Themeless Crossword #2 (With Brooke Husic!!!!!)

Shanah Tovah all! Hoping to bring back the blog more consistently (aiming for every other Thursday for now!) in 5782. I think today's puzzle is a good way to bring it back, and I'm super excited to share it with you all.

Brooke is one of the absolute greats in the game right now (I am begging you to solve her Lolla puzzle if you haven't yet), and I'm so so lucky to have worked with her on this puzzle. Super appreciative of all her insight, and I really hope the vibe of our process shines through in the grid. She's also just a fantastic person - her latest "Spread the Wordlist" project is exactly what we need to lower the barriers to entry in the hobby, and her most recent themeless drop benefits a great cause. We're super lucky to have her in the crossword community, and I'm super lucky to be featuring her on the blog! More interesting than my kvelling are her thoughts on the puzzle, though:

I have admired David from afar for so long and was soooo honored when he messaged me on twitter and started the convo I was too nervous to start myself!!! I'm so happy with this demi we made together and I think you can find both of our distinct voices as well as some greater-than-the-sum-of-its-parts vibes. We tossed around potential seed/clue pairs for a long time before David suggested 1A, which I absolutely love, and after we riffed on clues for it we made the grid and wrote the clues very collaboratively! I adore that 30A is in his wordlist and love his clues for 11A, 15A, and 6D especially.

Enjoy the puzzle, and send any feedback our way! Specifically, feedback along the lines of "26D is beautiful/groanworthy" is very much expected, and feedback in the form of 11A would be very kind (direct both to Brooke!). Grab the pdf here, the puz file here, and the interactive client right below. Thanks to Nina and Will for test solving! Fully recommending Nina's contribution to the Mini Meta Madness at Lolla, and check the blog later this year for my take on Will's randomized themelesses! Enjoy all, and be well!