New York Times, Tuesday, November 5, 2013

Paula's grid has a surprisingly low word count (74 entries) for a puzzle with this much theme material. As a result, the corners are quite chunky — which is great. Among the nontheme entries I particularly like SCREWY, SHU MAI, ANTINUKE, WINNIPEG, and I'M BACK.

Easy-breezy theme for a Tuesday, WI/SE CRACKed so that it bookends the theme answers. It's fun to see a constructor's tastes come through in a puzzle, and today is a fine example. I don't know Paula but get the impression from our brief meetings that she's more cultured than me. (Really though, I'm having trouble picturing anyone less cultured than me. Perhaps the construction worker at this coffee shop who's currently showing off a different type of crack. Tee hee.)

Fun theme phrases today which help make the puzzle sing. When there's a straightforward theme type, it's crucial to pick themers which are snappy, in-the-language phrases, and Paula does well in this arena. WINGED HORSE, WIN OR LOSE, WINEHOUSE, WILD GEESE, they're all phrases I would prioritize for use as long fill in one of my puzzles. Well done.

Tastes will differ of course, and I have a feeling this puzzle will appeal to more upscale clientele than me. Some may point out the elegance of having ANAIS above HENRI, perhaps an irreverent hint at Nin's personal life with Henry Miller (don't worry, I had to look that up too). The WARNERS class up the joint as well, and an ETUI and some POESY round out the high-classisity of the work. Perhaps not my cup of lowbrow tea, but I can appreciate it all the same.

A nit to pick: I got hung up on WISE CRACK, wanting the theme answers to have an actual crack within them made of black squares, or something of the like. Having the WI and SE at the outer ends of the themers more connotes WISE ENDS or OUTER WISE. Minor issue, but for these types of "literal interpretation of a phrase" puzzles, I like to have the interpretation be carried out as exactly as possible. This felt slightly loosey-goosey in interpretation.

Finally, the tremendous amount of strong long fill present today is a mark of a veteran constructor with chops. As Will mentioned, to pull off a 74-worder with such theme density is quite a challenge.