natick

plural naticks

1. An intersection of two obscure crossword puzzle clues.

   “There were some tough proper nouns today (including a personal natick, included below) — BAYLOR, KRIS, RILKE, ILYA and DANA, among others. And I loved the clues for ESCAPEE, ONO, MYSELF, PANTS and FAT LADY.”

   2018 April 18, Caitlin Lovinger, “Let’s Change the Subject”, in The New York Times

   2 more examples

   “The NATICK Principle. And here it is: If you include a proper noun in your grid that you cannot reasonably expect more than 1/4 of the solving public to have heard of, you must cross that noun with reasonably common words and phrases or very common names.”

   2008 July 6, Rex Parker, “("TREASURE ISLAND" ILLUSTRATOR, 1911 / TOWN AT THE EIGHTH MILE OF THE BOSTON MARATHON) - SUNDAY, Jul. 6, 2008 - Brendan Emmett Quigley”, in Rex Parker Does the NY Times Crossword Puzzle

   “A crossword blogger by the name of Rex Parker critiqued one of my puzzles in The New York Times, where the illustrator 'N.C. Wyeth' crossed the Boston town 'Natick,'” Quigley explains. “[Parker] said, 'Who in their right mind is going to understand what's going to fit in that one square? It's totally unfair. From now on, this shall be known as the Natick Principle.'”

   2017 January 8, Julia Franz, “Crossword puzzle-making tips from a pro at The New York Times”, in Studio 360, Public Radio International

1. A town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States.
2. Synonym of Massachusett (“an Algonquian language”).

   Synonyms: Massachusett

plural Naticks

1. historicalA member of the Praying Indians of Natick, a community of indigenous Christian converts in the town of Natick, Massachusetts, United States.