Puzzle 150 – “Exterior Shades”
puz here / pdf here / solution here
[If you’re having trouble viewing this larger-than-usual grid and its clues on this site, try clicking here.]
This is number ONE-FIFTY on this site, yall, as we near three full years of puzzling fun. Last week I promised yall something big, and I meant it literally. So please enjoy, for the second time on this site, a themed Sunday-sized grid. We’re still six weeks away from the actual three-year anniversary here, but the nice round number (150!) feels a touch more celebratory. With that in mind, much thanks and appreciation to all who have solved and commented here.
Favorite clues: I like the mild misdirect at 10-Down… but since the theme involves a light touch of tricky business, as implied by the revealer (that 21-letter spanner right at the center), I have tried to clue things pretty accessibly here overall.
As always, happy solving, friends. Comments are welcomed, as always. Hope you enjoy.
Congrats on 150!! I always look forward to your puzzles each week. Here’s to 150 more!
Aww, thanks, pal. I’ll keep at it!
Congrats! Fun puzzle for the milestone! Loved the theme
Glad you dug it. Thanks for solving!
Quite a feat to hit the big 1-5-0, and as you wrote, you did it in a super-sized way! Thank you so much for crafting puzzles that are entertaining and enlightening!
Great way to celebrate! Love this grid and the theme is *chef’s kiss*! Congrats on 150!
When I realized the revealer was a 21, I was like, there may be something here…
Matthew: I know there are 10 colors outside the grid, but can you list each clue number here with the matching color? A few of them have me curious?
Also, thanks for mentioning my Mariners and their “streak” of no World Series appearances, lol!
Sure thing!
Spoilers ahead…. :
26-A: black
46-A: green
48-A: brown
87-A: pink
89-A: white
114-A: silver
11-D: red
14-D: yellow
66-D: blue
101-D: gray
Thx for the info, and now I see that Dandelion “Green” and Tickling “Pink” make sense. Very clever and fun puzzle. Thanks again!