| S | C | A | M | P | G | A | S | N | O | H | I | T | ||
| P | A | L | A | U | A | H | I | O | H | A | R | E | ||
| I | N | L | E | T | L | A | M | N | O | L | A | N | ||
| E | S | T | I | L | L | B | I | T | E | F | T | S | ||
| D | O | H | N | E | O | A | R | T | D | E | E | |||
| E | D | W | I | N | N | I | H | A | O | |||||
| C | O | R | E | R | E | L | L | E | N | |||||
| A | B | A | C | I | C | C | C | W | I | L | L | Y | ||
| B | I | G | O | T | A | L | A | I | C | A | M | E | ||
| T | E | R | I | L | A | Y | S | I | R | S | ||||
| O | N | O | Y | B | E | A | ||||||||
| S | L | O | U | G | H | S | W | O | R | K | B | A | G | |
| P | E | W | S | G | A | T | O | R | E | I | R | E | ||
| I | T | L | L | O | V | I | N | E | Y | E | L | L | ||
| N | O | S | Y | D | E | C | K | S | S | N | O | T |
| A | L | F | A | I | F | O | N | E | F | O | T | O | ||
| N | O | R | M | M | E | N | O | N | U | V | E | A | ||
| S | C | A | B | I | L | I | A | D | T | E | N | T | ||
| W | H | Y | I | S | N | T | T | H | E | W | O | R | D | |
| E | T | E | A | H | S | R | A | N | S | O | M | |||
| R | E | D | A | T | E | H | I | S | S | T | N | T | ||
| M | A | R | I | A | N | B | A | S | S | |||||
| F | O | N | E | T | I | C | A | L | L | Y | ||||
| A | M | I | S | G | R | A | F | E | D | |||||
| T | I | L | T | W | O | S | R | A | G | I | N | G | ||
| M | A | I | T | A | I | D | A | S | T | O | O | |||
| S | P | E | L | L | E | D | W | I | T | H | A | N | F | |
| E | M | I | L | S | N | E | A | D | A | L | E | R | ||
| L | A | N | E | O | V | E | R | S | L | I | T | E | ||
| F | L | O | X | N | Y | M | F | O | F | A | S | E |
| A | S | K | E | W | A | C | D | C | M | A | S | S | ||
| F | L | A | S | H | F | L | O | O | D | A | M | E | N | |
| T | O | M | C | O | L | L | I | N | S | R | E | D | O | |
| S | P | A | G | U | I | L | T | S | I | N | E | W | ||
| L | O | I | N | L | A | U | N | D | R | Y | ||||
| E | C | H | O | E | D | F | E | N | C | E | ||||
| M | O | O | G | S | P | R | A | N | K | C | A | L | L | |
| U | P | L | I | T | R | E | V | S | O | D | O | I | ||
| S | A | Y | C | H | E | E | S | E | T | R | U | S | S | |
| P | E | R | C | H | B | O | P | E | E | P | ||||
| S | A | M | U | R | A | I | F | I | B | S | ||||
| P | R | I | Z | E | S | P | I | C | E | O | R | A | ||
| L | U | T | Z | J | E | R | S | E | Y | S | W | A | P | |
| A | B | E | L | P | L | O | T | P | O | I | N | T | S | |
| T | A | R | E | G | Y | M | S | U | N | S | E | E |
| U | S | E | M | B | A | S | S | Y | C | A | S | K | ||
| C | H | L | O | E | Z | H | A | O | E | D | D | I | E | |
| L | A | M | B | S | T | E | A | K | C | R | A | Z | E | |
| A | G | O | R | A | E | B | E | C | H | A | M | E | L | |
| U | F | C | R | E | C | S | ||||||||
| A | N | N | L | E | E | S | H | O | C | K | I | N | G | |
| V | A | P | E | M | O | H | A | W | K | L | E | I | ||
| G | R | R | U | P | H | O | L | D | S | V | H | S | ||
| A | C | T | B | E | H | A | L | F | B | E | R | T | ||
| S | O | O | V | E | R | I | T | U | T | E | R | U | S | |
| T | O | R | O | N | W | A | ||||||||
| T | H | E | W | O | R | S | T | D | A | R | N | I | T | |
| R | O | B | I | N | L | O | W | I | N | C | O | M | E | |
| I | N | A | N | E | O | R | A | N | G | U | T | A | N | |
| P | E | G | G | P | I | G | G | Y | B | A | C | K |
| S | T | R | I | F | E | A | L | I | B | A | B | A | S | L | A | S | H | |||
| H | A | I | R | E | X | T | C | A | M | A | R | O | S | C | A | M | E | O | ||
| I | M | P | A | L | A | S | E | G | O | T | R | I | P | H | Y | P | E | R | ||
| A | P | E | T | R | I | A | D | S | P | A | N | B | O | O | E | R | S | |||
| H | I | M | O | M | B | U | Y | G | E | T | O | F | R | E | E | |||||
| S | A | F | E | T | Y | N | E | T | U | P | S | N | E | R | F | E | D | |||
| O | V | A | L | S | N | E | L | L | E | T | A | S | ||||||||
| R | E | B | I | D | S | R | O | B | O | T | A | R | M | O | D | E | S | |||
