New York Times, Tuesday, October 11, 2022

As a high school student, I pick up on a variety of language throughout my day, ranging from Gen-Z slang to calculus terms. This provides a plethora of inspiration for crosswords! One day last year, I overheard a conversation about AMAZING GRACE in the cafeteria. As I let my mind wander, I came up with other phrases with an adjective + girl name, which led me to this SUPERGIRL theme.

While AMAZING GRACE didn't make it into the grid, I'm glad it lent itself to other fun entries like ROCKIN ROBIN and PRETTY PENNY. I hope this puzzle is lighthearted and enjoyable across demographics, from my classmates just starting out to NYT followers around the globe.

Thank you to the Diverse Crossword Constructor Fellowship and my mentor, Joel Fagliano, for helping make this puzzle a reality! I look forward to constructing more crosswords.

Although I was impressed by the top-notch color and cleanliness of the northwest corner — difficult to achieve when a central themer splits your grid in half — I thought I'd nailed "Name That Theme" way too quickly. GOOD, ROCKIN', STAR, PRETTY? The revealer is so obvious! No doubt that it was OFF TO A GREAT START.

Ok, maybe some doubt.

There's no doubt: Ailee is off to a great start in her constructing career. "Phrases that start with synonyms of a word" are commonplace, so you need something extra to elevate. SUPERGIRL did exactly that, perfectly explaining how every phrase is composed of (synonym of great) + (girl's name). Mind blown that this was possible!

Further enhancing the a-ha moment, all of the names were disguised. The meanings of FAITH (belief), ROBIN (the song refers to a bird), LILY (flower), and PENNY (coin) all obfuscated the concept so well.

Such a smart layout, with STAR / LILY separated in the middle. This central entry splits the grid in half (top / bottom) like a 9 would, but note how it allows for a diagonal slash of three black squares. That slash helps create separation, enhancing one's ability to fill the four biggish corners independently of each other.

Ailee did such an amazing job of spicing things up. LOGICAL / IRON ORE / AS OF YET / LETS PLAY — and that was only the opening corner? Let's play, indeed!

I did wonder what YEETED could be. I've heard the term from younger constructors, and it is in their language. I sure was relieved that all the crosses were fair — can you imagine if crossed with LIMN? That'd be a serious yeet!

(Ok, Boomer, I'll stop.)

Ailee is part of the inaugural class of the Diverse Crossword Constructor Fellowship, and she does the program proud with her excellent (and graceful) debut.