puzzle one hundred and sixty eight: puns and anagrams

i realized i didn't post this year so i just threw this grid together

the et3list

et3list (6300+ words)

txt file (crossword compiler, crossfire, and ingrid)

txt file with formatting

euz file (Et Tu, Etui? Crossword Extrusion™ Software)

ettulist master list (lists 1-3, combined 22900+ words)

txt file (crossword compiler, crossfire, and ingrid)

txt file with formatting

euz file (Et Tu, Etui? Crossword Extrusion™ Software)

Et Tu, Etui? Crossword Extrusion™ Software v1.0

pc download

mac download

the ettulist © 2025 by et tu, etui? is licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0

_______________

i actually received these files via email five years ago and have been watching in horror as all the references become real.

follow me on bluesky

puzzle one hundred and sixty seven: midi puzzle

the meta answer hates me (downloadable link) 

 

puzzle one hundred and sixty six: look! the grid's big, ma

i want to start a crossword tournament but instead of crosswords, it's just a bunch of musicians performing at a big festival. i'm thinking of calling it "songapuzzoola"

  

puzzle one hundred and sixty five: oops! all meemaw!

puzzle one hundred and sixty four: tex, a costar

shout out to ihop

  

puzzle one hundred and sixty three: thank you, nyt

yesterday i was watering my dog when i received this text from a trusted advisor:

i can't believe it. it is a career highlight of mine to be featured in the north yorkshire tribune. to show my gratitude, i have written an entire crossword ("crissy-crossy") in british. thank you [snog emoji]

 

puzzle one hundred and sixty two: tthheemmeelleessss

normal puzzle

 

the et2list (three years of pain)

txt file (crossword compiler)

dict file (normal people)

a comprehensive extension (6969+ words) to the ettulist. i send this to crossword publishers and say "pick your favorites" before i make a grid and they say "no"

puzzle what hundred and ever

one day you will be my muse, queen. but now, i have more pressing matters.

 

Puzzle One Hundred Sixty: Duncan' Donuts! (guest puzzle by Tina Labadie)

Excited to take a break from posting and present this puzzle from Tina Labadie, who you may remember from this past Sunday's New York Times crossword!

Tina's notes:

Aww fuck how do I solve one of these things

Puzzle One Hundred and Fifty Nine: I Am Better Than You

Time for the Et Tu Twitter Roundup, where I share one randomly chosen tweet from the Crosswordsphere!

making a 15x15 with 28 theme entries and I thought I finally managed to squeeze them all in but it turns out I accidentally deleted one

— Will Nediger (@bewildering_ly) June 3, 2022

Thanks for the tweet, Will!

Anyway, here's a 15x15 with 29 theme entries and I didn't forget any of them

 

one year of et tu etui

txt file (crossword compiler)

dict file (normal people)

a comprehensive list (9000+ words) of phrases/memes/ettu-isms for your software. you are et tu now

remember when all you knew about me was that i was an arts student?

puzzle one hundred and fifty eight: mmmmmmm breakfast

sorry about being awol for the past week, i was mourning eggley. that got me thinking about breakfast so here's this puzzle 

puzzle one hundred and fifty seven: guest themeless from eggley!!!

fuck yeah i love eggley! he's the best egg in the whole goddamn world. puzzle from eggley!!

  

puzzle one hundred and fifty six: states of matter (guest puzzle by yer gampy)

heehee

 

puzzle one hundred and fifty five: look!

who made my puzzle?

This month's constructor spotlight shines a light on Et Tu, Etui?

"I'm excited to announce that I've hired somebody to ask me questions about myself. Excited to finally share a bit of my personal life!" - Et Tu

Who are you?

I cannot disclose this information.

Where are you?

I cannot disclose this information.

What inspires you?

I cannot disclose this information.

Is there anything you can disclose?

As you know, I am notoriously secretive about my personal life. However, I am willing to talk here today about my past in puzzles and potentially any interpersonal relationships that I have currently blossoming.

Where and when was your first puzzle published?

My first puzzle was published in the New York Times! Back in grade school, my friends gave me the nickname Lazer. But then the editors demanded I submit a full name, so I started submitting as A. Lazare. Can’t win ‘em all!

How did you get into puzzling? What is your first memory of solving?

I started crosswords like every other constructor does: after watching my favorite documentary “Best Buy Employee Training Guide Vol. 1: Making a Sale”. In that training video, I learned a lot about theme development and creating a grid from scratch on paper. Back then, we didn’t have all these fancy softwares like Google Sheets or DeviantArt. Luckily, the Best Buy guys were able to bring in Arthur Wynne for a seminar. Also Craig was there too. That’s where I met him.

Wait, isn’t he your brother?

He *WAS* my brother. He died in a volcano. He is now dead.

That wasn’t really the point of my question.

Wowwww. It’s kind of insensitive to just shrug off my brother’s death like that. Y’know, I say something vulnerable to you and you respond with apathy? Sad. Ugh, whatever. He was estranged before that point, to answer your question.

 

Why do you continue to make crosswords?

I paid the “Fill Me In” guys so much money to mention me that one time that all of my work nowadays is an attempt to make back the money. Still trying to figure out how to get paid for all of this.

Do you use a computer software constructing program and, if so, which one? What do you like about it?

For the past ten or so years, when constructing for publications, I’ve used this software called “New York Times Solving Applet”. It’s very handy because the grid is pre-designed, the clues aid in the filling process, and the exporting to PUZ and PDF are streamlined. I usually send these puzzles to the New York Times (it just seems like their style) but they pretty much always get rejected. When I construct indie, I use this software called “Adrian Powell Secret Puzzle Collection (200+ files)”. It just appeared on my desktop one day.

 

How many hours a week, on average, do you spend on refining your tools, like your word list?

My personal word list is currently over 9000 entries, and I’m planning on releasing it in the near future. I spend maybe five minutes on this word list every single day where I just sit down, purge out 100 entries, and then take a nice long finger bath. My favorite personal entry so far is YOU'RE A SUSSY BAKA (15).

What entry or entries would you never put in a puzzle, and why?

I personally hate using crosswordese like RAE, ENO, ESTEE, EDIE, JEN, MATT, QUINN, JOEY, AVA, MARTHA, EVELYN, HANNIBAL, CLEOPATRA, CHRISTINA, TIMOTHEE CHALAMET, etc. Also, the more cluing angles for a word, the more I hate it. Entries should really only have one definition (that’s how the dictionary works).

What's an untapped market in crosswords you wish to explore?

People named "Bryce". I feel like everybody lumps them in with the Bruces and I just want them to feel recognized. Also: there should be more puzzles with clues that apologize for the entries in the puzzle because I love it when puzzles make me feel bad.

What else is going on in your life?

Ask me about my blossoming interpersonal relationships.

Do you have any blossoming interpersonal relationships?

I’m on Tinder now.

 

Is that it?

Holy shit, I tell you about something that’s super big for me (I was a sheltered kid) and the immediate response is “is there more to that?”. What if there wasn’t, huh? Geez, tabloids are all the same huh. Well, to answer your question, I also joined Hinge.

puzzle one hundred and fifty four: click, click, click, done!

comment below with your times for this puzzle!!!

puzzle one hundred and fifty three: misenko guest puzzle

excited to post this puzzle by the illustrious albert l. misenko!