| T | R | F | O | U | N | T | A | I | N | B | A | R | E | S | I | T | A | L | L | |
| C | A | I | N | S | O | D | M | O | M | O | A | |||||||||
| T | A | K | E | A | P | E | N | N | Y | L | E | A | V | E | A | P | E | N | N | Y |
| A | F | O | O | T | O | O | O | A | L | G | A | |||||||||
| T | A | N | N | I | N | G | B | E | D | N | I | C | K | E | L | B | A | C | K | |
| E | R | A | S | A | R | T | S | A | L | O | N | S | E | A | T | A | C | |||
| P | D | A | S | O | D | O | R | S | R | I | G | A | ||||||||
| S | P | I | R | I | T | B | I | B | N | O | Q | U | A | R | T | E | R | |||
| T | U | R | N | O | N | A | D | I | M | E | C | U | R | L | Y | |||||
| A | V | I | A | T | E | E | S | P | B | B | K | I | N | G | C | U | P | |||
| R | A | M | B | O | A | T | T | A | B | O | Y | R | I | O | T | A | C | T | ||
| T | R | A | I | N | P | E | R | C | E | N | T | E | N | R | O | L | L | S | ||
| S | I | L | T | S | P | R | O | T | E | G | E | G | E | T | M | A | D |
| M | A | C | H | O | R | E | O | S | S | C | A | D | ||
| O | B | O | E | N | O | T | A | X | T | A | R | A | ||
| C | H | A | R | A | C | T | E | R | S | K | E | T | C | H |
| H | O | T | S | E | A | T | W | A | R | H | O | L | ||
| A | R | S | S | L | E | D | S | Z | E | E | ||||
| G | O | L | D | E | N | D | O | O | D | L | E | |||
| G | O | T | U | P | F | O | M | O | R | I | A | |||
| U | S | E | S | M | E | L | T | S | O | A | T | S | ||
| A | L | E | B | A | M | A | I | N | L | E | T | |||
| C | O | N | T | A | C | T | T | R | A | C | E | |||
| D | R | S | S | E | E | M | E | G | M | S | ||||
| H | E | R | O | I | C | P | O | E | H | L | E | R | ||
| D | R | A | W | C | O | N | C | L | U | S | I | O | N | S |
| T | I | M | E | B | U | S | A | N | R | A | U | L | ||
| V | E | A | L | S | T | I | N | T | E | T | S | Y |
| D | A | Z | E | S | O | L | I | D | T | W | O | S | ||
| E | T | A | L | C | R | A | T | E | E | H | O | W | ||
| C | A | P | I | T | A | L | I | S | M | N | A | P | A | |
| A | L | P | I | R | E | N | A | P | A | T | S | Y | ||
| F | L | A | U | T | A | S | T | R | E | N | D | S | ||
| S | U | B | S | C | R | I | P | T | I | O | N | |||
| G | E | N | E | S | O | A | T | S | S | R | I | |||
| A | Y | E | S | P | E | P | P | A | B | A | R | N | ||
| R | E | O | A | R | T | S | H | E | Y | Y | A | |||
| B | O | L | D | F | A | C | E | D | L | I | E | |||
| P | O | O | R | M | E | O | O | H | B | A | B | Y | ||
| L | E | G | G | O | T | O | N | G | A | D | I | E | ||
| I | N | I | T | R | E | N | T | S | T | R | I | K | E | |
| P | E | S | O | P | R | E | G | O | B | E | E | T | ||
| A | R | M | Y | M | A | S | O | N | I | U | D | S |
| F | R | O | Z | E | S | O | B | A | W | H | O | M | ||
| R | A | M | E | N | T | R | I | B | H | A | L | O | ||
| O | V | E | R | T | I | D | L | E | H | A | N | D | S | |
| M | I | N | O | R | P | R | O | B | L | E | M | |||
| M | A | S | C | O | A | L | M | A | A | |||||
| T | A | C | O | P | I | E | R | I | S | E | R | S | ||
| U | R | L | S | S | T | A | N | D | U | P | A | C | T | |
| P | R | A | T | E | T | R | I | M | O | D | A | L | ||
| P | O | W | E | R | S | U | R | G | E | I | O | N | E | |
| E | Y | E | L | E | T | H | A | L | L | W | A | Y | ||
| R | O | D | B | A | S | E | S | I | S | |||||
| B | U | M | P | S | E | T | S | P | I | K | E | |||
| C | H | E | E | S | I | E | S | T | B | O | T | O | X | |
| C | O | R | N | N | A | A | N | O | R | A | L | E | ||
| S | W | A | T | A | R | Y | A | A | T | L | A | S |
| B | I | T | E | I | T | E | T | A | J | A | I | L | ||
| B | R | O | N | C | O | V | E | X | J | E | D | I | ||
| C | L | Y | D | E | S | D | A | L | E | W | O | E | S | |
| A | R | S | E | N | E | P | A | N | D | A | ||||
| S | E | N | A | T | E | P | H | A | T | |||||
| S | E | R | G | I | O | T | H | I | R | T | E | E | N | |
| O | L | S | E | N | B | U | O | Y | S | U | P | I | ||
