Drink Coasters
About the Puzzle
I wrote this puzzle originally for submission to the New York Times in 2018, but it was rejected there. I think they didn't feel like the premise quite "worked," although I still rather like the execution of this idea, especially given how technically challenging the puzzle was to construct! I hope you enjoy it!
Active Square
- Arrow keys:
- Move active square.
- Enter/Return:
- Next square.
- Backspace/Delete:
- Delete input from active square and move to previous square.
- Ctrl + C:
- Cheat on letter.
- Ctrl + R:
- Toggle rebus entry.
- Ctrl + E:
- Toggle errors.
Active Clue
- Tab:
- Next clue.
- Shift + Tab:
- Previous clue.
- Shift + Right Arrow:
- Next unsolved clue.
- Shift + Left Arrow:
- Previous unsolved clue.
- Spacebar:
- Toggle direction.
- Escape:
- Escape puzzle.
Well done!
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Across
- 1 "Oh brother!"
- 5 Western title
- 9 Find repugnant
- 14 Like Voldemort's name, to most wizards
- 16 Partner in crime
- 17 Brings together
- 18 Tussle
- 19 With 8-Down, real macho types
- 20 They might be dirty
- 21 Possibly vacant thing
- 22 Fibonacci's real last name
- 26 Zed predecessor
- 28 Inspiration for Newman-O's
- 30 Not alphabetical, say
- 32 Former one-party state
- 33 When Hamlet opines "To be, or not to be"
- 34 Cruise ship space
- 35 "Squawk Box" airer
- 37 [Keep this here]
- 39 Value that changes as you do it
- 42 Response to "Have a good day!"
- 44 Switch positions?
- 48 Minivan driver, stereotypically
- 50 Darn good
- 51 A Ward in television
- 52 Certain disease screener, for short
- 54 Daisy Ridley role
- 55 Dads
- 57 Skilled team
- 59 Three-time Best Director Oscar winner
- 60 Breathe new life into
- 64 Cinderella team's goal
- 65 Looks pick-up artists may get
- 66 Compost pile pieces
- 67 Fayed of 1997 headlines
- 68 Revel (in)
Down
- 1 Hooch vessel
- 2 Makes hearts flutter
- 3 Aristocratic tracts
- 4 Journalist Paula
- 5 "Bloody" English Queen
- 6 Good ones are rock-hard
- 7 ___ Baba ("Open Sesame" sayer)
- 8 See 19-Across
- 9 Maker of the fictional "Giant Rubber Band"
- 10 Waltz (through)
- 11 See 59-Down
- 12 Relative of the Turkey Trot
- 13 Substitute for barley in beer
- 15 Sounds heard when tails are stepped on
- 20 "Cool Ranch" bite
- 21 Cager Williams
- 23 Give way (to)
- 24 "___-Man and the Wasp" (2018 film)
- 25 Totally rank
- 27 Mathematician Lovelace
- 29 Creature commanded by Saruman
- 31 Item included with many games
- 33 Halts, as a launch
- 36 Author of 2014's "Undeniable"
- 38 Haul (away)
- 39 Jenny, for one
- 40 Flips one's lid
- 41 Result of a syzygy
- 43 Preschooler, e.g.
- 45 America who's got talent?
- 46 North Face products
- 47 Tricksy
- 49 Steve who played Michael Scott
- 50 Event marked with a gunshot
- 53 "Pardon me, Giuseppe!"
- 56 Chow
- 58 So very blah
- 59 With 11-Down, spots for fill-ups on the road...and what the three black squares beneath the circled letters are?
- 60 Free (of)
- 61 Greenwashing prefix
- 62 Rock songwriter Barrett
- 63 Sound of reproval