Good afternoon, crossword fans — welcome to Week 111 of my contest. If you’re new to the contest and would like to enter, please see the site FAQ on the left sidebar for instructions.
LAST WEEK’S RESULTS:
Moos, baas and boos — no, that’s not the roster of the Dutch national soccer team. They’re the sounds heard at MGWCC last week as solvers responded to a groanworthy ovine/bovine metapuzzle.
324 solvers — three shy of the MGWCC record — correctly found BAD MOOD at 64-across, which was last week’s contest answer. That entry answers the riddle concealed in the A.J. Santora-esque grid:
WHAT ENTRY IN THIS
GRID SOUNDS LIKE
THE PAST TENSES OF
TWO NOISES WHICH
FARM ANIMALS MAKE?
The sheep baaed and the cows mooed, which put the noise-sensitive farmer in a BAD MOOD.
Bob Klahn quips:
Blue, you say? So I guess those cows mooed indigo.
While Peter Abide, representing those who rhyme “baa” with “ha,” asks:
Was the sheep from Boston?
This week’s winner, whose name was chosen at random from the 324 correct entries received, is Ephraim Vishniac of Arlington, Mass. (which is a suburb of Boston, though I’m not sure how our winner pronounces “baa”…)
In addition to a MGWCC pen, pencil and notepad set, Ephraim will also receive a copy of Francis Heaney‘s new book Sip & Solve Quick & Easy Crosswords.
Incidentally: if you happened to miss Francis’ New York Times puzzle of Sunday, June 13th, find a copy somewhere. It’ll be a strong contender for Crossword of the Year.
THIS WEEK’S INSTRUCTIONS:
This week’s contest answer is a relevant eight-letter adjective. E-mail it to me at crosswordcontest@gmail.com by Tuesday at noon ET. Please put the contest answer in the subject line of your e-mail.
To print the puzzle out, click on the image below and hit “print” on your browser. To solve using Across Lite download the free software here, then join the Google Group (1,277 members now!) here.
SPECIAL PRIZE THIS WEEK:
In addition to a MGWCC pen, pencil and notepad set, next week’s winner will receive an autographed copy of Patrick Blindauer‘s new book Sit & Solve Fun & Easy Crosswords.
[UPDATE, 1:00 PM, 7/16 — the clue at 10-across should reference 34-DOWN, not the nonexistent 34-across. My bad.]
Solve well, and be not led astray by words intended to deceive.