Words: 10 (5×5)
Average Length: 5
The title comes from Pre-Road Downs, a CSN deep cut with the line “hotels and midnight coaches/be sure to hide the roaches” – obviously a different kind of roach than in 1 Down, but apt nonetheless. Other than that, I tossed in some Jewish cuisine, a Beach Boys reference, and that white fluffy stuff that ends up all over the house after my dog has finished destroying a chew toy.
Words: 42 (11×11)
Average Length: 4.57
Australia is magnificent; New Zealand is magical. Plus, the indigenous (4 Down) language is vowel-heavy, making commonly used names for various fauna, flora, customs, etc. wonderfully crossword-friendly. Enjoy the puzzle and visit PuffinlessTravel.com for photos and my write-up of New Zealand – I promise if you read the posts you’ll get past any unfamiliar 30 Across content!
Words: 69
Average Length: 5.04
The seed for this one was 15 Across, which I was going to use in a totally different puzzle that proved recalcitrant. So – reduce, reuse, recycle, and poof – this nutritious if overdressed grid. (Phillies fans, I know you’re not exactly famous for being able to take a joke, but if you finish with the worst defensive metrics in baseball you deserve to be tweaked in a clue (6 Down), even one written by a fan of the currently irrelevant Nats.)
Words: 42
Average Length: 4.52
Here’s my 2 Down to the fascinating, magnificent country of Australia, where I was fortunate to spend ten days in early January. I visited Melbourne, Sydney, Queensland, Uluru, and the Great Barrier Reef and loved all of them, notwithstanding rainfall befitting construction of an Ark. If you want to see some pictures and my travelogue, please visit my travel blog, PuffinlessTravel.com and search for Australia.
Words: 72
Average Length: 5.19
Here’s the third and final “Color Meld” puzzle, for the simple reason that there are only three unique ways to combine the three primary colors. Warning: this puzzle might leave you hungry!
Words: 10 (5×5)
Average Length: 5.00
Not surprisingly, the seed for today’s puzzle was 6 Across, which I visited last week. It’ss magical place that changes color and feel as the light shifts from day to sunset. The title of the puzzle was the result of free association: one “flavor” of 1 Down is “strange,” and having listened to Cream recently my brain automatically appended “brew.” Here’s a link to the song – it’s a trippy, iconic track of the late ‘60s.
Words: 16
Average Length: 4.63
The scene: the afternoon of Dec. 31. Down time – did some reading (Carlo Rovelli, “White Holes” – pretty interesting account of “exits” from black holes), played with my dogs, sent some Happy New Year emails, texts, WhatsApp messages etc. Now what? 1 Down popped into my mind, followed by 9 Across. Puzzle time! Here’s the result – an unconventional grid infested with some inspired (as in awful) puns.
Words: 72
Average Length: 5.22
Listening to Sirius XM’s ‘60s channel a few months ago, the title song came on. [Yes, the ‘60s were more than half a century ago. Yes, I’m still shocked when I’m told that some album I remember running to Korvette’s to buy is now 50 years old. Yes, I am approaching ancientness.]
It’s a pretty catchy song, and after singing along for a while (making sure my windows were shut to avoid any road rage incidents) I realized that the band’s name was 15 letters long. Not only that, the name suggests an architectural feature that could work as an organizing theme.
A few days later I crafted this puzzle, only to realize when preparing today’s write-up that the band spelled its name rather creatively. So it goes – the puzzle remains unchanged and I have been chastened, yet again, to check those things I’m certain of. Sound advice, no?
Words: 10 (5×5)
Average Length: 5.00
Here’s a mini-Themeless and a song recommendation: check out “The Christians and the [7 Acrosses]” by Dar Williams. It’s beautiful, seasonally appropriate, and heartwarming. For that matter, check out her “When I Was a Boy” or pretty much anything else she’s recorded. She’s a wonderful singer-songwriter!
Jeff's Puzzles