Amanda Rafkin author page

AMANDA: Always a thrill to be back in The Times, especially with my forever-collaborator Ross! Our puzzle today is interesting for me because it turns something I hate (the "who wore it better?" question) into something I love. To me, the existence of this question in its typical context represents so many of the problematic viewpoints society seems to have towards women.

What I love about the question's transformation in this puzzle is that, through the lens of comparing these quasi-silly outfits on male animals and characters, it sort of illuminates how ridiculous the question is to begin with. (For what it's worth, I'm very here for comparing how we all look in FOOTIE PAJAMAS because the answer is "Totally awesome!")

If I were making this puzzle today, there's no universe in which I'd allow NRA to be in here, even with a clue like this one that I can get behind. It's easy to look back on past work with a critical eye, but even the stuff I wish was different serves as an opportunity to reflect and grow, or reflect upon growth.

I hope this goofy puzzle brings you as much joy to solve as it brought us to make! If you're interested in learning how to make puzzles, particularly if you're from an underrepresented group, feel free to reach out on Twitter and say hi. (@AmandaRafkin).

ROSS: What she said! If you're interested in learning how to make crossword puzzles, feel free to get in touch via Twitter or Rossword Puzzles.

I'm very excited to be here today with my first ever themeless puzzle in The Times! I got really into writing themelesses over the summer, but this was one of the first ones I completed that I was really excited about. Getting to feature ALPHA FEMALE at 1-Across will be hard to top for me, and having the matching DEMIGODDESS in the opposite corner was really just the icing on the cake. Both of these words also have masculine equivalents (alpha male and demigod) that we tend to see and hear a whole lot more, so it was amazing for me to get to feature these equally-valid (if not even cooler) words in prominent places in this grid. I hope seeing these brings to your solving experience even a fraction of the joy and excitement I felt upon discovering that I could include them.

If you're a person who's interested in learning how to make crossword puzzles, particularly if you're from an underrepresented group, feel free to reach out via Twitter (@AmandaRafkin) or my puzzle site. I'd be more than happy to talk shop and/or help out in any way I can.

When we linked up last year via social media to start making puzzles together, it was love at first Zoom. Within a few weeks, Ross had flown across the country to visit Amanda in L.A., and we spent a blissful three days making grids: on the sofa, in coffee shops, in the lobby of the historic Hollywood Roosevelt hotel. Towards the end of the weekend, the idea for a TWO PEAS IN A POD grid lodged itself in Amanda's brain as a way to commemorate our improbable puzz-based friendship. Ross needed little convincing. As if the story needed any more saccharine details, we even have a photo of us collaboratively placing the puzzle envelope into a blue mailbox.

Will and co. accepted the grid as you see it, but decided in final edits that CREVE / VEE was preferable to CREPE / PEE, given the rebus PP's. We offered to rework a few squares to accommodate CRETE / TEE (there's a TEED that would have needed to change), but it was too late to make changes. All this to say, well, CREVE isn't in our personal word lists, with apologies to the ~18,000 residents of Creve Coeur, MO. We also would have preferred to have TORI clued as a woman, but the editors felt the puzzle was a bit name-heavy and preferred to clue the entry as a word rather than a proper noun. Though Amanda loves women and has a brain that crumbles at the thought or sight of numbers, she conceded.

For more Rafkin-Trudeau grids, visit either of our puzzle sites: Brain Candy and Rossword Puzzles.

Even though this is my sixth NYT puzzle, I'm very excited to say that today's puzzle is actually my solo debut! Not only that, but it contains a whole lot of music references — now that's what I call a WIN-WIN SITUATION!

Puzzles are a funny world because, due to the often substantive queue times, a published puzzle can be something of a time capsule. It is both very cool and very humbling. Looking at this puzzle today (which I wrote over a year ago), I see a lot of things that I like and a few things that, if I were to make this puzzle now, I don't think I would include (I'm looking at you IMF and ELD)! These days I'm trying to take a bit of a Marie Kondo approach to puzzle making. "Does this word spark joy? No? Bye-bye!"

That being said, there are a handful of classical music references in here plus a musical theater reference, so things are still deeply on brand. SONATAS and CHOPIN feel particularly special to me since it was a Beethoven SONATA that got me into the performing arts school where I went to high school and then, four years later, both a Beethoven SONATA coupled with a CHOPIN ballade (plus the obligatory Bach) got me into music school at IU (Go Hoosiers!). I also happen to have Chopin's signature tattooed on my side next to my heart, so I'm definitely not deeply emotional about the fact that I got his name into an NYT puzzle with my name on it.

I did have GROUPS clued as "Possible therapy settings" since I also worked as a therapist until about a year ago, but alas, it did not make the cut!

I hope you enjoy the puzzle!

