When I got PRESSURE COOKERS down the middle, and then SOFTWARE COMPANY at 17 Across, I thought the theme was going to be "things that are examples of pressure cookers." :)
– puzzle by Byron Walden
Wed 12/2/2020
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Fri 12/4/2020
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I have a theory. Patti Varol waited this long to get an NYT byline just so she could snag Shortz Number 1000.
– puzzle by Patti Varol and Doug Peterson
Sat 12/5/2020
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Brendan Emmett Quigley mentioned on Facebook that his identity was hidden in the grid. We've highlighted his Easter Egg.
– puzzle by Brendan Emmett Quigley
Sun 12/6/2020 GET OUT OF HERE!
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This is the second time this week we've seen ABACI clued as if they are counting devices. This seriously underplays their utility. With your abacus, you can do addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, and even square roots.
– puzzle by Tony Orbach
Mon 12/7/2020
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Tue 12/8/2020
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Fri 12/11/2020
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Jeff doesn't appreciate SQUALL LINE or ET ALIBI, but I like them both.
SQUALL LINE I happen to know. ET ALIBI is unfamiliar, but it's the kind of clue I love. The clue is [Latin for "and elsewhere."] The answer isn't immediately obvious (Latin isn't my prima lingua) but it has to start with ET (remember ET ALIA, ET AL?) and ALIBI is the perfect excuse. It literally means you can't be guilty because you were "somewhere else!" Once ET ALIBI comes to mind, you know it must be correct.
More importantly, 4-Down is all the excuse I need to embed the official Love Like a Yeti video. Musicians aren't performing in front of audiences these days, but some friends and I got together in a socially-distant outdoor way to record this brilliant song by our drummer Jeremy Stone. Some of you may recognize ace crossword solver Jeff Brumley on bass.