New York Times, Tuesday, August 20, 2013

A goal of the early-week puzzles is to make crosswords widely accessible, thus drawing newer solvers into the fold. So I think a Monday or Tuesday puzzle should have little to no "crosswordese" entries (words that are rarely seen/used outside of crosswords), and if it contains esoteric answers, the crossings ought to all be fair. An amazingly difficult task considering there are usually 74-78 answers to squeeze in.

Making an early-week, beginner-level puzzle is one of the toughest challenges in crossword construction, and CC and Don have largely succeeded here. The "word that can follow both halves of the theme phrases" theme type has been done many times before, but the addition of the clever revealer really adds to the puzzle. DOUBLEDAY is a perfect last theme entry to the puzzle.

Plus, I absolutely love their long fill: MR HYDE, LAB COATS, SNIPED AT, ABS SYSTEM, PATTY DUKE. These sparkly answers spice up the puzzle, increasing the chance that a solver will smile or be wowed during his/her experience.

But there's a price to pay for all the great long fill: the PBA/ASSAM/KUNTA crossings. While none of these entries are "crosswordese", if the solver isn't a bowler and isn't up on their Indian geography, will they fill that square in with an "I"? If a beginning solver ends up with KUNTE and ASSEM or (KUNTO and ASSOM), they may learn something useful and/or interesting from their mistake, but will it sour their feelings about crosswords?

So even though PATTY DUKE and ABS SYSTEM are fantastic answers, I might have broken them up, putting black squares at the "D" of THE ROD and at the "S" of SONNET. This would result in 78 words instead of 76, with less sparkly long downs, but would also allow for a cleaner southwest area, thus increasing a novice solver's chance to finish accurately and with satisfaction.

Just this constructor's opinion; there is no right or wrong answer. Difficult trade-offs! ADDED NOTE: thanks to Will for his thoughtful response (below)!

(In response to Jeff's comments): What percentage of solvers are tackling a Tuesday puzzle for the first time? It must be a fraction of a fraction of 1%. While I do keep beginners in mind, I'm most mindful of the fact that the vast majority of Times solvers are regulars. That's who I'm trying to entertain.

The real question regarding the KUNTA/ASSAM crossing is...is it fair? For a Times audience, I think yes. Kunta Kinte was the lead character in the most popular TV miniseries of all time — he's a cultural icon — and Assam is a celebrated state of India, with a rich history, famous for its tea and silk. These are things Times readers should know, in my opinion. And if they don't, they have failed the test. I'm not editing crosswords for supermarket tabloid readers. I'm editing for a sophisticated, educated Times audience.

My goal is not to guarantee readers error-free solutions. The Times crossword is supposed to be a challenge. That's part of what makes it interesting. I don't think watering down Tuesday's grid with more of the standard 3-, 4- and 5-letter words — with the loss of ABS SYSTEM, LAB COATS, PATTY DUKE, etc. — would have been an improvement. Easier, maybe. But better? No. Well, (as Jeff says), there's no right or wrong opinion.