Puzzle #154: Freestyle 15

This week's puzzle (pdf, puz, pdf solution) is another big freestyle. I wanted to see if I could do intersecting stagger-stacks of five 11s, like I did in the 21x21 freeform freestyle, but this time in a symmetrical grid. It turns out to be very difficult!

Indie puzzle highlights: September 2021

It's been a particularly excellent month for indies, it seems, and the main reason that the list isn't particularly long is that I've had a very hectic week! Rest assured that if your puzzle doesn't appear on the list, it doesn't mean that I didn't love it (true every month, in fact, but especially true this month.)

September 3: Themeless (Erik Agard and Brooke Husic, Just Gridding)

September 4: You Are Reading This Puzzle's Title (Franci Dimitrovska, cross worms)

September 8: True Colors (Brian Thomas, Puzzles That Need a Home)

September 13: This May Get Ugly (Themeless) (C. L. Rimkus, Just Gridding)

September 15: CONTROVERSY at the NEW YORK TIMES (Chris Piuma, Norah's Puzzles)

September 21: Phistomefel Ring (Christopher Adams feat. Ricky Cruz)

September 27: themeless xiv ("real hot girl shit" (reprise)) (Brooke Husic, xwords by a ladee)

September 27: What Are You Waiting For? (Themeless) (Ada Nicolle, luckystreak+)

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Themeless (Erik Agard and Brooke Husic)

As you'd expect from the byline, a stunningly gridded and clued puzzle. The corners are very chunky but the fill doesn't suffer for it, and there's an incredible density of subtly great clues: [Present at a video conference?] for ONLINE, [Fantasy roster?] for MONSTERS, [Part of a low-stakes game?] for HORSESHOE, [Less money up front?] for ECONO, [Point taken?] for DEMERIT, etc. It's a perfect example of something that both Brooke and Erik excel at, which is making a themeless interesting not (purely) via flashy fill, but with well-thought-out cluing for even not obviously inspiring entries like ECONO.

You Are Reading This Puzzle's Title (Franci Dimitrovska)

Franci breaks in her brand-new blog with a hilarious puzzle. The revealer is 4TH WALL BREAKER, clued as [Violator of typical theatrical convention, or the next in a sequence hinted by 20, 34, and 42-Across]. Those across entries are SULTAN MEHMED II (the conqueror who broke through the walls of Constantine), the KOOL-AID MAN (who advertising mascot who smashes through walls), and Gunter SCHABOWSKI (the politician who accidentally declared the Berlin Wall open too early during a press conference). So the next entry in the sequence would indeed be a fourth wall-breaker. It's a really funny theme with a delightful variety of theme answers, and the revealer is a clever nod to the fact that revealers often break the fourth wall, in a way, by explicitly referring to the fact that they're part of a crossword. There's plenty of fun stuff in the fill, too, including LASER SHOW, GNOMEO and Juliet, BROSTEP, and a LIME TWIST.

True Colors (Brian Thomas)

Intriguingly, the applet version of this puzzle is available in both Dark Mode and Light Mode. Given that, plus the title, I should have cottoned onto the theme, but I didn't get it until the solve was done. The puzzle is inspired by THE DRESS, that viral image that some people saw as black and blue, and some people saw as white and gold. Naturally, the central theme entry is a Schrodinger, which can be either BLACK AND BLUE or WHITE AND GOLD. (Aptly, I happened to solve the Light Mode version, and I'm on team #whiteandgold, but ironically I ended up with BLACK AND BLUE in the grid.) Schrodinger themes are never easy to pull off, and this one's got an awful lot of Schrodinger squares, but Brian does an excellent job of it; I especially love [Eastern ___] for BLOC/BLOT and [They shouldn't be making high pitched squeals] for AUTOS/ALTOS.

This May Get Ugly (Themeless) (C. L. Rimkus)

This 16x14 themeless is anchored by six spanners, of lengths that you don't usually see, thanks to the slightly unusual size. All the spanners are good, and most of them are spiced up by excellent clues: [Long-running cable features?] for EXTENSION CORDS, [Equipment that measures different strokes for different folks] for ROWING MACHINES, [It's really shitty work] for DIAPER CHANGING, etc. Both architecturally impressive and fun!

