Words: 40 (11×11)
Average Length: 4.65
Today’s puzzle is my entry into the Crosshare monthly midi contest for April, whose theme is “cryptozoology.” Warnings: Dad jokes ahead and some assembly required.
Author: Jeff
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Themeless 126
Words: 72
Average Length: 5.31
I began constructing this grid by deciding I would put a 12/15/12 stack across the middle, as one of my favorite constructors, Tim Croce, often does. (If you like super-challenging themeless puzzles, he’s one of the best in the biz. He posts new puzzles every Tuesday and Friday evening at 6 eastern time on his site, Club 72.)
Next step was coming up with an appropriate 15 (37 Across), and I’d happened to use this exact phrase about half an hour before starting construction. (Suffice it to say I am in daily contact with a few “half-empty glass” types.) The first 12 (34 Across) is something that Is not so widely known and practiced as it should be. Hit the backbeats, people! The second 12 (40 Across) was a great pitcher, but he made the puzzle on the basis of the pun in the clue. Enjoy!
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Daisy Daisy
Words: 42 (11×11)
Average Length: 5.00
A few weeks ago, I wrote that I’d clued a certain flower cryptically because I was tired of seeing it clued as “daisy relative.” Then came my granddaughter’s fixation with a certain cartoon mouse and her best friend. A cruciverbalist’s mind is never at rest, so while I was pretending to be 1A for my granddaughter’s amusement – my impression isn’t exactly spot-on, but it does the trick – I decided the 1A/4D combination would be a good seed for today’s midi.
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Vegetarian Grammarian
Words: 74
Average Length: 5.05
The two seeds for this puzzle were 39A (a phrase I heard from my son) and 18A (the debate over which amuses me greatly). My original plan was to make this a themeless, but then I realized that 39A could be part of the title of a well-known book about grammar. Poof, a themed puzzle is born.
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Themeless 125
Words: 76
Average Length: 4.87
I’ve been passionate about baseball since 1969, when the Miracle Mets blew past the 109-win Baltimore Orioles to win the World Series, four games to one. To my then-11-year-old self, this was a triumph of cosmic significance.
I’ve posted a few baseball-themed puzzles over the years, but this year is special: I had the great good fortune to co-construct this puzzle with Jeanne Breen, a super-talented maker of all sorts of word puzzles who is as ardent about baseball as I am. If you’re not already following her site, In Pursuit of Puzzles, you should be!
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House It Going?
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Being Retired
Words: 10 (5×5)
Average Length: 5.00
I haven’t published a mini in quite a while. This one was seeded by 1A and 1D. I already had the clue ready for 1A, then put in 1D after coming up with a clever-ish clue. 8A has a cryptic clue – “can be” indicates an anagram – because I’m tired of seeing the answer clued as “fall bloomer” or “daisy relative.”
Categories
Themeless 124
Words: 68
Average Length: 5.62
Here’s a wide-ranging themeless (food, one of my favorite songs, classical Greece, religion, geography, math, you name it and I’ve tossed it in here). I hope the ingredients combine deliciously, or at least, palatably!
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You Can’t Always Get What You Want
Words: 70
Average Length: 5.34
The “theme” of this one is a stupid joke (19A/52A) that popped into my head one morning. Other than that, I think the factoid in the clue for 6D is amusing (my amusement threshold is exceptionally low), and I’m unreasonably happy with the cryptic clue for 33A.
I just got back from three weeks touring Rapa Nui (Easter Island), Chile, Argentina, and Brazil. I wrote extensively about the trip and posted lots of photos on my travel blog, PuffinlessTravel.com. Check it out!
Jeff's Puzzles 