Does any artist in any field face such ruthless editorial tinkering as the poor crossword constructor? You shape and carve and etch and hone and polish your little gem till it shines and sparkles and glistens and glows, and (if you’re lucky enough to have it accepted) it appears in print lopped and maimed and marred and scratched and sullied. Your reference to a favorite musician has turned into a reference to a TV actor you’ve never heard of. Two of your answers have been tortured into a cross-referenced phrase. The wit of a favorite theme clue has evaporated in the unwelcoming atmosphere of somebody’s dubious assumptions. Now and then, to be sure, you find a real improvement—but that only wounds your authorial vanity all the more.
Well, here’s a puzzle where I made all the editorial changes my own self.
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A crossword of mine appears on Wednesday, December 30, in the Wall Street Journal.