Total | Debut | Latest | Collabs |
---|---|---|---|
65 | 10/22/2009 | 6/16/2019 | 6 |
Sun | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Variety |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
16 | 9 | 11 | 9 | 10 | 3 | 2 | 5 |
Scrabble | Rebus | Circle | Pangram |
---|---|---|---|
1.64 | 3 | 5 | 1 |
STATE CAPITALS … anagrammed? Not sure why you'd want to anagram LANSING, uh … ST PAUL … hmm … whatever ANTI-US anagrams to.
I enjoy anagrams, but only when there's a good rationale for them. If there had been some real phrase like CAPITAL MIXUP, it'd have been solid.
This grid is a great example of how going to a low word count can actually work (it usually doesn't). For a theme that solvers might not connect to, it's essential to give them something extra in the fill to keep them entertained. Giant corners like the SW / NE, coming up!
When newer constructors ask for grid help, the first thing I do is look at the overall layout, and if there are any likely gridding trouble spots. My eyes would have bugged out at the SW / NE, advising to break up those sections STATE! Er, stat.
I'm not a fan of STELE or SANDP (that's S&P, outside the crossworld), but SAMANTHA / THIRTEEN / THE EU help offset them. And IT'S A GIRL / NET SALES are bonuses, too. Along with entries we don't see that often in crosswords – PARADE, NOUGAT, REPASTS – the grid gave me a sense of being anything but the same-old, same-old. In a good way.
There were trade-offs, no doubt. Having both AGHA and EMIR in one grid isn't ideal. EATER is basically a partial. Overall though, the freshness within the grid made up for the dings.
Joel has serious construction chops, so I think he made a good call to go to a 72-word grid. But the number of constructors who can do it successfully is in the single digits.
It's too bad that not many solvers would immediately recognize BLENDED CAPITAL – a finance term regarding mixed sources of start-up funds. It'd have been the perfect revealer. I probably would have used it anyway. Even with a boring dictionary definition, it would have given the theme a raison d'etre.
1 S | 2 U | 3 C | 4 H | 5 V | 6 I | 7 E | 8 W | 9 T | 10 H | 11 I | 12 N | 13 G |
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14 A | G | H | A | 15 E | M | M | A | 16 E | A | T | E | R |
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17 M | A | I | L | 18 F | R | A | U | D | 19 M | U | S | T | I |
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20 I | N | S | L | A | N | G | 21 U | P | L | A | S | T |
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22 A | D | E | 23 N | E | E | 24 D | 25 N | O | U | G | A | T |
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26 M | A | L | 27 E | S | 28 O | 29 R | K | 30 P | I | L | E |
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31 V | I | 32 T | 33 A | M | I | N | 34 S | 35 R | E | D |
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36 S | 37 T | A | T | E | C | A | P | I | T | 38 A | L | S | ||
39 R | A | H | 40 E | N | L | I | S | T | E | D | ||||
41 E | M | I | 42 R | 43 S | U | N | 44 R | O | 45 V | 46 E | 47 D |
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48 P | A | R | A | 49 D | E | 50 S | 51 I | 52 L | O | 53 R | Y | E |
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54 A | N | T | I | U | S | 55 H | A | I | 56 R | G | E | L |
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57 S | T | E | L | E | 58 B | 59 L | O | N | D | E | A | L | E |
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60 T | H | E | E | U | 61 R | O | P | E | 62 E | M | I | T |
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63 S | A | N | D | P | 64 O | W | E | S | 65 L | E | D | E |
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Answer summary: 5 unique to this puzzle, 1 unique to Shortz Era but used previously.
Found bugs or have suggestions?