E-Books
by Judith Seretto
edited by Mike Shenk
April 30, 2010
As of this posting, full answers not yet available on WSJ's crossword puzzle page. Therefore, take these answers with requisite grain of salt.
Theme: Literature with an E
FEATHERS AND SONS {21A Book about characters like Icarus?} - Ivan Turgenev
WEAR AND PEACE {31A Book about concerns of an army tank maintainer?} - Leo Tolstoy
HEARD TIMES {41A Book about a newspaper's audio version?} - Charles Dickens
THE LEAST OF THE MOHICANS {63A Book about a tribe's smallest member?} - James Fenimore Cooper. Diary of a Crossword Fiend has a point, “How come we never just call him Cooper?” Compare JFC to the rest of these authors, although Seuss is usually Dr.
RABBIT RUNE {83A Book about a symbol found on a prehistoric burrow wall?} - John Updike
AS I LAY DYEING {93A Book about a relaxed beautician?} - William Faulkner
THE CAT IN THE HEAT {107A Book about a pet basking in sunlight?} - Dr. Seuss
Word of the Week: ISOGRAMS
{11D Words with no repeated letters}
Pursuing this intriguing concept led me to
Word Ways: The Journal of Recreational Linguistics
Making the Alphabet Dance by Ross Eckler
Language on Vacation: An Olio of Orthographical Oddities by Dmitri Borgmann
How can I go so quickly from complete ignorance to I must have this?
Recreational linguistics, also called logology, is the study of words, particularly letter patterns. Logology can also refer to the study of corporate logos, which are all about the visuals. Logos also has a biblical application that is above my pay grade. Therefore logo can be text, graphics, or content. English is weird.
News To Me: 6
ENVOI {33D Poetic summary} - related to a diplomatic envoy because the final words are sending the poem out into the world. So says the OED.
PATEN {54D Eucharist plate}
HAVER {65D June of “Scudda Hoo! Scudda Hay!”}
MARNI {73D Dubbing legend Nixon} - “Miss Nixon is the singing voice of Deborah Kerr, Natalie Wood and Audrey Hepburn in the Motion Pictures and on the Soundtracks of The King and I, An Affair to Remember, West Side Story, and My Fair Lady.” Legend indeed.
HUG {109D Bear's offering} - for any other reason than bearhug? Given the venue, a stock tip? I recently learned about the bear subculture from Logo TV. Forget heaven & earth, there are more things in my immediate neighborhood than are dreamt of in my philosophy. BTW – and yet another use of logo.
EMO {110D Dashboard Confessional's music} - What the heck *is* emo anyway?
Admissions of Defeat: 1 or 2...
...depending how you count. Took flyers on a nest of 5 squares involving 5 words. Got 4 of the squares and 3 of the words.
Correctly guessed
??T?R {68A Gunpowder ingredient} - NITER, after giving up on wedging in peTER, as in salt-.
PAT?N {54D} – PATEN, as above
CA?N? {60D “Deathtrap” co-star} – CAINE, as in Michael. Particularly difficult as I kept reading Death Wish.
Missed the intersecting D
O??R {75A German border river} & E?I? {64D Writer Blyton} - ODER & ENID not OsER & ENIs. A reasonable guess, if wrong, no?
ACPT Countdown Clock: 321 days
Friday, April 30, 2010, to Friday, March 18, 2011.
Added later.
Constructor's Corner: Judith Seretto
"When I came up with the idea for an e-books puzzle, my first thought was prefixing titles with an E to make new titles. After a bit of work on this idea with no good examples, I realized I had to be a bit more flexible.
Here are a few of the titles I came up with that didn't fit into the finished puzzle: THE RED PEONY; THE GRAPES OF WREATH; INVISIBLE MEAN; and the very questionable THE GOLDEN BOWEL."
Thank you Ms. Seretto.
Katherine Walcott
Puzzle Fan
Friday, April 30, 2010
Friday, April 16, 2010
Joint Accounts
by Alice Long
edited by Mike Shenk
April 16, 2010
&
?
by ?
edited by Mike Shenk
April 23, 2010
Delay of game.
I will be volunteering at a horse show next week. Like a backed-up drain, that has pushed my chores from next week into this week. No time for puzzle fun. I will get to the 4/16 and 4/23 puzzles but it may be May.
ACPT Countdown Clock: 335 days
Friday, April 16, 2010, to Friday, March 18, 2011.
Back soon.
Puzzle Fan
by Alice Long
edited by Mike Shenk
April 16, 2010
&
?
by ?
edited by Mike Shenk
April 23, 2010
Delay of game.
I will be volunteering at a horse show next week. Like a backed-up drain, that has pushed my chores from next week into this week. No time for puzzle fun. I will get to the 4/16 and 4/23 puzzles but it may be May.
ACPT Countdown Clock: 335 days
Friday, April 16, 2010, to Friday, March 18, 2011.
Back soon.
Puzzle Fan
Friday, April 9, 2010
Moral Compass
by Brendan Emmett Quigley
edited by Mike Shenk
April 9, 2010
As of this posting, full answers not yet available on WSJ's crossword puzzle page. Therefore, take these answers with g. of salt.
Theme: A timely tax quote
THE BEST MEASURE OF {24A Start of a quote by 83-Across}
A MANS HONESTY {36A Part 2 of the quote}
ISNT HIS INCOME {50A Part 3 of the quote }
TAX RETURN ITS THE {65A Part 4 of the quote}
ZERO ADJUST ON {97A Part 5 of the quote}
HIS BATHROOM SCALE {111A End of the quote}
ARTHUR C CLARKE {83A Science fiction author and source of the quote}
Wiki attributes this to “The Mammoth Book of Zingers, Quips, and One-Liners (2004) by Geoff Tibballs, p. 264.” The man, the foundation, the quotes – which are worth a detour. I tried to pick one as an example but wanted to paste them all. A blogger starving between two pages of text.
The quote is also cited in a list of tax quotes by the IRS, which proves that someone there has a sense of humor, not matter how unlikely that seems to someone else who was up until 1 am wrestling with Form 2210's Annualized Income Installment Method.
Letter of the Puzzle: W
I don't have the cool crucimetrics of An Englishman but I couldn't help noticing lots of spiky letters. This was no mistake, in an interview, the constructor said, “I think going all Scrabbly with the fill is, on the whole, a good thing.”
News To Me: 7
OCARINA {21A Instrument with finger holes} – a old-time flute.
REFIT {55A Accouter anew} - as in accoutrements.
