Consideration, followers of powerful crosswords who’re at all times in search of a contemporary problem! Andrew Ries has a brand new puzzle pack of selection crosswords within the Twists & Turns format he devised. Every “Twists” reply is 9 letters lengthy and it’s as much as you to determine whether or not it begins or ends within the heart, and if it ends there, the place it begins. The “Turns” solutions comply with a path forwards and backwards by the grid as you journey down, so you need to use these phrases that will help you determine how the “Twists” are to be entered. Go to Aries Puzzles for more information and to purchase the packet, which incorporates eight mini T&T puzzles (4 3×3 chunks in every grid) together with eight huge T&T puzzles (25 3×3 chunks). Get pleasure from!

Erik Agard & Brooke Husic’s New York Occasions crossword—Amy’s write-up

NY Occasions crossword resolution, 8 5 22, no. 0805

Little bit of a mini-theme on this themeless with left/proper symmetry:

• 20a. [Sleep aid said to reduce anxiety], WEIGHTED BLANKET.
• 51a. [More cover than usual … or what a 20-Across might offer?], HEAVY SECURITY.

Neat combo.

Different fave fill: SMUSH, DORIS Burke, Frozen‘s ARENDELLE, HASHTAGS (nice clue: [Pounds on keyboards?]), STREET FOOD, CANDY HEART, BALAYAGE (that is the method my colorist has used on me lately), and POWER YOGA.

5 extra issues:

• 36a. [Some leporids], HARES. I went to a ebook signing for The Workplace actor B.J. Novak’s ebook of quick tales. After I reached the desk, I advised him I appreciated that the phrase leporid was in one of many ebook’s first tales (that’s the good factor about very quick tales—you’ll be able to learn a number of whilst you’re in line on the ebook signing). And B.J. mentioned, “Oh, I needed to look that up.” I used to be crushed. I wished the TV actor/author to really be conversant with the vocabulary he put in his ebook!
• 37a. [Item in a husk], OAT. I attempted an EAR of corn first. Oats are available in husks, eh? Stay and study.
• 63a. [Cloud often seen in the summer], GNATS. Gaaaaaah. Yuck.
• 11d. [Round holiday fare], LATKE / 26d. [Round holiday fare], PIES. Yep, these are a few of the major spherical vacation meals within the U.S.
• 29d. [Make a lead balloon?], RACE AHEAD. This clue confused me until proper this second. It’s the lead that’s pronounced leed, not led, as in being forward of the competitors, within the lead. And right here, balloon is a verb, not a noun. Make your lead over the competitors develop bigger, RACE AHEAD. A finely crafted clue!

4.25 stars from me.

Frannie Comstock’s Inkubator crossword, “Pet Pose”—Jenni’s write-up

Welcome Frannie Comstock to Constructor Land together with her debut! I agreed with the Inkubator editors that this was a “flippantly difficult” puzzle and I loved it.

I used to be in search of theme solutions within the Throughout entries and didn’t see a connection as a result of it seems that’s not the place they’re. 27d tells the tail: [Inverted yoga position, familiarly…and a description of six answers in this grid] is DOWN DOG. I’m not a yoga practitioner so I’ll go away it to another person to say whether or not it’s widespread to shorten DOWNWARD to DOWN within the identify of this explicit asana. There are certainly six DOGs going DOWN within the grid.

Inkubator, August 4, 2022, Frannie Comstock, “Pet Pose,” resolution grid

• 4d [Athlete such as Lucia Rijker] is a BOXER.
• 6d [Knit blanket] is an AFGHAN. I’ve an afghan my grandmother crocheted for me once I left for faculty. Is that the identical as “knit?”
• 10d [Megabus competitor] is GREYHOUND.
• 37d [Person who’s fetching?] is a RETRIEVER. My daughter, age 9: The canine gained’t go away me alone! Me: Why don’t you cease throwing the ball for him? Daughter: I’m doing that to make him go away! Me: Honey, he’s a Labrador retriever. He’ll deliver it again. Daughter: Ceaselessly?
• 49d [Crossword constructor, across the pond] is a SETTER. That’s slightly inside baseball for an easy-ish puzzle – or not less than it might be for the NYT. For the indie crowd, I feel it’s honest sport.
• 54a [Like a gravelly voice] is HUSKY.

All canines! All happening! A strong theme I don’t bear in mind seeing earlier than.

Just a few different issues:

• 3d [“Who am ___ judge?”] is I TO, who was additionally an precise decide (with out the house).
• I simply don’t just like the phrase FART. I’d choose to not see it in my puzzles. I notice it is a private desire and I can’t actually ask indie constructors to keep away from a phrase as a result of I discover it distasteful. I nonetheless don’t prefer it.
• 22a [Nanny] is the verb kind. The reply is BABYSIT. And should you don’t suppose it’s a verb, you haven’t accomplished it.
• I stuffed in 43a from crossings and couldn’t determine what ANERA was. Seems it’s AN ERA, as in “the top of ____.”
• I additionally dislike CROCs as footwear. I don’t thoughts the phrase in my puzzles.

What I didn’t know earlier than I did this puzzle: by no means heard of the BOXER Lucia Rijker. Didn’t know that Foremost Ingredient coated “Summer season BREEZE.” By no means noticed “Despicable Me” and so didn’t know Margo was a TWEEN.

Seems I like this model lots.