Still straining from the rejection of my crossword tour de force entitled "Carpe B.M.," I devoted myself in the last year to only writing puzzles about stuff stuck inside other things. I was finally forced to abandon the construction of a grid resembling a ship lodged in the Suez Canal when the Ever Given was released, and the news cycle moved on.
Resorting to visual puns, the last harbor of a desperate cruciverbalist's mind, I threw together the puzzle you find before you. Please don't blame me that it has nothing to do with Christmas. I had a puzzle about people in Santa suits stuck in chimneys, but the editors thought it could frighten too many children. As if children are all doing the New York Times crossword.
In any case, do enjoy a sandwich with this stodgy offering on National Sangria Day.
Jeff Chen notes:Literalisms today, using phrases following the X BETWEEN THE YS pattern. I enjoyed that Pete made his Y words singular: CRACKFALLSCRACK is a fun way to turn FALLS BETWEEN THE CRACKS into a wacky wordy.
Crosswords have played upon literalisms for decades, so it's important to introduce at least a little something fresh. For instance, a quick search for NEEDLE phrases turned up one puzzle from long ago — and then another one using the same interpretation. Nice that Pete's execution felt a touch different.
I also enjoyed the variety in word lengths. I was lulled into a pattern with FALLS between the CRACKs and SLIPS between the SHEETs, but then got hit right between the eyes with EYE HITS RIGHT EYE.
Tuesdays are easier to construct than Mondays since solvers who venture out of the Monday wading pool at least know how to deal with a little water splashed in their face. Haven't heard of ELAL? Maybe you can figure it out from the "Sabbath" reference in the clue. If not, the crosses are mostly straightforward (is there anything more likely than L for OLAV?).
Even with four grid spanners, some long Down bonuses are almost always possible. SCHEMERS and PERISHED aren't wow-worthy, but GO KARTS, AIR HORN, and OH MY GOD, sure inject pizzazz. Excellent use of those mid-length slots.
It isn't easy to dip into the deep well of literalisms, so I appreciated that Pete's interpretation offered a bit of freshness. If nothing else, at least it won't cause a STATEWARSTATE.
* This article was originally published here
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