Gongs and Gags
Ken Richmond as he opened films from the J. Arthur Rank Studio.
Sunday, March 8, 2009
DIAGRAMLESS, Puzzle by Mike Nothnagel, edited by Will Shortz
Four separate puzzle blocks connected by a trickle of letters in a zigzag center give some difficulty to solving this diagramless crossword. Swaths of empty squares occupy the corners and scattered ones prevent entry from one sector to another. With the constantly alternating allocation of one to four clues per diagramless line, coupled with the inability to move between blocks of words, this crossword is mean.
The puzzle has a group of interrelated entries --- WRONG AGAIN (13A. *”Nope, that’s not it either”); SEGA GENESIS (21A. *Sonic the Hedgehog game system); LONG AGO (44A. *Many years past); BUSTING A GUT (65A. *Laughing hysterically); BANG A GONG (6D. *1972 T. Rex hit titled “Get It On” in the U.K.); VOTING AGE (40D. *18) -- tied together by INSIDE JOKE (73A. Something you might not get … or what the answers to the starred clues each contain?).
The remainder of the entries are fairly common with workable clues. There’s ORALB and BGIRL, UZI and OUZO, SOYUZ and SUDOKU, and ACES clued as Serves one right?
Click here for the gong banger in action!
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