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!

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!

"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.

Barred Cryptic #6: Themes and Variations (plus Variety-ish Cryptic-ish #1!)

Hello all! Two thematically related puzzles today - one of a genre I've been meaning to try out for a while, and one that's less of a crossword and more of a "here's a list of clues, have fun!" type puzzle. Thanks for kormad and Ra for test-solving. I'd recommend solving the Themes and Variations first, just because the second puzzle (name witheld) might spoil the nature of the thematic entries. I absolutely adore Themes and Variations-type puzzles, but they can be tricky, so I've included an example set as well as three hints for the actual puzzle, so hopefully it's decently accessible. Onto the explanation!

In the puzzle, there will be 3 "Themes" that have something in common. Each of these will also have 3 variations (only two in this example), that are derived from/related to/have something in common with the theme in some way. For example, were the 3 theme words SNAP, CRACKLE, and POP, the variations may be:

1. PANS: STOP and REMIT (reversals of kitchen tools)
2. CRACKLE: CACKLER and RECLACK (anagrams)
3. POP: SIS and MOM (palindromic family members)

In general, it might help to think of the different forms of cryptic wordplay you use in general when solving. If you get stuck, there’s three levels of hints (all ROT-13’ed) below the interactive solver that might give you the push you need. Find the pdf here and the PuzzleMe client below. Once you've finished, enjoy a smaller variety puzzle with pdf here or a copy-able Google Sheets here. Hope you all are staying safe and enjoying the puzzles!

Hint 1: Bar tebhc vf pbaarpgrq ubzbcubavpnyyl, bar jvgu “cersvkrf," naq bar jvgu qryrgvbaf.

Hint 2: Gur ubzbcubar tebhc vf “zvffvat” sbhe jbeqf. Gur qryrgvba tebhc qryrgrf gur yrggref C, B, L, naq L. Gur cersvk tebhc sbezf n purzvpny grez, n yvathvfgvp grez, naq n gurbybtvpny grez.

Hint 3 (essentially the explanation of each theme group): Gur inevngvbaf bs gurzr jbeq N pna nyy cerprqr gur gurzr jbeq gb sbez arj jbeqf. Gurzr tebhc O vf znqr hc bs snzbhf qbtf zvffvat gurve ynfg yrggre ynfg yrggre qryrgvbaf (n yn FABBCL > FABBC). Gurzr jbeq P naq vgf frg bs inevngvbaf vf znqr hc bs jbeqf gung ubzbcubavpnyyl znxr hc 2/3 bs fbzr bgure snzbhf gevbf, jvgu zvffvat jbeqf crnpr, ynetr, ba, naq cnepry.

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 ;)

Barred Cryptic #5: Tag Yourself! (with Amanda Rafkin and Finn Vigeland)

Very special puzzle today, for a variety of reasons! First of all, I got to work with two incredibly talented constructors, and we had a blast writing a bunch of whacky, weird, and fresh cryptic clues. Second, it's a super pretty grid (keep reading to find out why)! Third, and most importantly, today is National Coming Out Day, and since it falls on the same day as Matt Bomer's my birthday, I'm using it as the perfect time to come out as bi to my family, and to the crossword community. Obviously the only way to do this is with a cryptic: more specifically, a very meme-y queer qryptic, which you can find below.

Before the puzzle, I have many a thank (and a request!) to give. I can't begin to describe how lucky I am to have worked with Finn and Amanda: they're such great people, both way more talented than I am at writing puzzles, and they're also just generally hilarious. I hope the fun we had while writing the clues is obvious from the puzzle. Also, this puzzle wouldn't have happened without Queer Qrosswords' Nate Cardin, who inspired me to make this puzzle, set me up with my two co-constructors, and made this a reality. Sending love and gratefulness to you all ♥ Here's some quick thoughts from Amanda and Finn:

Hey all, I'm Finn (he/him). I've written many crosswords but proud to be marking my cryptic debut on this auspicious day. Follow my twitter if you like crosswords, transportation, or Survivor.

Hi! I’m Amanda (she/her), here to represent the UHAUL category 😉. I’ve been solving cryptics for about a year, but this was my first time participating in the creation of one, and I have to say it was a lot of fun! Not to mention an amazing opportunity to do something for such an important and meaningful day. Thanks for putting this together, David!

