F | I | S | K | S | H | O | C | K | H | A | H | A | ||
I | S | L | E | K | I | T | E | D | E | C | O | N | ||
S | L | A | V | I | N | T | E | L | A | L | O | T | ||
H | I | T | L | I | S | T | A | S | T | U | T | E | ||
P | E | A | R | L | S | O | N | A | R | |||||
R | I | O | L | A | G | G | A | R | D | |||||
H | I | P | S | P | L | I | T | Y | U | A | N | |||
O | L | E | H | E | A | V | E | H | O | S | T | Y | ||
P | L | O | W | D | E | N | I | M | H | E | E | |||
S | N | I | C | K | E | R | P | A | W | |||||
S | H | I | N | S | S | H | E | A | F | |||||
B | A | S | H | E | S | S | T | A | B | I | L | E | ||
A | S | I | F | S | H | A | K | E | C | O | I | N | ||
T | H | R | U | E | I | D | E | R | A | L | P | O | ||
H | E | E | L | S | C | O | W | S | M | I | S | S |
COIN / FLIPS, pointing to "Schrödinger" squares that can be either H or T, with equal validity. There was another one riffing on this four years ago — my memory is long, so, unfortunately, I recalled it immediately. But I'm an oddity. I think four years is long enough to wait before echoing the same idea.
One thing I liked a lot about Xan's execution: a couple of great finds that use a funny change in spacing. At first, I couldn't figure out what the heck a TIT LIST was (admit it, you had the same thought I did). No, it's a TITLIST, as in a sports champion! Both could eliminate you, in a way.
And HEAT RAY / TEA TRAY was a neat find, both of them carrying something that might burn. That's a real stretch to include both answers, but there's something curiously awesome about the kooky connection.
I also enjoyed HIP / HOP and TIP / TOP. Not sure I would have ever thought of "breaking records" to link the two ("breaking" is slang for a dance style within HIP / HOP).
And TA TA / HA HA as an "interjection heard upon breaking up"? I had to think about that for a while, but I admire the creativity. TA TA = saying bye after breaking up with a partner, and HA HA = breaking up, as in laughing.
I usually want Schrödingers to have a clue that's spot-on for both entries. [Yearning] as both WISTFUL and WISHFUL is a perfect example of that. HIPSTER vs. TIPSTER is on the other side of the coin (wah wah), as [One in the know] is much more a TIPSTER than a HIPSTER. (We have a ton of HIPSTERs in Seattle, and a majority of them are doofuses.)
But Xan forced me to rethink my criteria — at first, I thought most of his pairings were way too much of a stretch. But heck, I admire his out-of-the-box thinking. Feels like he's created something innovative and ground-breaking. Not much higher of a compliment I can pay.
Y | A | M | D | O | T | B | T | W | B | O | P | |||
E | M | O | E | P | A | O | R | E | G | A | N | O | ||
G | O | T | E | V | E | N | O | U | T | M | B | E | R | |
G | U | O | T | I | N | G | T | E | R | S | E | S | T | |
A | L | P | S | U | D | S | ||||||||
E | H | S | R | I | P | U | P | E | A | R | T | H | ||
T | A | P | W | A | T | E | R | M | O | R | E | |||
C | H | U | E | Y | N | R | A | P | E | T | I | A | ||
H | A | I | R | E | N | G | E | N | D | E | R | |||
A | S | K | E | D | M | A | Y | O | R | A | D | D | ||
O | V | A | L | V | O | L | ||||||||
A | R | C | H | W | A | Y | M | I | X | E | D | N | S | |
T | A | R | A | N | L | A | O | R | I | G | A | M | I | |
O | V | E | R | R | U | N | M | A | D | Z | E | N | ||
Z | E | D | N | E | S | A | L | E | E | G | G |
I really enjoyed this solve. I don't think rebuses as a genre are completely trite or tired yet — there is a reason that Will spaces out his rebus puzzles these days though. So I do think that it's important to push the boundaries a bit. I like what Xan has done here, using MIXED (NUT)S as a rationale for six rebus squares, each one containing a unique permutation of the letters N, U, and T.
Some of those sequences are easy to work in. There's a ton of phrases incorporating *TUN*, for example. But UTN? TNU? NTU? Those are much more difficult. I really liked the assortment of strong phrases Xan picked out, from DOW(NTU)RN to SP(UTN)IK to OU(TNUM)BER to WE(TNU)RSE.
I felt slightly uncomfortable at the [Milk maid?] clue for WETNURSE, BTW. I'm not sure why that is. At first glance perhaps it seems like it could be a fun bit of wordplay around a common phrase? But it didn't sit quite right with me, perhaps feeling a bit too off-color for the NYT.
I'm impressed with Xan's gridwork. Aside from the start, where I never know if I should love or hate YEGG, and the awkward ETCHA, I appreciated that I kept on going and going without hitching over gluey bits. All the cleanliness, with even GO VIRAL, ARCHWAY, TAP WATER, DEVIL RAY, etc. worked in = admirable job.
