Francis Heaney author page
11 puzzles by Francis Heaney
with Jeff Chen comments
See the 82 answer words debuted by Francis Heaney.
10 daily crosswords by Francis Heaney
| M | A | O | I | S | T | S | S | T | A | M | P | S | M | O | R | A | S | S | ||
| U | N | P | L | A | I | T | I | A | M | T | O | O | A | V | E | N | U | E | ||
| T | W | E | L | V | E | A | N | G | R | Y | M | E | N | R | A | N | K | E | D | |
| E | A | R | A | R | R | A | N | T | I | C | I | A | L | D | A | |||||
| D | R | A | W | N | T | H | E | A | F | R | I | C | A | N | Q | U | E | E | N | |
| E | T | T | U | D | R | I | E | D | P | A | U | L | S | |||||||
| F | L | A | N | U | P | I | N | I | L | R | O | T | O | R | S | |||||
| D | O | C | T | O | R | S | T | R | A | N | G | E | S | A | T | C | A | T | ||
| I | G | E | T | I | T | D | E | P | E | N | D | O | N | A | S | K | M | E | ||
| C | O | R | O | L | L | A | N | U | Y | S | P | A | C | P | S | S | T | |||
| B | Y | E | B | Y | E | B | I | R | D | I | E | |||||||||
| A | M | I | E | S | O | O | S | M | E | E | E | D | H | E | L | M | S | |||
| S | A | N | D | L | U | N | T | H | A | W | E | D | R | O | D | E | O | S | ||
| P | T | A | A | C | T | W | A | T | E | R | S | H | I | P | D | O | W | N | ||
| S | A | N | R | I | O | Y | R | S | L | I | V | I | N | N | S | |||||
| Y | E | L | L | S | L | O | U | I | S | T | E | V | A | |||||||
| T | H | E | L | A | D | Y | V | A | N | I | S | H | E | S | A | L | U | M | S | |
| R | A | V | I | B | M | I | S | A | V | O | I | R | S | A | L | |||||
| U | N | E | E | D | A | A | M | E | R | I | C | A | N | B | E | A | U | T | Y | |
| C | O | N | F | I | T | N | O | L | U | C | K | G | E | S | T | A | T | E | ||
| K | I | T | S | C | H | D | R | I | N | K | S | S | T | E | E | L | E | R |
★ Brilliant finds. After decades of brainstorming thousands of ideas, I'm kicking myself that I've never noticed how perfectly THE AFRICAN QUEEN describes Cleopatra. I've even seen THE AFRICAN QUEEN three times!
Same goes for "The Dirty Dozen," one of my favorite old-timey classics. TWELVE ANGRY MEN is so apt. Frankenstein as DOCTOR STRANGE, too. "Titanic" as WATERSHIP DOWN? Amazing link!
I usually enjoy Sunday NYTs less than weekday ones, since it's tough to retain solver interest through a full 21x21 grid. This one achieved saw me through with full marks. Such a genius set of finds, an absolute WITT (Wish I'd Thought of That).
It'd have been a slam-dunk POW! choice, except for some needle-scratching moments throughout the fill; a surprise given that Francis is one of the top-notchiest of top-notch constructors. There were so many answers I'd never (or rarely) encountered before: ARRANT, which the dictionary says is archaic, UNEEDA, VARESE, SANRIO?
Just because I haven't heard of something doesn't mean it's off-limits, but more than one of these in a single puzzle risks alienating solvers. Worse, crossing VARESE with TEVA strikes me as setting up solvers for failure. SMEE crossing MATSUI feels less unfair, but it's still a toughie because it's easy to confuse SMEE and SNEE.
However, the theme was so smile-inducing, and there were so many delightful clues — ANKLE SOCK go above a tongue, vey cheeky!, SHARON as a [Stone to cast], EAR with the hilarious [Hear here!]. And my favorite, [Lengths for rulers]. INCHES fits in perfectly, but it's royal rulers' REIGNS.
