Puzzle 75: Just pointing something out (Mini for kids)

Something different today: a 7x7 easy, themed mini designed for kids!

My daughter is off to kindergarten in a few weeks (😲) so I've been spending a lot of time with her this summer (🤗). She has enjoyed working on the Grids for Kids puzzle pack with me, so I wanted to make a special puzzle just like those but with some of her interests included. The paired theme answers here (9-Across and 12-Across) fit together well and reference some books she has been loving, too. She ended up "solving" the puzzle with lots of guidance from me, but I do believe it's doable by anyone who is able to read the clues. (If you're so inclined, please try it for yourself and let me know what you think about the age-level.)

Enjoy the solve, and share if you do!

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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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