no. 6: what's new with you?

 

no funny movie poster today— this girl's got a theme!

i hand-scraped the 2021 tweets from @nyt_first_said, an account/bot that keeps tabs on when the nyt publishes a word for the first time, and scattered some of my favorites in this very puzzle. i would have liked to use some more of them as the other fill, but couldn't swing it. which is fine, because i still have words like GOOFAZOID, BASTARDESS, and MOMCORE to trot out at a later date. (look at this cool visualization of the process behind the twitter feed!)

i hadn't planned to put out another puzzle before the end of the year, but this feels like a good note to go out on: an unintended year in review. i did not see 'crossword constructing' being a thing i picked up this Q4, but here we are. i'm very grateful for all the new people who've graciously welcomed me into their orbit, and look forward to a 2022 where crossfire stops giving me bullshit fill like AMOEBOCYTE. cut it out!

thanks to rose for testing this one out for me!

[DIRECT] [.PUZ] [.PDF]

mambo no. 5 (themeless)

 

i don't really have any constructor notes for this one, y'all. everything feels super bad, both in my brain and *gestures vaguely* in the world. i have nothing insightful or deep to add to that. all i can offer right now this puzzle, which i hope sparks a few minutes of joy, if you need some of that. many thanks to quiara and ajay over at crosscord for testing this one out. 

happy holidays to all who celebrate. enjoy responsibly!

[PDF] [.PUZ] [DIRECT]

puzzle #4

 

in the immortal words of michael jordan at the 1998 bulls nba championship celebration in grant park: the one thing i do know is my heart and my soul and my love has always gone to the city of chicago. this puzzle is on the cusp of themelessness, if i'm being honest, but if it had a theme it would be my fair city. 

spoiler: 46-across is an incredibly unfair clue, but i couldn't help myself. for the uninitiated...

in 1999 chicago was awarded a civil engineering 'monument of the millennium' award for the genius feat of flooding the mississippi river and, thusly, st. louis, with our sewage. st. louis filed an injuction against the city for doing so and it went all the way to the supreme court, where they ruled in chicago's favor. 

die mad, losers!

anyways. this puzzle is standard crosstina fare but with some local flair. thanks to meat daddy for giving it a dry run. enjoy responsibly!

DIRECT | PDF | .PUZ

themeless #3 (three-meless)

spoilers without context:

sorry to any monarchists reading this but there was a, like, pretty big war in the 1700s that says i don't have to care about the royal family? so.

not much to say about this one except that i'm pretty pleased with it! it's my first real 15x15 and jesus christ, so much cluing. i will never in my life do a 21x, i promise. an early iteration of it had a crossing of 'FOOTJOB' and 'JOHNCENA' that i couldn't make work, but when i do you will be the first ones to know.

thanks to erik and dj meat daddy for their time!

.PDF | .PUZ | direct link

themeless #2

daylight savings has me feeling like microwaved death, so i'll keep this brief! whether you can relate or not, i hope this puzzle is something relatively positive in your week. thank you to quiara for giving it a true test run!

notes:

[PDF] [4a source/spoiler] [meme]

themeless #1

happy halloween! i’ve been ideating on this puzzle for the better part of a month; it was once a drowned sidewalk worm and is now a beautiful, garden-variety, unspectacular caterpillar with whom i am well pleased. having been EXHAUSTIVELY peer-reviewed by strangers, friends, friends-of-friends, and husbands-of-friends (for whom i am very grateful) it’s now LIVE. 

happy* solving!

(many thanks to dj meat daddy, erik, and matthew for their insight and test solvings of various iterations of this puzzle)

#justiceforjennifersbody

* indignant alumni of 36A have to venmo me before i'll hear their complaints.