Administrivial Chance To Back Something Great Alert! Our friend Patrick Merrell — artist, author, former Wordplay blogger and general man-about-town — has launched a Kickstarter campaign to crowdfund his newest venture, a puzzle adventure story book called “Zep in the Curse of the Evil Dr. Sumac Who Lives Next Door”! This would make a great gift for young puzzlers, but, as Mr. Merrell says, it’s “An amusing book for young and old alike. It’s a kid’s book, but with a very sophisticated, multi-step puzzle hidden within its pages.” Let’s see what we can do to make this a reality. Click here for more information about the book and rewards for contributing to Patrick’s campaign.
TUESDAY PUZZLE – I do so love a story that’s fair and balanced.
When I was solving Joel Fagliano’s puzzle about reviews, I bounced around randomly and tended to land on the theme entries that were “negative reviews,” so at first I thought his puzzle was going to be a bit of a downer, themewise. Fortunately, I finally happened upon the “positive reviews” and a sense of balance was restored. Whew.
Will Shortz apparently got some feedback from his test solvers that this was hard for a Tuesday, but I didn’t think it was that bad. Maybe it’s a wheelhouse thing. I got a kick out of the theme, which consists of two-word phrases punnily clued as critical reviews. They’re all very clever, although I’m not sure that BIG STINKS worked that well for me. I’ve heard of people making a BIG STINK, but have this feeling that the plural is not in-the-language. On the other hand, LOVE BITES, MOON ROCKS and TIME SUCKS are all great, lively entries.
In nontheme news, I really liked the entries GROUP HUGS, IPHONES, PRITHEE, SNIVEL and the NOPE/YES crossing. I was also psyched to see OTTO, my alma mater’s mascot, in the puzzle. That could have been clued a number of ways, but it’s always a kick to see the Orangemen in the puzzle
Clue of the Day for me was “Small matter?” for ATOM, followed by “Stand-up routine?” for THE WAVE.
Will Shortz’s Notes:
Is this puzzle a little hard for a Tuesday? The test solvers thought so. But once you catch onto the clever theme, it goes faster. The clues are almost all Joel’s. He’s become a first-class clue-writer — precise, colorful, imaginative, sly on occasion, and modern without overdoing it. A real pleasure.
What is a crossword blog for, if not to help with solving, establish a community for like-minded puzzlers and provide a sense of fun? After all, this is a game, right? GROUP HUGS, everybody!
Your thoughts?