PUZZLE #63: Write-Offs (by Ria Dhull)

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Guest puzzle today! Very excited to run this one—Ria Dhull's an up-and-coming constructor, a fellow Harvard student, and also my girlfriend. She has the same voice/spirit/eye for quality as a constructor as she does as a person in general—a comparison that only makes sense if you know her I guess, but trust me when I say it means "very fun and good and I'm a huge fan." I'm very, very lucky in many senses, least of which is that I get to run this puzzle.

Some words from Ria!
let me just start off by saying that this is super exciting for me because paolo is one of the best crossword constructors out there. being on his blog is a really big honor and i still don’t think im worthy but hi! im sure you guys were expecting a pasco puzzle today and i can’t really make up for it but here is something! don’t know how i managed to convince paolo to post it, but he’s the nicest person ive ever met so maybe that’s why. like, for example, i made him edit this puzzle at least ten times, and he was really really sweet and helpful every one of those times. on that note, i genuinely think this puzzle would be nothing without him. as a very very new crossword constructor, i would also be nothing without him.

She's lying, this puzzle absolutely is 100% worthy and I'm the one who should be honored. Hope you enjoy!

(P.S. Follow Ria on Twitter @ria_dhull)

(P.P.S. The offer here is still on the table—if you haven't donated, it's never too late)

some words + a bonus puzzle

Different kind of post today.

Send me (at pascopuzzles [at] gmail [dot] com) a screenshot of your donation to the Black Lives Matter donation drive of your choice and I'll send you a brand new 17x themeless. If you donate more than $50, I'll make you a midi with clue/answer of your choice. Erik Agard is doing the same thing on his twitter, so please check that out as well.

Above all, please please keep doing the work. Do research, make phone calls, keep donating, anything you can.

Hope you're well,
Paolo

UPDATE: Sid Sivakumar of Sid's Grids has gracefully contributed a puzzle of his own. Now, if you donate, you get a 17x17 themeless and a 25x9 themed puzzle. It's a very good puzzle, so if the 17x17 themeless + the knowledge of contributing to a worthy cause still has you on the fence, let this be the factor to push you over the edge.

UPDATE #2: Matthew Stock of Happy Little Puzzles has also generously chipped in with a lovely 15x15 themeless, making for three puzzles (17x17 and 15x15 themeless, 25x9 themed) per donation.

UPDATE #3: Two new puzzles in the mix: one 15x15 themeless from Steve Mossberg of Square Pursuit, and an 11x11 themeless collab from USA Today extraordinaire Brooke Husic and rising crossword star Ria Dhull.

PUZZLE #62: "I Don't Do Crosswords" (and Book Announcement!)

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SOLUTION to the last puzzle

Hello!

Coming to you with some exciting news: I've been working on a book, "Crossword Puzzles for Kids," which is coming out June 30! It's a full book of easy crosswords with kid-friendly themes, perfect for introducing kids to crosswords. I solved my first crossword at 13 and was hooked ever since, so this topic is close to my heart—if this helps even one person get into puzzles like I did, that makes it all worth it. The preorder link is up now, and it would mean a lot if you got a copy for the puzzle-hungry 9-12 year-olds (or really precocious 0-8 year-olds (or bored 13-99 year-olds)) in your life.

If you're a regular solver on this site, though, these puzzles are going to be easy in comparison. My suggestion? Try speedrunning the entire book—the puzzles are entry-level enough that experienced solvers can breeze through them no problem. Who knows, I might even give a prize to the fastest documented speedrun. Or, solve at your own pace! Lord knows we need diversions nowadays.

Anyway, 16x15 puzzle! Think I've used the same revealer type before, but I liked the theme too much to pass it up. Hope you enjoy it too!

-Paolo

PUZZLE #61: Pair Programming (with Brooke Husic)

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lowercase post! feels right, since we got a chiller puzzle with a more freewheeling cluing vibe. very excited to run this puzzle, not in the least because this is a collab with brooke husic! you might know her from her excellent USA Today crosswords, or the equally-excellent work she's done on recent indie puzzle bangers. in either case, this puzzle came together within a twelve-hour period, from theme conception to clues. i'm honored to run it here—not only is brooke insanely talented at every stage of the crossword constructing process (if you like a clue, she wrote it), but she's dang fun to collaborate with too.

and, from brooke!
paolo asked me what time zone i was in, presumably to give me the benefit of the doubt because my messages were arriving at odd hours. turns out they're still odd hours even with the europe correction. this came together after PP found the circled words in 11-across following an appropriately topical exam. building this together felt like speed chess during filling and was the most fun i've had on a google doc, possibly ever, during cluing. stay tuned for more from this byline.

hope you enjoy!

p.s. follow brooke on twitter (@brookehus @xandraladee)

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