New York Times, Saturday, November 30, 2013

Brad:

Byron has always been a clip-and-save constructor for me, so I jumped at the chance when he sent me a corner and proposed we try the "hook" of mirroring B____ W____ entries. The scary part: I had never done any significant stacks that were four deep, let alone ones with restrictions. After a day or two I sent Byron a few possibilities without any BW, saying perhaps it was the best I could do. He was gracious about it, but luckily I persevered a little longer and a BW section came together. I'd have to say, though, that my favorite part of the puzzle was the last to go in — Byron's zippy NW. A 10-letter entry with only one vowel — how often has THAT happened?

Byron:

Brad was more than up to my little challenge — not that I had any doubts. I do like four deep stacks when possible just because three-letter entries are nearly always tired. (NAS was first clued as the rapper in 1999!)

One other note about the cluing. I suggested to Brad that we clue each other's corners. It was a nice way to completely share in the creation of the puzzle.

Byron and Brad sure know how to put together a great, tough Saturday crossword. The grid is lovely, and most of the clues are theirs. My favorites are "Singles collection?" (for DATING POOL), "Where filing work is done" (for NAIL SALONS), and "Nearly set?" (for CLUSTERED). Beautifully nasty!

Another beauty from two of the themeless masters, Byron and Brad, with a neat mini-theme: BW answers in the corners, perfect for Brad Wilber and Byron Walden. They one-up themselves today, using not just triple-stacked 10's in the NW/SE corners, but quadruple-stacked 9's in the NE/SW. You think triple-stacking long answers is hard, try quad-stacking them (I've tried but haven't come up with anything clean enough to submit). Look how beautiful all the crossings in the NE are, with nary an uggo running through the quad. Wow!

And let's take a look at the cluing. I like nothing better than a tricky wordplay clue, so "Early riser?" for BOY WONDER hits my sweet spot. Initially I cycled through images of the early bird and morning people, and it wasn't until I uncovered WONDER that I realized the clue meant a kid who shines early in life. That's WONDER-ful (unlike that pun).

For those of you still wondering about "Nearly set?" for CLUSTERED, don't worry, as it took me a long time to figure out what was going on. "Nearly" isn't talking about "almost", but "nearby". Nearly set = placed in close proximity. Clever, huh? Almost too clever for me. But I got it! (after eight hours and much hair pulled out)

I wasn't a big fan of UNMATED, which yes, is "a word" (imagine me making ridiculous air quote gestures), but not something I would ever run across. Thankfully it gives me a chance to show off my mad air quote skills. HANSA was also a bit of a head-scratcher, but feels more legit to me; something out of European history. But with such an ambitious grid, I'm just picking nits to give a balanced viewpoint.

Overall, a tough but very enjoyable workout, a beautiful grid with some fantastic clues.