"Cash Purchases," by Paul Coulter

Constructor's Comments

This started several years ago as a Sunday grid called "Heaven Cent."  It was puns on currency that no one wanted.  So it sat idle in my rejects file along with hundreds of others until David's call for submissions.  Then I reviewed them all, submitted some as is, and refreshed other theme ideas into something better.  I'm glad David liked this one and, as usual, that he was so helpful with improving it.  I hope solvers found it ". . . something completely different," as Monty Python liked to say.  SPLAT.  Oops, forgot about that giant foot.

"Layering," by Paul Coulter

Constructor's Comments

I like the idea of themes that show a logical progression—BREAKFAST ___, LUNCH ___, TEA ___, DINNER ___, and that sort of thing.  Add onto them a spacial element top to bottom, like ___ ONIONS, ___ CHEESE, ___ SAUCE, ____ CRUST, and that's a pretty good set.  This one shows peeling off the clothes when you dress in layers.  I like that David ran it as the cold weather sets in, so that the COAT in COAT OF ARMS is appropriate.

"Central African Republic," by Paul Coulter

Constructor's Comments

The title was David's terrific idea.  This had OMAN in it originally and three of the African countries, so I don't know why I didn't think of making the tight set myself.  Also, the TOGO one was originally BUY SOME FOOD TO GO [Get a take-out meal (from West Africa?)].  It was my seed entry, but it obviously isn't central, so this one had to change.  And for some strange reason I can't remember, my title was "Feeling Hungary?" when the theme words were hidden, not puns.  Thank goodness for such a gifted editor.  David has the near magical ability to turn scattershot themes into good puzzles.

"Ad Breaks," by Paul Coulter

Constructor's Comments

My original title was "Ad Lib."  As in AD has been "liberated from the rest of the word."  I imagined Ad Lib as a social movement for commercials.  Picture a bunch of ads marching on Madison Avenue with protest signs.  David's title "Ad Breaks" is good, too.  You can do lots of things during an ad break, including crossword puzzles.  And it's an apt description of the theme.  My favorite of the bunch is IPAD DRESSES, which was my seed entry.  I didn't come up with this myself, but I can't remember where I saw it.  Has anyone else seen this somewhere?

"Wide-Open Wednesday IX," by Paul Coulter

Constructor's Comments

This is me playing with the limits of a themeless puzzle again.  I wanted to do some grid art and use it as a clue.  LILI isn't quite symmetric, but it's close enough that the visual effect comes out in a pleasing way.  Once again, I'm grateful to David for his high editorial standards, forcing me to make the puzzle so much better than my original submission.

"This Means War," by Paul Coulter

Constructor's Comments

This started as a Sunday grid I wrote in 2014.  I wanted to do a puzzle where opposing forces came at each other from opposite directions.  So it had DEMOCRATS (from the left) clashing against SNACILBUPER from the right, etc.  No one wanted it, and it sat in my dead puzzles folder until The Puzzle Society opened shop.  In the constructor community, we're certainly fortunate that David is so open to unusual ideas.  I reviewed a lot of these that had gone unused and liked this one.  HEAD TO HEAD is a theme I haven't seen before.  Most of the 21x ones were too long, but SNEHTA SPARTA was in there, so I decided to make it all historic enemies.  War may be an ugly topic, but each of these conflicts is historically important.  I'd be surprised if anyone with the intellectual curiosity to enjoy crossword puzzles is unfamiliar with them.

"Wide-Open Wednesday VII," by Paul Coulter

Constructor's Comments

This is my first published themeless.  I'm grateful to David for the opportunity.  Creating lively fill isn't one of my strong points, and he was very generous with his time to help make this grid so much better than the original.  Its inspiration is the B-2 bomber shapes.  When I notice these in grids, I tend to ding those puzzles half a point for using cheater squares.  So I thought, hmm, is there a way to make these shapes a positive aspect?  Fortunately, STEALTH and BOMBERS are the same length, enabling this mini-theme.

"Signature Dishes," by Paul Coulter

Constructor's Comments

I'm a big fan of cooking shows, so the base phrases are all household names to me.  Hope they were familiar to solvers.  Some of the others that didn't make the cut were JAMES BEER, JAMIE OLIVE, and JULIA CHILI.  I'm glad I managed to work in SAUSAGE ROLL and COOKOUT, but I wish I could have had a food-related phrase for the other long down.  As regulars on the L.A. Times Crossword Corner blog have noted, I tend to have a lot of food items in many of my LATs.  Maybe it's because I'm usually hungry while constructing.