EReS {57A Aces' are low} – No idea. All I get are Spanish sites. I'm thinking the ' after Aces is important. I'm fairly sure about the crossings but am open to amendment. Later: Diary of a Crossword Fiend says, “57A. [Aces' are low] – ERAS. As in baseball pitchers.” I misspelled Lamb Chop's alter ego!?! {SHARI 45D Lewis with Lamb Chop} Shame on me. I adore both Ms. Lewis and Ms. Chop. I saw them live at the Kennedy Center years ago and her (Shari's) ability to enthrall a concert hall of both kids & adults has become one my definitions of what it means to be an entertainer. This is the song that never ends..., available as ringtone & MP3 download. Even later: This is the song that never gets out of your head...
IPANEMA {63A Beach adjacent to Copacabana Beach} – in Brazil not on old CDs.
PTRAP {64D Letter-shaped plumbing fitting} – I would have, and tried to, call it a u-bend.
ESTO {105D “___ perpetua” (Idaho motto)} – It is perpetual.
ORTS {107D Table scraps} – Perhaps a new clue could be Oral Rehydration Therapy. OK, it doesn't pass the breakfast test but it's such a simple fix to a serious problem.
Admissions of Defeat: 0? Make that 1?
The constructor must have toned down the fill for a quote puzzle, o/w there is no way I'd move that quickly nor successfully through a BEQ puzzle. Thursday was my day to feel smart. Since this puzzle was posted the night before, it was the same day as Matt Ginsberg's NYT Jabberwocky puzzle [4/8/10]. MG is another constructor who causes me to sigh in resignation when I see his name on the top of the page. However, I've always said that my poetry appreciation ends with Jabberwocky – and now it's finally done me some good.
Both puzzles also had ENTS{59A Forest of Fangorn creatures}/ {57D Tolkien creatures}NYT and NEER {17D“I __ saw true beauty till this night”: Romeo}/{26D Opposite of alway}NYT. I'm going to stop doing that. One could spend hours cross-referencing words that appear between various puzzles in a given week. I don't need to give any more invitation to the Terrible Trivium, the “demon of petty tasks and worthless jobs, ogre of wasted effort, and monster of habit.” [The Phantom Tollbooth by Norman Juster, Random, 1961 p213] No really, it's more efficient to have my colored pens sorted by type.
ACPT Countdown Clock: 342 days
Friday, April 9, 2010, to Friday, March 18, 2011.
Constructor's Corner: BEQ
“Well, I've known Mike Shenk for as long as he's been editing the Wall Street Journal puzzles, and since it's my Dad's favorite newspaper, I feel like I have to make sure to appear in there every now and again. Usually, the hardest parts for making a WSJ puzzle is coming up with a suitable "business-y" theme. In this instance, I found that the taxes related quote could split up symmetrically (not as easy as you'd think). Mike liked it, and we rushed it to print in time before 4/15.
“The hardest part for me was the SE section. 75-Down, specifically. When you have a long entry like that, you really want it to pop. It took a while to come up with something clean (always crucial) and fresh. Of course, as dumb luck would have it, the entry in the grid I sent Mike is a crucial entry that is appearing in tomorrow's variety puzzle. So, he redid the corner. Great minds think alike, I guess.”
Thank you, Mr. Quigley.
[75D appeared as TALETELLER {Raconteur}]
Katherine Walcott
Puzzle Fan
by Brendan Emmett Quigley
edited by Mike Shenk
April 9, 2010
As of this posting, full answers not yet available on WSJ's crossword puzzle page. Therefore, take these answers with g. of salt.
Theme: A timely tax quote
THE BEST MEASURE OF {24A Start of a quote by 83-Across}
A MANS HONESTY {36A Part 2 of the quote}
ISNT HIS INCOME {50A Part 3 of the quote }
TAX RETURN ITS THE {65A Part 4 of the quote}
ZERO ADJUST ON {97A Part 5 of the quote}
HIS BATHROOM SCALE {111A End of the quote}
ARTHUR C CLARKE {83A Science fiction author and source of the quote}
Wiki attributes this to “The Mammoth Book of Zingers, Quips, and One-Liners (2004) by Geoff Tibballs, p. 264.” The man, the foundation, the quotes – which are worth a detour. I tried to pick one as an example but wanted to paste them all. A blogger starving between two pages of text.
The quote is also cited in a list of tax quotes by the IRS, which proves that someone there has a sense of humor, not matter how unlikely that seems to someone else who was up until 1 am wrestling with Form 2210's Annualized Income Installment Method.
Letter of the Puzzle: W
I don't have the cool crucimetrics of An Englishman but I couldn't help noticing lots of spiky letters. This was no mistake, in an interview, the constructor said, “I think going all Scrabbly with the fill is, on the whole, a good thing.”
News To Me: 7
OCARINA {21A Instrument with finger holes} – a old-time flute.
REFIT {55A Accouter anew} - as in accoutrements.
EReS {57A Aces' are low} – No idea. All I get are Spanish sites. I'm thinking the ' after Aces is important. I'm fairly sure about the crossings but am open to amendment. Later: Diary of a Crossword Fiend says, “57A. [Aces' are low] – ERAS. As in baseball pitchers.” I misspelled Lamb Chop's alter ego!?! {SHARI 45D Lewis with Lamb Chop} Shame on me. I adore both Ms. Lewis and Ms. Chop. I saw them live at the Kennedy Center years ago and her (Shari's) ability to enthrall a concert hall of both kids & adults has become one my definitions of what it means to be an entertainer. This is the song that never ends..., available as ringtone & MP3 download. Even later: This is the song that never gets out of your head...
IPANEMA {63A Beach adjacent to Copacabana Beach} – in Brazil not on old CDs.
PTRAP {64D Letter-shaped plumbing fitting} – I would have, and tried to, call it a u-bend.
ESTO {105D “___ perpetua” (Idaho motto)} – It is perpetual.
ORTS {107D Table scraps} – Perhaps a new clue could be Oral Rehydration Therapy. OK, it doesn't pass the breakfast test but it's such a simple fix to a serious problem.
Admissions of Defeat: 0? Make that 1?
The constructor must have toned down the fill for a quote puzzle, o/w there is no way I'd move that quickly nor successfully through a BEQ puzzle. Thursday was my day to feel smart. Since this puzzle was posted the night before, it was the same day as Matt Ginsberg's NYT Jabberwocky puzzle [4/8/10]. MG is another constructor who causes me to sigh in resignation when I see his name on the top of the page. However, I've always said that my poetry appreciation ends with Jabberwocky – and now it's finally done me some good.
