In the original draft of this puzzle, I used one type of cryptic mechanism too often, and I’m glad I had test solvers in skaldskaparmal, n0hk, and juff to help encourage me to not take that easy way out. But it leads to the broader discussion of what the point of a mini puzzle is, really. For me, it’s a means of sharpening my own wordplay and sensibilities, but also for experimenting. With only six (or seven) clues, each one has to count, ideally trying something I (and hopefully other solvers) haven’t seen before, and that’s harder to do when all the clue types are too similar (unless there’s a thematic purpose to that). Writing these puzzles has made me finally appreciate the lessons I never quite picked up in creative writing classes, where I was too taken with my own first drafts: now, I find myself actually getting excited to take another, different crack at a surface. This clue is good, I think, but couldn’t it be better?
Anyway, you can find the puzzle and .puz over at Crosshare or download the PDF below!
The Crossword Scholar 