NOTE: The theme entries are titles of movies typed out in the predictive text mode setting on a cell phone. Obviously the phone guessed the movies wrong.
ACROSS LITE PUZZLE: [ PREDICTIVE TEXT MOVIES]
PROGRAM: [Across Lite]
PROGRAM: [Java]
PRINTOUT PUZZLE: [ PREDICTIVE TEXT MOVIES]
PROGRAM: [Adobe Acrobat]
BTW: I also have today’s puzzle in The Onion, which I have hosted as [ACROSS LITE] and [PDF] files.
Oh, and one of my readers, Joe Cabrera, sent me this photo:
To whoever is driving that car, I want my license plate back, thanks!
I was having some doubts while I was making this puzzle. I mean, does anybody still use predictive text on phones anymore? I dunno? I’m one of the assholes out there that have a Blackberry-lite thing with the QWERTY keyboard. (You may recall me celebrating this fact as I had to finish a post on my phone. Yay 21st technology!) Anyway, my fears were slowly put to rest when Francis Heaney texted me later on that day I had made this puzzle. We had just received a response from Will, and a puzzle we had co-authored was in the “close but … no thanks” pile. I texted if we should send it on elsewhere and Francis got back to me with a “yes.”
Francis later added: “Interestingly, ‘selected’ and ‘rejected’ are typed with the same keys.” (Whew! Predictive texting is still used).
Francis does make an good point though with the text. Good in the sense that that’s a much more intriguing fuck up than any of the ones I used in the puzzle. Then again, I’m not surprised as Francis used to be the head honcho of all-things puzzle-wise at the National Puzzlers League. And his brain is kind of wired that way anyway. (FWIW: I took this schtick right from the pages of “Accomodating Brocolli in the Cemetary,” a book I had previously mentioned nobody knew we had until the move. Well, I have corrected that my mother-in-law gave it to Liz. Glad we got that cleared up).
Okay, enjoy this puzzle. New one on Friday.
Really enjoyed the puzzle. You almost had another movie in there with GODSACRE just a LITTLE short. (12 vs. 15). Im curious as to why those movies? Just because they were 15 letters? Do you like any all of them? Inquiring minds want to know!
16A should be [Irish actor Stephen]. British!! Hardly.
One of Illinois’s special interest license plates is the environmental one, with a
small capital E on the left. I took a picture of one that read E BERLIN.
Why those movies? I took it from a list of messed up predictive texts of movies/TV/books/etc. listed in that “Accomodating Brocolli” book. Glad you liked it.
Nice!
Hey, you might want to take VID out of the clue for USUAL SUSPECTS. That screwed me up big time.
SCUZZ? That’s what SCUZZ is? Not sure how SEAL is “authenticate.” I liked this, tho’ movie titles were supereasy to get.
rp
Did you know that VIE WHY APE ME OX synchs up with EARL RIDE ME TIE MONO….but it works better if you’re really SUMMED…
Predictive texting is pretty awful… tried it out on my name for the heck of it, and wound up with IGNOMY CAB.
I suppose that’s something like Cash Cab, except when you get a trivia answer wrong, the driver immediately takes your money and tosses you out of the still-moving vehicle. Yeesh.
I like this idea, but the spacing in the clue vs answer of 24A and 43A makes them not really right.
I guess I am still in the olden days cause I am rocking the predictive text. Or, more likely I am just too cheap/poor to upgrade. Every time I type hot or got I get gmt. Obviously there is a lot of times people need to use greenwich mean time when conversing with their friends.
That’s the spirit!
Damn. That’s some funny shit.
I hear ya.
IRECU RUXXKE, AFS…NUT
I definitely use predictive texing! it’s about as much of a conveniece as a hassle. I haven’t done the puzzle yet but I just wanted to say that I’ve been obsessing over “brighten the corners” this past week or so and aprreciated the puzzle’s subtitle
I loved this one. Loved it. There are a couple things I don’t know, but I loved it.
Also, SCUZZ is brilliant. Even better that it’s smack dab in the center of the puzzle.
! It’s a good thing that’s in code, otherwise people would just PIGV!
BTC is a classic.
Much appreciated.
you’re my fact checking scuzz