ACROSS LITE PUZZLE: [ HOOHA]
PROGRAM: [Across Lite]
PROGRAM: [Java]
PRINTOUT PUZZLE: [ HOOHA]
PROGRAM: [Adobe Acrobat]
No “Oscars” theme today. Shocking, I know. I’m normally on top of that, but since I was expecting my movie-related themed puzzle in the Chronicle of Higher Education to run today, I took a pass. The CHE dropped the ball and posted the damn fool thing Monday, but in the odd chance you missed it, here it is again: [Across Lite] [Java]
Have no fear about the BEQ Oscar snub. Since I’m completely batshit insane, I’ll be making ten (10) themeless puzzles this weekend wherein 1-Across is the Best Picture Oscar nominee. We’ll run the winner on Monday. Here’s hoping “Up” doesn’t win, cuz that’ll make things a bit awkward. </promisesicantdeliver>
On a serious note: I’ve been making some variety puzzles this week. Some for some clients, some for fun/just to change things up. I’d like to ask you, the solvers, would you have any interest in seeing variety puzzles every now and again on this here blog? Don’t be shy in answering, encouraging me, or discouraging me. I’ll even take suggestions as to what kinds of varieties you might like to see in the future. If you find the comments section a bit too intimidating (you should never feel that way, BTW), feel free to send me an e-mail instead. Thanks ahead of time for the feedback.
Share the puzzle. New one on Monday.
You also may be in trouble if the Oscar goes to “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire”.
I’d be up for some variety puzzles. You gotta keep the mind fresh.
Yeah, that film too.
i love variety puzzles. patrick berry’s ‘traveling cases’ in the wsj a couple weeks go? twelve kinds of awesome. also wouldn’t mind seeing another cryptic here. yours was the first i ever did and i haven’t looked back. and i’ve been loving your diagramless book. a diagramless or two here would be fun, especially if they were medium-or-harder-level themelesses. have you ever done a vowelless? i’d be interested to see what you came up with in that realm given your penchant for late-breaking phrases.
today felt like an easy. why the medium? OTALGIA?
I have been doing “vowelless.” I love your crosswords, but I will never desert you.
After expecting to see synonyms for HOOHA hiddden in each theme entry, it took me a minute to see the theme after I finished.
OK, Clever — but two of the themers “spelled out” and the other two not? Does this seem a bit, well, off to anyone else? Or am I missing something?
Yeah, what am I missing? I see “C” (“See”) and “U” (“You”) but … 🙁
I’m a fan of variety puzzles; I’d actually like to see one of your diagramless puzzles before I go out and order a book of ’em.
Here’s links to two of them:
http://is.gd/9KYmH
http://is.gd/9KYse
Well, when I was a kid we used to say the first four words of the four long answers in lieu of a certain four letter word.
Not a big fan of most “variety puzzles.” Tend to skip them / ignore them. Do love the Vowelless, though. And the cryptic. So if you do those, great.
I was struck by what was, for me, the unevenness of the difficulty across the grid. Started in NW and shredded California, shot across the South, and then ran brain-first into SE. Even with NEXT ROUND IS ON ME in place, solving suddenly came to a grinding sloooow.
19D BIRTH and 40A TENTH really slowed me down. Still bothered that the clue for CENTS seems to want a singular answer. Dead stop at half an hour with C_PTOP and T_RICE on the Canadian border, and twelve blank squares in SE, so I resorted to Check All. Replacing CTS with MOS (nice clue!) fixed the north, and replacing YUP with YES in SE let me eventually figure out what E__S__ had to be. Done in 45:09.
Glad I read the comments before saying anything about the theme. My students would probably disagree, but there are limits to how stupid I want to sound in public. I see (and remember) the “see you next Tuesday” riff, but geez. If its referent were that well hidden, I would never have figured out how to have sex.
Resounding hand up for mixed metaphors. No, wait, I mean for learning about variety puzzles. Not in favor of zombies eating my brain, though, so if/when you give us e.g. a cryptic or a gridless, could you also please post brief summaries of the basic rules of the road and strategies?
Yoiks. Two vajazzles and now this! Must confess, I needed the hint to see it. Must be suffering from otalgia or something.
Thanks for 20A, btw. A favorite novel and not a bad title or band name. Do you remember a Boston area band back in the 90s called Difference Engine, from the same source? Always wished I’d got that one first. Though I think Kathleen Turner Overdrive beats ’em all. Excepting maybe Hell Toupee.
I kept trying to shoehorn AURALGIA into the space…and NEET, NADS preceded NAIR. TENTH was seriously messing with God’s marines. I unfortunately SAW THELIGHT. Definitely Medium, not Easy, for me, but I was pleased to solve it.
The ‘theme’ …oh. Is there no end to the amazing inventiveness of junior-high boys?
I forget what it was called, but I liked the Eric Berlin puzzle style that over-ran the borders. Diagramless– for those with zero spatial ability, it’s right up there with the joy of hanging wallpaper (which I always cut in mirror image, alas.) So far I have not found a useful ‘how to’ for cryptic puzzles; badly need that! but like the idea.
I’d love to see more variety puzzles. Love love love. I do agree with @lit.doc, a short explanation of rules/strategies would be helpful. I got my ACPT puzzles today so did this one as a warm up. I did OK. Didn’t remember old Ossie Davis. I always want him to be Geena Davis. Also had TAZ spelled TAS so was wondering if there was a rebus for Mount Sinai down there somewhere. My geography is horrible, obvy. Never heard of Betty Nguyen, but that’s because I only get my news via Perez Hilton and Stephen Colbert. Also, have never heard SEE YOU NEXT TUESDAY as a euphemism. But Urban Dictionary confirms it is. Got it. Will keep in mind next time someone says that to me.
Hadn’t heard that one before — my reaction was the same as Rex’s.
I never would have gotten the theme of today’s puzzle, but there’s a lot of times (not necessarily BEQ puzzles) that I finish the puzzle and never notice the theme. I have to have someone point it out (RP) or it’s in the title (WSJ).
If I get a vote, I’d like more of the cryptic puzzles like the one you did last year. But I’ll try anything you put out there.
Hey! Did Eric Maddy put some money in the tip jar or is 60D an unintentional shout out?
I’m game for variety puzzles, but no cryptics thanks you very much.
As I have the spatial/visual solving ability of a demented wombat*, I’m not a fan of diagramless puzzles. Other than that, go nuts.
* Not that I actually can compare this.
Yes to variety puzzles, especially diagramless (sorry, wombat, I mean, Howard) — I finally finished the last 2 in the book and now want more — and of course cryptics, but have I ever seen a cryptic from you? I think not. Main dislikes: Vowelless, ugh, and I’m also not a big fan of things like “petal puzzles” or “spirals” or, especially, “Split Decisions”. I love the stuff in Berry’s book, though.
Probably a coincidence. Although I’ll start to wonder if I see QAQAQ or UCAOIMHU in one of Brendan’s crosswords….
I didn’t notice the clue until after I’d finished the puzzle, but then really had a laugh. Clever.