Claire Rimkus author page
7 puzzles by Claire Rimkus
with Jim Horne comments
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| H | O | L | Y | T | O | L | E | D | O | P | O | O | H | |
| U | P | A | N | D | L | E | A | V | E | I | O | W | A | |
| D | E | N | T | V | E | N | I | B | A | K | E | D | ||
| W | I | T | S | C | A | N | T | Y | ||||||
| A | N | T | M | A | N | L | O | R | D | I | O | N | ||
| L | O | H | A | N | O | R | A | L | T | U | E | |||
| P | R | E | G | N | A | N | C | Y | P | I | L | L | O | W |
| H | E | R | A | M | O | K | A | G | E | N | T | |||
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| E | T | H | O | S | P | O | O | R | J | E | E | P | ||
| L | I | E | S | M | E | L | L | O | Y | E | L | L | O | |
| M | O | R | E | L | E | G | O | P | E | R | S | O | N | |
| O | N | E | D | S | P | A | W | E | E | K | E | N | D |
| N | O | R | P | A | W | N | S | A | L | M | A | |||
| I | V | E | E | L | I | O | T | A | D | I | O | S | ||
| L | A | T | E | R | A | L | L | Y | T | E | M | P | S | |
| T | O | A | D | T | I | V | O | I | I | I | ||||
| C | I | R | C | U | S | E | M | U | L | A | T | E | S | |
| H | O | T | H | E | A | D | R | O | B | E | R | T | ||
| I | N | S | L | E | A | S | A | I | D | |||||
| L | A | T | E | S | H | I | F | T | ||||||
| G | O | L | T | H | E | M | C | S | I | |||||
| S | T | A | L | L | S | D | A | B | B | L | E | D | ||
| C | O | L | L | A | T | E | D | C | L | E | A | N | S | |
| Y | U | P | S | A | R | I | A | L | M | A | ||||
| T | R | A | N | S | V | E | N | T | I | L | A | T | E | |
| H | E | L | E | N | E | A | S | E | S | T | O | Y | ||
| E | D | S | E | L | D | O | N | E | O | R | E |
| E | S | T | A | T | E | L | A | W | I | R | A | N | ||
| C | L | O | S | E | G | A | M | E | S | N | E | M | O | |
| C | A | R | T | R | O | U | B | L | E | H | A | U | T | |
| O | W | N | E | R | G | I | L | L | E | L | S | E | ||
| R | A | S | H | F | R | A | M | E | D | |||||
| S | I | N | S | A | T | O | P | A | V | A | ||||
| W | O | O | P | U | R | S | E | P | E | T | A | L | ||
| A | T | T | H | E | L | A | S | T | M | I | N | U | T | E |
| G | A | B | O | N | C | I | T | E | D | R | O | T | ||
| Y | O | N | K | E | R | I | G | E | M | S | ||||
| S | N | A | K | E | D | A | N | D | Y | |||||
| T | I | M | E | A | C | T | I | A | M | M | A | N | ||
| R | E | I | D | W | H | E | N | I | N | R | O | M | E | |
| A | C | L | U | N | A | M | E | D | N | A | M | E | S | |
| P | E | E | P | S | P | R | A | Y | T | A | N | S |
Jim here, sitting in for Jeff Chen, who is high in Paris.
Themeless crossword constructors think hard about their 1-Across answer the same way novelists deliberate over their opening sentence — they want it to shine, to entice, to be memorable. Not every first answer will be "Call me Ishmael," or "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times," or "I was born twice."
Today's 1-Across is pedestrian: ESTATE LAW. So, what's a constructor to do? Give it an outstanding clue. "Subject of some family planning" sends your brain off in the wrong direction. Plus, it hints at sex. (Just me?)
And speaking of sex, when did HOOKED UP start to imply a coital connection? It used to be such an anodyne phrase. And AMBI gets a sex clue at 8-Down. Maleska would be aghast.
"2003 search-and-rescue target" is a great clue for NEMO, and because of my Y-chromosome bias, it took me a while to see "Clutch, e.g." as PURSE.
Here's a tip for working out short words in themeless puzzles. Most short answers have been so overused that obvious clues have long ago been worn out. "Nwodim of S.N.L." is tough if, like me, you haven't watched that skit show since the early 50s, but there's a good chance that, even though the clue might mean nothing, the answer is a word you've seen many times before. Alternatively, it's a nice EGO boost if you knew that one right away.
Ah, Ms. Hilson. Her name is KERI. Don't hate her 'cause she's beautiful.
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| R | E | P | O | S | T | T | H | E | O | |||||
| P | U | T | I | C | E | E | S | W | A | G | ||||
| J | O | Y | C | E | C | A | R | R | Y | A | G | O | ||
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| H | O | S | E | S | Y | S | T | E | M | |||||
| A | T | R | I | A | L | I | P | A | E | R | G | O | ||
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| E | L | A | T | E | O | A | T | H | T | O | N | I | ||
| L | E | T | A | F | R | O | L | O | O | T | S | |||
| F | I | E | L | D | Q | U | E | S | T | I | O | N | S | |
| I | O | U | O | M | G | |||||||||
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| R | I | M | E | S | E | G | O | S | E | E | K | |||
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| B | O | T | H | O | S | I | R | I | S | H | B | O | ||
| R | H | E | A | U | P | T | O | N | O | G | O | O | D | |
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| I | F | F | I | E | R | L | O | A | N | |||||
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| K | A | T | E | T | A | P | A | S | S | U | R | E | ||
| S | T | E | A | D | Y | G | I | G | D | I | X | I | E | |
| E | K | E | S | D | E | F | E | N | D | |||||
| R | A | F | A | E | L | V | A | L | I | D | ||||
| W | O | R | L | D | G | A | Y | I | C | O | N | S | ||
| A | D | I | O | S | A | M | I | G | O | A | C | A | I | |
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| A | N | G | R | Y | E | L | I | O | N | |||||
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| H | I | S | A | N | D | H | I | S | L | A | L | A | W | |
| A | L | O | N | G | A | L | T | A | B | A | S | E | ||
| L | E | D | G | E | R | E | S | I | D | E | N | T | S | |
| F | D | A | W | A | D | S | C | I | D | E | R | |||
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| A | L | E | R | T | R | E | D | G | I | A | N | T | ||
| A | M | E | N | T | O | T | H | A | T | T | R | O | U | |
| D | I | N | A | H | S | H | O | R | E | L | I | M | B | |
| O | D | D | L | Y | U | S | D | A | L | A | Y | S |
A terrific puzzle, and "Groin pulls" is a clue-of-the-year contender.