Blocked Cryptic #9: Kangaroo Court

Not much to say today, just a fun little bonus puzzle as promised! We helped to hit 400 donors here, but if you've yet to donate and if you have the means, there's more work to be done - every dollar counts. Also, if you like cryptics and enjoy putting good into the world, make sure to check out (and donate on behalf of!) a recent puzzle from Neville benefitting the Premier Ultimate League. Many thanks to Neville for testsolving today's cryptic and for spreading word of another great cause. Enjoy the solve, and don't hesitate to reach out with any feedback you might have. Grab the puz file here, the pdf (recommended) here or solve online in the client below. Be well all!

Update February 2021: Find the solution here!

Themeless (!!!) Crossword #1: Buns, Hun (with Izzy Culver)

Hello all! Super excited to share a first attempt at a standard themeless with you all, especially since it was a collab between me and one of my best friends Izzy Culver (make sure to follow her and give her a warm welcome to crossword Twitter!). We've constructed a few puzzles together, and we think that this one is super fun (huge thanks to Paolo for test solving). A lil' blurb from Izzy about the puzzle:

Hi all :) I’m Izzy (she/her) and I’m a sophomore at Brown. I've been solving crosswords for about two years now, and I’m just getting into constructing! Please reach out if you want to talk Veep, powerlifting, anything that Sacha Baron Cohen has ever done, or if you wanna see pictures of my labradoodle (my pride and joy). Hope you enjoy solving our puzzle as much as we enjoyed making it!

Grab the puz here, the pdf here, and the interactive solver below. Happy solving all - and keep your eyes open for a bonus cryptic tomorrow!

Blocked Cryptic #8: A Slice of Pie(t)

Welcome to 2021, all! Hope the start of the year has been filled with some fresh puzzles, and that you all are staying safe and well. Starting off the new year with a bit of a ridiculous puzzle: I hope that the novelty of the grid shape can excuse the double unches (and if not, blame et tu etui for inspiring me to make this). Many thanks to Steve for test-solving and providing me with fantastic feedback. Find the puz file here, the pdf here, and the interactive client below. Also, I'm going through my old posts and adding solutions, so keep your eyes out for new additions to them over the next two or three days. Enjoy!

Update February 2021: Find the solution doc here!

Themed Crossword #4: Scout's Honor! (with Malaika Handa)

Hello all! Wrapping up the year with a cute standard American puzzle. Was super lucky to collab with Malaika on this one! In case you hadn't heard the great news, her new site will feature a 7x7 grid six days a week (!!) in 2021, and if you keep up with it, I can guarantee you'll see some familiar names and faces :) Paraphrasing her quote about this puzzle, she had this to say: "no specific quote but... :D" which sums up the joy of this grid.

In non-this-puzzle news, I'm hoping to put out solutions for my whole backlog of old puzzles sometime before New Years. Sorry for the long delay, school and life have kept me busy recently. Wishing everyone a safe and happy end to 2020, and I look forward to sharing more puzzles with you in 2021!

"We Demand to be Taken Seriously!" a 2020 Hanukkah Cryptic Extravaganza

original artwork by yours truly

Hello all! Apologies for the lack of posts in the last two weeks, but hopefully the next eight days (!) of puzzles can make up for it. For Hanukkah 2020 (slash 5781), I'll be posting a cryptic-like puzzle for the first six nights, a bonus on the seventh as a brief intermission, and it'll all culminate with a meta on the eight night. I've tried to make these puzzles accessible and interesting to folks who are new to cryptics and experienced solvers alike, and as always there are more than a few whacky/novel cluing angles to be found throughout. Find the set-up/story here (yes i am well aware the theme is ridiculous), and the list of puzzles below! Chag Sameach, and have fun!

Many thanks to those who helped me develop/edit the set, especially Pacho and Story of the NPL for inspiring the two non-cryptic puzzles as well as the slew of test-solvers who caught various mistakes and help clean up some clues. Full acknowledgements to be posted with the wrap-up, which I'll put up with the solutions + full puzzle pack (for those who'd prefer to binge solve) in eight day's time. For now, keep checking this post for updates every day, usually around 5-6pm. Enjoy the puzzles, and please feel free to reach out with any questions, comments, feedback, complaints, or anything of the sort!

