John E. Bennett author page

My initial concept with "OUT OF ORDER SIGNS" as the central reveal was for common signage text entries consisting of two words, but with the words reversed to make a totally different meaning. I.e. WAY WRONG (Clued: Totally not right) for the out-of-order WRONG WAY sign; or WANTED HELP (Clued: Needed assistance) for the out-of-order HELP WANTED sign. It was really limiting trying to find strong entries that would work both ways.

At some point a asked Jeff if he would look at a couple of puzzles I was playing around with and give me an opinion on whether I was wasting my time or not. He liked the OUT OF ORDER SIGNS concept but right away saw the potential in an anagrammed theme for the out-of-order connection.

Once Jeff "signed on" ;-) , a lot of fun anagramming options sprang up! I was surprised at how many anagrams can be made from words like "speed limit"! We also had a discussion about whether the entries should be the out-of-order signage text or the anagrammed clues. My recollection is that we thought it would be less confusing for solvers if the entries were clean, even though the central revealer seemed to be addressing the entries, and not the clues!

Not being a super savvy anagrammer, I though we should include an optional clue addition that would help solvers place where the out-of-order clue signage would be found. I.e. For SPEED LIMIT we submitted the clue "TEPID SLIME along an interstate". Will opted for the more difficult version without the locator clueing. He also revised our anagrams to be less humorously offbeat. Hmm…

This puzzle has a lot of Jeff Chen's constructing expertise rolled up in it from grid layout to entries. I was happy to be on the Chen team once again!

JEB: I tend to like crossword puzzles that use the diagonal adjacencies in the grid as part of the theme and solving process. This puzzle is no exception. Snakes have always been fascinating to me, but I must admit to being maybe a little overly cautious when hiking in poisonous snake country!

This puzzle seemed like it would be relatively easy to design/construct since the snake shapes could be arranged easily in many different configurations. I put the constraint of total symmetry into the initial mix, which made for a lot of time-consuming frustration! I was finally able to get four poisonous snakes, of reasonable length, to work out in the grid symmetrically using SIDEWINDER, COPPERHEAD, BUSHMASTER, and FER-DE-LANCE along with the central revealer WATCH YOUR STEP!

Although my first submittal to Will received positive attention for overall theme and design configuration, it was turned down because the supporting fill was too weak and the "bushmaster" and "fer-de-lance" entries were not well enough known to solvers. I eventually got a resubmittal version to work replacing those 2 snakes with KING COBRA and PUFF ADDER. (I was pretty much down to the end of poisonous snake possibilities without having the word "snake" appear in the themer!) When this resubmittal was rejected due to (again) relatively poor supporting fill quality, I knew I was going to need help in getting an acceptance. That's when I contacted my cross-town puzzle guru, Jeff Chen.

Jeff accepted the challenge right away and was instrumental in getting this puzzle in the acceptance column! His adjustments to the grid made a huge difference in opening up improved fill possibilities. Jeff also strategically asked Will whether having the snake shapes be symmetrical in the grid was necessary, and Will said "no". He and Joel hadn't even noticed that they were totally symmetrical! This got me off on a different tack which ultimately allowed the puzzle to be configured with all snakes either beginning or ending in the WATCH YOUR STEP! reveal. It also made the snakes look more snaky in their asymmetry, and less like a design pattern. Jeff's input and collaboration helped bail me out once again! ;-)

JEB: The initial inspiration for this puzzle was triggered by my wanting to know the origin of the expression "By hook or by crook." When googled it was interesting to find that it is very old and is said to come from one or two different potential derivations; one relating to firewood restrictions and the other to navigational hazards! I liked that BY HOOK OR BY CROOK could be nicely matched for puzzle symmetry (word length, meaning, and potential graphic relevance) by ONE WAY OR ANOTHER. From there the "hook" and "crook" design graphic, with the FISH and LAMB props, began to take shape.

This puzzle, even though rejected on its first review by Will and Joel., did receive generally positive attention for theme and design. The negative commentary had to do with too much weak fill and a block layout that was overly closed through the center section between the "hook" and "crook". I struggled mightily with the resubmittal and found that in opening the center by shortening the "hook" and "crook" by one square that the fill was still troublesome and the graphic was starting to be compromised. The second submittal was shot down also, even though Will left the door open a crack for another try.

That's when I decided to "call in the cavalry" in the form of my cross-town friend Jeff Chen! :-) I was excited that Jeff wanted to invest time in saving this puzzle as a collaboration, and I know if it weren't for his expertise and input, this puzzle would never have gotten "NYT Ink." Jeff came up with two improved suggested modifications to the "hook" and "crook" layout which helped to loosen up the fill potential. Plus, his more robust word database contributed to the overall fill quality. Following the resubmittal or our new iteration, Will gave it the "thumbs up"!

