"Revitalizing a Run-Down Space: Transforming Neglect into Beauty"

David P. Williams's second crossword for The New York Times follows the same grid pattern as his previous puzzle, inspired by Wallace Stevens's poem "Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird." The construction is excellent and challenging, with some tricky clues. The hyphenated "run-down" is an adjective meaning decrepit, while "acute" can refer to seriousness or the opposite of an acute accent. The phrase "yo-yos, in a way" clues to the action of walking the dog with a yo-yo.