ACROSS LITE PUZZLE: [ ANCESTORS]
PROGRAM: [Across Lite]
PROGRAM: [Java]
PRINTOUT PUZZLE: [ ANCESTORS]
PROGRAM: [Adobe Acrobat]
I just had the opportunity to test solve a wonderful puzzle by Byron Walden for The Onion. It was one of those, “God damn, I wished I had thought of that one” puzzles. The theme was so patently obvious, funny and topical, it was a complete surprise it had never been done before. Byron admitted he was worried that I’d beat him to that gimmick on this here blog.
I’ve lost count the number of times I’ve either felt worried that somebody else had come with the same theme of the puzzle I was making. Or, for that matter, lost count the number of times I’ve said “God damn, I wished I had thought of that one” (see Patrick Berry’s life work). Or, even worse, I’ve lost count of coming up with something on my own that I thought was brand new, yet was already old hat.
Classic example: Some six years ago, I stumbled upon the name VIDKUN QUISLING and thought he’d make for an interesting start for a themeless. But, seeing as his name is 14 letters long, it’s not the most ideal entry. A few minutes later I noticed that BENEDICT ARNOLD was not only 14 letters long, but also a traitor. JUDAS ISCARIOT came later and that was enough for a three traitors puzzle. A short while after the puzzle ran, I had some beers with Matt Gaffney who casually told me he’d come up with that exact same theme some 10 years earlier. I had always joked with Matt that I ripped off his style when I started out; in this instance I literally ripped him off.
Puzzlemakers coming up with virtually the same theme is a fairly common occurrence. Due to the stringent rules for puzzlemaking, it’s inevitable that similarities (or inadvertent duplications!) will arise. In the instance of the traitors puzzle, there aren’t any other 14 letter traitors to balance out Vidkun, so if I was going down that route, I was pretty much stuck with the entries outlined above.
Sun editor Peter Gordon would flat out reject any puzzle if the theme was even remotely similar to anything that was published before. Even if you took the gimmick but managed to find a new twist on it, he’d pass. When puzzle God Merl Reagle comes up with a theme he says he “cooks” it. That is to say, he thoroughly exhausts every option that could be applied to the theme, so that if anyone else tries that gimmick, they’re guaranteed to copy at least one entry. Both of those approaches are no mean feats.
Anyway, this puzzle isn’t winning awards for being a brand spanking new theme. Nor will anybody who solves it say “God damn, I wished I had thought of that one.” It was just a quirky puzzle that needed a home. Enjoy it, and new one on Friday.
(Oh, and speaking of Friday, The Boston Typewriter Orchestra is playing at AS220 in Providence. Stalkers, take notice!)
nice puzzle! seven X-s–xtraordinary!
I must be really dense today. I finished it but I don’t ‘get’ the theme.
Enjoyable puzzle, as usual. At some point, wanted PITH for 11D.
(And your illustration led me to an idiosyncratic theology blog which was an interesting trek. Thanks for the inflection.)
I once made an easy puzzle for the NYT with four theme entries like GOOD COP BAD COP and HE SAID SHE SAID. Turned out Patrick Berry had run the same theme, with the exact same four theme entries, in the NYT a few years earlier. (And no, I never saw that puzzle, since I rarely do the early-week puzzles.)
For this one, I’m wondering what entry came first for the theme. I’d never heard the actual phrase for 25-Across, but I like the answer we end up with, so it’s worth it. Thankfully I got the theme eventually, as it helped on the 54/55-Down pair (although my knowledge of Polynesian birds that have been extinct for over 100 years also helped of course).
If Reagle was going to “cook” this theme, I expect he would have turned the clue to 2-Down into a simian-related “Mandrill” pun.
I was in the same boat. You can always go to this link for the explanation (although this particular explanation isn’t as clear as usual):
http://crosswordfiend.blogspot.com/
16:51. Mom helped.
Thanks Twangster. Can you hear the sound of me smacking myself on the forehead?
@Trip: it’s gross. But I mean, it doesn’t just stop with Patrick. I’ve had theme overlaps with your work, Merl’s, Mike Shenk’s … the list goes on. Though, OTOH, it feels great solving a puzzle and going: hey, I’ve already made this one!
Rarely do I leave a completed correct puzzle confused. But wtf is 42A TMANDISPENSERS.
Racking my tiny soft gray matter still….
Favorite clue: 58A Per Unit
Least favorite clue: 38A Oh-so dainty (although I learned a new word)
Thanks for the headache Brendan!
MAN replaces APE, so TMANDISPENSERS was originally TAPEDISPENSERS (TAPE DISPENSERS).
This one was truly painful. I gave up at 15:08 and looked up 38D so I could finish the lower-right corner. Thanks a lot. 🙂