Check out this funky 11x9 grid! I tried several different ways to fit this theme set -- with lengths 8, 7, 8 -- into a smallish grid while also leaving room for some decent fill, and this is what came out. Just in case it's not clear, the long downs (3D and 6D) are not  part of the rhyming theme, but I hope they're interesting enough that they add to the solving experience. Let's call this one hard  because of a few clues, but I hope it's enjoyably tricky overall. I also hope you're enjoying these midi rhyme time  puzzles, overall. Looking at the three theme entries here, as an example... I'm just not sure how else I could fit those entries into a larger theme set. So, my thinking is that these puzzles are a way for me to feature some fun, fresh answers while also giving you, dear solver, something thematic to tie it all together. As always, let me know if you have any comments or suggestions about these puzzles. Enjoy the solve, and share if you do! Construct...

  A smallish midi themeless puzzle today (8x8), and we're still riding that diagonal symmetry train. I started this one with 9-Across and 2-Down, two entries that I've wanted to put in puzzles for a while. Moreover, 2-Down is doing something awesome today which you can read about in the following link once you're done with the puzzle: SPOILER ALERT . This grid also ended up being similar to some others I've done recently that I can only think to describe as " just shorts and longs " : for instance, this puzzle has sixteen 3 letter entries and eight 8 letter entries. That's a whole bunch at the minimum possible length (3) and quite a few at the maximum possible length (8) in a grid of this size. I wonder what other grids with this property look like... 🤔 Anyway, let's call this one a medium difficulty  overall: I wouldn't say it's easy-peasy-lemon-squeezy, but I don't think there's anything too too tricky, either. Enjoy the solve, and s...

  Happy Pride! This puzzle's title is a descriptor but also a hint to the theme. It was impossible to find matching theme entry lengths so I had no hope for any kind of symmetry in the grid, but I tried to balance that with some fun long fill and easy-to-get short fill, plus some clues you'll learn from. Photo taken June 1, 2021 on Harvey St. near Alewife Station, Cambridge, MA Many, many thanks to Norah and Rasa for test-solving! This puzzle will be more enjoyable for you all, thanks to their helpful comments. Check out Norah's Puzzles , especially this recent one (a collaboration with David Ritterskamp ). And check out Rasa's 7xwords puzzle , as well as a collaboration with Brooke for the  USA Today puzzle . I hope you also try the USA Today  and Universal Daily  puzzles all this month as they feature themes and constructors that celebrate the LGBTQ+ community. And you can get more great puzzles, while supporting helpful charities, from the Queer Qrosswords ...

  Time for some rhymes! This one started with 15-Down and 25-Across, and the rest came to mind after. I hope you enjoy the rhyming theme, even with how similar some of them are. There are a few amusing cross-referenced clues that I hope you get a kick out of, as well. Working on the grid here was especially interesting and instructive. With all the possible ways to intersect the theme entries, I explored a ton of different grid sizes and layouts before finally settling on this wide one, with (almost) all of the action in the middle. It's maybe not quite in the "midi" category (17x9=153, which is 68% of 15x15=225), but oh 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 ]

  This puzzle is a tribute to a legend who recently passed (RIP). Upon hearing the news, I committed myself to making some  kind of tribute puzzle, and I noticed a certain pattern that would make for a good theme. However, the lengths didn't match up too nicely, which is how I ended up with this blatantly asymmetric puzzle in a 15x17 grid. Still, I hope that's not a distraction from the contents of the puzzle and my overall expression of admiration and gratitude for this person. 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 inspired by two events that happened yesterday!  One of them is referenced in the central answer in this grid, which then ties into a couple of other answers, as well as the puzzle's title (which, by the way, is almost but not quite  the same as my first entry in this "Grid 'n Play" series where I experiment with themeless grids). The other was Brian Thomas's crossword construction Twitch stream yesterday afternoon that taught me a lot about how to approach themeless grids and inspired me to try for a low word count puzzle. What you see above is the grid I ended up with: it has 62 words (yay), 46 black squares (meh), and an average word length of 5.77.  It has standard rotational symmetry, but it almost  looks like it has diagonal symmetry. In fact, if you just slide one pair of those pyramids over one step, then you get a grid that is symmetric across both  diagonals . Be sure to check out Brian's Twitch ( link here ) and his blog ( link...

  This is the closest to a "standard" 15x15 themed crossword puzzle that I've posted in awhile, so I hope you enjoy! The idea was inspired by an upcoming event at my place of employment, and I found a couple of entries to go along with that one. Overall, I'm calling it a "mini theme" because it's not especially inventive or tricky, but it's just enough for a fun, little puzzle like this one 😊 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 ]

  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...

Huzzah, more diagonal symmetry! I used it recently with  Midi Themeless #9  because some seed entries crossed in just the right way, and I'm using it this time because it allowed for several long answers to squeeze into one area and helped the whole thing feel a little more like an open themeless grid, despite its size. Plus, I just think it looks nice 😊 As usual, some entries may be inspired by recent stuff: current events, or things I'm watching, or (in one case, in this puzzle) things I find myself saying at the dinner table, etc. 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 ]