PUZ
SOLUTION to last week's puzzle
I can't promise that this'll be the the last "Cats"-inspired puzzle I ever make, but I can promise that this'll be the last "Cats"-inspired puzzle I make this decade.
Hope you enjoy!
-Paolo
Friday, December 27, 2019
PUZZLE #57: Themeless 15
PDF
PUZ
SOLUTION to last week's puzzle
I can't promise that this'll be the the last "Cats"-inspired puzzle I ever make, but I can promise that this'll be the last "Cats"-inspired puzzle I make this decade.
Hope you enjoy!
-Paolo
PUZ
SOLUTION to last week's puzzle
I can't promise that this'll be the the last "Cats"-inspired puzzle I ever make, but I can promise that this'll be the last "Cats"-inspired puzzle I make this decade.
Hope you enjoy!
-Paolo
Friday, December 20, 2019
PUZZLE #56: Themeless 14
PDF
PUZ
SOLUTION to the last puzzle
Long puzzle! Long puzzle! Long puzzle!
And, a few more things:
-Paolo
PUZ
SOLUTION to the last puzzle
Long puzzle! Long puzzle! Long puzzle!
And, a few more things:
- It's been a long hiatus, and in that time a lot of new crossword sites have come up, like the ones from Ross Trudeau, Sid Sivakumar, Brian Thomas, Ricky Cruz, and Trent Evans. Each one has a different (but very good) voice, so check them all out!
- Queer Qrosswords 2 is out! The first edition was wall-to-wall bangers, so you already know the second one is all that and more.
- Congratulations to Erik Agard, new editor of the USA Today crossword! He's only been editor for a few weeks, but he's already made some of the most fresh/fun/inclusive easy puzzles I've solved in a while. Truly exciting stuff.
Which brings me back to my main point: Long puzzle! Long puzzle! Long puzzle!
-Paolo
Sunday, July 21, 2019
PUZZLE #55: (Un)settle Down!
PDF
PUZ
SOLUTION to the last puzzle
Look, I'm just gonna level with you. This is a CATS (2019) puzzle. I had another crossword slated for today, but then I watched the trailer that shook my world to its very core. I was confused at first, but then confusion turned to contemplation turned to appreciation turned to adoration. Now, I'm counting down the days until I can step into Andrew Lloyd Webber's Jellicle mindscape. The backlash against the CGI is strong, yes, but I hope they change nothing about the movie. I need to see—on the big screen, no less—the mass of contradictions that is television star James Corden as a cat, thanks to only the latest in digital fur technology (???) (!!!). The future is now, and its name is CATS (2019). If you have any thoughts about the movie, send them here.
Also, a note to puz solvers: check out the pdf or the applet to see the way the grid is supposed to look. Hope you enjoy!
-Paolo
PUZ
SOLUTION to the last puzzle
Look, I'm just gonna level with you. This is a CATS (2019) puzzle. I had another crossword slated for today, but then I watched the trailer that shook my world to its very core. I was confused at first, but then confusion turned to contemplation turned to appreciation turned to adoration. Now, I'm counting down the days until I can step into Andrew Lloyd Webber's Jellicle mindscape. The backlash against the CGI is strong, yes, but I hope they change nothing about the movie. I need to see—on the big screen, no less—the mass of contradictions that is television star James Corden as a cat, thanks to only the latest in digital fur technology (???) (!!!). The future is now, and its name is CATS (2019). If you have any thoughts about the movie, send them here.
Also, a note to puz solvers: check out the pdf or the applet to see the way the grid is supposed to look. Hope you enjoy!
-Paolo
Sunday, July 7, 2019
PUZZLE #54: Out-of-Body Experiences
PUZ
PDF
SOLUTION to the last puzzle
I've had a more basic theme, based on a similar idea, for a few years (the theme, encoded in rot13: gurzr ragevrf PUBCFGVPX ERFG, PURRGB QHFG, naq PUVAGMVRFG jvgu gur erirny PURFGOHEFGREF). I wasn't super happy with the puzzle as a whole, so I set it aside for a while. Then, while I was watching this video (slight SPOILERS for the theme) last week, I thought of the theme angle that you see here. Hope you enjoy the puzzle!
-Paolo
P.S. Writing this after the second earthquake in California, which was something. For all the Californians reading this, I hope you're all right!
SOLUTION to the last puzzle
I've had a more basic theme, based on a similar idea, for a few years (the theme, encoded in rot13: gurzr ragevrf PUBCFGVPX ERFG, PURRGB QHFG, naq PUVAGMVRFG jvgu gur erirny PURFGOHEFGREF). I wasn't super happy with the puzzle as a whole, so I set it aside for a while. Then, while I was watching this video (slight SPOILERS for the theme) last week, I thought of the theme angle that you see here. Hope you enjoy the puzzle!
-Paolo
P.S. Writing this after the second earthquake in California, which was something. For all the Californians reading this, I hope you're all right!
Thursday, June 27, 2019
PUZZLE #53: Themeless 13
PDF
PUZ
SOLUTION to the last puzzle
Scattershot announcements today:
PUZ
SOLUTION to the last puzzle
Scattershot announcements today:
- The PDFs have a hot new look! Many thanks to Crossword Nexus for providing the service, and to Chris King for recommending it.
