I think this one should play a bit gentler than most of my themeless puzzles. I’ll leave you with two gorgeous recordings of 47 Down, which is one of my favorite Beatles songs, early or late. (1) The original. (2) Cover version by Emmylou Harris:
Words: 14
Average Length: 5.29
1 Across was the seed. Had I been thinking, I would have tried for some grid art. As it is, turning the puzzle upside down sort of gets the idea across.
Words: 72
Average Length: 5.19
Here’s an oleo of a themeless, to use some hoary crosswordese. There’s a Hindu deity, one of my favorite authors, some Aussie slang, some Vietnamese food, and a Monty Python reference, among divers and sundry other entries. I hope you find it tasty and satisfying, like 3 Down but decidedly unlike 37 Down.
Words: 18
Average Length: 4.89
Originally this was going to be the first of two minis – Entertaining Women and Entertaining Men. But when I constructed “Entertaining Men,” it morphed into a full-sized puzzle (under a different title: “Backstreet genius”). Come back in late June (and several times before then!) to solve it. Meanwhile, enjoy this mini, perhaps with a glass of 15 Across.
Words: 70
Average Length: 5.34
The seed for this grid was 23 Across. After that, not knowing the first thing about cosmetics, I did a great deal of research to come up with other make-up-related puns. (I blush to say it took a while.) Here’s a link to 42 Across, a beautiful, achingly sad song written by James Taylor.
Words: 18
Average Length: 5.00
Thinking about shellfish the other day – as we all do, I’m sure, though it’s common to clam up when asked about it – the answer/clue that’s now 1 Across came to mind. (I liked the pun so much I made it the title of the puzzle.) Alas, there are no pearls (of wisdom or otherwise) in this grid, but it should make for a tasty, bite-sized solve nonetheless.
Words: 68
Average Length: 5.53
The two grid-spanners were the seeds for this themeless, and once I had them in place I decided to design a grid with minimal 3-letter answers (only four, in this case). For solving accompaniment, here’s a link to the late, great Warren Zevon performing “Werewolves of London” (see the clue for 22 Across).
Words: 10
Average Length: 4.80
1 Across and 1 Down were the seeds, not surprisingly, but I also enjoyed putting 3 Down and 4 Down next to each other. Now that would be a mind-blowing show! 7 Across is terrible fill, but I figured I’d include it after realizing that rearranging the letters as the clue suggests would fit with the trattoria theme.
Jeff's Puzzles