Monday Mini #13

 

No direct PUZ link right now because Dropbox is being cagey tonight. Anyway, here's a nice little 8x8 for y'all... weirdly I'm much prouder of the short clues than I am the long ones.

Oh, and exciting news for fans of QV content: I have two puzzles dropping this week in Big Name Crossword Outlets, one on Wednesday and one on Saturday. They're my first puzzle in either outlet, and both collaborations with people you might have heard of. VERY cool grids with VERY cool people involved. Keep your eyes on the puzzle substack over the next couple days, is all I'm saying.

#26: Buzz Buzz! (Themeless #11)

 

[PDF] [PUZ]
difficulty: hard (Friday)

Buzz buzz! Here is some fun "bee" trivia for you dorks crossword enthusiasts - did you know that the bee mascot of the New York Times Spelling Bee is canonically named - wait for it - "Beeatrice?" Golf claps all around. Yet another reason to send Sam Ezersky hate mail.

Anyway, this is a 64 word puzzle inspired by a bunch of good puzzles I solved lately that were, erm, "cookie-shaped." Like this lovely Trent Evans concoction from last week. Lots of pleasant repetitions in the clues and entries here, in a way I hope you'll find charming rather than irritating. Many thanks to Mollie and Daedalus for test solving this baby. Applet under the cut; enjoy.

#25: Coochie Coup (Themeless #10)

 

[PDF] [PUZ]
difficulty: hard (Saturday)

Been a while since I've posted a themeless - which is odd, because I know from site analytics that those are what y'all tune in for. Well, here's a themeless, and a svelte 66-worder at that. You will be extremely unsurprised to learn that 56-Across is the seed here, but I actually kind of like 1-Across more.

Thanks to Will Nediger for test-solving this one. Applet is under the cut; enjoy.