Words: 11 (5×7)
Average Length: 4.36
I constructed this week’s and next week’s minis while chipping away at a long, late-night layover at the Hong Kong Airport. Please enjoy and share!
Just a reminder that my travel blog, PuffinlessTravel.com, has write-ups and photos from my recent trip to Hong Kong, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, and Thailand – check it out!
Words: 75 (14×15)
Average Length: 4.69
There’s a convention in mainstream (newspaper) crosswords that a puzzle should pass the “breakfast test” – it shouldn’t contain anything that might upset, gross out, or otherwise discomfort a solver inking in answers while eating their oatmeal. I always found this curious; given the contents of the rest of the newspaper, even an edgy puzzle would be tame by comparison.
Anyway, this puzzle takes “breakfast test” literally. Cheerio!
Words: 16 (7×7)
Average Length: 5.25
Among my many useless talents, I can pretty much quote Monty Python and the Holy Grail (and many other Python offerings) word for word. Here’s a puzzle built around some of my favorite bits (and links to each of them).
3 Down: here
9 Across: here
15 Across: here
I’m returning home today after three wonderful weeks in Hong Kong, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, and Thailand. I’ve been writing about the trip (and posting lots of pictures) on my travel blog, PuffinlessTravel.com. Please check it out if you’re interested!
Words: 70
Average Length: 5.46
I had a lot of fun constructing this one. It started with 20 Across (a pun I’ve had in mind for a while) and 19 Down (a joke I heard from one of my fellow travelers to Australia and New Zealand, the incredibly nice and funny John C. from Ft. Worth, Texas, who along with his wife Charlotte and friends Urbin and Gay were wonderful travel companions). Next came 6 Down, crossed with 44 Across. Have fun!
Words: 36
Average Length: 4.67
My wife loves to bake (I specialize in consumption), and we watch a lot of baking shows. My favorite is the Kids Baking Championship, where 9-12 year old kids make me feel like at least part of our future is in good hands! In addition to creating spectacular treats, they toss around terms like 11 Across with abandon. After looking it up, I figured I’d create a midi around a basket of French pastry. (Best solved with a strong coffee or some 26 Across.)
Words: 78
Average Length: 4.79
This one was a bear to construct! I actually tore up (digitally) the first version and refilled a fair amount of it. There are still a couple of clunkers (56A, 64D, e.g.), but it’s now presentable. Solve with someone you love!
Words: 28 (9×9)
Average Length: 5.29
I didn’t start out intending to make a plea for equitable pay for teachers, but it’s a message that can’t be emphasized strongly enough. Teachers are front-line workers facing steep odds, including the risk of being fired for informing children about any number of issues that shouldn’t be controversial but somehow are in our narrow-minded nation. They are life preservers and life enhancers, and they should be compensated accordingly!
Words: 70 (17×13)
Average Length: 5.46
35 Across was the seed for this grid, and having just finished listening to some Bowie, I decided to cross it with 8 Down. 10 Down and 61 Across are attempts to clue common crosswordese in a fresh way. Enjoy!
Words: 75 (16×15)
Average Length: 5.12
As the mugs say, “Keep Calm and Carry On,” which could have been another theme entry except that it’s too long and then I’d have had to retitle the puzzle. While there’s no guarantee that solving will produce a feeling of well-being, it couldn’t hurt!
Jeff's Puzzles