ACROSS LITE PUZZLE: [ TEENSPEAK]
PROGRAM: [Across Lite]
PROGRAM: [Java]
PRINTOUT PUZZLE: [ TEENSPEAK]
PROGRAM: [Adobe Acrobat]
I finally got around to archiving the site by difficulty, and I’m pleased with the results. It was a task that I unfortunately tried to make harder than it actually was, as it typical with me and computer-related tasks. But nevertheless it’s up, and a click on your choice of difficulty will weed out only those types of puzzles (menu’s in the middle column below the store).
(Sidebar: I was surprised there are substantially more medium-level puzzles in the batch than any other. I’m assuming most of the vocal followers will say, “Brendan, hit me where it hurts and go with more difficult ones!” Well, I need to know these things, people! So please, more suggestions for what difficulty levels/types of puzzles you’re looking for in the comments section. I am here to entertain you. Give me words and phrases that need to appear in a crossword post-haste. Tell me you want me to make a puzzle about smoking banana peels. I will! I’m like the genie and this blog here’s the lamp. And you get three free puzzles a week!)
(Post-script to the sidebar: that Liz Gorski-esque puzzle-as-art thing is still coming. I haven’t forgotten about it. Thanks.)
So please, feel free to share the puzzles and the site with the uninitiated. If you’re printing out the puzzle, make ten extra copies and hand them out to your fellow friends/inmates/bridge parters/middle managers/etc. If you do it on-line, e-mail the link to ten friends. Tweet about it. Throw it up on Facebook or Digg. Announcement: I will reimburse 200% of the cost to anybody who gets a tattoo of one of my puzzle grids and/or my face and/or my name. And I’ll reimburse 300% of the cost if it’s a tramp stamp. Get the word out. There’s something here for puzzlers of every ilk. Seriously folks, the new motto for this blog is: Share The Puzzle. So: do it.
Thanks BEQ. Nice Wednesday puzzle. I have a hard time with today’s rap “artists”, and happily, you laid off the genre. Love the site!
I was not feelin’ this one. I don’t understand the theme, which is to say, I see that you can parse the theme answers as phrases, but what do any of those phrases mean? “Like, End Games.” “Like, Lee Grant.” “Like, Why’s That?” Hmmm, Maybe I’m just being dense and there’s something I’m missing. Also thought this was a touch harder than Easy. CEO for CFO f’d things up a bit, as did JAMES IHA and ALAMANCE. But probably easier than your avg puzzle.
Solving music today:
“X Ray” – Syd Straw
“Don’t Explain” (Dzihan and Kamien Remix) – B Holiday
“Is This Love” – Whitesnake
“Dead and Gone” – T.I.
Sorry, Brendan. If I get a crossword tattoo, it’s gonna have to be a mostly blank grid so my husband and I can work on filling it in when we’re bored. Or else I need to make a puzzle with a personally meaningful theme. Like, my kid’s full name breaks down into 8/5/8, so I could use that to anchor a mini-grid.
I eyeballed the standings before entering mine, and now the site thinks I no longer want to enter my time and rating. 4:45, 3 stars. I, too, was not feelin’ this one, dawg, but I liked a lot of the fill.
Thanks, dude.
Further proof why it’s a bitch to try and make easy puzzles. It’s tough to come up with something new and fresh. You weren’t feeling it, yet, all the test solvers thought it worked. Can’t win ’em all. Nice play list, though.
That would be one helluva tattoo.
(Jeez, tough crowd today).
Oh man, I’d totally get a BEQ tattoo. I might have to visit a tattoo parlor today.
I think I agree that this was fairly ho-hum. And I’m not so sure on that “easy”, since I had a pretty nasty hitch in the SW when I mis-filled GETS PAST. I will say, though, that I like what you’ve been doing with the tried-and-true “add some letters to a common phrase”, since he actually works off the sounds and not necessarily the spellings. Three themes in a row, now, where you’ve done that.
I won’t be accepting your tattoo challenge, though, since I can’t think of -anything- I like enough to get permanently stained on my body. Except maybe the phrase “Now everybody—” (semi-obscure lit reference)…
A 2K tramp stamp becomes a serious(er) investment.
16A: Scotchguard, say.
I did finally break 10 minutes, but it seemed harder than “easy”: for me, ALAMANCE was unknown, this usage of TAT was new, and I think of the spelling as being KLATSCH (about 10 times more Google hits than KLATCH). At least JAMES IHA was there at the edge of my consciousness when I needed him. Like others a bad guess at 63A caused problems: I had LETSPASS, thinking that 55D was REDS – clearly this was before I had figured out the theme. As Mitch pointed out there does seem to be a trend here of re-spelling (homophoning?) themes.
Despite my time fixation, I like the hard puzzles where I’m going to sweat and have to spend way more than 10 minutes.
