Sunday, December 27, 2020
Puzzle 91 - 21x15: And You
This is something of a tribute puzzle though the occasion only is that we people continue to be home alone. It's also the biggest puzzle I've finished constructing, because stacking the themed part needed all this space. I worked hard.
Monday, December 21, 2020
Puzzle 90 - 15x15: The Year in Film
Hi. So this puzzle came together maybe too fast - the theme as well as the fill. Too many proper nouns, and one square is impossible for sure (guess the letter B). Also I know the puns are sort of inconsistent but ...
PUZ
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Click "Read more" to solve online
Wednesday, December 16, 2020
Puzzle 89 - 9x9: Please Visit
It may look like this puzzle has multiple themes but there is no theme.
PUZ
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Click "Read more" to solve online
Tuesday, December 15, 2020
Puzzle 88 - 13x13
Friday, December 11, 2020
Puzzle 87 - 5x5: A Top-Heavy Grid
Salutations. I took some liberties with symmetry and unchecked squares (and spelling vars.?), but the result here is neat. The clues should be scrutable.
P.S. Making this was fun - I did it first in my head, then checked it with scratch paper, then typed it up.
PUZ
Click "Read more" to solve online
Click "Read more" to solve online
Wednesday, December 9, 2020
Puzzle 86 - 5x5
I've been posting on here most of the puzzles I've made. So here's this one, with a little constraint I wanted to try, and then the most interesting fill option (though not the cleanest).
PUZ
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Click "Read more" to solve online
Tuesday, December 8, 2020
Puzzle 85 - 5x5
Here is a mini puzzle that has multiple very good answers and nothing bad.
PUZ
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Click "Read more" to solve online
Saturday, December 5, 2020
Puzzle 84 - 9x9
Last time I made a puzzle with this shape I complained that the 4-letter answers were overused. Well they still are but that's all right because the clues should bring them to life. Somewhat, I hope.
PUZ
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Click "Read more" to solve online
Thursday, December 3, 2020
Puzzle 83 - 7x7
Though good is relative, and there's a duplicated part of an answer, everything here is fine or better, unlike some "really?" answers of puzzles past.
PUZ
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Click "Read more" to solve online
Tuesday, December 1, 2020
Puzzle 82 - 7x7
And there's more of this middle size. I might have only one other left but it's a good one.
PUZ
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Click "Read more" to solve online
Sunday, November 29, 2020
Friday, November 27, 2020
Puzzle 80 - 5x2: Street Grid
This one's neat. I found it in the outdoors recently - it just seemed to make words. I had to write the clues. Quite a few proper nouns. The only rule it broke is word length ...
Wednesday, November 25, 2020
Puzzle 79 - 8x8
Two iffy puzzles in a row isn't ideal but here we are. I mean the short fill is rough. But we'll overlook that won't we. Wait why am I writing who is reading this that is so you I get that uh oh losing it hmph. Good day.
PUZ
PUZ
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Sunday, November 22, 2020
Puzzle 78 - 15x15: Mish Mash
What a title. I've said before I should stop crossing proper nouns, but I didn't do that in this puzzle so feel free to look things up. At least, that's what I do when I'm solving leisurely. Five full names was fun to put in though.
Anyway the theme is kind of not great, and not quite symmetrical, but I thought it was neatish so I'm posting it. It's my site.
Anyway the theme is kind of not great, and not quite symmetrical, but I thought it was neatish so I'm posting it. It's my site.
Saturday, November 21, 2020
Puzzle 77 - 8x8
Okay okay. I made more "ring around" puzzles. This one's probably the best of this batch, but I'm going to post the others too. So be on the lookout ...?
After solving, you can probably infer why the black squares are uneven.
PUZ
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Click "Read more" to solve online
Friday, November 20, 2020
Puzzle 76 - 6x6
Now, this puzzle is the opposite of the last few. It would be a challenge to make a cleaner, duller puzzle than this. The clues might add some level of interest, but hopefully not too much (ha ha).
PUZ
Click "Read more" to solve online
Click "Read more" to solve online
Thursday, November 19, 2020
Puzzle 75 - 5x5
The cramming continues. But even I have my limits. See, the square labeled 1 could have been a C, making both words more simple. But I wanted it like this. However I did not make the bottom-right square a Z, though it could be. That's too many proper nouns for a puzzle already loaded with them. But you probably know enough names to finish. As before, they're from various fields.
