Words of the outside world. Letters of Note: I like words, 2012. Hat tip to M.
~~~
Me: Six for six! I am a puzzle goddess!
Voice: Seven
Me: They gave me six puzzles. I bounced them back without flaw.
Voice: Seven.
Me: I am … what?
Voice: Seven. There were seven puzzles in the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament.
Me: Oh, all right. I did puzzles 1 – 4 and 6 – 7 with zero errors. Puzzle 5, not so much.
Constructor’s notes for puzzle 5:
And then there’s Puzzle 5. The evil, evil Puzzle 5. The impasse to any and all positive solving momentum up to that point. It’s designed to be truly impenetrable on purpose, to separate the elite solvers from the rest of the pack. Think a Thursday-plus-plus theme gimmick combined with Saturday-plus-plus cluing. Oh, and you have only 30 minutes to finish the whole thing. The vast majority of solvers come nowhere close.
This Puzzle Is a Battle, Sam Ezersky, The New York Times [April 19, 2023]
My notes for puzzle 5 – Why is this even fun?
Aside from that, I had a good time.
Annual American Crossword Puzzle Tournament
Virtual Crossword Tournament Program
31 Mar – 2 April 2023
IRL Stamford Marriott
75 Incorrect letters (yes, all #5)
place – 125 out of 238
score – 9997 (No idea what this means)
virtual results
Reporting on the ACPT from earlier this year, because Saturday posts are about words and fiction is not happening and I’m trying to be okay with that.
Links
List of results, videos, & news articles, 45th ACPT.
NYT: A Knack for Wordplay and Kindness Is Rewarded, Rich Norris, the former editor of the L.A. Times Crossword, will receive the 2023 MEmoRiaL Award at the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament. Amlen, March 30, 2023.
Chris Zetter: Learning American Crosswords
Posts
[Pondering The Rules Of Play, The 44th Annual American Crossword Puzzle Tournament] 2022
[Let The Boxes Begin, American Crossword Puzzle Tournament 2021] Click over for longer explanation. Aside from improved results in non-5 puzzles this year, my solving approach & experience was much the same as in 2021. Now that the tournament is hybrid, Puzzle Dude Will Shortz made a point of addressing the virtual people from time to time. Which was a) nice and b) makes me hopeful about them offering virtual again next year.
Onwards!
Katherine
Virtual Brush Box 
I was never any good at crossword puzzles. I’m impressed by your skill.
Very impressed.
🙂