Both puzzles also had ENTS{59A Forest of Fangorn creatures}/ {57D Tolkien creatures}NYT and NEER {17D“I __ saw true beauty till this night”: Romeo}/{26D Opposite of alway}NYT. I'm going to stop doing that. One could spend hours cross-referencing words that appear between various puzzles in a given week. I don't need to give any more invitation to the Terrible Trivium, the “demon of petty tasks and worthless jobs, ogre of wasted effort, and monster of habit.” [The Phantom Tollbooth by Norman Juster, Random, 1961 p213] No really, it's more efficient to have my colored pens sorted by type.
ACPT Countdown Clock: 342 days
Friday, April 9, 2010, to Friday, March 18, 2011.
Constructor's Corner: BEQ
“Well, I've known Mike Shenk for as long as he's been editing the Wall Street Journal puzzles, and since it's my Dad's favorite newspaper, I feel like I have to make sure to appear in there every now and again. Usually, the hardest parts for making a WSJ puzzle is coming up with a suitable "business-y" theme. In this instance, I found that the taxes related quote could split up symmetrically (not as easy as you'd think). Mike liked it, and we rushed it to print in time before 4/15.
“The hardest part for me was the SE section. 75-Down, specifically. When you have a long entry like that, you really want it to pop. It took a while to come up with something clean (always crucial) and fresh. Of course, as dumb luck would have it, the entry in the grid I sent Mike is a crucial entry that is appearing in tomorrow's variety puzzle. So, he redid the corner. Great minds think alike, I guess.”
Thank you, Mr. Quigley.
[75D appeared as TALETELLER {Raconteur}]
Katherine Walcott
Puzzle Fan
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Pole Dance
by Patrick Blindauer
edited by Mike Shenk
April 2, 2010
Full answers available on WSJ's crossword puzzle page.
Theme: Geomagnetic reversal comes early & suddenly.
PANNED THE BUCK {23A Gave Bambi a bad review?}- passed
BOSUN TRACK {38A Career path for a petty officer?}- bonus
FROST LAWS {49A Rules concerning cold cases?}- front lawns
PUNNY CAT {58A Hipster who's a quipster?}- pussy
CHARITY CANE {68A Support for the sympathetic?}- case
CLONE COMBAT {76A Conflict between truly identical twins}- close. Can something be more identical? Yes, if you put it to music. Apparently identical twins aren't.
SASSY CAM {89A Impertinent Hockey Hall of Famer Neely?}- nanny
FUSSY GIRL {98A Lass who's hard to please?}- funny
NEW AGE TASK {108A Endeavor for Enya?}- sewage tank
DETROIT PINTOS {125A Painted ponies from Michigan?}- Pistons
Crosswordpuzzlese: Yeah or Nay?
Elizabeth Gorski says that crosswordese doesn't exist. I disagree, it's like pornography, you know it when you see it. Or for a more operational definition, facts to commit to memory because you're Gonna See Them Again:
ERATO {40A Muse of love poetry} & her sisters.
Everything about Arthur ASHE {56D “Off the Court” autobiographer} & Yoko ONO {127D Walking on Thin Ice” singer}.
ILER {5D Robert of “The Sopranos”} – We better hope that R.I. gets a new gig once this one runs its cultural course.
&
TSAR{24D Pre-Lenin leader} – Although the editor is on record as saying he prefers Czar. [1st question under Ask? Will]
News To Me: 6
BICEPS {29A “Guns”} - All over the Web. Nothing definitive.
INDRA {46A God of war and storms, in Hinduism}
NAS {61A”Illmatic” rapper} - debut album
OTO {37D Native Oklahoman}
TASM {60D Loc. of some devils} - as in Tasmania?
OILY {122D Pinguid} - Who doesn't envision a greasy penguin?
Small world. Friday evening my hubby uses guns in conversation, in reference to the shirt policy at his gym. I'd never heard the word before that day. Then on Sunday, I read that “Blue denoted .... the raincloak of Indra, the war and fertility god of the Hindus.” in The Healing Power of Color by Betty Wood [Destiny 1984/1992] p15. Ditto.
Admissions of Defeat: 2 of 7
While I admire the puzzle's puns & plays, i.e. C CUP {34D Support spec} or SENS {19D D.C. 100}, I get cranky when a 48 year-old song [ESO BESO {75A 1962 Paul Anka hit}] crosses a local politician [CORY {71D Newark mayor Booker}] or when two actors intersect [OLMOS {57A “Battlestar Gallactica” star}/OSSIE{45D Ruby's longtime husband}]. Surprisingly I got those right, despite the fact that OSSIE has nothing to do with and is not even spelled the same as Ozzy Osbourne. So, while my score was two technically, I took a flyer on seven squares & really should have gotten RIDS {81A Clears} from ?I?S. If you don't know that DALASI is {83D Gambia's monetary unit} there's not much you can do. But for not getting a simple English word there is no one to crank at but oneself.
Commentary: Delay
Apologies. I am aware that predictability is a plus for posting. However, this weekend has not been my favorite few days.
--- The joy is that animals live with us. ---
--- The sorrow is that they do not live as long as us. ---
Paraphrased from somewhere. On to more cheerful topics.
ACPT Countdown Clock: 349 days
Friday, April 2, 2010, to Friday, March 18, 2011.
Constructor's Corner: Patrick Blindauer
“My latest 'word baby' started out even more complicated with all 4 directions in play. N would become E, E become S, S become W, and W become N, but it became clear pretty quickly that it would be hard to
find a decent set of theme answers (it's especially tough to change a vowel to a consonant or a consonant to a vowel). I narrowed the scope by focusing on N and S, thought of the title, and was on my way. Sort of.
“I found a few good entries on my own off the top of my head, but I figured there were more waiting to be discovered. So I turned to my friend the computer to help me find all the possibilities; I doubt I would've ever found NEWAGETASK on my own. FWIW, I replaced every S in my word list with *, replaced every N with S, and replaced every * with N, which switched all the N's with all the S's. Then I compared this new list with the original and kept only those words on both lists, which gave me possible theme words upon which to build. A favorite unused theme answer: THEBRADYBUSCH (13).”
Thank you Mr. Blindauer
Katherine Walcott
Puzzle Fan
by Patrick Blindauer
edited by Mike Shenk
April 2, 2010
Full answers available on WSJ's crossword puzzle page.
Theme: Geomagnetic reversal comes early & suddenly.
