Katherine Baicker author page
3 puzzles by Katherine Baicker
with Jim Horne comments
| S | C | O | O | T | P | R | O | D | H | T | T | P | ||
| C | R | U | D | E | L | O | F | I | O | H | I | O | ||
| H | O | T | E | L | S | U | I | T | E | S | W | E | E | T |
| L | A | R | S | I | R | S | T | U | T | S | I | |||
| E | T | A | B | R | A | S | P | R | O | U | T | S | ||
| P | I | G | T | A | I | L | T | A | L | E | N | U | T | |
| A | E | O | N | O | R | A | E | S | P | Y | ||||
| A | D | H | O | M | I | N | E | M | ||||||
| N | E | R | D | A | G | E | M | I | S | S | ||||
| A | Y | E | M | R | R | I | G | H | T | R | I | T | E | |
| B | E | D | S | I | D | E | I | O | S | L | A | V | ||
| T | U | T | E | E | B | A | H | M | E | T | E | |||
| S | E | C | O | N | D | T | O | N | O | N | E | N | U | N |
| U | S | E | R | G | I | L | T | E | N | T | R | E | ||
| I | T | S | Y | E | A | T | S | T | U | B | E | D |
AD HOMINEM — that's an awesome revealer!
| A | B | S | S | O | C | I | A | L | S | B | I | B | ||
| P | O | E | O | P | E | N | N | E | T | E | C | O | ||
| N | O | N | C | H | A | L | A | N | C | E | H | A | Y | |
| E | Y | E | R | O | L | L | T | E | T | O | N | S | ||
| W | A | C | O | I | N | D | O | L | E | N | T | |||
| S | H | A | P | E | D | O | R | R | S | E | L | F | ||
| T | I | A | N | A | E | L | S | I | E | |||||
| D | I | S | C | O | M | B | O | B | U | L | A | T | E | D |
| A | C | O | R | N | R | I | S | E | S | |||||
| M | E | N | U | P | A | S | Y | E | N | T | A | S | ||
| M | I | S | N | O | M | E | R | S | H | U | E | |||
| N | A | C | H | O | S | A | C | T | F | A | S | T | ||
| A | K | A | U | N | B | E | K | N | O | W | N | S | T | |
| P | E | R | S | E | A | W | E | E | D | O | I | L | ||
| A | R | E | E | R | N | E | S | T | O | S | E | E |
| L | E | M | O | N | D | I | A | L | S | A | P | |||
| A | D | I | D | A | S | A | C | M | E | P | R | O | ||
| S | I | L | E | N | T | T | R | E | A | T | M | E | N | T |
| S | T | E | T | R | O | T | C | S | E | E | I | T | ||
| O | M | I | T | U | P | S | I | D | E | S | ||||
| E | M | O | J | I | K | E | Y | B | O | A | R | D | ||
| D | E | N | O | T | E | E | E | L | Y | A | T | O | ||
| A | R | T | Y | G | A | S | S | T | O | P | ||||
| M | E | H | G | O | O | S | I | M | H | E | R | E | ||
| E | L | E | V | A | T | O | R | M | U | S | I | C | ||
| C | A | S | I | T | A | S | M | O | A | T | ||||
| O | S | C | A | R | T | H | E | N | S | O | I | L | ||
| T | H | E | R | E | A | R | E | N | O | W | O | R | D | S |
| T | E | N | A | L | A | N | N | A | U | S | E | A | ||
| A | N | T | L | A | Y | S | S | T | O | A | T |
Crossword solvers quickly learn that paying attention to clue precision is critical to success. An answer must match the tense and the formality level of the clue. Clue abbreviations imply answer abbrevs. Etc.
But the opposite is also true. Solvers need to accept the fuzziness of clues, especially if there is colloquial support. Speed and velocity aren't the same thing, but non-physicists use them interchangeably. Ode to Joy isn't the final movement of Beethoven's Ninth, but close enough for crosswords.
The fourth movement of Beethoven's final completed symphony included (shocking, at the time) four solo singers and an entire choir. Singing words! In what was supposed to be a "pure music" form! Kids and their crazy music nowadays! The lyrics for the singers were adapted from a poem by Friedrich Schiller called, in English, "Ode to Joy."
There's a sad story about the premiere of this work. Beethoven, already deaf, wanted to conduct, so he stood on a conductor's stand and madly waved his arms while someone nearby waved a baton that the musicians actually followed. But there's a happy ending. When the piece was finished, Beethoven turned to face the audience. The crowd knew he couldn't hear, so along with the clapping and cheering, they threw their hats and handkerchiefs into the air so the maestro could see that he was appreciated and loved.