This is a symbiotic thing

Jun 4 2024 - reviews

Oh no, it's like a continuation of yesterday's grid. More COYOTEDOGGIRL-style fill, I suppose. These last two crosswords feel like arriving at a party where I don't know anyone and the group has already subdivided into cliques. I'm just looking for an opening in conversation before I give up and head to the bathroom to question my life choices. Middle school all over again.

I enjoyed the long downs in this grid, even if two of them stumped me due to a lack of remembrance for "The Princess Bride". It's satisfying that there are seven full-length downs that cross the longest word in the grid.

"Most art museum works" filled as ORIGINALS is absolutely devilish. Not only does PAINTINGS fit perfectly, it has an overlapping vowel at the only cross I could manage with my first pass (DIPS). By the time I got to HOTLAVA I was second guessing my childhood. Maybe folks outside of California call it something else? The fill has to be paintings, right?

I have a little bit of an axe to grind with the clue for SAYNOMORE. "I've heard enough!" sounds like it comes from an argument, not casual conversation. SAYNOMORE, on the other hand, is just a calm response to "I need a thing done." The exclamation point is unintentionally misleading, I've never heard someone shout SAYNOMORE.

Finally, ZIPDRIVES. Dated reference, yo. Readers know there's zero chance I can fill the Beyoncé song that is supposed to give me the leading Z, and that leading Z feels like its mandatory for landing the fill.^[1] Good luck guessing ZIPDRIVES from "Outdated storage devices for floppy-like disks". You know it's bad when I'm thirty and Puzzmo is pushing references from before my time.

In defense of trivia in crosswords

Jun 3 2024 - posts

Trivia has long been a bugbear of mine. A grid full of missed references is like a desert full of empty oases. You scour about desperately from pool to pool hoping you'll find a sip of water but instead you're hit with a clue like "The only bird with calf muscles."

Recently I've been thinking more about the subject of trivia in crossword puzzles. Why does so much of it exist in good crosswords, and why does it bother me so much?^[1] What I've come away with is a newfound respect for trivia and its rightful place in the crossword grid. It doesn't serve to belabor a solve with esoteric references, but to emphasize the difficulty of the grid and the puzzle mechanisms at the crosses.

Ideally the words in a crossword grid are recognizable, guessable, or interesting to a solver. That’s the baseline. But if the every word in the grid falls into one of these three categories, what's left for a constructor trying to introduce difficulty? That is mostly the responsibility of the clues, which may range from rote, “Opposite of NNE” (SSW), to esoteric “The only bird with calf muscles” (EMU). Clues must define their respective words and they're given a huge amount of leeway to do so, be it through trivia or other means.

The problem is that trivia exists on a binary spectrum: you either know it or you don’t. That’s why it’s so grating to see a piece of esoteric trivia blocking a solve. How are you expected to know the answer?

The answer is you're not. At least, not directly. Crosswords employ obscure trivia as a means of instilling difficulty. The constructor knows (probably) that the general public does not have some innate knowledge of bird calves, but trusts that their grid is tight enough for solvers to piece it together from contextual clues.

The best you can do with trivia clues is to appreciate the small details that serve as the real hints. "Ethiopian gem" (OPAL) makes it apparent that you're searching for a kind of fancy rock; "The only bird with calf muscles" implies that you're looking for a pretty big bird (although you'd be forgiven for not knowing what an EMU is in any context).

On top of hinting at the parameters for the answer, trivia serves up some post-solve flavor. You found the solution, nice work. Here's a little factoid for your future self. Puzzles would be dry if these types of details were totally omitted.

Maybe I'll lighten up the next time I'm stumped in a grid full of Taylor Swift references, thinking of the greater puzzle elements at play in the broad game of crossword calculus. Or maybe the constructors could just choose some better trivia.

And now for the mane event...

Jun 3 2024 - reviews

I think the Puzzmo editors needed to pull in the reins a bit^[1] on this puzzle, things got out of control. The clues in this grid venture too far in the direction of horsegirl esoterica.

