Ups and Downs

Tracy Gray lives in Hunt Valley, Md. She and her husband have owned and operated a lawn and landscaping business for the past 33 years. She got the idea for this puzzle last Christmas while riding an escalator, up and down, at her local mall, proving again that ideas can come from anywhere if you're alert to them.

This is Tracy's 33rd puzzle (and ninth Sunday) for the paper

It's no secret that I like to construct puzzles with turns and movement. In the past (spoiler alert, if you haven't solved my puzzles), I've had solvers watching their steps, turning right on red, and doing the downward dog, crossword-style. So, after a few rides on an escalator last Christmas at my local mall, I decided to take my next crossword "to a whole new level" (my original submitted title).

My general idea was to find common methods of getting from one level to another. Phrases would start on one row, climb or descend, and then end on another row with a legitimate word that could be clued. This concept avoided the use of nonsense words at the end of the theme entries with a clue number and "---", but nixed fun phrases such as PARACHUTE PANTS and CANNONBALL ADDERLEY.

The crossword Gods were also unhelpful with phrases that included embedded conveyances such as ESCALATOR or ELEVATOR, so my choices of theme entries were as limited as ever for moving up and down.

My first submission included CD LADDERING, a term considered too niche by the Times' team, so I substituted PARACHUTE IN, which required an entire grid rewrite. UPS and DOWNS, indeed!

Plenty of NYT crosswords have their ups and downs, but Tracy takes us on a thrill ride, featuring RAMPs to climb, SLIDEs to plummet down, and a beautiful diagonal of black squares to emphasize the concept. Way more ups than downs!

Many puzzles have featured diagonally rising / falling themers. This one was so much more enjoyable than others, partially because it wasn't so overly complicated that solvers griped to the depths of Tartarus (I learned a hellish lesson that day). The overt circles made it immediately clear what was going on, and I appreciated that. They also served as a pretty set of CHUTEs and ladders, reminiscent of that game board.

What put this puzzle over the top: two delightful "apticlues." (Coinage courtesy of the brilliant Jim Horne!) Many phrases would work with HILL, like ACHILLES HEEL or PHILLY CHEESESTEAK, but how many are related to something that actually ascends? Why have I never noticed the awesomeness of HILL inside Sir EDMUND HILLARY?

Same goes for PARACHUTE IN. DESCHUTES RIVER would have worked, but it wouldn't have the delight of CHUTE within a phrase that's coming down to earth.

There isn't any symmetry in the themer placements, which bothered me at first. There's enough flexibility in entries like SLIDE that at least one or two pairs could have exhibited some degree of symmetry. Ultimately, though, it's so hard to jigsaw these risers or fallers that I was impressed with Tracy's ability to work in six of them.

Beautiful gridwork, too; unexpected given how difficult it can be to 1) work around diagonal themers, and 2) build even a normal 140-word Sunday grid. If I were a betting man, I'd have set the over/under for gluey bits at 12 for an average constructor. I've had the pleasure of working with Tracy and know how strong she is, so I'd lower that to 6. She was well under! She did go up to 144 words, but with all the sparkle of LOOM LARGE BRATWURST BEAR CRAWLS ROULETTE, I hardly noticed.

This is a great example of a puzzle that doesn't push the envelope of theme development, but does a fantastic job of presenting a concept that's both interesting and beautifully executed for the NYT's broad solving population.