We're sorry to say that this puzzle wasn't chosen for publication. The theme didn't excite us as much as we would have hoped. We receive a lot of rebus submissions, so we're being extra picky. Some of the rebus answers here, like CONTROLLERS and PROGRESSIVES, lacked the sparkle we normally enjoy, and we found it odd to have OGRESS in the grid. Very sorry about the disappointing verdict here. We appreciated the opportunity to review your work, and we look forward to reviewing more from you soon.
Despite their comment that "the theme didn't excite us as much as we would have hoped," a few weeks after I got word from the NYT, Sarah Sinclair and Paolo Pasco and had their Monster Mash puzzle published on Halloween. Although I do agree that Sarah & Paolo's rebus answers were a bit more sparkly than mine: PROGRESSBAR vs PROGRESSIVES and CRESCENTROLL vs CONSTROLLERS.
| Size | 15 x 15 |
| Total Words | 76 |
| Black Squares | 34 (15.11%) |
| 3-Letter Words | 18 |
| Avg. Word Len. | 5.03 |