Elise Corbin author page
1 puzzle by Elise Corbin
with Constructor comments
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My first version of this theme wasn't related to physics at all; it was actually a Marvel-themed puzzle, playing on the idea of "the snap" at the end of Infinity War when half of the universe's population disappears. My themers were all phrases with "snap" in them, but the word SNAP was missing, and there was a black square where each SNAP should have been.
I ended up shelving it — neither the theme nor the fill was particularly strong — but came back to the idea of missing letters after I'd thought of dark matter as a possible topic. I enjoy making puzzles to illustrate interesting concepts, both in the scientific world and beyond, so I really wanted to capture the idea of an invisible, hypothetical substance in this puzzle rather than just play on the words "dark matter" somehow.
It took a few tries to get the fill streamlined enough, but for the most part, the final theme was as I'd imagined it. Hope you enjoyed the puzzle, and if you weren't already familiar with the concept, I hope it was a fun "TIL" moment for you!
I have a crossword blog called Cruciverbology where I post science-related puzzles like this one. If you'd like to see more from me, please consider subscribing!