| F | E | A | R | C | O | T | T | A | A | N | O | N | ||
| T | N | T | N | O | D | T | O | S | L | I | C | E | ||
| G | A | Z | P | A | C | H | O | W | E | L | C | H | S | |
| A | T | O | I | D | A | V | I | E | S | |||||
| Q | U | I | T | O | T | A | U | T | E | N | ||||
| U | R | G | E | A | R | T | H | U | R | A | S | H | E | |
| I | S | O | N | L | E | O | S | A | L | A | R | Y | ||
| P | A | R | T | P | E | Z | I | L | L | S | E | E |
| S | N | U | C | K | S | T | O | O | L | S | ||||
| P | O | N | I | E | S | W | H | O | K | N | E | W | ||
| I | O | S | A | P | P | S | H | O | T | D | A | T | E | |
| C | N | N | T | A | I | L | O | R | S | L | S | D | ||
| Y | E | A | H | I | M | S | U | R | E | L | A | S | E | |
| S | P | I | T | B | A | L | L | K | O | R | A | N | ||
| S | T | R | O | L | L | P | I | N | K | Y | ||||
| M | E | T | S | G | A | N | G | |||||||
| P | L | E | A | S | B | U | R | D | E | N | ||||
| S | E | O | U | L | W | A | I | T | A | S | E | C | ||
| A | A | R | P | B | E | N | D | Y | S | T | R | A | W | |
| U | S | A | P | L | A | C | E | B | O | F | U | R | ||
| C | A | N | T | E | E | N | S | U | R | M | I | S | E | |
| E | N | G | R | O | S | S | S | T | O | N | E | S | ||
| S | T | E | I | N | S | A | N | G | S | T |
| P | O | W | E | R | U | P | R | O | A | M | S | |||
| E | C | O | N | O | M | I | C | B | I | Z | E | T | ||
| N | E | R | D | S | P | E | A | K | G | L | A | D | E | |
| C | A | D | R | E | S | R | A | D | P | L | I | E | ||
| I | N | D | U | S | D | A | T | E | B | R | E | A | D | |
| L | I | O | N | C | O | M | E | C | L | E | A | N | ||
| S | A | C | J | A | M | E | S | R | O | S | S | |||
| L | A | P | E | L | M | I | C | S | ||||||
| N | A | K | E | D | L | I | E | S | T | A | P | |||
| A | U | T | O | C | R | A | T | S | Y | O | D | A | ||
| G | A | M | E | B | O | O | T | H | C | O | N | A | N | |
| A | C | E | R | D | O | T | F | O | R | E | S | T | ||
| L | E | T | B | Y | F | E | M | I | N | I | S | T | S | |
| B | L | A | R | E | S | U | R | E | C | U | R | E | ||
| A | L | L | O | W | D | E | S | K | P | A | D |
| M | E | H | C | A | M | A | N | G | S | T | A | D | S | C | P | A | ||||
| A | L | I | B | A | B | A | S | O | R | E | R | P | I | T | C | R | E | W | ||
| M | O | D | E | L | U | N | A | S | O | N | E | E | Y | E | R | O | L | L | ||
| A | N | D | A | L | S | O | N | E | W | T | S | D | E | V | I | S | E | S | ||
| E | R | I | E | C | A | T | T | I | S | H | R | I | B | S | ||||||
| C | N | N | T | S | A | R | O | H | M | A | P | S | E | S | T | U | ||||
| V | O | W | S | M | U | S | T | R | E | A | D | S | Q | T | I | P | ||||
| S | L | I | P | S | U | P | F | A | I | N | T | I | N | R | U | I | N | S | ||
| O | R | A | L | S | J | O | I | N | T | E | D | A | B | E | T | S | ||||
| S | E | C | R | E | T | E | L | G | S | D | E | N | I | E | C | E | ||||
| E | S | E | A | L | E | E | A | R | N | H | L | |||||||||
| T | A | T | T | L | E | D | S | A | Y | S | I | D | O | |||||||
| S | T | E | N | O | O | L | E | M | I | S | S | L | O | F | T | S | ||||
| A | M | U | L | E | T | S | S | P | I | N | Y | A | I | R | C | O | O | L | ||
| L | O | N | E | W | O | L | F | O | M | G | P | L | A | Y | A | B | L | E | ||
| A | G | E | S | A | L | L | T | I | E | D | U | P | R | Y | E | S | ||||
| C | O | O | T | I | E | S | S | U | R | E | C | A | N | |||||||
| B | A | R | O | R | D | E | R | S | N | I | N | E | L | I | V | E | S | |||
| T | A | I | P | E | I | T | I | C | T | A | C | S | L | O | V | E | T | O | ||
| U | R | G | E | O | N | Y | O | G | A | M | A | T | T | H | A | N | O | S | ||
| P | A | S | S | N | I | X | O | N | A | L | A | N |
The idea for this puzzle came to me one sleepless night about a year ago. Finding theme entries proved to be a fun and welcome diversion, and once I stumbled across the STRING/THREAD combo, I was fully roped in to seeing this idea through.
