Tag: Difficult crossword

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Themeless

Themeless 35

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.)

Theater of Dionysus, Athens

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.

online | puz | pdf | solution

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Themeless

Themeless 34

Words:  72

Average Length:  5.28

Difficulty:  You’d better believe it

A welcome sight after a long hike in Brecon Beacon National Park (Wales). See 13 Across.

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.

online | puz | pdf | solution

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Midi Themeless

Themeless 33

Words:  46 (12×12 grid)

Average Length:  5.30

Difficulty:  Somewhere north of medium

Fabulous indoor market, Barcelona (see 7 Across)

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.

online | puz | pdf | solution 

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Themeless

Themeless 32

Words:  70

Average Length:  5.40

Difficulty:  Not for the faint of heart

See the clue for 1A ….

The seeds for this puzzle were 8D and 28D; my other favorite entry/clue combo is 45D, especially paired with 44A.  I hope you enjoy it; please pass it on.

online | puz | pdf | solution

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Themeless

Themeless 31

Words:  70     

Average Length:  5.51

Difficulty:  Straightforwardly challenging

Pettah fruit and vegetable market, Colombo, Sri Lanka (see comments on 44D below)

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?!

online | puz | pdf | solution

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Themeless

Themeless 29

Words:  70

Average Length:  5.37

Difficulty:  Not quite as difficult (by a small margin) as scaling these cliffs would be

Esha Ness, Lerwick, Shetland Islands (see 15 Down). Note the lack of puffins.

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. 

puz | pdf | solution

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Themeless

Themeless 28

Words:  70

Average Length:  5.43

Difficulty:  You’ll exercise some neurons.  They’ll thank you.

Dog and tree (see 55 Down). The squirrel escaped. Again.

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).

puz | pdf | solution

Categories
Mini

Mostly Musical Mini

Words:  18 (7×7)

Average Length:  5.00

Difficulty:  Familiarity with Weird Al, Beethoven, and musical notation helps.  Unfamiliarity is unacceptable and virtually guarantees you won’t complete the grid.

Organ, Helsinki’s Rock Church (Temppeliaukio Church). See 8 Down (who might have gone there since the church opened in 1969 and he died in 1973).

Here’s a piquant amuse-bouche for y’all.  It’s about 2/3 music-related clues and 1/3 other stuff.  Please enjoy, and please come back Sunday for a challenging themeless.

puz | pdf | solution

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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.

Categories
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.