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Thursday’s Puzzle – No one asked, but one of the reasons I write about Thursday and Friday crossword puzzles is because I’m greedy.
In 2021 I needed to reduce my workload and luckily Rachel Fabe came on board helping the pros with my puzzles Monday through Wednesday. (Sam Corbin writes these columns now.) We could have alternated days, but I’m especially fond of Thursday’s literature and Friday’s challenges, so I put my science in there.
Enjoying Thursday’s New York Times crossword puzzle depends a lot on how you view these puzzles. Not everyone is quite as enthusiastic as I am about networks that require analysts to stretch their imaginations, preferring to test their knowledge based on whether they can spot clues. There’s nothing wrong with this approach, and as always, your mileage may vary. There are plenty of Thursdays that are challenging without being overly complex.
But I live for networks that require analysts to think outside the box. For me, it’s like trying to find my way through a fun house. I never know what’s around the corner, and themes sometimes force me to focus while the builder throws one red herring after another at me. I look forward to Puzzle Thursday all week, and I always admire the creativity of puzzle makers and puzzle editors.
your thoughts?
today’s subject
One of the tricks creators use to pull the wool over our eyes, when speaking cruciformly, is to break up words so that what we type into a given slot sounds as if it ought to be the answer, but the clue doesn’t match it at all.
So maybe, for example, you end up getting 15A’s FACET through crossings and you think the clue must have something to do with one side of a cut gem. But then you look at this piece of evidence, “inappropriately joking,” and you get completely confused. Is your answer wrong? How are you supposed to understand that?
Go back to Square One, David Harris recommends. In 1A, the answer to “signs of a kind” is IOUS, and in 1D, the answer to “particles proposed by Michael Faraday in the 1830s” is IONS. Quite reasonable, isn’t it?
Now add 1A’s answer to the end of each of the cross-starred answers. If you add IOUS to 15A’s FACET, you get FACETIOUS, which is a more appropriate answer to “inappropriately jocular”.
Similarly, if you wrote PASS in 6D and are confused by the idea of ”fiery vibes”, go back to square one and add IONS to the end. These feelings are feelings.
See what I mean by fun house atmosphere? It can get a little overwhelming when you’re first starting out with Thursday’s mysteries, but with revealers like Mr. Harris you at least have a map.
difficult evidence
5a. If you were “impressed to be of service?” You may be grateful that you can contribute something to the project. In this puzzle, however, the “touched ones” are the IPADS because you need to touch them to make them work.
29a. This is some super misinformation. I immediately thought of TV when I read the manual “multi-episode pilot,” which is exactly what Mr. Harris wanted us to do. But this pilot has piloted the Millennium Falcon through multiple episodes of the “Star Wars” films with confusing numbers. The answer is Han Solo.
34a. The “It” in “It Helps You Find Your Balance” is not a walking stick. It is an ATM because the evidence points to a bank balance.
26 d. A guide such as “Picasso, for One” asks you to think of a category that includes Picasso. In this puzzle, it’s PABLOs.
Creator Notes
Solo first! I was still so new for my first collaboration, the co-designer had to do most of the heavy lifting. I’m more comfortable making puzzles now. I also got into video game law and joined the “Only Connect” competitive fan league. It’s been a crazy few years.
A couple of the puzzles used the central theme entry to indicate that the answers circled back around themselves, but the phrase “square one” sounds so literal in the crossword that I got a different approach. My basic rules:
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Across and Down layout entries must be in the same directions as 1A and 1D.
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1A and 1D needed to feel like full entries, not just suffixes, so the puzzle didn’t start with something sticky.
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1A and 1D should start with the same letter and end many words without feeling repetitive or cheap.
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Layout entries must not use a suffix to create a copy of the seed word.
I really like the variety of changes the theme introduces. The pair do have semantic connections — VICAR stands variably for higher-level clergymen — but hopefully none of them feel too predictable. Interestingly, I suggested not marking topic entries at all, but less sinister asterisks as pointers.
I hope this is an interesting look at the process of the subject. Come say hello to my @hero_complex on Twitter, and Happy Pride!
Want to submit a crossword puzzle to the New York Times?
The New York Times Crossword has an open submission system, and you can submit puzzles online.
Note: Submissions will close on July 3, 2023, and reopen on July 17, 2023. Puzzle editors will review puzzles that have already been submitted during that period, so you may still hear from them while the system is closed.
For tips on how to get started, read our How to Make a Crossword Puzzle series.
The turning point
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