Tag: Medium Difficulty

Themed

Music with Scales

Words: 67 (14×15)

Average Length: 5.07

I’ve been toying with the idea for this theme for a while. When I finally decided to flesh it out, I realized it needed a non-standard grid size to preserve symmetry, which accounts for the fact that the grid looks like it’s lost weight. (Your humble constructor certainly hasn’t, having recently returned from Portugal, where food and wine are cherished: see the picture above of cod with roasted potatoes and onions, gleefully consumed at Restaurant Pinoquio, Lisbon.)

online | puz | pdf | solution

Tags George Michael, Medium Difficulty, Reptiles, Themed crossword

Mostly Musical Mini

Mostly Musical Mini 28

Words: 24

Average Length: 4.67

Welcome to the antepenultimate MMM. I’ve decided to start something different with my mid-week puzzles after I’ve reached 30 of these, so stay tuned for further news.

“Spanning the globe,” to quote the old Wide World of Sports intro, this week’s MMM includes musicians from the US, England, Scotland, and Russia, and song titles from Japan and the Middle East, with a nod to Brazil as well. If you solve it, you can enjoy the “thrill of victory”; fortunately, you can reveal any answers that stump you and thus avoid the “agony of defeat.”

online | puz | pdf | solution

Tags Medium Difficulty, Themed crossword, Wide World of Sports

Mostly Musical Mini

Mostly Musical Mini 27

Words: 24

Average Length: 4.50

I’m back from Portugal – you know what that means (Portuguese content will be featured in upcoming posts, so study up) – and back at ya’ with a musical mini spanning decades and genres. Enjoy, and come back Sunday for a themeless workout.

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Tags Medium Difficulty, Themed crossword

Mostly Musical Mini

Mostly Musical Mini 26

Words: 17

Average Length: 4.94

Where can you solve a puzzle with some Shakespeare, classical music, classic rock, and disco, all in 3 minutes or so? Right here, right now!

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Tags classical music, disco, Medium Difficulty, Shakespeare, Themed crossword

Themed

They Could Be Verse

Hamish the Highland Cow, the most Scottish photo I have; we can pretend the farmer’s name is Angus (see 37 Down)

Words: 76

Average Length: 4.82

I’ve read a lot of poetry this year; some of you might say “too much” after solving today’s grid. That’s the excuse for the theme of this puzzle: the almost certainly misguided idea to merge movie titles and poetry terms and clue them with verses that illustrate the terms. For those of you who weren’t English majors, the terms are defined below.

Anapest: A meter of two unstressed syllables followed by one stressed syllable
Couplet: Two lines of verse, often in the same meter and normally rhyming, that form a unit
Dactyl: A meter of one stressed syllable followed by two unstressed syllables
Iamb: A meter of one unstressed syllable followed by one stressed syllable
Stanza: A grouping of lines (often, but not necessarily, four) in a standalone unit within a poem

I promise Wednesday’s MMM will be rhyme-free!

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Tags Anapest, Couplet, Dactyl, Iamb, Medium Difficulty, Poetry, Stanza, Themed crossword

Mostly Musical Mini

Mostly Musical Mini 25

Words: 19

Average Length: 4.63

Lots of blues in today’s MMM, including a featured cross between a legendary blues guitar player/singer and a legendary blues singer, with some Southern rock blues, country blues, and blue-eyed soul added for good measure.

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Tags Blues, Medium Difficulty, Themed crossword

Mostly Musical Mini

Mostly Musical Mini 24

Words: 20

Average Length: 5.13

This week’s MMM may be a bit more challenging than usual. I worked in a French composer many of you probably haven’t heard of, who wrote what I think is the most beautiful flute sonata of the 20^th century. In addition, I was forced into 6 Down, who’s a not-very-well-known rapper and thus gets a perhaps less-than-helpful alternative clue after the music-related one.

Here’s a link to the flute sonata, which is filled with sinuous, gorgeous lines and delightfully dissonant harmonies.

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Tags Flute sonata, Medium Difficulty, Themed crossword

Mostly Musical Mini

Mostly Musical Mini 23

Words: 20

Average Length: 5.20

Some pop, metal, a Broadway show, reggae, Latin dance, and a religious instrument for your listening/solving pleasure. Please enjoy!

online | puz | pdf | solution

Tags Medium Difficulty, Themed crossword

Mostly Musical Mini

Mostly Musical Mini 22

Words: 24

Average Length: 4.67

White Rabbit (see clue for 8 Across) is perhaps the best psychedelic rock song ever. Using imagery from Alice in Wonderland and a structure reminiscent of Ravel’s Bolero – including a mesmerizing drum part and a slow, steady crescendo – the song captures the spirit of late ‘60s San Francisco in a bit more than two minutes. Here’s a link.

online | puz | pdf | solution