I haven't seen the other blogs yet on today's Mar 13 puzzle by Alan Arbesfeld (answers) but I can imagine the scuTTlebuTT on Rex's site. It's going to be all about breaking the formal contract.
We solvers enter into a solemn agreement with constructors. We agree to admire their cleverness, curse their traps, shout "Damn you, Will Shortz" when we get stuck on a wrong answer, and then feel smug when we finally fill in all those nasty blank squares. In return, the constructors promise to entertain us by creating a world for us to explore. The world has formal rules which are allowed to be broken for good or even whimsical reasons, but there is an expectation of consistent rules of engagement. Authors can rewrite the laws of physics as they see fit but then the story has to unfold within those parameters or we get grumpy.
Is this a reasonable expectation? There's no reason for it. Why can't the consistent rule be that the rules are inconsistent? After all, and excuse me in advance here, it's just a crossword puzzle.
And yet there's something unsatisfying about it. Call us ungrateful but it's true. But wait, Mr. Arbesfeld, there's still a chance to redeem yourself. Just prove you're smarter than me and I go back to being in awe.
Here's what I mean. Right off, I wrote in IRRS for 1 Across but when I got RA(ZZ)LE crossing with BU(ZZ) OFF, I knew my 1 Across answer had to be wrong. Double letters get crammed into a single square. That's the new law of physics for today's universe. After scratching my head for a while, I decide IRRS and ARRIVES AT must be right after all even without the letter cramming. Now with the puzzle completely filled in and seemingly correct, I have only one more task — to figure out the more refined universal law. Double letters are rebussed except when... Except when what? There's got to be a what. Are R's exempt? No, 43 Down is E(RR)S.
So I give up. I'm missing something too clever, or I leave this universe unsatisfied. I'm open to either. Perhaps one or both of my readers can clue me in.
That said, there are some nice touches. I did like "Black rat as opposed to Rattus rattus" as a clue for COMMON NAME.
Yesterday's discussion about the All C's All the Time puzzle by Larry Shearer prompted mysterious commenter JJF to compare it to this absolutely amazing 2002 puzzle by Will Johnson where all the clues started not with a C but with an L. I pointed out that the four theme answers were all double-L words. Very clever. JJF directed me to look again. There are 12 more L's hidden in the grid that I hadn't noticed before. Wow.
