Tonight we're bringing you the latest midi from roster member Carina da Rosa (@carinadarosa.bsky.social). It's an 11x11 titled, "Be My Guest." We invite you to enjoy.

Thanks to all our solvers/supporters for keeping us afloat. We subsist each year mainly from what we make in Nov/Dec, when I guess people are feeling the most crosswordy. If you subscribe now, or buy a gift sub, you help us a ton. And you get a free meta mini pack! So come on aboard: Avxwords.com

We're thrilled to have a puzzle from guest constructor Chandi Deitmer. It's a 15x9 offering entitled "Grammatical Reparsing" that we think you'll have a blast working through. You can see more of Chandi's work at Slate, Puzzmo, and many other venues.

Today's puzzle is an 11x11 by roster member Ben Wilson (@zerofiftyone.bsky.social), titled "A Lot to Unpack." In this fun, breezy puzzle, Ben once again wows us with his ability to connect an amazing number of unrelated entries together through clever cluing angles.

Here’s the deal! Subscribe, renew, or buy a gift subscription from avxwords.com from now thru the end of the year, and get a new meta mini pack, free. After subscribing, send a blank email to [email protected] with “mini meta” in the subject line, and we’ll send you the pack. Honor system!

Will, Olivia, and Sally have been hard at work reviewing roster applications! It's a pleasure, and a privilege, to see all the creativity and enthusiasm for puzzles on display.

Tonight we're bringing you a 9x10 puzzle by guest constructor Erica Hsiung Wojcik. It's titled "Busy Body," and we think you'll enjoy its artful vibes. Erica is a psychology professor at Skidmore College. She puts crosswords outside her office door for students to solve between classes.

We're excited to bring you an 11x11 themed offering from leadership team member Sally Hoelscher (@sallyhoelscher.bsky.social) called "Body Temperature." We think you'll find this breezy puzzle quite "sensational."

Two days left!

Early drop! We're thrilled to share a guest puzzle from Kameron Austin Collins, an 8x11 titled "Messy." We think it'll be a fair challenge that one editor described as "like eating an amazing piece of sushi." Enjoy!

We hope tonight's offering from roster member Alex Rossell Hayes (@alxrh.bsky.social) hits all the right notes. It's an 11x11 titled "Musical Sentences." We think it might be a bit difficult to get into the groove at first, but we're certain that you'll find your rhythm during the solve.

Lil AVCX's roster call is still open for another week! It's the perfect time to get brainstorming on a puzzle for your application. docs.google.com/document/d/1...

For any Boswords Fall League solvers ... I do not have a Featured Solver lined up yet for the upcoming Puzzle #6 ... if you would like to be a Featured Solver (even if you have done it before) reach out and let me know. Thanks!!

Thank you to @boswords.bsky.social for the plug tonight! We love Boswords!

Time to level up your literary prowess with an 11x13 midi from roster member K.J. Sarr . We think you'll find 'Art Works" to be a stunning composition.

Tonight's puzzle is an 11x13 offering from roster member Terry Sun entitled "Ooh, So Close." This fantastic puzzle may have you trying to figure things out for a while, but we think it'll all add up in the end.

Hope everyone who's working on a puzzle is doing well! Remember, the best version of your grid is the *next* one 😉

Check out this amazing thread about all the cool things AVCX has done this year!

Whatever your plans are for this last week of October, we hope they'll include "What'll It Be?," an 11x11 midi from Katie Hoody. Though the puzzle may be fun-sized, we'd rather compare solving it to finding that one house on the block that's handing out full-sized candy bars.

Lil AVCX is looking for new and emerging constructors to be a part of our 2026 constructing roster. Deadline for applications is November 14, 2025. Here's the information: docs.google.com/document/d/1...

Tonight we're bringing you an 11x11 grid from editor Amie Walker (@amiewalker.bsky.social) titled, "maybe this one should have stayed in the drafts." This is the last midi of our "Editor October" series, and we think you'll find it to have a playful vibe.

Lil AVCX is looking for new and emerging constructors to be a part of our 2026 constructing roster. Deadline for applications is November 14, 2025. Here's the information: docs.google.com/document/d/1...

Take your seats and silence your cell phones everybody, today's crossword is a moderately challenging 12x11 from Lil AVCX editor Matthew Luter titled "Double Bills" that we're sure you'll find a real showstopper!

Today's puzzle is an 11x11 offering from Lil AVCX editor Jess Shulman (@jessshulman.bsky.social), entitled "On Your Merry Way". We think it'll have you leaping for joy with its cozy vibes!

I'll keep this short (and you'll figure out why). The state of things here is that Will Eisenberg (@tlmberwolves.bsky.social) has a 10x13 themed puzzle for you titled "Oh, OK." Please enjoy it, post-haste. Difficulty is, let's say, 13 out of 50?

We have a treat for you today, a delightful 11x13 puzzle by widely published constructor and Lil leadership team member Olivia Mitra Framke (@livienna.bsky.social). It's titled "You've Heard of Them". It's filled with fun tidbits, goofy wordplay, and a perfectly executed theme.

