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.

#24: A Little Ditty

 

[PDF] [PUZ]
difficulty: medium, bordering on easy?

Do you ever come up with a theme idea and shelve it because it's a little too niche, and then wake up and check Twitter to find that suddenly the niche thing you're referencing has become a huge cultural point of mockery? Well, Christmas came early this week, that's all I'm saying. The grid this week is a little funky (14 by 14, mirror symmetry, those... you'll see what I mean) but I think it's kind of charmingly funky. Deee-Lite funky, not Lyte Funkee Ones funky. Dig? Anyway, applet under the cut. Dig!

Monday Mini #12, and Hey, Check Out My Atlantic Puzzle

 

[PUZ]

Wow, what a month! Boswords was a ton of fun, even if Kevin Der's puzzle singlehandedly knocked me out of the top ten; the ACPT was apparently quite good even in virtual form, and QVXwordz enthusiast Tyler Hinman pulled off a surprise win. But most importantly, last week I published an Earth Day themed puzzle for The Atlantic. You can do it here. This is my second Atlantic puzzle, with another in the pipeline - what can I say, it's a joy working with Caleb.

Anyway, this puzzle is also a joy, probably. It was originally a lot harder until I realized I could just add a cheater and make the puzzle a ton better; glad I did, because the fill is way smoother for it. Enjoy.

#23: X Gon' Give It to Ya

 

[PDF] [PUZ]
difficulty: medium

First of all, for the 500(!) new people who checked out last week's themeless per the Biz Quig's recommendation, hi! I'm Quiara, I make puzzles every Thursday (and usually minis every Monday), and sometimes they're pretty good. We operate on pretty similar wavelengths, most of the time, so I'm sure if you stick around you'll find something you like.

So anyway, this puzzle. Would you believe that it was concepted a week or two ago, and intended neither as a DMX tribute nor as a shameless round of one-upping Ricky Cruz's Boswords themeless?! It was originally called "All My Exes." But then, like, why not pay tribute to a dearly departed legend? (True story, in my past life as a journo I once worked not one but two DMX quotes into the headline and text of a tangentially related article. It was all downhill from there, folks.)

Anyway, enjoy the puzzle. See y'all next week. Applet under the cut.

#22: Evaneference (Themeless #9)

 

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

Been a while since one of these themelesses came out. This one is kind of a spiritual successor to Themeless 6 in that there's a bunch of long propers scattered throughout the grid, but it's a tad easier than that one. Still really hard, particularly if you don't remember the '90s, or if you're unaware of the hottest New Yorker since Lucas "Uses Venmo" Chi. (Don't click those links until after you've solved the puzzle, LOL.)

Thank you to Norah Sharpe and Brendan Quigley for playtesting this bad boy. (Yes, THAT Brendan Quigley. I know, how cool, right?) Applet under the cut; enjoy.