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Kate Jensen’s New York Instances Crossword “Unique Thinkers” — Eric’s Overview
Kate Jensen’s New York Instances Crossword “Unique Thinkers” — 12/7/25
Congratulations to Kate Jensen on what seems to be her debut puzzle in a venue coated by Diary of a Crossword Fiend.
Every clue for a theme reply has one or two names of pioneers in a wide range of fields of human endeavor, with a widely known phrase appearing as a punny description of the particular person or individuals:
- 23a [Nikola Tesla and Thomas Edison?] POWER COUPLE
- 25A [John James Audubon?] BIRDBRAIN
- 38A [Samuel Morse?] CABLE GUY
- 43A [Sir Edmund Hillary?] MOUNTAIN GOAT
- 59A [Sir Isaac Newton?] MOTION DETECTOR
- 80A [Gregor Mendel?] SEEDY CHARACTER
- 93A [Henry Ford?] DRIVING FORCE
- 98A [Orville and Wilbur Wright?] AIRHEADS
- 115A [Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung?] DREAM TEAM
- 118A [Galileo Galilei?] STAR WITNESS
The theme solutions are all stable sufficient. I used to be amused by just a few of the clue/reply pairs, particularly MOUNTAIN GOAT (GOAT, within the context of the reply, being the Biggest of All Time), MOTION DETECTOR and DREAM TEAM. Total, the theme has a retro really feel, as if it may have been revealed any time within the final 50 years.
Different stuff:
Evan Birnholz’ Washington Publish Crossword “I’m Considering of a Quantity” — Matt’s Overview
Evan Birnholz’ Washington Publish crossword answer, “I’m Considering of a Quantity,” 12/7/2025
A meta this week. We’re on the lookout for “a two-word phrase,” and our title is “I’m Considering of a Quantity.” Ten clues are asterisked, in order that’s our theme set:
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- 20a [*Christmas carol gift that’s “in a pear tree”] PARTRIDGE
- 22a [*Colorful stone that serves as a wedding anniversary gem] BLUE TOPAZ
- 26a [*Better Breakfast Month] SEPTEMBER
- 31a [*President who approved the Louisiana Purchase] JEFFERSON
- 46a [*Old Testament book consisting of Moses’s farewell speeches] DEUTERONOMY
- 65a [*George R.R. Martin novel that introduced the priestess Melisandre] A CLASH OF KINGS
- 76a [*Locale of the Great Red Spot] JUPITER
- 79a [*Lightest metal on the periodic table] LITHIUM
- 87a [*State admitted to the Union on Jan. 9, 1788] CONNECTICUT
- 104a [*1983 “Skywalker Saga” installment] RETURN OF THE JEDI
Not a lot in frequent amongst these themers, however our title does trace at numbers, and every of those are a part of an ordered record. Grabbing “1” for PARTRIDGE, “4” for BLUE TOPAZ, and many others, our record of numbers accommodates nothing larger than “9.” So it’s unlikely they correspond to squares within the grid, and as an inventory of digits they don’t make a lot sense. However the first digit of PARTRIDGE is “P,” we get “E” from BLUE TOPAZ, and “R” from SEPTEMBER, and that’s an encouraging string.
Following that out, after a fast Google to substantiate A CLASH OF KINGS was the second e book in that collection, and CONNECTICUT was the fifth state admitted to the Union, our meta reply spells out PERFECT TEN, a two-word phrase becoming with the “quantity” title.
Not coincidentally, this puzzle runs on the ten-year anniversary of Evan’s first within the Publish. Many congrats and gratitude to him! I first began fixing these in spring 2017 unaware that he was so new to the place.
Different highlights: I liked NUMB as 1-Throughout after studying the title. Nothing however an Easter Egg, nevertheless // Appreciated the “marriage ceremony anniversary” nod within the clue for BLUE TOPAZ, although I’d prefer to suppose that may have been my first take care of realizing the commonality among the many different themers, anyway // [“Get on with your life?”] for AGE is a superb discover. Severe whiplash between the same old, evocative emphasis of the phrase and the comparatively mundane AGE // There’s a nitpicker on the market who is aware of the variations between FEN and “swamp,” which seems within the clues. I can’t keep in mind them proper now, so at present I’m not that nitpicker
Cheers!
