LAST WEEK’S RESULTS:

Title: “The Week 2 Curse”
Prompt: This week’s contest answer is a two-word, eleven letter lament that you may utter if you miss this meta.
Answer: FOILED AGAIN, found by 319 solvers, 264 of which were solo solves

The Week 2 Curse has been expunged forever! I think…

Said Week 2 Curse referred (past tense, since it’s conquered now) to my odd inability to get a proper Week 2 difficulty on too many occasions. Weeks 1, 3, 4, and 5 were pretty consistent, but Week 2’s could be all over the charts difficulty-wise.

This one landed within range, though (a tad on the tough side, maybe, but I’m counting it) with 319 correct entries received.

12×13 grid, but there was method to the madness (stay tuned). No overt or especially long theme entries were identifiable, but the omega-across was interesting: [Numerical prefix that’s also a curse] was 49-A, and HEX was the answer. For a puzzle with “Curse” in the title that’s gotta mean something.

But what? Answer: Hex is the numerical prefix for the number 6, so let’s focus on the six-letter entries. There are 11 of theme, which is promising given the prompt, and indeed shading their first letters reveals the last two words of Snidely Whiplash’s famous lament: “(Curses!) Foiled again!”

Does my memory fail me? The internet claims this character is named Dick Dastardly, but he looks just like Snidely Whiplash and they both appear to say “Curses, Foiled Again!” so I don’t know what’s going on. Anyway…

So why the weird grid size? Symmetry constraints. I needed 11 six-letter entries, all symmetrically placed, so one had to go across the center. Hence, an even-numbered-left-to-right grid.

GUEST CONSTRUCTOR: MIKE GRACZYK

This week we welcome back guest constructor Mikey G, a.k.a. Mike Graczyk. His first meta here in 2022 was a huge hit, so he’s back for an encore performance!

Let’s do it…

THIS WEEK’S INSTRUCTIONS:

Good luck!

–Matt