Constructor's Comments
David mentioned on the blog recently that he has trouble identifying where his crossword theme ideas come from—I have the same problem. I'm going to hazard a guess and say this one was inspired by a great
article about a lesser-known 33-Down.
Editor's Comments
I took an intro stats course last quarter, so this puzzle's theme made me smile. Erik also did a great job of spicing up the fill. My favorite theme entry is the lively MEDIANOCHE, which was new to me but is now something I really want in my life! In the nonthematic fill, I especially like AMSTERDAM (as opposed to OSLO, the European capital that you usually see because of its friendly letter pattern), COLLARDS, MERMAID, TOTE BAG, TRAP MUSIC, and FRY BREAD. Also, almost all of the clues are Erik's. Despite being the fastest solver in the world, Erik has an excellent sense of how to make the cluing just right for the rest of us mortals!
Nice puzzle.
ReplyDeleteI am curious what the rationale was for making the theme answers go down?
I can't speak for Erik, but the way I saw it is that the theme entries look sort of like stathead people that are standing up. Glad you enjoyed the puzzle, and thanks for stopping by!
DeleteI can't speak for Erik either, but making the theme entries vertical allowed for his natural title, "High Numbers".
ReplyDeleteHow would you have titled the puzzle had they been horizontal?
Good point—not sure how I would have titled it had the entries been horizontal.
Delete