New York Times, Tuesday, January 28, 2020

I'm not exactly sure how I came up with the idea for this theme, but I do distinctly remember two things from the process of compiling the set of theme entries. Firstly, I was pleasantly surprised that the crossword symmetry ended up working out, as there were not many possible options for themers (I was fortunate to find even one possibility for both W and Y), and they had to fit in a fixed order.

The other thing I remember is being particularly pleased with the revealer. I liked that FINAL FOUR not only alludes to W, X, Y, and Z being the last four letters of the alphabet, but also to the fact that each letter is the final part of its respective theme answer. It's also a snappy phrase in its own right, and I like how the revealer lends a slightly unexpected sense of playfulness to what would otherwise be a more straightforward theme.

A word count on the lower end (74) was a natural fit for this theme set, and it allowed me to work in quite a few entries in the 6-to-8 letter range. I had thought this might be considered a Monday theme, so I tried to ensure that the puzzle was as beginner-friendly as possible while still including interesting longer fill. I'm proud of how it turned out, with no real obscurities and a limited number of proper nouns, and some nice answers like HOODOO, OPEN MRI, GRANDEUR, SOLO CUP, and even a (COY) COYOTE. I don't have too much to note as far as the clues go, but I do like the rhyming clues for 17-Across and 49-Down, and I'm glad that the mentions of the Möbius strip and Klein bottle in my clue for TOPOLOGY made it into print.

One other noteworthy thing about this puzzle is that with its publication, I now have had a puzzle published in the NYT on every day of the week, and have thus "hit for the cycle" (per constructor jargon). Looking back on all my published work, it's amazing to think that I got into this hobby just three years ago, and I'm inspired to reflect on how much I have grown, both as a crossword constructor and otherwise, since then. Happy solving!

I love it when artists combine two disparate concepts into something unique. I've participated in so many FINAL FOUR pools, created so many single-letter puzzles for crosswords, yet I've never thought of combining them. W X Y Z as the FINAL FOUR of the alphabet — and as final parts of the four themers — is so fun.

Glittery gridwork, too. For those who might not love the theme as much as me, how about some colorful OPEN MRI / TOPOLOGY and GROANER / GRANDEUR in those big corners? Lovely stuff.

Some may argue that TOPOLOGY could be tough for early-week solvers, but educated solvers should at least have heard of a topo(graphic) map, so it's inferable. And if you've never heard the term before, go check out Martin Gardner's work. His Scientific American columns fascinated me as a kid, and my shelves are chock full of his books.

HOODOO … okay, that might be tough, and I'd be more sympathetic to complainers. I'd lend even more an ear to those kvetching about the CANTOR / ORC crossing.

(The inner nerd in me says HA HA HA ALL THAT TIME I SPENT PLAYING D&D PAID OFF! Not surprisingly, I always had low Charisma scores in my character sheets. Even less surprisingly, I didn't care.)