Aziz of “Master of None”

PUZZLES Prolific crossword creator makes puzzle for S-R

From staff reports

For our Father’s Day puzzle section, we thought it would be nice to get a crossword puzzle created exclusively for our readers.

After a few emails, the name that came to the top was Jeff Chen. He fit our criteria of having Washington roots and a solid resume of published crosswords. Chen has been creating crosswords for 10 years and recently cracked the New York Times Top 10 list for the most crossword puzzles published in the New York Times. The ninthmost published puzzle creator debuted with the NYT in July 2010 and has created 121 puzzles in all, the latest published March 7 of this year.

Chen was asked to make a puzzle that used clues our readers would recognize. He proposed a puzzle using word play associated with our local universities.

Chen is the author of the “Ultraball” series (HarperCollins). He recently released “It’s So Easy Cross words,” and is currently working on a sequel to Bridge Crosswords, another 52 crosswords all about contract bridge.

In previous careers, he was a mechanical engineer listed on eight U.S. patents and was involved in the start Acucela Inc., a pharmaceutical company that went public in 2014.

Chen is “an avid rock climber, inconceivably terrible bridge player, and likes ideas, people, and things with nerd cred.” He has also reached about two-thirds of his lifetime goal of donating 20 gallons of blood. “Not all at once,” he adds.

Chen grew up in the Bay Area but has lived in Seattle for nearly 25 years. He is married with two children.

Chen

SCHOOL PLAYS

Across

1. Where Mark Rypien and Drew Bledsoe played after WSU 4. Setting for “Les Misérables” 9. Some inexpensive pens 13. Bellwether or Whistle Punk brewed beverage 14. Like an engine that’s warming up 16. Radiate out 17. Person seeking prospective Eastern Washington University students? 19. February 14, for short 20. Grand ___ (bigwig) 21. Janis Joplin hit “Me and Bobby ___” 23. Issues a playground challenge 25. Nation on the Persian Gulf 27. Gonzaga student who might say “Cheerio, Zags!”? 32. Took part in the Trailblazer or Hiawatha Trail Run 33. Mo. with many pranks played on its first day 34. Song title spelled out with arm movements 35. “Born in the ___” (Springsteen hit) 36. City close to EWU, Gonzaga, Whitworth, and WSU 40. Manning who quarterbacked the New York Giants 41. Pilots’ guesstimates: Abbr. 43. The IRONMAN Coeur D’Alene, in short 44. Moving day rental 46. Whitworth student majoring in computer science? 50. Blue ___ (jewelry company based in Seattle) 51. Chocolate candies filled with caramel 52. Some Renoir and Degas paintings 55. Flora in the John A. Finch Arboretum 58. Hard wood used for outdoor furniture 60. Courteney Cox sitcom about Washington State University student residences? 63. Leer at 64. Not the sharpest stick 65. Little white lie 66. Tree trunk growth 67. Instant coffee brand 68. Thurman of “Imposters”

Down

1. Groundskeeper Willie’s “Not on your life!” 2. Do part of the chicken dance 3. Big name in little bricks 4. Certain spotted horses 5. Aziz of “Master of None” 6. Entrepreneur’s dream 7. Veiled oath? 8. Area written about by some muckrakers 9. Cleary who wrote “Beezus and Ramona” 10. Declaration of one’s impending doom 11. Org. in Tom Clancy novels 12. “Charlotte’s Web” setting 15. “Blah, blah, blah”: Abbr. 18. Bear Creek in 36-Across, for one 22. Grissom of “CSI” 24. More precarious 26. “I haven’t the foggiest idea” 27. Sheena who sang “U Got the Look” with Prince 28. Championship game that Gonzaga has reached twice (2017, 2021) 29. ___-free (label on many water bottles) 30. “Ode on a Grecian ___” (John Keats) 31. Olympic gold medalist Devers 32. Feels remorseful about 37. Sch. supporting group 38. Bobby who was a legend with the Boston Bruins 39. Continental currency region since 1999 42. Rehab hospital in 36-Across named after an apostle 45. ___ got a chance (is a goner) 47. Form a more perfect union? 48. Kids’ toy that sometimes shoots a cork 49. “Let me make some inquiries” 53. Prefix associated with being green 54. Bursts into tears 56. Makeup of some meat substitutes 57. Take a dip in Badger Lake, perhaps 58. Foley who was Speaker of the House (and born in 36-Across) 59. It’s often inflated or bruised 61. Hagen of “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” 62. Where John Stockton played after graduating from Gonzaga: Abbr.