Rebecca Goldstein author page
18 puzzles by Rebecca Goldstein
with Constructor comments
| Total | Debut | Latest | Collabs |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18 | 12/2/2021 | 11/17/2024 | 8 |
| Sun | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 2 |
| Rebus | Circle | Scrab | Debut | Fresh |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 3 | 1.65 | 93 | 41% |
Rebecca Goldstein, of Albany, Calif., is a research scientist at Merck, developing cancer immunotherapies.
| W | E | B | B | V | I | C | E | V | E | R | S | A | T | I | L | L | ||||
| A | W | O | L | M | A | C | A | R | O | N | I | A | R | T | A | G | U | A | ||
| R | E | D | O | U | P | U | P | A | N | D | A | W | A | Y | K | E | R | I | ||
| D | R | Y | W | I | N | E | B | S | M | E | T | E | R | |||||||
| S | L | I | N | G | A | R | I | G | A | T | O | M | U | T | T | S | ||||
| A | N | S | S | M | A | L | L | T | O | W | N | S | H | H | ||||||
| S | N | I | T | H | O | M | E | A | L | O | N | E | T | E | A | S | ||||
| C | O | G | N | A | T | E | A | N | N | A | L | W | A | S | H | T | U | B | ||
| A | B | U | T | A | C | E | E | D | S | H | B | O | I | A | G | O | ||||
| L | E | A | H | T | A | R | O | B | O | I | L | G | L | A | M | |||||
| L | I | G | E | R | T | I | N | Y | H | O | U | S | E | S | H | O | R | E | ||
| S | T | E | W | I | E | E | M | A | I | L | M | E | M | A | R | T | Y | R | ||
| I | N | R | E | E | L | V | E | S | B | O | G | O | ||||||||
| S | H | I | N | D | I | G | S | L | E | S | G | E | T | S | A | T | A | N | ||
| T | E | N | D | V | O | L | T | J | O | S | T | D | A | L | E | |||||
| A | R | K | H | O | T | A | I | R | B | A | L | L | O | O | N | P | L | S | ||
| N | E | W | D | O | P | L | A | Y | G | O | D | A | U | D | I | S | ||||
| W | E | E | L | A | S | S | B | R | A | M | I | N | I | V | A | N | ||||
| H | E | L | L | Y | E | A | H | A | N | T | I | D | A | R | E | N | O | T | ||
| U | G | L | I | O | N | O | T | E | E | N | E | S | A | C | N | E | ||||
| B | O | S | S | N | E | T | E | A | T | S | E | E | D |
| C | A | R | D | B | A | S | A | L | C | L | A | N | G | A | S | S | T | |||
| A | G | A | R | U | L | T | R | A | O | S | C | A | R | R | A | C | E | |||
| S | U | M | O | R | O | O | M | Y | B | U | M | P | E | R | C | A | R | S | ||
| H | A | P | P | Y | N | E | W | Y | E | A | R | E | S | T | A | R | A | T | ||
| T | A | S | R | N | A | A | C | T | I | N | ||||||||||
| M | O | M | A | E | A | S | T | H | A | M | Y | E | N | T | E | |||||
| D | O | W | A | G | E | R | S | Y | E | S | E | S | N | E | O | N | ||||
| L | O | S | E | H | E | A | R | T | P | A | R | S | E | C | A | N | N | E | ||
| A | C | C | R | A | S | O | U | A | H | A | T | R | O | N | ||||||
| S | K | A | D | E | L | T | O | R | O | E | A | T | E | R | S | |||||
| S | E | T | R | O | L | L | E | R | C | O | A | S | T | E | R | N | O | T | ||
| I | D | O | T | O | O | R | E | S | P | A | W | N | N | A | E | |||||
| H | O | W | L | E | E | L | A | C | E | S | W | E | D | E | ||||||
| W | A | N | E | O | I | L | E | R | S | C | H | E | S | T | H | A | I | R | ||
| P | A | I | N | P | E | O | N | Y | H | A | T | E | R | A | D | E | ||||
| M | A | T | C | H | S | T | Y | U | B | E | R | M | I | C | S | |||||