All in all, I found it easy to overlook the potholes and still call it a solid POW!
| G | R | A | M | M | Y | O | N | K | P | K | A | T | ||
| R | A | D | I | O | S | R | O | A | R | O | N | O | ||
| A | T | O | N | A | L | A | T | T | E | S | T | T | O | |
| B | E | G | U | N | P | L | A | Y | M | O | B | I | L | |
| S | E | G | A | I | D | I | D | |||||||
| H | I | P | S | D | O | N | T | L | I | E | S | K | I | |
| E | S | A | I | P | A | W | D | R | A | P | E | D | ||
| L | E | I | G | H | M | O | D | S | U | R | L | Y | ||
| P | E | R | N | O | D | P | E | P | T | E | L | L | ||
| S | M | S | T | R | O | M | P | E | L | O | E | I | L | |
| A | F | A | R | T | R | O | T | |||||||
| A | S | Y | O | U | W | I | S | H | R | U | S | S | O | |
| G | O | A | N | D | S | E | E | B | E | N | H | U | R | |
| O | A | K | G | I | N | A | O | N | E | A | L | L | ||
| G | P | S | E | N | T | S | B | A | D | G | U | Y |
I bet this one will play out better for people who know who BIL/LIE EIL/ISH is. Like me! I'm cool! I know young people things!
Okay, I don't.
Curious presentation, placing BIL LIE EIL ISH at the ends of four phrases. It's novel, no doubt. It'd have been awesome if one of her songs was titled FINAL THREE, or FOUR BY THREE. Billie, I've got your number!
Huh? That's Jenny, I've got your number?
I don't know old people things, either.
Cheeky move to place AUTOTUNED in a BILLIE EILISH tribute puzzle. Billie, if you want to call to complain, Francis's number is 867-5309.
| P | A | R | A | M | U | S | C | A | R | T | E | A | L | R | I | C | H | |||
| O | L | E | M | I | S | S | A | B | A | A | C | L | U | E | S | A | I | |||
| S | D | I | A | N | D | N | A | N | C | Y | B | O | O | M | A | L | L | Y | ||
| E | E | N | S | Y | N | O | D | E | A | L | T | B | A | C | O | L | A | |||
| D | N | A | S | A | V | A | G | E | C | E | N | A | T | T | Y | S | ||||
| I | N | A | L | L | A | S | T | H | O | U | G | H | A | H | I | |||||
| S | O | W | N | N | I | E | C | P | U | O | F | N | O | O | D | L | E | S | ||
| C | P | A | G | U | N | S | C | H | I | P | P | E | R | L | U | T | E | S | ||
| A | T | L | N | A | T | A | L | I | E | S | E | E | P | S | O | T | O | |||
| M | E | L | F | I | S | U | E | S | S | H | A | H | ||||||||
| P | D | A | O | F | P | A | P | E | R | R | B | I | T | I | C | K | L | E | R | |
| R | Y | A | N | H | E | F | T | H | U | E | V | O | ||||||||
| A | N | E | T | H | E | L | M | A | L | F | O | N | S | O | T | I | C | |||
| M | O | N | E | Y | M | Y | O | P | I | A | S | G | T | O | M | I | L | K | ||
| B | T | U | S | E | R | I | O | U | S | L | Y | S | A | R | E | T | S | Y | ||
| I | A | N | L | E | A | N | N | E | S | S | T | I | E | R | I | |||||
| S | C | A | L | P | S | T | U | B | Y | O | W | O | N | D | E | R | ||||
| T | M | I | C | O | O | K | E | D | I | T | O | R | A | H | O | R | A | |||
| M | A | A | M | S | L | O | T | B | Y | U | O | N | C | R | E | D | I | T | ||
| A | N | T | E | T | E | R | N | A | N | N | C | L | A | R | I | C | E | |||
| N | Y | E | S | S | E | G | A | R | E | D | R | E | T | R | E | A | D |
"INITIAL TURN" hinting at three-letter acronyms formed by swapping the last two letters of a normal word. Francis and BEQ sure found a ton of good answers — BOY WONDER turned into BYO WONDER (bread), CUP OF NOODLES into CPU (central processing unit) of NOODLES, etc. And BTU, SERIOUSLY?! hit perfectly for this mechanical engineer frustrated by non-metric units. I especially liked the ones that added in some sort of implied punctuation, like TIM COOK into "TMI, COOK!"
