Caveat Emptor

The good thing about making up your own quote is that you can tailor it to split evenly for the grid.

And, being a quote puzzle, I made this one nice n' easy. I think.

Across Lite:
Click to solve.

Freestyle 12

Feelin' hungry?

Feelin' happy?

Feelin' brave?

Across Lite puzzle:
Click to solve.

Progress

I made two puzzles with this theme sometime in this past spring or summer. I posted one then and saved one for now, just to put some space between them. It's a standard theme idea, taken one step further.

Happy New Year!

Across Lite puzzle:
Click to solve.

Ginger Snaps

Actually, it's "Freestyle 11". But who's counting.

Across Lite:
Click to solve.

Sweet Sixteen

I made the above PhotoShop^TM when this puzzle had the wrong title. Oops. Took too long to make it to let it go to waste, though.

Anywho, it's just for fun, and should be an easy peasy solve.

Across Lite puzzle:
Click to solve.

Bones of Contention

This one's for the Trekkers out there, past and present.

Across Lite:
Click to solve.

More Fun with PhotoShop

So anyway, I came across this beautiful photograph of the galaxy named NGC 3041. Or, as I like to call it, Snookums. It looked so much like a painting that I decided to put my PhotoShop semi-skills to good uselessness. And since my version is over ten years old, this may be as good as my PhotoShop Fu gets.

I grew up wondering why I couldn't see the bright center of our galaxy, even on a moonless night. Now, of course, I know that it's because of interstellar dust and the lights of the cities. Needless to say, living within 50 miles of Times Square isn't the most condusive environment for stargazing.

But I found a photo of the Milky Way above a tree-line, and decided to PhotoShop it with a Manhattan skyline. The blueness of the sky contrasts (read: clashes) with a colorful cityscape.

I like the boldness of the contrast between the "macro-natural" galactic center and the man-made beauty below, but not the lack of realism. The two elements don't appear to be occupying the same universe.

So then I found a clearer picture of the Milky Way and put it together with a different New York skyline photo, and threw in the moon for good measure.

I like the mix of that one much more, but I regret having the Milky Way perfectly horizontal. So I tilted the same photo and added yet another skyline shot.

Aah, now we're talkin' 'bout a penthouse view.

But, based on the Earth-bound photos, I seem to have placed the Milky Way too far off in the distance.

The center of the galaxy is very far away, but it is frickin' huge.

Anywho, I then grabbed a more real-color photo of the Milky Way above a treeline, and added something beautiful that is both natural and man-made.

Love the J-Lo dress.

And finally, for now, the previous background with the pyramids that were built along the Nile, which was thought to represent the Milky Way.

EDIT TO ADD:

A timelapse recording of the galactic center passing over a popular stargazing spot in Texas at about 5,000 ft elev. with clear dark skies.

Galactic Center of Milky Way Rises over Texas Star Party from William Castleman on Vimeo.

Freestyle 10

I really gotta start coming up with titles for these themeless puzzles.

I had eight different southeast corners for this one. The cleanest ones were the dullest, of course, so I went with one of the dirtier ones. I opted for this one in particular once I found a clue for 55-Down that was more "user-friendly" than what I thought I'd have to use. (Something to do with politics in the Great White North.)

Across Lite puzzle:
Click to solve.

The Grid With Something Extra

Here's my first attempt at a "meta puzzle".

Seeing as it's my first idea that's come to fruition, it wouldn't surprise me one bit to learn that Matt Gaffney hasn't already done it as part of his weekly crossword contest. But I'll just assume not and press on.

This isn't a contest, though, so no prizes will be awarded. It's just for fun.

The challenge is simple. Fill the grid as usual. Then, to complete the puzzle, answer these two questions:
1. What three-word phrase does the puzzle suggest?
2. Where in the grid is that phrase located?

I, of course, have no idea if solving it is a piece of cake, a fun workout, or a soul-killing exercise in Everest-climbing-like futility. But I expect that it's pretty solvable if you trust your instincts (read: nagging feelings).

The photo above, by the way, has nothing to do with the final answer.

Across Lite puzzle:
Click to solve.

Hell Night

This one ended up chockful of initialisms. I tried to keep them to a minimum, but the constraints on the grid proved too overwhelming. It's a small miracle that I was finally able to fill it, even removing a few obscure entries during the cluing.

There are still a couple of obcurities left, so I went ahead and made it an easy-peasy solve. Nothing too spooky. I hope.

Across Lite:
Click to solve.

Freestyle 9

I finished this one a couple of weeks ago and set it aside because I really liked a lot of it, and really hated some of it.

It started off well-enough in the northwest, building on the freshness of the three long answers. But, as I moved through the middle and into the southeast, it got trickier and trickier to make connections.

