See 5 Down (extra clue!). Photo taken near Sorrento, Italy, July 2014.
Words: 68
Average Length: 5.71
I had some fun with the basic math in the two seeds (19 and 49 Across), but my favorite clue is 31 Down. Throw in some Vietnamese food, a baker from Mayberry, Mariano Rivera, Superman, and Robert Frost and, I hope, you’ll find this an interesting and enjoyable solve.
Close-up of rhododendron, Glendalough, Ireland, June 2019 (see 12 Across)
Words: 42 (11×11)
Average Length: 4.71
I never saw the movie containing the line that underlies this puzzle, but I know the music and much of the plot through sheer osmosis. I hope you enjoy the puzzle, particularly the handful of “?”-designated clues.
Flowers in the Jardins des Tuileries, Paris, photo taken April 2023
Words: 74
Average Length: 5.11
Cruciverbalists talk about “seeds” – the entries around which a grid is constructed. Today’s puzzle has five quite literal (and musical) seeds. I hope you like it, or at least that it grows on you!
Please check out my new poetry site, It-Could-Be-Verse.com. For Memorial Day, I posted this poem that describes a visit to the American Military Cemetery in Normandy. Recent posts on my travel blog, PuffinlessTravel.com, highlight a trip to view paleolithic art in France and Spain, with side trips to Luxembourg and Andorra.
Flowers, Nusfjord, Norway, June 2017 (they have colors, so does the puzzle)
Words: 41 (11×11)
Average Length: 5.02
I’d been toying with the idea for this puzzle for a while and finally decided to construct it during one of those games where the Nats offense apparently has better things to do than hit. After several futile attempts at fitting the theme answers into a symmetrical grid, I decided to embrace asymmetry (though if you don’t peer too closely it kind of looks symmetrical). I hope you enjoy the result!
The Pyrenees (see 15 Across), seen from a tour bus window on the way from France into Spain
Words: 74
Average Length: 5.16
Think of a dessert menu created by the people who come up with punny names for IPAs. I hope you find it a sweet solve … and just in case you’re solving with your kids (hey, it could happen), look out for 52 Across.
Please check out my new poetry site, It-Could-Be-Verse.com. And read about my recent visit to see the paloelithic art in caves in France and Spain on my travel blog, PuffinlessTravel.com.
Strolling along Penny Lane while on a Beatles-themed tour of Liverpool was a thrill I’ll never forget. Every time I’ve heard the song since, the landmarks in the lyrics leap clearly to mind. Last week, as I was trolling for ideas for a mini/midi, I started humming the wonderful piccolo trumpet solo and the grid fell into place.
This has nothing to do with the puzzle, but it was one of my favorite sights on the trip I’m currently taking. It’s Jeff Koons’s “Puppy” (1992), in front of the Bilbao Guggenheim. The trip toured some of the paleolithic cave art in France and Spain. If you’d like to read about it, check out my travel blog, puffinlesstravel.wordpress.com.
Words: 15
Average Length: 4.93
This one may be a bit more challenging than most of my minis, but I liked the idea of connecting 7 Across with 5 Down and 7 Down. In fact, 7 Across/7 Down was one of my favorite toys when I was growing up, long before the digital age. Believe it or not, they used to be made out of wood!
Wales (50 Down’s birthplace). Photo taken in Brecon Beacons National Park, July 2022.
Words: 72
Average Length: 5.08
Here’s a puzzle celebrating one of my favorite months (not just because it’s my birth month as well as my daughter’s), May. It’s mid-Spring in the DC area, everything is in bloom, Summer’s triple-Hs haven’s set in yet, and in a normal year the Caps would be in the playoffs (in a highly abnormal year the Wizards would be in the playoffs).
Bananas, Mercado La Carolina, Quito, Ecuador (taken Sep. 2022)
Words: 12 (6×6)
Average Length: 5.00
This mini is brought to you by one of my favorite Donovan songs (there are many, led by “Jennifer Juniper” and “Sunshine Superman,” with the seed for this puzzle close behind; the title of the puzzle refers to a line in the song (“is gonna be a sudden craze”).