We longtime solvers even get an insider's nod, with SDI AND NANCY — the SDI (Strategic Defense Initiative) is something Will has been trying to phase out, but it works here. Neat find, that SID (Vicious) AND NANCY (Spungen, both of the Sex Pistols) turn into a pair of Reagan-related answers.
One aspect of the puzzle that I really liked was that the odd letter combinations — words starting with CPU, TBA, SDI — seemed totally wrong. I actually erased these starts a few times because they seemed like they couldn't be right; that some sort of word-bending trickery had to be going on. Neat to realize that there wasn't, and my mind had just led me down a wrong path.
Francis and BEQ do something few ever dare: cramming 12 theme answers into a 140-word Sunday. It is true that some of their themers are shorties (GTO MILK, TBA COLA, etc.) but executing on a Sunday with an average number of themers (about seven) is probably the toughest skill in the game. Trying to nestle in 12 themers is just plain old nuts. Given how much is going on, it's really impressive that they still gave us some nice long fill — MOUNT ETNA, MEIN HERR, CALL SHEET.
It was a little surprising to run into a good amount of crossword glue like SAR, STYRO, CEN, NYES, etc. in a puzzle built by these two masters — that helped solidify my belief that something tricksy was going on — but after some thought, it really shouldn't be surprising given how much theme and long fill is packed in. Just part of that trade-off to get so much nice material into the grid.
| S | E | N | S | E | F | O | O | D | B | S | M | T | ||
| A | M | O | U | R | E | L | M | O | A | W | A | R | ||
| S | C | R | E | A | M | E | D | A | T | S | I | S | I | |
| S | E | A | T | O | L | I | N | C | I | S | C | O | ||
| Y | E | S | L | O | S | E | A | R | C | S | ||||
| N | E | T | C | L | O | B | B | E | R | |||||
| E | A | S | E | S | S | H | E | S | A | L | A | D | Y | |
| K | N | O | W | S | H | U | R | T | A | N | I | A | ||
| C | O | N | E | S | T | O | G | A | I | C | K | E | S | |
| O | N | A | D | A | R | E | D | A | K | |||||
| T | I | L | E | S | P | I | N | E | S | C | ||||
| R | A | I | T | T | W | E | E | P | E | X | P | O | ||
| O | M | N | I | T | R | O | L | L | E | Y | C | A | R | |
| C | I | A | O | S | A | U | L | D | R | E | C | K | ||
| A | S | S | N | K | Y | L | E | S | E | L | E | S |
| M | E | T | A | L | S | E | R | E | N | O | W | L | A | L | A | W | ||||
| R | B | I | M | A | N | R | O | M | A | N | I | A | M | O | B | I | L | E | ||
| S | B | E | A | N | C | O | B | A | I | N | A | G | A | M | A | S | ||||
| S | E | L | E | S | G | Y | M | S | C | E | N | T | ||||||||
| M | E | S | T | I | Z | O | S | H | E | P | A | C | Q | U | ||||||
| I | N | C | I | T | E | S | C | A | L | A | M | I | T | O | U | S | ||||
| S | T | A | L | E | S | T | A | T | A | R | U | N | T | I | E | S | T | O | ||
| S | A | R | I | R | E | L | A | N | D | P | S | H | A | W | ||||||
