Half-Baked Puzzles

 Hi friends, Back with a themeless today. Thanks to Kelsey and Alex for their help and suggestions with this one.   Last weekend was the St. Louis Crossword Tournament--my first chance in-person to meet up with crossword folks. It was an absolute blast! Meeting so many people who love solving puzzles was a joy. If you've ended up here via the free puzzles table, I hope you find some puzzles on this blog that are fun for you. There's a good mix of difficulties, themed and themeless puzzles, as well as cryptics, so I hope you'll take a look. If I didn't get to say hi to you this time around, hopefully I'll see you soon! .puz PDF Solution   Mmm, mascarpone-stabilized chocolate whipped cream fruit cups

 Hi pals! Super excited to be back with another cryptic today. There's been no end of really great indie cryptic puzzles lately, and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't intimated by the volume and quality of cryptics out there lately. The more I learn, the more I feel I have left to learn. Still, I remain committed to being the best setter that I can be. To that end, Steve Mossberg and kormad were both invaluable with their feedback on this one. I'd love to hear from you as well. PDF .puz   Solution and parses   Mmm, oatmeal creme pies

 Hi friends! A bit of a different experience this week: there is no .puz, PDF, or Amuselabs . I have a lot to say about this one, but first, go solve it: CLICK HERE FOR THIS WEEK'S PUZZLE   Mmm, tiramisu         Mmm, more tiramisu         Alright, all done? Past here be SPOILERS. This puzzle owes a huge debt of gratitude to Alex Boisvert . Crossword Nexus is a fantastic resource for both solvers and constructors, and you should take the time to explore everything it has to offer. This puzzle wouldn't exist without Alex's help, and in fact it was inspired by discussions we had about a previous puzzle that Alex worked on.  That discussion led to find out about this puzzle by Rebecca Falcon , which Alex also worked on! As you can tell, I was definitely inspired by Rebecca's excellent puzzle (which pays homage to a great TV show). Alex helped develop a few additional wrinkles for this one, and I was repeatedly wowed, as someone with no...

 Hi folks, Very excited to bring you this collaboration with the inestimable Norah Sharpe. Norah says:  "I'm so happy to make my Half-Baked debut with our fourth puzzle together. When I first started gridding this I didn't know it would be a collab, but as soon as I had the left side filled I knew Will would make the right side just as fun. One reason I love making puzzles with Will is because I know he's going to surprise me with stuff like 21-Down and 53-Across - both entries that I didn't have on my lists but I am so glad to learn of them. I also trust that any time we collab, he's gonna write some banger clues. Of his, 20A, 2D, and 14D are among my favorites. And I'm pretty proud of 49A. Thanks for solving!" I don't have the eloquence to express as well why working with Norah is so great, but I think you can see it all over this grid! The collaborative process is always a joy with Norah and her enthusiasm, organization and energy really help po...

 Hey folks! Nice lil midi for ya this week. Enjoy! .puz Mmm, matzah toffee

 Hi friends, Cryptic puzzle for you today that I'm really excited for everyone to solve. I'm hopeful each one is better than the last. As usual, Steve was a huge help with this one, so go solve his cryptics too! .puz PDF Solution and Parses     Mmm, carrot (birthday) cake!

 Hi folks! Got a fun one for you this week--a collaboration with the excellent constructor meatdaddy . They've made a grid that a bunch of constructors have offered a set of clues for, and I'm thrilled to be one of them. You can check out other approaches on their blog!  I also have a really fun collaboration with Norah Sharpe that's a midi-sized puzzle you should go solve! Meatdaddy adds, "One of my favorite things about crossword puzzles is seeing the many ways that different constructors will clue a single word - for just a moment, you get to peer inside the mind of someone else and at the expense of sounding cheesy, it's a lovely, intimate moment. Not only that, but I also frequently find myself thinking "man, I wish I would have thought of that cluing angle!" and it's a testament to the diverse skill sets and talent in our lil' community. The main goal of Tabula Rasa was to pick everyone's brains by sending them a silly grid with...