ACROSS LITE PUZZLE: [ CHEAT SHEET]
PROGRAM: [Across Lite]
PROGRAM: [Java]
PRINTOUT PUZZLE: [ CHEAT SHEET]
PROGRAM: [Adobe Acrobat]
In addition to posting puzzles and occasionally coherent rants about my (pick one): life, wife, puzzles, wife’s aversion to puzzles, etc., this blog serves as a placeholder for my other book I’m working on. It’s a coffee table book that will be filled to the brim with pictures of me with red eye celebrity fans of the blog. The latest entry (above) is me with Sherman Alexie. He was in town on Monday to read from “War Dances,” his latest collection of short stories and poems. Well, now that I think about it, he barely read from it. Instead he riffed on just about everything ranging from Obama’s lack of basketball skills to the death of the mix tape. It felt more like a stand up routine than typical book reading. No matter, he killed it. Great performer. Anyway, the short story “Fearful Symmetry” in his latest book is all about competitive crossword solving, so if you didn’t know already, Sherman’s one of us.
Tried to make a genuinely Easy puzzle today, but didn’t have enough time to give it one more solid pass to ease it up. Why? I’ve been asked by “McSweeney’s” to make a puzzle for their next issue. I won’t go into too much detail, but I’ll say that it’s not a crossword, it’s in code, and color plays an integral part of it. It’s kinda crazy. Just ask Liz, she saw how completely fucked up I was after a couple hours of working on it last night. (FWIW: Ben Tausig and Deb Amlen will have puzzles in the issue as well).
Finally, thanks to all who were able to give this week. As I’ve said before and will continue to stand by: the puzzles on this site will always remain free. Just consider if you have a little bit extra in your wallet, and you enjoyed the puzzles this month, please think about a contribution of any size. Just doing your part will help keep this site running strong, independent, and fiercely pushing crossword boundaries. As I said on Monday, one lucky donor from this week will receive a free t-shirt of their choosing.
Share the puzzle. New one on Friday.
Thanks for the puzzle. I really enjoyed todays. First one of yours I have “cruised through”. Although my cruisin speed is not too fast, it was a pleasure nonetheless. Belated congrats on the Sunday NYT. My wife and I did it together and both enjoyed it very much.
Outstanding puzzle today. I think you hit the “easy” level pretty well. I noticed that Peter King misspelled your name Monday, LOL on including that in today’s puzzle!
Got a kick out of 5A — didn’t notice the typo the first time through, and wondered what four-letter words people might fill in to characterize Brendan…..
Sherman Who? Never heard of him. 🙂
Loved CSONKA. Never saw the “A” in TEAVEE, so ended w/ an error (TEEVEE). Crosses!
rp
Loved all of the scrabbley goodness in the NW and SE!! And a great theme, too!
Sheep Trick?? Don’t they sing “I Want Ewe To Want Me”??
sorry
You kinda lost me with RANEE, but I like the theme and I went straight over to Amazon to buy Sherman Alexie’s book. Loved his …Diary of a Part-Time Indian youth novel—am waiting for my son (who’s 9) to be old enough for a book with teenage subject matter in it. That was a good read.
Thanks, Bruce.
I know! I mean, Emmitt Smith is one of the all-time greats, but, seriously, Peter. I gave you my flipping business card with my flipping name on it!
Here’s a partial list: DICK, FUCK, SHIT, etc.
Yeah, dude, gotta check your crosses. For your punishment, spend a week on MOAPO.
Was that on “Live at Baa-dukon?”
“Diary” is on the nightstand. What I’ve read of “War Dances” I’ve liked so far.
Our son Conor, loved Diary of a Part-Time Indian. I think he was 13 when he read it.
great puzzle, an object lesson in easy-doesn’t-have-to-mean-boring. consistently lively solving experience with a lot of moving around the grid and coming at things from different directions. excited about the mcsweeney’s issue. everybody’s seen the esopus article by david quarfoot, right?
Yeah, I just don’t want to talk about alcohol overdoses and masturbation with my son just yet…but when he’s about 13 he can read it without having questions for his parents.
I love groan inducing puns and this puzzle didn’t disappoint! FYI I did your Sunday puzzle in NYC. Was so excited that the Sunday puzzle while I was there turned out to be yours! I have pictures of me with it at the Top of the Rock, the Flat Iron building, Battery Park, Wall Street, on a movie set, and on the Brooklyn Bridge. Is that weird?
If any of them are worth sharing, I’ll post it on the blog.
Is that quarfoot article online anywhere?
“The hell” — loved that one. Also, I think Csonka’s best work was on the original “American Gladiators” back in the early nineties. Remember the Csonka-strator he used to diagram and comment on the contestants’ moves?
I’ll email you some…I think they’re hilarious. But I have a weird sense of humor 🙂
carcetti for mayor? sheeeeeit. cool tshirt.
@Wade: amazingly American Gladiators is still on, still as cheesy as ever. Here in the Great White North it’s on some random channel late Sunday nights. The Csonka-strator is still going strong.
[I also found the puzzle to be on the easy side, and fixing TEEVEE to TEAVEE was my last letter.]
That’s so amazing it kinda hurts my mind.
SI, apparently, does not much care for fact-checking. Or spelling.
not that i’ve come across. i think the issue is still available from esopusmag.com, though.