Tag: Crossword

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Mini Themeless

A Lot of It

Nothing to do with the puzzle, just a cool pic from my recent trip to Iceland (the Snæfellsnes Peninsula, to be precise)

Words:  18

Average Length:  4.89

1 and 7 Across were the seed entries.  I spent far too long trying to configure them and fill them in a way that worked, then clued everything, then relaxed – and realized I’d violated a cardinal rule of construction:  avoid duplication of entries or parts thereof.  Alas, a certain 2-letter word appears three times in this mini, but what are indie puzzles for if you can’t break the rules once in a while?  So I decided to embrace the iconoclasm in the title.  (Also, my apology if you find 4 Down offensive.  But if the sandwich fits ….)

online | puz | pdf | solution

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Themed

Breakfast Test

Ha Long Bay, Vietnam. Nothing to do with the puzzle, but it’s an amazing serene and scenic spot that I visited a few weeks ago.

Words:  75 (14×15)

Average Length:  4.69

There’s a convention in mainstream (newspaper) crosswords that a puzzle should pass the “breakfast test” – it shouldn’t contain anything that might upset, gross out, or otherwise discomfort a solver inking in answers while eating their oatmeal.  I always found this curious; given the contents of the rest of the newspaper, even an edgy puzzle would be tame by comparison.

Anyway, this puzzle takes “breakfast test” literally.  Cheerio!

online | puz | pdf | solution

Categories
Mini

Hidden Strangers

Words:  10

Average Length:  5.00

Here’s some fun with near-homophones.  Come back Sunday for a new Themeless.

online | puz | pdf | solution

Categories
Midi Themed

Suits Me

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.

online | puz | pdf | solution

Categories
Mini

Acmes of Science

Words:  17

Average Length:  4.71

The seeds of this mini, tied together with 5 Down, arrived preassembled in my mind.  Then it was just a matter of trying to surround them with reasonable fill, which I think I did (other than 8 Across).

online | puz | pdf | solution

Categories
Mini

Sláinte

Words:  14 (7×7)

Average Length:  5.57

I figured I’d construct a Thanksgiving-themed mini but 8 Across popped into my head and I ended up with a puzzle better suited for St. Patrick’s Day.  I did construct a Thanksgiving-themed puzzle a couple of years ago (“I’ll Never Be Your Feast of Burden”), which you can find here.  Have a wonderful holiday, y’all, and sláinte!

online | puz | pdf | solution

Categories
Mini

One to Five

Words:  17

Average Length:  4.59

Here’s a straightforward mini based on a simple concept.  It’s perhaps not as easy as 1-2-3, but if you can fill in the blanks from 1 to 5 you’ve got a decent shot at solving the puzzle.

online | puz | pdf | solution

Categories
Mini

Oh Sheet

Street scene, Alesund, Norway, June 2017, with a ubiquitous 5 Down in the lower right

Words:  11

Average Length:  5.27

This one started with the answer/clue pair in 7 Across, which proved surprisingly difficult to build a small puzzle around.  I tried it in every row before finding a layout that worked.  Ah, the woes of constructing!

online | puz | pdf | solution

Categories
Themed

Pieces of April

Words:  76

Average Length:  4.84

Difficulty:  Way easier than doing your taxes

Happy (hoppy?) Spring!

Here’s a gentle April-themed puzzle.  It’s named after a gorgeous song written by Dave Loggins and performed by Three Dog Night, which you can listen to here.

11 Across:  I’ve been to the Blarney Stone and, in pre-COVID days, kissed it.  It was an unpleasant experience, what with the rain and the need to lie on your back on hard, wet stone, scoot backwards so you’re dangling many feet above the ground (they’ve since installed guard rails) and then crunch up to reach the B.S. 

39 Down:  I was thrilled to be able to fit her into the grid – this is perhaps my all-time favorite GEICO commercial, out of so many great ones.

puz | pdf | solution

Categories
Themed

A Profusion of Penguins

Words: 78

Average Length: 4.79

Difficulty: For those with naturally gray/silver/white/nonexistent hair, like sliding down a snowy hill. For those without such badges of maturity, like trying to escape a leopard seal.

Adelie Penguin, Pleneau Island, Antarctica

Having just returned from Antarctica, I am compelled to post a penguin-related puzzle. This one definitely and unapologetically skews (Skuas?) old, but I come by that naturally. Antarctica was spectacular, at least until I and around 30 other passengers and crew on our expedition ship tested positive for COVID and spent a week quarantined in remotest Tierra Del Fuego. I’m happy to say I’m now home and healthy.

puz | pdf | solution

Apologies for the technical glitch with last Sunday’s puzzle (“Cupid Is As Cupid Does”) – there was only the most tenuous Internet service in the Drake Passage, and apparently the Dropbox links didn’t copy, which is why I reposted it from dry land on Tuesday.