Click "Read more" to solve online
Saturday, November 14, 2020
Puzzle 74 - 5x5
Wow. The numbers for these puzzles are really climbing. 74 ... Anyway every answer here is great except 2-Down. I guess I try to hide the things I don't like in the downs. But then I mention them here. Alas.
PUZ
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Click "Read more" to solve online
Friday, November 13, 2020
Puzzle 73 - 5x5
There were three ways I could have started making this puzzle, but this seemed best in order to get more perhaps-less-seen answers (3-Down notwithstanding).
PUZ
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Click "Read more" to solve online
Thursday, November 12, 2020
Puzzle 72 - 5x5
This is a sort of follow-up to yesterday's grid, but with a different letter.
PUZ
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Click "Read more" to solve online
Wednesday, November 11, 2020
Puzzle 71 - 5x5
This mini has one questionable down answer, but the rest should be fun. 1-Across kind of set the tone of it.
PUZ
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Click "Read more" to solve online
Tuesday, November 10, 2020
Puzzle 70 - 5x5: Potpourri 4
This, the last puzzle in the original little set I made together, has one answer that I learned from modded Minecraft and which you probably haven't heard of. But it's inferable with crosses. The following puzzles will have slightly different aims (but will still be small).
PUZ
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Click "Read more" to solve online
Monday, November 9, 2020
Sunday, November 8, 2020
Puzzle 68 - 5x5: Potpourri 2
This next one's theme, such as it is, arose accidentally. The seed was 8-Across, and then the downs formed a cool two-by-three rectangle.
Potpourri here, in the titles, means I am trying to reach in multiple directions within each puzzle, though there is a throughline across a few grids.
Click "Read more" to solve online
Saturday, November 7, 2020
Puzzle 67 - 5x5: Potpourri 1
No more 7x7s are planned. Instead, I really like the mini puzzles that I have lined up for the next week or so. Some have mini-themes, some are closer to stunts. Some have sort of random things going on. This first one is simple, just an attempt to make a good mini puzzle that includes 3-Down.
Click "Read more" to solve online
Friday, November 6, 2020
Puzzle 66 - 7x7
Yet another 7x7. The clues should be easier overall to make up for a pair of odd words.
PUZ
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Click "Read more" to solve online
Thursday, November 5, 2020
Puzzle 65 - 7x7
Another one. I have several more, and then I have planned a new mini series.
PUZ
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Click "Read more" to solve online
Tuesday, November 3, 2020
Puzzle 64 - 8x8
Hello. I was impressed by the fill on this grid. I hope it's a good way to occupy yourself for a moment today.
PUZ
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Click "Read more" to solve online
Monday, November 2, 2020
Puzzle 63 - 7x7
I still like this shape so I've come back to it. I don't know if it's possible to make one like it by hand, but the computer is a great tool.
PUZ
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Click "Read more" to solve online
Saturday, October 31, 2020
Puzzle 62 - 15x15: Happy Halloween Themeless
eeeeEEErieeeee ... (check out this 1955 nyt puz)
Halloween and Thanksgiving are the best American holidays (says me) because they have the best weather and they're shared with other people. Except this year ... well, I suggest you read aloud "The Raven" and revel in the melodrama.
As for this puzzle, I've had one great Halloweeny answer for a while and just decided to make a themeless with it. A few answers in the grid are not so fun, but the 56-/57-Across pairing is, a little. The grid's shape has not so much connecitivity; also I keep failing not to cross proper nouns. As a novice I just don't have so much enough control over what happens... Anyhow. I hope today is a good Saturday for you.
PUZ
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Click "Read more" to solve online
Monday, October 26, 2020
Puzzle 61 - 10x10: Hello, Hello
When I started making this puzzle, as often happens, I liked the shape but couldn't fill it cleanly. So I had to find and add entries that weren't in my wordlist before (I count five). This is as clean as I could get the grid without adding more black squares. It should be easy, but I recognize that there are crossing proper nouns.
