How fast can you solve Madi’s puzzle?
SUNDAY PUZZLE – Hello solvers! This is my first summer puzzle and also my first puzzle without a Taylor Swift theme. I figured that with all the Eras tour buzz, I should leave the spotlight to Taylor herself and instead return to the basics. The elements, if you will. If you have any questions or spot any errors, you can reach me at madihamm@umich.edu. If you are interested in writing puzzles for The Daily, reach out to pavkan@umich.edu. Have fun!
Tricky Clues:
17A. A year ago, my family and I flew to Alaska and drove around in an RV. While I don’t quite remember if we visited the KENAI peninsula, we were fortunate enough to see Denali, the glaciers and several moose.
68A. For those who don’t know, CEDAR Point is an amusement park in Ohio. Despite its relative proximity to my hometown, I have never gone. Maybe someday!
28D. I love the show “Schitt’s Creek”. I was heartbroken when it was removed from Netflix. It is now only watchable with ads and is therefore unwatchable. This clue is an homage to Moira Rose and her iconic mispronunciation of the word “baby” as “BEBE.”
49D. Before making this puzzle, I didn’t know who this man was. However, after some googling, I learned that he was a French philosopher with a particular interest in existentialism. I plan on studying philosophy and am taking two philosophy classes in the fall, so I’m sure I will encounter SARTRE in the future.
61D. This is a tricky one – SHAW is a reference to George Bernard Shaw, an Irish playwright who wrote “Pygmalion.” Some fun facts: the play “Pygmalion” was eventually adapted into “My Fair Lady,” and Shaw won the Nobel Prize for literature.
Today’s Theme:
The theme of this puzzle is noble gasses, revealed through 1-Down and 63-Down with NOBLE GAS. A noble gas is in the furthest right column on the periodic table and is typically very stable and pretty unreactive. The circled letters represent the chemical symbol for several of the noble gasses. At 19-Across we find LITTLE RASCALS, containing Ra for radon. 36-Across is HEARTBROKEN, containing He for helium, and 43-Across is NEVERENDING, containing Ne for neon. Lastly, 58-Across is FARMERS MARKET, containing Ar for argon.
Answer Key:
