PUZZLE #393: From A To Z

PRINTOUT PUZZLE: [ FROM A TO Z]

PROGRAM: [Adobe Acrobat]

SOLUTION: [click here]

Variety puzzle today, so that means no Crossword Solver, Java, or Across Lite files. Hope you enjoy it. Oh, and if you didn’t see the link to the solution up above, you can check it out here.

Speaking of variety word games, my man Francis Heaney just dropped a wonderful new book, “Brain Games for Word Nerds.” I would have posted the boss cover, but instead, I opted for that twee picture of the author instead. But I digress! Regulars to the site know that I regularly talk music with Francis. And who can forget that he has edited my Diagramless book, and that I’ve been known to pimp his other books. So you’re damned right I’m going to mention this baby, just in time for stocking stuffing.

Since I used the word baby, let me just say that taking care of Tabitha means I don’t have two free minutes to rub together any more. So Francis’s latest book has been a joy. All the hallmarks of Francis’s work are on display: humor (loads of it), variety and innovation, in mini-bite sized puzzles, reminiscent of a lot of work Heaney’s done before at Games magazine and for the National Puzzlers League. Oh, don’t worry, though they may be bite-sized, they’re no walks in the park. Three examples should suffice. In one you are asked to recognize common sayings that are presented as rhyming words in alphabetical order. So “penny wise, pound foolish” becomes ANY GHOULISH ROUND PIES. In another, he creates a new Frankensteined monster dropquote/floatquote, where two of the old standard dropquote puzzles are welded on top of each other, and the central letters must go in either the up or down quote. And finally, the coda “Them’s Fighting Words” gives Patrick Berry a run for his money in the variety crossword department, with a jaw-dropping final answer. Recommended, indeed.

Share the puzzle. New one on Monday.