SATURDAY PUZZLE -- This is not an easy crossword, but it's certainly a friendly one. The humor is kindhearted, and the trivia is pleasantly nostalgic. It's the first collaboration between Barbara Lin and Lewis Rothlein, two terrific constructors. They're both crafty and clever, and they harmonize beautifully.

Many entries in this grid aren't notably difficult, but their clues have a subtle enough twist to look impermeable -- until you tilt your angle of thought just a smidgen. That aspect makes for a winner of a solve for a maximum audience, and it is no small feat.

Tricky Clues

1A. This is a witty start: What could a [Shifty little sucker?] be? Creatures came to my mind -- eels, lampreys and then puppies -- but the answer better fits the "shifty" part of the clue: a BENDY STRAW.

26A. A [Reason for foot-tapping] could be musical, but in this case it's fidgety behavior caused by ANTSINESS. This is a crossword debut, although "antsy" is common. "Antsy" dates back to the 1800s and precedes the expression "ants in your pants" by about a century, although both uses reflect "the same image."

28A./58A. Here are two small entries with clues that exemplify twistiness. [Lines in bars], at 28A, solves to URLS. I didn't understand this at all for a minute. Was it wordplay in which bar codes lead to coding leads to websites? Nope: The "bars" are search bars at the top of a web browser, where you may type or find URLS. And 58A, [What some people display after getting stuck?], has nothing to do with resourcefulness. They are being "stuck" with an inked needle while getting TATS, short for tattoos.

1D. [X follower, perhaps] made me think of treasure maps ("marks the spot") or chi (which is followed by "psi" in the Greek alphabet). The correct answer, BOT, mystified me until I connected the "X" in the clue to the platform that was previously known as Twitter.

5D. It's the time of year when this clue -- [Like a noisy toy] -- brings to mind plastic fire trucks. Sometimes they're noisy enough to damage your hearing. However, the "toy" in question is a little dog. When they're noisy, they're YAPPY.

8D. The two span entries in this puzzle, both debuts, cross in the middle like ribbon on a gift. Neither is that difficult. This one -- [Shield, with "for"] -- solves to a sports term, RUN INTERFERENCE, that usually refers to using confusion or distraction to neutralize a threat.

35D. [Pen for a hit] sounds to me like what a songwriter does. The clue also feels vaguely sporty, like a bullpen in baseball. It solves to E-CIG, though, which is common crosswordese for a vape pen that smokers "hit," when they inhale. This is good wordplay; E-CIG is almost always clued straightforwardly (it once solved for "Puff piece," which is also pretty funny).

Constructor Notes

Lewis: Sometimes taking a chance brings great reward. I rarely reach out to a constructor I've never met to pitch a collaboration, but I did last year with Barbara. Why? Because I loved the care with which she filled her grids and adored her often tricky and playful cluing. I just had the feeling that our melding would result in a "very glad I did this" puzzle for the solver -- and I hope it did.

Barb: While I think of myself as mostly a solo constructor, Lewis is my eighth collaboration partner (published in different outlets). Collaboration brings a new richness to this hobby. I knew of Lewis from his always kind Wordplay comments, and I'm glad we agreed to work together.

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