Words: 18 (7×7)
Average Length: 5.00
As you can probably tell, the seed for this puzzle was 1 Across, which I first heard from a fellow traveler on my recent trip to Australia and New Zealand. (The female counterpart is “werewife.”) The puzzle’s title, by the way, is a pun on the capital of 4 Down.
Words: 18 (7×7)
Average Length: 5.00
February is finally ending (save for one quadrennial last gasp tomorrow), which means Opening Day is just a few weeks away. Here’s a grid welcoming the new season, including my predictions for the NL, AL, and World Series champs.
Words: 10 (5×5)
Average Length: 5
The title comes from Pre-Road Downs, a CSN deep cut with the line “hotels and midnight coaches/be sure to hide the roaches” – obviously a different kind of roach than in 1 Down, but apt nonetheless. Other than that, I tossed in some Jewish cuisine, a Beach Boys reference, and that white fluffy stuff that ends up all over the house after my dog has finished destroying a chew toy.
Words: 10 (5×5)
Average Length: 5.00
Not surprisingly, the seed for today’s puzzle was 6 Across, which I visited last week. It’ss magical place that changes color and feel as the light shifts from day to sunset. The title of the puzzle was the result of free association: one “flavor” of 1 Down is “strange,” and having listened to Cream recently my brain automatically appended “brew.” Here’s a link to the song – it’s a trippy, iconic track of the late ‘60s.
Words: 16
Average Length: 4.63
The scene: the afternoon of Dec. 31. Down time – did some reading (Carlo Rovelli, “White Holes” – pretty interesting account of “exits” from black holes), played with my dogs, sent some Happy New Year emails, texts, WhatsApp messages etc. Now what? 1 Down popped into my mind, followed by 9 Across. Puzzle time! Here’s the result – an unconventional grid infested with some inspired (as in awful) puns.
Words: 10 (5×5)
Average Length: 5.00
Here’s a mini-Themeless and a song recommendation: check out “The Christians and the [7 Acrosses]” by Dar Williams. It’s beautiful, seasonally appropriate, and heartwarming. For that matter, check out her “When I Was a Boy” or pretty much anything else she’s recorded. She’s a wonderful singer-songwriter!
Words: 18 (7×7)
Average Length: 5.00
Welcome to year 4 of JeffsPuzzles! Today’s grid started with 1 Across, a talented performer with a name made for wordplay. I put 16 Across in for some superficial thematic closure. The availability of 11 Across after visiting 15 Across, while not intended, is certainly fortuitous; the same holds for the short down edges, all of which somehow came out in XYY form. The crossword gods work in mysterious ways!
Jeff's Puzzles