Chase Dittrich author page
9 puzzles by Chase Dittrich
with Constructor comments
See the 38 answer words debuted by Chase Dittrich.
| J | E | S | T | U | T | E | S | P | A | G | E | S | ||
| A | C | E | R | S | O | B | E | E | R | I | C | A | ||
| M | O | M | A | N | D | P | O | P | A | M | N | O | T | |
| I | M | O | I | O | T | A | O | S | L | O | ||||
| A | T | F | R | A | C | K | A | N | D | R | U | I | N | |
| O | R | I | S | I | T | T | I | E | ||||||
| K | A | N | T | T | E | A | S | O | D | D | S | |||
| P | A | R | T | A | N | D | P | A | R | C | E | L | ||
| P | L | E | A | T | E | A | T | A | S | A | P | |||
| S | R | I | T | E | R | E | S | A | ||||||
| P | R | O | S | A | N | D | C | O | N | S | R | H | O | |
| L | A | M | B | N | O | O | N | P | A | T | ||||
| I | B | E | A | M | C | U | T | A | N | D | R | U | N | |
| E | A | G | L | E | K | N | O | T | D | A | M | E | ||
| S | T | A | L | L | S | T | E | M | S | T | A | T |
| C | A | R | D | B | U | R | N | S | P | C | A | |||
| A | L | A | N | A | R | I | A | L | A | H | E | M | ||
| N | O | N | A | P | O | L | O | G | Y | L | O | N | E | |
| S | H | I | B | A | T | A | R | E | T | A | S | |||
| A | N | A | L | O | G | N | E | A | T | O | ||||
| N | O | T | T | O | O | S | H | A | B | B | Y | |||
| E | R | I | K | T | O | N | A | G | O | R | A | |||
| G | E | M | N | O | S | E | J | O | B | M | I | R | ||
| A | P | P | L | E | N | A | V | A | B | E | D | |||
| N | O | R | S | E | G | O | D | D | E | S | S | |||
| E | D | D | A | S | A | R | T | F | U | L | ||||
| F | I | S | T | I | M | O | E | A | T | A | T | |||
| U | S | S | R | N | O | B | E | L | P | R | I | Z | E | |
| S | E | M | I | S | N | O | O | T | A | L | E | C | ||
| S | E | E | P | D | E | N | S | S | E | S | H |
| L | A | M | B | A | C | L | I | M | B | I | B | E | ||
| A | L | O | U | L | E | O | M | A | I | S | E | L | ||
| G | O | A | T | M | I | L | K | E | D | G | E | R | S | |
| S | E | T | T | O | L | I | S | A | M | E | T | A | ||
| D | O | J | O | E | N | Y | A | |||||||
| F | A | J | I | T | A | F | A | C | E | C | A | R | D | |
| A | S | E | A | W | A | L | T | O | N | W | H | O | ||
| R | I | L | L | D | R | E | A | M | U | F | O | S | ||
| C | A | L | G | R | E | E | C | E | N | U | D | E | ||
| E | M | O | T | I | O | N | S | O | O | D | L | E | S | |
| A | L | P | O | I | N | R | E | |||||||
| A | J | A | X | P | T | S | D | G | R | A | P | E | ||
| R | O | T | I | N | I | P | L | A | Y | O | F | F | S | |
| L | E | A | N | I | N | R | E | I | O | R | C | S | ||
| O | L | D | G | A | G | Y | S | L | S | O | S | O |
Rhode Island — neither road nor island. Discuss.
I was very amused that oat milk and goat milk were one letter off. That's what started this. I'm a simple man. I'm not proud.
So far, I've survived the recent LAYOFFS at Amazon.
