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A new puzzle?!? I scarcely remember how to use this thing so let's get straight to it. Enjoy this recap of my summer so far!
(puz and embedded solve after the jump; fullscreen solve here)
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A somewhat deranged sort of ... tribute puzzle? I guess? Enjoy, pals :)
Full disclosure: the pun in 36D wasn't mine, it was my partner's, a lifetime ago. Like many of his jokes, it haunts me to this day.
SIMUL-PUZ ALERT! Alex had the idea that we could post this collab at both his place and mine, I assume in a competition to see who gets fewer solves and therefore has to be fed to the Crosscord vultures.
That was a joke, but what’s not a joke is how much great stuff Alex is putting out into the world on a regular basis! Check out his Patreon for acrostics twice a month, and his Malibu Triathlon page, where you can donate to support Children’s Hospital Los Angeles and he’ll send you a puzzle pack. This puzzle is part of Alex's Marx Brothers series of themes. I think we did a good job embracing that silliness (though not really on purpose; we just happen to be clowns). Enjoy! (PS: I have a brand-new, rad and ridiculous midi puzzle with Will over at Half-Baked Puzzles; give it a shot!)
Blog commentary is a mistake! Here's a puzzle*!
* made using ingrid, the incredible construction app that's about to make crossfire obsolete
Recently I had the happy experience of being seized by a bit of inspiration (majorly spoilery link) and churning out a grid in a haze. Then I sat frozen for a few days, waiting for the cluing bug to bite, until one early morning, insomnia did the trick.
Making a puzzle felt nice, because I've struggled to find the motivation for it recently after deciding to stop submitting to the New York Times. That decision wasn't about the Puzzles team—it was a response to the paper's intransigent aggression toward trans people—but it wasn't NOT on my mind that I was 0 for 16 in NYT crossword submissions, and to be honest, the rejections were getting harder to take, not easier. Partially because it was becoming painfully clear that my voice wasn't welcome, but maybe even more so because, now that I make my living in crosswords, the negative reinforcement started to manifest as doubt about my ability to do my job. It felt bad! At any rate, refocusing my energy without the usual goal to focus on has felt a little like wandering in the woods, and whenever that sort of thing happens with me, I find it good to rip the bandaid off with a fugue-state puzzle like this one. So I hope it makes for a fun solve! Many thanks are due to wise test solver extraordinaire, excellent crossword citizen, and all-around good guy Alex Boisvert, who continues to quietly turn out solid, funny puzzle after solid, funny puzzle (not to mention a slew of essential construction and collaboration tools) over at Crossword Nexus. Alex's new Patreon offering promises to be the solution to your suspension-of-NYT-acrostic woes, so head over and sign up! Puzzle after the jump.
IMPORTANT EDIT TO THIS POST: THIS GRID CONTAINS A VERY OBVIOUS, BLATANT, PROMINENT, EMBARRASSING ERROR THAT I SOMEHOW DID NOT SEE DURING THE ENTIRE PROCESS OF MAKING THIS PUZZLE. I'M SO SORRY
Original post: Just here to squirt WD-40 into the hinges and make sure this clunker doesn't rust over from disuse! First blog crossword in awhile, hopefully won't be so long again before the next one. This might be on the tough side. IDK if it's any good!!! Godspeed!!!! spoilery: link to the objects mentioned in 20d because they are perfect fullscreen 
How ideas are born:
(i.e., Alex comes up with something good and I demand part of the credit) This one brings us both a lot of joy. Have fun! full screen |
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