PUZ
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Click "Read more" to solve online
Friday, October 23, 2020
Puzzle 60 - 6x6
Back again. You know, I was way too hard on that puzzle I posted yesterday. Its grid was almost made to maximize four-letter answers, and of course there are relatively few of those.
Thursday, October 22, 2020
Puzzle 59 - 9x9
This puzzle shape, a very simple one, seemed like it should have been easy to fill with no crosswordese. But I found it impossible to keep out all the words that appear disproportionately to their real-world usage - especially once I locked in the long answers that I liked.
I count maybe five 4-letter words in this grid that aren't tired. The nature of crosswords is to reuse and reuse and reuse. Alas.
Sunday, October 18, 2020
Puzzle 58 - 15x15 themeless
I love seeing full names in grids. This puzzle has three, all of 8 letters. And besides the two grid-spanners, they're the puzzle's most intentional entries. I think the crossings are fairish. Or inferable. I decided to give one anagram hint just in case.
Oh by the way I came up with this other thing (though "discovered" seems more apt a word). I'm going to try to write it in the style of the Brain Tickler in the print New York Times.
Take each letter once from the phrase HORROR/THRILLER to form the name of a film director (3,4).
Thursday, October 15, 2020
Puzzle 57 - 5x5
Hiya. I just voted. This is a tiny grid I've been sitting on a week or so because it was hard to write good clues for some of these kind of abstract things. I dunno.
PUZ
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Click "Read more" to solve online
Sunday, October 11, 2020
Puzzle 56 - 15x15 themeless
Hi again. Making this puzzle, I started out well, and was nearly done when I realized I accidentally duplicated, and crossed, a five-letter string in etymologically related words. Also there are two smaller duplicates, and at least one other in the clues. Oh well. I'm just writing this as a heads-up. Hope you enjoy.
PUZ
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Click "Read more" to solve online
Sunday, October 4, 2020
Puzzle 55 - 15x15: It's Not Happening
Hello. For this, I want to set your expectations so low you have to bend your knees to reach them.
I'll explain dramatically and at length. This grid, like the one I posted last week, has 72 words, which is a little low for a themed puzzle. But unlike last time, I've had major trouble filling it. I could have restarted, and I should have moved around black squares, but I wanted a challenge and it seemed doable. Sorry in advance.
Here are the issues. Because the computer filler couldn't help with the middle right section, I had to fill it by hand, and put in some partial phrases ... and a weird abbreviation ... and a plural name. It's ugly but it holds together. The bigger problem is near the bottom, where the theme answers overlap more; there are some crossing proper nouns that I regret, though most squares should be inferable (maybe not the one with French - there, you should look it up if you don't know).
You might think that (mild spoiler) the Scrabbliness of the words hurt the overall fill, and that's possible in the NW specifically, but putting in all these rare letters was actually pretty accidental. Oh, also there are some words duplicated in the grid. But that fits right in with the structurally compromised fill. And, the theme clues are a little wordy, and possibly nonsensical.
Nevertheless I like the puzzle. And since I don't have an editor, I hope you like it too.
PUZ
Click "Read more" to solve online
Click "Read more" to solve online
Saturday, September 26, 2020
Puzzle 54 - 15x15: Place Names
It's funny. When I look at old posts I've made here, I can sorta remember writing them, but don't know quite why I did them the way they are.
Anyway, I haven't had a theme on here for a while (more than a month apparently) but this will remedy that.
(no PDFs from now on, unless anyone asks me otherwise)
Click "Read more" to solve online
Thursday, September 24, 2020
Puzzle 53 - 5x5
Mini puzzles of this size, 5x5 - they're probably for people just starting out. So I might have made the clues on this too vague.
Click "Read more" to solve online
Tuesday, September 22, 2020
Puzzle 52 - 7x7
This is a good one. The grid shape isn't hard to fill. The clues are good too. It's good. I said it's good. Have a good day.
Click "Read more" to solve online
Friday, September 18, 2020
Puzzle 51 - 8x7
As promised, here is the other super-open 7x7. I added an extra square (you'll see) that's unchecked because that made for a better word. And as before, the grid doesn't seem to be able to connect to anything else so easily, so here it is alone.
