"Internal Affairs," by Tracy Gray

Constructor's Comments

My initial concept for this puzzle was PARTY CENTRAL, where I would find theme entries that contained synonyms of party smack-dab in the middle of and spanning two words in a phrase.  With those constraints, my list of decent entries was minimal:  SELF-ESTEEM and LEGAL AGE, and the contrived OPERA VENUE.

Thankfully, David recommended I change the concept/revealer to SURPRISE PARTY, and I was able to come up with some fun phrases with the party synonym still spanning two words but without the constraint of being directly in the middle.  The icing on the cake of my "surprise party" was finding the title INTERNAL AFFAIRS, which I thought was perfect.

Editor's Comments

Par-tay!  Tracy Gray is up with a fresh, fun Wednesday offering.  From the lively theme entries (my favorite being VENTNOR AVENUE, since I used to play a lot of Monopoly) to the literally perfect title to fun bonus fill like ENOUGH SAID, SCHLUB, and CRAB POTS, Tracy spread good vibes throughout the puzzle.  No appearance today from crosswordese musicians Brian ENO and Yoko ONO, but a music lineup featuring ELLA Fitzgerald, Flavor FLAV, Queen ELSA (who sang "Let It Go"), and Madonna's "La ISLA Bonita" should inspire solvers of many ages to bust a move.