Sean Dobbin author page

This puzzle is one of my first constructions and the second that Will accepted. It's the last of what I would call my "Delaware Puzzles" (I moved to Vermont from Delaware in 2012). I only vaguely remember it, since it was constructed and revised almost two years ago. Like my first puzzle, it was painstakingly put together using an old dictionary over lunch breaks at work, without the benefit of Google or other basic Internet conveniences. I did have construction software at this point, but I was still quite a novice.

This one went through a major revision at Will's request, and it's been edited a bit more since then. Many of the answers in the N/NW have been changed, the biggest being LEAD SHOT where I had BIRD SHOT, and SPREE where I had FED EX. The east is also totally different (my AGLETS/BEARER/ERRORS became IGNITE/MEANER/PRIORS). I always find these editing changes fascinating.

I'm glad to have this one published, but I'm also glad that it's behind me now, as I can clearly see its weaknesses! I think I've become a better constructor in the last couple of years and I'm looking forward to turning out much better puzzles in the future. Thanks for solving!

This puzzle was born from 20-Across. I noticed the alternate parsing of GIANTSQUID somewhere in my normal (non-crossword) life, and set out to make a puzzle based around it. I originally wanted to include one team from each of the four major sports, but could not for the life of me find a decent two-word term that included an NHL team's mascot with the appropriate number of letters. STARSTRUCK was close, but that's one word; DEVILSTICK was possible, but probably not well-known enough in this context. I eventually gave up that idea and concentrated on baseball teams. I was very worried that TIGERSTRIPE would be a puzzle killer, because the term seemed a little forced and not quite in the language enough, but everything worked out.

Will did ask for a revision to remove two entries: CELIAC at 22-Down and TAE GU at 48-Across. Getting rid of CELIAC was simple, but removing TAE GU meant a complete rework of the southwest corner. When I was finished, I had these entries:

DADD, ALIEN, FLAME, DAFT, DEMEAN, and NERF

…which were later edited to become:

DADA, OLINS, SLADE, DOST, ANDEAN, and SERF.

Pretty interesting stuff, if you ask me. I worked hard on the cluing for this puzzle, and am proud that a slight majority are mine (or very close to mine). However, I am not responsible for 5-Across, which is brutally brilliant.

This is an example of old-school construction. Not because I'm some sort of crossword purist or anything — I simply had no idea what I was doing, or any clue that software existed that could potentially make this puzzle a whole lot better.

The puzzle was primarily made with paper and pencil, various Excel spreadsheets, a dictionary, and an outdated encyclopedia, mostly during my lunch breaks. It took forever, and the end result was kind of bland in retrospect, but I'm still pretty proud of it. In any case, Will saw something in it, accepted it (after rejecting seven or eight other submissions), and the rest is history. I've since purchased some software, gotten some great advice, done a lot of studying, and upped my game.

The original submission had LET'S ROLL at 50-Across, which was a problem because of the ROLL in 4-Down. This resulted in an editorial rewrite of much of the lower half. Most of the clues are not mine, but c'est la vie. I am responsible for the clues for 1-Across and 9-Down, which are my personal favorites.