puzzle 154: "field testing"

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happy birthday to me, and a reminder that today is the last day to get this month's bonus puzzles. any donation of $10 or more to the tip jar gets you both a themed 15x25 and a freestyle 17x17, which a positive integral number of people have said good things about (and many thanks to them, as well as all those who've already donated).

anyway, today's puzzle has nothing to do with today, but if you want a puzzle that does, here's a pdf to a puzzle i made for the crossword mug back in 2016. fun fact: this was the first puzzle i ever had published, and although i probably should have started with something easier, i learned a lot during the (rather long) process of making it.

as for this puzzle, it's inspired (like so many others on this site) by recent events; i apologize for starting the puzzle on a down note, but i kinda backed myself into a corner by making the lower right corner as open as it is, which meant the upper left (which i probably should have started with when i was filling the grid) was harder to fill than it should have been. still, i like how this one came out, and there's a lot of good fill, and i hope you enjoy it.

puzzle 153: "schoolhouse rock (freestyle 137)"

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this is probably the second to last reminder for the month that any donation of $10 or more to the tip jar gets you a pair of bonus puzzles (a themed 15x25 and a freestyle 17x17). many, many thanks to those who've already donated.

otherwise, here's a freestyle that started with the lower right corner; i wasn't planning on having a fifteen cut through the diagonal of black squares, but i couldn't pass up the opportunity, and so here we are. as always, enjoy!

puzzle 152: "picture perfect"

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mini 9x9 puzzle because why not? some nice longer answers in here, and with one third as many clues to write as usual, had some fun with a few of them.

also, the bonus puzzles (a themed 15x25 and a freestyle 17x17) are still available for any donation of $10 or more to the tip jar. as always, many thanks to those who've already donated.

otherwise, full-sized puzzle again next weekend!

puzzle 151: "finish lines"

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happy valentine's day to those who celebrate, and to those who don't, at least there's half-price chocolate at the end of the tunnel of crassly-commercialized holidays. still, no matter how you feel about it, here's a crossword puzzle.

another puzzle whose theme might fit today is this one from two years back with allegra kuney, who also has an inkubator puzzle that you should check out as well.

also, to be perfectly clear, there's no subtext or hidden message with today's puzzle, and this wasn't commissioned by anybody. but: if you would like to commission a puzzle for this purpose, i'd love to help. and if you'd like a custom puzzle for any other reason, or for any event, i'd love to help as well—email me and we'll work something out.

and, if you'd just like to throw money at me for puzzles, a reminder that there's still half a month left to get a pair of bonus puzzle. any donation of $10 or more to the tip jar gets you a themed 15x25 and a freestyle 17x17 as the reward. many thanks to those who have already donated, but if not, you've still got plenty of time.

and if that's not enough? i've heard from a number of people* that the squarefree suite makes a great gift.

(*that number is zero.)

puzzle 150: "quick study"

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reminder that the tip jar is open for the rest of this month, with a themed 15x25 and a freestyle 17x17 as the reward for any donation of $10 or more; additionally, many thanks to everybody who's already donated.

as for this puzzle, came out a lot better than i thought it would while making it, especially considering the [redacted for spoilers] and the fact that [redacted for spoilers]. still, there's a lot to like here, and i had fun cluing this while watching the oscars (and even more fun watching bong joon-ho win approximately all the oscars). as always, enjoy!

[edit: the original puzzle contained an egregious error that has now been fixed; the files are all now correct. mea culpa, and thanks to everybody who pointed this out.]

puzzle 149: "cha cha now y'all (freestyle 135)"

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low word count themeless? yup. wasn't planned, but kinda just happened, and i like how it turned out.

also, this sunday's new york times puzzle is a collaboration between brian herrick (who you may remember from this puzzle) and myself; if you haven't already solved it, i think you'll like it.

additionally, since it's been a hot minute since i last did this, i'm opening up the tip jar for the entirety of the month of february. strictly speaking, it's always open, and the site is always free, but any donation of $10 or more this month will be rewarded with a lot of gratitude and a pair of bonus puzzles—a themed 15x25 that's pretty fun and a freestyle 17x17 that's hard as all get-out. puzzles will be sent out by tuesday, if not sooner; i'll be pretty busy the next few days with a 5k race, the super bowl, and then flying back home to caucus. i might be able to find some time (and an internet connection) during all that, but if not, rest assured that the puzzles will be worth the wait.

also, answer to last week's brainteaser, encoded in rot-13: ehtol synaxref