Square Pursuit

Hello, cryptic lovers!

I don’t do a lot of full-sized puzzles over here these days, but I can think of no better way to pay tribute to The Browser Crossword and its editor extraordinaire Dan Feyer, than with a 15×15 block cryptic. When the venue ceases to put out new crosswords at the end of December, Dan will have edited over 250 of them, a truly remarkable achievement in the North American cryptic world.

Dan and The Browser were the first to give me a shot, right when I was beginning to solve and construct cryptic crosswords. The feedback from him and his test solvers was essential to my early development as a setter, and he took similar chances on countless others like me over the years. Solvers and setters alike are about to have a Browser-shaped hole in their puzzling hearts. We’ll miss you!

Thanks, as always, go to the sharp-eyed Will Eisenberg for test solving.

Take care and enjoy the puzzle, which you can find here.

Happy solving,

Steve