The ACPT Final Crossword Puzzle 2024

Mark takes on the final puzzle from the ACPT (American Crossword Puzzle Tournament) 2024. This was solved on stage by Paolo Pasco in 5m 42s. See how Mark gets on with this very tough, themeless American crossword puzzle!
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Hi! We're Simon Anthony and Mark Goodliffe, two of the UK's most enthusiastic puzzle solvers. We have both represented the UK at the World Sudoku Championships and the World Puzzle Championships. We're also "cryptic crossword" aficionados. Mark is the twelve-time winner of The Times crossword championship and twice Senior World Champion in Sudoku, and Simon is the former record holder for most consecutive correct solutions to The Listener crossword. We hope we can help your puzzle solving while also introducing you to some of the world's best puzzles.
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▶ Contents ◀
0:00 Theme Music & News around the channel
6:50 Start Of Solve - Let's Get Cracking!

[@sidsgrids]

Sid Sivakumar writing here. Thank you, Mark, for graciously giving this a try on the channel - especially with the added challenge of having to puzzle through the American references! You solved this in excellent time. Many of the non-finalist ACPT competitors who attempted the A division clues said it took them 30-60 minutes to complete, so you should certainly be very proud of yourself for your time. Paolo, Will, David and the other top competitors are just in an unfathomable league of speed and accuracy with American-style crosswords. For us mere mortals, comparing our performance with theirs is an exercise in futility. I'm seeing much discussion in the comment section, with confusion about some of the clues - which I'm sure is due to the differences between British and American crosswords, as well as cultural frames of reference - so I'll try to clarify some points briefly below: - A POPSICLE is indeed similar to what you might call an "ice lolly," although it's a brand name which has over time become genericized in the States. - Both the terms "green onions" and SCALLIONS are used for the same vegetable in the U.S., although I've heard the latter more commonly in reference to Asian (and particularly Chinese) cuisines. - "IT'S LIT" is more recently coined lingo that someone might yell at a party (social gathering), and "ruling party" indicates both that the party in question "rules" (is great) and that we are asking for more of a slang term in the answer. - As mentioned in other comments, a crisp is a type of baked American dessert, which typically contains apples but might also contain PEARS. (That clue has nothing to do with the interior of pears themselves.) - Yes, ORD is the airport code for O'Hare Airport in Chicago, which is a hub for American Airlines (very commonly abbreviated here to "AA"). - As far as I can tell, ALDO is as popular on this side of the pond as it is in the UK! One final point: American-style crosswords have, since their inception, omitted the answer enumerations that are commonly seen in cryptic crosswords. This is just a difference in form you have to accept when solving American crosswords. Those of us who've grown up with this style have come to embrace and love it, since the lack of enumerations enhances the depth and variety of misdirections that can be done with definitional (i.e. non-cryptic) clues. Also, in a U.S.-style crossword every letter is "checked" (i.e., is part of both an Across and a Down answer), contrasting with traditional blocked cryptics in which about 40% of the letters are not checked at all. So, theoretically, there should be no room for ambiguity in the solution of an American crossword - and perhaps this might help cryptic devotees forgive our lack of enumerations more easily :) (And of course - thank you, Mark, for the kind words about my setting/constructing!) Cheers, Sid

[@d4r4butler74]

Thank you for this!! Watching Mark solve an American Crossword was great!

[@tommy_vids]

Hearing Mark say the phrase "Oh wow it's lit" is something I never thought I'd hear

[@SomeRandomGuyOnYouTube]

Some of these clues are so clever that they could appear in cryptic crosswords as the "cryptic definition" type of clue, i.e. no wordplay, just a very misleading definition. My favourite being the brilliant "Tapers off for several years?"

[@mathematicskid]

I don't understand that clue at all, please explain

[@sidsgrids]

@@mathematicskid A VCR can be described as a "taper" (i.e. a device that tapes, onto a VHS cassette) that has, at this point, been turned off for several years (likely due to obsolescence and disuse). So, VCRS are "tapers [that have been] off for several years."

[@mathematicskid]

@@sidsgrids ohhh

[@ReductioAdNauseam]

The San Jose Sharks and the Winnipeg Jets are two teams in the National Hockey League.

[@pjbrady47]

I thought this was a wonderful clue. I also first went to West Side Story, but Mark mentioning hockey brought me around.

