Monday, April 30, 2018

"Easy as 1, 2, 3," by Stu Ockman

Constructor's Comments

My inspiration for this grid was realizing that LOLITA, one of my favorites, begins with LOL.  Once I figured out that I could create a four-letter word by adding a vowel to LOL and the three answers would span the grid, the theme was set.  The next step was finding parallel themers.  I came up with PEPITA, ROSITA, NIKITA, and BONITA in my original grid; NIK and ROS were summarily deep-sixed, and the end result is the puzzle you see today.  As a bonus, the fewer themers allow for cleaner fill.  Hope you like it.

My other part-time job is President of the Project Management College of Scheduling.  If you'd like to learn more, check us out at www.pmcos.org.


Editor's Comments

I always love when a constructor comes up with a type of theme I've never seen before!  It's also rare that a new idea is straightforward enough to run on a Monday.  With that in mind, I asked Stu to rework his original submission using just the three theme entries we felt were strongest, instead placing an emphasis on keeping the fill smooth for beginners.  I think Stu did an excellent job, and I especially like the bonus 15-letter (!) entries IN A RELATIONSHIP and PLAY IN THREE ACTS.  Finally, did you notice that this puzzle has a top-bottom symmetric grid?  Some traditionalists might consider that cheating, but I'm personally all for experimenting with different forms of symmetry.

10 comments:

  1. Gee, do I get to be the first commenter on this blog???? What an honor. This puzzle was very cute and very well executed. Must admit the theme escaped me till the very end, which I think is a bit of an artifact of the online solving experience which really focuses you on the entry you're looking at. Or, maybe I'm just dense. Anyway, great job all around with not a single clinker, IMO.

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    1. Thanks, Mark! Glad you enjoyed the theme and the grid. And sorry that Will Nediger scooped you by six minutes, LOL!

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  2. Thanks for the new site and a fine, easy Monday. Looking forward to more. Navigating this new blog will take some practice but then I'm a digital dinosaur. The symmetry is fine. Rules can be bent as far as I'm concerned.

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    1. Thanks for stopping by, Two Ponies! Glad you enjoyed this one, and there will definitely be many more :).

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  3. Hi David and welcome! I've been a fan of your puzzles, too, and am looking forward to reading your comments (and your readers' comments, too). If you ever need any Portuguese language fact-checking, let me know. Best.
    Zippy

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    1. Thanks so much, Zippy! I'll definitely let you know :)

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  4. Great beginning and fun to start off with a "new" type of crossword.

    #CrosswordsForCanadians
    #TODOP

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