We're excited to bring you a 12x12 puzzle from Lil AVCX editor Brian Callahan (@oliogrids.bsky.social) called "Just One Away from a Bingo." We think you'll find it fresh, playful, and full of Brian's signature pop culture and sports clues!

The Lil AVCX roster has been making puzzles at a frenetic pace, so we decided to give them a bit of a break. In October, our 2025 editors will each contribute a puzzle. We kick off "Editor October" with a smooth-sailing 10x10 puzzle from Sally Hoelscher (@sallyhoelscher.bsky.social): "No Filter"

Tonight, roster member Carina da Rosa (@carinadarosa.bsky.social) invites you along on a romantic adventure. This breezy 13x10 puzzle is titled "Change of Scenery." Whichever solving format you choose, we invite you to take a peek at the PDF for a little added visual interest.

Today we bring you another potentially perplexing performance of puzzling proficiency via this piece of prestidigitation, an 11x10 themeless midi by Katie Hoody titled—poof! presto-changeo!—"Something from Nothing." Voila!

We're excited to bring you a 13x9 puzzle from roster member Alisya Reza (@alisyareza.bsky.social) called "blondes have more fun." We think you'll find it breezy, cheeky, and fun!!

We're excited to bring you another installment from roster member Ben Wilson (@zerofiftyone.bsky.social). It's a clever 11x11 puzzle entitled "Astaire-case," where you'll find no shortage of Ben's signature punniness.

Today we're bringing you a breezy 12x9 midi from guest constructor Jess Rucks (@jessbevrucks.bsky.social). It's called "You Can Say That Again!" We think you'll find it to be playful and entertaining.

Last winter, AVCX ran a subscription drive to continue funding our expanded puzzle offerings. It worked great! We won’t need to do anything at that scale this year. But we will run a mini-drive this fall to keep the old budget stable. So if you like what we do, please spread the word!

Today we're bringing you a huge helping of nostalgia that fits in the palm of your hand. Roster member K.J. Sarr's 13x13 puzzle titled "Pocket Dimension" should be a snap of a solve, and oodles of retro fun. Don't miss checking out the PDF!

We're excited to bring you a 10x11 midi from roster member Alex Rossell Hayes (@alxrh.bsky.social) titled "Counter Arguments." We expect this to be a relatively breezy solve, and before you know it, you'll be shouting "That's a wrap!"

Congrats to Lil member @carinadarosa.bsky.social! We eagerly await solving her puzzle! (And all the rest!)

Today's puzzle comes to us from roster member Terry Sun. It's an 11x11 entitled "Chosen Family" and we think it'll be a fun solve that'll leave you feeling proud to be an AVCX subscriber.

Put on your dancing shoes! Tonight we have an 11x12 puzzle by roster member Carina da Rosa (@carinadarosa.bsky.social) called "Sorry, Patrick Swayze, But I Put Baby in the Corner."

Please give a big Lil AVCX welcome to Malaika Handa (@malaika-h.bsky.social‬)! This 11x11 midi is titled "Make a wish!" and we think you'll find it a lively, moderately challenging solve. You don't want to miss this gem!

We've got a 10x10 puzzle for you today from Katie Hoody, titled "Girl Power Forever," that's technically a themeless, but you'll notice some conceptual throughlines connecting some clues—not to mention some zippy long entries.

Hey look, it's Lil member Katie and Lil graduates Lydia and Christina! Congratulations!!!

We're beyond thrilled to present puzzles by this fantastic set of constructors at the second Midwest Crossword Tournament, October 4, 2025 in Chicago! Read more about them and register now at midwestgridfest.com

We predict that you will get much enjoyment from Ben Wilson's (@zerofiftyone.bsky.social‬) newest 11x11 puzzle, titled "These Books Are Worth a Fortune," in which Ben has embedded some sneaky extras for keen-eyed solvers.

Today's puzzle is a 13x10 puzzle from guest constructor Pao Roy entitled "Leading Questions." We think you'll find it more challenging than the average Lil AVCX puzzle, but don't worry, you got this. Any questions?

We hear midi puzzles are all the rage lately, if you'd like a backlog of hundreds, consider subscribing to AVCX! avxwords.com

We're thrilled to bring you today's puzzle: a 10x10 midi from Alex Rossell Hayes (‪@alxrh.bsky.social‬) titled "On Your Marks." Fair warning: some of the clues might be a bit challenging. If you hit a dead end, we encourage you to embrace the stress. You'll get there!

Kick off your flip-flops and grab a pencil—we're bringing you a breezy 10x13 puzzle by K.J. Sarr titled "Meet me at the beach?" that's 'shore' to brighten your day! (we couldn't resist the pun, sorry not sorry)

Tonight's puzzle is a 10x13 from roster member Terry Sun, entitled "A Trip to the Zoo." We think you'll find it exciting but friendly, with some unexpected moments.

What makes a crossword stick in your head so you can't forget it?