This week’s free crossword has a bit of extra pizazz to it. Inspired by a discussion by the folks at cruciverb.com — a wonderful site — I decided to make a puzzle with full (90°) rotational symmetry rather than the standard (180°) symmetry. This doesn’t affect you as a solver much, but it does make the grid a little bit prettier, and that’s always a nice thing. Don’t worry — the puzzle is still strongly themed, if a bit easier than many you’ll find here. (I’d put it as a Tuesday/Wednesday on the NYT scale.)
As usual, you have your choice of Across Lite format or printable PNG image, and (also as usual) I welcome any comments you might have on the puzzle.