| M | I | N | I | S | T | S | S | C | O | W | L | E | L | I | ||||||
| E | L | E | C | T | R | U | M | D | O | H | H | E | W | A | B | L | E | |||
| E | E | O | C | I | T | A | L | Y | I | S | A | T | ||||||||
| M | A | L | T | A | S | E | N | H | L | A | R | S | L | O | N | G | A | |||
| A | V | E | E | R | A | S | E | S | A | N | B | O | U | T | ||||||
| L | O | E | B | S | R | E | B | U | I | L | T | K | I | T | ||||||
| I | N | K | I | N | D | F | R | A | N | C | E | S | I | S | T | I | N | E | ||
| G | O | O | N | S | T | R | I | K | E | E | N | C | O | D | E | S | ||||
| P | Y | C | S | D | S | O | S | N | A | R | L | S | A | T | ||||||
| E | A | S | T | K | A | P | P | D | E | N | T | I | ||||||||
| O | H | M | A | G | E | D | I | G | E | A | R | B | O | O | K | S | ||||
| N | O | E | X | I | T | F | E | R | E | N | G | I | A | E | R | I | A | L | ||
| S | O | N | I | A | D | O | R | S | E | T | P | R | E | S | T | O |
| E | S | S | O | A | B | A | D | R | I | E | D | |||
| L | E | E | S | C | A | T | S | O | O | N | Y | I | ||
| B | A | A | L | C | A | T | P | O | S | H | E | R | ||
| A | L | L | O | U | T | N | O | A | H | S | A | R | K | |
| L | S | D | T | R | A | I | L | |||||||
| C | A | F | F | E | O | F | T | E | N | A | H | H | ||
| O | H | A | R | E | C | L | E | M | I | T | O | O | ||
| M | O | L | E | S | T | O | R | E | L | I | R | R | ||
| M | O | L | E | C | O | O | P | F | L | O | S | S | ||
| A | T | E | G | O | R | D | O | R | E | N | E | E | ||
| N | E | A | T | O | P | B | A | |||||||
| T | W | O | B | Y | T | W | O | A | N | I | M | A | L | |
| R | I | V | O | L | I | D | O | G | T | C | B | Y | ||
| A | D | E | L | I | E | D | O | G | L | I | O | N | ||
| M | E | R | I | T | S | H | Y | L | I | O | N |
| A | B | O | R | T | B | A | B | K | A | D | A | W | ||
| L | A | N | A | I | U | R | I | E | L | U | T | E | ||
| S | W | E | E | P | S | T | A | K | E | S | S | R | A | |
| O | D | S | T | I | N | S | E | L | S | T | I | R | ||
| T | O | G | O | O | N | E | D | A | Y | |||||
| G | O | S | H | E | N | D | I | V | I | D | E | |||
| A | R | C | E | D | N | I | N | E | L | I | V | E | S | |
| S | E | R | B | F | A | V | O | R | T | I | L | T | ||
| P | O | U | R | S | I | T | O | N | C | I | L | I | A | |
| B | A | S | S | E | T | G | L | O | S | S | Y | |||
| L | I | L | I | T | H | D | E | A | N | |||||
| I | R | A | N | T | A | S | E | R | S | A | S | I | ||
| N | O | N | V | A | C | U | U | M | P | A | C | K | S | |
| E | N | D | A | N | T | I | C | E | N | L | A | I | ||
| D | Y | S | S | K | A | T | E | R | O | U | T | S |
| P | E | D | A | L | G | A | I | T | S | S | K | A | ||
| A | C | U | R | A | E | A | T | A | T | P | A | M | ||
| L | U | C | K | Y | S | T | R | I | K | E | A | R | E | |
| S | I | A | M | E | S | E | I | R | A | N | ||||
| A | U | G | T | U | E | F | A | C | E | T | S | |||
| S | T | U | P | O | R | S | P | I | N | E | T | |||
| L | E | T | O | N | D | E | R | V | I | S | H | E | S | |