List of Puzzles (updated daily):

1. The Semicolony (Dec 10)
2. hack/slash (Dec 11)
3. The Carat Cake Bakery (Dec 12)
4. Dotty and the Line Dancers (Dec 13: error found 9:00pm, the down arrow with a 9 should actually have a 12. will fix asap)
5. Space in Vaders In case the crossed-out text is hard to read, here's the list below the clues. (Dec 14)
6. The Tarot Bang Inn (Dec 15)
7. Bonus: PUNctuation Mark (Dec 16: error found 9:30pm, had a wrong letter, fixed in file now!)
8. Meta: We Demand to be Taken Seriously! (Dec 17)

New as of December 15: Fancy answer checker! If you wanna make sure you have the right answers, hop over here and follow the instructions. Also, if you have feedback or want hints, there's an option for that too!

As a final note, if you enjoy the puzzles, please consider donating to one of these charities to make the world a better place. Hopefully eight free puzzles warrant at least a tiny donation to a good cause, especially during the Holiday season. Specifically, I'll hop on this train of fantastic people: if this GoFundMe reaches 400 backers, I'll put out one more cryptic before the new year. Every dollar counts, and it'd be great to put some good into the world right about now to make up for the long year we've all had.

Blocked Cryptic #7: Odd Ones Out

Hello all! Sorry for the long wait between puzzles, it's been a rocky few weeks recently. Trying out my hand with a themeless puzzle today, with some fun 15s in the mix. A couple of odd clues (ba dum ksh), especially 19A and 8D, but I hope they're fun - would love to hear any feedback or thoughts, as always. Hope that you all are staying healthy, both mentally and physically, and enjoying the puzzles!

Grab the puz file here, the pdf here, and the interactive solver below. For anyone tired of blocked grids, don't worry: some fun barred ones to follow in the coming weeks!

Guest Cryptic #2: A Snack from the Cookie Jar (by Nate Cardin)

What's this? A Wednesday cryptic? It sure is! Brought to you by the one and only Nate Cardin, fantastic constructor/human whose puzzle I am honored to host here today :) Nate claims to have nothing interesting to say here, which I doubt, but fair enough: he's been busy these past few weeks! A few of my quick thoughts/praises before the puzzle:

I solved this puzzle over breakfast last week and it made the start of my day absolutely radiant. There's so much to love here: 2D and 13A were laugh out loud moments for me, 1A and 10A have some of the cleanest wordplay I've seen in a while, and 25D is probably just overall my favorite clue I've seen all month. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did, and make sure to tell Nate how great it is on Twitter! The more puzzles he writes the better the world will be :) Find the puz file here, the pdf here, and the interactive grid right below.

Finally, another all-call to my friends in the crossword community: if there are any LGBTQ+ folx (or allies, or anyone who cares about crosswords and equity in any way) who are interested in collaborating on any type of puzzle, please reach out! DMs always open, and my inbox could use more crossword content, so drop a line! Enjoy the puzzle, and stay well, all.

Blocked Cryptic #6: Lucky Number 7!

Short post today! Dropping a puzzle that is just a bit over the top. Feel free to just solve the puzzle and ignore everything else (except my beautiful drawing in the pdf): this weekend was Conline 3, so I felt like just going all out with a very extra cryptic in classic NPL style. Even if you choose to ignore the "variety" parts of it, there's some fun fill going on, so I hope it's a fun solve!

For those brave enough to tackle the whole thing, here's the pdf! For those who just wanna solve the cryptic (good choice), peep the online solver below. Any feedback is welcome! If this puzzle doesn't tickle you, though, I can promise that the next one is very exciting and will come early - later this week ;)

Themed Crossword #3: Pullin' a Fast One

Hello all! No cryptic this week - got a very exciting collab dropping next Sunday though :) This week, we've got a standard, themed puzzle that I've had sitting around for a bit! It's a silly little theme, and I hope it's enjoyable. Some whacky clues thrown in, some attempts at question mark devilry, and (hopefully) not too many abbreviations - let me know what you think!

Find the puz file here, the pdf here, and the interactive solver below! Best of luck, and enjoy the solve!

