LAST WEEK’S RESULTS:

Last week’s instructions asked for “the only one of the five in the grid” (note mysterious emphasis on the last word). And then the five theme entries all shared the initials Z.C.:

17-a [Utah draw] = ZION CANYON

23-a [Intersection feature] = ZEBRA CROSSING

37-a [12345, e.g.] = ZIP CODE

45-a [Ban Jelacic Square is there] = ZAGREB, CROATIA

58-a [No possibility whatsoever] = ZERO CHANCE

Why all the unexplained Z.C.’s? Because the “five” you’re looking for are another Z.C.: Zener cards, those five cards magicians/mystics use to test for extrasensory perception.

Which of the five — circle, cross, waves, square and star — was in the grid? The CROSS, our meta answer, hidden in ZEBRA CROSSING. The other four’s presence in the clues explains the emphasis on “grid” in the instructions. The circle is found in the clue to 30-down, waves in 60-across, square in 45-across, and star in 33-down.

Unfortunately, and to my surprise, this meta landed with a thud for a non-trivial number of solvers because they weren’t familiar with Zener Cards (or not familiar enough to find the term in their mental database, even if they knew there were cards that looked like that and tested for ESP). I was surprised to hear this, since it never once crossed my mind until solvers began commenting at Crossword Fiend on Wednesday that Zener cards might be unfamiliar. But I had a set as a kid, so I might have overestimated their presence.

A meta shouldn’t be ungettable because it’s not familiar, so I wasn’t pleased to hear that so many solvers (including Fiend reviewer Joon Pahk) didn’t connect. It also didn’t help that a search of Z* C* at onelook.com doesn’t include ZENER CARDS in its “common words and phrases” set.

Anyway, Zener cards appear to be defensibly well-known enough for a Week 4 meta, but not by much, and I regret that they weren’t familiar to many solvers. Not the way I want to stump you, and I’ll keep an eye on this kind of thing in the future.

Julian Lim writes:

I too had these on my mind a few years ago:

http://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=12/7/2011

And Entropy sends along this famous scene from “Ghostbusters”:

This week’s winner, whose name was chosen randomly from the 52 correct entries received, is David Patrick of San Diego, Calif. In addition to a MGWCC pen, pencil and notepad set, David will also receive a copy of Matt Jones’ new puzzle series, “No Holds Barred Crosswords.” Check out Matt’s Kickstarter campaign here:

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/166613892/no-holds-barred-crosswords

MONTHLY PRIZES:

44 solvers submitted the correct contest answer to all four of October’s challenges (CATS, GRAMMAR POLICE, DANIEL INOUYE, CROSS). The following ten lucky and skillful winners, chosen randomly from that group, will receive a MGWCC pen, pencil and notepad set:

Brynn Diehl — San Jose, Calif.

David Wild — Washington, D.C.

Congratulations to our ten winners, and to everyone who went 4-for-4 in October.

SPECIAL PRIZE THIS WEEK AND NEXT:

In addition to a MGWCC pen, pencil and notepad set, contest winners this week and next will also receive an autographed copy of Merl Reagle’s new book Merl Reagle’s 100th Anniversary Crosswords.

THIS WEEK’S INSTRUCTIONS:

This week’s contest answer is a two-word region of the United States. 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 (2,108 members now!) here.

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