| T | R | E | E | S | P | S | I | O | V | A | ||||||||||
| S | E | A | R | U | G | S | R | E | S | E | T | T | L | E | M | E | N | T | ||
| W | A | T | E | R | S | L | I | D | E | M | A | O | R | I | O | R | E | O | ||
| A | M | E | N | H | A | L | O | S | O | R | G | A | N | L | I | M | P | |||
| P | S | S | T | I | D | L | E | S | L | L | A | M | A | E | N | O | S |
| O | A | H | U | O | F | F | S | S | C | O | L | D | ||
| O | V | E | N | K | I | L | T | H | A | N | O | I | ||
| F | I | R | S | T | Y | E | A | R | R | U | M | B | A | |
| S | E | A | O | F | G | A | L | I | L | E | E | |||
| A | B | U | T | I | E | D | ||||||||
| Y | E | L | L | O | W | B | R | I | C | K | R | O | A | D |
| A | R | E | R | I | R | I | O | M | N | I | ||||
| C | R | O | W | N | A | V | E | S | N | A | D | A | ||
| H | O | N | E | A | P | E | S | H | E | N | ||||
| T | R | A | N | Q | U | I | L | I | T | Y | B | A | S | E |
| T | U | R | N | S | K | A | ||||||||
| I | M | W | A | L | K | I | N | H | E | R | E | |||
| U | S | A | I | R | S | M | O | O | S | H | I | N | G | |
| S | T | I | L | T | A | U | N | T | O | R | S | O | ||
| B | O | N | D | S | C | P | A | S | P | E | A | T |
| O | N | I | C | E | B | A | N | C | P | A | T | |||
| L | O | C | A | L | C | O | L | O | R | P | O | R | E | |
| G | O | O | B | S | O | L | E | T | E | L | I | E | D | |
| A | N | N | O | M | O | X | I | E | O | N | Y | X | ||
| O | H | M | A | P | P | L | Y | T | O | |||||
| L | A | S | S | I | E | Y | E | S | B | U | T | |||
| S | I | L | E | N | T | D | I | S | C | O | L | O | O | |
| L | O | L | S | T | I | M | O | R | J | A | K | E | ||
| U | N | O | G | O | E | S | B | A | N | A | N | A | S | |
| E | S | P | R | I | T | S | W | A | N | K | Y | |||
| S | P | Y | S | H | I | P | L | E | E | |||||
| W | H | O | D | E | N | O | K | I | E | T | N | A | ||
| E | A | S | E | B | A | N | N | E | R | Y | E | A | R | |
| B | R | E | R | I | N | D | I | S | A | R | R | A | Y | |
| B | E | D | T | E | S | T | H | E | N | N | A |
| G | R | A | M | L | A | K | E | R | A | I | L | ||
| L | A | M | A | B | R | I | M | A | L | D | A | ||
| A | P | P | L | E | S | T | O | A | P | P | L | E | S |
| D | I | E | T | S | S | I | R | T | A | T | |||
| E | N | D | P | I | C | K | L | E | B | A | L | L | |
| S | O | U | P | N | O | S | E | L | L | Y | |||
| E | P | I | P | E | N | D | O | R | K | Y | |||
| C | O | R | N | H | O | L | E | ||||||
| S | T | A | R | T | U | N | E | A | S | E | |||
| S | T | I | R | B | L | T | L | I | A | M | |||
| C | A | N | D | Y | C | R | U | S | H | T | R | I | |
| A | S | K | O | O | O | O | W | E | N | S | |||
| T | H | E | H | U | N | G | E | R | G | A | M | E | S |
| H | E | R | B | C | U | R | E | C | A | S | E | ||
| E | S | S | O | H | E | A | D | O | P | T | S |
This puzzle began as most of our collaborations do. Rebecca texted Rachel "CORNHOLE, PICKLEBALL… Is this anything?" Rachel pitched HUNGER GAMES as a revealer, and after extensive debates over whether or not NOODLE JOUST is a real game, we landed on APPLES TO APPLES (Rachel's preferred card game) and CANDY CRUSH (Rebecca's preferred mobile game) to round out the set. As per usual, making the grid was a team effort, and then Rebecca wrote the Across clues and Rachel wrote the Downs.
