Often [in trying to create a crossword puzzle], corners turn into isolated areas four or five letters wide, only reachable via a narrow strait. These semi-independent nations can be a boon to constructors since … you can experiment in each area without having to dismantle the entire structure. On the other hand … shift one letter in that section and homeostasis goes haywire. (Adrienne Raphel, Thinking Inside the Box, Penguin Press [2020], p. 51.)
This word, when used in the above sense, can also be a synonym for balance, symmetry and evenness.
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