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Themeless

Themeless 125

Nijo Castle, Kyoto (Mar. 2025) (residence of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first shogun of 43 Down)

Words: 72

Average Length: 5.31

The seed for today’s themeless was the quote at 44 Across.  May your weekend be filled with many a 3 Down.  Enjoy!

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Themeless

Themeless 124

Iguazu National Park, Argentina (nothing to do with the puzzle – I was there two weeks ago)

Words: 68

Average Length: 5.62

Here’s a wide-ranging themeless (food, one of my favorite songs, classical Greece, religion, geography, math, you name it and I’ve tossed it in here).  I hope the ingredients combine deliciously, or at least, palatably!

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Themeless

Themeless 123

See 14 Across

Words: 70

Average Length: 5.43

I set myself a construction challenge for this themeless: no 3-letter entries.  I hope you like the result!

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Themeless

Themeless 122

See 28 Down

Words: 72

Average Length: 5.19

3 Down and 22 Down were today’s seeds, though my favorite clue might be 39 Across. 

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Themeless

Themeless 121

Early morning parade of monks receiving rice, Luang Prabang, 28 Down (April 2024)

Words: 70 (17×13)

Average Length: 5.46

38A (repurposed from a themed puzzle that wouldn’t come together) and 10D were the seeds for today’s puzzle.  Sorry for a couple of brand names infiltrating the grid – I hope they’re well-known enough not to be stumbling blocks.

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Themeless

Themeless 120

Nothing to do with the puzzle – another Egypt picture, from a tomb near the Valley of the Kings

Words: 70

Average Length: 5.34

4D and 24D were the seeds for this puzzle.  As always, I had a lot of fun with the cluing and, as I always hope, learned something along the way (see 42D). 

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Themeless

Themeless 119

Not matzo ball soup (see 1A). Photo taken in Bangkok, April 2024.

Words: 72

Average Length: 5.36

The two seeds for this themeless were 5D (largely because of the joke in the clue) and 19D (because I think it’s cool, both literally and figuratively).   Have fun!

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Mini Themeless

Money and Show

Believe it or not, this fits the answer to 8 Across, as I found out to my terror while driving from the Cliffs of Moher to a local pub for lunch, following the route suggested by the car’s GPS (June 2011).

Words: 14 (7×7)

Average Length: 5.29

2 Down and 8 Across were the seeds.  Apologies that 6 Across will leave you with an earworm, assuming you know the commercials (consider yourself fortunate if you don’t).

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Themeless

Themeless 118

Stairs, Sydney Opera House, Feb. 2024 (nothing to do with the puzzle – I just like the photo)

Words: 68

Average Length: 5.50

There were 4 seeds for today’s themeless: 8 Down (a factoid from a shipboard trivia game), 21 Across (I can still name the starting line-up, subs, and pitchers; they were my boyhood team), 27 Across (no thanks), and 33 Across (a refugee from a themed puzzle that wouldn’t come together).

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Mini Themeless

Viscount

Another random Egypt picture: decorations inside the pyramid of King Unas (Fifth Dynasty), the first pyramid known to have inscriptions/decorations

Words: 12 (6×6)

Average Length: 5.33

This was a weird puzzle to construct.  I had two seed entries, neither of which survived the filling and editing process.  Then I spent far too long trying to come up with a clever title before deciding just to literally bestow a title upon the puzzle.

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