FlossWords: Grids that SLAP

Hi all! Here's a new themeless crossword from me! Hope you enjoy the solve.   Created by Evan Mulvihill with the online cross word maker from Amuse Labs

One of the newer outlets on the crossword scene is Defector, a sports-focused blog with a big following. I was curious when I saw it pop up on the Matthew Stock's Crossword Publication Specs Google Sheet , since I hadn't heard of it before. So I decided to send along some things I'd been tinkering with and they ended up liking this one. Here's the link to my Defector puzzle , titled "Out of Office."  The site requires a subscription to view the crossword, but it's only $8 a month and a lot of the other crosswords on there are pretty fun too. Just not quite as cross-tacular as me! Plus, they offer high-quality articles like " What Horrible Things Did We Do To Our Penises Last Year? " and " What The Fuck Is A Vaccine Skeptic? " Props to Defector for offering very fair pay in the way of grids too! These things take a lot of time and effort. Even though my cruciverbalism is a labor of love for me, it still is much appreciated. Check it out ...

Got a new themeless published in the LAT today! It's been about 2 years since I had a mainstream outlet publication so it feels nice. I like how the editing process came along, I feel like the LAT team respected my voice but smoothened the rough edges out and made sure it was fair and enjoyable to solvers.  Give it a try! SPOILERS AFTER THIS POINT! Some notes on the puzzle: My favorite long entries are ROOKIE MISTAKES, CAKE TASTINGS, and TECH STARTUPS. Almost all the clues I submitted for those were printed with minor edits. I gave 2 clue options for CAKE TASTINGS, and I did like my alternative of "Bites before the big day?" but I also had some misgivings about it since I feel like you have to earn the ? if that makes sense. Someone on Diary of a Crossword fiend commented that they had SAKE TASTINGS / SENAC for it, which gave me a little laugh. I guess it could fit in Japan? But they do have cake at weddings there, too, although as I go down a little hole researching Japa...

Shopped this puzzle around a bit but didn't get any takers. As I self-publish more and more I am finding more fun in getting to play with the clues and entries more. With major publications (and even smaller ones too), the editors have a lot of different competing interests: obligations to their readers, conventions that are built into the venue's history, and their own personal preferences. It got me thinking a little bit about rejection in general and odd-sized puzzles. But before I hit you with a Carrie Bradshaw-sized eugoogly for all my rejected creations, let me give you the actual puzzle! Created by Evan Mulvihill using the online cross word generator from Amuse Labs Some quotes from three of the rejections for this puzzle: "While we appreciate the attempt for a really open section, we're not sure that the pay off will ultimately be worth it to our solvers given how much clunky wordlisty fill is in here. So while we appreciated stuff like [1-Acros...

I'm trying to post more frequently! Here is another fun themeless to try. I love when the middle is as open as possible, I also love when you can have two stacks intersecting in the middle. I'm also excited to announce I have received my first acceptance from the New York Times! It is for a themeless (not surprising since I don't even make themed puzzles anymore) and will run on a Friday. I have probably submitted almost 20 puzzles to them with no luck yet so this feels like a big win. I wasn't sure if my crossword making skills would ever be good enough to make it into the NYT but now I have a bit more confidence :)  Some constructing notes that I don't think have spoilers but read at your own discretion! I used 18-Down as the seed entry... After getting some rejections on the puzzle from mainstream papers, I went and "18-Down" the NE corner for some of the newer online outlets, especially because I felt 10-Down might be too obscure and considered "u...

This puzzle features a fun horizontal five stack in the middle and some sassy entries, as always. Enjoy the solve! Created by Evan Mulvihill using crossword creator by Amuse Labs