The Autofill Project

Default - 316653 Words
New PB 8L FLAGFALL

DOWNLOADABLE PUZZLE: Unthemely #1

I decided that it would be fun to construct some non-themed crossword puzzles using  entries from my New Additions files as seeds. The first in this “Unthemely” series is downloadable as a .puz file. I’ll discuss the seed entry in a future blog post.

     * * *

     FIRCONES (58)

This entry made me think about the relative popularity of phrases in the form “___ cones” where the blank is a coniferous tree. Based on Google hits, “pine cones” is the unsurprising winner. “Spruce cones” and “cedar cones” returned a respectable number of hits, with “larch cones” trailing a bit. “Yew cones” is a phrase that’s not exactly padding out the search-term lists.

     FIVEACRE (35)

I scored the FIVE???? entries that referred to some unit of measure in the 35-45 range. I didn’t spend time thinking of specific clue options for all of these entries. I kept the entries in the list if I felt positive intuition that some the term could refer to something familiar.

Default - 316653 Words
New PB 8L FILEAWAY

The FAEORESE word that I referenced in an earlier post was “oe,” which I simply remember as a “Faeroese wind” listed among the acceptable two-letter words in the Official Scrabble Players dictionary.

     * * *

     FATCAMPS (33)

In the early 2000s, I was a regular in the old AOL crossword chat forum, and Frank Longo, also a regular, would occasionally present clues and entries that were part of puzzles submitted to the New York Times. One entry he presented was THUNDERTHIGHS. The term was agreed to be “in the language” but possibly insensitive — not to the degree of blatant profanity or cultural atrocity, but nowhere near a feel-good entry in a puzzle. FATCAMP(S) gives me that same uncomfortable feeling, and it also strikes me as a dated term.

     FELLANOX (1)

I assume this parses as “fell an ox,” and it looks like some quaint idiom from the minus-five edition of an unabridged dictionary but I can’t find a meaning. Anyone ever heard of this?

     FELODOSE (5)

This hyphenated Medieval Latin term for a suicide (that’s an admittedly simplified definition) is 11C and sort of intriguing on an etymological level, but doesn’t strike me as a viable crossword entry.

Added Notepad and Crossword files
Default - 316653 Words

Transposal: ENDSITALL / INSTALLED

A few days ago I downloaded Crossword Solver, and have been using it as an alternative to Across Lite for paperless solving. I’m still getting used to differences and trying to figure out if I can adjust the settings to create a more familiar solving experience. I don’t find it superior to Across Lite, but I feel that I should wean myself off Mr. Happy Pencil if Across Lite’s new corporate owner plans to become more strict with the software usage.

     * * *

     DADCHELOR (65)

This coinage for a male who is just about to enter parenthood was new to me when I encountered it in a crossword. I’m not sure if the term itself has legs, but I recognize the rising trend of couples who want to have children while remaining uninterested in marriage. When a wedding is not involved, the birth of a child is now a popular rite of passage that inspires celebration for the father-to-be and his friends. I’m curious to know what goes on at a “dadchelor” party and how the guest of honor sow’s his wild oats.

     MOVETO (50)

This came from a WSJ puzzle (as MOVESTO) and was clued as {Chooses as one’s new hometown}. It’s an awkward partial and I can’t think of a simpler way to clue it offhand, but I’ll keep it in Default, with a low score, for the time being.

Default - 316420 Words
New PB 8L FAKERIES

     * * *

     ENEMYSPY (45)

Since I decided to create a database with a fill score range of 1-100, I find it easier to justify keeping questionable word entries that I happen to like. ENEMYSPY is the name of a children’s book, but beyond that, my rational sense tells me that the entry does not have solid enough dictionary value for database inclusion. But then my id leaps in and says, “Oh, but it’s a fun entry — just give it a low-to-medium score like 45 and it will keep out of the way.”

     ETONCROP (50)

This term for a woman’s haircut popular in the ’20s was new to me. It’s named for the British school, but I’ve never seen it referenced in a crossword clue for ETON.

     FAEROESE (45)

I knew this was an adjective referring to the Faeroe Islands in the North Atlantic, but I discovered that it is also the language spoken by the islands’ inhabitants. I then realized that I knew a word that probably comes from the Faeroese language, and with a bit of Internet research I learned that I was right. Anyone want to guess the word?

Default - 316420 Words
New PB 8L ENOLFORM

     * * *

     EARTHDIN (35)

The E entries in this list have been unimpressive so far. Most are compound terms that either lack dictionary value or are obscure. The EARTH* compounds include BOB, IVY, LIT, OLD, and OWL — all of which I gave a 1 score. EARTHDIN is an archaic colloquialism for earthquake. I was interested enough to learn the word that I kept it at a 35.