PANNED THE BUCK {23A Gave Bambi a bad review?}- passed
BOSUN TRACK {38A Career path for a petty officer?}- bonus
FROST LAWS {49A Rules concerning cold cases?}- front lawns
PUNNY CAT {58A Hipster who's a quipster?}- pussy
CHARITY CANE {68A Support for the sympathetic?}- case
CLONE COMBAT {76A Conflict between truly identical twins}- close. Can something be more identical? Yes, if you put it to music. Apparently identical twins aren't.
SASSY CAM {89A Impertinent Hockey Hall of Famer Neely?}- nanny
FUSSY GIRL {98A Lass who's hard to please?}- funny
NEW AGE TASK {108A Endeavor for Enya?}- sewage tank
DETROIT PINTOS {125A Painted ponies from Michigan?}- Pistons
Crosswordpuzzlese: Yeah or Nay?
Elizabeth Gorski says that crosswordese doesn't exist. I disagree, it's like pornography, you know it when you see it. Or for a more operational definition, facts to commit to memory because you're Gonna See Them Again:
ERATO {40A Muse of love poetry} & her sisters.
Everything about Arthur ASHE {56D “Off the Court” autobiographer} & Yoko ONO {127D Walking on Thin Ice” singer}.
ILER {5D Robert of “The Sopranos”} – We better hope that R.I. gets a new gig once this one runs its cultural course.
&
TSAR{24D Pre-Lenin leader} – Although the editor is on record as saying he prefers Czar. [1st question under Ask? Will]
News To Me: 6
BICEPS {29A “Guns”} - All over the Web. Nothing definitive.
INDRA {46A God of war and storms, in Hinduism}
NAS {61A”Illmatic” rapper} - debut album
OTO {37D Native Oklahoman}
TASM {60D Loc. of some devils} - as in Tasmania?
OILY {122D Pinguid} - Who doesn't envision a greasy penguin?
Small world. Friday evening my hubby uses guns in conversation, in reference to the shirt policy at his gym. I'd never heard the word before that day. Then on Sunday, I read that “Blue denoted .... the raincloak of Indra, the war and fertility god of the Hindus.” in The Healing Power of Color by Betty Wood [Destiny 1984/1992] p15. Ditto.
Admissions of Defeat: 2 of 7
While I admire the puzzle's puns & plays, i.e. C CUP {34D Support spec} or SENS {19D D.C. 100}, I get cranky when a 48 year-old song [ESO BESO {75A 1962 Paul Anka hit}] crosses a local politician [CORY {71D Newark mayor Booker}] or when two actors intersect [OLMOS {57A “Battlestar Gallactica” star}/OSSIE{45D Ruby's longtime husband}]. Surprisingly I got those right, despite the fact that OSSIE has nothing to do with and is not even spelled the same as Ozzy Osbourne. So, while my score was two technically, I took a flyer on seven squares & really should have gotten RIDS {81A Clears} from ?I?S. If you don't know that DALASI is {83D Gambia's monetary unit} there's not much you can do. But for not getting a simple English word there is no one to crank at but oneself.
Commentary: Delay
Apologies. I am aware that predictability is a plus for posting. However, this weekend has not been my favorite few days.
--- The joy is that animals live with us. ---
--- The sorrow is that they do not live as long as us. ---
Paraphrased from somewhere. On to more cheerful topics.
ACPT Countdown Clock: 349 days
Friday, April 2, 2010, to Friday, March 18, 2011.
Constructor's Corner: Patrick Blindauer
“My latest 'word baby' started out even more complicated with all 4 directions in play. N would become E, E become S, S become W, and W become N, but it became clear pretty quickly that it would be hard to
find a decent set of theme answers (it's especially tough to change a vowel to a consonant or a consonant to a vowel). I narrowed the scope by focusing on N and S, thought of the title, and was on my way. Sort of.
“I found a few good entries on my own off the top of my head, but I figured there were more waiting to be discovered. So I turned to my friend the computer to help me find all the possibilities; I doubt I would've ever found NEWAGETASK on my own. FWIW, I replaced every S in my word list with *, replaced every N with S, and replaced every * with N, which switched all the N's with all the S's. Then I compared this new list with the original and kept only those words on both lists, which gave me possible theme words upon which to build. A favorite unused theme answer: THEBRADYBUSCH (13).”
Thank you Mr. Blindauer
Katherine Walcott
Puzzle Fan
Friday, March 26, 2010
“Enough!”
by Myles Callum
edited by Mike Shenk
March 26, 2010
Full answers not yet available on WSJ's crossword puzzle page. So take all answers with g. of salt.
Theme: Phrases joined by the letters TMI and clued with Too Much Information.
FILET MIGNON {23A *Cut from the tenderloin – its name means “dainty cut”!}
SALT MINES {25A *Sources of halite – that's a type of evaporitic deposit!}
DETROIT MICHIGAN {35A *Midwest metropolis – it has a view of Canada to the south!} - The southwestern section of Ontario runs between Lakes Huron and Erie, passing south and west of the eastern edge of the lower Michigan peninsula – a toe of Canada under the thumb of the mitten, as it were. Windsor, the city at the tip and the southernmost area of Canada, connects to Detroit by the Ambassador Bridge and the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel. Similarly, I am always surprised at how much of California is east of Reno, NV. I tend to think of the states as neatly-outlined, brightly-colored boxes rather than as accretions formed war, transportation, and/or commerce. Where did I come by such grid-like thinking? For the full story on state borders, see How the States Got Their Shapes by Mark Stein [Collins 2008], an historical trivia goldmine.
ROBERT MITCHUM {55A *“Night of the Hunter” star – his middle names are Charles Durman!}
I DONT MIND A BIT {76A *“Fine by me!” - that sounds like something Mr. Ed might say!}
CABINET MINISTER {98A *High-ranking official – Canada's Leona Aglukkaq is one!}
GRIST MILL {114A *Flour-making plant – the Greek geographer Strabo wrote about one!}
COCONUT MILK {116A *White liquid used in cooking – it's called gata in the Philippines!} - Part of Thai cooking.