AMANDA: I periodically find myself experiencing a dry spell when it comes to theme ideas, so whenever I have one that really excites me, it's always cause for a bit of celebration. This specific theme is one that I was particularly excited about because it makes an otherwise pretty "whatever" crossword entry (EIEIO) into something that feels interesting to me. My first thought was "Are there even going to be any phrases that include only the vowels EIEIO, and in that order?!" Luckily for us, there were! To be honest, I don't remember much else about the making of this puzzle other than the excitement of stumbling upon the idea, but I hope that when you, too, stumble across the theme it brings you even a fraction of the joy/interest that it brought me!

Additionally, in an effort to be a bigger part of the movement to make crossword puzzles a more inclusive space for everyone, I would love to hear from anyone about the elements of your experience that you feel are largely missing from the puzzles you solve. Whether it's your heroes, your cuisine, your terminology, or any other element of your experience, I would love to know so I can try to be mindful of their inclusion in future grids, whether for a mainstream outlet or for the puzzles on my site. Feel free to reach out to me on Twitter (@amandarafkin) if you have any thoughts about how I can help to make your puzzles a more inclusive space.

ROSS: I'm donating payment for this puzzle to the Lebanese Red Cross.

If you're looking to get into crossword constructing, and especially if you identify as non-male, LGBTQ+, or as a person of color, I'd be thrilled to offer whatever help I can to help you get your puzzles published. Contact me via Twitter (@trudeauross) or my personal puzzle site.

AMANDA: Always a thrill to be back in the NYT! I hope everyone is doing alright, staying sane and healthy, and continuing to fight for much-needed social justice. Speaking of which, there are a handful of wonderful folks in the puzzle community who are doing puzzles-for-donations. If you're looking for a way to do some good while also getting your hands on some amazing puzzles, look no further than the list below:

1. Erik Agard is raising money for 1StruggleKC. If you go to their website and send Erik a screenshot of your donation receipt to agarderik@gmail.com, he'll send you some old, unreleased crosswords.
2. Paolo Pasco is raising money for the Black Lives Matter cause of your choice in exchange for a handful of puzzles by various constructors. If you go to this link you can find the details on how to donate, as well as what puzzles you'll be receiving.
3. Eric Berlin is raising money for Feeding America with his "Social Distancing Puzzle" pack:" eleven challenging puzzles to solve with a partner, over Zoom, or in the same room." Click on this link for instructions on how to donate and receive the puzzles. Your donation will get you two packs of puzzles (one for each solver) and a third file with hints and solutions.
4. Lone Shark Games has put together a puzzle pack of "Marching Bands For The Marchers." When you donate Campaign Zero to end police brutality, you'll receive your puzzle pack.

And if you're looking for some additional puzzles to solve while staying at home, I post new puzzles to my site every day.

ROSS: I'm donating my payment for today's puzzle to Violence in Boston, Inc.

If you're looking to get into crossword constructing — and especially if you identify as POC, womxn, or LGBTQ+ — I'd be thrilled to offer whatever assistance I can to help you get your puzzles published. Contact me via Twitter, Instagram, or rosswordpuzzles.com.

AMANDA: Wow, what a blast from the past! This was the first puzzle that I ever conceived of and worked on constructing. I knew I wanted to make an Avengers-themed puzzle, and I'd just tricked Ross into, I mean, asked Ross to take me under his wing and show me the ropes of the crossworld. My original idea for a revealer was, to put it generously, embarrassing (what a newb), but in his usual fashion, Ross was able to offer up the brilliant idea for a revealer that you see here.

Fictional superheroes are cool, but to all the real-life superheroes who are out fighting for justice right now... this one's for you. And if you're looking for more puzzles to solve, I post puzzles daily on my website and on Twitter (@amandarafkin). Happy solving, take good care of yourself and each other, and keep fighting the good fight.

ROSS: I'm donating my payment for this puzzle to Violence in Boston, Inc.

If you're looking to get into crossword constructing, and especially if you identify as non-male, LGBTQ+, or as a person of color, I'd be thrilled to offer whatever assistance I can to help you get your puzzles published. Contact me via Instagram (@rosstrudeau), Twitter (@trudeauross), or rosswordpuzzles.com.

AMANDA: What an absolute thrill to be making my NYT crossword debut! I'll let the entries of PRIDE MONTH, GAYER, AIDA, and MORENO serve as a formal introduction. That pretty much tells you most of what you need to know about me. (Ok, ok: I'm a concert pianist turned therapist turned musical theater pianist/composer. As one is.)

It's been such a fun experience to discover and break into the crossworld where my puns are embraced rather than identified as the formal cause of me swiftly seeing myself out of a room. Getting to make these puzzles, especially with Ross, has been such a huge source of joy for me and I hope you find some joy yourself in the solve! If you want to say hi and nerd out, you can find me on all the usual platforms where my handle is just my name because I've used up all of my creativity in other outlets.

ROSS: Amanda writes all the best clues in this and every puzzle we make together. Bow down.

Also, if you identify as non-male and/or LGBTQ+ and/or POC and you want to get into crossword constructing, I'd be thrilled to offer whatever assistance I can to help you get your puzzles published. Contact me via Instagram (@rosstrudeau) or Twitter (@trudeauross).