Category: Themeless

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Themeless

Themeless 27

Words:  66

Average Length:  5.64

Difficulty:  Like trying to figure out the chord progression to almost any Steely Dan song

Ushuaia Harbor (the southern tip of 14 Down)

puz | pdf | solution

Time for a challenging themeless!  (I can feel your excitement.)  So, 14 Down (which I mentioned in my write-up last week if you want to cheat):  It’s home to llamas/alpacas/guanacos (some or all; I saw them from a bus but am not up on my camelids) and one of the nicest people I’ve ever met.  To serve out our quarantine, my fellow infected people and I were bused to a small city called Rio Grande and put up in a barebones hotel (more like a dorm, but way cleaner) called Select Inn.  The ultra-warm and wonderful mother hen at the Inn, whose name is Cinthia, cared for us as if we were her own relatives, providing food, smiles, conversation, and much-needed laughter.  Thank you, Cinthia!!!  If you ever find yourself in 14 Down and are looking for assistance or advice, Cinthia and her son run a company called Odisea Fueguensa, which does just that.

I hope you enjoy the puzzle.  I haven’t decided what’s coming up next.  Guess you’ll have to check back next Sunday.

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Themeless

Themeless 26

Words:  68

Average Length:  5.51

Difficulty:  Like one of those mini golf holes where you need to hit the ball up a slope without letting it go down the other side.  Kinda hard, but doable.

This has nothing to do with the puzzle. I just found it amusing. Believe it or not, there is a road in there.

puz | pdf | solution

This one’s friendly enough, I think.  A little geometry, some tennis, a couple of expressions of distaste, one of my favorite childhood toys, and quick nods to the objectively best Steely Dan album and a terrific book by Taylor Jenkins Reid.  Please enjoy and pass it along.  Next week (Feb. 6), look for a themed puzzle built around some rock classics retitled by their aging performers.

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Themeless

Themeless 25

Words:  68

Average Length:  5.38

Difficulty:  Yes

Chain Bridge with Buda Castle (Budapest) in the background. See 22 Across.

In constructing this puzzle, I wanted most of my grid-spanners to be phrases.  That’s one thing I love about Tim Croce’s Club 72 puzzles; many of his long answers are conversational.  (Check out his puzzles here. He posts challenging themeless puzzles every Tuesday and themeless or variety puzzles every Friday.)

puz | pdf | solution

A couple of other notes:  I’m particularly (yet inexplicably) fond of the punny clues for 29 and 52 Down, and I’m always happy to include 41 Down in a grid; she’s one of the very greatest singer-songwriters ever.

Enjoy, share, follow, etc.  Next up (1/16) will be a puzzle with tips for where to eat in Motown.

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Themeless

Themeless 24

Words:  66

Average Length:  5.42

Difficulty:  Surmountable with a stepladder

Bridge, Kinderijk, Netherlands (see 20A)

puz | pdf | solution

After last week’s end-of-the-civilized-world vibe, this week’s grid is kinder, gentler, and a comparative ray of sunshine.  Please enjoy!

I figure crossword solvers generally like to read, so I’m linking below to lists of the best fiction and non-fiction books I read in 2021. I’m always happy to get book recommendations, so let me know if you’ve got any, particularly if they’re not well-known.

Fiction | Non-fiction

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Themeless

Themeless 23

Words:  72

Average Length:  5.19

Difficulty:  At least four “oys”

A horse (see 57 Across)

My seed entry was 19 Across, spurred by a vote of the Spotsylvania County (Virginia) School Board to remove – two members urged burning – “sexually explicit” books in school libraries.  Many of the targeted novels include LGBTQ content/characters.  The school board reversed itself a week later, dealing a setback, for now at least, to prudish yet prurient Puritans.

From there, I entered a dystopian death spiral, which accounts for 9D, 21D, 34A, and 54A.  At least I was able to include 40A, yet another expressive and inherently comic Yiddish word (as is “kvell,” in the clue).

puz | pdf | solution

I promise a less eschatological grid next week!  Please enjoy, share, and comment if you’re so inclined.

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Themeless

Themeless 22

Words:  70

Average Length:  5.54

Difficulty:  Quartzish on the Mohs scale?

They’re sheep! (see 12 Down) (taken in Northern Ireland, 2019)

I hope you all had a wonderful time last week with friends and family. The seed for this grid was 14 Across, where my brother and I will be going in February!   (Oh, the difficulty rating thing:  numbers are falsely precise, I think.  Henceforth I will come up with other ways of estimating the sweat of your collective brows.)  Please enjoy, pass along a link to the puzzle or my site, and be well!

puz | pdf | solution

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Themeless

Themeless 21

Words:  68

Average Length:  5.53

Difficulty:  5 out of 5

Pettah fruit and vegetable market, Colombo, Sri Lanka (see 14D)

This one’s pretty tough, particularly the 1A/6&7D combination.  If you’ve never had 1A, you owe it to yourself to try some, preferably washed down with a Medalla.  I first ran across 7D while learning to play Rhapsody in Blue way back in high school.   There’s a nasty 7D that I never quite got.

puz | pdf | solution

If you finish the puzzle, reward yourself with a 1 Down, 16 Down, or 45 Across.  If you don’t finish it, console yourself with the same. 

Please share this puzzle throughout the metaverse, link to this site, and otherwise give me some free publicity.  Next up (11/21) will be a medium-difficulty, Thanksgiving-themed puzzle.  Thanks, and enjoy!

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Themeless

Themeless 20

Words:  70

Average Length:  5.57

Difficulty:  5

The Beatles made out of pumpkins and gourds, Hartheim, Germany. No reason.

After last week’s frivolity, here is a straightforward themeless with nary a neologism.  The seed was 3 Down, which I’d never heard of before an unfortunate collision between my foot and the corner of a night table.  Please enjoy and share.  Next up (10/31) will be a suitably sweet puzzle for All Hallow’s Eve.

puz | pdf | solution

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Themeless

Themeless 19

Word Count:  70

Average Length:  5.40

Difficulty:  4 out of 5

After a sojourn in Scandinavia last week, today’s straightforward themeless makes a few stops in Asia.  I’ll use it as an excuse to showcase a couple of photos taken in the Indian state of Kerala, where 21 Across is an official language. 

Impressionist take on a woman washing clothes, Alapphuza
Street scene, Cochin

puz | pdf | solution

Just one other comment:  Our first dog was a [24 Down]-an Terrier named Harry, who was adorable, athletic, stubborn, soulful, and frustratingly aloof.  RIP Harry.  Here’s a picture. 

Harry

Til next week, enjoy, share, and be well.  Coming up next will be a themed puzzle where artists of the canvas and the recording studio collide.

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Themeless

Themeless 18

Ready for a decently difficult themeless?  Head to the Tabard inn (see 19A), hoist a pint, solve, enjoy, share. 

Entrance to a certain Cathedral of relevance to 19 Across

Words:  68

Average Length:  5.71

Difficulty:  5 out of 5

puz | pdf | solution

19A:  When I decided to clue it this way, I was surprised to find out the percentage is so low.

59A:  Pliny’s remedy may still be preferable to those used by two people I knew in college.  One guy would get up early, go out and run 11 miles as hard as he could, throw up, and then (so he said), feel fine.  The other guy believed in applying ice directly to a very sensitive body part, throwing up and then (so he said) he’d feel fine.

63A:  Here’s a link to the clip:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9n9BSLKmyTo

34D:  Such a funny scene; here’s the link:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JukoIJA8MTc.