We’re getting into the wet season with April, so what better time to check if we’re feeling “Right As Rain” or not? I love that this gives me a chance to do vertical symmetry for the first time in this series, and I hope you enjoy how that works with this puzzle’s theme!
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We’re at the tail end of winter, but I can relate to all the “Late Risers” out there still hiding out in the warmth under the covers—so here’s a tricky Thursday-grade puzzle for you all. Solve it first thing in the morning or whenever you have a spare moment, and I hope you enjoy the theme!
It’s time to “Hear, Hear!” the good news about a puzzle collab with the illustrious Matthew Stock. I suggested this theme idea knowing he’d deliver great theme material, and I think we ended up with a fun final product. He’s also been continuing an impressive run of crosswords at various venues, including the fresh USA Today, where he happens to have a puzzle up on this very day! Go check it out.
Some words from Matthew: Thrilled to be back on Datalexic, and with a collaboration no less! I’ve always admired Enrique’s work, so it was a real treat to team up on this puzzle. My favorite themers are 17- and 46-Across, and my favorite clues are 20-Across and 5-Down (both Enrique’s, I’m pretty sure). Hope you enjoy!
To start off the new year fresh, it’s time to get “Iced Under” and cool off! Hope you enjoy this tricky, oddly sized puzzle. It’s best solved on paper if possible, and when you’re done be sure to check out the solution pdf too.
A couple updates: The Mexican Midis pack was a success, collecting over $500 in donations toward a campaign supporting pandemic relief for migrant farmworkers! I’m now releasing the pack freely, so if you didn’t get a chance to pick it up yet, here’s the zip file.
As for themed midis going forward, I’m happy to have shared a bunch in 2020, ranging from simple three-part concepts to a multi-layered meta. To help keep this crossword series sustainable for me, though, I’ve decided to scale back this year to just the monthly full-size puzzle. But midi fans can rest easy—they might still show up in the occasional puzzle pack down the line.
Update: Scroll to the bottom of this post for an explanation of the meta answer!
In celebration of a year of puzzles at Datalexic, and also of this being the 25th puzzle to appear on the site, here’s a meta midi that envisions a “Royal Screwup” scenario! Send the correct answer to datalexic@gmail.com to be entered in a raffle for a 1-year subscription to the AVCX, Inkubator, or Matt Gaffney’s Weekly Crossword Contest, for you or someone you think would enjoy it.
For those new to meta crosswords, please read this gentle intro by Matt Gaffney first, and if you find yourself stumped feel free to use the internet and/or e-mail me for a hint to the meta. Answers are due by Sunday night (12/20), and I’ll announce the winner on twitter the next day. Here are your instructions:
The meta answer to this puzzle is the last name of an actress who played a superhero on film.
Thanks to Matthew Stock for test solving an initial draft of this, and to my partner Vince (who has no meta experience) for verifying the “gettability” of the meta!
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To find the meta answer, we need to look at the crossword’s central revealer PRINCESS CUT as well as the starred answers TINA, ARIE, ELLE, and MONA. The trick is that each of these answers has a letter “cut” from the name of a Disney princess, to make the name of another notable woman:
– A is cut from TIANA of “The Princess and the Frog” to make TINA
– L is cut from ARIEL of “The Little Mermaid” to make ARIE
– B is cut from BELLE of “Beauty and the Beast” to make ELLE
– A is cut from MOANA of “Moana” to make MONA
In order, the cut letters spell out the meta answer Jessica ALBA, who played the superhero Invisible Woman in two “Fantastic Four” films.
“The Language Of Film” is universal, right? So said the reel before each movie started rolling at the old UC Theater in Berkeley back in the day. I hope this slightly tricky puzzle brings you the satisfaction of watching a Hitchcock double feature in a velvety chair with a big tub of popcorn (extra butter). Enjoy!
We’re covering “Base Ten” notation in today’s themed midi, but don’t worry, no complicated math needed to solve this one! Hope you enjoy the wordplay in this silly breather after a very stressful start to November. Please stay resilient and continue practicing self care when you can… and what more delightful way than by solving crossword puzzles?
As daylight saving time approaches, you might feel out of whack, but don’t leave things “Misplaced” as a result! This month’s big puzzle has a slightly tricky, but lighthearted, theme that has me thinking about school, train stations, and other ways of being out in public that I used to take for granted, but that now make me feel nostalgic.
Speaking of things that feel out of whack, it almost goes without saying (but not quite, so I’m saying it) that if you’re a U.S. citizen and you haven’t already voted or don’t have a plan yet for how to do it on Election Day, you can still visit vote.org to figure out how—it’s never been more important.
A couple weeks away from Halloween, we’re dealing with the horrors of getting “Ghosted” in a themed midi! Hope you enjoy the holiday theme concept, as well as the spooky-ooky fill and clues scattered throughout. And even though we may not be attending costume parties this year, I encourage you to join me in dressing up, decorating your space, eating candy, and/or watching a classic movie—”The Witches,” anyone?
Speaking of Halloween, the Mexican Midi puzzle pack released last month contains a crossword based on a Mexican spiritual holiday that falls at around the same time. It’s not too late to make a donation to a worthy cause and pick up the full pack!
In this month’s puzzle we’re getting a handle on “Reshares” and other ways to connect on social media and beyond. Twitter is a tool I’ve been using more regularly for interacting within the crossword community, especially in our socially distant times, but as an introvert there’s still a lot I need to learn about getting comfortable with it. Self care is also important, so don’t feel guilty about facing FOMO to take breaks from social media to recharge at your own pace.
Speaking of resharing, I’ll take this opportunity while we’re still in the midst of Hispanic Heritage Month to mention again that I have a puzzle pack of “Mexican Midis” for charity available. For more details, head on over here. Hope you get a chance to enjoy these!
Update: Thank you for generating over $500 in donations for a great cause! I’m now releasing the pack freely, so if you didn’t get a chance to pick it up yet, here’s the zip file.
I have something special to announce today: a lovingly assembled puzzle pack of “Mexican Midis” for charity, by yours truly! The pack consists of 5 lightly-themed crosswords on the topic of Mexican and Mexican-American culture. Think of this as somewhere between a New York Times midi puzzle pack and the fully-themed 11x midis that I write monthly for this site.
How it works: The first crossword in the pack is freely available here, so you can enjoy it as usual and stop there if you choose. To access the full pack, head over to justice4women.org/covid-19 to read about how the pandemic is affecting farmworkers and their families, folks who do essential work with few protections and who are being disproportionately impacted right now, especially with recent wildfires. Then make a donation of any amount to that relief fund and send a screenshot of the receipt to datalexic@gmail.com, and I’ll reply with a zipped file containing .pdf and .puz versions of the puzzle pack.
Special thanks to my partner and perpetual test solver Vince Novak, as well as to the wonderful Steve Mossberg of Square Pursuit who provided keen and insightful feedback on these puzzles. Hope you enjoy!