So, why am I going to count the number of partials per puzzle? For that matter, why am I bothering to count the number of any type of bad entry at all?
Well, for me at least, just as I find a puzzle more enjoyable the more good entries it has, I find it less enjoyable the more bad entries it has. Also, I like my puzzles to "skew" good--I'll explain this by way of example. Behind the cut I have made lists of what I consider to be the above-par and sub-par (defined by me as "worse than the entry ARE") non-theme fill from two puzzles (Saturday's CrosSynergy and today's New York Sun).
CrosSynergy
Above Par: PREFAB, AVONLADY, BOOTHILL, ALGORE
Sub-Par: ELAN, ABCDE, ACK, ETE, MLB(kinda), ODIST, GESTE, OLDE, SNEE, ITI, ELEA
NYSun
Above Par: BANDB, ICEBUCKET, INNOTIME
Sub-Par: NEE, DEC, NOIRE, VIE, UNIV
A couple of entries (SERIAL NO. in the CrosSynergy, DEAL IN in the New York Sun) might be on the "above par" list for some; I could take or leave them. In any case, the CrosSynergy puzzle has one more good entry than the NYSun, but has (again in my assessment) over twice as many bad entries. Which is not to say I didn't enjoy the CrosSynergy, but it did feel a little less smooth in solving it, and going back to make the count confirms my impression that it was a bit clunkier overall in fill. However, in general, my initial impression might be colored due to my mood at the time/predispositions toward the constructor/whatever, so counting the number of "bad" entries provides an unbiased way of examining the puzzle's construction.
So, why did I choose partials? Here are a few reasons:
1. Partials are fairly universally considered sub-par entries. Naturally, there are times when they are necessary, whether to fill a slot crossing some theme entries in awkward places, or to avoid an alternate fill with an obscurity early in the week, but no one is rushing to put them in grids.
2. Partials are definitely easy to count. Other types of "bad entries" have much less clear dividing lines (which of the following are "bad" abbreviations: CIA, NSA, MLB, SGT, ESQ, CIR, SFO, JFK, CST, HST?), but there's very little debate about what is and isn't a partial.
3. Partials are, IMHO, worse than most other kinds of bad entries (the only types I dislike less are obscurity, non-dictionary-nature phrases, and things like DEFG {Alphabet string}). I know it seems kind of strange to say something like ANAT {Gray matter? *wink wink*: Abbr.} is a better entry than IN AT {___ the kill}, but it's the way I feel, because just purely aesthetically I prefer crosswords to consist of words (or abbreviations, prefixes, or phrases) rather than parts thereof. Just like I think non-dictionary-phrases are "too long" in a sense, I think partials are "too short" to be good entries. If you disagree, you can ignore this and just concentrate on the first two reasons.
I say there's very little debate about what is or isn't a partial, but all the same, here are the rules I'll be following:
1. Being a partial is a quality of the entry, not the clue. AS YOU is a partial whether clued as {"___ Like It"} or {Start of a Shakespeare title}. AMA is not a partial even if clued as {"I ___ Rock" (Simon & Garfunkel hit)}.
2. Single words without spaces are not partials. They aren't great entries, to be sure, but they usually at least have some meaning (like, perhaps, "merry") in some other language (say, oh I don't know, Basque). So TAVI would not be counted as a partial, though admittedly that's a borderline case. Entries consisting of an incomplete string of two or more words separated by a hyphen are partials, just as they would be were they separated by a space. So, ATAT {Rat-___} would be a partial, but RATA {___-tat} would not be, because it could be clued as {Pro ___}.
3. Some entries may be considered partials or not depending on the day of the week. ASA, INA, and ORA will all be considered partials if they appear before Wednesday (because I think the non-partial ways of cluing them are a tad on the obscure side for the early-week). ARAP {"I don't give ___!"}, for instance, will be considered a partial unless it's in a Friday, Saturday, or Sunday, despite the fact that it can be clued as {Daniel ___ Moi (former Kenyan president)}--again, for difficulty reasons. I'll try to be consistent about this, but I may slip up here or there. If I do, please tell me.
4. Sometimes, partials appear which are themselves taken from an (IMO) non-dictionary-nature phrase. Bad example: If PIE YUM {"I like ___!" (sweet-tooth's admission)} appears in a grid, I will put it in the non-dictionary-nature phrase list at the end of the post, as well as counting it in the number of partials.
5. I will not make any special note of partials which are longer than five letters.
I know that, due to editorial preferences, this particular statistic might be a bit biased in favor of some venues over others. However, I feel that the reasons I cited above outweigh this particular bias, and besides, from my vantage point, its rare to find a puzzle where partials are the only type of bad entry--if a puzzle appears with two partials and the rest of the fill is squeaky-clean, I'll note it.
