New York Times, Thursday, January 8, 2015

This is a revision of the first crossword I ever constructed. The original version's theme answers were PINTZCRYSTAL, HAROLDCUPER, OCGILLATION and HALFMEASURES. After polite rejection letters from several publications, it sat untouched for nearly a year until I thought to rework it into a rebus. Keeping QUARTZCRYSTAL in the new grid was a challenge, and I ended up using LIVINGQUARTERS instead ... not ideal, since QUART and QUARTERS share a root, but (I reasoned) less obviously so than something like STRINGQUARTETS.

For those who struggled with GILL, I'll confess that I had no idea the half-cup measure(ment) even had a name until I looked it up while working on this puzzle, though that triggered a dim memory of a "Simpsons" episode where a sneaky gifted student offers to trade Bart "1000 picoliters of my milk for 4 gills of yours."

Favorite answers: the sepia-toned pairing of MRTOAD and TENTSHOW. RIPINTWO was also a fun challenge to clue without using any form of the word "half" (already used in the revealer).

I like new rebus ideas. To me, rebuses have been done so much that a single rebus, even one with a rationale (CRUSHED ICE explaining ICE in a single square, e.g.) is a bit passe. So although I struggled mightily to figure out what was going on here, I eventually cracked it and appreciated the clever idea, two pints — PINT PINT — making a QUART, CUP CUP making a PINT, GILL GILL making a CUP. Nice revealer too, HALF MEASURE hinting at the concept.

Let's address the elephant in the room. What the heck is a GILL? The unit has gone by the wayside (except apparently in measuring alcoholic spirits). Does that make it off-limits for crossword use?

I was stymied for the longest time, especially since MCGILL is only somewhat recognizable (sorry to all Canadians including but not limited to Jim and Jeffrey!). The more I think about it though, it feels not only reasonable but even desirable. I like a challenge in my crosswords, and figuring it out, even not knowing what a GILL was, gave me a great sense of accomplishment. So, thumbs up.

I can understand the desire to section off the difficult PINT PINT area up north. Working RIP IN TWO and TAP INTO side by side is no small task. However, creating a 6x3 section up north / down south often causes difficulty in normal circumstances — check out EEO, EFTS, AYR, ERS down south, for example — and with these added rebus-driven constraints, the need for glue becomes high. MFG isn't terrible, although it's not super familiar to me. ACR feels equally wonky though. And throw in a ONE K — I'm okay with an occasional FIVE K or TEN K, which are vastly more common in real life — and it feels like a lot of glue in just one area.

For all you pop culture idiots like me, KESHA apparently is very popular. Who knew? (Answer: everyone in America but me.) Thankfully, everything felt fair and I don't mind learning another person I really should know. (Sorry IMRE Kertesz and MOIRA Kelly, KESHA already filled up my new-person-learning brain cells for the day.)