We are also thrilled to announce that These Puzzles Fund Abortion 4, which Rachel co-edits and to which Rebecca contributed a puzzle (in collaboration with Adam Wagner!) is currently available for presale. If you donate before March 15, you'll receive the pack when it's released on Friday, but donations will be accepted through the end of May.
| L | A | R | A | R | A | S | P | S | R | I | R | I | ||
| E | V | E | N | T | U | A | L | L | Y | A | H | E | M | |
| G | O | L | D | E | N | H | O | U | R | C | A | N | S | |
| S | W | O | O | N | S | T | O | A | D | E | T | T | E | |
| N | A | P | A | T | H | E | B | E | S | T | ||||
| C | O | M | E | N | O | W | M | I | T | T | ||||
| E | P | A | T | I | G | O | N | S | B | O | R | G | ||
| N | E | R | O | N | E | W | A | T | S | A | I | L | ||
| A | N | K | H | T | E | N | N | I | S | S | K | A | ||
| S | E | G | O | C | L | I | N | K | E | D | ||||
| R | E | T | O | R | T | S | Y | E | T | I | ||||
| H | A | R | D | B | O | I | L | T | U | G | S | O | N | |
| I | S | A | Y | S | M | A | R | T | P | H | O | N | E | |
| N | O | T | E | C | O | M | P | O | S | T | B | I | N | |
| O | N | E | S | A | N | A | I | S | S | A | T | E |
| O | S | C | A | R | P | E | A | R | P | U | F | F | ||
| L | E | A | S | E | E | L | L | E | O | S | L | O | ||
| D | E | F | I | B | R | O | O | F | T | O | A | A | R | |
| E | Y | E | S | S | I | T | E | E | L | S | I | E | ||
| R | A | A | A | T | T | L | E | F | A | T | A | L | ||
| L | I | A | R | S | L | I | M | O | ||||||
| I | H | A | D | T | O | P | E | R | Y | M | C | A | ||
| S | U | I | A | L | C | H | E | M | Y | A | H | I | ||
| H | T | T | P | L | U | X | N | E | C | K | E | D | ||
| E | M | I | T | B | E | A | L | E | ||||||
| S | T | A | I | N | P | U | S | H | U | A | R | A | ||
| S | P | E | C | S | P | E | N | S | S | T | A | N | ||
| P | O | A | O | T | T | L | E | S | S | T | U | N | G | |
| O | K | R | A | W | O | V | E | H | E | R | D | S | ||
| T | E | N | T | O | P | E | N | O | R | N | O | T |
| B | A | R | K | H | U | L | A | E | L | S | E | P | A | P | A | W | |||
| O | H | I | O | B | R | I | S | N | A | P | A | E | C | O | L | I | |||
| B | A | N | K | R | O | L | L | S | G | O | O | G | L | E | A | P | P | S | |
| A | S | D | O | I | S | N | I | T | S | I | L | O | B | O | P | ||||
| M | M | A | A | S | O | F | L | E | T | S | G | O | |||||||
| C | H | O | O | S | E | S | S | I | D | E | S | S | T | A | R | T | L | E | |
| H | E | H | H | O | A | X | O | D | E | S | A | B | A | T | E | S | |||
| O | L | D | S | O | N | G | O | L | S | E | N | S | R | V | L | O | T | ||
| P | L | E | A | T | S | A | N | I | D | E | A | D | E | Y | E | S | |||
| S | N | A | G | S | B | L | E | S | S | A | V | A | S | T | |||||
| O | R | E | T | A | L | K | T | U | R | K | E | Y | R | U | T | ||||
