Rackenfracker #2: The Crossword Game

Putting the "racks" in Rackenfracker.

Happy ACPT to those who celebrate. We’re honoring the occasion with this Scrabble-themed puzzle.

Our editor this time is the great and good joeadultman, cultivator of one of the best cryptics communities out there. The video game streaming service Twitch may not strike you as a cruciverbalist’s native habitat, but it’s been colonized by solvers and setters in lively conversation (including our own jmsr525). When Joe hosts a morning solve with a side of clue construction, it captures all of the ups and down of cryptic solving (and writing) that make us such devotees of the medium, and in a novices-welcome way that turns skeptics into players. We’re grateful to get to work with him to present this puzzle to you. Thanks to John and Andy for the test solves.

Like the previous Rackenfracker, this is a jigsaw, meaning you have to determine where the words go in the grid; starter letters have been provided. For those solving in-browser, the ✏️ after each clue lets you record answers as you find them. For those solving on mobile, you’ll need the Puzzazz app. To record answers in Puzzazz before you put them in grid, use Clue Options button in the 💡 menu.

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Clues are sorted according to their highest-value letter in Scrabble. The puzzle is a pangram; that is, all letters appear in the grid at least once. Enumerations have been withheld, but four letters have been placed into the grid.

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