Click "Read more" to solve online
Wednesday, September 16, 2020
Puzzle 50 - 7x7
Hello again. This puzzle came from the kind of experiment where I just let the word list run on an area. It's reasonably clean (well, sort of), but definitely not snazzy, and I can't really attach it to a normal-size grid. So ... here it is. The idea, at least I hope, is that a big blank area is rewarding to tackle. I have another that I'll post soonish, which has funnier clues.
Oh, and there's one more puzzle like this, which you can download here to solve, that has no black squares and also a couple words that are really not so good.
Click "Read more" to solve online
Sunday, September 13, 2020
Puzzle 49 - 14x16: Stacks on Stacks
So ... this might be another of the bad kinds of puzzle experiments. It's a square narrower than usual, has four triple-stacks, and - oh, right - those parts don't intersect. I could have posted each separately, but this way seemed more fun. I recommend solving in order, top to bottom; the cross references should be more usable that way. But you can look ahead, of course.
After solving, if you like, you should check out this song that's name-checked in a clue. I hadn't seen the video before, only heard it, but they're both really marvelous.
Thursday, September 10, 2020
Puzzle 48 - 9x9
It's been a while. Here's another of those high-interlock larger-than-usual minis that I like so much. An odder puzzle will appear this weekend.
Click "Read more" to solve online
Friday, September 4, 2020
Puzzle 47 - 9x9
Another one. It shouldn't be so hard. 10-Across is the wackiest answer; I'm not sure why it's in my word list or what it could ever really refer to. Correspondingly the clue I made borders on nonsense. Nevertheless ...
Click "Read more" to solve online
Wednesday, September 2, 2020
Puzzle 46 - 9x9
Two answers here are quite obscure. I put an anagram for the harder one (which is basically necessary to solve the puzzle), but for the other I think all the crossings are fair. If not, sorry in advance.
Click "Read more" to solve online
Monday, August 31, 2020
Puzzle 45 - 9x9
The idea I have right now with puzzles this size is to make some clues easyish and some clues hard, but the hard ones should all be fun to uncover. I hope that this and the next several puzzles do that.
Click "Read more" to solve online
Saturday, August 29, 2020
Puzzle 44 - 9x9
Thursday, August 27, 2020
Puzzle 43 - 9x9
Another mini with roughly the same shape as the last one. But I added an extra block, breaking up one word, because I wanted to clue 14-Across as singular, not plural.
Tuesday, August 25, 2020
Puzzle 42: 9x9
Hello again. I've made some changes to the website since the last post. For one thing, I changed the Blogger theme. It's still nothing fancy, but I had to do it to get the second thing to work right, which is that I've embedded puzzles on the posts so you can solve them online. Click the "Read more" link on any post and it'll take you right there. I'll still upload an AcrossLite version, but I might stop putting up a PDF, because there's now an easy way to see the puzzles without downloading any software.
Anyway - this puzzle has some good question-mark clues.
Solution
Saturday, August 22, 2020
Puzzle 41 - 15x15 themeless
One corner here has a theme, sorta. It's three songs, from the 1970s and 80s, by artists who in my head are somewhat similar. The titles happened to stack well, is the real reason I made it. I like all the songs too. It's possible that you've heard of none of them.
Also ... you might like to try another puzzle I made - with a more coherent (?) music theme - on Ria Dhull's puzzle site, gecsxwords.
Wednesday, August 19, 2020
Puzzle 40 - 5x5
How's it going. This is a little mini puzzle that has a nice opposite thing going on. Unrelatedly - have you ever noticed that the word ROSY, when it appears in the downs of 15x15 puzzles, is disproportionately on the right side in the middle of the usual three sections? That might not be a real pattern but it's something I've seen.
Other news, because I'd like to brag - yesterday I set a personal best for a New York Times puzzle, at 2:44.
Other news, because I'd like to brag - yesterday I set a personal best for a New York Times puzzle, at 2:44.
Saturday, August 15, 2020
Puzzle 39 - 15x15: Mind the Gap
Who doesn't love fill in the blanks? This is a puzzle full of them. Every clue here consists of one word and one blank. A few have hyphens. Some words work very well with this kind of clue. Others - do not, and it would be insane to clue them that way. I tried to limit that type in making this, but there are a few... Also there are some names, which you can't hide all that well. But I think a few names are good to have because it makes the puzzle more solvable.
