Tuesday Mini

The book pictured above (the author of which is in this puzzle) was one of the most raved about books of 2019. It's a novel in the form of a letter from a Vietnamese American son to his illiterate mother and it is a thing of beauty. If you're looking for something new to pick up while staying at home, look into this one. And enjoy today's solve! 🧩

Amanda

Guest Midi by Steve Mossberg

I'm so thrilled to say that today's puzzle comes courtesy of constructor Steve Mossberg, who was kind enough to provide this lovely midi to start off your week. Steve also has his own site called Square Pursuit where he posts puzzles each week, and you may have also spotted his name in your local paper! Thanks again, Steve, for your contribution and I'm lucky to have you!

In other news, the presence of 3-Down in this puzzle is very obliquely giving me the opportunity to post a picture of one of my favorite people: the one and only Tony Bennett. Not only is he a phenomenal human being (fingers crossed that it's as true as it seems), but he is also just so, SO adorable. I had the pleasure of seeing Tony in concert at the Hollywood Bowl a couple of years ago (yes, Lady Gaga did come out for a few duets), and one of my absolute favorite things about Tony is how much he loves performing. After every single song, he opens his arms out wide like he's trying to give the entire audience a hug (see photo above), and it's just enough to make my heart explode into crooner confetti. And his version of "The Way You Look Tonight" is my absolute favorite.

Here's Steve: "When I started an indie crossword blog a few months ago, I set myself the daunting task of making sure a grid went up each week, and believe me, I still sweat it. Naturally, I'm blown away by the fact that Amanda pulls this off on a daily basis, and even more so that she kills it every time! It's an honor to get to poke my head in with a midi on her site. I hope you all enjoy the solve!"

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Puzzle #7: Rhyme Schemes

I swear I'm not trying to terrorize you with these delicious food pictures. They are at LEAST tangentially related to things in the puzzles. (But also, how delicious do those look? They remind me of being 13 and going to a million bar and bat mitzvahs). Anyhow! Ross and I are back with another collab grid and, if I'm not mistaken, this is the first 21x21 I ever worked on way back when. How far we've come! *wipes a tear*. And keep your eyes peeled, because we'll be back in the Times again this week. Happy Sunday!

Amanda

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Saturday midi

Hello everyone. I accidentally put my whole entire personality into this 8x8 puzzle. So either you're welcome or I'm terribly sorry. Oh, that image? Yes, that is the famous #19 pastrami sandwich at Langer's Delicatessen here in Los Angeles. Some say it's the best pastrami sandwich in the country. As a self-appointed expert in Jewish delis, I will say it's certainly in my top 2. (It is the best of it's kind, but since it's not exactly a traditional pastrami sandwich, we have to leave room in the rankings for those who are acing the traditional presentation of their craft). Either way, if you ever find yourself in LA, it's worth the almost $20 it costs to have one. I know I will certainly be picking one up soon. And since this is not the content you came here for, without further ado: the Saturday midi.

Amanda

Friday minis

Welcome to the end of another week and, therefore, two more minis puzzles! I hope they're a bite-sized and opportune distraction from whatever else you have going on today. Happy solving! 🧩

Amanda

Theatre Thursday #7

And we're back for another edition of Theatre Thursday – one of my favorite days of the week! Today's puzzle commemorates 14-Across, who was born on this day in 1887. In his nine decade career, he probably worked on at least a handful of shows that you like. Some highlights include: The Boys From Syracuse, Pal Joey, On The Town, A Tree Grows In Brooklyn, Wonderful Town, The Pajama Game, Damn Yankees, Once Upon A Mattress, Fiorello!, and A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum (pictured above). To name a few. He also produced and wrote the book for many of these as well. The actual list of shows he worked on is too lengthy to go through, but that's what Wikipedia is for ;) Enjoy today's puzzle and I hope it gets at least a few show tunes stuck in your head.

Amanda

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Wednesday midi

Halfway through another week! Give yourselves a pat on the back...or a round of applause...or some other congratulatory gesture that feels appropriate given your achievements thus far ;) Enjoy today's midi puzzle, and I'll see you tomorrow for Theatre Thursday! 🧩

Amanda

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Tuesday mini

It feels so good to be back in the swing of things and putting up puzzles! This is also an exciting day because I had the absolute pleasure of joining Brian and Ryan for a really fun discussion about crosswords and musical theater on today's episode of their Fill Me In podcast. Check it out if you have the chance! And, as always, happy solving! 🧩

