Words: 30 (9×9)
Average Length: 4.60
Here’s a “cryptish” puzzle – a mish-mash of silly anagrams, Dad jokes, puns, and tortured English.
Tag: Themed crossword
Words: 76
Average Length: 4.84
Kon Nichiwa! Or, if you’re solving this in the morning, ohayo! There’s lots of scrumptious Japanese fill in here, kind of like a 15×15 bento box. Chopsticks optional. Matane (see you soon – in this case, next Wednesday for a midi puzzle entitled “Puns, Anagrams, and General Goofiness”).
If you’d like to read all about my Japan trip, please visit my travel blog, PuffinlessTravel.com. I also just posted an essay there called “Thoughts onTWA (Traveling While American)”. Please check it out if you’re interested.
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Phone Home
Words: 136 (21×21)
Average Length: 5.24
Here’s a super-sized, pun-filled, meaty (especially 33 Down) puzzle for your solving pleasure.
I just got back from two weeks in Japan. I’ve got posts about Tokyo, Hakone, Takayama, Kanazawa, Kyoto, and Hiroshima on my travel blog. Please check them out if you’re interested!
Words: 78
Average Length: 4.64
Of all the overseas places I’ve visited – 99 and counting – Ireland is the friendliest. Although I don’t have a bit of Irish blood, I’ve never felt so at home anywhere else. The people are warm, quick to laugh, and hospitable beyond belief, and the scenery’s not too shabby either. And then there’s the literature: on an island of barely over 7 million people, seemingly every tenth person is a prize-winning author, poet, or playwright. (Given that books are my crack, I’ve crammed several Irish writers into this grid and clues, including several of my all-time favorites (Roddy Doyle, Kevin Barry, Maggie O’Farrell).)
Sláinte and Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
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Gaia Glamor Shots
Words: 72
Average Length: 5.22
I could have saved this puzzle for Earth Day, assuming it’s not outlawed by the Despoiler of All Things Precious and Good, but I’ve been making my way through Cixin Liu’s brilliant “Three-Body Problem” trilogy and felt compelled to publish it a month early.
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Paternal Music
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Like PB&J
Words: 42 (11×11)
Average Length: 4.86
Constructing a puzzle using A and I as the only vowels, it turns out, is not a trivial undertaking. This grid is my third attempt – the first two tries (a 7×7 and a 9×9) were fatally fill-compromised, to put it politely. I bumped the grid size up to 11x, and that did the trick; there’s only one truly unfortunate entry (3 Down) and, I hope you’ll agree, lots of good stuff.
Once I had the fill where I wanted it, the second part of the challenge – writing clues whose initial letter alternated between A and I – proved almost as difficult. May you find the end result amusing and informative!
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Mere Anarchy
Words: 66
Average Length: 5.42
“The best lack all conviction, while the worst are full of passionate intensity.” I constructed this puzzle shortly after the US presidential election. The poem that underlies the grid’s theme – considered one of the most important poems of the 20th century – was written just after the first World War. It precisely captures the anxiety and dismay of the current moment. You can read the full poem here.
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As Dr. King Said
Words: 71 (14×15)
Average Length: 4.96
On Sunday afternoon (Jan. 19), I sat down to construct a basic word ladder puzzle. When I started to clue the puzzle, I realized the quote from Dr. King referenced in 1 Across and 62 Across would be a good framing device. Originally, I thought I’d post this puzzle in late March, since I’ve got several other grids lined up already. But given that today commemorates Dr. King, whose message was founded in 62 Across, and is simultaneously the inauguration of a man whose message fosters 1 Across, I decided to rush the puzzle out the door, so to speak. Let’s all do our best to turn 1 Across into 62 Across!
Jeff's Puzzles 