BWS Puzzle 23: Midi Themeless #11 (diagonal symmetry)

As promised after the weird "Anagranimalums" puzzle, I'm posting a few more standard themeless crosswords, but I'm also continuing to explore diagonal symmetry in these midi grids (8x8 to10x10 ish). I like how this one turned out, with a bunch of intersecting 8s and then some 3s and 4s scattered around to hold it all together. This is also the first time, I'm pretty sure, that I have used the top-right/bottom-left diagonal as the axis of symmetry. (Because of matrices and linear algebra, I am accustomed to seeing diagonal symmetry across the "main diagonal" from the top-left to the bottom-right.)

This one started with the 6-Down / 18-Across combo, which I highly recommend watching. (I had to track down DVDs from my local library, and you might, too.) And regarding 1-Across, yes I was there at the Wilbur Theatre in Boston for the taping, somewhere in the 4th row! I can see the back of my head at one point in the show, but only because I know where to look.

I think this is a medium difficulty overall, with those 3s and 4s hopefully providing some easy inroads to the longer entries.

Enjoy the solve, and share if you do! Constructive feedback in the comments is always welcome.

Download links: [puz] [pdf] [solution] Direct link: [play online]

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Puzzle 92: Take a Break

Just a quick break from themelesses for this silly little puzzle, inspired by a phrase that came up in conversation. Warning: one theme entry has some vulgar language; not recommended for kids. Enjoy the solve, and share if you do! puz pdf fullscreen solution

Puzzle 91: Themeless #23

I was almost halfway through cluing (an early version of) this when I noticed a short word in the grid duping part of a longer entry. See if you can guess what used to be at 1-Across before I had to rework that section... (Also, does anyone else have trouble deciding whether a ? is warranted for a clue? There are some obvious, punny cases, but other times it feels like it comes down to a matter of how easily I think a solver will spot a misdirection or some kind of unexpected usage, and that's hard to do sometimes.) Anyway, enjoy the solve, and share if you do! puz pdf fullscreen solution

BWS Puzzle 10: Midi Themeless #5 - harder clues

This post has the "harder clues" version of today's 10x10 themeless puzzle, both in the embedded applet and the download links below. If this proves too challenging, click this link here for the "easier clues" version of the very same puzzle. I want to briefly comment on this puzzle's grid, too, because I've been trying to experiment with and learn more about grid designs lately. I've seen a lot of really cool and innovative grid symmetries and designs (some of which I mentioned in a recent post ) and I've been trying to apply some of those ideas to my own puzzles. This particular grid (shown above, top-left) uses one basic shape: that wide L thing with 5 blocks along and then 1 block around the bend, so to speak. That basic shape recurs four times and, overall, the grid does have standard rotational symmetry, but it almost doesn't look like it should. I'm particularly intrigued by how this grid turned out because of the word lengths it...

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