104.5 Degrees of Separation

by Jeff Chen / Edited by Will Shortz

This wonderful crossword puzzle was published in the May 7, 2013 (Tuesday) New York Times, and is hosted on our pages with the kind acquiescence of constructor Jeff Chen. My miniscule contribution has been to suggest a title (note: NYT weekday puzzles do not have titles) that winks at the chemistry evoked by this puzzle; I leave it as an exercise to our solvers to note the inspiration from the "arts" side of "arts and science."

Click here to view or download the puzzle in PDF format, exactly as it appeared in print -- that is the best way to solve the puzzle in line with Jeff Chen's original vision. A compromise format is accessible by clicking here (PDF); here to solve the puzzle interactively (thanks to Jim Horne); and here for the solution.

If you want to tell others about this particular page, refer them to http://tinyurl.com/chem102puz

More puzzles here (all) and here (science).

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