New York Times, Friday, August 19, 2022

I happened to be submitting this puzzle right around the time of the Who Will Replace Alex Trebek? imbroglio and the Mike Richards mini-scandal that followed, so JEOPARDY was very much on the brain. That ended up being my favorite clue to come up with, and thankfully the editors liked it too.

That said, the puzzle really began with SMOOTH MOVE, EXLAX. I enjoy the corniness of it, plus it being a fresh 15-letter entry. The top half came together smoothly around it, so I was happy the whole thing didn't end up getting rejected for the, uh, somewhat crass imagery it implies.

The bottom half was definitely harder in trying to keep the other 15-letter entry lively, but without the bottom corners becoming tortured. Some compromises had to be made, but I was happy with the end result. Enjoy!

When I was a junior in high school, I made the California state orchestra as a cellist. Not by pure musical talent, mind you, but by a dogged persistence at perfecting each microsection of my tryout piece and subsequent technical flim-flammery to join said snippets up.

Needless to say, my live tryout upon arrival placed me in the back half of the cellos, where I preceded to be that guy who miscounted a long rest section and squeaked a note — a quarter-tone low, at that — when it was supposed to be dead quiet. One of the bassists leaned over and hissed, SMOOTH MOVE, EXLAX.

Thankfully, the rest of my movements that weekend weren't as flatulent.

Also, thankfully, I can look back on it now and laugh at today's fantastic marquee entry.

I get nervous when a themeless features two 15s and not many other long entries. Sure, it's possible to squeeze juice out of 7-letter slots, but it's hard, since those mid-lengths are tilted toward boring, one-word entries like …

Dang, Patrick did such an amazing job of utilizing these slots that it's tough to pick out even one that's more neutral than an asset! Even something humdrum like ATHEIST got elevated with a zingy punster's clue. [One in a state of disbelief], as in not believing in God = genius.

And there were so many of these delicious bites of wordplay joy! I lost count after half a dozen, choosing to forget about quantification and instead soak up the fun. My favorite was TIP JARS being "open to change." They're literally open to change, as in nickels and dimes. Spectacular!

I did stumble on LET SERVE, occupying one of the precious 8-letter slots. I had NET SERVE, which felt reasonable, but LET SERVE is indeed a technical tennis term. It's not something I'd strive to include in a themeless, though, since I usually hear announcers simply say "let."

Such top-notch use of all those mid-length slots, both in grid entries and their clues. It would have been the POW! even without the hilarious headliner. Smooth move indeed, Patrick!