#28: Go the F to Sleep

 

NSFW WARNING!
This puzzle has some distinctly 18+ stuff in it.
If you're underage or squeamish about sex,
no judgment - but you might want to sit this one out.
[PDF] [PUZ]
difficulty: hard

Hello to the new solvers linked here by Crucinova! You picked a not-so-great time to come on over. For the uninitiated, Crucinova is a new crossword subscription service that launched literally a few minutes ago, and the first puzzle they've posted is a themeless by yours truly. If you, the Crucinova solver, are looking for another interesting themeless in that vein, you might want to check out one of the other themelesses on this blog before you tackle this one.

Anyway, this puzzle is a bit raunchier than the normal QVXwordz fare, enough so that I put an NSFW warning on it. I'm sure you'll agree it's very good, though. Applet under the cut; enjoy.

Guest Puzzle: Tribute Demi by Tyler Hinman & Brooke Husic

[PDF] [PUZ]
difficulty: it's brooke and tyler, what do you think?

In lieu of your weekly quote of QVX-stacy, please enjoy this offering from two colossi of crossworld: Tyler Hinman, who you may know from his Twitch streams and/or epic ACPT victory this year, and Brooke Husic, who you may know from her xwords by a. ladee site and/or Boswords championship puzzle last spring. (Oh, and Will Nediger test-solved it - just another indicant of this puzzle's pedigree.) When you're done with the puzzle, you can check out the song being referenced here.

I have a pair of puzzles coming out next month for puzzle subscription services, incidentally, so keep your eyes peeled for those. See you next week. Applet under the cut; enjoy.

#27: 6 + 13 (Themeless #12)

 

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

God bless Adam Aaronson, who has made not one but two Steely Dan themed puzzles, and inspired at least two imitators - you can blame him for the sort of goofy seed entry here. You'll know it when you fill it in and go "ugh." I'll leave it to him to determine whether this qualifies as a "Grid Charlemagne."

If you're sick of my BS, good news: there'll be a Very Special Guest Puzzle on the blog next week courtesy of two crossworld luminaries, so look out for that. Speaking of two crossworld luminaries, shout-out to my test solvers this week, who made this puzzle less tortured in spots.

That's it, I guess - applet under the cut. Enjoy.

Guest Puzzle: Too Young to Die, Too Old to Eat Off the Kids' Menu (by Will Eisenberg)

 

[PDF] [PUZ]
difficulty: medium?

Guest puzzle this week by Will Eisenberg, a lovely guy whose interests - sports, food, classical music, etc. - could not be more diametrically opposed to mine! But the "theme" of this puzzle is a shared love of both of ours. Or a shared lust, in my case. Hrnnng.

Anyway, I took last week off because I had not one, but TWO themeless puzzles in other outlets and didn't want to detract from those. One was the American Values Club Crossword, where I did a themeless in collaboration with the Biz Quig himself; the other was the Newsday Themeless Saturday puzzle, which I did in collaboration with frequent QV collaborator Matthew Stock. Check em both out. But not before you do Will's puzzle under the cut! Hope you like it.

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.