Well, it started innocently enough. This, from two days ago:
Rejoice, dear solver! For while your Amazon sundries languish in shipping containers somewhere in the Red Sea, you’ve got a puzzle double feature. And a responsibility! For while Parker and I don’t need a “winner” to be crowned, we’re inveterate crossword wonks who sincerely want to hear about your solving experiences on our dueling canal grids.
So: solve! And then hit us up in the comments with your impressions. And in lieu of the “constructor notes” that I traditionally publish below the grid, join us on Monday at 10p eastern on Twitch to yammer with us live about a pair of puzzles that we’re both pretty ding dang proud of!
Important N.B.’s.: 1. You’ll get best results for Parker’s puzzle, “Evergreen Content,” by printing the PDF and solving by hand (if you can). 2. My puzzle, “Canal Zone,” is a wide 21×21, so the selected clue is going to populate *above and below* the grid rather than *beside* it. (So, maybe solve both by hand! … or by downloading the .puz and solving in AcrossLite).
Puzzle #1: Canal Zone
by Ross Trudeau
Puzzle #2: Evergreen Content
[.puz][Solution][PDF] <—- print and solve the PDF for best results!
Hey, Ross, I really liked the puzzle – but I have to take issue with 54d. Assuming spoilers are OK here….
…..it was a deli. That is not the same thing.
I’m loving this discourse. It’s funny, as a New Yorker, I always just categorized these together, as an informally eatery. But you’re right! I may modify the clue, even though pot-stirring like this does bring me joy…
If you were Jewish, you would feel differently 🙂
Can’t argue with that 🙂
54 Down is simply wrong. There is a difference–I thought you were a New Yorker!
See my reply above 🙂
This was fun! Looking forward to more comments saying I “won.” (JK! Ross’s puzzle is super great, it’s an honor just to be nominated, etc.)
If you just can’t get enough canal puzzle content, Paolo’s Block Letters puzzle is very fun! https://twitter.com/gridsthesedays/status/1374858072531771393
My puzzle owes a debt of inspiration to Paolo and Malaika’s recent “sad honk *remix*” on Paolo’s site.
Okay, so I did both puzzles (22:39 for Ross’s, 26:37 for Parker’s) with no errors, though I had to guess at the “N” of “EVER GIVEN”, as I hadn’t noticed the name of the ship in the news reports. I liked and I am enormously impressed by both puzzles. If I absolutely had to vote for one over the other, I’d probably give the win to Parker, solely on the grounds that it more nearly captures the essence of the event in progress, but I’d rather call it a tie, with kudos for all!
It’s a tie!!! Best possible result. And, yeah, indie crosswords are just a minefield of unchecked squares these days 🙂
Okay, another quibble, cuz that’s what we do. Ross’s 81A clue suggests the Irish city (and brilliant TV series), but the answer reads more Scottish to me. Even so, thanks, you two, for the bafflement.
I think that’s fair! I asked a trusted source, and apparently the answer is “sure, something the Irish might say,” but “definitely more common in Scotland.”
Lots and lots of fun! Thanks to Ross and Parker for great entertainment on a lazy Sunday. Loved your clues, as always, Ross, and really enjoyed finding 39A and 14D in one amazing puzzle. Somehow I had never heard of 20A, and was thinking of Nessie, not Bessie. Learned something new!
Parker, you also made my day with 15A crossing 3D. I was sure the answer to 3D had something to do with “three pickups” which is another way to have a Stratocaster-induced face-melty experience. I eventually caught on to the blockage at the bottom of the puzzle.
Hats off to both of you!
Glad you enjoyed, Jean! In truth, the Bessie moniker was only barely on my radar… though I guess that part isn’t crucial to sussing out the answer.
Ross – Regarding 109A. I hope your crossword mask stretches across your face comfortably and does not slip down. Enjoyed the puzzles!
Not only does it maintain its position, but I dare say it’s quite becoming on me. Thanks for solving, Dominick!
Both puzzles were enjoyable! Thank you for another theme “ripped from the headlines”. I figured out Ross’ arrangement faster than Parker’s, but both were challenging.
Thanks for solving, Dana! Maybe this rapid-response crossword genre has a future on this site…
Puzzle 2, 39D. Nala? Ala, sure. Can’t find a reference for nala, is that a thing?
Ah! You’ve bumped up against the crux of Parker’s puzzle… remember that the bow of the EVER GIVEN ended up where it shouldn’t have…
The stern did, too, didn’t it?
(Which is my way of saying that I didn’t get it, or the bluing of the N square, either.)