PUZZLE 143

Puzzle 143 – “Why So Negative?”

puz here / pdf here / solution here

We’re back to a themeless, and this one’s a touch kooky. This week’s puzzle went straight to the blog (and not submitted for consideration to any other outlets) because there are a few of what constructors call dupes (short for duplications) in here. 5-Across, 25-Down, and 30-Down, though different at first sight, reuse forms of the same bit of language (hence the title) frequently enough that having them all in the same puzzle is, to be honest, well, less than ideal. But I’m still pleased with how the grid turned out overall, so I’m happy to share it here this week.

And I did have some fun with a touch of trickiness in some clues. Favorites this time out: 24-Down and 43-Down are both goofy. I like 4-Down for the misdirect. I apologize in advance for 18-Across. And you can’t beat that fun fact at 55-Across. (And hey, we even snuck in a Muppet.)

I feel like I’ve been cluing a little gently last several weeks. Let’s even that out now.

Happy solving, yall. Comments are welcomed, as ever. Hope you enjoy.