Constructing a Sunday puzzle like this is always a balancing act — trying to include sufficient theme content while minimizing undesirable compromises. The version of the puzzle I first submitted to the Times definitely included too many tradeoffs in the name of theme density. Thankfully, the editorial team was patient and insightful, working with me to shape the puzzle into what you see before you. It took dozens of iterations to land on this funky layout. As it turned out, this arrangement provided me the flexibility to strike a good balance, hopefully leading to an entertaining (and not tedious) Sunday offering - though you as the solver will have to be the judge of that. Thanks for solving/reading and have a great weekend!
| A | R | E | N | A | H | I | D | E | A | B | B | A | ||
| S | A | X | E | S | I | H | O | P | D | R | A | T | ||
| T | R | U | T | H | I | N | E | S | S | F | O | R | T | |
| R | I | D | S | P | D | A | L | E | D | G | E | |||
| A | T | E | F | O | U | R | T | H | Y | E | A | R | S | |
| L | Y | S | O | L | B | A | E | T | A | T | ||||
| L | E | A | D | S | O | N | R | E | P | S | ||||
| M | I | D | D | L | E | E | N | G | L | I | S | H | ||
| L | I | N | E | L | A | C | E | S | U | P | ||||
| A | C | H | S | A | G | C | E | D | E | D | ||||
| B | R | E | A | T | H | E | E | A | S | Y | E | R | R | |
| M | O | R | T | Y | A | C | E | S | L | A | Y | |||
| I | D | E | S | L | I | G | H | T | H | O | U | S | E | |
| C | O | N | E | A | B | L | E | E | A | G | E | R | ||
| E | T | T | A | D | M | E | D | P | R | E | S | S |
| I | T | S | I | N | U | S | A | S | W | A | M | P | ||
| N | E | W | L | Y | P | H | I | T | H | R | E | E | ||
| B | E | E | K | E | E | P | E | R | Y | A | C | H | T | |
| O | N | E | S | G | E | L | A | L | T | |||||
| L | I | T | W | O | R | L | D | B | E | A | T | E | R | |
| D | E | P | A | R | T | R | E | S | T | O | R | E | ||
| O | L | E | B | R | A | T | R | O | S | A | ||||
| A | T | T | E | N | T | I | O | N | S | E | E | K | E | R |
| H | O | A | X | O | R | E | O | M | A | A | ||||
| A | R | T | T | E | S | T | S | I | T | S | K | I | ||
| S | T | O | R | M | C | H | A | S | E | R | H | I | T | |
| E | P | A | C | H | E | T | O | M | S | |||||
| B | A | M | B | I | Q | U | I | D | D | I | T | C | H | |
| F | L | I | E | R | B | R | R | I | D | A | H | O | ||
| F | L | A | K | E | S | A | T | G | E | T | I | T |
| F | L | E | W | W | H | O | S | T | O | P | M | E | ||
| A | U | R | A | H | A | D | P | E | O | R | I | A | ||
| S | T | I | N | K | E | Y | E | A | T | H | E | N | S | |
| T | E | N | D | E | R | S | F | R | E | E | B | I | E | |
| S | E | E | B | U | S | D | O | W | ||||||
| P | B | S | L | A | B | E | L | E | D | A | H | A | ||
| A | R | C | O | M | E | G | S | E | R | R | E | D | ||
| D | E | A | R | S | I | R | O | R | M | A | D | A | M | |
| R | A | V | E | R | M | I | M | E | Y | E | T | I | ||
| E | K | E | S | T | U | D | E | N | T | D | S | T | ||
| S | N | L | A | D | S | F | U | R | ||||||
| R | E | G | A | L | I | A | S | A | M | O | S | A | S | |
| A | V | E | D | O | N | S | K | I | S | L | O | P | E | |
| M | E | R | L | O | T | H | E | R | L | O | S | E | ||
| I | N | S | E | T | S | E | W | E | S | T | E | M |
| P | C | S | J | U | M | P | P | O | P | I | N | ||
| R | I | P | A | N | Y | A | O | W | E | T | O | ||
| I | C | Y | M | O | B | S | C | E | N | E | S | T | |
| M | A | I | L | A | T | O | M | P | T | A | |||
| E | D | N | A | M | O | D | E | L | W | H | I | T | |
| R | A | G | S | O | N | A | T | H | O | M | E | ||
| T | R | E | N | T | R | I | L | E | D | ||||
| C | L | O | S | E | S | H | O | P | E | ||||
| O | B | O | E | S | S | P | O | O | L | ||||
| P | I | N | G | E | D | S | P | A | S | M | S | ||
| T | O | S | S | A | P | R | E | S | S | K | I | T | |
| I | D | O | B | R | U | H | H | I | R | E | |||
| C | O | M | M | O | N | C | O | R | E | P | R | E | |
| A | M | M | A | N | K | N | I | T | A | O | L | ||
| L | E | E | R | Y | S | E | G | A | D | R | Y |
| S | A | L | A | D | I | P | O | E | B | A | Y | |||
| U | B | E | R | R | A | T | I | N | G | N | O | T | E | |
| S | E | A | M | O | N | S | T | E | R | C | A | L | L | |
| S | T | R | P | I | N | S | A | M | O | R | A | L | ||
