Project Update
The summer heat must be affecting this project's progress—the litzers and proofreaders are on fire! Early Sunday morning, Todd Gross sent in 10 proofread puzzles. Then just before noon, Denny Baker sent 28 more. On Tuesday morning, Denny sent 7 reassigned litzed puzzles, and that night, Todd sent 10 more proofread puzzles. Wednesday morning, Denny sent another 4 reassigned litzed puzzles, putting us at 16,049 on the litzing thermometer and moving into 5th place in the litzer totals—congratulations, Denny! Great job, everyone, and thanks for another exciting week!Geography Quiz
I've come across numerous unusual geographical entries in pre-Shortzian puzzles, so I thought putting together a little quiz with some of the more bizarre-sounding ones would be fun! I've listed ten such geographical names along with their original clues below; your job is to match each of these names to its picture using only the information provided by the clues, names, and hints in the photo. (The pictures are in a random order, of course!) The answers are at the end of this post—can you get all ten correct? Please feel free to post your scores as comments.Information
- Arkhangelsk
- Date: December 27, 1942
- Constructor: Alexis P. Boodberg
- Litzer: Alex Vratsanos
- Clue: U.S.S.R.'s great Arctic seaport.
- Kirkcudbrightshire
- Date: October 8, 1950
- Constructor: Harold T. Bers
- Litzer: Anonymous
- Clue: Southern Scottish County.
- Westmoreland
- Date: March 13, 1960
- Constructor: Hume R. Craft
- Litzer: Ralph Bunker
- Clue: Virginia county, Washington's birthplace.
- Campobello
- Date: February 3, 1961
- Constructor: Unknown
- Litzer: Ralph Bunker
- Clue: Famous island in Passamaquoddy Bay.
- Colmar
- Date: February 26, 1961
- Constructor: Roberta H. Morse
- Litzer: Ralph Bunker
- Clue: Small city in E. France.
- Suakin
- Date: April 30, 1960
- Constructor: Unknown
- Litzer: Ralph Bunker
- Clue: Sudanese port on Red Sea.
- Sakhalin
- Date: December 26, 1961
- Constructor: Arthur Schulman
- Litzer: Mark Diehl
- Clue: Island N of Japan.
- Zanesville
- Date: January 29, 1962
- Constructor: Bettie Lou Fisher
- Litzer: Mark Diehl
- Clue: Ohio pottery center.
- Araxá
- Date: June 9, 1962
- Constructor: John Byrne
- Litzer: Ralph Bunker
- Clue: Brazilian spa.
- Anticosti
- Date: October 10, 1962
- Constructor: Unknown
- Litzer: Mark Diehl
- Clue: Island at mouth of St. Lawrence River
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| Picture 1 (courtesy of Wikipedia) |
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| Picture 2 (courtesy of Wikipedia) |
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| Picture 3 (courtesy of Wikipedia) |
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| Picture 4 (courtesy of Wikipedia) |
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| Picture 5 (courtesy of Wikipedia) |
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| Picture 6 (courtesy of Wikipedia) |
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| Picture 7 (courtesy of Wikipedia) |
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| Picture 8 (courtesy of Wikipedia) |
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| Picture 9 (courtesy of Wikipedia) |
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| Picture 10 (courtesy of Wikipedia) |
Featured Puzzle
Today's featured puzzle, whose constructor is unknown, was published May 26, 1961; edited by Margaret Farrar; and litzed by Mark Diehl. As I mentioned last week, I've been seeing increasingly fewer themed puzzles as I review packets from further and further back in time, so seeing even repeated word themes every once in a while is refreshing. It's a real treat, however, when I come across a consistent, genuinely interesting theme from the early '60s, particularly in a daily crossword! This themed puzzle contains six symmetrical entries that start or end with something related to light but that aren't merely examples of that light source, such as LANTERN JAW and TULIP BULBS. The theme does have a few inconsistencies: TULIP BULBS is the only theme entry that contains a plural light source (and also the only one that ends with a light source), and LAMPEDUSA is the only theme entry that is completely unrelated to its light source. Despite these minor faults, the theme feels strong for its time, and the theme entries, which skew on the lively side, interlock elegantly. The fill also feels better than average, which is even more impressive given that the puzzle contains six theme entries! My favorite nonthematic entries include SKYLARK, SHOWCASE, BIGWIG, TWIRLERS, and STEW POT, and the only entry I haven't seen before or heard of is AKYAB (Burma port on the Bay of Bengal.). (Note to self: Put Akyab in a future geography quiz!) This puzzle has some interesting clues as well, such as "Panjandrum, modern style." for BIGWIG and the contemporary "Senator from Hawaii." for FONG and "Astronomer's measure." for LIGHT YEAR. All in all, this is a very impressive themed early '60s puzzle! The answer grid (with highlighted theme entries) can be seen below:
Funny Typos
Before I present the answers to the Geography Quiz, here are some more typos our proofreaders found amusing:- Entry: ACE
- Right: Red Baron, e.g.
- Wrong: Red Baton, e.g.
- Entry: ADAMIC
- Right: Of an early man.
- Wrong: Off an early man.
- Entry: ASSET
- Right: Item in the black
- Wrong: Item in the back
- Entry: CARNE
- Right: Chili con ___
- Wrong: Chile con ___
- Entry: CLONE
- Right: Product of asexual reproduction.
- Wrong: Produce of asexual reproduction.
- Entry: HEALTH FOOD
- Right: Diet store sign
- Wrong: Diet score sign
- Entry: LOBE
- Right: Ear part
- Wrong: Ear art
- Entry: NELL
- Right: Mistress Quickly
- Wrong: Mistress Quigley
- Entry: REALTY
- Right: Estate; property
- Wrong: Estate; properly
- Entry: STY
- Right: Porcine abode
- Wrong: Porcine adobe
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| Image courtesy of Wikipedia. |
Answers to Geography Quiz
Finally, here are the answers to the Geography Quiz:Arkhangelsk: Picture 9
Kirkcudbrightshire: Picture 7
Westmoreland: Picture 8
Campobello: Picture 5
Colmar: Picture 10
Suakin: Picture 1
Sakhalin: Picture 3
Zanesville: Picture 2
Araxá: Picture 4
Anticosti: Picture 6
Got 8 of the 10, mixed up ANTICOSTI and SAKHALIN
ReplyDeleteWow, Todd—that's amazing! Congratulations!
Delete