TMI {71D Briefly, a feature of each starred clue, and a chunk of its answer}
It's a Small, Small Puzzle World: 4
Given 242 answers in this puzzle and ~2000 words during the week (2 puzzles [LAT & NYT] x 6 days x over-100 words per puzzle + 2 Sunday puzzles x over-200 wpp + large fudge factor), odds are something will repeat. I'm not talking about bizarre crosswordpuzzlese but simple English words or puns with similar sensibilities. There are a finite number of English words and an even smaller set that fit happily into a crossword. However, this week hits one of those weird statistical blips between the weekly WSJ puzzle and today's [Friday 3/26/10] LA Times:
OR SO {31A Estimator's phrase}WSJ &{14A End of an estimate}LAT
LOL {13D Online chuckle} WSJ & {60D Tester's tehee*} LAT
CELL {11A Pen holder} WSJ & FELON {47D Pen resident} LAT
ROSE {84D Got up} WSJ & AROSE {38A Lost a lap?} LAT
*I would have said teehee but Urban Dictionary says it's a cute girlish laugh.
News To Me: 3
ELIHU {19A Benefactor Yale} - long version of the crossword-familiar Eli.
ANIS {29D Tropical cuckoos}
ONE O(ld) CAT {93D Classic baseball variant} - “This is town-ball modified to suit the occasion when only three or four boys play the game.” What, girls can't play?
Admissions of Defeat: 0?
Guessed on OCTAL {6A Notation used for Unix permissions}/COGNOMEN {7D Handle} - lOGNOMEN? nOGNOMEN? During my daily weight-bearing-stave-off-osteoporosis walk, the random noise in my head offer up COG- as in cognate, cognition, etc. That makes OCT- which sounds sufficiently computeresque. BTW, I believe the usage is UNIX. WSJ style may dictate otherwise. Also guessed on TNN {33A It became Spike in 2003}/ANIS. Was it The Nashville Network? By Jove, it was. Knowing the answer is the best, but guessing right is a close second.
ACPT Countdown Clock: 356 days
Friday, March 26, 2010, to Friday, March 18, 2011.
Likelihood of my attendance at the ACPT: 20%.
Down from a baseline of 30%. Had trouble with Wed & Thurs NYT this week. Only a decent showing on this puzzle saves it from going lower. I thought lack of progress was frustrating. Now I'm backsliding!
Constructor's Corner: Myles Callum
bio, scroll down
“The hard part is coming up with a theme that will be fun or reasonably entertaining. For the Wall Street Journal, I sometimes comb through financial glossaries looking for terms to play off or construe literally, like "Back Pay," where you can come up with lively entries that have words at the end that are synonyms for money-e.g., SHAKE YOUR BOOTY, HIT A SOUR NOTE, LOVE ME TENDER, etc. And I like doing puzzles that have words or acronyms hidden inside, like the TMI in this one. But the fun part here was getting the idea to liven it up by also giving "too much information" in the clues.
“It´s always instructive to see how Mike Shenk changes your puzzle, both in clues and grid fill. My 1-Across was RATSO, which Mike changed to LOTTO. That didn't surprise me; even as I used it, I was afraid RATSO was too easy because the limited clues are giveaways.
“My original clue for FILET MIGNON was "Cut from the tenderloin. It´s also called the psoas major!" But Mike changed the TMI part to "-its name means `dainty cut´!" which I like a lot better; my version was too esoteric by half, even though it was definitely too much information. Mike also has strong feelings about words used in grid fill, and in most of my early puzzles there were a lot of changes. In my more recent puzzles there are fewer changes, so after 12 years I may be getting the hang of it.”
Thank you Mr. Callum.
Katherine Walcott
Puzzle Fan
by Myles Callum
edited by Mike Shenk
March 26, 2010
Full answers not yet available on WSJ's crossword puzzle page. So take all answers with g. of salt.
Theme: Phrases joined by the letters TMI and clued with Too Much Information.
FILET MIGNON {23A *Cut from the tenderloin – its name means “dainty cut”!}
SALT MINES {25A *Sources of halite – that's a type of evaporitic deposit!}
DETROIT MICHIGAN {35A *Midwest metropolis – it has a view of Canada to the south!} - The southwestern section of Ontario runs between Lakes Huron and Erie, passing south and west of the eastern edge of the lower Michigan peninsula – a toe of Canada under the thumb of the mitten, as it were. Windsor, the city at the tip and the southernmost area of Canada, connects to Detroit by the Ambassador Bridge and the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel. Similarly, I am always surprised at how much of California is east of Reno, NV. I tend to think of the states as neatly-outlined, brightly-colored boxes rather than as accretions formed war, transportation, and/or commerce. Where did I come by such grid-like thinking? For the full story on state borders, see How the States Got Their Shapes by Mark Stein [Collins 2008], an historical trivia goldmine.
ROBERT MITCHUM {55A *“Night of the Hunter” star – his middle names are Charles Durman!}
I DONT MIND A BIT {76A *“Fine by me!” - that sounds like something Mr. Ed might say!}
CABINET MINISTER {98A *High-ranking official – Canada's Leona Aglukkaq is one!}
GRIST MILL {114A *Flour-making plant – the Greek geographer Strabo wrote about one!}
COCONUT MILK {116A *White liquid used in cooking – it's called gata in the Philippines!} - Part of Thai cooking.
TMI {71D Briefly, a feature of each starred clue, and a chunk of its answer}
It's a Small, Small Puzzle World: 4
Given 242 answers in this puzzle and ~2000 words during the week (2 puzzles [LAT & NYT] x 6 days x over-100 words per puzzle + 2 Sunday puzzles x over-200 wpp + large fudge factor), odds are something will repeat. I'm not talking about bizarre crosswordpuzzlese but simple English words or puns with similar sensibilities. There are a finite number of English words and an even smaller set that fit happily into a crossword. However, this week hits one of those weird statistical blips between the weekly WSJ puzzle and today's [Friday 3/26/10] LA Times:
OR SO {31A Estimator's phrase}WSJ &{14A End of an estimate}LAT
LOL {13D Online chuckle} WSJ & {60D Tester's tehee*} LAT
CELL {11A Pen holder} WSJ & FELON {47D Pen resident} LAT
ROSE {84D Got up} WSJ & AROSE {38A Lost a lap?} LAT
*I would have said teehee but Urban Dictionary says it's a cute girlish laugh.
News To Me: 3
ELIHU {19A Benefactor Yale} - long version of the crossword-familiar Eli.
ANIS {29D Tropical cuckoos}
ONE O(ld) CAT {93D Classic baseball variant} - “This is town-ball modified to suit the occasion when only three or four boys play the game.” What, girls can't play?
Admissions of Defeat: 0?
