Puzzle by Sarah Keller, edited by Will Shortz
This is a Tuesday weld of the PHASESOFTHEMOON (64A Starts of 17-, 27- and 49-Across) with three preceding entries -- FULLTIMESTUDENT (17A One not taking just a few classes); NEWYORKER (27A Magazine with the recurring heading "Onward and Upward With the Arts," with "The"); and HALFPRICE (49A Kind of sale). Read that as "Full, New, Half -- Phases of the Moon", giving rise to the question -- why is this common astronomical event presented totally out of order -- it's only three of the phases, New, Half and Full or vice versa. The Half is the center phase. The remaining phases would make for interesting entry fare: With New, Half and Full, along the way are Waxing Crescent, Waxing Gibbous, Waning Gibbous and Waning Crescent, with a name for everything in between. Take them like a deck of cards, shuffle, put them wherever you like in the puzzle and call it a "theme" (there's that word again, see 05.03.07 -- What's In A Theme).
The remainder of this little Tuesday tiddly wink is a compendium of crossword standards. I can honestly say there isn't a single entry (including the way each is clued) in this crossword puzzle that I haven't seen in a previous crossword. It could serve as a pedagogue's primer for puzzle entries -- memorize them if you're new to the game -- you'll see them all again!
Oh, incidentally, if anyone's keeping stats, please consider for the "Longest Clue" category the aforementioned 27A.
More on this Tuesday's puzzle: Linda G at "Madness...Crossword and Otherwise.
Click here to view original post with illustrations and puzzle grid.
