Is it easier or harder to build a puzzle with a theme?Ī. I still remember crossing McCormick Road from my Echols dorm for those 1 p.m. When I got to IAN, for instance, I immediately wondered if there was anyone named Ian I could somehow tie to UVA, and then those Ian Frye field goals came to mind! Same with BIO, although my only class in Gilmer was CS 1110. When I clue an answer, I usually just sit there and think for a few moments before hitting up any search engines, dictionaries and whatnot. You might joke, but there’s definitely truth to this. Did you come up with all the UVA clues just based on your great memories of being on Grounds?Ī. That said, some of the difficulty can be ascribed to the fill itself: answers like the uncommon name VIGGO, the hard-to-parse GEN X/IN OT/IT’S LIT, and the tough-ish words CLAVE/UVEA/BOSC/ALVEOLI all add to a potential solving challenge. The puzzle I’ve made here has mostly Monday- or Tuesday-level clues, so it’s on the easy side, meant to be accessible to solvers of any skill level. The New York Times Crossword gets harder as the week goes on, with larger Sunday puzzles at about a Thursday difficulty. How does this UVA puzzle compare on the scale of difficulty with New York Times crosswords?Ī. You always want to tackle the patterns with the fewest options ahead of time, so you’ll know early if something needs tweaking.įor instance, at 16-Down, that initial O?S?E? pattern yielded only OYSTER, OUSTER, and OUSTED in addition to ON SPEC. That top-right corner, with those GO/HOOS/CORNERSTONE theme constraints, was the most challenging area … but it’s also where I began. Out of all these steps, filling the grid takes the longest, because there’s so much trial and error. The entire process involves (in order): brainstorming theme ideas and answers, designing the grid skeleton around the final set, filling the grid with all the other answers and writing all the clues once the grid is finalized. Probably 10 hours from start to finish, but done in bursts. How long did it take to create this puzzle?Ī. UVA Today asked Ezersky a few questions about his efforts. The puzzle was not printed in the Times, but you can find it here. After he walked the Lawn, he walked into his dream job as a crossword puzzle editor for The New York Times, working with fellow UVA alumnus Will Shortz, a 1977 School of Law graduate.Įzersky, who sold his first crossword puzzle to the Los Angeles Times at age 16, crafted a UVA-themed crossword to mark the University’s bicentennial and this week’s inauguration of the ninth UVA president, Jim Ryan. Sam Ezersky graduated from the University of Virginia in 2017 with a degree in mechanical engineering.
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