Tag: Mini

Categories
Mini Themed

Specious Speciesism

Mitad del Mundo, 1A (photo taken Sept. 2022)

Words: 16 (7×6)

Average Length: 4.88

I learned about the seeds of this puzzle, 1A and 3D, while reading a remarkable book called The Arrogant Ape, by Christine Webb.  The book’s subtitle, “The Myth of Human Exceptionalism and Why It Matters,” captures the thought-provoking, insightful, often maddening contents perfectly.  It impressed me so much that another word I learned from the book is the seed of a themeless puzzle I’ll post in late March, so if you finish the book by then you’ll have a guaranteed correct answer off the bat!

online | puz | pdf | solution

Categories
Cryptic and American Mini

Two for Tuesday

Not a 2 Down. Photo taken in Nusfjord, Lofoten Islands, Norway, June 2017.

Words: 10 (5×5)

Average Length: 4.40

I constructed a cryptic mini and, when I finished it, decided to provide a version with American-style clues as well.  (Each version has the same answers.)  So solve either, both, or mix and match. 

If you like the idea of parallel cryptic and American-style minis, let me know.  It’s a good exercise for me as a constructor and may help solvers who are  cryptic neophytes.  Plus it gives me twice as many chances to mess with your minds and funny bones!

There’s only one online link because I combined both sets of clues into a single puzzle on Crosshare. Each set is blacked out, so you just need to click on either the first clue (cryptic) or the second (American-style) for each entry.

online | cryptic puz | cryptic pdf | American-style puz | American-style pdf | solution

Categories
Mini Themeless

Money and Show

Believe it or not, this fits the answer to 8 Across, as I found out to my terror while driving from the Cliffs of Moher to a local pub for lunch, following the route suggested by the car’s GPS (June 2011).

Words: 14 (7×7)

Average Length: 5.29

2 Down and 8 Across were the seeds.  Apologies that 6 Across will leave you with an earworm, assuming you know the commercials (consider yourself fortunate if you don’t).

online | puz | pdf | solution

Categories
Mini Themeless

Viscount

Another random Egypt picture: decorations inside the pyramid of King Unas (Fifth Dynasty), the first pyramid known to have inscriptions/decorations

Words: 12 (6×6)

Average Length: 5.33

This was a weird puzzle to construct.  I had two seed entries, neither of which survived the filling and editing process.  Then I spent far too long trying to come up with a clever title before deciding just to literally bestow a title upon the puzzle.

online | puz | pdf | solution

Categories
Mini Themed

Upper and Lower

The “Red Pyramid,” Dahshur, Egypt (Nov. 2025) (see 7 Down)

Words: 11

Average Length: 4.73

Here’s a mini puzzle covering anatomy, biology, fashion, natural history, literature, pop culture, and advertising.  Never say you don’t get bang for your buck at JeffsPuzzles.com (especially since it’s free)!

online | puz | pdf | solution

Categories
Mini Themed

Sweet Reflection

Sweet reflection – the Sacred Pool at the Temple of Karnak (Nov. 2025)

Words: 22

Average Length: 5.09

I always found the 1A/20A relationship both satisfying and, particularly when chocolate is involved in 20A, effective.   (And if those chocolates happen to be of the edible variety ….)

online | puz | pdf | solution

Categories
Mini

Rebranding

Mortuary temple of Queen Hatshepsut, near Aswan, Egypt (Nov. 2025) (nothing to do with the puzzle)

Words: 15 (6×7)

Average Length: 4.53

Here’s a simple theme that came to me at 5 a.m. Monday while my jet-lagged body was trying to decide whether it was time to wake up.  (It wasn’t.)

online | puz | pdf | solution

Categories
Mini Uncategorized

Stars Crossed

Nothing to do with the puzzle – our dog, Mia, trying to get into the house with a slice of pizza she found in a trash bag left by some contractors.

Words: 14

Average Length: 5.29

I started with the grid shape and 8 Across and then looked for some interesting stuff to go around it.  The result has a bit of an unintended celestial theme.

online | puz | pdf | solution

Categories
Mini

Apparently So

Words: 18

Nothing to do with the puzzle – just an interesting sidewalk display in Zurich, Switzerland, from my trip there earlier this month

Average Length: 4.56

I read something Friday morning that included the phrase in 5 Across, and then 9 Across popped into my mind, which tells you how insufferable my mind can be at times.  Then I came up with 1 Across (which I might have seen in a puzzle before), and decided I had to make the grid work with those three entries as the top three acrosses.  After I finished a draft, I came up with “Herr apparent” as a clue, but couldn’t think of a corresponding  answer.  Perhaps you’ll see it in a future grid!

online | puz | pdf | solution

Categories
Mini Themed

A Garden-Variety Puzzle

Sunrise on the Douro River (Oct. 2022) (see 10 Down)

Words: 18

Average Length: 4.67

The seeds for this puzzle, which you’ll identify while solving, originally were ideas for a cryptic puzzle (for obvious reasons).  Having said that, 15A, a non-seed entry, has my favorite clue. 

online | puz | pdf | solution