See the 14 answer words debuted by Narayan Venkatasubramanyan.
S | T | A | G | E | E | G | O | T | P | E | R | P | ||
E | A | G | E | R | G | R | E | A | T | A | P | E | S | |
W | H | A | T | A | G | O | O | D | B | O | Y | A | M | I |
E | O | S | A | I | G | L | U | G | ||||||
R | E | P | A | S | T | S | D | E | C | A | N | T | S | |
S | C | O | T | T | I | S | H | P | O | E | T | |||
U | S | T | A | U | N | A | F | L | U | |||||
S | P | I | N | N | I | N | G | W | H | E | E | L | ||
R | U | E | O | V | I | O | R | E | S | |||||
B | R | A | S | S | S | E | C | T | I | O | N | |||
G | Y | R | A | T | E | S | O | D | D | S | O | C | K | |
L | A | S | Y | O | N | B | A | E | ||||||
F | R | O | M | S | T | E | M | T | O | S | T | E | R | N |
H | A | D | A | H | U | N | C | H | O | H | Y | A | Y | |
A | D | E | N | D | D | A | Y | P | A | S | T | A |
★ Brilliant. Lowercase m looking like r + n smashed together? That's a strong concept in itself. Combining this with the perfect revealer — FROM STEM TO STERN — makes it a constructor's gem. Praise the benevolent Crucivera, goddess of crosswords, for her magnificent gift!
Excellent theme phrases, too. It'd be all too easy to use dictionary definitions that are unsatisfying to uncover, like if [Burns] had been the clue for OVERCOOKS IN THE OVEN. I'd be happy to get SPINNING WHEEL or BRASS SECTION in a themeless, and WHAT A GOOD BOY AM I is straight out of a nursery rhyme.
SCOTTISH POET did feel like an ODD SOCK compared to the others. Is GERMAN COMPOSER crossworthy? How about SOUTHEASTERN BOXER? I'd have preferred a sizzling (pun intended) phrase like GOES UP IN SMOKE for [Bums?].
Not easy to deal with 12-letter themers in the middle, surrounding a 13-letter middle entry. We try to avoid "cheater squares" whenever possible, but adding black squares at the U of USTA and S of ORES can enhance visual appeal. Yes, it's subjective, but pyramid blocks can be so eye-catching.
People ask me all the time what editors are looking for. It's a tough question to answer since most editors say they know it when they see it. If I had to put some words to it, I'd use fresh, interesting, surprising, indescribable ideas. This one hits all of those criteria and more.
A | D | A | M | Y | A | P | A | T | R | H | O | M | B | E | G | G | S | |||
F | I | N | E | O | R | A | M | A | A | S | P | C | A | L | E | A | K | |||
T | A | K | E | O | U | T | O | F | C | O | N | T | E | X | T | L | A | Z | E | |
A | G | A | T | H | A | S | M | O | N | K | D | I | E | S | I | R | A | E | ||
S | N | A | P | O | L | A | A | S | S | |||||||||||
B | L | O | O | D | L | E | S | S | R | E | V | O | L | U | T | I | O | N | ||
G | O | A | D | M | E | R | C | K | I | D | A | S | T | O | A | |||||
E | N | C | O | R | E | T | H | E | M | I | S | S | I | N | G | L | I | N | K | |
L | I | T | R | E | D | E | M | I | N | A | S | E | C | |||||||
I | T | I | R | O | O | T | S | T | H | O | M | M | C | A | N | |||||
D | O | C | T | O | R | S | W | I | T | H | O | U | T | B | O | R | D | E | R | S |
E | U | R | O | A | R | E | A | I | N | A | L | L | N | E | A | |||||
S | T | R | A | T | I | R | N | A | E | A | G | A | N | |||||||
S | P | A | R | E | N | O | E | X | P | E | N | S | E | A | D | V | I | C | E | |
E | K | G | S | O | T | B | T | O | N | A | L | I | N | T | R | |||||
E | A | T | S | S | H | O | O | T | S | A | N | D | L | E | A | V | E | S | ||
A | N | T | X | O | O | S | P | A | R | |||||||||||
L | O | M | I | L | O | M | I | N | L | E | R | A | T | L | A | N | T | A | ||
I | R | A | N | L | E | M | O | N | D | R | O | P | C | O | O | K | I | E | S | |
D | A | Z | E | E | R | A | S | E | O | S | C | A | R | I | N | R | E | |||
S | L | E | D | N | E | X | U | S | S | A | S | S | Y | N | A | N | A |
V | I | E | W | R | O | A | M | A | S | P | E | N | ||
E | S | C | A | P | E | K | E | Y | S | H | A | V | E | |
S | A | C | H | A | B | A | R | O | N | C | O | H | E | N |
T | O | E | D | A | Y | O | O | A | T | |||||
O | R | T | S | A | S | P | I | R | I | N | ||||
D | O | N | E | E | T | G | I | N | O | N | E | |||
W | I | N | O | S | R | E | A | R | T | P | K | E | ||
E | D | A | M | C | E | N | S | E | H | E | L | D | ||
L | A | D | A | A | R | O | S | E | E | D | E | L | ||
L | S | A | T | T | E | R | I | R | A | I | S | E | ||
E | E | R | O | C | A | S | T | E | R | N | S | |||
S | T | E | P | D | A | D | A | H | E | M | ||||
O | W | L | E | L | A | L | T | A | U | |||||
T | H | R | E | E | L | I | T | T | L | E | P | I | G | S |
N | O | O | I | L | S | C | H | E | D | U | L | E | A | |
T | R | I | A | L | M | H | O | S | R | E | E | F |