Hanh Huynh author page
2 puzzles by Hanh Huynh
with Jeff Chen comments
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Clever concept; a new and interesting way to play on the old "para words" trope. DIE + DIE = DICE as a phonetic part of PARADISE takes David Kwong's rebus concept one or even two steps further.
The themers, in case you're still mystified:
GANGSTA'S PARADISE
LOGICAL PARADOX
PARABLES OF JESUS
SHIFTING PARADIGMS
If you're not familiar with GANGSTA'S PARADISE, check it out. The lyrics are Biblically poetic.
Being a heathen, I wasn't sure if PARABLES OF JESUS was a term in widespread use. I'm familiar with the Parable of the Sower and such, but apparently this is a general blanket title encompassing all of his storied sayings? Looks like it ... but I'm not convinced enough to use it in a future crossword.
Oh Jeff of little faith!
Given how few phrases include the words PARADISE, PARADOX, PARABLES, and PARADIGMS, it's amazing that Hanh managed to find a symmetrical set at all. It's even tougher given that PARABLES (BULL + BULL = BULLS = -BLES) cannot be singular, so none of the specific Bible parables would have worked.
Well done to thread long Downs through most of the rebus squares, too. ED(DIE)BAUER, SPIN(DOC)TORS, and NEWS(BULL)ETIN are all strong. It's a shame that there wasn't a fourth, through one of the DIME squares ... although, I don't know if that would have been possible, since the special squares come at the ends of three themers and the start of the fourth. If it had been two at the starts and two at the ends, that would have been much easier to achieve. So much inflexibility … you couldn't swap out GANGSTA'S PARADISE for PARADISE LOST, for example, since your themers would no longer pair up by length.
Pesky crossword symmetry!
Well-executed rebus-and-then-some; I appreciated the challenging solve.