Cryptic #3

Some cryptic fun for a long weekend! 

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Lessons in Chemistry

To celebrate the end of the school year, here's a 21x21 Sunday stumper that's not for the faint of heart! To keep things interesting, I've decided it to share it in two versions: Regular and Hard. In the Regular version, there are seven starred Across answers that provide an explanation of the theme when read in order. In the Hard version, they're not starred, and you have to find the seven words by yourself (meta-style). The clues and answers are otherwise identical in the two versions. The version on CrossHare is the Hard one, and you can enter the meta answer after successfully completing the puzzle.

Happy solving!

Regular version: PDF PUZ

Hard version: PDF PUZ

Divided Loyalties

 (Cross-posted to Muggle Meta Mondays - a wonderful forum for fans of meta crosswords!)

Apparently there was some kind of sportsball thing yesterday? I find these things confusing. Anyway, here's a metapuzzle. The meta answer, which has two words, can be found in both the U.S. and Canada.

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Solution will be posted on Sunday, February 18.

Note: The easiest way to submit and verify your meta answer is using the Crosshare interface below, after completing the grid there. If you solved the puzzle on paper (which is highly recommended), you can just use "Reveal Puzzle" to get directly to the meta submission.

Cryptic #2

Happy Hanukkah! Here's a cryptic to work on while you digest your latkes. Personal favorite entries are 7D, 9D, 13D, 14A, and 27A. Feel free to comment or contact me if you have questions about any of the entries!

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Cryptic #1: Show Me the Money

First time posting here in a while, but I've been busy! I had the honor of making my cryptic crossword debut last month over at Out of Left Field Cryptics, Henri Picciotto and Joshua Kosman's weekly subscription puzzle. I actually first learned how to solve cryptics in a session that Henri taught at the Park City Mathematics Institute back in 2006, so it was a real privilege to have my puzzle appear on their site, and I learned a ton from their thoughtful editing. Now I'm back with my next attempt at a (variety-ish) cryptic, entitled "Show Me the Money."

Feel free to get in touch with any questions/comments!

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Solution

Check the Ratings (with Dominic Jeong)

I'm excited to share this collaboration with Dominic Jeong! Dominic is a senior math major at Duke who happens to be one of my major advisees, and he reached out to me about crossword construction after reading about my NYT debut in the Duke research blog. It was a real pleasure to work with him on constructing this tasty puzzle, and I'm excited to see more great puzzles from him in the future!

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Theme explanation (Spoiler alert!)

The answers to the starred clues are names of Michelin-starred restaurants. The number of stars in the clue correspond to the number of stars the restaurant received.

Hello, World! - SOLUTION

Hello, World!

After an entertaining and slightly ridiculous 15 minutes of fame back in the fall, this is my first new (meta)puzzle in a while! This one is hosted over at Muggle Meta Mondays, a weekly metapuzzle that's run by the XWord Muggles Forum. Many thanks to Peter Abide and Al Sisti for running the puzzle and for their really helpful feedback. I think it's roughly a Gaffney week 3, but as my undergrads can tell you, I'm not always so good at judging how hard things will be. Feel free to email me if you have the answer or if you want a hint. I'll post solutions on Sunday, May 1. 

And if you enjoy doing metas, I highly recommend the MMM! 

The meta answer is a language.

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Crazy Eights

The main raison d'être (crossword phrase!) for this puzzle is that I wanted the challenge of working 56-Across into a grid. And I'm very glad I had the occasion to learn the etymology of 14-Across.

(I know that the title is the same as a MGWCC from a few months ago, but the resemblance ends there.)

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Themeless?

The title of this one is pretty self-explanatory. Or is it?

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Solution

The Queens' Gambit - SOLUTION

The Queens' Gambit

Here's a meta-puzzle to work on while you're digesting your turkey and not arguing with your relatives like usual. It's probably a Week 3 or 4 on the Gaffney scale. Feel free to email me with the answer or if you need a hint.

Stay safe, everyone!

The meta answer is a name on 2010s TV.

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Solution

You're So Naïve

Welcome to my new puzzles site! This will hopefully look better than the plain HTML page that I was using before. I've imported all the puzzles from the old page, with the posts backdated to when the puzzles originally appeared. 

I've been a 54-Across subscriber for over 15 years, and this puzzle is long overdue.

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Tying Up Loose Ends

It's probably considered bad form to design a crossword puzzle where the theme requires advanced technical knowledge of a very specific area of mathematics, but I just couldn't resist. For everyone else, you'll now understand how I've acquired the vast majority of my pop culture knowledge: by figuring out the crossing entries in puzzles.

And this is where Knotty Grids gets its name!

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Solutions 

A Series of Unfortunate Events - SOLUTION

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A Series of Unfortunate Events

A meta-puzzle for trying times. The answer to the meta-puzzle is an author. Hint: It has nothing to do with Lemony Snicket.

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V for Victory

The answer to the meta-puzzle is a court contest.

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Flights of Fancy

This is actually the first puzzle I ever designed for public consumption, and after numerous rounds of revisions, I was fortunate enough to have it published in Matt Gaffney's Weekly Crossword Contest. Pretty amazing way to make my debut to the world of serious puzzlers, even though there were a few hiccups (which you can read about in the solutions). The answer to the meta-puzzle is a six-letter grid entry with no connection.

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Solutions courtesy of Matt Gaffney

To The Left, To the Left - SOLUTION

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To the Left, To the Left

The answer to the meta-puzzle is a seasonal greeting.

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