Darby Ratliff

Darby is a queer crossword constructor and graduate student living in St. Louis.

Recent AF+ Articles by This Author

7 down / 4 letters / 7 Queer YA graphic novel by Simina Popescu about dancers at a performing arts school

AF+ Crossword Is In Vogue

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Darby Ratliff

34 across / 3 letters / 20 ___ (length of a NWSL goal area)

AF+ Crossword Has a Few Tricks Up Its Sleeve

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Darby Ratliff

AF+ Crossword Is So Back

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Darby Ratliff

53 down / 5 letters / Brie Larson or Halsey, astrologically

AF+ Full-Sized Crossword is Moving In

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Darby Ratliff

All Articles by this Author on Autostraddle

af+ crossword

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AF+ Crossword Is In Vogue

Welcome to the club, kids!

Darby Ratliff —

Jul 26, 2025

crossword

3 down / 5 letters / "Love and Other Disasters" author Kelly

puzzles

Mini Crossword Deserves a Dubious Honor

And the award for tiniest crossword goes to …!

Darby Ratliff —

Jul 23, 2025

af+ crossword

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AF+ Crossword Has a Few Tricks Up Its Sleeve

Don’t blink or you might miss it!

Darby Ratliff —

Jul 12, 2025

crossword

5 across / 6 letters / "___: The Joy and Defiance of ___ P. Johnson" (2025 biography)

puzzles

Mini Crossword Is Joyful and Defiant

Highly recommend embracing joy and defiance!

Darby Ratliff —

Jul 9, 2025

crossword

1 across / 5 letters / "___ the Vampire Slayer" (initial focus of "Buffering: A Rewatch Adventure")

puzzles

Mini Crossword Watches Too Much TV

Is that a contradiction in terms?

Darby Ratliff —

Jun 4, 2025

crossword

4 down / 5 letters / "The ___ of Salt" (Patricia Highsmith romance)

puzzles

Mini Crossword is Making Book Recommendations

The sheer quantity of literary content squeezed into this tiny puzzle is pretty impressive tbh.

Darby Ratliff —

May 21, 2025

af+ crossword

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AF+ Crossword Is So Back

Did you miss us?

Darby Ratliff —

May 3, 2025

crossword

5 across / 5 letters / Texas Roller ___ (sport league owned and operated by its skaters)

puzzles

Mini Crossword Is Rolling the Dice

Specifically, rainbow acrylic polyhedral dice.

Darby Ratliff —

Oct 28, 2024

af+ crossword

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AF+ Full-Sized Crossword is Moving In

How are we going to fit all of this stuff into one apartment …?

Darby Ratliff —

Oct 26, 2024

crossword

1 down / 5 letters / Miley Cyrus's appearance in "Drive-Away Dolls," for example

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AF+ Mini Crossword Is Definitely Not an Imposter

Nothing sus over here!

Darby Ratliff —

Oct 23, 2024

crossword

1 across / 4 letters / Controversial Andrew Lloyd Webber musical with singing felines

puzzles

Mini Crossword Will Make You a Sandwich

And it won’t skimp on the pickled carrots.

Darby Ratliff —

Oct 21, 2024

crossword

5 down / 4 letters / 5 ___ the room (look for other queer folks, perhaps)

puzzles

Mini Crossword Is Feeling Cheeky

Blame it on the boy shorts.

Darby Ratliff —

Oct 14, 2024

Darby Ratliff

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