Free Association 43
I’ve seen some other constructors playing around with asymmetrical grids, like this great one by Will Nediger. I’m not quite ready to get that wild and crazy. But after last week’s diagonal Free Association, I decided to continue my maverick ways by offering up a mirror symmetry Free Association this week. Where will this slow descent into madness lead? Stay tuned.
Thanks to Matt Gritzmacher and Norah Sharpe for the test-solve on this one. I wish you all a splendid week ahead and I thank you for coming here to hang out for a bit. Talk to you soon.
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.
Rebirth (instead of RENEWAL) kept me from a faster solve, but as usual you offer great clues and a satisfying grid. Thanks!
Ditto. Devilish!
Any puzzle with helicon it is cool to me.
Wow! You ranked this as only four sofas (Are those sofas, or loveseats, or…?), but I’d give it six! Your most challenging puzzle by far, for me. Several Natick crosses–LAMAR/STREWS, for one. I thought I’d never heard of Lamar Kendrick, but when I looked him up, I realized I’d never heard of Kendrick Lamar. And for “Casts” I was thinking along the lines of either plaster things or getting a movie or TV show or play off the ground. Also, PLOTHOLE, HELICON, and SCRIBD. Not one familiar word in that bunch! I’m a big reader, as are most of my friends, and we recommend books to each other all the time. But I’ve never heard of SCRIBD, which looked wrong because I had the B and the D.
While “Congressional aid (no “e”)” eluded me even after I’d gotten the answer, I came to see the genius of that clue. I mean, bravo! Also loved TEAROOM and DOGTEST clues. My one quibble with this super-stumper is with your clue for PECKISH, which would seem to confine the word to Great Britain. It’s a common word among the people I know, but maybe that’s because we read a lot of books. Though none via SCRIBD.
Thanks for the fun, as always!
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Psst…DOG SHOW! 🙂
D’OH! Mental static! Yes, DOGSHOW!
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Beautiful grid and clues, as always. Everything sings. You’re amazing. Thank you!