This is the crossword puzzle thread

Submitting to the Sun? You think you can start at the top?

I was advised to send stuff there because P3t3r G0rd0n responds very quickly (like within a few days), and it's true, he does, and usually he also explains why he's taking a pass. So that's helpful, and better than waiting for months to hear from W. Shortz. But I also don't really know where else to submit. My goal was to get printed in the AV Club until Ben T. told me that it's a rotating group of eight constructors and he doesn't take outside submissions.

The problem is I don't even do any puzzles besides Tausig and the AV Club and occasionally the Tribune, so I don't know where else my puzzles would fit. I think the Trib might be a little too conservative for me; their daily puzzles at least are always really boring.

I made a pretty good themeless one the other day, actually, with a stack of three seven-letter words in each of the four corners.

Maybe you should some of those Sun puzzle books and see what they're after.

Maybe. I don't think I've seen a Sun puzzle book. In fact, I don't think I'd ever even heard of the Sun until a few months ago.

I have some and I like doing them. I think a lot of insiders think it's the best puzzle out there.

do they have cryptic crosswords much in the U.S.? My understanding of the NYT one is that it's "quick", a enormous vocabulary are much more important than having a certain kind of mind and a lot of general knowledge.

OK, wow: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryptic_crossword

Like it says in there, mainly Harper's and The Atlantic.

Puzzle on page 13 of my New York Sun Crosswords #15 is by your man Tausig. First puzzle is by Trip Payne.

I'm doing this one here, Ease Out, i suppose it's Tausig? Anyway, I am completely boggled by one of the clues. I have the answer, because i have the crossing words, but the solution/clue make NO sense to me. Can anyone shed a light? 24 down.

Well, no, not if you don't tell us what the clue and answer are...

Yeah, I didn't get that one at all, either.

"What L may stand for" = LGE

I did that puzzle today, and also didn't understand the answer (after getting it w/crosses).

I wasn't sure what the rules were for spoilers or whatnot, heh.

Now that I am looking at it again, lge = large = L stands for it on t-shirts, etc?

Yeah, that's the only thing I can think of, too -- except I've never seen "lge" as an abbreviation for "large" before.

If that's it, it's a terrrrible clue.

Results 1 - 10 of about 615,000 for lge large.

i think i have seen it before on t-shirt order sites and such, sml med lge, but wheneveri see "lge" i think "lg electronics"

Google agrees with you.

aww @ this week's av club puzzle

Funny, too!

ugh, crossword pet peeve = "mikes" as a fill meaning "microphones". second time i've seen it.

better than "mics"?

it's always weird when ya do the puzzles in some random newspaper that only seems to feature puzzles made by a Computer, and both puzzles on the same page have the same stupid filler words on the same day

oh that gets my blood boiling, i tell ye

no, "mics" is correct.

I prefer "mics" myself, but as I once pointed out on some other, long-forgotten thread, "mike" predates "mic" in Webster's by almost 40 years (1924 vs. 1961).

huh. but no one writes "mikes" anymore except noobs, and i like my crosswords to be current!

"mics" should be reserved for talking about acid

Robbins Library (Arlington, MA) presents master crossword constructor Will Johnston on Thursday, April 24 at 7:00 p.m. He will provide a fascinating look at the craft and art behind the puzzles you see in newspapers and on the web every day. Johnston, a nationally published constructor and moderator of /The New York Times/ online crossword forum, will demonstrate and discuss creating puzzle themes, making diagrams, filling them with interesting words and phrases, and writing both tricky and straightforward clues.

You'll walk away from the event with new insights to enhance your own solving, and renewed appreciation of this addictive pastime.

The event is presented by the Cruicverbalists of Boston. For more information, visit http://www.bostoncru.org.

Two new-ish puzzles on Flickr (Casuistry has already done them):

Up All Nite
Around the World (technically themeless, but a slight theme began to develop anyway, which explains the title)

If anyone wants them in Across Lite format, let me know and I can e-mail.

"bro" was an answer in yesterday's NYTimes xword bros

What was the clue?

Pal

I just sent a puzzle to Tribune Media Services. Hoping for a bite soon...

The theme fills on Up All Nite are terrific (the second one in particular). (And the fourth one in particular.)

Thanks! I liked those, too. The third is a bit of a stretch, I know. B.T. said the puzzle "didn't quite work" for him, so I'm not sure if it's worth shopping around or not.

I did Up All Nite, I really liked it. It was more challenging than some of your earlier ones. The only one I thought didn't quite make sense with the clue was 43A, but it's cute and was one of the first theme answers I got anyway.

Keep at it, dogg.

I wanted to make a puzzle called "KKK Meeting," in which all of the fills would have three Ks in them. (Alternate title: "Three Strikes, You're Out.") I came up with an extensive list of possible fills (NEWYORKKNICKS, KNICKERBOCKERS, RIMSKYKORSAKOV, KICKBACK, KAKIKING, KANKAKEE, KNOCKKNEED, KICKTHEBUCKET, KIRKPATRICK, LIKECLOCKWORK) but couldn't get the grid to work. Problem is, once you introduce all those Ks, you have to go the other direction with them, too. (Fun fact: four Ks = KNICKKNACK; five Ks = KNOCKKNOCKJOKE.)

Actually, I may have spoke too soon. I think I know how I could make it work now.

If you're going to call it "Three Strikes, You're Out", then you can use fills like NEWYORNICS, RIMSYORSAOV, ICBAC...

Oh oops xpost unless you just noticed that.

That's not what I was thinking, but that's a fantastic idea.

Goddammit, I just wasted the whole day making that puzzle.

Mmm... well, I won't tell your boss if you don't.

tausig's "theme theme" puzzle this week was fun.

Yeah, I just did that this morning.

I need to make some more puzzles, but themes come to me so sporadically.

Okay, here's a general question. Sometimes you'll see a clue like "Is crooked" and the fill is CHEATS. Would it be appropriate to turn it around, though? -- i.e., the clue is "Cheats" and the fill is ISCROOKED? I can't remember ever seeing something like that as a fill before.

The alternative would be to turn ISCROOKED into a fill in the blank, like if there was a song called "Everyone Is Crooked" and the clue would be "Everyone ________" -- but I'm under the impression that fill-in-the-blanks of longer than 5 letters are generally frowned upon.

This might be better off asked on the Cruciverb listserv, but I'm sort of intimidated to post there.