THEMELESS MONDAY: [ ACROSS LITE][ PDF]
PROGRAMS: [Across Lite] [Adobe Reader]
PROGRAM: [Java]
It’s worth repeating: the crossword constructor’s place to shine is in the long entries. We all know the majority of crossword answers fall somewhere in the 3-to-5 letter length. If you’re familiar with crosswords, you probably know almost all of these entries. And their job is to hold the (hopefully) fun stuff together. Sure, SIRI or HULU or whatever becomes a new entry every now and again, but for the most part, you know what you’re getting in to because almost all of these entries have been done to death.
So, let’s say it again: a constructor has to shine with the long entries. These fall into two categories: The entries that the grid dictates (i.e. a spanning 7-letter entry where two letters are locked in), or the entries that the constructor puts in first (i.e. seeds or theme entries). It’s paramount that these are the freshest entries in the grid because these are the places for novelty.
I am always amazed when I stumble upon an obvious “you mean to tell me that not one single constructor has used this entry before??!?!” long entry that I can successfully pull off. In the above grid, there’s one such entry, and for whatever it’s worth, it was a seed. Also for whatever it’s worth, in an Onion puzzle a few weeks back, I had basically pulled off the same entry, also a debut, also a surprise nobody had done it before, only that time it was one that the grid dictated. How both these entries have eluded crosswords until recently is a mystery to me. Strangeways, here we come.
Share the puzzle. New one on Thursday.
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