After lucking into 34-Across (not a seed entry), I didn't want to give it up. There were several ways to go on 41-Across, but none of them allowed a 39-Across that could give me a 27-Down, except the one I ended up with. (I've never heard of him. But, then, I haven't heard of most recording artists who've debuted in the last 20 years.)

Whenever I end up with an obscure proper name (person or place), I like to come up with an anagram to accompany the clue. (A trick I picked up from Merl Reagle.) If I can, I'll choose one that's, in some way, related to the answer and/or clue. I'd tried re-doing the southeast a few times because I absolutely hated 63-Across (and considered it the main puzzle-killer), until I found an anagram that complimented the clue so well that I decided to take it as a sign that it was meant to be. (Edit: An error crept in during the anagraming session. Original has been replaced. Many thanks to 3D for pointing it out!)

Surprisingly, according to Matt Ginsberg's database, 65-Across also turns out to be fresh fill. Woo hoo!

49-Down, incidentally, found its way into the grid because a search told me that it was part of a game's name. A further search revealed that the "game" in question is just someone's silly page that's been visited less than 10,000 times in I-don't-know-how-many years. So, I was challenged to come up with another clue. The resulting clue may seem forced. Even tragically so. But at least it no longer references something you've never heard of. I hope.

Anywho, it's either go with this version or start from scratch. So I'll just throw this up as a mid-week "bonus". There will be another puzzle on Sunday. How could I miss Hell Night?

Across Lite puzzle:
Click to solve.

Freestyle 8

Are these clues too easy? Since I don't have test solvers, all I can do is guess at how easy/challenging these are. About a year ago, I opened up a puzzle that I'd posted a year before, and I couldn't solve it, so I've been trying to "measy 'em down" a bit.

Anyway, here's one from a couple of weeks ago inspired by an entry in Andrew Ries's rose garden of that week.

Across Lite:
Click to solve.

Freestyle 7

Man, it's hard to come up with fresh short entries.

Across Lite:
Click to solve.

Freestyle 6

Once upon a time he was just a crossword geek. Now he's a geek on national television. Joon Pahk has crossed the threshhold and become a five-time winner on Jeopardy!. Woo hoo!

See his games HERE. (Thank you, Nancy Shack, whoever you are, for uploaded each exciting episode!)

And, now that you've watched every episode, on to the next completely unrelated crossword puzzle:

AcrossLite, of course:
Click to solve.

Down Right Puzzling ...or Not

Across Lite file:
Click to solve.

Freestyle 5

Sometimes, when putting together a themeless grid, I think of wacky phrases that'll fit nicely into a long slot. Usually, I dismiss them since it'd be silly to include a few Trip Payne-esque "Something Different"-y answers in an otherwise "normal" grid.

35-Down isn't a "wacky" entry. And it could easily have been something bland, like INCISORS. I opted for a more colorful entry. Thing is, I wonder if solvers might think it's forced and clumsy, and that I went with it simply because there were no other options available without redesigning the grid. So, like Pee-wee Herman upon completing his freestyle bike ride, I just want y'all to know that I meant to do that.

As for 4-Down, however, I had very little choice in the matter.

Across Lite puzzle:
Click to solve.

UPDATE:

And, just because I couldn't decide which version of the grid I liked better, here's the alternate version. I prefer 10-Down in this one, but much prefer 3- and 4-Down in the above version. The southwest corner is a little cleaner, I think. The center and southeast are identical in both versions.

Across Lite, of course:
Clicky.

UPDATE 2:

And, since I'm posting multiple versions, here's the original grid that I rejected. The main problem is 37-Across, but the rest of it came out all right so I'll post this one, too. There are only four identical answers here (and one of them is not a 15) so it'll be, for the most part, a new solving experience.

Across Lite, as usual:
Click clack.

Freestyle 4

Across Lite:
Click to solve.

Freestyle 3

Across Lite:
Click to solve.

Freestyle 2

Across Lite:
Click to solve.

Labor Day

The quote in this puzzle is from some TV show I caught while flipping channels about 20 years ago. I have no idea what show it was.

A woman was going into labor in the back seat of a police car. (Or, perhaps it was a taxi, and the cop just happened to be passing by.) The officer asked the gentleman who was accompanying her if he was the father. He answered that he was, and the police officer gave him the instructions found in the longest Across answers.

Happy Labor Day.

Across Lite puzzle:
Click to solve.

Since I haven't posted the link in quite a while, here is where you may download the Across Lite program that will open the above file. It takes just a few seconds to download and install and will let you either solve on screen or print out the puzzle. Well, both, actually.
----> DOWNLOAD ACROSS LITE

Water Under the Bridge

As I've said before, the best way to deal with hurricanes, tornados, flooding and power outages is to think of all as a wonderful camping trip gone horribly, horribly wrong.

