBTQ+, or as a person of color, I'd be thrilled to offer whatever assistance I can to help you get your puzzles published. Contact me via Instagram (@rosstrudeau) or Twitter (@trudeauross).

CAT CHAIR … is that the type of furniture they use at cat cafes? Jill and I had three cats at one point, and they all loved to scratch up an old upholstered thing we called "the cat chair" because it was so full of cat hair that no one but the cats and unsuspecting visitors wanted to sit on it.

Huh? It's CATCH AIR? Okay … but how do snowboarders catch air while sitting in a cat chair, while wearing helmets made of cat hair?

What a funny find, the circled CHAIR in CATCH AIR making it look so strongly like CAT CHAIR. I was hoping that today's theme would be something different than a standard "hidden words" when I uncovered ONE NIGHTSTAND.

Is that like a bedside table filled with hydrogen?

You know, hydrogen is number 1 on the periodic table?

I should stop before releasing my "WORK SO ___" joke.

Anyone else wonder if DO BE DO BE DO is better as DOO BE DOO BE DOO? Or what gave Sinatra the idea to sing these particular nonsense syllables? (Doobie Doobie Doo would be a great name for a pot shop.)

I enjoyed the bonuses in the grid, all those jazzy entries helping keep solvers' attention. It's not often that I like when constructors go down to a 72-word grid, but Ross is one of the people I'd trust to do so. For most others, I'd suggest putting black squares at the I and D of IDAHO to make the gridwork much easier. No problem for Ross, although having the tough PWAVE and IOLANI in one region isn't ideal.

Just like Will Shortz, I'm getting a little worn down from standard "hidden words" themes. Two BEDs inside DOO BE DOO BE DOO is a neat find — twin BED! That feels like a neat starting point for something a little different and fresher within this theme type.