Wednesday, August 12, 2020
Puzzle 38 - 7x7
Okay. Last of these, I'm pretty sure. This one has a mix of hard and easy clues which in combination make the puzzle hardish. That's kind of a funny thing. The solver doesn't know how hard the clue is. Or maybe you do and it's not hard at all. Anyway this is the 20th mini puzzle of mine with high interlock and few black squares. You may have noticed the tag on them that says ring around the rosie.
PUZ
PDF
Solution
PUZ
Solution
Sunday, August 9, 2020
Puzzle 37 - 15x14: Sports Illustrated
Another theme! In addition to the theme answers, the grid includes two contemporary soccer players (one more famous than the other). You can look them up if you don't know them.
As for puzzle titles ... gee, I wonder. I think my last themed grid (Puzzle 31) could have been called No Funny Business. Does that work? You'll have to solve that puzzle to find out. This one's title also came after the idea. I guess it's reasonably descriptive.
PUZ
PDF
Solution
As for puzzle titles ... gee, I wonder. I think my last themed grid (Puzzle 31) could have been called No Funny Business. Does that work? You'll have to solve that puzzle to find out. This one's title also came after the idea. I guess it's reasonably descriptive.
PUZ
Solution
Friday, August 7, 2020
Puzzle 36 - 7x7
Hi again. Now, no words in this little puzzle stand out much, and a couple are lame verbs (which seem to have narrower cluing options). But I clued a few answers so stretchily that it seemed like it could be frustrating to solve. I think those clues actually make it more fun though. Hard but. You know. Whatever.
:)
I am still quite new at this.
PUZ
PDF
Solution
:)
I am still quite new at this.
PUZ
Solution
Wednesday, August 5, 2020
Puzzle 35 - 7x7
Another 7x7 with one black square. This is near the last of these that I'm going to make. For this one I tried to make the clues a little harder than normal (though the 3-letter answers are still clued relatively simply - otherwise it might be impossible).
Relatedly, is there a word for question-mark clues? I learned recently that in cryptic puzzles the exclamation-point clues are called &lit, meaning "also read the clue literally."
PUZ
PDF
Solution
Relatedly, is there a word for question-mark clues? I learned recently that in cryptic puzzles the exclamation-point clues are called &lit, meaning "also read the clue literally."
PUZ
Solution
Monday, August 3, 2020
Puzzle 34 - 7x7
Okay, so here is another fairly clean one of these - as in, all the answers are recognizable. It's got some funny qualities - a little partial answer could be nicely paired with another, and there are so many verbs. (That's a hint I guess.) Anyway, this week there will be puzzles every other day.
PUZ
PDF
Solution
PUZ
Solution
Sunday, August 2, 2020
Puzzle 33 - 15x15: Something Different
It's Sunday. Not long ago, I learned about on Rex Parker a type of crossword called Something Different. Oh they're so much fun. Anything goes in it, real phrases (rarely), fake phrases, partial whatevers. I solved a few then tried to make my own. But way way way too boldly - I went for a 15x15 with no black squares. It didn't work ...
Then just last week the constructor Paolo Pasco published a Something Different he had made (it was very funny). And I remembered that I wanted to. After much amusement in construction, here it is.
But I don't think I did it quite right. For one thing I still wanted it to be wide open, so there are only 12 black squares (making 54 words total). And some of the long phrases are a little too close to nonsense. Two of them, I'd say. Not great, out of only 18. Also some small words are actual nonsense, clued desperately. Unevenly difficult, I think is what all that leads to. (There's a crossing dupe but that's fine - Friday's had one too, and anyway in neither puzzle was one full entry in another one.)
Still, it's been tested, and it is solvable. The clues are as straightforward as I was able to make them.
PUZ
PDF
Solution
Then just last week the constructor Paolo Pasco published a Something Different he had made (it was very funny). And I remembered that I wanted to. After much amusement in construction, here it is.
But I don't think I did it quite right. For one thing I still wanted it to be wide open, so there are only 12 black squares (making 54 words total). And some of the long phrases are a little too close to nonsense. Two of them, I'd say. Not great, out of only 18. Also some small words are actual nonsense, clued desperately. Unevenly difficult, I think is what all that leads to. (There's a crossing dupe but that's fine - Friday's had one too, and anyway in neither puzzle was one full entry in another one.)
