The Crossword, July 13: Flat Out

You have one last job to do this Monday morning.

This week's puzzle was constructed by Madison Shultz, and edited by Hoang-Kim Vu.

Madison has too many hobbies.

She spends most of her free time skiing, climbing, hiking, and rockhounding, but started constructing crosswords in 2025 as a creative outlet and reason to stay inside more with her two cats.

If you like this puzzle, you can find more of her work at her blog https://crosswordcuriosities.com/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Crossword Curiosities.

Defector crosswords, launched in partnership with https://avxwords.com/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">our friends at AVCX, run every Monday.

If you’re interested in submitting a puzzle to us, you can read our guidelines https://docs.google.com/document/d/1vsMt8kzQug6h9qe9B2LObcxUFt0T-ESp/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=106271002798661393791&rtpof=true&sd=true" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">HERE. The AVCX, an independent puzzles and games outlet, invites you to subscribe, or sample the goods with a https://avxwords.com/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">two-month free trial: "With an AVCX subscription, you get access to weekly themed and themeless crosswords, minis, cryptics, and trivia, by email or in your favorite app.

We have no corporate overlord, and we publish top-flight stuff only.

We also pay our people fairly, always.

Check us out."