August 2011
9 posts
ONEINTWO
Default - 320902 Words New PB 8L PABULUMS
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MINUSONE (60)
I’ve considered the fill score ranges for spelled-out positive integers, but not negative integers. MINUSONE seems okay, as it appears in some familiar mathematical definitions. MINUSTWO, MINUSSIX, and so on are increasingly problematic for clue writing. I left those entries unscored on the PB list.
ONEINTWO...
New Additions / UNTHEMELY #5
Added Notepad Default - 320716 Words
Transposal: GOALLINES / GOESALLIN / LIESALONG
DOWNLOADABLE PUZZLE: Unthemely #5
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MANKINI (70)
This word was mentioned in a recent news update of new additions to the online OED, with references to the costume that Sacha Baron Cohen wore in the Borat film. I’m looking for a free source of the exhaustive list of these periodic online OED...
JEWELBOX
Default - 319930 Words New PB 8L MABIBARK
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JEWELBOX (85)
While a clue referring to a box holding precious gems would be the fair way to approach this entry, my immediate association with the phrase is the botanic garden in St. Louis’s Forest Park. I was taken there many times as a child, and noted later that the landmark is mentioned in The Glass Menagerie as a place that...
New Additions / UNTHEMELY #4
Added Notepad and CCWIN grids Default - 320281 Words
Transposal: HOOPSTERS / POSTHORSE
DOWNLOADABLE PUZZLE: Unthemely #4
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BROSTACHE (55)
I jotted down this word when I heard it in a Geico commercial about “dumb” smartphone apps. When I Googled the word later, I discovered that most of the early hits referenced an actual mustache-simulating smartphone app sponsored...
HOLYCATS
Default - 319930 Words New PB 8L IANSMITH
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GOBYEBYE (60)
I didn’t add conjugated forms of this verbal phrase because I think it loses appeal beyond the conversational clue approach — {Jim Henson’s Muppet Babies sign-off} perhaps, for solvers of the right generation. Do you think GOESBYEBYE, WENTBYEBYE, etc. should also be added?
GYPSYCAB (75)
This is a...
New Additions / UNTHEMELY #3
Added Notepad Default - 319677 Words
Transposal: BABYCINO / CABINBOY
DOWNLOADABLE PUZZLE: Unthemely #3
The first segment of the New PB 8L entries was added to Default, hence the bump in word count.
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CREDITCRUNCH (80)
The notepad contained some results from a *credit* OneLook search. I’ve recently been reevaluating the boundary between the 75 and 80 score levels. I feel...
FOUROCAT
Default - 316972 Words New PB 8L G???????
I’m not going to proceed with the New PB 8L list in the standard fashion. I find that I’m mainly bottom-padding the Default list with legitimate but uninteresting entries. I’ll add the scored entries starting A-F and then cherry-pick through the rest of the list. I can go through the remaining entries later, but I have other segments of...
FOGGYDAY / UNTHEMELY #2
Default - 316972 Words New PB 8L FONDHOPE
DOWNLOADABLE PUZZLE: Unthemely #2
Some have asked why I am posting crossword puzzles to the blog instead of other markets. There are always advantages and disadvantages to consider when choosing a crossword venue, and I’ve decided that this blog is the best choice for the Unthemely puzzles that I’ve started creating.
I want to point out a...
New Additions
Added Notepad Default - 316972 Words
Transposal: FILESDOWN / SNOWFIELD
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SUICIDEWATCH (40)
I tend to use 40 as a minimum score when filling a crossword grid, so 40 has become a default low-end score in the Project. SUICIDEWATCH was added to the Notepad after a *watch* search in OneLook. I don’t have a desire to use the entry in a puzzle, but I wanted to add it to the list....
