Jacob Reed author page
1 puzzle by Jacob Reed
with Constructor comments
See the 4 answer words debuted by Jacob Reed.
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Aidan Deshong: It's nice to be back on XWord Info, especially when it's Jacob's debut!
We were hunting down theme entries from April to September. Here are my favorites among the others we found that didn't make the cut:
- SPRINGFIELD [Motown?]
- BIRMINGHAM [Allocation?]
- BEAVER [Orbiter?]
- PEACHES [Galoot?]
- HARRY TRUMAN [Modem?]
- JARED POLIS [Cogent?]
…and, as Evan Birnholz pointed out, HEAD OF STATE would make a great revealer. FIRST PLACE would also be good.
Back soon…
Jacob Reed: I'm so excited to be making my NYT debut today, especially with a puzzle that was extremely fun to make with Aidan. I love puzzles, and first got excited about constructing when Caleb Madison started a crossword program at BuzzFeed. I hit him up (perhaps too aggressively?) on the company Slack, and he gave me some pointers and referred me to Patrick Berry's Crossword Constructor handbook. I read it cover to cover and then... did nothing for nine years. Well, that's not entirely true. I did put "submit a crossword puzzle to NYT" on my list of goals each year. Finally, in December 2023, while trying to cross one more thing off my resolution list, I found an online crossword community and, in two weeks, made about twenty not-ready-for-prime-time puzzles. This was actually my third acceptance by the NYT crossword wizards, but Thursdays are often my favorite puzzles to solve, so it's fitting that this'll be the first one to run.
I come from an improv background. In improv, you know a game (or the gimmick of a scene) is clear and fun when everyone on stage jumps in and wants to contribute. That's how Aidan's idea for this theme felt to me. It's a novel device that he should get full credit for. Once I saw [Hiking?] for KAMEHAMEHA, all I wanted to do was pitch alts. I'm thrilled he let me jump in the mix with him on this. Thanks also to John, Boaz, Spencer, Quiara, Kelsey, Evan, and many others who were helpful and supportive during my first few months on the crossword construction chat.
Here are a few... stretchier... themers that didn't make their way in:
- MICKEY EARS [Flat tire?]
- ZATARAINS [Lazing?]
- LOGAN CIRCLE [Paring?]