New York Times, Friday, March 13, 2015

Friday the thirteenth, huh? It's a great day to see and solve a puzzle in the Times!

What was on my mind two years ago when I wrote and submitted this puzzle? I tend to start with two phrases that have not been in puzzles much, if at all. Ergo, ALL I WANT TO DO and OUT OF THE BLUE. Once the grid was built around them, I'm sure I just tried to fill it with ILSA's (in-the-language stand-alones)—I count 18 of ‘em, 20 is typically my goal—while minimizing the need for clunkers to glue them in. I'm sure I agonized over IN A SENSE and HAS A SHOT, as I don't like to have even that small of a dupe in a grid's fill.

I'd have preferred to avoid OST, which I like neither as a German direction nor a bony prefix. YSL would have worked if BRESL were a word. I'm not a big fan of YLEM either at 47-Across. FLEM (short for my last name) would have worked out great if only the ASSAF, a breed of Israeli sheep, were more widely known.

As for the clues, Will did a great job as always. Eight or ten of my originals survived the edit, but the final product is A-OK, in my opinion.

Jim and I often discuss what makes a great crossword, and I find my criteria shifting ever so slightly. I used to be much more concerned with squeaky-clean fill, but now I'm relenting; more willing to let a handful of gluey bits slip by if that means a puzzle delights me. What's more important that being delighted, after all? Today's crossword generated a big smile across my face.

First, it was nice to see Judge Vic not start with the traditional four sets of triple-stacks. That's a tried and true strategy, proven to allow at least 12 long slots. But it's nice to get the variety, the experimentation in the grid design. I like how Vic incorporates a pair of 12-letter entries — 12s, 13s, and 14s are usually avoided due to the difficulty in integrating them into a themeless. And it was nice to see the goodness spread out, getting an OUT OF THE BLUE out of the blue for example, rather than having all the long stuff concentrated in the corners like usual.

Although I really liked entries like TARBOOSH, PACE CARS, YULE LOGS, DARK AGES, the clues are what made the puzzle sing for me. I'm usually quite happy with three or four clever clues, but it felt like they didn't stop today:

• [One cast in a Harry Potter film] wasn't a person but a SPELL.
• [Star role of old films?] hinted at a SHERIFF wearing a tin star.
• [Strain to make?] had nothing to do with really trying hard, but PUREEing.
• APSES can be a minor gluey bit, but [Quartet in a cathedral, maybe] got me thinking about when I played in a brass quintet at various churches back in the Bay Area. Great misdirection.
• [Addition to the mix] refers to a sound mix; REVERB often added in during production.
• Finally, nice job with [Compulsory courses], making me think the answer would end in S. CORE education, drat!

So even though I'd rather have near zero gluey bits in my themeless crosswords, I'll take some OST, ESA, RAG sort of stuff any day if it means I get so much delight.