Mary Crane author page
1 puzzle by Mary Crane
with Jeff Chen comments
See the 1 answer word debuted by Mary Crane.
| M | A | D | D | H | O | S | T | P | A | B | S | T | ||
| E | T | R | E | A | N | N | A | O | M | A | N | I | ||
| S | T | E | W | S | T | O | C | K | S | P | L | I | T | |
| A | H | A | S | T | A | B | A | T | E | M | P | O | ||
| S | I | M | I | L | E | S | T | R | O | D | ||||
| S | H | R | I | N | K | W | R | A | P | F | Y | I | ||
| R | O | O | M | H | A | T | T | R | O | N | ||||
| F | A | U | N | W | E | E | P | S | H | I | Y | A | ||
| E | T | S | Y | A | R | E | O | R | E | O | ||||
| W | E | E | S | H | A | L | L | O | W | E | N | D | ||
| P | E | W | S | I | N | E | E | D | I | T | ||||
| A | R | I | A | N | A | M | O | M | S | Z | E | E | ||
| F | I | N | I | S | H | L | I | N | E | H | O | T | S | |
| A | T | O | N | E | A | C | E | D | O | N | E | L | ||
| R | A | N | T | S | G | E | L | S | V | E | R | A |
Break it up! Although relationship conclusions are nothing to laugh about, Mary's reimagined FINISH LINEs sure are. SHRINK WRAP, as in "that's a wrap," made me think of my therapist buddy who's been trying to break up with some of his clients who don't need him anymore. SHALLOW END is even better, employing a flippant throwaway comment in parting.
Some solvers might not recognize the phrase STOCK SPLIT — a psychological maneuver involving a company artificially inflating the number of shares while reducing the per share price to make it seem more affordable — but the reimagined concept is solid. What more stock (trite) line is there besides "It's not you, it's me"?
Not a dab of glue in sight! It's awesome to see a debut constructor take so much care in their craftsmanship. There is more segmentation than is desirable — the NW and SE corners are only connected to the middle through two entries apiece — but that quasi-trisection allowed Mary to stuff those corners with juicy material. AT THIS RATE, she's building a DREAM HOUSE, all right.
When I first heard solver complaints about FRIEND ZONE, I didn't get it. Researching more over the years has made me see more context, though.
Some great cluing touches, too. The [Sad trombone] noise always makes this former trombonist laugh. I might take it up again one day, just so I can WAH WAH myself when my daughter asks yet again to watch "Barbie DREAMHOUSE Adventures."
FINISH LINE is a slightly awkward way to describe "sentence uttered to conclude a relationship," but its punniness more than makes up for that. Great examples here, with such high-quality gridwork. Looking forward to Mary's next offering.