Thank you for your CIPHERS 15x crossword submission to the New York Times.

Sadly, we have decided to pass on this one. The theme is really clever, but as you mention in your note, it just felt a bit too tricky for our solvers. We felt concerned that without seeing the answers, solvers wouldn't know where to begin with these, and would only be able to appreciate the gimmick after solving. We try to avoid gimmicks that can't be understood until after the solve, since many solvers won't take the time to figure it out if they solved it through crossings. Perhaps you can find a home for this in another outlet like Fireball?

Sorry for the disappointing verdict here; we look forward to seeing more from you soon.