I might have even given it the POW if it hadn't been for the aforementioned items, plus one aspect I usually care nothing about: the number of black squares. That in itself is meaningless to me, but there are two issues in the way Xan lays out his grid: 1.) the choked off feeling from subsection to subsection, and 2.) the visual impact of all those chunks of black. Those two central crosses do a number on the feng shui of the grid.
But overall, I appreciate the fact that Xan pushes the rebus genre a little here with a well-executed grid which gave me a very pleasurable solve. And that [Break down in tears?] clue was gold. I didn't understand it even after filling in RIP UP, but I loved that headslap moment of realizing that "tears" meant "rips," not "salty discharge."
S | I | T | T | I | N | G | D | N | O | D | E | A | L | |
O | N | E | S | C | O | O | P | A | X | I | L | L | A | |
A | N | D | R | E | T | T | I | S | L | A | L | O | M | |
S | E | A | N | S | I | R | E | N | E | |||||
D | W | A | L | K | S | P | E | K | I | N | G | D | ||
S | O | N | I | A | S | H | A | R | E | S | ||||
O | N | S | E | T | H | I | R | E | T | W | O | D | ||
U | K | E | E | G | O | T | R | I | P | A | Y | E | ||
P | A | L | O | A | U | T | O | L | A | R | V | A | ||
B | E | L | L | O | W | E | N | D | E | D | ||||
D | B | I | L | L | E | D | D | A | I | S | Y | D | ||
P | A | N | A | M | I | M | S | E | T | |||||
O | R | A | T | E | D | O | N | T | H | E | D | O | T | |
N | E | W | E | R | A | N | O | R | E | A | L | L | Y | |
D | R | E | S | S | Y | G | B | E | R | R | I | E | S |
A | N | S | E | L | M | Z | E | A | L | R | S | V | P | O | V | A | L | |||
N | O | O | N | E | R | A | X | T | O | B | E | A | R | P | O | L | O | |||
G | I | F | T | W | R | A | P | P | E | D | I | N | N | E | R | T | U | B | E | |
E | R | I | E | O | P | P | O | S | E | S | D | E | K | E | C | A | W | |||
R | E | A | R | B | E | A | S | T | U | F | O | S | A | S | H | |||||
V | O | X | B | E | E | F | S | L | A | S | S | O | ||||||||
P | T | B | O | A | T | I | N | S | I | D | E | F | A | S | T | B | A | L | L | |
S | E | L | F | C | O | N | T | A | I | N | E | D | E | Y | E | F | U | L | ||
A | N | I | T | A | A | S | I | F | M | A | C | R | E | M | Y | |||||
O | N | E | T | O | N | A | T | O | M | G | A | E | A | |||||||
N | I | N | E | B | A | N | D | E | D | A | R | M | A | D | I | L | L | O | ||
D | E | N | Y | D | E | L | I | M | E | R | L | I | N | |||||||
O | C | H | S | R | A | E | A | P | I | A | W | A | V | E | S | |||||
W | O | O | H | O | O | R | I | N | G | E | D | P | L | A | N | E | T | S | ||
I | N | T | E | R | N | A | L | O | R | G | A | N | S | I | R | O | N | O | N | |
E | N | D | E | D | C | A | S | I | O | O | K | S | ||||||||
O | P | E | T | W | A | S | A | G | A | P | E | M | A | M | A | |||||
A | L | G | A | B | E | S | H | A | I | R | G | E | L | A | D | E | S | |||
B | U | B | B | L | E | D | U | P | G | O | I | N | C | I | R | C | L | E | S | |
C | L | U | E | L | O | I | S | E | L | S | E | K | A | R | A | T | E | |||
S | U | N | G | A | N | T | I | S | I | T | S | E | G | O | I | S | T |
S | T | R | A | P | B | A | R | G | A | I | N | S | L | O | P | |||||
C | O | U | S | I | N | A | G | E | L | I | M | I | T | E | I | R | E | |||
W | O | R | S | T | N | I | G | H | T | M | A | R | E | C | O | M | E | T | R | U |
A | N | T | E | A | T | E | R | I | M | P | K | N | O | T | T | |||||
T | E | E | S | C | A | L | F | I | N | E | E | D | H | E | L | P | ||||
T | H | E | S | O | U | T | H | P | O | L | E | R | R | O | R | |||||
S | A | M | O | A | S | E | A | B | E | D | A | L | U | M | N | I | ||||
E | N | T | R | Y | L | E | V | E | L | J | O | A | F | T | S | A | D | Z | ||
L | O | O | T | S | A | E | R | S | T | A | T | A | T | O | E | |||||
M | G | M | H | A | S | T | D | I | S | C | W | I | T | S | E | N | D | |||
B | O | T | T | O | M | O | F | T | H | E | C | L | A | S | ||||||