| A | R | E | N | T | S | P | E | E | D | P | A | N | A | M | |||||
| E | N | D | I | N | G | I | T | E | A | R | E | L | I | S | H | A | |||
| S | T | E | V | E | S | E | W | A | R | D | I | W | A | N | T | I | N | ||
| U | N | W | I | S | E | D | A | S | H | P | R | E | Y | O | T | S | |||
| N | A | S | C | E | N | T | S | H | E | P | H | E | R | D | S | P | I | E | |
| R | E | N | O | W | N | E | R | O | S | S | A | T | |||||||
| O | V | A | C | E | O | S | O | R | C | A | T | O | P | A | Z | ||||
| K | I | C | K | T | H | E | C | A | N | T | A | B | L | E | W | I | N | E | |
| A | S | K | E | W | Z | A | N | Y | A | L | B | A | E | N | Y | A | |||
| Y | E | S | N | O | E | P | E | E | L | E | A | D | D | E | A | L |
| A | C | C | R | A | C | H | O | P | I | S | I | T | ||
| S | O | L | A | R | H | I | R | E | T | A | L | E | ||
| S | P | A | M | F | I | L | T | E | R | A | L | L | A | |
| T | E | M | P | M | O | I | B | L | A | B | S | |||
| S | P | A | G | H | E | T | T | I | C | O | D | E | ||
| R | O | O | H | O | E | B | F | F | ||||||
| P | H | O | T | O | L | O | A | N | A | I | L | |||
| R | A | H | F | O | O | D | W | E | B | R | N | A | ||
| A | D | S | A | V | E | S | E | S | S | E | X | |||
| M | A | P | C | H | E | F | A | T | ||||||
| H | A | M | B | U | R | G | E | R | M | E | N | U | ||
| C | U | R | E | S | A | V | A | P | E | N | D | |||
| O | N | E | L | J | A | V | A | U | P | D | A | T | E | |
| A | C | M | E | A | G | E | D | S | A | T | I | N | ||
| T | H | E | E | M | O | L | E | I | D | O | L | S |
| Z | O | M | B | I | E | P | U | F | F | I | N | |||
| A | T | O | A | S | T | S | E | R | R | A | N | O | ||
| P | O | O | D | L | E | G | O | T | N | A | K | E | D | |
| S | E | D | G | E | F | A | I | R | M | E | S | S | ||
| S | E | T | F | O | R | L | I | F | E | |||||
| H | A | W | S | E | A | L | S | A | R | T | I | E | ||
| A | D | I | N | T | M | I | S | W | A | R | M | S | ||
| I | M | N | O | T | A | S | C | I | E | N | T | I | S | T |
| T | I | G | R | I | S | F | R | I | E | P | E | E | ||
| I | N | S | E | T | F | R | O | S | H | L | T | R | ||
| G | O | B | L | I | N | M | O | D | E | |||||
| S | O | A | R | R | U | E | S | H | O | T | E | L | ||
| C | H | E | E | Z | I | T | S | S | O | N | A | T | A | |
| A | I | R | T | I | M | E | U | H | O | K | A | Y | ||
| B | O | O | S | T | S | M | O | R | E | L | S |
After dabbling in themeless construction mostly at AVCX+ and with Rafa at Universal, I'm thrilled to have my first themeless puzzle in The Times. I'm a sucker for a good spanner, and since I am actually a scientist, 34-Across struck me as the perfect seed entry. My favorite clue is at 1-Across; I'd been waiting to use it for a while and was glad to use it to open this puzzle. I hope you enjoy!
