Words: 15
Average Length: 4.93
This one may be a bit more challenging than most of my minis, but I liked the idea of connecting 7 Across with 5 Down and 7 Down. In fact, 7 Across/7 Down was one of my favorite toys when I was growing up, long before the digital age. Believe it or not, they used to be made out of wood!
Words: 12 (6×6)
Average Length: 5.00
This mini is brought to you by one of my favorite Donovan songs (there are many, led by “Jennifer Juniper” and “Sunshine Superman,” with the seed for this puzzle close behind; the title of the puzzle refers to a line in the song (“is gonna be a sudden craze”).
Words: 10
Average Length: 4.80
[THE CLUE FOR 1 ACROSS SHOULD BE PREFACED BY “FAMILIAR NAME FOR”]
I never know, when I’m constructing a puzzle for which the title or clues reference an old saying or nursery rhyme, whether the reference will be understood by people half my age. This is one such puzzle. Whether or not you get the reference, I hope you enjoy it!
Words: 11
Average Length: 4.55
This is the last Venn Mini for a bit – they’re a bit of a pain to construct, to be honest. Same rules as always: each half of the clue is like a circle in a Venn Diagram; the answer falls in the intersection of the clues and is something they have in common – it could be a name, a place, the same word used in different context, or some other commonality. Explanations follow the photo.
1A – You BASTE a turkey and a seam
6A – Shaq and the Great One both played CENTER, though in different sports. (Seeing Shaq ice skate might be interesting!)
7A – HAVANA was a hit for Camilla Cabello, and the USS Maine sank in Havana harbor, igniting the Spanish-American War
8A – EDITS as a verb includes cuts; director’s cuts may be considered EDITS used as a noun. I apologize for this one, which is the real weak link in the grid.
9A – Spike LEE; a shelter is on the LEE side
1D – BEAD is associated with drops of sweat and Mardi Gras
2D – One of the bones in your ear is the ANVIL, which is also used in a forge
3D – STATE of matter (liquid) and of the union
4D – Future is a TENSE, a cliffhanger is tense
5D – ERA – as an acronym for the Equal Rights Amendment, which was supported by NOW (the National Organization for Women), and for Earned Run Average, a key pitching stat
6D – CHE is the narrator of Evita, and Michael Che is known from SNL
Words: 10
Average Length: 4.20
Think of each half of each clue as a circle in a Venn diagram. The answer will lie in the intersection of the two circles. It could be a name, a word with different meanings in each context, a common component, or something else they share.
Spoilers/explanations below the photo
1A: SPOCK – Dr. Benjamin Spock wrote what was, for a long time, the baby care bible. Mr. Spock, of course, needs no introduction. Live long and prosper!
6A: THREE – Lithium’s atomic number and Dale Earnhardt’s car number
7A: DADDY – Daddy Yankee was featured on Despacito and Daddy Warbucks is a main character in Annie
8A: SEE – The government of the Catholic Church (Holy See) operates from the Vatican, and you “see” in poker when you match a bet
9A: ERS – as in emergency rooms and “ers” when someone is searching for a word
1D: STD – a reg (regulation) is a standard (std), and the “clap” is slang for gonorrhea, a kind of sexually transmitted disease
2D: PHASE – the “terrible twos” is considered a phase, and liquid is a phase (state) of matter
3D: ORDER – is a categorization in taxonomy (between family and class), and a monastery generally is populated by monks of a specific order (e.g., Franciscans)
4D: CEDES – sorry about this one; it’s a stretch but it works if you consider that the root -cede is used with con (concede) but not pro (which changes the root to ceed) and pre (precede) but not post (instead it’s succeed). I got backed into a corner on this one!