Chase's clue reference bingo:
- Lord of the Rings: Check
- Marine Corps: Check
- New England Patriots: Missing (just like the dirty rotten cheaters' sense of morality and fairness, and no, this parenthetical comment is not at all driven by jealousy from a Seahawks fan)
| F | U | T | Z | B | L | U | R | S | P | L | A | Y | ||
| I | N | R | E | E | A | T | I | N | L | O | V | E | ||
| S | T | A | N | A | S | A | D | A | I | S | I | T | ||
| K | I | C | K | I | N | T | H | E | P | A | N | T | S | |
| L | E | O | N | I | C | U | T | S | ||||||
| A | C | E | I | N | T | H | E | H | O | L | E | |||
| A | M | A | N | A | N | O | E | A | R | U | S | C | ||
| S | I | N | S | T | U | R | N | T | B | L | A | H | ||
| A | C | T | W | A | I | T | S | P | E | S | T | O | ||
| P | A | I | N | I | N | T | H | E | A | S | S | |||
| D | E | L | L | E | S | T | E | E | ||||||
| H | O | L | D | I | N | C | O | N | T | E | M | P | T | |
| B | E | T | S | N | O | O | N | E | V | I | S | E | ||
| O | R | E | O | E | R | I | C | A | E | L | O | N | ||
| A | S | S | N | S | A | L | E | S | R | E | N | T |
CHASE: Wow — the POW?! I'm so honored, truly. First off, I'd like to thank Tom Brady. You are my rock, even if you suck eggs. You inspire me to be better every day. Second, I'd — what's that? We didn't get POW? What the heck, Jeff?! What's the point of running the site if you can't reap the benefits, like Tom Brady assisted by the Patriots' widespread cheating? Ok, no, you know what? I'm done. These collabs are over. Good luck getting somewhere on your own. We'll see how far you get, probably no further than Tom Brady got without the amoral Patriots.
(JEFF: dang it. Stupid Tom Brady.)
| G | A | L | G | L | A | R | E | S | G | A | S | H | ||
| H | B | O | R | A | D | I | S | H | A | B | L | E | ||
| O | H | O | E | C | H | O | C | H | A | M | B | E | R | |
| S | O | F | A | T | O | T | W | E | E | D | S | |||
| T | R | A | F | F | I | C | A | R | T | E | R | Y | ||
| R | E | C | C | O | R | D | R | Y | E | |||||
| S | P | L | I | T | T | O | O | G | O | U | T | |||
| P | I | E | C | E | O | F | M | Y | H | E | A | R | T | |
| A | L | T | A | H | A | L | I | N | D | I | A | |||
| Y | E | S | S | O | D | A | I | R | E | |||||
| I | N | T | H | E | S | A | M | E | V | E | I | N | ||
| A | R | T | I | E | C | F | O | A | D | D | S | |||
| S | A | F | E | T | Y | V | A | L | V | E | D | I | Y | |
| H | I | L | L | E | C | L | A | I | R | I | O | N | ||
| E | D | Y | S | T | R | A | C | E | R | E | T | C |
CHASE: While this may not be the most heart-pounding theme ever, hopefully you <3 it as much as we do.
Video game clue? Check.
Marine Corps clue? Check.
Success.
p.s. Jeff thinks if you squint really hard, the black boxes near the center actually look like hearts, but to be honest I'm just not seeing it.
| A | M | E | N | R | E | G | R | O | W | J | O | B | ||
| M | A | G | I | O | M | E | A | R | A | A | D | O | ||
| P | H | O | N | E | N | U | M | B | E | R | W | E | D | |
| M | I | S | T | E | D | E | M | B | A | S | S | Y | ||
| E | L | O | P | E | I | D | O | |||||||
| S | T | N | S | A | N | D | C | R | A | F | T | S | ||
| C | H | A | D | R | E | G | A | R | D | L | E | A | ||
| A | E | R | O | S | O | L | N | E | S | T | I | N | G | |
| P | L | O | T | A | L | E | S | E | E | F | T | S | ||
| O | F | T | H | E | D | A | R | K | B | E | E | S | ||
| C | I | A | R | O | L | E | S | |||||||
| M | I | A | S | M | I | C | A | S | H | L | E | E | ||
| O | R | R | C | O | L | L | E | C | T | I | O | N | S | |
| M | I | D | A | T | A | S | T | E | R | B | I | S | ||
| A | S | S | R | A | N | D | O | S | T | O | D | O |
I dedicate this puzzle to my good friends Kier and Will, who introduced me to Iron Maiden's FEAR OF THE DARK back in college when I was simply uncultured swine. I'm still uncultured swine, but at least with a broader taste in music.
