<p>Grade Inflation Crossword by a student author in the New York Times today:</p>
<p>Today's New York Times crossword theme is grade inflation. It is filled with words that have the letter "B" replaced with the letter "A", such as "LAMACHOP" and "GOESOUTONALIMA".</p>
<p>It is only the second time in history that a teenage woman has had a puzzle published in the New York Times. The puzzle creator is a sophmore at Swarthmore College. Here's a NYTIMES blog article and interview today:</p>
<p>Modern</a> Phenomenon - Wordplay Blog - NYTimes.com</p>
<p>
[quote]
Q.What inspired this particular theme? What do you like about it? What do you wish could have worked out better?</p>
<p>A.It was initially going to be a puzzle for the Swarthmore paper. Swarthmore prides itself on its lack of grade inflation. The mantra of ego-bruised Swarthmore students is anywhere else it would have been an A. I thought that turning the Bs of a puzzle into As (à la grade inflation) was puzzle-worthy, so I racked my brain for words that still made sense with As in the place of Bs not surprisingly, all of these words ended with consonants followed by B (i.e. limb, lamb, verb, comb).
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Here's the completed puzzle (spoiler):</p>
<p>Wednesday</a>, May 26, 2010 New York Times Crossword Puzzle</p>