Guessed on OCTAL {6A Notation used for Unix permissions}/COGNOMEN {7D Handle} - lOGNOMEN? nOGNOMEN? During my daily weight-bearing-stave-off-osteoporosis walk, the random noise in my head offer up COG- as in cognate, cognition, etc. That makes OCT- which sounds sufficiently computeresque. BTW, I believe the usage is UNIX. WSJ style may dictate otherwise. Also guessed on TNN {33A It became Spike in 2003}/ANIS. Was it The Nashville Network? By Jove, it was. Knowing the answer is the best, but guessing right is a close second.
ACPT Countdown Clock: 356 days
Friday, March 26, 2010, to Friday, March 18, 2011.
Likelihood of my attendance at the ACPT: 20%.
Down from a baseline of 30%. Had trouble with Wed & Thurs NYT this week. Only a decent showing on this puzzle saves it from going lower. I thought lack of progress was frustrating. Now I'm backsliding!
Constructor's Corner: Myles Callum
bio, scroll down
“The hard part is coming up with a theme that will be fun or reasonably entertaining. For the Wall Street Journal, I sometimes comb through financial glossaries looking for terms to play off or construe literally, like "Back Pay," where you can come up with lively entries that have words at the end that are synonyms for money-e.g., SHAKE YOUR BOOTY, HIT A SOUR NOTE, LOVE ME TENDER, etc. And I like doing puzzles that have words or acronyms hidden inside, like the TMI in this one. But the fun part here was getting the idea to liven it up by also giving "too much information" in the clues.
“It´s always instructive to see how Mike Shenk changes your puzzle, both in clues and grid fill. My 1-Across was RATSO, which Mike changed to LOTTO. That didn't surprise me; even as I used it, I was afraid RATSO was too easy because the limited clues are giveaways.
“My original clue for FILET MIGNON was "Cut from the tenderloin. It´s also called the psoas major!" But Mike changed the TMI part to "-its name means `dainty cut´!" which I like a lot better; my version was too esoteric by half, even though it was definitely too much information. Mike also has strong feelings about words used in grid fill, and in most of my early puzzles there were a lot of changes. In my more recent puzzles there are fewer changes, so after 12 years I may be getting the hang of it.”
Thank you Mr. Callum.
Katherine Walcott
Puzzle Fan
Friday, March 19, 2010
Pontification
by Joon Pahk
edited by Mike Shenk
March 19, 2010
Full answers not yet available on WSJ's crossword puzzle page. So take all answers with the appropriate amount of salt. (I still haven't figured out how to amend a blog without reposting and changing the date – and if I'm going to have my act together sufficiently to post this early, I want it recorded!)
Theme: Papal names inserted into common phrases.
URBANE COMMERCE {23A Suave business dealings?}
ALL INCLEMENT {33A Totally stormy?}
KOSHER SALTPETER {52A Ingredient for making gunpowder during passover?}
SATURN BENEDICTION {71A Blessing from a Roman deity?}
PRODIGAL PAULSON {88A Former Treasury secretary who couldn't keep to a budget?}
SIMONLEON SAYS {104A Game in which money talks?}
MIRACLE GROPIUS {121A Wondrous Bauhaus School founder?}
A list of popes.
Full disclosure: Got the pontifical connection. Was less than impressed with the resulting theme answers. I expect better. Totally missed that it was an insertion theme until reading Mr. Pahk's discussion below. I'll take stupid for $200, Alex. In his blog about the 2010 ACPT, Tyler Hinman says, “Here's a little tip: If you have "I guess that sort of makes sense" crossing "I guess that's just a word I've never heard before," YOU'RE WRONG, DUMBASS.” My corollary, if two professional and way-smart cruciverbalists create what seems to be a flaccid puzzle, YWDA.
Nomination for Word of the Week: SANTA
There has to be a very special level of punsters' hell for someone who can clue this with {104D Pole star}. It's the sort of answer where you get the word and have a minute to think, Huh? before the sandbag of sense thumps you upside the pun bone. Also MOO {99D Lea low} - a low in the lea, not a clever term for low-lying meadow & DRESSER {130A Unmentionable place} - a place for unmentionables. Mr. Pahk would easily hold his own at a pun tournament in Callahan's Crosstime Saloon [Spider Robinson /Ace 1977, Tor 1999].
News to Me: 4
PI DAY {117A March 14, to math teachers} - It's got it's own web page. It must exist.
ACETAL {126A Volatile solvent}
ORNETTE {127A Jazz great Coleman}
NO MAS {108A Roberto Duran's uncle?} - Spanish for no more, i.e. crying uncle. Apparently Duran is known for saying that in a rematch with Sugar Ray Leonard. Or maybe not.
Admissions of Defeat: ??
Results skewed this week. I got so excited about the new section that I read it before finishing the puzzle. Had been hung up on a 5x13 box in the bottom, left corner. Still, I never would have gotten HOMESLICE {82D Bro}. HOMEboy & HOMies wouldn't stretch and even I drew the line at HOMEdudes. With that & SIMOLEON SAYS (& the massive theme hint), I completed the rest with no ?s, although that doesn't guarantee no errors. Filed between the Aggg of last week and Almost of the week before.
ACPT Countdown Clock: 363 days
Friday, March 19, 2010, to Friday, March 18, 2011.
Likelihood of my attendance at the ACPT: 30% and falling.
Took a stab at the 2009 puzzles, available by mail. Flew through #1 – ARMS RACE by Byron Walden. Came to a screeching halt on #2 – ALLOW ME TO INTRODUCE MYSELF by Brendan Emmett Quigley. Am girding loins to look at #3.
Enough from me. Below I have started a new section, to which Mr. Pahk was generous enough to contribute.
Constructor's Corner: Joon Pahk
“Random thoughts about the puzzle's construction:
“i don't remember the origin of this puzzle. you might think that PIUS -> GROPIUS would have to be the seed entry, but i don't think that was actually the case. it might actually be one of those puzzles where the title asserted itself first, and then the theme fleshed itself out around it. the idea of doing an insertion theme where you don't insert the same letter or letters every time is, if not exactly new, at least rarely seen. so i wanted to try that, but of course you need to have the inserted bits fall into a narrowly-defined group; otherwise it's just unfair on the solver. anyway, i have a bit of a thing for catholic trivia, but it turns out there are only so many pope names that are famous as being pope names as well as usable in this kind of wordplay. JOHN PAUL is probably the most famous pope name among the current generation, but of course it's not really a part of any longer word or phrase. the same was very nearly true of PIUS; i'm certainly familiar with walter gropius, but i was a bit concerned that he wasn't quite famous enough for a theme answer. the only pope that had a lot of lively pun possibilities was LEO, perhaps in part because it's the shortest, and perhaps because it's the only one that could be slipped into the middle of a word instead of having to be tacked onto the beginning or end. some ideas that i left on the cutting room floor were LEONINE TAILS, HOWDY LEOPARD, OLEO PIONEERS, and the sneaky PILE ON CUSHIONS. i'm pretty happy with SIMOLEON SAYS as the best of the bunch, though, especially with the apt clue about "money talks." (while we're here, happy 60th birthday to my father-in-law, also named LEO.)
