If you’ve been reading this Substack a while, you may’ve figured out my pattern. I roll out a new section of the Ubercross Abecedaria (after a small preview puzzle). I let it sit for a bit, then I start exploring its theme. I’ve had lots to say about cryptic crosswords, The Devil’s Dictionary, and lipograms. I’m not even quite done with lipograms, yet.
When it comes to the theme for “F,” though…I’ve got less to talk about. “Less” isn’t “nothing,” but I think we’ll get through this pretty quick.
That theme—spoiler alert—is FAMOUS FICTION FILL-IN-THE-BLANKS. I figured the lowly fill-in-the-blank clue deserved its time in the sun.
All crosswords are blanks that you fill in, but a fill-in-the-blank clue establishes a pattern with a missing piece for you to supply. They’re closely related to partials, two- or three-word answers that only work as fill-in-the-blank fillers. Like OF THE for The Return ___ King. Or I GET A for “We’ll do lunch as soon as ___ chance!” (Narrator: They would never do lunch.)
Many crossword fans grumble about partials a bit, and general consensus keeps them under five letters and using common words only. But while almost every partial has a fill-in-the-blank clue, not every fill-in-the-blank is a clue for a partial.
Sometimes the relationship between fill-in-the-blank clues and their answers is tight, but in the Ubercross Abecedaria F, I played things pretty loose.
What does a “tight” relationship between a clue and answer look like? Well, consider one of the most popular clues in the history of crosswords:
Jai ___
This clue has been used hundreds if not thousands of times. It’s not because ALAI is such a popular answer—when’s the last time you saw anybody play jai alai? But ALAI is a useful answer, full of vowels that crossing words might need, plus one very common consonant. And there’s basically only one way to clue it. (I did find a few alternative clues for my mega-puzzle, since I was determined to run no clue twice…but even then, most of them included “jai.”)
For many years, there was only one way to answer the “Jai ___” clue, especially with a four-letter space. Today, singer/songwriter Jai PAUL might be popular enough to be used instead. But there are other fill-in-the-blank clues with only one possible answer, like “The mitochondria is the powerhouse of the ___” (CELL) or “Q-R-S, ___, W, X, and Y and Z” (TUV).
Likewise, there are fill-in-the-blank clues that are more ambiguous on purpose. A popular one is “Mauna ___” (LOA or KEA?). You could do “___ mode,” which could be GOBLIN or PIE A LA, among other options.
It’s not often that fill-in-the-blanks take center stage in a crossword. But they can, if you’ve got a fun twist in mind. And there’s one fun twist I’ve seen often enough that I think of it as a little subgenre.
I call it the narrative crossword.
So what’s that about? You’ll find out next time.
Hey, any narrative needs a little suspense, right?