by Ross Trudeau
[.puz][PDF][Solution] Difficulty: 4/5
Greetings from the City of Brotherly Love! Jessie was invited to participate in a smart people conference here in town, and I tagged along because I had had had to see the Betsy Ross house. Verdict: quaint AF, highly recommend. Also very high on the Fishtown neighborhood.
A couple of recent Rosswords in the wild: this weekend’s L.A. Times Healthy Living insert puzzle, and tomorrow’s (4/24) Universal grid, a collaboration with David Ding.
Thanks to Radhika, Dan and partner, and Maren for test solving “Drop-Down Menu” and providing some invaluable feedback. A couple thoughts and spoilers on the grid below.
I love the phrase “dangling modifier” so much that I got overexcited and built this into a complicated interlocking 21x arrangement before the better angels of my nature prevailed. It’s a 15x idea. I suppose if you introduced some variety by riffing more widely on the meaning of “modifier” (“change,” “shift,” etc.) then *maybe*. But of course, it’s the E-D-I-T string that gives you just enough non-dupe options to working with; there ended up being 13 or so viable options I could find. DRAINAGE DITCH was the last domino to fall…
Anyway, feel free to disagree in the comments. Original 21x grid below. Happy solving, friends! -R
