I didn't have to wait long to be able to use my new word. Today's Tuesday puzzle by Nancy Salomon (answers) has a quarfoot right at 1 Across — "What a gal has that a gent doesn't." It's too bad the rest of the puzzle wasn't more quarfotic. Ok, ok, I just wanted to use the adjective form, don't mind me. As a bonus, the clue was what passes for mildly naughty in Crosswordland. I initially penciled in BOOBS but it didn't work. Come to think of it, I'm not sure telling a gal she has a hard G is any better.
This was the Monday puzzle we didn't get yesterday in terms of degree of difficulty. ARA is the altar in the sky, last seen through the telescope less than a month ago. HAAS has been clued more than half the time as "Lukas of Witness." Someone should tell the Haas family that there's a huge opportunity for crossword fame if some kin can just do something noteworthy and take the pressure off future clue writers.
I want to know more about Ms. Salomon. She's the Queen of Collaborators. Besides the 66 crosswords she constructed solo, she's co-written with Harvey Estes (43 times), Lee Glickstein, Sherry Blackard, Bill Zais, Bob Peoples, Bob Frank, Marjorie Berg, Kendall Twigg, Gail Grabowski, Karen Riekert, Norma Johnson, Courtenay Crocker, Deb Amlen, Earl Reed, Elayne Cantor, Holden Baker, Joe Bower, John Minarcik, Levi Denham, Bob Klahn, Kyle Mahowald, Louis Hildebrand, Nancy Shack, Marjorie Richter, Kelly Clark, Richard Leva, and Nick Grivas. I don't know who most of those people are either but that's a very long list.
If I can't get any real info, I'll resort to another "mini-biography of people I don't know anything about" but Ms. Salomon seems interesting enough that her real story ought to be told.
Update: Ellen provided this link in the comments and it's such a great article I wanted to add it here. Nancy Salomon is even more amazing than I suspected!
Update2: There is some discussion about this puzzle from the constructor at the bottom of this post.
excellent! the quarfeet are rolling in now. this is a happier neologism than "jl4hned," i must say. (i don't know how it compares with PLUTO, though.)
Posted by: joon | April 21, 2008 at 08:27 PM
I'm thinking G-spot.....
Posted by: KarmaSartre | April 21, 2008 at 08:50 PM
If Nancy is not careful she could make so much profit, gain, earnings and income she may have to resort to a washtrade to keep her taxes down. I liked the puzzle and the theme, but I think that some of the fill pushes it beyond a Monday level puzzle. Having a quarfoot proves my point.
Posted by: PhillySolver | April 21, 2008 at 08:53 PM
If Nancy is not careful she could make so much profit, gain, earnings and income she may have to resort to a washtrade to keep her taxes down. I liked the puzzle and the theme, but I think that some of the fill pushes it beyond a Monday level puzzle. Having a quarfoot proves my point.
Posted by: PhillySolver | April 21, 2008 at 09:29 PM
"Answers" will tell you about Nancy Salomon - she is a friend of Will Shortz!
Posted by: nedders | April 21, 2008 at 09:36 PM
Here's an article about Nancy: www.rochester.edu/pr/Review/V69N1/gazette4.html
Posted by: Ellen | April 22, 2008 at 12:36 AM
I suspect Nancy has many more puzzle partners than you've shown. Her and I have co-authored twice in the LA Times. Without mentioning names, you'd be amazed how many of the top notch constructors she has mentored. She's fabulous to the hilt.
Posted by: Jerome Gunderson | April 22, 2008 at 07:52 AM
Speaking (or not) of DEKES, does anyone know why the NHL is called the National HL? It has included two countries as far back as my memory serves (about Derek Sanderson). I assume it started one place or the other, probably Canada, and expanded to the US. I know there are many boring reasons for keeping a name (sunk costs, tradition, business cards), but this name seems as odd as the World Series.
Posted by: KarmaSartre | April 22, 2008 at 08:51 AM
The NHL did indeed start in Canada but it expanded into the States in the 1920s.
Deke is used as a metaphorical verb in Canada without a thought that it’s a sports reference, the same way Americans talk about striking out with a girlfriend before even getting to first base. Here’s an example: the whole point of quarfy clues is to deke you out.
Posted by: JimH | April 22, 2008 at 11:49 AM
What is a HardG?
Posted by: Bob | June 03, 2008 at 12:59 PM
the sound at the beginning of "gal" is a hard g. the sound at the beginning of "gent" is a soft g.
Posted by: joon | June 04, 2008 at 08:34 AM