| B | T | S | S | K | I | M | W | A | T | C | H | D | I | M | S | |||||
| U | A | E | O | N | M | E | A | N | I | T | A | R | E | C | A | L | L | |||
| T | H | E | E | L | E | P | H | A | N | T | M | A | N | A | V | E | N | U | E | |
| W | E | S | T | A | T | E | D | E | B | H | E | S | S | |||||||
| H | O | Y | A | A | R | S | T | O | L | L | B | O | O | T | H | S | ||||
| Y | E | A | R | N | E | D | P | I | R | A | T | E | S | Y | ||||||
| B | E | B | O | P | N | I | N | E | A | I | N | T | ||||||||
| T | H | U | N | B | E | R | G | O | K | R | A | T | E | E | M | S | ||||
| G | E | O | D | E | O | A | K | I | U | D | S | L | A | T | E | |||||
| A | C | T | S | N | A | P | T | I | M | E | T | U | B | E | S | A | L | |||
| S | H | Y | S | Y | M | B | O | L | I | C | L | O | G | I | C | C | U | E | ||
| P | H | O | O | T | O | E | N | B | O | R | A | N | G | |||||||
| S | U | G | A | R | S | T | P | O | O | P | M | E | R | C | Y | |||||
| B | A | N | T | U | S | L | E | D | L | A | H | D | I | D | A | H | ||||
| N | O | N | E | A | P | E | S | Y | I | E | L | D | ||||||||
| Y | O | U | F | L | A | T | T | E | R | M | E | S | N | O | W | D | A | Y | ||
| D | E | C | A | T | E | O | S | U | A | I | M | E | ||||||||
| I | N | T | L | E | T | A | I | T | S | B | E | E | N | R | E | A | L | |||
| S | T | A | F | F | S | B | I | G | S | H | O | E | S | T | O | F | I | L | L | |
| S | A | V | E | A | S | O | V | U | L | E | R | A | R | E | N | I | A | |||
| S | E | E | D | O | S | T | E | R | S | U | E | S | S | E | T |
REBECCA: What a thrill to see this puzzle in print! The revealer and concept came to me relatively easily, but after a few hours of trying to fill around the double letters by hand, I was completely stuck. Rafa's coding skills to the rescue! Once we had a promising layout, Rafa ran some code to generate a wordlist with all the possible entries that could work around the double letters. We filled the grid, and ended up deciding that the theme entries could be sparklier, so we started all over. Getting everything to work — after a few more layouts, coded wordlists, and rounds of fill — felt like a miracle. This puzzle couldn't have happened without Rafa's coding; his stack at 45- and 46-Down and signature colloquial fill at 109-Across are just the cherries on top.
RAFA: Beyond excited to be back so soon for another Sunday! I'm always in awe of Rebecca's theme brain, and I was immediately in love with this revealer when she approached me with this theme idea. It was cool to use the knowledge from my software day job to write code to make it easier to fill this grid. Stacked themers are no joke to fill around, so I'm particularly proud of the fun bonus fill we were able to squeeze into this grid, as well as the nods to our Bay Area home at 54-Across and 45-Down.
| M | E | M | E | G | A | M | M | A | I | L | S | A | ||
| A | X | E | D | A | R | O | A | R | F | E | U | D | ||
| S | P | E | W | A | L | K | I | N | G | S | A | H | L | |
| S | E | T | I | N | S | N | O | B | D | W | I | |||
| I | D | U | N | N | O | T | A | N | G | L | E | E | B | |
| V | I | P | E | A | R | A | I | R | E | S | ||||
| E | A | S | T | H | O | W | E | M | A | S | T | |||
| W | O | U | L | D | E | V | E | R | ||||||
| R | O | I | L | O | S | L | O | S | T | I | R | |||
| S | E | E | R | S | S | O | B | A | N | A | ||||
| T | W | D | L | E | D | U | M | M | I | D | G | U | T | |
| A | R | I | N | A | S | A | L | A | T | T | E | |||
| Y | I | P | S | T | U | M | B | L | E | W | E | E | D | |
| U | T | A | H | E | R | I | E | S | G | A | R | P | ||
| P | E | L | E | S | P | E | N | D | S | M | O | G |
At some point (before seeing one rolling across the highway somewhere between Sedona and Phoenix), TUMBLEWEED became a common phrase in my household. At some other point, I realized it might make a good revealer by parsing TUMBLE as an anagram indicator for WEED. To elevate a standard hidden anagram theme, I used this mechanism so that the WEEDs are rolling not only within their entries, but also visually throughout the grid. Happy Thursday!
