Puzzle Notes

Hi, cryptic lovers! We're delighted to bring you the first published cryptic by perennial #crypticcluecontest favorite Jesse Lansner. Jesse lives in Rochester, NY with his wife, two kids, two cats and one dog. He occasionally publishes crosswords and cryptics at JKL Crosswords. He is hoping to eventually construct a puzzle for each of Shakespeare's plays.

I had the pleasure of spending some time with Jesse at the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament this year, and I can vouch for how his deep love of literature is prone to manifest in offbeat ways, such as when he basically introduced a bunch of us to a version of Cards Against Humanity in which all of the cards are quotes from Moby-Dick. You'll see it in his clues in this puzzle, too!

Follow Jesse on Twitter, and if you too would like to make a cryptic for AVCX, send us some clues!

Be well,
Stella, for the AVCX Cryptic team