CONTROVERSY at the NEW YORK TIMES (Chris Piuma)

The title of this themeless refers to the delightful central spanner, BADONKADONKGATE, clued as [Ongoing controversy that Sam Ezersky could resolve today by adding one very legitimate word to the NYT Spelling Bee word list]. But what really makes this puzzle stand out is Chris's conversational cluing voice, which is one of the most recognizable in the game. The most specifically Piumian clue here is [Usually I get this plain or with garlic, but I recently had it with sesame, and it was kinda brilliant?] for NAAN, but others include [Feel like a sicky poo] for AIL, [Make Muffles less itchy] for DEFLEA, [Charming town in Newfoundland and/or sex toy] for DILDO, [Does a little of this, a little of that...] for DABBLES, [NSFW clam] for GEODUCK, and [Award for the best British person pretending to be a British person] for BAFTA.

Phistomefel Ring (Christopher Adams feat. Ricky Cruz)

It's so rare to see a crossword concept that's 100% original, but I think this one qualifies. The title refers to an advanced Sudoku strategy: in a Sudoku grid, the 2x2 chunks in the four corners collectively contain the same set of numbers as the middle ring of 16 squares. In this crossword analogue, the middle ring is highlighted, and the entries that contain some of those corner squares are left unclued. So you have to use the Phistomefel ring to figure out what letters go in the corners, armed with the knowledge that all the unclued entries are ordinary, uncapitalized English words. An ingenious crossword/Sudoku blend, and really satisfying to solve.

themeless xiv ("real hot girl shit" (reprise)) (Brooke Husic)

Brooke celebrates her blog's first birthday with one of my favorites of her grids so far. Just chock full of interesting/fun stuff, including THEY SAID YES, PREHAB, YARNBOMB, SAMOSA CHAAT, and the central seed, the absolutely zany-looking BODY-ODY-ODY-ODY. The cluing is great as usual; [Mutual love] for ZERO-ZERO is one of my favorite clues of the year.

what are you waiting for? (themeless) (Ada Nicolle)

A 25x25 themeless sounds like a slog, but it's a tribute to Ada's skill that this one is fun throughout. It's anchored by a stagger-stack of GENDER-NEUTRAL PRONOUN, YOU MUST BE FUN AT PARTIES, and NO TIME LIKE THE PRESENT, but there are highlights in every section of the grid, including NO SKIP, STARDEW VALLEY, SNAPSTERPIECE, and PROTOGALAXY. But the key to making a puzzle this huge consistently fun is to put care into the clues for the short fill, too, which Ada always does; my favorites include [BBC and chill, say] for SNOG and [There's a lot to unpack here!] for U-HAUL.

Puzzle #153: Theme and Variations

I've often heard people say they don't like most Sunday-size puzzles because once they figure out the theme, there are no more aha moments but there's still a lot of grid left to fill in. Well, whatever else you might say about this week's puzzle (pdf, puz, pdf solution), you can't say that there's only one aha moment!

Puzzle #152: No Lies Detected (freestyle by Richard D. Allen and Kate Chin Park)

This week's puzzle (pdf, puz, pdf solution) is a guest freestyle by Richard D. Allen and Kate Chin Park, who you may know from their own excellent sites, Lexicon Devil and crosswords schmosswords. It's a fun one - happy solving!

Puzzle #151: Freeform Freestyle 11

To wrap up the freeform freestyle series, we've got a big 21x21 grid (pdf, puz, pdf solution). Fear not - to make up for the extra size, I've pitched the cluing easier than the 15x15 freeform freestyles. By the way, I haven't been mentioning this in every post, but Brooke tested this one, as she's tested every puzzle in this series, and her feedback has been invaluable. Happy solving!

Puzzle #150: Every Which Way

This puzzle (pdf, puz, pdf solution) is sort of a spiritual sequel to the last themed puzzle I posted, I suppose. (This one's also themed, though it doesn't look like it at first glance.) Thanks to Norah and Frisco for test-solving!

