New York Times, Friday, June 2, 2023

This puzzle started life with ALCOHOL-FREE BEER down the middle, but that rightly got poured away and was replaced by EVEREST BASE CAMP, which has slightly friendlier letters. The juxtaposition of TIME TRAVEL and SPACE OPERA is quite nice, and I'm already planning a Donnie Darko / Source Code doubleheader.

My British-leaning clues usually get edited out, but a couple snuck through this time through sheer weight of numbers. I started writing an explanation for why the British army isn't "Royal", but it quickly turned into the world's dullest essay, so I suggest you Google it if you're interested. It's something to do with the Corps Warrant. Plod for policeman is a bit easier — that comes from Enid Blyton's "Noddy" books, in which Police Constable Plod keeps the villains of Toyland in check.

EVEREST BASE CAMP is such an evocative phrase, bringing up images of people who have nearly died while attempting to battle one of Mother Nature's greatest challenges. Running it vertically is even better, mimicking the fearsome climb into the heavens. Toss in the awesome clue, [It's an uphill climb from here], and it's a winner. Crazy that an elevation of about 17,000 feet could be the starting point of a climb, but of course, that's where the real action begins for serious mountaineers.

Featuring such a grid-spanning marquee in a 72-worder often makes it difficult to provide as many long slots as themeless solvers are used to. It's not a problem in the lower left and upper right, since EVEREST BASE CAMP barely affects those corners, but the fixed-in-place EVE- start and -AMP end sure cause trouble.

John was wise to cut down from the usual three long entries in the NW / SE to only two apiece. Doggedly sticking to triple-stacks in the upper left and lower right is possible, but it's likely to require trade-offs in zing and/or cleanliness. It certainly wouldn't have been possible to get such a spotless opening corner, along with the killer one-two combo of TIME TRAVEL / SPACE OPERA.

PIANO TUNER doesn't have as much to do with an ARMORED CAR, but throw in NYPD, and you have the makings of a fantastic creative writing prompt.

The 72-word themeless space is incredibly competitive, but this is an excellent example of how you can still ascend to the top, against all odds. I'll ask my CUP BEARERS to bring us some cool AGUA FRESCA (jamaica for me, please!) to celebrate John using all his long slots to great use.