I’m really happy with the architecture on this one: only 29 blocks and 6 three-letter answers, with wide-open corners and lots of flow. Oh, and an opportunity to include one of my favorite Jackson Browne songs (55 Across) and historical fiction authors (30 Across). Throw in a crispy applesauce delivery device (40 Down) and a mecca for great bagels (38 Across) and you’ve got yourself a grid.
I think this one should play a bit gentler than most of my themeless puzzles. I’ll leave you with two gorgeous recordings of 47 Down, which is one of my favorite Beatles songs, early or late. (1) The original. (2) Cover version by Emmylou Harris:
Words: 68
Average Length: 5.53
The two grid-spanners were the seeds for this themeless, and once I had them in place I decided to design a grid with minimal 3-letter answers (only four, in this case). For solving accompaniment, here’s a link to the late, great Warren Zevon performing “Werewolves of London” (see the clue for 22 Across).
Words: 72 (17×13)
Average Length: 5.22
The seeds for this puzzle were 22 Across and 52 Across. Originally, I was going to use 22 Across in a themed puzzle set among the stacks; the clue was going to be PG-rated (you can reverse-engineer any number of possibilities once you solve the puzzle). I didn’t have enough good theme answers, though, so here it is in a themeless. 52 Across is something I don’t believe at all, at least with respect to individuals. People in groups are an entirely different matter:
“In individuals insanity is rare, but in groups, parties, and epochs it is the rule.” (Nietschze)
Words: 70
Average Length: 5.46
I had a lot of fun constructing this one. It started with 20 Across (a pun I’ve had in mind for a while) and 19 Down (a joke I heard from one of my fellow travelers to Australia and New Zealand, the incredibly nice and funny John C. from Ft. Worth, Texas, who along with his wife Charlotte and friends Urbin and Gay were wonderful travel companions). Next came 6 Down, crossed with 44 Across. Have fun!
Words: 70 (17×13)
Average Length: 5.46
35 Across was the seed for this grid, and having just finished listening to some Bowie, I decided to cross it with 8 Down. 10 Down and 61 Across are attempts to clue common crosswordese in a fresh way. Enjoy!
Words: 18 (7×7)
Average Length: 5.00
As you can probably tell, the seed for this puzzle was 1 Across, which I first heard from a fellow traveler on my recent trip to Australia and New Zealand. (The female counterpart is “werewife.”) The puzzle’s title, by the way, is a pun on the capital of 4 Down.
Words: 66
Average Length: 5.76
The seeds for this grid were 18 and 50 Across, but the clue I’m “proudest” of (in a that’ll-make-them-groan sense) is 3 Down. As an extra treat, here’s 1 Across singing “The Ballad of Bilbo Baggins.”
Jeff's Puzzles