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Themed #53
I am not one of the 61-across people. I have my cable and I watch it. I guess my excuse was always live sports, but I imagine I could get...

Brian Gubin
Jul 12, 20211 min read


Themed #52 - Journalism 101
A theme that I'm guessing has been done many times, probably including How somewhere in there. I didn't do that. I think the theme...

Brian Gubin
Jul 5, 20211 min read


Themed #51 - Sharin' Stoner
Another puzzle where the reveal phrase deals with smoking marijuana. Not sure why these get in my head as I don't even smoke. I have seen...

Brian Gubin
Jun 28, 20211 min read


Themed # 50 - Car Theft
Another Thursday-type puzzle. I typically try to avoid themes where the result is gibberish, but this is obviously an exception. Had to...

Brian Gubin
Jun 21, 20211 min read


Themed # 49 - Small Town USA
I think this may be a difficult puzzle but I'm not entirely sure how to gauge that. When you are the one creating the puzzle the gimmick...

Brian Gubin
Jun 14, 20211 min read


Themeless #11
Tried a different approach with this themeless. I usually just have open corners that connect around the middle, but here I built an open...

Brian Gubin
Jun 7, 20211 min read


Themed # 48 - Breakfast
Simple theme this week with no reveal phrase. Thank you, puzzle titles. Only four theme answers so the grid gets to breathe easy. I like...

Brian Gubin
May 31, 20211 min read


Themed #47 - Hit for the Cycle
I'm guessing this subject matter has made it into another puzzle but I didn't check. Since I'm not trying to publish I figured I'd just...

Brian Gubin
May 24, 20211 min read


Themed # 46 - I Smell a Rat
A puzzle I think benefits from having a title instead of a reveal phrase. I do like how the reveal gives the aha moment, but having a...

Brian Gubin
May 17, 20211 min read


Themed #45 - You Can Say That Again
I'm guessing 17-across was the entry that gave me the idea. Any time I can work in something related to Seinfeld it's an added bonus....

Brian Gubin
May 10, 20211 min read


Themeless #10
I think 17-across was the only "seed" entry in the grid. I've had one myself and I guess it was ok. I prefer the "fat" version, although...

Brian Gubin
May 3, 20211 min read


Themed #44 - Coming Clean
I haven't created a Thursday-type puzzle in a long time but they are some of my favorites to come up with. I know I'm not the first to...

Brian Gubin
Apr 26, 20211 min read


Themed #43 - Causes a Commotion
I considered leaving this one nameless because it has a reveal phrase. That's typically been my convention - if it has a reveal, I leave...

Brian Gubin
Apr 19, 20211 min read


Themed #42 - Dating Clichés
I toyed around with theme answers and clues for this one before finally landing where I did. I wanted to include "It's not you it's me"...

Brian Gubin
Apr 12, 20211 min read


Themed #41 - Mike Rowe Specialty
NOTE/ALERT: this puzzle has an adult theme so if you are not into that sort of thing, feel free to check out the rest of my site, which I...

Brian Gubin
Apr 5, 20211 min read


Themeless #9
I think there was only one seed entry for this puzzle: 15-across. The meal is delicious and I haven't seen it in a puzzle so I wanted to...

Brian Gubin
Mar 29, 20211 min read


Themed #40
I've said it before and I'll say it again - I like this type of theme. I enjoy parsing something and seeing what phrases I can come up...

Brian Gubin
Mar 22, 20211 min read


Themed #39 - What the Ell?
I don't think I've done a puzzle with this type of theme, which seems a little odd just because it's so basic. Maybe too basic? Words...

Brian Gubin
Mar 15, 20211 min read


Themed #38 - M and M's
A puzzle that I think originated around 47-across. I'm an Orioles fan and loved this guy. I knew the team wouldn't sign him (the team...

Brian Gubin
Mar 8, 20211 min read


Themed #37
An untitled puzzle as this one comes with a reveal phrase and I didn't feel like coming up with one. This was a different sort of build...

Brian Gubin
Mar 1, 20211 min read
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