Too many blocks. Too many words. But every other incarnation ended up being nonsymetrical, so I'm just going with this one.

I was going to clue 1-Across as Paris Hilton's U.K. version of her American reality show, but I'm sure not sure very many people would know about that. So I went with a more inferable clue. I think. Tough corner, that one.

More betterly-made puzzle coming Monday.

Across Lite puzzle:
Click to solve.

Boink

Across Lite:
Click to solve.

Good to Go

Does Lindsay Lohan have any friends that she allows to tell her "No"?

It's amazing, the pictures that show up when you type random words into google images.

Anyway, "Good to Go" was the title of this past Sunday's NY Times crossword puzzle. In the comments at the Fiend, Joon Pahk mentioned that, from the title, he'd anticipated a different theme from the one that was used. Well, I liked Joon's anticipated theme idea so much that I had to use it. (That and the fact that I'm always on the lookout for theme ideas.)

So, this one is just some sillyfun easy-ish puzzlin'.

Whipped up the grid on Sunday, but only now (Thursday) have I finally gotten around to cluing it. (Yes, I will be late for my own funeral. Thanks for asking.)

Across Lite file, of course:
Click to solve.

Going, Going, Gone

Mickey Mantle once said, "If you're looking for a role model, don't be like me."

Yes, he was living the high life, with the booze and the carousing. But, in 1959, what red-blooded American boy didn't want to be like him? Or his late rival from across the river, Willie Mays, who's traitorous owners had just moved his team to San Francisco? He seemed to survived it, anyway.

Speaking of whom, if you're interested, here's the full-length, inaugural episode of Home Run Derby with none other than Mickey Mantle vs. Willie Mays, originally broadcast January 9th, 1960.

But y'all come back now, y'hear?

Across Lite puzzle:
Click to solve.

Themeless Dumps I & II

Here's a couple of themelesses that've been sitting around for untold months. They're both 74-worders, but I don't think that's the the main reason I never posted them. Actually, I changed the grid design of the first one slightly and made another puzzle that I posted a while back. But I still like this one.

Themeless I (Across Lite):
Click to solve.

...and another:

Themeless II (Across Lite):
Click to solve.

Hope ye enjoy.

Stay Hungry

Threw this one together the other day. It's got a couple of minor flaws, but I'm certainly not going to point them out.

Across Lite:
Click to solve.

Chillin' an' Fillin'

So, anyway, I was finishing up this grid on May 18th, 2011 when I decided to take a break and solve today's New York Times puzzle. Lo and behold, Paula Gamache had constructed a puzzle with an almost identical theme. Almost, but not quite identical.

Ideally, the circled squares should be shaded squares. That can't be done in an Across Lite .puz file, but it can be done in a Crossword Solver .jpz file. Unfortunately, I don't have Crossword Solver, so circles it is. (You can print it out, though, and lightly shade in those three squares with a pencil to get the intended effect.)

Across Lite file:
Click to solve.

Minesweeper

I haven't made a new puzzle in a few weeks, so what I'm a-gonna do is grab some oldies that I've never posted for various sundry reasons, and post those over the coming week.

The major flaw with this one is that the grid is not symetrical. 25-Down was to be a full proper name running all the way to the block on the bottom row. But, no matter how I tried, I couldn't fill the southeast corner without redoing most of the fill. So I plunked down another block and went from there.

Also, I wasn't thrilled with some of the fill.

There are mines scattered unsymetrically throughout the grid. I wish there was a way to red-flag them but, alas, there isn't. So just treat them like normal. Or not. You'll know what to do.

Tread carefully.

Across Lite:
Click to solve.

Mid-Week Quickie

Y'know, it's kind of amusing to think that it could take hours upon hours to construct a crossword puzzle, only to have most solvers tear through it in under ten minutes.

I whipped this 14x13 grid together in about 30 minutes. So I thought that it might be fun to clue it at a level of difficulty so hard that it would actually take longer for, say, a C Division ACPTer to solve than it took to create. (Not counting the cluing, of course, which took considerably longer.)

Oh, I could have made the clues so vague that solving it would be virtually impossible. But, as is my wont, I opted for clues that are (hopefully) interesting, fun and, as always, fresh. So I don't think it ended up as being all that difficult.

Across Lite file:
Click to solve.

Untimely Themeless

This was one of the hardest grids to complete. I worked on finishing up the southeast section of I don't know how many hours last weekend.

Then, on Monday, BEQ posted his puzzle with my 1-Across in his last-Across in the southeast. Oh well.

Put in a couple more hours into the grid and finally discovered that it just wasn't going to work. So I threw in another block and called it done. I'm not thrilled with most of that corner, but I'm burned out on this one. It'll do.

Across Lite file:
Click to solve.