Jump to: Tricky Clues
FRIDAY PUZZLE — If you are not a constructor, you probably sit down to solve your crosswords without giving much thought to how difficult it is to fill a grid.
That’s OK. Analyzing the puzzle and its construction is usually not part of the solving agenda. But it is something that constructors look at when they encounter other people’s puzzles.
Without getting deep into the weeds, I’d like to point out a few things about today’s crossword, constructed by Trent H. Evans, that I believe merit a second look. Follow me past the jump below for a short discussion. If you don’t want spoilers, please skip to the Tricky Clues section.
The thing I enjoy most about themeless crosswords is that, well, there is no theme. I love a good theme, mind you. It’s just that seating the theme in the grid entails placing a whole lot of black squares around them, which cuts up the spaces where long, exciting entries might go.
Most constructors enjoy the extra space allowed in themeless grids, and there are a few ways in which they make their puzzles shine:
They edit their word lists by adding fresh and unique words and phrases to excite their audiences. Junky entries in the lists are pruned judiciously.
They try to find at least one top-of-the-line seed entry to be the first fill in the puzzle (and the seed often anchors the grid). I believe Mr. Evans’s seed was probably 35A, A LITTLE HELP HERE, which also makes a debut. That’s an entry that will put a smile on most people’s faces, because it’s colloquial and unusual to see in a crossword.
They build lively stacks. A stack is a series of crossword entries that sit either on top of one another (like 1A, 15A and 17A) or beside one another (like 12D and 13D). If all of the entries sparkle, that usually ensures that at least that quadrant of the grid will be enjoyable for the solver. A stack that includes winners such as the Northwest’s TRUST FALL, SOCIAL CUE and ALL ABOARD is going to entice solvers to continue. The trick — and this is partly how I judge whether a stack is successful — is to make sure that the crossings in the stack are also interesting and not obscure words or abbreviations. In my opinion, all nine entries that cross 1A, 15A and 17A are good.
So after you’ve solved, go back and take a closer look at Mr. Evans’s work. If you are noodling around with crossword grids and aspire to become a themeless constructor, this is a good example of the kind of submissions that are accepted by the puzzle editors. It’s more work than one might think, but the end result is worth it.
Tricky Clues
1A. I don’t remember exactly when the TRUST FALL became an example of the kind of corporate camaraderie you need to have with your team, but it was a very popular [Activity at a company retreat]. The way it worked was that you were supposed to fall backward into a colleague’s arms with no guarantee that the person was going to be able to catch you. If your co-worker succeeded, voilà, trust was established between the two of you, until the day you discovered that it was that specific colleague who had been stealing your lunch out of the office refrigerator.
17A. This [Training announcement?] is not a list of exercises for you to work through. In this instance, the training has to do with locomotives, and the announcement is ALL ABOARD.
25A. The word ASPIC, clued as [Savory jelly], has been in the New York Times Crossword 148 times, and while I haven’t been around for all of them, each appearance left me feeling vaguely nauseous. Who wants to eat savory jelly?
That all changed after I had my first Chinese soup dumpling, or xiao long bao. These luscious bits of deliciousness are filled with a soul-warming broth and a meatball. The dumplings are eaten by biting a small hole in the wrapping without suffering third-degree burns (they are served very hot), then sipping the broth inside until you get to the meaty center. You can add a drop of black vinegar to make the broth even tastier, as you wonder how the heck they got the soup in there. I later discovered that this culinary miracle is pulled off by adding gelatin and refrigerating the broth until it congeals, which essentially makes it an aspic. Spoonfuls of the gel are placed in dumpling wrappers along with the meatballs, and each dumpling is closed by making a series of deft folds in the wrapper. When they are ready to be served, the dumplings are steamed, which returns the broth to its liquid form.
44A. [Burn letters?] is not an exhortation to set fire to your correspondence. It refers to the letters SPF, which you would find on a bottle of sunblock.
45A. I had to look this one up. I knew that [What 0! equals] was a math clue, but I am not an expert on factorials. I got the answer ONE because that was what fit, but curiosity got the better of me. Here is a much better explanation than I could give you of why 0! equals ONE.
55A. A [Hard fall?] sounds painful, but the one in this puzzle is a HAILSTORM, because hailstones are hard when they fall.
2D. This [Billing matter] is not about money but about where your name is on a theater marquee. The answer is ROLE.
5D. If you were wondering “Tom who?” when you read the clue [Tom sporting a striped coat, say], it’s not about a person named Tom. This clue is about a tomcat; one with stripes is a TABBY CAT.
26D. There are many spots and kiosks in New York City that sell freshly squeezed fruit and vegetable juices. The [Green juice?] usually has leafy greens such as spinach. In Mr. Evans’s puzzle, however, the juice is power, and the answer is SOLAR POWER, which is a form of green energy.
56D. The clue [Air force?] does not refer to the military. The Transportation Security Administration, or T.S.A., is also a force, and it works to make sure people are safe when traveling by air.
Constructor Notes
This is my 11th puzzle for The New York Times. I have rarely experienced a high like getting the email from Will Shortz himself back in 2018 welcoming me aboard with my first acceptance. Like a first date that went spectacularly well versus the 11th year of marriage, it’s different now. Some of the elation may have gone out of it, but I’ve found something much better: a sense of belonging in a community of good-hearted and like-minded people who construct and solve puzzles.
My wife and I recently returned from a vacation driving down the entire West Coast, from Seattle to San Diego. I discovered many things on that trip, as we made our way through differing landscapes and cultures. The thing that struck me the most is that the people of Earth live life in so many different ways. And mine is just one of them. I love that puzzles are a vehicle that allows us to come together and share a single experience, despite our many differences. Knowing that so many people are going to experience this puzzle at every stop along the way of that journey from Washington to California is an overwhelming privilege I never imagined I would have.
Contemplating the interconnectedness of everything is something I try to do through meditation. Today, in this tangible way, my mind gets to connect with so many other minds in so many other places. The elation has been replaced with something much deeper, and I thank you for being on the other end of it. Here’s hoping that we can collectively keep our interconnectedness and interdependence much more in mind as we navigate the world we find ourselves in today.
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