Categories
Mini

Tank Yu for Solving

Nothing to do with the puzzle, just an atmospheric picture from Reynisfjara Beach, Iceland (taken Aug. 2024)

Words:  18

Average Length:  5.00

1 Across was the seed.  The idea behind it is that you open your mind to daily moments of peace, calm, amusement, wonder – whatever makes you feel gratitude.  It’s a simple yet effective attitude adjustment, blunting the effect of “triggers,” calming stress, and promoting happiness.  And the more I practice it, the easier it gets to recognize and assimilate these joyful moments.

I’ll give you an example: a couple of days ago, I was walking one of our dogs.  In itself, this is a source of 1 Across if I focus on him exploring the world instead of thinking about the things I have to do.  We passed a house where young kids were shrieking with delight while kicking a ball around the backyard.  I couldn’t see the kids, but the enchantment of their play wove a blanket of bliss that warmed me for hours.  Try, it, you’ll like it!

Oh yeah, like the title says, “Tank Yu” for solving  – and for putting up with my digressions!

online | puz | pdf | solution

Categories
Mini

Penguins They Ain’t

Adelie penguins, Pleneau Island, Antarctica, Feb. 2022

Words: 18

Average Length: 5.00

Until last month when I visited Iceland, I had an unblemished track record of never seeing 1 Across in the wild, even in places where they normally gather by the thousands.  Hence the now-inaccurate name of my travel blog, [1 Across]less Travel.  As any self-respecting cruciverbalist/travel blogger would, I had to commemorate the momentous occasion of seeing flocks of 1 Across with a puzzle.

By the way, if you want to solve an actual penguin-focused puzzle, here’s one from 2022.

One last self-promoting note: I recently posted two new poems on my poetry blog, It-Could-Be-Verse.com. One is about a visit to Hong Kong, and the other is about a visit to Vietnam.

online | puz | pdf | solution

Categories
Mini

Peace Pipes

Nike, goddess of victory, Ephesus. Photo taken July 2014. See 5 Down.

Words:  10 (5×5)

Average Length:  4.80

1 Across and 5 Down were the seeds, as well as my two favorite clues in the puzzle.

online | puz | pdf | solution

Categories
Mini Themeless

A Lot of It

Nothing to do with the puzzle, just a cool pic from my recent trip to Iceland (the Snæfellsnes Peninsula, to be precise)

Words:  18

Average Length:  4.89

1 and 7 Across were the seed entries.  I spent far too long trying to configure them and fill them in a way that worked, then clued everything, then relaxed – and realized I’d violated a cardinal rule of construction:  avoid duplication of entries or parts thereof.  Alas, a certain 2-letter word appears three times in this mini, but what are indie puzzles for if you can’t break the rules once in a while?  So I decided to embrace the iconoclasm in the title.  (Also, my apology if you find 4 Down offensive.  But if the sandwich fits ….)

online | puz | pdf | solution

Categories
Mini Themed

Hoist an Oly!

Theater of Dionysus with Athens in the background (July 2014)

Words: 30

Average Length: 4.67

1 Across was the seed.  Originally, I planned to make a technology/mythology hybrid puzzle but I couldn’t come up with enough decent theme answers, so I just went full-on mythology. 

online | puz | pdf | solution

Categories
Mini

4×4 4 Fun

Photo taken through the window of La Fignette 1 Down in Strasbourg (Oct. 2019).

Words:  8

Average Length: 4.00

If you’ve been following this blog for a bit, you know that I post like clockwork: a mini or midi on Wednesdays and a full-size on Sundays (unless I’m traveling in 2 Across, in which case I often screw up the publication date).

However, I’ve been holding onto 1 Across and 3 Across for a while, and while watching game shows last night – it’s generally either game shows or baking shows here – I decided it was time to foist them on y’all.  Filling and cluing the grid took two segments of Who Wants To Be a Millionaire. 

Come back Wednesday for your regularly scheduled mid-week mini!

online | puz | pdf | solution

Categories
Mini Themed

That’s President Cat Lady to You

Cat-a-Cat Tete-a-Tete (photo taken in Malta, Mar. 2019)

Words:  16

Average Length:  4.88

I usually don’t get political in my puzzles, but anyone who’s solved them for a bit knows where my sympathies lie.   ,LA! 

online | puz | pdf | solution

Categories
Mini Themed

A Bit Campy

Rapeseed field (see 5 Across). Photo taken from the TGV en route from Paris to Bordeaux, April 2023

Words:  16 (7×7)

Average Length: 4.75

Sometimes the best thing to do while watching the Nats pretend that they left their bats at home is to construct a mini.  (Both halves of that sentence are true quite often.)  Here you go.  If you like the puzzle, please send the Nats some offense.  Thanks in advance!

online | puz | pdf | solution

Categories
Mini

Country Club

Rook-like chimneys, Port Erin, 9 Across (photo taken July 2022)

Words:  16

Average Length:  4.50

Today’s puzzle is a mini-travelogue. I spent a weekend in 9 Across a couple of years ago.  What a charming place!  It’s criss-crossed with narrow-gauge railways, the capital (Douglas) has stately Victorian rowhouses lining a beautiful harbor, and much of the island is blanketed in green grass and white sheep. 

Any way, I hope you enjoy the puzzle!

online | puz | pdf | solution

Categories
Mini

Good Vibes

Photo taken in Rockville, Maryland, June 2024

Words:  11

Average Length: 5.09 (6×5)

The note in the puzzle says it all.  May we all be guided, as far as possible, by 1 Across and 1 Down.  Happy solving!

online | puz | pdf | solution