BLATHER REVIEW

Artist Confidential

Here's an easyish crossword I whipped up yesterday.

Sirius/XM radio has a regular feature called "Artist Confidential". It's an hour-long program featuring a musical artist, in an intimate setting, playing a few songs with an interview portion between each song. In the past, they've featured such artists as Reba McEntire and Paul McCartney.

On Thursday, January 28th, a friend of mine scored two passes to the latest live broadcast of "Artist Confidential" which just happened to feature one of our all-time favorite bands.

Your mission -- should you decide to accept it -- is to solve for the name of the band, it's four members and the venue at which I and about 200 other guests partook of this sonic feast.

Across Lite will do you right.
Click to solve.

Free For All

Here's a little themeless I made a few weeks ago and promptly set aside. But, since I haven't made another crossword this week, I looked at again and thought I could make it work with some fun cluing.

Yeah, I know, it's got a lot of three-letter entries for a themeless.

Then again, if we were all Frank Longo, how would we know who the little voices were talking to?

Across Lite:
Click to solve.

Pitch Perfect

Hope yer stove is hot. **wink wink**

Opens with Across Lite as if you didn't know.
Click to solve.

Why Post This Crossword Puzzle Today?

I mean, it's not like I need to get some sleep or anything.

Aah, but the answer is contained within the circles under my eyes. I mean, the circles in the grid! The grid.

Happy new year, Puzzleheads!

Opens with Across Lite just because.
Click to solve.

Cycle

Anybody into the Hot Stove League?

I made this crossword a few weeks ago and was so disappointed with it that I never bothered to clue it.

Then I realized that I'd forgotten to post last week.

So I looked at it again and, eh, it ain't as bad as I remember. So I just now finished it off and here 'tis.

Opens with Across Lite, as if you didn't know.
Click to solve.

And if anybody has any better theme ideas, let me know. I'm always in need of a theme idea.

Triangles are for the riff-raff

Djy'ever notice that you'll occassionally spot the same word in several differant crossword puzzles in the span of a few days? I don't mean words like ARIA and OREO -- words that appear in 300 puzzles a year. I mean coming across, say, SNAPDRAGON on Wednesday and then seeing it again on Thursday and twice on Friday.

I can't say that I like or dislike when that happens. Maybe it's just too weird to have a learned opinion about. But, then there are the times when you've just gotta sit back and enjoy the coincidences.

Last Friday, Matt Gaffney wrote about the amazing synchronicity of one of his crosswords with a previous (by a few months) puzzle by Mike Shenk. (Fascinating read. Check it out.)

On Sunday, we had two crosswords with the same theme (to add "QU" to a phrase); one by Peter Wentz (Los Angeles Times) and the other by Will Nediger (New York Times), and they even had one identical entry: "QUAINT MISBEHAVIN".

On Wednesday, Rex Parker left a comment over at Brendan Emmett Quigley's digs about maybe perhaps working on a crossword puzzle that contained some certain names that are currently the news.
I, being always on the lookout for a theme idea, followed the link and made a puzzle based on those names. Apparently, as evidenced by his Friday post, so did BEQ.

Not only do Brendan's four theme entries match four of mine (I have six theme entries total), but this also happens to happen on the day that he runs the photo (taken Wednesday) of me and my BEQ mug. (See above link.)

I was ready to scrap it and post a different puzzle, but... nah.

One advantage I have with posting mine second is that I have the benefit of reading the comments at BEQ's thread. Amy Reynaldo, in particular, hit the nail on the head when she wrote, "They have weirdly spelled first names and/or uncommon last names... This gives today's puzzle the air of a quote puzzle in which half the quote's in Hungarian." So, for those particular theme entries, I decided to employ one of Merl Reagle's favorite devices.

Enjoy. More original content coming soon, I hope. :)

Opens with Across Lite.
Click to solve.

All Out Of Answers

Hell, I'm running low on questions, too.

But here's this week's crossword, inspired by some recently re-discovered theme ideas by Brendan Emmett Quigley as described here on Friday.

Actually, he didn't describe the theme ideas, he merely mentioned what little he'd jotted down on whatever piece of paper was at hand at the time, but couldn't recall what the fark he'd had in mind when he jotted them down.

So, I grabbed one of them (I wont say which one), went with an idea I had for it and voila!, here 'tis.

And, as usual, I don't have any test solvers for these puzzles so I have no idea if this is going to be a cakewalk or a death march. Have fun. :-)

Opens with Across Lite, of course.
Click to solve.

Themeless 6

Puzzle opens with Across Lite, as always.
Click to solve.

Gamesmanship

Ah, the quote puzzle.

Some people say they hate them because "either you know the quote which makes it no fun, or you don't know the quote which makes it no fun." Some even argue that the quote fill is essentially unchecked, but I disagree. To my mind, solving a quote puzzle is simply a matter of piecing it together with what's gotten from the crossings, and that's really no different than piecing together an entry in, say, a dropped-letter theme.

But people have their favorites and least favorites. So be it. This one's a quote theme. Because I like the quote. I hope you like it, too.

Puzzle opens with Across Lite.
Click to solve.

Speaking Clearly

Across Lite. You know the drill.
Click to solve.

Interpretive Song Stylings

Boy, these larger grids take a whole lot longer to clue than the usual 15x15s. Whew!

It started out as a 15x15, but fitting in the theme entries kept making me have to expand the grid until it was 19x19, and symetry went out the window very early on. I like the look of the grid, though, and it kinda fits in well with this puzzle, anyway.

The circles aren't really neccessary, but I thought I'd better include them so as to be certain that the theme fill is differentiated from the non-theme fill.

Puzzle opens with AcrossLite.
Click to solve

Evans' Question to Rogers Upon Seeing Their Feistiest Feline

A few days ago (with my 19x19 monster still asking me to finally clue it) I decided to take a cue from BEQ and make a crossword puzzle in the style of a distinctive constructor. I decided to emulate Merl Reagle.

