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Themeless #1 - Slow Work Day

◆◆ · By Aaron · Published 2020-12-31T01:37:03.215Z

I resolved to start constructing puzzles in 2021 after sitting in on the Homeschool Cooperative crossword construction class, but before the year even started, ended up with multiple completed puzzles thanks to several slow work days. I am still working to improve both clueing and fill in this as well as any future puzzles. Feel free to provide any and all feedback on clues and fill, as well as the difficulty of the clues themselves. To me this felt like an easy Thursday level but I could be mis-gauging whether the clues are gettable or common knowledge, and that's not mentioning a few pieces of pre-Shortz arcana I'm still not skilled enough to magic off the grid yet. Let me know your thoughts, especially if you think the clues aren't common knowledge (or can't easily be inferred from the crosses)
Checking for previous play data...

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  • Mike D 6:40 · 2020-12-31T03:27:55.666Z
    Fun one Aaron! Nice grid, I liked SWIPERIGHT, FORLOOP, and BIGBAD. I struggled a bit in some areas - I think JOYED/MCRIBS/JAMBAND and ACTIVIA/ASPIS/PATEL were the ones that forced me to reveal. Looking forward to more of your puzzles in the new year!
    • Hannah B 10:51 · 2020-12-31T05:59:35.600Z
      IMO this was a bit too trivia heavy. I had to cheat on ASPIS/PATEL/ACTIVIA and TLS/ARMADA and JOYED/MCRIBS/JAMBAND. IMO some of these could have benefited from easier clues in case we didn't know the crossing word at all. I enjoyed some of the clues such as INHALF though!
      • Aaron constructor · 2020-12-31T14:08:17.121Z
        Thanks for everyone's comments.
        Thanks for letting me know about ACTIVIA/ASPIS/PATEL. PATEL was actually the clue whose difficulty I was most unsure about especially crossing ASPIS. I'll definitely be working to have cleaner crosses and fewer "Naticks" in the future!
        • Idriss Z 12:16 · 2021-06-02T01:20:09.883Z
          I love SCI, thanks for throwing them in there :D
          Play today's daily mini crossword
          1A
          Musical fish?
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          Across
          1. 1A
            Musical fish?
          2. 5A
            Shield for a hoplite
          3. 10A
            DJT famously attacked John McCain for being one
          4. 13A
            Ronkonkoma-bound ride (abbr.)
          5. 14A
            Monk's melody
          6. 15A
            First-place prizes at the 1968 olympics
          7. 17A
            A pitchers' grip might be based on it
          8. 18A
            "We go _____ mat, for the artists you adore" (tongue-in-cheek indie-label slogan)
          9. 19A
            Borderlands chest find
          10. 20A
            "100 Years 100 Movies" grp.
          11. 22A
            Iowa field unit
          12. 23A
            Former Borough Park or Forest Hills community ctr.
          13. 24A
            Music city?
          14. 28A
            Alg. I sequel
          15. 29A
            "Born in _______" (Neil Young song)
          16. 30A
            Programming 101 topic
          17. 32A
            "Because seven ___ nine!" (old groaner punchline)
          18. 33A
            Discipline of 28A
          19. 35A
            Internet consultant's job, for short
          20. 36A
            Five man electrical band?
          21. 38A
            Firebrand rep. from NYC
          22. 40A
            The Globe... or all the world
          23. 44A
            Baggage carousel posting
          24. 46A
            "You can't ____ dead trees" (old hacker-culture aphorism)
          25. 48A
            Royal Observatory setting
          26. 49A
            The String Cheese Incident genre
          27. 53A
            He said "Open Sesame"
          28. 55A
            Free Willy star
          29. 56A
            Approve, as on some apps
          30. 58A
            Feghoot, for one
          31. 59A
            Butler of Arcade Fire renown
          32. 60A
            Mykonos is on it, for short
          33. 61A
            Great lake... or the canal that serves it
          34. 62A
            Thomas Hardy's ___ Heath
          35. 64A
            Product of 52D's side hustle
          36. 68A
            Applies, as cream
          37. 69A
            Nosy mammal?
          38. 70A
            MSI competitor
          39. 71A
            Mao ___-tung
          40. 72A
            Part of a broken escalator, to some
          41. 73A
            Dress (up)
          Down
          1. 1D
            Q-booster in Scrabble, for short
          2. 2D
            Driver's 180
          3. 3D
            Rex Parker's most hated clue, perhaps
          4. 4D
            Gas-guzzling Nissan
          5. 5D
            Fage competitor
          6. 6D
            HBO alternative
          7. 7D
            Dev of "Lion"
          8. 8D
            How a magician's assistant might be cut
          9. 9D
            Audiophiles' living room centerpieces
          10. 10D
            J.R.R. Tolkien was a famous one
          11. 11D
            Start of a balcony address?
          12. 12D
            "I can't believe I won!"
          13. 16D
            Passport collectible
          14. 21D
            Pause, to Pavarotti
          15. 24D
            Reddit alternative favored by the alt-right that shut down on Christmas 2020
          16. 25D
            Pot ingredient?
          17. 26D
            Native inhabitants of the Beehive State
          18. 27D
            Atom
          19. 31D
            Breathe
          20. 34D
            Sturgis-bound transport, familiarly
          21. 37D
            Cuisine for falafel and baba ganoush
          22. 39D
            "Cut the ____" (Clash LP infamous for its cheesy '80s synths)
          23. 41D
            "It's just ____" (prankster's excuse)
          24. 42D
            AG alternative, in Frankfurt-am-Main
          25. 43D
            Coup d'___
          26. 45D
            Yahoo _______
          27. 47D
            "Haunting of Hill House" protagonist
          28. 49D
            Elated (with "over")
          29. 50D
            Turkish peak near the Armenian border
          30. 51D
            They went on a "farewell tour" in 2005
          31. 52D
            Jim once hid his stapler in Jell-O on primetime TV
          32. 54D
            Epithet for a Grimm wolf
          33. 57D
            White House companion to Barney and Miss Beazley
          34. 63D
            Beast of Japanese folklore
          35. 65D
            Green marketing prefix
          36. 66D
            It's served with pie and mash
          37. 67D
            After-school TV highlight, for some '90s kids
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