Rafael Musa and Sala Wanetick tag-team this tremendous Thursday.
THURSDAY PUZZLE -- I'm keeping my introduction brief today because this puzzle -- a collaboration between Rafael Musa and Sala Wanetick -- deserves the ink. Its theme unfolded for me slowly; as each layer revealed itself, my "aha" moment extended to a larger epiphany, eventually crescendoing into full-blown awe. This is a Thursday masterpiece and a triumph of puzzle construction. I'm excited to hear your thoughts on it.
Today's Theme
Before I picked up my pencil, I noticed that this grid features six T-shaped groups of black squares. Sometimes grid art serves as a clue to the theme. At other times, it's merely a coincidence of construction, puzzle symmetry or whatever your mind sees in the Rorschach test that is an unfilled grid.
I started with the northeast quadrant, latching onto a clue I definitely knew the answer to: 14A's [___ Moshfegh, "My Year of Rest and Relaxation" novelist]. Using OTTESSA as a launchpad, I began filling in the crossing Downs and found that 6D, ["Finally!"], should solve to AT LAST. The problem: It didn't fit. (This is the unofficial motto of Thursday puzzles.) I assumed a rebus, penciled in S and T in the final square, continued to 7D and hit the same problem. [Service with cups and saucers] sure felt like TEA SET, but for that to work I'd need to squeeze E and T into the final square again. My confidence started to waver -- two rebus squares in a row? And what word could 22-Across be -- an [Insect nicknamed for its small size] that was shaping up as _ _ (ST)(ET)_ _ _?
Remember: Rebus puzzles don't always mean you're squeezing multiple letters in a single square. Sometimes they fall under the traditional definition of a rebus, where a symbol stands in for letters. After I solved 14-Down, [Welcome sight in musical chairs], to OPEN SEAT, it dawned on me: Every answer I'd found so far ended with the same letter, T, and was short by one letter. But I didn't need to shove a T into any of the squares, because it's already represented by the black squares that make up the T's in the grid! 6D, ["Finally!"], is AT LAST, but I had to fill in ATLAS. Same with TEASE for TEA SET, and OPEN SEA for OPEN SEAT.
Confident that the theme was conquered, I proudly declared victory, which my cubicle neighbors have advised me to stop doing in the office. But I realized that the mystery hadn't been unraveled just yet. Only some black squares seemed to represent T, while others didn't. How was I supposed to know which ones? Seeking guidance, I turned to the theme revealer in the final row: It is DOWN / TO A T, which signaled to me that the hidden T's were applicable only to Down answers that end at the T's in the grid!
It's not just that there are 15 black squares that complete a whopping 15 theme answers. But without their final T's, all of these entries still work; the finished grid reads clean. This is remarkable. Parsing AM I NOT as AMINO or DAYS PAST as DAY SPAS feels as if your mind is performing magic for itself. See the words in one way? Poof! See them in another. Congrats to Mr. Musa and Ms. Wanetick, and thank you for the puzzle. Ten out of ten.
Tricky Clues
- 16A. [Performer known for her runs] reminded me of the Dutch track star Femke Bol, whose final-lap comeback in the mixed 4-by-400 relay at the 2024 Olympics is worth a rewatch. But today, the clue is referring to vocal runs, the kind that a POP DIVA -- another type of Olympic performer -- excels at.
- 22A. Let's address the [Insect nicknamed for its small size] in the room. The answer is NO-SEE-UM, a folksy name for a biting midge and an entry I wouldn't know if it bit me on the nose. It has appeared only twice in the Crossword before today, but remember that puzzle construction is often an exercise in trade-offs. If this was the price of making today's theme work, I'd gladly pay it.
- 50A & 33D. [Fault line?] describes the content of an APOLOGY. But you'd be forgiven if your mind went to tectonic activity instead -- the answer crosses with BASALT, the [Igneous rock that makes up most Venus's surface] and a product of volcanic eruptions.
- 1D. Looking for even more letter play? Try [X, for one], which is not referring to a Greek letter or a Roman numeral,but to the social media APP.
- 15D. A clue ending in a question mark for an entry with a rebus square? Diabolical. The trick to answering [Source of a deal with The Devil?] is spotting the capitalization of "The Devil." That's a proper noun referring to The Devil in a deck of TAROT cards.
Constructor Notes
Sala Wanetick: I had this revealer scribbled down in the back of my brain for well over a year when I read the constructor notes for one of Rafa's New York Times puzzles. He encouraged constructors to reach out to collaborate -- say less! Let this be a reminder to always shoot your shot with your crossword idols -- they may even be fans of yours too! After meeting/fan-girling over him this past weekend at the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament, I can confirm: The hype is real.
The grid was 95 percent Rafa (probably more like 99 percent if I humble myself). I couldn't be happier with how it turned out. Thursdays are my favorite day to solve and I hope this puzzle can convert some people who say they "solve only up to Wednesday."
I will be celebrating this puzzle's release at the Painted Lady Lounge in Hamtramck, Mich.-- ALL are invited (and Rafa should fly in).
Rafael Musa: Sala approached me with this amazing theme idea and we had a lot of fun thinking through how to best present it in a crossword grid. I'm beyond proud of how it turned out! There is so much theme density here and grid art and nothing too terrible in terms of fill to hold it all together.
Sala and I met in person last weekend at A.C.P.T. and she is one of the coolest and most iconic people I've ever had the privilege of hanging out with! Stay tuned for more from us!