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This themeless puzzle, with answers that skew outside the Times norm, is a neat, sweet, smooth exercise that flexes, but not by building out brawny stacks.

There were several terms that made their Times debuts in this collaboration: FRAMEUPS, MOMFRIEND, TOTINOS, ZIPTIES, and ZOOMBOMB. I particularly like Zoombomb, a frequent enough occurrence these days. And mom friend, because who doesnt need someone who volunteers to be the designated driver, always carries tissues, nudges you to get to the gym and promises to call you 40 minutes into that date with a Hinge match, armed with a prefabricated emergency in case you need one?

Sophia: While bored in an online class last spring, I texted Kyra to ask for a good themeless seed entry. She suggested 33-Down, and thus this puzzle was born. We locked in the bottom half of this puzzle early on, but the top half went through several iterations before this final submission. As usual, it was a blast to collaborate with Kyra shes incredibly talented at both grid construction and writing clever clues, and she even puts up with my insistence on adding extraneous Disney references to all of our puzzles.

Kyra: Now that our online classes are over, Sophia and I need to find a new time to work on our collabs together! I loved making this one with her, and were excited to do more together soon.

The New York Times Crossword has an open submission system, and you can submit your puzzles online.

For tips on how to get started, read our series, How to Make a Crossword Puzzle.

Almost finished solving but feeling a bit stuck? Were here for you. Want some hot cocoa?

Warning: Be careful of spoilers, but come on ahead, brave subscribers, and take a peek at the answer key.

Trying to get back to the puzzle page? Right here.

Your thoughts?

Read the rest here:

The Last of the Ptolemys - The New York Times