Words: 38 (11×11)
Average Length: 5.42
14A was the seed for today’s midi. I couldn’t come up with any other decent pickle-related puns, so I went with 26A and 6D to round out the theme set.
Tag: Themed crossword
Words: 76 (14×16)
Average Length: 4.79
I’d had the idea for this puzzle for ages, but the construction turned into more of a challenge than I expected. I even had an entirely different puzzle with the same theme ready to go, but I wasn’t happy with it and decided to start over.
I’m a sucker for unusual time signatures, and 11D fits the bill: it’s one of only two rock songs I know of that’s predominantly in 7/4. (The other is “Solsbury Hill,” by Peter Gabriel; the Beatles’ “All You Need Is Love” alternates between 7/4 and 4/4.)
19A is something my mother used to say. She had other precipitation-related expressions as well: if it was raining while the sun was shining, she’d say “las brujas bailan” – “the witches are dancing” – an expression she picked up during her childhood in Puerto Rico.
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Grammar Got Run Over By a Pun, Dear
Words: 81 (17×15)
Average Length: 5.14
I’d had the clue for 20A in my list of ideas for a while. I decided to try coming up with two other grammar-related answers/punny clues, which turned into 36A and 56A. Having said that, my favorite answer/clue combination is 64A – it’s not a pun but it’s a pretty fiendish misdirect!
Words: 40 (11×11)
Average Length: 4.65
Today’s puzzle is my entry into the Crosshare monthly midi contest for April, whose theme is “cryptozoology.” Warnings: Dad jokes ahead and some assembly required.
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Daisy Daisy
Words: 42 (11×11)
Average Length: 5.00
A few weeks ago, I wrote that I’d clued a certain flower cryptically because I was tired of seeing it clued as “daisy relative.” Then came my granddaughter’s fixation with a certain cartoon mouse and her best friend. A cruciverbalist’s mind is never at rest, so while I was pretending to be 1A for my granddaughter’s amusement – my impression isn’t exactly spot-on, but it does the trick – I decided the 1A/4D combination would be a good seed for today’s midi.
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Vegetarian Grammarian
Words: 74
Average Length: 5.05
The two seeds for this puzzle were 39A (a phrase I heard from my son) and 18A (the debate over which amuses me greatly). My original plan was to make this a themeless, but then I realized that 39A could be part of the title of a well-known book about grammar. Poof, a themed puzzle is born.
Words: 76
Average Length: 4.87
I’ve been passionate about baseball since 1969, when the Miracle Mets blew past the 109-win Baltimore Orioles to win the World Series, four games to one. To my then-11-year-old self, this was a triumph of cosmic significance.
I’ve posted a few baseball-themed puzzles over the years, but this year is special: I had the great good fortune to co-construct this puzzle with Jeanne Breen, a super-talented maker of all sorts of word puzzles who is as ardent about baseball as I am. If you’re not already following her site, In Pursuit of Puzzles, you should be!
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House It Going?
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You Can’t Always Get What You Want
Words: 70
Average Length: 5.34
The “theme” of this one is a stupid joke (19A/52A) that popped into my head one morning. Other than that, I think the factoid in the clue for 6D is amusing (my amusement threshold is exceptionally low), and I’m unreasonably happy with the cryptic clue for 33A.
I just got back from three weeks touring Rapa Nui (Easter Island), Chile, Argentina, and Brazil. I wrote extensively about the trip and posted lots of photos on my travel blog, PuffinlessTravel.com. Check it out!
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Jeff's Puzzles 