I guess that means I'm emulating TWO constructors, though. Whatever.

Anyway, I tried to work in some Reagle-esque fill and some Reagle-esque clues -- which was a lot of fun -- and this is the result.

Puzzle opens with Across Lite.
Click to solve.

Smoke 'Em If You Got 'Em

Well, it's been two weeks since I last posted a puzzle. I've got one almost ready to go, I just have to finish cluing it.

In the mean time, I'll post one that's been sitting around for a while that I've been saving for just this type of occassion. It's not the best of theme ideas, that's why I've been sitting on it for a couple of months. Well, that and the answer at 37-Down is rediculous. But I actually kinda like it.

Better puzzle coming reasonably soonly.

File opens with AcrossLite, of course.
Click to solve.

Square Deal

This puzzle went through so many re-writes that I can probably post three versions with entirely different grids, save for the seed entries.

Then again, the reason it went through so many revisions is that I wasn't satisfied with elements of each re-write. So, here's the final version, just completed Monday night.

By the way, BEQ is having a contest. Solve his Friday puzzle, send him the answer the question that the solution poses and win a copy of his latest book, Diagramless Crosswords. Woo hoo!

In the meantime...

About that unchecked square in the center: When I was writing the clues, I didn't know whether or not I had to write a clue for it, so I simply clued it as "Crossword puzzle square". Turns out I had one too many clues in the file, so out it went. Don't worry about it though, it'll make sense.

Puzzle opens with AcrossLite, of course.
Click to solve

Out of Respect for the Deceased

An easy puzzle this week.

AcrossLite puzzle:
Click to solve.

Two-fers

Okay, so I missed posting a puzzle last week, but I think this one will make up for it.

I actually put this grid together last Sunday, but held off cluing it until today. Why? Probably because the heat and humidity have been brutal all week and I needed last night's thunderstorm to lighten up the air before mustering the wherewithall to focus on such a demanding task. Mind and body walk together, folks.

That certainly looks like an awful lot of blocks, doesn't it? Still, there are only 36 so we're good.

The way they're arranged gives a word count of 80, but don't let that lull you into thinking this is going to be a cakewalk, no siree.

Puzzle, as usual, opens with AcrossLite.
Click to solve.

Darn, late again

I finished this grid on Saturday but just finished the cluing.

I'm really not happy with 1-Across. It's just as bad as HCGP (Harris County Green Party) that I had in a puzzle a couple of weeks ago. I made the clue as obvious as possible but that probably wont help you. The crossings, however, should make it easy enough to fill.

Other than that, I hope it's a fun one.

Puzzle opens with Across Lite, of course.
Click to solve.

News From The Healthcare Presser

You want topical? We got topical.

Since I don't employ test solvers, I just ran through the puzzle again.

It'll probably be a cakewalk in the northwest (18-Across notwithstanding), lulling you into a false sense of finishing in under 10 minutes. It gets a little more challenging toward the lower areas, though, I think.

The southwest, in particular, has a couple of obscure entries. But, hey, it's not like I stuck any airport codes in there or anything.

Puzzle open with AcrossLite.
Click to solve.

Bonus puzzle!

This isn't my regular weekly puzzle (which should be up on Sunday). This is an homage to Ashish Vengsarkar's New York Times puzzle from yesterday (Thursday).

The theme is the same. The grid is the same. The two 15-letter answers are the same for reasons that will be obvious as you solve. But the eight theme answers (and everything else, for that matter) are all new.

So, for those who don't subscribe to the NYT puzzle, this will be your chance to enjoy Ashish's puzzle without actually doing Ashish's puzzle.

Ashish's theme answers seem to have 16 possible entries. (Or 17, depending on how you pronounce the word "ours".) Ashish used eight of them yesterday, and I used the other eight today.

One side note:

I'd completed the grid and began to clue it when I realized I'd used the same entry twice. (Early on, I'd been switching the theme answers around and, well, these things happen.) Rather than begin anew, I changed 63-Across and adapted from there. 41-Down, in particular, ended up being a pretty silly entry.
The original entry could have been clued as, say, "A tasty morsel" and, upon completion of the puzzle, it'll be obvious which entry I mistakenly had in the grid twice.

But enough jibber-jabber. Unto the brink!

Puzzle opens with AcrossLite.
Click to solve.

Regular weekly puzzle on Sunday. I hope. (It's a 21x21. We'll see if I get it's clued by then.)

UPDATE: Second side note:
For "newer Mac users", Alex Boisvert informs us in the previous comments thread that you can download (and finally make use of) AcrossLite by clicking HERE. I hope that works out.

Puzzle 9

Yep. Another themeless. 'Cuz I still suck at coming up with themes.

I actually had four completed puzzles from which to choose to clue and post this week. But the answer at 34-Across was something I'd been trying to work into a crossword for a few weeks, yet with no completed puzzle.

I finally completed one this week so that's this weeks puzzle.

It's not the most consistant effort I've come up with, though. The crosswordese is a little too prevalent in the outer corners for my liking.

Since I began with no theme answers, a lot of the fill was haphazardly pieced together. That being said, I like a lot of the entries. Quirky partials. Gratuitous pop culture references. A nod to Pancho Harrison's Monday NYTimes puzzle.

Speaking of nods to other constructors, did you see Patrick Berry's grid from Friday? Here 'tis:

Hmm. I wonder if Mr. Berry swung by this little blog at some point recently because it looks uncannily like my grid from June 8th:

Okay, it's not that close. But, switch a few blocks around (as I just did to create these .jpegs) and there you are. My grid (as Patrick's may have also been) was based on this amazing Trip Payne 21x21 grid:

...which inspired to me to try to fill this grid:

...which is what my June 8th grid grew out of. Or, rather, shrank into.

I've attempted 7 or 8 times over the past 6 months to fill that grid. Finding two 15-letter triple-stacks is hard enough. Success in extending those stacks in that grid -- and then contecting them to the center area -- has proved illusive to me.

