Day: February 23, 2025

DCL Highlights: Weeks of 2/9 and 2/16

We’re all a bit behind on solving lately, so we’re briefer today, and there’s a good possibility the next couple of these posts will have some older puzzles as we catch up.

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!

Cruciverb: Selected puzzles from the Minneapolis Journal in 1934. I’ve loved working through these nearly century-old puzzles, which are hard, but not as inscrutable as I expected. –Matt

Vox: (2/15) by Ade Koiki –Matt

Los Angeles Times: (2/12) by Hoang-Kim Vu and (2/16) by Jill Rafaloff & Michael Sontarp –Matt

Universal: Hour-Long (2/18) by Richard D. Allen –Matt

Bewilderingly: Will posted the latest round of his Indie puzzle highlights since our last recs post.

Washington Post: Little League (2/9), Letters of Introduction (2/16), and Backup Plans (2/23), all by Evan Birnholz. Evan’s on a hot streak. Three very different puzzles from each other, with some stuff we bet you haven’t seen before. –Matt and Steve

AVCX+: Seeking Joy (2/21) by Rebecca Goldstein –Norah

Sunday, February 23, 2025

Black Crossword: Mini by Juliana Pache. .pdf, online.
Crosswoods: “Ugh, Fiddlesticks,” to SpongeBob by Crosswoods. .puz, .pdf, online.
Crossword Club: Daily Crossword: February 23, 2025 by Trent H. Evans. .pdf, online.
The Dartmouth: Feels Like Home by Zoella Lin and Yunfei Zhang. .pdf, online.
The Hub Crossword: ($) Golfers by Brendan Emmett Quigley. Patreon subscription.
M & M Crosswords: Greasy Grub by Martina Waluk. .pdf, online.
Matt Gaffney’s Weekly Crossword Contest: ($) MGWCC #873 “Sweet Sixteenths” (Meta) by Matt Gaffney. Subscribe at Patreon.
The Michigan Daily: The Sunday by Alex Warren. Online.
Puzzmo: Page by Page by Darby. Online.

Apple News: ($) Double Feature by Ross Trudeau. News+ Subscription Required
Apple News Mini: ($) Daily Mini by Erik Agard. News+ Subscription Required
The Atlantic: by Kelsey Dixon. .pdf, online.
The Columbia Spectator: Daily Mini: 02/23/2025 by Molly Durawa. .puz, .pdf, online.
Crosshare Community: Daily Mini and Featured Puzzles.
Crossword Flow: ($) by Matthew Luter. iPad-exclusive app.
Crosswordr Community: Community Puzzle Platform.
Crosswords with Friends: Sunday Funday by Lynn Lempel. App Store | Google Play
Crosswords with Friends: Midi Puzzle by Todd McClary. App Store | Google Play
Crosswords with Friends: Mini Puzzle by Stella Zawistowski. App Store | Google Play
Daily Beast: Wicked Cool, Thurs. Feb. 20, 2025 by Matt Gaffney. .pdf, online.
Daily POP Crosswords: by Patti Varol. App Store | Google Play, online.
Frank Virzi: Mini #143 (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.
Premier Crossword: by Frank Longo. .pdf, online.
Slate: Slate Crossword: Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025 by Nancy Serrano-Wu. Online, .pdf.
Slate: Slate Mini: Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025 by Quiara Vasquez. Online, .pdf.
Sporcle: Historically Black Colleges and Universities by rae-cat. Online.
WashU Student Life : Game, Set, Match by Arvind Kalyan. Online.
YourPuzzleSource: Weekly 15×15 by Phil Fraas. .pdf, online.

The Boston Globe: Mini Crossword by Sowmya Ramkumar. .pdf, online.
CNN: Daily Puzzle by Patrick Blindauer. Online.
Los Angeles Times: Toy Story by Gary Larson. Online, pdf. Free Cruciverb account for .puz.
Los Angeles Times Mini: by Elizabeth Gorski. Online.
Merl Reagle Archives: February 23, 2025 – Back and Forth by Merl Reagle. Online, .pdf.
New York Sun: ($) Club Sandwiches by Seth A. Abel. Reissues from 2006.
New York Times: ($) In the Rearview by Daniel Grinberg and Rafael Musa. Online, .pdf, app.
New York Times Mini: by Joel Fagliano. Online, app.
Newsday: 2/23/25 STATE DINNER: Black Tie Optional by Jerry Clarkson. Online .pdf
PlayFour: ($) Daily Puzzle. Online
Squared Away: ($) Daily Puzzle. Online.
The Telegraph: Cross Atlantic by Steve Bartlett. Online.
TV Crossword: Weekly Puzzle. Online.
Universal: ($) Themeless Sunday 123 by Quinn George. Online, pdf. .puz.
Universal Sunday: Playoff Games by Bob Weisz and John Kugelman. .puz.
USA Today: Rice Crackers by Emma Lawson. Online, .pdf, app.
Washington Post: Backup Plan by Evan Birnholz. Online, .pdf. .puz.

1Across: 2nd by Gridzilla. .pdf, online.

Everyman Cryptic: Everyman crossword No 4,088 .pdf, online.
Financial Times: FT Crossword .pdf.
The Hindu Cryptic: ($) The Hindu Cryptic on Sunday .pdf, online.
The Independent: Cryptic Crossword .pdf, online.
New York Times Variety: ($) Acrostic by David Balton and Jane Stewart. .pdf, online.

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