Friday, May 10, 2013

Over 9,400, Funny Typos, and a Challenge from the Army

We made great progress this week!  On Sunday, Todd McClary and Denny Baker each sent in batches of 7 puzzles.  Then on Monday, Martin Herbach sent in five batches totaling 35 puzzles and putting us over the 9,400 mark, followed by Mark Diehl with another 21!  On Tuesday, Nancy Kavanaugh sent in 14 more, bringing the grand total for the week to 84 puzzles!  I'm hoping this week we'll reach 9,500, even though it's a very busy time for many of us.  Thanks so much, everyone!

It's been a while since I've posted funny litzing typos, though I've certainly had plenty to add to the list!  Here are ten recent typos:
  • Entry:  CORK
    • Right:  Party popper
    • Wrong:  Party pooper
  • Entry:  SALE
    • Right:  Yard or garage event
    • Wrong:  Yard or garbage event
  • Entry:  PRETENSE
    • Right:  Affectation
    • Wrong:  Affection
  • Entry:  MOODS
    • Right:  Indicative and subjunctive
    • Wrong:  Indicative and subjective
  • Entry:  ANCIENT MARINER
    • Right:  Albatross slayer
    • Wrong:  Albatross slaver
  • Entry:  NOLL
    • Right:  Steelers' coach
    • Wrong:  Steelers' couch
  • Entry:  SPRAWLED
    • Right:  Lounged clumsily
    • Wrong:  Lunged clumsily
  • Entry:  TKOS
    • Right:  Part of Ali's rec.
    • Wrong:  Art of Ali's rec.
  • Entry:  AS IS
    • Right:  Sale condition
    • Wrong:  Sale conditioner
  • Copyright Field
    • Right:  © 1971, The New York Times.  Editor: Will Weng.
    • Wrong:  © 1871, The New York Times.  Editor: Will Weng. [Will Weng wasn't even born yet in 1871!]
Today's featured puzzle (constructor unknown) was published on December 10, 1971, edited by Will Weng, and litzed by Nancy Kavanaugh.  This bizarre masterpiece features four interlocking 15-letter entries that relate to rainbows:  8-Down (RED ORANGE YELLOW) and 19-Across (GREEN BLUE VIOLET) list the colors of the rainbow in order, 46-Across is REFRACTED COLORS, and 4-Down is AFTER 40 DAYS RAIN (clued as "When Noah might have seen a rainbow").  I'm amazed that the constructor thought of four theme entries that intersect each other so elegantly; also, I'm impressed by how seamlessly the constructor got the numbers to fit in with the nonthematic fill.  As we continue back into 1971, I'm seeing fewer and fewer puzzles with such elegant gimmicks; this one has a theme that's far ahead of its time!  The nonthematic fill is nice on the whole as well—I especially like the entries SEE NO/EVIL, HAVOC, and 1040 (how often do you get to see this entry show up in a crossword?)!  I'm not as fond of DROGHER ("Fish-smoking ship"), CUGATS ("Xavier and family"), or TIED AND ("___ dyed (did a coloring job)"), but nevertheless, this is a phenomenal pre-Shortzian puzzle!  I hope to see at least a few more unusual themes like this one as we head into the mostly themeless Farrar era.  The answer grid (with highlighted theme entries) can be seen below:


While I was litzing some 1942 Sundays, I came across a variety crossword titled "A Challenge from the Army."  What makes this puzzle stand out is that its two constructors were actual soldiers in W.W. II!  The byline read as follows:

By Privates Laurence D. Perrine and Henry F. Holbrook
Battery B, Sixth Battalion.  Fort Eustis, Virginia

I'm not sure what category to place this puzzle in—it feels like a cross between a straight crossword, a Puns and Anagrams, and a cryptic!  Since this puzzle is so unique, I've decided to make it a contest.  One randomly selected solver who e-mails a screen capture or the Across Lite of the correct solution to preshortzianpuzzleproject at gmail dot com (using standard formatting) by 6 p.m. Pacific time on Friday, May 17, will win a complimentary e-book courtesy of Puzzazz!  To download the puzzle, which Jim Horne has generously agreed to host on XWord Info and which does not include the solution, click here.

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