I loved 10D, I’m a huge SP fan…totally makes up for 11D!!
And ROCKY BALBOA symmetrical with DONT FIGHT IT….like, OMG!
As far as sharing, I have worn my “WTF is BEQ?” at two bar gigs now…people always come up to me and ask who the f you are! You’ve been exposed to dozens!
I also have a lot of tattoos, and I love your puzzles… but, dude….that’s a big commitment!
Loved it. JAMES IHA was much appreciated (though for a few seconds I had JAMES AHI – guess I’m more of a foodie than a rocker these days)
The clue for 26 down was genius.
Also, just for me, just once, could please put NAAN in the grid? That’s the way always see it the restaurant? Maybe it’s an east coast west coast, thing.
Ooh, that just gave me a groan-inducing pun clue: Indian teen detective? NAAN BOBSEY.
eh. some nice fill, but then too many random wtfers (for me) like TAT and LLBS and the chess notation one, which all combined managed to turn a ten-minute puzzle into a long blank stare with 95 percent of the grid filled. theme was too reachy.
I didn’t think it was easy and tried to understand the theme beyond like “like” but that was it hmm…In better news we get James Iha, it would be nice to see a female like D’arcy sometime. What is the ratio of female musicians in puzzles to male, just sayin’…
I’ll admit, the hard ones are too hard for me, most of the time. I’m happy you throw a few mediums and easies our way every now and then.
Fun! I loved the clue for OOO instead of the old “Winning Tic Tac Toe line” standby. And great idea re: letting people know about the blog! Check out my facebook status. 🙂
Wait, what’s the difference between a tramp stamp and a regular tattoo? Are tramp stamps just skeezier?
The stamp is the one that goes just above the butt crack. Very popular among the young women, hence the (let’s face it, sexist) name.
Since I got my whole back done (sorry BEQ, no room), I always wondered if that counted as one too.
That’s not a tramp stamp anymore,
That’s tramp metered postage.
Hey Brendan, I already got two responses to the new Facebook status, so clearly people are reading and checking out the site. Just keep the puzzles coming. 7 a week would be nice!
I prefer the phrase “skank badge”, but tramp stamp seems to have better found its way into the vernacular. Anyone ever made a TRAMPSTAMP (10), LOWERBACKTATOO (15), SKANKBADGE (10) puzzle?
And let me (probably) be the only one to support your use of ALAMANCE county. In addition to being home of the crosswordese ELON, it’s also my hometown. But if I was from Delaware or something, I probably wouldn’t have liked it.
I thought it was, like, great fun, and actually said Omigod! aloud when I figured it out. Would have finished but for Gets Past instead of SEES … and Ore instead of ORO. Fave word: NUBBY.
I thought of a word the other day I’d like you to use, but can’t remember it just now. I did tweet about you yesterday, too.
My favorite puzzle since beginning this adventure, but maybe that’s because I went through it with few major snags, and although the theme didn’t immediately spring into focus, I was like, “Oh!” after a few minutes skating around the grip. Bravo, BEQ! — jesser in NM
P.S. Seven tattoos is enough. The 80s was an adventuresome decade, but I’m 50 now, so I think the ink days are behind me (but none of the ink is on my behind). jesser
Pictures, please.
I guess the other theme muses aren’t speaking to me lately. (wait, you didn’t do the Paste puzzle? that wasn’t phonetic at all!)
Haha… nice Ween reference.
Okay, good to know. I think the next two are going to be bears.
Speaking of pictures! Photo evidence of the WTF? t-shirt por favor!
I’ve totally put NAAN in puzzles before. But I’ll try and give it an appearance soon. Liz is British, and that means I have been exposed to way more Indian food than in the past. We have a completely killer recipe for dal.
Jeez… tough crowd. Thanks for detailing what you didn’t like about it. That (usually) helps me with construction.
Female musicians to male? Beats me. I’m sure somebody who’s into that sort of gender (in)equality thing could answer that.
You got it Amy!
Dude, you are the man.
“Tramp metered postage” = amazing.
Hey now. That might be a theme!
Thanks Wendy. And thanks for Tweeting as well.
Thanks Jesser. See what I mean? Something for everybody on this site! Share the puzzle, folks!
There wasn’t an across lite file for the Paste puzzle, and I still do puzzles the old-fashioned way. I was raised with pen and paper, and I don’t much care for solving on computers.
gravity’s rainbow, mitch?
i will mention that i have one tattoo, and it is taken from “the crying of lot 49.” see if you can guess what it is!
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/45/MutedPosthorn.png ?
EXACTLY!
also, that’s the exact picture that the tattoo fellow used as the model/whatever for mine.
by the way, brendan – it was incredibly rude of me not to mention how much i enjoyed working the puzzle! (not to mention finishing it!)