To celebrate the sixteenth president’s 201st birthday, the Times featured a Lincoln crossword puzzle yesterday.

Easier than most Thursday puzzles, this one was unique in my 50-plus years with NYT crosswords. For the first time I can remember, I got every one of the themed clues (Abe, Gettysburg, Emancipation Proclamation, Republican, and the top left corner to bottom right corner diagonal – Abraham Lincoln) before getting any of the crossing words. That sure made the rest of it fall into place quickly.

Rex Parker provides the completed puzzle above and further insights on his site.