Words: 78
Average Length: 4.92
Difficulty: Like aging gracefully – it can be done but takes some commitment
There’s been a lot of news recently about musicians selling their catalogs for hundreds of millions of dollars. But there’s another way for chronologically advanced rockers to monetize their hits – adapt them to tout cures for various afflictions of the aging. Such as, you may ask? Solve and find out!
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 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.
Words: 74
Average Length: 4.89
Difficulty: Like deciding what to wear to a dinner with friends who always get spiffed up when they go out, even though you prefer jeans and a sweatshirt
Disclaimer 1: I had never heard of 17 Across until I saw a news story about his passing, yet he was someone whom style mavens consider a giant in the field. I’d been mulling over possible theme entries for a puzzle with 57 Across as a revealer but tabled the idea because I couldn’t come up with a decent grid-spanner to place symmetrically to the revealer. I watched the news story with interest and then realized that not only is the subject’s full name 15 letters long, but he was a towering 6’6” tall. Problem solved, puzzle created!
Disclaimer 2: I have no business constructing a crossword about style. Buried deep in my files, securely under lock and key, is a photo of me in 1976 conducting our high school wind ensemble. I had near-shoulder length bushy hair and was wearing a very loud plaid sports jacket, a tie that must have been 5 inches wide, and orangy-reddish platform shoes. Yes, it was the ‘70s, but still ….
Coming up next (Jan. 29), a moderately challenging themeless.
Words: 72
Average Length: 4.97
Difficulty: Easy like Sunday morning … if you’re a Motown fan
Smokey, the Temptations, Stevie, Marvin, and the Supremes have restaurants named (with a twist) after some of their most famous songs. Let’s eat!
Please enjoy, share, and comment if you like.
Words: 78
Average Length: 4.82
Difficulty: Like a Drake Passage crossing?
Here’s a mid-week bonus: a themed puzzle crafted by my brother Eric, celebrating a certain land mass where he and I will be traveling in February (assuming Omicron and all other Greek letters cooperate).
Eric is an astrophysicist, world traveler (>110 countries visited), multi-linguist, and avid consumer of films, books, and spicy vegetarian food. I learn something from all of his puzzles – including at least four new words/terms in this one – so prepare yourself for a challenge and emerge enlightened!
Words: 78
Average Length: 4.74
Difficulty: In inverse proportion to 2021 …
… that is, assuming your 2021 was as challenging as most people’s. This grid shouldn’t put up too much of a battle: I didn’t want to make it difficult to uncover my New Year’s wish for y’all. So solve the puzzle, share it, enjoy your New Year’s celebration if that’s your thing, and come back next week (Jan. 2!) for the inaugural puzzle of 2022 (a “Set List” puzzle where you have to figure out the song titles in a concert of musicians who might not ordinarily play together).
Words: 66
Average Length: 5.42
Difficulty: Surmountable with a stepladder
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.
Words: 70
Average Length: 5.57
Difficulty: 5
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.
Words: 77 (16×15 grid)
Average Length: 5.14
Difficulty: 3 out of 5
Here’s a puzzle with some punny Scandinavian humor for y’all. Want some more? Why do Norwegians put bar codes on their military ships? So they can Scan-de-navy-in!
Please solve, enjoy, and share. Next up will be a challenging themeless. Stay tuned!
20A: The country in this answer is sort of Scandinavian, at least according to Wikipedia.
66A: Ok, the language isn’t Scandinavian, but the composer is, and I wanted 5 theme answers, so there.
13D: Sorry for the obscure answer. As an avid reader of Scottish crime fiction (especially Ian Rankin) and an equally avid consumer of Scotch whisky (especially Balvenie), the quote has been rattling around in my brain for a while.
53D: This is the end of Donne’s famous “No man is an island” poem.
Jeff's Puzzles