Good afternoon, crossword fans — welcome to Week 123 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:
A record 361 entries pegged REDD FOXX as the comedian of the week. They’d noticed that all four theme entries (starred for clarity, since there was fill longer than theme) consisted of two-word phrases wherein each word ended in a double letter:
DASHIELL HAMMETT
BOSS HOGG
FREE JAZZ
DANDRUFF SHAMPOO
Aided, if necessary, by Comedy Central’s “100 Greatest Stand-Up Comedians of All Time” list I provided, successful solvers found the man whose name fits that pattern: REDD FOXX, whose double D and X made him last week’s contest answer.
Some solvers questioned the need for linking to the Comedy Central list. I linked not because I thought anyone would be unfamiliar with REDD FOXX, though several younger solvers were, or had only heard of him through crosswords. Rather my real motive was that a couple hours before publishing I realized that someone might submit WILL FERRELL (or several other comics, such as Bill Engvall or Todd Glass).
Ferrell’s names do both end in double letters, which could reasonably be argued to fit all contest requirements. REDD FOXX is a more elegant solution, since his DD and XX do not repeat any of the eight double letters already used (LL, TT, EE, ZZ, SS, GG, FF and OO). But one might still reasonably claim that WILL FERRELL meets the threshold of acceptability, so I linked to that Comedy Central list on which he is absent.
John Reid thinks the byline should have read:
“Double Time” by Matt Gaff
And Scott Weiss says:
I guess I’m not a well-known comedian, huh? There goes my chance to be a MGWCC crossword answer.
Joe Fendel quips:
I was trying to think of some American comedians named “Jeff”, but then realized none of them are Foxx-worthy.
And finally, Jon Delfin didn’t need much of the puzzle to deduce the contest answer (click image to enlarge):
I reserve the right to submit a different answer once I fill in more
of the grid….
This week’s winner, whose name was chosen at random from the 361 correct entries received, is Brendan Sullivan of Pittsburgh, Penna. In addition to a MGWCC pen, pencil and notepad set, Brendan will also receive a copy of Peter Gordon‘s new book Sunset Crosswords.
THIS WEEK’S INSTRUCTIONS:
A companion puzzle to last week’s: once again, this week’s contest answer is one of the most famous American comedians of the 20th century, who would have made an excellent theme entry in this puzzle. (If you’re not up on your comedians, this week’s contest answer is on this list). E-mail this comedian 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 (1,335 members now!) here.
Solve well, and be not led astray by words intended to deceive.