But I'll bet that there are at least four constructors out there who can do it. Not do it with ease, of course, but do it. They are (the aforementioned) Patrick Berry, Frank Longo, Trip Payne (obviously) and Brendan Emmett Quigley.

Brendan Emmett Quigley? Hey, the guy's a dynamo. He invited his readers to challenge him to create a puzzle in the style of other constructors. He emulated Trip Payne's Something Different **slash** Wacky Weekend Warrior puzzles (which I can't enough of) with impressive aplomb.

Now, I'm not issuing an official challenge here or anything. (Mainly because, based on the comments threads, I have no idea if anyone is actually reading this blog and/or doing these puzzles.) But I would be impressed if the above 15x15 grid (no black squares in the corners, cheaters!) showed up somewhere reasonably soon. :)

Anywho, I hope you enjoy my latest serving of crossword tripe.

Puzzle opens with Across Lite.
(Sorry "newer Mac" users. Still no more PDFs until, either, I can buy some software that'll turn a .puz file to a .pdf, or someone tells me what my search for a way to do it for free has overlooked.)
Click to solve

Air On The G String

I couldn't think a title for this puzzle so I decided to steal one from Bach.

As usual, puzzle opens with AcrossLite.
Click to solve.

Sounds Right To Me

This one was a lot of fun to create. The grid may not be pretty but, hey, give a little get a little.

As usual, puzzle opens with Across Lite.
Click to solve

Overdue Themeless

I hope you all had a rip-roarin' 4th of July and no one blew off their fingers.

It's been a while since I last posted a new crossword. It's not that I've gotten behind in creating them, it's that my standards are raising. A puzzle that I might have been eager to post when I first started is just too amateurish for me now.

Over the past few weeks I was working on four different puzzles simultaneously and couldn't get any of them to gel to my liking. One of them I even finished clueing two weeks ago, yet still didn't post because I didn't like the northeast corner and I couldn't hold the symmetry throughout.

This is that puzzle.

In the mean time, I've just finished a new puzzle that I will post as soon I've clued it. But, I figured I'd put this one up anyway just because I don't want all that work to go to waste.

I didn't try to make this a stumper by any stretch, mainly because I don't think it deserves the effort. But I did try to make it somewhat interesting.

Of course, most people who solve several puzzles a day will probably say, "Bleh, ordinary. Wouldn't have run in any decent newspaper." But I think it has it's moments, so here 'tis.

A much better, more interesting themed puzzle is coming shortly. But, for now...

Puzzle opens with AcrossLite.
Click to solve

P.S. Sorry, newer Mac user(s), but the trial software I was using to convert AcrossLite to PDF has expired. Unless someone can tell me how to do the conversion F.O.C., that's it for the PDF versions for now.

Puzzle 5

Another week, another crossword.

Ah, my first triple stacks. I'm getting better at this but there's still a little fudging. Namely, the lack of perfect symetry in the grid.

Feh. Rules are made to be broken. :)

You know the drill.
Click to solve with AcrossLite.

Or, Download PDF file

Themeless, Too

Well, it's early Monday morning and I've finally finished this week's Saturday puzzle.

(Yes, I do need to work on this more during the week. Why do you ask?)

I re-wrote this grid as I clued it, which should give you fair warning.

It's hard to clue a toughie because I, as a newbie constructor, never know what is "tough but fair" for my target audience.

For instance, I could give the clue [Opening track to Iggy Pop's "Party"] which maybe three people would immediately recall was the song PLEASURE. Or I could agonize over whether the clue [Beatles song originally adressed to John Lennon's first born] might be too cryptic a clue for HEYJUDE. You just don't know.

Anyway, here is my latest effort, completed just in time for the Monday blahs. I hope this gives you a worthy respite from the early week dailies.

Amy, of course, would have nothing good to say about it, so I wont even ask. (She'd tear me to shreds while we're just lookin' to have some fun.) Here it is anyway:

Puzzle opens with Across Lite.
Click to solve. file

More random thoughts of a newbie crossword constructor

I've always made my puzzles the old fashioned way. With pencil and paper.

There are some constructors who still do it the old fashioned way. In fact -- based on my experience with crossword puzzle-making software -- I don't know how a successful constructor can create a puzzle utilizing crossword puzzle-making software.

Oh, sure, the software can help you find words to fill in some gaps. But the software can never come up with a theme and it can never provide phrases that are the parlance of the day -- the ones that inspire grids and create those gaps in the first place.

Is it any wonder that Brendan Quigley included the name "Susan Boyle" in one his puzzles three days later than I expected him to? No, it isn't. Even crosswords take time.

So anyway, I wont pronmise to be another Quigley. But I do promise to try.

Oh, no! Another crossword!

Here's a little themeless puzzle for a lazy Saturday evening. Or Sunday morning. Or whenever.

Puzzle opens with AcrossLite:
CLICK TO SOLVE

PDF version here:
UPDATE: Thanks to Stephen Macklin, here's a PDF without the obstructive text across the grid:
CLICK FOR PDF.

Fair warning. The PDF prints out on three pages. Page one is the grid. That's good to have. Page two is the clues. You'll need that. Page three is the solution. Don't look at that.

new Crossword puzzle

Here is the first in what I intend to be a somewhat regular posting of my own crossword puzzles. We'll see how that goes.

This is an homage to David J. Kahn's New York Times crossword puzzle of Thursday, May 14, 2008 which generated quite some discussion at a couple of crossword blogs.

Those who solved it and discussed it in the comments thread HERE will, I hope, appreciate the emulation of Kahn's clues and answers, spiffy and iffy alike.

I don't think it's a difficult solve. It's certainly not an impressive grid.

But I do hope that it's a fun solve. (Except for those two airport codes that I had to include just because including them was the only way to complete the @#$% thing).

Puzzle opens with AcrossLite.
CLICK TO SOLVE

Don't have AcrossLite? What are you, nuts? Download it FREE. All the cool kids have it.

