Just a bit of a switch-up for the grid shape. Anyway, here's wonderwall - I mean, Mini #5. Comments after the puzzle.
Big heads up for folks who want to look up Darkest Night: it is one of the goriest horror story podcasts I've ever had the pleasure of listening to on the edge of my seat, and it's fantastically narrated by Lee Pace (and later Keith David, who I feel was an improvement). It's not kiddo-friendly. I've more than once felt the need to re-edit the clues and knock out some internalized biases and comments that really should have no place in a crossword. (See Rich Silvestri's showing his whole ass last Friday with his clues for KOSHER, and SKINHEAD previously - yes, Rich, I'm calling you out. Inhale pant.) I got a shellacking from ACPT. Bottom 50%, but I'd gladly do it again provided there's a simultaneous online division and in-person contest. No "after the fact" stuff. And I'm coming after you, Puzzle 5 ... One day, I will conquer it. Remember - when nothing seems to go right, go left!
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Sheyd (pl. sheydim), f. sheydah: (From Jewish folklore) a spirit or "demon" that's not necessarily evil but not all that pleasant to deal with.
Sheydah (crossword): A 15x15 or similar that's not necessarily difficult but not intended to be easy. Good lord, this took some doing, but I'm glad to have done it. Folx, my first 15x. Thanks to Ky, David, and Norah for testing, as well as Norah (again) and Christopher for helping me get past some fill that was crunchier than glass. I know I've got a ways to go until I find my groove, but I'm glad to be putting out there something I'm quite proud of. As I previously mentioned, I do not plan on doing 15s all that often, as I'm currently more comfortable building minis and midis. I do, however, plan to do more 15s down the road. No extra comments today - just remember that when nothing seems to go right, go left! Happy puzzling!
I know I said I'd take off this weekend to focus on ACPT, but this tournament had me needing to burn off anxious energy that was generated by my tripping over my own ego and royally blowing it with Crosscord. I needed a distraction, so I made a second Menace. Many thanks to Brooke Husice and David Ritterskamp for getting me past a couple of hurdles, and to kormad for test-solving. Further comments after the puzzle.
I wanted to be mad at Kevin Der for Puzzle 5 but I can't. I had a panic attack in the middle of a Discord server. That's what I get for having exaggerated hopes for myself and for thinking only 3 years of solving is enough practice for dealing with harder puzzles. I wasn't ready. I didn't have fun with that puzzle, and I hate that I had a panic attack. Even trying to make this grid caused some doubts as to whether I had the ability to make good grids. However, as I said elsewhere, the only critics I'm going to have are the ones in my head if I don't put my stuff out there. So, here I am. Another puzzle. Puzzle 37 on the Crosshare records. Nothing went all that right with ACPT today - guess I should have gone left instead.
Christopher Adams (@arctanprime on the Twits) is completely at fault for the seed of this grid. Comments after the puzzle.
So PuzzleMe is a no-go for now. I've found that out the hard way with trying to construct from a .puz file, only to realize that they do not like having to work with anything smaller than 11x11. I'll have to keep shopping around. My brain is not ready for ACPT, not going to lie, but I am going to bite this particular bullet and try my best, especially since I'm going to be solving these seven puzzles while I'm at work (oof). I dread 5 and 7 but I'd rather have my first official stumbles rather than not try at all. Wish me and the other contestants (rookies and not) all the fun and luck we need - and remember, when nothing seems to go right, go left!
Due to my participating in - let's call it 1-Across - this weekend, my original plan of posting this on Saturday is being changed up so I can put some more brain energy into practicing harder grids, especially after the shellacking I got Monday evening from Kevin Der's contribution to the Boswords Spring Themeless League. I'm considering posting my original puzzles to Crosshares and migrating future puzzles to the PuzzleMe format. Further comments after the puzzle.
This one was intended to be a little slippery, but once you get a good foothold it gets easier from there. I absolutely recommend seeing the shitshow that is 1D, either in its original format or the version with the RiffTrax commentary. If you happen to be participating in the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament, good luck to you as well - and if you feel courageous enough to register, I believe there is still time as of this posting (or of this showing up on Matt Gritzmacher's newsletter). And, as always, when nothing seems to go right, go left! |
AuthorAriel Haymarket (they/them, she/her, it/its, e/em/eir) is an annoying anti-authoritarian leftist residing on stolen Kiikaapoi land. New grids every first and third Friday and every second and fourth Tuesday. Archives
December 2023
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