Matt Ginsberg's dandy Sunday February 3 puzzle (answers here) is his third NYT effort, all in the still-young 2008. The first two are here and here. The trick was easy enough so I won't give it away but check any of the blogs in the left column for detailed descriptions if you're stuck.
There are a few common words including ED ASNER and ERRS but a few nice surprises like "They're better than one" becoming TWO HEADS and "Check list" as PAYEES. My favorite theme clue was "Enough!" which, when you Just Follow Directions becomes ALL [right] ALREADY. And damn you Prince Valiant! Thank your lucky stars you were smart enough to marry a woman with an uncommon but puzzle-worthy name like ALETA, without whom you would have long been forgotten. It's cute that "What a man and a woman become in marriage" is ONE FLESH. Because it's the NYT, there's not a hint that flesh mingling might occur even a day or two before the sacred rite.
Note: As Linda G points out, the grid numbering is different in the Across Lite and the printed versions of this puzzle. See the note in the answers for details.
I think some of the comments on my Instant Crosswords post reflect the classic mistake of rejecting new ideas because they don't fit current business models. Of course the business model has to be reinvented too, but that can’t constrain your ideas up front. Instead, the innovation has to drive the new economics.
Suppose it was your job to invent the future. That happens to be my day job so it’s something I think about a lot. Further suppose you want to kick start puzzles into new arenas. Be prepared to have your first ideas rejected, maybe your first thirty ideas, but the only hope for success is to focus on the customer benefit first.
I probably should have called them Disposable Crosswords rather than Instant Crosswords but I didn’t like the marketing implications. If they were fun, though, I would go out of my way to seek them out. I’d tell my friends. Along the way I’d learn something about current events. (Think of all the clues that are rejected or never even contemplated now because they won’t be relevant by the time the puzzle reappears in Clever Crosswords Volume 13. What a shame!)
If you insist on worrying about the business model, remember that the economic drivers are changing rapidly. If this were a perquisite of a subscription, I might be more inclined to renew. If I had to download from the web I’d give the publisher a chance for more ad impressions. If it created buzz around a new art form it might spin off, I don’t know, a new radio show or something. I have no idea. Neither do you. Delight the customer, though, and the economics will fall into place.
And don’t worry, if you still don’t like the Disposable, er I mean Instant Crosswords idea, I got lots more. Stay tuned. If you have ideas, let me know.
Oh, and you're right, Rex, putting the hard clue as the blog post title does help drive search traffic. I used that title because I couldn't figure out the clue but over the past day, 289 people found my site by looking for Ape wrestlers and I expect another bump in six weeks when it confounds the syndicated solvers. Small potatoes for a professional blog like yours, but big numbers for me. More blogging tips, or rather lessons learned from my experience so far, coming soon!
Update: From a comment made on Rex's blog, check out this article on the amazing constructor Matt Ginsberg.
I just loved this puzzle! Matt Ginsberg is quickly becoming one of favorites.
I took a quick break from blogging...it's a bit tedious because the numbering in the AcrossLite version differs from the print version (again!). To eliminate confusion when the puzzle goes into syndication, I thought I should show both grids and both numbers. We anal types...
Posted by: Linda G | February 02, 2008 at 06:38 PM
New ideas are always welcome, Jim. Keep 'em coming.
For examples of creating new business models, you may want to look at Ben Tausig and Matt Gaffney. Matt writes about his experience in his book "Gridlock." Breaking new ground is not for the faint of heart, and the return on a hit crossword idea might not compare with, say, the return on a hit software idea. Those "next wave" puzzles, btw, generally offer more topical fare than the daily papers'. A week or two ago, the Onion theme was (well, sort of) about the writers strike. Even the dailies get topical from time to time. The Sun, as you noted, has its annual Oscar nomination puzzle. Peter Gordon did a Supreme Court puzzle soon after Alito was OK'd. The Times has been pretty quick to print with a few tribute puzzles (e.g., Al Hirschfeld, Bob Hope). There are other examples too.
Speaking of Prince Valiant, even without ALETA, he'd still have his three-lettered son getting his name into puzzles.
Posted by: JJF | February 03, 2008 at 08:57 AM
Right, how could I forget about ARN? The comics have been good for crosswords. Even a subcategory like comics dogs has been a rich source of answer words with ODIE, OTTO and REN.
Posted by: JimH | February 03, 2008 at 09:10 AM
JimH -- Fight the good fight and sing to yourself:
Instant Crossword's gonna get you
Gonna knock you right on the head
You better get yourself together
Bizness model's gonna be dead
The puzzle idea I'll rearrange
I'll keep 'em up with daily change
What on earth you tryin to do
Instant's comin' thru! Yeah, thru!
Posted by: KarmaSartre | February 03, 2008 at 09:13 AM
In Matt Ginsburg's Feb. 3 puzzle, the answer for clue "Titanic transmission" is 'SOS.' This is incorrect. The SOS distress call was not in use at that time. The messaged the Titanic sent was "CQD" -- Come Quick Danger. James Cameron has it correctly in the movie.
Posted by: Jerry Greenfield | February 10, 2008 at 04:02 PM
It's always satisfying to find errors in the NYT puzzles. I added a notation to the puzzle crediting Mr. Greenfield. You can see it here.
Posted by: JimH | February 10, 2008 at 04:56 PM