Mirthwright Puzzles & Games

Good afternoon! At least where I am, it's afternoon. You might've expected me to save that image for a Thoreau-back Thursday but I didn't. I'm feeling a bit nostalgic with today's song. Brings me back to high school.

Happy Friday! We have a new President here in the ol' US of A That's him. I was lucky enough to see Tom Petty in concert on the last tour before he passed away, and he brings you today's constructing and solving song.

Welcome to wild card Wednesday, when I'll post (at least occasionally) puzzles that are not traditional crosswords. If you're not familiar with cryptic crosswords, here is a brief explanation with some solving strategies from The Guardian. To understand even more, watch some experts solve on the Cracking the Crpytic channel on YouTube. In keeping with tradition, I'll sign this cryptic with a puzzle pesudonym, which you'll already know if you're doing this here. Thanks for the test-solve and suggestions to Steve Mossberg . By the time I post this, I'm sure sea shanties will be back in the niche where I first found them years ago, but I'll recommend a sort of modern take on the form anyway, one of my faves. Originally by Stan Rogers, but I'm recommending the Real McKenzies version of Barrett's Privateers .

Good morning! It's a Monday Mini with die-roll dimensions. (1d10+2 for the minis) Dr. King is not in this puzzle, but that doesn't mean we'll ignore him today. 14-Across is a word I've come across occasionally but isn't quite as cromulent as it probably ought to be. But I think most of you will be able to get it. The theme song of constructing this puzzle is Scalliwag by Gaelic Storm. Enjoy!

Over on the Crosscord, people are in a sharing mood so I thought I'd join in and post the words I've added to my construction dictionary in the month or so I've been pursuing this hobby actively. Side note: I can't believe it's only been a month since mid-December... time doesn't work any more. Anyway, here it is.

Does that song make anyone else think of My So Called Life ? Or am I dating myself? The dedicated SF fans among us will know what this Paul French book is doing here, after completing the puzzle. Thanks to Steve Mossberg for his feedback, even if I ignored some of it. Especially for encouraging me to play with grid design late in the process, which made me feel ok about the coule of cheater squares that are in this one. Today's song is Like Real People Do by Hozier. Enjoy.

Happy Monday! I hope you had a relaxing weekend and look forward to a productive week at work. I do, even if I'm not super optimistic about that. For today's puzzle I decided to use a random number generator for dimensions and then build from there. I may keep that up for Monday minis. Today's song is La Terre de Mon Grandpere by the incomparable BeauSoleil.

This week has been a hell of year. I had planned on a traditional 15x today, but was slightly distracted by the news over the last couple of days. Instead, have a 21x that I've been holding onto for a while. Today's contruction song is All Your Favorite Bands by Dawes. I find it uplifting. *the picture at the top has nothing to do with the puzzle. I just liked it.

Happy Monday! It's the first mini of 2021. While constructing this one, an old favorite song came up on the playlist. Enjoy Jolie Louise by Daniel Lanois, perhaps while you enjoy the puzzle.

2020 is over! But it wasn't ALL bad, right? I present some candidates for MVP of the year. Who gets your vote?