The cruellest month

Hello! If you’re here because you enjoyed my contribution to the Baltimore Abortion Fund puzzle pack and are curious to see more; Welcome! Uh, most of my puzzles here are a lot harder and weirder than that one. But if that sounds daunting, well, remember that what’s important is that you’re having fun. Solve with a friend, google liberally, reveal a few tricky letters: it’s all good! It doesn’t mean you “lost” the puzzle or “cheated” or whatever. You’re doing great.

April is National Poetry Month, and while this is kind of a silly thing — back when I helped run a poetry reading series, we often took April off, in spite — but anyway, it’s a good excuse to build a puzzle around a few poets I love. And it’s a chance to try out a cluing voice that is really interested in how clues sound, and is not al all interested in the laconic cluing style that the newsprint era normalized. Nothing inherently wrong with short clues (cough), but that’s not all there is.

Annnnnyhoo. Enjoy the puzzle. Check out the poetry, if you don’t know it already. Links for further reading are below the puzzle. And thanks to Brooke and Will for test solving!

16A. 18A. 19A. 25A. 26A. 30A. 34A. 38A, 38A. 41A. 45A. 6D. 15D. 24D. 36D. 47D.

BAF!

The fabulous Rachel Fabi asked if I’d be willing to contribute a puzzle to a fundraiser for the Baltimore Abortion Fund, and how could I say no? Like most people, I am frustrated and outraged by the lack of equitable, accessible healthcare in the US.* While we fight for more systemic solutions, we need to take care of people now. So if you can, please donate to this campaign — and, as thanks, you will receive a dozen or so thematically appropriate puzzles from some all-star constructors! And also me.

But here, let’s let Rachel explain more:

We are thrilled to release our crossword pack, "These Puzzles Fund Abortion," in support of the Baltimore Abortion Fund (BAF), an all-volunteer, nonprofit organization that provides financial assistance to people who live in or travel to Maryland for abortion care. BAF is part of the National Network of Abortion Funds, which consists of 70+ independently operated funds across the country. Abortion funds like BAF work to ensure that people have access to the resources necessary to make the decisions that are best for them and their family by removing financial barriers that may otherwise prevent them from accessing abortion care.  

This puzzle pack was made by a group of crossword constructors who are dedicated to promoting reproductive justice: Chris Piuma (midi-puzzle); Claire Rimkus; Matthew Stock; Rebecca Goldstein; Robyn Weintraub; Erica Wojcik; Natan Last; Nate Cardin; Brooke Husic; Finn Vigeland; Martha Kimes; Juliana Tringali Golden; Erik Agard; and Rachel Fabi.

Note: the puzzle pack is not yet available, but all donations to BAF made through this page before April 9, 2021 will pre-register you to receive the puzzles in the first wave of the release!

And so here’s my puzzle from the collection, as a little sampler. If you enjoy it, please give what you can!

* While Canada, where I live now, has significantly more equitable and accessible healthcare, it could also be a heck of a lot better. But that’s a story for another day.

Exciting party game! (Something Different)

It’s April Fools, which is not my favourite holiday. But here, I made you a Something Different! If you’re new to the genre, it’s a crossword puzzle where the fill can be any old nonsense, like RED BAGS OF SKITTLES, or MARIO HAS NO SOUL, or MOMMY’S MAGMA, or whatever. This doesn’t necessarily make it harder than a normal crossword, just… something different. Anyway, enjoy. And thanks to Quiara for looking this over and encouraging me to punch up a few clues; her recent Something Different was a delight.

Theft!

Please keep a lookout for a stolen grid. Described as “15x15, wearing a bold pattern.” Last seen a few months ago here and here. If found, please inform its anxious creator, Sid Sivakumar. (After a careful inspection, of course!)

[Test-solved by Will Nediger and kormad. Thank you, thank you!]

It won’t work!

I guess I took a few weeks off? Well, I’ve been working on puzzles for other outlets, maybe. And, of course, I’m still streaming crosswords every day but Tuesday at noon Eastern over on Twitch! If that’s a bad time, I get it, but you can still check out the videos after the streams are done. And if you haven’t ever watched, maybe check out the “clips” people have made of their favourite moments! Anyway, enjoy this silly puzzle.