Please check out These Puzzl3s Fund Abortion (TPFA3), a pack of crossword puzzles created around the belief that everyone should have access to safe and affordable abortion care. Constructed by an all-star group of puzzlemakers and editors who are passionate about Reproductive Justice, TPFA3 contains 16 original, brand-new puzzles centered around social and reproductive justice themes. Presale is open, and puzzles will be available on March 28 — visit https://fund.nnaf.org/tpfa3 to donate now.
| N | E | O | N | R | O | B | E | A | V | I | V | P | L | A | N | A | |||||
| A | L | P | O | C | H | I | A | O | B | A | M | A | L | O | A | V | E | S | |||
| C | L | E | A | R | A | S | C | R | Y | S | T | A | L | D | E | R | B | I | E | S | |
| L | E | C | H | E | T | E | N | S | M | U | O | N | S | O | L | D | E | ||||
| S | H | O | P | S | G | R | E | E | N | A | S | G | R | A | S | S | |||||
| H | I | G | H | T | O | P | S | A | A | A | S | S | L | O | M | O | |||||
| A | L | L | I | E | D | E | N | L | I | S | T | A | N | T | F | A | R | M | |||
| S | O | U | N | D | A | S | A | B | E | L | L | A | L | B | S | L | I | E | U | ||
| U | S | E | D | C | N | B | C | K | R | I | S | C | O | D | A | S | |||||
| P | E | D | M | O | O | D | D | E | T | E | S | T | S | A | V | E | M | E | |||
| P | R | E | T | T | Y | A | S | A | P | I | C | T | U | R | E | ||||||
| B | I | G | A | I | R | H | O | T | P | O | T | R | O | M | P | N | S | A | |||
| O | D | O | R | S | S | E | L | A | W | I | I | G | S | O | W | S | |||||
| B | O | A | T | D | U | N | K | S | M | A | R | T | A | S | A | W | H | I | P | ||
| A | L | L | Y | S | O | N | S | W | E | A | R | S | E | L | A | I | N | E | |||
| P | A | S | H | A | H | A | R | M | G | O | G | E | T | T | E | R | |||||
| S | M | O | O | T | H | A | S | S | I | L | K | B | O | R | A | T | |||||
| P | A | L | O | O | T | H | E | R | P | E | O | N | A | B | O | U | T | ||||
| A | R | M | P | I | T | S | P | L | E | A | S | E | D | A | S | P | U | N | C | H | |
| S | T | E | E | P | S | T | E | M | P | T | F | A | T | E | M | I | L | E | |||
| M | A | C | R | O | A | D | U | E | S | T | E | W | S | T | A | Y |
You might be solving too many crossword puzzles if upon hearing the phrase "free as a bird," your brain translates it to a theoretical crossword clue [Free, as a bird] for the answer UNCAGE, then swaps that pair to the answer FREE AS A BIRD clued as [Uncage?], and then tries to find a theme set based on that conceit. Finding enough symmetrical theme entries where the opening adjective made sense as a verb and could be neatly clued with one word was slow-going; I sat on this idea for over a year. Ultimately, broadening the search from similes with AS A to include also those with only AS yielded more choices. Still, this puzzle went through a revision.
Bonus points to solvers who catch the throwbacks to my previous puzzles in 1D and 18A's clue.
Many thanks to the editing team for the opportunity to revise, and especially for the delightful title. I am 112-Across to have my first Sunday in the New York Times, and hope you enjoy it.
