Solution to Doing Some Gardening
This is a Rows Garden puzzle with a twist. The first immediate clue that something is off is that there is one fewer row than there ought to be. If we count the "Around" clues and the "More Around" clues, we find that there are ten and fourteen respectively. There are ten white blooms and fourteen each of gray and pink blooms, so not all the blooms can be clued.
Once we make some progress on filling in the words, we may notice that some of the rows seem too short. Moving things around, we eventually must realize that if we place exactly one letter in each pink bloom, the spacing works out. This also lines up nicely with the number of clues we have of each color, and explains the missing top row.
Reading the letters in the red blooms, we get SPINE REALIGNER. Combined with the 12 blanks at the bottom of the puzzle, this clues the answer, CHIROPRACTOR.
Clue Answers
Across
Letter | Clue | Answer |
---|---|---|
A | With “Army”, former revolutionary organization | IRISH REPUBLICAN |
B | A particularly bad rating, maybe / Doesn't work / Rations in District 12 | HALF STAR / PLAYS / TESSERAE |
C | Sometimes it is white / Harmonic | NOISE / OVERTONE |
D | Something saved / One CPU building block | NEST EGG / OR GATE |
E | Cut off / Purveyor of noted crossword cookies / Logic puzzle variety | AMPUTATED / NABISCO / AKARI |
F | Like something tagged “me irl” / Stable sounds | RELATABLE / NEIGHS |
G | Prepare, as dumplings / Sandwich source / Model Baldwin | STEAM / DELI / HAILEY |
H | Place to stow away / In dire financial straits | CARGO HOLD / CASH STRAPPED |
I | Rock band since 1985 / Make a mistake | GUNS N ROSES / ERR |
J | Hagrid, for example | GROUNDSKEEPER |
K | Button on a router / Geometric shapes | RESET / ARCS |
Around
Clue | Answer |
---|---|
Like some clues | ACROSS |
More sufficient | AMPLER |
Hit the ball | BATTED |
Imposes unwelcomely | FOISTS |
Neon striped, perhaps | GARISH |
Words said before a valediction, perhaps | LOVE YA |
Important part of a compiler | PARSER |
When the line “Who's there?” is spoken | SCENE I |
Historic military title | SHOGUN |
Something thrown in an idiom | STONES |
More Around
Clue | Answer |
---|---|
Like Gandalf | ARCANE |
Symbols used in some cute emoticons | CARETS |
They're made from flour, eggs, milk, water, salt and butter. | CREPES |
Explode | GO BANG |
Author Lee | HARPER |
They can be found in drum kits | HI HATS |
Author Jhumpa | LAHIRI |
Like a cast | MOLDED |
Outdated alternative to cardstock | OAK TAG |
Getter-upper | ROUSER |
With “by”, didn't put in any effort | SKATED |
There's a really big one in New York Harbor | STATUE |
Rent, in a way | SUBLET |
Made a shrill sound | YELPED |