Words: 43 (11×11)
Average Length: 4.79
The idea for this puzzle came from a book I just finished, Long Strange Trip: The Inside History of the Grateful Dead, by Dennis McNally. There’s a particular song (8 Down) that the Dead covered in live performances more than 500 times, and I thought the title of the song lent itself to a midi grid.
Alas, the only way I could make the concept work was for the first seed entry (1 Across) to be an obscure French artist. I’d never heard of him, and I’d guess that very few of you have either. But the crosses should help with 1 Across, and once the concept becomes apparent, the answer should fall into place easily. (To help the concept become apparent, the online version includes some shaded cells, but the circles should work just as well, if less colorfully.)
There’s an additional hint in the solving note, which references my original entry at 1 Across – a very similar word that’s a bit more widely known but spoiled the purity of the concept.
Jeff's Puzzles 
2 replies on “Crickets”
You know, even before scrolling down to read the caption, I sensed it was going a pic of crickets meant for consumption. I know they’re a great source of protein, but still: YECCH! Okay, on to the puzzle: such a clever idea, well executed. To be able to accommodate the ‘trick’, the song title and the composer all within the confines of a midi is really impressive. (Your solver’s note allowed me to fill in 1-Across right off the bat). Like the parallel clueing of 8- and 25-Across, as well as the clues for 16- and 21-Down. And love Meryl’s quote!
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Thanks, Jeanne! This was a fun constructing challenge, which went through a couple of iterations before I could make it work.
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