Still, it's been tested, and it is solvable. The clues are as straightforward as I was able to make them.
PUZ
Solution
Saturday, August 1, 2020
Puzzle 32 - 7x7
A clean puzzle here. I think I've decided that cleanliness is going to be a priority for me now. I hope I remember that. Well, I might. So, helper squares will likely appear more often. Not immediately. First I have to figure out how doing all that works.
Friday, July 31, 2020
Puzzle 31 - 13x13 themed
This puzzle's got a theme - but no title, because I couldn't think of one. Also the theme doesn't ... quite work. Two theme clues are good, one's a little off. But that's OK! It's all parsable-ish. Maybe a little figurative, is all.
Filling and cluing the puzzle, I was happy to find three places that could echo answers/clues - but that was mostly unintentional. I used a tightish grid because the theme answers were relatively short. Also this puzzle should be easier than my smaller themelesses - but figuring out the theme could take some thinking.
PUZ
PDF
Solution
Filling and cluing the puzzle, I was happy to find three places that could echo answers/clues - but that was mostly unintentional. I used a tightish grid because the theme answers were relatively short. Also this puzzle should be easier than my smaller themelesses - but figuring out the theme could take some thinking.
PUZ
Solution
Thursday, July 30, 2020
Puzzle 30 - 7x7
Wednesday, July 29, 2020
Puzzle 29 - 7x7
Unlike the other 7x7s, this puzzle has a raison d'etre. Which compromises the recognizability of the answers which is another way of saying the fill ain't clean. But all the (non-proper) words have Scrabble support and the puzzle's not - as I've written too often for this mean anything now - impossible.
PUZ
PDF
Solution
PUZ
Solution
Tuesday, July 28, 2020
Puzzle 28 - 7x7
Monday, July 27, 2020
Puzzle 27 - 7x7
Now, this one is incredibly clean. At the same time it's less than sparkling. So the clues are (meant to be) harder. Possibly. And solving is meant to be possible too.
You know this commentary is also less than sparkling. What do you want to know, what might you want to know... Well I think there's nothing extraordinary to say. Except maybe you can take a look at the facts of how you're reading this, if you are reading this. Via what. Computer? Um, how wouldn't you be reading this? Do you know me? Am I here? Get it? Too much? Is this a question? Yeah - is it.
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Solution
You know this commentary is also less than sparkling. What do you want to know, what might you want to know... Well I think there's nothing extraordinary to say. Except maybe you can take a look at the facts of how you're reading this, if you are reading this. Via what. Computer? Um, how wouldn't you be reading this? Do you know me? Am I here? Get it? Too much? Is this a question? Yeah - is it.
PUZ
Solution
Sunday, July 26, 2020
Puzzle 26 - 15x15 themeless
What do you know. It's Sunday. This is a full-size puzzle I began making just a week ago. I think it's better than the previous 15x15 that I posted - fewer obscurities, more grid flow. (It's also got a more conventional shape, not that the other one's was so out there either.)
Still, I'm pretty sure it's not worth submitting for publication. Hence this blog!
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Solution
Still, I'm pretty sure it's not worth submitting for publication. Hence this blog!
PUZ
Solution
Saturday, July 25, 2020
Puzzle 25 - 7x7
This is a good example of what I meant by "one or two clunkers." I'd say this puzzle has just one, and it's easy enough to solve around (which, in the case of these grids, tends to mean it's located in the south or east rather than the north or west - i.e., ending words, not starting them). A couple other words here are toughish vocab, but I've looked at all the crosses and I think they are OK.
PUZ
PDF
Solution
PUZ
Solution
Friday, July 24, 2020
Puzzle 24 - 8x8
Hello again. I might be able to get a streak going for a while, posting puzzles every day. Most will be 7x7 minis. For me, those puzzles have a good number of clues to write, and with no helper squares can be filled with only one or two clunkers. But maybe that's the wrong spirit. Maybe puzzles should be cleaner, forget the challenge of making this type. Well I haven't made that decision (yet). So here's an 8x8 with two regrettable answers. Most of it is all good though.
