Huzzah, a full-sized, themed puzzle! I tend to post mostly midi-size puzzles on here, but I doubt there's really a good home elsewhere for this particular puzzle. As the title indicates, you will be well served by any prior knowledge of physics, science, and mathematics, but you don't need  any such expertise to solve the puzzle. It would just really help because, in addition to the theme answers, I peppered the fill with plenty of science-related entries and clues. (In particular, [spoiler alert] you may want to look back to this post about my puzzle on 7xwords for more info about one entry in this puzzle.) You may also notice one blemish of asymmetry here: there's an extra black square just to the left of where 66-Across begins. I didn't need  to add this to make the grid fillable at all, but I did need it to make the entries in that corner more reasonable and science-related. I'm hoping that, like me, you either won't care/notice at all, or you'll thin

  Special bonus puzzle this week! I already have a post staged for tomorrow (Friday) morning, as usual. But, I was reading an article earlier today and realized that a lot of relevant words match lengths and...  well, a couple hours later, this puzzle was the result. Whether or not you know the theme answers, I'm hoping you'll enjoy the puzzle and find it smooth-sailing, overall. (And if this one is fun, perhaps I'll share similar puzzles like this in the future, making this one of a series...) When you're done, you can find the article I was reading SPOILER ALERT!!! 👉  here . 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 ]

  This puzzle started with the two spanning, eight-letter across entries. From there, I just tried to keep the block count low and ended up with this H- or N-looking shape, and I think it ended up with a good mix of fun entries and clues. I believe this one will be challenging for a grid of this size , but not necessarily hard, overall. So, I'm going to tag this post as "hard difficulty", but don't be too frightened by that. 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 ]

  Just a silly mini theme for this puzzle! It started with me always wanting to get 22-Across into a puzzle and wondering what else could go with it. I think these three resulting theme answers are fun phrases, and there are some interesting clues and answers in the rest of the fill, too. 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 ]

  Sound the chimes, it's time for rhymes!  I had already thought of three of these rhymes before realizing there's an extra thematic element to them. Then, the fourth entry came to mind and I realized it fit that theme, too! I don't know if I'll ever be able to make another rhyme time + extra theme puzzle, so I hope you really enjoy this one. Perhaps the extra thematic element will give you some hints and help you solve the puzzle. In any event, I realize there's a lot of names in this puzzle (by necessity, at times), so I'm struggling with deciding on a difficulty level. I've decided to call it hard difficulty  overall, but I also eased up the clues for some proper nouns via wordplay hints (especially in the bottom-right corner, where constructing stalled a bit). I hope this makes the puzzle more feasible and interesting for y'all. Enjoy the solve, and share if you do! Constructive feedback in the comments is always welcome. Download links:   [ puz ]   

  Another midi-sized themeless puzzle with diagonal symmetry! This one is 11x11, and it all started with the diagonally crossing entries 38-Across and 9-Down. As I filled in the rest of the grid, I noticed a few chances to include some other entries that "fit" with those two seed entries (hah, seed! ), so that's why I have somewhat contradictorily labeled this post with both the  "themeless" and "mini themes" categories. Still, it's decidedly not a "themed puzzle", and I'm just pointing this out in case you notice the miniature theme and it helps you solve a clue or two. I acknowledge there's an abundance of proper names in this puzzle, so that's why I'm labeling this Extra Hard , even though the rest of the clues are probably more medium-to-hard .  I'm sorry if some of those names get in the way of your solving, but please always feel free to use that Reveal  button liberally! In fact, just the other day I inadvert