puzzle #109: don't be ridiculous! (midi)

no-skips november day 19

In 2021, I attempted to post a new crossword everyday in an event I dubbed “NaCroWriMo.” Unfortunately, I was not able to complete this event and, as a result, I have carried that shame ever since. That is until this month.

For every day in November this year, I’m posting a new crossword puzzle in an endeavour I’m now calling “No-Skips November.” Some of these puzzles are themeless, some are themed, some were even constructed before November, but it doesn’t matter: I’m not skipping a single day on this blog. I’m posting a new crossword. Every day. For a month.

This is also an effort to drive subscriptions to my Patreon, which is the best way to support me directly! My Patreon ensures that I’m able to sustain myself financially during months with less puzzle work, so I can spend more time making the puzzles you enjoy. Subscribers get a new themeless puzzle every week, and Inner Circle members typically get an extra 3-4 puzzles per month.

There are a lot of good puzzle projects coming out nowadays, so I want to use today’s blog post to promote some of them. They are as follows:

Puzzles for Palestine is a puzzle pack I helped construct for/edit, which is in support of ending the violent occupation and siege of Palestine in Gaza and the West Bank. If you donate to one of our listed charities and send proof, you get a variety of incredible puzzles inspired by and celebrating Palestinian culture. Please consider supporting!
Adam Aaronson’s 2025 Crossword Calendar just got announced today and is available to order. Adam’s grids are always ridiculously clean and I love his aesthetic in general, so I’m excited to be able to put this on my wall.
The latest puzzle book in Francis Heaney’s Decades series, “Grids Don’t Lie,” is out now! All the puzzles are themed around the 2000s, and your girl has two (2) puzzles in the book (“Dis-Solving” and “’00s Freestyle #1”).
AVCX is running a subscription drive to help fund our puzzles going forward! Long story short, AVCX’s main source of funding is no longer available, so we’re hoping to gain 1,000 new subscribers by January 1st. Along with fantastic puzzles (some that I even have the pleasure of editing!), AVCX offers a tiered pricing system and a wonderful new web-based solving interface powered by Crosswordr. AVCX is run by amazing people who make amazing puzzles, so I can’t recommend it highly enough.
Lastly, the Crosstina Aqua-zine-a is maybe one of the coolest things I’ve ever received in the mail. Kelsey Dixon (the new Atlantic editor!!) compiled a zine of puzzles along with some personal excerpts, and the entire thing makes me so happy. I don’t think the zine is available in print anymore, but you should download the PDF and enjoy it anyway!