     EASYMEAT (50)

The EASY* entries required more judgment calls. I nixed EASYGAME and EASYPACE, kept EASYTASK and EASYTODO at 40, and scored EASYPREY realtively high with 55. Google informed me that EASYMEAT is a Frank Zappa song, and I was reminded of a former coworker who played Zappa albums in his office all day. Sometimes we’d have a work project together and I’d spend the day in his office, but the only appreciation of Frank Zappa I retained was his rendition of Ravel’s “Bolero.”

     EGGSLICE (60)

This is a serviceable, B-minus entry in which the singular and plural forms are roughly the same value. If the crossword clue referenced, say, chef’s salad, I would use {Chef’s salad ingredient} for EGGSLICES and {Chef’s salad tidbit} for EGGSLICE. Besides salads, what do people do with egg slices?

Added Notepad
Default - 316420 Words

Transposal: DERBYHATS / THEBRADYS

     * * *

     VOTEWITHONESFEET (65)

In addition to the inflected forms of the D entries on the New PB 8L list, I added some OneLook finds from a *vote* search. Long before the project began, I had discussions with other crossword constructors about the relative value of verbal phrases that contain the self-reflexive pronoun ONES. When I started the project, I decided to use 65 as a maximum score for such entries. VOTEWITHONESFEET seems a reasonable candidate for the highest level of this entry category.

     VOTEFORPEDRO (75)

The movie Napoleon Dynamite has been come up recently as a popular culture reference at works, due to the fact that it was revealed as a common favorite among coworkers. If the campaign slogan from the film retains pop culture status, I suspect it would be due to the retro style of the baseball shirts with Cooper Black font that fans continue to wear.

Default - 316195 Words
New PB 8L EADMUNDI

     * * *

     DAVIDIAN (45)

I scored this word as a fill-in-the-blank, figuring that {Branch ___} is probably the sense that most people are familiar with. Admittedly, it’s not the most pleasant historical reference, given the fate of the religious sect in 1993.

     DIRECTTO (1)

When thinking of possible clues for this verbal phrase, I thought of {Act as a signpost} but didn’t see that incorporating the “to” in the answer. {Indicate the location of} was closer, but not quite the same meaning. {Give instructions on how to arrive at} was closer still, but too unwieldy. Maybe there’s a cleaner clue option, but I gave up trying to find it.

     DONETOAT (55)

I’m not fond of the phrase “to a t (tee).” It’s a valid dictionary entry — 11C suggests that the T stands for “tittle,” but it sounds too crosswordy to me. In my experience, the ratio of “to a T” encounters in crosswords to encounters in non-crossword conversation is about 20:1.

     DRYSINKS (63)

Our family had a dry sink. At one time it was kept in the kitchen and served as a food pantry. More often, it was family-room storage cabinet for playing cards and box games. It was never used for its “intended” purpose washing dishes, and that led to some confusion over the name when I was young. I think our dry sink is currently in my brother’s house. Similar items are currently manufactured — busing stations in restaurants, for example — but I believe the “dry sink” is now an antique furnishing. Anyone else have one of these items?

Added AcrossLite and Notepad
Default - 316195 Words

Transposal: CREEPSOUT / PROSECUTE

     * * *

     ANTHONYWEINER (60)

A couple of themeless crosswords in this batch of additions exploited the recent peccadillos of  former New York congressman by using ANTHONYWEINER and WEINERGATE (55) as, er, seed entries. In time, he should follow Larry Craig and Gary Hart into semi-obscurity, and I scored the entries accordingly. I will admit that his name may make him easier to recall among scandal-beset politicians of history.

     FARKAKTE (60)

I recently realized that while I’ve heard this Yiddishism for “lousy” hundreds of times I’ve never seen how it’s spelled. It took a few minutes of Internet searching to find this Google- (but not dictionary-) sanctioned variant. Can any of you confirm the spelling?

Default - 315908 Words
New PB 8L DABBLEIN

     * * *

     COLDSLAW (1)

I’m guessing this was a typo on Patrick’s list, though I found a lot of “cold slaw” recipes with a Google search. Perhaps these are examples of mondegreen salads.

     CORIOLIS (55)

I did some brief research on this scientist and was interested to learn that, in his lifetime, he did not explicitly identify meteorology as an application of his work, yet the meteorological Coriolis effect is now what he’s best known for. The entry is more likely to be clue with a reference to the effect than a reference to the man himself, so I scored close to the fill-in-the-blank range.

     CRACKLIN (45)

When I cam across this entry in Patrick’s list, I immediately thought of two phrases that start with “cracklin.” Out of curiosity, I searched “cracklin *” on OneLook, and my two phrases were the only results. Can you think of the phrases?