This is an idea I shopped around to a couple of mainstream markets but couldn’t get a bite on. Which makes me sad, because I think it’s cute. Anyway, I made the puzzle, so I might as well put it out into the world. Hope you like it! I have no idea how to rate the difficulty on this one, but it won’t be anything as bad as my themelesses.
Themeless #169
I have nothing interesting to say about this puzzle, but I hope that doesn’t mean it’s an uninteresting puzzle. Have fun!
Themeless #168
Those who follow me on Instagram might wonder sometimes if there’s a bit of a theme in the #crypticclueaday answers, because there might be a few that have to do with France one month, and a few that are about ’80s bands the next, etc. The answer is: Not intentionally, but often I come up with cryptic clues on the fly for words in whatever book I’m reading, and so the hopper ends up getting filled with words that are related to each other because they pertain to the topic of a nonfiction book or the setting of a fiction book I’m reading.
This, of course, is a themeless, not a #crypticclueaday post, but its seed too is related to content I’ve been doing a deep dive into outside of puzzles (and unless I finish cluing another grid in the next two weeks, so will the next one!). Have fun!
Themeless #167
It shouldn’t be too hard for you all to figure out what my seed entry was. After you’re done solving, go listen to Sophie Ellis-Bextor.
Themeless #166
I’ve actually never seen the piece of pop culture that today’s seed entry refers to. Do I need to rectify this immediately? Let me know in the comments.
Themeless #165
I should have posted this puzzle a few weeks ago based on how I seeded it, but oh well. Have fun!
Themeless #164
I listen to a lot of [REDACTED], so today you get a puzzle about it. Enjoy!
Themeless #163
I’m guessing that if you like hard puzzles enough to solve these puzzles, you know that the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament happened this past weekend. I’m sad but not crushed by my own performance (my first mistake in I think 8 years led to me dropping out of the top 10) and I continue to be astonished by the speed of those six-ish dudes (why are they all dudes?!) who are consistently faster than I am. Erik Agard’s performance was dominant. I’m in awe.
Those of you who follow me on Instagram might have noticed a slight uptick in clues about a particular place a few weeks ago, because I was reading a book about that place. This puzzle is the last remnant of that, as its seed is also found in that place.
Themeless #162
Inspired by how much time I spend watching [REDACTED].
Themeless #161
I was on the Boswords Twitch stream on Monday night, if you’re interested! It was fun to talk with a solver about a tournament puzzle.
And here’s this week’s non-tournament puzzle.