DOWNLOADABLE PUZZLE: Unthemely #92 (PUZ) (PDF)
34-Down was the seed entry in this puzzle. I learned it from a friend who offered to make some intellectual property available for a work project. The fill came together pretty quickly and I managed to include some additional first-time (for me) entries. Happy solving!
Default: 365786
Default with Spaces: 150720
NOTES: Merriam-Webster recently announced a new list of words to be incorporated into the dictionary. Most of the additions are entries I already had in my word list, though I got a few new entries, such as SEUSSIAN (65), that could be useful as general fill. The Trump administration presents an opportunity to add to entries to Default. Members of the White House staff and cabinet require some “vetting” for a crossword database just as they do for their actual job positions, though I did add SEAN SPICER (60) because I’ve been watching those SNL videos with Melissa McCarthy playing the gum-chomping press secretary. MAR-A-LAGO (65) might be utilitarian fill, though I resisted adding its partials that are not already represented as legit letter combos. I’m watching Riverdale on The CW. The modern-noir soap opera reimagining of the Archie Comics characters is hit-amd-miss, but I like the New Zealand-born lead actor K J APA (60) for his name. When Sybil watches, she comments on his massive eyebrows every time he appears onscreen. I hope the show survives so that his name becomes eligible fill for Daily Celebrity Crosswords.
FIRST (3-5) / SECOND (4 4)
Stephen Bannon, who feels sitcoms lack
A FIRST viewpoint, will bring SECOND back.
To play Donald and Ann,
Trump and Coulter’s the plan.
It’s a black-and-white show (minus black).
Comments contain the answer to Rice Milk #25 and may contain other spoilers. For information on solving transposals and other “flat” (verse puzzle) types, visit the National Puzzlers’ League’s Online Guide to the Enigma.
DOWNLOADABLE PUZZLE: Unthemely #91 (PUZ) (PDF)
Sheesh, it’s been a long time since I worked on a crossword puzzle. To give you an idea of how long this themeless grid has been sitting on my desktop, the original seed entry at 1-Across was the hip, trending term POKESTOP. The seed, along with a majority of the grid’s top half, was replaced due to a partial dupe discovered after the first fill attempt.
Michael Sharp’s crossword-themed podcast On the Grid, which has apparently and unfortunately petered out after a single episode (ETA: Lena Webb reports, in the comments, that a new On the Grid episode will soon be posted.), included a discussion on terms with an E- (for electronic) prefix, such as EMAIL, EZINE, EFILE, and ECIG. Michael asked guests which of these terms are still in common use and which are passe, and should therefore be removed from crossword fill consideration. I thought about that discussion when cluing 44-Across. The entry has a few approaches and the one I chose seems to have rapidly declining relevance among younger generations.
On the topic of blogs and podcasts, I’ve added Dan Katz’s blog Puzzlevaria to my links list. Dan’s posts focus on long-form puzzle periodicals and events such as P&A Magazine and MIT Mystery Hunt. The blogosphere boasts numerous analysis and review sites for crossword puzzles, and I’m glad that a similar site has now been created for hunt puzzles.
Finally, I want to plug a new puzzle book by friend and occasional LaaP commenter Roger Barkan. Colossal Cave Collection, published by Grandmaster Puzzles, is a book of Cave puzzles. Jeffrey Schwartz describes this abstract logic puzzle type as “Paint by Numbers on steroids.” The page linked above includes a free donwloadable sampler. I’m still getting my sea legs with this puzzle type but I did manage to solve the first puzzle using a hint, indexed in the back of the book, and a fair amount of erasing.
Instead of writing my own summary of the recently opened puzzle rooms at Puzzah’s Flatiron Crossing location, I am providing links to reviews of Specimen and The Curse written by Dan Kaplan, a staffer for Esc Room Addict. I respect the fact that the reviews are even-handed and constructive, pointing out both the strengths of the experiences and the elements that were not as successful. I’m particularly flattered by the plausive call-out that Dan gives me in the review for The Curse.
As a side note: Dan told me that he is a descendant of a David Kaplan who competed in crossword tournaments in the past. Does anyone recognize that name from ACPT or the U.S. Open?
life as a puzzle 