UPDATE: Per request, here's a PDF version:
Download file
I converted the .puz file to .pdf using the demo version of a crossword-making program, so it has some text running through the center of the grid and the grid and clues are on individual pages. Oh well.

Saturday

Newsday 40:01
New York Times 32:51
TEMPO 17:09
Premier 17:04
Universal 11:22
CrosSynergy 8:07
Naples News 7:12
Boatload 2:48

Lee Glickstein 29:35

Click here for Lee Glickstein's puzzle "What's The Difference". One of the funnest puzzles to solve in quite a while. But be careful, it gets a little blue. Great job, Lee. And thanks to Amy for posting it.

Friday

New York Times 41:37
Wall Street Journal 32:42
New York Sun 27:24
Los Angeles Times 23:42
USA Today 17:30
Village Voice 15:37
Universal 14:27
I SWEAR 13:13
Chronical of Higher Education 11:49
Newsday 8:46
TEMPO 7:24
Naples News 7:19
CrosSynergy 5:05
Boatload 3:15

Thursday

New York Sun 33:20
Los Angeles Times 25:20
USA Today 10:25
New York Times 10:16
Jonesin' 10:13
Newsday 9:56
Universal 7:50
Naples News 7:01
CrosSynergy 6:34
TEMPO 6:05
Boatload 2:45

Wednesday

Onion 9:47
New York Sun 9:10
New York Times 8:22
CrosSynergy 8:20
Naples News 7:59
TEMPO 6:48
USA Today 6:46
Los Angeles Times 5:40
Newsday 5:38
Universal 4:58
Boatload 2:44

Tuesday

New York Sun 9:40
New York Times 7:52
CrosSynergy 7:47
Beekeeper Labs 7:25
Naples News 7:05
Universal 6:27
USA Today 6:01
Los Angeles Times 5:51
TEMPO 5:16
Newsday 4:39
Boatload 3:09

Monday

TEMPO 10:27
Naples News 7:31
CrosSynergy 6:58
NYT Classic (M) 5:56
Los Angeles Times 5:34
New York Sun 5:33
Universal 5:19
USA Today 5:14
Fred Piscop 5:03
New York Times 4:55
Newsday 4:04
Boatload 3:11

Monthlies:
Spirit 32:33
Hemispheres 26:37
American Way 25:02

Sunday crosswords

Los Angeles Times 42:36
New York Times 38:34
Merl Reagle 32:51
Boston Globe 22:48
Newsday 19:18
Universal 11:47
Naples News 10:02
CrosSynergy 9:47
Boatload 2:51

Saturday

Newsday 1:10:56
New York Times 41:56
Los Angeles Times 20:08
Premier 17:10
TEMPO 16:02
Universal 10:37
Naples News 7:21
CrosSynergy 5:33
Boatload 3:12

Friday

New York Times 36:42
Wall Street Journal 29:12
Chronical of Higher Education 24:31
New York Sun 23:25
Village Voice 20:16
Los Angeles Times 20:02
Newsday 15:41
I SWEAR 8:28
USA Today 8:18
Naples News 8:02
CrosSynergy 7:05
TEMPO 5:43
Universal 5:42
Boatload 2:52

Thursday

New York Times 25:32
New York Sun 20:08
TEMPO 14:33
Universal 12:33
Jonesin' 9:40
Los Angeles Times 9:16
CrosSynergy 7:14
Naples News 6:12
USA Today 5:47
Newsday 5:44
Boatload 2:58

Wednesday

Onion 20:32
Los Angeles Times 14:58
New York Sun 13:01
CrosSynergy 12:55
New York Times 12:04
Universal 7:51
TEMPO 7:36
Naples News 7:27
USA Today 7:10
Newsday 6:47
Boatload 2:34

Tuesday

Beekeeper Labs 13:10
USA Today 12:44
Universal 12:06
New York Sun 10:03
CrosSynergy 8:52
New York Times 7:48
TEMPO 7:12
Naples News 6:02
Los Angeles Times 4:54
Newsday 4:05
Boatload 2:51

Monday crosswords

TEMPO 9:38
Universal 8:23
CrosSynergy 6:54
Naples News 6:50
Fred Piscop 6:16
USA Today 5:36
New York Times 5:04
Newsday 4:53
Los Angeles Times 4:33
Boatload 3:09

NYT classic (Sa) 27:10

Sunday

Los Angeles Times 32:02
New York Times 23:27
CrosSynergy 22:22
Merl Reagle 21:36
Boston Globe 17:46
Newsday 16:36
Naples News 11:51
Universal 6:04
Boatload 2:42

Saturday

New York Times 55:23
Newsday 35:06
Los Angeles Times 27:11
Premier 15:46
TEMPO 11:31
Naples News 8:29
Universal 8:14
CrosSynergy 5:44
Boatload 2:35

Clue of the day, from Newsday's Saturday Stumper:

[Chasers served at saloons]

Answer:
POSSES

It was one of the last words I filled in and finally allowed me to finish the southeast corner and the puzzle.

Friday

Wall Street Journal 45:33
Los Angeles Times 23:23
Village Voice 22:03
New York Times 20:23
New York Sun 18:08
Newsday 17:56
Chronical of Higher Education 14:53
I SWEAR 10:34
USA Today 8:57
Universal 7:47
TEMPO 7:46
CrosSynergy 6:45
NaplesNews (FCP) 6:40
Boatload 3:13

Thursday

New York Sun 33:08
USA Today 13:51
Los Angeles Times 12:24
Jonesin' 11:28
New York Times 10:39
Naples News (FCP) 10:37
CrosSynergy 7:46
Universal 6:34
TEMPO 6:20
Newsday 5:15
Boatload 3:09

Wednesday

USA Today 14:24
Onion 13:04
Universal 12:30
New York Sun 12:17
Naples News (FCP) 12:17
New York Times 10:23
Los Angeles Times 8:22
CrosSynergy 7:05
Newsday 6:02
TEMPO 5:37
Boatload 3:39

