Diagramless

by Evan Chen and Lumia Neyo

Answer:
ISSACHAR

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Solution to Diagramless


The presentation of the puzzle is initially a standard diagramless crossword. It becomes apparent pretty quickly that the grid is a little strange in some ways, as some of the cells are unchecked, but it is symmetric and has only words of length at least 3. Moreover, four of the clues are blank.


In any case, the first step is simply to complete the diagramless.

Answers to the crossword clues

In what follows, the yellow highlights denote the four clues which were empty in the given puzzle. The yellow clues can be inferred from intersections as none of the unchecked cells appear in the missing clues.

Across

1DANCESocial event
6TANThis function is 1 at pi/4 and is undefined at pi/2 (abbr)
9CLIPSParts of a video
13WOODTrees are chopped down for this
14ELOChess rating system
15AIDAVerdi heroine princess
16MARTIALARTAikido, e.g.
19TEENSThey're older than twelve
23PAYGive money
24TSARINASRussian empresses
26ADAPTAdjust to fit
28ABUTTouch or join on border
30KROGERCincinnati supermarket
31AFARAt a distance
32SEMISTrucks
34GSHARPSounds like a flat?
36AREExist
37HEALTHCommonly referred to in video games as "hitpoints"
39BEETROOTDark crimson vegetable
41IRISColorful part of eyes
42DEAFNESSInability to hear
45WISHLISTCatalogue of desired things
47STEAMIRONSClothes flatteners
50SAILThing that lets wind blow the objects in the upper-right and bottom-left corner around
51TAXSingular version of something inevitable, according to a common saying
52LEVEEDike or floodbank
53OATSEEDCereal grain
57ERAe.g. Cenozoic
58SEAThing in the middle of the Ancient Roman Empire
59ANGDirector Lee
60TRYScore in rugby
61WOMPRATTatooine pest rodent
64BARGE-
66AMADoctors' org (abbr)
67EACHSales unit
68WUTANGCLANRZA and GZA's hip-hop group
71PIECHARTA graph with a circle divided into sectors
75FENESTRANatural hole in a bone
76ELMSHardwood trees
77BOOKRESTLiterary supporter?
80SALLIEMae that loans money
84WIINintendo gaming console
85WRIESTMost twisted
86BLOCK-
87PANSThey go well with pots
89ULSTERNorthern Irish province
91FAKECrocodile, re tears
92EDENSPlaces of paradise
94ESOTERICObscure
96OOFRoblox death sound
97MANGO-
99BARNBURNERAn exciting game, event, etc.
102ROANHorse of a color
103ATEConsumed
104RUINWreckage
105NEWBSInexperienced parties
106REDColor commonly associated with anger
107DEMONEvil spirit

Down

2AWAYWhere there's a will, there's ____
3NORNeither this ___ that
4COTBaby's bed
5EDITAmend
6TEAROSESThorny hybrid flowers
7ALRIGHTOK, informally
8NOTNEARFar away
9CATSPets that meow
10LIEFib
11IDEABrainstorming output
12PANDABear that eats bamboo
16MATILDAGirl who wrote a letter on the chalkboard that scared Trunchbull
17ASKInquire
18LARGESSECharity donations
20SAFARIEdge counterpart
21ATRESTType of object referenced in Newton's First Law of Motion
22BASHBourne-again command line
23PUMASportswear brand whose logo actually looks like what the name is
25ARROWIt's fired from a bow
27PARISHost of the 2024 Olympic Games
29BEEBusy insect
33STEMIncludes disciplines like statistics and chemistry (abbr.)
35POISONGASEg. phosgene or chlorine
38HAILSACABFlags a taxi
39BENEThe b in n.b.
40TSAAGENTSThey might pat you down at airports
41ILLSThey escaped from Pandora's Box
43FREETHROWIt's awarded after a basketball foul
44NOVANew in Latin
46HITDealer giving you another card in Blackjack
47STEWSuspicious item in Minecraft
48TARORoot vegetable that sounds kinda like cards
49EXAMTest
54ETALCommon replacement for "rest of the authors"
55ERMAHalf-ghost daughter of Emiko Yuriemoto
56DYANCannon of "Heaven Can Wait"
59ARTEComedian Johnson
62PECSChest muscles, for short
63RAHSound heard at a pep rally
64BWESTERNLow-budget cowboy flick
65AUNTSister of a parent
69GRABSoutheast Asia's alternative to Uber
70CALLFORSummon
71PEWPEWSound made by laser guns
72ILIADPoem by Homer
73EMINEMAlso known as Slim Shady
74TORUSSquare with opposite edges identified
75FESTEREDGot worse, as a wound
78KILOBAR14503.77 pounds per square inch
79RESTATEPhrase the problem differently
81LOAF-
82ICK"Yuck!"
83EKEDWith "out", barely managed
88SNAREDrum or trap
90RIBChest bone
93SNOWArendelle's in deep, deep, deep, deep ____
94EONSLongest geological time period
95CURDTofu, basically
96OENODaughter of Anius and Dryope
98GABEngage in idle chitchat
100RUERegret
101NIMGame with players taking from several piles of stones

Fill

1
D
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A
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N
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C
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E
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T
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N
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M
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S
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B
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A
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D
A
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B
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K
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A
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I
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S
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G
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P
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H
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B
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T
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D
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N
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H
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S
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T
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E
A
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N
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A
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T
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L
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V
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O
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E
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E
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D
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B
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G
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K
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B
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E
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C
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O
O
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M
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G
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B
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B
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R
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R
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A
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N
105
N
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B
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106
R
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D
107
D
E
M
O
N

Bringing the grid to life

The four special clues BARGE, BLOCK, LOAF, MANGO are all names of objects in Conway’s Game of Life, and they indeed appear in the grid — or at least their silhouettes do. We need to re-add in white squares that are “enclosed” by black squares so that each of the black regions actually corresponds to a Conway Game of Life object.


There is essentially only one way to do this. There is one ambiguity about whether the objects in the upper-right and lower-left corners should be BOATs (which have five live cells) or TUBs (which have four live cells). This is hinted by the clue 50-across, "thing that lets wind blow the objects in the upper-right and bottom-left corner around" which had answer SAIL; this clue only makes sense for BOATs and not TUBs. The remaining objects include several BLINKERs and a BIPOND in the center of the grid.


To finish the puzzle, run Conway’s Game of Life until it stabilizes. This leaves eight living cells in the final configuration that still lie within the grid; they are highlighted in green below.


1
D
2
A
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N
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C
5
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N
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S
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B
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A
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G
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T
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L
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O
A
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E
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E
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D
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T
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B
O
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K
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L
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B
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P
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N
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S
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U
L
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90
R
91
F
A
K
E
92
E
D
E
N
93
S
94
E
S
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I
95
C
96
O
O
F
D
W
97
M
A
N
98
G
O
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B
A
R
N
B
U
100
R
101
N
E
R
102
R
O
A
N
103
A
T
E
104
R
U
I
N
105
N
E
W
B
S
106
R
E
D
107
D
E
M
O
N

Reading these eight cells in reading order gives ISSACHAR, the final answer.