DCL Highlights: Week of 1/5

Remember that this is not an attempt to pick the “best” puzzles, and we won’t be commenting as critics. Our approach is best described as “puzzles we solved that we don’t think you should miss.” Kind of like staff recommendations at a local bookstore.

Did we miss your favorites? Add them in the comments!

Apple News: ($) Would You Let Me Finish? (1/5) by Ada Nicolle. – Rich

Audubon: Waiting in the Wings (1/7) by Jasper Davidoff. A cute theme with a bunch of fun bonus clues and fill. – Matt, Rich, Norah

Defector: ($) Miss Me (1/6) by Marshal Herrmann. I’m honestly kind of shocked I hadn’t seen this theme before, but it didn’t lessen my nostalgic enjoyment any less. – Matt

Slate: Slate Midi (1/7) by Quiara Vasquez. – Rich

Wall Street Journal: Autoplay (1/9) by Mike Shenk. From time to time, including this puzzle, I look at “By Mike Shenk/Edited by Mike Shenk” and chuckle a little. I was eating crow a few minutes later on this one. A brilliant puzzle with a theme delivered absolutely thoroughly. – Matt

AVCX+: ($) “I’m Content” (1/10) by Owen Bergstein. One benefit to being home rehabbing my knee is that I am finally caught up on all the puzzles on my clipboard (save a stack of Tim Croce puzzles that always take me 20+ minutes to solve). I wish I’d made note of all the recent puzzles I’ve liked but here’s one that I thought was particularly impressive, partially because of his age, but just because of some fresh, clever cluing. Looking forward to seeing much more from him. – Steve

Los Angeles Times: (1/11) by Kareem Ayas. Kareem had a trio of themelesses today, and this grid was the star for me. Funky letter combinations and fresh entries fill out three separate stacks with a lovely staircase center. – Matt

Universal: Universal Freestyle 156 (1/11) by Kareem Ayas. Easier than his LA Times grid, but no less full of interesting fill from corner to corner. – Matt

Saturday, January 11, 2025

Black Crossword: Mini by Juliana Pache. .pdf, online.
Club 72: Freestyle 977 by Tim Croce, club72.wordpress.com. .puz, .pdf.
Crossword Club: Daily Crossword by Ada Nicolle. .pdf, online.
David Alfred Bywaters: Overworked Abbreviations by David Alfred Bywaters. .puz, .pdf, online.
Flosswords: They mean nothing to me! Except when I’m playing Spades (Themeless № 6) by Evan Mulvihill. .pdf, online.
Matt Gaffney’s Weekly Crossword Contest: ($) “Make Womb” (Meta) by Matt Gaffney. Subscribe at Patreon.
Puzzmo: Business Up Front, Party in the Back by Trent H. Evans. Online.
Reason: Seen and Obscene by Stella Zawistowski. .pdf, online.
Spyscape: Chew On This by Jeff Stillman. .pdf, online.

Apple News: ($) Freestyle by Mark Valdez. News+ Subscription Required
Apple News Mini: ($) Daily Mini by Erik Agard. News+ Subscription Required
Crosshare Community: Daily Mini and Featured Puzzles.
Crossword Flow: ($) Sound Mixing by Brian Callahan. iPad-exclusive app.
Crosswordr Community: Community Puzzle Platform.
Crosswords with Friends: Smartypants Saturday by Caitlin Reid. App Store | Google Play
Crosswords with Friends: Midi Puzzle by Stella Zawistowski. App Store | Google Play
Crosswords with Friends: Mini Puzzle by Patrick Berry. App Store | Google Play
Daily POP Crosswords: by Bonnie L. Gentry. App Store | Google Play, online.
Frank Virzi: Mini #100 (5×5) by Frank Virzi. Online at Crosswordr.
India Mini Crossword: Daily Mini .pdf, online.
Mangesh Ghogre’s Indian Mini Crosswords: Daily Mini by Mangesh Ghogre. .pdf, online.
Merriam Webster: The Missing Letter by Matt Gaffney .pdf, online.
Vox: Twenty Fives by Patrick Blindauer. .pdf, online.
The Walrus: Curious (Themeless) by Emma Lawson. .pdf, online.

The Boston Globe: Mini Crossword by Sowmya Ramkumar. .pdf, online.
CNN: Daily Puzzle by Patrick Blindauer. Online.
Los Angeles Times: by Kareem Ayas. Online, pdf. Free Cruciverb account for .puz.
Los Angeles Times Mini: by Elizabeth Gorski. Online.
New York Sun: ($) Are You Ready for Some Football? by Joe Bower. Reissues from 2006.
New York Times: ($) by Ryan McCarty. Online, .pdf, app.
New York Times Mini: by Wyna Liu. Online, app.
Newsday: Saturday Stumper by Matthew Sewell. Online .pdf
PlayFour: ($) Daily Puzzle. Online
Squared Away: ($) Daily Puzzle. Online.
The Telegraph: Cross Atlantic by Nick Huntley. Online.
Universal: ($) Universal Freestyle 156 by Kareem Ayas. Online, pdf. .puz.
USA Today: “Barely Hurts at All!” (Freestyle) by Kareem Ayas. Online, .pdf, app.
The Wall Street Journal: Time to Get Up by Alex Eaton-Salners. Online, .pdf. .puz.
Washington Post Daily Mini Meta: by Frank Longo. Online, .pdf.

Tortoiseshell Studio: ($) Snake Charmer by Nathan Curtis. Patreon subscription.

Financial Times: FT Crossword .pdf.
Financial Times: FT Crossword: Polymath .pdf.
Financial Times: FT Weekend Magazine Crossword .pdf.
The Globe and Mail: The Daily Cryptic Crossword. .pdf, online.
The Hindu Cryptic: Daily Cryptic .pdf, online.
The Independent: Cryptic Crossword .pdf, online.
WSJ Variety: Co-working by Steve Mossberg. .pdf.

Support Daily Crossword Links

Check out the DCL’s staff recommendations from last week’s puzzles

Other American-style links:

Reviews and Discussion at Diary of a Crossword Fiend | Boatload Puzzles/AARP | “Crosscord” Discord | Crucidrama (en español) | Cruciverbalista (en español) | Easy Crossword (Newsday Archives) | FreeDailyCrosswords | Medium Crossword (Newsday Archives) | Hard Crossword (Newsday Archives) | r/crossword | USA Today Reviews and Discussion at Off the Grid | Squares.io | XWord-Muggles Meta Calendar

Other Cryptic/Variety links:

A Frame Games | cf.kmbweb.de Links Library | CoxRathvon.com | Harper’s ($) | Lovatts | Magpie ($) | Mokelfish Links Library | MyCrossword | NPL | Panda Magazine ($) | Private Eye | PuzzleCrypt archives | Puzzling StackExchange | r/crosswords | Sydney Morning Herald ($) | The Telegraph | The Times (UK) ($), includes The Listener