My buddy Erik’s got a new site where he’s posting crossword puzzles each Wednesday. It’s called Glutton for Pun; check it out here. The first puzzle’s a right winner.
Seed entry for my puzzle today? 20-Across, of course. Wanted to put her in a puzzle, noticed the bit that makes the theme work and then the puzzle practically wrote itself. Okay, that might be an oversimplification, but you get the idea. Enjoy the puzzle; don’t forget to share it with a friend!
loves: 11-down, 33-down, 51-across
Thanks, Neville. This is my favorite puzzle you’ve done yet. It was also my fastest of yours, at 7:06. My previous PR was 10:02 on 8-10. Funny that it’s considered “challenging”! :-)
I guess you’re catching a ride on my wavelength :) Congratulations!
Hmmm.
Dislikes: 4D, 6D, 11D, 23A. Names I don’t care about.
Likes: 8D (very clever), 9D (never seen it used but it’s legit), 33D
Up in the air: 51D — the only MJ I recognize is Mr. Jordan. I won’t go into all the reasons I find any mention of this one distasteful. Let us just say that I think he was very lucky to die in a fancy house rather than in prison.
Question: Should CREW be in the title and in the grid (at 10D)?
Nice puzzle (I expect Rex would approve the way the way all the theme answers have 65D break across both words).
Your puzzle made our lunch even more enjoyable than usual. I would disagree with the “challenging” rating.
I’ve wondered since doing this puzzle, how does a constructor know how to rate difficulty, when it isn’t obvious?
http://i1.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/000/310/183/6a0.jpg
But seriously, I rely on information from my test-solver – how long it took her, if certain areas had her stumped for a while, etc. It’s a rather small sample size, to be sure. Remember, it’s just a guideline – you may find one puzzle challenging that another solver doesn’t and vice versa. It’s always easier when you know the answers ;)
(This is why I got rid of easy/medium/hard. It’s more nebulous this way!)
Do you mean you’re keeping “moderate/challenging/impossible”? (I hope so!)
I am! (At some point, I may add a fourth rating that’s easier than moderate… if I’m ever able to write a completely straightforward puzzle.)