35D. I loved this clue for LAWS. Such a common word, yet it was wrapped up in a fancy bow with a clever piece of misdirection: “Housework?” This doesn’t involve sweeping floors — it is the job of the U.S. House of Representatives to make and pass federal LAWS.
42D. I first saw the actress WENDIE Malick on the 1990s sitcom “Dream On,” and since then I’ve caught her in many other shows, including “Seinfeld.” But my favorite role of hers thus far has been her voice work as Eda on the brilliant but unfortunately canceled animated series “The Owl House.”
Constructor Notes
İçerik Tablosu
I’m from London and am currently undertaking a Ph.D. in physics in Southampton, England. I’ve always been into puzzles, and got started with crosswords a good while ago solving cryptics — or at least attempting to solve them!
Almost two years ago, I stumbled across the unfamiliar American style while watching a variety-puzzle YouTuber I like, tried a few myself and quickly fell in love with them. There is perhaps some irony that I am debuting on a Friday, as when I first grew to love American-style crosswords, it was the themes that drew me in. That is something not typically seen in Britain. I thus initially didn’t see the appeal of themeless puzzles, but as I became a better solver I grew to adore the snazzy entries and punny clues, and now Friday puzzles are arguably my favorite of the week. (Saturdays are often still a little beyond me!)
Notes about the puzzle: I seeded this puzzle with the two crossing 15s, amused by the contrasting cynicism and optimism. Many, many different arrangements were attempted with varying satisfaction. Around this time, a great puzzle by David Steinberg came out, and I was particularly inspired by the inclusion of the staircase blocks. Playing around with this resulted in fill I was much more content with, and, in fact, I realized later my final grid differed by only two squares. Thanks for getting me through that, David!
Very happy that some of my favorite clues stuck, e.g. 34A, 40A and 56A, but I also very much appreciate the assist from the editing team, who added some fun trickiness with clues like 18A and 4D. I’d also like to invite people to wish my good friend and test solver Doug a happy early birthday (Dec. 17). He isn’t particularly into crosswords, but as none of my friends are (despite my attempts to convert them), he endeavors to give feedback to the best of his ability, for which I am incredibly grateful.
Happy (hopefully not overly commercialized) holidays!
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