Beneath The Surface

  PDF  -  puz (AL)  -  Solution Returning to a regular midi cryptic this month. Enjoy!

  PDF  -  ipuz (online)  -  solution I'm excited to be making my debut this month in The Gnomon , an indie venue for variety cryptics run by Andy Yingst (formerly a contributor to the Browser), with a 6x6 Printer's Devilry. Hope you will check it out! It was nice to flex my PD muscles again after having not constructed one for a while, and it inspired me to create a 7x7 PD for this month's blog puzzle. To solve online, download the ipuz file above for use in your solving app. In other news, I had a regular cryptic last month in the AVCX Cryptic series, edited by Francis Heaney--do try that one out if you haven't already!

  PDF  -  puz  -  solution July's puzzle is a regular midi. Enjoy!

  PDF  -  puz  -  solution Back to a regular cryptic this month - enjoy!

  PDF  -  puz  -  solution This month's offering is a 9x9 variety cryptic in the style of the Guardian Genius series (blocked grid). I'd recommend solving on paper, but if you prefer computer solving there's an Across Lite file linked above. Enjoy!

  PDF  -  puz  -  solution While cluing this puzzle I decided to create a seasonal mini-theme. Can you spot it? Enjoy! Also, hope to see some of you at ACPT!

  PDF  -  puz  -  solution I realized yesterday that I didn't have a March puzzle ready, so I threw together this 9x9. Thanks to Evan Jenkins for testing. As it happens this is also my 50th puzzle on this blog, which is a nice milestone. Enjoy!

  PDF  -  puz  -  online  -  solution For this month's midi cryptic, I chose to go with a grid highlighting 11-letter answers. Thanks to Evan Jenkins for test-solving and helping to improve 9A and 9D. Enjoy!

  PDF  -  puz  -  online  -  solution Here's my first midi of 2026! Hope you enjoy solving it. Thanks to Evan Jenkins for testing.

  PDF  -  puz  -  online  -  solution Hope my last midi of 2025 contributes a little more delight to your festive puzzling season! See you in 2026.

  PDF  -  puz  -  online  -  solution Well, I didn't expect there would be a gap of a few months between my last puzzle and this one, so apologies for the lack of activity here recently. Simply put, I didn't have much time to make cryptics, mainly due to demands in my day job. Also, I had some other crossword projects that needed attention, especially getting ready for the Midwest Crossword Tournament last month, where I was one of the constructors (a personal milestone, and a huge blast to boot!). Finally, I managed enough time this past week to throw together this midi and get it tested (thanks as ever to Evan Jenkins for testing it out). I think I should be able to make another midi next month, and then it will be time to reflect on where this blog goes in 2026. Solvers of The Browser's weekly cryptic will know that their run of puzzles will wrap at the end of 2025. I'm fortunate to have one more puzzle in the queue there so look out for it (likely ...

PDF - puz  -  Online  -  solution I'm posting this puzzle while on vacation, so I'll keep this short: mini cryptic this month! Enjoy!

  PDF  -  puz  -  online  -  solution My favorite clue here is 8 (I'm a fan of the original source materials for the surface, though I've not kept up with the more recent entrants to its canon).  Have fun and stay cool! Back next month.

  Puzzle (PDF)  -  Solution (PDF) Surprise! Instead of a cryptic, this month's puzzle is a Printer's Devilry--my first since February 2023. Enjoy! (And yes, there will be a cryptic next month.)

  PDF  -  puz  -  online  -  solution A midi for the month of May! I used this puzzle to practice with some wordplay that I feel I've underused in my work to date. Hope you'll enjoy it!

  PDF  -  Solution Back to a variety puzzle this month, and I'm pleased to share my first Playfair cryptic! I solved my first Playfair a few months ago--an Azed Christmas special . Though I'd never heard of this form of crossword before, I admired how it combined cryptic solving and codebreaking, and I knew I had to try my hand at making one. You can read more about Playfair ciphers and their uses in crosswords  here . Fortuitously, I found a good Playfair codeword from another deep interest of mine--music--and used the inspiration to come up with what I hope is a fun multi-layered challenge. And I hope it inspires some of you to search out more Playfair puzzles!

  PDF  -  puz  -  online  -  solution PDF Another regular midi for you to enjoy this month!

PDF  -  Solution PDF This is my first try at making an ABC Jigsaw, and I hope you'll like it! I enjoy the combination of wordplay and logic that goes into solving this variety of cryptic crossword.  As it happens, I'll have tomorrow's cryptic in The Browser, so look out for that. If you're not solving Browser cryptics, there's never been a better time to start! ;-) Back here with a new puzzle next month!

  PDF  -  puz  -  online  -  Solution PDF Happy New Year! Here is a new midi cryptic (11x11). I've resolved this year to return to regular monthly blog puzzles - 12 new puzzles (at a minimum) for the year ahead. One important programming change - I don't plan to make standard 15x15 cryptics a regular feature going forward. Instead, the blog will feature a mix of smaller regular cryptics (minis and midis) and variety puzzles. Happy solving and check back in February for a fresh puzzle!

  PDF  -  puz  -  online  -  solution Summer has gone by too fast, and they are saying an early fall beckons for the Chicago area. I've been taking as much advantage of being outside as possible this year, hence the construction docket has been very light of late, but I worked up another mini for this month. Hope you enjoy it!