I’ve recently been creating “midi”-sized crosswords for the website Puzzmo, which has been a great opportunity to expand my cruciverbalist mind.
My most recent puzzle got me thinking about the order of theme entries – something that is very applicable for bigger puzzles as well.
Puzzle Spoilers:
Puzzmo: “Tank Tops” from Monday, July 28, 2025 by Henry Lin-David
NYT: Tuesday, December 3, 2024 by Henry Lin-David
NYT: Thursday, September 28, 2023 by Ricky Cruz
NYT: “Use Your Noodle” from Sunday, August 13, 2023 by Manaal Mohammed
As opposed to 15×15 grids, my recent Puzzmo theme holds an “apt pair” of just two related entries: SWIM SHIRT and WATER POLO. (You could conceive of a wacky universe in which the two are synonyms.)
Here’s a snippet from my constructor notes:
For me, crossword themes can often have joke-like structures. In this puzzle, I think of the upper entry SWIM SHIRT as the set-up that establishes the norm, and the lower entry WATER POLO as the comedic twist. The theme makes sense regardless of the order, but to me WATER POLO felt like a more surprising and satisfying punchline!
To expand on the point, solvers usually encounter the upper themers first, and the bottom themers towards the end. (You could argue that solvers might not always SOLVE the theme entries in that order; but at the very least, I’d propose that encountering certain clues first makes solving them in that order more likely.)
Often that last, bottommost spot – the “punchline” – is reserved for a revealer entry, which unlocks the puzzle and serves as explanation for the theme. It’s an exciting and satisfying moment, no?
But there are many instances where that’s not the case – maybe there’s a middle revealer, or the revealer is in the title, or the theme is obvious from the clues.
How, then, might we give that coveted Final Theme Entry spot the satisfying impact – the Oomph – that we want?
Option 1: Get funny
Make ‘em (or at least yourself) laugh
It’s been a little while since I’ve posted, so now’s as good a time as any to admit – yes, I finally got a puzzle published by the New York Times. And now I’m going to use my crossword (published Tuesday, December 3, 2024 in the New York Times) as an example to make my point. Sue me for my sinful pride.
The theme answers are as follows:
- [Vanilla ice cream with peanut cups and fudge] MOOSE TRACKS
- [Classic Sichuan dish made with bean curd] MAPO TOFU
- [What many junk foods contain… or a hint to the initials of 17-, 25-, 48-, and 56-Across] EMPTY CALORIES
- [Bite-size Mars candy, familiarly] MINI TWIX
- [Fictional burrito on “Parks and Recreation” that “literally killed a guy last year”] MEAT TORNADO
With a center revealer, theoretically any of the four themers could have been the Final Theme Entry. But although it’s probably the weakest themer (given that it’s a fictional food from a single “Parks & Rec” line), I think MEAT TORNADO is the strongest ending entry from a solver enjoyment standpoint. It’s silly and evocative, and I think if you know the reference you’d feel intense satisfaction and a little bit of shock and awe about something so crazy being in the paper of record. What sort of M.T. food could follow that act?
There’s something to be said for that joy. So try putting a sizzling, high-impact entry in that last spot – something that brings a smile to your face, and makes smoke come out of the ears of jaded crossword bloggers. They need a new hobby anyways.
Option 2: Get intense
“I’m not going for laughs, I’m going for GASPS“
As shown in this Ricky Cruz puzzle from Thursday, September 28, 2023 in the New York Times), there’s another way to heighten the impact of that final entry: Level up the theme’s trick.
This puzzle’s themers all had clues containing musical staff lines with certain keys. For instance, the first 3 theme entries are:
- MONSTERS INC (parsed as MONSTERS IN C)
- BALLERINA (parsed as BALLER IN A)
- PALESTINE (parsed as PALEST IN E)
The last one continues the trick, but goes the extra mile musically.
- FALLING FLAT (parsed as FALL IN G-FLAT)
It’s such a great example of following the rules but going even further for a satisfying conclusion. The puzzle lulls you in with all the musical keys being just a single letter… but then reminds us that music includes other notes too! Using IN G-FLAT instead of simply IN G adds an extra layer to the game we’ve been playing in a way that feels final.
I can imagine this intensifier method (and I think have seen it) working for different types of themes too. Like if your themers have repeated letters in a row, maybe the last one repeats the letters A LOT. Or if your themers include rebus squares, maybe the final entry includes two or more rebuses.
Option 3: Get big
Final boss time
I really like the sense of finality from this Manaal Mohammed crossword, published Sunday, August 13, 2023 in the New York Times:
All of the theme entries are clued as wacky pasta phrases, and the puzzle maintains a steady level of good clean punny fun to chew on. For instance:
- [Cookbook for rotelle lovers?] MEALS ON WHEELS
The last theme entry follows the same clue structure – the only difference is that it’s split across two lines (it wouldn’t even fit in a single entry):
- [With 108-Across, aftermath of a farfalle dinner?] BUTTERFLIES / IN YOUR STOMACH
To me, this final entry is appropriate as the last, biggest challenge – “You’ve solved my previous riddles, but this super-clue will REALLY put you to the test!” There’s something poetic about a crossword-solving warrior faced with one epic final battle that’s simply more letters.
(Perhaps you could argue that this example is just a way to get around traditional symmetry. Maybe it is! Even so, I can’t imagine it going anywhere except the end.)
Final thoughts
Obviously, there are many themes where order matters a ton. (For instance, would a vowel-progression theme – like one where entries start with the words BAT/BET/BIT/BOT/BUT – feel right in any order except that one?)
But for themes with more flexibility, I think it’s a cool exercise to really think about the ramifications of theme entry order. Especially in a world of emerging asymmetrical themes, constructors have increased freedom to curate their solvers’ experience. And who doesn’t want their puzzle to end with a bang?