Free Association 35
I put out the call on Twitter for some additional test-solvers to lighten the load on Jeremy Diamond, who has been a rock for me in this little thing I do. I had some generous responses, and this week I took advantage of two of them: Steve Mossberg, who runs a fantastic puzzle site at Square Pursuit, and Matt Gritzmacher, whose Daily Crossword Links service is such a gift to the puzzle community. Thanks to both of them. I have others standing by who I will introduce you to in due course.
It appears one of the specialties I have happened upon is easy themeless puzzles. Free Association 35 is another one, and I hope you enjoy it. Your indulgence of my particular voice in these puzzles is something I appreciate very much. In the psychology world, I call my business a ‘private practice.’ In puzzles, I think the term ‘practice’ is equally apt. One is never a finished product in either pursuit, so thank you for being a part of my practice.
One more thing. For anyone who is a fan of the picture on this post and the clue on 12-down, I once did a whole puzzle on it. It was in the Chronicle of Higher Education which unfortunately no longer has a crossword puzzle. But while it existed, it was an important part of the puzzle world, largely due to Brad Wilber’s editing. I’m glad he decided to publish this very quirky puzzle of mine before the venue disappeared:
And now on to today’s fare:
About The Author
Trent Evans
I'm a husband, father, psychologist, musician, and crossword constructor living in Catonsville, MD. My puzzles have appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Los Angeles Times and its syndicates, The Chronicle of Higher Education, Andrews McMeel Universal Syndicate, the American Values Club Crossword, Spyscape Crossword, The Crosswords Club, and crossword apps such as the Redstone Crossword Puzzle App on iOS and Google Play. All of that means I've been published in every newspaper in the United States and many others around the world. Here at Grid Therapy, I can show a bit more of myself than the major publishers can allow. I hope you enjoy your time here on the crossword couch! I'd love to hear from you if you have comments or suggestions. If you're interested in having a custom crossword puzzle created for your event or organization, email me at drtrent (at) gmail.com.
What a fun puzzle!
Another beauty, Trent. Once again, your cluing — to say nothing of your impeccable grid work — make this, as Ralph says, a fun puzzle. 44 Across clue, e.g., is genius. 1 Across is the winner though, happily, with 11 Down (which…ahem…I had to look up) coming in a close second. All in all, a gift — thank you.
Your “particular voice” in your puzzles is hardly an “indulgence; it’s what separates yours from the others, and adds a bit of personality and spice. Thanks for your willingness to do it. As always, another gem. Thanks.
Love these clues.
Thanks to all of you. The purpose of all of this is to entertain you, and these kind comments make me think it’s all worth it. I appreciate your words more than you can know.