New York Times, Thursday, March 26, 2015

I'd normally be grumbling about the god of symmetry forcing me to use the insipid central theme entry (plus all those not-technically-cheaters but rather-cheaterish black squares). I'd have preferred the zippier SUSPENSE-RIDDEN or at least the more common TAKEN SERIOUSLY. But then the theme isn't that awesome without the placement. The shading may make the puzzle less Thursdayish, but given all the extra black and the plethora of 3-letter entries it necessitated, I wouldn't want anyone to miss the design.

Even then, you work so hard to get the best makeup and costume and lighting for your star and some supporting starlet, meaning the southwest corner, jumps out and steals the show. I'm guessing it's the only part that will get much attention. I can live with that.

Another beautiful construction from Byron. I like how strictly he executed the theme, RINSE CYCLE meaning the letters in RINSE shift over exactly one slot with each step. Perfect to have them all centered and symmetrical.

There's not much of a trick element to the theme, which is unfortunate for a Thursday. Nevertheless, I really enjoyed the solve. Not only did Byron pick vivid theme answers — SLYTHERINS! and (Michael Chang's wicked) SPIN SERVE — but he put together a layout ready-made for great fill. A tough challenge to incorporate corners with triple-stacked 8s, but given Byron's skill level, it didn't surprise me at all to see them packed with MALE NUDE, PHONE SEX, SANTA HAT, ABU DHABI, NINE IRON. I'd usually expect some price to pay for all that goodness, but Byron does it seamlessly.

I usually have a tough time figuring out if the constructor or Will had more to do with clever cluing, but I've come to notice a preponderance of great ones in many/most of Byron's puzzles. Here are my favorites:

• [Shot in the crease?] takes a hockey term and repurposes it for BOTOX shot into wrinkles.
• [Fish hook?] is another great repurposing, a TALON reaching down to grab a poor fish.
• Who knew LAYLA was inspired by a 12-century Persian poem? Lively trivia.
• I'm not a big golf fan, but the "bump-and-run" term is so colorful I can't help but like it. (It refers to the type of shot a nine-iron is often used to make.)
• PHONE SEX will be on the risqué side for some solvers, but I sure liked the clue: [Activity on a hotline?]. Hot indeed!

I would have loved not so many black squares on the sides of the puzzles, but I couldn't figure out a way around them. Finding a 15-letter themer to replace INTENSE RIVALS would accomplish that, but for me it proved impossible — I don't know that I would have been able to even find INTENSE RIVALS, for that matter.

All in all, a delightful solving experience.