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.
Category: Themed
Categories
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.
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!
Categories
House It Going?
Categories
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!
Categories
Come On And Work It On Out
Words: 31 (9×10)
Average Length: 4.90
The seeds for this midi should be obvious. 13 Across was first in time but then 4 Down popped into my head, and I was glad to be able to clue it with four different meanings of the word. Then came 19 Across.
Words: 40 (11×11)
Average Length: 4.75
The main seed for this puzzle, 35 Across, is a term I hadn’t heard until around three weeks ago and hope never to hear again. After finding two more suitably frozen seeds, the puzzle came together quickly. There’s lots of good music (3 Down, 16 and 37 Across) and books (10 Down, 11 and 30 Across) in here, also – perfect accompaniments for a frigid February.
PS – I’m posting this a day early because I’ve got two full days of travel coming up as I head to Rapa Nui. If you’re interested, please follow along on my PuffinlessTravel blog!
Words: 70 (17×13)
Average Length: 5.11
I’m jumping the gun on Presidents Day by a week, but so are the mattress sales.
Over the course of a few years pre-Pandemic, I read biographies of every US president. What a mixed bag (the presidents, not the bios): a very few were excellent (Lincoln, FDR, Washington), some seriously underappreciated (Truman, Carter), some overpraised (Jefferson, JFK), some maddeningly flawed (LBJ, TR, Nixon, all of whom accomplished great things but also wreaked harm), some terrible (Pierce, Buchanan, Andrew Johnson, Bush 2 , 47), and some (most) mediocre.
This puzzle concerns three presidents who came to the presidency after brilliant careers in public service, only to flounder or flunk during their time in the White House. I hope it’s fun and maybe even educational.
I’m leaving in a few days for three weeks in Chile (including Rapa Nui), Argentina, and Brazil. I’ll be writing about it and sharing pictures on my PuffinlessTravel blog, so please stop by if you’re interested. The first post probably will come late next week.
Words: 28 (9×9)
Average Length: 5.21
I was reading something about classic movies, and 1A popped up. Sounds like a seed to me! Then I went looking for something to pair it with, and 24A came to mind. I spent untold hours listening to 4D when I was in high school (arrgh, half a century ago!) and could have clued it with the more famous “Fragile” album, but when I filled 18D I had to go for parallel clues.
Jeff's Puzzles 