Words: 30
Average Length: 4.73
At 10:36 this morning, my wife Sandy and I welcomed our second grandchild, Noah, into the world. Noah is 20 inches and 8.2 pounds, and he and his parents (Andrea and Eli) are doing great. I had to mark the occasion with a puzzle, of course!
Words: 70
Average Length: 5.34
Today’s puzzle follows a tried and true – meaning hoary – model. Hopefully, it’s fresh nonetheless, as 55 Across should be.
I just got back from 2 weeks in France, Switzerland and Liechtenstein. I posted extensively about the trip on my travel blog, Puffinlesstravel.com – if you’re interested, please check it out!
1 Across was the seed for this cryptic. For those who aren’t baseball fans, “de la Cruz” in 5 Down refers to a young superstar for the Cincinnati Reds. Explanations below the photo.
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Explanations:
1A: No longer = ex + thoughtful = pensive —> expensive (dear)
6A: Anagram of “realities”
7A: Double definition
8A: “H” inside spy agency (CIA) —> chia (seed)
10A: “Within” signals a letter string
11A: Queen of Sheba’s = Leda’s + platter = tray —> led astray
1D: Anagram of copies + synonym for mate
2D: “I hear” signals homonym; incomplete (part) + bookworm (nerd) —> partnered (joined with)
3D: Trotsky backs into = Noel (reverse of Leon), a synonym for carol
4D: Begin —> first letter of each word + cold one (beer), with Harp repeated as the definition
5D: de la Cruz (Elly) cradles (contains) e.g. (for example), ant (tiny crawler) —> el+eg+ant+ly
Words: 70
Average Length: 5.37
The seed for this puzzle, 8D, is a refuge from a themed puzzle that wouldn’t work out. After I crossed it with 20A – another seed I’d been hoping to use – the rest of the puzzle came together pretty easily.
Words: 11 (5×6)
Average Length: 5.09
Re 1A: Cars, not being familiar with Shakespearean English, assume “wherefore” means “where,” just like lots of people do. Any way, who am I to ignore a pun that’s just sitting there. Not surprisingly given the title, 3D and 7A were the seeds.
Words: 70
Average Length: 5.20
In April 2023, I took a wonderful tour offered by Smithsonian Journeys visiting caves in France and Spain containing paleolithic art. (I wrote about it extensively on my PuffinlessTravel blog if you’re interested – just search for posts tagged Smithsonian.) Today’s puzzle isn’t archeologically significant, but then again, there’s no risk of running into any bats, so no worries if you’re chiroptophobic.
Words: 42 (11×11)
Average Length: 5.00
I love travel and I love puns – hence this puzzle, seeded by six different African capitals. Five are clued punnily; the sixth resisted my considerable efforts to come up with an even mildly humorous clue. Sad to say I’ve never been to any of these cities (yet).
PS – I’m leaving today for a couple of weeks in France, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein. I’ll be writing about the trip and posting lots of photos on my PuffinlessTravel blog. Please stop by if you’re interested!
Words: 42 (11×11)
Average Length: 4.71
This is my entry into Crosshare’s Monthly Midi Crossword Contest. The theme for the contest is “Fall,” but not strictly in the seasonal sense. Taking up the challenge, 11 of the 42 entries relate to some meaning of fall.
I learn things from crosswords almost every day, but in cluing this one, I learned something that truly surprised me – check the clue for 5 Down.
Jeff's Puzzles