[@jarvisa12345]

Pork rinds are called pork scratchings in the UK.

[@bergnijlpaard]

Some of your initial biffs were nothing short of miraculous - it is astonishing to me how often you can guess the right answer with almost no letters - like "ARISE" or "APRICOTJAM".

[@Probba]

I'm American and I never would have solved this. Also, crisp refers to a baked dessert, as in "Apple Crisp"

[@bobblebardsley]

Also some varieties of pears are described as 'crisp' in texture, so 'crisp interior' could literally just mean the interior of some pears. I like your explanation though, I'm going to assume that was the intended meaning.

[@garrettsmith9788]

Poor Mark, having to solve a puzzle in a foreign language 😂

[@nigelgraves8784]

Biggest headache with American crosswords is the lack of indicators eg Apricot Jam would be (7,3) in Britain. Takes some getting used to.

[@MichaelGreen831]

I’m giving Mark a 3 minute handicap. He was unfamiliar with the interface and couldn’t see all of the longer clues. By the grand final, he would have been speeding through.

[@Max1996YT]

Clues do show up in full at the top, though.

[@epd807]

Chicharron is a fried porkrind. It is pronounced chEEcharron and it is how RIchard "Cheech" Marin (of Cheech and Chong) got his nickname. When he was a little baby, his uncle said he looked like a little chicharron.

[@bristolrovers27]

Love to see Mark solve crossword puzzles

[@fruitshuit]

Lovely solve mark! Great video. For the pears clue, I think it's the other way around, a very fresh pear has a crisp interior, but older pears can be a bit mushy.

[@d4r4butler74]

A Crisp (like an Apple Crisp, or a Pear Crisp, maybe a Peach Crisp) is a sliced fruit on the bottom, crumble on top desert alternative to pie. It doesn't have a bottom crust...

[@adrever1986]

Brilliant video Mark thanks!

[@elemenopy7605]

love the crossword/cryptic crossword content. more of these, please.

[@0Taneb]

I enjoyed watching this solve! Very well done with it

[@wossaaaat]

Oooh, bonus Mark crossword solve. Love this channel. Thanks guys!

[@longwaytotipperary]

Oh good! Happy to see this!

[@debrabowen4276]

Love love love the crossword videos!

[@billsimoni]

It’s nice to finally have a number of these be easier for me than Mark!

[@archivist17]

Brilliant setting. And impressive solving, too.

[@chuckmo14]

I’m impressed with your US knowledge with the hockey teams and O’Hare airport

[@arandamei2189]

Great solve, Mark and a very interesting video. Thanks! In my part of the world (Southern Virginia) Scallions are often called Spring Onions on the supermarkets' shelves.

[@Anne_Mahoney]

An extra crossword -- what a delight! 😺

[@annastevenson27]

I wish you could do more crossword videos!

[@PDSRoxas]

I’ve always thought the American puzzles should indicate if the answer is multiple words - just for fairness. Enjoyed the video overall

[@joecab1]

Naw that would make it too easy!

[@zealot2147]

Might be the case that the B and C does

[@joecab1]

@@zealot2147 None of the ACPT puzzles do that. Remember that even B and C finalists are quite good so they don't need the extra help.

[@mikemcculley]

I think most people are going to be biased one way or the other based on what they're used to. As an American puzzle solver, I appreciate the ambiguity. It's certainly the nature of the beast.

[@Ruddigore]

Impressive solve Mark, rejoice.... 😁

[@mjkluck]

Nice solve.

[@pizza7741]

in my experience they're usually called green onions in the grocery store but i've definitely heard scallions before, most often from asian friends/acquaintances

[@ChrisNeffshade]

So impressive

[@kibels894]

They're usually called green onions not scallions in the US but I see scallions in a lot of recipes and stuff that comes out of the east coast. I'd consider it kind of a posh name. If you went to a shop they'd always be called green onions unless you went to an expensive one.

[@vinyl1Earthlink]

The American winners would probably say the same thing about Mark’s times at the Times championship - how does he do it.

[@nickjayyoung7662]

"To step out of the closet" or variations of that means "to reveal" something. Enjoyed the video.

