LAST WEEK’S RESULTS:
You can’t hide an entire company in a crossword, but you can hide its logo. The iconic NIKE swoosh concealed itself in last week’s grid, formed by the letters in NIKE, which appeared nowhere else in the grid.
According to this list, the swoosh is the most iconic logo of all-time (#2 is Coca-Cola, followed by Ford, Apple and Pepsi).
e.a. boasts:
JUST DID IT
Crossword Beast entertainingly describes his solve:
My thought process: There has to be a big reason for the total lack of symmetry. What “structure”? There is no structure! “Corporate”? Is there some famous NINE-IN-A-ROW something I’m unaware of? Hmmm, the GREEN ARROW had archenemy Bull’s-Eye; is there a target of some sort in here somewhere? Could the company be Target? No, that’s a huge stretch. Was this company CUT LOOSE from some other company? In some sort of ROUND TWO negotiation perhaps? On and on I went like this.
It wasn’t until I started looking at past puzzles for ideas that I hit paydirt. “Meeting Place” (solution here) in May 2011! Graphics! Oooh, a graphic would explain the lack of symmetry! Aha! A graphic “corporate structure” is a logo! So how to represent a logo in a puzzle grid? Liz Gorski, where are you? There’s gotta be some sort of letter pattern here somewhere. That’s when I noticed how few I’s and E’s the grid contains. Just four I’s; there are usually at least ten I’s. Let’s highlight the I’s and E’s! Eureka! It’s the Nike swoosh, made up of the I’s, E’s, N’s, and K’s, which are nowhere else to be found! Wow.
I have to laugh. I couldn’t identify the theme entries because … THERE AREN’T ANY!
bwouns had no trouble, aided by geography:
writing to you from Eugene, OR, the birthplace of Nike.
smwcross writes about the hidden swoosh:
Impossible to see, and then impossible not to see.
And finally, Eli Selzer asks:
Did you sign a lucrative branding deal? Am I allowed to solve in Reebok?
Yes. No. Wait, I reversed those.
This week’s winner, whose name was chosen randomly from the 53 correct entries received, is Tobin Ford of Fort Collins, Colo. In addition to a MGWCC pen, pencil and notepad set, Tobin will also receive a copy of Matt Jones’ new puzzle series, “No Holds Barred Crosswords.” Check out Matt’s Kickstarter campaign here:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/166613892/no-holds-barred-crosswords
MONTHLY WINNERS:
37 solvers submitted the correct contest answer to all four of September’s challenges (ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER, TRASHY, JOE MONTANA, NIKE). The following ten lucky and skillful winners, chosen randomly from that group, will receive a MGWCC pen, pencil and notepad set:
Erik Agard — College Park, Md.
Eric Berman — Indianapolis, Ind.
Abby Braunsdorf — Lafayette, Ind.
Jeffrey Harris — Nashville, Tenn.
Joshua Kosman — San Francisco, Calif.
Paul Melamud — Milford, N.J.
Eric Prestemon — Woodside, Calif.
Brett Rose — Chicago, Ill.
Seth Tribble — New York, N.Y.
Mike Weepie — Cedar Rapids, Ia.
Congratulations to our ten winners, and to everyone who went 4-for-4 in September.
THIS WEEK’S INSTRUCTIONS:
This week’s contest answer is a famous musical. Submit your answer in the form on the left sidebar by Tuesday at noon ET. Note: the submissions form disappears from the site promptly at noon on Tuesday.
To print the puzzle out, click on the image below and hit “print” on your browser. To solve using Across Lite either solve on the applet below or download the free software here, then join the Google Group (2,100 members now!) here.
Solve well, and be not led astray by words intended to deceive.