Jim Horne notes: Holy COW! Three COWs have holes (circles) that are just gaps going across, but need to be read as HOLE going down. Empty sqaures in a solved grid is rare, but there is some prior art: This 2006 grid by Pete Muller. This 1988 Maleska-era grid by Charles M. Deber ..read more

Jeffrey Martinovic notes: Ever since I began solving crosswords many years ago, I have been fascinated by all the conventions we take for granted that are unbeknownst to most non-solvers. Some of my favorite puzzles, though, are ones that purposely subvert the solver's expectations with well thought out justification. This puzzle began as my attempt to justify using mirror symmetry in place of typical crossword symmetry. Among the treasure trove of puzzles that play on mirror symmetry, I was shocked to discover none had centered around symmetry in the English alphabet. There are actually a sur ..read more

Judy Bowers notes: It's been quite a journey to get here, to my debut puzzle published in the New York Times. After being an avid crossword solver for over 40 years, I decided to try my hand at constructing (like many other recent debut constructors) in early 2020, when so many of us were sentenced to "House arrest"! It took me quite a few submissions before I was able to catch the editors' eyes with today's theme, but now that I have my foot (or at least a toe) in the door, I'm hoping to get some of my other ideas noticed for future puzzles. I have to give a big shout-out to my husband, Larry ..read more

Jim Horne notes: This is remarkably sophisticated for a Monday crossword. Besides the eight-part word ladder transitioning from dirty to clean energy, the three long Across answers also relate to the theme ..read more

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Joel Fagliano notes: John Rippe, of Silver Spring, Md., works in the Office of Protected Resources at the National Marine Fisheries Service. Jeff Chen, of Seattle, is a writer and prolific crossword collaborator. John specifically focuses on the 112-/114-Across in his work, and this puzzle is a tribute to its impact ..read more