THEMELESS MONDAY: [ ACROSS LITE][ PDF]
PROGRAMS: [Across Lite] [Adobe Reader]
Back in the day … oh, Lord. Have I turned into one of those people? … Anyway, back in the early days of making puzzles, the tool I leaned most-heavily on was Stan Newman’s “The Crossword Answer Book.” It basically did analog what we can do digitally today. If you had two letters locked in, say _ _ E _ _ _ R, it listed a lot of answers in alphabetical order. Not just regular words, but names and phrases. Obviously, it didn’t have all the answers, there was no accounting for current-ness (you had to provide that), but it sure as heck was filled with a lot of stellar answers. So yeah, I wore out at least three copies of it. Now, the book tapped out at 7-letter entries, supposedly it would have been too large if they went up to 8. Because of that, a large portion of my earliest themelesses were more or less interlocking 7-letter corner, much like the one we’re posting today. So it’s sort of a throwback. Though there are quite a few answers I wouldn’t have dropped back when I was starting out. Enjoy!
The summer drive ends on Thursday! I repeat, it ends on Thursday! Quick reminder: the site is always free. There are no subscriptions, and you are by no means obligated to give me any money. But, if the puzzles have brightened up your ’21, please consider a small tip to keep the puzzles chugging along. (PayPal or Venmo @TheBEQ preferred, email me for other suggestions). Everyone who chips in will get two Sunday-sized bonus puzzles (one themed, one themeless). Long form appeal here. Thank you to all who have given already. and if you haven’t received your puzzles yet, email me.
Looking for more puzzles? The Hub Crossword (Sunday puzzles by me and Emily Cox and Henry Rathvon) and Marching Bands year seven have begun. So if that To Do list needs even more puzzles, you know what to do.
Share the puzzle. New one on Thursday.
I DID enjoy it, very much. I especially liked the consonant-string entries. I vaguely remember Stan’s book, but for me starting out, the Franklin was GOLD! 🙂
Thanks, Brendan!
Been noticing last couple of weeks. On filling the grid, the message about completing the puzzle shows up even if few letters are incorrect. Not sure if it’s a software issue