"Furnish the Answers," by Paul Coulter

Constructor's Comments

Like my last Puzzle Society grid, this theme started in a very different direction.  Originally it featured slogans for furniture stores:  SOFA SO GOOD [Slogan for a furniture store specializing in high-quality settees], CHAIR LEADER [. . . specializing in seats], CHEST IN TIME [. . . specializing in layaway trunks], DIVAN RIGHT [. . . specializing in backless couches].  I think it's chuckle-worthy, especially the first, but no one wanted it.  So the theme morphed into verbs that could be furniture as nouns.  Of the final set, I think it's interesting that in Great Britain, "table a motion" means the opposite of how we use it in the United States.  The sense there is to "present the idea for discussion" rather than to stop discussion on it.

Editor's Comments

Paul found four fresh furniture phrases to build a puzzle around.  I like how each phrase is of the form "singular piece of furniture + a + last word"—this touch makes the theme feel consistent and smooth.  In the fill, Paul and I went back and forth a few times to make make sure the vocabulary was easy enough for a Monday.  Notice how Paul used a pair of "cheater squares" before BUSH/after SPED to make the fill easier.  That was a smart choice, since the upper and lower center areas are not only wide open (approximately 5x4) but also have several entries that cross multiple theme phrases.  There are many more possibilities for a down entry that crosses one theme phrase (like ???A) than for one that crosses two (like ???R?M).  By using cheater squares, Paul made sure he wouldn't be forced to use clunky entries in those areas.

"Name Changes," by Paul Coulter

Constructor's Comments

This one had a strange beginning.  I started with celebs whose initials are forms of the verb to be—BARBARA EDEN, INGER STEVENS, ALYSSA MILANO (so BE, IS, AM).  For instance, the clue for Barbara Eden would be something like [Actress who got to ___ Jeanie (see initials)].  I also had [Activist actress who could claim, "I ___ the Boss" (see initials)].  It wasn't really working, so I morphed into this idea.

Here are some more "verb-ose" celebs who didn't get a callback:  Tom Waits [Alley cat lingers?], Hope Solo [Aspire alone?], Charlie Rose [Revlon perfume went up in price?], Beau Bridges [Boyfriend crosses?], George Burns [In 1776, England's king is furious?], and Bill Withers [Congressional proposal languishes?].

Editor's Comments

In Paul's original version of this theme, "Life Sentences" was the title.  Deciding whether something should be the title or the reveal is always tricky—in this case, I thought the life sentence wordplay was so clever that I didn't want it to be given away so quickly.  The downside of moving a clever title into the grid is that the new title usually pales in comparison.  "Name Changes" may not be as clever as the original, but I still like it, and I hope the aha moment produced by uncovering LIFE SENTENCE makes the trade-off worthwhile.

I'd also like to echo Paul's point about how themes often evolve numerous times from their initial conceptions.  I've started constructing many a "dead-end puzzle" over the years, only to scrap it and reuse part of the idea for something completely different.  The hard part is giving up on a theme you've already spent a long time brainstorming, so I admire how Paul quickly pivoted from one approach to another.

"Start Date," by Paul Coulter

Constructor's Comments

A few months ago, I noticed that the year 2018 lent itself to theme entries.  There are several long ones that start with TWENTY, and EIGHTEEN WHEELER makes a nice 15.  For the specific date, March and May are best for phrases, while FIRST provides many possibilities.  I checked the databases and was glad to see this hadn't been done before, say with a date in 2010.  I hope solvers have fun realizing the theme as the date unfolds.  Thanks to David Steinberg for providing the opportunity to run this on the exact date.

I've had a lot of free time since retiring from teaching, and even more since I stopped playing soccer.  For over fifty years, it's been a huge part of my life, from youth to high school to NCAA to adult leagues.  After playing three years for my college, my first postgraduation job was coaching the new women's varsity team.  I've been fortunate to play all these years without serious injury, but recently I've had to admit my knees are shot, so I've hung up the cleats.  Now, I fill a great deal of recreational time constructing crosswords.

Editor's Comments

When Paul sent me this theme, I was putting finishing touches on the last few puzzles for April.  So I told him that although I liked the idea, he'd have to construct the whole puzzle in just two weeks so I could have it ready in time for my deadline.  Paul embraced the challenge, not only designing a workable grid around four 15-letter entries but also keeping the vocabulary smooth enough for the early week.  Oh, and did I mention he was done with a first draft of the fill just hours after I approved the theme?  That's some next-level turnaround speed!  My hat's off to Paul for making everything come together . . . at the drop of the hat.  (Sorry—couldn't resist the bad pun!)