Tag: Themed crossword

Themed

Book a Vacation

Words: 76

Average Length: 5.03

Difficulty: Like summer reading (not the school variety)

Here’s a gentle grid to usher in August, prime time for lazing in the sun with a book, listening to the waves lap against the shore, and looking up an hour later to realize you haven’t read a page but instead fell asleep and are now approaching lobsterhood. Stay sunscreened, my friends!

If you like my puzzles, it’d be great if you would “subscribe” to my site. You’ll be informed whenever I drop a new puzzle, and I’ll possibly show up a little higher in search results. Win Win.

Last self-promotion: If you like to travel please check out (and follow if you like) my newly resurrected travel blog, Puffinless Travel, here. I’ve recently added write-ups of a trip to Antarctica in Feb. 2022 and a hiking trip in Wales in July 2022.

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Tags Books, Medium Difficulty, Themed crossword, Vacation

Mostly Musical Mini

Mostly Musical Mini 16

Words: 18

Average Length: 5.00

Difficulty: Mezzo Forte

Well You Needn’t be concerned. Even if you don’t solve this til Round Midnight, it’s Straight, No Chaser. If you know all these tunes, 9 Across will drop right into the grid. If you don’t, check them out!

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Tags Medium Difficulty, Themed crossword

Themed

Desmond-Induced Deflation

Post author By Jeff
Post date July 24, 2022
No Comments on Desmond-Induced Deflation

Words: 70

Average Length: 5.20

Difficulty: Like swinging convincingly in 5/4 time

This has nothing to do with the puzzle – it’s me toasting the Welsh Men’s Choir with a well-earned beer after hiking in Brecon Beacon National Park, Wales.

On my best days playing alto sax, my tone was a pale imitation of Paul Desmond’s crystal, liquid, heavenly sound. Desmond was a marvel – a soloist whose intelligence and grace made his lines seem inevitable, and a composer of one of the very greatest jazz classics (see 60 Across), track three on the Dave Brubeck Quartet’s hugely influential Time Out album (one of the best-selling jazz albums of all time). If you know the tune, the puzzle should be medium difficulty; if you don’t, it’ll be tougher. Check out this live performance. Desmond’s sinuous solo builds tension and release over a hypnotic, two-chord drone (Eb minor-Bb minor). Brubeck follows with a brief, mysterious piano solo far removed from his usual crashing chords. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the puzzle – and I really hope you enjoy the tune and give Desmond and the Dave Brubeck Quartet a listen.

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Tags Dave Brubeck, Medium Difficulty, Paul Desmond, Themed crossword, Time Out

Mostly Musical Mini

Mostly Musical Mini 15

Words: 24

Average Length: 4.67

Difficulty: Maybe a tad tougher than usual. Or maybe not. I don’t know.

This week’s MMM features a brilliant musician who is also very funny (whom you all know), another brilliant musician who is also very funny (whom you probably don’t know but should), a major earworm, and a smattering of rock, K-Pop, standards, and rap. Enjoy!

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Tags Medium Difficulty, Themed crossword

Mostly Musical Mini

Mostly Musical Mini 14

I’m back from a wonderful trip hiking in Wales and riding trains in the Isle of Man (including the railway that inspired Thomas the Tank Engine!). I’m posting this early because I cracked my computer screen and I’m not sure how long it’ll take to repair it. Stay tuned for a challenging Themeless on Sunday, assuming I have my computer back.

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Tags Medium Difficulty, Music, Themed crossword

Holiday Themed

Why Don’t July Around and Solve This?

Post author By Jeff
Post date July 1, 2022
No Comments on Why Don’t July Around and Solve This?

Words: 74

Average Length: 5.11

Difficulty: More moderate than the temperature outside, that’s for sure

Street art – East Side Gallery, Berlin (see 19 Across)

July 4 was a big deal to some of our Founding Fathers, just not in the way you think. Solve and find out what I mean.

I’m taking a short break from posting while I spend a few days hiking in Wales and then exploring the Isle of Man. I’ll have a new puzzle up on July 13. Stay cool!

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Tags Medium Difficulty, Themed crossword

Mostly Musical Mini

Mostly Musical Mini 13

Words: 16

Average Length: 5.25

Difficulty: A smidge tougher than average maybe?

Mix one cup of rock, a couple of tablespoons of pop, indie, and rap, and a dash of other music stuff, pour the mixture over 7 artfully arranged squares of very dark chocolate, marinate for a few weeks in your “Upcoming Puzzles” folder, and voila – Mostly Musical Mini 13, where, fittingly, 13 of the 16 clues are legitimately music-related. I hope you find it tasty!

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Tags Medium Difficulty, Themed crossword

Mostly Musical Mini

Mostly Musical Mini 12

Words: 17

Average Length: 4.94

Difficulty: Legato

Pop, rock, rap, jazz, classical, reggae, and old technology, all in a tidy 7×7 package. This one should be quick, easy, and (I hope) fun!

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Tags Easy crossword, Themed crossword

Mostly Musical Mini

Mostly Musical Mini 11

Words: 16

Average Length: 5.00

Difficulty: Listening-habits specific – this one leans heavily jazz and rock

I started with the cold/hot pair at 4D and 12A and ended up with a bit of R&B, jazz, disco, and classic rock. Which is an indirect way of saying that none of the theme entries is more recent than around 1976. I’ll try to be more chronologically inclusive (i.e., less fusty) in future offerings, I promise.

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