Constructor:David J. Kahn
Relative difficulty:Not a Monday / More a Tuesday
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THEME:Presidents Day, I think— let's see, there's a word ladder going from POLK to FORD through TAFT For Some Reason, and also the clues are kind of presidented up, randomly
SEMI-PRESIDENTIAL, SEMI-CHRONOLOGICAL WORD LADDER:
This puzzle makes me want to apologize to yesterday's puzzle for being too harsh on it. This is a train wreck. I can't find a single coherent organizing idea here beyond "vaguely presidenty things." Why POLK? Why FORD? Why go from POLK to FORD? Why through TAFT? What ... kind of structure or concept or idea is being played out here? Why all this congressional stuff on *Presidents* Day? It's not National Politics Day or Washington, D.C. Day. LEGISLATOR? You know the legislative and executive branches are ... different ... branches, right? This whole puzzle makes about as much sense, thematically, as PQR does as an answer in any puzzle ever for any reason. I let out an audible groan and really, desperately wanted to stop solving right about ... here:
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Seriously, right before I wrote in PORK, I was thinking "please don't be a word ladder, please don't be a word ladder, please don't be a word ladder." When it turned out to be a word ladder, all goodwill drained out of me. Instantly. I thought for sure the puzzle would earn some of it back. Surely, there had to be a point to this oversized (16x15) word-laddered ... thing. But I don't see one. I CAN'T see one. I am a QUESTIONER of this theme's solidity and validity. EBON AERO ITER ALIF the end.
Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld
[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]
Relative difficulty:Not a Monday / More a Tuesday
THEME:Presidents Day, I think— let's see, there's a word ladder going from POLK to FORD through TAFT For Some Reason, and also the clues are kind of presidented up, randomly
SEMI-PRESIDENTIAL, SEMI-CHRONOLOGICAL WORD LADDER:
- POLK
- PORK
- PARK
- DARK
- DART
- DAFT
- TAFT
- TART
- TORT
- FORT
- FORD
Aleph is the first letter of the Semitic abjads, including Phoenician'Ālep, Hebrew'Ālef א, AramaicĀlap
, SyriacʾĀlap̄ ܐ, and ArabicAlifا. (wikipedia)
• • •
This puzzle makes me want to apologize to yesterday's puzzle for being too harsh on it. This is a train wreck. I can't find a single coherent organizing idea here beyond "vaguely presidenty things." Why POLK? Why FORD? Why go from POLK to FORD? Why through TAFT? What ... kind of structure or concept or idea is being played out here? Why all this congressional stuff on *Presidents* Day? It's not National Politics Day or Washington, D.C. Day. LEGISLATOR? You know the legislative and executive branches are ... different ... branches, right? This whole puzzle makes about as much sense, thematically, as PQR does as an answer in any puzzle ever for any reason. I let out an audible groan and really, desperately wanted to stop solving right about ... here:
["a DARK horse riding up..."]
Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld
[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]