'Get Outta Here!'

SATURDAY PUZZLE -- Katie Hoody has become a regular constructor of New York Times Saturday grids over the last year or so, and I always associate her byline with multiple twists and turns and some of the highest-quality clues we see in themeless crosswords. This solve is par for the course or better -- with a lot of wonderful, subtle hints and misdirects -- and is a joy to work through. I got such a kick out of its very last clue at 61-Down, [Sound made when something snaps into place?], after many AHA moments. That's the kind of punchline that I "get," but I really appreciate today's Constructor Notes, which discuss a completely different angle on the artistry of the grid. The fine points of mapping a puzzle out add a whole other dimension that doesn't strike me as easily as the wordplay does, but it's a big part of the craft involved. Tricky Clues 1A. A great example of a clue that doesn't look elaborate at first, but takes you on a little pleasure trip: [Dad's pop, perhaps]. My first guess was familial, but "grandfather" didn't fit, and all of its variations that came to mind had either "Dad" or "pop" in them from the clue -- repetition, which is generally not allowed. The entry turned out to be an old-timey "pop," or beverage, CREAM SODA. For a minute I wondered if the "Dad" in question was the same everyman behind all the jokes, but it's surely a reference to the lineup of sodas made by Dad's Root Beer, a Chicago brand founded in the 1930s. 17A/37A. [That's not the whole story!] at 17A solves to a Times debut that means part of a narrative, PLOT POINT. I got sidetracked by this clue, too, thinking of interjections like "there's more," so I missed another subtle detail illustrated by 37A, ["I've done better"]. The quotation marks in the clue point to an answer that is also an expression -- in this case, NOT MY FINEST WORK, another entry making its first appearance. 20A/26A. Both of these small entries have great clues. At 20A, [Be prepared to take a weight off someone's shoulders?] solves to SPOT, what you (not I!) do in a gym when someone's lifting a heavy barbell on their back. 26A, [Turnovers, but not crumpets], has nothing to do with pastries; it's STATS, or statistics (in this case, for basketball). 7D/10D. These sneaky clues work nicely together, and both are clear as glass once solved. At 7D, the [Bulb that becomes translucent when heated] is the humble ONION -- I was wondering if it might be some equipment used for the stage. With that in mind, why did I think that 10D, [Big name in lights], would be a brand name? It's a STAR getting top billing on an illuminated marquee, perhaps.