Now with more "not buried in the feed"!
I feel like this one is just a tad easier but I had fun making it nonetheless! Comment on Crosshare if you want to guess the seed entry, and feel free to harangue me either in the ScootsBaboo stream or with my crewmates over at UniG33k (they do more video games and sewing than I do). More talk after the puzzle. After having solved a number of puzzles where I felt the cluing was unfair in my opinion only because the phrasing wasn't in my wheelhouse, I share in the frustration of having to look up references that may be unfamiliar. Admittedly, I'm still working on my cluing, but until then I may as well half-jokingly call this series "Bing Is Your Buddy!" or something to warn folks that I have to deal with bad fill at times. Also working on that, but practice makes perfect. If you see this on Saturday or Sunday, have yourself a good remainder of the weekend and shavua tov! If you see this on Monday, shavua tov anyway! And do remember - when nothing seems to go right, go left.
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I just sent out my "Semi Regular Minis" post but, due to its being drafted on April 7, it's been timestamped that day and buried in my feed.
Looks like I have to draft and post the day of, or closer to it. I love that, somehow, Will Shortz - you know, the editor of the New York Times crossword and the lead editor for the Games section? - he reads all the crossword blogs "except one" (it's understood to be Michael Sharp's crossword blog, written under the persona of Rex Parker). I'm about to make my blog probably the second.
Will, saying that your publication has many published puzzles with 30% of the submissions being by women or nonbinary individuals is an admission that 70% of those submissions are by men. In my 3 whole years of solving grids published in the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times, the puzzles put out by (often) white men tended to be the least fun. Now, don't get me wrong. I am a speed solver. I type fast. I prefer having my average solve time get faster but I absolutely despise having overly easy clues and needlessly difficult ones - yes, I am throwing barbs at my own grids. However, when I'm going through puzzle after puzzle through the week with what is supposed to be a balanced increase in difficulty and I'm spotting areas that have mismatched difficulty or, heaven forbid, aren't necessarily innovative for crosswordese, I'm going to say that such and such was a bad clue or not fun. And, from what I've read from other constructors, the editor tends to have the final word on the clues and who gets published when. But let's get back to that 30% number. To my understanding, other publications have a more balanced approach (or are trying to). With Erik Agard over at USA TODAY, I've seen more feminine names than masculine - even if I'm seeing Brooke Husic show up at least twice a month, at least her puzzles are fun. But there was a needed discussion about the crossword constructor community makeup and who was getting published more often - and this discussion got heated, with some folks taking offense at people merely pointing out that the majority of puzzles published are by white, often cisgender and heterosexual, men. In February 2021, the first puzzles for the month were from Black constructors, and I found my own word list growing as I learned more about some parts of the fill. March 2021 had a string puzzles constructed by women. Again, I found my word list growing and having more fun. While 30% is a good start, it's not really something to gloat about. You, Will, have helped edit 10,000 puzzles, but it's only relatively recently that women, BIPOC, and non-cishet-normative constructors have gotten more exposure. The famous Schrodinger puzzle with the GENDERFLUID revealer may well have been due to our society's willingness to listen to other voices and expand our horizons, but there have been plenty of opportunities before 2016 to stir the pot even a little. The only reason why we're seeing more recent and relevant cultural references is due to constructors, not often the editors, daring to take a bold leap. While there are recent reports of constructors protesting a decision and having to fight to get a certain answer clued a certain way, often it is the editor who has the final say in who or what gets published. So the editor also has to be willing to make that bold step and bend the conventions, even if it risks losing subscribers who want it the old way. And, Mr. Shortz, if I have the pleasure of being mentioned by you in your own discussions and talking about people rocking your precious boat, my pronouns are she/her and they/them.
The first grid I was proud to have up for others to solve and my first step into the mad world of constructing puzzles. As usual, spoiler comments are after the puzzle.
The seed entry for this puzzle was, in fact, the Et Tu, Etui styled clue for 6D (iirc, they only did the bird head, which I believe was :^====). After having solved more of their grids and enjoyed their wildness, I can only conclude that the project belongs to a master constructor who was looking for reasons to annihilate the conventions of crossword cluing. If you've got the patience for wild-ass puzzles, Et Tu will put up a fun challenge.
Today begins my starting to publish new puzzles to this site. Anything labeled "featured" is a puzzle published prior to April 1, 2021.
I've been told that I have made my grids a tad difficult thanks to the cluing, and at the same time they're getting some kudos from other constructors. I'll try to make this a weekly thing but don't hold me to it just yet. I've learned well after posting this that I need to put puzzles in the Drafts folder when I'm setting up a puzzle and realize later that I made a typo in the clues. You win some, you lose a few hundred. |
AuthorAriel Haymarket (they/them, she/her, it/its, e/em/eir) is an annoying anti-authoritarian leftist residing on stolen Kiikaapoi land. New grids every first and third Friday and every second and fourth Tuesday. Archives
May 2024
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