Thanks for dropping by. This week’s quiptic is a little funky. In an honest mistake, one of the clues contains (gasp) two wordplay devices: charade and letter deletion in one! I think it might actually be a cool thing to try for folks who have yet to venture beyond the quiptic realm. Generally speaking, most cryptic crosswords I solve involve more than one device in the majority of the clues. I hope this one proves more fun than frustrating. One more thing: sometimes a pair of cryptic clues will be joined in the surface… …like this. It’s there just for fun, and will have no bearing on how you solve each of them.
Thanks so much to Will for test solving, Marlowe for cat solving, and Chandi for helping to set up his modeling gig!
I’ll be back next week with a blocked, themeless cryptic, which should play a little harder than my Square Chase, Browser and AVCX+ puzzles — more like a mid-week UK cryptic.
Thanks for coming by for the monthly non-cryptic crossword. I had an absolute blast speaking to so many crossword folks this past weekend at the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament, and it really got me fired up to share a puzzle of this sort. It was exceptionally cool to meet so many of my constructor friends in person, finally. Thanks to Brooke for the clutch test solving on this one.
Speaking of puzzle people, the crossword graphic novel “Letters to Margaret” by longtime cryptic test solver Hayley Gold is finally here! If you haven’t yet, go check it out!
In cryptic news, I’ll be back later throughout the month with two quiptics and a blocked cryptic, which I hope you enjoy as well!
Take care and enjoy the puzzle! I’ll see you in seven with a gentle quiptic.
This puzzle marks a whole year of quiptics at Square Pursuit. Thanks for being along for the ride — it’s been marvelous to hear from all the folks who have actually learned to solve cryptic crosswords using my puzzles!
In case you don’t know the deal, each clue in this puzzle uses only one cryptic device, and the “helpers” version will tell you which to look for. Keep your eyes peeled for a reverse hidden clue. I’ve been on the fence for a long time about whether it’s one or two devices. Since it’s an anniversary, we’re going to give it a try today. Thanks to Will for the test solve!
Next week is the fifth Wednesday of the month, which I’ll be taking off from posting here. If you’re hungry for more cryptic content I’ve got a couple of exciting ones dropping soon at Square Chase next week. In the meantime I’ve got the AVCX cryptic tomorrow! If you haven’t had a chance to subscribe over there, I highly recommend it. It’s a fantastic venue that’s recently expanded into a great publisher of cryptics among all kinds of other great stuff. I’m also looking forward to being at the ACPT in Stamford, CT in 10 days, and if you’re there too I hope you’ll come say hi!
Take care and enjoy the puzzle! I’ll see you in April with something themed.
Have I got a treat for you today! It’s a variety cryptic I made with the wonderful Nate Cardin!
Nate and I are both teachers and began making cryptics around the same time. We’re regular co-conspirators behind the scenes, test solving each other’s work, kicking around clues, making cool puzzle plans and the like. You can find our stuff in some of the same venues outside of this blog as well. Nate’s a tremendous force for representation and empowerment in our field — he’s always working to lift up others and dismantle inequitable structures in crossworld and beyond. The Queer Qrosswords packs he helped put together were hugely educational and enjoyable solving experiences for me back before we even connected (if you missed them then, please stop reading this and go try them now). In addition to being a great supporter of his fellow constructors (myself included), Nate’s a cryptic wiz, as you’ll see in today’s offering.
Here’s Nate:
How lucky am I to get to collaborate with Steve on a variety cryptic? He has been such an invaluable sounding board as I’ve gotten into cryptics and I respect him so much, not only for his puzzling talent but also for his thoughtfulness in the types of clues and answers he does (and doesn’t) include in his puzzles. I’ve enjoyed solving his puzzles throughout his cryptic evolution and will one day be brave enough to explore British cryptics like he has been. 🙂 Fun fact: My path as a crossword constructor started with meta crosswords, then onto themed and themeless crosswords, and THEN onto cryptic crosswords. Seeing how I started with metas, you’re right to wonder why it took me so long to write a variety cryptic (which essentially pairs meta aspects with a cryptic crossword), but here we finally are, thanks to Steve’s encouragement. I sent him the idea for this puzzle and we were off to the races. We hope you enjoy the puzzle!
Thanks so much to Mental Playground and Hayley Gold for test solving this one. I’ll be back in a week with a gentler quiptic. Take care and enjoy the puzzle!