| A | L | T | O | S | H | A | R | D | S | |||||
| N | O | G | R | E | A | T | S | H | A | K | E | S | ||
| E | G | R | E | T | A | L | A | M | O | E | T | S | ||
| E | R | A | S | B | R | A | V | E | R | A | I | L | ||
| D | E | N | B | E | A | N | E | S | I | T | K | A | ||
| D | I | R | E | C | T | D | E | P | O | S | I | T | ||
| S | C | R | A | P | E | H | A | R | T | |||||
| T | A | H | I | N | I | S | E | G | A | S | O | B | ||
| O | T | I | S | N | O | T | A | L | I | T | T | L | E | |
| T | I | L | E | G | O | O | D | E | N | O | U | G | H | |
| E | N | D | S | H | P | S | S | O | N | A | R |
| A | M | A | N | A | P | L | A | N | A | C | A | N | A | L |
| C | A | R | E | T | O | E | L | A | B | O | R | A | T | E |
| C | H | R | I | S | T | M | A | S | S | P | I | R | I | T |
| R | O | A | N | M | I | A | A | C | T | S | ||||
| A | N | Y | G | W | E | N | T | I | L | |||||
| K | O | I | M | U | M | S | N | O | ||||||
| O | S | C | A | R | N | O | M | I | N | A | T | I | O | N |
| S | P | A | N | I | S | H | O | M | E | L | E | T | T | E |
| S | A | T | E | L | L | I | T | E | D | I | S | H | E | S |
| O | R | E | L | E | O | I | V | S | ||||||
| K | A | T | S | A | N | E | L | B | J | |||||
| W | R | E | N | C | A | N | B | A | R | E | ||||
| H | O | T | E | L | C | A | L | I | F | O | R | N | I | A |
| I | T | A | L | I | A | N | A | M | E | R | I | C | A | N |
| T | E | S | T | E | D | T | H | E | W | A | T | E | R | S |
| M | E | N | S | S | P | U | D | A | S | S | A | M | S | K | I | N | ||||
| I | M | O | K | K | A | R | O | F | R | O | Y | O | U | T | I | L | E | |||
| D | I | V | I | S | I | O | N | O | F | L | A | B | O | R | S | A | L | O | N | |
| G | R | A | D | U | A | L | F | A | A | P | R | E | M | I | S | E | ||||
| E | S | C | P | R | O | D | U | C | T | O | F | T | H | E | T | I | M | E | S | |
| A | G | E | E | E | S | E | C | E | O | N | O | N | A | |||||||
| U | M | N | O | A | I | M | S | E | T | T | L | E | A | N | T | |||||
| F | A | C | T | S | R | O | O | T | C | A | U | S | E | J | A | M | ||||
| C | O | Y | O | T | E | S | D | A | R | N | S | T | A | G | S | A | L | E | ||
| O | I | L | P | I | L | E | M | U | S | I | C | R | O | W | ||||||
| D | I | F | F | E | R | E | N | C | E | O | F | O | P | I | N | I | O | N | ||
| F | I | N | A | L | C | U | T | N | G | O | S | A | G | A | ||||||
| I | M | A | R | E | T | S | C | H | E | E | R | O | N | E | T | E | R | M | ||
| R | E | P | S | Q | U | A | R | E | D | U | P | R | I | S | K | S | ||||
| S | A | C | C | O | U | R | T | S | S | I | S | C | O | O | S | |||||
| S | H | O | E | I | V | E | M | G | M | H | E | A | T | |||||||
| I | N | T | E | G | R | A | T | E | D | C | I | R | C | U | I | T | E | L | I | |
| M | O | L | E | R | A | T | E | S | O | M | E | T | E | R | E | D | ||||
| A | R | I | S | E | A | D | D | E | D | C | O | M | P | L | E | X | I | T | Y | |
| C | A | F | E | S | R | A | I | T | A | V | I | E | D | E | C | O | L | |||
| S | H | E | D | I | N | N | E | R | E | N | D | S | C | A | N | S |
| B | I | L | L | S | U | E | D | P | O | S | T | |||
| B | R | I | E | F | U | P | D | O | U | L | T | A | ||
| Q | A | T | A | R | N | O | G | O | A | R | E | A | S | |
| P | A | R | T | N | E | R | T | R | A | C | K | |||
| A | R | F | C | U | Z | E | E | R | I | E | ||||
| P | O | I | N | T | G | U | A | R | D | D | Y | E | D | |
| P | O | D | I | A | N | A | R | C | ||||||
| F | O | L | L | O | W | T | H | E | H | E | R | D | ||
| S | K | I | S | I | M | O | U | T | ||||||
| L | G | B | T | S | T | Y | L | E | G | U | I | D | E | |
| O | F | U | S | E | L | I | N | L | E | D | ||||
| W | O | R | K | L | I | K | E | A | D | O | G | |||
| B | R | I | T | I | C | I | S | M | N | E | W | B | S | |
| I | C | E | S | A | L | T | A | S | E | E | Y | A | ||
| D | E | S | K | N | O | D | S | K | E | E | P |
Professor Byl: Thanks to co-author Jeff Chen! His nudges were a huge help, and it's fun to work on a puzzle with a good partner. With Jeff's pre-submission tweaks, I was happily shocked at how many of our original clues made it through…
One exception is for 1A ["I'm just a ___" ("Schoolhouse Rock!" song)], since that's exactly how you pronounce "Byl" (which — you guessed it — many folks mispronounce).
