Puzzle #60: Chain Links

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Hello again! Posted this puzzle to Twitter originally, but after a conversation with Chris Adams (who recently posted a very good puzzle on his website), I'm cross-posting Twitter puzzles to the blog for the benefit of .puz solvers.

Warning that the theme is very, very dumb, which is why I posted it to Twitter originally. And, if you solved the puzzle and still don't understand it, check this out.

Hope you're well,
Paolo

PUZZLE #59: Shameless Plugs

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SOLUTION to the last puzzle


Hello!

Hope you're well in these crazy times. Coming to you live between puzzles at the Crossword Tournament From Your Couch, a very good and very fun effort to keep the ACPT spirit alive in the age of social distancing. The puzzles should be out on .puz very soon (if not now), so check them out!

Remember to wash your hands,
Paolo

PUZZLE #58: Parasite

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SOLUTION to the last puzzle

#BONGHIVE
#BONGHIVE
#BONGHIVE
#BONGHIVE
#BONGHIVE
#BONGHIVE
#BONGHIVE
#BONGHIVE
#BONGHIVE
#BONGHIVE
#BONGHIVE
#BONGHIVE

Enjoy the puzzle!

-Paolo

PUZZLE #57: Themeless 15

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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

PUZZLE #56: Themeless 14

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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

PUZZLE #55: (Un)settle Down!

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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

PUZZLE #54: Out-of-Body Experiences

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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!