I interrupt my regular Wednesday and Sunday posting schedule with a special announcement (and crossword): Wednesday night (Feb. 1) at 10:57 pm, Sandy and I welcomed our first grandchild, Eleanor Mikayla Fuhrman. Ella and her Mom are doing great.
I had to mark the occasion with a puzzle, of course. It’s sappy, but you can’t blame me for that. After each clue there’s a bracketed comment (for Ella’s eventual benefit) relating the answer to something in our family.
Marina Bay Towers seen from the Gardens by the Bay, Singapore
My day in Singapore was a blur of phenomenal architecture, gorgeous gardens, and delicious food. Capturing all that in a grid is difficult, so take a look at my PuffinlessTravel write-up for some photos and sightseeing tips. This is the last Travel Midi, at least for a while – come back next Wednesday for what I think is a brand-new concept in Minis.
Sometimes you just have to go with silly. Take common Latin expressions, “pun-ify” them, add some hopefully decent (and gently-clued) fill, and unleash goofiness upon the world (or at least the 150 or so Terrans who usually solve my puzzles). Explanations of the original expressions and alterations (spoiler alert) follow the photo.
Another 54 Across, St. Peter’s Square, Vatican City
17 Across: CARPE DIEM – “seize the day”
24 Across: ET CETERA – “and so forth” (ETA is common dreck fill, a/k/a crosswordese)
36 Across: ALEA IACTA EST – “the die is cast” – supposedly said by Julius Caesar upon crossing the Rubicon to invade Italy and begin a civil war. Kirstie Alley played Rebecca Howe, hence upon being cast in the part, 36 Across.
46 Across: SINE QUA NON – a necessary condition: “without which, no”. I realize that the universe of “classically-educated far-right conspiracy mongers” likely is a null set.
57 Across: NE PLUS ULTRA – “there is no better” – the beauty store in the answer currently is US-only, so hopefully non-US solvers can get this from the crosses.
I loved the tiny bit of India I saw – everything from the frenetic, polyglot bustle of Mumbai to the sun and sights of Goa to the lost-in-time charm of Kerala. The people are unfailingly friendly, the food is delicious, the energy is high, and despite the Raj, the beer is ice cold. Today’s puzzle crams in eleven India-related answers (twelve if you count 11 Down), so grab a mango lassi, fire up your pencil/laptop/tablet, and solve away! And be sure to check out the link to my travel blog for some photos and observations.
“You don’t need a weatherman to tell which way the wind blows” – Bob Dylan, “Subterranean Homesick Blues.” May the breeze be at your back in 2023!
Words: 74
Average Length: 5.05
Thank you all! I’m grateful to everyone who takes the time to solve my puzzles – the site received 10,000 views in 2022, up 60% from 2021, and solvers in 45 countries tackled my grids this year.
This puzzle contains my New Year’s wish for you. I hope you enjoy it. Keep solving, please share my puzzles with abandon (I’d love to double my views this coming year), and most of all, have a healthy, happy, fun and fulfilling 2023!!!
Picture above: a house (not mine). It’s Hacienda La Compañia in Ecuador, and it’s gorgeous inside and out.
My quite limited artistic abilities are on display in this grid; if nothing else, the title should tell you what the black shape in the middle is. There’s a small amount of less-than-ideal fill necessitated by the constraints of the theme, so please accept my apologies in advance. I hope the phenomenally realistic grid design makes up for that.
Time for a medium-difficulty themed puzzle relating to some of our fellow fauna. If you don’t know the song in the clue for 19A, give it a listen. It’s one of my favorites: a John Prine classic best known from Bonnie Raitt’s spectacular cover, , it focuses with dry-eyed sensitivity on a woman who’s tired of her life and longing for something or someone better.
I’ve been toying with the idea for this theme for a while. When I finally decided to flesh it out, I realized it needed a non-standard grid size to preserve symmetry, which accounts for the fact that the grid looks like it’s lost weight. (Your humble constructor certainly hasn’t, having recently returned from Portugal, where food and wine are cherished: see the picture above of cod with roasted potatoes and onions, gleefully consumed at Restaurant Pinoquio, Lisbon.)
I constructed this puzzle while on vacation in Peru touring Machu Picchu (picture above) and other Inca sites, which accounts for the two seeds (20 and 56 Across, with 3 Down thrown in for good measure). If you ever have the opportunity, go! Peru is a diverse, beautiful, welcoming country, and the Inca sites barely scratch the surface of what to see. Plus, the food is outstanding!
If you’re interested in reading my write-up of the trip and seeing some photos, please visit my travel blog, PuffinlessTravel.wordpress.com. I’m working on updating the home page to have links to locations, but if I haven’t done so when you visit, please scroll down to the bottom of the home page and click on the “2”.
Jeff's Puzzles 