5D: KEY – a piano has 88 of them; Florida has around 800
Words: 10
Average Length: 4.80
Spoilers/solving notes below:
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
1A: A shepherd uses a STAFF and an employer hires a STAFF
6A: An ear has a CANAL, and Erie is one
7A: Lewis Carroll wrote about ALICE in Wonderland, and Jefferson Airplane’s song White Rabbit is based on Carroll’s book
8A: Bags are TOTES and in “I Love You Man,” Paul Rudd’s character says “TOTES McGotes”
9A: Mathematician John NASH was the subject of “A Beautiful Mind,” and Graham NASH was a founding member of The Hollies
1D: Ella Fitzgerald was known for SCAT singing, and animal poop is called SCAT
2D: An eagle has TALONs, and TALON is a major brand of zipper
3D: ANITA Hill accused Clarence Thomas of sexual harassment, and ANITA is Maria’s friend in West Side Story
4D: Clocks have FACES and Rod Stewart was in a band called FACES
5D: In The Merchant of Venice, Shylock famously speaks of “the pound of FLESH, which I demand of [Antonio]”, and Matthew 26 contains the line “the spirit is willing but the FLESH is weak”
Words: 10
Average Length: 4.60
1A: STEAM comes from a kettle and a steamroller is a piece of construction equipment
6A: a HEDGE is a kind of bush and one can hedge a bet
7A: Mike Trout is an ANGEL, as is an investor in a start-up
8A: ROAST can mean good-natured kidding, and one roasts a turkey
9A: ERR works as a prefix for both -and and -or
1D: Kids learn to SHARE in kindergarten, and stocks are sold in shares
2D: Coltrane played TENOR sax and Pavarotti was a tenor
3D: EDGAR Allen Poe wrote “The Raven” and EDGAR Degas painted “The Dancing Class”
4D: AGES follows both “Stone” and “Middle”
5D: Ice will MELT, and a tuna melt is a (delicious!) sandwich
Words: 10
Average Length: 4.60
This one may (or may not) play a bit tougher than previous VMs – I can never tell. Spolers/explanation below the break.
1A. AMP – amplifier, ampere
4A. CORDS – newborns have umbilical cords and cords (corduroy pants) have wales (ridges)
7A. IDIOT – Village idiot; Dostoevsky wrote The Idiot
8A. DEMME – Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins appeared together in Silence of the Lambs, Jonathan Demme’s most famous movie.
9A. SLEEP – REM is a sleep stage; the famous Hamlet soliloquy contains the line “to sleep, perchance to dream”. (The clue would work equally well for DREAM.) I wanted to further the REM misdirection by having the second half of the clue be “Sidewinder”; the band had a medium-sized hit song called “The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite,” but it’s 30 years old and I wasn’t sure how well-known it is.
1D. ACIDS are used in etching, and “on acid” is slang for tripping on LSD
2D. MODEL – a model poses on a runway, and an A380 is an airplane model from Airbus. Major misdirect on this one!
3D. PRIME – beef and numbers both may be prime
5D. DOME – Buckminster Fuller is known for designing a geodesic dome, and the Pantheon in Rome is one of the most famous domed buildings in the world
6D. STEP – it’s a synonym for stair and, in music, a step is a whole tone (e.g., from C to D).
Words: 10
Average Length: 4.40
Explanation/spoilers below the break
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
XX
1A: SPARE is a score in bowling and an emergency tire
6A: PEDALs are used to ride a bicycle and to stop a car
7A: ATOMS have nuclei, and Thom Yorke/Flea’s band was Atoms for Peace
8A: DEBS is short for debutantes and also the surname of Eugene V. Debs, a 5-time Socialist candidate for US President
9A: ERE is contained in both Where and There
1D: SPADE is a suit in a deck of cards and also a garden tool
2D: PETER Cottontail was Flopsy and Mopsy’s brother; a famous Tsar was Peter the Great
3D: ADOBE is a type of clay brick as well as the developer of Acrobat software
4D: RAMS are pick-up trucks from Dodge and an NFL franchise in Los Angeles
5D: ELS (elevated train) are operated by the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA), and Ernie Els is a noted member of the PGA Tour
Jeff's Puzzles