GUEST CONSTRUCTOR MONTH FINALE:
A reminder that today’s puzzle counts as Week 5 of Guest Constructor Month, not the first week of August. We’re treating August as a four-Friday month that will begin next week.
IMPORTANT NOTE, 8/2/13, 12:55 PM: I posted incorrect instructions to Dave’s puzzle today. Please see below for the correct instructions, and my apologies to solvers and to Dave.
LAST WEEK’S RESULTS:
152 solvers went with the flow last week, discovering the four hidden rivers in Victor Barocas’ lovely meta.
The three obvious theme entries appeared to be FLORENCE, SAINT PETERSBURG (Russia, not Florida), and ZARAGOZA, but it wasn’t entirely clear since there were other eight-letter (and longer) entries running around. Eagle-eyed meta-mavens noticed the short but symmetrically placed cities of YORK (England, not Pennsylvania) and CAEN in the corners as well and surmised that they might be theme, too.
Which they were: the meta’s key was realizing that four of those five European cities cross their own rivers in the grid (damn, I wish I had thought of this idea myself!).
Check it out:
The ARNO crosses FLORENCE
The OUSE crosses YORK
The NEVA crosses SAINT PETERSBURG
The ORNE crosses CAEN
The odd one out is ZARAGOZA, which lies on the EBRO, but that common crossword entry can’t be found anywhere in the grid. Meta instructions asked for a famous athlete whose first name, if it were in the grid, would complete this puzzle’s theme. That means we need a famous sports(wo)man whose first name fits the letter pattern ?EBRO?. Must be some obscure guy named LEBRON JAMES, whose first name, had it crossed ZARAGOZA in the grid, would complete the pattern of the first four theme entries.
Howard B quips:
Not to be Cavalier about it, but you turned up the Heat on this one. Tricky!
In eight words, Dan Katz encapsulates my ideal for a solver’s late-month meta experience:
Totally mystifying, and then beautiful once it clicked.
Crossword Beast says:
Definitely not Doc Rivers
JustinW got it, but wasn’t happy:
Being a Clevelander, I’d prefer not to capitalize his name…
Adam Thompson noted that:
Crosswordese helped.
Right! One of the many aspects of this meta I dig is that the five rivers are common guests in crossword grids.
Joshua Kosman found a wicked (and unintentional) red herring:
Could it be a coincidence that PETER and ZARA, the two children of Princess Anne, figure so prominently among the theme entries immediately after the birth of their first cousin once removed — a current event if ever there was one — has drawn everyone’s attention to the British line of succession? Well, yes, apparently it can be.
Sketch fill led Ertchin to the answer:
I knew ONEVAN was a pretty shady entry …
And finally, Rog thinks that this puzzle is:
A mODERn classic
I couldn’t agree more. Bravo, Victor!
This week’s winner, whose name was chosen randomly from the 152 correct entries received, is Maggie Wittlin of Brooklyn, N.Y. In addition to a MGWCC pen, pencil and notepad set, Maggie will also receive a copy of my new book Bite-Size Crosswords. Weekly winners for the rest of GCM will receive the same.
THIS WEEK’S GUEST CONSTRUCTOR:
I’m definitely picking up the tab next Friday when Dave Sullivan and I have a pre-Lollapuzzoola dinner in midtown Manhattan. By first suggesting, then implementing, and now maintaining the MGWCC submissions system, he’s saved me countless hours of logistical hassle over the past year and improved the overall feel of the site immeasurably.
As for writing puzzles: Dave “began constructing crosswords in 2004 at the age of 44,” as he puts it. He’s had five puzzles in the New York Times, plus wrote a beautiful and difficult meta for Fireball Crosswords in June (read my review of it here).
When not brainstorming puzzle themes, he’s outside working on his six acres of pasture and woods in bucolic Woodstock, Vermont, where he hopes to raise bees, chickens and goats in the near future.
And here’s his Week 5 meta…
THIS WEEK’S INSTRUCTIONS:
This week’s contest answer is the two grid entries that, when combined, would make an excellent fifth theme entry. 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 (2,078 members now!) here.
Solve well, and be not led astray by words intended to deceive.