ACROSS LITE PUZZLE: [ THEMELESS WEDNESDAY]
PROGRAM: [Across Lite]
PROGRAM: [Java]
PRINTOUT PUZZLE: [ THEMELESS WEDNESDAY]
PROGRAM: [Adobe Acrobat]
Another day, another crazed fan of the #1 Crossword Blog on the Planet (patent pending). Say hello to Matt Sandler of Philadelphia. Matt writes:
I am a big fan of the blog. I thought you would enjoy these pictures from this past Halloween, when my costume was … a BEQ crossword.
My wife suggested that I go as a crossword since I am an avid solver. I was going to construct my own (trying to get into amateur construction) but due to A) Procrastination and B) My shameless desire to get into your blog, I took one of yours. I gave you full credit, as you can see from the pictures.
I went to your Easy archives, and then found one that I thought was appropriate for Halloween–Questions for the Death Panel. Grid on front, clues on back (exactly as you had them, except I added “Go Phils” to “Mickey Mantle, on the Yankees”). Then people filled me in throughout the night.
Matt, give yourself an A+. Not only do I love the shameless promotion, I love the fact that this is the result of an 11th hour decision/”oh shit, I don’t have a Halloween costume yet, whatamIgonnado?” moment. I am the same way with costume parties, which is why I just put a deerstalker on and tada, I’m Sherlock Holmes. And it’s the hit of the party too. My costume slackerdom pisses off Liz to no end partially because she spends small fortunes to go as, say, Donatella Versace only to elicit puzzled looks from everybody (“Are you some supposed to be an undead priestess or something?”). Anyway, Matt, thanks for the photos; you get a copy of my “Diagramless” book. (Everyone else, please get your copy in the store on the right.)
Oh, while I’m thinking about it, I rejoined the National Puzzlers League after a decade-long hiatus. Why? Partly because of the whole not wanting to belong to a club that would have someone like me as a member thing. Partly because it seemed completely ludicrous that the proprietor of the #1 Crossword Blog on the Planet (patent pending) wasn’t a member of the NPL. Anyway, if there’s any NPL members who are also fans of the blog, introduce yourself. And if there are any of you who wish to give me the business for rejoining, let me have it.
Share the puzzle. New one on Friday.
I think you did it to puzzle everyone, she said cruelly.
This one was half cake and half Disaster. Everything from INEZ down to the whole SW corner and around to, say, SEXY CAT (!?!) was rough as hell. Botany crossing botany. FLEABANE and MONARDA!?!? Jeez louise. “She could steal but she could not rob.” I thought robbery involved assault, so I had AANDB, not BANDE. Never ever heard of HEADDESK. Never heard of a PRETEST. Never seen “Temple of Doom.” Not a great day all around down there. Loved BABY FAT and WOWED ‘EM, and MACBOOK, which I’m typing on right now.
SW definitely made this one a HARD. Was feeling all full of myself until I got there, and….nothing. Finally ground it out, but what a battle. Was this a French class?
Rex, Rex, Rex. You should’ve read all the comments on Brendan’s Friday puzzle post. I said “Brendan, I can’t believe you didn’t do a mini-theme combining FACEPALM with HEADDESK.” Brendan, would you believe HEADDESK wasn’t a gimme for me?
I usually get the botanical clues, but MONARDA? Whazzuh?
I once vacationed in Sandy, UT. Ridiculously unscenic compared to the mountains. Hell, it was unscenic compared to Chicago.
also patent pending is the easy N/cut your wrists S. this is becoming your signature, brendan! great puzzle, anyways.
Same here…moved through it at a decent pace until I hit the SW. Embarrassngly could not get XEROX off the initial X. Wanted MODERATOR for MEDIATOR. Finally got UTAHAN…second day in a row that state has given me fits (was working a crossword last night from Frank Longo’s Cranium Crushers, which asked for “Box Elder locale,” which is also in Utah, if you ever need to know).
Good workout…
Yeah, tough one but gettable all around (though Rex is right: B and E is a burglary, not a robbery). 3/4 was tough but real smooth, and the last bit (same as everybody else’s) I had to work real hard for. Biggest hangup was getting MEDIA_ _ _ and of course reading that as some kind of compound word (media cop? media dog? media pol?) UTAHAN! That’s insane. Head desk is also foreign to me.
Hard to let go of TALI for the ankle, and BANKS for the MVP; that made for one tough CAT…
“Focus that might be a little off” –> USED CAR = Hall of Fame clue!
Thanks, Mr. Q, for a good tutorial for those of us in the pretty-new-to-xwords-but-irrationally-optimistic-about-getting-better class. Today’s lesson, for me, had to do with obdurate certainty about answers. 25A “veedub” (so close and yet so far). 34A “I’m yours” sounds ever so supportive to me (saved by “xerox”). 37A “we’d” (again, so close and yet so far). 39A “Got it!” works so well. Except for all the crosses. And I wanted “vampire” SO badly at 59A (saved by “exacta”). Lots of fun, lots of time.
Reminded me of a pre-Shortz, Maleska puzzle. Monarda…
Methinks a panel participant should be a moderator. A mediator mediates between two parties in order to reach an accord whereas a moderator moderates a discussion panel where no consensus is expected to be reached.
This one took me over 30 minutes to solve — the last 15 to 20 of it spent in the southwest/southcentral. Replacing GOFORIT with IMFORIT, and getting INASLUMP, is what finally broke it open.
Hmmm. Perhaps we’re dealing here with a Death Panel, whereon a mediator would not, I should think, entertain any thought of a viable consensus being reached…