This one is a a full-sized puzzle with mirror symmetry  and an interesting theme, I think. I had fun finding the rest of the theme entries after the idea came to mind when I read 18-Across' name recently. Some of them may be obscure to you, but I think they're gettable from the crosses and the theme idea. I'm not totally pleased with the arrangement of blocks in this grid: 47 blocks is a lot, and I acknowledge that the "flow" from top to bottom is restricted. So, I'm wondering if anyone has better ideas for how to manage a theme set with many mismatching odd lengths like this one (5, 9, 9, 11, 15). I did try to arrange some of them as downs, but nothing worked out just right. (I'm open to suggestions and advice 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 ]

  Back to challenging midi themeless puzzles, after last week's easy rhyme time :-) I like all the spanning answers in this one, especially the mathematical connections in 3-Down and 6-Down, and even in 7-Down (who was a mathematics major in college). There are quite a few TLAs in the grid to hold it all together, but I'm hoping that you're like me and really don't mind all that much. I am a little curious about whether you'll consider two of the spanning entries to be dupes of each other. I thought they were fine enough to leave in, [3-Down], but let me know if this is something you would have avoided in construction. You'll see what I mean... 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 fun and easy rhyme time puzzle! This was inspired by hearing 23-Across in a TV show and quickly realizing that 17-Across could go with it. I searched my brain and the internet for other possibilities but nothing good came up (although I did find  [theme spoiler alert!]   this obscure tumblr blog  that you may very well be interested in). This is my first time sharing a puzzle with  mirror symmetry , as well! I like how this grid fits the two theme answers and several long down bonuses, and I'm hoping the abundance of 3s and 4s will make this one truly  easy-peasy  and fun to solve . 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 has both  standard rotational symmetry and  diagonal symmetry. One coding project I'd like to work on (someday when I have time...) is a way to generate all grids of a certain size that have both those symmetries. Perhaps I could even tweak the code to ensure certain restrictions on word lengths and black square counts. If you're interested in working on that, too, let me know! I think this one will be a little challenging for its size (9x9)  but not too hard overall. I'll label it "hard" just in case, though. [spoiler alert] For when you're done, here's a link to more info about Hedetniemi's conjecture , which is mentioned in 4-Down. My mathematical research these days involves similar ideas (Cartesian and strong graph products) , so let me know if you're interested in learning more about that, too! Enjoy the solve, and share if you do! Constructive feedback in the comments is always welcome. Download links:   [ puz ]   [ pdf ]  ...