‘The Chosen One’: Crossword Commentary

Play the puzzle here.

Difficulty Level: 4/5

Happy summer break, ‘Prince’ crossword solvers! While puzzle production is mostly on hold for the time being, you can thank Gabriel Robare for this surprise crossword release. From [Picnic throwaways] to [“The Chosen One” in children’s literature], this puzzle offers the perfect cure for summer boredom. Don’t forget that all previous puzzles are also still available to solve!

Read on below for help with tricky clues, thoughts from Robare, and the answer key.

Tricky Clues

24A: Don’t be fooled by the word “dough” in this clue! We aren’t looking for any sort of Mexican pastry but rather a currency used in Mexico and several other countries — the PESO.

29A: These long answers can be tough, but crack one of them and you’ve got a major toehold on the puzzle. Picnics can be messy affairs, so it’s usually best to use PAPER PLATES instead of any fancy dishware.

35A and 36A: I’m generally not a huge fan of cross referencing in clues but these two adjacent entries make for a fun pair. At the top of a mountain, or MTN, you might find a sign that tells you the altitude, or ALT.

52A: One-word clues can often be brutally difficult to interpret — this is one of those times. Here, [Drawers] refers not to underwear nor desk containers but rather to people who draw. You might also call them ARTISTS.

9D: We’ve all gotten used to spending hours on Zoom this past year. In my experience, sometimes no more than an hour goes by before the class DROWSES off. Fingers crossed for in-person classes this fall!

19D: BONESHAKERS! Sorry for the early spoiler, but what a great word for old bicycles!

45A: Don’t look for a [Big dipper?] up in the stars; instead, look down into the water. The answer here is an OAR, which dips into the water!

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Today’s Theme

Today’s is a rare ‘Prince’ themeless puzzle! Robare keeps the word count low and has a chance to feature six long 11-letter entries. From a constructing perspective, doing a double staircase like this is quite tricky, especially when both open towards the same corners. I appreciate that Robare kept things lively even in the short fill with entries like WARM GLOW, BANG INTO, and CHEERIO! With that said … cheerio!

Constructor Notes

I’m back at the ‘Prince’ once again with another themeless puzzle. I really like making these, largely because I’m not very good at coming up with themes, but also because I love making the tricky and interesting clues that come with the territory of themelesses. I’m also happy to quote three excellent poets in Virgil, WALT WHITMAN, and Edgar Allan Poe. I hope you enjoy this puzzle.

Need more help? See below for the answer key.