New York Times, Tuesday, November 22, 2016

This puzzle went through an interesting transformation in the editing process. While the similarities between Halal and Kashrut are plentiful, there are notable differences that preclude strict "synonymity" (and thus strict opposition between "halal" and "nonkosher.") Two examples: camel is halal, but also not kosher (kashrut requires animals to chew cud and have cloven hooves). Halal foods cannot contain alcohol of any kind; kashrut allows for alcohol, provided it be, of course, made under kosher laws.

The original conception of the theme plays on the fact these answers "contain" ham, pork, lard, and bacon, rather than the circled things being nonkosher themselves, which I thought gave the puzzle its raison d'être. This idea of ham/pork, etc. sneaking their way into things reflects the concern many kosher/halal-keeping folks have in determining whether they can have certain prepared meals, say. In that conception, the answers (AHAMOMENT, NBACONFERENCE, etc.) are both, with this wordplay, nonkosher and not halal. I had wanted to avoid the opposition of nonkosher and halal in and of themselves b/c of the specificities listed above. But Will felt that this was somewhat confusing since the long answers were not foods.

In further discussion with Will regarding the clue for 65A, he notes that while "opposite" might not be the "perfect word," brainstorming sessions with others made him feel it was the best option, and as he noted, they apply equally to the pork products I hid in the grid. So I've happily complied with his well-reasoned judgment on this.

In this way, the theme ended up quite different from the initial idea. (CHOPS in the opening corner, clued not as food, by the way, prefigures the theme.) But it preserves the original spirit of multiculturalism, and appropriately ushers us into the Thanksgiving holiday, whatever we choose to eat.

Pig parts hidden within phrases. Some delicious (*rim shot*) finds, LARD in POPULAR DEMAND a great discovery — it's difficult to stretch non-short words (four or more letters) across a phrase, so I liked this one a lot. BACON across NBA CONFERENCE is also an interesting find, not at all easy to work with that five-letter BACON string, but NBA CONFERENCE isn't nearly as snappy a phrase as POPULAR DEMAND in my eyes, though.

Everything was tied together with the revealer NON KOSHER (and HALAL as well). I hitched a little when I uncovered that, as I was expecting something PIG related. I do like being surprised by revealers, but this one felt slightly off. I'm still trying to think of another revealer that would have tickled me more — if only THE INSIDE PIG or PIG ACROSS were a real phrase. (Doesn't it seem like PIG SPREAD should be a real thing?)

Andrew's notion of themers reflecting worry about whether or not something contains pork is so much fun. I wonder if the clue for NONKOSHER could have conveyed that notion, somehow.

Andrew is so good with his long bonus fill. Today, he uses the approach I favor, relying heavily on long down answers that are spread out and staggered as best as possible. To get AMOS N ANDY / PIN NUMBER / PINOCHLE / TRADE WAR / MARKSMEN / MINNESOTA / FIELD MICE is quite MAJESTIC.

There's usually a cost to incorporating such a huge assortment of strong bonus fill, but today it's only the very small price of a little AER, AFIRST (feels like a six-letter partial), SOTS (outdated term). It's clear to me how much Andrew must have worked on each section of the grid, tearing out a long down answer if it forced him to complete a region with something unsavory, and trying something else. Lather, rinse, repeat.

Ugh, not a fan of the BOYS clue. Yes, BOYS will be BOYS is a common saying, but it's invoked as an excuse for so many things. Ugh, ugh, ugh.

Overall, some really nice "hidden words" finds, with a revealer that didn't quite hit for me. But excellent gridwork, as per usual for Andrew.