Doing Some Gardening

View Solution

Show canned hints
KeywordsContent
start, begin

This is a Rows Garden puzzle - the Across clues correspond to all the letters in a given row, and the Around clues correspond to the blooms of a certain color, making six-letter words either clockwise or counterclockwise. But something isn't quite right - the numbers don't add up.

start, stuck

[Confirm some of their answers if they provide any]

You may find that not all of the answers seem to fit in the blanks allotted. Try to fill them in anyway, and stretch them if you need to. Work back and forth between across and down.

[If they're really stuck, maybe give them the answer GROUNDSKEEPER or IRISH REPUBLICAN]

pink

The pink blooms are special - they don't contain a whole word.

pink, nicer

The pink blooms are special - instead of containing a whole word, they just contain a single letter.

extraction

To extract, you'll need to form a cluephrase using the pink letters, and then solve that cluephrase to an answer that fits in the blanks at the very bottom of the puzzle.

extract

The pink blanks spell out SPINE REALIGNER. You need a 12-letter word that is the answer to that clue; that is, it's a person or thing that realigns spines.

rows A B C D E F G H I J K

[See original puzzle for image]


Across

  1. A. With “Army”, former revolutionary organization
  2. B. A particularly bad rating, maybe / Doesn't work / Rations in District 12
  3. C. Sometimes it is white / Harmonic
  4. D. Something saved / One CPU building block
  5. E. Cut off / Purveyor of noted crossword cookies / Logic puzzle variety
  6. F. Like something tagged “me irl” / Stable sounds
  7. G. Prepare, as dumplings / Sandwich source / Model Baldwin
  8. H. Place to stow away / In dire financial straits
  9. I. Rock band since 1985 / Make a mistake
  10. J. Hagrid, for example
  11. K. Button on a router / Geometric shapes

Around

  • Like some clues
  • More sufficient
  • Hit the ball
  • Imposes unwelcomely
  • Neon striped, perhaps
  • Words said before a valediction, perhaps
  • Important part of a compiler
  • When the line “Who's there?” is spoken
  • Historic military title
  • Something thrown in an idiom

More Around

  • Like Gandalf
  • Symbols used in some cute emoticons
  • They're made from flour, eggs, milk, water, salt and butter
  • Explode
  • Author Lee
  • They can be found in drum kits
  • Author Jhumpa
  • Like a cast
  • Outdated alternative to cardstock
  • Getter-upper
  • With “by”, didn't put in any effort
  • There's a really big one in New York Harbor
  • Rent, in a way
  • Made a shrill sound

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _