The Autofill Project

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Default - 332497 Words
PB 9L Filtered  GADSABOUT

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     DOLCEVITA (70)

Titles from fiction can be crossword entries with the leading article removed (and referenced in the clue), but I can’t recall if I’ve ever seen that convention used when the leading article is non-English. If I had DOLCEVITA in a puzzle I’d clue it ans an in the (Italian) language phrase, but what would you think of {1960 Fellini film, with “La”}?

     ENEMYLINE (50)

I think this phrase is inferably valid in singular form, though it’s difficult to find satisfying citations on Google. 50 is about right.

     FORFEAROF (55)

This awkward phrase doesn’t have many good clue options: {Due to concerns about} or {In order to prevent}. It makes me think of the line from “The Faeries” quoted by the tinker in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory: “We daren’t go a-hunting/For fear of little men…”

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Default - 332284 Words

Transposal: PETTRAINERS / RENTPARTIES

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     DEBUTLP (60)

I picked up this entry from a BEQ puzzle. I originally thought that it was a semi-contrived term that would work well in a puzzle known for pop music references. Then I discovered via Ginsberg that it appeared in a recent Ben Tausig puzzle, and also gets a fair number of Google hits. Is 60 a fair score?

     FOURTHYEAR (70)

When I discovered that FIRSTYEAR, an entry in a Karen Tracy puzzle, was not in Default, I added it to the Notepad along with SECONDYEAR, THIRDYEAR, and FOURTHYEAR. I could have added more, but the clue options begin dwindling after four, aside from Congressional terms and Harry Potter’s Hogwarts career. I wonder how many YEARs Frank Longo has in his database.

     REHOE (30)

This entry was already in Default, but I set Crossword Compiler to highlight any grid entry not in the database with a score of at least 40. That way I get a chance to re-evaluate an entry with a low score, based on its appearance in a current crossword. Alas, REHOE didn’t make parole this time, but I did enjoy thinking about situations in which one’s hoeing is so unsatisfactory that it needs to be done again.

Default - 332086 Words
PB 9L Filtered  DIDASTINT

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     CHOKEBACK (60)

I am frequently reminded by my practical side that fill scores in this project will merely help coax puzzle entries into general areas of priority. But, there is a small part of me that wants every individual fill score to be as meaningful as possible relative to all other entries’ fill scores. Phrasal verbs provoke more scrutiny than other types of entries because I have overvalued them in the past (based on comments from editors). Most transitive phrases get a 65 score, but CHOKEBACK has basically one potential object (tears) so I went down to 60.

     CORNFLAKE (65)

This entry tickled me when I thought about all the pluralized product names I have in Default for which corresponding singular forms could be added for the sake of thoroughness. Of course CORNFLAKE has an adjectival sense (as a type of food coating) that makes it more useful than, say, FROSTEDFLAKE or COCOAPUFF. Hmm, RICEKRISPIE is not currently in Default. Could that be clued as an adjective, e.g. {Kind of treat}?

     CRAZYFOAM (80)

As a child I remember seeing this product on supermarket shelves but not in my bathroom. My interest in superheroes was minimal so the incidental presence of Superman or Batman on a can of bath foam didn’t inspire me to ask for it when accompanying my parents on a shopping trip. I wonder if Patrick Berry used it as a kid, and that’s why it was in his list. Any Crazy Foam fans out there?

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Default - 331866 Words

Transposal: DESTINESIA / EASTINDIES

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     AMIRITE (65)

Stella Zawistowski used this word in a Facebook post this morning. I’d seen this version of “Am I right?” before, but the post inspired me check of prevalence of the spelling via Google. Sometimes a slang term hits me for Default inclusion on first enclounter, and sometimes it takes multiple readings or hearings before I think about it as a crossword entry.

     GETANA (45)

BEQ recently posted his 2009 ACPT puzzle “Allow Me To Introduce Myself” on his blog, giving me a rare opportunity to harvest a tournament puzzle for entries. Aside from the themes (including the great CHOCKFULLOINUITS) the only entry I didn’t have was GOTAB, clued as {Did some above average work}. It’s not the most natural construction for a verbal phrase but I gave it a pinch score of 45 and added inflections for all the letter grades.

     HOLYSCHNIKES (70)

I found a YouTube channel with episodes of The Mole from a different countries, and I’ve been watching UK and Australian versions for the first time in addition to re-watching the U.S. editions. My favorite contestant from the second U.S. season is a Spanish teacher named Katie, remembered for her emotional outbursts and attachment to a stuffed cow named Meadow Muffin. The euphemistic HOLYSCHNIKES was a common exclamation for Katie. The friends of mine who use the expression remind me of Katie in one way or another.

Default - 331704 Words
PB 9L Filtered  BROODOVER

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     ABUGSLIFE (80)

Patrick Berry, who is fine-tuning his own puzzle word list, recently made it through 9-letter entries, so we exchanged lists as we have done in the past. As a point of pride, I try to find out the number of new entries that Patrick receives versus the number I receive. Patrick responds to my queries in a grateful but cryptic manner: “Lots of good stuff in here that I didn’t have — Thanks!” I suspect that I benefit more from the exchanges than he does, and I also blanch when I discover the omissions from Default. ABUGSLIFE? Really? Why haven’t I gone through all the Pixar films for database additions? My Default is a long way from being a “Stump the Database” contender.

     BAMBOOHUT (1)

When Patrick and I exchange lists, we leave out low-scoring entries. The list I sent to Patrick contained 9-letter entries scored 40 or higher. The overwhelming majority of the PB 9L entries I have reviewed are good to great, but I’m not sold on BAMBOOHUT as a dictionary-value phrase. I feel that Jeffrey Harris may want to give me grief about my earlier defense of GRASSSHACKS, an entry he disliked in one of my past puzzles. To me, GRASSSHACK feels natural while BAMBOOHUT doesn’t. What are your opinions on GRASSSHACK and BAMBOOHUT, or any other tropical edifice?

     BERRYTREE (50)

This, apparently, is another name for the gooseberry. I thought it might have been a made-up entry that Patrick slipped into his exchanged list. You know what an egomaniac Patrick is.

     JONATHANCOULTON (65)

Shortly before ACPT, I received a Facebook notification that my name was referenced in a conversation thread about Ophira Eisenberg. The stand-up comedienne and host of NPR’s Ask Me Another was scheduled to be a guest commentator at the tournament. On Facebook, someone commented that Ophira would be popular among crossword enthusiasts because her name is 15 letters long, and Doug Peterson was kind enough to post a link to my Unthemely puzzle from last year that used OPHIRAEISENBERG as the seed entry. Ophira, in on the Facebook thread, was delighted to discover that she was the star of a crossword puzzle. She sent me a friend request and reposted the link on her own Facebook wall. I was very endeared by the exposure and new Facebook contact — Doug, I owe you one! So, I thought I’d try JONATHANCOULTON, another 15-letter celebrity who is Ophira’s musical costar on Ask Me Another, as a seed form my next Unthemely puzzle. Maybe it’ll lead to another connection — it couldn’t hurt.

Default - 328243 Words
New 10L 79S SABBATICAL

DOWNLOADABLE PUZZLE: Unthemely #34.PUZ / Unthemely #34.PDF

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     RIVERALIVE (45)

Geraldo Rivera’s CNBC show ran from 1994 to 2001. The show’s title is inferrable but 45 is as high as I want to go. Also, when I adjusted the score a few days ago and just before starting this blog post I read the entry as RIVER ALIVE, which sounds like some kind of theme park boat ride.

     ROGERAILES (60)

In one of my early blog posts I mentioned my refusal to use IDI or AMIN in crossword puzzles. The enormity of the former despot outweighs the handiness of name. Based on my political views, I find Roger Ailes despicable, but he’s not so wicked that I wouldn’t use his name in a crossword; AILES does have a useful letter pattern. If you construct puzzles, do you let your politics influence your choices for entries and clues?

SABBATICAL is an appropriate start to the S entries in New 10L 79S because I am going to take another break from scoring the list. Patrick Berry sent me another section of his word list and I’d like to add the entries not currently in Default — about 3,000 words.

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Default - 328198 Words

Transposal: DEMITARIAN / MADEITRAIN

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     ANTIGRAV (65)

I re-read Tyler Hinman’s “War on Fill” blogpost this weekend. While going through the comments, I was reminded of the fact that the term “autofill” conjures many negative stereotypes within the crossword community. One commenter proposed that most autofill constructors rely on word lists downloaded from CRUCIVERB or Ginsberg. Thus autofill puzzles are inferior because, by design, they hinder opportunities for original vocabulary. The commenter also touted CrossFire compiler software for enabling the constructor to fill manually when the word list lacked fill options for a given entry space. When I have trouble finding satisfactory fills for grid sections, I can generally fix the problem by isolating a troublesome entry space and checking OneLook for options not in Default; that’s essentially the fill process used by pencil constructors. ANTIGRAV is an entry added to Default to help a problem area in Unthemely #33. ANTIGRAV was not used in the final puzzle, but another OneLook addition was. It’s a reasonable solution to the word list limitations cited by the blog commenter. I’m interested to find out more about differences between CrossFire and CCWIN. Does anyone know of some online CrossFire tutorials?

     FISHMCBITES (75)

My friends have given generally poor reviews of  this new, Lent-friendly McDonald’s offering. It’s hard to say if it will stay on the menu, though the defunct MCDLT still gets occasional play in crossword grids. Has anyone tried a MCBITE?

     MOMAGER (70)

Portmanteau word coinages remain popular, and I tend to let Google hits guide me for word list inclusion and fill score. I heard MOMAGER (mom/business manager) on Smash and found the Google results promising. INDIGNORANCE is another portmanteau I encountered recently. I love the concept, but it’s hasn’t yet impacted the cultural vocabulary outside Urban Dictionary. What are your favorite new portmanteau terms?

Default - 327915 Words
New 10L 79S RHAPSODIES

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     RAZZIEAWARDS (85)

Entries relating to the annual Golden Raspberry Awards for critically-panned films may have been featured in crosswords, though Ginsberg only lists one instance of RAZZIES in a 2012 WSJ puzzle. When I added the entry to Notepad, I decided it would make a fun seed for Oscar season.

     RENCOUNTER (30)

At first I thought this was a typo, but discovered that it is an archaic term meaning “to meet casually.” It’s related to the French term RECONTRE, which is also in 11C but unfamiliar to me.

     RENSSELAER (65)

When I met Dave Tuller in 1998, he told me that he had attended Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and suggested that I must have come across the entry RPI in a crossword puzzle. At the time I had no knowledge of the school or memory of that crossword entry. I’ve seen it since then, and the entry reminds me of Dave, as well as Tyler Hinman. Over the last few months I’ve been marathon-watching episodes of All in the Family on YouTube. I was reminded that a minor character in the later seasons, after Archie buys Kelcy’s Bar, is a blind man who frequents the bar. I thought that the character had the same last name as RPI founder Stephen Van Rensselaer, but Wikipedia lists the character’s name as “Van Ranseleer” per a closing-credits screen shot. I wonder if that was a production misspelling.

Default - 327862 Words
New 10L 79S REFOCUSING

DOWNLOADABLE PUZZLE: Unthemely #33.PUZ / Unthemely #33.PDF

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     QUIRKINESS (70)

55 is my baseline score for entries with the suffix -NESS. The entries tend to yield uninteresting clues and the NESS letter combination invites dull crossing entries. My friend Dave feels the same way about -ING entries, particularly that pairs of -ING entries are likely to intersect when they are assigned overly generous fill scores. I will bump up the scores of -NESS entries if they have some good letters (QUIRKINESS) or better-than-average clue potential (BUSINESS, HAPPINESS, TRUTHINESS), but 70 is my limit.

     RAPPELLING (63)

When a verb ending in a single letter L has multiple spellings for -ed and -ing inflections listed in Merriam-Webster dictionaries, the -led/-ling version is usually listed first, followed by the -lled/-lling version. The single-L is more common in American English and the double-L in British English. RAPPEL’s inflections are listed in reverse order. I’m guessing that the two spellings are roughly interchangeable and scored them that way. I have no experience with cliff descents on either side of the Atlantic, so I don’t know for sure if the spelling difference is regional. Ginsberg lists no entries for RAPPELED, RAPPELLED, or RAPPELING, and only one for RAPPELLING.

     REACCUSTOM (50)

…And into a long list of RE- entries, most of which of will be rescored in the 50s or lower. It’s better than the UN- entries, and the list is broken up with the occasional interesting entry such as REALMADRID and REDREDWINE.

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Default - 327810 Words

Transposal: MANTITEO / ATNOTIME

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     DOMEASOLID (65)

This phrase came up in the dialogue of a sitcom I was watching and I jotted it down. I like it as a slang term and hope it’s still reasonably current; I’m not a great judge of such things.

     EATBY (45)

This entry, referring to an expiration date on store-bought food items, showed up in two Across Lite puzzles in the most recent batch. I initially discounted it, but after the second instance I checked Google, noted some meager justification, and added the entry with a low score.

     PHABLET (50)

Ben Zimmer mentioned this 2012 neologism, a portmanteau of “phone: and “tablet,” in his end-of-the-year column. He speculated that the term was unlikely to catch on, and that as such devices become more popular a different, more aesthetic term will arise. I tend to agree, but snagged the entry from a recent BEQ puzzle. His quick turnaround on crosswords allows him to use current, and possibly ephemeral, terms as seed entries. Since it was a handy snag in my grid harvest I shrugged and decided to add it. Maybe it will prove more lasting than Zimmer and I predict.

Default - 327623 Words
New 10L 79S QUACKISHLY

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     PRINTQUEUE (85)

Twenty years ago the word “queue” had no business in American English, except maybe as a quaint term for a hair braid. The technological adoption of the term — call queues, print queues, Netflix queues, etc. — have made the word mainstream, and I find that people are becoming comfortable using “queue” as a lineup of people, as in British usage.

     PSILOCYBIN (50)

I think I remember this term for a psychodelic compound in mushrooms from a past National Spelling Bee broadcast. It would also be a good clue in a variation of dictionary game that I used to play in chat rooms. The goal of the game is to figure out what dictionary entry immediately follows the entry given as a clue. Can you figure out the entry that follows PSILOCYBIN in New 10L 79S?

     SAPIOSEXUAL (70)

This seed was a recent pull from the Word Spy website. As a neologism, it didn’t lend itself to a tricky clue, but I found the concept amusing and appropriate for a crossword marquee.

Default - 327619 Words
New 10L 79S PRECENTORS

DOWNLOADABLE PUZZLE: Unthemely #32 .PUZ / Unthemely #32 .PDF

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     POKERBUDDY (70)

When I came to this entry in the Default list I stared at it for a few seconds, did a Google search, discovered that it is a name for a number of poker-related products and computer applications, gave the entry a score, and moved on. I’d be inclined to clue it as an in-the-language phrase, but I wanted to make sure it had a proper name option for insurance. Do you have a problem with the entry if it were clued simply as {Card game invitee}?

     PORNOCRACY (40)

I recently submitted a Chronicle of Higher Education crossword that included the entry CRAP clued with a reference to the dice game. Patrick Berry later told me that he needed to replace the entry because CHE would reject it no matter how it was clued. “What about the entry PORN?” I asked. “That would also be rejected,” Patrick answered. “So, that means you wouldn’t accept a crossword idea I have where porn is the theme,” I said with a leading tone. Patrick just stared at me incredulously. Sometimes I come across a bit too earnest when making a joke.

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Default - 327618 Words

Transposal: ASWESAY / SEAWAYS

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     AMERICASCOURT (70)

I was in Kansas City recently visiting my dad. He likes to have the television on during my visits, usually for sports. No game of interest were scheduled, so we ended up watching a lot of FOX News, a lot of American Pickers, and a lot of reality court shows. My dad is a retired attorney, but I can’t imagine that he watches court shows simply based on an interest in jurisprudence. I haven’t been following daytime television for a while so I was astounded at how prolific courtroom television has become — the Wikipedia article on the topic bears this out. I jotted down a few names and titles from the article for Default.

     NOCUTSNOBUTTSNOCOCONUTS (70)

I saw two movies at theaters during the Christmas holidays: Les Miserables with my Christmas dinner friends, and Wreck-It Ralph with my nephew. Both movies offered opportunities to add entries to or refresh scores in Default; mainly names of actors and characters. NOCUTSNOBUTTSNOCOCONUTS is a throw-away line in one of the aforementioned films. It’s a phrase I hadn’t thought about since my elementary school days when it was a popular lunch-room cry; for all I know it’s still popular. I feel sure that NOCUTSNOBUTTS… is the proper spelling, as in “no cutting or butting in line,” but NOCUTSNOBUTS… gets nearly as many Google hits, perhaps with a “No cutting in line and no argument (buts) on that point” interpretation.

     PANKO (70)

This term for bread coating in Asian cuisine seems to have become popular and widespread in a very short time. How long have you known about this word?

Default - 327464 Words
New 10L 79S POCKETBOOK

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     PENFRIENDS (63)
     PLAYFELLOW (65)

These entries are both dictionary words; PENFRIEND is NI3 and PLAYFELLOW is 11C. They are less popular alternatives to PENPAL and PLAYMATE, but are perfectly inferrable in terms of meaning. Because the entries appear close to one another in the Deafault list I noticed the similarities and had the opportunity to ponder myself into being overly generous with the fill scores.

     PHILIPDICK (60)

This entry is not in Ginsberg so I assume I added at some point, perhaps in a brief moment of Longo-esque thoroughness. Obviously PHILIPKDICK gets more Google hits than PHILIPDICK. The latter does get millions of hits, but I wonder if that is due to a redirection protocol in Google’s programming. Do you think the K-less version of the entry is okay? Does it need a qualification in a crossword clue, such as {“A Scanner Darkly” writer, to a literary critic who wants to create a false sense of familiarity by dispensing with an otherwise prominent middle initial}?

Default - 327427 Words
New 10L 79S PATANSWERS

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     ODIACOATES (55)

I believe I added this singer’s name to Default from a list of Billboard #1 songs; she topped the charts with Paul Anka in 1974 with the duet “(You’re) Having My Baby.” Ginsburg has no hits for ODIA or ODIACOATES, but she may have appeared in a Pre-Shortzian puzzle.

     ORDERBLANK (70)

One definition of “blank” listed in 10C is “a paper with spaces for the entry of data”; “order blank” is used as an example. This strikes me a dated terminology. Coworkers of Don Draper might refer to “blanks,” but modern-day counterparts would call them “(entry) forms” or “applications.” Does that sound right to you? Do you hear people using “blank” with the given definition?

     PARTYLINES (68)

After scoring this entry I added PARTYLINE;70 to Notepad; a fairly standard fill-score difference for a singular and plural. PARTYLINE has two basic meanings: a political policy and a multi-subscriber telephone circuit. If I were to assign fill scores based on meanings, I would give PARTYLINE (political) a higher score than PARTYLINE (telephone), but I would give PARTYLINES (telephone) a slightly higher score than PARTYLINES (political). In other words, I would be more likely to clue the singular form in the political sense and the plural form in the telephone sense. Are there other entries with that property. Sports team nicknames, I suppose (a baseball clue would be more likely for CUBS than CUB). Do you share my inclination about PARTYLINE(S)? Can you think of other entries where the singular and plural forms influence the definition used in the clue?

Added Across Lite files/Notepad
Default - 327357 Words

Transposal: NETSCAPE / TENPACES

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     ABRAHAMLINCOLNVAMPIREHUNTER (75)

With 2012 coming to a close I decided to pick through the year’s films for database entries. I search films on IMDb using the MOVIEmeter score, which combines critical acclaim and box office success into a useful prioritization metric. I discovered that IMDb has a similar metric for television shows. I’ll play around with that feature some other time.

     BOKKEN (70)

I got an email last week from my friend Denny. I met him at the beginning of my senior year in high school and we became fast friends based on our mutual interest in theater, D&D, and other geeky teenage pursuits. We both eventually drifted from the Kansas City area, but maintain a semi-regular correspondence. Denny wanted to confirm my postal address for a holiday card and reminded me of a story from our high school days: I was hanging out at Denny’s house with a couple of friends and Denny took his bokken and started practicing sword maneuvers with the wooden blade very close to my face. I pridefully chose not to flinch or back off and Denny remarked, “Todd doesn’t flinch because he knows I won’t hit him.” Two seconds later Denny pasted me on the chin with an upswing. I wasn’t seriously hurt and found the situation as funny as the other people present did. In the recent email, Denny told me that he still felt bad about hitting me with that bokken. I read the sentence and realized that I didn’t remember that “bokken” is the term for a wooden training sword. I replied to the email, told Denny that I was was glad he reminded me of the word “bokken,” that I was going to add it to my crossword database, and that all was forgiven.

