Puzzle 213 – “Eight Squared”
puz here / pdf here / solution here
What’s with the math-adjacent title here? Did I accidentally post a sudoku variant? Nope. But this week’s themeless is an experiment with an unusual (for me) grid shape, with only eight long answers, and only 64 (eight squared) entries overall. Yeah, yeah, we’re stretching the usefulness of the title a touch. Oh well.
Seed entry here was 33-Across (which I sense is inferrable even if you’re not a fan). Favorite clue(s), though, might be the pair at 50-Across and 11-Down. My sense is that this one may play a little tougher than usual, so I tried to ease up the cluing on the shorter entries to help solvers find a foothold.
In other news, I’ve got a mini puzzle over at Crossword Flow on Wednesday. Check it out if you solve on an iPad.
Happy solving, yall. As always, comments are welcomed. Hope you enjoy.
I was just going to comment on how much I loved the meeting of 11D and 50A, then I saw it in your notes too! I’m also a big Top Chef fan, so that went in right away. Really nice puzzle – thanks!
Always an exciting moment each season when we get down to the top 8, amirite?
Great one! Favorite in a while.
Never heard of 28A. Can i get it in Jackson?
Eh, your guess is as good as mine there.
Yay for 28-across! I thank GBBO for my knowing. 🙂
Thanks for the fun puzz!
Glad you enjoyed! (And I need to make sure I have GBBO in my wordlist next time I look back through 4-letter entries…)
26-across is clever in a weirdly subversive way.
Just talking about boiling sugar and water, that’s all…