Words: 42
Average Length: 4.71
I’m nearing the end of two phenomenal weeks in Egypt, during which I’ve gotten to see the pyramids of Giza, the Sphinx, the new Grand Egyptian Museum, Abu Simbel, and the temples and tombs of Luxor. The sights have been spectacular and the Egyptian people warm and welcoming. Here’s a puzzle celebrating this wonderful country.
I’ve been blogging about the trip on my PuffinlessTravel blog – please stop by to see photos and read all about it.
Words: 30
Average Length: 4.73
At 10:36 this morning, my wife Sandy and I welcomed our second grandchild, Noah, into the world. Noah is 20 inches and 8.2 pounds, and he and his parents (Andrea and Eli) are doing great. I had to mark the occasion with a puzzle, of course!
Words: 42 (11×11)
Average Length: 4.71
This is my entry into Crosshare’s Monthly Midi Crossword Contest. The theme for the contest is “Fall,” but not strictly in the seasonal sense. Taking up the challenge, 11 of the 42 entries relate to some meaning of fall.
I learn things from crosswords almost every day, but in cluing this one, I learned something that truly surprised me – check the clue for 5 Down.
Words: 11
Average Length: 5.09
Around a month ago, I posted G’Day Mates 1, a puzzle celebrating the wonderful Aussies I’ve met on my travels. That puzzle actually was the second “G’Day Mates” grid I constructed; the first one misspelled the seed entry. (I had been misinformed as to the spelling and, fortunately, checked it before hitting “Publish.”)
So here’s G’Day Mates 2, misspelling and all. Turns out, if the Aussies in question have tsuris, the misspelling works just fine. (“Tsuris” means “woes” in Yiddish.)
Words: 28 (9×9)
Average Length: 4.93
The seeds for this puzzle, not surprisingly, were 4 and 24 Across, which make use of the title in different ways. 14 Across also was a seed, just because I like the logic of it. Fitting 4 Down in was serendipitous – or therendipetouth, as Sylvester would say.
Words: 24 (9×9)
Average Length: 4.67
I’ve been wondering about the difference in valuation between 10A and 4D. Is it because we value our own thoughts more highly than others value them? (Anything to avoid thinking about the state of the world!)
I just returned from a cruise that took me from San Diego to Miami. If anyone is interested, I’ve been blogging about it on my PuffinlessTravel site. Here are links to the posts:
Cabo San Lucas and San José del Cabo
Guatemala – The Tour That Didn’t Happen
Words: 30 (9×11)
Average Length: 5.27
I was inspired to create this puzzle after seeing pictures from the 12A/3D space telescope installation. I’d never heard of 12A before – she was a brilliant astronomer who was also a fierce advocate for women in science. She received many honors during her lifetime, but was snubbed for a Nobel Prize, apparently because of her gender. Maybe she’ll get one posthumously, but at least her name now graces a facility that should continue to expand on her lifelong work helping us better understand the cosmos.
Words: 41 (12×11)
Average Length: 5.41
We lost two more rock icons in June – Brian Wilson, the creative force behind the Beach Boys, and the incomparable Sly Stone, producer, bandleader, songwriter, singer, and multi-instrumentalist who created some of the catchiest, funkiest, most socially powerful hits of the late ‘60s and early ‘70s. I picked one well-known song from each of these geniuses as the seeds for this puzzle.
If you’re intrigued by Sly Stone, there’s a terrific documentary from Questlove about him: “Sly Lives! A/k/a the Burden of Black Genius.” And if you haven’t seen it yet, please check out Questlove’s “Summer of Soul,” a documentary about the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival with some of the greatest music you’ll ever hear.
Words: 42 (11×11)
Average Length: 4.81
I’ve never tried constructing a meta before, and this is a pretty basic one as metas go. The answer is a classic rock song from one of my favorite groups. If your classic rock knowledge is, um, underdeveloped, feel free to search online – or just click on this link for the music video.
I’ll reveal the answer in Saturday’s blog post.
Jeff's Puzzles