Tuesday

Beekeeper Labs 15:02
New York Sun 13:10
Universal 12:17
New York Times 10:12
Naples News 9:25
CrosSynergy 9:03
TEMPO 8:07
USA Today 7:17
Los Angeles Times 5:40
Newsday 4:58

Monday

USA Today 9:07
New York Sun 6:46
Universal 6:42
New York Times 5:55
CrosSynergy 5:39
Fred Piscop 5:34
TEMPO 5:29
Los Angeles Times 4:47
Newsday 4:41

NYT classic (Th) 14:49

Sunday Crosswords

New York Times 44:38
Merl Reagle 30:37
Los Angeles Times 25:08
Boston Globe 20:28
CrosSynergy 13:32
Newsday 13:25
Universal 7:17

Saturday

New York Times 31:41
Newsday 25:33
Los Angeles Times 18:13
Premier 15:02
CrosSynergy 13:08
TEMPO 8:28
Universal 6:13

What a fun bunch of crosswords! The Universal puzzle was pretty typical but, other than that, I highly recommend this entire batch.

Friday

New York Times 32:09
Wall Street Journal 26:56
New York Sun 18:50
Los Angeles Times 14:47
Village Voice 12:17
Chronical of Higher Education 11:53
Newsday 9:21
TEMPO 8:58
USA Today 8:57
CrosSynergy 7:26
Universal 5:30
I SWEAR 5:16

Thursday

New York Times 25:13
New York Sun 19:58
Los Angeles Times 9:13
Jonesin' 9:10
Newsday 7:37
CrosSynergy 7:35
USA Today 7:32
TEMPO 7:11
Universal 6:31

Wednesday crosswords

Onion 25:01
USA Today 15:26
New York Sun 12:38
New York Times 11:37
Los Angeles Times 9:09
TEMPO 7:19
Universal 7:10
Newsday 5:33
CrosSynergy 5:31

Tuesday

New York Sun 13:56
Universal 12:54
Beekeeper Labs 12:05
TEMPO 8:58
USA Today 8:21
CrosSynergy 7:43
Los Angeles Times 7:28
New York Times 6:45
Newsday 5:16

Monday

USA Today 11:57
Universal 8:28
New York Sun 7:26
TEMPO 6:49
CrosSynergy 6:26
Los Angeles Times 6:06
Fred Piscop 5:21
New York Times 4:51
Newsday 4:24

NYT Classic (Th) 14:42

Sunday

Boston Globe 45:44
New York Times 45:04
Los Angeles Times 41:48
Merl Reagle 18:31
Newsday 17:23
CrosSynergy 14:08
Universal 12:57

Saturday

New York Times 39:08
Newsday 23:01
Los Angeles Times 18:46
Premier 16:56
CrosSynergy 10:09
TEMPO 9:18
Universal 7:23

My time on the NYT puzzle suffered greatly because of the southwest corner. The clue for 40-D is [It's just north of Nauru]. I had to google for it and came up with MAKATEA, which fit with two of the three crossing answers I had. (I erased SINEX).

I must have stared at that corner for 15 to 20 minutes without any progress. Then I thought of SEAQUAKE for 43-A and realized I'd misspelled YAHTZEE as YAHTZIE. Then the answer for 40-D was obviously, ta-duh, EQUATOR.

I put SINEX back in and finshed the remainder of the grid in about 90 seconds. Yay for me. :)

Friday crosswords

Wall Street Journal 39:41
New York Times 32:22
New York Sun 24:11
Chronical of Higher Education 23:34
Los Angeles Times 20:24
USA Today 13:15
Universal 11:48
Village Voice 11:30
Newsday 9:58
TEMPO 9:22
I SWEAR 8:03
CrosSynergy 7:37

Thursday

New York Sun 26:01
Los Angeles Times 14:25
TEMPO 11:47
Jonesin' 11:18
CrosSynergy 9:46
New York Times 8:40
Newsday 7:44
USA Today 7:31
Universal 6:24

Wednesday Crosswords

Onion 19:38
New York Sun 16:47
New York Times 9:13
USA Today 8:43
Universal 7:29
CrosSynergy 6:53
Newsday 6:34
Los Angeles Times 6:11
TEMPO 5:55

Tuesday

Los Angeles Times 13:34
USA Today 12:28
New York Times 11:23
Beekeeper Labs 7:59
CrosSynergy 7:54
Universal 7:29
New York Sun 6:23
Newsday 5:32
TEMPO 5:28

Monday

USA Today 7:39
TEMPO 6:48
New York Sun 6:09
Fred Piscop 5:56
Universal 5:36
New York Times 5:29
CrosSynergy 5:16
Los Angeles Times 5:13
Newsday 4:37

NTY Classic (F) 29:20

Sunday crosswords

New York Times 41:21
Merl Reagle 24:26
Boston Globe 20:19
Los Angeles Times 19:54
Newsday 19:36
CrosSynergy 17:55
Universal 10:47

Saturday

Newsday 1:42:05
New York Times 26:27
Los Angeles Times 21:09
Premier 19:11
TEMPO 13:09
Universal 8:43
CrosSynergy 7:28

Monthly puzzles:

American Way 32:50
Hemispheres 17:44
Spirit 13:32
New York Times 9:51

Friday

New York Sun 44:20
Wall Street Journal 24:42
Los Angeles Times 20:58
New York Times 19:02
Village Voice 13:05
Universal 11:43
Chronical of Higher Education 11:05
TEMPO 9:26
USA Today 9:09
I SWEAR 9:00
Newsday 7:11
CrosSynergy 5:52

Thursday Crosswords

New York Times 42:05
New York Sun 20:55
Los Angeles Times 18:55
Jonesin' 13:28
Universal 9:44
USA Today 8:26
TEMPO 8:04
CrosSynergy 7:06
Newsday 5:21

Wednesday

New York Sun 20:00
TEMPO 17:04
CrosSynergy 13:35
Universal 12:18
Onion 10:49
Los Angeles Times 9:19
USA Today 9:09
New York Times 8:14
Newsday 5:49

Tuesday

USA Today 13:33
New York Sun 9:33
Beekeeper Labs 8:56
New York Times 8:19
Los Angeles Times 6:24
TEMPO 5:58
Universal 5:55
CrosSynergy 5:38
Newsday 4:27

Monday

CrosSynergy 13:41
USA Today 10:22
Universal 9:34
TEMPO 7:29
Fred Piscop 6:26
Los Angeles Times 6:23
New York Times 6:16
New York Sun 5:13
Newsday 4:58

NYT Classic (T) 8:46

Clue of the day, from the New York Sun puzzle, 7D:

457-55-5462, for LifeLock CEO Todd Davis

When I first heard the LifeLock commercial on the radio about a month and a half ago, I thought it HAD to fake. Now I just think the guy's nuts.

