New York Times, Friday, June 17, 2022

My primary goal in constructing this themeless was to pack in as much lively, long fill (8+ letters long) as possible — words and phrases that felt dynamic, had few appearances in past crosswords, and could be clued in fun and tricky ways. Themelesses feel more personal to me than themed puzzles, and I enjoy constructors' unique voices shining through when unrestrained by a theme.

The most crucial area of growth for me in making puzzles has been the tedious task of word list management. It's not the sexiest part of crossword construction, but it really goes a long way to differentiating the fill in my puzzles from those of other constructors. Like many constructors, I derive my word list from the XWord Info Word List. This was immensely helpful to me as a beginner, but I've found it necessary to constantly reappraise these default values, so that my puzzles can reflect my own unique value system.

(ON A SIDE NOTE: Word list management is probably the nerdiest interest of mine as a crossword constructor. I'm curious how others organize, score, and revise their personal lists. I appreciate the constructors who deviate from the default canon of cultural references and make puzzles, particularly themelesses, that have unique voices.)

A few other thoughts:

• With this puzzle, I feel happy to debut four entries — INFLUENCER, DRAMA COACH, SPILL THE TEA, ON A SIDE NOTE — that were all scored with a default "50" on the Xword Info Word List, rather than the premium score of "60" that is given to most other fill that has never appeared in the NYT before. It's satisfying to find (and re-score) words or phrases that are either undervalued or absent from default word lists.
• This puzzle has few proper nouns, a conscious choice I made to reduce the amount of generational cultural references, so that it might feel easier or more accessible. I'm curious how that sits with solvers, as I imagine it could either feel generic or refreshing.
• Favorite clues that were kept: 53-Across, 12-Down, 27-Down.

In just three puzzles, Pao has officially grabbed my attention. This 70-worder is easy to fill with cleanliness — what's challenging is being able to convert a high percentage of long slots (8+ letters) into great material. Hitting 80% is about minimum in these ultra-competitive days (the acceptance rate for themelesses is maybe 3%). Achieving 90% gives you a fighting chance.

Scoring a perfect 100%? Almost unheard of. Incredibly well done, Pao IN RARE FORM, indeed. It's even difficult to point out what the weakest entry might be. Perhaps PALADINS, because it's a single-worder? I'm a big fan of the fantasy genre (read: huge dork) though, so I might have to cast a paladinic spell over any haters.

Pao didn't stop there! Seven-letter slots are too easy to employ as boring connective tissue. DADAIST, ER NURSE, ID CHIPS are all excellent.

SENSATE …

Well, you can't win ‘em all. Pretty dang close, though.

I'd have picked this as my POW! if there had been more clever, interesting, and/or playful clues. AUDIOPHILE becomes even stronger when you turn up the volume with a "sound judgment" riff. Same with EASTER EGGS, being "rolled out" once a year (during the annual Easter tradition). There were a handful of these sprinkled around, but not nearly enough to make this puzzle stand out.

Technically, such a strong grid product. With more time invested in crafting a zingier cluing experience, I see great things for Pao.