New York Times, Friday, February 7, 2020

MARY LOU: After our last collaboration that started as a themeless, then ended up as a themed, I asked Erik if he'd like to give that themeless a try again. When he replied in the affirmative, I sent him a list of possible seed entries. I couldn't come up with clean fill on the first grid he put together after multiple tries, so he came up with another. It filled smoothly and incorporated three of my seed entry suggestions, PADMA LAKSHMI, MASTER BREWER, and I BLAME MYSELF.

It is a pleasure to have worked with Erik. He is such a pro. I appreciate his efforts to include more underrepresented groups as crossword constructors. He has been one of those at the forefront of this movement, setting up and moderating a Facebook page to connect new constructors from underrepresented groups with collaborators/mentors.

I wish him all the best in his new position as in-house editor of the USA TODAY Crossword puzzle.

I was so fooled by [Pittsburgh is its most populous city]. Given that this is supposed to be a hard puzzle, it couldn't be PENNSYLVANIA. Ah! There must be some trick to it, especially given that PENNSYLVANIA is too long. PENNSYL(VAN)IA with a VAN rebus fits perfectly! Now, where's the revealer, MINI VAN?

Drat.

Themeless puzzles often live and die on the quality and quantity of their long answers (8+ letters). It's so tough to make 6- and 7-letter entries stand out and feel fresh since crosswords use many more mid-length entries than longer ones. Seeing only ten long slots in today's grid worried me since themelesses usually have 12 to 16. Thankfully, Mary Lou and Erik used most of the slots well, MASTER BREWER and PRESS RELEASE excellent. PR = press release and public relations, what a neat connection!

PADMA LAKSHMI could be tough for many. I sort of recognized her name but put in PADME. Darn my Star Wars fanboyhood! Good thing MEISTER BREWER wasn't a possible crossing.

Wait. EI REBUS!

Maybe not.

I do wonder about UHURA crossing PADMA, though. Even as a die-hard Trekker, I often confuse UHURA with the Swahili word for peace, UHURU. If someone put in PUDMA LAKSHMI, I'd be sympathetic.

It is possible to excel in the mid-length space — take CALVIN for example. He's only been in the NYT (Shortz era) a few times, and he evokes such nostalgic memories.

You do run the risk of "freshness" in those mid-lengthers being taken as "annoying," though. QUIERO is a debut, but it might feel foreign (see what I did there?). A word I love, KATANAS, could cause alienation as well.

Let me explain two clues some might not get:

• Defaults = EDITS? Think about removing fat as "defat." I know, groan!
• ASS is one of those young people things, as in "big-ass" or "stupid-ass." Sometimes these fresh slang clues make me feel like a dumb-ass, but I can see how millennials would appreciate this sort of thing.

Not my favorite themeless from either of these excellent constructors, but solid enough work.