The answer that means the most to me is DANSKO, since my mom was their Creative Director before she passed away a few years ago. I recognize this may be a tough answer for people, so I apologize in advance. I can't say crossing it with TALESE feels totally fair in retrospect. But I'm excellent at receiving feedback, so you can send all critiques and/or hate mail to: info@xwordinfo.com. Please don't hold back.
Sorry to be a bit sappy here, but I'm very happy to get my true love's name in the puzzle, too, with NINTENDO. Ahh, romance. Gaming is a huge passion of mine (and my job again now, working in Amazon Prime Gaming). Hope you enjoy the puzzle, from one Elden Lord to another.
| C | B | S | A | S | L | E | E | P | U | P | S | E | T | G | M | C | ||||
| L | A | I | D | N | E | U | R | A | L | N | O | O | N | E | O | A | R | |||
| A | L | L | A | N | E | V | E | R | E | N | D | I | N | G | S | T | O | R | Y | |
| U | S | E | D | C | A | R | U | A | E | L | O | N | E | |||||||
| S | A | N | S | A | B | E | A | R | S | R | E | P | E | A | T | I | N | G | ||
| E | M | T | M | A | R | I | M | B | A | D | R | A | G | S | E | G | A | |||
| P | E | R | P | E | T | U | A | L | M | O | T | I | O | N | S | O | Y | |||
| K | A | N | Y | E | W | E | S | T | A | G | E | N | T | S | ||||||
| F | A | R | M | S | E | O | S | A | S | P | C | A | ||||||||
| E | T | T | A | N | A | N | A | P | O | P | A | R | T | I | S | A | Y | |||
| T | A | N | S | A | D | I | N | F | I | N | I | T | U | M | K | E | R | R | ||
| I | N | E | S | G | O | L | D | E | N | G | E | E | Z | H | U | M | E | |||
| D | A | R | E | I | W | E | D | T | I | D | E | S | ||||||||
| S | H | A | R | P | E | I | M | P | O | S | E | S | O | N | ||||||
| N | B | C | R | E | C | U | R | R | I | N | G | D | R | E | A | M | S | |||
| O | R | A | L | R | A | F | E | N | A | M | A | S | T | E | C | I | T | |||
| N | O | N | S | T | O | P | F | L | I | G | H | T | S | G | U | I | D | O | ||
| C | I | A | O | A | C | R | A | L | G | R | E | E | N | |||||||
| C | O | N | T | I | N | U | I | T | Y | O | F | C | A | R | E | S | N | A | G | |
| O | D | E | L | E | T | M | E | U | R | C | H | I | N | A | C | L | U | |||
| Y | E | S | S | T | E | P | S | P | O | S | I | E | S | E | S | E |
CHASE: Anna Kendrick, if you're reading this, I just want you to know that I tried to clue 4-Down for you. Let the record show.