Blocked Cryptic #5: Three of Hearts, Eight of...

The cryptic zoo is expanding! No shenanigans going on in this one though: all wordplay is normal (or, at least normal for my style of puzzles), but there’s a “nina” - cryptic slang for a hidden set of words/phrases/anything that’s relevant to the puzzle or somehow thematic. Hope that the puzzle is fun to solve, and that the hunt for the extra layer is rewarding.

For pencil-and-paper solvers, enjoy the pdf here, and for online solvers, check out the interactive tool right below. Sadly, puz files don't allow for fancy colors, but if you wanna solve in Across Lite, here's the download link. Enjoy!

Solutions document to come hopefully soon. Wishing an easy fast to anyone celebrating today - g'mar chatimah tovah!

Guest Puzzle #1: A Cryptic with a Purpose (by MentalPlayground)

Hello all! Wishing a Shanah Tovah to all those who celebrated the past weekend! Read to the end of the post for a relevant (and hopefully sweet!) bonus puzzle :)

We've got a special guest on the blog today! MentalPlayground is one of my favorite people to co-solve (and co-construct!) puzzles with. From the true home of cryptic crosswords, he's been blogging (and cryptic-ing in general) for longer than I have, and it's always fun to get a British twist on things, so I'm sure you'll enjoy his offering. Here's his commentary on the puzzle:

I've been enjoying avid's puzzles for a while now - so I'm delighted to appear as a surprise guest on his site! This grid may not have any funky rules, but I hope the theme is enjoyable! It's a passion of mine, but I can't tell you what it is for obvious reasons. Also avid apparently likes it too - which is great! I hope you enjoy the solve!

I had an absolute blast solving this puzzle: 22-Down is very funny, 13-Across is super interesting (and slightly wicked - worth it though!), and 9-Down has a hilarious surface. Find the puzzle below in interactive form, or here as a pdf!

Lastly (and leastly), here's the "snack" I promised above, in cased you missed it! Solution right below, so don't scroll too far. (Minor error: first enumeration should be 3 4, not 4 3)

it’s b-side is “revolution” [4 3; first letter]
mp3 player discontinued in 2017 [4 4; last letter]
where parts of bereshit take place [6 2 4; last letter]
___ adams (brie larson character in ‘scott pilgrim’) [4; first letter]
home of stonewall inn [3 4 4; last letter]

— David G (@d_avidgold) September 18, 2020

Solution: hey jude, ipod nano, garden of eden, envy, and new york city are all APPLES (sorta) dipped in HONEY, my way of wishing all of you a sweet 5781 :)

Blocked Cryptic #4: IV Drips

Back to the world of variety puzzles! To celebrate the start of the fall semester, I've combined my majors of linguistics and mathematics to create some appropriately numerical wordplay. For non-mathy folks, don't worry! You don't actually need to do any math to solve the puzzle. The final answer may be more punny for those who are familiar with the theme entry, but for those who aren't, a quick Wikipedia search should clear it up rather quickly. One other important note: the five letter word in the final answer is very much not a dictionary word, but it should be inferable.

Onto the puzzle! Enjoy this one in any form, but prepare for some light scratch-paper bookkeeping if solving online. You can find the pdf here, the puz file here, and the interactive version below!

For clue-by-clue explanations, the solution document can be found here! Enjoy the puzzle, and to all the students, teachers, faculty and staff members going back to school: I wish you luck! Stay safe, stay healthy, and happy puzzling!

Blocked Cryptic #3: Major Seventh

Hello all! Hope the last two variety cryptics have been fun diversions. No such offering today, just a standard cryptic with a theme and a fresh grid shape. If you want more themed indie cryptics, look no further! On the site of fantastic constructor and good friend Mental Playground, you can find a puzzle I helped clue for another friend's birthday. If you enjoy half-American, half-British puzzles like that one, I'd also recommend you check out MP's collaboration with yet another friend of ours: incredible constructor Steve Mossberg. It has a fantastic theme and some delightfully absurd surfaces - check it out! Cryptic collaborations have been great fun so far in my experience, and if anyone wants to take a crack at constructing or cluing with me, please reach out! I'm always happy to meet new people in the crossword community, and would love to see more people constructing cryptics.

