By the time I got to that question, I'd already figured out what was going on, in large part to my initial misstep. 1D: Trident-wielding god of the sea ... well, of course, that's POSEIDON. Only it wasn't. And my mind could not wrap itself around finding the Roman version until I had other answers in place. Then NEPTUNE went in. And then the other shoe dropped when I saw 18A: Trident-wielding god of the sea!
Not only is it fun that our constructors found four pairs of deities who shared a letter in common, it's impressive that they placed them in near perfect symmetry. CERES and DEMETER occupy the same spots in the SW that DIANA and ARTEMIS do in the NE. BACCHUS and DIONYSUS are off one from the NW pair, but am I nonetheless agog at the artistry here? IDSAYSO!
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| REGINA, Sask |
In order to make the grid work, it's been enlarged to 16 x 15 squares, which explains the lack of a middle down column. Also, the crossing answers in each corner limit the flexibility of placing answers around them, and so the constructors have used barriers of black squares to separate the corners from the center, making a segmented grid. But I found the solve remarkably smooth for all of that, and I finished in a typical time for a Tuesday puzzle, so very well done!
The clues are mostly very straightforward. I chuckled at 4A: Pal you might take fishing? (CHUM) Otherwise, I liked the answers IMSODEAD and TUMMIES.
- Colum
Great puzzle! A bit chewy for a Tuesday I thought. Love how the theme answers "wrestle" with each other. Nice review Colum!
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