Bad Inventions Vol. 2

Everybody loves a classic. Heads turn when an old hot rod goes down the street. Triple ripple tiger ice cream with candied walnuts is exciting, sure, but vanilla stands the test of time. Yeah, the new Avengers movie is good, but have you seen Gone With The Wind? Yeah, Manchild by Sabrina Carpenter is good, but have you heard Gone With The Wind?

This week I’m bringing a new edition of a classic YEGwords puzzle (you can solve Vol 1 here), a goofy rhomp that’ll make you say “Genius! Why didn’t I think of that?”

And hey - you, yes YOU - can enjoy all the fun of making a crossword puzzle. I’m preparing to run a free “How to Make a Crossword Puzzle” talk this fall, but in the meantime, I’d love to add some more folks to the YEGwords constructors family! Just reply to this email, I’ll set you up for success and help you along the way :)

Discussion (and spoilers!) below the break.

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Bad Inventions Vol. 2 by Brandon Cathcart

Discussion

This puzzle ended up being quite heavy on the cultural references, but I did feel it cast a pretty wide net. From Shania Twain to Malia Obama, Chuck Norris to the Spice Girls, hopefully there was a little something in it for everyone. And of course, some great music (and the most insane outfit Shania Twain has ever worn in crunchy, “remastered” HD).

Today’s Theme

The three theme answers are spoken phrases with a blank at the end, looking for the name of a product. Each of these “products” takes a compound-word item and upturns the first part of it to create a new, fake, and essentially useless invention.

["Looking for something to put between you and the rest of your clothes? Look no further - introducing, UNDERALLS!"]

["Gah, that waxing gibbous sure is bright! It's a good thing I brought my MOONGLASSES!"]

["Wow, I can't believe I can write on this thing with both chalk and dry-erase markers! I love my GRAYBOARD!"]

Behind the Clues

1A. This was a dumb clue, what a start to the crossword. [(Gollum voice) Filthy habitses] plays off of Gollum from Lord of the Rings’ way he says “hobbits” as “hobbitses.” He never says “filthy hobbits,” but you know, it sounds like something he would say. The linked clip is truly cinema history.

13A. I found [Helps with a job, say] to be delightfully misleading. If you saw right through it, nice one! The job in question here is a criminal job, a heist, and “helps with a heist” is ABETS.

17A. Didn’t think you’d ever have to think about planking again, did you? [Prepare for a planking photo (an internet fad I’d like to see return tbh)] is LIE (down), specifically face down. Honestly, the main image on the Wikipedia article about it goes hard.

3D. Listen, I know my question mark clues (indicating some form of misdirect/wordplay) are sometimes half-baked. And I’m fine with that. But it does make the good ones shine, and [Exercises after my own heart?] is (imo) a NYT-worthy shiner. I’ve gotten better at CARDIO over the years, and I hope my heart thanks me for it.

7D. Math! Math! Math! We all love it. The Fibonacci sequence is what I would call “pop math” so I think it’s fair game. Famous for spiraling shrinking boxes and lines, each number in the sequence is the sum of the previous two numbers. Hence, technically, you specify which two starting number you intend to use. Starting at 0, 1, the sequence is 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, etc. [The second and third numbers in the Fibonacci sequence (when you start with 0)] is therefore ONES. Fibonnaci himself started with 1, 2, but he’s old and times have changed.

20D. The best part of writing crosswords is making myself chuckle, and [Lawn stuff that's slang for weed (hint: it's not weeds)] did just that.

I hope you enjoyed this puzzle!

Until next Friday,

Brandon