This weekend’s puzzle is a guest-constructed crossword by Matt Forest and Taylor Johnson, a pair of constructors who live only 90 minutes from one another. Matt (from Rochester, Minnesota) writes puzzles for his independent website Matt’s Word and was the coordinator of the charity puzzle pack “Grids for Kids,” a collection of puzzles written by parents for people of all ages to benefit children in need. Taylor (from Minneapolis/St. Paul) is the creator and editor of Lemonade Disco, a website that releases a suite of puzzles from a variety of constructors every two months, and he was a contributing writer and editor on “Grids for Kids” as well. Their bylines have also appeared in other mainstream outlets like the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, the Universal Crossword, and the Modern Crossword. They’re both relative newcomers to the puzzle scene, but they’ve made a big impact so far.
Matt and Taylor bring us into a bizarre newsroom, with seven news anchor-style clues that leave out some important information when you fill in the answers. They’re phrases with the first letters buried in a black square, so the answers look normal in the grid but they’re clued in a wacky way as though the hidden letters are there.
- 27A: [This just in: A small town learns its local dump has officially reached capacity, leaving the city council to debate its ...] is (T)RASH DECISIONS.
- 36A: [Set to disrupt the toupee industry, research on a newly discovered supplement has earned it the nickname ...] is (H)AIRLINE FOOD.
- 47A: [Expansions in virtual-reality living have users spending untold amounts to purchase their own ...] is (E)STATE OF MIND.
- 60A: [Meat lovers have taken to buying sausages at booths known as ...] is (L)INK STANDS.
- 68A: [Agricultural innovations have produced new confidence-boosting fruits called ...] is (E)GO BANANAS.
- 82A: [Hell’s Kitchen now requires its chefs to “dress the part” and they are affectionately called ...] is (D)INNER DEMONS. This and (E)STATE OF MIND were my favorite two of their theme answers.
- 91A: [In an effort to contain their methane-laden burps, cows are being cordoned off to a patch of elevated land that farmers are dubbing ...] is (E)MISSION HILL. Mission Hill is a neighborhood of Boston.
Those hidden letters, in order, spell out THE LEDE, leading to the revealer at 104A: [Failed to start with critically important information (as seven entries in this puzzle have literally done)] which is BURIED THE LEDE.
When Matt and Taylor first showed me this puzzle, I was quite impressed by several things. I’m a fan of themes that use long, silly, narrative-style clues; it’s like reading a story in addition to solving a puzzle, and the resulting wacky images from their theme answers really amused me. What grabbed me even more was their surrounding fill entries. They held themselves to 138 answers, which is fewer than I typically use (I usually go with 144), but they spiced up their grid with fun and interesting non-thematic answers like AMSCRAYS, SPEED RUN, FIRE OPAL, DAY CAMPS, HAM IT UP, DO OR DIE, WAIT A SEC, GO TEAM GO, ENTER KEY, GERONIMO, CAT CAFE, IT’S A GOOD IDEA, CHOOSES SIDES, and THE NBA. To fit all of those answers in their puzzle while maintaining a fairly dense theme — with a meta-like answer to boot — is no small feat.
Let’s hear from the constructors themselves. Please enjoy this Q&A with Matt and Taylor, conducted by email. (The interview below has been edited for clarity and length.)
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Evan: The question that every constructor gets: How did you first get into writing crosswords?
Matt: In 2021 I started subscribing to various outlets to begin solving crosswords more regularly, having solved intermittently since childhood, and I noticed perhaps for the first time that puzzles were coming out with many different bylines. I became intrigued at the idea of writing my own puzzles to exercise my creativity in a different way. I plunged down the Crossworld rabbit hole, looking for every bit of advice I could find and connecting with fellow puzzlers online, and I haven’t turned back since.
Taylor: I really began solving crosswords in early 2017 to get over a breakup. I was living above a bar, and I spent many evenings drinking cheap beer and solving both crosswords that ran in my local paper, as a distraction. A bartender got me into them, as he was an avid and skilled solver. It became ritualistic for me, and I was hooked on solving. Fast-forward to the spring of 2021, weeks before my daughter was born. I stumbled onto “Wordplay,” and after watching the documentary I was inspired to try constructing. It’s been my passion ever since.
Evan: Can you explain a little about how you two collaborated on this puzzle? For instance, how did you originally come up with the theme, how did you each handle filling the grid and writing the clues, etc.?
