Theme numbers

[jrob]

Probably a beginner question for many of you. I find my toughest challenge is grid construction. I have a theme I like with 2 14s and 2 13s but it seems very tough to manage.
Ant ideas or suggestions as to how you might make it work?
Is this a stupid question?

[VB]

Jrob -

Yuck.  It's going to be ugly no matter what you do.  I think that if you try to put all four across, you're looking at a 10-letter down pair in column 3 or the like because the 13s effectively ruin any elegant way to block it.  If you want to send me the entries (post them here or directly to baroc001@umn.edu), I'll try to come up with something. I'm by no means the best, but I'll try.  Regardless, it's ugly.

Good luck with it.  I hope that the theme entries are cool enough to merit the pain of trying to fill it!

- VB

[SJS]

I agree... you'd have to be really lucky with your letters in a 13/14 theme or have an editor willing to let you use 42-ish blocks.  My advice would be to try and modify your theme entries and coax the 14s into 15s or the 13s into 12s.

[midnightmover3]

What about grid like this? It has 72 words and 38 blocks. You might have to be a bit lucky with your theme entries for it to work smoothly, but you also have 4 different ways to arrange the theme answers. If you want you can PM me your theme answers and I'll see if I can't find a grid and arrangement that will fill well.

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[jrob]

Thank you all for your answers. I am looking at the grid in answer #4 but looking harder at going to 14-14- 12-12. I like the theme but it's not so great I need to kill myself over it. (I wish I had a theme like that)

[SJS]

What about grid like this? It has 72 words and 38 blocks. You might have to be a bit lucky with your theme entries for it to work smoothly, but you also have 4 different ways to arrange the theme answers. If you want you can PM me your theme answers and I'll see if I can't find a grid and arrangement that will fill well.

====#=====#====
====#=====#====
====#=====#====
##=============
======####=====
==============#
=====#=====####
====#=====#====
####=====#=====
#==============
=====####======
=============##
====#=====#====
====#=====#====
====#=====#====

This is a good idea to try, but it was why I said you have to be lucky with your letters.  3 and 4 Down (and the symmetrical ones in the SE corner) are both 8-letter words that have to cross two themers.  That's a tight constraint.  Of course, if it happens to work out, then its a nifty grid.

The other tricky issue is 6-, 7-, 8-, and 9-Down are stacked 4s that end at the theme entry.  That means the theme entry has to have end-of-word-friendly letters in just the right places.  Not impossible, but constraining.