Minimal commentary this week as I'm in the midst of wrapping up a busy semester. This is a tough themeless puzzle that started with 16-Across and 19-Across, and then developed into an asymmetric grid to keep those two entries intact, and then became a real challenge when I wrote the clues. Hope it gives you a good mental workout. 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 was inspired by 16-Down. As I note in the clue, my 3-year-old daughter loves the Cosmic Kids Yoga  YouTube channel : they have fun, interactive videos where the host, Jaime, tells a story that engages children through yoga poses. When I heard 16-Down mentioned in one video, I knew I had to make a rhyming theme around it, and I was lucky enough to find the other three answers you'll encounter in this grid. (And for 7-Down, I was lucky that it was actually "a thing"! I just thought of it as a rhyme but didn't know it was actually from a current show.) I think this will be fairly easy , overall: a few proper names, but some simple short fill, as well. 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 ]

My numbering scheme tells me that almost half of all the puzzles I've posted here have been of the midi themeless  variety, so... I hope y'all enjoy them! I like making them because it's a chance to highlight some fun entries or clues without necessarily building a whole 15x puzzle around them (that's 15-Across and 4-Down, in this one), as well as a way to experiment with grid shapes and symmetries and have something to show for it (that's diagonal symmetry and a pretty low black square percentage, in this one). They're also sooo much faster to make than 15x puzzles, like, disproportionately so, in my experience! I think this is a  medium-hard  difficulty overall, and I'll err on the hard  side just because of a few proper nouns. 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 is weird, wild stuff ! It started when I remembered recently the connection between 17-Across and 18-Across, so I sought more examples like that. That's what you'll find in the starred entries around the grid (and hinted at, albeit convolutedly, in this puzzle's title). As I filled in the rest and started to write clues, I noticed there were tons  of linguistic connections beyond just those starred entries. So, I ended up cramming this puzzle full of cross-references, many of them entirely unnecessary. I'm sorry if this ruins the solving experience for some of you, but I hope that others of you will get some extra enjoyment out of all of this! Either way, I promise to have some more "normal" themed and themeless puzzles coming soon... 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 ] ...

Check it out, diagonal symmetry! I didn't start out with that idea for this puzzle, but I realized it would work well with a couple of the 10-letter seed entries. I like how everything turned out, with the confluence of intersecting 10s toward the bottom-right*, as well as the sprinkling of mathematics in the entries in the top-left*. * I've realized recently that I really don't like the NESW convention for referring to grid sections. I  can understand why it's used, but I honestly struggle to remember which way is East and which is West, in a way that I very much  don't  with Left vs. Right. So, I plan on continuing to use top/bottom & left/right instead. Hope that's alright with y'all. However, I'm unsure about one particular square in this grid. It  could  have been an S, pluralizing both of the entries crossing there, but I ended up making it a black square. This increased the black square count beyond what I was hoping for, but there were alread...

  As promised last time , here's another smooth rhyme time puzzle! I gotta admit, I'm having fun coming up with these mini themes based on rhymes, and making the puzzles has also been especially helpful for learning how to design a grid and get decent fill. In particular, I'm allowing myself to experiment with grid sizes, but I'm still trying to keep these rhyme time puzzles roughly in the "midi" size category. As you can see, this one came out as a 10x10, and I even got the theme entries placed symmetrically around the outside of the grid. And I categorized this as "medium" but I was less confident about that choice than I have been for other recent puzzles, so let me know if this one plays too easy/hard for you. 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 ]

  I started off wanting to make a nice, medium puzzle, or at least one for which I could write both easy and hard clues. But I was also feeling inspired by some recent themeless puzzles I've solved* that feature wide open grids with lots of white space, especially around the middle. I'm thinking of Ryan McCarty's "Chasm" McGrids , some of Brooke Husic's demi themeless grids , and Will Nediger's Freeform Freestyles , among others. * well, I admired the grids and filled in a few squares, but "solved" is generous This puzzle is my humble attempt at those kind of grids, but on a much more manageable (for this mere mortal) 10x10 scale. In the process of keeping the middle of this grid open, I ended up with some challenging but gettable fill. And then I kept coming up with pretty hard (I think) clues, so I gave up on the easy/medium possibilities and just tried to make this really tough but hopefully still fair. If it proves too tough, check back this ...