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Solution
PUZ
Solution
Thursday, July 23, 2020
Puzzle 23 - 8x8
Longer delay than I would have liked, but here's another puzzle. 8x8, two black squares. Only one odd answer. The dual animals are a neat bonus.
The Atlantic continues to have similar grid shapes, but with helper squares, which makes them cleaner and somewhat easier to produce (both good things).
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Solution
The Atlantic continues to have similar grid shapes, but with helper squares, which makes them cleaner and somewhat easier to produce (both good things).
PUZ
Solution
Wednesday, July 8, 2020
Puzzle 22 - 8x8
That was a nice week, a week ago, wasn't it. The titles were fun. In the meantime I've been working on several kinds of submittable puzzles.
This isn't that, though. It's like those previous 7x7s. Wide open. But bigger, and with another black square. So it's got two squares without letters, 62 with. I've made a few of them to post. This one has only one wacko word.
By the way - today's puzzle in The Atlantic was kind of like those puzzles I put up last week. 7x7, almost entirely open. It was tougher than usual, too.
P.S. I've edited the clues here, a few times, to try to make it less impossible.
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Solution
This isn't that, though. It's like those previous 7x7s. Wide open. But bigger, and with another black square. So it's got two squares without letters, 62 with. I've made a few of them to post. This one has only one wacko word.
By the way - today's puzzle in The Atlantic was kind of like those puzzles I put up last week. 7x7, almost entirely open. It was tougher than usual, too.
P.S. I've edited the clues here, a few times, to try to make it less impossible.
PUZ
Solution
Wednesday, July 1, 2020
Puzzle 21 - 7x7: Right Top O'
Another of the 7x7s. This makes a week of em. That'll be 336 squares you've filled in, if you've filled them all in. One and a half 15x15s. These numbers - I hope they're right. Probably.
This puzzle doesn't have so much snazz, but there are zero words you haven't heard of. That's a plus. I do worry that all this open space forces rather a few trade-offs, to use the lingo. Maybe some clues will confuse you.
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This puzzle doesn't have so much snazz, but there are zero words you haven't heard of. That's a plus. I do worry that all this open space forces rather a few trade-offs, to use the lingo. Maybe some clues will confuse you.
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Tuesday, June 30, 2020
Puzzle 20 - 7x7: Balance Sheet
This title is an irrelevant two-word phrase. No meaning, as far as I can tell, relating to the puzzle. I picked it at near random. Really.
The puzzle itself, though ... sort of has a topic. I noticed that a few answers skewed toward nerd stuff, so I leaned into that. Another toughish one.
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The puzzle itself, though ... sort of has a topic. I noticed that a few answers skewed toward nerd stuff, so I leaned into that. Another toughish one.
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Monday, June 29, 2020
Puzzle 19 - 7x7: Hard Candy
This one is relatively clean. But the clues. Oh are they difficult. I think. I hope. The title is what it is because ... well, the puzzle is hard. And the grid is the shape of candy? One of those white Life Savers mints? Yes, definitely.
Sunday, June 28, 2020
Puzzle 18 - 7x7: Clean Slate
Saturday, June 27, 2020
Puzzle 17 - 7x7: Rocky Bottom
Friday, June 26, 2020
Puzzle 16: 7x7: Magic Square
Hm. Well maybe yesterday's title should have gone with this puzzle. Sixteen and number 16. Oh well. This title works too, since 16 is a square number. But the grid's not 4x4; it's still 7x7. With one dot. Fun. I'm calling this puzzle "magic" for another reason - the fill's really clean. Don't get too used to it.
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Thursday, June 25, 2020
Puzzle 15 - 7x7: Sweet Sixteen
Hello. The next few puzzles - at least a week straight, I hope - will all have the same grid: seven by seven with one black square in the center. That makes for sixteen words. (Maybe I'll add titles to them.)
The strain caused by this kind of interlock is high. So bad fill looms. I know that one bad section, or even a bad pair of crossing answers, can make solving disappointing. And, inversely, too many words that are gettable but seem made-up - ending in -er, in particular - make a sort of joke of open space, especially when there's lots of unintentional symmetry.
