by Ross Trudeau
[.puz][PDF][Solution] Difficulty: 4/5
In recent weeks I’ve been toying with the idea of using this site to share puzzles from the wider indie crossword community, perhaps midweek. There have only been three puzzles not at least co-authored by me on this site, and I’m curious to know how Rossword Solvers would feel about doing that a bit more regularly. Drop a comment below. (You’re definitely going to see some of Cursewords artist and activist Parker Higgins‘ solo work here regardless.)
My gratitude to friends of the blog David, Rebecca, and Daad for test solving this week’s puzzle. A couple thoughts and spoilers for “The Drop Off” below.
This one went through several iterations (see inset). For me, it all hinged on whether the mechanic was interesting enough to only be repeated a couple of times (version 1, 4 EAVEs drops), or not interesting enough to sustain, say, a 21×21 grid (version 2, 7 EAVEs drops). What you solved above was version three, which felt like the right amount of theme density for a gimmick like this one. (FWIW, the 21×21 version almost entirely exhausts the possible valid E-A-V-E strings I could find.) Did I make the right call? Leave a comment below. Happy solving, friends! -R
Opening up to other indies sounds like a great idea to me – shake things up a bit!
“Shake things up” sounds like a crossword revealer… 🤔
The more puzzles the better! And I agree about not doing a larger puzzle with this theme. Good choice.
Right? Probably ends up feeling rote after a while.
Agree that 15×15 is sufficient… It did not l EAVE me wanting more… Yes please, do link (or post) other indie puzzles that you like
nyuk nyuk nyuk 🙂
More puzzles? Do you really have to ask?
Fair enough, Stacy 🙂
What Stacy said. Btw, I was very happy to see 25A, one of my three gods (along with Sondheim and Stoppard — it’s been a rough few years).
Oof. Sorry for your troubles. As a lifelong Yankees fan, I spent much of the 90s listening to my elders pine for the emergence of “Our Tom Seaver.” Not sure we ever exactly got it…
this seemed like the right amount. fun puzzle!
i particularly enjoyed the clues for 53D and 66A.
and maybe it’s time to rewatch 47D
and, i’d be happy to see puzzles by others posted here.
Appreciate you, Slug!! Nothing adds to my Netflix queue like solving crosswords…
Clr use of the names as puzzle’s centerpiece. Big grids tend to be a slog, so a 15×15 like today’s makes a delightful way of avoiding NYT Sunday while still getting a solver high. Yes to a midweek crunchy alternative since both New Yorker and NYT grids on Wednesday tend toward mediocre.
Yeah, honestly, when I realized BEAVER CLEAVER presented symmetrical eaves, I knew I had to start there and build around it… Watch this space re: midweek offerings…
Add me to the “definitely more puzzles” list.
I feel like you all have a problem xD
Great puzzle! I thought at first it had something to do with street suffixes, like “ave” getting dropped from the word, but then about halfway through I noticed all the “eaves” in the down words and figured it out from there. Very satisfying.
This was fun. Thanks! And great job with your carnival costumes!
Thanks, Amy! The embarrassing truth is that we arrived to carnival in 2022 not knowing there was a theme… had to make up for it in ‘23!
Yes love the midweek indie crossword guest idea!
Looks like the “ayes” have it…
I tend to experience brain fatigue solving 21×21 grids (last week’s ‘Common Ground’ being an exception), so I think you nailed it with today’s 15×15 version. You included some hEAVy hitters in today’s line-up! Wish we could see Tom Seaver and Bryce Harper in a matchup. Guessing that Harper would be rung up after 3 pitches without moving the bat from his shoulder. But maybe not – Bryce is capable of taking anyone deep…. Sorry, I digress.
And yes – bring on the indies!
FIFA has made a couple of really good commercials where computer generated Maradonas and Ronaldhinos go head-to-head with Mbappe and Marta etc. Would be pretty cool to see MLB greats get that treatment…
Heck yes, Ross, plz expand your website to a “multi-day per week” where we can get more indie puzzles online. (But they must meet your high-quality levels, of course!)
Will have to think about what this means, from a contributing vs. submitting and publishing vs. editing perspective. Stay tuned.
Agree. Go ahead and collaborate with indies.
Roger that, Ed. Appreciate you.
I loved the smaller puzzle. It was a great solve. Just the perfect size for me. It was one of the more clever puzzles I have solved lately. And yes the more puzzles the better. I do hope you can work out all the logistics.
Thanks for saying so, Linda. I appreciate you dropping a line!
This puzzle (unlike last week’s) was a Wi for me….and though I ‘got’ the EAVE drop, I did not fully appreciate it until I hit the Reveal. This is a thing of beauty! (I spent some time tryiing to think of ‘The Beav’s’ given name…
And since we’re all pretty outdone with the NYT right now, there’s an opening for some other sorts of puzzles (hint, hint.)
I don’t get 1A. I didn’t know the 1D character and the phrase “Ten/ten, no notes” means nothing to me, though it’s an assessment of some kind. (I loathe Roald Dahl’s stuff, along with RLStine’s dreck…so never watched the movie.)
P.S. wanted BEREFT even though BEREAVED is a perfectly good word..
You’re very kind, Elaine! Yeah, 1A is for the young and very online. “10 out of 10, no notes” is a ubiquitous Twitter/TikTok phrase that just means, “Perfect execution.” No to go look up whether “bereft” and “bereaved” share an etymological root…
Thanks. This puzzle was 10/10 no notes. (Just trying to use what I learned today.) I can’t see a downside in you offering more puzzles.
Applying knowledge! The best way to make it sticky. I appreciate you, Mark!