PUZZLE #32: "What's Poppin?"

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SOLUTION to last week's puzzle

"Mary Poppins" is the musical my school's doing this year, and opening night was this past Friday. It's been a blast from start to finish-- anyway, the show's been on my mind in the four months since rehearsals began, so here's a puzzle themed around my personal favorite song from the show-- I get chills every time. Once you're done, listen to it here (SPOILERS, but beautiful and melodic spoilers).

Hope you enjoy!
-Paolo

PUZZLE #31: Shelling Out

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SOLUTION to last week's puzzle

Happy Easter/April Fool's Day, solvers! This puzzle's in celebration of one of the two; no points for figuring out which one it is. I gridded the puzzle while watching "Arrival," and clued it while watching "Pride and Prejudice," so expect an eclectic tone for this one.

Hope you enjoy!
-Paolo

PUZZLE #30: The Name Game

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SOLUTION to puzzle #28
SOLUTION to puzzle #29

Welcome back, solvers!

A few things I want to point you to today:

• The 2018 Indie 500 has opened its registration! I probably won't be attending in person, but you bet I'm on top of the solve-at-home registration + meta suite. 
• The Queer Qrossword project has released a pack of 22 puzzles, all for the low, low price of a $10 donation to an LGBTQ+ charity of your choice. Having test-solved one of these, I can confidently say that at least one puzzle in the pack is straight fire. No doubt the rest are too, though-- there's a lot of great constructors, and the pack is definitely worth your money. Check it out if you're interested!

Tried for an easier puzzle today. Hope you enjoy!
-Paolo

PUZZLE #29: Phantom Thread

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...and this is the second of two Best-Picture-Nominee-themed puzzles (the first one being linked here). Again, hope you enjoy!

-Paolo

PUZZLE #28: Call Me By UR Name

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SOLUTION to last week's puzzle

Hello! In celebration of Oscar week, I wanted to post a puzzle inspired by a Best Picture nominee. I couldn't choose between two of my ideas, though, so I just did both of them. This and the next puzzle are the fruits of that effort.

And, speaking of awards, you know you want to check out the glitziest event in the crossword year, the Orca Awards. Click through to see an overview of some incredible crosswords, and some incredible crossword people.

As always, the embedded puzzle is after the page break. Hope you enjoy!
-Paolo

PUZZLE #27: Off to a Rocky Start

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SOLUTION to the last puzzle

Sorry about the long break between puzzles; I've been working on a few puzzle projects, and planning a few changes to the blog, which I hope you'll be excited about. Plus I was on a school trip over the last two Sundays, so I haven't had a lot of time by my laptop to publish anything.

Speaking of changes to the blog, here's one I'm particularly excited about: you now can solve puzzles directly in your browser, thanks to an embedded applet courtesy of Amuse Labs. You can see the applet below the break. Let me know how it works, and if there's anything I can do to make the solving experience easier.

As always, hope you enjoy!
-Paolo

PUZZLE #26: Themeless 8

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SOLUTION to the last puzzle

Hello, solvers! A few notes:

• The only time I've listened to the song at 6A in full was when I was confirming the fact in the clue. It was a last resort-- all the sources I looked up had different information, and I don't trust lyric websites-- and I wouldn't do it again. The things I do for this site, I swear.
• Also, I'd be remiss if I left out this Chris King puzzle, which was the highlight of my puzzle-solving week year.

Hope you enjoy the themeless!
-Paolo