This is Joe O'Neill's very first NYTimes crossword, and it's a doozie, with the theme revolving around one of Robert Frost's most famous poems. Now "famous" is relative: while Jean had a casual acquaintance with the poem, Mike was, as usual, clueless -- and therefore answerless -- so he had to rely exclusively on the not -always-easy crosses, and serendipity, to see him through.
There were some great clues throughout the grid that deserve some air time. There was the euphonious 53A, Waste's way away, SEWER; the sneaky 37A, Like the fruits durian and mangosteen, ASIAN (!); and the somewhat obscure 27D, Get into it, rustically, RASSLE (woah!). We loved them all, and hereby bestow a full 5 squares, on the JAMCR scale, to Mr. O'Neill's fine opus.
Show note imagery: Robert Frost's Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening, the illustrated version
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