Puzzle Notes

Hi friends: 

This week's puzzle is something special for the AVCX -- a themeless crossword! Guest constructor Kameron Austin Collins brings us "AVCX Themeless #1," rated 4.5/5 in difficulty.

There's no particular reason we haven't done a themeless before. If the response is positive to this one, perhaps we'll do more, either as weekly puzzles or bonuses. Let us know! If you've never encountered a themeless, they work exactly like themed puzzles, except there's no unifying gimmick, just maximum freshness in a grid with fewer words (and thus more open space) than you might be used to. They tend to be difficult both in the cluing AND because the entries are not tried-and-true crossword staples.

Anyway, KAC's first-ever New York Times puzzle was a themeless this past June, and it was super sweet and maybe my favorite themeless debut ever. So we flew Kameron up to the AVCX sky fortress for a little chat, and the rest is history. Enjoy it!

Yrs,

Ben and the AVCX crew [avxwords.com, @AVCXWord]