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...

  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 ]