| A | R | T | E | A | R | N | I | E | H | E | X | A | ||
| P | O | E | T | I | C | I | S | M | M | O | R | E | L | |
| R | A | V | I | N | E | R | E | W | O | R | K | |||
| M | I | S | L | E | D | B | A | A | D | T | S | |||
| A | N | N | E | R | E | S | I | G | N | S | ||||
| S | K | I | B | A | N | A | N | A | S | P | L | I | T | |
| H | E | P | R | I | D | G | E | I | R | A | T | E | ||
| A | D | E | O | N | S | E | T | T | Y | S | O | N |
| D | I | R | E | C | T | T | O | L | D | A | B | S | ||
| E | D | I | T | O | R | A | V | I | D | P | O | P | ||
| A | L | L | A | B | O | U | T | E | V | E | P | S | I | |
| F | E | E | B | Y | L | I | N | E | S | L | U | E | ||
| C | L | E | M | I | N | T | E | N | D | |||||
| B | A | S | H | E | S | A | R | T | O | I | S | |||
| I | N | N | E | R | A | B | O | U | T | F | A | C | E | |
| O | K | A | Y | S | T | A | M | P | L | U | L | L | ||
| L | A | K | E | S | T | A | T | E | N | I | C | O | L | |
| E | N | C | O | D | E | R | E | N | E | G | E | |||
| T | U | R | N | I | P | D | A | W | G | |||||
| O | P | I | E | P | A | N | I | C | S | O | V | A | ||
| R | E | V | M | A | D | A | M | I | M | A | D | A | M | |
| I | N | E | A | R | I | D | N | A | P | O | L | I | ||
| C | D | R | E | D | N | A | E | N | T | R | E | E |
| R | E | D | I | D | S | W | A | P | A | W | E | S | ||
| A | P | A | C | E | T | I | N | A | B | I | L | L | ||
| J | A | M | E | S | D | A | N | D | Y | E | L | L | A | |
| B | E | I | N | G | C | A | L | L | I | N | ||||
| M | A | R | R | E | D | C | H | I | I | S | T | |||
| E | I | L | E | E | N | T | H | E | L | M | A | |||
| A | T | B | A | T | E | R | I | C | E | M | M | A | ||
| T | R | E | K | S | T | A | N | K | A | F | A | R | ||
| S | E | R | E | P | U | M | A | A | S | O | N | E | ||
| T | R | E | A | D | S | A | D | U | L | T | S | |||
| S | O | D | O | R | E | O | V | E | R | D | O | |||
| C | R | E | A | S | E | C | R | E | P | E | ||||
| R | A | N | G | R | O | B | E | R | T | S | L | E | D | |
| A | T | T | A | I | D | E | A | L | U | A | N | A | ||
| P | E | E | R | B | A | R | D | Y | P | R | E | S |
1 Variety puzzle by Francis Heaney
| N | I | C | K | F | A | L | D | O | |||||||||
| D | A | N | I | E | L | B | O | O | N | E | |||||||
| N | A | U | T | I | L | U | S | S | H | E | L | L | |||||
| M | U | N | R | O | S | K | I | M | |||||||||
| K | U | D | Z | U | P | U | R | G | E | D | O | N | Y | X | |||
| A | S | I | A | R | A | G | N | A | R | O | K | K | E | M | P | ||
| P | I | S | C | E | P | H | A | L | O | P | O | D | Y | E | A | ||
| P | C | T | B | A | R | S | E | R | A | E | N | D | |||||
| A | B | C | S | P | I | R | A | L | F | E | Y | ||||||
| S | O | A | P | S | K | A | T | E | I | A | N | ||||||
| X | M | A | S | A | P | E | X | E | N | E | |||||||
| P | R | O | F | R | N | S | |||||||||||
| C | H | A | M | B | E | R | E | D | |||||||||
| O | C | T | O | P | U | S | |||||||||||
| E | V | I | A | N |