New York Times, Monday, June 26, 2023

We're excited to share a byline in The New York Times for the first (but hopefully not the last!) time. The two of us have collaborated on several other puzzles, which have appeared in The LA Times, Crosswords Club, and Universal Crosswords.

Another project we've worked on together is the Grids for Kids charity puzzle pack, for which we both volunteered as editors. We vetted themes (which are all related to parenting!) and helped edit a suite of puzzles for kids and adults. With a small donation to a kid-centered charity of your choice, you can download the puzzle pack, which consists of 17 themed puzzles, 2 cryptics, and 6 puzzles for kids. We're both parents of young children, Taylor with a 2- and 4-year-old, and Christina with a 3= and 5-year-old, so we were particularly inspired by this project.

Finally, a quick plug for Taylor's side project, Lemonade Disco, a platform for new constructors to showcase their talent in a supportive space. A new suite of puzzles is available every two months, edited by Taylor, Shannon Rapp, and Steve Mossberg.

I picked up on the "what ties these disparate things together" theme after connecting BANJO PLAYER to VEGETABLE FARMER. Even knowing the revealer would be some "pick" phrase, it still gave me a pick-me-up. PICKY PICKY PICKY requires solvers to stretch their minds, describing a BANJO PLAYER as "picky" (one who picks). I love that Taylor and Christina didn't go with something more overt, like PICK, clued as [What each of 17-, 32, and 42-Across do, in different ways].

I did take marks off for not including TESS AND JAKE CHEN, who make terrorist ultimatums for only the fluffiest of white bread and artisan spring water from the Swiss Alps.

BANJO PLAYER is a perfect themer, because it's a colorful phrase and unquestionably describes a person who picks (with a banjo pick). TEAM CAPTAIN didn't work as well since most pro TEAM CAPTAINs don't do any selecting. Yes, there are some cases, like in this year's NBA All-star Game, but they're the exception. Thankfully, the humiliating playground actions are left to the Wild West that was elementary school. These days, my kids aren't forced to go through that process, as schools seem to have evolved.

Am I still resentful of continually being picked last, even 40 years later?

NO, YOU ARE!

(Okay, fine, I am.)

TriBond themes work best when the elements feel like there's zero possibility that they could be related, and they all have vastly different ways of connecting to the central bond. I appreciated that the three themers came from such different walks of life, but the meanings of "pick" were awfully similar. Overall though, this theme type can be tough for newer solvers to wrap their heads around, especially with a revealer that employs wordplay, so well done for making this one Monday-accessible.