Down and Out!


Two weeks into 2023 and I'm finally starting to write dates correctly! I also decided to spit out a blog puzzle in the midst of some other crossword projects - I'm not sure why I chose to pile on to my workload but I guess I really enjoy making these things! I want to kick off the year with a bit of experimentation in the online solver. I added images in several places to "enhance" some clues and I'm curious how this plays for you. If you prefer text-only clues, just download the .puz or PDF. Please share your thoughts in the comments or hit me up on Twitter (I'm starting to wonder if it might actually stick around??). Hope you enjoy the puzzle!

puz |  PDF |  solution

Matt's Musings

Well, there you have it! Did the title lead you in the right, er, down direction? I hope it wasn't too much of a stretch to figure out was was going on with those three full-length down entries. Just in case it wasn't obvious, you are supposed to append "out" to the ends of those entries to make common phrases. And that completes the down and out gimmick! Thanks for solving!

Comments

  1. MattJanuary 11, 2023 at 12:16 PM

    very satisfying (post-solve for me) aha moment. And I think a really good choice in size - a theoretical 15x with 5 themers of this type would be less theme-dense and I wouldn't be as interested in figuring out what was going on post solve as I was here

    ReplyDelete
  2. dsbenedMay 9, 2023 at 11:17 PM

    I tanked the puzzle on 3D, but I like the term "Woo Girl", of which I'm sure you've met many who love your puzzles, lol!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. MattMay 10, 2023 at 5:56 AM

      Yes, totally, I write these for the woo girls! (ha ha)
      Admittedly, 3D is a bit of a stretch because the phrase more commonly includes "THE" at the front.

      Delete
  3. dsbenedMay 9, 2023 at 11:20 PM

    Also, I forgot to comment that I like the idea that you include pix on some of your clues. (Shout out to Nick Nolte!)

    ReplyDelete

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