New York Times, Saturday, August 30, 2014

I constructed this crossword in October 2012, which is right around the time Matt Jones challenged constructors to incorporate the entry ZZZQUIL into their grids. Just for kicks, I threw ON A DARE into the grid at 40-Down, though ZZZQUIL is the type of entry I would have gravitated toward regardless!

The grid pattern I chose for this stunt is pretty common, though it's actually surprisingly challenging to work with. Since the longest entries are just 7 letters (and shorter entries are typically less exciting to editors), it's important to put extra effort into making the 7-letter entries as lively as possible. However, using too many lively 7-letter entries often leads to iffy shorter fill; therefore, as I discovered, the key to working with this grid is striking a balance.

The most frustrating part about this grid is that one corner almost always ends up being less exciting because of the constraints posed by the other three that have already been filled. In this grid, the least exciting corner was the upper right, though I was pleased to be able to squeeze in GO-GO BAR, GANGSTA, and BASS ALE. As usual, Will did an excellent job of editing my clues — I especially love the ingenious "Piece of trash?" for JUNK ART!

Since my themeless puzzles tend to engender strong reactions on crossword blogs, I thought I'd say a few words about why I build puzzles the way I do. One thing I feel is missing from many puzzles these days is modern references, which I personally strive to include a smattering of in my themeless grids. I understand that some solvers dislike such references, but I also realize that the New York Times crossword has a broad audience that is becoming increasingly younger. All things considered, I try to include a mixture of younger references (such as IPAD APP) and older ones (such as GO-GO BAR) to appeal to solvers of all ages. I understand that I can't please everyone, so my goal is to have at least some entries that will be particularly meaningful to each age group and to make the rest of the fill age-neutral, where possible. I hope you enjoy this puzzle!

Years ago, Eugene Maleska was known for eschewing brand names, going so far as to clue OREO as [Mountain: Comb. form]. I'm glad that Will broke that rule to allow for a wider range of entries from all walks of life. But it raises a question I've been thinking about: what belongs (and doesn't belong) in the NYT crossword?

This is a tough question I'll likely continue wrestling with for years, but one criteria I'm mulling over is "Would you see the entry in the pages of the NYT?" As with any endeavor, I think it's important to focus on one's (warning, annoying business school term ahead) market differentiation. The LA Times puzzle is a different beast for a more conservative audience, Matt Gaffney's genius metas play to a specific type of uber-solver, and the indie puzzles draw a crowd that's young and hip like I pretend to be.

Many will disagree with me, saying this criteria is irrelevant, but it does help me understand why I love JUNK ART and IPAD ADD as entries, and am plus/minus on ZZZQUIL. The former entries are both snazzy and feel like they're taken right out of the Sunday Styles and Business sections, respectively. Spot on. No doubt ZZZQUIL is a fun entry because of the high Scrabble score, but it feels like something that belongs more in an indie puzzle. NYQUIL is a big business for Vicks, so I think that's fair game. Will ZZZQUIL stand the test of time and make it big, or will future solvers look back and ask what the heck ZZZQUIL was? I'm not sure, but I'd lean toward the latter.

On a different note, I really appreciate David's wise-beyond-his-years approach to make a wide range of solvers happy. With millions of customers, you're never going to satisfy all of them, but his effort to play to as many as possible is well-considered. I'd personally prefer to get a little something out of each puzzle, rather than have some puzzles be right on target for me / some puzzles fall completely out of my interest zone.