Default - 325110 Words
New 10L 79S DAALIGSHOW

DOWNLOADABLE PUZZLE: Unthemely #22

     * * *

     CORRIGENDA (45)

Members of the National Puzzlers’ League know this word as the section of the Enigma magazine that lists errors in puzzles from earlier issues. I’m so used to the word in this context that I was ready to assign a 70 score, but then remembered that not every solver is in the League.

     COTTONBALL (75)

At a recent staff meeting, my boss mentioned an unpleasant task that needed to be done and asked for volunteers. After a few moments of predictable silence, a coworker, who hails from Nebraska, remarked, “Boy, you can hear a mouse pissin’ on a ball of cotton.” It was the first new regionalism I’ve heard in quite a while. Have any of you encountered any new ones lately?

     CROSSBONES (55)

I was curious if this term has any meaning independent of the phrase SKULL AND CROSSBONES. It is an 11C entry, though the entry basically refers to the SKULL phrase. Wikipedia lists a Marvel Comics supervillain and 2005 horror film. Still, it’s hard to picture crossbones on a pirate flag, medicine bottle, or tattoo without an accompanying skull.

     CYCLOPEDIA (40)

This word reminds me of musty volumes on the neglected shelves of library reference sections — I was fascinated with old reference books as a kid. Because the word is inferable and could be clued in a nostalgic vein, I considered assigning a higher fill score. But then I relented, figuring that solvers wouldn’t find it particularly lively.