New York Times, Monday, March 4, 2019

I'm excited to make my New York Times Crossword debut and to write constructor notes on XWord Info. I started making crosswords around 18 months ago and have found this site quite useful, both in finding entries and in reading constructors' comments, so it feels cool to now contribute my own notes.

I made this puzzle around 11 months ago, and theme first theme entry was BEAARTHUR, as she seemed to be the only BEA known well enough to be included in a crossword. After searching for possibilities for the other themers of various lengths, I decided upon BMINORMASS. This, and rotational symmetry knocked out options for the other theme answers like BEEHIVESTATE or BESTILLMYHEART, but, as a music major, I couldn't waste the opportunity to include Bach.

In filling the grid, I decided not to use the letter B outside of its four theme appearances and tried to find entries which could be clued smoothly. I ran into trouble in the northeast, with the weird combination of FLC in AFLCIO, but I'm happy with how it turned out. In the northeast, the editing team replaced SISI with YETI, which is a far better and stronger piece of fill and works just as well with the crosses. Additionally, DONE/DOLES became PONE/POLES.

I'm glad to see that many of my better clues were kept while all my weaker "Baccalaureate receiver"-type clues were replaced. As a (Detroit) Tiger's fan, the only clue I miss is the one referencing LOU Whitaker, but I suppose he may not be nationally known enough for a Monday.

It feels great to have a New York Times Crossword puzzle and I hope it makes for a smooth and enjoyable solve.

Oh, B-have yourself!

Letter / sound homophones have been done over and over in crosswords, including a similar idea from just three months ago, so you have to execute perfectly in order to be noticed. This debut did nearly that:

• Using every possible word homophone of B — B, BEA, BEE, BE — made for a tight theme set.
• Great picks for themers. If you haven't heard the B MINOR MASS, it's worth a listen.
• Strong bonuses. MATHLETE, IS THAT OK, AFL CIO, GINSBURG!
• Silky smooth short fill. Wow, Ellis took great care in assembling this one. Fantasic work, and from a newb!

With just four themers of moderate length, I expect a ton of bonuses, plus virtually no dabs of crossword glue to hold it all together — that's almost always possible, unless you have a lot of rare letters to work around. It's inspiring to see a debut constructor rise to my expectations.

Did you notice the "Bill Shortz" byline? I like the idea of doing something different, but this didn't do much for me.

ADDED NOTE: apparently all the clues start with B. Nice added touch, but I must admit I missed it, even after reviewing the puzzle.

The one hitch in my solve: PASS AWAY. What a downer, especially in the symmetrical spot to GINSBURG. Don't waste your valuable long slots, and more importantly, don't harsh solvers' buzz. A neutral entry, some everyday word, would have been much better.

Outstanding gridwork, especially for a new constructor. It's tough for me to award POWs! for theme types that feel overdone, so I couldn't go there. But if an equal level of craftsmanship had been applied to a more interesting theme, it would have easily garnered POW! consideration.