extra life in video gaming nyt crossword clue
Why ERICSON is not part of the theme, I don’t know (23D: Explorer born around A.D. 970)—it’s the only word in this grid I routinely misspell (or misremember how to spell; I don’t have occasion (one “s”) to use it in my everyday writing very often). I want there to be two Ss, or maybe an E as the last vowel.
ERICSEN … no, I can’t see myself making that error. ERICSSON? Is that something?Neville tells me he wrote this puzzle three years ago. Such is the fate of many an NYT submission: an acceptance (ideally), followed by an indeterminate time in puzzle purgatory (I’ve got one at something like two years and counting).
Neville is a much savvier constructor now. He seems a bit anxious about how the puzzle will be received. I think it’s a cute idea. I don’t misspell these words (except perhaps GENEOLOGY), but with the exception of OCCASION (really?! rhymes with “passion”?), I can imagine that these words are, in fact, frequently misspelt. I remember forcing myself to remember how MILLENNIUM is spelled (sometime around Y2K).