New York Times, Tuesday, September 3, 2019

I was so thrilled that this puzzle was accepted. It was one of my very first puzzle ideas, and it finally came to fruition last year. I wanted the theme to remain a mystery until the end, so straightforward entries like OOPSIE-DAISY and AXL ROSE were off the table. My only regret was that I couldn't include REINCARNATION.

Constructing this was a bit trickier than it might seem. The puzzle's layout was largely forced by the 11-letter revealer (LATE BLOOMER) and grid-spanning entries. Unfortunately, this meant lots of short (three-letter) entries, which aren't generally exciting for the solver. That said, I was pleased to be able to include stacks of longer down entries in the NE/SW corners.

I want to draw your attention to 23-Down. You might find this an unusual choice of clues to highlight, but I want to discuss ALI. It's one of those generally uneventful three-letter entries referred to above, and there are just so many ways to clue the name — most revolving around fictional characters and pugilists. I'm glad that the hilarious Ali Wong gets her first Daily New York Times crossword shout-out here. I try to be mindful of broadening the cross-section of accomplished people featured in clues, and I look forward to seeing more references to newer names like Mahershala Ali, Ali Krieger, Ali Stroker, and Ali Velshi in future crosswords.

Hope you enjoyed the puzzle!

Evan's construction abilities have taken a meteoric rise. When I first started working with him, his ability to produce strong fill was … underdeveloped. (As is almost everyone's!) I've seen firsthand how much time he invests in developing his craft, and it shows. It reminds me of Bruce Haight's trajectory.

Mid-length fill is becoming one of Evan's fortes. With a 76-word grid and four themers, I'd expect a solid constructor to produce a squeaky-clean grid packed with about six pieces of colorful fill. Check this out:

• BUCKAROO / IN DENIAL / GOT NASTY
• PECORINO / DRONED ON / FRUCTOSE

In just two corners, he's already hit the mark! But wait, there's more: TYPE AB / WOULDA. BREWPUB. IT'S BAD? No way, it's SUPERB!

Even his short fill: QUIPS. RAMBO. PLAN A. YODA. That's not stuff you see every day.

There was one blip, in TROMPE. It's fair game in general, but it runs the risk of moving the "weird" needle for newer solvers. It's to be avoided in an early-week puzzle, especially crossing APSE. We constructors tend to think APSE is something everyone knows, and we'd be wrong.

The theme works, although it more grazed than struck me. One reason: I've seen many variations on this idea by now. More important is a notion I hadn't considered until Will pointed it out a few years ago: PURPLE, BANANA, and COURTED do nothing for the theme. They spice things up, but ideally, hidden words ought to involve both words of the theme phrases.

Not all editors agree, and no rule says this must be done. There is a reason why Will and Peter Gordon often give me this feedback, though — BANANA is such dead weight.

An alternate concept: sticking with single words, which would have allowed for REINCARNATION. Single-word themes are rare, since they don't bring as much pizzazz as multi-worders, but entries like DRILLMASTER and KASHMIRIS would have been spicy. Heck, DAIQUIRIS by itself is awfully nice!

Now I'm curious to see what other flowers can be hidden at the ends of colorful words. Down the constructor's rabbit hole …