Words: 73
Average Length: 5.10
Coming up with the themers for this one was inordinately enjoyable, in a “he he” sense. Please forgive me …
[Please note there should be an asterisk next to 49A. I guess my stars weren’t aligned!]
Categories
Author: Jeff
Categories
English Muffing
Words: 74
Average Length: 5.00
English, notoriously, is a perverse language, where a word’s spelling may be an ambiguous guide to its pronunciation. Fertile fodder for this grid, as I hope you’ll agree.
Please check out my poetry site, It-Could-Be-Verse.com, and my travel blog, PuffinlessTravel.com!
Words: 11
Average Length: 4.73
I’ve seen this concept done as a word ladder, but a mini-puzzle doesn’t allow for such sleight of hand. Nothing fancy here; I clued 1 Down the way I did because that show perfected the technique of starting out fabulous, keeping it up for three seasons, then cratering. Just my opinion, of course.
Categories
Themeless 55
Words: 70
Average Length: 5.57
One thing (of many) that I love about crossword construction is that I learn stuff – sometimes “neat” (e.g., 21 and 49 Across) and sometimes silly (11 Down, which is hilarious in an I-shouldn’t-find-this-funny kind of way). As much as I enjoy filling a grid – thinking three steps ahead to consider whether a word will work with the rest of a section – cluing is more intellectually challenging. How difficult do I want the puzzle to be? What’s a good misdirection? Are there any interesting factoids I can work into a clue? Are the references that come to my mind head-scratchers for younger solvers (i.e., 90% of the audience)? (The last problem, among many others, is dealt with by my test-solver, son Adam. Thanks Adam, again and again!)
Words: 42 (11×11)
Average Length: 4.86
Having a grandchild has fanned the flames of my already-blazing nostalgia. As I was reading to her last week – “Dear Zoo,” a wonderful book as long as you don’t focus on the fact that a zoo is willy-nilly sending elephants and lions to children upon request – it occurred to me that her elementary school experience will be vastly different from mine. And thinking about mine triggered a wave of visceral recollections about the look and feel of the contents of my desk. Hence this puzzle.
One more note: my 1st and 4th grade teacher, Mrs. Bonder, who is well into her 90s, is friends with me on Facebook and is as smart and admirable as ever. Mrs. Bonder, you’ve been a lifelong inspiration!
Categories
Strange Desires
Words: 74
Average Length: 5.11
We all have our yearnings, some odder than others (I would pay good money for a fresh box of Product 19, which Kelloggs discontinued several years ago). Here are five fictional fetishes, some of which (I’m looking at you, 35 Across) might stretch wordplay to unwise lengths.
Categories
Themeless 54
Words: 68
Average Length: 5.71
I had some fun with the basic math in the two seeds (19 and 49 Across), but my favorite clue is 31 Down. Throw in some Vietnamese food, a baker from Mayberry, Mariano Rivera, Superman, and Robert Frost and, I hope, you’ll find this an interesting and enjoyable solve.
Words: 42 (11×11)
Average Length: 4.71
I never saw the movie containing the line that underlies this puzzle, but I know the music and much of the plot through sheer osmosis. I hope you enjoy the puzzle, particularly the handful of “?”-designated clues.
Categories
Roots Music
Words: 74
Average Length: 5.11
Cruciverbalists talk about “seeds” – the entries around which a grid is constructed. Today’s puzzle has five quite literal (and musical) seeds. I hope you like it, or at least that it grows on you!
Please check out my new poetry site, It-Could-Be-Verse.com. For Memorial Day, I posted this poem that describes a visit to the American Military Cemetery in Normandy. Recent posts on my travel blog, PuffinlessTravel.com, highlight a trip to view paleolithic art in France and Spain, with side trips to Luxembourg and Andorra.
Jeff's Puzzles 