Category Archives: Blog

Written on Dec, 24, 2016 by in , , | Comments Off on Dec. 25, 2016 Washington Post crossword: “Gift Boxes”

Devil Cross PUZ button

PDF available on Sunday, Dec. 25 at the Post’s website.

****************************************

Hi, friends. There’s been a bit of a technical snag with the server that normally hosts the electronic files of my Washington Post crossword, so I’ve been granted permission to temporarily host the Dec. 25 and Jan. 1 puzzles here. This post has the .puz file for the Christmas Day puzzle, “Gift Boxes.” I’ll post the Jan. 1 puzzle next week. If you prefer to print out and solve the PDF, you can get that at the link above starting tomorrow.

Please note this is just a temporary solution; I’ll be moving the files back to the normal server after Jan. 1, where you can access the .puz file at Diary of a Crossword Fiend.

Thanks, and enjoy the puzzle!

Continue Reading...
Written on Dec, 06, 2015 by in , | Comments Off on An Update on the Washington Post and Devil Cross

Hi solvers,

It’s been a busy month since I wrote my last post, but I have a few updates I wanted to share. Let’s get right to them:

1. First, my inaugural Sunday crossword for the Washington Post Magazine has been published! It’s called “Heroes Welcome.” That puzzle, along with all new Post puzzles going forward, will be posted at this link each Sunday. And, of course, they’re free to solve. That being said……

2. Only the previous four Washington Post puzzles will be publicly available as time goes on. So don’t fall behind, or at least make sure you print out a copy each week to ensure that you have it for your records.

3. Currently, there are no .PUZ files available for my Post puzzles at this time. I do apologize for that, but it’s an issue that’s beyond my control right now. That may change at a later date, and if so, I’ll let you know. For now, you can either solve online on the Post’s browser widget, or you can click on the widget’s “Print” option and get a hard copy.

4. I have taken puzzles #62-68 off of Devil Cross. Why would I remove them? Well, if you had a chance to solve them earlier, you’ll recall that they were 21×21 grids. There’s a distinct possibility that they may become Washington Post Magazine puzzles sometime down the line. Maybe not for several months or even years. But even so, I still want to preserve the surprise of those puzzles for newer Post solvers. I apologize for that inconvenience as well; but on the bright side, there are still 62 other puzzles available for free solving.

5. Because I’ve been swamped with my Post-related puzzle duties, I haven’t been able to write my 70th puzzle for Devil Cross. That will have to wait until my schedule frees up, unfortunately. I am also putting together an easy-to-navigate archive of my past Devil Cross puzzles so that you can access all of them on a single page (the only exceptions being the removed puzzles #62-68).

6. Even though there will not be any regular Devil Cross puzzles for the time being, I will try to continue to use this site on occasion as a general crossword blog. Maybe I’ll have a few “behind-the-scenes” notes on specific Post puzzles. Or, maybe I’ll write about other interesting things in the puzzle world. Who knows? I certainly don’t.

7. You see those links on my sidebar for other independent crossword writers? Solve their puzzles.

Finally, a couple of social media notes. My Twitter handle has now changed to @evanbirnholz. I’d recommend following me there for all Post-related updates since my participation on this site will be pretty sporadic for the most part. I’ve also created a public Facebook page for myself and my new position at the Post — if you Like that page, you can post comments there directly.

I think that’s all for now. I’ll see you around and I hope you enjoy the Post’s new crosswords!

Continue Reading...


Nice job!
You now have 30 lives.
Use them wisely, my friend.

Konami Easter Egg by Adrian3.com