New York Times, Friday, March 24, 2023

I originally designed this puzzle with only vertical groups of blocks, which I think is more visually striking than the published horizontal groups. But I feared that all the short across entries would make the puzzle play too fast for those who start on the across clues (most people, right?). Those who start with downs might, on their first pass, wonder where all the long entries are (the longest down entry is only six letters). Downs-only solvers should do acrosses-only to make this one tougher.

I hope the puzzle still plays hard enough with the shorter entries running side-by-side throughout the grid — that's definitely a risk with this construction. The horizontal block groups also means that the number of across entries is low — twenty-one. Maybe this puzzle suggests a new XWordInfo stat category (!) — fewest entries in one direction.

As a themeless puzzle solver, I often get stumped by long proper nouns; as a themeless puzzle constructor, I try not to include them. I'm mostly successful here. AMSTERDAMAVENUE doesn't fit the bill . . . but I appreciate the editorial team's revision of my original clue because it includes info (Dutch roots) that points toward the answer even if you've never heard of that particular Manhattan thoroughfare.

Such an eye-catching grid pattern! I was certain that this one riffed on Morse code, but it turns out that TMTTTTMT doesn't spell anything.

Unless ... there's a deeper code buried within, said the man still in Puzzle Boat 9 hangover!

(Alas, there isn't.)

Blake's comment gave me a smile — as if we need yet one more thing to add to our front page link salad. Now I feel compelled to try beating the one Jim mentioned below. Thanks a lot, Blake!

Some beautiful marquee Acrosses, LINE DANCERS punnily describing the grid layout. (Kinda sorta.) I'm curious to see if MOIST TOWELETTES will elicit the cringes that the word "moist" seems to trigger, but as a parent of two small, sticky kids, I approve.

As a math junkie, I also loved BOOLEAN OPERATOR, but I can see how non-logicians might LEAN toward "BOO!" I'd almost forgotten that the word "Boolean" stems from the mathematician George Boole. He could be as aggravating to some solvers as other proper names are to others, if not more.

I'm relieved that Blake and Will Shortz went with "Would I LIE to you?" instead of tennis's ILIE Nastase. That might have made the crossing with LOMO saltado a total guess. Along with not being familiar with the characters in "Ulysses" and only vaguely recognizing PO-PO as slang for the police, that was a tricky region.

I wasn't wowed by LOW TIRE PRESSURE, especially since the clue's wordplay fell a bit flat (sorry), and ASSESSMENTS's common letters and boringnessessness flattened that precious slot's potential. Still, the distinctiveness of the grid pattern, as well as the quality of the other long Acrosses, made me hopeful that others will continue to innovate in themeless designs.