Thanks also to Robyn! I got interested in constructing during the pandemic and reached out to Robyn Weintraub (because she was and is my all-time absolute favorite constructor) way, way, way back in 2021. She's either leading a double life — or is one of the nicest people I know. She was a terrific mentor: kind yet to the point.
FYI, I wasn't very serious about constructing until early September of 2023, when someone close to me had a stroke. (Yes, a few months before Will's stroke…) Right at the same time, I had a birthday, and Robyn was also featured in this (fun) BBC interview.
It's fun to re-listen to that… I had an old friend ask me this week, "What's the hardest part of constructing a crossword?" — and my answer was, instantly, "getting started" — e.g., with a solid theme!! (No joke there.)
I often tell doctoral students that being ABD (all but dissertation) is not a minor thing. It's like climbing Mount Washington (which can have impressively extreme weather near the top). It feels like you're making good progress — and then you finally clear the tree line, so you have a better perspective on where you are and where you need to go, and you realize, "Oh #$@&. I'm not as close to finishing as I thought I was — not nearly…"
And so it was for me, with crosswords. Robyn's interview mentioned XWord Info and the rest is history, as they say…
Specifically, I excitedly went to look into XWord Info — and then found out it was slated for "decommissioning." (Oh no!!) Despite this, I signed up for an account and wrote to Jim Horne to ask if Jeff Chen was still doing collabs. (Robyn had warned me Jeff had stepped down from his role at XWord Info and was unsure if he was still open to collabs…)
Oh, wait, lastly, special thanks to — Mr. Horne! I'm very excited to have a crossword documented here on the "now-defunct" website*** xwordinfo.com! (…and published on NYT, too.)
And yet, if Mr. Horne refers to me here as "Ms. Byl" — I am going to make a point to tease him about it — on a very regular basis.
*** For those who are not yet level-5 geeks in the crossword universe, that's a shout-out to Brian Cimmet and Ryan "Ebirt" Hecht — and their Fill Me In podcast — and Brian's repeated teasing about this.
| S | N | A | R | F | W | H | A | M | A | C | T | S | ||
| I | C | I | E | R | M | E | L | C | N | O | A | H | ||
| C | O | R | N | E | R | D | R | U | G | S | T | O | R | E |
| T | E | E | O | M | E | L | E | T | T | E | ||||
| A | D | Z | O | V | A | N | E | O | I | A | N | |||
| L | U | I | S | F | O | N | S | I | U | S | E | R | S | |
| L | E | N | T | K | O | I | B | C | C | |||||
| S | C | A | V | E | N | G | E | R | H | U | N | T | ||
| L | I | D | M | A | O | B | A | I | L | |||||
| B | A | R | K | S | C | A | R | D | T | A | B | L | E | |
| E | N | E | H | A | L | N | O | R | S | E | X | |||
| C | Y | L | I | N | D | E | R | W | O | K | ||||
| O | H | Y | O | U | H | A | V | E | N | O | I | D | E | A |
| M | O | O | N | O | V | E | R | P | L | O | W | S | ||
| E | O | N | S | C | E | R | A | S | T | E | E | P |
| K | G | B | B | O | O | S | H | E | L | P | M | E | ||
| E | A | R | A | L | K | A | A | V | A | T | A | R | ||
| E | L | E | R | E | A | M | R | A | Z | O | R | S | ||
| P | L | A | Y | B | O | Y | B | U | D | D | Y | |||
| T | O | K | E | S | B | U | D | G | E | C | D | S | ||
| O | P | T | S | T | Y | C | O | P | O | E | T | |||
| H | O | R | S | E | A | N | D | B | U | N | N | Y | ||
| I | B | E | R | I | A | R | I | B | E | Y | E | |||
| D | R | I | N | K | I | N | G | B | U | G | G | Y | ||
| L | O | C | O | A | R | A | B | R | I | P | A | |||
| E | W | E | N | O | P | U | N | R | U | S | E | S | ||
| M | I | X | E | D | D | O | U | B | L | E | S | |||
| A | R | M | A | N | I | G | A | B | S | A | W | E | ||
| B | E | A | M | E | D | E | G | O | T | N | E | T | ||
| E | N | C | A | S | E | S | E | E | S | D | E | S |
| B | A | R | F | L | Y | C | O | B | W | E | B | |||
| D | E | L | O | U | S | E | E | R | O | I | C | A | ||
| S | E | E | S | P | R | U | N | N | E | P | I | S | M | |
