New York Times, Thursday, April 28, 2022

In the planning stages of this puzzle, I knew that I wanted the "down arrow" to make a perfect line across the grid, traveling downwards from left to right. My initial theme set was (DOWN)WARD FACING DOG, BRING (DOWN) THE HOUSE, WHOA SLOW (DOWN) THERE, and HONEY WE'RE GOIN' (DOWN) (yes, the Fall Out Boy song). Eventually, I relaxed my criteria to change the trajectory of the line of arrows, which in turn yielded a more interesting set of theme entries. Thank you to Matthew Stock, for helping me sort through this early decision-making.

It was a personal choice to include grid art in the form of an arrow-esque set of black squares. It took a lot of time to make it work, but I felt that it was a nice enough aesthetic touch to make the extra effort worth it.

Clue writing is often my favorite part of the construction process, as it comes with hours of going down internet rabbit holes and making puns with yourself. Among my favorite puns were a trio of tricky two-worders: "Hamilton producers?" for ATMS, "Mating call?" for I WIN, and "Adding purpose?" for SUM. To me, finding interesting cluing angles for mundane fill is the crossword equivalent of using high-quality salt or olive oil in a dish. These small upgrades can subtly elevate the whole meal, and set the table for other flavors to shine. Short clues can allow long ones to stand out, and I'm grateful the editors kept my favorite long clue: "Video game with a "rosebud" cheat code that grants free money" for THE SIMS.

(On a final note, I want to acknowledge that two brilliant crossword constructors, Ricky Cruz and Paolo Pasco, published a puzzle last year with a similar premise but completely different execution. My puzzle was pending acceptance with the Times when their puzzle ran in Fireball Crosswords. I wanted to clarify that point, while also drawing attention to how unique and brilliant their take on the same idea is.)

I love when constructors riff on letter combos looking like various objects or shapes. One of my favorites was a Patrick Blindauer, where he used V as a cone and O as a scoop of ice cream. Today's, with I + V = DOWN arrow, is so clever.

Neat that Pao arranged things so that the DOWN arrows shifted downward across the four themers! Progressing from (DOWN)WARD FACING DOG all the way to KEEP IT ON THE (DOWN) LOW — that's an elegant touch.

Curious usage of mirror sym. It's not necessary, but there's something so visually pleasing about this black square layout. Almost like a Rorschach inkblot. I appreciate that Will Shortz has been so open to left-right symmetry, which is as pleasing to my eye as regular symmetry, if not more.

Not many long bonuses, but that's okay, since Pao used the mid-length slots so well. SASHAY is evocative. TSUNAMI has that TS- start, always making me doubt myself. GONZO's clue is so awesome, self-identifying as "Whatever." KISMET is what's in the stars, and I'm glad it's in this crossword, too.

Fresh cluing all over, for that matter. I often think Zoom calls could have been an EMAIL. I struggled to figure out how a "mating call" could be I WIN, until I thought about teaching my kids how to play chess.

No comment whether I shout I WIN or "In your face, sucka!"

A bit of a one-trick pony, but I'm always DOWN for one this clever.