Today's puzzle is called "Major Seventh," and it has a slight theme that should be clear from the central across entries. For pencil and paper solvers, here's the pdf, and for Across Lite fans, here's the puz file!

Finally, here's the solution with entry-by-entry wordplay explanations if you get stuck. Good luck!

As a side note, thanks to all who have emailed with feedback! It has been immensely useful, and I'm grateful to everyone in this community for helping me to make better puzzles - please continue to let me know if and when you find mistakes. I especially need to thank my test-solvers, who have been great at catching my errors - any of the residual ones that find their way into the puzzles here are fully my own fault, and I apologize in advance.

Blocked Cryptic #2: Snake Cryptic, or Snyptic

The cryptic hiatus is over! I've returned with a new contender for "cutest puzzle mascot:" the snake at the center of this cryptic grid. What secrets does he hide? Solve to find out!

As with my first two puzzles, I strongly recommend printing the pdf out if possible, but I've made an interactive version avaliable below, as well as a puz file if that's your prefered medium. Note that numbering differs from platform to platform, as some are less tolerable of un-numbered entries.

Finally, here's the solution with entry-by-entry wordplay explanations if you get stuck. Enjoy! As always, please share feedback with me on Twitter @d_avidgold or via email to davidg2358@gmail.com.

As a side note, I'd love to feature more constructors/setters on the site - if you'd wanna co-construct a cryptic, an American themed or themeless, any kind of variety puzzle, anything puzzle-related at all: drop me a line! Especially looking for new, diverse voices to introduce to the wonders of cryptic construction - it's a beautiful (but, at times, outdated and behind on the times, in my opinion) form that hasn't seen the progressive change that some American puzzling has, and I'd love to do any part I can to change that.

Themed Crossword #2: "Split An Atom With Me"

Another standard American puzzle! It's got a funky shape, circles, and the word 'doggo' in a clue, so (in my eyes, at least) it's sure to be fun one. Find the in-browser version below, the pdf file here, and as always, the puz file! Enjoy!

Themed Crossword #1: There's Always Money...

Taking a quick break from cryptics to post a few standard puzzles from my 'archives' - random puzzles I've made over the years for friends or family. Sorry in advance: this one has a maybe sorta niche theme? If you don't get it, Google the title of the puzzle and it'll lead you to the source, a TV show that at times embodies the punniness of crosswording more than any other. Very much recommend it, especially since the episodes are short and by the second one you'll get the theme ;)

Anyways, onto the puzzle! In-browser version below, pdf file here, and last but not least, the puz file! Enjoy! Apologies for the admittedly subpar fill, this was a very early venture into puzzling for me, and there's not much exciting going on in the grid :\ Some fun clues hopefully though! As always, please inform me of errors, bad cluing, or anything you find generally unsavory.

Blocked Cryptic #1: However You Slice It...

Welcome, all, to my new crossword/puzzle blog! For the inaugural post, we've got a cryptic crossword with a fun hidden theme. Enjoy it either in your browser, in the Across Lite App, or on paper (!! very recommended if possible, the theme relies on something that's much harder to see online) with the array of attachments below. Please leave any feedback you think might be helpful - I'm new at this and would love to hear your thoughts. With all that out of the way, here are the instructions, and the puzzle itself!

Instructions: Remove a word from 7 Across clues before solving - these words will read out, in clue order, a cryptic clue, with enumeration (2 2 4?), to a question you might have while solving. Similarly, 6 words from Down clues must be removed before solving, which will form an instruction. Upon following it, an answer (2'1 4!) should become apparent, as well as some additional details (6, 5, 4 2, 6, 5).

And for those who'd prefer another format: the puz and pdf files, as promised! Solution and commentary to be posted within the week. EDIT 7/18: Changed a factually incorrect clue and made a minor edit to the instructions. Thanks to Kevan for pointing these out to me!

ROT-13 Spoilers with an important note: @sylvatryringbe orng zr gb gur gurzr, cbfgvat uvf zvav WHFG nf v jnf svavfuvat guvf hc. fgvyy jnagrq gb funer fbzrguvat gung pna ubcrshyyl fgvyy fhecevfr/rkpvgr!