Margit Christenson author page
1 puzzle by Margit Christenson
with Jeff Chen comments
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The (PAPER) CHASE is on! Ten themers form such a pretty path through the puzzle, each of them requiring PAPER for the clues to make sense. [Kitchen item on a roll] is a (PAPER) TOWEL, the book type is a (PAPER) BACK, etc. A PAPER TRAIL, indeed!
"Path puzzles" can be so beautiful. My visual first impression was almost as stunning as it was for another path puzzle. Unfortunately, since I quickly figured out the PAPER concept, solving the rest of the themers felt more like rote (PAPER)WORK.
Thankfully, Margit gave us a lot of bonuses. The grid almost played out like a themeless, starting right off the bat with WHALEBOATS INK STAINED VOICEBOX, all the way to SLACKLINES, hopefully not giving you a SORE NECK. Toss in some CAT SITTING, EPICENTER, BROADSIDE, LEXUSES (LEXI?), and I'd call that a win.
I wasn't crazy about the odd suffix -IANA, the partial ABEE, and the potentially hair-pulling cross of MEZE / MATEO (that's "Matthew" in Spanish). It's tough to have zero prices to pay when you create an audacious grid with huge white spaces in the corners.
Fantastic LACES clue, repurposing "tongue ties," as in the tongue of a shoe.
All in all, a bit of an anticlimactic solve since the rest of the themers fell so quickly after the first. Still, a beautiful, symmetrical path creating a delightful visual and enough bonuses to make up for the lack of theme engagement. Interesting debut.