Half-Baked Puzzles

 Hey folks, Back after a bit of traveling with a themeless for ya this week. This one features a seed suggested by Norah Sharpe after I made another friendly sports bet and my Twins lost. Norah says: "Since Will's team like almost never plays mine, I reluctantly agreed for one time only to root for the Brewers. My sacrifice allows for this goofy and fun puzzle, so you're welcome." Thanks to Norah and also Steve Mossberg Hope you enjoy! .puz PDF   Solution   Mmm, chicken pesto pizza  

 Hey folks! Back this week with a themeless I think you'll really enjoy! This one came about as a result of a bet between Brian Thomas and myself. Brian's Mariners were playing my Twins, and we agreed that the loser of the series would make a puzzle using a seed entry suggested by the winner. Our teams ended up splitting the series 2-2, and here's my puzzle!  Thanks to Brian for the idea, which I hope catches on more, and for helping to test this one out--thanks also to Kate for her help with this one.     .puz   PDF   Solution Mmm, homemade pita and Greek-American gyros

 Hi friends! Super jazzed to bring you a cryptic this week. As usual, these are a lot of work and a lot of fun. Copious thanks to Norah Sharpe , MP , and Steve Mossberg , for helping to test and improve this puzzle, and to Frisco for some inspiration. If you're completely new to cryptics, watching a stream is one of the best ways to start learning how they work. Here are some channels I've enjoyed that solve cryptics, some of which have been nice enough to stream some of mine: mentalplayground Liari Crossweird   Glentopher Joeadultman Dan (and Babka) elderism Catherine   brknfixie   Will Nediger/bewilderingly   Haruib0 A reminder that I include parses along with the solution-those will show you not only the answer but how the wordplay works. If you've got a question about any notation in there, feel free to ask--the most common is FODDER* to indicate those letters are being anagrammed. Next week, a themeless with a novel method of seed generation! Talk soon....

 Hey folks! Happy to be back with a themed puzzle this week I think you'll find lightly challenging. I've got a themeless and a cryptic more or less ready to go, so we'll see if I can't publish weekly for a bit. Hope everyone's summer has been going great! Mine's been filled with disc golf and brewery patios. Many thanks to Norah Sharpe and Steve Mossberg for their help with this one. As always, go solve their puzzles.   .puz PDF   Solution Mmm, strawberry cheesecake

 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...