THURSDAY PUZZLE — This puzzle by Doug Peterson made me smile from ear to ear, as his puzzles are wont to do, but this one was special.

You’ll find out why in the theme section. No tricky clue section today, because that will just give this away, and I want you to be as surprised as Amanda Yesnowitz was when she solved this puzzle on Friday.

Today’s Theme

The 22nd annual Westchester Crossword Tournament, benefiting the Pleasantville, N.Y., Fund for Learning, was held on Friday, Sept. 20 at the Westchester Table Tennis Club, which is owned by Will Shortz, The Times’s crossword editor.

“I conduct this each year, using unpublished puzzles from The New York Times. All the money raised goes to local schools,” Mr. Shortz said in an email.