Words: 28 (9×9)
Average Length: 5.21
I was reading something about classic movies, and 1A popped up. Sounds like a seed to me! Then I went looking for something to pair it with, and 24A came to mind. I spent untold hours listening to 4D when I was in high school (arrgh, half a century ago!) and could have clued it with the more famous “Fragile” album, but when I filled 18D I had to go for parallel clues.
Words: 28 (9×9)
Average Length: 5.07
Almost every night, Sandy and I eat some 10 Down and watch Jeopardy! followed by a baking show/The Voice/AGT/baseball, depending on the season. Often, once Jeopardy! is over – for the show is sacrosanct – I’ll multitask, crafting/cluing/cogitating about a puzzle while absurdly talented kids/singers/acrobats/athletes are strutting their stuff. So, while casting about for an idea for this week’s midi, I looked at the 10 Down-filled bowl in front of me and inspiration struck.
Words: 42 (11×11)
Average Length: 4.71
This is my entry for Crosshare’s monthly midi contest, the theme of which this month is “Spice.” Four of the clues – those ending with exclamation points – are cryptic in nature. Each of these asks for an anagram of either “spice” or “spices” that answers the rest of the clue. I hope you find this savory and satisfying!
Words: 55 (11×14)
Average Length: 4.45
After a year of strife, here’s a peace-focused puzzle.
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My puzzle-making colleague, Jeanne Breen, published a terrific acrostic puzzle yesterday based on a passage chosen by the incomparable Frank Bruni as one of his favorite bits of prose from 2025. You can solve it here, and you should, unless (as she put it) “you’re a proud supporter of POTUS 45/47.”
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.
Jeff's Puzzles