STOLEN PRODUCE

Andy:

Victor and I met at ACPT 2012, where he sat at the table behind me. We sat in the same seats at ACPT 2013, and he pitched the idea of this puzzle to me. I loved it, but he was still a theme entry short. Eventually, I came up with DATE BOOKS, and the rest is history!

This puzzle is a great example of collaboration in constructing gone right. Victor put together the symmetrical theme entries, then I designed the grid and took the first crack at the fill. We traded maybe eight or nine versions of the fill back and forth until we had something we were satisfied with. Then Victor clued it, and we sent notes back and forth on ways to improve the clues. The whole process took us about three months, and I think letting the puzzle gestate for that long really paid off. Victor is a really creative and skilled constructor, and it was a real pleasure working with him!

A fresh theme, elegantly done. DATEBOOKS did give me pause, because I'm just barely familiar with the usage of "book" meaning "to leave" — but it's legitimate. You might be interested to know that the constructors' manuscript had F-BOMB at 1A, which I edited out. It was a close call, but I wasn't sure this met the Times's standards of good taste.

What a perfect use for a Sunday-size grid today! Sometimes the bigger palette can feel like a weekday puzzle simply stretched out, but Andy and Victor use the extra space for a great payoff. It took me a while to cotton to the trick, and when I finally figured out that each phrase on the right hand side told you what letters to take out for the corresponding answer, I thought it was pretty cool. But then when I realized that each of the "removal phrases" were fruit-related and FRUIT FLIES tied them all together, I stood up and cheered. A true WITT (Wish I Thought of That).

Ten theme answers makes for a difficult construction. Sure, one might think because the lengths are relatively short that this is equivalent to five grid-spanners (answers of 21 letters), but it's more difficult than that. With grid-spanners you have the advantage that they use no black squares, thus allowing you to deploy your black squares elsewhere, breaking up difficult spots. Today's arrangement places several black squares right off the bat, making the construction less flexible.

The fill is generally good given all the constraints. In terms of long fill, there's GO DUTCH, NAVY YARD, ID LOVE TO, and MISS JAPAN, which at first seemed a bit arbitrary, but I've decided I like. Some really good stuff. However, as with most Sunday-size grids and their inherent challenges, the crossings of DEKE/HEKATE and ESME/ESTES and DNIEPER/ADEN are going to be a real challenge for some. I don't mind seeing a random European river here or there, but somehow having two in one puzzle feels (to me) like one too many (ARNO, I'm looking at you). I don't think any of these crossings are necessarily unfair, but I'd say they aren't ideal.

Finally, I'd like to express another note of amazement that Andy and Victor were able to come up with 1.) five "fruit"+"synonym for leave" pairs and 2.) found enough entries so that they were symmetrically paired. I really enjoyed this puzzle; a close second for the POW. Brilliantly conceived and executed.

P.S. You may recognize Andy from "Million Second Quiz". Incredible accomplishment to have won it all! If you're into such capitalist notions as money. (insert proletarian harrumph here)