Indie puzzle highlights: August 2021

August 1: Getting Medieval (Enrique Henestroza Anguiano, Datalexic)

August 6: Just the Grid #2 (C. L. Rimkus + R. E. Fabi + 30 crowdsourced clue authors, Just Gridding)

August 10: Left Out (Juliana Tringali Golden, Vox)

August 11: Idiot Box (Kate Leiserson and Rebecca Goldstein, Crosswords Schmosswords)

August 13: You Might Drop Dead (Quiara Vasquez, club72)

August 15: Themeless 31 (Paolo Pasco and Erik Agard, Grids These Days)

August 16: Fireworks (Christopher Adams, arctan(x)words)

August 21: Get the Message (Sid Sivakumar, Lollapuzzoola)

August 21: Connecting... (Brooke Husic, Lollapuzzoola)

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Getting Medieval (Enrique Henestroza Anguiano)

I haven't highlighted them much here, but I'm always a fan of Enrique's themes. They often use a basic theme type, but with an extra touch of elegance that takes them over the top. This one is a perfect example, and the theme is best explained by just giving the themers: [Actress who jousts at Medieval Times?] is KEIRA KNIGHTLEY, [Actor who pronounces edicts at Medieval Times?] is BEN KINGSLEY, and [Actor who gives blessings at Medieval Times?] is JASON PRIESTLEY. An exceptionally tight set, all ending in -LEY - one of those theme sets that's so elegant it seems like it must have emerged from the constructor's head fully-formed.

Just the Grid #2 (C. L. Rimkus + R. E. Fabi + 30 crowdsourced clue authors)

On Just Gridding, Claire and Rachel occasionally run an experiment where they provide an unclued grid and then solicit clues from anyone who wants to submit them. It's a fun way to change things up; it's the sort of experiment where the results might be a weird, Frankensteinesque pastiche, but this one turned out really well. In part, that's because of Claire's beautiful grid, which stacks 15s while still managing a super-clean fill and some fun long bonuses. But it's also, of course, because of the crowdsources clues. There's great stuff like ["I need some space"] for SCOOT OVER, [Passing remark?] for I'M NOT INTERESTED, [Showstopper?] for COMMERCIAL BREAK, and [Ring around the nose-y?] for PIERCING. Even AM SO, probably the only real weak point in the fill, is spiced up with a fun clue: ["I ___ smart, S-M-R-T... I mean S-M-A-R-T" - Homer Simpson].

Left Out (Juliana Tringali Golden)

I almost always include mini-themes in my 9x9s for Vox, but they're usually just a pair of entries that sound similar or have some other basic connection. Juliana very often goes for outside-the-box mini-themes of the sort that you more commonly seen in larger puzzles, which adds a welcome layer of creativity. In this one, there's an L-shaped block of black squares on the left, and you have to pretend that the black squares are filled with L's for the clues to make sense. For example, 1-Down is STILL LIFE, with the three L's forming the backbone of the chunk of black squares. Also not to be missed in Juliana's puzzle from August 17, in which the word ROLLERCOASTER snakes through the grid like a rollercoaster.

Idiot Box (Kate Leiserson and Rebecca Goldstein)

Yet another example of Rebecca's skill with gridding tough themes, and of Kate's cluing chops. This one has the revealer CIRCLE JERK, clued pointedly as [All-male closed rotation, like the constructor roster for the WSJ's puzzles, or a description of something depicted four times in this puzzle], and the themers have circled rebus squares that contain synonyms for "jerk": PIMIEN(TO OL)IVE crossing (TOO L)EGIT TO QUIT, OU(T WIT)H IT crossing EXPER(T WIT)NESS, D(O A F)AVOR crossing G(O AF)TER, and JON(AS S)ALK crossing SMOOTH (AS S)ILK. Lots of colorful phrases, and the jerks are elegantly split across multiple words in every case. Despite all the theme real estate, the grid is beautiful filled, with bonuses like FOOT TRAFFIC, GOTTA JET, and SKELETOR. Toss in some fun cluing (including the equally pointed pair of [.puz alternative] for PDF and [.puz alternative, per the NYT] for APP), and you've got a great puzzle.