My main gripe with this grid is that meta crossword knowledge is more useful that the actual clues. For instance, "Ethiopian gem". Does Ethiopia only have one type of gem? I have no idea. But hey, it's a crossword and I know that 90% of them time OPAL is the right answer. Ship it. So on and so forth with BOB, ABS, OREOS, you get the idea.^[2]

As for some of the less savory aspects of this grid (looking at you, AFTRA), my hint button was going strong.

I'm conflicted on Puzzmo hints. On one hand, I'm happy that I can extend the puzzle past unknown trivia without giving the answer away. That's a cool concept. On the other, anytime Puzzmo gives me an acronym I wish they just filled in the answer for me. I don't take any joy in sitting on a clue that I'm already stumped on and playing rearrange-the-letters until I stumble into the right word (BREYER).^[3]

Creating a good hint that isn't just a side-definition of the existing clue must be difficult work. Especially so for stuff like BREYER that is just a proper noun. Although, maybe that's a bad example because I would've hinted it as "Shares the same name as an ice cream brand, sans s." Perhaps equally problematic if the solver isn't familiar with the secondary noun usage, though I'd argue it's much more recognizable.

I think the hint for REBELS is an example of hints done right. Originally clued as "People who buck conventions", the hint is "Fights back against authority". Although these are reframings of the same definition, the hint shows that the word in question can both be a noun (people) and a verb (fights). That's good intel.

Anyway, docking points for something is always going to feel a little bad. Maybe I just care too much about my time now that I've started this blog, but I struggle to use hints even when I'd otherwise sit around staring at blank squares for more than thirty seconds.

That's enough musing for one morning.

Rules are made to be broken

Jun 2 2024 - reviews

It felt bad using hints on today's puzzle because I was just barely missing a few letters. There were too many references that went over my head crossed with words outside of my personal lexicon. Although, I'm not sure it's my fault with fill like COPAGANDA, SNOCAP, and POLYCULE.

SNOCAP might be the deepest candy cut I've ever seen in a crossword. I'm not convinced this candy has been referred to as anything other than "those white-sprinkly things", and I have never seen them outside of an unlabeled bin at a frozen yogurt place.

I tried to fit polygamy where POLYCULE was expected, an honest mistake for someone who has to go to Wikipedia to learn the difference between polygamy and polyamory. I guess POLYCULE is the noun where polyamory, but not polygamy, is practiced. Or something.

Outside of the fill I didn't recognize and a few references that might make sense if I had a Twitter account (looking at you, COPAGANDA), I thought the puzzle part of this puzzle was OK. If I didn't get stuck on a few letters I would probably have had a nicer solving curve.

The highlight of this grid was the clue to EEL that had me humming Dean Martin. The article in reference is provided here for your amusement (thank you Internet Archive).

Boy Meets Boy

Jun 1 2024 - reviews, partner-solve

It's the first day of a new month and I've got a partner solve to match a partner construction. Unfortunately, today's puzzle doesn't inspire much in the way of commentary. It's a fairly boring themeless.

But hey, there is one thing I can thank this grid for. ERA clued as "'Reputation' or 'Red,' e.g., for Taylor Swift" finally allows me to reset the days-since Taylor Swift counter. Who would've thought we'd make 27 days?^[1]

Considering this puzzle is a themeless, the fill is very mid with a surprising amount of crosswordese. AESOP, ATARI, ERR, and ERIE are all in the not-great category; they're made even worse by quite a few otherwise boring fills: ERODE, AROMA, HONOR, SESH. I could go on here but the outlook would be rather BLEAK.

The cluing is absolutely lacking in the wordplay category. We're given one question mark clue and it's a crossword cliché: "Fabled author?" (AESOP). The remaining clues all fall into the trivia/definition/reference category. That said, Elizabeth was a fan of "Dog breed whose ears seem to big for its head" (CORGI), it engenders happy puppy images.

