10-4

Completely bushed tonight, so not much to say.

First: there will be a special guest puzzle and interview next week, so do be sure to stop by for that.

Second: As for this week, it's another mini themeless double-header: #8 is my Campus Crosswords puzzle from last Thursday which I thought you might enjoy (although I realize now that I've already used one of the long answers in one of the first Cross Nerd puzzles - bad form, admittedly, but I know that many of you weren't around back then), and #9 is one I whipped up tonight. I like the clue for 5-Across - might seem like a cheap shot, but really, is it any less helpful than a reference to two cities on Earth that you've probably never driven between?

More words, crossed and otherwise, and a guest appearance, next Tuesday.

Puzzles: Mini Themeless nos. 8 & 9
Ratings: XW-14A for #8, XW-18A for #9
Download the PDF and PUZ files here, or solve or download the Across Lite puzzle and/or software from the Java app below.

Not Even a Bit

My good friends' recent DIY kitchen renos inspired me to came in here earlier and spruce the place up a bit. Gave it a real no-nonsense feel, I think. Now it's late, though, so this post is also gonna be no-nonsense. None.

The 2011 Orca Awards (for outstanding achievement in crossword construction) are the talk of puzzledom at the moment. "Nerds!", I hear you scoff. Well, I challenge the skeptics to peruse some of the grids and themes and not be at least mildly impressed (especially by the big winner, Matt Gaffney's "Moving Day"; Holy Toledo!)

Todays offering: a couple of puzzles I made for the Campus Crosswords syndicate. The 6th installment in my Mini Themeless series ran last week, and the themed puzzle ran yesterday. Next week, a blog-exclusive 15x themed, to make up for the recycled puzzles today.

More words, crossed and otherwise, next Tuesday.

Puzzles: Mini Themeless #6 and Mini Themed "One Tequila, Two Tequila, ..."
Rating: XWPG-13 for both
Download the PDF and PUZ files here, or solve or download the Across Lite puzzle and/or software from the Java app below.

Signed, Sealed, Delivered

So I mailed off another NYT submission tonight. It's a Mon/Tue type puzzle, with a theme I've been sitting on for some time. It was a combination of a NYT rejection that arrived last week and seeing Julian Lim's LAT puzzle from last Tuesday (which used another theme I had been sitting on) that got my ass in gear. I wasn't really upset about the rejection; in fact, I anticipated it. It came over 4 months after submission, since I constructed that one well before the crossnerd era. My standards and skills have improved by forcing myself to pump out a couple puzzles a week, though, and I would never construct or submit a grid as unsound as that now. That I'm not even running it here should say a lot, given that it's already finished and I'm lazy. However, I'm still not holding my breath for this one. The theme concept is solid, IMO, but the entries are, by necessity of the theme, kind of ho-hum. The other obstacle to acceptance is some of the fill. Now, I took care to make the fill as smooth as possible (while keeping the vocab at an early-week level - not easy!), and I think it will pass muster. However, the "sparkle" may not be Shortz' cup of tea. ON A DIME, REDBULL, TELECOM, and a PIG/LATIN combo should be fine. SEX SHOP, BO KNOWS, and NEXTGEN may be over the line. Could that fill have been avoided? Absolutely. Was putting it in a stupid thing to do given that it may be the only reason the puzzle is rejected? Absolutely. Then why? Well, I realized that I don't actually care that much about a NYT publication. I care a bit (it forces me to hone my skills and work on my professionalism, and a publication would be cred and smoke/beer money), but not enough to have my voice not come across in the grid and clues. For the most part, I found myself getting bored writing the puzzle; it was kind of a chore. I realized how much I like having basically free reign when it comes to fill and clues, as I do when I write the puzzles on this site and the Campus Crossword ones. I can put into the grid and clues things that I think about and that me and my friends say, listen to, watch, do, etc. These are generally things that would offend little old ladies, not be familiar to several large demographics, be seen as childish and low-brow, or all of the above, any of which is a kiss of death for a puzzle hoping to break into the big leagues. So, if this puzzle isn't accepted I won't lose any sleep. I'll just publish it here and move on to the next one.

Speaking of puzzles (what else would I be speaking about?), there were some gooders this week. Yesterday's Themeless Monday #154 by BEQ was quite good, as was Joe Krozel's Friday NYT (unchecked squares in a NYT!). Puzzle of the week, though, goes to today's Jonesin' themeless. Find it here, and while you're at it, join the group to receive the puzzles in your inbox every week. They're consistently top-notch. Protip: thecrossnerd.com also has a Google Group.

Today's puzzle is my Campus Crosswords offering for Thursday (good news everybody! We've been picked up for an indefinite run in the Harvard Crimson after last week's successful test run. E-mail campus[dot]crosswords[at]gmail[dot]com to get them in your paper). It's another 11x13 with a two-entry mini-theme about science and TV shows. I should point out that I've never actually seen an entire episode of either show, but some of my friends love that shit, so I can't avoid hearing about them.

Sorry, no special crossnerd puzzle this week. Been busy with this and that and the NYT submission. I'll try to have a 15x15 or something equally enticing for next week.

More words, crossed and otherwise, next Tuesday

Puzzles: Pseudoscience (Campus Crosswords puzzle for Feb 2)
Rating: XW-14A
Download the PDF and PUZ files here, or solve or download the Across Lite puzzle and/or software from the Java app below.

Campus Crosswords

It appears I've landed myself a gig. Campus Crosswords is a constructors syndicate producing puzzles specifically for student newspapers. I'll be working alongside four young hotshots to pump out five alternatives to bestcrosswords.com every week. If your university paper runs a shitty crossword or none at all, drop us a line at campus[dot]crosswords[at]gmail[dot]com and we'll work something out. You wouldn't auto-fill the rest of your content, so why settle for computer generated rubbish in your crossword?

The debut puzzles will be running in the Harvard Crimson this week and hopefully in more papers next week. For the time being, they are only available in the print version, but you can solve Wednesday's puzzle by yours truly right here. It's about a Tuesday-NYT difficulty.

Mini Themeless #5, on the other hand, is a bitch and a half. I've been solving all of the old 2010 Post Puzzlers lately, and the sadistic cluing inspired me to let rip with the obfuscation for this one. I'm particularly fond of 1-Across and 41-Down. 12x12 last week, 13x13 this week; almost there.

More words, crossed and otherwise, next Tuesday

Puzzles: Mini Themeless #5 and Campus Crosswords puzzle for Jan 25
Rating: XW-14A
Download the PDF and PUZ files here, or solve or download the Across Lite puzzle and/or software from the Java app below.