“i think the original version of this puzzle had 8 theme answers: the 7 popes in the final version plus JOHN. but JOHN wasn't doing very much other than just sitting there. i think the answer was CHICKEN LITTLE JOHN. and the fill wasn't very good. on the advice of brendan emmett quigley, i redid the puzzle with just the seven strongest theme answers, and to compensate for the relatively light theme, i tried to go for a low word count (136, not easy to do in a 21x puzzle), resulting in some wide-open spaces. there are a few more partial phrases (EYE ON, IS MY, SAID A, ARE UP, IN HER) and a few more "cheater" squares in the grid than i usually prefer, but overall i'm pleased with the fill. HOMESLICE is a new answer that i was very excited about, and the US HISTORY/THE NATION stack is pretty fun. i also kind of liked {They lean to the right}, ITALS, sitting on top of {Left-leaning weekly}, THE NATION, in the grid.”
Thank you Mr. Pahk
Katherine Walcott
Puzzle Fan
by Joon Pahk
edited by Mike Shenk
March 19, 2010
Full answers not yet available on WSJ's crossword puzzle page. So take all answers with the appropriate amount of salt. (I still haven't figured out how to amend a blog without reposting and changing the date – and if I'm going to have my act together sufficiently to post this early, I want it recorded!)
Theme: Papal names inserted into common phrases.
URBANE COMMERCE {23A Suave business dealings?}
ALL INCLEMENT {33A Totally stormy?}
KOSHER SALTPETER {52A Ingredient for making gunpowder during passover?}
SATURN BENEDICTION {71A Blessing from a Roman deity?}
PRODIGAL PAULSON {88A Former Treasury secretary who couldn't keep to a budget?}
SIMONLEON SAYS {104A Game in which money talks?}
MIRACLE GROPIUS {121A Wondrous Bauhaus School founder?}
A list of popes.
Full disclosure: Got the pontifical connection. Was less than impressed with the resulting theme answers. I expect better. Totally missed that it was an insertion theme until reading Mr. Pahk's discussion below. I'll take stupid for $200, Alex. In his blog about the 2010 ACPT, Tyler Hinman says, “Here's a little tip: If you have "I guess that sort of makes sense" crossing "I guess that's just a word I've never heard before," YOU'RE WRONG, DUMBASS.” My corollary, if two professional and way-smart cruciverbalists create what seems to be a flaccid puzzle, YWDA.
Nomination for Word of the Week: SANTA
There has to be a very special level of punsters' hell for someone who can clue this with {104D Pole star}. It's the sort of answer where you get the word and have a minute to think, Huh? before the sandbag of sense thumps you upside the pun bone. Also MOO {99D Lea low} - a low in the lea, not a clever term for low-lying meadow & DRESSER {130A Unmentionable place} - a place for unmentionables. Mr. Pahk would easily hold his own at a pun tournament in Callahan's Crosstime Saloon [Spider Robinson /Ace 1977, Tor 1999].
News to Me: 4
PI DAY {117A March 14, to math teachers} - It's got it's own web page. It must exist.
ACETAL {126A Volatile solvent}
ORNETTE {127A Jazz great Coleman}
NO MAS {108A Roberto Duran's uncle?} - Spanish for no more, i.e. crying uncle. Apparently Duran is known for saying that in a rematch with Sugar Ray Leonard. Or maybe not.
Admissions of Defeat: ??
Results skewed this week. I got so excited about the new section that I read it before finishing the puzzle. Had been hung up on a 5x13 box in the bottom, left corner. Still, I never would have gotten HOMESLICE {82D Bro}. HOMEboy & HOMies wouldn't stretch and even I drew the line at HOMEdudes. With that & SIMOLEON SAYS (& the massive theme hint), I completed the rest with no ?s, although that doesn't guarantee no errors. Filed between the Aggg of last week and Almost of the week before.
ACPT Countdown Clock: 363 days
Friday, March 19, 2010, to Friday, March 18, 2011.
Likelihood of my attendance at the ACPT: 30% and falling.
Took a stab at the 2009 puzzles, available by mail. Flew through #1 – ARMS RACE by Byron Walden. Came to a screeching halt on #2 – ALLOW ME TO INTRODUCE MYSELF by Brendan Emmett Quigley. Am girding loins to look at #3.
Enough from me. Below I have started a new section, to which Mr. Pahk was generous enough to contribute.
Constructor's Corner: Joon Pahk
“Random thoughts about the puzzle's construction:
“i don't remember the origin of this puzzle. you might think that PIUS -> GROPIUS would have to be the seed entry, but i don't think that was actually the case. it might actually be one of those puzzles where the title asserted itself first, and then the theme fleshed itself out around it. the idea of doing an insertion theme where you don't insert the same letter or letters every time is, if not exactly new, at least rarely seen. so i wanted to try that, but of course you need to have the inserted bits fall into a narrowly-defined group; otherwise it's just unfair on the solver. anyway, i have a bit of a thing for catholic trivia, but it turns out there are only so many pope names that are famous as being pope names as well as usable in this kind of wordplay. JOHN PAUL is probably the most famous pope name among the current generation, but of course it's not really a part of any longer word or phrase. the same was very nearly true of PIUS; i'm certainly familiar with walter gropius, but i was a bit concerned that he wasn't quite famous enough for a theme answer. the only pope that had a lot of lively pun possibilities was LEO, perhaps in part because it's the shortest, and perhaps because it's the only one that could be slipped into the middle of a word instead of having to be tacked onto the beginning or end. some ideas that i left on the cutting room floor were LEONINE TAILS, HOWDY LEOPARD, OLEO PIONEERS, and the sneaky PILE ON CUSHIONS. i'm pretty happy with SIMOLEON SAYS as the best of the bunch, though, especially with the apt clue about "money talks." (while we're here, happy 60th birthday to my father-in-law, also named LEO.)