Sunday

Boston Globe 39:39
New York Times 28:27
Los Angeles Times 23:22
Merl Reagle 21:27
CrosSynergy 15:26
Newsday 14:12
Universal 12:05

Saturday

Newsday 52:09
New York Times 52:00
Premier 23:53
Los Angeles Times 22:50
TEMPO 13:03
Universal 6:04
CrosSynergy 5:26

Friday

Wall Street Journal 36:05
New York Times 31:23
New York Sun 25:16
Newsday 23:10
Los Angeles Times 21:40
Village Voice 15:32
Chronical of Higher Education 14:50
USA Today 12:01
Universal 10:11
I SWEAR 6:24
TEMPO 6:16
CrosSynergy 5:45

Wednesday Crosswords

Onion 19:28
New York Times 15:37
USA Today 15:23
New York Sun 11:14
TEMPO 9:49
CrosSynergy 9:39
Universal 9:03
Los Angeles Times 8:52
Newsday 4:52

Tuesday

Beekeeper Labs 13:36
USA Today 12:20
Universal 8:27
Los Angeles Times 7:58
CrosSynergy 6:46
New York Sun 6:36
New York Times 6:35
TEMPO 5:31
Newsday 4:43

NYT classic (W) 15:40

Monday

USA Today 13:46
New York Sun 9:13
Universal 8:56
CrosSynergy 8:19
TEMPO 7:41
New York Times 6:38
Los Angeles Times 5:16
Fred Piscop 5:12
Newsday 4:06

Sunday

New York Times 44:23
Merl Reagle 36:38
Los Angeles Times 31:56
Boston Globe 24:01
CrosSynergy 23:50
Newsday 19:13
Universal 9:38

Cool theme on the NYTimes puzzle. I didn't pay any attention to it until I finished the puzzle, though. It would helped save some time in figuring out the alleged Nilsson "hit" of 1972. Never heard of it.

The upper-left and lower-right corners of the CrosSynergy had me stumped for a while. I've never heard of Ilka Chase (or is it Chase Ilka?), and I always assumed that the French term for "good luck" was "bon chance", not "BONNE chance". And "North side" cluing UNION sounds like something out of the '30s.
And what's up with the Indonesians naming something as powerful as a "gong" a TAMTAM? Sounds like a child's bongo drum, not a frickin' gong!

I've been doing so many crossword puzzles lately that I actually got ZATOPEK on the first try. Can carpul tunnel syndrome be far behind? :)

Saturday

New York Times 1:04:32
Newsday 1:01:54
Los Angeles Times 28:40
TEMPO 17:20
Premier 17:08
Universal 10:55
CrosSynergy 7:41

Friday

New York Times 43:29
Wall Street Journal 35:24
New York Sun 27:36
Los Angeles Times 18:31
Village Voice 17:48
Chronical of Higher Education 13:56
Newsday 10:45
TEMPO 8:31
USA Today 8:04
CrosSynergy 7:42
Universal 7:11
I SWEAR 5:40

Thursday

Los Angeles Times 25:36
Jonesin' 17:19
New York Times 14:26
TEMPO 10:06
USA Today 10:00
Universal 9:52
Newsday 9:47
New York Sun 8:45
CrosSynergy 6:55

Wednesday

Onion 14:23
New York Sun 13:39
Universal 13:38
TEMPO 10:24
New York Times 10:07
USA Today 8:45
Los Angeles Times 7:34
Beekeeper Labs 7:17
Newsday 5:31
CrosSynergy 5:29

Tuesday

USA Today 19:46
CrosSynergy 14:23
TEMPO 7:11
Universal 6:48
New York Times 6:17
New York Sun 5:36
Los Angeles Times 5:33
Newsday 3:57

Monday

USA Today 11:18
CrosSynergy 10:53
TEMPO 9:35
Universal 8:53
New York Sun 6:53
NYT Classic (M) 6:21
Los Angeles Times 5:27
Fred Piscop 5:21
New York Times 5:21
Newsday 4:07

Sunday

CrosSynergy 34:51
Boston Globe 33:12
Los Angeles Times 28:58
New York Times 27:11
Newsday 24:09
Merl Reagle 23:55
Universal 8:41

Wow. The CrosSynergy Sunday Challenge lives up to it's name. It was right there on a par with Newsday's Saturday Stumper. Rare, indeed, and great to see. :)

Saturday

New York Times 59:15
Los Angeles Times 40:14
Newsday 33:23
Universal 9:57
TEMPO 6:31
CrosSynergy 5:22

Friday

New York Times 42:45
Wall Street Journal 35:05
Los Angeles Times 20:17
Chronical of Higher Education 18:41
New York Sun 15:52
Village Voice 15:19
Universal 15:16
I SWEAR 13:59
TEMPO 10:20
CrosSynergy 9:15
Newsday 8:22
USA Today 7:51

Thursday

New York Times 23:47
New York Sun 22:04
Jonesin' 12:52
Los Angeles Times 10:39
USA Today 10:25
CrosSynergy 8:31
TEMPO 7:50
Newsday 7:42
Universal 7:36

Ugh. Too many proper names of people I've never heard of in the NY Sun puzzle. I had to google a few of 'em. And I ran through every Loony Toons character I could think of before I finally realized what the answer was.