[@mikemcculley]

As is so often the case, I think there are regional differences here in the US regarding scallions. I would call them green onions, but I know that people in a lot of places refer to them as scallions. And, maybe it's just a personal idiosyncrasy, but I would use the word scallions specifically to refer to chopped green onions.

[@kameronpeterson3601]

green onions are scallions, and if you let the mature and pick them when they've grown a bulb they become spring onions

[@fakjbf3129]

For the “Ruling party” clue it’s not a political party but a social get together, and by ruling they mean great and current slang for great is lit.

[@andykey78]

"Some other blooming social medium"!! 😅

[@jojocourtice]

Mark gets to "rejoice"!

[@joeburke1030]

The clue for 46-Down seems to be a mistake. Harold RAMIS directed 'Caddyshack' and 'National Lampoon's Vacation', and Violet RAMIS had (very) small roles in them, but "Star" doesn't really make sense. I attended and competed in the ACPT, and looking at the hard-copy puzzles that were distributed, the clue for 46-Down is "Name on 'Caddyshack' and 'National Lampoon's Vacation' posters" -- so maybe this clue was edited/corrected for the hard-copy, but was missed in the digital file?

[@sidsgrids]

Oops! Yes, this was my error in transcribing the hard copy to a digital file. This was one of the last corrections made before the clues were finalized for the tournament. I mistakenly copied over the clue from a previous version. Great detective work! -Sid

[@joeburke1030]

@@sidsgrids Gotcha, thanks for the reply! P.S. Great final puzzle, and I also thoroughly enjoyed your "Sip & Solve Hard Mini Crosswords" book from last year!

[@erickehr4475]

The fact that an answer can be multiple words makes these much harder. Or perhaps it’s just I’m not used to thinking like that, and it’s something you get used to.

[@zmaj12321]

It's the sort of thing that trips you up at first, but then becomes manageable with experience.

[@iabervon]

Incidentally, there are lots of programs that can handle files that are nominally for Across Lite, if you don't like that interface. The file format got worked out ages ago, and became kind of a standard, to the point that some crossword Patreons I subscribe to have been unable to use features of the more recent versions of Across Lite in their puzzles because too many people solve in programs that haven't updated to support the latest features.

[@garrettsmith9788]

Mark, ”Scallions is what the Irish would call them. What would Americans call them?” Americans, “Maybe we’re all Irish!”

[@anomalousresult]

I think pears maybe have a crisp interior (as they should imo, you don't eat a soggy apple) rather than crisps having a pear interior.

[@mjswart73]

Pear crisp is a dessert similar to apple crisp (which is like an apple crumble). There's pear in such a crisp.

[@FistaCuffLinks]

I thought that AA might clue to Anti-Air, hubbed in the Ordinance area on a military base.. but I defer to people smarter than me! That was just my first thought

[@jmbrow29]

Nah. Positive that AA here was American Airlines and ORD is the airport code for Chicago O'Hare

[@FistaCuffLinks]

I don't have the knowledge base for crosswords anyway! I just like watching someone really good do them. Simple man, simple pleasures. I'll stick to struggling with my sudoku

[@MichaelLamparty]

Pork rinds and cracklings are similar, but not exactly the same.

[@grahamania]

Extremely impressive for a non-American considering how many clues involved specific knowledge. (Extremely impressive even for Americans :) ).

[@markbooth6706]

Winnipeg Jets baby

[@margaretmcnarry4298]

The only one I definitely knew was whale!

[@BryanLu0]

Green onions and scallions are synonymous, but you're more likely to hear green onions

[@digitig]

Especially if you're a Booker T and the MGs fan. 😀

[@mathematicskid]

In the US I believe both "scallions" and "spring onions" are acceptable names.

[@kameronpeterson3601]

in the US, spring onions refer to matured scallions/green onions

[@sleepyheadsarah]

I think the reason "popsicle stick" was the answer for "makeshift makeup tool" is because eating a popsicle dyes your mouth, kinda making it look like lipstick.

[@arataya8706]

Maybe, but you can also buy popsicle sticks in the arts and crafts section of a store, and could use them to apply all sorts of things, like paint. Also, when I wax at home, I apply it with a stick that is what I would call a popsicle stick, and while the wax is not really makeup, it is part of a beauty routine.

[@hisnakedness]

Loved this video, my crossword solves are the most favourite of all of what Mark and Simon do - more please! 😊