Matt: Taylor and I had good rapport from working together on some indie crossword projects like “Grids for Kids” and Lemonade Disco, so going after a shared byline in a mainstream outlet felt like a natural progression. I presented Taylor with some Sunday-sized ideas I had been kicking around, and this one sparked his interest the most. We ideated on the theme execution and landed on this idea to “bury” the lead letter of theme answers in an order that would spell out a phrase, held together by Taylor’s idea to clue them in a newsy way to connect with the literal meaning of burying the lede. We pulled together a massive list of “beheadments” — words that form other words when the first letter is removed — and combed through it to create believable phrases with matching lengths in the order that we needed. We each took about 50 percent of the fill, going back and forth with screenshots until we were satisfied with the grid. We made a shared spreadsheet with all the grid answers so each of us could write clues, and together we chose our favorites. Locking down the symmetrical theme set was the toughest part!
Taylor: We Zoomed a couple of times to discuss and brainstorm exactly how we wanted to present this theme in the puzzle. Theme development, theme entries, fill, and clue writing was split pretty much 50/50.
Evan: Matt, you organized the charity puzzle pack “Grids for Kids.” As someone who has taken the reins of organizing a charity puzzle pack myself once, I’m curious about what the experience was like for you. How long did it take to put it together?
Matt: “Grids for Kids” took shape in September 2022, after a group of constructors, who are also parents, thought it would be fun to construct a puzzle pack full of parenting and child-related themes. We quickly decided it would also be worthwhile to try to raise money for youth charities. It was evident that someone would have to take the reins to turn this idea into a reality, and I volunteered to do that. I put out an open call to constructors who would be interested in contributing to the project, and I was fortunate to find guidance from others who have spearheaded similar fundraising initiatives. Namely, Nate Cardin (Queer Qrosswords), Rachel Fabi (These Puzzles Fund Abortion), and you (Grids for Good). We ended up with an incredible roster and were able to assemble a group of editors to spearhead the technical details of each puzzle. We officially launched the puzzle pack on Feb. 4, 2023. So, that was just shy of six months total from concept to completion.
Evan: How has the response been? What would you say was most rewarding about a project like this?
Matt: The response has been great! We set out to raise at least $5,000 for youth charities and surpassed that in just a couple weeks. We plan to keep the pack available for 12 months, so I’d love to keep the momentum going through the rest of 2023. For me, the most rewarding aspect of this project has been the privilege to work so closely with such amazingly talented people in the crossword community; and, of course, it’s great to see so many passionate solvers showing their support by donating to youth charities.
Evan: You’ve also been publishing independent puzzles at your website Matt’s Word. How are you enjoying that? How is it different from puzzles that you have submitted to mainstream outlets?
Matt: I was initially inspired by the amazing constructors I encountered who publish indie puzzles on a regular basis. I owe many thanks to my mentor, Shannon Rapp, for encouraging me to take the leap and start my own site. I connected with Shannon early in my constructing journey, and her guidance has been invaluable. I enjoy making indie puzzles because I can tinker with conventions, like grid size and symmetry, and provide content I would consider atypical for mainstream outlets (unconventional themes, edgier clues, etc.). Writing indie puzzles allows me to hone my craft, garner instant feedback, and stretch my creativity. Plus, it’s a good excuse to write puzzles while I wait for submissions to churn through the queues of mainstream outlets.
Evan: Taylor, your website Lemonade Disco seems to take a different approach than many other independent puzzle blogs I’ve seen -- rather than publish a single puzzle of your own on a weekly basis, you publish a suite of puzzles from a variety of contributors every two months. What led you to start a project like this?
Taylor: I think most of what inspired me to start this project was a desire to learn and practice my crossword editing skills, while finding a way to support our talented community of constructors. Seemingly, there are more folks writing crosswords these days than even just a few years ago, and only so many outlets for publication. Ultimately I wanted to provide a space for constructors to get their puzzles out into the world, and the best way I came up with to do that was to turn my puzzle blog into an indie crossword venue.
Evan: What have you enjoyed about it?
Taylor: I’ve enjoyed so many aspects of Lemonade Disco. One that comes to mind is working with fellow constructors, especially newbies! Several folks I’ve worked with have been unpublished in mainstream outlets. Giving them a platform to start getting their puzzles out there has been very rewarding. In doing that, I’ve also become a bit of a mentor to a few of these constructors. I’m really working with them on all aspects of building their puzzles. It’s a good feeling to help newer constructors develop their skills.
I’ve also really enjoyed developing the project and watching it grow organically. One example of this: Early on I received a cryptic submission. Admittedly I am NO GOOD at cryptics and am ill-equipped to edit them to any degree. Still, I wanted to support this constructor, and so I reached out to my friend Steve Mossberg (cryptic extraordinaire) for help. He graciously agreed to edit the puzzle for me so I could publish it. Since then I’ve received at least one, if not multiple, cryptic submissions for every suite! Steve has continued to edit these cryptics, and has since come aboard officially as Lemonade Disco’s cryptics editor. It really is really a two-person operation these days.
