See the 10 answer words debuted by Alice Liang.
C | R | A | W | A | P | A | R | T | A | D | O | S | ||
R | A | M | I | S | A | B | E | R | D | E | M | I | ||
U | D | O | N | I | D | I | D | I | N | D | E | E | D | |
M | I | N | E | C | A | R | T | P | E | O | P | L | E | |
B | A | R | G | A | M | E | B | L | E | N | D | E | D | |
S | N | A | R | L | S | E | E | D | I | T | O | |||
A | E | R | A | T | E | S | A | S | T | O | ||||
S | O | A | P | B | O | X | P | R | E | A | C | H | E | R |
A | B | L | E | B | I | A | S | C | U | T | ||||
T | A | B | T | I | N | T | D | O | F | F | S | |||
A | M | U | S | I | N | G | S | U | R | F | E | I | T | |
N | A | M | A | T | H | O | H | H | E | L | L | N | O | |
I | N | A | G | O | O | D | W | A | Y | O | L | I | N | |
S | I | R | E | O | U | N | C | E | V | O | T | E | ||
M | A | T | S | D | E | S | K | S | E | W | E | S |
A | M | P | U | P | C | O | C | O | P | C | S | |||
C | R | O | N | E | S | E | P | I | A | O | O | H | ||
H | I | T | S | T | H | E | R | O | O | F | T | O | E | |
R | E | S | O | L | E | S | S | C | A | L | E | |||
S | H | O | E | G | L | A | S | S | O | T | I | S | ||
P | I | A | N | O | B | L | U | E | T | O | O | T | H | |
A | H | S | N | A | Y | M | E | O | W | |||||
M | O | T | H | E | R | T | O | N | G | U | E | |||
A | I | M | E | A | O | L | O | R | A | |||||
B | U | B | B | L | E | G | U | M | S | O | F | A | S | |
E | T | A | L | D | O | N | N | A | F | I | L | E | ||
H | O | R | A | S | T | O | I | L | I | N | G | |||
A | P | T | W | O | R | D | O | F | M | O | U | T | H | |
V | I | E | A | D | I | O | S | A | T | R | I | A | ||
E | A | R | P | E | P | S | M | E | E | T | S |
I was at my wit's end with theme ideas going absolutely nowhere, procrastinating by online shopping, when I was prompted with a "How did you hear about our product?" survey. One of the options, WORD OF MOUTH, caught my eye. As a poet, I often play with the vocabulary of the MOUTH as a motif in my writing, so it feels apt to have that reflected in my debut puzzle.
It was a great honor to be a part of the Diverse Crossword Constructor Fellowship! I definitely plan to continue constructing puzzles, and I have another one coming out with the LA Times on July 5th. I'm excited for everyone to play the puzzles from the other talented constructors in my cohort as well.
Thanks to the friends who brutally play-tested many a grid for me. Thanks to all the editors who provided such insightful help and fun banter. Special thank you to my mentor Christina Iverson, who provided vital encouragement, support and direction over the course of the fellowship and beyond.