Tales from the Cryptic

Cryptic Mini #000000099:   "Marie Antoinette's Dog" obscuration level: 🌒 (i burnt my pancake) In celebration of puzzle #99, here's a 9x9! And so I guess next week... I'll make a... 10x0? I dunno, you do the math. Special thanks to Tookey and Sandy Weisz for their help on this one! Enjoy!

Cryptic Mini #000000095:   "What's Up, My Lord?" obscuration level: 🌒 (I left another light on for you) Down here at the Cryptic Mini Factory, the machine has had its settings stuck on "Tough 5x7" for a few weeks now. We put in a request with the repair guy, but he doesn't exist. So... have some more! *tosses cryptic minis into the crowd*

Cryptic Mini #000000094:   "Let It Out!?" obscuration level: 🌒 (I left a light on for you) I hope you have as much fun solving this one as I did writing it 😎

Cryptic Mini #000000090:   "Sofia Coppola's Heading For Disaster" obscuration level: 🌒 (the Shadows are winning) I was originally going to call this one 🌑, but my recent puzzles have been harder than I thought, so I'm skewing into the darkness! UPDATE: Early returns have informed me this was an easier puzzle, so I've bumped it back down to a 🌒... might even be sunnier! Who knows... this is what I get for investing in an off-brand Difficulty Calculator 4000 ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Cryptic Mini #000000084:   "Blue Man Group Goes On Safari" obscuration level: 🌒 (small but hard 👀) My first 5x5 in a while, but it's not the size that counts! this one is a doozy. Definitely a 🌑 in some places. But man, I love it! Hope you do too :)

Cryptic Mini #000000083:   "Nebuchadnezzar's Secret Language" obscuration level: 🌒 (a wee glimmer of hope) Happy Ides of March Eve! sadly no ETTUs in this puzzle (spoiler alert). Enjoy!

Cryptic Mini #000000077:   "Scandinavian Cream Soda" obscuration level: 🌒 (it's rough out there) Wow, it's Thursday already? Ok here's one that started as a 🌑 but I tried to scale back a bit. Maybe not enough? Who knows! Who knows what any of this means? No, literally... can someone explain to me what the heck I'm doing?

Cryptic Mini #000000059:   "3D Film" obscuration level: 🌒 (your eyes will adjust eventually) Haven't done a 5x5 in awhile, so I thought I'd give you one with some tang (man, I *wish* I could serve you some Tang with this puzz, but alas... I just ran out). Smacznego!

Cryptic Mini #000000058:   "Old Men Replacing One Direction" obscuration level: 🌒 (almost full, still some room for dessert) Some of these clues came together so nicely that I don't think I was involved. This was some divine intervention. send all compliments to The Cryptic Fairy!

Cryptic Mini #000000055:   "Plastic Bag Video" obscuration level: 🌒 (bring slightly less glowsticks) I can't get enough of these oblong grids! Having a lot of fun with the varying word lengths. I tried to make this one easier, but found too many devilish tricks to pull 😈. Hope it makes you laugh more than it makes you wince!

Cryptic Mini #000000047:   "End Human Suffering" obscuration level: 🌒 (80% cacao) This definitely has a lot of 🌑 energy, but I tried to water it down with some easier bits. Just a splash of milk in the coffee. Hope it's how you like it!

Cryptic Mini #000000045:   "Owner of the Vatican" obscuration level: 🌒 (a healthy dose of trouble) So this puzzle has some uncommon answers, but I tried to balance them out by making their clues less obscured. So for some, this may be harder than your average 🌒. Do let me know if anything is beyond the pale (side of the moon)!

Cryptic Mini #000000042:   "Fire Sale" obscuration level: 🌒 (just a soupçon of darkness) Happy National Pop Goes the Weasel Day ! This puzzle has nothing to do with weasels (or pop), just wanted to honor the classic bop. Enjoy!

Cryptic Mini #000000039:   "Thicc Bottom" obscuration level: 🌒 ( Gollum voice Tricksy Clueses!) This started as a 🌔 but I kept finding little bits of delightful misdirection that I had to include. Before I knew it, the moon was barely a sliver. Devilishness (devilocity?) is a slippery slope! 😈

Cryptic Mini #000000037:   "Metal Cover of Ghostface" obscuration level: 🌒 (we got us a wild one) Got a little zany with this one. Not *too* zany... but a heavier pour of the zane than I normally do.

Cryptic Mini #000000035:   "Farting Like Anderson Cooper" obscuration level: 🌒 (small but feisty) Most of my 5x5s have been on the easy side, so I thought I'd throw some lil toughies atchya! Enjoy :)

Cryptic Mini #000000030:   "Salsa-dancing Acrobat" obscuration level: 🌒 (a sliver of hope) I know the last few grid shapes have been identical, but don't worry, the clues are totally different — I *promise*! 🌝

Cryptic Mini #000000026:   "Time to Flip A Lot of Cars" obscuration level: 🌒 (don't threaten me with a cryptic time) I know, my Wednesday puzzles are supposed to be on the easy side... but with such a wee widdle puzzle... how tough could it be? 😈

Cryptic Mini #000000025:   "bing.com" obscuration level: 🌒 (nearly a 🌑) Happy 25th puzzle day everyone! I got you a little something... a puzzle!

Cryptic Mini #000000023:   "Getting Roasted in Memes" obscuration level: 🌒 (clarity is not my strong suit) Another toughie for ya, but if you're anything like — it's not tough enough!