- Late to the game on this, but this thread by Rebecca Falcon is relevant today and forever. Give it a read if you haven't already.
- Tournaments! Boswords is open for registration, Lollapuzzoola is right around the corner, and The Indie 500 is still letting people order the tournament puzzles. Guaranteed great puzzles all around—I hear if you do all three, they call that "the gauntlet."
- Watch this New Yorker video if you want to see crossword lovers talkin' crosswords. Natan Last does some off-the-dome cluing, and it's a joy to watch.
Themeless puzzle again, this one with a weird size; hope you enjoy!
-Paolo
Sunday, June 9, 2019
PUZZLE #52: Themeless 12
PDF
PUZ
SOLUTION to the last puzzle
Summer's here! Here's a themeless that hopefully feels like drinking freshly-squeezed lemonade on the porch at night, with fireflies in the air and a bonfire in the distance. You can hear the porch lights buzzing gently, but that doesn't drown out "Country Roads" playing from inside. You take another sip of lemonade (it took ages to get the sugar/lemon balance right, but once you got it right you knew you might never make a batch of lemonade like this again, so drink up while you can) and watch the smoke as it drifts into the sky. You know, that feeling.
-Paolo
PUZ
SOLUTION to the last puzzle
Summer's here! Here's a themeless that hopefully feels like drinking freshly-squeezed lemonade on the porch at night, with fireflies in the air and a bonfire in the distance. You can hear the porch lights buzzing gently, but that doesn't drown out "Country Roads" playing from inside. You take another sip of lemonade (it took ages to get the sugar/lemon balance right, but once you got it right you knew you might never make a batch of lemonade like this again, so drink up while you can) and watch the smoke as it drifts into the sky. You know, that feeling.
-Paolo
Monday, April 22, 2019
PUZZLE #51: Rumble at the Clone Factory
PDF
PUZ
SOLUTION to the last puzzle
Hello!
I'm sure you can guess what movie inspired this puzzle's theme, so I'll just let you get to solving the puzzle. One quick note, though: there's fewer theme entries than usual, so I ratcheted down the word count on this one. Hope you enjoy!
-Paolo
(P.S. Video related, it was the one song on heavy repeat when i was gridding/cluing the puzzle)
PUZ
SOLUTION to the last puzzle
Hello!
I'm sure you can guess what movie inspired this puzzle's theme, so I'll just let you get to solving the puzzle. One quick note, though: there's fewer theme entries than usual, so I ratcheted down the word count on this one. Hope you enjoy!
-Paolo
(P.S. Video related, it was the one song on heavy repeat when i was gridding/cluing the puzzle)
Sunday, April 7, 2019
PUZZLE #50: "I'm Gone"
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PUZ
Hello again! We've hit the 50-puzzle mark on Grids These Days, and frankly the site doesn't look a day over 25.
Before I go on, here's a wrapup of the "Happy Grid-hog Day" puzzle series from a few months ago. Thanks to everyone who sent in answers and comments, they really do mean a lot. I'll be choosing a winner in the next week or so, so look out for that (not just because this is also my way of holding myself accountable to post another puzzle reasonably soon!)
Now onto today's puzzle: it's a quirky one today, loosely inspired by spring break. Hope you enjoy!
-Paolo
PUZ
Hello again! We've hit the 50-puzzle mark on Grids These Days, and frankly the site doesn't look a day over 25.
Before I go on, here's a wrapup of the "Happy Grid-hog Day" puzzle series from a few months ago. Thanks to everyone who sent in answers and comments, they really do mean a lot. I'll be choosing a winner in the next week or so, so look out for that (not just because this is also my way of holding myself accountable to post another puzzle reasonably soon!)
Now onto today's puzzle: it's a quirky one today, loosely inspired by spring break. Hope you enjoy!
-Paolo
Tuesday, February 5, 2019
PUZZLE #49: Happy Grid-hog Day!
PDF
[no puz file]
Hello!
Sorry about missing last Sunday—school started, things got busy, same old story. Here's a light, breezy holiday-themed puzzle to make up for the absence.
As always, hope you enjoy!
-Paolo
[no puz file]
Hello!
Sorry about missing last Sunday—school started, things got busy, same old story. Here's a light, breezy holiday-themed puzzle to make up for the absence.
As always, hope you enjoy!
-Paolo
Monday, February 4, 2019
Sunday, February 3, 2019
Saturday, February 2, 2019
Sunday, January 13, 2019
PUZZLE #45: "It All Worked Out"
PDF
PUZ
SOLUTION to the last puzzle
Hello! Some crossword news:
PUZ
SOLUTION to the last puzzle
Hello! Some crossword news:
- Last week, erik agard dropped a 🔥🔥🔥21x21 themeless at his site. And what a themeless it is.
- The first Inkubator Crossword drops this week! Get subscribed if you haven't already.
- The 5th annual Indie 500 was just announced for June 1, 2019 in D.C. They’re awesome people doing awesome things, so watch their website for more details.
- For AVCX subscribers, there's a very good debut on the horizon. It's so good, y'all. Just wanted to say that.
Easy themed puzzle today. Hope you enjoy!
-Paolo