Tales from the Cryptic

Cryptic Mini #000000097:   "Ignore the Top Two Genders" obscuration level: 🌓 (half cheese, half abyss) Stayed up way too late hammering away at this one (big thank you to Tookey for the midnight brainstorming sesh!). Hopefully it all makes sense and is, in fact, 🌓-worthy. If not, you can send complaints right to the complaints department .

Cryptic Mini #000000096:   "Fat Duck" obscuration level: 🌓 (you win some, you wof some) Been awhile since I did a full 7x7! Enjoy all the 7s. Warning: there's one particularly raunchy clue in here. Relatedly, I would like to pre-emptively apologize to the 🇮🇹 community.

Cryptic Mini #000000091:   "Call Siri's Line" obscuration level: 🌓 (stuck in the middle with you) One of the clues... is a bit blue. Apologies to any nice old grannies who are doing this indie cryptic crossword on blogspot dot com.

Cryptic Mini #000000087:   "Be A Furry" obscuration level: 🌓 (🌑🤝🌕) Back to the mini grind! Or midi? Either way, here's a puzz with some funky freshness. I tried to balance out the tougher parts with mellower parts... but who knows how it'll all come out in the wash? Hopefully: fun!

Cryptic Mini #000000086:   "Inclined to Kick Ass" obscuration level: 🌓 (neither chunky nor creamy) Hello! Here's another puzzle. What else can I say? Puzzles puzzles puzzles. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Hello cryptic sickos! Today I bring a special treat: a collaboration with Joe Adultman ! His Twitch stream is a favorite of mine (and not just because he often solves my cryptic minis 😁). I had a lovely time making the puzzle with Joe! It was a perfect 5/7, would collab again. And thank you to the wonderful testers!

Cryptic Mini #000000085:   "Mom's Hot Crush" obscuration level: 🌓 (an unholy alliance) Another oblongie on the books! Enjoy.... if you dare

Cryptic Mini #000000082:   "Land of Pyromaniacs" obscuration level: 🌓 (split level home) What can I say? I love making cryptics :)

Somebody *else* published one of my cryptics again! This time over at The Browser: https://thebrowser.com/crossword-archive Sadly, it's paywalled... but if you message me, I might be able to sneak you a copy :) Thank you to editor Dan Feyer, who absolutely helped hone the puzzle into something I'm really proud of! Hope y'all enjoy solving it as much as I enjoyed making it!

Cryptic Mini #000000081:   "The Foremost Threesomes of Pasadena" obscuration level: 🌓 (you'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll 🤔) Happy leap day to all, and happy 12th birthday to Ja Rule! I wish I had had the foresight to write a clue in his honor. Oh well, I'll do it next year in 2028!

Cryptic Mini #000000078:   "Sadism Is Seductive" obscuration level: 🌓 (solve with one eye open) Hello again! It is I, your friendly neighborhood cryptic deliveryman. Here's your weekly delivery of one (1) cryptic mini. Thanks for leaving me the empties! See you next week :) *creeps into the darkness, cackling*

"Top Monsters Museum" obscuration level: 🌓 (tricksy, but not too triscky) It's this blog's birthday! One year ago, I began vomiting out cryptic minis into the void, and my affliction has yet to stop. To celebrate, I'm offering you one from the vaults crypts: my first full-sized grid!

Cryptic Mini #000000073:   "Tolstoy's Russian Nesting Doll Store" obscuration level: 🌓 (demoted twice from a 🌑) It's the end of the year, and you know what that means! Time for our Tales From The Cryptic Wrapped™️! A longtime annual tradition that we've been celebrating since ...*checks notes*... March. Well, here's the data for how many puzzles of each type that our Cryptic Mini Factory put out this year (this doesn't include midis or larger: Looks like I need to give you more 🌕s... but that'll have to wait until next year! For now, here's a jet-black 🌑. >:-) totally average 🌓 (updated after some early returns)

Cryptic Mini #000000071:   "Klingon Slang" obscuration level: 🌓 (mixed bag [...GAB?]) Hope everyone is having a nice descent into the Dark Ages (aka the winter solstice). Personally I have forgotten what the sun looks like. We used to see each other so much, but recently we've drifted apart. Oh well, I'm sure we'll bump into each other next year. Anyway, here's a puzzle!

Cryptic Mini #000000068:   "Teach Me Encryption" obscuration level: 🌓 (chaotic neutral) according to the so-called "internet", today is both Aura Awareness Day and Blasé Day. I don't care about one, which means I'm acing the other! 50% ain't bad. A perfect day for a 🌓.

Cryptic Mini #000000067:   "A Bird in Both Hands" obscuration level: 🌓 (7-10 split [i have no idea what this means]) small and chewy, like a tootsie roll. what does this mean? i don't know! i didn't sleep last nite. enjoy!

Cryptic Mini #000000065:   "Chuck Close" obscuration level: 🌓 (donald ducking it) Can't stop, won't stop! Here's another small pile of clues for you to unfurl for a few minutes. I hope it serves as a worthy distraction from *gestures broadly*

Big shout-out to Lemonade Disco for putting out my debut puzzle, "Sloth Girl"! It's a 9x13, edited by the cryptic king of crypticking: Steve Mossberg. They don't do ratings, but I'd call it a 🌓. Hope you enjoy! https://lemonadedisco.com/gin-grapefruit

Cryptic Mini #000000064:   "A Bunny Rabbit's Butt" obscuration level: 🌓 (goin' dutch) This puzzle has a couple clues related to Halloween, and a few related to *doin' it*. Spooky + Sexy... aka Pumpkin Spice! Happy H🎃ll🎃w🔥🔥n!

Cryptic Mini #000000061:   "Take the L" obscuration level: 🌓 (mooning with just one cheek) some of the clues here might be 🌔, and some might be 🌒. So apologies if 🌓 is the only kind of clue you like. Not that I have any idea what that means, this moon scale seems to change from week to week. Maybe I should switch to a bigger scale, like... every Pokemon? This puzzle is definitely Oshawott (not that I have any idea what that means). Anyway, enjoy!