"[...] pronoun pair in some Snapchat profiles" has me worried that the younger generation still uses Snapchat. Better than TikTok, I guess?

Insert Cartridge

May 31 2024 - reviews

Puzzmo launched a new push-your-luck poker game today, a sort of constraint optimization puzzle where you pack multiple poker hands into a grid. I wonder whether the design of this game was influenced by the recent indie success Balatro, the pioneer of point-collecting-video-poker-type games^[1].

Anyway, this is a crossword blog.

Today's puzzle is an excellent debut. A little hard, but still excellent. The solve was satisfying thanks to a good balance of tough clues and gimmes. Several times I thought I was stuck, only to stumble on an easier clue that unlocked my progress.

I was disappointed by the theme, but not because of its execution. Rather, when I read "Insert Cartridge" I was sure that this grid was going to be about video games. Nope, just printers.

A few clues had me chuckling because of their obstinance towards the vague. Describing a BLANKET as a "rest-enhancing object" has got to be the understatement of the century. Likewise, calling 3D glasses "Anaglyph glasses" is borderline psychopathic.

One of the clues in this grid requires solvers to play 4D chess. And I mean that literally^[2]. Let me quote Wikipedia, emphasis mine:

Comparatively, four-dimensional space has an extra coordinate axis, orthogonal to the other three, which is usually labeled w. To describe the two additional cardinal directions, Charles Howard Hinton coined the terms ANA and kata, from the Greek words meaning "up toward" and "down from", respectively.

That's probably one of the most interesting and most esoteric math clues that I've seen in a crossword. Good on you.

Lastly, shoutout to "Genly Ai, with respect to the planet of Gethen" (ALIEN). If you haven't read The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin, get on that.

Numbers Game

May 30 2024 - reviews

Look, when I said I was contemplating adding "time since Beyoncé" to my "time since Taylor Swift" counter yesterday, I didn't think I'd have to reset the counter as soon as the next day. I'm starting to think it's a bad idea to include both, the counter would never exceed a couple of days.

This puzzle has some cute clues. "One might be a strong snuggler whose bedfellow's breath smells of Fancy Feast" is funny enough that I'll forgive the shade. "Shape of a resting feline, often" as LOAF is also pretty great. Maybe I just like all of the cat clues? CATPERSON, indeed.

I really dig this crossword's shape. Something about it resembles a sprite from an 8-bit video game, or maybe Block Dude on the TI-84^[1]. Puzzmo has done a good job shipping interesting grids these past couple of weeks, particularly the asymmetrical ones on Saturday and Sunday.

As for what I don't like about this grid: the music references. Surprise, surprise. I just don't like fill-in-the-blank lyrics as clues. I get that with fill like THEIR and FOR a constructor can pick anything as the clue. But really, the constructor could pick anything that's not an Avril Lavigne song^[2]. How about that?

Twice-Baked Bread

May 29 2024 - reviews

A lovely, bite-sized grid. The theme is an apt pair with SWEETROLL and SOURDOUGH, the two sweet/sour halves of "Twice-Baked Bread." I assume that the twice-baked portion of the title also refers to the joint constructors, since none of SOURDOUGH, Bear claw, or Chelsea bun are twice-baked.

Grids that are this easy are less puzzling and more therapeutic. Kick your feet up and enjoy the ride. I especially enjoyed "Part of the mouth where peanut butter gets stuck" (ROOF). It sets a homely mood for the rest of the solve.

I'm a little disappointed at the lack of a Skyrim reference for SWEETROLL, shoutout to my first post "khajiit has wares, if you have coin." Speaking of shoutouts, I have to dig the inclusion of SKA in the lower-left corner. Did you know ska predates reggae^[1]?

As a fledgling constructor, I find it interesting how easy it is to land on an X-shaped grid when building a Midi. The X shape comes from a desire to split the grid into four quadrants, separating the themers while keeping the rest of the fill attainable. Mad respect to constructors who can stack up multiple grid-length words, like "Are you picking up what I'm putting down?"