| O | N | G | O | A | L | A | S | S | U | M | E | |||
| F | O | E | D | O | T | A | G | E | L | O | G | S | ||
| A | V | E | C | N | A | V | E | P | E | T | A | L | ||
| S | O | S | O | G | R | E | E | V | E | R | Y | |||
| M | E | S | O | P | A | M | I | A | ||||||
| R | I | S | E | S | N | S | A | R | O | S | S | |||
| A | C | T | U | P | Y | U | A | N | D | U | C | K | ||
| D | E | R | N | T | E | E | P | E | E | T | R | I | ||
| C | E | D | A | R | S | A | T | M | F | E | E | |||
| M | A | P | O | F | U | P | O | T | H | O | L | E | S | |
| E | V | E | N | T | S | D | R | E | A | M | O | N | ||
| D | E | T | E | S | T | F | O | R | N | O | W |
| P | A | S | S | C | E | L | L | T | R | A | D | E | ||
| E | X | I | T | P | O | L | L | S | H | E | W | E | D | |
| C | E | D | A | R | W | O | O | D | I | T | A | L | Y | |
| T | E | S | T | S | O | S | I | R | I | S | ||||
| M | A | K | E | S | H | E | A | D | L | I | N | E | S | |
| E | L | A | P | S | E | R | E | S | T | |||||
| L | A | T | E | E | D | I | T | I | O | N | C | B | C | |
| E | M | E | N | D | R | E | F | O | C | A | L | A | ||
| E | O | S | F | L | I | N | T | S | T | O | N | E | S | |
| T | O | E | S | E | A | T | O | U | T | |||||
| B | E | A | R | T | H | E | E | X | P | E | N | S | E | |
| D | O | N | U | T | S | L | A | T | I | N | ||||
| U | T | E | R | I | R | O | S | A | P | A | R | K | S | |
| S | C | R | U | M | O | P | E | N | E | N | D | E | R | |
| T | H | O | S | E | B | E | L | T | T | A | G | S |
| A | R | M | R | E | S | T | H | O | G | S | N | I | P | |
| W | H | Y | A | M | I | H | E | R | E | P | O | S | E | |
| M | O | R | T | U | A | R | I | E | S | A | V | E | C | |
| A | N | N | E | A | S | S | T | N | O | E | L | |||
| N | E | A | S | A | L | T | T | A | X | C | I | A | ||
| G | A | L | L | E | L | F | H | A | T | S | ||||
| S | H | A | R | I | A | V | I | T | A | M | I | N | S | |
| T | A | M | E | D | C | P | A | C | A | N | O | E | ||
| R | I | P | T | I | D | E | S | S | T | R | E | W | S | |
| E | R | E | A | D | E | R | S | P | O | T | ||||
| S | S | R | O | V | E | R | P | A | R | Z | I | G | ||
| S | A | S | H | O | M | O | O | D | A | D | A | |||
| A | L | A | I | T | O | U | R | G | U | I | D | E | S | |
| T | O | N | S | E | N | T | E | R | P | R | I | S | E | |
| E | N | D | S | E | Y | E | S | O | C | K | E | T | S |
| T | G | I | F | I | N | C | A | S | T | A | K | E | M | A | A | M | ||||
| M | A | D | E | A | T | O | A | S | T | R | O | S | I | E | I | C | E | E | ||
| C | L | E | A | R | A | S | M | U | D | A | N | Y | T | O | W | N | U | S | A | |
| E | A | R | C | L | I | P | J | O | L | T | H | I | T | O | N | |||||
| A | I | L | E | A | T | A | W | A | Y | A | D | E | P | T | ||||||
| A | R | D | E | N | C | Y | R | I | A | S | C | I | ||||||||
| L | E | O | N | E | O | D | D | S | B | A | C | K | S | T | A | B | ||||
| E | X | E | S | D | I | O | D | E | L | A | R | G | E | S | C | A | L | E | ||
| S | U | Z | A | N | N | E | M | I | R | R | E | N | S | L | A | T | ||||
| S | T | A | R | E | D | A | T | E | E | L | S | E | W | K | I | R | ||||
| T | A | S | E | R | W | O | R | K | G | R | O | U | P | E | L | E | N | A | ||
| R | I | O | O | S | H | A | N | A | N | O | B | R | A | D | A | Y | ||||
| A | C | L | S | O | I | L | G | U | N | S | I | T | R | E | P | S | ||||
| W | H | I | T | E | F | L | O | U | R | N | O | T | S | O | T | H | A | W | ||
| S | I | D | E | S | T | E | P | L | E | A | N | M | O | O | R | E | ||||
| R | C | A | C | I | O | T | R | A | P | P | E | D | ||||||||
| A | P | N | E | A | G | I | V | E | O | F | F | H | U | T | ||||||
| D | R | O | O | P | I | D | E | M | O | R | D | E | R | E | D | |||||
| R | O | S | S | E | L | L | I | N | I | H | A | V | E | E | Y | E | S | O | N | |
| E | P | E | E | A | D | O | U | T | S | T | E | A | L | S | U | P | O | N | ||
| P | S | S | T | D | A | M | S | N | E | R | D | Y | P | Y | R | E |
| S | T | A | R | A | R | C | E | S | C | O | R | T | ||
| M | A | D | E | L | A | H | R | O | O | M | I | E | ||
