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Note to readers: In the past, Wordplay indicated a crossword with quotation marks. In the construction and editing of crosswords, however, clues are usually denoted by brackets, a practice which now follows.
THURSDAY PUZZLE – I’m hungry. Are you hungry?
Let’s sink our teeth into this crossword by Paolo Pasco and Sarah Sinclair. That should appease our desire for a fun puzzle. If you’re solving online, try not to get any pixels stuck in your teeth; I’m out of knitting needles.
And if you’re tempted to give it up for whatever reason, don’t – there’s a nice surprise when you’ve had your fill.
Today’s topic
At first I thought that Mr. Pascoe and Ms. Sinclair’s rounded grid represented a cell with all its parts spinning around inside, and that the revealer would be something like, “Mitochondria are the powerhouse of the cell.”
I was dissuaded from that idea when I got to the actual revealer, on 26A, which reads [Pepperoni, mushroom or green pepper … or what each cluster of black squares represents in this puzzle]. The answer is PIZZA TOPPING, but I had a problem: The answer, like many of the entries in this puzzle, did not fit in its slot.
And we all know what that means. This means I spent quite a bit of time swearing at the puzzle and not filling in answers, which is the cue I use to recognize that the grid is full of rebus squares. Those squares that lie on the perimeter of the grid are shaded for added visibility.
So, we were served a large pizza with delicious toppings, but that doesn’t explain why we have rebus entries around the perimeter of the grill. This is hinted at in a second revealer, at 41A, which reads [Feature of a deluxe pie … and of this puzzle?]. This deluxe feature is a STUFFED BARK, illustrated with multiple letters filling the hatched squares.
I hope you finish the pizza—sorry, I mean the puzzle—because when I entered the last letter, the grid came to life in a way that made me crave more.
Clever clues
1A. My first guess for [Château : France :: ___ : Spain], before I knew about the rebuses, it was “casa”, but apparently I wasn’t thinking big enough. The answer is CASTILLO.
50A. When [Rough houses?] is one word, meaning to fight or play physically. As a two-word clue, this refers to houses that are literally rough, and the answer is STUCCOS.
66A. This [Vixen, e.g.] not the old-fashioned term for a spirited woman. This is one of Santa’s DEER.
3D. The [College team whose name is its home state minus two letters] is the Fighting ILLINS and the missing letters are O and S.
17D. Did you think the constructors were talking about musical instruments in the clue [One of two heard in “This Kiss”]? Not this time. But there are two SHORT I’s in the phrase.
24D. When a crossword clue is enclosed in parentheses within the puzzle itself, it prompts the solver to think of a non-verbal synonym. What would you do if you were wondering [[Is this still good?]]? You can smell the item in question.
36D. Ann [Artist whose work has a wide reach?] is a MURAL PAINTER because many murals are large in size.
59D. Oh, I’d like to be Oscar MEYER’s wiener … that’s what I’d really like to be …
Designer’s Notes
I’ve read a lot of constructor notes in my time, but this one is one of my favorites.
HOW TO MAKE PIZZA:
1. Consider Evan Birnholz’s False Starts puzzle as you do once a week.
2. Wondering if there are other ways to create a crossword where each answer to Across has a fun/challenging property.
3. Have a puzzle idea in which each answer to Across begins with a two-letter crossword, with the CROPPED HEADS revealer.
4. SHRINKED HEADS might not be the best thing for breakfast dough. Maybe an axle.
5. Tweak the idea in FULL BARK, with two-letter puzzles at the beginning and end of each Across entry.
6. Run the idea from Sarah, who suggests a grid shaped like a pizza, with two-letter puzzles around the “crust.”
7. Realize that this is what makes the idea good. Move forward with collaboration.
