FRIDAY PUZZLE -- There is a lot to like about Colin Adams's seventh puzzle in The New York Times, but today I'd like to talk briefly about Z-shaped grids, and why I like that design so much. (Hint: It has nothing to do with Zorro, or my personal aspirations to wield a pen as artfully as he wielded his sword.)
If you squint a bit when looking at Mr. Adams's puzzle, you can see the white squares forming a zigzag pattern from the northwest to the southeast. That's your Z. Depending on how the constructor decides to place the black squares near the perimeter of the puzzle, solvers may see grid-spanning stacks at the top and the bottom, as well as some long Down entries. Those wide-open spaces allow for the truly interesting, lively fill we like to see in themeless puzzles.
At the same time, solvers may feel overwhelmed by all of the long answers and white space, so the design offers a stair-step smattering of shorter answers tumbling diagonally down the grid. I use those to branch out to other parts of the puzzle which, in turn, helps me with the longer fill.
Your thoughts? Do you look at grid design while you solve?
Tricky Clues
- 19A. This one made me laugh out loud. The answer to the clue [Cry after a reappearing act] is PEEKABOO.
- 26A. [Someone who spends a lot of time baking?] could be a pastry chef, but you can also bake in the sun. The baker in this puzzle is a BEACH BUM.
- 34A. The "we" in [We're booked!] refers to ROOMS in hotels and other lodgings.
- 36A. [12 pgs., maybe] is an abbreviation clue, so the answer must also be an abbreviation. The 12 pages on a calendar are MOS., which is short for "months."
- 39A. [Colonial homes?] are very nice, if we are talking about homes for humans. In this puzzle, however, these are colonies of ants living in ANT FARMS.
- 49A. A well-placed word that has multiple meanings can really make it tough for solvers to guess the answer (this is my idea of fun; your mileage may vary). The trick to misdirection clues is to always think of what else a key word might mean.
- The word "wasted" in [Where all of your knowledge might be wasted?] does not refer to something used carelessly, but to BAR TRIVIA players who may be sharing their knowledge while inebriated.
- 3D. My first thought when I read the clue [Expert on inheritance] was that it hinted at a tax lawyer, but this inheritance is genetic. An expert in that area is a GENETICIST.
- 14D. The residents in [Locales for some residents, in brief] are doctors, whom you may find in E.R.S.
- 27D. An [A+ giver?] is a teacher, but not in this puzzle. Someone who gives their A-positive blood is a BLOOD DONOR.
- 35D. [Something you might have while trying to move quickly] is a FIRE SALE, in which a merchant tries to move inventory out the door as fast as possible.
- 38D. The word "overhead" in [Part of a film studio's overhead?] is not about the studio's recurring costs. The answer is a BOOM MIC, which is positioned over the heads of actors.
- 47D. Were you ticked off by this clue? [One might be ticked off] has nothing to do with anger management. The answer is a LIST, where one can tick off items that have been completed.
Constructor Notes
Here's a fun fact about this puzzle: My seed answer didn't end up making the final grid. I started off with YINZER (where SEIZED is now) but needed to re-grid the whole top half of the crossword. It was a bit nerve-racking since I really liked what I had in the bottom half.
My clues for BLOOD DONOR, BAR TRIVIA (shout-out to the editing team for cleaning this one up; my original clue was much clunkier), and especially ANT FARMS were some of my personal favorites. I also appreciate the fact that my "Emperor's New Groove" reference remained; my sister and I could not stop watching that movie. It got to the point where my mom "accidentally" sent the DVD back to Netflix instead of a different one that we had rented out.
As always, thanks for solving!