John

This constructor is trying way too hard. Puzzles are fun when they are challenging but this one was an interminable slog. "Fun but fair!" My eye.

I honestly didn't care for this puzzle. It's a little too "oh, aren't I clever" for a Tuesday submission. I'm sure the constructor had to make compromises for the theme to work. Unfortunately, some of them, like NOES and CSPOT, just took me right out of the mode. I quit caring and used the cheater tools when I was less than halfway through.

Thanks for the wonderful puzzle. I hope the 46 down and across connection is a little Kansas easter egg!