The Griddle

You might want to look for 21 Down and 24 Across on the editing floor. I'm guessing they might be OVER and GATOR, but I'm not positive. Also, I think the correct spelling is 'readies' in 13 Across.

April 16, 2010 (6:15 pm)

I'm no expert, but here is some criticism of your crossword; I hope it is constructive.

9-Across: I'm not a very big fan of using "hyper" in a clue for HYPE, when the two words are such remarkably obvious etymological cousins.

12-Across: You use "up north" as a reversal indicator; this can be done in Down clues only.

13-Across: If the answer is SNIPER, I'm not seeing how the wordplay portion of the clue works. :/

14-Across: Very poor container indicator. (Also, 2-Down and 28-Across.)

Unnumbered Across entry (entered backwards): is "possible" really a synonym of ABLE? I am "able" to do something, but something is "possible" to do.

1-Down: I don't think you can use "endless" to mean "remove the last two letters"; the last letter is the "end", not the last two. (Also see 20-Across.)

8-Down: The L in the answer isn't clued at all. You can't just clue PEARL by saying it has PEAR in it; the L has to be clued, too. Same with the Y in 16-Down.

April 16, 2010 (10:37 pm)

Mathgrant,
13 Across:
Fruit readies = RIPENS
twistedly = anagram
for a shooter = SNIPER

April 17, 2010 (3:05 pm)

Don't give up on the format yet. Sure, a few clues could have been tightened up, but they didn't affect the solvability. In fact, even with the previously missing clues, I was able to fill in every square correctly.

April 19, 2010 (2:05 pm)

I suspect anyone's first go at a cryptic crossword is likely to be pretty poor. You should probably study a lot of good puzzles before your next go, and see how accurate the definitions and wordplay are, while still creating misleading clues. The combination of those two features is very difficult, but that's not a reason for not trying - the man who never made a mistake never made anything, as my mother used to say. There are lots of good puzzles out there and analyses of them on crossword-related blogs - see links on my site ...

I'd suggest a more orthodox grid - the amount of checking in yours makes for easy solving, but having every word 6 letters or less makes the vocabulary less interesting than it might be. The same clue type three times in a row (1/5/9 across) is something to avoid if possible.

April 24, 2010 (3:10 am)