Jeff is great to work with, even if he's a basketball fan. I'll be moving to Seattle for work the day after this comes out, so we'll happen to be neighbors and I'll have plenty of time to make him a Patriots fan, even though they all stink like regurgitated herring and have the moral compass of a naughty puffin.
| W | A | S | P | A | M | S | T | E | L | C | A | P | ||
| E | D | N | A | L | U | P | I | N | O | A | R | E | ||
| D | O | E | R | T | R | E | E | S | P | I | R | I | T | |
| A | S | P | A | N | D | I | P | E | A | T | ||||
| T | A | K | E | G | O | L | D | G | L | A | D | L | Y | |
| R | A | S | C | A | L | E | N | O | S | |||||
| A | M | O | S | D | R | A | T | A | S | K | O | F | ||
| I | C | U | T | E | E | D | O | F | F | O | R | A | ||
| L | O | T | T | O | D | A | N | A | H | A | I | L | ||
| I | L | L | S | R | E | A | L | E | S | |||||
| I | S | O | L | D | E | T | I | R | E | S | A | L | E | |
| N | U | K | E | S | C | A | N | L | A | B | ||||
| T | E | A | R | G | L | A | N | D | S | T | E | E | S | |
| E | D | Y | B | I | G | G | I | E | I | A | M | S | ||
| R | E | S | S | E | E | S | A | W | T | R | U | E |
Happy Fhanksgiving!
The impetus for this puzzle was the revealer, T/F, which never actually made it into the grid. That idea came from Christopher Adams' awesome puzzle. Any puzzle with FACE/OFF is a winner in my book. And as I write this, I just realized I missed my opportunity to clue CAGE appropriately. Sorry, Nic.
As a passionate gamer and native New England nerd, a bit disappointed that I only managed to get one reference to gaming, SciFi/Fantasy, or the Patriots. 33.33(repeating of course)%. Not great. I'll do better. Tried to sneak in SNES, but Will said nuh-uh.
KOALA BEAR is fun, but if redoing this puzzle now, I'd try to spice up the SNEAKS OUT spot and have fewer 3-letter words. Not a biggie, but 65-Down was not my original fill. I don't like to use any dir. abbrevs. or Roman numerals, unless, of course, we're talking Episodes IV, V, VI.
| B | A | S | S | I | N | E | P | T | D | R | A | G | ||
| L | O | C | I | T | O | N | E | R | R | O | L | O | ||
| I | R | A | N | S | L | Y | L | Y | Y | O | L | O | ||
| S | T | R | E | S | S | E | A | T | I | N | G | |||
| S | A | F | A | R | I | S | T | O | O | P | T | O | ||
| D | A | M | N | S | L | O | R | E | N | |||||
| R | O | E | S | P | A | C | E | C | A | D | E | T | S | |
| O | P | A | L | L | L | O | S | A | S | O | R | E | ||
| S | T | R | I | K | E | A | P | O | S | E | P | A | T | |
| S | E | L | M | A | E | S | T | A | B | |||||
| I | D | S | A | Y | S | O | D | R | O | I | D | S | ||
| B | O | L | D | P | R | O | P | O | S | A | L | |||
| F | E | T | E | A | E | I | O | U | T | A | R | E | ||
| I | K | E | A | V | O | C | A | B | H | A | L | E | ||
| T | E | E | N | S | N | O | R | T | S | C | A | T |
Very excited for my NYT debut! Big thanks to my mentor Myles Callum, and to the editing team who helped me greatly improve on my original idea.
I constructed my first "crossword puzzles" by hand on deployment in Afghanistan to keep my Marines entertained back in 2012. Needless to say, they were terrible and broke every rule in the book. Who knew they had to be symmetrical? Or shouldn't have typos? I've been constructing properly(ish) for about a year and a half now and am excited to have a new lifelong hobby that I love.
While I'm quite happy with how clean this grid came out, I've learned a lot in the last ten months since this was accepted. I would love to have more sparkly, long, non-themers than LIMA BEAN and DRY GOODS. Not too scintillating, in my opinion.
The editorial team (thankfully) changed most of my cluing, but one they did keep, which I'm thrilled about is 1-Across. My mom was my biggest inspiration and champion, but she passed away shortly before I received my first crossword acceptance. She was a shoe designer who got her start at Bass so that being my first entry ever in the NYT gives me the warm and fuzzies.