Words: 76
Average Length: 4.97
I strive for Inbox Zero, and sometimes attain it for as long as four minutes or so. This grid is a long way away, as you’ll see when you solve it.
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Author: Jeff
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Stars Crossed
Words: 14
Average Length: 5.29
I started with the grid shape and 8 Across and then looked for some interesting stuff to go around it. The result has a bit of an unintended celestial theme.
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Themeless 115
Words: 70
Average Length: 5.34
The seeds for today’s puzzle were 33 Across (snarky clue included) and 8 Down (a “wrong” answer in a trivia game a few months ago, the same game that gave me the clue/answer to 42 Down).
By the way, Flossie and Freddie in 16 Across come from the “Bobbsey Twins” series of children’s books, which were all the rage around 60 years ago. (Their older twin siblings were Bert and Nan.)
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Apparently So
Words: 18
Average Length: 4.56
I read something Friday morning that included the phrase in 5 Across, and then 9 Across popped into my mind, which tells you how insufferable my mind can be at times. Then I came up with 1 Across (which I might have seen in a puzzle before), and decided I had to make the grid work with those three entries as the top three acrosses. After I finished a draft, I came up with “Herr apparent” as a clue, but couldn’t think of a corresponding answer. Perhaps you’ll see it in a future grid!
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Hits the Spot
Words: 73
Average Length: 5.10
Today’s puzzle is clued very gently (for me) – guess I was in a particularly mellow mood when I constructed it. I figure it’s a good tonic after last Thursday’s jeremiad.
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King? Tut!!
Word: 78
Average Length: 4.64
Trigger warning: if you think the current occupant of what’s left of the White House is doing a bang-up job running what’s left of our country, this puzzle will upset you.
Apology: There’s no online option for today’s puzzle because, in the current political environment, I didn’t want to risk bringing haters’ wrath down on other distribution outlets.
Disclaimer: The puzzle resembles a word ladder, but it’s really not – turns out I could connect 1A to 67A by changing only 3 letters.
Words: 18
Average Length: 4.67
The seeds for this puzzle, which you’ll identify while solving, originally were ideas for a cryptic puzzle (for obvious reasons). Having said that, 15A, a non-seed entry, has my favorite clue.
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Themeless 114
Words: 68
Average Length: 5.74
35 Across and 5 Down were the seeds for today’s puzzle; they came from two terrific books I’d recently read, Rick Steve’s account of his decision to become a travel writer and Catherine Nixey’s Heretic: Jesus Christ and the Other Sons of God.
Apologies – it was just brought to my attention that 5D in the originally posted puzzle was misspelled. I’ve fixed it in the puz and pdf version but haven’t been able to do so yet in the online version.
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To My New Grandson
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!
Jeff's Puzzles 