Forum > Today's Puzzles

Mon., 1/19 Gareth Bain

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Thomps2525:
I follow a general (sorry!) rule: if a puzzle contains three or four long horizontal words, those words almost always fit a theme. In the January 19 crossword, the clue for GENERALASSEMBLY notes that each of the first words of the three theme answers can comprise the answer. "Assemble" the word GENERAL before HOSPITAL, MILLS and INTEREST and you get three new phrases.

When I work a puzzle, I usually start by filling in the answers to clues that contain a blank space, such as "Santa ___ winds" or "One ___ time." Then I work on the words that intersect them. I don't put much effort into figuring out the theme. When I have the grid at least halfway completed, the theme becomes obvious.

And may I say that there seem to be a lot of people named Virginia on this thread. :)

magus:
I understand --- that you did not answer any of my questions.

Thomps2525:
I want to be a good lil' question answerer, so here goes:

"How did you determine the theme?" It was quite clear from the clues.

"If you did not get it from another source, how long did it take you to figure out?" Just two seconds, long enough to read the lengthiest clue. The clues to the themes almost always refer to "words marked with an asterisk" or to certain across answers (e.g., "12-across, 20-across and 33-across").

"And if you spent more than 20 seconds on it, was it worth the time?" Most themes are pretty obvious because of the clues. Sometimes a puzzle's theme answers will begin with similar words, such as BAIT, BEAT, BITE, BOAT and BOUT. Sometimes the theme answers will be homonyms or synonyms. In those cases, the theme will not be immediately obvious. But the time spent on recognizing the theme is only a few seconds...and I still have to fill in the answers. I don't even need to know the theme before I start entering words. My best answer to "Was it worth the time?" is: "Not applicable."

magus:
Thanks, Rewind, for answering.  Maybe I'm slipping but it still makes no sense to me. 

Anyway, there's nothing like a daily post's three or more replies to garner interest in the this space.  As with most media outlets, controversy sells.

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