You Might Drop Dead (Quiara Vasquez)

Quiara Vasquez takes the third guest spot on Tim Croce's club72 with a crossword that skillfully emulates Tim's vibe, while injecting it with her own style. Like most of Tim's puzzles, it's filled with unusual seed entries, including in the relatively short fill (MAN PAIN, BRUJX - the latter of which is clued with the absolutely incredible wordplay find [Modern-day witch that's pronounced like two witch-y verbs]). And it's really tough, tougher for me than most of Tim's recent puzzles. Some of the clue highlights are [Enter the matrix?] for PRINT, [March leader?] for ONE SEED, the zany [Madder and madder] for REDS, and [It'll make you say "oh"] for both AHA MOMENT and the intersecting OMICRON.

Themeless 31 (Paolo Pasco and Erik Agard)

Paolo and Erik together make for an all-star byline, especially in the cluing department, and this collaboration doesn't disappoint. [Movable type] for ITINERANT, [Soccer goal] for CUP, [You complete me!] for TASK, [They can be folded and ripped] for ARMS, ["Bus pass"? People at these sure hope it doesn't] for STOPS, [Get dark outside?] for SEAR, [Translated for] for PARA, [White woman, perhaps?] for WINE MOM, and [Apse stores???] for BASILICAS are good examples of Erik's concisely brilliant misdirects and Paolo's wacky humor. (Though I could be wrong about who wrote which clues! Well, except [Newsom in a lot of music news-om! Before you get mad just remember this clue could've been written by Erik. You're really gonna get mad at a possible Erik clue?] for JOANNA. Pretty sure that was Paolo's.)

Fireworks (Christopher Adams)

This one's a mostly-themeless joint seeded with an absolutely brilliant pair of clues/entries: KATY PERRY clued as ["Baby, you're a firework" singer], and GENDER REVEAL PARTY clued as ["Baby, you're a firework!" singer?]. That alone would be enough, but it also features one of my favorite recent clues. As a nod to Brooke Husic's recent clue for ANAGRAM, [Anemone, to name one], Chris repurposes the very same clue for his entry POLYP, sort of a double fakeout for solvers who are now familiar with the genre of tricky clues for ANAGRAM and expecting that clue to fall into that genre.

Get the Message (Sid Sivakumar)

Lollapuzzoola competitors were thoroughly warned that there might be a rebus puzzle in the tournament, and indeed there was. This one has texting abbreviations in the rebus squares, with the clues for the theme entries appropriately incorporating fake CHATBOXes. For instance, TTYL is rebused in KI(TTY L)ITTER and NA(TTY L)IGHT, the latter of which is clued as [Cheap brewski yeeted (are_you_gridding_463: cya!) into the stratosphere in 2011]. The other theme entries are just as colorful: I DON'(T MI)ND and BA(T MI)TZVAH, ZER(O TO H)ERO and G(O TO H)ELL, DEM(I MO)ORE and SCI-F(I MO)VIE, and LABO(R OF L)OVE and HYD(ROFL)ASK. The choice of theme entries necessitates left-right symmetry, which is always challenging to pull off, but Sid makes it look easy, with squeaky-clean fill and plenty of fun entries.

Connecting... (Brooke Husic)

This puzzle is one for the ages - I doubt I'll solve a better crossword all year. Filling the traditionally difficult Puzzle 4 slot at Lollapuzzoola, this one's got a brilliant conceit. Most of the down clues just consist of a gif of three dots, as if the clues are loading, but in fact what's going on is that all the down clues for a given column have been concatenated together in the slot for the bottom-most clue in that column. For example, the middle column has the entries OPTIMAL and PORTION, clued as [The best part], since [The best] is a clue for OPTIMAL and [Part] is a clue for PORTION. What makes this especially devious is that all of the resulting clues are grammatical, and many of them read just like normal, single clues - [Hold still] for HUG plus STATIONARY, for example, or [A+ hosts] for ALPHA plus AND plus MCS. It's a genius concept, but it's also a tour-de-force of construction, since the conceit means that pretty much none of the down entries can be proper names, partial phrases, abbreviations, or anything else with limited, specific cluing options. Truly remarkable work.