A new weekly post curated by the DCL team.
If you missed us before now, this is the third post in a new, spoiler-free weekly series designed to recommend puzzles you might have missed among ever-longer daily posts. It draws on the example set by Will Nediger’s Indie Puzzle Highlights posts.
This is not at all an attempt to pick the “best” puzzles, and we will be less detailed in our comments than Will was. Our approach is best described as “puzzles we don’t think you should miss.” Kind of like staff recommendations at a local bookstore.
Little bit lighter this week, but still some puzzles we think you’ll enjoy. Whether you solve one or all of this list, we’d love to hear about your favorite puzzles from the week in the comments here, as well.
Wall Street Journal: Sweet Adeline (1/13) Andrea Carla Michaels and Jeff Jerome with a clean consistent theme and long themers that are just fun to piece together. – Matt
New York Times: (1/13) by Hoang-Kim Vu: Packed full of fresh and interesting phrases; all bangers no skips – Norah
David Alfred Bywaters: Mixed Doubles (1/13) – In David’s typical style, a theme set full of fun finds surrounded by tricky fill. – Matt
Universal Sunday: Post-It Notes (1/14) by Paul Coulter. The kind of theme that even once you’ve got it, each entry is still a small aha moment of wordplay. – Matt
BEQ: Themeless Monday (1/15). Tough (but fair) cluing. – Matt
Merriam Webster: The Missing Letter #26 (1/16) – If you haven’t done one of Matt Gaffney’s Merriam Webster puzzles yet, worth a visit. This one stands on its own in both its trademark format as well as the typical crossword theme. – Matt
Universal: Plus One (1/17) by Astrid Kane and Adam Simpson. Tight theme with a perfect revealer that’s like a bow on top. – Rich
Fireball: Thar She Blows! (1/17) by Dana Edwards. Loved puzzling out this evocative theme. – Rich
Universal: Second Grade (1/16) by Chris Gross: Just liked the theme. – Matt
Wall Street Journal: Put Your Mind at Ease (1/17) by Greg Snitkin. A simple theme concept that lends itself to creative and engaging themers. – Matt
AVCX: To Coin a Phrase by Aimee Lucido (1/17). Fun theme. Good week for themes that result in interesting or re-parsed phrases. -Matt
New Yorker: First off (1/19) by Adam Aaronson. This puzzle is good enough that I forgive Adam for how much the theme filled me with deep constructor jealousy. – Parker
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