Evan: You organize your Lemonade Disco suites with a prompt of some kind, like cocktails or road trips. How do you choose these prompts?
Taylor: The whole prompt idea was actually inspired by one of my favorite podcasts: “The Moth Radio Hour.” The Moth is a group that hosts live storytelling events all around the country. They host them monthly here in St. Paul! Each event has a prompt that folks prepare stories based on. I thought that this idea might be applicable to crosswords, as so many crosswords are themed. I also thought using a prompt to solicit puzzles was a fresh idea I hadn’t seen before, and thought it would set Lemonade Disco apart from other indie and mainstream venues. It’s actually quite tricky to come up with a prompt, I’ve found! It needs to be specific enough to derive a theme, yet generic enough that it could feasibly inspire many different themes that can all relate in various ways.
Evan: Do either of you make puzzles for your own kids, or have your kids begun solving other puzzles themselves? If so, what kinds? How has the experience of being a parent changed your own approach to building puzzles?
Matt: My oldest just turned 5, and she’s just learning to write and recognize letter patterns, so she’s not quite ready to tackle a puzzle on her own. With some guidance she did solve two of the kids’ puzzles from “Grids for Kids.” I read the clues aloud, she spoke the right answers, we worked out the spelling, and she wrote the letters in the grid. I’d love for my kids to adopt my fondness for word games, but it’s too early to tell. Right now they are into jigsaw puzzles, matching games, and Candy Land. One of the greatest things about writing puzzles as a parent is that kids can inadvertently spark theme ideas, simply because they interact with the world in such a fresh and imaginative way.
Taylor: Same, my kiddos are still a bit too young for solving, (four-and-a-half and two), but they definitely know what crosswords are and that I make them! Crossing my fingers that someday they’ll find a similar love and appreciation for word puzzles.
Evan: Do you have a particular style or a set of interests that most inspire you when you’re building crosswords?
Matt: I look for theme inspiration all around me and I’m constantly jotting down notes of ideas to explore further. I’ve learned to spend more time on the front end to refine the theme itself, since it really anchors the whole puzzle, but once I get to filling a grid I try to lock in evocative bonus phrases first. I tend to lean into pop culture and shy away from dated references, and I prefer to use fun phrases over proper nouns. I also like to showcase my interests in engineering, fitness, outdoor adventures and action sports.
Taylor: I’m all about early-week vibes. My favorite puzzles to solve, and to write, are generally the theme-types you’d see in a Monday New York Times or USA Today or Universal puzzle.
Evan: Do you have a favorite crossword that you’ve written?
Matt: I love every puzzle I get paid for (ha!). I am especially fond of the puzzle I wrote for the Modern that ran on March 18, 2023. The theme — six 6-letter cocktails spelled clockwise in 2x3 rectangles, anchored by the reveal, CANNED COCKTAILS — is fairly straightforward, but it put a lot of pressure on the grid and it went through many iterations. Many thanks to Amanda Rafkin for sticking with me on that one and helping me polish it up.
Taylor: Tough to pick a favorite! Today’s puzzle is definitely top-5 for sure. I‘ve written a couple of Sundays for the Los Angeles Times that I am particularly proud of. One was a letter-deletion theme in which you needed to remove ME from certain clues to get the real clue. I was happy with the theme answers I came up with, along with the clues that read very natural on the surface, and cleverly disguised the nature of the theme. I also wrote a puzzle for Crosswords Club with Christina Iverson that had a JUMPED THE SHARK reveal and a fun gimmick of television shows literally jumping “the shark” in the grid.
Evan: Are there other upcoming puzzles or general crossword activities of yours that you’d like to mention?
Matt: “Grids for Kids” is the most topical for me at the moment. I would encourage anyone who is interested in supporting a youth charity to simply log their receipt at gridsforkids.com to receive some awesome puzzles in exchange for their kindness. I really enjoy collaborating on puzzles, too, so if anyone is interested in writing a puzzle together they can find me on Twitter (@MF_wordz) or on the Crosscord Discord server.
Taylor: I have a few puzzles coming up in May and June in various mainstream outlets that I’m excited for, so keep your eyes peeled! And, as always, looking to continue working on Lemonade Disco. So, anyone who wants to participate is encouraged to send in a puzzle or query when the next submission window opens on May 17. Same day as the “game night” suite drops! Thanks!