Puzzle #0 – What a Score!

Oh, hi! I'm new here—to crossword construction, crossword critique, and the crossword community. I've been solving crosswords for about... 10 years now? What started as a way to kill time between classes has become a daily fixture of my life, and earlier this year I discovered it was possible to actually make my own. What a revelation. After about a dozen scrapped puzzles, lots of really really horrible entries/clues (some of which may have even made it to the final draft below!), and some extremely constructive feedback, I was able to put together a puzzle I'm proud of.

But I guess I should also write a little about myself so you know what to expect from this blog! I'm a run-of-the-mill Millennial living adjacent to NYC with keen interests in cooking, baking, geography, linguistics, mathematics, science, music (incl. music theory and such), outdoor recreation, video games, and film. I have strong opinions on all things food, I am a dog person, and I prefer warm fuzzy socks to slippers. Expect puzzles on anything bolded—don't expect too many literary references, modern pop culture references, or history references (though I'm very interested in history, I just don't know too much about it... yet).

Well uh, here it is. The first puzzle that I've both 1) completed, and 2) felt enough confidence in to publish. It's a classic themed 15x15, and the theme may have ended up a little ham-fisted, but I'm hoping the cute bonuses and wordplay make up for that. Also, a few of the entries will probably make you groan and roll your eyes, so I apologize in advance. Have fun and let me know what you think!

puz / pdf

"Hey Benny! 6-DOWNNN!!!"

SPOILERS

Thought I'd include this little spoiler block below the puzzle too so I can talk about spoilery things in the post. If you haven't finished the puzzle yet, get outta here! Finish the puzzle!

Anyway, obligatory clip from Total Recall (really nothing else to say about it): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kujd9IbAbIo

SURESHOT is the weird entry that kinda throws off my theme (which, if you didn't figure it out, is song lyrics that reference analog film). KODACHROME and POLAROID both fit great, and are very gettable lyrics, but the Canon Sureshot was not as well-known and was a camera, not a film format. So it's a bit... off. This is on top of the fact that Sure Shot by the Beastie Boys isn't a super-well-known song. I don't feel great about that one, but I couldn't find anything else and I was so zeroed in on this theme. Oh well. I also deliberated heavily on the revealer, with other possibilities such as FILMMUSIC, FILMTUNES, and several others I'm sure I'm forgetting. I just couldn't find anything else that quite fit while also allowing for symmetrical themers and whatnot.

But hey, if you got this far, I'm assuming you had a good time. I'm hoping to stay on a weekly schedule with a variety of puzzles -- minis, midis, themes, themelesses, and even a few 21x21's up my sleeve already. I'd also love to experiment with wacky formats and meta. Stay tuned!