New York Times, Saturday, October 5, 2019

This puzzle dates back to around the time I finished reading the Harry Potter series (fashionably late, I guess). I started with QUIDDITCH, had the idea to line up a few Q's on a diagonal, and aimed to work in three other interesting nine-letter entries with Q's branching out from the center. The grid began to come together when I found the nice arrangement of QB SNEAK crossing BYZANTINE EMPIRE.

I was pleased to come up with the stack in the lower-right, along with IT HAPPENS running through it, with IDIO- as the only real trade-off. Finding a suitable stack for the upper-left took more time, but I think it turned out pretty well, especially with MESONS fortuitously positioned near ANTIQUARK.

I also like the connection that can be drawn between the two fifteen-letter entries, with the first even clued as an adjective. And although I don't typically worry about the number of three-letter entries in a themeless puzzle as long as it's less than, say, twenty, I think it's a nice change of pace to have none at all here.

I feel like the tone of the clues here suits this puzzle well, and particularly like my clues for 51-Across, 6-Down, 20-Down, and 28-Down. Although I'm a bit disappointed that my clue of [ ___ box] for both JURY and JUICE didn't survive the edit, I do like the new clue for TENSES.

Hope you enjoy the puzzle (AT your LEISURE, of course).

I wondered where all the rare letters (JQXZ) were — could it be that Trenton decided to do stray from his usual leanings?

Nah. Fun diagonal of Qs and a J in the center of the puzzle. Tucking them under a line of black squares is a great way to incorporate rare letters since so many Qs and Js come at beginnings of words. It reminded me of another puzzle utilizing this concept — I loved that one's impenetrable line of Qs, whereas today's lone J stuck out a bit.

Great entries coming off those rare letters. QUIDDITCH always makes me laugh, thinking about college kids riding around on brooms. ANTIQUARK is beautiful, as is COME QUICK! Certainly no QUAGMIRES of crossword glue, either, smoothly filled throughout.

I like that Trenton snuck in another rare letter, a Z, near QB SNEAK. Working it into the fantastic BYZANTINE EMPIRE is magnificent.

I wasn't a fan of the sectioned feel of the solve, though. The middle swath fell quickly, given my smugness, knowing Trenton's construction preferences. But after that, I got stuck in both the NW and SE, without any rare letters to help me get toeholds. Given that I had trouble recalling the exact spellings of IGER, OREM, and HORUS, the west region came together only shakily.

It'd have been much better to have more connectivity in the grid. The NW corner is so closed off, tied to the rest of the puzzle by just three answers (TAKE NO PRISONERS, ANTIQUARK, COME QUICK). Even if the bottom exit point had been jiggered to be more like the top one, that would have done wonders.

Easier said than done, though. Sectioning is so constructor-friendly, making it possible to divide and conquer. I doubt the middle swath, chock full of rare letters, would have been doable with a more open grid.

As with most every Charlson themeless; so solid, so meaty. I enjoy knowing about Trenton's proclivity toward rare letters — these relatively easy Saturday solves make me feel smurt.