Finally, if you enjoy the puzzle (or if you've enjoyed any of my puzzles!) and have the means, please consider donating to an LGBTQ+ charity today - I know I can't provide as much fun as the full Queer Qrossword packs, but now more than ever, these communities need support. My blog will always be free, but I hope the enjoyment it's given you is worth at least a small donation to one of these very worthy charities.

Time for links! Two versions of the puzzle: one that's fairly normal, and one that's "disastrous, functional, and distinguished," with clues all mixed up (and a few more antics to be found). Also, you can grab the pdf in full color or in black and white. For online solvers, just keep scrolling and you'll find the "normal" version in interactive form below! Here are the standard versions, in color and black and white; and here are the "disastrous" ones, again in color and black and white. Enjoy the solve, and a happy NCOD to the whole LGBTQ+ crossword (and non-crossword!) family.

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 :)

Barred Cryptic #4: Global Warning

Hi all! Apologies for the late post - I'll be moving my publication date to Sunday night for the forseeable future, just so I can keep up with school stuff during the week.

This puzzle is hopefully more immediately approachable than my previous ones - it's still a variety cryptic, but the instructions are a lot shorter than usual. The theme entry is just one entry on a long list of possible "Green Policy Now" slogans that I believe in and would love to fit into a crossword. Whether or not you enjoy the puzzle, make sure you're registered and ready to vote in November! This puzzle is me urging you to consider giving your votes to candidates who are making progressive climate change policy a priority.

Anyways, here's the pdf file, and for online solvers the grid is below. Haven't had time to finish up the solution grid, but I'll try to post it within the week. If you get stuck, click on the "Reveal Letter/Word" button in PuzzleMe for a quick hint! Best of luck, and enjoy!

Update Feb 2021 (wow that's late): Solution is up here!

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.

Barred Cryptic #3: Funky Behavior

Hello All! So much to say in this post, but feel free to skip right to the puzzle/download files if you don't want to read my ramblings.

First off, congrats to all who participated in Lollapuzzoola this weekend! I had a great time co-solving with my family, and enjoyed seeing everyone's puns in the Twitch stream :)

On a totally different note, some exciting news about cryptics on this blog: PuzzleMe supports barred cryptics! They're a pain to input, but for any online solvers: I hope that me including it will make life a bit easier! In addition, I was able to add hints to each clue for this puzzle, telling you what kind of cryptic clue it is. Let me know if you like this, or if there are other types of hints you'd like to see instead.

Finally, a warning: this puzzle has some... substandard... clues which involve slightly “hidden” transformations. For example, while “loser” wouldn’t signify anything in most standard clues, here, it might indicate dropping an R, after you re-space the word as “lose R.” These can be tricky, so if you’re hesitant to try and find them on your own, I’ve ROT-13’ed a list of all such clues below, also including how you need to read the words that need reparsing. They're marked as "Funky Transformations" in the hints tab of the interactive puzzle below, which I think sums them up nicely. Anyways, onto the puzzle!

For pencil and paper solvers, here's the pdf, and for all who need clue or theme explanations once you're done, here's the solution! Hope you enjoy! Prepare for a non-variety cryptic next week, which'll have a theme near and dear to my heart.

Hints for the "Funky Transformations:" va gur svefg s pyhr, "hapnfg" zrnaf gb haqb gur "p nf g" genafsbezngvba: "pvgehf > pvpehf," juvpu arrqf nantenzzrq. va sbhegrra q, ernq "abo" nf "ab o," fb erzbir n o sebz bar jbeq gb trg nabgure. va fvkgrra q, jung unf punatrq orgjrra "unz" naq "uzz"? gel gb qrfpevor gur genafsbezngvba fhppvapgyl.

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.

Barred Cryptics #1 and #2: Polar Opposites

Hello all! Today's post has two cryptic crosswords for your enjoyment - ideal for cosolving in pairs! Since they're barred, I've yet to figure out an in-browser way to post them, but the PDF is avaliable here.

Apologies in advance to two groups of people: those unfamiliar with the (slang-y) words central to the theme of each crossword, and those who are familiar with them but stopped saying them months (years?) ago when they went out of style. With a little Googling from the first group, and some forgiveness from the second, I hope they can still be a fun diversion! As always, email or comment with any questions or feedback :)

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!