Saturday, July 3, 2021

LAT 5:41 (Derek) 

 


Newsday 15:00ish (Derek) 

 


NYT 5:25 (Amy) 

 


Universal 5:46 (Jim Q) 

 


WSJ untimed (pannonica) 

 

Continue reading

Posted in Daily Puzzles | Tagged , , , , | 19 Comments

Friday, July 2, 2021

Inkubator untimed (Jenni) 

 


LAT untimed (pannonica) 

 


NYT 5:07 (Amy) 

 


The New Yorker untimed (pannonica) 

 


Universal 5:13 (Jim P) 

 

Continue reading

Posted in Daily Puzzles | Tagged , , , , , , | 26 Comments

Thursday, July 1, 2021

BEQ tk (Jenni) 

 


LAT 4:21 (GRAB) 

 


NYT untimed(Ben) 

 


Universal 4:54 (Jim Q) 

 


WSJ untimed (Jim P) 

 

Note: Fireball is a contest this week. We will post a review once the entry period closes.
Continue reading

Posted in Daily Puzzles | Tagged , , , , , | 18 Comments

Wednesday, June 30, 2021

LAT 3:48 (Gareth) 

 


The New Yorker 3:36 (Jenni) 

 


NYT 4:05 (Amy) 

 


WSJ 6:40 (Jim P) 

 


Universal untimed (pannonica) 

 


AVCX 9:43 (Ben) 

 

Just one announcement today, from Sid Sivakumar:

The Juggernaut, a digital publication focused on experiences of the global South Asian diaspora, has been running a crossword feature since April, with puzzles constructed by Sid Sivakumar. The Juggernaut Crossword is now accepting puzzle submissions from contributors of any experience level and cultural background; constructors identifying as South Asian are especially encouraged to submit. Sid will serve as crossword editor and has published a document with guidelines and specifications for constructors, as well as a South Asian-focused word list that anyone can freely use in crossword construction (including in puzzles not intended for The Juggernaut). Constructors should send theme queries to [email protected]. Pay per puzzle is [a generous] $500.

Continue reading

Posted in Daily Puzzles | Tagged , , , , , | 25 Comments

MGWCC #682

crossword 3:33 
meta DNF 

 


Continue reading

Posted in Contests | Tagged | 41 Comments

Tuesday, June 29, 2021

Jonesin' 4:04 (Derek) 

 


LAT 3:07 (Derek) 

 


NYT 5:20 (Amy) 

 


Universal 4:28 (Jim Q) 

 


WSJ untimed (Jim P) 

 


Xword Nation untimed (Ade) 

 


USA Today x:xx (Jane Doe) 

 

So many crossword announcements today!

  1. Matt Gaffney writes, “I’m doing a Zoom Q&A Tuesday, June 29, from 7:30 to 9:30 PM ET, hosted by the Muggles Forum, answering questions from solvers about contest crosswords. All are welcome but we are limited to 300, so if you are unable to get a spot, the talk will be posted in full on Wednesday. Zoom link here.
  2. The New Yorker has added a weekly cryptic crossword to its puzzle mix!  Here’s the announcement and here’s the first puzzle, constructed by Patrick Berry. The other constructors on the cryptics roster are Emily Cox & Henry Rathvon, Neville Fogarty, Joshua Kosman & Henri Picciotto, Paolo Pasco, Trip Payne, and Stella Zawistowski. These folks are all great at writing cryptics! You can solve the puzzles online or print them out. (Sign up for the Crosswords newsletter to get a handy email whenever a new puzzle is available.)
  3. This Thursday, July 1, a new weekly indie crossword called Crucinova begins. Crucinova is the brainchild of longtime puzzler Lisa Bunker, and these will not be your grandmother’s crosswords. Lisa gave me a sneak peek at the first two puzzles—they’re well-made and fun, and the grids are not your standard square crosswords. I signed up! $29.99 a year after the first free month. Check it out. Also: Constructors with really creative ideas (which newspaper puzzles often cannot accommodate) are encouraged to submit their work to Crucinova. Explanatory submission guidelines here.

—Amy

Continue reading

Posted in Daily Puzzles | Tagged , , , , , , | 11 Comments

WSJ Contest — Friday, June 25, 2021

Grid: 30 minutes; meta: an hour or two  

 


Continue reading

Posted in Contests | Tagged | 10 Comments

Monday, June 28, 2021

BEQ tk (Jenni) 

 


LAT 2:05 (Stella) 

 


NYT untimed (Jenni) 

 


The New Yorker tk (pannonica) 

 


Universal untimed (pannonica) 

 


WSJ untimed (Jim P) 

 

Continue reading

Posted in Daily Puzzles | Tagged , , , | 20 Comments

Fiend birthday contest for crossword constructors

On June 13th, Diary of a Crossword Fiend turned 16 and we’ve selected a winning puzzle from the many promising submissions celebrating our anniversary that we received.

You can learn about the winning team as well as solve their puzzle on this page, or just click the “Anniversary Puzzle” tab in the menu bar at the top of the Fiend homepage. Please add your comments here on this post.

Posted in Contests | 9 Comments

Sunday, June 27, 2021

LAT untimed (Jenni) 

 


NYT 9:22 (Amy) 

 


Universal untimed (Jim Q)  

 


Universal (Sunday) 11:51 (Jim P) 

 


WaPo untimed (Jim Q) 

 

Continue reading

Posted in Daily Puzzles | Tagged , , , , , , | 34 Comments