Well, for me at least, just as I find a puzzle more enjoyable the more good entries it has, I find it less enjoyable the more bad entries it has. Also, I like my puzzles to "skew" good--I'll explain this by way of example. Behind the cut I have made lists of what I consider to be the above-par and sub-par (defined by me as "worse than the entry ARE") non-theme fill from two puzzles (Saturday's CrosSynergy and today's New York Sun).
CrosSynergy
Above Par: PREFAB, AVONLADY, BOOTHILL, ALGORE
Sub-Par: ELAN, ABCDE, ACK, ETE, MLB(kinda), ODIST, GESTE, OLDE, SNEE, ITI, ELEA
NYSun
Above Par: BANDB, ICEBUCKET, INNOTIME
Sub-Par: NEE, DEC, NOIRE, VIE, UNIV
A couple of entries (SERIAL NO. in the CrosSynergy, DEAL IN in the New York Sun) might be on the "above par" list for some; I could take or leave them. In any case, the CrosSynergy puzzle has one more good entry than the NYSun, but has (again in my assessment) over twice as many bad entries. Which is not to say I didn't enjoy the CrosSynergy, but it did feel a little less smooth in solving it, and going back to make the count confirms my impression that it was a bit clunkier overall in fill. However, in general, my initial impression might be colored due to my mood at the time/predispositions toward the constructor/whatever, so counting the number of "bad" entries provides an unbiased way of examining the puzzle's construction.
So, why did I choose partials? Here are a few reasons:
1. Partials are fairly universally considered sub-par entries. Naturally, there are times when they are necessary, whether to fill a slot crossing some theme entries in awkward places, or to avoid an alternate fill with an obscurity early in the week, but no one is rushing to put them in grids.
2. Partials are definitely easy to count. Other types of "bad entries" have much less clear dividing lines (which of the following are "bad" abbreviations: CIA, NSA, MLB, SGT, ESQ, CIR, SFO, JFK, CST, HST?), but there's very little debate about what is and isn't a partial.
3. Partials are, IMHO, worse than most other kinds of bad entries (the only types I dislike less are obscurity, non-dictionary-nature phrases, and things like DEFG {Alphabet string}). I know it seems kind of strange to say something like ANAT {Gray matter? *wink wink*: Abbr.} is a better entry than IN AT {___ the kill}, but it's the way I feel, because just purely aesthetically I prefer crosswords to consist of words (or abbreviations, prefixes, or phrases) rather than parts thereof. Just like I think non-dictionary-phrases are "too long" in a sense, I think partials are "too short" to be good entries. If you disagree, you can ignore this and just concentrate on the first two reasons.
I say there's very little debate about what is or isn't a partial, but all the same, here are the rules I'll be following:
1. Being a partial is a quality of the entry, not the clue. AS YOU is a partial whether clued as {"___ Like It"} or {Start of a Shakespeare title}. AMA is not a partial even if clued as {"I ___ Rock" (Simon & Garfunkel hit)}.
2. Single words without spaces are not partials. They aren't great entries, to be sure, but they usually at least have some meaning (like, perhaps, "merry") in some other language (say, oh I don't know, Basque). So TAVI would not be counted as a partial, though admittedly that's a borderline case. Entries consisting of an incomplete string of two or more words separated by a hyphen are partials, just as they would be were they separated by a space. So, ATAT {Rat-___} would be a partial, but RATA {___-tat} would not be, because it could be clued as {Pro ___}.
3. Some entries may be considered partials or not depending on the day of the week. ASA, INA, and ORA will all be considered partials if they appear before Wednesday (because I think the non-partial ways of cluing them are a tad on the obscure side for the early-week). ARAP {"I don't give ___!"}, for instance, will be considered a partial unless it's in a Friday, Saturday, or Sunday, despite the fact that it can be clued as {Daniel ___ Moi (former Kenyan president)}--again, for difficulty reasons. I'll try to be consistent about this, but I may slip up here or there. If I do, please tell me.
4. Sometimes, partials appear which are themselves taken from an (IMO) non-dictionary-nature phrase. Bad example: If PIE YUM {"I like ___!" (sweet-tooth's admission)} appears in a grid, I will put it in the non-dictionary-nature phrase list at the end of the post, as well as counting it in the number of partials.
5. I will not make any special note of partials which are longer than five letters.
I know that, due to editorial preferences, this particular statistic might be a bit biased in favor of some venues over others. However, I feel that the reasons I cited above outweigh this particular bias, and besides, from my vantage point, its rare to find a puzzle where partials are the only type of bad entry--if a puzzle appears with two partials and the rest of the fill is squeaky-clean, I'll note it.
3 comments:
Earlier in the week they serve as an immediate foothold into a puzzle upon glancing at the clues, so I think they serve their purpose. Late in the week my preference is for them to have a fair but surprising answer that isn't the first one you'd expect.
That's true, but I feel that that purpose can be served equally well by gimme fill-in-the-blank clues for non-partial entries.
The Partial Police have a new recruit!
SCARESTHEHECK will be tough to beat, tho.
-Jojo
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