Summer Sparklers III: The Puzzlers

Yes, I'm still hooked on my puzzles. I love it when the cruciverbalist surprises me by using an unconventional shape or modifying the rules, such as giving me all the words but no clues, and I have to figure out how to fit the words together based solely on how many letters they have.

Surprise, it's a flower!

A diagonal crossword?!

Nope, not a crossword at all. It's plaid.

Sometimes, I get really stuck on a clue. Most of these head-scratchers are either names of European rivers or former public figures. But sometimes its just a simple word and solving the clues around it only gives me what appears to be a random slew of letters that can't make any word at all. Those are the puzzles I can't finish...until I peek in the back. 

Here are some of those "puzzlers:"

Ogee - a double curve, like the shape of an "S;" or a pointed arch made from two "S's."

Dele - to delete, or the act of deleting. (I looked it up, it's a genuine word, pronounced DEE-lee, mostly used by editors. Don't ask me how it's any shorter to say "delete" without a "t," especially in conjugation, but that's why they're the editors, and I'm a mere writer.)

Lanai - a porch. (The word is Hawaiian, but has been conscripted into everyday use.)

Edema - a surface swelling of plants. (Not to be confused with turgor pressure, which is what I tried to fill into the puzzle. It had too many letters.)

Summer Sparklers Part 2

I just can't quit these crosswords.

The "easy" ones don't take me too long, so I just race through them, one after the other, so that I can get to the "mediums." Those slow me down a little bit, but I persevere, because I have this need to get to the "hard" section. I can't just skip to it. I have to do the puzzles in order, and I must finish puzzle number 20 before I start 21. Well, don't hate me if I peek in the back for one or two clues. Some of these pop culture references are a little above my head.

Here are some more "Sparklers!" Also, please enjoy more plaid from my Real Woodsman Collection.

Oleo - margarine. (If you're doing crossword puzzles from the 80's, like me, you need to know this word. They're going to try to sneak it in on you with clues like "muffin topper.")

Olio - a hodgepodge, or potpourri, really of anything. (They throw this one in to make you think it's Oleo, and then the "E" won't work for the crossing clue.)

Lira - Italian money. (You'll see this in every puzzle. Every. Puzzle.)

Icer - Someone who frosts cakes or cookies. (I think it's a made-up word, but that doesn't stop them from using it. I'm going to use it next time I stop at Eileen's.)