These puzzles encounter those issues somewhat. Almost all the grids have at least one word you'll look at sideways, and there are a few, but not too many, terminal s's. Nevertheless I hope the fun of seeing - and filling - a grid of this shape makes up for it.
Here's the first one, a relatively clean set of letters in squares.
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The strain caused by this kind of interlock is high. So bad fill looms. I know that one bad section, or even a bad pair of crossing answers, can make solving disappointing. And, inversely, too many words that are gettable but seem made-up - ending in -er, in particular - make a sort of joke of open space, especially when there's lots of unintentional symmetry.
These puzzles encounter those issues somewhat. Almost all the grids have at least one word you'll look at sideways, and there are a few, but not too many, terminal s's. Nevertheless I hope the fun of seeing - and filling - a grid of this shape makes up for it.
Here's the first one, a relatively clean set of letters in squares.
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Wednesday, June 24, 2020
Tuesday, June 23, 2020
Puzzle 13 - 5x5
Monday, June 22, 2020
Puzzle 12 - 7x7
Sunday, June 21, 2020
Thursday, June 11, 2020
Puzzle 10 - 15x15 ... but it's not fantastic
OK. Here goes. This 15x15 themeless puzzle turned out not good enough to submit anywhere, I think. A few too many obscure crosses, for one thing, and a few total clunkers. Really - total clunkers. But it should be fun if you're willing to forgive a couple spots, or really a couple words, and if you use Google or just the letter-revealer for the one or two killer squares. Harder I will try, in the future, to avoid crossing proper nouns and archaisms.
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Wednesday, June 10, 2020
Puzzle 9 - 5x5
It's been a week since the last puzzle - too long. I've learned that puzzles this size, the regular mini size, are much much easier to make than ones even a little bit bigger.
Oh, also: I've also gotten close to finishing a full-size themeless. Might not be clean enough to submit to the Times, so I'll likely put it here. Zero readers, stay tuned.
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Oh, also: I've also gotten close to finishing a full-size themeless. Might not be clean enough to submit to the Times, so I'll likely put it here. Zero readers, stay tuned.
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Wednesday, June 3, 2020
Puzzle 8 - 6x6
Thursday, May 28, 2020
Puzzle 7 - 5x5: Thinking Out Loud
A themed puzzle! The title is "Thinking Out Loud." If you get stumped, you might try asking a friend.
Wednesday, May 27, 2020
Puzzle 6 - 5x5
I've finished a fairly clean version of a themed puzzle that I'm almost ready to submit to the Times, which is accepting online submissions now. Just gotta make a few more good clues.
Meanwhile, here's a tough little one, maybe.
Saturday, May 23, 2020
Puzzle 5 - 6x6
My mom and I made this puzzle together. It has exactly one answer that has never appeared in the Times crossword, it's there on purpose, and I think this approach to cluing it is all right. Mom warns that the clues are hard.
Oh, also: This won't keep being daily. Will work more on normal-size puzzles instead.
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Oh, also: This won't keep being daily. Will work more on normal-size puzzles instead.
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Friday, May 22, 2020
Puzzle 4 - 7x7
Here's another little one - all the answers are real this time.
Yesterday I was trying to make a normal-sized puzzle and got pretty far in one area and then - stuck. So completely stuck that the rest of the fill doesn't matter anymore (not that it was especially smooth).
Also, I'm going to schedule the next mini post to come out early in the morning tomorrow. Maybe I'll make this a daily thing for a while.
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Yesterday I was trying to make a normal-sized puzzle and got pretty far in one area and then - stuck. So completely stuck that the rest of the fill doesn't matter anymore (not that it was especially smooth).
Also, I'm going to schedule the next mini post to come out early in the morning tomorrow. Maybe I'll make this a daily thing for a while.
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Thursday, May 21, 2020
Puzzle 3 - 6x6
Wednesday, May 20, 2020
Puzzle 2 - 6x6
Tuesday, May 19, 2020
Puzzle 1 - 6x6
Update, the next day: It is time. Though I have little pride in any 15x15 themelesses I've tried to make so far, I hope to have a good one soon. Or fairly soon. Working at it. I'll post a few smaller puzzles in the meantime.
To solve the puzzles on a computer, download AcrossLite. If you need help, try here.
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