Rob Baker author page
1 puzzle by Rob Baker
with Constructor comments
See the 3 answer words debuted by Rob Baker.
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Hello, Crossworld! I teach English at Barrington (IL) High School. Go Broncos!
I may be the Person Who Took the Longest to Get an NYT Puzzle Accepted. I submitted my first puzzle in 2007. Fourteen years and 30ish rejections later, on June 16, 2021, I opened an email from the Times including the glorious words "we are delighted to officially say YES!" Weeping may have ensued.
This might also be the first puzzle completed with psychic help. After receiving a conditional acceptance pending extensive revisions, I chatted with my friend, psychic Marla Frees, who helped me overcome severe "reviser's block". Having no knowledge of the puzzle, Marla intuitively guided me to the very thing I had to do to successfully revise!
I dedicate this puzzle to my parents who would have been very excited today. Both were alive when I submitted my first puzzle but have since passed away. Also to my awesome brother Rick!
@Carly Simon, 2022 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee/my favorite singer/songwriter: If you'd like to collaborate on a New York Times celebrity puzzle, JLMK! Twitter @Baker_BHS.
Today's theme quip isn't original to me, though I feel I made it my own with the 15/3/15/3/15 layout and the intriguing solitary rebus. It was hard to include exciting longer fill, though I like SAWHORSE, TAKE FLAK, LIT OUT, SURE DO, COOL TO. Ideally, I'd have replaced FRUTTI, KISSIN, and PENH but was glad to include Agatha Christie, teenaged-me's favorite author.