ACROSS LITE PUZZLE: [ GOING ONE-ON-ONE]
PROGRAM: [Across Lite]
PROGRAM: [Java]
PRINTOUT PUZZLE: [ GOING ONE-ON-ONE]
PROGRAM: [Adobe Acrobat]
It’s probably unlikely that I’ll ever go one-on-one with LeBron James. For one thing, I suck royally at basketball. We’re talking inept beyond all infinite levels of ineptitude. I have such crap coordination that just about the only thing I could successfully do in a fantasy pick-up game would be to foul the superstar. Even my ability to pull that off is up for debate.
Yet, I love basketball (all sports, really). I wish I could do what these athletes make look so routine.
For the crossword connoisseur (that is to say the ones that pay attention to the by-lines), you can go one-on-one with your favorite constructors all the time. Paying attention to the by-lines and editors has its advantage. By recognizing that constructor’s (or editor’s) style, you might expect that sense of humor in the cluing, those kinds of words that pop-up in the grids, those themes that make you go hmm.
For instance with me, you’re probably going to see the same names that appear again and again (hopefully) clued with a new pop-culture reference. Or, you might see some bizarre-o letter combinations in a row.
Let me take a minute here to name-drop just a small smattering of some of my favorites:
Patrick Berry and Francis Heaney consistently do themes I wish I had thought of, and execute them with such grace that they almost always appear as if the grids just happened naturally.
Pat Blindauer has put together some beautiful rule-bending work. Every time I’ve try to duplicate his game-after-the-puzzle’s-solved puzzles they seem forced.
Ben Tausig, David Levinson Wilk and the “miracle Matts” (Jones and Gaffney) have begun schooling the next generation (i.e. alt.weekly readers) all across the country.
I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve said Byron Walden beat me to the punch for being the first to use such-and-such entry.
The future’s looking mighty bright with Kevin Der on the scene.
And finally, you’d be hard pressed to think of three better puzzlers than the creators of the last three New York Times puzzles: Mike Nothnagel, Frank Longo and Trip Payne.
Enough spieling. Enjoy the puzzle. New one on Wednesday. And a huge thank you to all who’ve been posting on the comments section.
Jeez, I’m addicted to the ‘check’ button.
Your list of favorites is short on estrogen—Karen Tracey is another of my favorites.
Lemme give you an “amen, brother” on the importance of Ben and the Matts making crosswords hip for the next generation. Without the alt-weekly puzzles, crosswords would be in danger of becoming “your father’s Oldsmobile.” Now, where can I find David Levinson Wilk’s alt-weekly puzzles?? Apparently I need to coax him to make an Across Lite version available—I liked his Sterling books but don’t encounter his regular gig.
well done, old chap! 50d made me laugh. not out loud (what am i, some kinda nut?), but i was definitely laughing on the inside.
[Dead head] tricked me. the space between the two words didn’t register until just now.
Amy: you are correct about Tracy. While we’re here, I also forgot that Liz Gorski generally has one gonzo 21x a year that is one-for-the-ages.
Hey, we should shoot some hoops sometime. You sound like the only other person on the planet as bad as I am. On second thought, we should never shoot hoops together.
But please keep the puzzles coming! Another fun offering today. Plus, at this rate, it can’t be long before I will learn BELLA and her cohorts–another gap in my knowledge filled by xwords. Thanks!
As a fledgling constructor, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve finished a puzzle (like today’s) and thought “What a great theme, why didn’t I think of that.”
Seems like this type of theme (one word over another) would make it hard to construct, but you pull it off with ease.
Thanks for the puzzles!
Thanks for the shout-out BEQ, but just to be clear: Matt J. writes all the Jonesin’ puzzles, I don’t do a whole lot with them besides look on in amazement.
Ha! Damn, that theme was so subtle I almost missed it. Nice!
Thanks so much for these!
Aww, thanks! And cute theme.
I’m almost certain that I’ve seen this theme done before, but I can’t put my finger on when that was. Maybe one of the long-time constructors knows.
I wasn’t thrilled with the cross at 29A and 32D. There’s no way to distinguish “bajo” and “baja” here, and if you don’t know “Arpel”, it’s a gotcha. 🙁
I didn’t much care for the return of Bella either, but that wasn’t as annoying.
Hm, learned a new word today. Had never heard of PABLUM. Had to look it up on wiki. And my aha moment re the theme didn’t come until after the grid was complete and I glanced at the title on top!
NIGGLE stumped me. I could not get the two G’s to save my life, and I even knew who Dizzee Rascal was. Grr. Thanks for the puzzles.
Didn’t phone this puzzle in, that’s for sure.
Not everyone can design this sort of thing, either.
And if they can, they sure as hell can’t pull it off quite so well. Thanks again for the puzzling.
To be named in the same sentence as Frank Longo and Trip Payne (and for the same reason)…that’s just cool.
I’ve been test-solving for BEQ for a while, and I’m still amazed at both the themes and the entries that this guy gets into a grid.
MN
Loved the puzzle.
What is BCC? Got it from crosses.
BCC=blind carbon copy
allows sender to add a list of recipients without revealing addresses to everyone on that list.
Craig, I’ve never seen BAJO in a crossword. BAJA is much more accessible for crossword solvers thanks to Baja California.