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This puzzle:
Rows: 15, Columns: 15 Words: 74, Blocks: 38 Missing: {JKQZ} This is puzzle # 27 for Mr. Schoenholz.
Dan Schoenholz notes:
I think this is the first puzzle I've constructed where the wordplay is in the clues. It was a fun change of pace for me: hopefully solvers enjoy it as well!
Jeff Chen notes:
I recently picked up 100 Things to Be When You Grow Up for my kids, and to my surprise, "Crossword Constructor" was in there! The ... read more
I recently picked up 100 Things to Be When You Grow Up for my kids, and to my surprise, "Crossword Constructor" was in there! The author's understanding of the word "career" is much different from mine. A few years ago, I had the good fortune to hang out with Patrick Berry, who is head and shoulders above the rest of us, making an actual living at this instead of getting paid lunch money for doing something we love. His secret? Live frugally.
That book got "lost," and I steered my kids to one about engineering.
Smile-inducing plays on "___ job" phrases. I've seen [Union job?] wordplay before, hinting at WEDDING PLANNER, OFFICIANT, etc., but it's still fun. Fresher was [Temp job?], a great way to kick off the puzzle. A temporary temperature worker sounds like the perfect intern for Goldilocks.
I was expecting [Flex job?] to be PERSONAL TRAINER. Nice surprise to get YOGA INSTRUCTOR instead.
The clue for OXYGEN has been changed a few times, so if you don't see [Most abundant element in Earth's crust], that's what it should be. I had an interesting exchange with Brad Wilber, who fact-checks for Will Shortz, about a previous version. TLDR; what would you guess is the most common element in Earth (by mass)? Turns out it's iron !
The grid has some blips — if you already have AGAR, adding another biology liquid like SERA ain't great — but Dan's long bonuses overshadowed the minor HELI IND kinds of blips. Perfect alternation of those long Downs, so much space to maximize flexibility. Dan hit it big with OLD MEDIA / PEN NAMES / TO FOLLOW / HIT IT BIG.