Amanda

Monday midi

I was supposed to publish this puzzle on Friday, but since I missed a couple days of posting due to being sick, I figured it was better late than never! I've always been admittedly terrible at history, and even I'm embarrassed to admit some of the things I've learned so much more recently than is probably appropriate. Here's to continuing our own education, particularly in the areas where we most need learning. 🧩

Amanda

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Puzzle #6: Guest Themeless (Erik Agard)

I've been a bit under the weather for the past few days, and thus had to break my streak of posting puzzles. Suffice it to say I was not thrilled about it! But I'm so happy to be back today with this guest themeless from master constructor/editor and all-around good guy Erik Agard. He certainly needs no introduction from me, but if you want to personally tell him how great he is, you can find him on Twitter at @e_a_rly, which I'm certain you already knew.  Happy solving! 🧩

Amanda

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Theatre Thursday #6

The musical around which today's puzzle was built was met with a fairly unpopular reception when it first came out in the 1930's. Years later, a 1976 production gained it new popularity, and it is now one of the best-known and most frequently performed operas. Maybe it's even a favorite of yours. Happy solving!🧩

Amanda

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Wednesday midi + variety puzzle

Enjoy today's midi puzzle and variety puzzle! If you've never done a Connect-A-Word, I'd be curious to hear your thoughts! Happy solving! 🧩

Amanda

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Connect-A-Word PDF

Tuesday mini

I will let this incredibly fierce image of Lady Gaga and 4-Down speak for me today. Enjoy the Tuesday mini! I just learned about 1-Across within the past few weeks, so I thought I'd feature it today. Happy solving! 🧩

Amanda

Monday midi

And we're back at Monday once again! *Cue collective yawn*. This puzzle is a hair NSFW, so don't do it with your kids or, I guess, at work. If going in to work is still a thing. If you're working from your home office, well then...feel free to carry on as you were. 🧩

Amanda

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Puzzle #5: Themeless

Happy Sunday, puzzle people! On deck today is a 72-word themeless puzzle, featuring my favorite guy at 36-Across. What more is there to say than that?  🙂🧩

Amanda

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Saturday midi

Today's midi puzzle is sort of a combination of a puzzle and a book/author recommendation. The two long across entries are both wonderful and insightful reads. I also cannot stop thinking about Claudia Rankine's book "Citizen", which would not fit into this puzzle but is an unbelievably relevant and important work that refuses to leave my mind lately. If you Google it, you'll see why. The Fountain Theatre here in LA recently did a virtual performance of the stage adaptation of "Citizen". You can check it out here. Happy Saturday!🧩

Amanda

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Friday minis

I don't know how this is already possible, but today marks the 1 month "anniversary" of when I began this site. 38 puzzles in 30 days! I hope you all have enjoyed the minis, midis, variety puzzles, and full-sized grids available here. I also hope that whatever your age, race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status (etc) is, you've seen something here that speaks to your interests and experiences in the world. And if not, I would love to hear from you so that I can continue to try to make puzzles that make everyone feel seen and included. Today's minis cross-reference one another at the 1-Acrosses. Enjoy, happy Friday, and thanks to everyone who has joined me on this puzzling journey. You all are so appreciated. 🧩

Amanda

Theatre Thursday #5

Today's Theatre Thursday puzzle is lightly themed around the 2005 musical "The Color Purple", which was an adaptation of the novel of the same title. The book portion of the musical was written by playwright Marsha Norman (who won the Pulitzer Prize in drama for her play "'night, Mother") and the music was written by songwriters Brenda Russell (5 Grammy nominations), Allee Willis (2 Grammys awards, 1 Emmy award, and co-writer of the "Friends" theme song), and Stephen Bray (ex-boyfriend of and collaborator with Madonna). The original Broadway production ran for nearly 3 years and was nominated for 11 Tony Awards. The show was remounted on Broadway in 2015 and ran until 2017, starring absolute queen and legend Cynthia Erivo. If her name sounds familiar, you might remember her from her stunning performance at this year's Oscars, where she sang the song she co-wrote for the film "Harriet", which she also starred in and was nominated for. Check it out here if you haven't heard it yet. And, as always, enjoy the solve. 🧩

Amanda

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Wednesday midi + variety

Congratulations -- you made it to the middle of another week! This is a big puzzle day for me because in addition to the 11x11 midi and variety puzzle posted here, I also have today's New York Times crossword with my forever-collaborator Ross Trudeau. That puzzle was actually the first one I ever made way back when, so it's fun to see it poke its head out now all this time later. Enjoy what I hope is a puzzling frenzy today 😄

Amanda

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PDF Left and Right

Tuesday Mini #4

Anyone else stan Jodie Comer these days? ✋I figured I'd take the opportunity presented to me by this puzzle to post a relevant photo. Here's a mini puzzle for some Tuesday afternoon solving!

