The New York Times Super Sunday Crossword Puzzles : Featuring an EXTRA Set of Never-Before-Published EASY Clues for the HARDEST Puzzle of the Week (New York Times Crossword Puzzles)

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Summary: Two sets of clues
Review: My Sunday mornings are not complete until I have solved the New York Times crossword puzzle. The Friday and Saturday puzzles might be the toughest of the week, but nothing can compare to the themed cleverness and generous size of the Sunday puzzle. In this collection of Super Sunday puzzles, which originally appeared in the New York Times from April 1997 to March 1998, editor Will Shortz has added a twist: each of the fifty puzzles has two sets of clues. The first set, which is located beside the puzzle grid, has the original clues. The second set, at the back of the book, has an easier set of clues that can be clipped out and overlaid on top of the original clues. The solver can either tackle each puzzle with the tougher clues first, using the easier ones when necessary, or else simply use the easier clues to begin with.

As for the use of the easier clues, they may not make the solving that much easier. The majority of the easy clues are exactly the same as, or a slightly reworded version of, the original clues. Will changing "Jordanian tongue" to "Language of Jordan" really help a solver? Not likely. But where the easier clues will help is where the original ones have an intentional ambiguity to them that makes finding the answer a real challenge. An example is the changing of the clue "Small club, say" into the more explicit "Card that beats a deuce." The themed answers that are characteristic of the Sunday puzzle will be tough to solve with either set of clues, but that's part of the fun of this type of puzzle. So give yourself a small break on some of the clues and save your brainpower for the themed words. Happy puzzling!

Eileen Rieback