| R | C | A | A | G | E | S | H | A | P | P | E | N | ||
| A | R | M | M | O | R | A | I | G | U | I | T | Y | ||
| G | U | Y | I | V | E | G | O | T | A | P | L | A | N | |
| U | M | P | E | D | C | A | R | S | U | L | L | Y | ||
| B | O | X | S | E | T | G | P | S | ||||||
| E | T | T | A | H | A | I | R | B | O | W | ||||
| A | S | H | T | W | A | I | N | B | L | U | R | |||
| C | O | L | A | E | O | N | G | A | Z | E | ||||
| T | H | E | Y | H | E | L | I | O | C | O | N | |||
| S | O | R | O | R | A | L | R | I | S | K | ||||
| E | V | A | T | A | M | E | S | T | ||||||
| C | H | E | E | S | D | G | E | H | A | H | A | S | ||
| H | A | R | L | E | M | S | H | A | K | E | E | N | T | |
| U | N | A | B | L | E | E | M | I | R | E | G | O | ||
| B | A | S | A | L | T | E | S | T | E | P | O | W |
Thrilled to be back on a Thursday! For this theme, I wanted to black out one instance each of LAMB, RAM, and EWE. Selecting theme entries had an extra degree of difficulty because adding the obscuring black squares couldn't leave behind any unchecked squares or two-letter words. LAMB had the fewest options, so that crossing largely dictated the placement of the other theme entries.
Hope this one doesn't pull the wool over your eyes and you enjoy the solve!
| A | T | O | M | A | L | G | A | A | R | U | B | A | ||
| L | A | C | E | P | E | L | T | S | I | P | O | N | ||
| T | U | T | T | U | T | T | U | T | K | A | P | U | T | |
| A | P | A | R | T | S | T | A | R | E | E | T | S | ||
| R | E | D | I | A | L | C | E | D | A | R | ||||
| C | H | O | W | C | H | O | W | C | H | O | W | |||
| C | M | A | S | B | A | H | H | E | A | V | E | |||
| H | O | T | L | E | D | A | W | A | Y | N | I | B | ||
| E | N | N | U | I | R | I | P | A | D | D | S | |||
| Z | O | O | M | Z | O | O | M | Z | O | O | M | |||
| P | A | L | E | R | P | R | O | F | I | T | ||||
| B | I | O | E | R | A | S | E | C | U | O | C | O | ||
| I | D | I | O | M | C | A | N | C | A | N | C | A | N | |
| K | E | N | D | O | L | I | D | S | T | A | R | O | ||
| E | A | T | E | N | E | L | S | A | S | L | E | W |
REBECCA: Theme ideas come from crazy places. When a friend texted me "Zoom zoom!" about her new car at the height of online hangouts last year, I did what any good theme-brain would do. I marched right over to Twitter and asked, "ZOOM ZOOM ZOOM (12) [Conference call for Mazda's marketing team?] Is this … anything?" Rachel was pretty sure it was; she was right. Rachel also encouraged me to stop tweeting out theme ideas; she was right. So now I send them all to her.
RACHEL: I got a whole column to talk about this puzzle, so I will just say that working with Rebecca is a goddamn delight.
| O | N | S | B | U | N | C | H | O | O | Z | E | |||
| P | E | C | A | S | A | H | I | P | R | O | S | |||
| T | A | I | L | D | E | C | O | R | T | E | R | I | ||
| I | T | S | O | K | D | R | I | E | R | O | R | G | ||
| M | I | S | P | L | A | C | E | S | O | S | O | O | N | |
| I | D | O | E | I | D | L | O | C | H | S | ||||
| S | E | R | V | E | R | P | A | N | K | O | ||||
| M | A | S | A | V | E | X | W | R | I | T | ||||
| L | A | P | A | Z | G | E | N | O | M | E | ||||
| R | E | S | E | T | B | E | G | S | P | A | ||||
| G | E | O | T | A | G | G | A | L | O | S | H | E | S | |
| O | R | B | P | A | P | E | R | S | H | A | R | E | ||
| B | A | B | Y | S | O | C | K | S | E | M | I | R | ||
| A | S | I | A | U | R | K | E | L | B | A | A | |||
| G | E | E | K | S | T | O | R | Y | O | L | D |
Building a puzzle around ROCK, PAPER, SCISSORS with each of the three possible outcomes depicted was one of my very first theme ideas, long before I was familiar with enough crossword mechanics to make it work. When I revisited the idea several months later, ROCK breaking SCISSORS was still the hardest to wrangle, leading to some *very* tortured iterations.
