New York Times, Thursday, April 30, 2020

My husband is not an avid crossword solver (yet!), but he is a through and through soccer superfan. I like to think he helped inspire this puzzle, and perhaps this puzzle will encourage him to dip his toes in the "crossworld" waters. Although it might be cruel to give him a rebus puzzle right off the bat!

As usual, there were tradeoffs between fun entries and the gluey bits they often require. I was happy to work in a few bonuses like ESKIMO KISS despite the theme constraints. Though I was a little bummed to see that my original clue for it ("Rub one's nose in it?") was changed, I love the editing team's "Knockoff of a Greek sculpture?" for ARM and for the overall polish that they always lend to my puzzles. Thank you Will and Co.!

I hope everyone is well and that this puzzle is a respite in these times. Enjoy!

Caitlyn's gridwork is so strong. I struggled with the top corners of the puzzle, but I got into a groove as I continued, encountering so much great fill: ACTIVEWEAR, SARDINE, HOGWASH, HANGNAIL, NIHILISM, SIM CITY, NESSIE. And I had barely broken into the bottom half of the grid!

The good times kept rolling with AA MILNE, CAPITAL O (tricksy!), ZONE OUT, ESKIMO KISS, MINERAL / ANIMAL linked together. This, my friends, is themeless-caliber work. So much sizzle.

I eventually made the connection that CORNER KICKS hinted at rebuses in the four corners. (KICKS is slang for "shoes.") I continued to struggle, though, and the rebus squares weren't that satisfying to uncover. I had a difficult time figuring out why.

Part of the reason was that I don't know shoes that well, so WEDGE didn't come easily. Also, some of the theme phrases felt like they were too specific. PUMP FAKES, for example, is something I know well from being pump faked out of my Reebok pumps on the court, but if you're not a b-ball fan, that might be mystifying even after filling in every square.

Finally, there's something unsatisfying about all the rebus squares being at known locations. Part of the fun (and frustration) of rebuses is finding the sneaky sneakers. When you know exactly where you need to look, it takes away some excitement of discovery.

Overall though, the fantastic gridwork was more than enough to make up for these issues. I debated over giving this one the POW!, especially since Caitlyn's bar has risen so high so quickly (three out of her last four have won POW!s now). In the end, though, I judge a puzzle by how much entertainment it gave me. By that measure, this one was a big winner.