  As promised in the previous post , here is a (hopefully) nice and easy puzzle for your weekend! I made some tweaks to the 10x10 themeless grids I've been using lately and ended up with this one: there's a ton of 3s and 6s and not much else. Some of the 6s form a theme, too, and I bet I'll be able to make more like this, which is why I've labeled this (ambitiously, perhaps) as #1 in a series. As usual, some inspiration came from my life, as my 3-year-old daughter has been all about rhyming lately. (Example: "Cucumber the bucumber the doocumber!") We've also read the book referenced in 6-Down a lot recently. Enjoy the solve, and share if you do! Constructive feedback in the comments is always welcome. (In particular, I'm wondering... is this too easy?  More like this one? More like this but harder? Let me know 😊) Download links:   [ puz ]   [ pdf ]   [ solution ]        Direct link: [ play online ]

In my previous puzzle post ( BWS Puzzle #12: Network Programming ), I mentioned that the final grid there was "pretty heavy on the 3 letter entries". In fact, out of 54 total words in that puzzle, 22 of them were 3s; that's just over 40%. Yikes! Consequently, I set myself a challenge for this next puzzle:  no 3s whatsoever!   I thought that might be difficult in a big grid, so I'm starting small with a 10x10 themeless. You can see the histogram of word lengths in the image below. There's an abundance of 4s and 5s this time, along with a handful of 7s and 10s. You may also notice some pleasing symmetry in the grid: each corner is a 4x5 or 5x4, and the four central squares are each crossed by exactly two 7s. As usual with these midi themeless puzzles, I picked a few of the 10s based on stuff that's on my mind or happening recently. In particular, 4-Down and 14-Across come from a recent dinnertime conversation, and I was delighted to notice that they could cross...

I've enjoyed making these 10x10 themeless puzzles, so I'm trying to share a new one each weekend just for fun. I hope the clues and entries give you a few laughs and a few (but not too many) head-scratching moments, and maybe even teach you some interesting things, I'm also still playing around with grid designs and word lengths and things like that. This one (image above) has regular ol' rotational symmetry but, in contrast with the previous midi themeless puzzle (which had word lengths of only 3, 5, 9, or 10), it has a whole range of word lengths (10 x 3s, 6 x 4s, 8 x 5s, 4 x 6s, 2 x 7s, and 4 x 10s). All of the 10s are inspired by recent events: 22-Across and 3-Down are things I'm teaching about in one of my classes right now, 6-Down is inspired by a clue in last week's puzzle (spoiler alert, but if you need a hint: check 14-Across there ), and the idea for 13-Across and its clue came to me while thinking about something happening this week. You might also n...

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...

New themeless puzzle today! A few entries and clues were inspired by recent events and pop culture, and I'm also continuing to experiment with grid designs (which I'll say more about in the "harder clues" post ).  This post has the "easier clues" version of this puzzle. As with the last midi themeless puzzle , I had my parents in mind as a stereotypical solver for this version, so I'm hoping these clues are doable for them and enjoyable for anyone else out there reading. I specifically tried to make some of the shorter clues really easy so that you can make inroads on the longer entries and, hey, maybe you'll learn a few fun things, too! (If you're looking for more of a challenge, click this link here for the "harder clues" version of this very same puzzle.) Enjoy the solve, and share if you do! Constructive feedback in the comments is always welcome. Download links:   [ puz ]   [ pdf ]   [ solution ]

Have you seen the awesome 7xwords website yet? Check it out! The index page shows you all 312 possible 7x7 crossword grids (subject to a few standard rules as described on the "why?" page ). That amounts to a new puzzle six days a week for all 52 weeks of the year and constructors could claim a grid for a certain day in advance. When I first heard about this project on Twitter toward the beginning of the year, I was really intrigued and hoped to take part. I looked for a date that was not imminent (so I could worry about making a puzzle later) but also not too far off in the future (so I wouldn't have to worry about forgetting until the last minute). I picked April 3 because it was soon-ish and also not within a day of a holiday. I didn't even think to look at what the grid would be, so I'm glad it ended up being something manageable (the image at the top of this post). A few weeks later, when I started working on the puzzle, I looked for interesting people bor...