Thanks for coming by. I’m back at you today with another one-device-per-clue quiptic. While these are never gimmes, they’re geared toward newer solvers looking for a way into more difficult daily cryptic puzzles. The helpers version tells you exactly which device to look for each time. I hope you enjoy it! Thanks to Will for test solving.
Take care and enjoy the puzzle. I’ll see you next week with a surprise VC collaboration, and the week after with Quiptic #25 (which I can’t believe).
It’s been a while, and I couldn’t be happier to bring you another collab with longtime puzzle friend Brooke Husic today! This one’s pretty gentle as our constructions go, and I hope you enjoy it. Thanks to Mike Lieberman for the test solve.
Here’s Brooke:
“It’s always a joy to team up with Steve — one of my first collaborators when I just was getting started two years ago! — and I was reminded of this when we were polishing up the clues this weekend! Hope you have as much fun solving this as we had making it.”
There’s always a ton of great Brooke work to check out, but I’d like to put in a plug for the excellent puzzle pack “These Puzzles Fund Abortion Too,” which Brooke co-edited with top constructors Rachel Fabi and Claire Rimkus. It features great puzzles from many of my pals in crossworld. Brooke has also written a poignant companion puzzle here, which should prove instructive for anybody wanting to learn more about reproductive justice and why this suite is so important.
Take care and enjoy the puzzle! I’ll be back with a quiptic in one week and a very special variety cryptic collab in two!
Thanks for coming by! Today’s puzzle is a gentle quiptic, which has a small grid and only one device per clue. The “helpers” version lets you know which device to look for in each entry. This one is on the easy side for Square Pursuit, but hopefully it’s entertaining for new and old solvers alike! Thanks to Will for test solving.
You’ll be able to find more of my cryptic and non-cryptic work in other venues in the next couple of weeks, which I hope you enjoy. Next month at Square Pursuit will bring a fun themed crossword and variety cryptic collaborations as well as two quiptics. Stay tuned!
Take care and enjoy the puzzle. Back in one week with the themed crossword collab, and in two with another quiptic!
Thanks for coming by! It’s been a while since I’ve done a straight-up blocked cryptic here so I felt today was the day. Little did I know it would be part of this little cryptic streak; Monday I had a fun themed collab with Liari on her site (UK vocab/abbreviation warning!), Tuesday I dropped a variety cryptic I’m proud of Square Chase, and here we are on Wednesday.
As for today’s offering, standard US cryptic conventions apply. Expect something maybe a tick harder than what I’d make for the Browser, but nothing too intense. Speaking of which, I’ve got more cryptics and themeless crosswords coming out in the wild pretty soon too. Stay tuned!
Thanks so much to k0rmad for test solving this, like so many other puzzles the entire length of my cryptic-setting journey thus far.
Take care and enjoy! Quiptic in 7, US themed crossword in 14.
It’s that time again! As usual, this quiptic is a small cryptic crossword that uses only one device per clue. If you want to know which one to look for, the “helpers” version provides that info. If #21 was on the easier end of these introductory puzzles, this one might be a bit on the harder side of them. Thanks to Will Eisenberg for the test solve.
Take care and enjoy! Since I have a nice tough themeless coming in print soon, it’s going to be a moderately challenging cryptic next week. See you then!
What a treat for me this week — I get to share a puzzle I made with the great Mike Lieberman! I got the invitation to work on this theme idea of his because he very rightly pegged me as the guy who makes all the puzzles about food. Mike and I share an affinity for punny themes, and he’s dropped a lot of puzzles with terrific ones in the New York Times and elsewhere. If you want to see what I’m talking about, you can find his work in all the best newspapers, or if you’re feeling daring (and you know you are!), why not go after one of his lemon-fresh Puns and Anagrams puzzles? This one is his most recent banger from the NYT, and this one is a smaller gem, co-constructed with the wonderful Kate Chin Park.
Here’s Mike:
It’s such a privilege to collaborate with Steve and such an honor to make an appearance here at Square Pursuit! All of the wonderful things you’ve heard about Steve are true, and working with him on this puzzle was an absolute pleasure. Enjoy the puzzle and then go subscribe to Steve’s Patreon!
Take care and enjoy the puzzle! Cryptic folks, I’ve got you covered for the rest of the month with two quiptics, one big-ol cryptic, and another collab in the pipeline!
Square Pursuit 