Wednesday

New York Sun 24:42
Beekeeper 15:33
CrosSynergy 13:50
Universal 9:05
New York Times 8:25
USA Today 8:13
Los Angeles Times 7:15
TEMPO 5:45
Newsday 5:23

Tuesday crosswords

Onion 17:31
New York Sun 14:32
CrosSynergy 11:46
USA Today 10:52
New York Times 8:27
Universal 8:14
TEMPO 5:45
Los Angeles Times 5:42
Newsday 4:15

Monday

USA Today 14:21
TEMPO 11:46
CrosSynergy 10:03
Universal 7:28
New York Sun 6:37
Fred Piscop 6:01
New York Times 5:58
Los Angeles Times 5:35
Newsday 5:13

Sunday

Merl Reagle 45:09
New York Times 42:12
Los Angeles Times 28:18
Newsday 26:27
Boston Globe 19:07
CrosSynergy 17:07
Universal 9:08

NYT 2nd Sunday (Diagramless) 28:35
NYT Monthly Bonus puzzle 7:54

Saturday

Newsday 50:03
New York Times 34:06
Hemispheres 31:22
Los Angeles Times 28:09
American Way 24:41*
Universal 11:56
Spirit 9:30*
Premier 9:29*
TEMPO 7:46
CrosSynergy 6:20

*These puzzles were done by hand. I'm not sure how much that slows the solving pace versus solving online but, when racing against the clock, it definately tires your eyes out.

Friday

New York Times 55:03
New York Sun 33:03
Chronical of Higher Education 30:15
Los Angeles Times 26:36
Wall Street Journal 24:31
Universal 21:31
Jonesin' 16:32
Newsday 12:28
I SWEAR 11:11
Village Voice 9:24
TEMPO 9:12
CrosSynergy 8:53
USA Today 8:31

I seem to have a "typo" somewhere in the NYT puzzle. But, after checking some answers through google, I'm convinced that there must be two correct solutions 'cuz all my answers fit, dag nab it.

UPDATE: Nevermind, I found the error thanks to Amy. I googled "erere reunion", saw the first link and assumed it was right. Beethoven's Pastoral thus is keyed a half-step higher than I guessed.

Thursday crosswords

New York Times 38:48
Universal 20:26
Onion 13:28
New York Sun 11:25
Newsday 11:23
Los Angeles Times 11:19
USA Today 9:25
CrosSynergy 6:39
TEMPO 6:17

Jonesin' tba

I was about half-an-hour into the NYT puzzle before I caught on to the theme. I had plenty of the grid filled, but there were certain answers that seemed obvious but didn't fit. One of the first answers I filled was the "'80s slogan", but I didn't catch the significance until I realized what the "surfer's exclamation" must be. Then the rest of the puzzle fell into place in a hurry.

By the way, if and when I ever comment on these puzzles, I'm gonna try not to give any spoilers. I'd rather encourage others to enjoy crosswords as much as I do. So my only revelations will be that ye shall click on the puzzle links in my sidebar and get solving!

The Onion puzzle's theme is unique and special for a certain reason. It's occassionally accomplished at ballparks, but I've never heard of it even being attempted in a crossword.

One note on the Onion puzzle that might help you solve it: Your first inclination for 53-Down -- clued as [Advice to 25-Across] -- might be RUNAWAY. That wont fit, though.

It's unusual that the Universal puzzle took me nearly twice as long to solve than the New York Sun puzzle since it is a Thursday. The Universal puzzles don't usually get tougher as the week progresses, so they're often some of the tougher Monday and Tuesday puzzles.

Wednesday

CrosSynergy 17:19
Universal 16:03
Los Angeles Times 15:10
USA Today 14:52
New York Times 11:21
TEMPO 10:31
Beekeeper 9:58
New York Sun 9:24
Newsday 5:49

Onion tba

Tuesday

New York Sun 16:45
New York Times 10:22
USA Today 10:08
Universal 9:42
Los Angeles Times 7:42
CrosSynergy 6:56
Newsday 5:51
TEMPO 5:23

Monday

Universal 8:01
Fred Piscop 7:33
USA Today 7:12
TEMPO 6:33
CrosSynergy 6:29
Los Angeles Times 5:47
New York Sun 5:08
New York Times 5:03
Newsday 3:56

Sunday crosswords

Los Angeles Times 53:57
New York Times 45:36
Boston Globe 39:30
Merl Reagle 28:52
Washington Post 26:19
Newsday 16:34
Universal 16:16
CrosSynergy 11:53

Unfortunately this is the last Washington Post Sunday puzzle. Booooo!

Saturday

Newsday 38:46
Los Angeles Times 36:30
New York Times 24:18
Universal 15:44
TEMPO 13:49
CrosSynergy 9:32

Friday

New York Times 43:44
Los Angeles Times 36:17
New York Sun 27:31
Wall Street Journal 25:54
Newsday 15:44
TEMPO 14:59
Chronical of Higher Education 13:33
Village Voice 12:54
Universal 10:10
CrosSynergy 8:03
USA Today 7:02
I SWEAR 5:50

Thursday

New York Sun 36:26
Jonesin' 21:37
New York Times 19:57
Los Angeles Times 18:46
Universal 13:23
CrosSynergy 10:36
TEMPO 9:00
Newsday 8:25
USA Today 8:09

Wednesday crosswords

Onion 16:26
Universal 15:51
Los Angeles Times 13:51
USA Today 12:19
TEMPO 12:07
New York Times 10:57
New York Sun 10:36
Beekeeper 10:11
CrosSynergy 8:15
Newsday 5:13

Tuesday

New York Sun 18:43
CrosSynergy 14:38
Universal 14:10
TEMPO 10:11
USA Today 7:56
New York Times 7:34
Los Angeles Times 6:22
Newsday 4:11

