39: what you hear is not a test

hi! i haven't been constructing very much the past couple months, but that's because i've been working on a new crossword-related project: creating a really, really good wordlist using only free resources. i'll talk more about this at some point, but for now i'll just say that i'm hoping to finish it within the next few weeks, and i'm hoping that i'll be able to create cooler puzzles once i'm done with it. in the meantime, here's themeless midi 9 (still using my old wordlist). hope you enjoy!

construction notes (warning: spoilers)

like my last themeless midi, this one started out with both rotational and diagonal symmetry, and i had to drop the rotational symmetry to make it work. i still think it's a cool layout, though, with the unbroken ring of long answers around the border. it also has the fun property that there are two entries each of length 11, 10, 9, 8, and 7.

as for the entries themselves, i think they turned out pretty solid. my favorite part is GOD IS DEAD on top of CULT CLASSIC. specifically, the word GOD on top of the word CULT is nicely evocative.

on the left side, i wasn't thrilled about having both CASH CAB and DOLLAR STORE, especially because i don't even like the concept of money in the first place. but i decided they were both solid enough to leave in. and who wouldn't want a cute lil GUINEA PIG in their puzzle?

the right and bottom stacks are less sparkly, but i think i made them work with some decently fun/interesting clues.

i learned a lot of fun facts about samoa while clue-writing. it was the first small-island country in the pacific to become independent, breaking from new zealand in 1962. it's overwhelmingly christian. it switched its time zone across the international date line in 2011 by skipping december 30, so now it's a full day ahead of american samoa, which is kind of funny. and they switched from driving on the right to driving on the left in 2009.

hope you liked the puzzle!