Erika Ettin author page
2 puzzles by Erika Ettin
with Constructor comments
| B | A | M | A | V | C | R | S | L | O | G | S | |||
| A | M | E | N | T | O | R | A | H | E | X | A | M | ||
| N | O | T | O | N | E | I | O | T | A | T | E | N | S | |
| D | I | A | M | O | N | D | W | E | D | D | I | N | G | |
| A | P | T | D | I | E | T | ||||||||
| A | M | B | L | E | D | A | G | N | A | B | B | I | T | |
| N | A | R | Y | T | I | S | E | L | E | C | T | S | ||
| A | L | A | D | E | N | T | I | S | T | C | E | L | ||
| C | I | G | A | R | S | I | N | S | D | E | M | O | ||
| T | A | G | S | A | L | O | N | G | M | I | D | S | T | |
| A | G | A | R | P | A | L | ||||||||
| L | E | T | S | C | A | L | L | I | T | A | D | A | Y | |
| S | A | V | E | O | C | E | A | N | S | T | A | T | E | |
| I | K | E | A | I | L | O | S | E | E | T | O | N | ||
| T | E | R | M | L | E | N | T | S | A | P | S |
Movin' on up! For my second published puzzle, I'm proud to have a Tuesday under my belt. (I was lucky enough to have my debut published on my birthday in 2021, a Monday.) Wednesday, here I come!
What started as a pandemic hobby turned into one of my favorite things to do. Whenever I have a spare 20 minutes here or there, I always want to work on my next puzzle. (I have a few half-baked ones in the works right now.)
For this puzzle, I thought, "What common phrase can have a few meanings?" And that led me to this theme. It took a decent amount of trial and error to come up with just the right "day" words, but I hope you like the finished product.
By day, I run a business helping people navigate the world of online dating (profiles, pictures, coaching, you name it). I'm also avid in the competitive pun circuit (you read that correctly!), having won the 2022 O. Henry Pun-off and next competing in the Punderdome in Brooklyn on February 7th.
Besides that, I'm just a regular gal who loves her dog, Broadway musicals, dad jokes, and bourbon.
Come say hi! @ALittleNudge
| A | L | O | N | G | C | A | S | E | U | P | C | S | ||
| L | A | B | O | R | H | D | T | V | P | L | O | W | ||
| P | R | I | V | A | T | E | E | Y | E | T | A | R | O | |
| O | D | E | H | A | R | P | F | O | Y | E | R | |||
| P | A | Y | I | T | F | O | R | W | A | R | D | |||
| S | E | S | A | M | E | E | L | O | N | |||||
| O | W | E | N | M | A | L | A | Y | A | P | E | |||
| H | O | T | E | L | C | A | L | I | F | O | R | N | I | A |
| O | K | S | A | R | N | A | Z | O | N | E | S | |||
| A | C | A | I | M | I | S | E | R | Y | |||||
| H | I | D | D | E | N | C | A | M | E | R | A | |||
| A | D | A | M | S | B | O | O | K | T | A | P | |||
| L | E | V | I | R | O | L | L | W | I | T | H | I | T | |
| L | A | I | R | A | X | E | L | N | E | R | D | S | ||
| E | L | S | E | G | O | R | Y | G | L | U | E | D |
I am beyond excited to be making my NYT crossword debut… on my 40th birthday, no less!
I am a longtime fan of all things wordplay—crosswords, puns, dad jokes, you name it. For the last few years, I have been participating in pun competitions around the country (yes, these exist!), and at the beginning of COVID, I decided to try my hand (or, more accurately, my brain) at constructing a crossword puzzle. With the amazing mentorship of a fellow Cornellian, Robyn Weintraub, I was able to put together this fun Monday puzzle. I can't thank her enough for the guidance.
My favorite clues are the pair of 43-across and 46-down. I probably got too much joy out of writing those. And, though I didn't say it in the reveal of the theme, 23-across makes both FORWARD ROLL and PAYROLL for a bit of an added bonus.
When not manipulating words for pleasure, for the last 10 years (after a 7-year career in finance), I have been running a consulting business helping people with online dating. And on rare occasions, my two passions — words and love (and spreadsheets, if I'm being honest) — combine.
If you have any questions or comments for me, you can find me at @ALittleNudge on Instagram.