The initial spark was the thought of doing a puzzle with a large circle graphic — I tend to like puzzles that have something of visual interest in the design.

I realized early on that "mirror symmetry" would be the best option and also, if I wanted to have a long horizontal central themer, I would need a "cheater" square at each end, otherwise it was too difficult to mesh the long themer with the "round" (circle of shaded squares). Once the "round" had taken shape I began the search for circle themes. "THE RING OF FIRE" had potential but fires were mostly too negative! Eventually, it may have been the time of day that made me think about Happy Hour ;-), but at some point I thought "THE ROUND'S ON ME!" could be fun! It had the requisite 13 letters for the central themer and made for nice graphic word play too.

From there the types of bar drinks were fairly easy to list but many didn't yield acceptable fill. The other issue was with the top and bottom words in the "round" which are the only ones that were clued words (not formed like the others by diagonals) that could potentially prematurely give away the other themer words in the "round". RUM, at the top, and VODKA, at the bottom, for example, would have given it away pretty quickly. But GIN (also a card game) and STOUT (not just a drink) worked out to help conceal, from solvers, the thematic reveal words a little longer in the "round".

This was a fun puzzle to construct!

This puzzle has been waiting to be "born" for quite a while. In fact, this was actually the very first puzzle that I had approved for NYT publication, although not the first to be published. The crossword constructing requires real PATIENCE!

I remember with this puzzle, being my first, how exciting it was to not only get an encouraging response back from Will's assistant, but then as a follow-on e-mail to actually see that I was communicating directly with the WILL SHORTZ!

At the time I was doing this puzzle, I had a lot of trouble coming up with six 4-letter "BALL" words that would work in a 4-letter, free-standing cluster in the grid. I remember an earlier version I had submitted that included FOUL as one of the 6 "balls," but this was rejected because it wasn't, like all the others of course, a type of ball per se. Eventually, after many hours of "treasure-hunting" for fills (actually a pretty fun process for constructors!) with my skimpy database at the time, I was eventually able to get 6 "ball" words to work out!

With an earlier version, I had the main themer clued as: "Note from a vacationing friend," which I liked because the temptation for a solver might have been to jump-the-gun with: WISH YOU WERE HERE. For those who would have been using a pen that might have been considered a cruel trap!

I hope the final version was user-friendly and fun!

I am an architect but mostly retired now. About 4 years ago while I was still working in a Seattle architectural office, I had a 3-day weekend to kill while my wife was away for a few days. I decided it would be fun to try my hand at designing a crossword puzzle, since I enjoyed doing them so much. Kind of an architect's approach to many other things in life.

Without any computerized assistance I tried to work out a theme of literal words that do what they describe, like BACKTRACK going in reverse, etc. I got totally into a zone and time stood still for most of the three days. I knew I was hooked! Ever since then, I realized that crossword constructing would have to be a part of my life. Of course my goal, which I knew was a long shot, was to get a puzzle some day in the New York Times. I recognized fairly early on that without a computer program I would spend 99% of my time trying to just get basic word fills to work out. After installing a crossword program I was off and running! Now I need to always have a puzzle somewhere in progress or I feel like something is missing in my life!

The thing I find so satisfying about crossword constructing in my retirement (I like "crossword designing" better; "constructing" is what the contractor, or constructor, does after something is designed) is that for me it is a great substitute for architecture. Designing crossword puzzles is really not unlike designing buildings. You need an overarching concept or theme like "WHAT'S IN THE BOXES?", followed by a development of elements that support or relate to that theme (6 symmetrical letter groups), which then have to be worked into a structural network of support elements (like black squares). The supporting structure needs to have a predictable consistency (like symmetry) and needs to be relatively efficient (no more than 43 squares) and placed in locations that will allow the theme to be accommodated in a seamless and logical manner (symmetry again).

As with a building design, everything must meet code (like no more than 78 clues and no words less than 3 letters) and also comply with acceptable industry conventions (no off-color or depressive terms etc.). Beyond meeting the functional aspects of the design, the main ingredient, just like in architecture, is in the creativity used in producing an end product that will be more than just the sum of its parts. And of course, the design has to be approved by the "the Owner" who uses and pays for the design services and who in this case happens to be Will Shortz! ;-)

The inspiration for the "WHAT'S IN THE BOXES" puzzle was the result of thinking about what every crossword puzzle has in common for the every puzzler. Broken down to its very basics the question for the puzzler is always trying to figure out what IS in each of the boxes. This puzzle takes it to the next fractal up by making larger "boxes" and then having all 6 of them also be types of boxes.