Words: 42 (11×11)
Average Length: 4.57
Australia is magnificent; New Zealand is magical. Plus, the indigenous (4 Down) language is vowel-heavy, making commonly used names for various fauna, flora, customs, etc. wonderfully crossword-friendly. Enjoy the puzzle and visit PuffinlessTravel.com for photos and my write-up of New Zealand – I promise if you read the posts you’ll get past any unfamiliar 30 Across content!
Words: 42
Average Length: 4.52
Here’s my 2 Down to the fascinating, magnificent country of Australia, where I was fortunate to spend ten days in early January. I visited Melbourne, Sydney, Queensland, Uluru, and the Great Barrier Reef and loved all of them, notwithstanding rainfall befitting construction of an Ark. If you want to see some pictures and my travelogue, please visit my travel blog, PuffinlessTravel.com and search for Australia.
Words: 72
Average Length: 5.19
Here’s the third and final “Color Meld” puzzle, for the simple reason that there are only three unique ways to combine the three primary colors. Warning: this puzzle might leave you hungry!
Words: 70
Average Length: 5.43
Originally, 22 Across and 5 Down were going to be theme answers in a puzzle about barriers, real and metaphorical, but I couldn’t come up with three more decent themers to make it work. Presto change-o, I repurposed them as the seeds for this themeless.
I’ve wanted to work 30 Across into a puzzle for a while and managed to do so here. As for the clues to 31 Down and 50 Down, I’ve been doing a lot of reading/singing with my granddaughter. Hopefully this puzzle won’t go bumpety-bump-bump while you’re solving it!
Words: 72
Average Length: 5.22
Listening to Sirius XM’s ‘60s channel a few months ago, the title song came on. [Yes, the ‘60s were more than half a century ago. Yes, I’m still shocked when I’m told that some album I remember running to Korvette’s to buy is now 50 years old. Yes, I am approaching ancientness.]
It’s a pretty catchy song, and after singing along for a while (making sure my windows were shut to avoid any road rage incidents) I realized that the band’s name was 15 letters long. Not only that, the name suggests an architectural feature that could work as an organizing theme.
A few days later I crafted this puzzle, only to realize when preparing today’s write-up that the band spelled its name rather creatively. So it goes – the puzzle remains unchanged and I have been chastened, yet again, to check those things I’m certain of. Sound advice, no?
Words: 72
Average Length: 5.25
As the title suggests, today’s grid offers my heartfelt New Year’s wishes to those of you who take the time to solve my puzzles. I really appreciate it, and I look forward to tossing another 100 or so puzzles your way in 2024. Please feel free to comment or email me (jeffspuzzles@gmail.com) if you ever have a question, suggestion, reaction, correction, whatever.
If you’re thinking of traveling in the new year, check out my travel blog, PuffinlessTravel.com. In 2023, I added several posts about France and Spain (visiting caves with paleolithic art), Luxembourg, Andorra, Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia, and Hungary. Next week I’ll be traveling to Australia and New Zealand and will be adding lots of posts and pix from that experience.
You might also enjoy my poetry blog, It-Could-Be-Verse.com.
Happy New Year!!!
Words: 77 (16×15)
Average Length: 5.19
Merry Christmas to all who celebrate! The author recommendation for today is Kate Atkinson (29 Across clue). She’s stylish, thought-provoking, clever, and wonderfully creative. Pick anything she’s written – you can’t go wrong.
Words: 76
Average Length: 4.87
I hope you nail this one! As always, thanks for solving. I really do appreciate it. If you ever have questions, comments, suggestions, or even complaints, please share them!
Words: 28 (9×9)
Average Length: 4.93
So here’s the deal; I’ll get straight to the point: flush with excitement, as if playing to a full house, I present you this week’s midi. The only other thing I have to say is that of all the songs listed in the clue to 11 Across, Janis’s is the best, Paul’s the catchiest, Billy’s the silkiest, and Lobo’s the, um, Lobo-est.
Words: 75 (16×15)
Average Length: 5.33
I hope all of you who celebrate Thanksgiving had a meaningful and enjoyable holiday. In today’s puzzle: more fun with colors, and a pangram to boot! The third puzzle in this series (involving food) will appear in a couple of weeks.
Jeff's Puzzles