New York Times, Friday, July 21, 2023

I hope you enjoy today's puzzle. I'm amused to see the clue to YOU GUESSED IT, ["Ding, ding, ding, we have a winner!"] because that clue was the genesis of my 2023 American Crossword Puzzle Tournament puzzle (apologies for the spoiler if you haven't yet solved this year's ACPT puzzles but still intend to).

After submitting this NYT puzzle, I began working on themes for the ACPT. I sent Will Shortz some theme options, including one of the simple add-a-letter(s) variety, putting DING at the end of common phrases to make new and amusing entries. I thought the resulting phrases were fun, and the whole thing could be tied together with the title "We Have A Winner" which seemed like an appropriate sentiment for a tournament puzzle. He nixed the other themes I submitted and chose this theme which became the Sunday puzzle #7 at the tournament, though he did go in a different direction for the title, naming it "Clear as a Bell".

Also, I wanted to take this opportunity to comment on the new Easy Mode versions of Friday puzzles. As someone who has now constructed 30 Friday NYT crossword puzzles (and I'm just getting started!) I'm definitely conflicted about this new offering. I am 100% in favor of easy themeless puzzles; in fact, I currently construct two easy themelesses per month for another publication.

And if you have to have your grid reclued, then it would be hard to find anyone better than the wonderfully talented Christina Iverson for the job.

But that's the thing … it's my grid getting reclued, and it just feels weird. I hope Easy Mode is wildly successful and has the desired result of introducing many new solvers to themeless puzzles. But I also hope the NYT takes the next step and begins offering ORIGINAL easy themeless puzzles rather than this questionable hybrid.

However it plays out, though, it's been an honor to join you for every one of these 30 Fridays (plus all my puzzles on the other days of the week, too), and let's do it again soon : )

YOU GUESSED IT, yet another Robyn themeless that could have upped her POW! tally. Such a Weintraubian feel, with a cheesy clue referencing "cheesy dinner parties" for FONDUE POTS and a groaner with "out" = aSLEEP and "about" = WALKING. My favorite, though, was a fantastic entry, PLAY PHONE TAG, made so vivid by misdirecting to a wedding ceremony. [Exchanging rings?] is a blessed moment of inspiration, repurposing a common phrase for something completely different.

And don't forget the little touches! So many themeless constructors focus on their cluing for long entries and then toss in a bunch of fluff for the shorties. DORM can be such a neutral entry, so I appreciated the extra aha as I flipped from "I have to be able to name the parts of a Jewish temple?" indignation (although APSE does appear a lot, so it would be fair) to elation as I figured out that temple was Temple University. Beautiful use of the old "hidden capital" trick.

I did pause at [Kitchen variety], wondering if that was a similar phrase to "garden variety." Even after uncovering GALLEY, I still wasn't sure, as the book and the boat definitions are more familiar to this writer.

Hmm … a book galley about a kitchen galley on a galley boat …

Don't be SILLY.

I was also confused by the TEN-YARD LINE clue. [Boundary for "first and goal" plays] should be GOAL LINE, yeah? I suppose you could argue that the TEN-YARD LINE bounds the space where most first and goal plays occur, but yikes, that's stretching it.

Speaking of stretching it, I'll end with one of my kids' favorite jokes. Want to hear a joke about pizza?

Eh, I shouldn't tell you. It's too cheesy.