Bruce Haight's crossword in today's Los Angeles Times includes GOOSEBUMPS, STRAWHATS, BLACKARTS and BLUESTATES. The central word in the grid, BERRIES, can follow the start of each of those four phrases.
You could say that the puzzle was fruitful. Yes, it would be a dumb thing to say but you could still say it. Today's NEA crossword, however, was not fruitful. It had no theme---it never does---and contained Roman numerals (VII), foreign words (AGUA, ILE, ORO) and the much over-used words ALE, APE, IRE and OAR.
The Universal crossword included Roman numerals (III) and the over-used words LEI, ONO, ORE and OREO but it also included SATAY ("Grilled Thai dish") and ALIENED ("Estranged.") Until I consulted good ol' Merriam-Webster, I did not know "alien" was ever a verb. The word "alienate" was first used in 1509. The verb was originally "alien." It dates from the 1300s. I wonder if anyone back then was ever sued for "aliening of affections"?