Monday

Universal 10:16
New York Sun 9:44
USA Today 9:40
CrosSynergy 7:47
New York Times 6:30
Fred Piscop 6:24
Los Angeles Times 6:01
TEMPO 5:08
Newsday 3:58

NYT Classic (F) 40:31

Sunday

New York Times 1:03:20
Washington Post 36:16
Merl Reagle 34:24
Los Angeles Times 28:17
Newsday 26:52
Boston Globe 19:47
Universal 18:30
CrosSynergy 15:15

Saturday crosswords

New York Times 1:12:46
Newsday 1:08:46
Los Angeles Times 24:12
TEMPO 15:57
Universal 10:24
CrosSynergy 5:39

Friday

New York Times 47:46
New York Sun 46:44
Wall Street Journal 37:48
Los Angeles Times 27:30
CrosSynergy 27:25
Chronical of Higher Education 21:22
Universal 17:02
I SWEAR 12:29
USA Today 12:03
Newsday 10:44
Village Voice 9:00
TEMPO 8:27

Thursday

New York Times 18:47
Newsday 5:28
Los Angeles Times 27:27
CrosSynergy 7:25
Universal 9:55
TEMPO 10:52
New York Sun 16:15
USA Today 10:52
Jonesin' 10:03

Wednesday

New York Times 10:59
Newsday 6:27
Los Angeles Times 8:47
CrosSynergy 8:32
Universal 18:57
TEMPO 7:08
New York Sun 24:29
USA Today 10:10
Onion 15:28

Tuesday crosswords

New York Times 7:16
Newsday 4:17
Los Angeles Times 8:48
CrosSynergy 6:19
Universal 11:56
TEMPO 7:44
New York Sun 10:14
USA Today 7:33
Beekeeper 13:58
Whopping Weekend Warrior 1:40:56

Monday

New York Times 8:54
Newsday 5:10
Los Angeles Times 7:58
CrosSynergy 10:54
Universal 10:34
TEMPO 16:28
New York Sun 6:48
USA Today 9:07
Fred Piscop 5:25
NYT Classic (W) 13:39

Sunday

New York Times 1:08:25
Newsday 12:22
Los Angeles Times 32:15
CrosSynergy 11:06
Universal 8:29
Boston Globe 27:14
Washington Post 33:22
Merl Reagle 49:41

Saturday

New York Times 1:06:26
Newsday 44:28
Los Angeles Times 39:38
CrosSynergy 10:31
Universal 8:40
TEMPO 7:26

Friday crosswords

New York Times 38:45
Newsday 13:28
Los Angeles Times 37:44
CrosSynergy 7:33
Universal 7:53
TEMPO 5:44
New York Sun 37:23
USA Today 10:26
Wall Street Journal 26:44
Village Voice 25:38
Chronical of Higher Education 8:41
I SWEAR 10:38
Beekeeper 12:38

Thursday

New York Times 1:30:23
Newsday 11:30
Los Angeles Times 13:57
CrosSynergy 7:57
Universal 7:59
TEMPO 8:14
New York Sun 18:15
USA Today 14:04

Wednesday

New York Times 19:55
Newsday 8:12
Los Angeles Times 8:21
CrosSynergy 23:17
Universal 14:02
TEMPO 9:07
New York Sun 28:18
USA Today 14:14
Onion 26:32

Tuesday

New York Times 7:59
Newsday 4:23
Los Angeles Times 9:19
CrosSynergy 9:16
Universal 14:03
TEMPO 11:48
New York Sun 18:51
USA Today 13:50

Monday

New York Times 6:17
Newsday 4:52
Los Angeles Times 5:29
CrosSynergy 6:16
Universal 10:33
TEMPO 8:29
New York Sun 8:08
USA Today 8:59
Fred Piscop 6:07
NYT Classic (F) 43:19

Saturday

New York Times 51:23
Newsday 22:10
Los Angeles Times 31:38
CrosSynergy 5:49
Universal 7:37
TEMPO 12:00

Friday

New York Times 47:38
Newsday 14:18
Los Angeles Times 16:25
CrosSynergy 8:04
Universal 10:06
TEMPO 12:29
New York Sun 30:53
USA Today 21:17
Wall Street Journal 28:16
Village Voice 29:30
Chronicle of Higher Education 39:09
I SWEAR 8:27

Thursday

New York Times 16:44
Newsday 6:08
Los Angeles Times 21:57
CrosSynergy 10:32
TEMPO 12:07
New York Sun 35:00
USA Today 8:26

Wednesday crosswords

New York Times 4:32
Newsday 7:18
Los Angeles Times 12:15
CrosSynergy 7:02
Universal 11:59
TEMPO 6:39
New York Sun 28:40
USA Today 15:44
Onion 16:00
Beekeeper 13:46

Monday

New York Times 5:19
Newsday 4:49
Los Angeles Times 7:56
CrosSynergy 12:30
Universal 5:13
TEMPO 8:18
New York Sun 10:40
USA Today 7:15
Fred Piscop 10:56
NYT Classic (M) 6:41

Sunday Crosswords

New York Times 35:21
Newsday 28:27
Los Angeles Times 1:00:34
CrosSynergy 14:52
Universal 10:59
Boston Globe 20:17
Washington Post 27:34
Merl Reagle 20:25

Saturday

New York Times 50:38
Newsday 45:51
Los ANgeles Times 10:03
CrosSynergy 11:27
Universal 12:31
TEMPO 17:03

Monday

New York Times 5:22
Los Angeles Times 6:52
CrosSynergy 15:33
Universal 7:38
New York Sun 7:16
Fred Piscop 7:29

Sunday

New York Times 47:52
Los Angeles Times 30:15
CrosSynergy 10:54
Boston Globe 16:13
Washington Post 32:04
Merl Reagle 18:22

Friday crosswords

New York Times 28:11
New York Sun 50:12
Wall Street Journal 50:45
Village Voice 12:18
Chronical of Higher Education 7:49
I Swear 11:28