167: The Sonata of Wildcard Games (7x No. 4)

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Welcome to Trash Panda Puzzles. I usually open my crossword posts with something lighthearted or silly from my life, but not today. Instead, I ask anyone reading this to pause for a moment. A member of my community, a fellow Minnesotan, a fellow U.S. citizen, was shot and killed by ICE yesterday. Despite being a crossword constructor and someone who prides himself on a wide English vocabulary, I’m struggling to find words that fully capture the hurt and sorrow I feel.

How much longer do we tolerate armed thugs roaming our streets before we come together as a community and say, enough is enough?

I grew up being taught E pluribus unum; out of many, one. We are only as rich in culture and humanity as we are diverse. So please: leave my community alone.

Crossword Stats

Title Inspiration: 1A, 1D

Seed Entry: 9A

Personal Word List/Score: 5A, 9A

Fresh-to-Me Entries (7+): 1D, 2D, 3D, 5A, 9A, 10A (All the non 3-letter words!)

Unique Entries to Date: 6,597 (+8)

Repeat Entry Rate: 42.9% (Those dang 3-letter words)

Proper Nouns: 2D, 9A, 10A

Non-NYT Entries: 5A, 9A

Be the good you want to see,

Jac

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