| H | O | M | E | P | A | G | E | R | O | U | N | D | S | |
| S | I | S | I | S | F | O | R | I | G | S | ||||
| S | E | M | E | S | T | E | R | A | T | S | E | A | ||
| G | A | S | A | A | H | I | S | P | Y | |||||
| A | X | I | S | C | O | N | S | S | A | S | H | A | ||
| L | O | O | K | T | H | E | O | T | H | E | R | W | A | Y |
| A | N | N | I | E | B | R | I | E | D | I | R | E | ||
| R | A | M | I | E | R | A | S | M | S | |||||
| F | E | D | E | R | A | L | G | R | A | N | T | S | ||
| I | V | E | S | S | L | O | T | A | R | O | ||||
| R | E | L | O | C | K | T | R | E | E | P | O | S | E | |
| E | N | T | R | E | E | I | O | N | A | L | L | Y | ||
| S | T | A | T | E | D | T | E | D | S | L | O | E |
| I | S | O | L | D | E | U | P | T | O | M | A | D | ||
| D | E | R | A | I | L | S | L | A | P | E | M | U | ||
| S | E | E | D | E | D | T | E | A | M | S | N | I | P | |
| R | O | D | E | A | R | N | N | U | D | E | ||||
| E | A | R | L | E | A | S | E | |||||||
| M | A | R | B | L | E | S | T | A | T | U | E | S | ||
| E | I | N | S | Y | S | T | H | E | R | B | A | L | ||
| S | N | O | U | T | E | A | R | R | O | O | T | S | ||
| C | A | T | N | A | P | S | O | S | O | L | A | D | ||
| J | E | W | I | S | H | H | O | L | I | D | A | Y | ||
| E | N | Y | A | S | O | D | A | |||||||
| B | A | R | D | R | O | T | S | N | C | O | ||||
| A | W | E | D | A | R | K | S | H | A | D | O | W | S | |
| B | O | A | A | L | I | I | E | Y | E | L | E | T | ||
| A | L | L | R | I | S | E | S | E | R | E | N | E |
| E | P | C | O | T | O | B | I | S | O | F | A | R | ||
| N | A | O | M | I | T | O | T | A | D | O | R | E | ||
| T | R | U | E | N | O | R | T | H | V | O | U | C | H | |
| R | I | G | G | R | A | T | E | D | E | L | A | A | ||
| Y | S | H | A | P | E | O | L | E | O | E | N | S | ||
| S | S | R | E | M | P | A | N | A | D | A | ||||
| R | E | Y | O | V | A | L | D | E | L | |||||
| P | E | R | S | P | I | R | E | A | S | T | R | I | D | |
| G | L | U | E | O | N | S | K | I | B | O | A | R | D | |
| E | S | T | S | A | R | A | G | E | T | |||||
| S | T | R | E | A | K | B | Y | C | S | A | ||||
| B | I | O | A | G | E | R | R | O | O | M | B | A | ||
| A | M | P | T | E | N | U | R | E | S | U | E | S | ||
| D | I | T | T | O | K | N | O | C | K | O | F | F | S | |
| E | L | E | N | A | E | C | O | S | O | F | I | A | ||
| G | E | N | T | S | N | H | S | U | N | I | T | Y |
| A | B | E | V | A | N | S | F | A | R | C | E | |||
| R | U | N | I | D | I | O | M | O | N | E | O | N | ||
| E | S | T | S | O | L | D | I | E | R | T | U | N | E | |
| T | H | R | E | E | L | A | M | E | N | T | ||||
| H | E | A | N | S | P | L | A | N | T | S | I | A | M | |
| A | L | P | O | R | A | Z | E | O | U | T | I | E | ||
| S | P | E | C | K | A | S | P | E | N | S | ||||
| I | S | T | U | S | E | A | R | C | H | S | S | A | ||
| T | H | E | F | T | S | B | E | T | A | S | ||||
| C | O | D | A | S | P | A | S | O | P | A | T | S | ||
| H | O | L | T | C | A | N | T | R | A | I | G | H | T | |
| T | A | C | K | O | N | S | T | E | E | R | ||||
| U | P | S | A | N | D | D | O | W | N | S | G | I | A | |
| T | A | S | T | E | A | N | I | S | E | A | R | T | ||
| A | R | O | S | E | S | T | A | T | P | S | A |
| S | R | S | T | H | A | T | S | A | W | R | A | P | ||
| T | A | P | S | A | U | D | I | O | P | H | I | L | E | |
| O | D | I | N | S | M | A | R | T | P | I | L | L | S | |
| N | I | N | E | T | O | B | E | H | O | N | E | S | T | |
| Y | O | D | E | L | E | R | E | I | N | |||||
| D | O | Z | E | D | B | A | R | N | Y | A | R | D | ||
| A | R | C | E | D | V | A | L | E | T | B | A | D | ||
| R | A | T | S | I | N | S | H | E | P | A | ||||
| A | M | O | M | A | N | G | O | L | E | T | B | Y | ||
| B | A | R | G | A | M | E | S | C | E | L | I | A | ||
| A | Y | O | M | A | O | I | S | T | S | |||||
| M | A | R | R | I | E | D | M | A | N | P | A | T | H | |
| I | D | O | N | T | B | U | Y | I | T | A | B | L | E | |
| C | A | M | E | R | A | C | R | E | W | D | E | E | R | |
| E | M | P | T | Y | S | T | A | R | E | T | S | A |