Ed Salners author page
1 puzzle by Ed Salners
with Jeff Chen comments
See the 2 answer words debuted by Ed Salners.
| T | O | P | S | S | K | O | S | H | P | O | S | H | ||
| R | H | E | A | T | E | P | E | E | A | B | L | E | ||
| A | I | R | C | R | A | F | T | C | A | R | R | I | E | R |
| C | O | S | A | M | I | P | E | E | W | E | E | |||
| H | A | I | R | S | P | R | A | Y | S | N | A | P | S | |
| E | R | S | E | S | C | A | L | E | N | Y | Y | |||
| A | T | T | A | C | H | T | W | I | R | L | ||||
| S | C | R | E | E | N | S | A | V | E | R | ||||
| H | A | I | T | I | R | E | V | O | L | T | ||||
| A | K | C | C | R | O | C | S | A | S | E | A | |||
| M | E | R | C | K | N | E | A | T | F | R | E | A | K | |
| I | N | A | R | E | A | I | I | I | A | D | E | |||
| G | O | V | E | R | N | M | E | N | T | B | O | N | D | S |
| A | B | E | T | T | O | O | T | H | I | N | O | T | ||
| S | I | N | E | S | E | N | S | E | L | E | G | O |
Third day in a row we've had a debut! It's always fun to see a family collaboration.
As a finance guy, I can talk for hours about GOVERNMENT BONDS. As a crossword person, don't get me started on T NOTES and T BILLS, or I'll never stop! How do GOVERNMENT BONDS relate to this theme, though ...
A-ha! I like it when a revealer doesn't totally make sense on its own, but its clue finishes the job. Each of the phrase components is "joined" by a government agency, i.e., AIRCRAFT and CARRIER are "bonded" by FTC (Federal Trade Commission). That's a clever way to elevate what might normally be dismissed as an ordinary "hidden words" theme.
Also clever: Ed and Alex's use of low-word count gridsmanship. Many constructors shoot for this tough territory, thinking that if they push their envelopes and strive for a 72-word themed puzzle, they'll deliver solvers an extra-colorful experience without too many compromises. The results rarely reflect that, but today, Ed and Alex achieved liftoff.
Take the NW corner, for instance. Typical layouts would break 1- and/or 2-Down in half, making the region much easier to fill. Solid results, with TRACHEA and PERSISTS as bonuses not seen in crosswords nearly as much as the usual 3-5 letter stuff.
I also liked how Ed and Alex kept the middle fairly open. Many constructors would put a black square at the E of SCALE, restricting the middle, making their job a snap. Given Alex's impressive gridding skills, it's not a surprise that the difficult center is so smooth. Nothing snazzy, but everything so rock-solid: RESERVE, REVOLT, CRACKER, SAINTS.
Will Shortz is taking fewer "hidden word" themes these days, but today's puzzle demonstrates that there's absolutely still room for ones that elevate through a clever extra element.