New York Times, Saturday, September 21, 2013

So how did I do it? Well, I started with some graph paper, several mechanical pencils, a LOT of erasers, and a caffeine IV...

...just kidding. I used pen.

No, honestly, I didn't set out to make a sub-60 grid. I went for an eye-catching grid pattern, and it happened to come out at 58 words. This grid started life as a 66-worder with the stair-step block pattern extended out diagonally one more. It was on a whim that I took out those four blocks to see if I could fill it.

I started with a power-fill to see if it'd work, not expecting much. I knew there'd be compromises (47/49A, 4D in the final product). Not only did it find a fill, but it came in only a couple minutes, and the center actually came out like this the first time I filled. So I had my framework (26-29-30-31-35A/14-17-20-23-27D) MUCH quicker than I expected. I don't know if this was the easiest sub-60 pattern to fill, but I've certainly not found any "easier" ones.

From there, the northeast most frustrated me. At first, I didn't like 8D because it seemed awkward. I was this close to scrapping the whole framework and restarting. But I searched Google and found it to be legit. With that, I found my fill and came upon 6D, which was, as of then, unused in the NYT (to my surprise). As a college football fan, I'm happy to see it go!

With just 58 words, this grid design is an eye-opener. My favorite entries in it are 6A, 38A, 14D, 20D, 23D, 29D, and 34D. I didn't care so much for ADSORBS, BCS (especially that), SONDE, and one or two other things. But overall this is pretty handsome.

In addition to the usual criteria for judging a themeless crossword (lively entries, lack of crosswordese/partials/abbrs., fun cluing), Will hits upon an topic we don't often have a chance to discuss: grid aesthetics. By itself, I found the grid stunning, not just because I shivered at how difficult it would be to fill cleanly, but for its sheer visual artistry. Jim put together a gallery of Grid Art that caught his eye, and this one's also a beauty.

Tim not just flirts with the lowest word count record but does so with a relatively clean grid. And compare it to the other 11 58-word puzzles, noting how much less segmentation it has. Low word-count puzzles often depend upon splitting the grid into four quadrants so each can be worked on individually, but this one has a massive middle white space with high connectivity to four swaths in the corners. Daunting.

Usually the knock on low-word count puzzles is that they're inelegant and/or no fun because they depend on too many "roll-your-own" words (carrying an artificial RE- prefix or -ER/-ERS suffix). There are some of these here (I see you, RESEES) but surprisingly few. I'm mixed on TOOLER — in my first career as a mechanical engineer, I worked closely with moldmakers who we occasionally called "toolers", but that seems pretty esoteric.

Finally, check out the good stuff Tim throws in: SOLO HOMER, LETTERMEN, SMART ALEC, KNEE PATCH, all intersecting in the center. To those who might argue that this doesn't have any super-snazzy answers (or call it a "stunt puzzle"), at the very least this puzzle is a great change of pace to the usual 68 to 72-word themeless puzzles. A close second for the POW!