Julietta Gervase author page
1 puzzle by Julietta Gervase
with Jeff Chen comments
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| G | R | A | T | E | P | I | N | Y | I | N | ||||
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| C | O | U | P | E | M | C | E | E | J | E | T | S | ||
| K | I | S | S | R | E | S | T | S | S | L | A | P |
Such floral language today! Speaking as a parent whose younger kid had a hair-trigger gag reflex during infancy, BABY'S BREATH smelling of Gerber products is a best-case scenario. I enjoyed reimagining GOLDENROD as the fishing equivalent of the Palme d'Or or the Golden Shoe. My most recent career was in ophthalmic drug discovery, so I would have also accepted [Photoreceptor with the Midas touch?].
LADY SLIPPER was clued a bit too straightforwardly for my taste, but I liked the save on WOLFSBANE, whose name is not surprisingly related to wolves. Playfully connecting it to the third pig's brick house was a solid construction.
Some great bonuses in the grid: EVIL GENIUS, PAST LIFE, and HOUSEPARTY all shine. Curious that SHER and CIRRI, two tough early-week entries, were in a relatively unconstrained region, though. It's possible that moving the three black squares to the right of EENY over one column could have helped. That would also have helped grid flow into the NW and SE corners.
Although I stopped going to Chinese school after a few weeks (okay, I was politely asked to leave), my ancestors can breathe relief that I dropped in PINYIN. Crossing it with LILI and the old-timey NEHI could cause newer solvers to fall from EDEN.
There's an amazing quantity of flowers in the world, and Julietta chose some of the best ones to play upon. I am curious what she could have done with DUTCHMANS BREECHES or BASTARD TOADFLAX, but a blossoming debut.