Today's puzzle is from Paolo! I think this was the first 7xwords that was claimed, way back in December. I actually don't want to double-check that bit of lore-- I'm just going to believe it's true. Check out other Paolo Puzzles on his blog!

Paolo says: "i consider myself lucky to have heard about 7xwords in its early stages for a few reasons. reason one is i was lucky enough to watch as the site developed from an idea to one of the best things to happen to crosswords in a while. reason two is i was early enough to snag this date. thanks as always to malaika for the opportunity!"