Hello again, puzzlers!

I had a blast last weekend at Lollapuzzoola, and if you were there, I hope you did as well! Lots of gorgeous tournament puzzles, some nice challenges, that unforgiving clock, and plenty of great hanging out. Fingers crossed we can all get back out in person next year.

This week’s puzzle isn’t about crossword competitions, though. This one’s all about Ed. I hope it’s a gentle challenge with a theme that puts a smile on your face. There’s more to come as well — I did a little intercontinental collaboration this week, and the result (not a standard crossword) is going to be up on Saturday as a bonus for those of you who prefer their wordplay more cranium-splitting than today’s variety.

Take care of yourselves and enjoy! Back on Saturday with that bonus I mentioned and then next Wednesday with a fun themeless offering.

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Hello, puzzle buds!

I realize that I’m treading extremely close to having to rename Square Pursuit “The Blog with the Food Puzzles,” but I thought that this one was timely, playful, and ridiculously true to life. I hope you can relate!

Thanks to everybody who tried the Cryptic puzzle I made last weekend. I got such a warm and wonderful response, and am feeling happy to be able to do it every month.

Hang in there, people. Stay safe and enjoy the errand! Back with a themeless offering in one week!

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Greetings, hungry puzzlers! I’ve got a culinary treat for you this week.

You may know I like a tricky puzzle, but it’s important to me that it be fair. I made this grid a while back and sat on it because I wasn’t sure it would be approachable enough. A quick shout out to constructor extraordinaire Sid Sivakumar, who has opened some big culinary doors in puzzling, for the inspiration and advice on this one! If you haven’t already, this grid of his is particularly mouthwatering.

Good luck cracking this puzzle open. I hope you’ll find it gastronomically inspiring!

Back with a themeless crossword in only one week!

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Greetings, puzzle campers!

This summer, it’s no secret that there’s not a whole lot of summer camp going on, and that’s why I decided to make this themed puzzle for you folks. The grid, which is a bit bigger than usual, was inspired by this wonderful crossword by Paolo Pasco and Ria Dhull over at Grids These Days. You should go give it a try if you haven’t had a chance yet!

In other news, there’s a fantastic set of puzzles called Grids For Good that’s available to those who donate to a COVID-19 or racial justice-related charity. It was put together by some of the top people in the business, and while I’m not involved personally, I’ve been enjoying blowing through them as a solver. Really prime stuff!

Don’t forget your bug spray! Enjoy the grid, and I’ll return with a themeless offering next Wednesday, in addition to a bonus surprise dropping soon!

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Hello again, puzzle people!

Making indie crosswords has really thrust me onto social media. I’m grateful for the crossword Twitter community, but public talk and self-promotion aren’t really in my nature. It’s an awkward moment for me. This one goes out to everybody who feels the same way I do.

In other news, regardless of how bad the the noise gets on our giant socially-distanced fora, I hope you won’t give up on talking about and pushing for equity and social justice. I promise not to give up either.

Enjoy the solve, folks. I’ll be back in a week with another tricky themeless!

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Hello again, puzzle people!

It’s themed week at Square Pursuit. Since we crossworders have such big brains, I think its useful for us to enrich and deploy them in this time of increased awareness and potential change. May this puzzle be a good, nerdy break from all the sharing, listening, learning and supporting that I hope you, along with the rest of us, are doing right now.

After the drop, I hope you’ll consider looking at the work that Erik and Paolo have already begun if you are in a position to do so and haven’t already. Puzzle solvers and creators have a lot to offer the world, right?

On a far less critical note, I’ve had some kind requests from folks looking for ways to follow my puzzles as they come out. As a non-tech savvy constructor, it took some figuring, but I think the e-mail subscription field to the left should do the trick. Please let me know if it doesn’t.

Thanks for solving! Back with a fresh themeless grid next week.

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Greetings, crosspeople! It’s time for another full-sized themed puzzle.

What a great time to be solving crosswords! I feel surrounded on all sides by excellent constructors of small grids, from indie makers like Amanda Rafkin and Matthew Stock, to respected crafters like Matt Gaffney and Elizabeth Gorski, who have both started publishing little puzzles in major outlets. Is the age of the mini?

Well, some day you’ll get an actual mini from this guy, but for now you’ll have to settle for a corny puzzle tribute to the talented people that keep us entertained in tiny little bites.

Take care, enjoy, and I’ll see you next week with another themeless offering!

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Hello, crossword people!

This week’s creation marks a couple of firsts for me as a constructor. For one, it’s the first time I’ve ever been able to have someone test solve the puzzle before it saw the light of day. I picked really well: Christopher Adams at arctan(x)words is not only a fantastic constructor (yes please go over there and solve his excellent weekly puzzles), but also a really sensitive and thoughtful examiner of the process. He wrote me generous and detailed insights about my work and how to make it more accessible and smoother for all solvers. It’s a whole lot better because of him. Thanks, Chris!

And as for the rest of you, here’s hoping you’re getting by OK out there in puzzle land. Please enjoy the offering. Back with a fresh themeless next Wednesday!

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Hello, bird puzzle fans!

It’s that time again. Every spring, I strap on the binoculars with a whole bunch of other birders, and we go out for a few weeks to watch the migrating songbirds come through. This year, I’ve got to go it alone, but that’s pretty easy to do when you’ve got lots of woods around, as I’m lucky to have. It’s amazing to go from a possible 10-20 bird species on your trail walk to over 100 and then back down again in such a short period of time. What a wonderful way to take notice of our planet.

Some disclaimers about this crossword:

• You do not need to know anything about birding to solve this puzzle. I didn’t put anything like “Red-eyed vireo” in the grid.
• If you’re a birder, you won’t find much scientific accuracy here. It’s hard to make a pun or linguistic twist out of “Prothonotary warbler.”
• The difficulty level is, hopefully, a bit gentler than it’s been lately. My intention is to challenge people, not to hurt them! A major reason for doing this blog is to learn how to make my puzzles better and more fun. Everyone has been phenomenally kind in their feedback, but it’s apparent I’ve been a little rough on solvers these past couple of weeks.

And with that, enjoy, keep in touch, and I’ll see you next Wednesday with another tricky themeless!

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Hello, puzzle fans! I hope everyone’s well out there. When you’ve got a crossword blog, you’re allowed to publish puzzles about stuff that might not make the cut in mainstream venues. While the subject matter of this one isn’t niche in the least, it is specific and certainly outside the dominant culture in our country.

You don’t need to know anything about this puzzle’s subject to solve it, but this week we’ve got a timely tribute to a genre-creating figure who isn’t as much of a household name as he deserves to be. His innovations were always made at street level. Perhaps that’s why we don’t hear about him as often as we should.

Enjoy the solve, people, and take care of yourselves! Back next Wednesday with a themeless offering.

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