“i think the original version of this puzzle had 8 theme answers: the 7 popes in the final version plus JOHN. but JOHN wasn't doing very much other than just sitting there. i think the answer was CHICKEN LITTLE JOHN. and the fill wasn't very good. on the advice of brendan emmett quigley, i redid the puzzle with just the seven strongest theme answers, and to compensate for the relatively light theme, i tried to go for a low word count (136, not easy to do in a 21x puzzle), resulting in some wide-open spaces. there are a few more partial phrases (EYE ON, IS MY, SAID A, ARE UP, IN HER) and a few more "cheater" squares in the grid than i usually prefer, but overall i'm pleased with the fill. HOMESLICE is a new answer that i was very excited about, and the US HISTORY/THE NATION stack is pretty fun. i also kind of liked {They lean to the right}, ITALS, sitting on top of {Left-leaning weekly}, THE NATION, in the grid.”
Thank you Mr. Pahk
Katherine Walcott
Puzzle Fan
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Signs of the Times
by Randolph Ross
edited by Mike Shenk
March 12, 2010
Full answers available on WSJ's crossword puzzle page.
Theme: Road signs starting common phrases
ONE WAY OR ANOTHER {22A Somehow}
SLOW MOTION REPLAY {30A Sports analyst's aid}
ENTER THE DRAGON {46A 1973 Bruce Lee classic}
STAY RIGHT THERE {82A “Don't move!”}
WRONG WAY CORRIGAN {98A Directionally challenged pilot of 1938}
STOP THE BLEEDING {111A Get a bad situation under control}
YIELD THE FLOOR {3D Let someone else speak}
EXIT INTERVIEW {54D Conversation after canning}
Nomination for Word of the Week: EGOISTS {64A I guys}
To my mind, egoist is a pompous way to say egotist, but the OED gives three definitions of the former, only one of which = the latter. Both talk about themselves, in addition, an -ist uses self as, “the guiding principle of his conduct.”
People of the Puzzle: EDISON {43D Holder of 1,093 patents}
1,093! A fact worth a pause for respect.
MOHS {74D Scale on which diamond is 10} – Is it immortality if society knows the name but only science knows the person? Poor Frederick doesn't even make Anonyponymous by John Bemelmans Marciano [Bloomsbury 2009].
Crosswordpuzzlese: DRE {11D Rap Dr.}
Got right off. So, either I'm getting cooler or doing too many crossword puzzles – which is likely to lead the other way. Geek Power!
News to Me: PAWLs {97D Ratchet parts}
The widget that moves the toothed wheel.
Admissions of Defeat: Nevermind.
Too many mystery Proper Noun crosses such as WILEY{25A Pilot Post}/ODAY{5D Jazz Singer Anita} (which I got) or LEON{51A First name in the CIA}/SENNETT{30D Mack, maker of madcap movies} (which I did not). ASHpit/ASHPAN? {39A Fireplace receptacle}. BAAaaaaaa{41A Sheepish response}. File in the Thank You for Playing category.
Commentary: The im/possibility of improvement?
When I first started doing puzzles regularly, I saw a jump in performance after 2-3 months. Since then I've been stuck. Good days/weeks; then bad. So, is it possible to move from a mid-level puzzler to an expert? Or does a certain type of intelligence lend itself to a certain level of puzzling and ya gotta dance with what ya brung? Gloom flowers strewn in my path this week.
ACPT Countdown Clock: 370 days
Friday March 12, 2010, to March 18, 2011.
Likelihood of my attendance at the ACPT: 30%.
Base level of interest: 10% NYC, 10% PuzzleFest, 10% interested traveling companion. 0% of 25% each for Friday NYT, Saturday NYT, & Fireball. Didn't even try this week. (re math: What can I say, it's not an exact science)
Katherine Walcott
Puzzle Fan
by Randolph Ross
edited by Mike Shenk
March 12, 2010
Full answers available on WSJ's crossword puzzle page.
Theme: Road signs starting common phrases
ONE WAY OR ANOTHER {22A Somehow}
SLOW MOTION REPLAY {30A Sports analyst's aid}
ENTER THE DRAGON {46A 1973 Bruce Lee classic}
STAY RIGHT THERE {82A “Don't move!”}
WRONG WAY CORRIGAN {98A Directionally challenged pilot of 1938}
STOP THE BLEEDING {111A Get a bad situation under control}
YIELD THE FLOOR {3D Let someone else speak}
EXIT INTERVIEW {54D Conversation after canning}
Nomination for Word of the Week: EGOISTS {64A I guys}
To my mind, egoist is a pompous way to say egotist, but the OED gives three definitions of the former, only one of which = the latter. Both talk about themselves, in addition, an -ist uses self as, “the guiding principle of his conduct.”
People of the Puzzle: EDISON {43D Holder of 1,093 patents}
1,093! A fact worth a pause for respect.
MOHS {74D Scale on which diamond is 10} – Is it immortality if society knows the name but only science knows the person? Poor Frederick doesn't even make Anonyponymous by John Bemelmans Marciano [Bloomsbury 2009].
Crosswordpuzzlese: DRE {11D Rap Dr.}
Got right off. So, either I'm getting cooler or doing too many crossword puzzles – which is likely to lead the other way. Geek Power!
News to Me: PAWLs {97D Ratchet parts}
The widget that moves the toothed wheel.
Admissions of Defeat: Nevermind.
Too many mystery Proper Noun crosses such as WILEY{25A Pilot Post}/ODAY{5D Jazz Singer Anita} (which I got) or LEON{51A First name in the CIA}/SENNETT{30D Mack, maker of madcap movies} (which I did not). ASHpit/ASHPAN? {39A Fireplace receptacle}. BAAaaaaaa{41A Sheepish response}. File in the Thank You for Playing category.
Commentary: The im/possibility of improvement?
When I first started doing puzzles regularly, I saw a jump in performance after 2-3 months. Since then I've been stuck. Good days/weeks; then bad. So, is it possible to move from a mid-level puzzler to an expert? Or does a certain type of intelligence lend itself to a certain level of puzzling and ya gotta dance with what ya brung? Gloom flowers strewn in my path this week.
ACPT Countdown Clock: 370 days
Friday March 12, 2010, to March 18, 2011.
Likelihood of my attendance at the ACPT: 30%.
Base level of interest: 10% NYC, 10% PuzzleFest, 10% interested traveling companion. 0% of 25% each for Friday NYT, Saturday NYT, & Fireball. Didn't even try this week. (re math: What can I say, it's not an exact science)
Katherine Walcott
Puzzle Fan
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