New York Times, Tuesday, September 21, 2021

Prior to lockdown, I can honestly say I had never completed a NYT puzzle in my life. I have to thank my partner, Lara, for sparking my interest in solving, which has become an integral part of our morning routine together. As an opera singer, 2020 yielded a great deal of free time as the entire industry closed down, and I needed a new obsession. Without knowing what a word list was, or that autofill existed, I tried my hand at constructing into the wee hours. Fortunately, the esteemed Brad Wilber reached out via Facebook and rescued me. He is an incredibly patient and generous mentor (and passionate opera fan!). Achieving my goal of having a puzzle accepted by the end of the year was a thrill, and I'm deeply grateful for his guidance and friendship.

This theme was born from, I recall, an offhand joke I read on the goldmine of ideas that is Reddit, which made my eyes roll (as most puns do, thanks to my father) ... but sent me down the rabbit hole of common legal terms that might be punnily clued. A few darlings had to be killed, but I'm tickled at the result and hope the solvers are as well.

Thanks to the team for all their improvements and help — it's a privilege to learn from them. Happy Tuesday, everyone, and I hope you enjoy my upcoming puzzles.

Such fun themers! CLASS ACTION SUIT as a gym shirt/shorts made me cackle. "Reinterpretation" themes are best when the meanings drastically change, and this did so perfectly.

MOVE TO STRIKE also worked well, as a description of a bowler's arm swing — it's nowhere near the original meanings for either MOVE or STRIKE.

PRO BONO ATTORNEY left a split, though, given that ATTORNEY kept its original definition. It is amusing to think of a lawyer dedicated to BONO, so that helped.

Solid debut gridwork, albeit with a few minor dings. SSI falls into one of Will Shortz's hated categories, initialisms that if you don't know them, there's no way to figure them out. (Social Security Income.) This 'Murican only learned who MESSI was five years ago, so I'd worry that the crossing might baffle some early-week solvers.

A couple other entries might also slow newbs down, but GOJI berry's crossings are much easier. Maybe you don't know what SOLE meunière is, but it'd be hard to argue that SALE or SILE is more likely a fish than SOLE.

Interesting debut entries. Gavin NEWSOM, sure! I have WERTHER'S stocked in my car, but could someone argue that WIRTHERS and LIONA look equally plausible? Perhaps.

IN A CAB was a needle scratching across a record, feeling like a verboten six-letter partial.

ARM RESTS as something airplane passengers battle over was solid, but I usually expect more catchy long bonuses in a four-themer puzzle.

Some funny themers, and I enjoyed learning about Daniel's background — amazing to have come such a long way in crosswords in such a short time. It's a treat to watch him sing opera in the clip, too.

At the end of Mozart's Don Giovanni, (you may know him as Don Juan), the titular seducer dies and is dragged down into hell. Heavy stuff, but the video in the constructor notes here provides some extra humor just for opera fans. Even the conductor at the harpsichord gets into the fun.