One quick meta note: when I started this blog I included a "days since last Taylor Swift reference" counter on the homepage because of how often Swift references made their way into Puzzmo crosswords. Now that it's been over three weeks since the last reference (which has got to be some kind of record) I'm starting to think I need to extend the definition to include Beyoncé, whom I swear we've seen pop up at least six times in the last two weeks^[2] (this grid included).

Just Do It!

May 28 2024 - reviews

This last week of puzzles has been a struggle for me, with three out of the seven requiring hints. Today in particular was an absolute hint-fest. I chalk it up to some missing trivia and a completely misaligned plonk compass^[1].

Just about everything that I could've plonked I plonked incorrectly. I filled SOAK instead of BASK, WRONG instead of AMISS, EDITORS instead of TESTERS, and POUR instead of BREW. Why did I even bother trusting my gut in this grid? Every plonk came back to bite me, hard.

As for the fill, BAHAI and PEKOE feel like particularly deep cuts. PETE and BROOKE are a total toss-up, just wait for the crosses to fill and guess a name. The usual fare of foreign-language clues were also unwelcome, with AMIE, SER, and DOLCE.

Going back to PETE, what the heck is this referencing?^[2] "People seem very concerned for this guy's sake", is this a Kanye West thing? My Google searches are bringing up publications that I would rather not grant pageviews to. Actually, maybe I'm better off not knowing.

As for the theme, there isn't one. At least, not in terms of wordplay. It's just two words having to do with trying something new, with TRYEVERYTHING and BEGINNERSLUCK. Cute, but boring.

"Unlikely to stand the test of time" as TRENDY has my mind going. The clue feels like a philosophical question, are trendiness and historical longevity two related concepts? As a counterpoint, often things that have stood the test of time are TRENDY, like Stoicism and bell bottom jeans. On second thought, maybe not that last one.

As a side note, I feel like the whole META/CLUE pairing is a bit played out at this point, though I can't really critique an Open Submission crossword for the oversight.

Puzzmo games, ranked

May 27 2024 - posts

Puzzmo has a whole bunch of games. Which ones are worth playing?

All of them, of course, but I have favorites. Here's my tier list of games, with a few extra Zach Gage games thrown in for good measure.

S-tier

Cross|word: look, this is a crossword blog. I'm not sure what else you could've expected here.

A-tier

Flipart: admittedly, this game doesn't have a whole lot of depth (pun intended). But as a palate cleanser between games or as a quick diversion while waiting in line, Flipart is unrivaled.

Knotwords^[1] and Good Sudoku^[2]: see the footnotes below, but these games together get more playtime than any other Puzzmo game, save for the Crossword.

B-tier

Typeshift: this game rules for its tactile feel alone. I'm all about scrolling those columns up and down, even though I am not the biggest fan of the "make a word from scrambled letters" style of puzzle.

Wordbind: very similar to Typeshift, but without the scrolling goodness. I think the best way to describe it is as a horizontal word search.

Pile-up Poker: the puzzle in Pile-up Poker is a fun one and offers some randomness that isn't present in other Puzzmo games. But five sets of four deals is just too much poker. This is one of the few times that I think a Puzzmo game overstays its welcome.

C-tier

Cube Clear: I'm a little bit of a SpellTower hater and Cube Clear is by all looks just a smaller version of SpellTower. However, the smaller size and rule changes actually help solve my analysis paralysis with SpellTower. I think they're great changes, although I don't play it often.

Really Bad Chess: when I was playing more chess in general, I was playing more RBC. It's not a problem with the game, just my attention span! RBC is a simple chess variant, but it's effective.

D-tier

SpellTower: my biggest gripe with SpellTower is the analysis paralysis of looking at the huge grid and deciding on a path towards the solution. The game is kinda built against quick experimentation, as evidenced by the high score walk-through where a high-skill player copies the grid into Photoshop to map out a complete solution before entering it into the game. Too much forethought for my taste.