S | T | E | E | P | L | E | I | T | S | Y | L | E | A | N | S | O | N | |||
P | I | X | Y | A | R | K | S | V | E | T | D | E | L | A | Y | |||||
A | N | O | E | S | S | A | A | B | J | E | C | T | P | O | V | E | R | T | ||
R | E | T | I | N | T | A | C | T | I | O | N | R | O | A | D | S | ||||
T | A | I | N | T | A | B | S | O | L | U | T | E | Z | E | R | |||||
A | R | C | H | R | I | V | A | L | R | I | T | Z | D | U | M | A | ||||
P | E | E | L | E | E | O | N | A | T | T | H | E | T | O | P | |||||
T | H | E | R | E | S | N | O | W | H | E | R | E | T | O | G | O | B | U | T | U |
A | R | T | I | A | G | L | I | M | M | E | R | P | I | E | R | R | E | |||
P | E | S | T | E | A | S | Y | O | N | E | F | R | A | N | S |
A | R | F | A | R | F | F | A | S | T | D | R | A | W | |
W | E | L | T | E | R | I | D | L | E | R | I | C | H | |
E | C | A | R | T | E | R | O | U | L | E | T | T | E | |
T | A | R | E | S | N | E | E | Z | O | E | ||||
S | E | N | I | O | R | I | T | I | S | B | E | N | Z | |
E | T | O | N | A | D | O | S | G | O | S | E | E | ||
P | C | T | P | N | I | N | S | E | Z | |||||
T | H | E | B | I | G | G | E | S | T | L | O | S | E | R |
A | T | E | T | E | E | D | A | L | E | |||||
E | N | D | I | T | S | O | R | E | S | L | I | T | ||
J | A | I | L | B | O | B | B | L | E | H | E | A | D | |
E | V | A | A | R | A | L | J | E | R | I | ||||
C | A | L | A | M | A | R | I | A | N | I | T | A | S | |
T | H | E | R | A | V | E | N | W | I | N | E | R | Y | |
S | O | D | A | J | E | R | K | S | E | E | M | E | D |
M | I | S | O | O | C | A | T | Y | E | A | S | |||
E | H | U | D | Z | E | B | R | A | A | X | L | E | ||
G | O | G | O | D | A | N | C | E | R | K | I | T | E | |
S | P | A | R | E | R | S | S | C | H | O | L | A | R | |
R | E | E | K | O | F | H | O | V | E | R | S | |||
O | C | C | A | M | S | R | A | Z | O | R | ||||
L | O | O | T | S | W | A | N | N | A | B | E | T | ||
G | O | N | E | D | U | C | K | S | D | A | D | A | ||
A | P | E | R | T | U | R | E | T | V | S | E | T | ||
S | M | I | T | H | E | R | E | E | N | S | ||||
M | R | T | O | A | D | T | A | M | E | R | S | |||
C | H | I | R | R | U | P | L | E | E | T | I | D | E | |
J | I | L | T | M | A | S | O | N | D | I | X | O | N | |
O | N | T | O | S | T | E | E | D | S | T | L | O | ||
B | O | S | N | S | A | S | S | E | Y | E | S |
J | I | M | J | A | M | S | P | A | G | E | A | S | ||
A | R | R | I | V | A | L | M | E | D | E | V | A | C | |
C | O | M | B | A | T | A | E | R | O | T | I | C | A | |
K | N | E | E | H | E | S | S | E | M | A | I | N | ||
S | S | T | R | I | D | E | S | E | N | D | S | |||
D | O | S | C | H | A | T | ||||||||
G | A | L | A | S | F | A | A | B | U | L | O | U | S | |
I | K | E | B | A | N | A | M | E | F | I | R | S | T | |
A | A | G | O | N | I | Z | E | S | F | O | R | A | Y | |
N | L | E | R | T | I | N | ||||||||
I | S | S | U | E | S | P | O | T | R | I | A | |||
W | H | E | N | W | A | T | E | R | P | E | N | N | ||
A | A | R | C | T | I | C | R | E | J | E | C | T | S | |
I | N | B | U | I | L | T | E | R | A | S | U | R | E | |
N | E | S | T | E | D | C | O | N | T | R | O | L |
S | I | L | O | J | U | B | A | L | F | A | C | T | ||
I | C | A | N | A | S | O | N | E | S | N | O | W | ||
T | E | M | P | O | R | A | R | Y | T | A | T | T | O | O |
P | R | E | O | P | G | A | S | M | A | I | N | S | ||
A | U | S | T | E | R | E | E | R | N | S | T | |||
T | N | T | R | E | N | T | A | L | S | U | K | E | ||
T | E | A | C | O | Z | Y | S | K | I | P | ||||
S | P | A | R | D | O | R | A | N | K | E | N | S | ||
A | L | L | Y | M | D | C | L | X | V | I | ||||
L | O | L | T | E | E | H | E | E | S | E | B | B | ||
S | T | A | L | E | A | S | I | M | M | E | R | |||
A | L | T | E | R | E | G | O | G | O | P | R | O | ||
D | I | S | A | P | P | E | A | R | I | N | G | I | N | K |
I | N | E | S | I | N | F | O | R | E | R | I | E | ||
P | E | A | T | C | A | S | T | E | N | E | E | R |