Words: 68
Average Length: 5.50
The seed for this was 33/36 Across, which (complete with the clue), randomly popped up while I was doing something important like shaving or playing electronic Yahtzee. Then I slapped down 1 Across and decided I had to work in 14 Across as a complement. (We’re big into pickles in our family. And deli mustard.) Enjoy, and “have some eat,” as my grandma used to say.
Words: 66
Average Length: 5.82
Difficulty: Whose words these are I think you know/My themeless puzzles challenge though/There is no need for you to fear/You always can to Google go! (With apologies to Robert Frost.)
I’ve been on a poetry-reading kick for several months; inevitably, that newfound interest is seeping into my grids, which accounts for the grid-spanners at 18 and 51 Across. Both are lines from well-known poems that are powerful and devastating, in very different ways.
I encountered 12 Across in a very good book my son and I read as part of our 2-person book group: “The Future Starts Here: Adventures in the Twenty-First Century,” by John Higgs. Higgs is a thought-provoking, entertaining British writer who seems to know brilliant, creative, cool people in all areas of human endeavor. (The book we’re currently reading, which I also strongly recommend, is a remarkable family history by Ingrid Rojas Contreras entitled “The Man Who Could Move Clouds.”)
There are certainly simpler ways to clue 16 Across, but I wanted to use a lyric from all-time favorite Joni Mitchell, who recently made an inspirational return to the Newport Folk Festival. No apologies for the groaner of a clue for 26 Across; I figured I’d work the poetry angle into a pun to draw attention away from the fact that the answer is arrant crosswordese. Finally, as noted in the clues, after I finished the grid I somehow ended up with five entries clues relating to Greek mythology. I’ll sign off by saying, in the name of Apollo (god of the sun, music, and poetry), please enjoy the puzzle and come back Wednesday for Mostly Musical Mini 18.
Words: 72
Average Length: 5.28
Difficulty: You’d better believe it
This one started with the 14D/24A pair because, word nerd that I am, I like how two such similar-looking words can mean basically the exact opposite thing. Another seed was 51A, which I hadn’t heard of before reading Brad Leithauser’s fantastic book subtitled “The Architecture of Poetry.” (I can’t give you the title because it contains one of the words in the answer.) Other than that, I ramped up the cluing difficulty on this one, so beware! If you like the puzzle, please share it. Come back Wednesday for another Mostly Musical Mini.
Words: 46 (12×12 grid)
Average Length: 5.30
Difficulty: Somewhere north of medium
I had lots of fun constructing this one; I hope you have as much solving it. The seeds were 1 and 7 Across, which I’d been saving while looking for a happy home. 24 Down and 30 Down had been chilling in my word/clue list for a while as well. 1 Down is a terrific song from my youth (e.g., a moldy oldie). You can listen to it here.
Words: 70
Average Length: 5.23
Difficulty: With due respect to the Mighty Mighty Bosstones, the impression that I get is that it’s not too tough
What would you call the author of Game of Thrones if he decided to write educational primers instead of finishing “Winds of Winter”? What about the author of “The Time Machine” after his disqualification for using PEDs? Solve and find out …
Words: 70
Average Length: 5.51
Difficulty: Straightforwardly challenging
I’m back from my foray into preaching/political strategizing and hoping to entertain you with a middle-of-the-road themeless. (Pick a lane, dammit!)
44D: Just before the pandemic hit, I was in Sri Lanka taking an architectural tour of Colombo. As we walked up one street between a phenomenal indoor market and some beautifully restored buildings, the guide mentioned that Duran Duran had filmed the video for “Hungry Like the Wolf” on that very street. Who’d’ve thought?!
Words: 70
Average Length: 5.57
Difficulty: Even though I’m posting this on 5/1, there’s no need to shout “Mayday”
1 Across was the seed, and it’s an interesting story: Prince Esterhazy, Haydn’s patron, brought the composer and his orchestra to his summer palace and stayed longer than the musicians expected. Being separated from their families back in Eisenstadt, where the Prince’s main palace was located, the musicians asked Haydn to seek the Prince’s permission to return. Rather than confront the Prince directly, Haydn composed this symphony; at the end, after all the other musicians had snuffed out their candles and left the stage, only Haydn and the concertmaster remained. The Prince got the message; the next day the court returned to Eisenstadt. The Wikipedia article is here.
Words: 70
Average Length: 5.37
Difficulty: Not quite as difficult (by a small margin) as scaling these cliffs would be
16 Across was the “seed,” appropriately enough, though it’s a concept that baffles me, as a lifelong suburbanite. 28 Across: I had the opportunity to fly Emirates Business Class from DC to Dubai a few years ago and then fly it back from Singapore. It was probably the most luxurious travel experience I’ve ever had. 15 Down: In 2010 my brother and I visited the Shetland Islands, rented a car, and drove off to see (among other things) the puffins, which are all over the place – except, that is, for all the places we looked for them. Shortly after that trip I started a blog (long dormant) called Puffinless Travel. I’ve been to every continent except Australia since 2010 and still haven’t seen any puffins.
Words: 70
Average Length: 5.43
Difficulty: You’ll exercise some neurons. They’ll thank you.
The seed for this one was 17 Across, which I listened to a couple of months ago for the first time since it was released back in 1979. I do not greatly regret the 43-year gap and will probably listen to Blood on the Tracks a few dozen times before I listen to 17 Across again. But it is 15 letters long, and it does allow a cutesy pairing with 56 Across (mascot for a candy I hold in similar regard to 17 Across).
Jeff's Puzzles