Tag: Themeless Crossword

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Themeless

Themeless 27

Words:  66

Average Length:  5.64

Difficulty:  Like trying to figure out the chord progression to almost any Steely Dan song

Ushuaia Harbor (the southern tip of 14 Down)

puz | pdf | solution

Time for a challenging themeless!  (I can feel your excitement.)  So, 14 Down (which I mentioned in my write-up last week if you want to cheat):  It’s home to llamas/alpacas/guanacos (some or all; I saw them from a bus but am not up on my camelids) and one of the nicest people I’ve ever met.  To serve out our quarantine, my fellow infected people and I were bused to a small city called Rio Grande and put up in a barebones hotel (more like a dorm, but way cleaner) called Select Inn.  The ultra-warm and wonderful mother hen at the Inn, whose name is Cinthia, cared for us as if we were her own relatives, providing food, smiles, conversation, and much-needed laughter.  Thank you, Cinthia!!!  If you ever find yourself in 14 Down and are looking for assistance or advice, Cinthia and her son run a company called Odisea Fueguensa, which does just that.

I hope you enjoy the puzzle.  I haven’t decided what’s coming up next.  Guess you’ll have to check back next Sunday.

Categories
Themeless

Themeless 26

Words:  68

Average Length:  5.51

Difficulty:  Like one of those mini golf holes where you need to hit the ball up a slope without letting it go down the other side.  Kinda hard, but doable.

This has nothing to do with the puzzle. I just found it amusing. Believe it or not, there is a road in there.

puz | pdf | solution

This one’s friendly enough, I think.  A little geometry, some tennis, a couple of expressions of distaste, one of my favorite childhood toys, and quick nods to the objectively best Steely Dan album and a terrific book by Taylor Jenkins Reid.  Please enjoy and pass it along.  Next week (Feb. 6), look for a themed puzzle built around some rock classics retitled by their aging performers.

Categories
Themeless

Themeless 25

Words:  68

Average Length:  5.38

Difficulty:  Yes

Chain Bridge with Buda Castle (Budapest) in the background. See 22 Across.

In constructing this puzzle, I wanted most of my grid-spanners to be phrases.  That’s one thing I love about Tim Croce’s Club 72 puzzles; many of his long answers are conversational.  (Check out his puzzles here. He posts challenging themeless puzzles every Tuesday and themeless or variety puzzles every Friday.)

puz | pdf | solution

A couple of other notes:  I’m particularly (yet inexplicably) fond of the punny clues for 29 and 52 Down, and I’m always happy to include 41 Down in a grid; she’s one of the very greatest singer-songwriters ever.

Enjoy, share, follow, etc.  Next up (1/16) will be a puzzle with tips for where to eat in Motown.

Categories
Themeless

Themeless 24

Words:  66

Average Length:  5.42

Difficulty:  Surmountable with a stepladder

Bridge, Kinderijk, Netherlands (see 20A)

puz | pdf | solution

After last week’s end-of-the-civilized-world vibe, this week’s grid is kinder, gentler, and a comparative ray of sunshine.  Please enjoy!

I figure crossword solvers generally like to read, so I’m linking below to lists of the best fiction and non-fiction books I read in 2021. I’m always happy to get book recommendations, so let me know if you’ve got any, particularly if they’re not well-known.

Fiction | Non-fiction

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Themeless

Themeless 22

Words:  70

Average Length:  5.54

Difficulty:  Quartzish on the Mohs scale?

They’re sheep! (see 12 Down) (taken in Northern Ireland, 2019)

I hope you all had a wonderful time last week with friends and family. The seed for this grid was 14 Across, where my brother and I will be going in February!   (Oh, the difficulty rating thing:  numbers are falsely precise, I think.  Henceforth I will come up with other ways of estimating the sweat of your collective brows.)  Please enjoy, pass along a link to the puzzle or my site, and be well!

puz | pdf | solution

Categories
Themeless

Themeless 21

Words:  68

Average Length:  5.53

Difficulty:  5 out of 5

Pettah fruit and vegetable market, Colombo, Sri Lanka (see 14D)

This one’s pretty tough, particularly the 1A/6&7D combination.  If you’ve never had 1A, you owe it to yourself to try some, preferably washed down with a Medalla.  I first ran across 7D while learning to play Rhapsody in Blue way back in high school.   There’s a nasty 7D that I never quite got.

puz | pdf | solution

If you finish the puzzle, reward yourself with a 1 Down, 16 Down, or 45 Across.  If you don’t finish it, console yourself with the same. 

Please share this puzzle throughout the metaverse, link to this site, and otherwise give me some free publicity.  Next up (11/21) will be a medium-difficulty, Thanksgiving-themed puzzle.  Thanks, and enjoy!

Categories
Themeless

Themeless 19

Word Count:  70

Average Length:  5.40

Difficulty:  4 out of 5

After a sojourn in Scandinavia last week, today’s straightforward themeless makes a few stops in Asia.  I’ll use it as an excuse to showcase a couple of photos taken in the Indian state of Kerala, where 21 Across is an official language. 

Impressionist take on a woman washing clothes, Alapphuza
Street scene, Cochin

puz | pdf | solution

Just one other comment:  Our first dog was a [24 Down]-an Terrier named Harry, who was adorable, athletic, stubborn, soulful, and frustratingly aloof.  RIP Harry.  Here’s a picture. 

Harry

Til next week, enjoy, share, and be well.  Coming up next will be a themed puzzle where artists of the canvas and the recording studio collide.