     ZOMBIEAPOCALYPSE (80)

I was working on Unthemely #31 around the time that I was visiting Patrick Berry in Georgia and I told him that I was using this phrase as a seed entry. He approved, and mentioned that he was trying the popularize the abbreviated form of the phrase: ZOMPOCALYPSE. I’m not ready to add that entry to Default but I wish Patrick the best of luck on his language-influencing endeavors.

Default - 326994 Words
New 10L 79S NICARAGUAN

DOWNLOADABLE PUZZLE: Unthemely #31

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     NARCOLEPSY (55)

This word doesn’t appear in Ginsberg, and I’m not sure if it that is due to a specific avoidance based on clinical insensitivity. It may be a matter of priority; entries as long as ten letters are generally chosen first in the fill process and reserved for words and phrases of higher aesthetic value. The fill score of 55 reveals that I would be reluctantly open to using the entry. As I go through this list, assigning a subjective range of lowish fill scores to entries I’d rather not encounter in a construction process, I consider my own priorities on crosswords. Do dazzling long entries justify poor quality three- and four-letter words? Or should overall quality regulate some compromises in the long entries?

     NETIQUETTE (70)

This cutesy portmanteau has been sanctioned by unabridged dictionaries, though I can’t remember the last time I encountered the word in conversation. The classic breach of etiquette committed when swaths of people were dipping their feet into the Internet in the ’90s was “shouting” messages with all capital letters. The current young generation on the Web rarely uses the shift key at all. If I used the entry in a puzzle, I’d have an instinct to somehow date the concept, as in {Behavior prescribed by newsgroup administrators}.

Default - 327110 Words
New 10L 79S NACHOLIBRE

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     MANFRIDAYS (43)

This odd plural appears in a few unabridged dictionaries; MENFRIDAY and MENFRIDAYS are variants. The most common cultural use of the plural appears to be Adrian Jackson’s play “A Few Man Fridays.” I suspect that most people with multiple personal assistants use different terminology.

     MELQUIADES (50)

I didn’t recognize this as a Latino given name, but it has a fair range of cultural appearances: the film The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada, a character in One Hundred Years of Solitude, The formal first names of pitcher Mel Rojas and former Senator Mel Martinez. It probably won’t end up in a crossword, but at least I get a little education in the database research.

     MISCARRIED (48)

I checked Ginsberg and found one instance of MISCARRY, clued {Fail, planwise} in a Washington Post puzzle. None of the other verb forms appear. “Miscarriage of justice” is a familiar phrase, but I rarely hear the verb form used in the non-medical sense.

     MRSMCTHING (50)

I wrote a NYT themeless in which the first two across entries were SHAQVS and MGMGRAND. It was not a deliberate intention to put 12 consonants in a top row, but I wondered what sorts of consonant-vowel-ratio records existed in crosswords. SHAQVS was nixed for the 1-Across spot, unsurprisingly, but I guess I could use the Mary Chase play title if I wanted to try again.

Default - 327038 Words
New 10L 79 S MACADAMISE

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     LASERDISKS (48)

LASER DISC (along with the trademark name LASERDISC) is clearly the preferred spelling, but LASER DISK does show up as a variant in some dictionaries. I’m not clear if the DISK version is a British spelling or just an inclusion based on an orthographic philosophy that all DISC phrases can be spelled as DISK and vice-versa.

     LOBOTOMIZE (50)

This entry ventures close to the dividing line of clinical unpleasantness. The figurative (and in this case ironic) definition of LOBOTOMIZE—“to deprive of sensitivity, intelligence, or vitality”—is sanctioned by 11C.

     LUCUBRATES (48)

LUCUBRATION, meaning “intensive study” can be found in 11C, while the verb form only appears in unabridged dictionaries. The word literally means “to work by lamplight”—that etymological fact could be an interesting clue approach.