Amanda

Monday Midi: X's and O's

Today's puzzle is a fairly easy, lightly-themed midi to kick off your week. Maybe you've been noticing what I've been noticing lately, which is that it's pretty challenging to focus and concentrate. Turns out the combination of quarantine brain plus anger, sadness, and outrage really do a number on cognitive functioning. I hope you're finding some effective ways to take care of yourself as we all navigate these unprecedented and extremely important times.

Amanda

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Puzzle #4: Say What?

Today's puzzle comes with a bit of a twist, but I promise there is at least some method to the madness (which I can detail in tomorrow's post). I also have today's puzzle in The Atlantic, which features what might be my favorite theme find of all time. You can solve it here https://www.theatlantic.com/free-daily-crossword-puzzle/ if you feel so inclined :) Happy puzzling, and I hope you've had a safe and activism-filled week.

Amanda

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Saturday Midi

A little late to posting today (oops!), but heres's a 9x9 grid for your Saturday afternoon solving pleasure. Full-size grid on deck for tomorrow!

Amanda

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Friday Minis

We've made it to yet another Friday, and it's wild to think how much has happened since just a week ago. It may be the end of the week, but it's just the beginning for so much else. Thank you to everyone who has protested, signed petitions, donated money, had difficult conversations with friends and loved ones, done some serious self-reflection, etc.

Here are two mini puzzles to close out your week. I also had yesterday's Inkubator puzzle (https://inkubatorcrosswords.com/), which celebrated Pride month 🌈. The Inkubator is a wonderful publication that publishes puzzles by cis, trans, & women-aligned constructors, with the goal of reducing the gender disparity in the crossworld. If you haven't yet, I'd highly recommend checking them out. See you back here tomorrow for a midi puzzle, and Sunday for a full-size grid!

Amanda

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Theatre Thursday #4

Amidst all the chaos of this week (of both the heart-wrenching and heart-warming variety), the theatre world granted us a tiny gift: The Original Broadway Cast of "Hadestown" performing an NPR Tiny Desk Concert. They performed five songs from last year's Tony Award-winning musical: Way Down Hadestown, Come Home With Me/Wedding Song, When The Chips Are Down, Flowers, and Why We Build The Wall. You can watch it here:
https://www.npr.org/2020/06/01/864566001/hadestown-tiny-desk-concert

Though this week's puzzle deals with a different musical, I hope both elements of this post can bring a little bit of light to your day.

PS: In breaking "Hairspray" news, the creators of the musical just decided to edit out a loophole in the licensing agreement, making it required for the show to be cast as written -- with black performers cast in the black roles.

Amanda

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Mid-week midi + variety puzzle

I hope everyone is doing well and staying safe while also doing the work that needs to be done. One of the nicest things about having a puzzle blog is getting to post puzzles in real time so that the entries included can reflect a moment in time. In addition to today's midi puzzle, I've also included a Crypto-Family variety puzzle in this post. I don't know how many crossword solvers also solve puzzles of this kind, but I'd love to hear from you! Both puzzles have content borne out of this particular moment in time. Happy solving, and keep fighting the good fight.

Amanda

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PDF Crypto-Family #1

Tuesday Mini #3

There is so much going on in the world right now, and I have been trying to do a lot of listening. Specifically, listening to those who have had different life experiences than my own. I love open dialogues, where people with differing experiences and vantage points can come together to share ideas. The synthesis of all of these ideas can, ideally, move us closer and closer to truth. And hopefully, one day, that truth will move us closer to humanity. My voice is not one that specifically needs to be heard right now, but I think the voice of the man pictured above does. This mini puzzle is a tiny tribute to a huge voice. And to all of the huge voices that are being heard right now. Listen. And be good to one another. Please. 💗

Amanda

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Guest Mini: Little Puzzle by Matthew Stock

I am so excited to kick off the puzzle week (and the new month!) by hosting a lovely mini from the delightful constructor Matthew Stock. His website https://www.happylittlepuzzles.com/ has become a part of my regular solving rotation, both for the abundance of great puzzles and also for the giant picture of a cat on a crossword puzzle displayed at the top. With a winning combination like that, how could you refuse a regular visit? I know I can't! Happy solving!

Amanda

From Matthew: "Absolutely thrilled that Amanda now has her own site, and honored to lead off the week with a little guest spot! Hope it makes you smile -- if it does, check out happylittlepuzzles.com for more like it 🙂"

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