Well we learned from Hot that the puzzle wasn’t going to be themed, and we learned from 2,222 and 1,111 that there wasn’t a tradition of doing anything special for milestone puzzles. And we also know from the times there’s been a bar-grid puzzle in The Nation that some customers don’t take too well to a change in the routine. But puzzle no. 3,333 is not a disappointment, since it features a nice variety of clues, an ‘and lit.’ and a well-connected grid.
Link to puzzle: http://www.thenation.com/article/180950/puzzle-no-3333
Degree of difficulty (by standards of this weekly puzzle): hard, though not as much so if you can get the four outside entries right off the bat.
Hozom’s comment: “Try It, You’ll Like It” (anyone remember the commercials that made that line famous?) in which Hot and Trazom lament the abovementioned demanding customers and point out that the even the variety cryptics they’ve constructed for The Nation aren’t that different from the regular straight puzzles.
In this respect, Hot and Trazom are returning the favor Hex did for cryptic solvers with their weekly National Post puzzles, which are an easy introduction to cryptic crosswords, from which you can step up to the moderate-difficulty The Nation puzzles. Now Hot and Trazom have set some easy variety cryptics in The Nation, getting solvers ready to tackle Hex’s moderate puzzles in the Wall Street Journal. Not everything has to be (or should be) a brain-buster.
Cluing challenge: NOVELTY
Back with the solution and annotation Monday. Join us this weekend for Sunday brunch!
No comments:
Post a Comment
If you're responding to a hint request, please remember not to give more information than necessary. More direct hints are allowed after Monday.