A number of early drafts included a single ROCK rebus, which I ultimately abandoned in favor of what seemed to be the most straightforward approach: including each "winning" item as a standalone answer with each "losing" item visually represented as circled letters. Many thanks to Brooke Husic for being a helpful sounding board.
I'm gratified that most of the clues are mine, especially my three favorites — 44A, 5D, and 49D — and hope you enjoy!
| P | E | D | R | O | A | H | E | M | M | A | V | S | ||
| A | D | I | E | U | S | E | R | A | A | B | I | T | ||
| L | I | N | T | R | O | L | L | E | R | D | A | T | A | |
| S | T | I | R | K | E | G | P | E | C | A | N | |||
| N | O | G | R | E | A | T | S | H | A | K | E | S | ||
| O | M | G | N | A | P | H | O | O | F | |||||
| R | A | S | T | A | W | E | S | I | S | L | A | |||
| C | R | E | A | T | E | D | A | M | O | N | S | T | E | R |
| A | S | T | I | L | O | X | A | T | E | A | M | |||
| L | S | A | T | S | T | P | P | R | Y | |||||
| D | R | A | G | O | N | E | S | H | E | E | L | S | ||
| R | E | L | A | Y | E | A | T | L | O | S | T | |||
| O | M | I | T | P | R | I | D | E | M | O | N | T | H | |
| N | I | K | E | B | O | Z | O | A | S | I | D | E | ||
| E | X | E | S | S | T | E | W | P | A | T | S | Y |
This puzzle was my first New York Times acceptance. A few months into constructing, my new hobby plus positive feedback from the larger crossword community had seemingly CREATED A MONSTER — which my nascent theme-brain recognized as a *perfect* 15 letter revealer.
The set of theme entries that I landed on is by no means exhaustive (FRUI(T ROLL)UP, BLO(G HOST)ING, etc.), but sixteen months later, I still love this theme — and its density! Though, if I wrote the puzzle today, I would strive for more Monday-friendly fill.
I hope you enjoy "taming the beast!"
| S | W | A | T | P | A | S | T | A | A | V | I | S | ||
| R | I | C | H | E | L | F | I | N | M | A | R | E | ||
| I | N | T | E | R | N | L | O | C | K | A | T | O | N | |
| C | I | O | L | A | T | I | N | A | ||||||
| J | A | M | A | A | L | A | M | E | R | I | C | I | T | |
| A | M | O | S | O | C | T | E | T | S | I | C | E | ||
| M | I | N | T | N | O | E | S | O | R | B | ||||
| B | E | T | R | A | Y | S | M | I | N | E | R | A | L | |
| R | O | W | I | B | E | T | L | A | C | E | ||||
| A | B | E | A | N | G | E | R | S | A | R | M | S | ||
| D | R | A | G | K | I | N | G | S | A | Y | Y | E | S | |
| V | O | L | O | E | S | O | A | R | ||||||
| E | G | A | N | S | A | L | T | S | H | A | K | E | R | |
| R | U | D | E | A | G | O | R | A | C | I | T | E | ||
| B | E | A | R | N | O | T | E | D | E | X | A | M |
Like many others, I started constructing during the pandemic when my wife ever so gently suggested that I find a hobby. Since then, thanks to the collaborative and supportive spirit of editors, constructors, and the larger crossword community, I've published a few dozen puzzles in a number of mainstream and indie outlets. When I'm not constructing or solving crosswords, I'm a research scientist developing immunotherapies for cancer; that plus my proud membership on Team Rebus, makes for a very on-brand NYT debut!
In the first version of this grid, each rebus square started with the letter N, and the editorial team requested that I shake them up a bit more. After some revision, I was thrilled when they accepted this puzzle. The theme ate up a lot of real estate, so I was glad to squeeze in a few bonuses, and I'm especially excited to debut the entries THE CASTRO and DRAG KING. I know that solvers have mixed feelings about rebus puzzles and hope this one didn't leave anyone feeling too salty.