Good afternoon, crossword fans — welcome to Week 222 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:

140 solvers grokked last week’s meta. I’ll let Brett Rose explain:

Just so you know that I fully figured it out…it’s the traditional
anniversary presents in each of the numbered clues (all across except
where noted):
5 – Wood
10 – Crystal
15 – Tin (down)
20 – China
25 – Silver
30 – Pearl
35 – Jade (down)
40 – Ruby
45 – Sapphire (down)
50 – Gold
55 – Emerald
60 – Diamond

Somehow this stayed hidden to me for like 4 days…now it’s like one
of those things I can’t unsee….

Bob Kin asks:

Why does my wife think every anniversary is our 60th?

Jimmy Dale writes:

65A: I need a Blue (Bombay) Sapphire on the rocks after spending all weekend on this one!!!

[Singer Diamond] and the like were of course the most common entries, and perfectly fine. But some solvers got creative, a selection of which follows:

Brent Holman:

[____ Armstrong Elementary (Diamond Bar, CA distinguished school winner)]

Philip Chow:

[60. On “How I Met Your Mother” Barney (portrayed by ____ Patrick Harris) buys a diamond suit with his Christmas bonus money]

Ross Beresford:

[____ Thrasher (singer-songwriter who co-wrote Diamond Rio’s 1996 single “That’s What I Get for Lovin’ You”)]

Giovanni Pagano:

[Diamond whose name is composed of two state abbreviations]

David Plotkin:

[Diamond heard at a Boston diamond]

Jason Shapiro:

[Governor Abercrombie you might find on Diamond Head]

Abby Braunsdorf went for a cryptic crossword clue:

[Musician Diamond (one I’ll cover)]

This week’s winner, whose name was chosen at random from the 206 correct entries received, is Regina Cassidy of Staten Island, N.Y.

THIS WEEK’S INSTRUCTIONS:

This week’s meta a 10-letter word beginning with C that describes this puzzle’s theme. Submit answer to crosswordcontest@gmail.com by WEDNESDAY at noon ET. Please put your clue in the subject line of your email.

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 (1,847 members now!) here.

Solve well, and be not led astray by words intended to deceive.