I'm having a lot of fun making these 10x10 themeless puzzles, so here's another! On the constructor side of things, I am finding these immensely helpful for pruning my word list and gaining experience in filling a grid with decent entries. On the solver side, I hope these "bite-size" puzzles are quick and fun. And just like with the previous puzzle, I've written two sets of clues for this puzzle so you can choose the challenge that is appropriate for your level. This post has the "easier clues"  version of this puzzle. While writing these clues, I honestly had my parents in mind! They've told me my puzzles are tough for them, so I'm hoping this one is... well, maybe not necessarily super easy , but I did try to make sure this one is doable for them :-) (If you're looking for more of a challenge, click this link here for the  "harder clues"  version of this very same puzzle.) Enjoy the solve, and share if you do! Constructive feedba...

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. Enjoy the solve, and share if you do! Constructive feedback in the comments is always welcome. Download links:   [ puz ]   [ pdf ]   [ solution ]

This post has the "harder clues" version of today's puzzle, both in the embedded applet and the download links. Click this link here to open a post with more information about this puzzle, as well as the "easier clues" version of it . Enjoy the solve, and share if you do! Constructive feedback in the comments is always welcome. Download links:   [ puz ]   [ pdf ]   [ solution ]

I'm continuing to work on themeless puzzles this week, and I'm finding these 10x10 puzzles to be a good size for practicing filling and cluing. They've helped me hone my word list and problem-solving skills while constructing. For this particular puzzle, I wanted to work on cluing and setting an appropriate level of difficulty. To do that, I actually wrote two different sets of clues for the same puzzle. I'm calling them the "easier clues" and the "harder clues" because I'm only certain of how they compare to each other. For y'all out there solving: I'm hoping you might share your thoughts about which version you tried and whether it played to your expectations. Below is the "easier clues" version, both in the embedded applet and the download links. Click this link here to open a post for the "harder clues" version of the same puzzle. Enjoy the solve, and share if you do! Constructive feedback in the comments is alway...

In the last post , I mentioned a desire to make some 10x10 themeless puzzles using this particular grid. Well, I was still feeling inspired today and put together this fun puzzle with some (hopefully) enjoyable fill and clues. I especially like the combination of 12-Across and 14-Across, as well as the clues for 20-Across and 25-Across. Enjoy the solve, and share if you do! Constructive feedback in the comments is always welcome. Download links:   [ puz ]   [ pdf ]   [ solution ]

Yes, two new puzzles today! I've been feeling inspired to try making more themeless puzzles because of some recent experiences: 1) participating in the #BOSWORDS  Spring Themeless League (just Choppy clues for me!) and 2) watching a Twitch stream of people collaboratively writing clues for a themeless puzzle. Both of those have completely blown my mind this week. (Before starting Boswords two weeks ago, I didn't even know what Twitch was! 🤷‍♂️) I'm working on some 15x15 themeless puzzles, but none of them are quite ready to share, so I thought I'd start with a smaller grid. I took one of the 10x10 grids I used often in my book of "Mini Math Crosswords" [*] with two length-10 themers, and I just cut out one pair of black squares, so now there are two stacks of two parallel 10s with another pair of 10s running perpendicular to both of those stacks. My plan is to use this grid (and other variations) to practice making good, snappy fill and writing tough clues. ...

I thought of a fun little theme with two 10s yesterday, so I just made a 10x10 to feature those entries. I tried to include some timely fill inspired by "these days," as well. Enjoy the solve, and share if you do! Constructive feedback in the comments is always welcome. Download links:   [ puz ]   [ pdf ]   [ solution ]