Ariadne's Crossword Library

Author: Emma O.

  • July 2025 Monthly Contest SOLUTION

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    Title: Go By Prompt: The meta answer is a science fiction author. Answer: N. K. JEMISIN Explanation: four long across answers are authors who often go by their first initials: G. K. CHESTERTON, P. G. WODEHOUSE, H. P. LOVECRAFT, AND L. M. MONTGOMERY. Four two-word clues in the puzzle match these sets of initials:3D [Good kick?]…

  • July 2025 Monthly Contest: “Go By”

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    Happy Canada Day to those solvers up north! (WordPress tells me ACL does get some traffic from up thataway.) A great day to listen to some Stan Rogers. This month’s contest puzzle is “Go By” by Emma Oxford. The meta answer is a science fiction author. To submit to the contest, send an email with…

  • June 2025 Monthly Contest SOLUTION

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    Title: Step and Repeat Prompt: The meta answer is a 19th century novelist. Answer: GEORGE ELIOT Explanation: five synonyms for the word “step” are hidden in the longest across answers: GHOSTRIDER, THEATREKIDS, LIGHTREADING, STROOPWAFEL, and SPACEOPERA. These words also appear in five clues elsewhere in the puzzle, and the first letters of the answers to…

  • June 2025 Monthly Contest: “Step and Repeat” + Bonus Puzzle Answer

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    Happy Pride Month! Before we get to the monthly contest, I have the answer to last month’s BONUS PUZZLE for you. May’s bonus puzzle, which used all five of the January-May monthly contests, asked solvers to find a type of book. The trick (if it can even be called that) was to go back and…

  • May 2025 Monthly Contest SOLUTION + January-May BONUS PUZZLE

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    Title: In All Directions Prompt: The meta answer is a literary location which should appear as a clue in this puzzle but does not.Answer: EAST EGG (from The Great Gatsby) Skip to the bottom for BONUS PUZZLE instructions! Explanation of May’s contest: Seven entries are clued using a direction which corresponds to their position in…

  • May 2025 Monthly Contest: “In All Directions”

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    It’s May Day! Hope all of you who attended ACPT last month had a great time. This month’s contest puzzle is “In All Directions” by Emma Oxford. The meta answer is a literary location which should appear as a clue in this puzzle but does not. To submit to the contest, send an email with…

  • April 2025 Monthly Contest SOLUTION

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    Title: Are You There Gods? Prompt: The meta answer is the eight-letter last name of a children’s author. Answer: D’AULAIRE Explanation: Eight symmetrically placed entries are anagrams of a Greek god plus one extra letter. The extra letters spell the contest answer. 13A PROUDEST -> PROTEUS + D18A AHARE -> HERA (or RHEA) + A20A…

  • April 2025 Monthly Contest: “Are You There Gods?”

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    Happy April! No announcements or other housekeeping to cover this month, so let’s get right to the puzzle! This month’s contest puzzle is “Are You There Gods?” by Emma Oxford. The meta answer is the eight-letter last name of a children’s author. To submit to the contest, send an email with your answer in the…

  • March 2025 Monthly Contest SOLUTION

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    Title: Blood Lines Prompt: The meta answer is a novel. Answer: Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice Explanation: four rows in the finished grid have a synonym for the word INTERVIEW next to a famous VAMPIRE, indicating the contest answer. Like so: 20A CHAT with 21A THECOUNT 26A MEETING with 29A SPIKE 44A SESSION…

  • March 2025 Monthly Contest: “Blood Lines”

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    March has snuck up on us as it does every year, and somehow it’s already time for the third monthly contest from Ariadne’s Crossword Library! Before we get to the puzzle, I wanted to take a second to shout out all of ACL’s new subscribers who found their way to this site last month. I…