This crossword started with a proposed theme for USA Today, but was rejected because the editor felt the topic (prison) might be unpleasant for some solvers. However, I really liked taking it in a movie direction and all the theme material I managed to include, so I decided to complete it and offer it here.

Since it was no longer intended for a wide general audience, I allowed myself to make the clues a bit trickier. USA Today uses the title as a revealer, but that gives away the theme from the start, so instead I decided to make it a bit of a meta puzzle, and ask the solvers to guess the movie title. To find the answer, you can solve the puzzle on Crossshare, where it will prompt you for the solution and then reveal it, or you can click below.

This crossword came out better than expected, but still a little too rough for publication. I hope you find it enjoyable!

This crossword marks my debut at Universal Crosswords and is available at their syndicate sites for 11 days after publication (Sept. 28, 2023), via the grid icon on the app. After that, you can find a copy of the .PUZ file on this website under the publication date.

You may notice the title of this post is different from the published version. It comes from an earlier version of this puzzle, which was my first submission to, and rejection from, the New York Times. You can solve the original puzzle using the links below. If you are a fellow amateur constructor, or just curious about the crossword publication process, I created a write-up of my experience at b.link/BrodyPuzPub.

This puzzle is a tribute to the best-selling British author, Sir Terry Pratchett, whose imagination and humo(u)r delighted millions of readers worldwide. In 2007, Pratchett was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's disease, and he passed away in 2015. His 75th birthday would have been on April 28th.

I hope this puzzle, like his books, proves enjoyable and entertaining, while offering a fresh perspective on the familiar. If you're already well-acquainted with Pratchett's worlds, or are brave enough to leap in without a net, I encourage you to try the fan version!

Many thanks to family and friends who tested the puzzle and offered valuable feedback, and to AVCX for agreeing to publish this puzzle. A very special thanks to Ben Tausig, who was incredibly kind and accomodating, and made the puzzle much better than it would otherwise have been.

My second full cryptic, slightly harder than the "Alternative Cryptic" below. Is there a theme? You decide.

Thanks again to the testers who caught several errors.

This crossword is my first attempt at a full cryptic. Many thanks to the folks who agreed to test it out and offered feedback.

Nine entries in this puzzle use a twist on the "double definition" clue scheme. This alternate scheme is introduced in the first such entry: 1A. If you're having trouble with that entry, or things are still unclear, you can reveal the explanation by clicking the hint tab below. (Don't worry, it won't spoil anything in the puzzle!)

This (non-cryptic) puzzle pokes fun at a certain politician. If you find it offensive or disagreeable, please skip it and try one of the many better puzzles out there.

No hate mail please. Thank you.

I regularly publish puzzles that aim to be fun and entertaining, rather than tricky and wordplay-heavy. You can find them here.

Warning: many of them are slightly-asymmetrical! 😲

I created a free guide on the basics of crossword construction, which is available at https://b.link/BrodyPuzBasics. It's a Google Doc, and I try to update it when I learn about new resources or get comments. If you find it useful or have feedback, I'd love to hear from you. Feel free to share it broadly, but please use the link, rather than making copies.

I'm developing the online solver as a pet project. It is written entirely in HTML/CSS/JavaScript, and is completely serverless/client-side (no information you load or type in is transfered). Besides offering puzzles from the website, it can be used to load and solve .PUZ files from your computer.

The solver is still a work in progress. It is missing many features, and may be buggy. It is offered as-is, with no guarantees. If you encounter bugs or have other feedback, feel free to reach out via the email address below.

Grid Luck is a game-show-style game where players wager on solving crossword clues.