Puzzle Links: JPZ | Online Solver
I’m very pleased to be able to present this puzzle to you today, because it is a continuation of two crossword series I really enjoy. One is Adam Aaronson’s “Grid Charlemagne” series, which up until now consisted of two puzzles by Adam and one by Christopher Adams (maybe this one by Quiara Vasquez?). Like those puzzles, the theme is Steely Dan-adjacent, but no specific knowledge is needed to solve or enjoy.
The other series this continues is Brendan Quigley’s “Yacht Rock” series of puzzles, making one puzzle for each of the twelve Yacht Rock episodes (which, if you haven’t seen, you absolutely must). So far, there have been … well, zero, I guess. I thought this one was titled “What a Fool Believes” but I misremembered. Well, watch this space for more puzzles in that vein, then.
While I’m doing shout-outs, a huge one to Peter Broda, whose full-text wordlist was invaluable in finding theme entries for this one.
Enjoy the puzzle and don’t forget to tag us on Twitter if you plan to solve it online!