New York Times, Monday, November 28, 2016

It's my first Monday puzzle in the New York Times! I've been trying to write a solid easy puzzle for a while, but it's not as simple as you'd think. I have a lot of respect for constructors who can write clean, easy puzzles so prolifically.

This is my second attempt at this theme. I submitted an earlier version with "SMEW" hidden instead of "EIDER." Will felt that SMEW was too obscure, so I tinkered with the grid, and this is the result. I actually like this one better than my original, so it all worked out. I really like GUSSIEDUP and its counterpart NOGOODNIK, even though they're both a bit old-timey. I hope you enjoyed the puzzle!

Back in 2012, there was another DUCK DUCK GOOSE puzzle, and I remembering being very surprised to hear from many people who didn't know the game. Curious! Today, we get DUCK DUCK GOOSE as a revealer, making everything a little clearer. Still, I wonder how many people will be looking it up, wondering why the heck it's so much better to be a duck than a goose. (No idea!)

I had some idea of what was going on after uncovering TEAL and EIDER, as I've seen those in crosswords enough times clued as types of duck. Curious to see what kind of GOOSE Kristian could possibly use, I smiled a little to see the crosswordy NENE (very common letters with alternating vowel consonant pattern). Amusing nod to crossword insiders.

I really enjoyed Kristian's choice of themers, all of them strong. TRIBUTE ALBUMS is really fun, as is SWORN ENEMIES. And the APARTHEID ERA is not exactly the jolliest of topics, but what a nice find in a phrase that hides EIDER.

GUSSIED UP, NO-GOODNIK, and BRAT PACK are great bonuses, too. (Who you calling old-timey, Kristian?!)

Very good gridwork in general — EDUCE is kind of a funny word, TUM can't be without RUM and TUGGER, and PONES feels odd in the plural, but that's all that keeps it from being a perfectly smooth puzzle.

Well, there's ABORC, which looks so bizarre. I still can't decide if I love "A, B, OR C?" or detest it. Don't people usually offer two or four choices, not three?

Not sure that people will identify TEAL as a type of duck (my first thought is always to the color), but there's something fun about having three crosswordy hidden elements making up this theme.